Are We Practicing Muslims

Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Nov 10, 2017

Brothers and sisters! Are we practicing Muslims? We pray five times a day. We fast in the month of Ramadan. We pay our zakat. We have performed the hajj or intend to do so. We participate in Islamic activities. We are contributing members of Islamic organizations. We practice the remembrance of Allah. We donate to charities. After doing all this, should we consider ourselves as practicing Muslims?

These days, the term ‘practicing Muslim’ is usually understood to mean a person who practices the so-called five pillars of Islam. It seems the emphasis is more on the observance of rituals in order to be called a practicing Muslim or Muslimah. But is it enough that we are simply physically practicing these rituals? What about the importance of our aims and objectives? How are we to ensure that our objectives are being met or that we are, at the very least, moving in the right direction? My khutba today is on the topic: “Are We Practicing Muslims?”

Among the Muslim community there is this great divide between two categories of people that is pulling them poles apart. One set of people are those who are focused on the rituals of Islam. They never miss prayers, they fast frequently, they do umrah and Hajj, they are very conscious of their Islamic dress, and they read the Qur’an, but unfortunately, quite a few of them do not have a pleasant character. They wouldn’t care for their neighbors. They have no sympathy for their servants, and at times they are rude, mean and stingy even with their family members. In short, they often display bad manners and ethics. 

And then there are those who have all the humanitarian qualities; forever helpful, cheerful and kind, generous and polite, honest and hardworking, but they do not practice the rituals. They do not believe in praying or fasting; would rather give the money in charity than spend it on going to Hajj. They will eat, drink and dress the way they feel like, because they are not concerned about following the Islamic teachings.

Yet both these groups are Muslims. Actually, we have compartmentalized Islam into separate components, and as a consequence, our efforts are not producing the results we would expect. Yet, if we study the Qur’an carefully, then it will become quite obvious that a people who are satisfied with their state of indignity, dependence, hopelessness and insecurity are a people experiencing Allah’s wrath.

We need to recognize that compassion and mercy, engagement with others, and genuine self-sacrifice are key aspects to our faith for a reason. Allah promises that He will give us power and dignity in this world in return for our faith and good deeds.

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them successors in the land, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their faith which He has chosen for them and will indeed change their fear into security.” (an-Nur, 24:55). And we also have in Surat al-Nahl,

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds” (an-Nahl, 16:97).

With the general attitude of indifference within our current Muslim societies, how can we be surprised that our holding on to the five pillars of Islam is not producing the quality of society as they did for our Prophet (SAW) and his companions? Remember the Prophet's hadith?

لَيْسَ الْمُؤْمِنُ الَّذِي يَشْبَعُ وَجَارُهُ جَائِعٌ إِلَى جَنْبِهِ

“He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while the neighbor to his side goes hungry.” A man asked the Prophet (SAW), “Which Islam is best?” The Prophet (SAW) said,

تُطْعِمُ الطَّعَامَ وَتَقْرَأُ السَّلاَمَ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ

“Feed the hungry and greet with peace those you know and those you do not know.”

The Qur’an covers all aspects of life and is there to offer us insight into how to live. That means Islam is a system of life. Other religions advocate personal relationship between the individual and God. Islam, on the other hand, in addition to personal aspects, addresses societal aspects. To this end, Islam considers every believer to be an extremely important individual, whose every action and struggle will have an effect on the society at large.

Brothers and sisters! When one realizes that one’s faith and good deeds have not resulted in societal dignity, self-respect, power and independence, then a reassessment is necessary.  If we look to the period of our Prophet (SAW) and attend to the programs and plans of Muslims in those days, will we not find that the very same pillars of faith that transformed that society are not producing the desired results for us today?

On sincere reflection, we will come to know that our practice of those very same pillars seems to have taken us nowhere. Not only should we then refrain from self-acclaim in pronouncing ourselves to be practicing Muslims, but more importantly we must spend time in self-examination and reflection in regard to correcting our errors, and then seek to rebuild and establish a society truly worthy of the name, ‘practicing Muslims.’ We are given the book of guidance that shows us how. We need only attend to the message given.

May Allah (SWT) make each one of us a practicing Muslim and grant us understanding and goodness.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters! We should avoid making sweeping statements and passing judgments about people whether or not they are practicing Muslims. Only Allah knows each one of us inside out. He alone can read our hearts. He also knows if we’re sincerely sorry for our mistakes. Even the Muslim who appears to be non-practicing on the outside may have a deep love for Allah within.

So, rather than us categorizing Muslims into practicing and non-practicing, we should look into the Qur’an, which has clearly categorized Muslims into three different categories. We have in Surah Fatir, 

ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ

“Then We have given the Book for inheritance to those We have chosen from Our servants. Some of them wrong themselves, some follow a middle course, and some are foremost in good deeds by Allah’s Will. That is the greatest bounty.” (Fatir, 35:32)

Thus, the Qur’an divides the Muslims into three categories:  

(1) Those that wrong themselves or are unjust to themselves: They are those who believe sincerely and honestly that the Qur’an is the Book of Allah and Muhammad (SAW) the Messenger of Allah, but in practical life they do not fully follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. They are believers but sinful; wrongdoers but not rebellious. They are weak of faith but not hypocritical and unbelieving at heart. Therefore, although they are unjust to themselves, they have been included among the chosen servants of God and among the heirs to the Book; otherwise, the rebels and the hypocrites and the unbelieving people could not be so treated and honored. This category of people are most numerous among the Muslims.

(2) Those following the middle course: They are the people who fulfill the obligations of this inheritance to some extent but not fully. They are obedient as well as going astray. They have not left their self (nafs) altogether free but try as best as they can to turn it to God’s obedience. However, at times they give it undue freedom and become involved in sin. Thus, their life becomes a combination of both good and evil actions. They are less numerous than the first category of Muslims.

(3) Those excelling in good deeds: They are the people of the first rank among the heirs to the Book, and they are the ones who are doing full justice to the inheritance. They are in the forefront in following and adhering to the Book and the Sunnah; in conveying the message of God to His servants, in offering the sacrifices for the sake of the true faith, and in every pious and good work. They are not the ones who would commit a sin deliberately, but if they happened to commit a sin by mistake, they would be filled with shame as soon as they became conscious of it. They are less numerous than the people of the first two groups.

Imam Ibn Kathir (Rahimahullah) has explained these three kinds by saying: The one who wrongs himself means a person who falls short in fulfilling some obligatory duties, and goes on to commit some of what is forbidden as well. And the one who follows the middle course is a person who fulfills all legally binding obligations and avoids everything forbidden, but on occasions, leaves out what has been recommended and falls into what is blameworthy. And excellent is the one who goes ahead of everyone in good deeds, fulfills all obligatory and recommended duties and avoids everything declared forbidden or considered reprehensible and goes on to leave what is allowed to him because of his devotion to acts of worship or because of some doubt in its lawfulness.

Now, it is up to each one of us to see which category we fall into according to the categorization given by the Qur’an. And the ultimate judgment lies with Allah (SWT).

For believers, the goal of a blissful existence both in this life and the hereafter must be pursued with good actions, expressed in terms of what is truly human and humane in the world in which we live. May Allah give us tawfiq for this and may He bless each one of us.

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