The Essence of Belief
Islam is not just a religion. Islam is a complete way of life.
Islam advises on almost every aspect of life. It teaches how one should conduct oneself and how one should treat others.
When you investigate Islam, you will discover the qualities and attributes required of a Muslim.
For example, Morality, Honesty, Kindness, Politeness, Truthfulness, Trustworthiness and the list goes on…
A Muslim is one from whose hands and mouth, others stay safe.
The real purpose of this section is to relay a very special and crucial point.
You already know that Allah created us and is the master over everything that exists or doesn’t exist.
We are his slaves and we are commanded to listen and obey.
This means that we MUST do whatever is asked from us, whether it makes sense to us or not.
This notion may be foreign for some people, especially people who don’t like being in a subservient position.
The idea of obeying commands blindly doesn’t sit well for some. They must have a reason for performing any action.
Let us take the analogy of your miniature creation again.
Let’s say you created a city of small people and they know and acknowledge you as their creator.
However, you didn’t teach them about fire and yet you created a fire near them and asked them not to touch the fire.
Your creation was susceptible to curiosity and they went and touched or jumped into the fire.
You didn’t give them the knowledge of fire and you warned them not to go near the fire. Yet, they disobeyed your command and burnt themselves.
In the same way, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the lord of all the worlds, has asked us to obey his commands.
Whatever the commands are, we are instructed to obey for our own sake, even though we may not know the reason behind it.
Allah, in his infinite wisdom has revealed the reasons for many things to us and at the same time has not revealed the reason for many things.
Our duty as Muslims is to listen and obey, no matter what the command is. We do not need to have a reason to obey the command of Allah.
We submit to the will of our lord and obey without question.
This is literally what Islam means – To Submit to the will of Allah.
There are many things which are beyond our limited comprehension and because of our thirst for reasons, we generally don’t obey until we have a solid reason for the action.
This is the wrong way of thinking when you are dealing with your creator.
The right way of thinking is: Allah says – We do.
The entire purpose of us being here on this earth is to submit to the will of Allah in Islam. If we don’t obey our lord, we will inevitably draw the wrath of Allah and will be building a life of severe torment for ourselves in the hereafter.
At times, the actions demanded of us may seem hard and we may not want to get involved, but this is the real test – will you do it or wont you? This is the exam of this world.
Will you obey or will you disobey (with weakness)?
Will you pass or will you fail?
Will you spend all your life in pursuit of money or love or something else, or will you also spend your time gaining the pleasure of Allah?
My dear friend, this world is limited. The life after death (hereafter) is for eternity. Don’t fail the exam in this world because the consequences of failure are extremely dangerous in the hereafter.
At the same time, we perform the actions in exactly the same way as relayed to us by the holy prophet of Allah.
If we try and change or adapt the commands of Allah for the 21st century, then they wouldn’t be the commands of Allah anymore. You would be following your own desire made from your own interpretations.
Who are we to change the rules and commands of Allah to suit current times?
What right do we have to interfere with the teachings of the prophet?
To change the commands of Allah or to give it a meaning which would suit our own causes, is a sure way to bring about the wrath of Allah.
This is not the way we have been instructed to do things.
In the Quran, Allah says:
“And it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows while you do not know…”
Don’t you think that if Allah wanted us to have different commands for differing centuries, he would have relayed that to us through the message of the prophet?
The prophet has given us instructions as to what must be done in certain situations and has given us the knowledge of jurisprudence. This means that we can see if our current actions are permissible within the confines of the law – Allah’s Law.
But this does not give us the right to change the laws of Islam just because we think it needs an update. Who are we to even think about updating the laws of Allah.
Who are we to interfere with the laws of Allah?
Are you prepared to stand in front of Allah on the day of judgment and explain why you tampered with the laws which govern humanity?
Of course not. So we don’t change or we don’t listen to people who like to change the laws of Allah in order to suit them for the 21st century.
The main purpose of this section is to instill within you the belief of: Listen and Obey.
We do it without a reason. If a reason is given, all well and good. If not, we still obey the commands of Allah, no matter how easy or hard they may seem.
So in the coming pages (or anywhere on the net), you may read about rules and regulations within Islam. Keep the above in mind when you do.
This is the essence of belief.
Next, we’ll talk about the prophet of Islam – Muhammad (peace be upon him).
