A good muslim ... ??
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Dear sytalls,
I am accountable only to God.
Exactly!
And God does not need any confirmation from anybody, God knows. Also you, yourself, do not need to hear what you call yourself; therefore it is done for other people to hear or see.
You have your reason for doing it, and others may have their reason, but in every case it is done for other people, nothing and nobody else.
You say that when people hear it they may want to know more about Islam. Yes if it comes from one who, through actions and behavior, shows something that seems to be worth striving for.Now imagine this, you meet a person that you have known for some time, and, since the talk ?drifts? in on the subject, you tell him/her ?I am a Muslim?.
?Oh, yeah?? says your friend, ?but I have seen Muslims on TV and they don?t behave in such a nice way as you do??
You ?They are not Muslims, because they do not follow the words of God, the Qur?an, or at least, they are bad ?Muslims?!?
Friend ?Well I have seen them on TV and they read from the Qur?an and says ?God is great?, and then ?chop?..? goes another head. Why do you say they are not Muslims when they say they fight in the way of God??
You ?The Qur?an says that you should follow what is allowed and not do what is forbidden, you should follow the law of God, and this is very clear in the Qur?an.?
Friend ?But they claim to fight in the way of God, those who threatens Islam and oppress people, and according to the Qur?an then it is allowed to kill, actually it is highly recommended that you fight such people with all your force!?
You ?Yes, but you should also not transgress the limits!?
Friend ?Are you sure they are not the Muslims and you are not? They do not set up anything besides God, are kind to their parents, don?t kill any of their unborn children for fear of poverty, they are not lewd in any way, they only kill in justice in the way of God, they don?t touch orphan?s money, they give full measure and weigh equitably, they speak just also against relatives, they uphold the pledges given to God.?
?Actually I have checked with someone who knows some of them, and these people say they are very exemplary Muslims, keeping up all the laws and etiquettes of the Qur?an. They even give their lives in the fight against disbelievers. I don?t see you do that??You ?But they have misunderstood Islam. Islam is peace, Islam is?????..?
At the end, who is a ?Muslim?, who knows the correct limits? You, they, God?
When you declare yourself a ?Muslim? it means that you declare where the limits are, you declare what God accepts and what God does not accept, and you overlook, among many other verses, that(2.105) Neither do those who have rejected from among the people of the Scripture, nor from among those who have set up partners, wish that any good comes down to you from your Lord. But God chooses with His mercy whom He wishes; and from God is the greatest favour.
(3.26) Say " Our god, Possessor of kingship; you grant kingship to whom You please, and revoke kingship from whom You please, and honour whom You please, and humiliate whom You please; in Your hand is goodness. You are capable of all things."
(28.6 And your Lord creates what He wills, and He selects; it is not for them to select. Glory be to God, He is far above the partners they set up.
(29.62) God expands the provision for whomever He chooses from among His servants, and withholds it. God is fully aware of all things.
If God chooses somebody from the rank of suicide bombers, or the one you should least thought would be chosen, then this is up to God. God knows what you do not.
Do you still feel that you are free to choose to call you a ?Muslim?, then please go ahead, no one has the right to deny you that, besides God.
However, maybe it is wise to give it a second thought.Best regards
Ali Omar
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Salaamun alaikum all,
4914 O mankind, We created you from a male and female, and We made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely, the most honourable among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. God is Knowledgeable, Expert.
4915 The Nomads said "We believe." Say "You have not believed; but you should Say 'We have surrendered', for belief has not yet entered into your hearts." If you obey God and His messenger, He will not put any of your works to waste. God is Forgiver, Merciful.From 4915 it is clear that people cannot label themselves as a believer if belief has not entered their hearts yet. IMO similarly, from this it can be extrapolated that people cannot label themselves as "muslim" if they have not submitted or surrendered to The God yet i.e. if they do not obey The God and His messenger and do not do good works or righteous deeds.
Peace Tanveer,
I once looked at that verse from the same perspective until I did some research on the possible meaning of that verse. I originally studied the arabic root and contexts of the words "islam" and "Arabs" and "believers", and a couple others I can't remember right now. Don't get me wrong. I could be wrong, but I decided to sum up what I found.
Situation In 4915 it is clear that the Arabs/Nomads are submitting to God's will without having faith and being "believers". The added condition is that if they obey God and his messenger and do good works, those works would not go to waste.
Problem So what does it mean to submit to God's will when they do not have faith in the God?
Very abbreviated Conclusion of Qur'an study Well, EVERYTHING in creation submits to God's will willingly and unwillingly, so saying you submit is nothing special. Throughout the Qur'an, when people are described to be submitting/ at peace with the God in a way that is similar to the context you are trying to use (i.e. verifying that they are striving to obey God's limits), their intention/consciousness/knowledge/belief was noted by the description used; usually by calling them believers/those who believe or indicating that they are conscious or striving to submit their "wills". Neither was the case in 4915 since, undoubtedly, they could not call themselves believers and there is no concrete evidence that they had made a conscious choice to "submit" their "wills". Since it has neither condition, the type of submission being described in 4915 must be the one that is applicable to everything in the universe and does not distinguish the Arabs/Nomads from anything else in creation. This type of submission is not a favor to mankind or anthing else in God's creation.
And, I must add, from the description of the Arabs/Nomads elsewhere in the Qur'an, the idea that the submission/peace mentioned in 4915 has nothing to do with righteousness makes sense. From this thinking, the context of the verses surrounding 4915 became clearer
4914 O mankind, We created you from a male and female, and We made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely, the most honourable among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. God is Knowledgeable, Expert.
4915 The Nomads said "We believe." Say "You have not believed; but you should Say 'We have surrendered', for belief has not yet entered into your hearts." If you obey God and His messenger, He will not put any of your works to waste. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
4916 Believers are those who believe in God and His messenger, then they became without doubt, and they strive with their money and their lives in the cause of God. These are the truthful ones.
4917 Say "Are you teaching God about your system while God knows everything in the heavens and the Earth? God is knowledgeable of all things."
4918 They think they are doing you a favour by having surrendered! Say "Do not think you are doing me any favours by your surrender. For it is God who is doing you a favour that He has guided you to the faith, if you are being true."
4919 Surely, God knows all the unseen in the heavens and the Earth; God is Seer of everything you do.To me, Islam is a state of being and muslim describes someone who is in that state both consciously and unconsciously. Its not a proper noun and, if used that way, it would be similar to saying " I Exist"....
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Salaamun alaikum,
Salikah To me, Islam is a state of being and muslim describes someone who is in that state both consciously and unconsciously. Its not a proper noun and, if used that way, it would be similar to saying " I Exist"....
Agreed. Al-islaam is a state of being. But i have to disagree with you on the proper noun thing. It can be a proper noun if the person actually operationalises that state. It won't be an approrpriate noun if that person treats islam like an icon (im born muslim with a muslim name and eat muslim food bla bla bla).
thanks and peace