Prophet Muhammed's religion
by Nafeela Mukthar
[Part 2]
The faithful descendant of Adam, by the correct use of his knowledge
his power of conception under no compulsion has implicit faith in Allah
his creator. Man undoubtedly is given the freedom of choice to seek the
Right Path or become a victim of his own arrogance, folly or perversity.
About such men Allah says: “Whosoever desires the life of this world and
its glitter, to them, we shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds
therein, and they will have no diminution therein” (11:15) and they are
those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire” (11:16)
Progress
Strong faith will not enter a man who does not work for the progress
of mankind but lives away from the responsibility of this life.
Allah has created man above other creatures by giving him a thinking
mind. He is free to choose when Allah says in 18:29 thus: “And say: (O
Muhammed)” The truth is from your Lord” then whosoever believes let him
believe, and whosoever wills let him disbelieve”.
We are given a beautiful description of the man who seeks The Reality
in verse 177 of Sura Bakara :” Al-Birr is (The quality of) the one who
believes in Allah the Last Day, The Books, The Prophets and gives his
wealth, in spite of love for it to the ‘kinsfolk to the orphans and to
Al-Masakin (The poor) and to the wayfarer and to those who ask and to
set slaves free, perform As Salat (prayer) and to give Zakat”.
It is clear that a man with firm belief and piety and in the Divine
Judgement will prevent himself in indulging in sins and evil. For such
belief creates in man an attitude of peace, contentment and sympathy
towards his fellow beings and love towards his own parents and family.
For religion if understood properly is the worship of One God and
service to His creatures. Islam does not permit renouncing this world.
True manhood is achieved not by meditation in jungles; God has to be
searched in the society by helping the poor and destitute. Then
definitely his vision broadens and his intellectual horizon widens with
a thirst for knowledge.
If man does not pray even an iota of Allah's Glory will not diminish.
Man's prayers and service to mankind is for his own salvation. So, man
was created of a higher mould and intellect “What! Shall I seek for you
a God other than Allah while He has given you superiority over all
creations” (7:140) Different forms of worship may have been introduced
to please the common man. But Islam prohibits nature worship or worship
of any other thing created by man for the very reason that by doing so
man debases his very nature.
Wasn't man created as the Lord of creation and everything placed
under his control? Fearlessly he has to bow his head to none other than
his Creator. To rely on priests, pirs, monks and others who claim to
have miraculous powers, as Lords, besides Allah is a detestable form of
shirk. This is the case at present with some sections of Muslims who
follow Imams and Sheiks to the utter neglect of the Sharia and
prohibition laid down in the Quran and Hadith.
The ordinary Muslims do not hesitate to follow blindly any priest or
seyeds or plead for help from awliyas. This is a form of disgusting
shirk which has crept into society of gullible Muslims. If at all there
are rituals practised by the Muslim, they are the performance of Tawaf
round the Sacred Ka'ba, Sai between the hills of Safa and Marwa, praying
for Mercy and forgiveness at the Great plain of Arafat – all found in
the institution of Hajj initiated by Kaleelullah Prophet Ibrahim
Patriarch (Abraham) the common father of the religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.
Rituals
By reviving and re-enacting these rituals the Prophet Muhammed
(S.A.W.) brought alive the Prophethood of earlier eras. Thus do we
realise that Allah's revelations, scriptures, psalms are direct message
from God. And no Muslim can deny this as the Quran itself proclaims,
“For each age or period a Book is revealed”.
(13:38) And what did every religion teach? It is to worship Him and
Him only in every thought and action and associate none with Him. We
affirm and testify with the tongue and the heart. “There is no deity but
Allah”. We believe that He has got no partner in the right of receiving
worship from His creations – a believer strongly feels that Allah is the
ultimate Reality though this is beyond our limited conception. You are a
Muslim by every right once you utter the 1st Kalima “there is no God but
Allah”, but you become a true believer or mumin only when true knowledge
dawns on you lighting up your heart.
It is difficult for the man surrounded and engrossed in the material
world to have faith in unseen Truths like Allah, the Angels and the next
world. But such belief is of utmost importance as it gives a believing
man incentive for good action in this world.
Faith
So faith is the basis of every religion or scripture – and the
utterance and attestation with our innermost soul and ‘Iman’ is the
foundation stone of Islam – So we believe the life essence of religion
is faith.
Verse 14 of chapter 49 distinctly tells us of the difference in
accepting Islam and having complete faith. “The Bedouins say: “We
believe”. Say: “you believe not but only say, ‘We have surrendered (in
Islam)’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts.” May Allah help us to
get faith or Iman rooted in our hearts and may our souls indulge in the
remembrance of Allah and surrender to His Will.
Concluded
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