Are We True Muslims? – I

Brothers in Islam! Who are true Muslims? Let Us see what Allaah
Almighty and His Messenger have to say about their lives and hearts:
Allaah Almighty Says (what means): {Say: My prayers and my sacrifices,
and my living and my dying are for Allaah Alone, the Lord of all the
worlds. No partnerhas He. Thus I have been commanded, and I am
foremost among those who surrender [themselves unto Him]} [Quran 6:
163–4].
The same theme is elucidated by the Prophet : "One who loves for the
sake of Allaah Alone and hates for the sake of Allaah Alone; and
whatever he gives, gives for the sake of Allaah Alone,and whatever he
withholds, withholds for the sake of Allaah Alone –indeed, he perfects
his Imaan (faith)." [Abu Daawood]
The Quran makes clear what Allaah Almighty demands of you. You should
devote yourselves wholly to the service of Allaah Almighty, you should
live for Him Alone, you should die for Him Alone. You, and the world
aroundyou, entirely belong to Allaah Almighty; let nobody have a
sharein what belongs to Allaah The Most High. That is to say, you
should not serve anyone but Him,nor live or die for anyone but Him,
Almighty.
The Prophet explains what the Quran has said. To be a true believer,
your love and enmity foreverything, all your affections, all relations
and transactions in yourlives, should have only one purpose: to seek
Allaah's Pleasure. Without this your faith itself will not be
complete; the possibility of rising higher in the sight of Allaah
Almighty does not arise. The greater the deficiency in this respect,
the more defective the faith.
Some people think that these qualities are required only to reach
higher spiritual stations and are not essential to Imaan (faith) and
Islam. In other words, even without these qualities a person can be a
good believer and a Muslim. This mistaken notion has arisen because
peoplein general do not differentiate between legal Islam and true
Islam which alone is truly authentic in the sight of Allaah Almighty.
Two Types of Islam
Legal Islam
Under legal Islam, on which jurists and states must base
theirdealings, what lies in your hearts and minds is not taken into
account, nor can it be. Your verbal affirmation and those essential
signs which must flow out of that affirmation are accepted as
sufficient evidence ofyour Islam. Anyone who affirms by word of mouth
belief in Allaah, the Messenger, the Quran, the Hereafter and other
articles of faith, and who also fulfils those necessary conditions
whichprovide proof of his affirmation, is considered part of Muslim
society and all dealings with him are to be conducted as with a
Muslim.
This definition provides the legal and cultural basis on which Muslim
society is organized. Its purpose is no more than that all those who
enter into the Muslim Ummah (nation) al recognized as Muslims: nobody
from among them can b called a disbeliever; every one of them must
have the same mutual legal, moral and social rights; they should be
entitled to marry among Muslims; they should be eligible to receive
the share in inheritance; all other civil relations should be
established with them.
True Islam
However, in the world-to-come, you cannot be judged as Muslim and a
believer on the basis of thislegal affirmation, nor on this basis will
Allaah Almighty accept you as one of His chosen servants. What will
count then is having faith in hearts, and willingly and wholly
submitting lives to Allaah Almighty. Whatever verbally affirmed is
meant for courts and for the common man and the Muslim society. For
they can only see the exterior, but Allaah Almighty seesdeep into your
hearts and knows precisely the degree of your faith.
How will He judge a man? Allaah Almighty will see whether he lived and
died for Him Alone, whether his loyalties to Him superseded all other
loyalties, whether his obedience and his service, indeed his entire
life, were devoted only to Him Almighty. If they were solely for
Allaah Almighty then he will be adjudged a believer and a Muslim,but
if they were for someone else, then he will not be adjudged a Muslim
nor a believer.Whoever falls short of this criterion will, to the
extent he falls short, be lacking in faith and Islam, irrespective of
how important a Muslim the world may judge him and of any high
positions he may hold. With Allaah only one thing matters: whether or
not you have given away in His way all that He Almighty has given you.
If you have, you will be granted the reward which is reserved for
those who are loyal and render the service that is due. Bu if your
submission has been less than total, if you spare any part of your
life from His service, your claim to be Muslims which implies that you
have wholly given up yourselves to Allaah Almighty, will be a
deceptive claim. Although you may be able to mislead the world and
persuade the Muslim society to grant you its membership and all the
rights of Muslims, Allaah The All-Knowing cannot be deceived into
assigning a place for you among His faithful.
Reflect on the differences between legal Islam and true Islam and you
can see that their consequences will vary greatly, not only in the
Hereafter but also in this world; the life pursuits, character and
disposition of a true Muslim will be totally different from one who
merely parades the outward trappings of faith. You will always
encounter these two types of Muslims.