"Are you a Muslim?"
Archived under My Writings .
Umm Junayd
Two evenings a week, I teach one group of 9-10 year-old girls and another group of 11-12 year-old girls Islaamic Studies for an hour. Although I like to have a structured lesson whereby I teach them that which I have already planned to teach, we also have the occasional 'chat-time.
During one of our most recent 'chat-time' sessions with my 11-12 year-olds, I asked them: "Are you a Muslim?" Their response was obvious to me and they cried in unison: "Yes". The expressions on their faces were that which told me "What a dumb question!" – My next question then was, "Why?" – Now that got them thinking.
I'm sure that if you did a random survey or a spree of questioning amongst Muslims with these exact questions, you'll most probably receive the response I did: Silence; strange isn't it?
For years we say that we are Muslims, yet sadly there are many of us do not know what a Muslim is, what is required of a Muslim, and what classifies one as being a Muslim. Many people call themselves Muslims, but Islaam does not consider them as Muslims.
We are told many places in the Qur`aan what a Muslim is - a few have been presented below:
"When his Rabb asked him: "Be a Muslim," he answered: "I have become a Muslim to the Rabb of the worlds." [2: 131]
gc So submit yourselves to Him as a Muslimch [22: 34]
gWho is better in speech than the one who calls people towards Allah, does good deeds and says: gI am a Muslim?h [41: 33]
Now, I put the same questions to you: Why are you a Muslim? What makes you want to get out of your warm cosy bed at early hours of the morning to pray Fajr? What makes you want to give up the freedom of eating freely for an entire month? Why is it that you give to others that which you have worked long and hard to earn?
Answers anyone?
Ifll give you my answers:
Ifm a Muslim because I have made a choice to be a Muslim and this choice was made due to a variety of reasons. The principal one being that I was guided to this path through the realisation that I have been blessed with sight, normal physical abilities, food and drink, a fantastic husband and a healthy son, a suitable home and sufficient wealth and an intellect and other blessings that cannot be counted.
My intellect tells me that these blessing were provided by a Higher, Perfect, Powerful and Merciful Being and I choose to submit to Him and thank Him for that which He has given and not given to me.
In accordance to my submission to Him, I also choose to follow the set of laws He has laid down for mankind to follow which include praying, fasting and giving charity.
This is my choice, Allaah is my [and your] Lord and I thank Him for the freedom to be a Muslim.
Your Thoughts
wa 'alaikumus-salaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh
hmm... the difference between a muslim and a believer? Im not entirely sure if there is one. However, this may be a call for me to do research and may be inspiration for a new blog entry. Inshaa`Allaah i'll let you know my findings -- but if you do have an answer of some sort, pls post it here or on Sabeelillaah.
wassalaamu 'alaikum
~ Umm Junayd
As for the different classes of believers then on October the 28th 2004 I posted the following on Sabeelillaah, which can be found at:
http://sabeelillaah.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=727
What I was getting out though is that I thought all of us are Muslims, some of us are mu'min and some mohsin, although we cannot say we are mu'min we can say we are mu'min inshallaah.
The verse I quoted:
The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islam),' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam), He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Al-Hujurat 49:14)
to me seems as though the bedoins accepted Islam so had become Muslim but Allaah is telling them not to say they are believers yet, if that makes sense, and we know faith is also speech and action - maybe I am getting the wrong understanding, I will look into this further too inshallaah ta'ala!
Assalaamu 'alaikum
Yes, i remember reading this before, but i guess it popped out of my head! So there is a difference between a believer and a muslim. The muhsin is the one with ihsaan? Is that correct?
Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahamatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
"Why are you a Muslim?" is an interesting question, and I remember a brother telling me once about a lecture where the speaker walked into the hall which was packed with Muslims and asked this very same question, the question that you asked your students. As you have probably already guessed, he was greeted with the same silence you were. However, the difference here is that those whom he was addressing were in their late teens and above. What a sad state of affairs the Ummah is in.
Allah Subahana Wa Ta'la says (which means):
The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islam),' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam), He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Al-Hujurat 49:14)
Is there a difference between a Muslim and a Believer?
Was-Salaamu Alaikum,
Abu Suhaylah Zakariya.