Islam...What is it? A religion? A
way of life? It’s a word we, as Muslims, take very much for granted. Being
born Muslims in a Muslim country we don’t bother to look beyond the fact
of our being followers of Islam. We assume that just by offering prayers
five times a day, fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, paying Zakah,
performing Hajj or Umrah as the case may be, and, in case
of us females, by keeping our heads covered, we become very good Muslims.
Before I go on, let’s take the word
‘Islam’ and look up it’s meaning. The word ‘Islam’ means ‘submission to
the will of Allah’. As a proper noun, Islam is the religion revealed through
the Prophet Muhammad (sws). I would say that when we declare ourselves
as Muslims, we recognise Allah as the All-Powerful – the only One who is
worthy of our obedience and worship. The effect of this recognition on
our conduct and mental attitude is where the significance of Islam in our
lives lies. Islam gives us the message of love, peace and tolerance. It
is only through a particular system of faith and worship that we can come
to understand our religion.
When I was leaving school, as is the
common custom, I took autographs from my friends and teachers. We were
quite a mature bunch I must say because I got a wonderful collection of
quotations as a result, (not the usual trash exchanged on such occasions)
which I still treasure. What my Islamic Studies teacher wrote for me has
remained stuck in my mind like anything. I’ve often pondered over it and
very frankly it was only recently that I came to understand the significance
of it. It read: ‘Religion is behaviour and not mere belief.’ It is through
our behaviour in little everyday matters that we can declare ourselves
to be Muslims. Just having said the Kalimah, rolling the beads of the Tasbih
or banging our heads on the floor in prostration does not signify anything.
We ought to know what we’re doing and why.
I’ll take the case of the Salah,
our ritual daily prayer, to explain why I believe in the statement quoted
above. Most of us try our level best to offer our prayers five times a
day, and no doubt develop a very bloated opinion of ourselves as a result.
During our conversations, we make a point of mentioning just how regular
we are in the prayer and we want to be told in our face just how great
we are. The only logic we can present for all our zealous efforts is the
great stress that has been laid on the importance of establishing the prayer
in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. Of course there’s absolutely
nothing wrong with that, but have we ever paused to ponder on the reason
so much stress has been laid on the prayer by the Almighty.
Have we ever thought that Allah doesn’t
need our prayers? Why then is so much importance given to them? Our five
or more prayers, as the case may be do not add to any dimension to Him.
He is the Almighty. He needs nothing from us. It is He who sustains and
provides for us. Through the system of regular prayers, Allah just wants
to teach us a little something. We all have very busy lives, whether inside
the house or out. There are a dozen and one things that constantly have
to be done. In the midst of all this activity, when we take out a couple
of minutes to remember our Lord and our Benefactor, we are exerting a little
bit of self-control. The more we discipline ourselves to take time out
for our prayers, the more self-control we learn. The spirit of Islam lies
in the control of our Nafs (soul). That is the spirit of the prayer
-- to teach us the self-control needed in our day to day dealings. If despite
being regular in praying, we don’t develop the tolerance and humility taught
by our religion, then dare we call ourselves good Muslims?
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