"Why Are You Muslim?" – Part I

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, sayyidinā Muḥammadini bni ‘Abdi llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh. Ammā ba‘d:

"Why are you Muslim?"

It is very important, especially in our day and age, that we be able to confidently answer this question. Answers such as "I was just born into a Muslim family", "It makes me feel good", "Well, that's what I grew up with", and the like don't quite cut it. Faith based on blind-following, emotions and feelings can very shaky. We're not saying that feeling good about the religion is blameworthy, or that following what your parents taught you about Islam is all bad. The problem arises when these become the main/only reasons as to why you are a Muslim, i.e. if you're Muslim just because of these reasons.

What is needed is an intellectually satisfying answer to this question. The answer has to make sense to the mind. It's got to be rational and logical, not merely emotional. Emotions fickle and fluctuate – one day, you might be feeling all happy and gleeful about God and religion; next day, you could be in a crisis of faith, doubting God and having hostile feelings about religion. Hence, emotions cannot serve as a solid foundation for faith – that would be like constructing a building on the edge of the sea, with all those tidal waves constantly hitting at its foundations. Rather, the foundation for faith must be intellectual and rational, because once you're rationally convinced of an idea – once you're sure that an idea just makes so much sense that following any other alternative would be an insult to your intelligence – no one can shake you away from it.

Now, the question of "Why are you Muslim?" can be split into two main parts:

1) Proof that God exists.
2) Proof of the messengership of Muḥammad (ﷺ) and how the Qur’ān is the Word of God.

In shā’ Allāh, this post will address the first part. The second part will be addressed in an upcoming post, in shā’ Allāh.

Displeasure with the Divine Decree

Displeasure with the divine decree occurs when one resists

God, the Majestic and Exalted, in what He has decreed.

For instance, saying, “I did not warrant this happening to

me!” or “What did I do to deserve this suffering?”

Discussion

The Imam speaks next of “displeasure with the divine decree,” a phenomenon that should ring familiar. How many times have we heard a person bemoan, “I do not deserve this!” or “Why me?” or utter such similar statements? Many people live with rancor in their hearts because of what they have been dealt with in life. This attitude toward trials stems from a denial of God’s omnipotence and that God alone decrees all things. We cannot choose what befalls us, but we can choose our responses to the trials of life, which are inevitable. His decree is but a command from Him: “‘Be’ and it is!” as is repeated in the Qur’an (2:117, 3:47, 6:73, 16:40, 19:35, 36:82, 40:68). Imam Abū Ḥasan said that there is a quality in people that most are unaware of, yet it consumes good deeds: displeasure with God’s divine decree (qadar).
     God-conscious people, when asked about what their Lord has given them, say that all of it is good. They say this out of knowledge of the nature of this world, as a temporary crucible of trial and purification. Because of this elevated understanding, they are patient with afflictions and trials. For worldly people, there is only this world, and this understanding creates a blind spot to the wondrousness of God’s creation and His signs strewn throughout.
     There are only four possible states in which the human being can live, according to revealed sources. A person is either receiving blessings (niʿmah) or tribulations (balā’) from God; or is either living in obedience (ṭāʿah) to God or in disobedience (maʿṣiyyah). Each condition invites a response. When God bestows blessings, the response should be gratitude in all of its manifestations. According to sacred law, gratitude is expressed first by performing what is obligatory (wājib), and then going beyond that by performing virtuous, recommended (mandūb) acts. Gratitude is an awakening of appreciation in one’s heart and an acknowledgement of what one has received. Abusing one’s material assets (hoarding them without consideration of the needy or applying them toward forbidden matters) is a flagrant act of ingratitude.
     The response to tribulation is patience (ṣabr), as well as steadfastness and resolve. This is what God demands from people in times of trial—“a beautiful patience,” as close as possible to the what Jacob (may peace be upon him) exhibited in response to the disappearance of his beloved son Joseph (may peace be upon him) and the machinations of his other sons (qur’an , 12:18), or to the patience of Job (may peace be upon him) during his afflictions.
     As for obedience, one must recognize that obedience is a blessing from God. If a religious person starts to believe that he is better than other people—even if these “other” people are in the state of disobedience—he invites haughtiness. This is the danger of obedience and, in fact, the danger of religion: self-righteousness. Imam Ibn ʿAṭā’allāh said, “How many a wrong action that leads to a sense of shame and impoverishment before God is better than obedience that leads to sense of pride and arrogance!” In this is the secret of wrong actions. The New Testament relates the story of the pride of the righteous Pharisee and the contrition of the humble tax collector. Jesus (may peace be upon him) remarks, “Those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.” Sīdī Aḥmad Zarrūq said that the goodness in obedience is in its essence, and the evil in obedience is what it can result in. This does not mean that there is evil in obedience and goodness in disobedience. Rather, Sīdī Aḥmad Zarrūq points out the danger of obedience creating vanity in one’s heart, an aura of sanctimony and condescension. On the other hand, when one indulges in wrongdoing and is overcome with feelings of shame, this can inspire him to hasten to repentance. The Prophet ﷺ said that he feared for his people the vanity of self-righteousness.
     The Prophet ﷺ also said that whoever has a mustard seed of arrogance in his heart will not enter Heaven; this sentiment is shared with Christianity. What God asks from obedient people is simply acknowledging that their obedience is a gift from God. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not find fault in others. If you find fault in them, God may take their faults away and give them to you.” It is unbecoming for a believer to look with scorn at those in tribulation and exhibit a loathsome disdain toward others who seem misguided. It is far better to come with compassion toward them and gratitude to God. When the Prophet ﷺ saw people severely tried, he made the supplication: “Praise be to [God] who has given me wellbeing such that I was not tried like these people. And He has preferred me over so much of his creation.” When the Prophet ﷺ witnessed people in tribulation, he responded with compassion for them and gratitude for wellbeing.
     When it comes to disobedience (maʿṣiyyah), the correct response is sincerely repenting to God (tawbah); seeking His forgiveness, pardon, and mercy; feeling remorse for past sins; and having the resolve never to sink into disobedience again.
     Everything that can happen to a person falls into one of these four categories, and each invites an appropriate response. What comes to a person in his or her life may help a person move closer to God when the response is right: “It may be that you dislike something, though it is good for you. And it may be that you love something, though it is bad for you. And God knows, and you do not know” (qur’an , 2:216). Ibn ʿAbbās said that if a person is tested with a tribulation, he will find in it three blessings: firstly, the tribulation could have been worse; secondly, it was in worldly matters and not in spiritual ones; and thirdly, it came in the finite world and not the infinite one. All these are reasons to thank God even for tribulations.
     It is important to look at the life of the Prophet ﷺ and to recognize that no one faced greater tribulation. The Prophet ﷺ lived to see all of his children buried, except for Fāṭimah (may God be pleased with her). How many people experience that in their lifetime? Out of six children, he saw five of them perish. His father died before his birth. His mother died when he was just a boy. His guardian grandfather then died. When he received his calling, he saw his people turn against him with vehemence and brutality. People who had once honored him now slandered him, calling him a madman, liar, and sorcerer. They stalked him and threw stones until he bled. They boycotted him and composed stinging invectives against him. He lost his closest friends and relatives, like Ḥamzah (may God be pleased with him). After 25 years of blissful marriage, his beloved wife, Khadījah (may God be pleased with her), died during the Prophet’s most trying times. Abū Ṭālib, his protecting uncle, also died. The Prophet ﷺ was the target of thirteen assassination attempts. How many people have faced all of that? Not once in a single hadith is there a complaint from him— except when beseeching his Lord.
     To be displeased at God’s divine decree is to plunge into heedlessness (ghaflah). In his book al-Furūq, Imam al-Qarāfī distinguishes the difference between a divine decree and being content with the decree itself. Should people be happy with all that comes their way, including the bad things? God has decreed that evil exist in the world in order to test humankind and for reasons that accord with His wisdom. We should not be displeased with His choice in allowing this. But when one sees societies plunged into immorality, it is not something to be pleased with or even to feel indifferent toward. On the contrary, God requires that we dislike it. But never should we resent or be displeased with the fact that God has created a world wherein such things exist, however unpleasant they may be. As Ibn ʿAbbās said, every trial could have been worse, such as if it involved one’s worldly affairs rather than religion, and if it came in this world and not the Hereafter, which lasts forever.
     Imam al-Qarāfī gives the example of a physician who amputates the arm of a patient who had gangrene spreading out of control. One day, the physician overhears the patient complaining that the physician was ignorant for amputating his arm. The physician is offended, for he saved the man’s life. Had the physician heard the patient praising him—despite the fact that he lost an arm and is discomforted by pain—the physician would feel compassion for the man. So if one speaks about God’s decree, saying, “God is testing me, but it is His will and there is wisdom in it,” this differs greatly from the remarks of one who complains about the perceived injustices in the world.

[From the book Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart, pg. 79-83, by Hamza Yusuf]