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Ideal Muslim Dr. Muhammad ‘Ali Al-Hashimi* The
Muslim as Islâm meant him to be, is a unique and remarkable person in his
attitude and conduct and in his relationships and dealings with others at
all levels. Throughout his long history, man has never been given the
components of a virtuous and integrated personality such as Islâm has
bestowed upon the Muslim through the divine guidance contained in the
Qur’ân and Sunnah. Islâm
does not concentrate on filling men’s minds with philosophical ideas, or
on excessive dream-like spirituality, or on physical training and
perfection, or on self-serving materialistic philosophies such as exist
nowadays in both East and West. Islâm drew up a balanced, integrated
program for man’s development, taking into account his physical,
intellectual and spiritual needs, based on the sound principle that man is
formed of body, mind and soul. The
personality of the Muslim is perfectly integrated and balanced, and no
aspect of it is overtaken by others, as happens in other societies where
man is brought up under imperfect manmade systems which all too often are
governed by selfish desires, reprehensible innovations or deviant ideas.
The Muslim as has been explained in this study, is obedient to Allâh,
follows His guidance, seeks His protection, accepts His decrees and always
seeks to please Him. The
Muslim personality is balanced. He pays due attention to his body’s
needs and his outward appearance, without letting it distract him from
taking care of the inner characteristics, as befits man whom Allâh has
honored, made His angels prostrate to him, and subjugated for his benefit
all that is in heaven and earth. Rather, the Muslim is also concerned with
that which will form sound intellectual development and ways of thinking,
so that he will understand the nature and essence of things. He does not
forget that man is not only composed of a body and a mind, but that he
also possesses a soul and a spirit, and feels a longing for higher things
that makes him rise above this materialistic life and scale the heights of
goodness, virtue and light. Therefore he pays as much attention to his
spiritual development as to his physical and intellectual development, in
a precisely balanced fashion, which does not concentrate on one aspect to
the detriment of others. With
his parents, he is an example of sincere filial piety, good treatment,
infinite compassion, utter politeness and deep gratitude. With
his wife, he is the example of good and kind treatment, intelligent
handling, deep understanding of the nature and psychology of women, and
proper fulfillment of his responsibilities and duties. With
his children, he is a parent who understands his great responsibility
towards them, which is, as well as flooding them with love and compassion,
to pay attention to anything that may influence their Islâmic
development. With
his relatives, he maintains the ties of kinship and knows his duties
toward them. He understands the high status given to relatives in Islâm,
which makes him keep in touch with them no matter what the circumstances. With
his neighbor, the true Muslim is an example of good treatment and
consideration of others’ feelings and sensitivities. He puts up with
mistreatment and turns a blind eye to his neighbor’s faults while taking
care not to commit any such errors himself. He always adopts the Islâmic
attitude whereby treating neighbors well was made a basic principle of Islâm,
so much so that the Prophet thought that Jibrail would make his neighbor
his heir. Therefore he never does anything bad to his neighbor, nor does
he fail in his duty towards him; rather, he does not spare any effort to
do favors for his neighbor, without expecting any favors, reward or thanks
in return. His
relationship with his brothers and friends is the best and purest of
relationships, for it is based on love for the sake of Allâh and this
pure, sincere, brotherly love derives its purity from the guidance of the
Qur’ân and Sunnah. Hence it became a unique network in the history of
human relations. From
these strong bonds and deep love emerged a group of the best attitudes and
characteristics, which make the true Muslim a wonderful example of
humanity, in whom are embodied the values and morals of Islâm. He is
loving, not cold, towards his brothers and friends; he is loyal and does
not betray them; he is sincere and does not cheat them; he is gentle and
never harsh; he is tolerant and forgiving, and does not bear a grudge or
stab in the back; he is generous and prefers others to himself, and he
prays for them in their absence. In
his social relationships with all people, he is well mannered, civil and
noble, characterized by the attitudes that Islâm encourages. These are
not the matter of superficial politeness, which conceals ulterior
intentions, aims and goals. Rather it is the ongoing good behavior which
is taught in the Qur’ân and Sunnah, and which Islâm has made a
religious duty for which man will be brought to account. The
Muslim is truthful and sincere with all people. He does not cheat, deceive
or betray. He does not envy others. He fulfils his promises. He has the
attitude of shyness (modesty). He is tolerant and forgiving. He is
cheerful. He is not pushy. He is patient. He avoids slandering or uttering
obscenities. He does not unjustly accuse others of ‘fisq’ or ‘kufr’.
He is shy and modest. He does not interfere in that which does not concern
him. He refrains from gossiping, spreading slander and stirring up
trouble. He avoids false speech and suspicion. When he is entrusted with a
secret, he keeps it and does not disclose it. He is modest and never
arrogant. He does not make fun of anyone. He respects his elders and those
who are distinguished. He
mixes with the best of people. He is keen to do good to people and protect
them from harm. He strives to reconcile between the Muslims. He calls
others to the way of his ‘Rabb’ with wisdom and beautiful preaching.
He visits the sick and attends funerals. He returns favors and is grateful
for them. He mixes with people and bears their mistreatment with patience.
He tries to make people happy as much as he can. He guides people to do
good. He always likes to make things easy and not to make them hard. He
is fair in his judgements. He does not oppress others or play favorites.
He is not a hypocrite or a sycophant or a show-off. He does not boast
about his deeds and achievements. He is straightforward and is never
devious or twisted, no matter what the circumstances. He loves noble
things and hates foolishness. He does not exaggerate in his speech or puff
up his cheek with pride. He is generous and does not remind others of his
gifts or favors. He is hospitable and does not complain when a guest comes
to him. He prefers others to himself as much as possible. He relieves the
burden of the debtor. He is proud and does not think of begging. He knows
that the upper hand is better than the lower. He gets along with people
and they feel comfortable with him. He measures all of his habits and
customs against Islâmic standards. He follows Islâmic etiquette in
eating, drinking, giving ‘salam’, visiting people, entering their
homes and sitting with them, and in other social activities. This is the
clear, beautiful picture of the Muslim whose personality has been formed
by Islâm and whose heart, mind and soul are filled with its divine light.
For
man to reach this sublime level of noble virtues and morals and to
translate them into a living reality on earth is the greatest achievement
for which systems, laws, philosophies and ideologies may strive. It
surpasses all other scientific and materialistic achievements which are
known in our world today, and which dazzle us with their lights and
colors. Man is the noblest and most precious of creatures, and all of the
past efforts to establish human cultures have been aimed solely at
achieving his happiness and elevating and honoring him. The way to honor
him is by enhancing his humanity. The culture that concerns itself only
with man’s lower desires, without developing and purifying his human
nature and awakening his potential for good, is a culture that is sorely
lacking. It has failed to fulfill the most important condition of human
culture and has neglected the very humanity of man, which is his most
valuable hidden asset. All
of the achievements and inventions of human civilization, such as cannons,
missiles, satellites, transistors, television, video, etc., cannot replace
the human aspect of man and indeed are worthless if they are not used to
enhance his humanity, purify him and make him truly happy: "By
the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it. And its enlightenment
as to its wrong and its right. Truly he succeeds that purifies it. And he
fails that corrupts it!" (Qur’ân
91:7-10) The
development of a society is not measured solely in terms of its scientific
achievements and material inventions. These are a factor, but there is
another, more important, standard by which a society is also measured.
That is the prevalence of human values such as love, empathy, altruism,
sacrifice, uprightness and purity of thought, behavior and dealings with
others. If
individuals are the basis of a society, and the pillars upon which every
social renaissance is built, then rightly-guided societies pay attention
to human development and enhance the positive, constructive aspects while
seeking to eliminate evil, destructive motives, so that the individual
will become a model citizen. It is from groups of such model citizens that
clean, civil, strong, healthy, righteous societies are formed. The
Islâmic society is one which is integrated and of superior quality, and
the Muslim in such a society is of the highest class because of the
teachings of his religion which have instilled in him the highest and
noblest human attitudes, and encouraged him to adhere to them in the field
of social relationships. The
backwardness, division, hatred and cutting off of ties that we see
occurring at all levels —
international, regional and individual — among the Muslims are clear
evidence of how Muslims are ignoring and neglecting the strong bonds of
faith and brotherhood enjoined by Allâh. Hence the misguided ideologies
of jâhiliyyah arose in the Muslim lands, and we have been overwhelmed by
imported foreign principles that have brought poison and disease, and have
made us like debris floating on the floodwaters.
This would not have happened to the Muslims if their genuine Islâmic
identity and the purity of their intellectual and spiritual sources had
been preserved. The
attack against the Muslim world was conducted on two fronts. One was an
assault directed against the Islâmic identity and aimed at distorting the
Islâmic personality. The other was aimed at polluting the intellectual
and spiritual sources, and diverting Muslims towards other, alien,
sources. They managed in many
Muslim lands to distort the Muslim identity and made the Muslims follow
them like sheep in their intellectual matters and the way they behaved and
felt. They deprived the Muslims of the values and morals of their
religion, and took away the divine impetus which had brought them onto the
stage of world history in such a remarkable fashion. Nothing
can restore the health and authenticity of the Muslim identity except a
sincere return to the eternal way of Allâh, and a deep understanding of
the mission with which the Muslim has been entrusted. This will enable the
Muslims to fulfill their duty of conveying this message to mankind, after
they have adopted it for themselves as an ideology and way of life. When
our misguided Ummah, which is lost in the mire of jâhiliyyah,
subordination and tribalism, finally returns to the cool shade of Allâh,
it will once again be the free, strong, integrated, supportive, united
Ummah that will never be defeated. Then it will be the Ummah of faith, and
Allâh has promised in the Qur’ân to support the Ummah of faith:
*Excerpt
from the Conclusion of the Book “The Ideal Muslim: The True Islâmic
Personality of the Muslim as Defined in the Qur’ân and Sunnah” Source: |