:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)
Hi ya! Hope you're doing well.
Yes, a person becomes a Muslim when accepts that there is truth in the words "there is no God but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God." The words are known as
shahada or a testification of faith. It is not necessary for a person to utter the words before any human being as Allah is All-Knowing and God knows our hearts better than we do.
5 pillars of Islam is what all Muslims should strive to follow in their life, but of course, people may fall short due to either valid excuse or sinfulness. For example, if a person is sick and cannot keep fast during
Shahru Ramadan, that person is from the excused. If a person cannot afford to go to Hajj, that person is excused. If a person has trouble due to disability or other excuse praying the act of
salat in the prescribed manner, the person can pray sitting down or if that is difficult then in lying down. If a person does it out of sinfulness, then as long as that person asks forgiveness, then Allah forgives because Allah loves His creation more than anything. The 5 pillars of Islam are meant for us to inculcate values in ourselves that make us the best human being. The evidence for this is the fact that Prophet Muhammad :saws:
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I have been sent to perfect noble character.”
The first thing to understand about
shariah (Islamic law) is that God sent rules and regulations to help us achieve a perfect society without actually expecting us to reach that level of perfection, because our sinful nature as human beings prevents us from reaching that ideal.
Shariah is only part positive statutory law comprising of penalties but mostly comprises of meeting everyday needs of Muslims such as how to pray
salat, how to marry or divorce, how to do business dealings or deal in finances, how to behave if there is mixed gathering, how to understand what is government office and how to do consultation in political affairs, how never to transgress ethics in warfare. That said, s
hariah can never be authoritatively imposed on nonbelievers. Why? Because Islam and Islamic history says nonbelievers get to follow and are permitted to live according to their own faith and convictions. For example, the 5th Caliph was extremely concerned about Zoroastrians in the land of Persians marrying their biological mothers and sisters and the 5th Caliph was disturbed about what to do and so he consulted the famous religious figure Hasan Al-Basri as to what to do and Hasan al-Basri advised him to allow them this practice because their religion allows them to marry in this way and therefore
shariah cannot be imposed on them because their own faith dictates their rules.
Islam came over a period of 23 years and the first 13 years only concentrated on emphasizing the Oneness of God. Only after the pagans had accepted God as being One and as a Supreme Authority over themselves had rules and regulations such as not to drink alcohol, to dress modestly, to do Hajj and other rules come because then the believers had been reciting Revelation with conviction and had by then been prepared to accept that God knows best and could accept to have themselves be regulated by God's rules. Therefore, in my academic understanding, the best way to conceptualize Islamic law is as a linguistic abstraction employed to point towards trying to achieve standing on the Straight Path in a direct line connecting us perpetually to the emanating will of God; it is an ideal that a Muslim should want to achieve without being a judgmental and obnoxious person trying to impose it on others. Because to whom does the rule of God applies first? To ourselves. Therefore, on whom should we focus? Ourselves. God proposes to judge each person on Judgment Day individually and there will be no iniquity because Allah is Just, and therefore every person must seek to develop contentment with and desire to follow divine will. That does not mean that if we see a wrong that we do not advise persons; we do. That said, Muslims have to follow prophetic footsteps in how to correct or advise someone, and that is to do it in private, to do it in a friendly and nonjudgmental and helpful way, because Prophet :saws: (
peace and blessings be upon him) never humiliated any person and gave the utmost honor and respect to every human being.
Your last question is most excellent and very intelligent and it is also that which lays open what is my biggest concern being a Muslim; you see, the thing is that Prophet :saws:
(peace and blessings be upon him) said that the arrogant will never even smell the fragrance of Paradise and Allah has said in the Quran (87:14) "But those will be successful who purify themselves." So, a person can perfectly follow the rules but if the essence of a clean heart is not there which is what following the rules is meant to help fulfill the purpose of the rules, then that person is unsuccessful. My
sheikh (Islamic teacher) (may Allah bless him) said that Nimrod, the enemy of Ibrahim/Abraham
alayhis salaam (peace be upon him) built a tower trying to compete with Allah only once, but due to our egos and pride, we do it over and over again and that is indeed the worst character in human beings. My
sheikh (Islamic teacher) (may Allah bless him) said that we are supposed to learn on earth how to ride our egos so we can reach our open and honorable Heavenly stations, and egos are not somethings which should be comfortable riding us so that we can instead make
shaitaan (satan) happy and walk into God's displeasure.
Also, in Islam, there are two rights, a right that God has upon human beings and that is known as
huqooq-ul-Allah and then there is a right that one human being has on another which is known as
huqooq ul-ibad. Allah has said that Allah may forgive whatever a person has done that is a violation of Allah's right upon that person between that person and Allah. For example, Allah
may forgive a person who never prays, who drinks alcohol, who fornicates, who eats non-
halal. That said, Allah has said that a person who violates the right of another human being
will not be forgiven by Allah until that human being forgives that person. So, for example, if a person backbit or slandered someone or oppressed someone or broke someone's heart or fundamentally broke or violated that person's right, Allah will not forgive that person until that person himself/herself forgives that person.
I'm going to be truthful to you; my concern is that if I ever wronged someone that that person forgives me before I die
InshaAllah (God-willing) because I do not want to be taken to task on Judgment Day before God. Also, my concern is not Hell or Paradise; my concern is only divine will and God's everlasting beautiful pleasure.
Wishing you awesomeness and happiness, sis
format_quote Originally Posted by
LaSorcia
Is is saying and believing, "There is no God but God and Muhammed was His prophet."?
Is it attempting to follow the 5 pillars of Islam in your daily life? (assuming you're Sunni; more if you're not)
Is it trying to follow all of Shariah law?
What if you meet the outward requirements of the law, but have envy or arrogance, etc, in your heart?