Five frequently made statements

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Merciful

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the following five statements that are frequently made by Muslim community leaders and Imams:

Muslims are in a sad state of affairs because they are not following the Quran and Sunnah
The problem of poverty in Muslim countries will go away if everyone paid his/her share of Zakat.
No matter how good a person you are, you will not go to Paradise if you do not have true Iman (Faith)
We should think more about Akhira (life after death) than about Dunya (this life).
Anything you do, should be done to please Allah (SWT).

Two aspects of these statements are worth noting. Firstly, these statements have a historical sacredness attached to them and most Muslims accept them as a matter of faith. Secondly, each statement is expressed in very general terms. As someone has said, the devil is in the details. As such, we will delve into these statements one by one in some detail.

1. Muslims are in a sad state of affairs because they are not following the Quran and Sunnah.

Two questions immediately arise. First; what is it really that the Muslims are not doing in accordance with Quran and Sunnah? And second; How is it that those nations which are not Muslim (and consequently must not be following the Quran and Sunnah) are economically, scientifically, and militarily very advanced and are thrusting their will on Muslim countries?

A clue to this dilemma can perhaps be found in the poems and writings of Mohammed Iqbal, philosopher and poet from the Indian Sub-Continent. For example, in his "Jawab-e-Shikwa" (Answer to the Complaint), Iqbal points out that even a non-Believer, if he follows the Islamic approach to life, is rewarded by God. In a letter to one of his friends, Iqbal writes: Western nations are advanced because of their action oriented approach to life (Quwwat-e-Amal) and their zeal to conquer nature.

The Islamic approach to life, according to Iqbal, is pursuing knowledge, building character and having a will and determination to accomplish things in life, not merely following the rituals in their minute details. This, then, seems to be the real failing in the Muslim Ummah. Therefore, a proper interpretation of the above-noted statement would be that the Muslims should develop a strong will to advance in the quest for knowledge and a sincere desire for the spirit of inquiry, build strong national character, and become united in the affairs affecting major problems. Minor differences in rituals and outwardly requirements should be left to individuals.

2. The problem of poverty in Muslim countries will go away if every one paid his/her share of Zakat

The amount of Zakat basically is 2.5% of savings. In most of the Muslim countries, 85%-90% of people are very poor who have hardly any savings. So, their Zakat amount can be assumed to be zero. About 15% of the population could be regarded as middle class and 1%-2% could be considered wealthy. Now, a few simple calculations will show that even if the 2% affluent people and the 15% middle class groups paid their Zakat fully, the amount so collected may appear to be large, but if distributed among the 85% poor people, it will turn out to be very small on a per capita basis, hardly making any difference in the overall poverty level of the poor people. It will, of course benefit a few people but the statement that "The problem of poverty will go away" will be proven overly optimistic and simplistic.

The fact of the matter is that a nation's economic well-being is primarily dependent on its productive capacity and an equitable distribution of wealth.. If a nation's production and distribution of wealth is such that ,say, 85% of its people are reasonably well off, 5-10% are rich and less than 5% people are poor, then the 2.5% Zakat from the upper and middle classes will surely make a significant difference in poor people's lives. This is roughly the case in the industrially advanced countries. Zakat has its place in an individual's life but it cannot substitute the basic need for higher productivity among the Muslim Ummah.

3. No matter how good a person you are you will not go to Paradise if you do not have true Iman (Faith)

The general understanding of this statement is that all Muslims, by virtue of the fact that they believe in one God and Prophet Muhammad being His last prophet, are assured a place in paradise after being punished for their sins. On the other hand, all other people, who do not believe in the basic faith of Islam, will forever be condemned to Hell after being rewarded for their good deeds.

Now, there are billions of non-Muslims. In fact, 80% of the world population is not Muslim, primarily because they happened to be born in other faiths and are sincere followers of their faiths. Most of them are wonderful human beings living a virtuous life. For Muslims to claim that all of them are condemned to hell because they have not recited the Kalima, seems very severe and smacks of arrogance.

An appropriate approach to this issue would be to believe that the decision as to who will go to Paradise and who will not is something only Allah knows. He is just and His mercy is boundless. He is the one who will judge who has the true faith and who does not and He is the one who will judge the acts of each one of us and will decide our fate. We mortal human beings cannot and should not play God.

4. We should think more about Akhira (Life after death) than about Dunya (worldly life)

Every serious minded person fully realizes that death is inevitable and that one should not get carried away in the pursuit of pleasures and luxuries in this life. However, the way our religious leaders talk about this issue gives the impression that achieving modern scientific knowledge, getting ahead in one's profession, and living a prosperous life etc. are all worldly things whereas praying, fasting, observing Ittekaf, participating in Milad, and listening to religious scholars etc. are the things that will earn you a good life in Akhira. This is a very narrow and inward looking interpretation of the teachings of Islam. Instead, Muslims should be told to regard this life as a great gift of Allah which must be spent actively and purposefully. It should be lived with the goal of acquiring greater knowledge, contributing your skills for the betterment of fellow human beings and struggling to create a better society - a society where justice and peace prevail. It is this positive and zealous approach to life that will earn you plentiful blessings of Allah and a high place in Paradise in the Hereafter.

5. Anything you do, should be done to please Allah

It goes without saying that as Muslims we should make every effort to follow the commandments of Allah given in the Holy Quran and exemplified by our beloved Prophet Muhammad . Ideally, these commandments should be so ingrained in our lives that there should be no requirement for us to constantly qualify our actions by saying that we are doing them to please Allah . This motivational statement is appropriate and perhaps necessary in our childhood when we are in our formative stage, but not when we have matured and become adults. As adults, all our acts of worship, charity, community service, professional development, good inter-personal relationships and fulfillment of our obligations, etc. should become an integral part of our personality and should be done without any need of reminding ourselves that we have to do these things to please Allah. The true motivation for doing something good should be a genuine conviction that this is the right thing to do. When we have developed this kind of inner belief, we have achieved a very high level of Iman (faith).

Dr. Waheed Siddiqee is Chairman, Interfaith Committee, United Muslims of America