I was asked this the other day. My immediate response was no. The person then asked why I thought that, so I gave him some reasons that I felt were valid. He then proclaimed that I cannot be deemed as a bad muslim because of what I stated. He insisted I was a good muslim.
Another time I was talking to someone and he asked me, “Are you muslim?” I said I am. He then proceeded to ask what I do that makes me think I am muslim, so I told him a few things, and then he asked me about the things I neglect. After speaking to him, he insinuated that I am not a muslim. Of course I did not take that very well.
Anyway, I dont really know what makes a person a good muslim. I asked my brother a long time ago if he thought he was a good muslim, and he said yes. Now when I ask him about back then, he will say no he wasnt a good muslim back then.
What makes a good muslim? Do you feel you are a good muslim? Is there such a thing as good or bad muslim? I’d like honest opinions and those not involving political correctness. Thanks.
for one to be a good muslim in my humble opinion, you must obey allah eizo wajal, have love for hazrat mohammed-e-mustapha :saw: and respect for them, be able to pray namaaz regularly, don’t do shirk, bohtaan lagana, gandi baatein, have nice khiyalat, have a soild knowledge of islam so one can deal with ?'s on islam when ther r put forward, one must respect his elders have affection for kids and the weak, follow the 5 pillars of islam, and list goes on and on…
me personally i am a bad muslim, for arguments sake i don’t do all of the above but i also feel that;
** there aren’t many good muslims left in this world,**
hmmmmmm i am not certain if i will articulate this in an honest manner. i’ll try.
i feel, and i stress the “i” part in the beginning of that sentence… that there’s a certain place i have yet to reach, from the perspective of my religion. i haven’t reached that place yet. It’s not just the 5 daily prayers, although that constitutes one aspect of it. It’s not just about not backbiting (which Alhamdulillah i don’t do), entering a washroom with your left foot, keeping your rozas, attending Jumah prayers, etc. It’s something that constitutes ALL of that plus more - i am not certain how to describe it.
Yesterday, as i was coming back from uni and walking towards home, i saw the most amazing colours in the sky… it was around sunset time, the sun sets at a northerly angle behind our house. It was like an artist had taken the most gorgeous colours in his/her palette and painted the most beautiful combination of pink/red/orange/yellow/blue on a canvas. i’ve seen sunsets a billion times before like everyone else i dunno why, yesterday that one just took my breath away, literally… Instantly reminded me of how Allah works in ways i just don’t comprehend right now. There’s a point at which i want to be able to say that, spiritually, everything i do/believe/see is an act of ibadat, that i remember Allah in everything i do, every step i take… hence that would keep me from committing sins. Right now, i cannot say that my remembrance of Him is constant. Maybe that’s why i KNOW i am not a good Muslim.
See - i told ya i wouldn’t be able to explain it well enough :o
IMO u can either be a Muslim or not.. which means u can either submit to Allah or refuse to do so.. there cannot be a 'good' or 'bad' qualification.
What Anwar quoted is for the Believers. To be a Muslim you have to:
Pronounce Monotheism
Do Good Deeds
[4:125] And who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah? And he is the doer of good (to others) and follows the faith of Ibrahim, the upright one, and Allah took Ibrahim as a friend
[41:33] And who speaks better than he who calls to Allah while he himself does good, and says: I am surely of those who submit?
In reality, that is the most absurd question to ask anyone…It is impossible to say and judge as Allah :swt: is the one and only criteria for it…
Today I might be praying and being the perfect Muslim, but my wrong intentions might even chuck me out of the fold of Islam, while a Kaffir who has done every sin, tomorrow might become a Muslim and be admitted to Paradise…
This is an impossible question to ask and an even impossible question to answer…
But it is our right and duty to expect the best that Allah :swt: has to offer, both in forgiveness and Aakhira if we hold firmly to the rope of Allah :swt: and follow what He commands us to do…
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT: *
Is there a single person here who would actually claim to be a good Muslim, when the only judge of that is Allah SWT?
[/QUOTE]
You will be very surprised in that case, as to how many people will say they are good muslims.
I dont,know …may be i am not,…practising.islam is like going through a narrow tunnel towards a big valley …each step gives u a better look of the valley..how big it is…so with each step u see that valley is bigger then what u thought it was before…same is the case with eeman…take for example what nadia said ..otherthen practising all the apprent ibadaat she still consider herself not a good muslim …this is the quality of good iman …never think that u have done some great deed…only Allah taala knows whether ur deed is worth or not…
considering ur self good muslim promotes kibar in u …which is one of the most lethal disease of our soul…
Islam is a practical religion....
its meant to produce good followers....
its not just a fancy 'too good to be true' sort of thing that its so hard for ppl to believe there r infact good muslims....
Being humble is a good but I think the question should be
’ if one is a practacing muslim or not’ ?
Or otherwise you may be using the term good muslim to good human interchangably.
Then most will say that they are practicing muslims. Then if you are a prctacing muslim and you think that you are a bad muslim. Then what will you call those who are only Naam ke musalman
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT: *
Is there a single person here who would actually claim to be a good Muslim, when the only judge of that is Allah SWT?
[/QUOTE]
confused Then why do people, frequently on this very forum, claim that others are "bad" Muslims when the only Judge of that can be Allah ?
I think we keep on hearing from everyone that oh u dont do this right, u dont do that right, u are not a proper muslim..
so lemme put a shocker statement here,
I am a good muslim.
I try to do my best even though my best could improve,
I have not always done the right things and i dont always make the right choices,
but I try, and i try to not repeat mistakes or errors in judgement i may have made.
I try to avoid things that are disallowed,
even if i struggle to keep up with things that I am supposed to do.
I may be negligible in my duties,
but i strive to do better.
I am not a perfect muslim, I know I can siginificantly improve upon every single aspect of my life as a muslim.
I am not some model muslim.. far from it, but i think I am a good muslim. I am not a bad muslim.
go ahead, you can call me a bad muslim for thinking that i am a good muslim :)
I dont know whether what i do is enough to land me in heaven
..I dont think I will know until judgement day whether how i led my life was good enough.. or whether i was good enough as a muslim..but I try..I may be bad in some aspects good in some..but overall I am not a bad muslim, which means even if I am not a good muslim, I am an okay muslim..
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT: *
Is there a single person here who would actually claim to be a good Muslim, when the only judge of that is Allah SWT?
[/QUOTE]
Agreed,... but This question one should ask him/herself often, for me, by doing so, it is a way off keeping myself in check.
i dunno why, yesterday that one just took my breath away, literally… Instantly reminded me of how Allah works in ways i just don’t comprehend right now. There’s a point at which i want to be able to say that, spiritually, everything i do/believe/see is an act of ibadat, that i remember Allah in everything i do, every step i take… hence that would keep me from committing sins. Right now, i cannot say that my remembrance of Him is constant. Maybe that’s why i KNOW i am not a good Muslim.
