The Plight of the Hypocrites
The term "non-Practising Muslim" is very often used by ignorant people
who have not grasped true faith as described in the Qur'an. Those who
consider themselves "practising" freely use the term as well as the
group being referred to by the term i.e. "I am a non-practising Muslim",
"he is a practising brother". The
term "non-practising Muslim" is used to describe a group of large number of people who have an
Arabic name and have parents who are considered Muslim, but openly do
not lead a life endorsed by Allah's religion.
These people lead a life, not guided by Allah and His Book, but by their
own whims and desires. They indulge in all forms of deeds without
observing any of Allah's limits, purely to satisfy their own self. They
never think of Allah or the existence of the Hereafter. None of their
deeds are done with the intention of gaining the Paradise of Allah in
the Hereafter. In short, they prefer the life of this world over the
Hereafter. However, when asked about their religion, they would reply
that they are Muslims, without much hesitation. Though deep inside they
are very much aware of their irreligious state, they like to think of
themselves as modern Muslims by not getting involved with religion in
any serious way. Due to this, they are really unaware of Allah who
created them. If they were truly Muslim as they claim, they would have
always been mindful of Allah, doing good and obeyed all the Quranic
commandments.
Though the true religion has suffered from many of its so-called
followers portraying it as a backward way of life, this is not the
reason why these people do not adhere to the religion of Allah. As
stated before, they lead their life in that heedless way because they
want to only satisfy whatever their inner-selves desires, and whatever the
Satan whispers to them. They are not interested in the thought of
worshipping Allah or doing what is good for their Hereafter.
It took the whole Qur'an, consisting of some several thousand verses to
explain the characteristic of the true Muslim. Anyone who does not fit
with Allah's strict definition of who a Muslim is cannot be a Muslim in
Allah's sight. Allah has defined the word 'Muslim' in the Qur'an.
Briefly, it is a reference for the sincere believers who work for the
Hereafter by doing good and avoiding evil for Allah's sake alone. Even
etymologically, the word it self means a person who submits. In the
Qur'an, the Muslim is someone who submits to Allah and His commands
stated in the Qur'an. Muslims have other attributes in the Qur'an, for
example, ‘Righteous Ones’ and ‘The Good-doers’ among many more. That is
why there can be no such person as a "non-practising Muslim" as the term
is a contradiction in it self. The term "practising Muslim" is also
inappropriate as the "Muslim" is always "practising". However, the
use of the word
"practising" may indicate that the people who use the word consider
religion to be mere rituals and a set of do's and dont's rather
than religion being about sincerely believing in Allah and striving to
draw nearer to Him.
The "non-practising" people we
have discussed, are actually not an undefined group of people in the
Qur'an. In the Qur'an, they have been identified in Surah Al-Bakarah
which reads:
"There are some people who say, 'we believe in Allah and the Last
Day', when they really do not believe. They seek to deceive Allah and
those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, though they are not
aware of it." (Qur'an 2:8-9)
They also do not lead a psychologically happy life either; the Qur'an
states that only in the remembrance of Allah does the heart find peace
and satisfaction.
“Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance
of Allah, only in the remembrance of Allah does the heart find peace.”
(Qur’an 13:28)
Only those who love and fear Allah will receive the gift of true peace
and contentment. Yet they try even harder with gaining more wealth,
children and friends to gain peace and satisfaction which cannot be
achieved this way, all while they deceive themselves to be Muslims
just as stated in the Verse. There are also so-called Muslims in the
majority, who perform outward rituals of worship and put on a certain
mannerism and dress-code which they think is religious, yet do not grasp the existence of Allah in His
true measure. This group of people certainly consider themselves very
religious, since they are performing the rituals and wearing the right
clothes, but because they have not taken the Qur'an as a guide but
simply follow the majority, they do not have true faith in Allah and the
Last Day.
The Qur'an states in Surah An-Nur,
that attempts to find happiness of so-called
"non-practising Muslims" as well as all self-proclaimed disbelievers are like a person chasing a mirage for water in a desert. When
he thinks he has reached water, he finds nothing there, only Allah, who
repays Him for His disbelieving way of life with the punishment of Hell.
"But the deeds of those who disbelieve are like a mirage in a desert:
the thirsty person thinks there will be water but, when he gets there,
he finds only Allah, who pays him his account in full - Allah is swift
in reckoning." (Qur'an 24:39)
Surah Al-Bakarah mentions
that there are people who deceive themselves into thinking
they are people who submit to Allah when they really do not believe in
Allah and the Last Day without harbouring doubts. It also includes all those who assume they are
religious because they perform outward acts of worship but have no deep
fear of Allah nor any of the supreme wisdom from the Qur’an. These are
also deceiving themselves into being "Muslims". This is because they do not have the
necessary state of mind of a believer. They are incapable of grasping
true faith and way of conduct due to their distancing themselves from
the Qur'an - the only Book which explains true faith to the
believers.
Such people can often boast a high level of technical so-called Islamic
knowledge, which are never based on the Qur'an anyway and often
contradicts it.
The true believer treads the path of righteousness cautiously in his
words and deeds. Allah has reserved a special term in the Qur’an only
for hypocrites – “those with a disease in their hearts”, and He
warns the true believers not to fall into the ways of these people:
"The hypocrites, those who have a disease in their hearts said: "These people have been deceived by their religion." But whoever puts his trust in Allah, then Allah is Noble, Wise." (Qur'an 8:49)
All people striving to be believers must make sure they do not develop this disease in their hearts while not obeying those with it. The true believer can identify these sorts. Salah and fasting are not enough to prove that a person is a real believer. Only when one's speech and deeds consistently match the upright model of a believer described in the Qur'an can one be considered a believer:
"Do those with a
disease in their hearts assume that Allah will not expose their
malice? We could even point them out to you if We wished, and then you
could identify them by their marks, but you will know them anyway by the
tone of their speech. Allah knows everything you (people) do." (Qur'an
47:29-30)
On the Day of Judgment, Allah will judge in His supreme wisdom all sorts
of people. For us to know which group on earth will emerge victorious in
the Hereafter and be rewarded with the eternal Garden, we have to turn
to the Qur’an – the only Criterion from Allah to mankind. Allah
states:
“[We said to Adam and his wife], ‘Get out, all of you! But when
guidance comes from Me as it certainly will [on earth], there will be no
fear for those who follow My guidance nor will they grieve – those who
disbelieve and deny our Revelations shall be inhabitants of the Fire,
and there they will remain.’ “ (Qur’an 2:38-39)
Let us ask ourselves, what sort of a person are we in the sight of
Allah? Are you the kind of sincere believer who is knowledgeable of the
Qur'an and works only for the sake of Allah in every moment of your
life? Does every single word and deed of yours bear the motive of
earning the paradise of Allah and to comply with the values of the
Qur’an? Do you know what the Qur’an says? Have you read the Qur'an?
These are very important questions as only the true believers will enter
the ever-lasting Gardens of Allah - those who are truly worthy of
Paradise, the sincere believers in Allah and the Last Day who adhere to
the morality of the Qur’an.
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See also: The Mix of Disbelieving People
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