The Muslim community is based on sincerity, purity of human feelings and fulfillment of rights and needs to every member.
The Muslim has a mission in life. Within the community he calls the people to Islam with good preaching and the best character. He teaches from what he learns and deals with those whom he comes in contact with based on Islamic values and morals. All this is done seeking the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted, while striving to attain the reward of His Paradise.
Wherever the Muslim is, he should be a beacon of guidance and a positive source of correction and education, through both his words and deeds.
The true Muslim has a refined social personality of the highest degree, which qualifies him to undertake his duty of calling others to Islam. He demonstrates the true values of his religion and the practical application of those values by attaining beautiful Islamic attributes. His distinct social character represents a huge store of Islamic values, which can be seen by the way in which he interacts with the people around him.
The Muslim, as Islam meant him to be, is a unique and remarkable person in his attitude, conduct and relationships with others at all levels. He treats them well by being friendly with them, humble, gentle of speech and avoiding offence. He likes others and is liked by them. He tries to follow the example of the Prophet as he was the best of people in his attitude towards others. He said: “Nothing will weigh more heavily in the Balance of the believing slave on the Day of Resurrection than a good attitude towards others.” [At-Tirmithi]
Because Islam is based on truthfulness, the Muslim is always truthful with all people. Truthfulness leads to goodness and goodness leads to Paradise. Therefore the Muslim strives to be true in all his words and deeds.
The Muslim never gives false statements, because this attitude is forbidden in the Quran. Allah, the Most Glorified, Says (what means): “…And shun the word that is false.” [Quran 22: 30]
The Muslim seeks to offer sincere advice to everyone he comes in contact with. It’s not just the matter of volunteering to do good out of generosity; it is a duty enjoined by Islam. The Prophet said “(The essence of) Religion is (offering sincere) advice.” [Muslim]
By the favor of Allah, the Muslim is a guide for others to righteous deeds, whether by his actions or words. He never cheats, deceives or stabs in the back. These shameful acts are beneath him, as they contradict the values of truthfulness. The Prophet said: “…whoever cheats is not one of us.” [Muslim]
When the Muslim promises something, he means to keep his promise. This attitude stems naturally from truthfulness, and indicates the high level of civility attained by the one who exhibits it. Allah Says (what means): “And fulfill every engagement, for [every] engagement will be enquired into [on the Day of Reckoning].” [Quran 17: 34]
One of the worst characteristics that Islam abhors is hypocrisy, therefore the Muslim can never be a hypocrite; he is frank and open in his words and opinions. The Prophet said: “One of the worst people is a double-faced man, who comes to one group with one face and to another group with a totally different face.” [Al-Bukhari]
Islam does not approve of begging. It makes it a sin that a person should beg when he has enough to satisfy his immediate needs. Therefore, the Muslim does not beg. If he is faced with difficulty and poverty, he seeks refuge in patience, whilst doubling his effort to find a way out. The Prophet said: “Whoever refrains from asking from people, Allah will help him…” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
A sign of one's excellence in Islam, is his ignoring what does not concern him. The Muslim should only participate in what concerns him, such as anything that is his property, right, obligation or under his control. To be concerned with something entails preserving and taking care of this thing that one is allowed to be concerned with. The Prophet said: “A sign of a person’s being a good Muslim is that he should leave alone that which does not concern him.” [At-Tirmithi]
The Muslim never searches for people’s faults or slander their honor. He doesn’t slip into the error of pride, boasting and showing off. He judges fairly, is never unjust (even to those whom he does not like) or biased by his own whims, and avoids suspicion. He does not rejoice in the misfortunes of anyone. He carefully avoids uttering any word of slander, cursing, malicious gossip and foul language.
He does not make fun of people but is gentle, kind, compassionate and merciful, strives for people’s benefit and seeks to protect and help them.
One of the virtues of such a great value and importance that Islam, not only recommends, but also orders Muslims to characterize themselves with, is generosity. Therefore, the Muslim is generous and gives freely without waste to those who are in need. When he gives, he does not remind people of his generosity. He is patient, tries hard to control his anger and is forgiving. He does not bear grudges or resentments, and is easy on people, not hard.
One of the worst diseases of the heart is envy, which leads to foul conduct and bad behavior. Therefore the Muslim is not envious, because he knows that the pleasures of this life are as nothing in comparison to the reward that Allah has prepared for the believers, and that whatever happens in life happens according to the decree of Allah.
The Muslim, who truly understands the teachings of his religion, is gentle, friendly, cheerful and warm. He mixes with people and gets along with them. He is humble and modest; and does not look down at other people. He is lighthearted and has a sense of humor and does not disdain others. His jokes are distinguished by their legitimate Islamic nature. He is keen to bring happiness to people. It is an effective means of conveying the message of truth to them, and exposing them to its moral values, because people only listen to those whom they like, trust and accept.
The Muslim keeps secrets; keeping secrets is a sign of maturity, moral strength, wisdom and balanced personality. He is concerned about the affairs of people in general. He is happy to welcome his guests and hastens to honor them.
The Prophet said: “Every religion has a (distinct) characteristic and the characteristic of Islam is modesty.” [Ibn Majah] The Muslim adheres to the principle of modesty in all things. He does not accept every custom that is widely accepted by others, for there may be customs which go against Islam.
The Muslim does not enter a house other than his own without seeking permission and greeting people. He sits wherever he finds room when he joins a gathering. He avoids whispering and conversing privately when he is in a group of three. He gives due respect to elders and those who deserve to be respected (like scholars etc.).
Allah Almighty Says (what means): "Invite mankind to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." [Quran 16:125] The Muslim is aware of his duty to call others to Islam, and does not spare any effort to do so. He enjoins what is good and forbids what is evil and mixes with righteous people. He visits the sick cheerfully. He attends the funeral of the Muslim and accompanies the body until it is buried.
Sinning may be recognized as a hereditary trait, for who resembles his father and does no evil? But if the father is restored after failing, let the emulation of him be at both poles, of the negative and the positive. Adam was struck with remorse and filled with repentance over his past deeds. Any of his children who follows him as a model of sinning only, and not in repentance, is mistaken.
Dedication to untainted goodness is from the traits of the Angels. Devotion to un-corrected evil is in the nature of devils. But, returning to good and correctness after slipping into evil and fault is human. So, inherent in man's nature is a duality of dis-position, two traits joining in him.
Every human being verifies his relationship with the Angel, Adam or the Devil. By keeping to the definition of man; the repentant proves he is related to Adam and the persisting in iniquity proves his relationship to the Devil. Confirmation of relationship to the Angels, however, by being exclusively dedicated to the good, is beyond the realm of possibility; for evil is firmly kneaded with good in man's nature, and it can only be refined by one of the two fires: the fire of repentance, or the fire of Hell. And it is up to you now to choose the easier fire, and to be prompt in embarking on the lesser discomfort before the choice is with-drawn to give way to the inevitability of either Paradise or Hell.
Since repentance holds such a place within the faith, it must be given the importance it deserves by explaining its true nature, requisites, motivation, manifestation, benefit, the difficulties barring it and the ways that facilitate it.
The nature of repentance
Repentance is a concept consisting of three successive and joined elements: knowledge, remorse and action. Knowledge is first, awareness second and action third. The first necessitates the second, and the second postulates the third.
As for knowledge, it is the realization of the magnitude of the sin's harm and its being a barrier between man and his Lord. If one realizes this with certainty, this realization will stir heartache as a result of the Beloved eluding him—because the heart is pained when it perceives the withdrawal of the Beloved. If the withdrawal occurred through one's own action, he/she is regretful of that alienating behavior. Such grief of the heart over behavior alienating the Beloved is called Regret.
When this anguish becomes overpowering, another inner state is induced, termed vo-lition and aspiration towards new behavior connected with the present, the past, and the future. Its connection with the present consists of the repudiation of the sin with which he was entwined. For the future, it involves the determination to abandon for-ever the sin which causes alienation from the Beloved. With regard to the past, it en-tails correction of what was omitted by doing good and performing the omitted act—if it is liable to such restoration.
Thus, knowledge is prerequisite and is the starting point of these blessings. By this knowledge I mean faith and certitude. To have faith is to accept as true that sins are a deadly poison. Certitude consists of the assurance of the acceptance of this truth, the removal of all doubt about it and finally its mastery over the heart so that whenever the illumination of this faith shines upon the heart it produces the fire of regret. It will, in turn, bring forth anguish as the heart perceives, through this illumi-nation of the light of faith, that it has become veiled from its Beloved. As one who was in darkness and on the verge of ruin, and, with the dispersal of clouds and the rending of a veil, the illumination of the sun shone and radiated upon him, and he saw his Beloved. Then the flames of love burn in his heart and these flames flare up in his will to rise to correct his ways.
Knowledge, regret, and the intent connected with abandonment of sin in the present and future, and correction of the sin perpetrated in the past are three successive con-cepts within this process. The term repentance refers to this totality. Frequently, the term repentance is used for the concept of regret alone, as if making knowledge a precondition, and abandonment a result and later consequence. It is in this sense that the Prophet, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, said as reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him: "Regret is repentance." [Ahmad and Ibn Majah]
The Obligatoriness and Excellence of Repentance
Proofs of the obligatoriness or wujoub of repentance abound in the Quran and the Sunnah. Allah Says (what means): "And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed," [Quran; 24:31] And (what means): "And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) con-version.” [Quran; 25:71] And (what means): "O you who have believed! Repent to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow." [Quran; 66:8] The word 'sincere' in the verse means genuine, faithful and free of blemish. Further, Allah denotes the excellence of repentance by saying (what means): "Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." [Quran; 2:222]
The Prophet said: "He who repents of sin is like one who has never sinned." [Ibn Majah and At-Tabarani] He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sal-lam, also said: "Allah is happier with the repentance of His faithful servant than a man traveling through a desert. He has with him his camel with his food and water. At some point of his journey he halts and goes to sleep. He wakes up and his camel is gone. He starts looking for his camel but the heat and thirst are severe. So he says: "I will go back to my place." He goes back and falls asleep and then lifts his head and his camel is with him with his provisions intact. Allah's joy at the repentance of the faithful servant is more intense than that of the man on account of his camel." [Mus-lim] Some versions of this Hadeeth have it that in his great joy and desire to thank Allah, the man exclaimed addressing Allah: "O Allah! I am your master and You are my servant." And in a Hadeeth narrated by Anas the Prophet said: "Allah Says 'O son of Adam! As long as you invoke Me and plead to Me, I will forgive you whatever you have committed, and I will not make much of it. O son of Adam! If your evil deeds reach the borders of the sky, and then you ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you. O son of Adam! If you bring forth the earth full of errors, then you meet Me while you do not associate any-thing (or anyone) with Me, I will bring forth for you its fill of forgiveness." [At-Tirmithi]
If one understands the meaning of obligatoriness of repentance: that it is the means to eternal bliss in the Hereafter; that achieving nearness to Allah is possible only through detaching one's heart from the vanity of this life, complete responsiveness to Allah, in search of intimacy with Him through constant remembrance and love; and that those enemies of Allah that keep one away from His presence, such as turning from Allah and following the devils' enchantments, distance man from Allah; then there is no doubt that renunciation of the path leading away from Allah is obligatory in order to achieve closeness to Him.
Renunciation, however, is achieved by knowledge, regret, and determination. As long as man does not know that transgressions are the causes for the remoteness of the Beloved, he will neither regret nor grieve over his travel along the devil's path. No doubt, these three elements are necessary in reaching the Beloved.
Among the various aspects of repentance are the abandonment of iniquities in the present; resolve to abstain in the future; correction of previous shortcomings. Of the obligation of these there is no doubt. As for regret and sadness over past offenses, surely this is obligatory. It is the very spirit of repentance which includes full rectifi-cation. It is a sort of pain one feels upon realizing how much of his/her lifetime has passed away and was wasted in sinning.
Promptness is essential in fulfilling the obligation of repentance
One should hasten in performing repentance, since repentance is accepted before one faces death. The Prophet said: "Allah, the Exalted and Ever-High, accepts the repentance from the slave as long as he did not 'Yugharghir' (when his soul reaches his throat at the time of death)." [Muslim] And Allah Says (what means): "And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil until death faces one of them and he says: 'Now I repent.'" [Quran 4:18]
Sins are to faith what toxic foods are to the body. They keep accumulating—inside the body—until the component's elements change, imperceptibly; and until the com-position deteriorates and, suddenly, the man falls ill and dies. So it is with the sin-ner. If a man afraid of ruin in this passing world must, immediately and constantly, abandon toxic substances and harmful foods, so too, and even more so must he who fears eternal perdition.
Hurry, hurry, then, to repent before the toxic sins do their work on the spirit of faith, and the matter transcends physicians and their knowledge. After which seeking shelter will not avail nor will counsel and admonition, and man may be said to be among the damned, as it says in the Quran (what means): "Indeed, We have put shackles on their necks, and they are to their chins, so they are with heads (kept) aloft. And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see." [Quran; 36-8-9]
