Tag: mu’mins

  • Muslim vs. Mu’Min

    One thing that always annoys me about these endless debates about sects and madhabs is simply this…how much of what you’re debating has any impact on your Imaan? Given that the majority of Muslims are focused on the rituals of Islam and most don’t understand or appreciate the principles behind it, it’s easy to see why the debates are always around the practises rather than the principles. 

    It’s tiring being a Muslim at times, but forever rewarding to be a Mu’min. There’s too many Muslims and too few Mu’mins. And that’s not just a play on words, because at some point it may be worth noting that Allah refers to the followers as Mu’min in the Qur’an more than ever referring to them as Muslims. There’s wisdom in that. I wish that all our wannabe scholars will apply this at some point so that we stop getting bombarded with these exhausting debates and in fact can start sharing true naseeha about how to deal with life rather than how to interpret history. 

  • On this day of Jumu’ah it will be my second Friday in which I will deliberately avoid attending salaah at my local masjid, and instead, go to another not far from me because it is one of the few mosques in the area that is not embellished with those pagan symbols. I used to be regularly stationed in the first row right in front of the mimbar at Jumu’ah time, and I wonder if my absence will even be noted?

    Wondering about that gives me fleeting feelings of insincerity, which is one of the reasons why I stopped attending the local masjid for salaah. I know that as a matter of principle, I cannot on one hand object to the placement of the pagan symbols on the masjid, and on the other continue to attend salaah with congregation just because I don’t want people in the community to think less of me. I stay four doors away from the masjid, so this is even more difficult than usual. 

    So I’ll carve my niche in the first row of another masjid where I’m not known personally and pray that they don’t also decide at some point to decorate their structure with that vile moon and star combination that has come to represent the ritualistic stupour of Muslims around the world. Even the Haram in Makkah and Madinah is defaced with those symbols without even a peep from the Ummah. 

    Reminds me of the hypocrisy of the masses in the Arab Spring! Chanting Allahu-Akbar with every rocket and every bullet fired, and then demanding a secular government! So let’s bow our heads in prayer when worshiping Allah, raise our hands to recite the takbeer, and then prostrate beneath a dome that is adorned with the symbol of Diana, goddess of the hunt, often accompanied by her fellow kaafir King Richard whose star is also emblazoned across the flags of many a ‘Muslim’ nation. 

    Seems we’re an Ummah of Muslims, but not many Mu’min’s. May Allah save me from complacency and excess in this matter.