Believers as Described in the Qur'an

True believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His revelation, find their faith strengthened, and put all their trust in their Lord (Al-Anfal, 2)

... He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the faith of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this Revelation... (Al-Hajj, 78)

Who speaks better than one who calls men to Allah, does what is right, and says, “I am of those who bow in Islam”? (Fussilat, 33)

Islam has a single principle: worshipping only Allah. In Islam, the realization of this principle in life should be paramount. All other things not based on this principle are not Islam but some form of “religion of ignorance”.

This reality expressed with such brevity, actually has a deeper meaning, much deeper, in fact than many people imagine. This is because the members of the society of ignorance already consider themselves believers and think of themselves as not worshipping anything other than Allah. And because they surely do not worship a statue while they are praying - an act which is usually performed exclusively on Fridays - then they imagine they have the right to think that they are worshipping only Allah.

However, the reality is quite other. This misapprehension arises from the fact that “worshipping” is understood only as prostrating oneself in front of a being that is to be served. This limited meaning of worshipping causes neglect of other religious duties and failure to adopt a Qur’anic morality. However, the real meaning of worshipping should be derived from the Qur’an. In other words, its meaning should be comprehended according to its description in the Qur’an, rather than its wrong portrayal by the society of ignorance.

“I have created Jinn and men, only that they may serve Me.” (Adh-Dhariyat 56)

As the above verse asserts, humans and Jinn are created to “serve Allah”. It is certain that a believer is one who fits this definition. In accordance with his purpose of creation and his nature, a believer serves Allah alone, and, as mentioned in the verse, does nothing but worship Him. If we approach this verse with the understanding of the society of ignorance, should we conclude that a believer must stay in a position of self-prostration until the end of his life? Can this be the case?

Of course not, when we take a close look at the Qur’an, we see that worship of Allah includes all duties and responsibilities commanded in the Qur’an and all activities performed to gain the pleasure of Allah. How to serve Allah and how to worship Him can be understood only by reference to the Qur’an:

“Say: ‘Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are all for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds.’” (Al-Anaam, 162)

As this verse indicates, the principle of worshipping Allah is not confined to praying, but overarches all of life and also death. A Muslim is one who spends all of his life in the way of Allah. As a result of this, he shall earn the good pleasure of Allah, His mercy and everlasting gardens in the hereafter–something that cannot be understood by anyone who is distant from Islam.

On the other hand, leading one’s life to attain ends other than Allah’s favor, is the same as  “ascribing partners to Him”, or in other words, “setting up partners with Him”. These ends might be anything. They might be any desire to have wealth, a career, property, and women and sons, at the cost, as has been indicated in the Qur’an, of losing favor with Allah. When anyone behaves so, giving a higher value to such objectives, in reality, he associates partners with Allah. This is the greatest sin one can commit. Throughout the ages, the prophets have urged people to stop attributing partners to Allah. The only purpose of these people in so doing was to come by different kinds of worldly gains.

Bearing this in mind, one can also see how meaningless is the claim of dialectical materialism, which says that a process of evolution of polytheism to monotheism has taken place down the ages. According to the Qur’an, however, all societies of ignorance, which may exist at any time and at any place, have attributed partners to Allah. Consequently, today, a great part of the world population consists of the followers of some form of polytheistic religion. In this polytheistic world, exclusively, it is the societies of true believers who practice “the religion of worshipping only Allah”.

The only thing a believer must declare is: “Men! If you are in doubt as to my religion, behold!  I do not worship what you worship, other than Allah! I worship Allah - Who will take your souls at the time of your death: I am commanded to be in the ranks of the Believers.’” (Yunus, 104)

Then, how should the believer worship Allah? How should he live his life in Allah’s way? Should he go to spend all his life in a dervish lodge, or in a house of contemplation to undergo severe suffering through staying away from all worldly entities of life, including even those for survival? Or should he adopt a motionless, stable way of life as a withdrawn person? No. He is to live his life according to the model described in the Qur’an, not according to the definition of the religion concocted by the ignorant.

Since he knows that Allah sees him, what other people think about him will trouble him. Since he knows he is not obliged to show himself as a religious person to others, he will not experience the distress of fulfilling the requirements of a false definition of the religious, which is not from the Qur’an.

He lives for Allah only, works only for Him. He misses no opportunity to use his capabilities, including his physical strength, in Allah’s cause. This is not a way which is full of difficulties, or which deprives the individual of all the pleasures of life, contrary to the belief of most people who do not know anything about Islam. Indeed, one who worships Allah is the most independent, the most peaceful, happy and cheerful. Once rid of all the fake deities which enslaved him, such questions as “What do people think about me?”, “What can I do, if that person does not like me?”, “What happens if I get fired?” No longer trouble him. Once rid of all the yokes laid upon him by those incapable, helpless, cruel, unreasonable gods, he can dedicate himself to the only God, the Mighty, the Wise, and the knower of all things, the Compassionate, the Merciful and Powerful Allah. He “has grasped indeed the firmest hand to hold.”

“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clearly from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, one that never breaks. Allah hears and knows all things.” (Al-Baqara, 256)

The Qur’an thus expresses the Prophet’s “freeing people from their chains and yokes”:

“Those who follow the Messenger, the Ummi, whom they find mentioned in their own scriptures,- in the law and the Gospel- he commands them to do what is just and forbids them to do what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good and pure and prohibits what is bad and impure; He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, who will prosper.” (Al-Araf, 157)

Allah defines the believers as follows:

“For Muslim men and women,- for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in Charity, for men and women who fast and deny themselves, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise,- for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (Al-Ahzab, 35)

The Muslim has an intimate and close connection with Allah. Allah is his only comrade, helper and God. The Prophet Abraham’s intimate liaison with Allah is made explicit in the following dialogue with his father and his people:

“He said: ‘Do you then see whom you have been worshipping, You and your fathers before you? For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds, Who created me; it is He Who guides me; Who gives me food and drink, And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me; Who will cause me to die, and then bring me back to life again;
And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the day of Judgment.
O my Lord! Bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous Grant me honorable mention on the tongue of truth among the latest generations. Make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss. Forgive my father, for he is among those astray. Do not disgrace me on the Day when men will be raised up- the Day in which neither wealth nor sons will avail. “(Al-Shuara, 75-88)

The example of the comparison made between the person who feels the comfort of serving Allah only and the person who ascribes partners to God, and therefore serves too many gods, is given in the Qur’an as follows:

“Allah puts forth the parable of a man having many masters who are always at variance with each other and a man belonging entirely to one master: are those two equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! But most of them have no knowledge.” (Az-Zumar, 29)

One of the most important characteristics of a believer is his avoidance of arrogance and haughtiness. A true believer never deifies himself. He knows his weaknesses and asks Allah to forgive him. He knows he needs to seek refuge with Allah in his every act, and in every part of his lifeHe makes the effort to attain the believer model as described in the Qur’an. His humility can be seen in all his activities.

“And the servants of Allah, the Most Gracious, are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, ‘Peace!’” (Al-Furqan, 63)

One of the biggest problems of a disbeliever is his being conceited, and deifying himself. The Qur’an asks us to consider the fate of those who reject the truth because of their conceit, although their souls confirm it:

“And they rejected those Signs in iniquity and arrogance, though their souls were convinced of their truth: so see what the end of those who acted corruptly was.” (Al-Naml, 14)

The believer’s major purpose in life in this world is to struggle for his religion. He will fight against all the obstacles he encounters in Allah’s cause. The biggest obstacle is the greediness and low desires of his soul, in other words his own self (nafs). All through his life, he will oppose his own self whenever it offers alternative which are against Allah’s will. His own self will try to lead him astray turning him away from Allah’s way by the use of countless tricks and obstacles such as fear, hopelessness, and slackness. He will never digress from the right path because this is the path of Allah, his sole guardian, sole protector and sole supporter.

He does not struggle only for himself. He is the caliph of Allah on this earth, and the earth has been entrusted to him. Therefore, he will fight with wisdom against those transgressors who oppress people, tyrannize over them and try to prevent them from treading the path of Allah. In Qur’anic terms, he will bring Allah’s salvation and justice to “those men, women and children who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed.” The people on this earth will receive to Allah’s justice through the efforts of these caliphs.

A believer is one who deals with people justly and leads them to the truth for the pleasure of Allah. This is possible only by disseminating the morality of the Qur’an among people.

“Of those We have created those are some who direct others with truth. And dispense justice therewith.” (Al-Araf, 181)

The Qur’an also emphasizes the contrast between the believers and the mischief-makers on earth.

“Shall We treat those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, the same as those who create mischief on earth?  Shall We treat those who guard against evil, the same as those who turn aside from the right?” (Sad, 28)

Believers struggle to save the world from calamity. The Qur’an indicates this strong characteristic of the believers as below.

Many of the prophets fought in Allah’s way, and with them fought large bands of godly men? They never lost heart if they met with disaster on the path of Allah, nor did they weaken in will nor give in. And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast. All that they said was: ‘Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and anything We may have done that transgressed our duty: make us firm of foot and help us against those that resist Faith.’ And Allah gave them a reward in this world, and the excellent reward of the Hereafter, for Allah loves those who do good. O you who believe! If you obey the Unbelievers, they will drive you back on your heels, and you will turn back from Faith to your own loss.” (Al Imran, 147-149)

A believer shoulders the mission of inviting people to Allah’s religion. “Commanding what is just, and forbidding what is evil” is his foremost duty.

“True believers, men and women, are each others protectors: they enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil: they say their regularly prayers, practice charity, without fail and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power and Wise” (Al-Tawba, 71)

One of the salient characteristics of a believer, which makes him different from the fake devotee, is that when he delivers the Qur’anic message to people, he does not expect to gain anything from it. His goal is not earning money, wealth and position, but the pleasure of Allah. He looks for his reward only on the path of Allah.

“But if you turn back, consider: no reward have I asked of you: my reward is only due from Allah, and I have been commanded to be of those who submit to Allah’s will in Islam.” (Jonah, 72)

“Those were the prophets who received Allah’s guidance: Follow the guidance they received and say: ‘No reward for this do I ask of you. This is no less than a message for all the nations.’” (Al-Anaam, 90)

The true believer is on an exalted plane of morality. He has an easygoing, tolerant, forgiving personality. Since he is not unduly swayed by events, he shows a mature reaction and behaves with wisdom, keeping his feelings well under control. He is self- sacrificing, helpful and kind.

“Those who patiently persevere seeking the countenance of their Lord; say regular prayers; spend out of the gifts. We have bestowed upon them for their sustenance, secretly and openly; and ward off evil with good: for such there is the final attainment of the eternal home.” (Al-Rad, 22)

A similar divine reward awaits those “who give alms freely, whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon all men;- for Allah loves those who do good,” (Al Imran, 134) who “hold to forgiveness; command what is right; but turn away from the ignorant,” (Al-Araf, 199) and who “feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive” (Al-Insan, 8)

Of course, the believer will make mistakes; after all he is a human being. But as soon as he realizes his mistakes, he will correct them and pray Allah to forgive his faults. None of his faults make him hopeless, because he is sure of Allah’s help and seeks refuge in His boundless mercy. The Qur’an states this as below:

“And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,—and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in the wrong they have done.” (Al Imran, 135)

The believer’s only friends are Allah and the servants of Allah, other believers. He considers people only according to their faith (imaan). He will not feel any affection for others because of their race, career, family ties, or the profit he derives from them. The only criterion which makes them worth his love is their high degree of righteousness. His closest friend is no longer a friend if he turns out to be an enemy to Allah. He likes for the pleasure of Allah, he hates for the pleasure of Allah.

He is a man of understanding. He trusts in Allah. Because he puts his trust in Him, he is saved from fears, anxiety and sorrows of our worldly affairs. Since he is an “open-minded” person, he can think big and he can easily fathom the complex sides of events. His reason has been enforced by wisdom and knowledge.

He is a caliph on earth, who bears aloft the spirit of Allah. He is aware that he will be staying in this world for only a short time. During this short period, he will be tested and educated.  Then he will be ready for his real home in the Hereafter. His life in this world is full of glory and honor as a caliph of Allah. No one can overcome him. They may kill him; yet this is the biggest reward for him, since this is by no means an end for him: being killed on the path of Allah is a great honour.
 

Questioning Ourselves

O you who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what provision He has sent forth for the morrow. Yes, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do. And do not be like those who forgot Allah so that He made them forget their own souls! Such are the rebellious transgressors! (Hashr, 18-19)

The Qur’an describes the believers as explained in the previous pages. The believers whom Allah is pleased with and whom Allah allows into heaven, are such as are mentioned above. But, what about ourselves?, Have we ever asked ourselves how much we resemble them?

The model of the believer as described in the Qur’an shows us that saying “alhamdulillah, I’m a Muslim” and performing some simple acts of worship may not be enough in the eyes of Allah. A true believer does not pay lip service but tries hard to persevere in the way of Allah. The Qur’an explains the position of those “serving Allah on the verge of true faith” as below:

“There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge of true faith: if good fortune befalls them, they are well content; but if an ordeal befalls them, they turn upon their heels: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is a loss for all to see!” (Al-Hajj, 11)

Another verse explains what is meant by worthy activities in the path of Allah:

“It is not righteousness if you turn your faces towards the east or west; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend your wealth, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in suffering and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing” (Al-Baqara, 177)

Obviously, it would be quite meaningless to deceive ourselves by such thoughts as: ‘My heart is pure, I do not have any bad habits and I do not do any evil to anyone. Undoubtedly Allah loves me’. Allah wants people to serve Him, and not just be a pure-hearted person who does not do any harm to anyone. No matter how pure one’s heart is, if one does not obey the commands of Allah and fulfill one’s religious duties, one will not please Allah. Besides, no one can have a pure heart without true faith. Because, only true faith frees a person from such evils as jealousy, passion for the world, selfishness, self-interest, showing a lack of sympathy for others, etc. One should keep in mind that these flaws cannot be removed from our souls unless we are sedulous in our duties to Allah.

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