Pure Faith and Righteous Actions: Muslim Character
Khutbah at ISOC – Rajab 12, 1428/ July 27, 2007
As to those who believe and do righteous deeds, they shall have, for them, the Gardens of Paradise, There they shall stay, never wishing to leave. Say: "If the ocean were ink (for writing) the words of my Lord, it would run dry before those words were exhausted, even if We were to add another ocean to it." Say: "I am only a human being, like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God. So anyone who expects to meet his Lord should do righteous deeds and give no one a share in the worship of his Lord. (al-Kahf 18:107-110)
These are the last four ayat of Surah al-Kahf. This is the Surah that many of us recite every Friday. The Surah deals with many important issues. In this Surah we have the story of the People of the Cave. They struggled for their faith with patience. We have the story of a man who had two gardens and became boastful and arrogant. He did not care for the poor and needy and then finally he lost every thing. Here we are also told about Prophet Moses and his learning experience with an angelic figure. He learnt patience. He also learnt many mysteries of life. He learnt that events that happen in this world are sometimes very puzzling, but a believer must not lose hope and faith in Allah. We are also told here about a pious ruler Dhulqarnain who used his power and resources to establish justice and to help the poor and needy. These stories are told to emphasize the value of faith, knowledge, patience, and righteous actions.
The Surah then concludes with these ayat (18:107-110). They emphasize:
- Those who believe and act righteously will be blessed with the ultimate salvation and shall receive the heavenly bliss.
- Allah’s ocean of knowledge and mercy is inexhaustible.
- Prophet Muhammad is no more than a human being, but he received Allah’s revelation and his message is this that you have pure and sincere faith and do righteous deeds.
Pure Faith and righteous actions, these are the two most important aspects of Muslim character. Faith without right action cannot stay for too long. According to one study it is reported that human beings retain 20 per cent of what they hear, 50 percent of what they see and 80 per cent of what they do. There is an old proverb: “I listen and forget, I see and may remember, I do and I understand.”
You cannot understand Islam unless you practice Islam and you cannot succeed with Islam unless you live by it. Islam is faith and action. Islam emphasizes faith and action both. Have correct and sincere faith and then act according to your faith and in this way you can retain your faith. Faith and Righteous action (Iman and ‘Amal Salih) are mentioned together in the Qur’an 76 times.
A. Faith is important.
- It means to have sound faith as well as sincere faith.
- It means Faith in Allah, His Angles, His books, His Prophets, In the Last Day, and in the Qadar, good or bad, all from Allah.
- Faith is to have the love of Allah. Those who believe they love Allah most ardently. (Al-Baqarah 2:165)
- Faith is also to do what you believe
O you who believe, why do you say things and then do not do them? It is most hateful to Allah that you say things and then do not do them. (Al-Saff 61:2-3)
Allah hates the words that do not fit the actions. The words and deeds of the believers must be consistent.
B. There are, however, certain conditions for the deeds to be acceptable to Allah.
- Deeds must be righteous. For Muslims the righteous means that which is according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Righteous actions are actions whereby a person restores good relations : a) between a person and Allah, b) between a person and other people, c) between a person and other things.
- Righteous actions include: religious actions, moral actions, social actions, economic actions, political actions, judicial actions, etc.
- Righteous actions are those that are good, and righteous actions are also those that remove evil, injustice and oppression.
- Righteous actions should be done with sincerity (ikhlas) and in an excellent manner (itqan)
- The actions should be done with knowledge, wisdom, planning, persistence, zeal and adventure.
A Muslim scholar said that a Muslim should have ten qualities:
1. Salim al-‘Aqidah: Sound fait
2. Sahih al-‘Ibadah: Correct worship
3. Qawiyy al-jism: Strong body
4.Matin al-khuluq: Solid character
5.Muthaqqaf al-fikr: Cultured mind
6.Qadir ‘ala al-kasb: Able to earn
7.Mujahid linafsihi: Self-disciplined
8.Haris ‘ala waqtihi: Conscientious about his time
9.Munazzam fi shu’unih: Organized in his affairs
10 Nafi’ lighairihi: Beneficial to others
