A good Muslim is always conscious of the following three
Questions:
Who you are, your purpose of life, and your destination!
The first question I need to ask myself is where was I
before I was born? Then I need to ask myself where am I right now, and how long
will I be here? And then I need to ask myself, where am I going to go after my
heart stops beating, when this body of mine is separated from the soul?
The only way I will know the answers to these question is by
referring to revelation. Go back to Allah because nobody else has the answer.
Science cannot help you. Medicine cannot help you. Those with PhDs cannot help
you. The most educated person on the globe cannot help you. The machinery and
technology we have will not help you. Nothing will help you. But revelations
will help you answer the questions.
And by revelations, we mean the Glorious Qur'aan and the
Authentic sayings of our Beloved Rasuulullaahi Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.
And as such, anyone striving to be a good Muslim must strive
very hard to live within the dictates of the Qur'aan and Sunnah. In so doing,
we first have to authenticate our faith in Allaah as that is the first step in
becoming a good Muslim. By authenticating our faith in Allaah, we have to
belief in all the six articles of faith just as the Sahaabahs believed in them
after which, we have to guard strictly, the five pillars of Islaam. This is the
first step towards becoming a good Muslim
Other ways through which one can be a good Muslim are as
follows:
Do good deeds
Good thoughts don’t
make us good Muslims. But doing good deeds until they form part of our nature
is what exactly makes us good Muslims. As for the benefits, it cannot be
stressed enough. So doing righteous deeds means earning a great deal of rewards.
Allah says:
Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he
is a believer – We will
surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward
[in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.(Quran 16:97)
Attach yourself to good Friends
It is actually our nature as human beings to be influenced
by the opinions and actions of our friends and neighbors. Knowing this is very
great as it helps us to make wise choices about who our friends should be.
Therefore, in order to become a good Muslim, strive to
become friendly with righteous people, and be in the company of the wise only,
so that you can learn from their actions. Actions of good friends will inspire
you to want to become like them. And Allah already mentions this in the Holy
Quran; He says:
“… And
cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and
aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” (Quran 5:2)
Seek Knowledge
“… Allah will
raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by
degrees…” (Quran 58:11)
Knowledge is worth seeking, I need not to say this though.
It is much more important than wealth and property and everybody should seek
it, as it performs a greater role in our lives as good Muslims. With knowledge
of Islam, you are valuable to the entire Ummah. Even our Holiest Prophet was
directed by Allah to seek knowledge. Allah says:
“… and say, “My Lord, increase me in
knowledge.” (Quran 20:114)
The awesomeness of beneficial knowledge is such that it
makes us feel much more humble before Allah and the greatness of His creation.
As He (Allah) says:
“…It is only
those among His servants who have knowledge that fear Allah” (Quran 35:28)
Make Dua Each Day
“And when My
servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of
the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience]
and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.” (Quran 2:186)
The status of Dua is so important to Allah that the Holy
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“Nothing is more honourable to Allah the Exalted than
supplication (Dua)” (Sunan
At-Tirmidhi).
One of the traits of a good Muslim is such that He calls to
Allah alone with his needs. Making Du’a
to Him means recognition of our weakness and His greatness. The wise Prophet
(pbuh) again said: “Ask Allah
for everything, even the lace of your shoes. If Allah does not provide, it will
never be available” (Ibn
al-Sunni, no. 349 – hasan.
Supported by at-Tirmidhi 4/298 and others).
Avoid sins at every turn
Avoiding sins is the only way you can become someone better
in the sight of Allah and you know that already. You can never be a righteous
person when you dwell in any kind of sin. Even sins that seem minor must be
avoided as one sin will lead to another.
God has ordained the nature of man to be fallible. We
constantly are subjugated to the desires and pulls of this worldly life. While
we possess the power to steer our free-will in any direction, we remain prone
to the attacks and whispers of Satan who can easily stray us from the straight
path.
We can wreck Satan’s
plan of bringing us down with sins by increasing our faith, knowledge and good
deeds; it will then elevate us to a level which can merit our meeting with
Allah with shining and bright faces.
Seek forgiveness for your sins
All calamities are sent by Allah due to our sins and are
removed immediately due to our repentance. Remember what Allah said in the
Quran: “He does not change the state
of anyone till we change our state of goodness ourselves” (Quran 13:11).
Referring to the life of our beloved Prophet (pbuh), Abu
Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent
to him more than seventy times in a day”
(Sahih al-Bukhari).
Repentance is the trait of every good Muslim. If you really
want to become righteous, then I don’t
think this will be a problem. Don’t
repent in a matter that seems like an unpleasant thing that you have to force
yourself to do. Rather, you should realize your sin, give it up and return to
Allah in sincerity.
Learn to forgive others
If you want Allah to forgive you, then I think you won’t have any hard time forgiving
others who wronged you. The Prophet (pbuh) advised us to forgive others and be
forgiven; He said, “Have mercy
and adopt forgiveness and Allah will forgive you” (Sahih Ahmad).
No matter how hard others may tease you or hurt your
feelings, just forgive them and try to treat them well with utmost love and
tolerance.
Always speak the truth
This will shape up your moral life. Lying will instill these
guilt feelings into you, but when dealing with honesty, often the moral issue
of guilt feeling about a situation will break away from you. Instead, morally
safe situations will always be open to you to reflect.
Speaking the truth will also take you towards Allah. It’s rewarding and opens up new
paths in life, relationships and even careers. Speaking the truth might seem
very difficult, but it is worth it. It is a trait of every good Muslims that
should be strived for.
Always be trustworthy
Trust is valuable in all aspects of life. It affects
everything. Being trusted by others is one of the common traits of good
Muslims. It is one of the things you must have to go far in life as a Muslim,
to achieve your greatest success.
It is very admirable and desirable to be trustworthy. It’s a trait people look for in
you to confirm that you’re reliable,
supportive and honest, as it should be for every Muslim. So if you like to
really become an authentic Muslim, then you should learn to be more trustworthy
and have others come to rely on you.
Show some Love
Showing love to others should be an everyday thing for every
Muslim. You should therefore adopt this act if you wish to become a good
Muslim. Whether it’s your
family member, friend, or partner, aim to cover a broad spectrum of ways to
show them that you care about them.
Be mindful in your everyday life
There’s the saying
that “The secret of your success is
found in your daily routine.”
Though this may seem a bit cliché, and can even be mistaken for a motivational quote,
the reality is that it’s true.
By being mindful, as a Muslim, you should stabilize your
attention or train your mind to be more focused and effective in everything you
do. For instance you should train yourself to be mindful in your everyday
Salaat by tuning in to your senses which helps you actually be present in your
worship rather than lost in thinking.
After doing the above, the real action follows. If we
acquire knowledge but do not sincerely apply what we have acquired, we will
have only increased our conceit. What then will we become?
If also we are sincere in what we do but not acquiring
knowledge, we will only be adamantly following our viewpoints. We will never
find the truth.
I pray and hope that you understand what I mean, and that
you put it into practice. May Allah make it easy for us to become good and
righteous people!
On this note, we say:
O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the household of
Muhammad, just as you sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and the household of
Ibraaheem. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty.
O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the
household of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and the
household of Ibraaheem. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty.
How perfect You are O Allaah, and I praise You. I beat
witness that none has the right to be worshiped except You. I seek Your
forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
Was salaamu Alaykum WA Rahmatullaahi WA Barakaatuh