ARE YOU A MUSLIM?

“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”

Are you a Muslim is a seemingly uncomplicated question I’ve often been asked by friends any time they see me talking Islam or Praying, This is not because of anything but because of the name I was known with- Obi Olajide. My answer is always yes, am a devout Muslim, some will disagree with my answer while some will say ‘well noting is impossible in this part of the world.   

Let me ask you the same question here, are you a Muslim? Yes! Am sure that is your answer, but do you have what it takes to carry the name? Ok, who is a Muslim?

Who is a Muslim?

A Muslim is an adherent of the religion of Islam. Literally, the word means "one who submits (to God)". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, called Allah in Arabic, and that Islam existed long before Muhammad though it was not called that until the revelation of Surah al-Ma'ida, which states: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." Current use of "Muslim" is defined in the Amman Message. A literal translation would be "one who wants or seeks wholeness", where "wholeness" translates islāmun. In a religious sense, Al-Islām translates to "faith, piety", and Muslim to "one who has (religious) faith or piety".

Mu'min is an Arabic term frequently referenced in the Qur'an, meaning "believer", and denoting a person that has complete submission to the will of Allah. One who adheres practically to the 5 Pillars of Islaam (witnessing (shahadah), the five daily prayers (salat), almsgiving (zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm), and hajj (pilgrimage) and professes the belief in the 6 Fundamental aspects of faith (One God; The angels of God; The books of God, especially the Qur'an; The prophets of God, especially Muhammad; The Day of Judgment (or the afterlife); and The supremacy of God's will (or predestination). One can become a Muslim by uttering; "Ashadhu An Laa ilaha illa Allaah, wa ashadhu anna Muhammad ar-rasulullah." This means, “I bear witness that no deity has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Final Messenger."

How Muslim are you?

Having known by definition who a Muslim is, the next question I will ask you is ‘how Muslim are you?’ Are you a Muslim by Name, a Muslim on Fridays alone, a Muslim during Ramadan alone, a Muslims of festive period etc? Fadilat Sheikh Adam Al-ilory in one of his write-ups I read some years back said, ‘There is nothing that differentiate a Muslim from the Non-muslims except Solat. How often do you observe your five times daily prayer? What do people say about your characters towards others in the society, I mean can you convince or convert somebody with your character towards them? Yes! you believe in oneness of Allah and Prophet as his messenger, you fast during the month of Ramadan, You have been to Hajji several times, but you are self-centred, you spend your wealth alone and less concern about fellow Muslims and non-muslims around you. Well! You are a Muslim, but how Muslim are?

Why Should You Be A Muslim?

One of several reasons why you should be a Muslim is simply because the Creator commanded you and us to do so, as is revealed in the Quran "Truly! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the Straight Path"(3:51).

Allah has commanded us all to be Muslims, then why are there still many who deny this Truth? Allah answers in the Quran "They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones"(7:179).

Being a Muslim means you submit yourself fully to the Creator and accept the fact that you were only created to worship Allah alone. You free yourself from the worst conceivable sin which is associating a partner with your Creator, Allah. You therefore acknowledge that you are a slave of the Creator and to Him is your return when you die, as is revealed in the Quran "And that to your Lord (Allah) is the End (Return of everything)"(53:42).

O reader, think seriously, why do you worship the creations of Allah when it is clear that the only one worthy of worship is Allah? As He (Allah) revealed in the Quran "Say (to the disbelievers): "Tell me, if Allah took away your hearing and your sight, and sealed up your hearts, who is there - an ilah (a god) other than Allah who could restore them to you?" See how variously we explain the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), yet they turn aside"(6:46).

Lastly, but not finally, being a Muslim also guarantees you salvation and deliverance by making a barrier between yourself and the eternal Hellfire. As Allah revealed in the Quran "The sovereignty on that Day will be that of Allah (the one Who has no partners). He will judge between them. So those who believed (in the oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) and did righteous good deeds will be in Gardens of delight (Paradise)"(22:56) and in chapter 2, verse 39 of the Quran, Allah revealed, pertaining to those who disbelieve, "But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) such are the dwellers of the Fire, they shall abide therein forever"(2:39). Now, after knowing that you are commanded by your Creator to be a Muslim, what prevents you from being one?