The life of a believer is a collection of two components: faith and practice. Faith means firm and established certitude about oneness of God, and prophethood of His Apostle. The acknowledgement of oneness means to believe that Almighty Allah is unique in His nature as well as His attributes. He is Creator and Master of the Universe. He is the Eternal and the Everlasting. Everyone is from Him, but He is not from anyone. Everyone is needy to Him, but He is not needy to anyone. None can be his rival or partner. Only He deserves to be worshipped. He is the most gracious, the most Merciful. His pleasure is the absolute standard for acceptance or rejection of anything.
The acknowledgement of prophethood means to believe that Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah, and seal of the Prophets. He is the divine guide and godly teacher of mankind. He is mercy of Allah for the Universe and the most beloved person to Him. His love is the love of Allah, and his obedience is the obedience of Allah. His message is the straight way to guidance, and his practice is the best model of conduct. He is Master of Masters and Chief of Chiefs, the cradle of divine effulgence, and source of eternal light. Almighty Allah has sent down to him his revelation as He sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and other (maypeace and blessing of Allah be upon them). They were all human beings, true prophets and humble servants of Allah. No one of them was partner or equal to Him. Every believer bear witness that there is not god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. This testimony includes faith in all divine instructions.
The second part of a believer’s life is the righteous practice. He molds his life according to divine revelation, and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He performs the duties commanded by Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and abstains from those practices which are against the disciplines set by them.
Faith and practice are reciprocal to each other. That is why the Holy Qur’an mentioned them together in many places. Faith is a foundation and practice is its building. Faith is a tree and practice is its fruit. Faith is a seed sown in fertile field of the believer’s heart, and practice is its beautiful plant. Faith and practice are like spirit and body for life. They are firmly connected with each other. The desirable change in society can only be achieved through those practices which are constructed on the foundation of faith. The manifestation of faith is through righteous deeds and every aspect of practical life whether social, political, economical, religious or cultural is a visible form of faith. Deterioration of practice is a sign of the weakness to faith, while its righteousness is the sign of its strength.
The life of a believer is all embracing. On one hand, he has to fulfill the rights of his Creator, Almighty Allah. It is his duty to worship Him, and pay gratitude to Him. While on the other hand, he has to fulfill the rights of Allah’s Creation.
It is essential for a believer to bring righteousness in his individual as well as communal life. The interaction of the both categories of life is an undisputed reality. These categories are greatly influenced by each other. The community is collection of individuals. Any character possessed by them will be the substance for the moral structure of the community. Likewise, the ethical atmosphere of the community has a great impact on its individuals. No one in this world can live alone. All affairs of life are connected with each other. Consequently, individual effects the community, and the atmosphere of the community influences the individual. Therefore, reformation of both individual as well as communal life is inevitable.
This reformation has to take place in both spiritual as well as physical fields of life. For spiritual needs, attention towards Allah in a proper way as instructed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is a must. Spirituality provides purity of the heart which develops piety, sincerity, regard of others rights, affection, responsibility, selflessness, and other good qualities in an individual.
During fulfillment of physical needs, there should be distinction between lawful and unlawful. All things or actions prohibited by Allah cannot be good or useful for mankind. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from them. Only those actions and things should be approached which are permitted. Disobedience of Allah’s commandments eventually causes misery and calamity.
The human social life is divided into three categories: home, neighborhood, and state. It is the duty of every believer to regard his or her rights. Concerning home, he has to fulfill the rights of mother, father, spouse, children, brothers, sisters and other relatives. Concerning neighborhood, he has to regard the rights of all neighbors, far or near, permanent or temporary, co-workers or companions of a journey, office fellows or school maters. It is incumbent on the believer to treat them kindly and nicely. As for the state, its existence is a vital need of mankind. People desire to get more and give less. This tendency creates conflict that needs settlement. It is the state that settles down the disputes of people properly, solves their problems peacefully, and provides them with justice. Hence, the laws of state should be respected, and the solution for disputes should be sought under its framework. No one should take the law in his hands; otherwise there will be disturbance and destruction. In case, if there is any law of state against the law of Allah, best effort should be done to change it through wise and peaceful struggle.
O believers, respect moral values. Refrain from bad manners. Keep away from falsehood, cheating, slander, backbiting, violence of other’s rights, disregard of promise, stinginess, dishonesty, malice, envy, foul language, immodesty, arrogance, greediness, and extravagance. Practice noble manners. They are the keys to real success and true happiness. Speak the truth, for the dignity of humanity rests in it. Keep true to your words, for it creates the atmosphere for trust. Be generous, for generosity closes the channels of class hatred, and opens the doors of love and harmony. Be modest, for modesty is the beauty of humanity. Characterize your dealings by humbleness and tenderness, for it brings friendship and unity. Speak pleasantly, for it wins the hearts. Steadiness is a must for it is the key to accomplish the affairs of life. Chastity if inevitable, for it is the jewel of humanness. Be kind to others, Allah will be kind to you. Respect humanity for it is the essence of faith. There is no place for discrimination, neither on the base of race and color, nor on the ground of gender and territory. We all are children of the same father and mother, Adam and Eve.
In short the life of a believer is embodiment of faith and practice, regard to the rights of Allah and the rights of His creation, and righteousness is individual as well as communal life.
