Muslim Identity
22 April 2017
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
المسلم من سلم المسلمون من يده ولسانه
المسلم اخو المسلم لا يظلمه ولا يسلمه، المسلمون يد واحدة على من سواهم
A Muslim is someone whose tongue and hand no other Muslim fears. A Muslim is brother to a Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor hands him over. Muslims are a united front, like one hand.
(Rasulullah SA)
This article was written by Ra'sul Hududil Mayameen Janab Syedi Aziz Bhaisaheb Qutbuddin in 2017.
Rasulullah SA was sent as the Messenger of Islam on the 27th of Rajab, the day of “Mab’as”. It is a momentous day for the Islamic Ummah and we commemorate it by observing rozu. It is the day in which Rasulullah pronounced the prophetic and profound words “la ilaha illa Allah” (there is no God but Allah). It is a day which unites more than one billion Muslims under the banner of Islam.
The word “Islam” encompasses many meanings; one such meaning is submission to Allah Ta’ala and His Awliya’ Kiraam; another meaning is peace. The Kalematush-shahaadah is the essence of this submission to Allah Ta’ala, Allah’s Messenger and his successors, and the observation of the tenets and Shari’at of Isalm.
The element of ‘peace’ is eloquently expressed by Rasulullah’s SA Hadith: “A Muslim is someone whose tongue and hand no other Muslim fears. A Muslim is brother to a Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor hands him over. Muslims are a united front, like one hand.”
Rasulullah’s hadith is concise but deeply meaningful. It defines what it means to be a Muslim. The Muslim identity is as much about the pronouncement of the Shahadah and the observation of the Shari’at as it is about embracing what Rasulullah, the Messenger of Islam, expected a Muslim to be. Rasulullah’s words highlight the fundamental virtues of decency and kindness (…whose tongue and hand no other Muslim fears), fairness and fraternity (…brother to a Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor hands him over) and unity (…a united front, like one hand).
Rasulullah’s Hadith and Seerat are a beacon of virtue and goodness. They are a guide to being a good Muslim which starts by being a good human.
Amirul Mumineen SA said, people are either “brothers in faith or peers in creation”.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the strength to live up to what Rasulullah expected us to be. May Allah Ta’ala unite the Muslim Ummah under the banner of Islam, under the banner of Rasulullah’s successor.
