Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu The word Muslim means one who submits to the will of God. The first principle of Islam is known as the Shahaadah (Testimony of Faith), and is as follows: There is no one worthy of worship except Allaah (God) and Muhammad is the Final Apostle (Messenger) of God.” In a broader sense, anyone who willingly submits to the will of God is a Muslim. Thus, all the prophets preceding Prophet Muhammad, , are considered Muslims. One cannot judge Islam by looking at those individuals who have a Muslim name, but in their actions, they are not living or behaving as Muslims. Muslims are ordinary people like other humans; among them are the good and the bad. They are not infallible creatures and, therefore, make mistakes. When we mention the characteristics of a Muslim, we do not assume that all Muslims have these characteristics, but only those who follow -- to the best of their abilities -- the teachings of Islam. We can thus summarize the teachings of Islam about the Muslim character concisely in the following way: A Muslim is truthful, not dishonest He is humble, not arrogant He is moderate, not an extremist He is honest, not corrupt He is reserved, not garrulous He is soft-spoken, not boastful He is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of them He is considerate and compassionate, not harsh He is polite and helpful, not insulting and disrespectful to people He is generous and charitable, not selfish and miserly He is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursing He is cheerful and generous, not bitter and resentful He is grateful for what he has, not ungrateful He is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomy He is chaste and pure, not lustful He is alert, not absent-minded He is dignified and decent, not graceless He is sincere and straightforward, not hypocritical He is optimistic and hopeful, not cynical or pessimistic He is confident and deep in faith, not doubtful and wavering He is spiritually oriented, not materialistic He always has faith in God’s mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperate He is diligent and vigilant, not negligent to his duties He is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings The Muslim personality is balanced. He pays due attention to his body’s needs and his outward appearance, without letting it distract him from nurturing his inner characteristics, as befits man whom God has honored and made His angels prostrate to him, and subjugated for his benefit all that is in the heaven and earth. The Muslim is also concerned with that which will form sound intellectual development and ways of thinking, so that he understands the nature and essence of things. He does not forget that man is not only composed of body and mind, but he also possesses a soul and a spirit, and feels a longing for higher things that makes him rise above this materialistic life and ascend the heights of goodness, virtue and light. Therefore, he pays as much attention to his spiritual development as he does to his physical and intellectual development, in a precisely balanced fashion, which does not concentrate on one aspect to the disadvantage of others. With his parents, he is an example of sincere filial piety, good treatment, infinite compassion, politeness and deep gratitude. With his wife, he is an example of good and kind treatment, intelligent handling, deep understanding and proper fulfillment of his responsibilities and duties. With his children, he is a parent who understands his great responsibility towards them. Although he floods them with love and compassion, he pays attention to things that may affect their Islamic upbringing. With his relatives, he maintains the ties of kinship and knows his duties toward them. He understands the high status given to relatives in Islam, which makes him remain in touch with them regardless of the circumstances. With his neighbors, the true Muslim is an example of good treatment and consideration of others’ feelings and sensitivities. He puts up with mistreatment and turns a blind eye to his neigh
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 13:09:18 +0000
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