One of the most influential scholars of
Islam al-Ghazali (1058-1111) states that half of the people who run from Islam because of misbehaviour Muslims towards
others. According to another great scholar al-Shatibi (1320-1388), the aim of Islam is to create
a noble character. Having a good behaviour is one of the reasons that Prophet was sent for it. In one hadith, Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) states that “I have only been sent to perfect
good moral character (Musnad).” Instead of focusing on good behaviour, most of
the Muslims who claim that they are practising the religion gave more importance
to the appearance than ethics.
A common
fallacy in the Muslim world is to believe that change is manifested through appearance only, and that modernity means
wearing a suit and tie, while piety means having a beard or wearing a turban.
Some Muslims take these appearances as a
condition of piety. However, piety and righteousness are reflected in person behaviour not
appearance and how a
person is dealing with others according to the Qur’an (2:177).
One of the major
problems of the Muslims is to represent and present Islam accordingly in all
aspects of life. This is called tamthil or role modelling. As it is known in shahadah (testifying of faith) is
the first pillar of Islam. In the second sentence of the shahadah or testimony of the faith, the word of ‘abd’ or servant comes before
the word of rasul or messenger. Abd means
to practice as a servant. Mentioning the word of abd
before rasul means representing or
role modelling comes before the conveying
the message or teaching. Based on the
first pillar of Islam it can be argued that the action of a Muslim should
proceed words as lightening precedes the thunder.
Research shows that % 92 of the Americans who like Islam because of having a
Muslim friend who has a good behaviour. Only %5 of those who like Islam is
because of proselytisation of the religion. Thus, the action of a good Muslim speaks louder than his/her words. The Americans who do
not meet a good Muslim are not favour of Islam, some dislike or hate Islam. Thus,
not having a good character is one of the reasons which causes Islamophobia in
the non-Muslim countries.
The grandson of Hasan al-Banna Professor
Tariq Ramadan argues that without good behaviour,
Islam becomes a sloganic faith only and
this is a betrayal of the religion. When
we look at the Muslim countries, it is very difficult to call Islamic countries.
Probably that the best way to define them the countries where the majority of
the population is Muslim.
I was talking to a leading figure of the Muslim community in Australia a few weeks ago. He recently visited Turkey. Before
I asked about his trip, he said that he saw ceremonial Islam there. This is not the problem of Turkey only but the
whole Muslim world. The practical solution is to return to the meaning of
shahadah and applying in daily life. Rumi summarises this in the following
poems.
In
generosity and helping others, be like a river.
In compassion and grace, be like the sun.
In concealing other’s faults, be like the night.
In anger and fury, be like dead.
In modesty and humility, be like the earth.
In tolerance, be like the sea.
Either appear as you are, or be as you appear.
