Islam is the religion, Muslims are those who are part of the religion Islam. Islam is PERFECT.. The Muslims? Not so much. We're only humans afterall... what do you expect?
But wait..Is that how it should be? Should we just leave it the way it is?
It's true we can never be perfect but that doesn't mean we should stop striving to be. Allah placed us on this earth for a reason:
"..Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know.." [Surah Al-Baqarah:30]
We are .. put on this earth to be leaders! Not just to other people but to ourselves first and foremost!
In the above ayat, the angels mentioned the humans' capabilities of destruction and corruption.. And Allah answers by stating that Allah knows something they don't.. This means that apart from all that, Allah surely gave us the capability to do good!
What does it mean to be a muslim?
In my honest opinion, like the direct meaning and translation, there should be no distinction between a muslim and a person who is of the religion, Islam.. I'd like to emphasize here that there's a difference between saying I'm a muslim and I'm islam. Please don't misunderstand, it doesn't mean that Islam depends on us.. it certainly doesn't...not even 1%. Nothing depends on us. It's all up to Allah's will. BUT we represent Islam to the larger community. This is what it means. People see muslims and they do not see distinction between a muslim and Islam itself. People have the tendency to generalize and set up stereotypes.. and unfortunately, more often than not, they base it on what they see in the media without stopping for a second to re-assess. This may or may not be their fault... they could just be really clueless. They might have never had the chance to actually meet a muslim or befriend one. So, it's down to us, the muslims to actually act on it! Islam is a way of life.. everything we do should represent what Islam teaches. Only then can we share this great religion with everyone else. To share the beauty of this religion with the outside world... we need to learn to appreciate and love it ourselves!
This post is a reminder to myself first and foremost.
May Allah make us amongst those that act on our knowledge and represent Islam in the right way. Amin.
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