Do Muslims Follow Islam for Selfish Reasons? I find that the essence of Islam consists simply of obedience to an authority (Allah), and that Muslims seem to want to follow the five pillars of Islam simply to reap personal rewards in the afterlife. Is this the actual case, or am I missing something? I do not claim to know very much about Islam, but this is the impression I get. ------------- Hello friend, Surely, your questions reflect a high level of intellect, and your respectful manner of searching for answers ought to be commended. I hope to endeavor to answer you in a positive way. Indeed this is an interesting question that digs deep into the question of an objective moral truth. Let us, for this discussion, establish Islamic ethics as objectively true - as set by God. The question thus becomes what does it mean to good? Straying from what is objectively a system of being good (in the eyes of God), must therefore be doing bad. Indeed, on some level, a belief in God drives the ego to do good to avoid punishment. However, this is very basic and does not understand the shaping of ego as time progresses. Islam teaches an individual that they are not true believers until they wish for their brothers what they wish for themselves. This becomes almost impossible to do when an individual does an action solely for the benefit in the afterlife. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that since God is the only true judge of character and intention, to truly wish for our brothers what we wish for ourselves, we must whole-heartedly mean it. This allows one to conclude that even if fear and reward are the driving systems for our actions in the beginning, our ego itself is shaped over time to be genuinely compassionate and selfless for others. In truth, Islamic guidelines and rulings are just training exercises and a set of rules to follow JUST SO that this idea of compassion develops in the Muslim community. It is important to note, that ones actions should not be guided at this point for another being but Allah. At the same time, we fear God and want to follow Him at the SAME TIME as wanting to aid our community for no reason other then to aid them ---- it is something that develops inherently by humility. The subject of salvation -- no Muslim, non-muslim, or any other being can guarantee they have salvation even if they met every pillar excessively. Only God can determine whether any BEING will be looked upon favorably - teachings in Islam are just ways of increasing our chances of this, but no one can confirm they will be safe. This being noted, we realize that true believer desire not only to be better in the frames of an objective truth, they want their community to thrive with them. Thus, it is inherently not about yourself anymore, it is about everyone else as well --- them being tickets to your reward, and you being a ticket for their reward (surely, we will be asked about how we interacted with others and promoted good or evil amongst them). If there is no God, but God, then objectively there is no Being one should lower themselves or submit to except the Almighty God. This consciousness of God, however, is something that is slowly built. It takes time to realize something is the right thing to do. Then it takes time to prevent oneself from doing wrong from fear of punishment. Later, it takes time to desire to do Good for the sake of pleasing God. All along, the human essence of wanting to aid humanity is being developed. Forgive me, for I have forgotten the exact reference to the verse, but there is a Quranic verse that says something along the lines of, And within you He (Allah) has established the innate ability to do good. What is interesting is this verse is not specific to believers or Muslims, it is a general trait of the human being. The objective ethics of the Muslim believe that the ego, assuming it hasnt been tainted, WANTS to do good for others (knowing at the same time it will please God). Ultimately, when this desire is lost over time (think about how kids are innocent and as they grow older they lose this innocence), it needs to be reestablished - an arduous, but well-worth-it, task. It is here I take a moment to remind us all that our Muslim communities most importantly have lost sight of doing good for the sake and out of fear of God, and thus, have ultimately lost sight of being compassionate in general - let us all work together to cultivate these qualities for they are both necessary and not mutually exclusive. If anything I have told you is helpful, true, and insightful then it is from Allah and I thank him for it. If anything is incorrect and inaccurate, it is from me and my lack of understanding and education and so I ask for His forgiveness and that He guide us all.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:14:05 +0000
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