Abdullah bin ‘Amr narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands. And a Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden.” [Bukhari]*
The Prophet (SAWS) is clearly telling us that, as Muslims, we should not engage in slander and we should not engage in all that Allah (SWT) has forbidden. That being said, we must ask ourselves, are we following what is outlined here for a Muslim?
We are quick to call ourselves Muslims, yet we fail to remain consistently Muslim in our actions. Being a Muslim has become something of a label, a mere category, and we often forget to not only embody a good Muslim but even understand what being Muslim means. The core of knowing how to be Muslim is knowledge: the Qu’ran and Sunnah. So we must ask ourselves: do we know what it means to be Muslim? More importantly, do we represent the Muslim identity Allah SWT has commanded us to?
Too often, we pick and choose from the deen. Too often, we lose our sense of taqwa (God-consciousness) and let “being Muslim” become just another aspect of our identity. When, in reality, being Muslim should be the core of our identity. What is outlined in Islam should guide our every action and deed in this dunya. Ultimately, we need to work to increase our knowledge so that we can increase our taqwa (God-consciousness), and become strong in our Muslim identity.
