Community Responsibility and the Essence of Faith in Islam)( Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters,
As a society becomes more hyper individualistic, when people start becoming more self-centered and selfish by not associating themselves with other members of the society, then religion and faith also becomes something purely personal. We have all heard something like this, that “Religion is personal”, “It’s none of your business what religion I follow”. Even though it’s true that Allah has given us the Fitrah and the ability to choose whether to obey Him or disobey Him, but that does not mean that our actions have no consequences and that we are not responsible for the people around us.
In reality, Islam is not meant to just be a religion of personal worship: to just pray and fast and give charity, mind your own business, and don’t mind about what others choose to do. That’s not what Islam teaches us. Islam includes personal worship, but it also includes solving problems in the community and bringing benefits to the broader society. Allah says in the Qur’an:
لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ
Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west.
وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ
Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets;
وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ
who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives;
وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ
who establish prayer, pay the Zakat, and keep the promises they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in battle.
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺. [2:177]
That simply offering the prayer without the right belief, without social contribution such as financial sacrifice for the poor and needy, without fulfilling your promise, cannot be considered a true, complete righteousness. Even though the physical act of the prayer is important, the geographic direction (i.e. the Qiblah) of the prayer is important, but they are not part of the essence of righteousness itself. These actions are only good because they are an act of obedience to Allah’s commandments, not because these actions themselves are the source of goodness.
So while we should focus on our personal worship, that shouldn’t mean we compromise the rights that people have over us or neglect our responsibilities as a member in the community.
From the story of Prophet Daud (AS) in the Qur’an, we know that Allah has given him the power to be a leader and a judge to his people. Once while Daud (AS) was praying alone in his Mihrab, two people showed up and asked him to resolve their dispute. Prophet Daud (AS) didn’t realize that these two people were actually angels at that time, which Allah has sent them to test him, but he still interrupted his prayer and shifted his focus to serve his people and uphold social justice.
And this is a valuable lesson for us even in today’s context. All of us come here to pray in this Masjid, but if there is injustice happening with our brothers and sisters in the Masjid, if someone’s right has been taken away unfairly, do we simply ignore and continue our personal worship, or do we stand for justice in order to complete that worship?
Our Prophet ﷺ said in a Hadith:
The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to people. The most beloved of deeds to Allah is bringing joy to a Muslim, relieving his distress, settling his debt, or feed his hunger. And for me to walk with a brother to fulfill his need is more beloved to me than performing i‘tikāf in this mosque in Medina for an entire month. [al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ lil-Ṭabarānī 6026, Sahih]
Our Prophet ﷺ is saying that to take care of the need of a brother is better than him staying in his Masjid, not any Masjid, but Masjid An-Nabawi, worshipping Allah for an entire month.
If we truly understand the value of our contribution to the community and to the society, then we should be more proactive and take the initiative to help out our brothers and sisters who are in need, even without them asking us in the first place.
And of course, it’s not easy to resolve conflicts and disputes, and some people simply disconnect themselves from the society because they want to avoid getting harmed by these disputes. But our Prophet ﷺ said in another Hadith: “The believer who mixes with people and endures their harm is better than the believer who doesn’t mix with people and doesn’t endure their harm.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 4032]
To tell us that we as Muslims should be an active member of the community and build our presence. All of here came to the Masjid not just to perform our personal worship. We are here to worship Allah, but also to know each other, to connect with each other, and find out who’s in need, and who needs any help that we might be able to offer.
Therefore I urge all of you to have some level of awareness about what’s happening within the Masjid, within the community, within the society, and what’s going on around us. Because the believers are meant to be like a single body, when one part of the body suffers, the entire body should react to it. And only when we move beyond our own individual bubbles, then our personal worship also levels up and influence our entire community.
May Allah unite our hearts upon righteousness and compassion, may Allah make us a source of relief, justice, and support for one another, and may Allah rectify the affairs of our community and grant peace and steadfastness to the entire Ummah.
As a society becomes more hyper individualistic, when people start becoming more self-centered and selfish by not associating themselves with other members of the society, then religion and faith also becomes something purely personal. We have all heard something like this, that “Religion is personal”, “It’s none of your business what religion I follow”. Even though it’s true that Allah has given us the Fitrah and the ability to choose whether to obey Him or disobey Him, but that does not mean that our actions have no consequences and that we are not responsible for the people around us.
In reality, Islam is not meant to just be a religion of personal worship: to just pray and fast and give charity, mind your own business, and don’t mind about what others choose to do. That’s not what Islam teaches us. Islam includes personal worship, but it also includes solving problems in the community and bringing benefits to the broader society. Allah says in the Qur’an:
لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ
Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west.
وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ
Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets;
وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ
who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives;
وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ
who establish prayer, pay the Zakat, and keep the promises they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in battle.
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺. [2:177]
That simply offering the prayer without the right belief, without social contribution such as financial sacrifice for the poor and needy, without fulfilling your promise, cannot be considered a true, complete righteousness. Even though the physical act of the prayer is important, the geographic direction (i.e. the Qiblah) of the prayer is important, but they are not part of the essence of righteousness itself. These actions are only good because they are an act of obedience to Allah’s commandments, not because these actions themselves are the source of goodness.
So while we should focus on our personal worship, that shouldn’t mean we compromise the rights that people have over us or neglect our responsibilities as a member in the community.
From the story of Prophet Daud (AS) in the Qur’an, we know that Allah has given him the power to be a leader and a judge to his people. Once while Daud (AS) was praying alone in his Mihrab, two people showed up and asked him to resolve their dispute. Prophet Daud (AS) didn’t realize that these two people were actually angels at that time, which Allah has sent them to test him, but he still interrupted his prayer and shifted his focus to serve his people and uphold social justice.
And this is a valuable lesson for us even in today’s context. All of us come here to pray in this Masjid, but if there is injustice happening with our brothers and sisters in the Masjid, if someone’s right has been taken away unfairly, do we simply ignore and continue our personal worship, or do we stand for justice in order to complete that worship?
Our Prophet ﷺ said in a Hadith:
The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to people. The most beloved of deeds to Allah is bringing joy to a Muslim, relieving his distress, settling his debt, or feed his hunger. And for me to walk with a brother to fulfill his need is more beloved to me than performing i‘tikāf in this mosque in Medina for an entire month. [al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ lil-Ṭabarānī 6026, Sahih]
Our Prophet ﷺ is saying that to take care of the need of a brother is better than him staying in his Masjid, not any Masjid, but Masjid An-Nabawi, worshipping Allah for an entire month.
If we truly understand the value of our contribution to the community and to the society, then we should be more proactive and take the initiative to help out our brothers and sisters who are in need, even without them asking us in the first place.
And of course, it’s not easy to resolve conflicts and disputes, and some people simply disconnect themselves from the society because they want to avoid getting harmed by these disputes. But our Prophet ﷺ said in another Hadith: “The believer who mixes with people and endures their harm is better than the believer who doesn’t mix with people and doesn’t endure their harm.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 4032]
To tell us that we as Muslims should be an active member of the community and build our presence. All of here came to the Masjid not just to perform our personal worship. We are here to worship Allah, but also to know each other, to connect with each other, and find out who’s in need, and who needs any help that we might be able to offer.
Therefore I urge all of you to have some level of awareness about what’s happening within the Masjid, within the community, within the society, and what’s going on around us. Because the believers are meant to be like a single body, when one part of the body suffers, the entire body should react to it. And only when we move beyond our own individual bubbles, then our personal worship also levels up and influence our entire community.
May Allah unite our hearts upon righteousness and compassion, may Allah make us a source of relief, justice, and support for one another, and may Allah rectify the affairs of our community and grant peace and steadfastness to the entire Ummah.