How Can We Revive the Islamic Identity and Decline in Civilization

O you who believe! Enter perfectly into Islam (by obeying all the rules and regulations of the Islamic religion) and follow not the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan). Verily! He is to you a plain enemy — Qur’an 2[AL-Baqarah]:208

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Personal identity for Muslims is an important issue as it defines the strength and profoundness of our religious beliefs. However, in today’s world Muslims are increasingly distancing themselves away from religious teachings owing to factors like ignorance, temptation, challenges, borrowed culture, and media influence. The Islamic identity has been a fortress for the Muslims over the ages. It is one through which the growth of Islam was ascertained while the Muslims remained conscious of it. And one of the factors that led to our downfall once we started paying less attention to it.

Islam is a civilization that gives a better alternative to most of the modern ‘ism’ ideologies of the world. Our faith has a unique system that governs our daily lives through the shari’ah. For example, modern societies can barely thrive without interest but Islam offers an interest-free system in a globally drowning financial economy. So this huge disparity oftentimes leads to a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. A common reason for which Islam is also seen as a threat to most of these liberal ideologies.

The Muslim identity is an important fundamental element that helps in building strength and profoundness within the home. This goodness extends to the larger community especially when faced with the challenges of the 21st century. Some of these challenges were evident right from the times of the best of mankind — Muhammad peace be upon him and his companions. For this reason, Allah’s Apostle touched on it, warning his followers from the beginning of the revelation until the end of time. The prophet Muhammad peace be upon him predicted this loss of identity several years ago when he mentioned in this famous hadith narrated by Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri:

“You will follow the ways of the people before you step by step, cubits for cubit, for arms length for forearms length, even if they fall into a lizard hole, you will follow them. And then the companions asked: is it the Jews and Christians? He responded: who else?” — Bukhari

Now, let’s examine what the Islamic identity entails. Here, we’re not talking about your looks, dress, or appearance. Your identity is simply your personality — who you are. The unique qualities of a person that makes him or her distinctive from others. So, with regard to a Muslim’s identity; it’s his faith, his pride, and his belief in Islam while respecting and holding its values and principles. It also includes implementing religious responsibilities and respecting Islamic civilization and culture.

What are the characteristics of an Islamic identity?

The characteristics of Muslim identity are broad, but we shall briefly discuss three of them vis-à-vis:

1. Trust: Trust here is submission to faith in totality. Islam is a total package that exists as a complete way of life. The religion has been perfected as there is no omission and no addition ever since the revelation ceased. You cannot be a Muslim partially and still love the ways of disbelief. This trust entails being truthful to the testimony of faith which is a declaration that there is no deity worthy of being worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is His final Messenger. You have to enter into Islam completely by submitting wholeheartedly. This also includes following the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad to the best of your ability. As a Muslim upholding this trust equally involves you being a dependable, trustworthy, well-mannered, and reliable person.
2. History: Anyone without history is surely without a future, and has probably been robbed of their identity. No one exists without a history as history helps you connect the dots between the past, present, and future. Islam is one faith with a very rich and beautiful historical background. It’s quite unfortunate that a lot of Muslims are not aware of their history. As such, they indirectly lose connection with their identity. The Quran itself is a book of history. Imagine how Allah connects the stories of the prophets from ages to the call of Tauhid. They all called to the oneness of God and abandoned the false deities. The Quran also tells us history from the time of creation up until the events that will occur before the last day.
3. Culture: When it comes to culture as a characteristic of identity, it’s a very broad concept. This ranges from social sciences, literature, language, and so on. We often mistake our biological culture as the main identity to uphold. However, as Muslims, the Islamic culture is the real identity that we have to embrace. The reason is that the purpose of our creation is to worship Allah and our tribal identity is basically for understanding each other. Don’t get me wrong, Islam does not stop you from embracing your cultural heritage and background. However, when your cultural practice clashes with an Islamic injunction, you give precedence to the latter over the former. A good example is tribal marks are part of some cultural identity but Islam frowns at mutilating people’s faces. The essence of cultural ethnicity isn’t for superiority as established in the verse below:

Allah says:

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa (piety). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware— Qur’an 49[Al-Hujurat]:13

This verse affirms that positive cultural values which have nothing to do with worship could be kept and sustained if one wishes. For instance, your native dialect, local foods, costumes, all of these can be embraced.

Another aspect of culture that the Muslims are losing with regard to their identity is the Arabic language. This is the language in which the Qur’an was revealed. The extinction of the Arabic language among Muslims is on the rise, even amongst the native Arabs. The great scholar and Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said:

The Arabic language is part of our religion. So knowing it should be an obligation as we read the Quran and pray in Arabic.

Beware of the threats causing its decline

The Islamic identity has always been a target from the onset of Islam. During the early days of Islam, the pagan Arabs and hypocrites wanted to extinguish the light of Islam. However, Allah preserved His chosen path and strengthened the Muslims with huge resistance. The only crime of the earliest Muslims was that they upheld the belief in One God and denounced the worship of false deities. The fact that Islamic civilization has been preserved and thrived successfully for over fourteen centuries establishing a unique way of life remains a threat to other modern-day ideologies. In the face of all these threats, challenges, and propaganda, the light of Islam continues to glow and will not stop until the end of time. This is why you keep seeing people entering the fold of Islam even with all propaganda and brainwashing against this faith.

There are several threats, plots, and challenges faced by Muslims today. It’s not all of these issues that are orchestrated, some are self-induced by the Muslims themselves. These are matters of great concern strategically set in place to affect the Muslim identity. Let’s examine a few of them viz;

• Weaken the faith and cause a crisis in the belief system: Did you know there was a time in which an attempt was made to reproduce the Qur’an with an adulterated meaning? This idea was with no good intent but to confuse the ordinary Muslim. Enemies of Islam have complained about verses of the Qur’an being archaic and needing to be reviewed. However, the religion of Islam is perfect and there will be no change to it. Allah says:

So set your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism Allah’s Fitrah with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq­illah (i.e. the Religion of Allah Islamic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most of men do not know — Qur’an 30[Ar-Rum]:30

• Create conspiracies for doubts and hatred: There are several movies and media out there created to spark hatred against Muslims. One such is the movie “True Lies” which has been out for about three decades now. When I first came across it in my teenage years, I felt disgusted about Islam and had to ask myself if this truly was the faith we professed. There are more contents out there designed to strip Muslims off their identity.
• Keep them busy with modern ideologies: New trends are now presented to us under the guise of modernization. We then swallow it hook line and sinker without sieving what’s harmful from that which is beneficial. Liberalism, FoMo, feminism are just a few examples. The advent of social media has hastened this spread with an adverse effect on humanity at large.
• Entertainment industry: This is one of the worse mediums through which the general populace is being fooled. Much of what the media projects to is self-aggrandizement, materialism, and shameless immorality — drugs, sex, and money. You could barely watch a movie today without a scene of nudity or pornography. Homosexuality is been promoted everywhere to even kids who can’t differentiate between what’s right from wrong. These ugly acts are now gradually been endeared by Muslims as norms.
• Ignorance and Illiteracy: This is one of the self-inflicted threats Muslims have caused upon themselves. The early Muslims were great contributors to various fields of science and many aspects of knowledge. Many of today’s Muslims are ignorant, yet they don’t know they are. It’s high time we return back to scholastic learning both mundane and religious knowledge.
• War, Poverty, and economic conditions: Some Muslim nations are war-driven and in a very poor standard of living. We’ve seen many instances where instability is orchestrated deliberately to destabilize thriving Muslim nations. This will definitely weaken their worship and thereby lead to a loss of sense of identity.
• The Islamic Brotherhood: This is a beautiful strength that should be second to none. There are over a billion Muslims across the globe but our force is just a number that isn’t reckoned with. Muslims have become busy with celebrating sectarian Islam than holding firmly to the rope of Allah which is a strong identity. Allah’s Apostle predicted this as well thousands of years ago:

On the Authority of Thawban who said: the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: “Nations are about to unite and call each other to set upon you, just as diners are invited to a plate of food.” It was said: “Will it be because of our lack of numbers that day (i.e. will we be small in number)?” The Prophet said: “Rather, you will be many on that day, but you will be like scum foam that floats on the river. Allah will remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and put Wahn into your hearts.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, what is Wahn?” He peace be upon him said: “Love for the world and hatred for death.” — Abu Dawood

What’s the Path to Revival of the Muslim Identity?

As mentioned earlier, the identity of a Muslim is important, and cannot be toiled with. The path to revival is a steep one filled with obstacles that require being tactical, patient, and consistent. Here are a few things to focus on in reviving our identity as Muslims.

1. Strengthen your belief (aqeedah): Here I’m talking about your creed, belief system, and faith. As a Muslim, you have to build an unshakable faith and have confidence in Allah without an iota of doubt. There is a need to create a personal relationship with your Lord. This also entails making the prophet Muhammad your role model. You accept his way of life and follow it to the best of your ability. You worship Allah Alone intentionally with all sincerity. You have to be proud of your identity as a Muslim. If your name is Muhammad, don’t tell people you are Moe. Remember the purpose of your existence is to worship Allah. Hence, your living and dying are all for Him Alone. If everyone strengthens their belief in the right creed, in sha Allah we shall see the positive effect in our society.
2. Strengthen your knowledge: Knowledge is said to be a lost property of the believer, and whenever you find it, grab it enthusiastically. The process of learning for a Muslim is from cradle to the grave. Many Muslims today, shy away from knowledge and learning. The most important knowledge in the life of a Muslim is about his religion. Knowing who Allah is, knowing the messenger, and also fulfilling your responsibilities toward yourself and others. These are basic obligations saddled upon you by your Lord. There’s a need to have a teacher or a mentor with a sound understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Do not make Google your “sheikh” and think that you already know it all. Knowledge should humble you and help you realize that you need to learn more. Your quest for knowledge shouldn’t be limited to the Islamic sciences alone. Muslims are well-known to be contributors to the development of science and technology over the ages from the medieval periods. We need to revive this spirit now in order to preserve our identity.
3. Strengthen your Jihad (Struggle): Jihad is one broad concept in Islam that a lot of people misunderstand. However, jihad here is not talking about taking up arms against an opponent, but a struggle between truth and falsehood. Whether we like it or not, we will have to battle against our desires. And this is one of the toughest — the struggle against your own soul. You have to stand up to protect yourself, your families, and your community against cruelty and oppression. Ensure that you do not oppress people, and do not allow yourself to be oppressed. Standing up for the truth even if it’s against yourself is one of the lost identities of a Muslim that needs to be revived.
4. Strengthen your morality and manners: Morality is part of our religion and Islam is the only standing faith that has not compromised on that aspect. This is why Allah described the prophet Muhammad as having excellent attributes. In one of the Hadith, he mentioned that I have not been sent except in order to perfect manners. So as a Muslim, good moral character is part of your identity. A Muslim is someone who is humble, kind, respectful, truthful, honorable, and brings benefit to the people. Remember, the one who surpasses you in morals has surpassed you in religion.
5. Strengthen your brotherhood and community: Islam is one faith that established and emphasizes the strength of brotherhood. The Qur’an tells us that believers are nothing else but brothers, so reconcile amidst your brothers. From the teachings of the prophet Muhammad is that none of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. This is the universal law of brotherhood established as an identity within this beautiful faith of ours. The brotherhood of Islam is essential to the point that it is highly recognized more than a biological brotherhood. A Muslim is a brother to every other Muslim and he doesn’t violate his brother’s right. This brotherhood recommended by Allah will surely increase the love and strength of the community.

Finally, this topic is a very broad discussion that a lot of Muslims shy away from and could be misunderstood as well. Our role as faithful believers is to play our part and leave the rest to Allah for fulfillment. The evil of the times we live in can only get worse owing to degeneration. Let’s take solace in the soothing words of Allah’s Apostle peace be upon him and be among the strangers during this strange time:

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Islam began as something strange and it will return to being strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers.” — Saheeh Muslim

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Yaumul Jum’ah 20th Dhul Qa’dah 1444H // Friday 9th June 2023.