When spending time among believing men and women, a disbelieving person will witness some unique attributes which he may not be used to in his circle of disbelieving friends. He will notice that they are not ordinary friends, rather united by something very strong – the love and fear of Allah. Believers behave in the most compassionate and caring way because they love one another out of love for Allah, which is very strong in their hearts. They are self-sacrificing and consider fellow believers before themselves. The meaning of friendship is on a whole new level, though the disbeliever cannot grasp why as he cannot comprehend faith. The disbeliever will notice how believing men and women behave in the most modest manner with one another. They do not indulge in any speech or conduct between genders that they would not in their own gender, nor would they behind one another’s back. This is because they take the Qur'an as a guide. Men respect women as dignified fellow believers and view them only in terms of their fear of Allah, good conduct, sincerity and adherence to the Qur'an since only these count in Allah’s sight. The believing women likewise view believing men similarly. Having the goal of earning Allah's Paradise, all believers are kind and considerate towards one another, loving one another because of one another’s love for Allah and eagerness to good deeds. Allah explains this unity in the following verse:
“The believing men and the believing women, they are the friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong” (Qur’an 9:71)
Many people wonder why a disbeliever is rewarded in this world for his efforts by Allah. Why do they get good things while a believer remains poor? These people do not realise that the disbelievers are given wealth and children so that Allah can test them to see whether they give thanks to Him or become ungrateful. As they always reject Allah as the provider of all blessings, the disbelievers always increase in their evil-doings in the face of every blessing given to them. This is why they are the losers in the Hereafter. But all true believers are victorious in the Hereafter, regardless of whether they were poor or rich in this world. A believer who is poor is being tested to see if he remains loyal to Allah in the face of his poverty and his loyalty is rewarded. A believer who is rich is expected to give thanks to Allah and spend his wealth in Allah’s way, and this will be rewarded in return. All true believers gain the best reward of Allah - the Paradise of Allah, but they may earn it in slightly different ways due to them being tested in differing ways. Allah explains this to those who believe as follows:
“If anyone desires the fleeting life, we readily grant him in it such things as We will it, but in the end, We have prepared Hell for him to burn in. But if any one desires the life to come and strives for it with due striving, being a believer, his striving will be thanked. To both the latter and the former, We give some of your Lord’s bounty – your Lord’s bounty is not restricted. See how we have given some more than others - the Hereafter holds greater ranks and greater favours!” (Qur’an 17:18-21)
Another important attribute among the believers is that they are never irritated by mishaps, delays and mistakes of others due to their patience and general forgiving nature. In the society of disbelief, it is all too common to see people loosing patience and becoming hot-tempered very easily. For example, a mother with her child, or a driver on the road with another driver. Patience and forgiveness are some of the key attributes of a believer as is stated throughout the Qur’an. The believers always remain calm and collected through all incidents of life due to a key understanding in them revealed to them in the Qur’an:
“No misfortune can happen, neither in the earth nor in your selves that was not set down in writing before We brought it into being – that is easy for Allah. So you need not grieve over what you miss or be overjoyed by what you gain.” (Qur’an 57:22-23)
What we have explained so far is only a brief overview of the definition of a true believer as taken from the Qur'an. We have only mentioned a few verses. The reader is urged not to fall into the trap of believing that being the ideal believer is a utopia or an impossible dream. Many ignorant so-called Muslims live a religion where they knowingly or unknowingly believe that only certain people of the past were true believers and no one today can truly be like them in their God-consciousness and conduct. Thus, instead of trying to understand the Qur'an, implementing its teachings and becoming sincere believers, they simply emulate superficially the outward aspects of these past venerated characters hoping to live the moment they lived without developing true faith. This tragic nostalgic way of life stems from a very flawed understanding of religion not based on the Qur'an. Though its members will rigorously maintain that the Qur'an is the most important Book in their lives, their understanding of religion is often incompatible with the Qur’an due to them in reality being far distanced from the Quranic verses in spite of their claims. This also prevents them from becoming true believers as required by the Qur'an.
There is no excuse for anyone to not have first-hand knowledge of every single verse revealed by Allah. The Qur'an can be understood by any sincere believer. Understanding the Qur'an is not a duty reserved for scholars and elite people and there are no scholarly prerequisites to study the Qur'an. Studying the Qur'an is a duty on all people. Allah has revealed that He will call to account every single person with regard to their adherence to the Quranic verses:
"Surely, the One who made the Qur’an compulsory for you will summon you to a predetermined appointment. Say: 'My Lord is fully aware of who it is that brings the guidance, and who has gone astray.' " (Qur’an 28:85)
Therefore, without wasting time in a path devoid of Allah’s guidance, we must start to research, learn and implement the Qur'an and become the kind of sincere believer we have discussed here, before a Day when it would be too late.
QuranicPath | Understanding the Believers