I begin with the Name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
“Verily, the Muslims men and women, the believers men and women, the men and the women who are obedient (to Allaah), the men and women who are truthful (in their speech and deeds), the men and the women who are patient (in performing all the duties which Allaah has ordered and in abstaining from all that Allaah has forbidden), the men and the women who are humble (before their Lord Allaah), the men and the women who give Sadaqat (Charity), the men and the women who observe Saum (fast), the men and the women who guard their chastity (from illegal sexual intercourse acts) and the men and the women who remember Allaah much with their hearts and tongues, Allaah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (Paradise).” Qur’an 33:35.
Everyday different people are faced with different challenges with each working towards meeting up with certain minimum expectation either of religious commitment or worldly commitment, some are able to hit their targets despite the challenges of life while some intentionally or unintentionally are not able to. The theory of encouragement in psychology dictates that those that are able to meet up with their set objectives should be praised and possibly rewarded if need be. However, most at times, those that accomplish what is expected of them are overlooked and instead their failures are amplified so loudly that their good becomes overshadowed and negligible making them to relax in their striving. The resultant effect is a general fall in the number of good men leaving behind a few good men. The oft-repeated admonishments whether done verbally or written that resonate from the Manabir (pulpits) from the Masajid (Mosques) across most Muslim world seem to harp more on the issue of the negative traits found among the Muslims and rightfully so, thus, leaving an outsider or even the general Muslim masses with no option than to believe that the present set of Muslims in the world are anything but good and spiritual.
Yes, there are black sheep in every society but that does not negate the presence of the white ones, yet again every Muslim is fallible for none of them is perfect however, each has some good in him which if properly managed and not subverted by the preachers, the callers, the scholars and the larger society will give room for improvement in terms of quality thus providing room for consistency which will eventually increase the quantity of good deeds among the Muslims. Committing sins and falling short of meeting up with religious commitment at certain times is intrinsic to human nature that it is almost impossible for anyone to be free of sins, sometimes the Muslims turn to Allaah, sometimes they turn away from Allaah but because Allaah knows that there is good in them He leaves the door of repentance opened. It is in this spirit that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in a narration by Al-Tirmidhi which has been classified as good by Al-Albani that: “Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” Man is weak and Allaah’s mercy is all-encompassing hence, man needs encouragement in the little that he is able to achieve in order to spur him to do more.
In the 35th verse of Surah al-Ahzab referenced above and in other numerous verses in the Glorious Qur’an, Allaah Exalted be He, praises the doers of good and promises them a handsome reward (Paradise) and if there is nothing more to this, then at least it should serve as an everlasting encouragement for any such Muslim that in his little capacity is doing something to please Allaah no matter how insignificant he might see it or how belittling it is to the world. The fact that someone has submitted to Allaah (Muslim) is enough to praise him and pamper him so that he gets encouraged to become a Mu’meen (believer in Islamic Monotheism) while at this stage he equally needs more pampering and support in order to be consistently in Allaah’s obedience, to be truthful in speech and deed, to be patient at all times, to attain a high level of humility and even at that he needs more encouragement to sustain his bond with Allaah by giving in charity, observing fast, guarding his private parts from illicit sexual intercourse and to ever remain in Allaah’s remembrance until he sets foot in Paradise. In all of these great and noble qualities at least an average Muslim has a position to reckon with, he has one of these aforementioned virtues and if that be the case he needs nothing more than encouragement so that he improves in quality and consistency.
No Muslim should be so condemned as to leave him despondent thinking that there is no any good in him, a famous incidence of a man who gave a thirsty dog water to drink is a good example to illustrate this point. A narration on the strength of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) In the Muwatta of Malik bin Anas and in Bukhari and Muslim from the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that, “A man suffered from thirst while he was walking a journey. When he found a well, he climbed down into it and drank from it. Then he came out and saw a dog lolling its tongue from thirst and licking the ground. The man said: This dog has suffered thirst just as I have suffered from it. He climbed down into the well, filled his shoe with water, and caught it in his mouth as he climbed up. Then he gave the dog a drink, Allaah appreciated this deed, so he forgave him.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, is there a reward for charity even for the animals?” The Prophet said, “In every living being there is a reward for charity.” A similar incidence was narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allaah had once forgiven a prostitute. She passed by a dog panting near a well. Seeing that thirst had nearly killed him, she took off her shoe, tied it to her scarf, and drew up some water. Allaah forgave her for that.”
To all the Muslims out there, those battling their inner souls against evil whispering from Satan, against laziness, against bad influence, against social vices, those making serious effort to do the best they can to become better Muslims, those crawling to attain high spirituality, those that are genuinely sad with themselves because of the sins they commit, those trying as much as possible to abandon certain sins, those that find it difficult to meet up with the requirements of the Shari’ah but still have not given up, your efforts as long as they are for the sake of Allaah will never go unnoticed in the Court of Allaah, keep trying for this improves you and set the pace for you to achieve more than what is expected. But remember, your improvement is measured only if you abandon shirk (associating partners with Allaah) and major sins. Always remember these two verses of the Glorious Qur’an, “As for those who strive hard for Us, We will surely guide them to Our paths. And verily, Allaah is with the doers of good.” Qur’an 29:69 and “Indeed, Allaah does not allow to be lost the reward of the doers of good.” Q9:120
In conclusion, the scholar, the teacher, the preacher and everyone out there must bear in mind that people really need encouragement to improve in their religious commitment nay, in everything, hence, let us encourage one another to be better Muslims.
Mr Abdul (Penabdul), an architect, teaches at the Baze University, Abuja. He is also the Chairman/CEO of Sustainable Project Works (SPW) Ltd. He can be reached on Twitter: @Penabdull and Instagram: @Penabdul
