[Ettiominiw]

hello,

i have friends that call themselves muslims by doing the bare minimum - they pray, fast during ramadan and and believe in only Allah (SWT) but they drink, do drugs, fornicate, lie to their parents, wear revealing clothes, etc yet they still seem to succeed in every aspect of their lives, and their prayers are always seemingly answered. yet the really religious people i know seem to have it rough and are struggling to pay the bills and feed their families or they have sick family members and no luck with weddings, etc. why is this? i thought Allah (SWT) helped those that led good lives and rewarded those that have not sinned. someone also told me that it was enough to just follow the 5 pillars? and i mean at the end of the day, no one really knows the truth right? they just have faith in their own truth so how do we know who is right? everything is up to interpretation. i just wanted to have an open minded discussion and i dont intend on offending anyone here.

what are your thoughts?

[uneniaPhenits]

Allah knows that we will be impressed by others wealth and good, especially that of the disbelievers.

Allah says in the Quran:

"So let not their wealth or their children impress you. Allah only intends to punish them through them in worldly life and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers." (Quran 9:55)

[bapimporb]

Salams,

The thing is, in all honesty, this deen has more to it than most religious people I've met think. Ignore these supposedly successful people whose representation is giving you these troubling thoughts. As a convert to Islam and one of those people who's been around the block, the truth is, all these supposedly successful people are probably all very dishonest and good at hiding the suffering in their lives. For instance, people who sleep around tend to have low self-esteem and do so only to cover up the emptiness that they feel inside. People who obsess about material goods (and on the same token and ironically at that those who obsess about outward signs of religiosity, as well) are typically trying to cover up some inadequacy that they see in themselves or that actually exist. Don't fall for their facade of happiness. Besides, if one looks at history, one sees that when the Muslims had their act together as a whole, the practicing Muslims of that time did more than just hold on to the basics of the deen. They were innovative and worked hard in varying areas of knowledge and expertise, purifying those types of knowledge and developing the tools and gaining the wisdom necessary to be both successful in the worldly sense and in the after-worldly sense. Also, remember that the Prophet (pbuh) and his Compantions were once amongst the poorest of people and Allah (swt) took them and made emperors of them, such that many of them were in a position where the wealth of the Sassanid and Roman Empires were at their fingertips, later in their respective lives. One thing I've noticed with people who are otherwise solid Muslims and (alhamdulilah and mashallah) stay away from the major sins and do work on rectifying even their minor faults is that they are in a lot of cases not up to speed with the workings of the contemporary world. However, there are exceptions. For instance (and I'm only bringing this up to illustrate a point), there is (whoever it was in particular I don't know) that person or group of people who put together the iQuran program. They were obviously well-versed enough in iPhone application development and had good intentions, namely desiring to make available through the latest means, the Quran to believers and non-believers alike. Also, one has the example of people like Lupe Fiasco. Whatever one's opinion is on music, this guy has an enormously positive impact on people and their perceptions of Islam. He's shown many young Muslims that one can be solid in the deen and still be hip/with it/cool...which is honestly an issue for many Muslim youth, who feel ostracized for being Muslim. I've been told by a reputable source that on one occasion where Lupe was praying at this one masjid and doing not just the fardh prayers, but also the sunnahs and nafl prayers, other young Muslims saw him doing so, and got up and did their sunnahs and nafls, having seen someone like him doing so. A lot of alims had to reconsider their position on music after that. Besides, his song Muhammad (saws) Walks has had a positive influence on a lot of people including me. I'm not here trying to start a debate on music, just trying to illustrate a point with some examples. I deeply respect all those who stick to the faith and struggle for God to abstain from the major sins and to eliminate (as best as they can), their minor faults, but honestly, my take on things is that, we need more people showing by their example that one can be 'with it' in the contemporary world and still be a practicing Muslim. I'm still working out how I can do this in my own life, while working hard to establish the prayer and develop a better (Islamic) character, so I'll have to leave a lot of the specifics up to the individual. For instance, instead of letting ourselves be co-opted by mainstream society, we need to find ways to reverse the process in our daily lives. I'm involved with various projects in my life, such as the steampunk scene (where I dress in traditional attire from the Muslim World, circa the 19th to early 20th centuries) and am also working on gaining enough of a working knowledge of smartphones to develop and sell software via the various applications stores. Hopefully through these and other means I can (insha-Allah) help myself out financially and promote less of a self-hating attitude for myself and other Muslims, but we'll see. Besides, Allah (swt) gave us so many tools (the salah/namaz, our brains, etc.) to help get ourselves out of the binds we so often end up in. Ultimately we should use these tools and work together, as need be, to show that this deen isn't for some creatures living in some far off fantasy land, but for human beings living in this World, trying to reach God, all the while facing human difficulties and problems and human frailties at that. That's it for my two cents. Just try and keep your head up and reflect on the means Allah (swt) has given you and other Muslims and how you and the rest of us can use them to better ourselves and our states in this life and the next...I'll try and do the same, as I am by no means perfect, but a work in progress.

Wa Salam,

Tempest Desh

[Konidurase]

I'll try and do the same, as I am by no means perfect, but a work in progress.

As salaam alaikum,

That was very nicely said and thanks for the lovely post.

Wassalaam

[farmarrl]

In the Name Of Allah, the most Benificent, the Most Merciful, Lord of the the Worlds.

Asalaam Alaikum wa RehmatUllah wa Barakatu

If we look at the liives of the Sahaba (RAU) we find many examples of hardships, struggles and strifes. They gave up everything for Allah and His Rasul pbuh. And the reason for this was that they entered into Islam fully. They full surrendered their wills to Allah swt and His beoloved Rasul pbuh. This is emaan - faith.
They also had to undergo the trials and tribulations of life and battled them head on. If we go through the generations - Tabi'in, Tabi Tabi'in and the Awliya, we find similar examples. Allah swt blessed these pious souls with true understanding of His Deen.

They were fathers, mothers, husbands. wives, brothers, sisters. statesmen, businessmen, menial workers etc. They lived in this dunya and utilised it. They lived in this dunya going by the hadith of Nabi pbuh which states that one should live in the dunya like a traveller, the dunya being a temporary pit stop.

In this modern world with all its technological innovation and secular grandeur, people get confused and confusion almost always leads to moving far far away from the real essence of the truth which is ultimately the Deen. RasulUllah pbuh said that we should follow the Quran and Sunnah and we will not go astray.

Allah says in the Majestic Qur'an in Surah Al Asr that all those are at a loss except those who have faith, are righteous and have patience.

Allah swt will reward us in the Akhirah if we are working towards that goal. If we are working to plant all our seeds for this worldly life then this will be our lot. The choise is ultimatley ours. There is no compulsion in deen.

RasulUllah pbuh said that we should always look at those who are less fortunate than us. Some people may have the biggeest cars and houses and wealth in abundance. But do they have peace of mind? Can they sleep at night knowing that if thay passed away in their sleep, that all their financial dealings with people are abiove board and compliantr with Allah's swt laws? Allah swt knows best.

Allah swt says that if we remember Him, He swt will remember us. Alhtough wealth is not a curse in itself it can become so when we forget Allah swt. May Allah swt forgive us, protect us and also give us the true understanding of His swt Deen.