Again, it is totally up to the individual to accept this or not, the consequences of his beliefs bind him alone.
The second most significant point is: Every person on earth is a direct addressee of the teachings of Muhammad. There is no middleman! Every individual can evaluate the teachings of Muhammad (saw) – in whichever way he chooses to… and he will live the results of his choices automatically! Thus a Muslim is never in need of a man of religion, or a religious institution to become or to be accepted as a Muslim.
People can benefit from each other’s knowledge; this does not mean they must become followers of each other. The absolute laws are evident. Everything else is up to the person’s own understanding and choice. Fatwa (?) will not save anyone!
The Quran and the teachings of the Rasul of Allah (saw) are accessible by everyone. Everyone is free to research and question and apply according to his or her understanding. Religion is a matter of conscience!
To be a follower is not an excuse for doing wrong. There is no room for excuse in the mechanics of the System (sunnatullah). Whatever the excuse may be, every individual will inevitable live the consequences of their actions and thoughts!
Whether the person experiences the essence of salat, fasting, pilgrimage, or not, whether a woman choses to cover or not, all of this concerns the individual alone. It’s nobody else’s business and thus none has the right to judge or condemn another.
A Muslim who believes in the teachings of Muhammad (saw) cannot kill, steal, cheat, lie, gossip or slander. If he does, and dies in this state, then he will have left this realm as an unbeliever, for it is not possible for a believer to do things contrary to the principles of faith. Everyone came to this world alone, and everyone will leave alone. We came here to prepare ourselves for an infinite journey that lies ahead…
None can do more wrong to himself than the one who claims to be a Muslim and spends his precious limited time on earth on gossip and other meaningless things rather than developing and preparing himself for his eternal future life.
Gossip includes almost everything we say about others. Remember the hadith claims, “If what you say about your brother is true it is gossip, if not, then it is slander!” The Quran refers to gossip as “eating the raw flesh of one’s deceased brother”.
As for slander, you can't even imagine how its consequence will manifest in your life. It is great responsibility to talk about things for which you have no evidence.
The mechanics of the system necessitates that every action has an affect, and every individual will definitely and unquestionably will face the consequences of his or her own doings.
There is no doubt that all the turmoil and terror to which the Muslim communities are subject on earth today are the result of the corrupted and contaminated understanding of Islam over the centuries.
You can never achieve a right via a wrong!
Beneath all the seeming wrong in the world today lie the incorrect construal and the misinterpretation of religious truths.
Only when this error is corrected in the world can things start to go right. Only when we stop imposing our beliefs upon others and start re-cognizing and re-evaluating the religious truths can we build a healthy, stable, functional understanding of religion.
And it is the conscious awakened ones who have the biggest role to play in this!
20 May 2006