Belief Shapes Identity and Action

January 25, 2006 on 6:47 pm | In Gems, Islam, Tafseer, Tazkiyyah
| By Ilm Seeker

In Surah Baqarah, Allah says:

وَإِذَا لَقُواْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ قَالُواْ آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْاْ إِلَى شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّا مَعَكْمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِؤُونَ

Translation: "When they meet those who believe, they say 'we believe,' but when they are alone with their shayateen, they say 'we are with you' ..." (Al-Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:14)¹

Although the hypocrites say they believe, they associate their identities with shayateen (devils, or "evil ones").

The lesson: your belief system shapes your identity.

As an example, consider zina (fornication). Many people consider it a positive attribute to commit the act in ever-increasing numbers, because their football buddies or gossipy friends believe this to be a good thing. However, Muslims know that zina, unrepented, entails severe, severe punishment in both lives, and the same attribute becomes negative.

Sound belief is vital--it shapes your identity and your actions.

Believe that you are one of the people of Jannah (paradise), and over time, you automatically reshape your actions to achieve that identity.

Similarly, avoid beliefs that you are a "bad person" or "bad Muslim", it motivates you towards ill-found actions.

May Allah protect us all from messed-up beliefs.

References

(1) Pickthall, Muhammad M., trans. Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 25 Jan. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html>.

(2) Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Breach of Covenant. University of Toronto, Toronto. May 2005.

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