7 C's...

Salam to all, May Allah be pleased with all of us.

Amma ba’d.

I read a few of Dr. Tariq Ramadan’s books and I always listen to his talks. I found that, he is somebody who is always consistent with the idea of being critical in life. In order to be critical, we must always seek knowledge and we need to really comprehend the Quran and Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH. I watch one of his talks where he proposed 7 C’s of being a Muslim.

CONFIDENT

As a Muslim, we need to be confident with the principles that we believe. When we try to convey the message of Islam, we need to really understand where Islam is heading to. Indeed! Islam brings justice, peace, tranquility and truth. A Muslim should solely put trust and depend only to Allah, the Creator of the universe.

CONSISTENCY

In Arabic, consistent means istiqamah. What he means with the consistency is we must acknowledge our failures and always question our behaviors in the name of our principles. I believe that, as a Muslim, we always need to reflect on ourselves whether we comply the principles of the revelation and prophetic traditions. It is crucial to ensure that we always come back to Allah if we distract from His path. Saidina Umar RA said, "Bring yourself to account before you are taken to account”

  ( حاسبوانفسكم قبل ان تحاسيوا)

COMMUNICATION

In our society, we need to be vocal with the true principles that we believe. Communication is better through our actions, just as the quote, “Action speaks louder than words”. Islam is not about we (read: Muslims) are better than anybody else, but it is about we will show a better way of life. The good point that he emphasizes is, we just care about Muslim affairs whereas we claim Islam is a blessing for the whole universe. It is ironic when we say Islam brings justice to all mankind but we speak within only the context of Muslim. Islam is universal, so does the message.

CONTRIBUTION

This is very important as we have to make people realize of our existence in the pluralistic society by contributing to build the good environment in the community. Allah says:

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed.” (Al Maidah 5:35)

We need to think the wasilah to get closer to Allah.

CREATIVITY

We need to be creative how the message of Islam can be delivered. Each one of us is created in a unique way. Every one of us has the ability that the other people do not have. By leveraging our abilities to serve the people, is the act of worshipping.

CONTESTATION

Saidina Umar said, “The Islamic bond will untie (from Muslims) one by one, if they do not know ignorance”.  It is crucial for Muslims to equip themselves with the knowledge so that they are able to differentiate between Islam and jahiliyah. When we know the ignorance, we will say NO if it is happening within our community.

COMPASSION

As human being, we are not infallible like the prophets and apostles of Allah. Sometimes we do commit mistakes. Therefore, we must always forgive the others and be compassionate to them as we might do the same thing before or after.

Lastly, we need to rely on Allah on everything we do. Allah will never abandon His servants who keep seeking shelter from Him. Put trust on Him and we will see how miracle our life is.

Wallahualam.