Islām: The Way of Humility & Conformity
Having Respect for the Guidance of Islām
﷽
Reflecting on a recent conversation I had with some friends, an observation was made: the Qur’ān is not merely a book of question and answer (سؤال وجواب), meaning that it is greater than simply addressing human “problems” from a one dimensional perspective. Rather it is “a cure for what ails your hearts” (شِفَاءٌ لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ). In order to benefit from the Qur’ān, it will require more than a perfunctory reading, looking for static answers. One must keep in mind how the Qur’ān speaks of itself: its “cure” comes in between “admonition” (مَّوْعِظَةٌ), “guidance” (هُدىً), and “mercy” (رَحْمَةٌ).
And so when I came across a post on Substack by an alleged convert (Asian background, born and raised in eastern Europe) referring to the “rules” of Islām (aḥkām) as “bullshit”, I was struck and somewhat taken aback. I know many non-convert Muslims are tempted to give a long leash to new Muslims by excusing any and all behaviors (think Andrew Tate) but this struck me as either (a) it’s a bot/fake account that just serves up AI-spawned content a la Tate, in an attempt to subvert Muslims on Substack, or (b) if this person is genuine, it is disturbing their lack of adab (etiquette) this person has towards Allāh’s guidance. As a so-called convert – which quite frankly, after nearly 35 years being Muslim sounds asinine to keep referring to myself by an event that took all of 60 seconds some thirty odd years ago – I found this attitude disturbing. It’s not that this person has some character flaws to work out. Who doesn’t? But it’s the rebellious spirit by which they denigrated the guidance of Islām as “bullshit”. When I was new to Islām myself, I had many character flaws (still have many of them!) as did many of my friends who also embraced Islām but there is one thing missing here which I find so disturbing in comparison to what we: an understanding that we had an obligation to conform to the guidance of Islām which inevitably meant we had to conform to its rules and that those rules, however poorly our attempts at conformity may have been, we recognized our position in relation to Allāh and His Book and His Guidance (He is Above us; we are abased before Him) and as a result, we saw the “rules” to be just as spiritually significant as any other aspect of Islām. In fact, as we worked on ourselves and strove to conform and embody those “rules”, they elevated us. Any view point or disposition which would look upon the Qur’ān, rules and all, as being “bullshit” has not only missed the forest for the trees but has spoken I’ll of Allāh, His Book and the favor He has bestowed upon you.
And so finally, some words of advice: the Qur’ān is neither a crystal ball nor an ATM machine. By crystal ball I mean that one cannot use it like a skeleton key or cheat code to achieve that which one desires without having to “go through the appropriate channels”, i.e., obeying Allāh and His rules! One can either conform to the Qur’ān and its guidance, benefiting from that, or not. Neither is the Qur’ān like an ATM meaning that its guidance defies convenience. Obtaining its guidance and mercy will not as mechanical as inserting a plastic card into an un-thinking machine, taking the cash, and then never giving a care until needs more cash to get more “things”. Instead, the Qur’ān requires engagement, introspection, curiosity, and not least of all, imagination, of which none of this will work without humility. For without humility, that least appealing quality in our modern time of hustling and grinding, the message of the Qur’ān, of Islām, will pass over prospective suitors looking for a one night stand in favor of a recipient heart and a long term relationship.