الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله تعالى من شرور أنفسنا، وسيئات أعمالنا، ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) said: 

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱدۡخُلُواْ فِى ٱلسِّلۡمِ ڪَآفَّةً۬ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَٲتِ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَڪُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (٢٠٨) فَإِن زَلَلۡتُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَتۡڪُمُ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتُ فَٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَڪِيمٌ (٢٠٩)

“O’ you who believe! Enter totally “Kafah” in “Al-Silm” and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely, he is an open enemy for you. (208) And if you slip “Zallaltum” after the clear proofs have come to you, then you must know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (Al-Baqara 2:208-209) 

There are three key words in these two verses: 

The first word is “al-Silm (ٱلسِّلۡمِ) and this refers to three interlinking terms: Islam (اسلام), submission (تسليم) and peace (سلام). In other term, this term means that religion of Islam is demands submission to Allah to achieve peace.   

The second word is “Kafah” (ڪَآفَّةً۬) that means totally, completely, and whole-heartedly.  So, the Command to the believers is to enter in Islam totally thru complete submission to ensure that they live in total peace.

The third word is “zallaltum (زَلَلۡتُم) that means slip and slide back and this suggests minor variation from the straight position.  This emphasizes the deviation does not need to be large, any minor deviation in submission will negate that full peace.

So, the law of Allah is clear, if the believers want to achieve full peace and this involves peace with Allah, peace with themselves and peace with others, they must have complete submission to Allah.  Any slight deviations from the complete submission will cause them to forfeit this comprehensive peace.  This is the divine law; complete submission is prerequisite for full peace and Allah’s laws will not change for anyone. 

In many verses, Allah makes it clear that His rules do not change; Allah says:

سُنَّةَ مَنْ قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنْ رُسُلِنَا وَلا تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلا)  الإسراء(

“(This was Our) sunnah that we sent with the Messengers who came before you: you will not find any changes in our rules”. (Al-Israa 17:77)

سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلا)  الفتح(

“These have been the rules of Allah, already demonstrated in the past: no change you will find in the rules of Allah”. (Al-Fath 48:23)

This law that any slight deviations from the complete submission to Allah will cause the forfeit of the comprehensive peace was applied even when the Prophet (PBUH) was among the companions.  We, all know of the violation of few in the battle of Uhud that resulted in the major loss of Muslims even though the Prophet (PBUH) was among them.  

Partial obedience to Allah by cherry picking certain commands to obey and ignoring others is not full obedience and Allah gave serious warning to those who engage in this behavior as He said:

أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“Do you believe in part of the scripture and disbelieve in others?  The reward for those who do so is shame in this life and the most grievous doom on the hereafter. For Allah is aware of what you do.” (Al-Baqara 2:85)

By accepting Islam, you will not achieve the total peace that Allah promised in this life and the hereafter unless you embrace and follow all the divine guidance.  By accepting Islam, you no longer have the freedom to use your intellect, education, passion, or customs to debate issues on which Allah and his Prophet have already decided; Allah said: 

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا

“It is not allowed for any believing man or believing woman to have a choice on any matter on which Allah and His Messenger have decided.  Anyone who disobeys Allah, and His Messenger has indeed seriously gone astray (Al-Ahzab 33:36). 

You will never achieve total peace unless you are completely encircled in Islam.  Selective application of Islam can only lead to confusion and chaos.   Even in manmade systems, if the whole society does not enter in the system in its totality, confusion and conflicts will result.

Complete submission to Allah leads to comprehensive peace with your three relationships:  relationship with Allah, relationship with the self and relationship with others, and others includes people and objects.  I discussed these three relationships in my talk on “The Self’ that I gave on February 28^th.   

Let us talk about internal peace with oneself.  There is no way you can live in peace with others unless you, first, live in peace with yourself.  Internal peace requires that the person’s actions and feelings be consistent with his ideas of certain truth.  The person’s ideas of certain truth will lead to certain feelings and these feelings will drive certain actions.   If the actions are consistent with the idea, he will internally feel happy and content.  But if his actions are inconsistent with his idea, he will internally feel disturbed and distressed. A Muslim who knows that prayers are obligatory will be happy when he performs all prayers on time, but if he misses a prayer, he will have the feeling of guilt and discomfort. 

While internal peace of a person occurs through the consistency of the action with the idea in his brain, this occurs whether this idea is proper or false.  As example, a person who has the idea in his mind that smoking is good for him and engages in smoking feels at peace while a person whose mind tells him that smoking is bad for him and smokes, he is in a state of stress each time he smokes. 

Therefore, it is important to ensure that the ideas we have in our brains are good.  How do you judge whether the idea in your mind is good or bad?  The idea is good if it is based on divine revelation and/or rational thinking, otherwise the idea is bad.  The whole purpose of Islam is to correct the ideas people have regarding their relationships with Allah, with themselves and with others.  These corrections resulted in moving the people from the age of ignorance “Jahiliah (جاهلية)” to the age of enlightenment.

The age of enlightenment refers to the age when the group practices are based on revelation and/or rational thinking.  On the other hand, the age of Jahiliah (جاهلية), the age of ignorance and darkness refers to the age when the group practices are based on neither revelation nor rational thinking. What is a rational thinking? It is the thinking that leads to ideas that are beneficial and just to all.  

The command to enter in total peace is directed to the believers who already have accepted the truthfulness of the commands of Allah, when they violate any of the commands, they will feel internal distress and lack of peace because of the conflict between what they know and what they do. 

The Quran teaches us not to follow Satan’s example when he went to war within himself.  Despite Satan’s total convection in the absolute power and authority of Allah, his actions reflected the opposite of this belief by refusing to obey Allah’s command to prostrate to Adam.  Allah warned Muslims of this internal war, He said:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفۡعَلُونَ (٢) ڪَبُرَ مَقۡتًا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا لَا تَفۡعَلُونَ (٣)

 “O’ you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?  It is most hateful to Allah that you say what you do not do.” (Al-Saff 61:2-3).

The contradiction between the belief and the deed creates an internal conflict within the person and results in transforming man from the best of molds, to the lowest of the low.  Allah said:

لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ فِىٓ أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِيمٍ۬ (٤) ثُمَّ رَدَدۡنَـٰهُ أَسۡفَلَ سَـٰفِلِينَ (٥) إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ

“We have indeed created man in the best of stature (mold) (4) Then reduced him to the lowest of the low (5) except for those who believe and perform honorable deeds” (Al-Tin 95:4-6). 

Current technology takes advantage of this internal conflict to identify the truth using the lie detector that measures the disturbance in man’s internal system when he tries to suppress the truth.  Allah created us and programmed us to know that lying is bad and honesty is good.  Therefore, it requires a lot of effort and energy for a person to lie.  During interrogation, the approach used is to weaken the person physically, by lack of sleep and lack of food, to the point that he can no longer suppress the truth within himself. 

Allah’s command is to enter in Islam in its totality to achieve all the promises that Allah granted to the believers of comprehensive peace and honor in this life and the hereafter. The importance of entering in Islam in totality can be illustrated by many stories from the seerah.  I will mention one account related to the meeting between the Prophet (PBUH) and the leaders of the tribe Banu Shiban (شيبان). This tribe resided in Iraq between the Arabs and the Persian empire. 

When Allah commanded the Prophet (PBUH) to spread the message of Islam among the Arab tribes, the Prophet used to look for opportunities to meet the representatives of the different tribes who came to Mecca to perform the Hajj.  The Prophet (PBUH) always took Abu Bakr with him because Abu Bakr was well knowledgeable with the lineage of the different tribes and the key leaders in each tribe.  (This teaches us that before you meet anyone to discuss an important matter, learn about his background). 

At one time, the Prophet (PBUH) and Abu Bakr encountered a gathering of 4;  and Abu Bakr asked them who are you.  They introduced themselves as Mafrouq ibn Amr (مَفْرُوقُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو), Hani ibn Qabysah (هَانِئُ بْنُ قَبِيصَةَ), Al-Muthana ibn Harithah (الْمُثَنَّى بْنُ حَارِثَةَ) and Al-Noman ibn Shareik (النُّعْمَانُ بْنُ شَرِيكٍ) from Banu Shyban in Tha’labah (بَنِي شَيْبَانَ بْنِ ثَعْلَبَةَ).  Abu Bakr turned to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: “There is no more honorable people than those in their tribe.”

The account of this meeting was narrated by Ali ibn Abi Taleb (على بن أبى طالب ) who joined the Prophet and Abu Bakr in this meeting and it is reported by Ibn Hiban,  Al-Biyhaqi and Ibn Asaker  (حبان و البيهقي وابن عساكر). 

Mafrouq (مَفْرُوقُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو) said: (لَعَلَّكَ أَخُو قُرَيْشٍ) would you happen to be the brother of Quraysh?

Abu Bakr said: (إِنْ كَانَ بَلَغَكُمْ أَنَّهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَهَا هُوَ هَذَا) If it has reached you that he is the messenger of Allah, yes, he is. 

Mafrouq (مَفْرُوقٌ) said:

فَقَالَ مَفْرُوقٌ: قَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّهُ يَذْكُرُ ذَلِكَ. ثمَّ الْتَفَتَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ: إِلَامَ تَدْعُو يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ؟

“We heard that he makes such claim. Then he turned to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: to what you are inviting people, the brother of Quraysh.”

The Prophet (PBUH) sat down and sat next to him Abu Bakr and Ali and the Prophet (PBUH) said:

«أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللهِ، وَأَنْ تُؤْوُنِي، وَتَمْنَعُونِي، وَتَنْصُرُونِي حَتَّى أُؤَدِّيَ عَنِ اللهِ الَّذِي أَمَرَنِي بِهِ، فَإِنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَدْ تَظَاهَرَتْ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللهِ وَكَذَّبَتْ رَسُولَهُ، وَاسْتَغْنَتْ بِالْبَاطِلِ عَنِ الْحَقِّ، وَاللهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ».

“I invite you to the witness that there is god but Allah who has no partners and I am the messenger of Allah and I invite you to shelter me, protect me and support me to deliver the message of Allah as He commanded me because Quraysh has stood against Allah’s commands and has rejected me and preferred falsehood over the truth, and Allah is self-sufficient, and He is the worthy of all Praise”.

Mafrouq (مَفْرُوقٌ) said: (وَإِلَامَ تَدْعُو -أيضًا- يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ؟)  “To what else do you invite, the brother of Quraysh?”

The Prophet (PBUH) (فَتَلَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم) recited three verses (151-153) from Surat Al-A’am:  

قُلۡ تَعَالَوۡاْ أَتۡلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّڪُمۡ عَلَيۡڪُمۡ‌ۖ أَلَّا تُشۡرِكُواْ بِهِۦ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا‌ۖ وَبِٱلۡوَٲلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَـٰنً۬ا‌ۖ وَلَا تَقۡتُلُوٓاْ أَوۡلَـٰدَڪُم مِّنۡ إِمۡلَـٰقٍ۬‌ۖ نَّحۡنُ نَرۡزُقُڪُمۡ وَإِيَّاهُمۡ‌ۖ وَلَا تَقۡرَبُواْ ٱلۡفَوَٲحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنۡهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ‌ۖ وَلَا تَقۡتُلُواْ ٱلنَّفۡسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلۡحَقِّ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكُمۡ وَصَّٮٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ (١٥١) وَلَا تَقۡرَبُواْ مَالَ ٱلۡيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحۡسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبۡلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ ۥ‌ۖ وَأَوۡفُواْ ٱلۡڪَيۡلَ وَٱلۡمِيزَانَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِ‌ۖ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَا‌ۖ وَإِذَا قُلۡتُمۡ فَٱعۡدِلُواْ وَلَوۡ ڪَانَ ذَا قُرۡبَىٰ‌ۖ وَبِعَهۡدِ ٱللَّهِ أَوۡفُواْ‌ۚ ذَٲلِڪُمۡ وَصَّٮٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ (١٥٢) وَأَنَّ هَـٰذَا صِرَٲطِى مُسۡتَقِيمً۬ا فَٱتَّبِعُوهُ‌ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلسُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمۡ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكُمۡ وَصَّٮٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ (١٥٣)

Say: “Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from:

• Do not join anything in worship with Him, and
• Be good and dutiful to your parents, and
• Do not kill your children because of poverty – We provide sustenance for you and for them, and
• Do not come near to obscene acts whether committed openly or secretly, and
• Do not kill the life that Allah made sacred, except for justice.

This He has commanded you that you may understand, and  

• Do not come near to the orphan’s property, except to improve it, until he (or she) attains the age of maturity, and
• Give full measure and full weight with justice. We do not burden any person except by what he can bear, and
• Whenever you give testimony say the truth even if a near relative is concerned, and
• Fulfill the Covenant of Allah.

 This He commands you, that you may remember. “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and

• Do not follow (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.

This He has ordained for you that you may gain Taqwa.” (Al-An’am 6: 151-153)

Mafrouq (مَفْرُوقٌ) said:

فَقَالَ لَهُ مَفْرُوقٌ: فَوَاللَّهِ مَا هَذَا مِنْ كَلَامِ أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ كَلَامِهِمْ لَعَرَفْنَاهُ. وَإِلَامَ تَدْعُو -أيضًا- يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ؟

By Allah, these words are not the words of the people of the earth, and if they were of their words, we could have surely recognized it.  What else do you call for the brother of Quraish?

The Prophet (PBUH) recited verse 90 from Surat Al-Nahl:

 فَتَلَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِ وَٱلۡإِحۡسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآىِٕ ذِى ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَيَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنڪَرِ وَٱلۡبَغۡىِ‌ۚ يَعِظُكُمۡ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ (٩٠)}[النحل{

Indeed, Allah commands justice and doing good to others, and supporting the kins, and He forbids all obscenity and shameful deeds and aggression, He admonishes you, that you may take heed. (Al-Nahl 16:90)

Mafrouq (مَفْرُوقٌ) said:

فَقَالَ لَهُ مَفْرُوقٌ: دَعَوْتَ وَاللهِ يَا قُرَشِيُّ إِلَى مَكَارِمِ الأَخْلَاقِ، وَمَحَاسِنِ الأَعْمَالِ، وَلَقَدْ أُفِكَ قَوْمٌ كَذَّبُوكَ، وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَيْكَ -وَكَأَنَّهُ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَشْرَكَهُ فِي الْكَلَامِ هَانِئُ بْنُ قَبِيصَةَ- فَقَالَ: وَهَذَا هَانِئُ بْنُ قَبِيصَةَ شَيْخُنَا وَصَاحِبُ دِينِنَا.

“By Allah, you, the man from Quraysh, has indeed called to the best morals and the most virtues deeds and your people of Quraysh have certainly lied about you.  But you need to hear from our chief and our religious scholar Hani ibn Qabisa (هَانِئُ بْنُ قَبِيصَةَ)”. 

Hani (هَانِئُ بْنُ قَبِيصَةَ) said:

فَقَالَ لَهُ هَانِئٌ: قَدْ سَمِعْتُ مَقَالَتَكَ يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ، وَصَدَّقْتُ قَوْلَكَ، وَإِنِّي أَرَى أَنَّ تَرْكَنَا دِينَنَا وَاتِّبَاعَنَا إِيَّاكَ عَلَى دِينِكَ -لِمَجْلِسٍ جَلَسْتَهُ إِلَيْنَا لَيْسَ لَهُ أَوَّلُ وَلَا آخِرٌ، لَمْ نَتَفَكَّرْ فِي أَمْرِكَ وَنَنْظُرْ فِي عَاقِبَةِ مَا تَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ- زَلَّةٌ فِي الرَّأْيِ، وَطَيْشَةٌ فِي الْعَقْلِ، وَقِلَّةُ نَظَرٍ فِي الْعَاقِبَةِ، وَإِنَّمَا تَكُونُ الزَّلَّةُ مَعَ الْعَجَلَةِ، وَإِنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِنَا قَوْمًا نَكْرَهُ أَنْ نَعْقِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَقْدًا، وَلَكِنْ تَرْجِعُ وَنَرْجِعُ وَتَنْظُرُ وَنَنْظُرُ -وَكَأَنَّهُ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَشْرَكَهُ فِي الْكَلَامِ الْمُثَنَّى بْنُ حَارِثَةَ- فَقَالَ: وَهَذَا الْمُثَنَّى شَيْخُنَا وَصَاحِبُ حَرْبِنَا.

“I have heard what you’ve said the brother of Quraysh, and I believed in what you said, but I see that if we leave our religion and follow you embracing your religion after one meeting without giving additional thought to this matter, this will be a hasty and unwise decision by us because we would not have considered the future consequences and there is always harm in hasty decisions.  Also, we have people whom who we hate to make decision without taking their advice. But, I want to hear the opinion of our military chief, Al-Mouthana ibn Haritha (الْمُثَنَّى بْنُ حَارِثَةَ).

Al-Mouthana (الْمُثَنَّى) said:

فَقَالَ الْمُثَنَّى: قَدْ سَمِعْتُ مَقَالَتَكَ، وَاسْتَحْسَنْتُ قَوْلَكَ يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ، وَأَعْجَبَنِي مَا تَكَلَّمْتَ بِهِ، وَالْجَوَابُ هُوَ جَوَابُ هَانِئِ بْنِ قَبِيصَةَ، وَتَرْكُنَا دِينَنَا وَاتِّبَاعُنَا إِيَّاكَ لِمَجْلِسٍ جَلَسْتَهُ إِلَيْنَا، وَإِنَّا إِنَّمَا نَزَلْنَا بَيْنَ صِيرَيْنِ; أَحَدُهُمَا الْيَمَامَةُ، وَالآخَرُ السَّمَامَةُ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: «وَمَا هَذَانَ الصِّيرَانِ؟»  فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَمَّا أَحَدُهُمَا فَطُفُوفُ الْبَرِّ وَأَرْضُ الْعَرَبِ، وَأَمَّا الآخَرُ فَأَرْضُ فَارِسَ وَأَنْهَارُ كِسْرَى، وَإِنَّمَا نَزَلْنَا عَلَى عَهْدٍ أَخَذَهُ عَلَيْنَا كِسْرَى أَنْ لَا نُحْدِثَ حَدَثًا وَلَا نُؤْوِيَ مُحْدِثًا، وَلَعَلَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ الَّذِي تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا تَكْرَهُهُ الْمُلُوكُ، فَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ مِمَّا يَلِي بِلَادَ الْعَرَبِ فَذَنْبُ صَاحِبِهِ مَغْفُورٌ، وَعُذْرُهُ مَقْبُولٌ، وَأَمَّا مَا كَانَ يَلِي بِلَادَ فَارِسَ فَذَنَبُ صَاحِبِهِ غَيْرُ مَغْفُورٍ، وَعُذْرُهُ غَيْرُ مَقْبُولٍ، فَإِنْ أَرَدْتَ أَنْ نَنْصُرَكَ وَنَمْنَعَكَ مِمَّا يَلِي الْعَرَبَ فَعَلْنَا.

” The brother of Quraysh, I have heard what you said and I liked your talk and admired your speech but the answer is what Hani Ibn Qabisa (هَانِئِ بْنِ قَبِيصَةَ) gave you, if we leave our religion and follow you after our first meeting, we would have placed ourselves between two dangers. We are located between the land of the Arabs and land of Persia.   And we have a treaty with Kisra (king of Persia) that we neither create innovation nor we harbor someone who brings new matters. And the matter that you are bringing is something that kings hate.   So, if you agree, we will support you and protect form the Arabs but regarding the Persians, you will be on your own”.

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: «مَا أَسَأْتُمُ الرَّدَّ إِذْ أَفْصَحْتُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ، إِنَّهُ لَا يَقُومُ بِدِينِ اللهِ إِلَّا مَنْ حَاطَهُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ جَوَانِبِهِ».

“You have not said anything improper, you only spoke the truth, but no one will prevail with this religion of Allah unless he fulfills its obligations from all sides.”

Then the Prophet (PBUH) said:

 ثمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: «أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ لَمْ تَلْبَثُوا إِلَّا يَسِيرًا حَتَّى يَمْنَحَكُمُ اللهُ بِلَادَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ، وَيُفْرِشَكُمْ بَنَاتِهِمْ، أَتُسَبِّحُونَ اللهَ وَتُقَدِّسُونَهُ؟»

“You will see that within only short time, Allah will grant you their land and their money and you will marry their women? But you have to give Glory to Allah and declare his purification”.

Nomam ibn Shurayk (النُّعْمَانُ بْنُ شَرِيكٍ) said: (اللَّهُمَّ وَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَكَ يَا أَخَا قُرَيْشٍ) May Allah grant you this, the brother of Quyrash

The Prophet (PBUH) recited two verses from Surat Al-Ahzab:

فَتَلَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: {إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا * وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا }[الأحزاب]،

“O prophet, We sent you as a witness, and as a bearer of good news and a Warner, (45) And as caller to Allah with His permission, and as an illuminating lamp.” (Al-Ahzab 33:45-46)

Then, the Prophet (PBUH) stood holding Abu-Bakr’s hand and left.

There are at least two lessons that we can learn from his account.

The First lesson is that the Prophet (PBUH) introduced the religion of Islam by quoting the Quran.  So, if anyone ask you about Islam, do not use your own words, use Allah’s words by quoting the relevant verses from Quran that are suitable for the situation. 

The second lesson is that there are no compromises in Islam, you must enter in it with 100% commitment.  Partial obedience will neither achieve victory nor even internal personal peace. 

It must be clear that for us to fulfill our noble responsibility on this earth as Allah’s trustee, we must achieve comprehensive peace, and this includes achieving internal peace thru self-unity by ensuring the harmony between our revelation’s based  values and our actions.  Internal conflict starts when people attempt to rationalize and legitimize their inappropriate actions that are inconsistent with their basic values. 

When you succeed in achieving this self-unity, you will experience the highest form of peace and harmony within yourself.  However, this cannot be achieved unless the individual defines his values and identifies the actions that are consistent with these values.  In order to achieve self-unity, you may want to consider implementing the following four steps:

1. Prepare a list of your values.  Examples may include values such as:  faith, family, leadership, honesty, intellect, dignity, and humility.
2. Prioritize your values and select the three highest priority values. Ensure that they are consistent with the divine truth. Let your conscience, not how you perform, determine your list. 
3.  Write a paragraph stating the actions you need to take to achieve each value. As example:

• Be humble: Free myself from boasting, arrogance, and egotism, and be willing to listen and learn from others.  Minimize the value of your personal accomplishments and promote the value of others.
• Have dignity: Develop and maintain a strong sense of personal worth as I relate to myself and others.
• Be Honest: Free myself from any form of hypocrisy. Ensure that all my business dealings are fair, completely aboveboard, impeccable.

1. Bring your performance in line with your values: Set a period of solitude to audit your actions against your values and set goals to adjust your actions.  Ensuring complete harmony between your values and your action is not easy, but it is rewarding and fulfilling.  The life of the prophet’s companions gives us ample examples of those whose divinely guided values transformed them to build the best civilization known to man in extremely short time.

Let me conclude with what I started with which is that comprehensive peace can only be achieved if the believers enter Islam in its totality and any minor deviation will cause wars and chaos.  Does this mean that the cause of all the evil in the world is the Muslims?  I will leave you with this verse from Surat Al-Anfal to answer the question:

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بَعۡضُہُمۡ أَوۡلِيَآءُ بَعۡضٍ‌ۚ إِلَّا تَفۡعَلُوهُ تَكُن فِتۡنَةٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَفَسَادٌ۬ ڪَبِيرٌ۬ (٧٣)

And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, if you (Muslims) do not do so [i.e., become allies], there will be Fitnah (disorder, wars, confusion, chaos) in the land, and a great corruption. (Al-Anfal 8:73)

Are Muslims allies of each other? Since they are not, they are the cause of all the chaos and corruption in the earth.

We pray to Allah to guide us to ensures that our actions are always consistent with our beliefs.   

We pray to Allah to give us the wisdom to implement the rules of Islam in totality with no compromise or deviation.

DUA

Beware, not all believers are 100% believers:

وَمَا يُؤۡمِنُ أَڪۡثَرُهُم بِٱللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشۡرِكُونَ (١٠٦)

“And most of them do not believe Allah without associating partners with Him.” (Yusuf 12: 106)

Sister Terri comment:

In sha Allah at least one of these quizzes could be of benefit in implementing the advice given here today https://www.developgoodhabits.com/core-values-quiz/