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A Religion of Action
Islam is a religion of action, not of idleness. In the Quran, almost in all places the mention of faith is invariably followed by that of good deeds. All of us are familiar with the oft-repeated expressionaamanu wa amelus salihat (those who believe and do good deeds) in the Quran. No matter how sincerely Muslims may believe, it is pointless for them to live a life without putting their faith into action and practice. In the Quran, the word amal (work) appears 360 times, and a synonymous term fil(also translated as work) is mentioned in another 109 places. So altogether the concept of work appears 469 times in the Quran. This recurrent use of the concept of work in the Quran and in innumerable hadiths emphasizes the need for the believers to be proactive. Islam does not support any idea of waiting for Gods blessing in idleness. Nor is God happy with those Muslims who perform some basic daily and periodic rituals and spend most of their time in indolence and idleness, for example, in watching TV or gossiping with friends and family. In other words, the teachings of Islam do not suggest that it is enough for Muslims to profess faith and perform some rituals, but do nothing for the benefit of themselves or the wider society. Rather, in Islam true faith and sincere deeds are inseparable. Islam promotes the idea of earning with continuous struggle what God has allotted for a person. As the Quran states: {That man can have nothing but what he strives for; that (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight. Then he will be rewarded with a complete reward.}(53: 39-41)
refuge from laziness or idleness. We all know that even before he was chosen as a messenger of God, he was well-known as a hardworking and trustworthy person. This earned him the respect of his employer, Khadijah, who later proposed marriage to him because of all the merits and virtues she saw in him. Islam not only encourages us to be proactive and to work hard. It also puts an emphasis on doing our work in the best possible manner; in other words, it promotes comprehensive excellence. The Quranic term for excellenc e is ihsan and two of its derivatives are muhsin and its plural muhsinun. The word ihsanand its various derivatives occur innumerable times in the Quran. And this tells us about the enormous importance of excellence in work in Islam. Islam does not stop simply by advising us to do good deeds. It tells us to do good deeds and to excel in good deeds. The Quran states: {If Allah had wished He would surely have made you one community (professing one faith). But He wished to try and test you by that which He gave you. So try to excel in good deeds. To Him you will all return in the end, when He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.}(Al-Ma'idah 5: 48). Prophet Muhammad also did not stop by guiding us to do good deeds; he also made it a point to tell us to perform our good deeds in the best possible manner. He said: "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately. . . Always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course, whereby you will reach your target (of paradise)." (Al-Bukhari)