Brothers and Sisters, Allah says in the Quran:
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.
(6: 162)
Islam, submitting our will to the will of Allah, this is our whole life. It isn’t just prayer. It isn’t just dua. It is working a halaal job to please Allah. It is good treatment to family, friends and strangers. It is enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is being clean. It is eating halal food. It is speaking good and staying away from bad speech. It is doing what is good and staying away from what is evil. It is standing upon truth and speaking out against falsehood. It is being just and fighting oppression. It is taking part in halaal forms of entertainment. It is giving dawah to Muslims and non-Muslims. For the Muslim it is his whole life.
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.
(5:3)
Our way of life, Al-Islam, is perfect. We have no need to follow anyone else’s religion or way of life. This includes Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, Secularism, Liberalism, Feminism, and so on. Islam is already complete. Knowingly adding anything to it, would be admitting that it is incomplete, which would be kufr.
When we say secularism, we mean this belief that religion is separate from life, whereas from the verses I recited earlier we know that Islam is our lives. They are not separate and cannot be separated. So a Muslim who believes that Islam is only in the mesjid, or only when among Muslims, he is in clear error and is following the belief of secularism.
Liberalism is believing that the individual should be free to do anything so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Now the liberals define what it means to hurt someone. So for them LGBTQ+ hurts no one. Abortion hurts no one. Pornography hurts no one. Interest hurts no one. Why should people be stopped from aborting their own babies, when it’s their body and it should be their choice? This is the belief of Liberalism, and a Muslim believing this is in clear error.
Many hours could be spent breaking apart these kuffari beliefs, but the point is these beliefs are not from Allah, they are from man. Which means they are most definitely flawed, and they are not for Muslims.
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ
Indeed, the only accepted religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.
(3:19)
The only belief accepted by Allah is Islam. And as we said Islam has already been completed. Nothing can be added to it. So what do we think of someone who calls themselves a Feminist Muslim? Or a Liberal Muslim? Should we follow the made up beliefs of the kuffar who disbelieve in Allah, and have nothing waiting for them except Hell? Should they be our example and role model? Should they be the teachers of our children? Should we be teaching from their books as though it’s haqq from Allah?
وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
And whoever desires other than Islam as a religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.
(3:85)
You want to add feminism, secularism, liberalism, budhhism, and so on to Islam? Never will it be accepted. Islam is perfect. It has no need for those imperfections. How can you compare fallible man’s made up beliefs to the divine belief sent by the Creator of everything? Why would you even want any of their kufr ideas? We need to check our beliefs. Are they in line with Quran and Sunnah. We cannot know if they are or aren’t, unless we study the Quran and Sunnah. The amount of years we spend studying secular education. 12 years of schooling, 4-5 years of bachelor’s, 2 years for the masters, another 4 years for a PhD. That’s nearly 2 decades. But how many years have we studied Islam at even near the same level? Maybe 0. None. Which one is truth with no doubt? Islam of course. Which one is more worthy of studying? Islam no doubt.
Yes secular education will in general provide us the necessary education to live a good dunya life, by Allah’s will. Maybe 40 or 50 years after graduation. But living Islam will provide us with an eternity of Paradise. I’m not saying don’t study. I’m saying have your priorities straight. How can we be studying business but not know the rules of business transactions in Islam? If you’re going to get a BA or MA in business then get one in Islamic business as well. How can we be studying in law school but not know basic laws or fiqh of Islam? How can we study for so long and not know even what we’re saying in our salaah? Not even know really what the shahada means? Not really know what our purpose on this Earth is? Do we think living Islam means, going to a haraam job, buying from our haraam money, paying off our interest based mortgage, not praying at work till we get home, not knowing what we’re saying in prayer, allowing our women to dress immodestly outside, listening to music, watching barely dressed women and haraam relationships on netflix, not picking up the Quran, not reminding each other of Allah, then going to sleep? Is this an Islamic life?
I ask Allah to guide us towards His way. The way of His prophet, his companions the righteous generations that followed. I pray we can see evil for evil and good for good, and that we accept the good and stay away from the evil. I pray we have the courage to speak out against evil with wisdom, fearing no one except Allah alone. I pray we can raise our children to be true followers of Islam.