booke

56chapter onebe a Muslim-Believer ( al-mu"min), but not all Muslim-Assenters areMuslim-Believers. One might, for example, believe in God, theHereafter, and ‘doing what is righteous’ and still not believe inMuÈammad’s (ß) messengerhood. However, a Muslim-Believer is, bydefinition and self-designation, a Muslim-Assenter too, since abeliever always assents to God.Al-isl§m is the more general type of faith. It is the universal, humanreligion of all people on earth. That is the reason why it is called‘Islamic religion’ ( al-dÊn al-isl§mÊ), not ‘religion of faith’ ( al-dÊn al-Êm§nÊ).We also remember that God said: ‘the religion before Allah is al-isl§m’($l #Imr§n 3:19) and ‘if anyone desires a religion other than al-isl§m,never will it be accepted of Him’ ($l #Imr§n 3:85). Al-Êm§n, in contrast,is a very specific term for those who follow MuÈammad (ß). 49Allah has coined the term ‘believers’ ( al-mu"minån) to refer to thosewho believe in His Prophet (ß). The term ‘commander of the faithful’(amÊr al-mu"minÊn) has been specifically created for Muslim-Believers.It was first used during the reign of #Umar b. al-Khaãã§b; note thatthe Caliph was not called ‘commander of the Muslims’ (amÊral-muslimÊn). Also, the wives of the Apostle MuÈammad (ß) were called‘mothers of the believers’ (ummah§t al-mu"minÊn) and not ‘mothers ofthe Muslims’!Al-isl§m is consistent with human nature ( al-fiãra), but al-Êm§n is not.To believe in God—and only one God—can be compared to thenatural instinct of an ant that cannot help but be trampled underfootby its fellow ants or with a tortoise that digs holes in the banks of ariver or the seashore to hatch its eggs there. In other words, we arenaturally disposed to believe in God and ‘do what is righteous’. TheBook says:Say: “I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has cometo me, that your God is one God: whoever expects to meet his Lord,49MS believes that the now antiquated terms for ‘Muslims’, for example inFrench (Mahométans), German (Mohammedaner), and English (Muhammedans), do in factreflect more adequately the fact that ‘Muslim-Believers’ are the followers of MuÈammad.The pejorative sense of these words, insofar as they seem to suggest that‘Muhammedans’ worship MuÈammad or think of him—analogous to how ‘Christians’believe in ‘Christ"—as God, needs of course to be omitted. Once it has beenclarified that MuÈammad is human and a prophet, the term ‘Muhammedans’ mightbe used again to designate Muslim-Believers.