Islams Reformers

small as a mustard seed will attain its reward.” (Sûrat al-Anbiyâ,
47) and “He who does goodness in the slightest degree will get its
reward.” Furthermore, there are the hadîths stating that Hâtim
Tâî who was very generous, and Abû Lahab, who emancipated his
jâriya Suwaiba, who had given him the good news of the Prophet’s
birth, will be tortured lightly. And the hadîth reporting that the
punishment of Abû Tâlib, who loved the Prophet (’alaihi ’s-salâm)
very much, will be light is very famous. Disbelievers living in dâr
al-Islâm have to follow the mu’âmalât part of Islam, and following
Islam causes one to earn reward or one’s punishment to be
alleviated. Since there is no reward for disbelievers in the next
world, it is probable that their punishment will be alleviated.
Moreover, one who embraces Islam will attain the rewards of the
good deeds he has done before becoming a Muslim. As it is
reported in the Sahîhain of al-Bukhârî and Muslim, Hakîm ibn
Hazâm, when he embraced Islam, asked the Prophet (’alaihi ’ssalâm)
about the good deeds he had done before embracing the
true faith. The Prophet said, “You became a Muslim, the
auspicious and useful deeds you have done before being
acceptable.”
[When an unbeliever becomes a Muslim, all the sins he has
committed are forgiven. [1]
Similarly, when a Muslim (Allah
forbid!) loses his îmân and becomes an apostate, all the favours he
has done become void.]
The Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîf show that îmân
is the belief within the heart, that is, its affirmation by the heart.
The âyats “Those who believe and those who do pious deeds,”
and “Those who perform pious deeds after having believed,”
indicate that belief and deeds are separate. If deeds were a part of
îmân, they would not be declared separately. When something is
attributed to something else, it will be understood that the two
things are different. In the âyat, “When two groups of Muslims
fight each other, reconcile them,” (sûrat al-Hujurât, 9) those
Muslims who commit sins, like fighting each other are still called
“Muslims”. The âyat, “Certainly Muslims are brothers. Reconcile
your brothers!” (sûrat al-Hujurât, 10) declares that they are
Believers. Allâhu ta’âlâ says, “Certainly Allah does not forgive
polytheism. He forgives the sins except polytheism of whomever
He wills,” (sûrat an-Nisâ, 47, 115) and the hadîth says, “Hadrat
[1] And he becomes absolutely pure. Therefore, we should try to win his
prayer for us by showing respect and affection towards him.
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