Q81: Why do many Muslims not follow Islam the way it should be followed?

As a community, Muslims tend to follow Islam more closely than the followers of many other religions. Perhaps because of that, whenever a Muslim commits a crime or does something wrong people take them to be an accurate representation of Islam and blame the religion rather than the individual. However, what many people tend to forget is that Muslims are human just like other people and they make mistakes just like anyone else. Also, religions should not be judged according to their followers (if that were the case then people might be inclined to believe that child abuse /white supremacy is part of Christianity but I am sure that that is not the case). Therefore, this article aims to give some insights into why many Muslims might not follow Islam the way that it should be followed and bring some awareness of some common mistakes that Muslims make:

Busy with other life commitments

Life is busy for everyone nowadays and societies are more secular than in the past. Religion is therefore often ignored or given less importance. That is also the case with many Muslims who are very much only Muslim by name.

Prediction:

The Prophet PBUH already predicted some of the specific mistakes that Muslims would make. The Prophet PBUH mentioned: “Four traits in my nation are among the affairs of ignorance that they have not abandoned: boasting over status, disparaging over lineage, seeking rain by the stars, and wailing over the dead.” (Muslim 934). It can be seen then that issues such as racism, superstition and grave worship will still be practised by Muslims although these actions are not part of Islam.

Separating between religious and secular life

Some people proudly claim that they only ever read the Quran and /or do not need to read any other book or even learn another language. While it is of course good to read the Quran, it is important to also understand there are many verses in the Quran related to seeking knowledge including verses that indirectly suggest reading other books. For example:

وَالْخَيْلَ وَالْبِغَالَ وَالْحَمِيرَ لِتَرْكَبُوهَا وَزِينَةً ۚ وَيَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

˹He also created˺ horses, mules, and donkeys for your transportation and adornment. And He creates what you do not know (Surah Al Nahl: 8)

This verse encourages discovering new modes of transport, but how can people do that without reading and studying science books such as books about physics? In Islam religion and science are very much interconnected. Likewise, there was a companion, Zaid ibn Thabit, who had a talent for languages so the Prophet PBUH asked him to learn the “language of the Jews” (probably Hebrew), which he did, and then he asked him to learn the Aramaic language.

Money /fame:

Many Muslims run shops or restaurants where they sell alcohol despite knowing that it is not permissible in Islam (some claim that they only sell it but do not drink it). However, there is a warning to not even be involved with it. There is a narration: “Wine is cursed from ten angles: The wine itself, the one who squeezes (the grapes etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who consumes its price, the one who drinks it and the one who pours it.” (Ibn Majah 3380). Likewise, there are Muslims who will do many other things that contradict the teachings of Islam such as allowing women to perform belly dancing for entertaining tourists while wearing very revealing clothes. That is despite the fact that the world depends on many Muslim countries for oil, natural gas and other resources. Some people might argue then that not all countries are rich because of oil. However, there are many countries that have achieved immense success without oil. One of the best examples I can think of is Japan (to a lesser extent, Singapore and Malaysia). Despite suffering a terrible defeat after World War II, the country rebuilt itself focusing largely on technology, despite having hardly any natural resources. They did not even invent the car but still make some of the best cars in the world such as Mitsubishi, Toyota and Honda. What is even more interesting is that they managed all of these things while holding onto their traditions and culture and many people try to learn Japanese business etiquette in order to work with the Japanese. Could Muslims not learn from the Japanese?

Lack of knowledge

Many Muslims do not have much Islamic knowledge and make mistakes because of that. Here are some examples:

Hijab: Many Muslim women wear a headscarf with a T shirt or perhaps lots of makeup, but that is not part of the Hijab. I have written a separate article about this, which you can read from here
- Allah’s location: there are Muslims who claim that “Allah is everywhere”. Some believe that this relates to Allah’s knowledge being everywhere while others believe that Allah is in fact everywhere which is incorrect. It is mentioned in the Quran:

الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى

the Most Compassionate, ˹Who is˺ established on the Throne (Surah Taha: 5)

Shrines: Many Muslims build shrines and /or ask righteous people who died for things such as wealth or good health. However, this is a major sin. You can find out more from here
Following traditions and culture more than religion

One of the areas that many non-Muslims misunderstand about Islam is that they think that the religion does not have women’s rights. That is partly based on what many Muslims do such as not allowing women to go for prayer in the mosque, not allowing them to work at all in any field, giving preference to boys over girls and not giving women any inheritance. However, these are part of other cultures /traditions that have nothing to do with Islam. I have written a number of articles about issues related to women, which you can read from here. Regarding women being allowed to pray in the mosque, you can find out more from here

Making the religion too difficult

Muslims do not always go for prayer so some people deliberately prolong the prayer, perhaps in an attempt to force Muslims to spend more time praying together in congregation. From a non-Muslim’s point of view, they might think that Muslims are not dedicated to their work and not reliable if their prayers are so long and /or they regularly return late from their lunchbreaks. However, this is a complete contradiction of the teachings of the Prophet PBUH. There is a narration: “A man came to the Prophet PBUH and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I stay behind and do not perform the morning prayer (in congregation) because of so-and-so, for he makes it too long for us.’ I never saw the Messenger of Allah PBUH preaching with such anger as he did that day. He said; ‘O people! There are among you those who repel others. Whoever among you leads others in prayer, let him keep it short, for among them are those who are weak and elderly, and those who have pressing needs.’” (Sunan Ibn Majah 984).

Despair

Muslims often try to teach their children about Islam from an early age in a somewhat similar way to how followers of other religions might do with their own children. However, sometimes they might overemphasise punishments in the hellfire, which could have a negative effect on young children and cause them to despair and give up hope. However, there needs to be a balance as there is a lot of emphasis in Islam on rewards and mercy as well. In fact, out of 114 verses in the Quran, 113 of them begin with “Bismillah Al Rahman Al Rahim (In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)”.

Not aware of concessions

Many people are aware that they need to pray 5 times a day but do not know that there are concessions to make matters easier so they end up missing prayers. One of the concessions is that people are allowed to join two prayers together such as when there is excessive rain or wind or when there is a need or difficulty. As an example: many Muslims would skip or miss prayers because the days are short and they are busy (such as in the UK) but do not know that they can join the prayers together if needed. A friend once shared prayer timings with me for when he was in Lulea in Sweden, which I was shocked with. The time for Maghrib (Sunset) prayer was 00:25, Isha (evening) was 00:29 and Fajar (Dawn) was 00:34 and sunrise was 00:40! You can find out more from here

Looking at information out of context:

Many Muslims only look at a few selected verses or narrations, which can give them a great misunderstanding of the religion. An example of that is regarding children. Prayer is not obligatory on children and parents are instructed to teach them how to pray by the age of 7. While that is a blessing that children do not have extra pressure of needing to pray perfectly from an early age, many people take the wrong meaning and many and do not allow children into prayer areas with some people even going as far as putting up a sign outside “no children under the age of 7 allowed”. This is in complete contrast to what the Prophet PBUH taught. There is a narration: “The Messenger of Allah PBUH was delivering a Khutbah to us when Al-Hasan and Al-Husain [peace be upon them] came, wearing red shirts, walking and falling down. So the Messenger of Allah PBUH descended from the Minbar and carried them, and placed them in front of him. Then he said: ‘Allah spoke the Truth: Indeed, your wealth and your children are a trial (64:15). I looked at these two children walking and falling down, and I could not bear patiently anymore until I interrupted my talk and picked them up.” (Al Tirmithi: 3774). A “Khutbah” is the Friday sermon and Hasan and Hussain were his grandsons. Likewise, there is another narration: “I saw the Messenger of Allah PBUH leading the people in prayer, carrying Umamah bint Abi Al-‘As on his shoulder. When he bowed he put her down and when he finished prostrating he picked her up again.” (Al Nisai: 1204). “Umamah” was the granddaughter of the Prophet PBUH. I am by no means suggesting that people should let children run around screaming in the prayer area, but if they are always turned away from the main prayer area when they are young, why should they suddenly take an interest in prayer many years later when they are 7?

Own interpretation

Some Muslims are very knowledgeable but sometimes they might make the mistake of letting their pride overtake them. People are of course entitled to their own personal opinions but the problem occurs when they try to force their opinion onto others. An example of that could be with the rights of parents (there is a lot of emphasis on respecting parents’ rights in Islam). Some parents will overemphasise this and even go as far as comparing themselves to Prophet Ibrahim /Abraham PBUH and expect their children to treat them like Prophet Ishmail /Ismail PBUH. It is mentioned in the Quran:

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ

Then when the boy reached the age to work with him, Abraham said, “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I ˹must˺ sacrifice you. So tell me what you think.” He replied, “O my dear father! Do as you are commanded. Allah willing, you will find me steadfast.” (Al Saffat: 102)

There are parents who like to emphasise their children’s rights towards them but not their rights towards their children, which is a sin. Likewise, some parents will take matters further and believe that they have special rights over their daughter in laws, which can result in abusing their own children and potentially damage their marriages. You can find out more from here and here

Focusing on minor things rather than major things

There are different types of sins and crimes at different levels. For example: if someone is an alcoholic, that it is a crime but it is nothing compared to committing murder. Likewise, it is similar in Islam. While it is well known that Muslims do not drink alcohol, there are bigger sins that are much more prevalent, either because Muslims are not very educated or because they neglect them. One such example is taking interest. It is mentioned in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ (278) فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۖ وَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ

O believers! Fear Allah, and give up outstanding interest if you are ˹true˺ believers. If you do not, then beware of a war with Allah and His Messenger! But if you repent, you may retain your principal—neither inflicting nor suffering harm (Surah Al Baqara 278-279)

Blind following

Many Muslims accept that they do not have much knowledge about Islam and are eager to learn but unfortunately, they do not always know where to get information from, sometimes learning from the wrong people or even blind following their teachers. While they have good intentions, sometimes they might be misled. Many people who speak about Islam have made incorrect or controversial comments. For example: I heard that someone famous claimed that Allah prayed the Janaza /funeral prayer for the Prophet PBUH. This is completely wrong. Receiving such incorrect information could also potentially lead to people leaving Islam. I have written a separate article about this including some sources where people could go to find information about Islam at the bottom of the page, which you can read from here. If people need advice on modern issues that did not exist in the past, perhaps they can refer to scholars. If people have difficulty reaching them, perhaps they can try searching here or here

Harshness

There are many Muslims who regularly pray and fast but they do not treat others well. This is a problem as it mentioned in the Quran:

فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

It is out of Allah’s mercy that you ˹O Prophet˺ have been lenient with them. Had you been cruel or hard-hearted, they would have certainly abandoned you. So pardon them, ask Allah’s forgiveness for them, and consult with them in ˹conducting˺ matters. Once you make a decision, put your trust in Allah. Surely Allah loves those who trust in Him (Surah Al Imran: 159)

The Prophet PBUH mentioned: “Do you know who is poor? They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: A poor man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The poor of my Umma would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then his sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire.” (Muslim: 2581)

Embarrassment

If somebody does not know basic facts or things that are quite well known, it can be quite embarrassing to ask as others might mock them for not knowing about something. That is also somewhat true if someone is not aware of things such as how to pray or fast, perhaps they never did that ever before but want to change. Likewise, someone might become Muslim but might not manage to perform all their duties immediately and need time to build a habit, such as praying all 5 daily prayers. Simply mocking them will turn them away even further.

Blaming others too much

Many Muslims will often spend their time finding others’ faults or judging them rather than trying to look at their own mistakes. It is mentioned in the Quran:

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ ۗ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

For each one there are successive angels before and behind, protecting them by Allah’s command. Indeed, Allah would never change a people’s state ˹of favour˺ until they change their own state ˹of faith˺. And if it is Allah’s Will to torment a people, it can never be averted, nor can they find a protector other than Him (Surah Al Raad: 11)

People should raise awareness of mistakes but sometimes rushing to place judgement can be a problem as there might be other things that they are not aware of and they end up falling into sins themselves. For example: when I was teaching somewhere, there was a student who was shaking hands with everyone with his left hand but one of the teachers did not like that and rebuked him saying “it should really be the right hand” to which the student simply smiled and continued as normal. Later, the teacher noticed light coming through the student’s sleeve and realized that he only had one arm! The teacher was probably more knowledgeable about Islam than the student, but clearly the student responded better.

Not controlling their emotions

There is a narration: A man said to the Prophet, “Advise me! “The Prophet PBUH said, “Do not become angry and furious.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet PBUH said in each case, “Do not become angry and furious.” (Bukhari: 6116). While this advice exists, many Muslims do not follow it and do not control their emotions. Therefore, when someone provokes Muslims such as by making cartoons of the Prophet PBUH, they make the mistake of becoming angry and committing a major sin by killing innocent people. It is mentioned in the Quran:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ

That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity. ˹Although˺ Our messengers already came to them with clear proofs, many of them still transgressed afterwards through the land (Surah Al Maida: 32)

I hope you have found this information beneficial and insightful. Please feel free to do your own research on the topics.