I heard a question on a reality TV show recently from a Muslim who was thinking about faith and practice. He was asking whether it is okay for some people to follow just some bits of the religion. He said “I think if there is somebody out there who says, ‘I am only going to do one,’ I think that’s cool, if they are getting something from it. But is it okay to cherry pick which part of religion you want?”
People tend to look at religion the wrong way round, seeing its obligations as burdensome, and seeking to avoid them, whereas in fact it is giving goodness to them and taking away some of their burdens. This is counter-productive, or even self-destructive. This question is a lot like somebody who does not want to follow the advice of his dentist who is recommending the avoidance of sugary foods and regular brushing and flossing. It is like asking, “Is it okay if I just give up eating toffees? And I hate using floss, and I don’t have time to brush my teeth every night and morning, so is it okay if I just brush my teeth really well a few times a week?
يريد الله بكم اليسرى و لا يريد بكم العسرى
Allah desires ease for you and does not desire for you hardship. (2:185)
يريد الله أن يخفف عنكم و خلق الإنسان ضعيفا
Allah desires to lighten (your burdens) and mankind was created weak. (4: 28)
ما أنزلنا إليك القرأن لتشقى
We did not send down to you the Qur’an to cause you hardship. (20:1)
The answer from the Qur’an is
ياأيها الذين ءامنوا ادخلوا في السلم كافة و لا تتبعوا خطوات الشيطان إنه لكم عدو مبين
Oh people who believe, enter into peace completely, (holding nothing back) and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan. He is for you an open enemy. (2:210)
We can see that we are urged to surrender completely. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how one can submit partially. What does it mean to be peaceful in some things and not in others? Can that be peace? However, this is the illusion which Shaitan encourages us with: that gets us to rebel, maybe in small ways initially, but his aim is to get us further and further down the slippery slope.
And Allah warns us in the Qur’an,
والذين كذبوا بآياتنا سنستدرجهم من حيث لا يعلمون
And those who reject our signs, we will lead them step by step to their ruin without their even perceiving it. (7:182)
And Allah warns us against worshipping Allah half-heartedly:
و من الناس من يعبد الله على حرف فإذا أصابه خير أنمأن به و إن أصابه فتنة انقلب على وجهه خسر الدنيا والآخرة ذلك هو الخسران المبين
And amongst people is someone who worships Allah on the margins, for if he is given goodness, he is contented with it, and if he is given trials, he falls on his face, losing both this world and the hereafter. That is the biggest loss. (22:11)
Here this ayat is showing that Islam is surrendering to and being contented with Allah’s decree, even in times of difficulty and hardship. This shows that attitude is extremely important in the religion, as sincerity is at the heart of being Muslim. However, sincerity is not about being extreme.
“Say to the People of the Book, “do not go to extremes in religion against what is truth, and do not follow the desires of those who went astray before and led many astray and went astray from the balanced path.”
Thus, in sincere surrender lies safety.
However, it is indeed better to do only a little bit than to abandon it completely. Al Ghazali tells the story of a thief who was seen doing tawaf around the Kaaba. A person said to him, “Are you, a thief, doing tawaf? What is the point of that?” And the thief replied, “Shall I not leave at least one door open to Allah’s mercy?”
Is it okay to just follow just some bits of the religion?
