I have not been writing for so long I have been commenting on other' people site and one I would like to go to is American Bedu. I do not know her but I follow, curious because many Muslims fundamentalist regard her as a spy. So i comment in her blog many a times. You can visit her at http://americanbedu.com/ . What i like of her blog is because she is an American Woman who married a saudi. Her Husband has just passed away and she is suffering from cancer. My comment is publish and i am happy because you never know whether it be publish or not here is an article that was publish and which i commented recently.

Saudi Arabia: How Religious Must a Muslim Be to Be ‘Good?’

Posted on May 15, 2010 by American Bedu

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Earlier posts which I had written got a little bit off topic onto a discussion on how religious a Muslim must be to be considered a good Muslim. I thought this was a good topic which warranted its own separate post. A Muslim might describe himself or herself as not religious yet on further discussion that meant for a woman, she may choose to not wear a niqab or for a man, he may not choose to sport a beard. Yet on the other hand, the man and woman both believe in and practice the five pillars of Islam: The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: أركان الإسلام) is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim. These duties are Shahadah (profession of faith), Salat (prayers), Sawm (fasting), Zakat (giving of alms, specifically during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca, the place where the most famous islamic temple is located). These five practices are essential to Muslims.

So would this woman and man be considered a good Muslim or not? Does the physical appearance impact on how pious or good a Muslim is? Would a woman who is fully covered and never plucks her eyebrows or wears any make-up automatically be perceived as a good Muslim? Or how about the man with a short thobe and bushy beard, would he be considered a good Muslim? I think we as individuals are sometimes too quick to judge. And when it comes down to it, it’s really not our place to judge anyway. That decision is up to Allah who is all forgiving and merciful.

My Comment

wan zaharizan, on May 16, 2010 at 11:26 am Said:

This is (my)must take on Pillars of Islam and Faith. First I am not and will not consider myself an Ulema, I am a student thus if any mistake it is mine and my own interpretation of what I know.
We first must have faith. They are six you can (call)them pillar of faith in Islam. Believe in one god, believe in the apostles, In the Angels, In the holy books, in Armageddon and Providence. We must hold to this faith and i think many do hold that belief. They might call a God Brahma, Isthar etc but it is one God. It can be of 3 or manifest in many. In Islam we are taught that they are many messengers but as Muslim we are required to know of only 25. Nobody could say that Buddha is not one of his disciple or others who founded other religion but as Muslims we belief that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. Can they be other holy Man? We can never discount them but as the Quran says “onto you your religion onto mine mine” we leave it at that. But we must as a Muslim show respect to these learned man and let it be.

The Pillars of Islam is the manifestation of our faith. We recite the shahadah which is to me a baiath, an allegiance a pledge where we proclaim Muhammad is our leader and reaffirm in our belief in Allah thus we must fulfill our duties pray, pay alms. fasting and go to Haj. But again we are given leeway in showing or doing our duties (as) clearly elucidated by Daisy.

Having said that we are regarded as Khalifah of God. Understand the word Khalifah well. It is not Guardian or Leader but more than that. We are both but also the protector of God’s Garden thus we should be the leader in protecting the environment not destroying them. In the Quran it is (required of)as of us not to take more than we should but do we follow? A Muslim is not just prostrating and wearing Garbs but manifest him or herself in how he treated his fellow Man, His behavior, his environment, how he treats other creatures of God and in his manners!

That is a Khalifah, that is a Muslim i.e. one who surrender himself to God and that Sir Madam should be our Aspiration!

Go here to read the articles and other comments http://americanbedu.com/2010/05/15/saudi-arabia-how-religious-must-a-muslim-be-to-be-%E2%80%98good/#comment-41063 For me the Muslims in Malaysia must learn to engage with people. We must be able to correct misconception. We then could grow.