Who is an ideal Muslim?

In today's hyper-connected world, it is as easy to disinform as it is to disseminate facts.  Interestingly, the popular media projects a lot of incorrect stereotypes about what Muslims are like and why everyone should be afraid of them.  Unfortunately, many of us who are Muslims accept these arguments at their face value.

We have to scratch below the surface and try to understand the kind of person an ideal Muslim is meant to be.  In the segments below, I try to summarize the most common and prevalent characteristics of a Muslim as defined in the Holy Quran.  These are listed here in no particular order:

Honesty:  Honesty is a very basic pillar of a society and no society can thrive without it.  In a legal sense, honesty relates to utilization of factual information in an upright manner.   In a societal sense, honesty relates to all aspects of human interactions – ranging from business dealings to the very personal ones.

Humility:  A primary personal trait is humility, which is an explicit antithesis of arrogance.  This stems from the fact that each person is subject to a higher moral authority of God – a most common way of demonstrating humility to God is through prayer.  The absence of arrogance – a trait very hard to find in the Muslim world today – in turn defines social interactions in societies and is the basis for kinder interactions amongst members of a society.

Peacefulness:  It is very clear that the Holy Quran’s instructions to people are to stay away from creating chaos and unrest in societies, or between societies.  Individuals are expected to stay away from even minor discord, but certainly away from unjust bloodshed.  It is unfortunate that most Muslim societies today have forgotten this very basic tenet and people are very trigger-happy to jump into "action" at the slightest provocation -- the result is that many Muslim societies are characterized as violent.

Belief in Divinity:  Individuals have to believe that there is a need for divine guidance and in fact that guidance is available to us in the form of divine scriptures.  This belief leads to a number of related aspects: belief in the oneness of God; belief in that God has established a mechanism for delivery of his message through human beings of extraordinary character; and belief that justice and accountability require a post-life assessment combined with rewarding/punishment arrangements.

Faithfulness:  This is a pretty broad concept, so we can slice it down to better understand it.  In a limited sense, faithfulness applies to all human relationships – between husband and wife, between family members, between colleagues, and between leaders and followers.  In a different sense, it can also be described as faithfulness to ones beliefs.  This means that what our belief should drive our personal agenda in life.

Fiscal Prudence:  It is expected that an ideal person would have a balance between philanthropy and cautiousness.  The Holy Quran establishes mechanism for obligatory and optional charity, including describing ways in which it is meant to help with societal cohesion.  Equally, there is a strong caution against excessive spending and reckless showmanship.

Let me close off with three thoughts to ponder upon:

First, a person who has the combination of the above characteristics will be a formidable personality and character.  She or he would be able to command leadership in all aspects of societal development and growth. 

Second, the list above -- abstracted from the Holy Quran -- does not include mention of how long the beard is, or how high are pant sleeves above ankles, or what kind of rituals to perform in our day to day lives.  It should be a good indication that we are buried neck-deep in rituals that have little or nothing to do with our character as Muslims.

Third, we need to look in the mirror and assess where we are lacking.  There is no doubt that we as a society fall very short of these ideals.  Fixing these character flaws can start with the "man (or woman) in the mirror" -- fortunately, we have the moral GPS available to guide us in this endeavour.