Honor and Dignity, Sheikh Ahmed Bermejo

I would like to begin these words with a brief explanation of what it means and what it means to be a Muslim, because today I am afraid that it is not fully understood, because they want to turn Islam into something that is reduced to saying five prayers a day and fasting the month of Ramadan.
This, of course, is part of Islam, in fact it is the cornerstone of Islam, but it is not everything, much less everything, there are many other aspects that are part of Islam that we often forget.
Why are we going to talk about these other aspects today?
Because they are the key aspects, the aspects that will increase our self-esteem, our identity and that, above all, will make us feel proud of being Muslims, since that is what we need today, especially you, the youngest, it is necessary that you know what Islam is so that you feel proud of being Muslims.
For when we turn on the television or look at Facebook, what is said about Islam?
That it is evil, that it is dark, that it is vengeful, that it is war, jihad, strife, death, blood, terrorism, extremism and a long etcetera… But that, all that, really has nothing to do with Islam.
What is Islam?
It is the middle path, the middle path, the path of balance, the path that is far from extremes.
And the best way to explain this is to talk about the Prophet of Islam, the Messenger Muhammad, salla allaahu alayhi wa sallam. Since he is our reference, he is our role model, the hero that all of us should aspire to follow.
And was he an extremist?
I can assure you that it is not; on the contrary, he was a simple, humble person, with a refined heart, who had an exquisite treatment towards those near and far, towards friends and enemies, towards the old and the small.
In fact, do you know what his main mission was?
He was sent, as he himself said, to perfect, to complete the noble qualities of character and behavior.
So was he sent to kill, to murder innocent people, to teach Muslims that what they should do is murder those who are not like them?
No, on the contrary, he was sent to teach us to treat people with respect, with courtesy, whether they are friends or not, whether they are Muslims or not.
Why?
For as Allah says in the Qur’an describing His Prophet:

“And We have sent You only as a mercy to all the worlds.”

So, if the Prophet was sent as a mercy to all the worlds and we as Muslims have the obligation to imitate him and try to be like him, why are there people who call themselves Ahmed, Muhammad, Fatima and Mariam, and claim to be Muslims, commit heinous acts and kill innocent people?
I’m going to tell you, because they don’t know what Islam is, they don’t understand what Islam is, they don’t feel proud of being Muslims, they don’t have dignity, they don’t have respect for anyone, but above all, they don’t have respect for themselves.
I will give you an example of how the Messenger of Allah acted towards his enemies; there are many, but I personally love this one, because it best demonstrates the dignity of the Messenger Muhammad. Does anyone know what the Prophet of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, did when he arrived in Mecca, a city from which he had been expelled, a city whose inhabitants, for more than twenty years, had insulted, ill-treated, vilified, attacked, even tried to assassinate him?
Did he kill them?
Did he punish them?
Did he imprison them?
No, he forgave them all, declared a general amnesty, said: “Do not be afraid, there is no vengeance against you, today you are all forgiven.”
And why did Messenger Muhammad do this?
Because this is Islam.
He recognized his role, he knew that Allah had sent him as a mercy, he knew that being a Muslim implied recognizing his role, and this gave him honor and dignity.
The Prophet knew that Islam is light and was determined to illuminate as many people as possible with that light, being the first to be illuminated with that light.
He was the first to be honored to possess that light, he was the first to be proud of being a Muslim, he was the first to respect himself.
Because being a Muslim implies this, it is not just saying five prayers, it is not just fasting in Ramadan; it is to feel proud of being one, it is to know that Islam is something special, it is a treasure, the most precious treasure we can have, since Islam gives us tranquility, gives us tranquility, gives us calm, gives us patience, confidence, passion, gratitude, sincerity, gives us, above all things, happiness.
Muslims who recognize all this are happy, and the secret is to share that happiness with others; But we will never be able to do it, it is totally impossible for us to do it, if we are not proud to be Muslims.
You are at an age when, because of everything that is happening in the world, it is often difficult to find that feeling of dignity and honour with respect to Islam; It is possible that many of you, in your schools or institutes, are mistreated for the mere fact of being Muslim, or well, it may not amount to that much, but it is possible that you do feel some kind of rejection for being Muslim.
This is normal today, unfortunately it is; but what you cannot allow is that feeling of enmity that exists with respect to Islam to take hold of you and make you inferior, because you are not, we are not, at no time can we think that because we are Muslims we are inferior or worse than the rest, because do you want me to tell you something?
It is just the opposite: Islam elevates us, Islam gives us dignity and honor.
How is this possible?
Because the Muslim understands Islam as something beyond a series of prayers throughout the day and night.
The Muslim who recognizes his role in this world, the Muslim who truly believes in Allah, recognizes that the path of Islam is the path established by Allah and is therefore the path that elevates and does not lower, the path that goes up and not down.
Now, we must make a warning that is very necessary: and that is that this feeling of pride, dignity and self-esteem that we must feel inside ourselves for being Muslims, can never lead us, ever, to despise others, or to mistreat them, or to treat them as if they were inferior. In fact, if you want advice, do the opposite; treat those who are not Muslims even better, do it and you will see wonders, you will see how that person who probably did not know about Islam more than what he has seen on television begins to change; and best of all, you don’t have to talk to him about Islam, you just have to behave like a Muslim, all you have to do is apply what the Messenger Muhammad was sent for: the noble qualities of character and behavior.
This must be the behaviour of Muslims, although unfortunately on many occasions it is not, but that cannot lead us to deny that this is our goal and our objective.
Because, you know what?
Islam is something social, we have not been created to live isolated, isolated from the world, without having relations with other human beings.
In fact, there are Muslims today who think that yes, you can only be a “good” Muslim if you don’t have any contact or relationship with non-Muslims.
Be clear that this is a tremendous mistake.
The relationships we have, sometimes they will be with Muslims and others, maybe even most, will be with non-Muslims.
What should our relations with non-Muslims be like?
Should we avoid them and stay away from them?
When Prophet Muhammad received the revelation of the Qur’an, did he withdraw from the people?
Did he stop having dealings and relationships with non-Muslims?
No, of course not, he still had a relationship with them.
In fact, there is a very curious event.
I don’t know if you know that after receiving the revelation, the Prophet spent 13 years in Makkah.
During those thirteen years his enemies attacked him, insulted him, threw garbage on his head while he was praying, tried to assassinate him on more than one occasion, hated him above anything else.
And despite all this, you know what?
He was the only person his enemies trusted.
When he was about to emigrate to Madinah, he had to leave Sayiduna ‘Ali for a few days in Makkah to return to all the people the things that had been left in deposit.
And it was like that: his enemies, when they went on a trip, left him their riches because he was the only person they could trust.
And why was that so?
Because Muhammad, salla allahu alaihi wa sallam, was the trustworthy one, because he had imbibed the Message of Islam, because he had dignity, because he respected himself and others.
He was the implementation of Islam, he was the Qur’an walking, as described by his wife ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her.
And this is really Islam: trust, security, respect, gratitude, kindness, generosity, this is putting the Qur’an into practice, this is what it means to be a Muslim.
One of the great evils of today is that honor has been lost.
And it has been lost because it has been devalued, it has become a quality of the ancients; and our work, what we must do is recover that honor. Recover honor because it will give you strength, it will give you courage, it will give you confidence to face the problems and situations of life that you will have to live, recover honor because it will make you go forward, since honor is the key, it is the secret to increase and strengthen your dignity; and all this is part of the qualities and characteristics of human beings and, above all, it is a large part of the legacy that the Prophet Muhammad left and taught us, salla allahu alaihi wa sallam.
Recover honor because then you will be changing your lives and those of the people around you, recover honor because then you will exchange bad character for good character, you will replace laziness with energy and vigor.
Greed will be replaced by generosity.
Anger and resentment will be replaced by sweetness of heart and tranquility.
What does all this mean that we are talking about?
Why are we talking so much about what it means and means to be a Muslim?
Because, as we said at the beginning, today they try to make Muslims themselves believe that being a Muslim is only saying five prayers and fasting during the month of Ramadan.
But as we are seeing, this is not so, being a Muslim means much, much more.
Being a Muslim implies kindness towards everyone, it implies good treatment towards others, it implies generosity towards everyone, it implies respect for everyone, it implies having a smile on your face towards everyone, it implies welcoming everyone with open arms.
One of the great men of knowledge of Islam, Imam As-Sulami, may Allah be pleased with him, describes those who are Muslims, or rather, those who bring Islam into all aspects of their lives and soak up the example of the Messenger Muhammad, salla allaahu alaihi wa sallam.
He describes them in a wonderful way and this is what each and every one of us should aspire to in our lives.
And I can assure you that if you succeed, you will become true leaders in the future.
This noble Imam says, may Allah be pleased with him:

• They bring joy into the lives of their peers and meet their needs to the best of their ability.
• They overlook the injustices they suffer, but they are firm when it comes to being fair to others.
• They avoid criticizing their peers and do not take into account the mistakes they make.
• They restrain themselves from being offended and are extremely cautious not to cause affront.
• They are firm about practicing their beliefs, but they are careful about imposing that same firmness on others.
• They are generous and magnanimous.
• They are affable with their peers.
• They allow their colleagues to use their things as if they were their own.
• They are hospitable and invite people to share their food.
• They make sure that their friends and neighbors, regardless of religion, have what they need.
• They are content with little, but they wish that others had a lot.
• They always tell the truth.
• They keep their word and protect what is entrusted to them.
• They love to share the joys of their peers.
• They do not boast about themselves or their good deeds.
• They seek good company and avoid bad company as if it were the plague.

The one of you who is able to implant this in his life, I can assure you, will become a great leader in the future, people will love him, people will follow him, people will take him as an example and as a model and then he will be able to raise his head with pride, with high self-esteem and will be able to say: I have all this because I am a Muslim.
Sheikh Ahmed Bermejo http://ahmedbermejo.com