What Is The Minimum Criteria To Be Called As Muslim
This matter is very complex and now muslims living abroad and marrying in other faiths has resulted in lot of young people, with religious mindset, mire and more confused and in the end they don’t want a “label” of muslim or Hindu 1.Firstly, religion is private, it’s between u and ur God and so only you can decide what u believe. We can’t say if someone is muslim or not. Only exception is legal issues like divorce, marriage, inheritance etc. court will decide if someone should be dealt with as a muslim. Lot of Hindus do not believe in idols, many famous people openly refuted idol worship. Denying idol worship isn’t Tauheed. Tauheen is a concept encircle ones whole existence. I do not mean rituals like namaz but an attitude towards life and people. If oneness of God is a philosophical idea in the brain without any effect on how one live his/her life, it’s an idea of God but not tauheed 2. Basic requirement to be muslim, whoever believes will be considered muslim. However someone believes but doesn’t follow, he remains a muslim but considered sinful who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and donate from what We have provided for them,and who believe in what has been revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺1 and what was revealed before you, and have sure faith in the Hereafter.It is they who are ˹truly˺ guided by their Lord, and it is they who will be successful.Al Baqara 2:2-5 Hadith Jibraeel (part of it) ‘Muhammad, tell me about Islam.’ [Muhammad, may God bless with him and grant him peace,] said, ‘Islam is that you witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and you establish the prayer, and you give the Zakat, and you fast Ramadan, and you perform the hajj to the House if you are able.’ He said, ‘You have told the truth,’ and we were amazed at him asking him and [then] telling him that he told the truth. He said, ‘Tell me about Iman.’ He said, ‘That you affirm God, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and that you affirm the Decree [predestination]
Prophet Ibrahim (sws), despite surrounded with polytheism all around him, had this conscious realization of one creator. The only problem was precision in deciding who is that one creator for which there’s whole scheme of prophethood and revelation. Right and wrong refers to the very basics of good and evil which form universal morality among all people. And Quran refers it to as fully ingrained in one’s ‘nafs’ at the time of its creation. وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا (91: 7-10) And the soul bears witness and the perfection given to it, then [God] inspired it with its evil and its good that he succeeded who purified it and he failed who corrupted it . (91:7-10)