Rules of masculinity (Part 1)
Indeed all praise and thanks are due to Allah, we praise him, we seek his assistance, we seek his forgiveness, AND we seek his guidance.
Indeed masculinity and manhood has its characteristics and attributes. There are certain prerequisites one must possess before he can call himself a man. This article will elaborate on the ten. Note we at al-Murabitoon have formulated these ten, and our guideline is only the Qur'ān and Sunnah of Muhammad (ﷺ). Note we do not consider disbelievers as men due to them lacking rule number one.
RULE 1: REMEMBERING ALLAH MUCH
The men of old only used to be considered men after they had embraced Islām and became an Islāmic personality, distinct from all others. These men took hold of the Islāmic idea and it grew and interacted with their hearts and actions, making them from the liberators and conquerors of the world.
The Companions were these men, the likes of never seen or felt before. In under 50 years they managed to conquer most of the known world, not for booty or in order to colonise, but to convey the Islāmic Call to mankind, a duty which passed onto them after the passing of their Beloved (ﷺ). The Islāmic idea they possessed changed their state from quarrelling and primitive nomadic bedouins into leaders of the world united by a single Rope, the Rope of Allāh. They would fight against the enemies of Allāh in the day and in the night, recite the Book of Allāh and send salawāt on the Messenger (ﷺ), in congregation and individually.
“O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allāh much that you may be successful.”
These Companions were described as men by Allāh Himself, and He linked their manhood to their prayer in the Masjid and their love to purify themselves.
“A mosque founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves. ”
Remembering Allāh much means to focus on making actions guided by the ahkām shar'ī, making the criterion in life the halāl and the harām, reciting the Book of Allāh day and night, and sending salawāt on the Prophet (ﷺ). Indeed sending salawāt upon the Messenger (ﷺ) is from the forgotten actions in our time.
RULE 2: THINKING FOR YOURSELF
Allāh says:
“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allāh and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allāh knows of your movement and your resting place. ”
This is a command to us from Allāh to know that Allāh is One with no partners, and this knowledge can only come to us by studying and pondering about man, life and the universe. Allāh has requested for us to use our intellect and thinking to come to the conclusion that a Creator exists, in many ayāt.
“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allāh has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason.”
Allāh rebukes and hates blind following or taqlīd in belief:
“And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allāh has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.” Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided? ”
RULE 3: SPEAKING THE TRUTH REGARDLESS OF THE TIME, PLACE, NUMBERS OR INTENSITY OF PROSECUTION
It is the trait of all noble men in all of history that they are the few, the ones who go against society, who speak the truth and do not fear the blame of the blamers. Indeed this was the example of the Messenger (ﷺ) who was a man of great intellectual strength and willpower, clashing against the systems of kufr and the hostiles of Quraysh for 13 years. He went against the society, and did not compromise or weaken. It was narrated by b. Ishāq in his al-Maghāzi that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
“O my uncle, by Allāh, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I abandon this cause, before Allāh has made it victorious, or I perish therein, I would not abandon it.”
Indeed the status of the man who spoke the truth against the tyrant ruler, is the same as the shahīd, and the same level as the Hamzah Asadullāh. al-Hākim narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The master of the martyrs is Hamzah b. Abdul Muttalib, and a man who stands in front of an oppressive ruler and enjoins the good and forbids the evil and so is killed for it.”
Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is not restricted to the court of the ruler, but to all times and places. And forbidding the evil is harder than enjoining the good, because it goes against the society and the norms, and there is fierce resistance from the corrupt people. What is required of the carrier of Islām is to reply to the fierce resistance with a fierce offensive, smashing the concepts of kufr and obliterating them.
Ahmad extracted on the authority of Abu Sa’īd al-Khudrī that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Let not fear of the people prevent one of you from speaking the truth, if he knows it.”