Is Saying “I Believe” Enough? Covenant, Goodness, and the Truth the Self Dislikes

11 October 2021

Question: If we say we believe in Allah, how should this faith appear in our daily relationships?

From verse 83 of Surah Al-Baqarah onward, the covenant taken from the Children of Israel is recalled.

Worshipping none but Allah.

Doing good to parents.

Treating relatives, orphans, and those in need well.

Speaking kindly to people.

Establishing prayer and giving zakat.

These points do not seem very complicated.

But a person’s test begins with being able to live consistently by what is simple.

Faith Appears in Relationships

A person may say they believe in Allah.

But if they mistreat their parents, fail to notice a relative’s need, or speak hurtfully to people, they should question the distance between their words and behavior.

Question: Does my faith improve the life of the person closest to me?

Religion is not merely knowledge held in the mind.

It also regulates our relationships with people.

Doing good to parents, caring for orphans, looking after those in need, and speaking kindly are part of life.

The recording emphasizes that although these commands seem “very simple,” people struggle to live by them.

The reason for this may often not be ignorance.

It may be encountering a behavior that our self does not want.

Doing good to someone requires time.

Providing financial support requires sacrifice.

Refraining from hurtful speech requires controlling our anger.

This is where faith turns into behavior.

Believing in Part of the Book and Leaving Part of It

The following verses recall the covenant not to shed one another’s blood or expel people from their homes.

Then they describe how this covenant was broken.

In the recording, this passage is addressed through people’s acceptance of the part of the Book they like and abandonment of the other part.

Question: Do I, too, take the part of religion that suits me and postpone the part I find difficult?

We like praying.

Because prayer gives us hope.

But we may become quieter when the issue of others’ rights touches our interests.

We like speaking of Allah’s mercy.

Yet when it becomes difficult to treat someone who wronged us fairly, we may forget that same standard.

People may find it easier to live by a religion that suits their own self.

The real test begins when we encounter a command we do not like.

In the recording, the idea of “preferring worldly life to the Hereafter” is also connected with this passage.

Forgetting long-term responsibility for the sake of short-term gain.

Concealing what we know to be right to avoid losing people’s approval.

All of these lead to the same question: What is our measure?

The Truth the Self Dislikes

Surah Al-Baqarah speaks of those who acted arrogantly toward messengers who brought them something their selves disliked.

This expression particularly stands out in the recording.

Because truthful words may not always please us.

Question: Do I become angry with someone who tells me my mistake, or do I examine whether what they say is true?

When someone tells us, “Do not lie,” these words may upset us if our lie protects our interests.

When someone says, “Give up unjust earnings,” we may want to silence that person if our income will fall.

When someone says, “Treat your parents better,” we may begin explaining our excuses.

What the self dislikes is sometimes precisely the warning we need.

That is why we should not immediately declare the person bringing the warning an enemy.

Let us look at the words first.

Are they true?

What is their source?

What behavior do they call us to?

The recording also contains some historical interpretations and generalizations about communities.

Rather than carrying these over as unchanging judgments about an entire people or religion, it would be more appropriate to direct the Qur’an’s warning about covenant and responsibility toward our own lives.

Not Presenting Human Words as Allah’s Words

In connection with the preceding verses, the recording focuses on people changing the text according to their interests or attributing to Allah things they do not know.

This danger is not confined to the past.

Today, too, people can present their own opinion as a definitive ruling of religion.

Question: When speaking about a subject, do I distinguish Allah’s words from my own interpretation?

This distinction is very important.

What does the verse explicitly say?

What do I understand from it?

How has someone else explained it?

These are not all the same thing.

An interpretation may be correct.

But we need to know that it is an interpretation.

If we do not, we may defend an idea that suits our own self by saying, “Allah said this.”

This is also one of the main things criticized in the recording.

Shaping religion in exchange for worldly interests.

Changing the truth to avoid losing people, earn money, or maintain the support of those around us.

How Do We Preserve the Covenant Today?

If we read all these verses merely as the mistakes of people who lived in the past, we miss the message.

The covenant remains a concept of responsibility for us today.

If we say we serve Allah, we should seek its trace in our behavior.

Question: Which promise that I have made do I need to keep today?

It may be paying a debt.

It may be fulfilling a promise to a relative.

It may be honoring an agreement with an employee.

It may be not concealing the truth about something.

Faith appears in small acts of faithfulness before grand statements.

Being able to accept the truth the self does not want is also part of this.

Let us return to the question at the beginning.

Is saying “I believe” enough?

These words are valuable.

But the Qur’an calls us to turn words into behavior.

The Measure Changes When We Put Worldly Life First

In this section of Surah Al-Baqarah, the recording particularly emphasizes the idea of preferring worldly life to the Hereafter.

This choice is not always made through the sentence “I do not believe in the Hereafter.”

Sometimes it is made through our behavior.

Question: When making a decision, do I see only today’s gain?

We may lose trust that would last for years for the sake of one job.

We may damage our long-term reputation for short-term money.

We may break a family bond to be proven right in an argument.

Sometimes putting the world first is precisely this.

Magnifying the immediate gain.

Underestimating the later consequence.

Awareness of the Hereafter, however, means thinking about accountability for every behavior within a broader framework.

That is why the verses recall humiliation in worldly life together with recompense in the Hereafter.

Even if people do not immediately see the consequences of what they do, their responsibility does not disappear.

Kind Speech Is Also a Measure of Worship

Verse 83 also contains the command to speak kindly to people.

This detail is very important.

Because people often limit worship to particular rituals.

But our tongue, too, is part of our servitude to Allah.

Question: Is the language I use at home after prayer consistent with my worship?

If we humiliate our child, constantly belittle our spouse, or insult our employee, we must recognize this contradiction.

Kind speech does not always mean forming gentle and pleasing sentences.

Sometimes it means respectfully speaking a difficult truth.

Sometimes it means objecting to injustice.

But it means doing so without trampling on a person’s dignity.

When we consider the recording’s emphasis on “words the self dislikes” together with the command to “speak kindly to people,” a beautiful balance emerges.

We will not conceal what is right.

But we will not consider hurting and destroying things while speaking the truth an achievement either.

Faith appears not only in the sentence we speak, but in our behavior toward parents, those in need, neighbors, and everyone entrusted to us.

Not Cooperating in Sin and Hostility

The recording also focuses on people expelling one another from their homes, shedding blood, and helping one another in sin and hostility.

Let us not confine this warning to major events such as war.

Question: Even if I do not directly commit an injustice, am I supporting it?

We may remain silent while an employee is wronged at work.

We may go along with the crowd while one person in the family is continually humiliated.

Even if we do not start a rumor, we may spread it.

In this way, we become a partner in the wrong.

Not supporting evil is as important as cooperating in goodness.

The covenant means not merely keeping our own hands clean, but striving not to be part of oppression.

The recording also questions the transmission of knowledge between generations.

Saying, “I did not learn; no one explained it to me,” may be an explanation up to a point.

But if we have the opportunity to learn today, our responsibility also begins.

Question: Do I merely tell my child, ‘Do it this way,’ or do I also learn and explain why?

If one generation passes on only habits, the next generation may lose the meaning of that behavior.

That is why learning and teaching should be considered together.

When we recognize our own shortcomings, we can begin today instead of blaming the past.

Another measure is this: speaking kindly to people does not mean hiding the truth. The recording recalls the messengers bringing words the self dislikes. Question: Can I speak both truthfully and kindly? Sometimes we mistake harshness for honesty. Sometimes we never speak the truth so as not to disturb the peace. Yet there is a path between the two: speaking the truth clearly, but without belittling the other person.