By: Yasmin Mogahed | InFocus News

To some, a Monet is only a collection of dots. To others, it is a perfect masterpiece. To some, Islam is nothing but a code of rules and regulations. But, to those who understand, it is a perfect vision of life.

As Muslims, we often focus so much on Islam’s dos and don’ts that we miss the bigger picture. Islam came to perfect our manners, and yet we are willing to scream and shout to win an argument about zabiha meat. Islam came to build our bond with our Creator, and while we wear our hijabs and kufis, we delay our prayers.

Islam came to establish a community of believers, and while we decorate our masjids with gold and silver, our prayer rows remain empty. Islam came to teach us about God, and while we wear His words on our necklaces and decorate our houses with them, when those verses are recited to us, our hearts remain unmoved and our lives unchanged.

And Islam came to make us one brotherhood, yet we divide ourselves and alienate one another over issues like moon sighting and voting.

This is not to say, of course, that the do’s and don’ts are not important. They are crucial. The problem is we have forgotten what they stand for. For example, the wearing of Islamic dress should never be minimized. But we have forgotten that the hijab and the beard are only symbols of our greater devotion to God. For us to wear the hijab and the beard while it has no bearing on our character means we have missed the point.

If we spend thousands decorating our masjids but use it only to display status and win arguments, we have lost its intended purpose. And if we’ve memorized every haram and halal ingredient of facial soap but we own businesses that are based on interest and sell alcohol, have we not made a mockery of Allah’s deen?

That deen is what transforms humanity from the lowest of the low to the representatives of God on earth. The Quran tells us: “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth …’ ” (Quran 2:30)

As a representative of God on earth, we are given a very great responsibility. It is a trust so heavy that even the mountains rejected it. Allah tells us in the Quran: “We did indeed offer the trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it; he was indeed unjust and foolish.” (Quran 33:72)

As believers, we should never lose sight of this responsibility. It is the fulfillment of that mission that transforms us from asfala safileen, the lowest of the low (Quran 95:5), into khaira ummatin ukhrijat lil naas, the best of peoples arisen for mankind. (Quran 3:110)

But how can we be that best of people? Allah describes how in His book: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah…” (Quran 3:110)

The essence of that struggle is the belief in Allah, the struggle for truth and the struggle against evil. As soon as we give up that struggle, we will become among those people who Allah describes in surat Al-Asr as being in a state of loss. Allah describes the ones who will be saved from that state: “Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Quran 103:3)

And, so, if we continue to abandon this greater mission and purpose, we will have transformed the perfect vision of existence into nothing more than a collection of dots.