“O you who believe, enter into Islam wholeheartedly.” [Al-Baqara: 208]

The beauty with Islam is that everything is complete. Everything you will need is already given to you and it all makes sense. Any misconceptions, misunderstandings, and confusion is brought upon by our own shortcomings. We tend to overcomplicate things and forget the essence of what really matters. There is no doubt that when it comes to religious matters, nothing can be completely ignored. Not even the smallest detail should be excluded from the whole of Islam. However, Islam is not just mere belief; it’s an entire way of life. Encompassing things from worship, behavior, business transactions, and even down to the proper way to relieve ones self.

It took 23 years for the Message of Allah to be fully revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and to be conveyed to the people by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The time-span was completely up to Allah and His Wisdom, but that amount of time was needed by men to be able to fully know and comprehend this beautiful way of life. When you analyze the Qur’an and the chapters and verses you find that the early surahs (during the Makkan period) generally focused on the topics of Tauheed (Islamic Monotheism), the Day of Judgment, and righteous conduct. These were simple yet very important matters that were needed to be set as a foundation of what was to come next. The primary role of the Messenger (peace be upon him) at this point was to be an announcer and a warner. The later revelations (during the Madinan period) also talked about the earlier stated issues but also introduced new issues that were pertinent as the Ummah was expanding and so on.

The point being that in everything there are major and minor details. The major details would be such that neglecting them would take us out of Islam, such as our prayer. The minor details would be ones that we are not punished for if we do not do them, such as fasting extra days of the year. Nothing can be ignored, without the major details you have nothing, and the minor details only support the major. However, everything must be taken in strides and depending on ones own abilities, distinctions must be made on how to approach the major and minor. It is not rational to come to the masjid every night for Taraweeh during Ramadan, and neglect the five daily fard prayers. Today many muslims drown themselves and others in what can be called the minor details and lose sight of the major issues such as Tauheed, Charachter, and Salah. We spend years of time and reasearch and dialougue on topics so far our of reach and so irrelevant that could have been better spent on an issue such as perfecting or character. Disunity, ignorance, and the complete lack of sincerity in the Ummah is what has resulted from the excessive overemphasising these minor details.

To draw an analogy, the point I’m trying to make holds evident in the human body as well. The heart, respiratory system, brain, etc. are vital to our existence; but if we lose a toe or a finger we can still live and be healthy.

“say: Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds.” [surah al-An'aam: 162]

We must never stop the struggle to improve ourself. Trying to do too much at one time, especially if one isn’t prepared for it will just lead to an “iman burn out” and can leave you at a worst position from where you started. This is what I have learned from my own personal experience. When you take it with ease and patience and work to perfect a smaller number of things at a time, you will find that it is much easier to do and it becomes more solidified, InshaAllah. We should fear Allah the best we can in our striving to reach the highest imaan. Punishment comes only after knowing the Truth. There is no punishment before knowledge, and after knowledge there is no excuse; and Knowledge is obligatory. Allah knows best. May Allah increase us in our imaan and knowledge and save us from ignorance and evil. Ameen