Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam-O-Aliqum Brother ,

 

U told me what is DAWOODI BOHRA means , but i want to know , do u have any relation with them? with that community ?

my Second concern is , when u call people " Momeneen Brothers and Sisters" I think its not good, because in Quran (I donot remember exact Place and I just write summery)    Allah says "that donot call yourself Momin,Say that you are muslim." All people can be muslims by Kalima, but we cannot say anybody a Momin, Imaan is an internal condition which cannot be known except Allah (SWT).

 

Jazakallah

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Do not call oneself mumin

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Your Question: ….U told me what is DAWOODI BOHRA means , but i want to know , do u have any relation with them? with that community ?

Respected sister, for whatever this information might be worth to you….Allah is our witness sister, I have absolutely no relation to the beliefs, or practices, or rites, or rituals, etc. of the Dawoodi Bohra sect or community!

 

But if you wish to inquire whether I have relatives who still follow the faith, belief, and practices of the Dawoodi Bohra sect…..then indeed almost all amongst my immediate and extended family excluding only two of my brothers (and their wives and off-spring) whom the Lord Most Gracious Pleased and Willed to save and guide to the Truth from His Mercy, follow the Dawoodi Bohra faith!  My aged mother, my two sisters and their off-springs, my other brother and his family, all my maternal and paternal uncles and aunts and their off-springs, etc. have all chosen to follow the faith they were born into: ie. the faith held by the Dawoodi Bohra sect!

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 28 Surah Qasas verse 56:

You cannot guide whom you love,  but Allah guides whomever He Pleases.  And He best knows those who would accept guidance.

 

Your Question: …..when u call people " Momeneen Brothers and Sisters" I think its not good, because in Quran (I donot remember exact Place and I just write summery)    Allah says "that donot call yourself Momin,Say that you are muslim." All people can be muslims by Kalima, but we cannot say anybody a Momin, Imaan is an internal condition which cannot be known except Allah (SWT).

Respected sister in Islam, time and time again the Lord Most Majestic Most Exalted has Himself in His Glorious Quran addressed the believing Ummah with the phrase: “Yaa ayyo hal ladhina ‘AAMANU’” (‘O ye who have ‘Imaan’; ie. Mumins)….

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 49:

49      O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! When ye marry believing women and then divorce them………..

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujuraat verses 11-12:

11      O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! Let not some men among you laugh at others…………

12      O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! avoid suspicion as much (as possible)………

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 61 Surah Saff verse 10:

10      O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?.........

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 61 Surah Saff verse 14:

14      O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! Be ye helpers of Allah…….

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujraat verses 1-2:

1        O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! Put not yourselves forward before Allah and His Messenger………..

2        O ye who believe (or have ‘Imaan’ or faith)! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet………..

 

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed a gathering of the believers, or during his sermons he almost always addressed the gathered believers as ‘Mumineens’…..

 

The noble and chaste wives of the Prophet (saws) were termed and called the ‘Ummul-Mumineen’ or ‘Mother of the believers’……

 

The four ‘Rightly guided Khalifahs’ after the Prophet (saws) were called, addressed, and recognized as the ‘Ameer-ul-Mumineen’ (Leader or Chief of the believers)…….

 

Although what you have related is absolutely true that ‘Emaan’ or faith is a state of an individuals heart, and whether or not faith has truly entered one’s heart is known to none save Allah Subhanah Alone……there is absolutely no harm or restriction or prohibition in Shariah in the believers addressing one who has professed belief as a ‘Mumin’ or believer!

 

Your  Statements: …..I think its not good, because in Quran (I donot remember exact Place and I just write summery)    Allah says "that donot call yourself Momin,Say that you are muslim."

Respected sister, perhaps the Verse you wish to refer is this Verse from Surah Hujuraat:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujuraat verse 14:

14      The desert Arabs say "Amanna” (We have believed)!"  Say (O Prophet (saws) unto them) "Ye have no faith; but rather (it would be more appropriate for you to) say "Aslamna” (We have professed submission)"; for (true) faith has not yet entered into your hearts!  But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger (saws), He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful."

 

The above quoted Verse of Surah Hujuraat was specifically addressed to the specific conversation of the Noble Prophet (saws) with the specific community/communities of the desert Arabs…..whereby Allah Subhanah, in His Perfect Knowledge and Absolute Wisdom, Guided and Commanded His Prophet (saws) to declare unto the specific community of the desert Arabs that Allah Subhanah has Determined the present state of their hearts and found no ‘Emaan’ or faith in their hearts, yet!….thus it would be more accurate for them to say that they have merely professed belief, rather than declare themselves to be possessors of true ‘Emaan’ or faith! 

 

Respected sister, we assure you that this verse is not a general Command or Guidance, but rather specific to that incident and that conversation between the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the specific community/communities of the desert Arabs.

 

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed a gathering of the believers, or during his Friday mid-day or other sermons, he almost always addressed those  gathered as ‘Mumineens’….even though he (saws) knew that the hypocrites of Madinah were seated amongst the noble companions of the Prophet (saws)! 

 

Thus my respected sister in Islam, as long as one knows that the other has professed belief, there is absolutely no harm in Shariah in addressing them as either ‘Muslims’ or ‘Mumins’…..it is Allah Subhanah Alone Who Will Determine and Judge with His Absolute Knowledge on the Day of Judgment who amongst those who professed belief were true ‘Mumins’ and who were not!

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan