Faith and action are inseparable

Dear Editor,

THIS refers the article "Journey to wearing hijab" published in the your Opinion Page of The Brunei Times dated August 23, 2010, that ended with the statement, "Wearing a hijab does not necessarily mean that one is a better Muslimah and vice versa. After all, isn't the level of one's faith something that only Allah SWT can judge?"

Without a doubt, only Allah can judge the level of a person's faith. But I wish to highlight to your readers that according to the creed or aqidah of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah (the official creed in Brunei Darussalam), faith and action are inseparable. Actions undertaken in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnah improve the level of faith, with the condition that these are done with sincerity for Allah's sake alone.

It is only the deviant creed of the Murji'ah that separates faith from action, where its proponents believe that a Muslim's faith is constantly like that of the angels, regardless whether that Muslim abides by Allah's Commandments or otherwise.

Thus, the issue about wearing hijab should also be viewed from this angle. The fear is that one may be misunderstood and thus unwittingly provide a Murji'ah justification for not wearing of hijab, or for whatever other action or inaction as well, in relation to the Commandments of the Creator. Such a justification may deviate Muslim readers from the creed of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah.

MusOb,
BSB