Outline
- Introduction
- Who Are the Majority
- Characteristics of the Majority
- The Influence of the Characteristics
- Conclusion
Introduction
Alhamdulillah… All praise and thanks are due to the Almighty Allah, who Created Mankind with diversity, so to subject them to test that determines their righteousness and obedience. I send peace and blessings upon the most righteously obedient servant of Allah; Ḥabībī Muḥammad, his household, companions and all those who follow his guided path till judgement day.
This is the second article of the “Everyone is doing it… Why not me?” series. The first article was The Du’a That Sayyidina ‘Umar Learnt At The Market. It presented the incident which occurred to Sayyidinā ‘Umar raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu at the market, which led him to learn a du’a and a great wisdom. The objective of this series is to present sample verses from the Qur’an which highlight what the majority of people does, and what the minority does in contrary. This series aims to help the Muslim reader to realize that he is worth more than just living blindly and following others blindly, without allowing himself to reason before embarking on his choices in life. After all, in the hereafter, only he will stand to answer for himself, a fact that should create enough awareness for him to make his choices responsibly.
Today’s article looks into the definition of majority. It then highlights the characteristics of the majority of people, based on the description of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Finally, it discusses the influence majority poses on minority, with regards to our subject matter. To start, who are the majority?
Who Are the Majority
Majority is the greater number of people. The term used in the Qur’an however, to refer to the majority is most of, i.e., most people, most of them, most men, etc. Definitely, using most has significant implication than majority. Therefore, majority and most of are used interchangeably in this article, insha Allah.
There are different kinds of majority. I can only think of three as I write these lines. One of them is specific to the implementation of what’s known as democracy. Another is specific to Muslim scholars with regards to issuance of Islamic rulings (fatwa). The other concerns mankind at large where people have the same chance to choose an attitude, regardless of their religion, language or race.
Majority in Democracy
In democracy, the majority governs and rules. This is because the principles of democracy dictate that the greater number should exercise greater power. Decisions are made by the person the majority elects to lead them, or based on the opinion adopted and voted for, by the majority. This is regardless of whether the individual(s) is (are) righteous and responsible or not. It’s also regardless of whether the opinion they vote for is humane and for good or not. Thus, in democracy, if the majority votes for the normalization of what Allah forbids, it becomes legal and normalized. In other words, in democracy, immorality can be normalized based on the choice of the majority. This also means that the majority may vote for the implementation of Shari‘ah law, which, if it happens, should be respected.
Furthermore, the decision of the majority in democracies is usually influenced by several factors, including religious, economical, emotional, racial and many other factors.
One more thing about democracy is that, implementing it varies from a country to another. What is voted for, in a particular country remains valid within the borders of that country. Therefore, all countries are not on the same par of implementing democracy where the vote of the majority has the final say. And the implication and outcome of its implementation will always differ. The only universal thing about it is that, the majority (as it seems) has the power.
Majority of Islamic Scholars
The opinion of the majority of Islamic scholars usually concerns jurisprudence (Fiqh), which is more applicable to the people’s daily encounters than it is to their theological (‘aqīdah) issues. Theological and fundamental issues seldom see difference in opinion among Islamic scholars.
Following the opinion of the majority of people may have undesired consequence, and can lead to deviation from the path of God. However, following the opinion of the majority of scholars is unlikely to lead to deviation. When the majority of scholars coincide to the same opinion (against minority) regarding an issue, then their opinion is likely to be correct, but not necessarily correct.
This being said, it’s worth mentioning that there is a certain criterion that an Islamic scholar has to meet before he’s recognized as an Islamic scholar whose voice counts regarding the fatwa issued by the majority. Therefore, when the majority of scholars (jumhūr al-‘ulamā’) is mentioned, it doesn’t automatically include self-proclaimed scholars or Muslim educated individuals who have solely specialized in secular studies.
It’s worth mentioning, that majority of scholars can narrow to refer to the majority of scholars in particular field of specialization, i.e., majority of scholars in education (educationists), majority of scientists, majority of doctors, majority of psychologists, etc. Also, majority, although majority, is actually a minority in nature. This is because scholars generally make small percentage in all societies and generations. And of these countable scholars, real scholars are chosen, and then, the opinion of the majority is what counts for Islamic fatwa.
Majority of People
Majority of people (or most people) is used when people from different races, languages, religions, educational background, and social ranking have equal chance of sentiment towards an issue or matter. This majority is the majority the Qur’an constantly refers to, when it analyzes our reactions and relationship with the Almighty Creator.
The equation of majority and minority when no one (human) can interfere in others’ affairs, or influence in their decision is the majority of what most people do, think, appreciate, and believe, without the interference of government or scholars. It's when no once cares about what you choose to do, think, believe or even do in your privacy. But to Allah, every moment of your life is important and should be used to serve the purpose for which you came into existence.
As you may have noticed, majority of scholars is not relevant to our topic of discussion. Although majority in democracy may also not be relevant to our discussion, but it can be influenced by the majority of people. Therefore, where the democratically majority is influenced by the majority of the people, then the former automatically becomes part of our discussion, just like the latter.
Characteristics of the Majority
In Sayyidina ‘Umar's experience at the market (See: The Du’a That Sayyidina ‘Umar Learnt At The Market), we learnt that Allah states in the Qur'an, that only a few of His servants are grateful. In addition to that, there are numerous verses in the Qur’an, which implies that ungratefulness is just one of the characteristics of the majority. In extreme cases, it (the majority) goes against the primary purpose of its existence. In normal cases, lack of relevant knowledge about the truth prevails.
The Majority is Ungrateful
One can see this in his own self, if we take the time to reflect on how we react to Allah’s fate and destiny upon each of us. One of us may be enjoying 9 blessings (that is the only ones he’s put in effort to count), but the moment he realizes that he’s minus one blessing compared to someone with 10 blessings, he feels he’s the most unfortunate creature on the planet. It takes a reminder for him to realize that this life is not meant for any, to possess all he desires or wishes. This is understood in the verse of Sūrah Al-Baqarah, 2:243, where Allah tells us that His bounties upon us are endless, however, we fail to appreciate those bounties, and would instead find a thousand and one excuses to complain:
إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
“Surely Allah is bountiful to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful.”
It’s worth indicating that, whenever Allah mentions the abundance of His bounties upon mankind in the Qur’ān, He concludes, that the majority are, nonetheless, ungrateful for them.
Gratefulness and gratitude are usually portrayed by saying ‘Alḥamdulillāh.’ However, that is the easiest way showing appreciation and gratefulness. The majority also does that with ease. What the majority doesn’t do is to go beyond verbally expressed gratefulness and put that into action. For example, share your happiness with the heartbroken. Share your knowledge with the ignorant. Share your expertise with those in need of it, through social work and community service.
The Majority Disbelieves
Everyone has the natural instinct that God exists or there should be a being who is worthy to be worshipped. This has caused them to think and request that He shows them proof of His existence, and as a result, messengers were chosen, perfected and sent to guide them to worship Him. However, unfortunately, man wants to see God the way he wants Him to be, not the way God Himself wants man to see Him. This has led man to create idols to represent God, worship these gods (idols) thinking it’s only by doing it his own way, he can achieve happiness.
This was seen with the people of Sayyidinā Nūḥ, the people of Sayyidinā Ibrāhīm and the the people of Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alaihim al-salām. This can be seen today! To confirm this, Allah affirms that the book descended upon the Prophet is nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, the majority of people does not believe in this fact.
بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
المر، تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ، وَالَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ الْحَقُّ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ“Alif Lām Mīm Rā. These are the verses of the Book. What is sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, yet most men do not believe in it (Qur’an, 13:1).”
Also in Surah Yusuf, 12:103, Allah tells us that the majority of people will not accept Islam, no matter how eager we may be about it.
وَمَا أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Yet most men will not become believers, no matter how eager you may be.”
Iman is not just the process of declaring one's faith. It goes beyond that to encompass living that faith in easy times and more so; in difficult times. The people of Sayyidina Musa believed in Allah and him (his prophethood), but the moment they saw idolators worshiping an idol, they demanded that he creates for them an idol, for they want to have one (they can see) just like the idolators have (and could see theirs). This happened immediately after they were saved from the transgresson of Fir'aun!
وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ، قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَـٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ، قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ
“We brought the children of Israel across the sea and they came upon a people who were devoted to their idols. They said, “O Mūsā! Give us a god just like the gods these people have.” He said, “You are indeed an ignorant people (Surah al-A'raf, 7:138).”
This has happened to some believers who had the messenger of Allah right in front of them, after witnessing one the greatest miracles of their time, yet they show disbelief in Him. This may be as a result of great ignorance. What can we think of our situation today, when the messenger of Allah has physically left the Ummah 1400 years ago?
Disbelieve (in Allah) also occurs when one refuses to fully subject his desires to the commands and teachings of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Instead, he conveniently picks and chooses from Islam according to his temporal personal interest. Imām al-Nawawī reported in his book of 40 hadīth, that the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam said, according the to the narration of ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ, raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu:
لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يَكُونَ هَوَاهُ تَبَعًا لِمَا جِئْتُ بِهِ
“None of you [truly] believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought.”
The Majority Lack the Relevant Knowledge of the Truth
The truth is about Allah. The truth is that Allah is one. The truth is about the purpose of creating creation. These are all facts man assumes he knows, but in reality, he knows not. The fact that the mission of the Prophet Muḥammad was to convey to us good tidings and warn us against the punishment of Allah is an issue which remains unknown to the majority of mankind. This is understood in the verse of Surah Saba, 34:28, when Allah says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“We have sent you as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner for the whole of mankind, but most people have no knowledge.”
Practically, the world has 7.12 billion inhabitants. Of that figure, Muslims occupy 1.57 billion, which represents 23%. Although Islam is the second largest religion of the world, it's practically the minority (I mean the religion with the smallest number of adherents). This is because, all non-Islamic religions are the same, for you (as a Muslim) can't alternate Islam with any of them. With that we conclude that only a quarter of the world's inhabitants know and hence, have accepted that Muhammad is the messenger of God. 77 % percent do know (so long as they reject it) that the Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Just remember, that among the said 23% of the world population which represents Muslims, there live the hypocrites; the munāfiqūn, who do everything the same way we do it, only that they don’t belong to us, as they believe not in Allah as we do.
The Majority is Impatient
The Qur’an states that one of the natural features of the children of Adam is that they are impatient. Our impatience happens when we think it’s taking Him too long to answer our prayers and provide our needs. For this Allah says in Surah al-Isrā’, 17:11:
وَيَدْعُ الْإِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ، وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ عَجُولًا
“Man asks for evil as eagerly as he should ask for good. Truly, man is indeed hasty.”
Asking for evil eagerly occurs when one rejects Allah’s choices for him. It also happens, when one puts in the effort to make Istikhārah, yet, he’s not ready for the outcome to be what he perceives as negative.
Our impatience is also that, one of us bewails when evil befalls him. He also becomes tight-fisted when good fortune visits him. This is what Allah said in Surah al-Ma‘ārij, 70:19-21:
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا ﴿١٩﴾ إِذَا مَسَّهُ الشَّرُّ جَزُوعًا ﴿٢٠﴾ وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ الْخَيْرُ مَنُوعًا ﴿٢١﴾ـ
“Indeed, man is born impatient: when misfortune touches him, he starts lamenting, and whenever good fortune comes to him, he grows niggardly.”
This is one of the default characteristics of the son of Adam. It can be, however, controlled, and it’s only the minority who can do that (this will be discussed in our next article, insha Allah). When one is impatient, he tends to question everything. This leads him to be contentious. And the majority of us, as a result, is contentious.
The Majority is Argumentative
Every sign Allah has given His servants, to prove to them the objective of their existence, they end up questioning the reason and wisdom. Of course, since they don’t see its immediate effect in their favour, they’ll continue to contend and argue about it.
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ، وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلًا
“We have explained in various ways in this Quran, for the benefit of mankind, all kinds of examples, but man is most contentious (Surah al-Kahf, 18:54).”
And man is only argumentative when issues are not in his favour, or when he fears to be asked to sacrifice his time, wealth and knowledge.
Above were some characteristics of the majority. What is its influence?
Influence of the Characteristics
Man is naturally equipped with the ability (instinct) to transmit and receive influence. Therefore, when you interact with someone, if you are not able to influence him, you have likely been influenced. Minority is easily influenced than they influence, unless they have been able to take full control of the most sensitive aspects in the lives of the majority. This is why we see the celebrities creating dangerous influence in our lives. Celebrities are minority among men, but they have great impact on our lives, as they have controlled over what entertains us. Children are easily influenced by what they see the majority of people do. It’s therefore important to ensure the majority they associate themselves with is a righteous one.
When you go to Friday prayers, early before the Khutbah, chances are you'll grab the Qur'an (or launch your Qur'an app on your phone) and recite Surah Al-Kahf. No doubt; you're doing it sincerely to attain His Pleasure, but chances are also that, it’s because most of those surrounding you are reciting the Sūrah at the time. This is how majority can influence in what we do or choose to do.
Every around you is using a smart phone. This is certainly because; we live a time when phones have evolved to be part of our daily essential needs. However, smart phones are not essential in the needs of the majority.
Following the majority is not right or wrong on its own. It being right or wrong depends on the motive behind one’s decision to follow either of the two directions. However, as far as appreciation and gratefulness are concerned, the majority pays less attention to them.
Conclusion
The instinct for good and bad are naturally built in the son of Adam. He wasn’t however left alone without guidance. He was guided and told of the consequences of choosing either good or bad.
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا ﴿٢﴾ إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا ﴿٣﴾ـ
“We created man from a drop of mingled fluid so that We might try him; We gave him hearing and sight; We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful (Qur’an, 76:2-3).
In spite of this, the majority tends to choose bad over good. Perhaps, it’s because carrying out bad deeds requires a minimal effort.
What the majority or the minority does is not exclusive only to some people. It rather depends on the choices one makes for himself and the path he takes in this life. A small carelessness can render one to where he does not intent to be. No doubt, an effort must be put in. Therefore, one should ensure the effort he puts in results to a worthwhile rewards.
This article sought to define the majority as opposed by the minority, based on the Qur’an. It has also highlighted the characteristics of the majority, as well as its possible influence on the minority. Contrary to the majority is the minority, which has its unique definition, qualities and challenges. Being a minority has its set of expectations one needs to meet so to be appreciated. These are what we’ll discuss in our next article, insha Allah.
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Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 
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