My fourteen years old son and I always discuss and share thoughts and ideas while we drive to and from the masjid for Fajr and Ishaa and during one of our trips, he asked me this question.
"When my sister is at school, she is easily identified as a Muslim. Her attire tells the world what her faith is. But how would they know if I am a Muslim or not? I just look like every other guy at school."
He seemed genuinely curious about the answer since he wanted to be recognized as a Muslim in public. However, the question was so profound that I thought it deserved more than a 5 or 10 minutes answer so I took some time before I responded. He seemed very excited with the answer which is why I decided to share them online, in case anyone else was struggling with the same issue.
I could’ve easily ended discussion by saying that your male outfits that are traditionally known to be worn by Muslim men exist (ie. Thawb, Jilabyah, Kurta, Panjabi or Kufi, Turban, Headscarf, etc), but I do not believe that was the correct response in this situation. This is because Muslim men’s traditional outfits around the world are more cultural than religious. Even though these clothes are heavily influenced by our religion, they vary from region to region because there is a large cultural influence on them. Personally I wear a thawb, kufi, panjabi, etc. during many events, but I am convinced that those dresses aren't meant to label ourselves as Muslim. If you search for islamic rulings for what to wear, you won't find the names of the clothing that are mentioned above. Instead the Quran describes what purpose our dresses serve: how to cover body parts, what materials are to use and what are discouraged or prohibited. So, wearing one of the cultural clothings would certainly identify him as Muslim but that's not the answer he should leave this discussion with.
So, don't we have any way for Muslim men to be recognized? As a matter of fact, there's not just one but many attributes that Muslim men should have that identify them and make them stand out from the crowd. Those who only exhibit one or two may be missed but when it's a set of identifiers, it is more difficult to write someone off as "just a good person". Rather I would argue that it would be very distinctively noticed similar to how neon signs are unignorable. Just like when you see a US Marine or a military man, you can easily recognize him by his approach, physical posture, and speech, even if he is not wearing his uniform. See for yourself what the Quran and Sunnah tells about a Muslim.
- Muslim men wear loose clothes that cover their body to below their knees to maintain modesty, as taught to us by our Prophet (pbuh) and told in the Quran.
- Muslims meet and greet people with a smile. That's sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh)
- Muslims maintain good hygiene as ordered by Allah and modeled by our Prophet (pbuh)
- Muslim men keep their beard - "keep the beards and cut the mustaches short" is recommended by the Prophet (pbuh)
- Muslims keep the body clean and healthy: they wash their face, arms, legs and wipe their head 5 times a day and brush and massage (miswak) their teeth - those are order from Allah and practice of the Prophet's Sunnah.
- Muslims aren't anxious or stressed out in the face of adversity through maintaining patience because Allah said that He loves the patients and He is with those who are patients. [Surah An-Nisa]
- Muslims control their anger when they become aggravated because it’s in the Quran and the Prophet (pbuh) warned to not be controlled by the devil and also mentioned that whoever controls their anger is the true strong person. [Surah Al-Imran, Hadith]
- Muslims are confident and fear none but Allah because none has any power to do harm or bring any benefits except Allah. [Surah At-Tawba]
- Muslims walk with humility and do not boast or show off. Allah taught us that through the advise of wise Luqman (a.s.) [Surah Luqman]
- Muslims don't yell when debating because the loudest voices are those who have the value of a donkey. [Surah Luqman]
- Muslims don't waste time in vein talks and vein activities as time is the most precious commodity given to them. [Surah Al-Asr, Sura Al-Mu’minun]
- Muslims don't gossip or backbite because this is considered as an abhorrent act in the eyes of Allah. [Surah Al-Hujurat]
- Muslims stand for justice and are impartial regardless of their kinship with the perpetrators. [Surah An-Nisa]
- Muslims aren't racist and cannot be bigoted. Be it towards a fellow muslim or non-muslim or to an entire nation or ethnicity - Allah has explicitly ordered against such action. [Surah Al-Hujurat and Al-Maeedah]
- Muslims don't mock or make fun of others because they know that those same people could be better than themselves. [Surah Al-Hujurat]
- Muslims live in community, centered on masajeed and take care of their community while they have their individual rights and responsibilities. Those are ordained by Allah and exemplified by the Prophet (pbuh) through his entire life. [Quran; Sunnah]
- Muslims shouldn’t be overweight or obese as the Prophet (pbuh) instructed us to keep one third of the stomach empty when eating and drinking. They also fast for 30 mandatory days in Ramadan. Moreover, our prophet (pbuh) highly recommended Muslims to fast on Mondays and Thursdays as well as 3 middle days (Ayaam Al-Bid) of every lunar month. [Sunnah; Surah Al-A'raf]
- Muslims are not wasteful rather they take care of the earth as Allah sent human as Khalifa (representative) on the earth [Surah Al-A'raf; Surah Al-Baqara; Quran]
- Muslims don't drink alcohol, don't gamble, and don't watch inappropriate or indecent contents. [Surah Al-Maidah]
- Muslims eat only halal food and avoid eating drinking or inhaling anything toxic or harmful for their body because Allah ordered them not to. [Surah Al-Maidah]
- Muslims maintain modesty between boys and girls, and avoid unnecessary interaction between the two genders. [Surah An-Noor]
- Muslims don’t identify or associate themselves with the LGBTQ+ movement as it is explicitly forbidden in the Quran. [Surah Hud; Quran]
- Muslims are just in transactions and don't give less than the true value of the exchange. They are not also engaged in bribery. [Surah Al-Baqara; Surah Al-Mu’minun]
- Muslims are upfront and explicit in business transactions because they have to keep the contract in writing along with witnesses. [Surah Al-Baqarah]
- Muslims don’t take interest when they lend money and avoid interest bearing transactions and businesses. [Quran]
- Muslims always give good advice and never deceive or lie to others. [Quran; Hadith]
- Muslims always side with the oppressed and against the oppressors - regardless of their religious identity. [Surah An-Nisa]
- Muslim men protect the dignity of women, take care of their family and are respectful in their dealings with women and their wives [Surah An-Nisa, Sunnah]
- Muslims children are respectful to their parents and take care of them. [Surah Al-Isra; Hadith]
- Muslims have low divorce rates because divorce is the least liked action in the eyes of Allah. Even when they are dealing with a separation, they are respectful and civil. [Surah An-Nisa; Surah An-Noor]
- Muslims consult with others before making decisions and once a decision is made they go with that without any hesitation. Also don't regret on the outcome, whatever it may be. Nothing befalls good or bad without the permission of Allah [Surah As-Shura; Quran]
- Muslims don't insult others' deities even when they disagree with them because Allah ordered them not to use foul languages. [Quran]
- Muslims do not use harsh words when conversing or debating with regular Christians and Jews because they are ordered to use good words. [Quran]
- Muslims are literate, because the Quran started with the order to read and reminded us the blessing Allah bestowed us with the ability to write. [Quran]
- Muslims will give you commitments about future event with “InshaAllah” i.e. he will do everything possible to meet the commitments - and there’s no lapse from his side and rely on Allah to allow him to succeed [Surah Al-Kahaf]
- A neighbor of a well off Muslim, would be assured to not only get full protection but also food, shelters, and all kind of supports whenever they need it - forty houses are the neighbor who have rights on a Muslim. [Quran; Hadith]
- Muslims take care of their relatives as their relatives have rights on them. Also, they never sever ties with their relatives - because whoever does it they are never to enter in the Jannah. [Quran; Hadith]
- Muslims are content in their life with whatever materialistic wealth he earns, be it big or small, because Prophet (pbuh) had explicit instruction: whoever wakes up in a morning with healthy body, roof over your head and a day worth of provision - as if he has everything in this world. [Hadith]
- Muslims don't pollute the earth because Allah has warned against the corruption on the earth and sea that will wreak-havoc to the climate. [Quran]
- Muslims are generally strong physically and psychologically because Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has encouraged and instructed explicitly to be so. A strong Muslim is better than a weak Muslim even though both are good. [Hadith; Quran]
- Muslims leave the plate of their food clean without any leftover because waste of food is strongly disliked by Allah and prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The prophet (pbuh) recommended through his own example to eat food to the last bit and leave the plate clean. [Quran; Hadith]
- Muslims go to bed early and wake up before sunrise for Fajr prayer and go out to find Allah’s bounty. Because the Quran instructs us to wake up for night prayer (tahajjut) and strongly reprehend who stays at bed up until the sun rise. [Quran; Hadith]
- When inflicted with fear of overwhelming crisis and opposing forces, Muslims show their passion by saying that - Allah is my protector and He is sufficient for me in overcoming all crisis. [Quran]
- Muslims are naturally scientific minded because the Quran repeatedly asks the mankind to observe, ponder, and make reasoning out of that observation- and always keep the mind open for evidence. [Quran]
- Muslims are very logical in their dispositions because Allah said in the Quran that the worst of creature in His creation are those who do not use their reason and intellects. [Surah Al-Anfal]
- Muslims are active listeners because they learned from the prophet of Islam (pbuh) as he showed the best example of how to listen: facing towards the speaker with full physical and mental attention. [Sunnah]
- Muslims feed the poor as Allah commands them to feed the hungry, take care of poor, and do charity. [Surah Al-Mu'minun]
- Muslims are very keen and careful to protect orphans because Allah and His prophet (pbuh) repeated it so many times to take care of the orphans. [Quran; Hadith]
- Muslims take action with the best of their ability to change the surroundings when injustice, indecency, wrongdoing, etc. become prevalent while relying on Allah for the outcome because Allah explicitly mentioned that He will not change the status of a nation until they try and change with their own selves and also He doesn’t burden anyone more than they can bear. [Surah Al-Baqarah; Surah Ar-R’ad]
- Finally, when a Muslim is asked about their identify they are proud of their Muslim identity and say: indeed we are among the Muslims. [Quran]
The list can include more traits, but the aforementioned traits should be sufficient to stand out in a crowd.
Initially, this list was created for my 14-year-old son. However, upon compiling the list, I have also started evaluating myself to determine where I stand in terms of my Muslim identity. If this were a questionnaire for an exam, what grade would I give myself? We always strive for an "A" in our education, profession, business, sports, and even vacations. So, what should be our target grade when we assess ourselves using this list?
Final thought: It's no wonder that the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) became exemplary men and women who conquered the world, both physically and intellectually, in their time.
