'We are there in faith, but how much faith is in us?'

Written by Edin Urjan Kukavica

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There is, in Dostoevsky, Fyodor Mikhailovich, in The Brothers Karamazov, a story about the Grand Inquisitor; it is rarely mentioned, it was never quite to the liking of church authorities, so it has almost been forgotten, and only a few who wish to point out the utter futility of the violent, bloodthirsty, bestial fervor of contemporary "puritans" who want to "free" faith from everything that sustains, strengthens, and empowers faith... everything that, if you will, makes faith, pull it out of the dust of the past.

In that story, in short, Ivan, an agnostic, tells his brother Alyosha, who has become a monk, a story from the 16th century according to which Jesus Christ, Isa son of Mary (peace be upon them both), had returned, not at the end of time, nor in Sham al-Sham (Damascus), but precisely then and there, in the 16th century and in Seville, wishing to visit his followers there where "just yesterday, at a magnificent bonfire, in the presence of the king, courtiers, knights, cardinals, and beautiful ladies of the court, the Grand Inquisitor, suddenly burned almost a hundred heretics ad maiorem gloriam Dei (for the greater glory of God)." He appeared quietly, unobtrusively, without fanfare and trumpets, just like the first time, but, surprisingly, everyone recognized him. The people wept and kissed the ground he walked on, children threw flowers before him, singing and shouting to him: "Hosanna!" (Welcome!)

He stopped in the vestibule of the Seville Cathedral, just at the moment when an open white child's coffin was being carried in: in it, on flowers, lay a seven-year-old girl, the only child of a distinguished citizen. "If it is you," the weeping mother fell at his feet, "then resurrect my child!" The procession stopped, the coffin was placed at his feet. He looked with compassion, and his lips quietly uttered: 'Talitha kumi!' and the girl got up..." Amidst the shouts, moans, blessings, and praise of God, the Exalted, who granted His messenger another miracle before the eyes of the whole world, the Grand Inquisitor walked across the square in front of the church. Not in the cardinal's robes in which he had burned opponents of the Roman faith before the people yesterday, but in an old, rough monk's habit.

Behind him followed his dark assistants and servants and the holy guard. He frowned his thick gray eyebrows, his gaze flashed with an ominous flame. He extended his finger and ordered the guard to arrest him.

The same people who had just moments before cheered the Creator and savior lowered their heads before the Inquisitor, parted before the guard, and they, amidst the deathly silence that ensued, laid hands on God's messenger and led him away as a prisoner to a narrow and dark vaulted dungeon in the old building of the Holy Office.

The day passed, and the dark, hot, and "dead Sevillian night" arrived, the air filled with the scent of "laurel and lemon." In the deep darkness, the heavy iron dungeon doors opened, and the Grand Inquisitor entered the dungeon, a candlestick in his hand. He stopped at the entrance and stared for a long time into the Savior's face. "Is it you? You?" he asked, and when he received no answer, he quickly added: "Don't answer, be silent. And what could you say? I know all too well what you will say... Why have you come to disturb us? Because you have come to disturb us, you know that yourself... And tomorrow I will condemn you and burn you at the stake as the worst heretic, and the same people who today kissed your feet will tomorrow, at my signal, drag firewood to your pyre, do you know that?" (F. M. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov). In short, Jesus Christ did not pass the test of orthodoxy before the one who knew faith better than the one who brought it.

How to become and remain a believer even after the honorable Ramadan, or how to recognize a believer even when they are not fasting? Easily; a believer never forgets that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Praise be to Allah. We praise Him; we seek His help and forgiveness; we seek refuge in Him from our vices and evil deeds! Whomsoever Allah guides to the right path, no one can lead astray, and whomsoever He leaves in error, no one can guide to the right path."

"Do not return to disbelief after my death, killing each other. I leave you something as a trust, by which you will not go astray as long as you hold onto it: the Book of Allah (the Qur'an) and my Sunnah. O people, you have only one Lord and one ancestor. You are all from Adam, and Adam is from the earth. The most noble among you in the sight of Allah is the most pious. No Arab has any advantage over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, except in piety."

"Man! You can never reconcile belief and treachery. How can you be a Muslim when your neighbor is not safe from you?! And how can you be a believer if the rest of the world is not safe from you?! He who is not trusted has no belief, and he who does not fulfill his promises has no faith. He is not a believer whose neighbor fears his evil. Man! You are not in true faith until you find fault with others, and you yourself are not without them. Therefore, first remove your own fault, and leave others and their faults. But know, you will never be able to remove all your faults, so it is most important to dedicate yourself to them and deal with them. And if you want to be just, then do not investigate the faults of others, and Allah, the Exalted, will love and favor you."

"Doers of good in this world will be doers of good in the hereafter, and doers of good are recognized by their sincerity in speech, guarding trusts, fulfilling obligations, humility, visiting relatives, compassion for the weak, doing good, good upbringing and behavior, abundance of kindness, and spreading knowledge. Allah, the Exalted, will forgive their sins because of the good they have done to His creatures. But, man, do not deceive yourself with the claim that a person will be with those whom he loves. You will not be with the doers of good until you act like them."

Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: "A time will come when people will perform Hajj, pray, and fast, and there will be no believers among them!" A believer knows that "reason is the vessel in which knowledge is kept, and that knowledge leads to action, and action leads to good. Passion leads to sin. Wealth is the illness of the arrogant. This world is a marketplace where the hereafter is bought. A believer guards against "a pious person who is ignorant and a scholar who is dissolute, for they are a great trial for everyone." A believer always remains the same, regardless of time and situation. He remains unbreakable in faith, with one face and on one path. A hypocrite changes according to time and circumstances, looking only to his own benefit, not hesitating to cheat others. The practice of a believer confirms the truth of his words, his public life confirms his private life, and his presence reveals his absence.

A believer knows that "faith does not consist in appearing to the world as a believer while deceiving oneself with vain desires. True faith is that which is deeply etched in the heart and confirmed by good deeds, and that "he who has no humanity has no faith."