Some people are quick to Judge others in the matters of faith; however, as finite humans, we do not possess the foreknowledge of Allah SWT and thus we are in no position to pass judgment over others.  Humans can only see someone’s action as it appears from outside but cannot understand their intentions. Allah SWT can see what is on the outside and inside, the apparent and the hidden and only He knows the sincerity of the heart.  People sometimes judge to put themselves above others; by doing so, they energize their pride and start thinking themselves as superior; the negative opinions of others are often baseless assumptions and usually leads to backbiting which itself is against the teaching of Islam. To overcome this disease, we should look deep at ourselves first, our actions, intentions and deeds.

There are numerous Ayats in the Quran that teaches us about Not making a judgment about someone’s actions.  In surah ‘Al-Kahf 18’ Ayat 60-82, there is the story of Prophet Musa AS and Khidr AS in details. This story illustrates how a person action may be miss-judged by others. To sum up the story briefly, Prophet Musa followed a learned man called Al-Khidr to get guidance. He kept seeing Al-Khidr do actions that to Musa AS seemed wrong and Musa would speak up and point out that they were wrong. At the end, it turned out that Al-Khidr intention had been good all along and though his actions seemed wrong he was actually doing them to benefit the people. This shows us that there are things of which we have no knowledge and should not be quick on making a wrong judgment.

Before we make a wrong judgment against another Muslim, we should look at ourselves first, we may find plenty of things we need to work on to improve our faith (Iman). Surely, Allah knows the sincerity of the hearts and our true intentions. Focus should be on how to find ways to help someone we feel needs guidance rather than pointing finger, using harsh words, being condescending or most importantly, making a wrong judgment no matter the issue is social or religious. Show the person that we care for them and tell them we’re also trying to improve in that aspect so they don’t feel they’re being judged. Allah SWT says, “Say: “Our Lord will bring us together and then He will rightly judge between us. He is the Great Judge, the All-Knowing." [26:34]

Islam forbids us from calling a Muslim brother\sister Kafir. Prophet PBUH said, “If a man addresses his brother as, ‘O’ Disbeliever’  (Kafir) it returns to one of them; either it is as he said or it returns to him” [Bukhari].    Unfortunately, in today’s society we are more interested in finding wrongs in other Muslims than looking for ways to guide them and teach them about Islam. Muslims may not always agree with each other but we need to focus on what we do agree on; that Allah is One, Muhammad PBUH is his Messenger and believe in the articles of faith and help each other lead to the right path.

As Muslims we may be able to distinguish between good and bad deeds of others as it appears to us, however, we do not possess the foreknowledge of Allah and are in no position to pass judgment over others. Allah SWT says, "I am no bringer of new-fangled doctrine among the apostles, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. God is the ONLY one who can judge humans. [46:9]  

Allah is the Judge who is just and merciful towards His servants. It is quite possible that Allah forgives a person who try to do certain innovative act with no other intention but to glorify Allah, even though that action may not appear righteous to us, but Allah may not hold him\her accountable for it and forgive him because his intention was to do a good deed.   Allah SWT says, "But if they repent and perform As-Salat, and give Zakat, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'' [9:5] 

Muslims need to discipline their souls and focus on the real judgment day that we will all be questioned for our intentions and actions in this world.  Allah SWT says, “Allah will judge with justice, whereas those whom they call upon beside Him cannot judge at all” [40:20].  In a different Ayat it says, “Certainly your Lord will judge on the Day of Resurrection between them regarding the matters they disputed”. [124:16]

Prophet PBUH warns us from judging a person by their outward actions. He PBUH said, “I swear by Allah – there is no God but He – one of you may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise till there is naught but an arm’s length between him and it, when that which has been written will outstrip him so that he performs the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire; one of you may perform the deeds of the people of the Hell Fire, till there is naught but an arm’s length between him and it, when that which has been written will overtake him so that he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters therein.” [Bukhari].     We only see the actions that a person has done so far in their life, however, we do not know later on what they will be doing, or what they do in secret that is not known to us but only to Allah.