Or at least thats what Ive come to observe.
I was schooled in a system which graded me on how much of the Quran I could memorize. To be honest, I never cared about whether or not I understood what it was I was reading. Religion, to me, was a set of rules. You get told to do, you do or face judgement (honestly, by peers more than anything). That is, up till my senior years in high school, when I finally took the initiative to read the translations of the verses. And you know what I learned?
The Quran has pages and pages and pages emphasizing on worship, on belief from the heart, on Iman. Majority of the scripture asks you to do one simple thing, believe, and it teaches you the properties of Allah, how if mercy were water, there would be no ocean in this world that could hold his mercy. It taught me of humility, modesty, and most importantly, to believe.
It did not spend chapters and pages telling me that I had to cover my hair.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that I live a sinless life. I don't dress like the most religious of people, and I've faced my fair amount of human judgement for it. I honestly understand your concern.
But I really can't help but wonder, while I get anonymous comment and hear rumors stating that I am blasphemous, unworthy of respect and out of my mind, does a cloth on my head make me Muslim?
I do not have a lot of knowledge about Islam, I admit, but for most of my life, religion scared me. I grew up learning a version of Islam and quite honestly, got frightened by it. At 19 I decided, I want to learn to love Allah more than I fear him. I think that is important, don't you?
I still don't expect anybody to understand my decision, but I just ask, if you have advice for me, want to teach me, have questions or want to discuss religion, please, anonymous, mean comments wont further your cause in any way. Non muslims and muslims who are unsure will only get more frightened. Instead, either ask to meet with me or contact me personally. I enjoy learning and am open to any sort of comment, I just don't think anonymous and public is the way to go. My email is ilmiramurni@yahoo.com , or ask me for my number.
At the end of the day, Islam is my connection with Allah. Not human judgement, not a rigid rulebook; worship is a personal, sacred and precious thing. I pray that we all find our peace and happiness, for I think thats an integral part of worship.
I am sorry for anyone I might have offended with this post, and thank you, for everyone who has been kind.
Assalamualaikum, May Peace be Upon you.
Assalamualaikum,
ReplyDeleteIt is also my observation that in Malaysia, wearing a tudung is more important than really understanding what Islam is all about. Emphasis has been put more on covering the head than really practicing Islam as a whole. That is why selling hijabs is a big business. When you only care about appearing Muslim but do not take the time to understand about your religion, that's how you start judging others who you deem to be less religious than you, using languages unbecoming of a muslim, and do things that is un-Islamic. Sadly, those are all too common in our community.
Your faith is between you and God. Allah SWT works in a mysterious ways. People that I know who used to be party people, whom were thought to be "sinful", are now changed for the best. Even better than most of the people who judged them before.
So, I wish you all the best in learning more about Islam in-depth. Do not let what people think about your choices discourage you from getting to know yourself and Allah. Allah SWT knows best.
I'd like to share my opinions.
ReplyDeleteThe al-Quran mostly covers about worship and faith, which indicates that your believe, iman, and worship to Allah is the utmost importance. As such, when you come to love, to truly worship Allah, every order that was given by Allah, perhaps that person will follow it. So yes, nurturing love forAllah is definitely important. Keep at what you do, and improve.
May we all be better muslims in the future then.