MAY 2 — Islam unlike other religion,
it does not only cover personal worship but it defines every living aspect,
hence providing complete guide to human being’s way of life. The sanctity of
Islam has been interfered by human-crafted ideologies for centuries such as
liberalism, pluralism, capitalism, communism, socialism, Shiism, feminism, et
cetera. In the yesteryears, these ideologies were easily regarded as innovation
from non-Muslims
However, in the recent century,
these ideologies started to play a role in diluting the true teachings of Islam
as sent by Allah through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). For the sake of highlighting
that Islam is yet perfect, the advocates of these ideologies have made
consistent efforts to patch their definition of Islam. They depict Islam as
rigid, non-progressive and no longer relevant to be adopted as a full way of
life, hence Islam needs to be re-defined and Muslims need to be re-enlightened,
as if the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had yet to fulfill his duty to convey the
complete teachings of Islam. Terms such as Islamic Renaissance, Moderate
Muslim, Islamic Feminism and other fancy terms have been used to accentuate
their efforts.
It is the becoming of those who love
the deen, sincere towards the deen and understand the deen to take part in
doing ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar, i.e. call towards what is recognized as true
by Allah and deter all things that is recognized as false by Allah. We need to
clarify our understandings that, the task of ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar is not
only the job for ulama or asatizah (religious figures and religious authority)
but as responsibility for all Muslims.
Sheikh Abul A’ala Al Maududi in one
of his speeches to the people in Punjab said that, “When one understood the
phrase ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad as the messenger of Allah’, it
will be an automatic responsibility to uphold every corner of the Islamic
teachings.”
This powerful speech imposed the
role of a Muslim, not only just to perform personal rituals of worship, but
include the role as da’ie, i.e. the caller who invites others towards Islam.
Hence, here are some efforts that need to be done, in order to announce to the
world that Islam is the best way to govern our livings in the world and promise
salvation in the Hereafter:
1. Be firm and proud to say the
truth about Islam
Allah has mentioned in the Quran in
Surah Fussilat, verse 33, which means:
“And who is better in speech than
one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the
Muslims.”
All Muslims, especially those who
already claim that they understand their roles as da’ie should be proud in
upholding Al Quran and Sunnah, suffice to accept these two sources above other
man-made ideologies and solutions that do not refer to Al Quran and Sunnah. It
is well known that, the West has explicitly exploited the mass media
to put Islam under their shoes.
Islam has been stepped on, and the Muslims were not given fair chance to refute
their claims. Hence, Muslims who are true to the deen of Islam must make
sufficient and continuous efforts to stand up against these false claims.
Muslims must empower themselves with
alternative media that provide correct information about Islam, either through
newspapers, magazines, books, online media, radio, television or any other
possible means. As what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Convey from me even
though only a single verse”. And the most important aspect is that, to convey
the message in clear form, following guides from Al Quran and Sunnah, and also
using well-disciplined methodologies as laid out by the Islamic scholars,
rather than merely using pure logics and quoting Al Quran and hadeeth as mere
sidelines.
2. Set exemplary role in society by
practicing Islam in and out
Attitude, character and morale
values practiced must be as per outlined by Islam. This is to ensure that ample
life instances can be portrayed to the society on how Islam governs one’s life.
Sufficient number of exemplary Muslim individuals that exist in a particular
society could give an influence in shaping the society to accept Islam or at
least look up towards Islam. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) emphasized
on the building of character of a Muslim during his early years of da’awah
(propagating Islam effort) in Makkah. Among the way of how the Prophet (pbuh)
educate his companions is, to hold up anger and refrain from avenging although
they were capable to do so, by reminding them “kuffu aydiyakum” (hold your
hands).
This is to ensure that the
companions’ hearts are trained to be calm, patient and composed. In other
examples, as stated in the hadeeth:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s
Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “The strong-man is not one who
wrestles well but the strong man is one who controls himself when he is in a
fit of rage.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 032, Hadith 6313)
Narated By Abu Huraira : A man said
to the Prophet , “Advise me! “The Prophet said, “Do not become angry and
furious.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in
each case, “Do not become angry and furious.”(Sahih Bukhari , Book 073, Hadith
137)
From the tarbiyah (education)
process beginning in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) managed to raise around
300 high quality Muslims who later became the pillar of strength of the Muslim
ummah (society) after hijrah (migration) to Madinah. Madinah became a very
strong nation, not solely because of the high numbers of people who embraced
Islam, but due to the effect of continuous tarbiyah process where each
enlightened Muslims played a role to make their brothers and sisters in Islam
to live according to the teachings Islam. Islam is not only restricted to
personal character building or worship rituals, but Islam governs the daily
aspects of human’s living, which includes, social, economy, education, law and
order, daily administration, establishing affiliation and et cetera. And of
course, the perfect character of the Prophet was a big plus. He was known as Al
Ameen (the trusted one) by the people of Makkah even way before he was
appointed as the last messenger of Allah.
My personal experience studying and
working abroad, in a Western country, where most of the populations are
non-Muslim, had given me the chance to portray the Islamic teachings to
colleagues, neighbors and other people who interacted with me daily. Obviously
as a Muslim woman with hijab (headscarf that covers head, neck and beyond my
chest, seriously I wear a very large one!), most of them did not have any
uneasiness towards accepting me into their society. I was able to dismiss the
negative perception about Islam that was fed to them by the mass media. And I
was also able to dismiss the perception that if we practice the real teachings
of Islam, we will be isolated and estranged by society.
I have to admit that people in the
Western country owns certain positive traits that we can learn from. However,
Islam on the other hand, scored so many plus points because all aspects of life
are clearly defined. The problem with the Western society is that, if we demand
further questions of “what is nice or not nice, or, what is civilized or not
civilized”, there were no clear limit and delineation able to be provided. It
is not that I have a so perfect character, but I believe Islam has given me a
clear guide on how I should carry myself. I hope that with my simple effort of
telling them and showing them that “I am like this because I am a Muslim”,
would be a starting point for them to ponder the beauty of Islam and hence to
embrace it one day.
3. Being tolerant does but does not
mean being apologetic
Malaysia is a rich country where the
population is multi-racial and multi-religion. For years, tolerance and respect
existed in the society, however recently we have seen certain parties and
individuals have started to intrude the position of the Islam. The Malays, whom
are the majority of the Muslims, had opened their arms receiving the non-Malay immigrants
to enter the mansion of Tanah Melayu in the 1950’s, and they were treated not
only as guests but also as siblings. The tolerance of the majority expects
nothing, but respect and honour from the minorities, especially on three simple
privileges, i.e. the sanctity of Islam as religion of the Federal, the position
of the Malays and bumiputera as the original inhabitants of the country, and
institutionalization of the Malay realm.
The long fed and well treated guests
have now stepped beyond some boundaries, demanding more and more to the extent
of requesting to have shares beyond the original owner of the mansion.
For the sake of bashing and finding
faults, the tradition of Islam that has been the pillar of the country has been
a very convenient punching bag. Adding further misery, the Muslims’ tolerance
too has been pinched, in the name of demanding human rights.
It is so pathetic to note that some
Muslims who claim themselves as da’ie, shows no ownership to uphold Islam and
support their Muslim brothers and sisters who are on the verge of attacks and
insults. So easy they throw claims all in one basket: “the non-Muslims have no
ill agenda, they are just demanding their rights”, “it is the Muslims’ failure
to educate the non-Muslims”, “Islam endorses what the non-Muslims are doing”,
“fairness means 50-50”, and et cetera. All this claims have little or no basis
at all, as per religion but mere logic and made out of their and their ally’s
interests, and of course beyond Islam’s interest.
They have as if, forgotten the clear
verses in the Quran, asking the Muslims to be conscious of the Christians, Jews
and idol-worshippers. They have as if, forgotten the clear recorded history of
how the Muslims have been so kind, and out of blind kindness, lack of cautiousness
and ignorance, causing the Muslims to be oppressed. They have failed to follow
the path of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in full picture, while only taking partial
example from him and making statements out of context. They always try to find
common ground with other religions until to the extent forgetting that Islam
will always be different, and higher than other religions and ideologies. This
type of da’ie has actually made not much favor to Islam, and by being
apologetic and show no izzah (pride) in Islam will just delay the process of
making people understand the nature of Islam.
A follower of the companion of the
Prophet (pbuh), Rabi’ Ibn Amir, in the Al Qadisiyyah warfare, who is just a
plain Bedouin of Arabia whose head Islam had raised as high as the heavens had
told Rustam, the Commander-in-Chief of Persia, “We have been sent by Allah to
deliver whom He wills from the overlordship of His slaves, to His own
overlordship, from the narrow confines of the world to His boundlessness, and
from the oppressiveness of other religions to the fairness and justice of
Islam.” Were these Muslim da’ie-s, with Prof., Dr., Ir., Datuk or Datin titled
in front of their names are as proud as Rabi’ Ibn Amir, to state nothing but
the truth about the nature of Islam.”Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah
is Islam.” -Meaning of Surah Ali Imran, verse 19.
Being tolerant should not make us
compromise on the basic tenets of Islam. Hence it is very important that all
Muslim da’ie-s understand well the boundary of relationship with people of
other religion by re-studying the concept of wala’ wa- bara’.
In summary, verily, each Muslim must
be convinced on the honour and truth of Islam. All must be responsible and
having ownership to convey the simple and clear message of Islam towards the
people around us. The seriousness and diligence to uphold the deen entrusted by
Allah will always be the backbone of every da’awah effort, and hence towards
the victory of Islam. Towards the end, we just want to ‘aish ‘azizan au mut
Syahidan (live with pride (of Islam) or die having witnessed Islam to the
world).
* Dr Nur Faridah, a Queen’s
University of Belfast graduate, is a medical officer at Alor Gajah Hospital.
She is currently pursuing Masters in Sports Medicine at the University
Malaya.
** This is the personal opinion of
the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of 9ja Plug.
MAY
2 — Islam unlike other religion, it does not only cover personal
worship but it defines every living aspect, hence providing complete
guide to human being’s way of life. The sanctity of Islam has been
interfered by human-crafted ideologies for centuries such as liberalism,
pluralism, capitalism, communism, socialism, Shiism, feminism, et
cetera. In the yesteryears, these ideologies were easily regarded as
innovation from non-Muslims.
However, in the recent century, these ideologies started to play a role
in diluting the true teachings of Islam as sent by Allah through
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). For the sake of highlighting that Islam is yet
perfect, the advocates of these ideologies have made consistent efforts
to patch their definition of Islam. They depict Islam as rigid,
non-progressive and no longer relevant to be adopted as a full way of
life, hence Islam needs to be re-defined and Muslims need to be
re-enlightened, as if the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had yet to fulfill his
duty to convey the complete teachings of Islam. Terms such as Islamic
Renaissance, Moderate Muslim, Islamic Feminism and other fancy terms
have been used to accentuate their efforts.
It is the becoming of those who love the deen, sincere towards the deen and understand the deen to take part in doing ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar, i.e. call towards what is recognized as true by Allah and deter all things that is recognized as false by Allah. We need to clarify our understandings that, the task of ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar is not only the job for ulama or asatizah (religious figures and religious authority) but as responsibility for all Muslims.
Sheikh Abul A’ala Al Maududi in one of his speeches to the people in Punjab said that, “When one understood the phrase ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad as the messenger of Allah’, it will be an automatic responsibility to uphold every corner of the Islamic teachings.”
This powerful speech imposed the role of a Muslim, not only just to perform personal rituals of worship, but include the role as da’ie, i.e. the caller who invites others towards Islam. Hence, here are some efforts that need to be done, in order to announce to the world that Islam is the best way to govern our livings in the world and promise salvation in the Hereafter:
1. Be firm and proud to say the truth about Islam
Allah has mentioned in the Quran in Surah Fussilat, verse 33, which means:
“And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.”
All Muslims, especially those who already claim that they understand their roles as da’ie should be proud in upholding Al Quran and Sunnah, suffice to accept these two sources above other man-made ideologies and solutions that do not refer to Al Quran and Sunnah. It is well known that, the West has explicitly exploited the mass media to put Islam under their shoes. Islam has been stepped on, and the Muslims were not given fair chance to refute their claims. Hence, Muslims who are true to the deen of Islam must make sufficient and continuous efforts to stand up against these false claims.
Muslims must empower themselves with alternative media that provide correct information about Islam, either through newspapers, magazines, books, online media, radio, television or any other possible means. As what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Convey from me even though only a single verse”. And the most important aspect is that, to convey the message in clear form, following guides from Al Quran and Sunnah, and also using well-disciplined methodologies as laid out by the Islamic scholars, rather than merely using pure logics and quoting Al Quran and hadeeth as mere sidelines.
2. Set exemplary role in society by practicing Islam in and out
Attitude, character and morale values practiced must be as per outlined by Islam. This is to ensure that ample life instances can be portrayed to the society on how Islam governs one’s life. Sufficient number of exemplary Muslim individuals that exist in a particular society could give an influence in shaping the society to accept Islam or at least look up towards Islam. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) emphasized on the building of character of a Muslim during his early years of da’awah (propagating Islam effort) in Makkah. Among the way of how the Prophet (pbuh) educate his companions is, to hold up anger and refrain from avenging although they were capable to do so, by reminding them “kuffu aydiyakum” (hold your hands).
This is to ensure that the companions’ hearts are trained to be calm, patient and composed. In other examples, as stated in the hadeeth:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “The strong-man is not one who wrestles well but the strong man is one who controls himself when he is in a fit of rage.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 032, Hadith 6313)
Narated By Abu Huraira : A man said to the Prophet , “Advise me! “The Prophet said, “Do not become angry and furious.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, “Do not become angry and furious.”(Sahih Bukhari , Book 073, Hadith 137)
From the tarbiyah (education) process beginning in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) managed to raise around 300 high quality Muslims who later became the pillar of strength of the Muslim ummah (society) after hijrah (migration) to Madinah. Madinah became a very strong nation, not solely because of the high numbers of people who embraced Islam, but due to the effect of continuous tarbiyah process where each enlightened Muslims played a role to make their brothers and sisters in Islam to live according to the teachings Islam. Islam is not only restricted to personal character building or worship rituals, but Islam governs the daily aspects of human’s living, which includes, social, economy, education, law and order, daily administration, establishing affiliation and et cetera. And of course, the perfect character of the Prophet was a big plus. He was known as Al Ameen (the trusted one) by the people of Makkah even way before he was appointed as the last messenger of Allah.
My personal experience studying and working abroad, in a Western country, where most of the populations are non-Muslim, had given me the chance to portray the Islamic teachings to colleagues, neighbors and other people who interacted with me daily. Obviously as a Muslim woman with hijab (headscarf that covers head, neck and beyond my chest, seriously I wear a very large one!), most of them did not have any uneasiness towards accepting me into their society. I was able to dismiss the negative perception about Islam that was fed to them by the mass media. And I was also able to dismiss the perception that if we practice the real teachings of Islam, we will be isolated and estranged by society.
I have to admit that people in the Western country owns certain positive traits that we can learn from. However, Islam on the other hand, scored so many plus points because all aspects of life are clearly defined. The problem with the Western society is that, if we demand further questions of “what is nice or not nice, or, what is civilized or not civilized”, there were no clear limit and delineation able to be provided. It is not that I have a so perfect character, but I believe Islam has given me a clear guide on how I should carry myself. I hope that with my simple effort of telling them and showing them that “I am like this because I am a Muslim”, would be a starting point for them to ponder the beauty of Islam and hence to embrace it one day.
3. Being tolerant does but does not mean being apologetic
Malaysia is a rich country where the population is multi-racial and multi-religion. For years, tolerance and respect existed in the society, however recently we have seen certain parties and individuals have started to intrude the position of the Islam. The Malays, whom are the majority of the Muslims, had opened their arms receiving the non-Malay immigrants to enter the mansion of Tanah Melayu in the 1950’s, and they were treated not only as guests but also as siblings. The tolerance of the majority expects nothing, but respect and honour from the minorities, especially on three simple privileges, i.e. the sanctity of Islam as religion of the Federal, the position of the Malays and bumiputera as the original inhabitants of the country, and institutionalization of the Malay realm.
The long fed and well treated guests have now stepped beyond some boundaries, demanding more and more to the extent of requesting to have shares beyond the original owner of the mansion.
For the sake of bashing and finding faults, the tradition of Islam that has been the pillar of the country has been a very convenient punching bag. Adding further misery, the Muslims’ tolerance too has been pinched, in the name of demanding human rights.
It is so pathetic to note that some Muslims who claim themselves as da’ie, shows no ownership to uphold Islam and support their Muslim brothers and sisters who are on the verge of attacks and insults. So easy they throw claims all in one basket: “the non-Muslims have no ill agenda, they are just demanding their rights”, “it is the Muslims’ failure to educate the non-Muslims”, “Islam endorses what the non-Muslims are doing”, “fairness means 50-50”, and et cetera. All this claims have little or no basis at all, as per religion but mere logic and made out of their and their ally’s interests, and of course beyond Islam’s interest.
They have as if, forgotten the clear verses in the Quran, asking the Muslims to be conscious of the Christians, Jews and idol-worshippers. They have as if, forgotten the clear recorded history of how the Muslims have been so kind, and out of blind kindness, lack of cautiousness and ignorance, causing the Muslims to be oppressed. They have failed to follow the path of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in full picture, while only taking partial example from him and making statements out of context. They always try to find common ground with other religions until to the extent forgetting that Islam will always be different, and higher than other religions and ideologies. This type of da’ie has actually made not much favor to Islam, and by being apologetic and show no izzah (pride) in Islam will just delay the process of making people understand the nature of Islam.
A follower of the companion of the Prophet (pbuh), Rabi’ Ibn Amir, in the Al Qadisiyyah warfare, who is just a plain Bedouin of Arabia whose head Islam had raised as high as the heavens had told Rustam, the Commander-in-Chief of Persia, “We have been sent by Allah to deliver whom He wills from the overlordship of His slaves, to His own overlordship, from the narrow confines of the world to His boundlessness, and from the oppressiveness of other religions to the fairness and justice of Islam.” Were these Muslim da’ie-s, with Prof., Dr., Ir., Datuk or Datin titled in front of their names are as proud as Rabi’ Ibn Amir, to state nothing but the truth about the nature of Islam.”Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.” -Meaning of Surah Ali Imran, verse 19.
Being tolerant should not make us compromise on the basic tenets of Islam. Hence it is very important that all Muslim da’ie-s understand well the boundary of relationship with people of other religion by re-studying the concept of wala’ wa- bara’.
In summary, verily, each Muslim must be convinced on the honour and truth of Islam. All must be responsible and having ownership to convey the simple and clear message of Islam towards the people around us. The seriousness and diligence to uphold the deen entrusted by Allah will always be the backbone of every da’awah effort, and hence towards the victory of Islam. Towards the end, we just want to ‘aish ‘azizan au mut Syahidan (live with pride (of Islam) or die having witnessed Islam to the world).
It is the becoming of those who love the deen, sincere towards the deen and understand the deen to take part in doing ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar, i.e. call towards what is recognized as true by Allah and deter all things that is recognized as false by Allah. We need to clarify our understandings that, the task of ‘amar ma’aruf nahi munkar is not only the job for ulama or asatizah (religious figures and religious authority) but as responsibility for all Muslims.
Sheikh Abul A’ala Al Maududi in one of his speeches to the people in Punjab said that, “When one understood the phrase ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad as the messenger of Allah’, it will be an automatic responsibility to uphold every corner of the Islamic teachings.”
This powerful speech imposed the role of a Muslim, not only just to perform personal rituals of worship, but include the role as da’ie, i.e. the caller who invites others towards Islam. Hence, here are some efforts that need to be done, in order to announce to the world that Islam is the best way to govern our livings in the world and promise salvation in the Hereafter:
1. Be firm and proud to say the truth about Islam
“And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.”
All Muslims, especially those who already claim that they understand their roles as da’ie should be proud in upholding Al Quran and Sunnah, suffice to accept these two sources above other man-made ideologies and solutions that do not refer to Al Quran and Sunnah. It is well known that, the West has explicitly exploited the mass media to put Islam under their shoes. Islam has been stepped on, and the Muslims were not given fair chance to refute their claims. Hence, Muslims who are true to the deen of Islam must make sufficient and continuous efforts to stand up against these false claims.
Muslims must empower themselves with alternative media that provide correct information about Islam, either through newspapers, magazines, books, online media, radio, television or any other possible means. As what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Convey from me even though only a single verse”. And the most important aspect is that, to convey the message in clear form, following guides from Al Quran and Sunnah, and also using well-disciplined methodologies as laid out by the Islamic scholars, rather than merely using pure logics and quoting Al Quran and hadeeth as mere sidelines.
2. Set exemplary role in society by practicing Islam in and out
Attitude, character and morale values practiced must be as per outlined by Islam. This is to ensure that ample life instances can be portrayed to the society on how Islam governs one’s life. Sufficient number of exemplary Muslim individuals that exist in a particular society could give an influence in shaping the society to accept Islam or at least look up towards Islam. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) emphasized on the building of character of a Muslim during his early years of da’awah (propagating Islam effort) in Makkah. Among the way of how the Prophet (pbuh) educate his companions is, to hold up anger and refrain from avenging although they were capable to do so, by reminding them “kuffu aydiyakum” (hold your hands).
This is to ensure that the companions’ hearts are trained to be calm, patient and composed. In other examples, as stated in the hadeeth:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “The strong-man is not one who wrestles well but the strong man is one who controls himself when he is in a fit of rage.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 032, Hadith 6313)
Narated By Abu Huraira : A man said to the Prophet , “Advise me! “The Prophet said, “Do not become angry and furious.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, “Do not become angry and furious.”(Sahih Bukhari , Book 073, Hadith 137)
From the tarbiyah (education) process beginning in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) managed to raise around 300 high quality Muslims who later became the pillar of strength of the Muslim ummah (society) after hijrah (migration) to Madinah. Madinah became a very strong nation, not solely because of the high numbers of people who embraced Islam, but due to the effect of continuous tarbiyah process where each enlightened Muslims played a role to make their brothers and sisters in Islam to live according to the teachings Islam. Islam is not only restricted to personal character building or worship rituals, but Islam governs the daily aspects of human’s living, which includes, social, economy, education, law and order, daily administration, establishing affiliation and et cetera. And of course, the perfect character of the Prophet was a big plus. He was known as Al Ameen (the trusted one) by the people of Makkah even way before he was appointed as the last messenger of Allah.
My personal experience studying and working abroad, in a Western country, where most of the populations are non-Muslim, had given me the chance to portray the Islamic teachings to colleagues, neighbors and other people who interacted with me daily. Obviously as a Muslim woman with hijab (headscarf that covers head, neck and beyond my chest, seriously I wear a very large one!), most of them did not have any uneasiness towards accepting me into their society. I was able to dismiss the negative perception about Islam that was fed to them by the mass media. And I was also able to dismiss the perception that if we practice the real teachings of Islam, we will be isolated and estranged by society.
I have to admit that people in the Western country owns certain positive traits that we can learn from. However, Islam on the other hand, scored so many plus points because all aspects of life are clearly defined. The problem with the Western society is that, if we demand further questions of “what is nice or not nice, or, what is civilized or not civilized”, there were no clear limit and delineation able to be provided. It is not that I have a so perfect character, but I believe Islam has given me a clear guide on how I should carry myself. I hope that with my simple effort of telling them and showing them that “I am like this because I am a Muslim”, would be a starting point for them to ponder the beauty of Islam and hence to embrace it one day.
3. Being tolerant does but does not mean being apologetic
Malaysia is a rich country where the population is multi-racial and multi-religion. For years, tolerance and respect existed in the society, however recently we have seen certain parties and individuals have started to intrude the position of the Islam. The Malays, whom are the majority of the Muslims, had opened their arms receiving the non-Malay immigrants to enter the mansion of Tanah Melayu in the 1950’s, and they were treated not only as guests but also as siblings. The tolerance of the majority expects nothing, but respect and honour from the minorities, especially on three simple privileges, i.e. the sanctity of Islam as religion of the Federal, the position of the Malays and bumiputera as the original inhabitants of the country, and institutionalization of the Malay realm.
The long fed and well treated guests have now stepped beyond some boundaries, demanding more and more to the extent of requesting to have shares beyond the original owner of the mansion.
For the sake of bashing and finding faults, the tradition of Islam that has been the pillar of the country has been a very convenient punching bag. Adding further misery, the Muslims’ tolerance too has been pinched, in the name of demanding human rights.
It is so pathetic to note that some Muslims who claim themselves as da’ie, shows no ownership to uphold Islam and support their Muslim brothers and sisters who are on the verge of attacks and insults. So easy they throw claims all in one basket: “the non-Muslims have no ill agenda, they are just demanding their rights”, “it is the Muslims’ failure to educate the non-Muslims”, “Islam endorses what the non-Muslims are doing”, “fairness means 50-50”, and et cetera. All this claims have little or no basis at all, as per religion but mere logic and made out of their and their ally’s interests, and of course beyond Islam’s interest.
They have as if, forgotten the clear verses in the Quran, asking the Muslims to be conscious of the Christians, Jews and idol-worshippers. They have as if, forgotten the clear recorded history of how the Muslims have been so kind, and out of blind kindness, lack of cautiousness and ignorance, causing the Muslims to be oppressed. They have failed to follow the path of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in full picture, while only taking partial example from him and making statements out of context. They always try to find common ground with other religions until to the extent forgetting that Islam will always be different, and higher than other religions and ideologies. This type of da’ie has actually made not much favor to Islam, and by being apologetic and show no izzah (pride) in Islam will just delay the process of making people understand the nature of Islam.
A follower of the companion of the Prophet (pbuh), Rabi’ Ibn Amir, in the Al Qadisiyyah warfare, who is just a plain Bedouin of Arabia whose head Islam had raised as high as the heavens had told Rustam, the Commander-in-Chief of Persia, “We have been sent by Allah to deliver whom He wills from the overlordship of His slaves, to His own overlordship, from the narrow confines of the world to His boundlessness, and from the oppressiveness of other religions to the fairness and justice of Islam.” Were these Muslim da’ie-s, with Prof., Dr., Ir., Datuk or Datin titled in front of their names are as proud as Rabi’ Ibn Amir, to state nothing but the truth about the nature of Islam.”Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.” -Meaning of Surah Ali Imran, verse 19.
Being tolerant should not make us compromise on the basic tenets of Islam. Hence it is very important that all Muslim da’ie-s understand well the boundary of relationship with people of other religion by re-studying the concept of wala’ wa- bara’.
In summary, verily, each Muslim must be convinced on the honour and truth of Islam. All must be responsible and having ownership to convey the simple and clear message of Islam towards the people around us. The seriousness and diligence to uphold the deen entrusted by Allah will always be the backbone of every da’awah effort, and hence towards the victory of Islam. Towards the end, we just want to ‘aish ‘azizan au mut Syahidan (live with pride (of Islam) or die having witnessed Islam to the world).
* Dr Nur Faridah, a Queen’s University of Belfast graduate, is a
medical officer at Alor Gajah Hospital. She is currently pursuing
Masters in Sports Medicine at the University Malaya.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
- See more at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/conveying-message-of-islam-back-to-basic-principles-dr-nur-faridah-zulkhain#sthash.jLf2gQu0.dpuf** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
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