An insight into what Islam really is (part 2)
COLUMN: Express it by Imane
BY IMANE FAWZY NOFAL | Twitter: @Imane2express
Coming to earth about what Islam really is … (Part 2)
Continuation from: Coming to earth about what Islam really is … (Part 1)
It took months after the Paris attacks, which were followed by a hurricane of loathing and flood of recriminations, for me to be able to write again about Islam. My thoughts have been continuously interrupted by world events.
Each time I try to write something, despair sweeps over me. How can I talk about a religion that is stoned because of one group’s act? How can I try to convince them that there is nothing wrong with my religion and it is compelling in its truthfulness? How can I explain in words feelings of satisfaction I have experienced these past months in learning to ‘hear’ Quran verses with my heart not my ears? How can I justify my beliefs about supernatural creatures called jinn, angels and devils? What if I told my friends, including Muslim ones, that I am looking more into Prophet Muhammed’s habits and his way of living as I humbly attempt to embrace and adopt them.
“She’s some lunatic who has gone astray,” I may be called. Or maybe, “she is marching towards the extremism line and might join ISIS soon,” others would whisper.
The sheer joy I’m feeling and ultimate tranquility of soul are only a few of multiple benefits of these moments for me.
Hmmm, here is an idea: let’s just delete all of the above and start the article anew. Let’s even give it a new title that goes along these days’ popular headlines. The article may not help tone your waistline and won’t discuss the health benefits of eating quinoa, but I guarantee it may mark a point of turnaround in your life; in the same way yoga practitioners speak of it.
3 amazing benefits of knowing about Islam
You may have heard a lot about the mostly defamed religion worldwide called Islam. If not, just google Donald Trump and you will see for yourself that this man has nothing to do but attack this “weird” religion.
I was born 30 years ago, a Muslim; however, I am only one year old in knowing what Islam really is. I am yet starting to walk in the path Allah has laid out for me; amazed like a little child at how small and transitive this world is.
‘Transit’ is the word for me at this stage. It rightfully describes my life in Bahrain as well as many expatriates’. It really also refers to our lives as a whole.
Picture this: you have two apartments; one in your permanent country, here you yearn to return to and in which you shall place all your valuables and most expensive stuff. The other is in another country which you know sooner or later you shall leave. The question is: in which of these two apartments shall you place your pricey possessions? Most importantly, which one will get your attention and attract your soul?
Compare living in a transit place to life. Sooner or later death is your last station on this earth from where you will start another eternal journey.
Islam does not promise you wine in a crystal glass or life on a beach full of hot chicks. It does not allow topless and/or bottomless tans in view of passers-by. However, it promises you this:
1. Knowing the Creator. This might sound exaggerated, for we all know there is a God. Christians, Jews and Muslims worship God, or so they profess. However, there are a few questions to think about: are we, from the various religions, worshipping the same God? If not, are we worshipping as many gods as exist in each religion? Won’t they be fighting in the same way of the Greek gods?
If yes, we are worshiping the same God, why are we denying one prophet and accepting another? Don’t you think that your full faith and submission to your Creator requires that you admit all his messengers?
If you admit all the messengers, and deny none, don’t you think you need to learn the message Allah sent you through his Quran?
“To Allah belong the east and the West: Whithersoever ye turn, there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, all-Knowing.” (Al Baqara)
“Allah! There is no god but He – the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they encompass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His throne doth extend over the heavens and on earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them, for He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory).”
“O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him” (Al-Imran)
2. Having serenity. This also may sound like normal. We all have our ups and downs. Feelings like happiness, sadness and tranquility knock on our door from time to time. We adapt and go on.
Pardon me, this is not the case when you truly know Islam. Given you have known Allah and your worship has taken another level, your feelings won’t be vulnerable to ordinary ups and downs. You will surely experience bad and good feelings but your faith in Allah helps you surrender and place your troubles in His Hands. Sorting out your issues while knowing He is watching and caring makes all the difference.
“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.” (Al Raad, 28)
3. Evoking and Searching for Him in all the acts. Performing the 5 prayers could be effortless for some people. Just as you wake up and drink your cup of coffee, you could pray when you hear the prayer call and do the moves as part of your daily routine. However, worshipping Allah requires more than this. Having Him in your heart calls for high self-discipline and soul sublimity.
You simply surrender to His will. You love as well as revere Him. You wake up knowing that He has given you another day. You thank him for the new day, light, sun, air, health, kids (if you have any), parents (if they are still alive) and all the countless blessings that He showers upon you. You even confess that having your heart beat is not some scientifically justified thing without His will. Even the birds up in the sky are not flying without falling due to some gravity and space calculations. They fly because of His will.
“Do they not look at the birds, held poised in the midst of (the air and) the sky? Nothing holds them up but (the power of) Allah. Verily in this are signs for those who believe.” (An-hal, 79)
“He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.” (An-hal, 12)
As a Muslim, I have worshiped Allah all my life, but cannot claim to have felt this close to Him before now. The world’s condemnation of Islam fills my heart with sadness but never shakens my faith.
I don’t also see in myself the urge to defend my religion. Even denouncing certain acts like wine, smoking, homosexuality and all the sins does not shut me off from people who commit them, but makes me concerned for them and puts on my shoulder the responsibility and necessity to invite them into my world.
How about you stop reading my words and learn the words Allah sent specially for you? Did you think Quran was only for Muslims? No, on the contrary, the Quran carries His message to you.
Imane Fawzy Nofal is a translator, News Reporter, Copywriter, Editor, Proofreader (Arabic<>English) and mother of twin boys. She is an Egyptian living in Bahrain and blogs at Express It 2 Live It. Imane regularly shares her thoughts on human interactions and real life experiences through her DUNIA Mag column Express it by Imane. Imane’s first language is Arabic.
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