muslim

Timing is Everything: A Mighty Guidance

April 16, 2014 — Leave a comment

Just a few springs ago, I was wandering, aimlessly it seemed, contemplating the meaning of life. I don’t remember what day it was or what I was doing but I remember my heart was heavy with regret, shame and a loneliness I cannot describe.  It seemed I was drowning in self-pity and feeling lost. 

I was on my way to do something and I remember the moment I walked under a tree to get to my car, a gentle breeze wrapped around me drying my tears and comforting me. As I sat in the car, I remember, hearing a command. I cannot tell you that I heard it out loud, or heard it in my thoughts but I understood it clearly.

“Recite Surah-Fateh”

As I had strayed from my religion up to that point, I forgot all my surahs for prayer, including half the Quran I had memorized when I was younger. BUT, I seemed to have remembered Surah-Fateh, as I began to recite and repeat it over and over that day.  Needless to say that that moment put me back on the right path in so many ways.

Soon after that, when I started to read the Quran in English to seek guidance and learn more about my renewed faith, I was stunned by the translation of Surah-Fateh, the first surah in the Quran:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
Owner of the Day of Judgment,
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favored;
Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
(1 : 1-7)

I didn’t know it at the time, but the command was a prayer that I desperately needed at that time. To this day, I find answers in the Quran to questions I did not even know I had. Every day is a miracle, and I am so grateful. Alhumduillah!

Stay blessed xoxo

Why don’t you look like a Muslim??!

February 24, 2014 — Leave a comment

“Why don’t you wear a hijab? How will people know that you are a Muslim?” This woman berated me with these types of questions after learning of my first name and asking me whether I was a Muslim. All I wanted to do was pay for my coffee.

I was baffled and grew more impatient as she continued to warn me of the men that will attempt to rape me because I did not cover my head. I have my own personal views on this topic and modesty in general that I will not discuss now.

What I want to focus on is people’s obsession in looking or seeming like a Muslim. It is much easier to put on a hijab or dress and look like a Muslim. It is, however, much harder to think and feel like a Muslim. This is something that requires constant concentration, unlike a piece of cloth you place on your head. To not lie, to not gossip, to not judge others and to refrain from “playing-God” to others is something I wish people would focus on more.

I work so tirelessly it seems with as much vigor as I can gather to seek God’s guidance in my daily life and in every moment. My efforts are always focused on being a better person, a just person, a patient person and a compassionate person. After Islam, it is much easier. The Quran, turned out to be the manual I desperately sought as I devoured self-help books and consumed well-being articles. Even today and all the time, I still seek more and more knowledge and try and try to live according to the rules because I want to be a good Muslim for God and not for anyone else.

I think you get it, I definitely did not appreciate this woman, working for a casino in Vegas (where most of her income is probably derived from gambling – a big no-no in Islam) discounting all the progress I had made in my religion, all because she didn’t think I LOOKED like a Muslim. I tried to explain to her that she can’t possibly know of my struggle as a Muslim and so she has no right to judge me. But of course, she wanted to save me from the Hellfire, I would argue that she do that for herself. And that goes for anyone trying to judge other people’s outward appearance and life choices in criticizing and trying to configure their spiritual progress.

Allah knows best.

Stay blessed xoxo