Salaam everyone...
I have come to a cross road of sorts. I find myself at a place in my life where I am at peace with myself and God. I am not an extremist, I hold some of my same view points as life before Islam and I do not believe that all Jewish people are the devil. I do, however, still think that Iran is crazy. This will never change.
I rejoice at the death of a mad man, cry at the devastation in Palestine. I can do both.
I love America, the flag and will teach my child the Pledge of Allegiance and all about American History. Will he learn about Islamic history and teachings, yes. He can do both.
I pray 5 times a day. On time? No, I do my best but I am not perfect. Fajir prayer is my test. I cover my hair, wear abaya and do my best to always speak with a kind tongue. I say Bismillah before I eat, and Alhamduliliah when I am done. I pray for my family, fellow Muslims and mankind in general. I do not agree with some of the extreme views of the Salafi just as I do not believe in extreme Christianity.
I mix with men at my job, drive a car, go shopping by myself, pay for house hold things, yell at my husband, watch tv, surf the internet and day dream about how my life used to be and how good a Strawberry Margarita used to taste on a hot July afternoon.
Does this make me less of a Muslim? When I was a Christian, I went to Church on Holidays, if that. That was it. I believed in God and called myself a Believer. No one doubted that.
Now, I do not attend the Quran classes, or gossip at the ladies section and I am considered less than them.
I learn on my own, I read. I live my life as a good person. No one taught me the Surahs I know. No one taught me how to pray, fast, give to charity or read the Quran during Ramadan. I learned all of these basic things on my own...Alhamdulillah! I do good deeds. If I see a migrant worker digging in the trash, I give him money... water, and a smile. The women attending these "ladies sessions" would not dare to do that. But they are better than me?!
My child will grow up knowing diversity. He will not hate the Christians or the Jews. He will understand he is a Muslim but will love all of Gods children.
I may not cover my face anymore, wear gloves or say prayers before doing day to day things but are you better than me? Are you more of a Muslim in front of Allah because you go to a weekly class?
I think not.
I have come to a cross road of sorts. I find myself at a place in my life where I am at peace with myself and God. I am not an extremist, I hold some of my same view points as life before Islam and I do not believe that all Jewish people are the devil. I do, however, still think that Iran is crazy. This will never change.
I rejoice at the death of a mad man, cry at the devastation in Palestine. I can do both.
I love America, the flag and will teach my child the Pledge of Allegiance and all about American History. Will he learn about Islamic history and teachings, yes. He can do both.
I pray 5 times a day. On time? No, I do my best but I am not perfect. Fajir prayer is my test. I cover my hair, wear abaya and do my best to always speak with a kind tongue. I say Bismillah before I eat, and Alhamduliliah when I am done. I pray for my family, fellow Muslims and mankind in general. I do not agree with some of the extreme views of the Salafi just as I do not believe in extreme Christianity.
I mix with men at my job, drive a car, go shopping by myself, pay for house hold things, yell at my husband, watch tv, surf the internet and day dream about how my life used to be and how good a Strawberry Margarita used to taste on a hot July afternoon.
Does this make me less of a Muslim? When I was a Christian, I went to Church on Holidays, if that. That was it. I believed in God and called myself a Believer. No one doubted that.
Now, I do not attend the Quran classes, or gossip at the ladies section and I am considered less than them.
I learn on my own, I read. I live my life as a good person. No one taught me the Surahs I know. No one taught me how to pray, fast, give to charity or read the Quran during Ramadan. I learned all of these basic things on my own...Alhamdulillah! I do good deeds. If I see a migrant worker digging in the trash, I give him money... water, and a smile. The women attending these "ladies sessions" would not dare to do that. But they are better than me?!
My child will grow up knowing diversity. He will not hate the Christians or the Jews. He will understand he is a Muslim but will love all of Gods children.
I may not cover my face anymore, wear gloves or say prayers before doing day to day things but are you better than me? Are you more of a Muslim in front of Allah because you go to a weekly class?
I think not.
Assalamu alaikum sis. I hope you are doing ok and the pregnancy is going well. I don't attend Quran classes either because it's too hard with a toddler. But the more we learn about Allah and use that knowledge, our lives will be better in this life and the hereafter. Sometimes I say Alhamdulillah I miss these classes because many who take them are not using the knowledge Allah blessed them with- this is very bad. But, we should always try our hardest learning to perfect our Islam regardless of classes or no classes. Tafseer books are good for learning the meaning of Quran. I need to get some! Well I rambled on a lot, but I just wanted to remind myself too. May Allah guide us and keep us on the straight path. Ameen.
ReplyDeleteSalaam Sister... Yes, Alhamdulillah.. I learn on my own. All the books and articles that I have read could fill a room :=) I agree with learning more about Islam and perfecting our Religion.
ReplyDeletelet Allah swt be the only Judge in your life. That takes alot of tension out. I realised that I became a better muslim when i stopped comapring myself to others.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I dont belive you need to go to weekly classes to be a good Muslim, but it does help if your trying to learn something. Anyway be happy in your own Muslim skin, I am no longer wearing Niqab either but I don't feel any less than i did before. I now made a conscious decision that i will only put it back on when im convinced that this is what God really wants.
ReplyDeleteThis post could have been from me :)
ReplyDeleteI have the same views like u. I do my best to learn about quran, but i do it by myself.
I hope ur pregnancy is going well. U will hav a boy and a girl?
Mashallah, may allah make it easy for u.
Salaam Daisy,
ReplyDeleteI can understand where you're coming from and it sounds like we are on the same page regarding our religion. Alhamdulillah I have friends who are on the middle path (not too far to the left or right) and we influence each other to be good to not only ourselves but others, do sadaqa, and remember that Allah is Ar-Rahmir Ar-Raheem on a daily basis. I too do not wear gloves or cover my face (in Canada) and nope I don't go to the masjids like a "pious Muslimah" because I can't stand the negative cultural aspects that creep up into a house of God. Nope. I'd rather pray and do things in the comfort of my own space than be talked about or looked down just because of how pink my nail polish is or what my hijaab looks like.
In regards to ppl who call themselves "Salafists", it's been my experience that they are all a bunch of stuck up individuals who believe in the "my way or the high way" mentality and that anyone who "isn't on the correct minhaj" is destined for Hell Fire. I stay faaaar away from those people and have had to deal with them and their backwards-ness online and offline but I wonder if Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu 3alayhi wa salam) would call himself a "Salafist"?? Or just "Muslim"? Hmmm....
Thanx :-)
@Sarah Muhammad .. InshaAllah. I really don't think God wants us to die of heat exhaustion due to having a black sheet over our face when it is 140 degrees outside. I agree with you there. :=)
ReplyDelete@Mimisha Yes, I think a lot of us feel this way but just don't say anything. I just find the extreme views and judgments of people irritating. As for the baby, I wish I knew. He(I think it is a boy) did not cooperate during the last ultrasound. LOOL I will find out in another week. Thanks for asking.
@♥ααℓiα♥ Thanks for the comment. Yes, we are on the same page. I have put up with this for the past 3 years since I moved to the Middle East. I stopped going to the Mosque because all the women do there is stare at me and women sections in the Middle East just make me mad. haha Dark, hidden and just an insult. I prefer to stay at home. My husband told me a story, not sure if he said it to a friend or just a story in general. The story goes, there was a Shia and a Sunni in discussion about the life of our Prophet, pbuh. The Sunni said, "Do you remember that time when a Shia stole the Prophet's sandals after prayer?" The Shia got pissed and said, "Not true!" "Why?" asked the Sunni.... The Shia replied, "Because there wasn't Shia or Sunni back then." Point being, when Prophet Muhammad was alive, we were all just Muslims. We didn't have titles or distinctions. We were one. It shocks me to think how times have changed. What would Prophet Muhammed say to all these people now?
I don't make distinctions between Sunnis and Shi'a unless someone tries to make something... I've known the nicest ppl who are Shi'a from Iraq but they never offended what I believe or tried to make me believe in something... Before I used to go on all about how ALL Shi'a are bad but it's a waste of time & energy besides why can't we just get alone? I was told that since I "love the Shi'a infidels sooo much", that I should "go to Iraq and see what it feels like to be shot to death" and this sweet little advice was given to me by a Sunni.
ReplyDeleteAnyways Daisy just do your own thing, do what you believe pleases your Lord and stay away from groupies or people who are negative or hostile. You will be much happier believe me :-)
*hugs*
@aalia.... Agreed on why cant we all just get along. Very true considering where I live. So much time is wasted on titles and distinctions.
ReplyDeleteHugs back to you.. :=)
You seem like a better Muslim than the most of us. Masha'Allah. Like sis Aalia said: do your thing and forget the rest.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in case you don't get to go to the comments section Sis Amal's page (on her post about 9/11 and Muslims), I wanted to personally say jazakAllahu khair for the reminder.