After reading two articles of a muslim brother, a Palestinian descent,born and raised in America, I realised that all muslims have a personal jihad. Not just the jihad within to contain and fight bad characteristics or desires, but also a jihad of awareness to communities. I remember well, 25 years ago, in Australia, as a new muslimah, I had no contact with many muslims,I did not have access to books,literally, I was under spiritual guidance sent by Allah Ta'ala, in my journey as a muslimah in a non-muslim country. Everything I needed to learn, always miraculously, "appeared" for me, which made it easier for me to learn the fundamental basics of practicing Islam.
I do however, also remember that the Australians always were wary of me as I dressed Islamically, with hijab and flowing dresses. I felt proud and distinct, being able to identify with Islam, I was out of the generally popular muslim areas in New South Wales, and having just migrated, I found myself facing many challenges,which tested my loyalty to the religion of my choice.I was born and raised in a Catholic family,in Singapore, my parents ancestry are British, Irish, Portuguese,Siamese and possibly Indonesians or Arabs, I cannot be sure. I chose Islam at the age of 22, in Singapore, after 7 years of soul searching and learning about various other belief systems,and of course after completing reading the Bible.
I had so many confronting questions about life, death, the meaning of life, why did some countries have poor and suffering, why were there wars, why was there a heaven and hell, where do we go after death, what is the soul and so on and so forth. I asked many people within the clerics, religious people, looked into books and articles, until finally, having the English transliteration of Al Qur'an in my possession, a gift from a friend, I decided to read it, after I had read a book on the 99 Names of Allah, which, began to confuse me a little, as in Catholicism we were taught there were 3 gods in 1 , and I thought 99? How more confusing, as I always knew from a very young age, the God is One. In the beginning of the booklet, was a story about a sheikh who had many murids that he taught zikir to, it was this kalimat that shook me, unlocked my heart and with a golden shiny glow of light "Laa ilaa ha ilallah" was implanted into and locked in my heart, my qalb. I knew then, that my search for truth was on the right path, I began reading the English transliteration of Al Qur'an. One by one, each of the questions that had bombarded me for the last 7 years began to be answered. I felt lighter, I felt brighter, I felt that life was starting to make sense. I began my life as a muslimah, feeling a great sense of complete contentment.
25 years later, I have been through many challenges as a muslimah, faced with many contradictions, having learnt shareah,tharekah,and now living in a country whose population is 99% muslim, I am taken aback, by how we muslims in the West struggle for the right to practice our faith,we relish and appreciate the Islamic value that it has given in our lives; I see many muslims suffering at the intolerance of religion in other countries, I see muslims fighting among anti-Islamists, then I see within Indonesia, sad to say, muslims and muslims having conflicts, and this saddens me. I see, Islam taken for granted or ignorance of some ,who follow but don't understand.I feel saddened, that Islam which has spread far and wide, is not understood to it's full potential as a way of life.
Perhaps if people took time to really evaluate what Islam means for them, without being judgmental on themselves or others; perhaps if people took the time to understand and see the beauty that Islam holds, they may start to appreciate that Islam is truly infact the perfect guide for us all. Inshaallah, the link to this brother's site may be an eye opener for some.
May peace,love & light be showered on us all.
http://bonsaisky.wordpress.com/
~LorraineNur
