ON BEING A MUSLIM IN THE MODERN WORLD

I am finding it increasingly difficult to navigate through this world with my Iman and Islam intact. I am getting tired but I cannot give up. I have to continue pushing through until I ultimately attain jannah in sha Allah.

The world today is a world full of vanity. A world that constantly glorifies living a large life and living full of sins. It is a world where alcohol, fornication, gambling, and interest are all acceptable and rampant. It is a world where it is extremely difficult to keep away from sins because breaking the laws of Allah is the order of the day. A world where islamophobia is rampant; and some smart islamophobes spread the IMP rhetoric. IMP here stands for ‘Islam means peace’ when in reality Islam means total submission to the will and laws of the Almighty. It pains me that numerous muslims subscribe to the IMP propaganda just to further their personal interests. May Almighty Allah guide us all. IMP started due to some muslims’ need to be accepted by the mainstream in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that began with 9/11. Since they believe most terrorists are muslims, muslims felt subscribing to the IMP rule and patronizing them would help, though it’s obviously not working.

Having described the kind of world I’m having challenges navigating, I find it pertinent to describe problems I’ve had and my approaches to overcoming them. One major problem I have is that I am constantly surrounded by sin. This makes it easy for one to fall into sins and repeat them to an extent where one begins to justify the sins. As I am only human, I sin but I try to hide my sins and repent sincerely to Allah and not give up on Allah’s mercy by continuing to repent even if I fall into the same sin over and over again. This mind set is not easy. This is because shaitan tries to convince one that he sins too much and as such one’s a bad person who doesn’t deserve Allah’s mercy. This is a serious trap and we must actively try to avoid this trap and always repent after sinning. In this modern world, a person cannot completely avoid sins but we can always try to reduce our sins and repent. Then, we hope for the mercy of the Almighty.

I also try to reduce my attachment to this world. I try to minimize my ambition and remember death often. I’m not actively trying to become a rich person. Mine is just to attempt surviving and navigating through the world without begging anyone. I want to be able to afford basic food, shelter and clothing and also take care of some basic needs. I don’t want to be too ambitious as that can lead to my losing the hereafter. I constantly try to remind myself that compared to the hereafter, this world is nothing. But the traps and pleasures in this world make one forget that the world is just a temporary enjoyment.

Having a close relationship with the Qur’an helps to reduce the confusion this world brings. Even though I sin and sometimes I’m tempted to give up on myself, when I read the Qur’an, it gives me hope to continue the struggle. I particularly like reading Q39:53; this verse strengthens my resolve because this is a world where a good person has a vicious cycle of sinning and repenting. One can only hope that the cycle is at repenting when death comes knocking. This cycle can be frustrating and it’s easy to give up. Giving up means losing the chance of a good life in the hereafter. The life is a constant struggle and that’s how Allah designed the life; since life is ultimately a test to see how worthy or deserving we are of Jannah.

I am consoled by the fact that Allah has a plan for my life. And that there is a wisdom behind us living in this particular day and age. Though the life is scary and the challenges may seem insurmountable, our only saving grace is in improving our relationship with the Almighty and praying fervently for Allah’s aid.

May Almighty Allah guide us to the right path.

ONE OF MY MOST FRIGHTENING MOMENTS

During the last Ramadhan, I prayed my taraweeh and tahajjud at Al-Furqan Masjid close to where I stay. I was staying at the NYSC quarters of the hospital I was posted to. Security at hospitals is normally tight. Due to that, I encountered challenges while going out for tahajjud just after midnight. My solution to the peculiar problem was to accompany my next-door neighbour who works at the hospital and owns a bike. All the security personnel knew him and I had no problem tagging along on his bike.

On this fateful day, I was late and so my get out free card had to leave alone. I was left to my own devices. I got myself ready and moved to the masjid. I was walking so fast, I greeted the security agents at the gate and swiftly walked to the masjid. After walking a few paces, I discovered that I was being followed. I was panicking. I almost urinated on myself. I was praying desperately to the Almighty, to save me. I was further stressed out when I saw them tailing me using a tricycle. I also heard one of them shouting ‘zai gudu’. At that moment, I knew that only Allah could save me. I was thinking of losing my valuables. I began to deride myself for coming out with my phone and wallet. I began fearing for my life. I kept praying all the same, believing that only Allah could be of aid in this situation and firmly believing that I would be saved.

I suddenly made a decision to stop and wait for them. Come on, they were on a tricycle, there was no way I could lose them. I waited for them to catch up to me. Upon their arrival, I discovered that they were the security agents that I greeted at the gate. They asked me to identify myself. I explained to them that I was a Corp member serving in the hospital. They quizzed me further and insisted I showed them my identity card. Fortunately, I came out with my wallet that contained my wallet. I brought it out and showed it to them and at last I was cleared. They admonished me to stop walking too fast especially at night, that it made me look suspicious. I thanked them politely and continued on my way to the masjid.

I arrived at the masjid a bit late and almost missed the first rak’at even though the imam recited a 'nisf’. I joined the salah and kept thanking Allah for helping me survive one of the most frightening and terrifying moments in my relatively boring life.

When I look back to that day, I thank Allah that my faith in Allah never faltered as I thought I was facing a certain demise. In that moment, I knew that only Allah could save me and that Allah could have decided that that was the way I will exit this world. I also remembered that my mum has severally warned me to stop walking too fast and I stubbornly refused to listen. To be fair to myself, I tried but I was unable to reduce my walking pace especially while working alone. How lucky was I to survive.

I always try to keep my faith and reduce my sins. I try to keep a connection with the words of the Almighty, so as to boost my faith. I also try to minimise my sins, something easier said than done.

May Allah ease our affairs and guide us onto the right path. Ameen.

Random Thoughts on Feminism

Today I chose a very dicey topic. Let’s see how I handle it!
The merriam-webster defines feminism in the following ways:
1. The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.
2. Organized activity in support of women’s rights and interests.
3. The theory of the political,economic and social equality of the sexes.
Personally, I really don’t know what to think. I somehow feel like the movement is not in line with my believes and principles.
Being a muslim, I try as much as possible to live by my religion’s injunctions to the best of my ability. As a result, I have to see feminism through the lens of Islam.
I am no scholar, but I find that feminism and islam cannot be aligned based on my little knowledge and my interactions with scholars. Feminism requires that men and women are treated equally in all respects. This can have numerous detrimental effects including reversing societal and religious believes and established gender roles. It may sound backward to some, but I am a man of faith. My believes and actions are guided by my religion.
I would give certain examples where Islam and feminism part ways.
First is in the Islamic inheritance system. In Islam, women and men inherit properties in a one to two ratio in majority of situations. I would not dwell so much into it. Basically, if a woman inherits a million naira, her brother inherits two million. In most cases. Islamic inheritance is vast and cannot be treated here. Feminism doesn’t agree with this. Feminism challenges this. In this situation, my religion takes precedence. No two ways about that.
Another is in certain rulings regarding how women are expected to behave and dress. Feminist insist that women should have a choice and that islam tramples on women’s rights. Women are expected to dress decently with the hijab, they are expected to have guardians and other rulings of this nature. Other feminists especially the Muslims will say that here feminism and islam are in agreement. They would say that women can choose to abide by such rulings as feminists.
I won’t want to say this as a justification, but from the beginning of civilization upto the first world war, we lived in patriarchal societies. From the Barbilonians to the Mongols and the Ottomans, all had men at the helm of affairs. Some were racists, some had caste and class discrimination, others had different characteristics but all had societies dominated and controlled by men. Even the few times women led societies, men still dominated. An example is during Queen Victoria’s reign, she was the leader but the court, scholars and other administrators were all men. At the risk of sounding antifeminist, but there had to have been a reason men were in charge.
Feminism can only ensure a level playing field for all genders. Men could still come out on top afterwards. Come to think of it, it’s not even a competition between the genders. Life has just become crazy. Society has become so crazy we now have so many genders with people free to identify as whatever they want. I am in no position to judge others but I am finding it hard to navigate in this increasingly complicated world. Things are so confusing. It’s even hard to practice one’s religion in peace. The truth is some are terrified of the kind of world the success of feminism will bring about, I am not afraid of that. I just have an unease due to it’s contradiction with the teachings of my religion.
In the end, it’s a free world. People are entitled to their choices and opinions. They only have to take responsibility for such choices and opinions when they lead to unintended consequences. As for me, if it comes to a choice between feminism and Islam, I would choose Islam all the time. I have to work towards success in the hereafter, while striving for worldly success.