Out of the many issues my friend Oryx and I discuss, this is one of the recent ones, “Islam”. How it is viewed and understood.

Islam in our day, is just defined in bulletins kind of way. Islam means we have to pray, fast, wear the hijab, etc. And even those are not carried out, we were born Muslims, thus Islam. Our prophet is Mohammed “عليه الصلاة و السلام”, we pray five times a day, fast in Ramadan, read the Quran now and then.

Islam is so much deeper, Islam should be translated in our behaviour, what use is it to pray and have no “أخلاق” at all, do you think it’s better for a woman to wear a hijab and not pray or to not wear a hijab and pray?

See there are so many factors and we are in no position to judge and criticize. I for one do that sometimes, like if I see a woman wearing a hijab and a second-layer of skin clothes, I say “مو أحسن لو تفسخ الحجاب” but then again if another woman wearing a “3abaya” will look at me and criticize me for not wearing one or wearing jeans or make-up.

What I mean, that in an individual, Islam is not about the outer shell as much as it is about the inner one. That’s my point of view. Individual behaviours and actions should be ruled according to the person’s intent “النية”

It’s so easy to judge others from our point of view, because that will make us right thus makes us feel better about ourselves and then we don’t have to look at our mistakes and our “تقصير”.

To me being a Muslim, is in the way I treat others, it’s in the moments I hold in my anger where all I want to do is bash the person in front of me , it’s in the simplest form of thanking GOD while I’m in my car looking at people crammed in a bus under the heated blazing sun , it’s in setting my mobile alarm for Fajer prayer, it’s in stopping to pray in a masjid on a girl’s day out, it’s in admiring the beautiful sky, the way I’m dedicated to my work, my struggles to be a better Muslim in a more religious way.  I have a long way to go, in other words, I’m not ready to face GOD yet when I die, I’d have nothing to present, not enough to stand-up for me. So many wrongs to make right.

It’s always a continuous prayer of mine “اللهم اني أسألك حسن الخاتمة” and for my soul not be taken unless I’m ready, in my life there was this one perfect moment that I was ready to go, I felt within my heart, that it is so pure, I asked GOD to just take me, but here I am still, and I didn’t get this feeling again.

I know one should be ready at all times but again this is one of my struggles. One should balance “الدين و الدنيا”, I for one, is still caught up in “الدنيا”.

I believe if people spent more time focusing on themselves and discover what Islam is truly, we would be in a better place.

What is your opinion about Islam? What does it mean to you?