Village Journals
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Living With a Void
I think one of the problems we face in the Muslim community (worldwide) is expecting children and youth (and adults as well) to be good Muslims just because they know they are Muslims.
There is a lack of acknowledgement and recognition that like all Human Beings, even we, as Muslims, begin to question things: Who is God? Why were we created? What is our purpose for being here? And so, if you propose these questions, there is a sense of panic because it's "blasphemous" to even ask. Of course, this stems from a severe lack of knowledge. Basically, The Qur'an encourages us to Think, to Ask, and to Seek.
Music, movies, hanging around with the wrong crowds, trying to be cool, all this was done in an attempt to fill the void. Fashion, dating, and so on ? why does all of this work in influencing our lives? The answer is advertising.
It sounds simplistic perhaps, but it's a fact. Look, when you're looking for a good cleaning product, a good car, a good computer, anything, you start paying attention to the advertisements. The best advertisement would probably influence your decision. Well, all of the above are very well advertised, while Islam is not!
When you spend so many years searching and feeling so empty, you feel as if you're being sucked into a black hole and the force is so strong that you can't pull yourself out. Pop idols and movie stars become for some people their role models. Is it because our Islamic heroes are not advertised and their achievements are not kept alive?
Some of us have been more fortunate than others, being able to draw a line somewhere by not indulging in drugs, alcohol or other things. Others have been less fortunate and are still drowning in the sea of despair.
As expected, it is the adolescent years that are so difficult. It is such a volatile period of growing up, yet all the while you are desperately searching for peace of mind or what would be said in Arabic as nafs mutma'inna.
There is a lack of acknowledgement and recognition that like all Human Beings, even we, as Muslims, begin to question things: Who is God? Why were we created? What is our purpose for being here? And so, if you propose these questions, there is a sense of panic because it's "blasphemous" to even ask. Of course, this stems from a severe lack of knowledge. Basically, The Qur'an encourages us to Think, to Ask, and to Seek.
Music, movies, hanging around with the wrong crowds, trying to be cool, all this was done in an attempt to fill the void. Fashion, dating, and so on ? why does all of this work in influencing our lives? The answer is advertising.
It sounds simplistic perhaps, but it's a fact. Look, when you're looking for a good cleaning product, a good car, a good computer, anything, you start paying attention to the advertisements. The best advertisement would probably influence your decision. Well, all of the above are very well advertised, while Islam is not!
When you spend so many years searching and feeling so empty, you feel as if you're being sucked into a black hole and the force is so strong that you can't pull yourself out. Pop idols and movie stars become for some people their role models. Is it because our Islamic heroes are not advertised and their achievements are not kept alive?
Some of us have been more fortunate than others, being able to draw a line somewhere by not indulging in drugs, alcohol or other things. Others have been less fortunate and are still drowning in the sea of despair.
As expected, it is the adolescent years that are so difficult. It is such a volatile period of growing up, yet all the while you are desperately searching for peace of mind or what would be said in Arabic as nafs mutma'inna.
Comments on this journal
Yes, we rely on the Imam, Scholar, the Khutbas, talks, conferences to expand our islamic knowledge and improve our understanding of the religion and lives.. However these:Imam, Scholar, talks... represent sources of information for some for us, and inspiration for some us as well.
Besides these sources is entirely up to the Muslim, the individual to choose, to seek for personal research, personal reflection and improvement of himself/herself.
In some Mosques the Academics and facilities (librairy...cultural centre) are there to encourage us do it. However, some Mosques don't have such people and facilties around and it looks as if for some Muslims its a repeat of the Jumah's sermon. We have to take into account that for some of us chosen subjects of the Khutbah are new especially for reverts and those who have never heard of them before. The Imam takes that into consideration. He also takes into account the fact that some of our Brothers and Sisters need to be reminded of things until they change for good.
Personally, I think that after hearing the Khutbah, a conference, discussion, we should also search through other sources of information, materials and discuss with our entourage, family, friends or partners. This can be done in order to practise, improve ourselves. The Qu'ran, islamic books, studies... are available for all of us.
Islam encourages a Man/Woman to reflect on his/her life, achieve personal growth, prosperity and gain wisdom. Allah guides us but there are conditions for him to do so: this is if our heart is open, if we search, if we are alert, if we are close to our God and ask the Lord to help us and encourage us to find self-motivation and determination to learn more. Every good steps we take please our Lord. Whatever it is : Charity, reading a verse, helping someone ...May Allah continues to guide the Ummah. Ameen.
What you said Hanifa is very true. Part of the problem, and a big chunk of it in my opinion, is the way Islam is being taught through the ages. Sinceever scholars closed the door of "ijtihad" (or research in religion) several centuries ago, it seems like the Muslim intellect went idle and stagnant, except for rare cases. If we hear Khutbas, talks, conferences, we feel that many of the content delivered is nothing by recycled information from the past...there is a lack of encouragement for thinking even though like you said the Qur'an encourages humans to think, ponder, reflect..etc What attracted me a lot to Islam is that Islam and REason go hand in hand, Islam encourages reflection and thinking.. but it's rarely practised.. may Allah guide our Ummah.