Is Islam leaving our lives?

This is a deep look into the current life style and perception of Muslims compared to that of our ancestors. Here I am trying to identify some of the key areas where we can see significant changes in our lives today, which is definitely partially or completely against the teachings of the faith. Also, we are taking these things so lightly that those who notice these things at times don’t even dare and care to correct them, at least within their own households.

 

Beard and Moustache:

Islam asks Muslims to “trim your moustache and let your beard grow”, but what do we see in today’s world? Whom are we following now? Islamic teachings or the western culture? I would say that the western culture is almost successful in convincing our youth and even the elders that a clean shaved face has a lot to do than a face with a long beard and a trimmed moustache. Some claim that growing a beard is not mandatory, and it may be true, but they should not forget that we are rejecting a direct and clear instruction from the Prophet of Islam (Peace and mercy of ALLAH be upon him) whom you claim to be following. Some grow the moustache that too covering the lips which makes it look really unsuitable for a faithful believer. I am not sure from where they had learned Islam.

 

Etiquettes of dressing:

When we observe a Muslim who lives Islam, they still follow the Islamic mode of dressing. They make sure that their dress doesn’t go down beyond the ankles. They drag their dress which makes us feel like there is no one to clean the road and so forth. So I conclude that these people have the responsibility of cleaning the floors using their dress. They may not be realizing the difficulty of their mothers or the ones who wash their dress on one hand and on the other hand they do not realize how they are bringing impurities to the Masjid or other places where Muslims perform their prayers. Let them keep in mind that they will have answer for being the reason to make these pure worship places into impure by dragging their dirty dresses. I am just wondering about what their parents or guardians are doing!

 

Also, there are some Muslim parents who never care about questioning their children when it comes to proper dressing, wearing hijab and so forth. At the same time, if one of their children was growing a beard, they might want to discourage him! What a pity! Do they feel like their children are exceptions when it comes to Islamic rulings? Mind that one day they will have to stand before your Lord and answer all these questions. And remember parents, your children are going to hold you back from entering Paradise for not correcting them. Do you think it is completely up to your children? Don’t you know that what you feed during their childhood plays an important role when they grow up? Hello fathers, realize that every man is the shepherd of their family and will have to be responsible and accountable for that.

 

Without doubt, there is the consensus within the Muslim community that people are not allowed to wear tight dresses irrespective of the gender. But what do we see today? I am really curious to know how these young people are wearing these dresses because the pants are tight to the extend that we might wonder how they wear it! Muslim girls have started wearing tight pants for their dresses it seems, and recently boys are also found to be following the same pattern for their jeans or pants. Awesome, right?

 

Singing and acting:

Recently, I happened to hear the words of a young girl who attended a reality show for becoming an actress. Unfortunately, the girl was a Muslim. What I heard from her mouth was really embarrassing to me being a Muslim. According to her, her parents are giving her enough support to become an actress. She likes music, watch movies and the list goes like that. When I heard about this, what came to my mind first was, are her parents really blind? Might be blind at their heart. How shameful should it be for Muslim parents a couple of decades back to think of sending their children to the film industry, but things have changed a lot now and Muslim parents are competing with each other to become role models to the disbelievers in these matters… Shame on you, O! Muslim parents for supporting your children in going to the wrong.

 

Becoming fan of someone:

I hope there is a big influence of celebrities over today’s youth, and Muslim youth are not an exception in this case as well. We do not have the insight to see the influence and ill effects of following this godless western culture and the youth are falling pray to this system of the Dajjal (anti-Christ). No matter how educated we may be, we still consider ourselves to be the fan of a film actor/actress, sports person, politician, etc. But who cares about Prophet Muhammad (SAW)? His name is just being used as a means to show their acquaintance with Islam it seems, nothing more than that.

 

Bathroom/toilet etiquettes:

I have learned in my Madrasa (Islamic school) that when you enter bathroom/toilet which is an impure place, you should wear a footwear, cover your head, do not take anything on which ALLAH’s name of other glorified names are written, enter the bathroom with your left foot, keep silence while you are inside, etc. But if we observe our people today, we can see people doing singing and talking non-stop in the bathrooms, going to bathroom without footwear, etc. There are houses where there is no footwear available if someone wants to use it. Our bathrooms may be clean from dirt compared to the old bathrooms, but it is always better to follow the teachings of Islam for it is a kind of obedience to ALLAH, The Almighty and to His Prophet Muhammad Peace and mercy of ALLAH be upon him).

 

Covering the head:

This has eventually become unfashionable and even some modern Islamists consider it to be something not mandatory, which makes it possible for them to abandon it. Some say that it was a custom of the people in Arabia and it has nothing much to do with Islam. Whatever be the claims, it is a fact that the ancestors used to practice this and they used to cover their head. Even those who these modern Islamists consider to be their leaders could have also practiced the same thing irrespective of if they are the natives of Arabia or not.

 

These are only a few among the areas we can identify. All these people and/or their parents/guardians forget the fact that they are using the label Muslim to collect the discounts and benefits for being a Muslim, and at the same time following a life style which is just opposite to the teachings of Islam. Don’t you have a feeling of shame in you, or by following the western culture did you learn how to be shameless?

 

If you find anything to be offensive here, please understand that it is not just accidental, but intentional. We need to really identify the gaps in our lives with respect to Islam and should try our best to reduce that. I feel most honored if any of you find this article to be useful in reminding ourselves of a few key areas where we can find differences in our lives. These are advices to myself first and then to the readers.

 

May ALLAH guide all of us in the Ummah to the straight path and bless us to follow the teachings of Islam to the maximum possible extent – Aameen.

 

Jazzak ALLAH Khire…