Every child is asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Of course, the reply is not taken seriously when we’re young, but this very same question later becomes the subject of our lives with everything revolving around it. Honestly speaking, I have never cared much about studies; I’ve always studied just as much as was needed to get a decent grade to save myself from uncalled for embarrassment and scolding. Yet, during my A’ levels, I was constantly asked about which university I wanted to go to, what were my future plans etc that even I saw myself being horribly worried.
Not that it is wrong to worry in such matters, in fact I respect the people who take their studies seriously without losing their senses completely but the only thing that bothers me is that how something which is so much more important than all this is subsided. How come I wasn’t ever told to be concerned about my relationship with God, yet always made to worry about this world and how I would survive in it?
This is the bitter comparison that all of us shy away from. Some of us have been lucky that our families have retained at least some essential values of Islam and passed them onto us but most of us see Islam as nothing more than a backward ideology. We make no efforts to learn anything about Islam and form our opinions based on other peoples’ opinions which are based on some other peoples’ opinions whose own opinions are faulty to begin with. Our concept of striking the perfect balance between Islam and this world is of that person who focuses on the success of this world but also remembers God sometimes as per his/her need.
Is it really balance in wanting to excel in all things worldly and doing even less than the bare-minimum in religion? Is the concept of the prayer just to peck our heads on the ground like crows or is it an experience that brings us closer to God? When we learn about a theory we study it first and then look at its criticisms, yet with Islam we believe the criticisms first and then never even bother studying what Islam actually stands for. This is what we call balance!
And then if someone makes even a little bit of an effort to get on the right track then people start being “concerned” for him/her. How come such concern is only shown when someone strives for religion and not when they strive for this world? In fact, we are told to strive for competition in the world. They say only the fittest survive, well if the fittest are the ones who rob, abuse, oppress, corrupt, cheat, lie and do all such wonderful things then I’m happy that they believe they came from apes, for verily such traits cannot and should not be seen in human beings.
It is the right of every single person to study Islam because ignorance is verily not bliss and ignorance can never be equal to knowledge. Learning about Islam is our job and giving guidance is Allah’s job and Allah is perfect in whatever He does. We cannot just blindly follow our whims and believe things that random people say about Islam. Look up and study about Islam for yourself and then whatever you decide to believe in will at least be your choice, not somebody else’s choice that they made for you.
good one
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