Just Dont Be Afraid
As Muslims, we have many responsibilities and living in the west sometimes exacerbates the difficulties in living up to these responsibilities. Sometimes I feel as Muslims living in the west we have a good enough excuse to not practice our religion, even the minimal that is required by us. Practising Islam for some is adequate enough when it’s in the privacy of our lives be it at home, mosque, and relatives/friends place but there’s that little bit inside of us that’s afraid of that unknown territory. The territory that’s in the public. Afraid that if I (ref. to a woman ) go out with the hijab what will people think of me? If I get caught doing wudu in the public restroom what will people think of me? If I ask for a place to perform my prayer at work then what will my boss think of me? etc We find ourselves blocking out from our lives some of the most essential obligations of our faith just because of what someone may or may not think of me.
I think there’s no better way to express Islam then to practice it, but not in seclusion, I mean practice it openly. Non Muslims are going to learn about Islam through most readily available sources, one that comes to mind is the Media but im sure most will agree that the only coverage on air about Muslims is negative and biased. There is the Islam channel for example that can battle such negativity in the same medium but how many non-Muslims have Islam Channel. Hardly any. So the method to be adopted is practising it openly. Be ready to be asked questions about your practises but that’s part of the process. It’s a disguised form of dawah you may call it. A blessing in disguise. You get to fulfill your religious obligation and you also get to fulfill an additional obligation which is to do dawah.
One experience I have had of this is at my workplace. We were in the process of moving offices some 150 miles into another town after merging with another company. So each colleague to be affected by this move had a chance to discuss any needs that they may have as a consequence of the move. I stated clearly at this opportunity that about my need to pray at work. The conversation then followed:
Me: I need a place to pray at work. A small room would suffice.
Boss: So how many times will you need to use it?
Me: Probably 2 or 3 times.
Boss: How many times a day do you pray
Me: Five times a day.
Boss: Wow, at what times do you pray?
I told him the times and a small conversation about prayer followed.
Boss: We should have a room available most afternoons for your prayers but if not then there is a house not far from the office and we can give you access to that if need be
Me: There’s also my Friday prayer, I need to go to the mosque for that one. Do you know of a mosque nearby?
Boss: There is one about 12 miles away in a nearby town. What time will you be going there?
Me: The prayer is at lunchtime, so about 1.
Boss: What time will you have lunch then, we dont want you not having lunch on Fridays do we?
Me: Err, I'll grab something on the way back to work. It seems that on Fridays Ill be needing more than an hours lunch break. Will that be fine?
Boss: Yes that will be fine.
I have great access to that room that was made available for me. There are even times that when the boss is using that room. He comes to me and says 'You may use this room for a few minutes?'. On Fridays, other colleagues (non-Muslim) being fully aware of my need to be out at the mosque on Fridays shuffle their own lunch times around in order to ensure that there is adequate cover of the systems we manage when I am out. Subhanallah, I got so much respect and understanding from others about my needs.
Also, during ramadhan I told my boss I wanted to leave early because I want to go home to break my fast. So he said as long as you can come in early to make up those hours then that’s fine, so I did that. It was ideal to do so.
I’ve even been caught doing wudu in the washrooms, so had an opportunity to explain what I was doing and why I was doing it. Having your foot stuck in the wash basin would raise an eyebrow or two for most people who don’t know.
These are just examples from my experiences. You will more often than not find most people understanding to your most basic religious needs. But you have to make them aware of it. Take the first step. God will not help you if you do not put in the effort yourself. All I had to do was to ask for a room to pray in and I was alhamdulilah blessed with a lot more than I envisaged at the time.
It’s never too late to ask for things that are important to you. Prayer to me is important as it should be to any Muslim. For most people who work and are in this situation, arranging such a thing is possible but you have to do your part and make that first move and remember one thing...Just Don’t be Afraid.
As Muslims, we have many responsibilities and living in the west sometimes exacerbates the difficulties in living up to these responsibilities. Sometimes I feel as Muslims living in the west we have a good enough excuse to not practice our religion, even the minimal that is required by us. Practising Islam for some is adequate enough when it’s in the privacy of our lives be it at home, mosque, and relatives/friends place but there’s that little bit inside of us that’s afraid of that unknown territory. The territory that’s in the public. Afraid that if I (ref. to a woman ) go out with the hijab what will people think of me? If I get caught doing wudu in the public restroom what will people think of me? If I ask for a place to perform my prayer at work then what will my boss think of me? etc We find ourselves blocking out from our lives some of the most essential obligations of our faith just because of what someone may or may not think of me.
I think there’s no better way to express Islam then to practice it, but not in seclusion, I mean practice it openly. Non Muslims are going to learn about Islam through most readily available sources, one that comes to mind is the Media but im sure most will agree that the only coverage on air about Muslims is negative and biased. There is the Islam channel for example that can battle such negativity in the same medium but how many non-Muslims have Islam Channel. Hardly any. So the method to be adopted is practising it openly. Be ready to be asked questions about your practises but that’s part of the process. It’s a disguised form of dawah you may call it. A blessing in disguise. You get to fulfill your religious obligation and you also get to fulfill an additional obligation which is to do dawah.
One experience I have had of this is at my workplace. We were in the process of moving offices some 150 miles into another town after merging with another company. So each colleague to be affected by this move had a chance to discuss any needs that they may have as a consequence of the move. I stated clearly at this opportunity that about my need to pray at work. The conversation then followed:
Me: I need a place to pray at work. A small room would suffice.
Boss: So how many times will you need to use it?
Me: Probably 2 or 3 times.
Boss: How many times a day do you pray
Me: Five times a day.
Boss: Wow, at what times do you pray?
I told him the times and a small conversation about prayer followed.
Boss: We should have a room available most afternoons for your prayers but if not then there is a house not far from the office and we can give you access to that if need be
Me: There’s also my Friday prayer, I need to go to the mosque for that one. Do you know of a mosque nearby?
Boss: There is one about 12 miles away in a nearby town. What time will you be going there?
Me: The prayer is at lunchtime, so about 1.
Boss: What time will you have lunch then, we dont want you not having lunch on Fridays do we?
Me: Err, I'll grab something on the way back to work. It seems that on Fridays Ill be needing more than an hours lunch break. Will that be fine?
Boss: Yes that will be fine.
I have great access to that room that was made available for me. There are even times that when the boss is using that room. He comes to me and says 'You may use this room for a few minutes?'. On Fridays, other colleagues (non-Muslim) being fully aware of my need to be out at the mosque on Fridays shuffle their own lunch times around in order to ensure that there is adequate cover of the systems we manage when I am out. Subhanallah, I got so much respect and understanding from others about my needs.
Also, during ramadhan I told my boss I wanted to leave early because I want to go home to break my fast. So he said as long as you can come in early to make up those hours then that’s fine, so I did that. It was ideal to do so.
I’ve even been caught doing wudu in the washrooms, so had an opportunity to explain what I was doing and why I was doing it. Having your foot stuck in the wash basin would raise an eyebrow or two for most people who don’t know.
These are just examples from my experiences. You will more often than not find most people understanding to your most basic religious needs. But you have to make them aware of it. Take the first step. God will not help you if you do not put in the effort yourself. All I had to do was to ask for a room to pray in and I was alhamdulilah blessed with a lot more than I envisaged at the time.
It’s never too late to ask for things that are important to you. Prayer to me is important as it should be to any Muslim. For most people who work and are in this situation, arranging such a thing is possible but you have to do your part and make that first move and remember one thing...Just Don’t be Afraid.
posted by Raza at
12:24 pm
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3 comments
