I was happy listening to this lecture today : Perfect Justice: Debunking The Male Bias Myth – Yasir Qadhi. It feels good to hear a voice speaking your thoughts.

When I had read booklets like Top 10 questions asked by non Muslims and the answers to these questions, I felt really enthusiastic and my first attempt was to memorize the entire thing in case I was to come across a non- Muslim who would ask me these questions. I am not criticizing those who have adopted this as their method of giving dawah but I totally agree with Sheikh Yasir Qadhi and I strongly feel that when a non- Muslim asks such a question our first effort should be to focus on the basics, the aqeedah, our faith in the sole Creator.

I felt proud that the fiqh of my religion was so compatible with modern science, but then when I came across a few issues for which I did not have logical answers or enough scientific knowledge to convince my non-Muslim friends, I felt bad and wished they would not ask me about these topics. What I failed to realize back then is that Science is not the yardstick to prove Islam right or wrong because any yardstick is more superior than what is being checked or verified. Most of the verses of the Quran that deal with science have been proved to be 100% authentic by science, but the remaining verses that have not been proved is merely because science has not reached there yet and it is still in the process of discovering. (Please read: The Qur’ân and Modern Science, Compatible or Incompatible? by Dr. Zakir Naik)

Again, I am not criticizing the scholars who have written books about contemporary issues, they have done a wonderful job and it is to assist us in the entire dawah process, but some of us who rely on these scientific explanations fearing that the word “blind faith” would scare away our non Muslim friends or for ourselves, feeling ashamed to be labeled as blind followers. That was me some time back, but now if anyone were to question me about my hijab or any other matter I would proudly say I adorn it because I believe that there is no God but Allah, that He has created me and everything that exists, He has given life to us and He will take it whenever He pleases, this is my Faith. And if this Being were to send guidance for me on how to live my life on Earth would I not accept it blindly? And only then would I move on to the numerous benefits of the Hijab, of polygamy, capital punishment, inheritance rights and so on.

How faithfully do we accept the prescriptions given by our psychologists and physicians, to get ourselves out of pain only temporarily, and we do this because we realize that they have some knowledge of the systems of our body which we don’t, but when it comes to submitting our selves to God, The One who has designed the systems of this entire Universe, we doubt if His guidance is going to be of any benefit for us?

O Allah! When I am in dire need of something,
I shall not beg of anyone but You
B’coz I know that none can give what You withhold
And none can withhold what You give.

O Allah ! When I find my prayers go unanswered,
I shall not despair and stop seeking
B’coz I know that you have held it for a time more deserving
And that prayers in Your Kingdom never go unheard.

O Allah! When I sense danger for my life or property,
I shall prostrate and lay my affairs in Your Hands
B’coz I know that even if the entire World were to gather to harm me
They wouldn’t be able to do so, except by your leave.

O Allah! When hardship comes my way
I shall increase my Ibaadah and perfect it
B’coz I know it is Your Wisdom to test Your beloved with trials
So that they come closer to You and meet You with glad tidings.

O Allah! When I am in pain
I shall only seek forgiveness and not complain
B’coz I know that the pains of this life are only a means to cleanse the soul
And awaiting us are the joys of an eternal Abode.

I am deeply saddened by the attacks of the Israelis on Gaza, I am sure we all are! What saddens me even more is the numbness of the rest of the world regarding these attacks.

The Israelis are backed by countries who say they are fighting the “war against terrorism” and ironically, they wouldn’t stop giving meaningless justifications for the actions of their supposed allies. Justifying these actions against the innocent Palestinians shows immense hypocrisy and the end of morality, ethics and human values.  Anyone with the least bit of truth can assert that these attacks were extremely unjust.

If the pictures and articles of the conditions in Palestine grieves us to this extent, one can’t imagine what those people would be going through, living every moment of what we watch on NEWS in the comfort of our peaceful homes. It is our responsibility to reach out for them with whatever help they may need and pray for them, and that is the least we can do.

I had received an email few days back containing this beautiful article written by Yasmin Mogahed, an Egyptian-American free lance writer. This article is titled “A woman’s reflection on leading prayer”

This is the voice of a contented woman, and to be truly content with your fate is I think the best blessing. I have never had any feministic thoughts because I never wanted to be anything else besides a woman, nor could I think of a better contribution to society than offered by women. Since Islam is a natural religion suiting the inclination of every human, I believe that the natural interests of women would be best served by Islam than western liberalism.

Very often we do not do things befitting the Majesty of Allah. Reminds me of what one of the scholars said that when you do a good deed, do not think about the greatness of the deed, but think about the greatness of The One you are doing it for. I think it is a beautiful thought and it humbles us.

So here is a little poem from me

The Majesty of Allah

We take pride in the little things we do
Little gestures of help and a little charity
What do we do befitting His Majesty?

He is the one who provides us multifolds
But we pile it up saying Who knows what tomorrow holds?
And we live life as if it were eternity
What do we do befitting His Majesty?

He created the Universe, an exceptional beauty
Who’s got the time to admire it in a world so hasty
What do we do befitting His Majesty?

He sets the rules and guides us all
Yet in times of weakness we do fall
Little are we concerned about the Ummah’s integrity
What do we do befitting His Majesty?

The end is near and here we are
Sinning, disbelieveing and questioning His Sovereignity
What do we do befitting His Majesty?

I am a little busy with a research project of mine and this is taking me a lot longer than I thought. The topic of my research is “Secularization of Turkey.” I had a few other topics in mind but this is what I chose in particular because I believe that The “so called” Secular Nation of Turkey is quite unique. I will tell you why I call it the “so called” Secular Nation, but that will come later. The major transforms that took place in a country with such rich historical legacy and dominantly Muslim population has amazed me. As I was researching, I came across a few questions and I would love to have your opinions on some of these:

-Can Islam and democracy co-exist?

-Should the State interfere with the religion of its people?

-How far can there be religious liberty in a secular state?

-Your opinion about Islam in Turkey.

-Some steps taken to de-Islamize Turkey in the name of secularization, I don’t know if “de-Islamize” is a correct expression but as far as you understand it’s okay.

As I said earlier, about why I think Turkey is a “so-called” Secular Nation? According to the definition of Wikipedia, a secular state is “a state or country that is officially neutral in matters of religion, neither supporting nor opposing any particular religious beliefs or practices.” Then what can we say about these changes brought about in Turkey – the headscarf ban, the change of alphabet from Arabic to Latin, introduction of Western style of clothing, Western music being taught in schools, and change of weekly holiday from Friday to Sunday?!

I guess that says it all J Yes, I am a Muslim… And what is my blog all about? Basically, I have a passion for learning and writing, which is why I decided to blog of course! Most of my articles will be about Islam , but that’s not the only topic I will write about. So if not for ALL of you, I will hopefully have a little of something for MOST of you.