format_quote Originally Posted by
sevgi
Hi to all,
My bestfriend and I went out to have some dinner by the beach last night. As we started thinking about somethings, we got into the topic of how impractical our religion has become for us.
My friend started to voice her concern about losing everything besides her five daily prayers which she no longer feels at heart.
At this point I said to her: "Funny how even one of the most physically demanding and involving religion loses practicality within our lives...what happened to it being a lifestyle?"
I mean, we as muslims are expected to break our daily lives five times during its course, wash our limbs and bow our heads (in some of the weirdest spots and locations). I guess we are always conscious of the fact that we are muslims but in essence, Islam sometimes becomes a seperate world. We have our religious worlds and then our normal worlds. They aren't really in tune with one another.
My question is for the people of the Christian faith. As my friend spoke, I wondered if Christians found it hard to feel in tune with their religion. Not faith or emotion, but on a practical level...is it hard? Is it significant?
I don't know if that makes sense. Thank you for your replies in advance.
Peace.
Sevgi.
This is because you are treating this dunya and our deen as separate entities, when in fact they are intertwined. Yes we have to break for prayer 5 times a day, but if you see it as a chore, then it's just going to be a robotic ritual that seems out of place. But if you see it as a way to clear your mind and reconnect with your Creator, then it becomes a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what is really important in this life.
At times I have felt like you have; especially since I did not grow up Muslim, there were some major changes to my life. But every time where I have felt like Islam is "out of place", it's because I was putting it there. I was just relegating it to some ritual that I do. Whereas when you look at it from the perspective that we are here to serve God and our ultimate destination is not this world, but the next, then you start to realize how important the practice of our deen is.
My suggestion is to take some time out and really just think about life. If you're chasing a job, an education, relationships, etc, then you have to realize that they all need to be a benefit to the next life. There's nothing wrong with wanting a good job, a good education and a good spouse. But it's how you approach it that makes all the difference.
Here's a simple test: when you're looking for a place to live, or looking for a new job, do you think about how easy it will be for you to go to the masjid to pray (obviously as a female the requirement is not there for you, but you get the idea), how easy it will be to pray at work, or if there is a halal market easily accessible?
Until you think in terms of molding your life around your religion, instead of molding your religion around your life, Islam will always feel "out of place".