Dawah Thursdays
By: Noha A.
My brain pounded against my skull. I had placed my chair by the dawah table and started laying out a few Qurans on the table to hand out whenever a non-Muslim felt inspired to come and ask for one. But the Music from the Salsa club was loud. I was in the breezeway of the main university corridor, and went through this routine weekly. It wasn’t difficult to get a table, but the gumption – that was a challenge. There were a lot of surprises involved; grimaces, looks of pity, fear, anger, sometimes curiosity, and occasionally I was treated with genuine interest. More often than not though I’d pull out a book and force myself to read instead of staring at a few hundred people pass by for two hours.
Sometimes the noise distracted me. That Thursday, the music was unbearably loud, so I lost myself to thoughts. I wondered if I – if this generation of us, was responsible enough, wise enough, and sincere enough to carry the trust.
That same trust that we are trying to be a part of is the same one the mountains had rejecting carrying. Is it too big of a commitment?
After all, the best of mankind has already existed. The best women, and the best men. The mothers of the believers, and the prophets and messengers – they have all been here, walked on the soil, breathed the air, worshiped Allah, carried the trust, and went back to our Lord.
Sometimes we mourn over the fact; other times we forget; and yet others we are relieved. We are relieved that the best of us have been, that it is no longer our responsibility to be ‘great’. We are satisfied that it is not in our place to be dignified simply by the message of Islam. We acknowledge that we are in awe over their magnificence, and admire the inspiration they offer us every now and then when life’s distractions disturb us a bit.
I know that I’ve used to wonder what it would be like to live in ‘those times,’ the times when you knew the right and followed it; the times when bravery, chivalry, and sincerity truly existed have not ended though.
Maybe we ought to feel grateful that they have come and been already, before us, to lay us a clear and lucid path. We need not wait for guidance. It has come. Maybe we ought to be grateful that we are given a chance to dignify our souls by modeling our existence after these great people, who were great for Allah, with Allah and by Allah.
“Oooh, a Quran, can I have one?” I turned red as I realized I had been day dreaming. “I’m so sorry, of course you may have one!” Her earnestness was magnified by her smile. “And I don’t mean to offend you, but why do you do this? Why do you stand out here and tell people about your faith?”
I grinned. The exuberant college student made my day that Thursday.
Give thanks for the time – it lands us in magnificent opportunities, Alhamdulilah.
Source:
http://www.muslimahsource.org/spirit...#comment-13900