Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Towards Your Real Friend




The moment I pated upon Ranjith's body, our office boy, after having an ablution for the prayer, he exclaimed whether I became impure and unable to offer my prayer by touching his hand. He is our friend for years in our office, a proud Hindu, having a heart of eagerness to learn much more about the culture and beliefs of others in the soil of Emirates.

Every day he approaches me with a bundle of doubts meant to be cleared by me, for which I spent more than half an hour daily like an Orator, causing others to mocking me as a “Professor”. That is why he dared to express his anxiety in front of me not going to other co-workers of the office which retains an Islamic environment all over the corners of the office. Every day we offer the Asr prayer in one angle of the office in group. Nothing of these washed out him from having such unrealistic misconceptions about Islam.

For these years, whenever we enter to the toilet prior to the prayer, he thought that this ablutions is a cleansing process from the impurity left by touching other castes or religions of people. We cannot blame him on his beliefs about us as he was born and brought up in such environments of Karnataka, caste apartheid afflicted area of remote villages of India.

In Hindu belief, bathing has a significant role in the prayer procedures and it is mandatory for upper caste people to take a bath before entering to their homes after having trout or shopping out in the town. Yes, he also a victim of such misconceptions about Islam which caused by their own long rooted stubborn beliefs.

As a member of Islamic community, I was much proud of helping others attain them the right path of Islam, As of now I feel much hurt my self for falling short of enough service for the sake of Allah, who bestowed upon me with the guide of Huda by enabling me to born in a practicing Muslim family. The psychologists confirms that the environment in which a child is grown up has a significant role in deciding one’s cultural fate. It is the nature and character of our family members form your habits and beliefs. This fact uncover the mercy which depicted in our personality by Allah and it compels me to do much for His sake.

When our Ranjith looked doubtfully at me, I tried to give him a clear picture of equality instructed by Islam to the mankind. As I told him when you are going to offer a prayer next to the imam inside the mosque nothing will prevent you so if you are a believer and the sheikh reached later will be at rear of you in the line of prayer in the mosque, the wonder in the face of him hasn’t gone away.

Most of the idol worshipping Hindus, still thinks that the prayer offered by Muslims to the direction of Kaaba in Makkah is also an idol in some sense, I recall a query by friend, whether the black stone to which we offer ‘hounor’ is the Kaaba itself. He thought the Kaaba, a cube in form, ornamented with black cloth is the black stone which is kissed the believers and much referred in the Haj pilgrimage, and so Muslims also not free from stone worshipping.

The misconceptions are not ending. But the responsibility upon every Muslim to convey the real face of Islam to the fellow working non-muslim friends is high and huge and cannot be forgotten if we are real friends of them. wish for others what you wish for yourself as our Prophet said, peace be upon him.

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