By Raeesa Padia
How many deaths will it take for us to wake up from our slumber?
How many days, months and years of darkness, despair, difficulties and challenges will it take for us to realise that our Imaan has become weak?
How many visits to clubs, casinos and environments filled with intoxicants, zina, music and temptation will it take before we finally admit: this is not the way of life Allah chose for us?
Somewhere along the way, we lost the plot.
We have moved so far away from our Deen that we have started normalising the very things we were once ashamed of. What was once considered haraam is now defended as “normal” and when someone tries to hold firmly onto Islam, suddenly they are labelled too strict, too holy, old-fashioned or oppressed.
Look at how our understanding has changed.
We see a Muslim sister covering herself with hayaa and instead of admiring her modesty, we assume she is oppressed. We think she is isolating herself. We imagine her life must be boring simply because she has chosen not to display herself to the world.
We see a Muslim brother dressed in Islamic attire and some feel embarrassed to even walk beside him. He is considered too old-school. His outward appearance reflects something of his Deen, yet instead of respecting that, some may even regard him as unsuitable for marriage.
Yet someone who completely adopts the lifestyle of the West can easily become our ideal.
We have reached a point where inappropriate speech is brushed aside as humour. Disrespect becomes entertainment. Social media becomes an excuse to behave in ways we would be ashamed of if our parents, elders or respected teachers were standing beside us.
It’s just TikTok.
It’s just for fun.
Everyone does it.
Since when did everyone doing something make it right?
My respected reader, when will we realise that the peace we keep searching for in people, places, relationships, entertainment and temporary pleasures can never replace the peace found in returning to Allah?
When you develop a genuine love for your Deen, you will not feel ashamed of it.
You will not feel embarrassed to be recognised as a Muslim.
You will not constantly need to bend your principles just to fit into an environment that is taking you further away from Allah.
Yes, there will be temptation. There will be pressure. There will be moments when standing firm makes you feel like the odd one out.
However, being different in a world that is normalising everything is not such a terrible thing.
Today we worry so much about our reputation in this dunya. What will people say? Will they think I am boring? Will they think I am too religious? Will I still fit in?
How often do we worry about what we are becoming?
What happened to the respect we once had for ourselves, our bodies, our families, our modesty and our Islam?
This dunya will keep changing its standards.
Islam does not need to change with it and maybe the wake-up call we are waiting for is not another tragedy, another death, another heartbreak or another moment where life brings us to our knees.
This is the wake-up call.
Return to Allah before the world convinces you that darkness is light.
Return before haraam becomes so normal that your heart no longer feels anything.
Return while your heart can still recognise the road HOME because no matter how far we have wandered, the door of repentance is still open.
It is not Islam that has become too difficult for us. We have simply become too comfortable living without it.
