a layman's view on Islam : Ibadah

Ibadah in a layman's term would be acts of worship towards Allah s.w.t. It can be divided into two, I don't know about the actual terms in english, but let me just call them 'special' and 'general'.

Special ibadah are the direct act of worships towards Allah and with proper guidelines on how to go about it. They are also obligatory. For example, solah (pray), fasting, performing hajj (pilgrimage) and paying zakah.

General ibadah are anything that we do, for good cause, through a good process, because of Allah s.w.t. With the right intention, sleeping could also be an ibadah :)

Some muslims felt burden with ibadah. It's true that as muslims, we have to perform solah 5 times a day and fasting in Ramadhan and so on. But it's not difficult at all. Ibadah in Islam is actually very simple! Most of the difficult things are in fact added by cultures, and by fanatic muslims, thinking that by adding this and that, adding new regulations will make ibadah better and Allah will love them more. Huh~

Nevertheless, it is wrong to do so. Hence, in order to know what is right, and what is wrong, it is best to refer to knowledgable muslims (ulama') who essentially refer to al-Quran and hadith, and have proofs (a.k.a 'dalil' - Quranic verses or hadith) for it. Performing ibadah simply based on traditions have to stop. We must seek for true knowledge!

I was born in a muslim family, and my parents were born in a muslim family. So were my grandparents. What I'm trying to say is, I was taught about Islam by traditions. Even at school, I was only taught about what ibadah must I do and they did give me the proofs. Then they taught me how to do it, the steps in doing those ibadah. But the thing is, they never gave me the proofs of doing those steps. Are those steps, the right steps, the same as what the prophet and his companions did 1400+ years ago? That is the main question!

For example, in Subuh (dawn) prayer, is 'qunut' recitation is compulsory? sunnah? Or is it another addition? Find your own answer :) Then, wiping your face after solah (after salam) is actually an addition. Another one, yes, we have to have the intention (niah/niat) of performing ibadah, but we don't really have to read it out word by word in ARABIC! The intention can simply be in our heart/mind and it can be in whatever language we are familiar with!

Another example is fasting. Fasting is not as difficult as it seems. We just have to restrain ourselves from eating, drinking, and having sexual intercourse (for married couples), only from dawn to dusk (Subuh till Maghrib). That's it. Going scuba diving, dripping eye-mo in your eyes, picking your nose etc. do not make your fasting void. Other thing that voids your fast is having a period (female only), and another one is....nifas (bleeding after giving birth. I dunno the exact word in english :p)

Why are we Malay muslims like to make things harder for the mualaf (people who newly embraces Islam)? Things are sooo easy, yet we make it difficult, and exclusive. Islam is for all, not just for Malays or Arabs. Cheongsam (a type of chinese attire) is not Islamic? Says who?!! How islamic is 'Baju Melayu'?!

Mentioned above are only a few examples. There are lots of other misinterpretations in ibadah and in Islam. The reason that makes ibadah difficult is ourselves. We never tried to seek for knowledge, we simply accepted what have been passed down to us by our traditions, by our ancestors. Therefore, seek for knowledge, true knowledge. BUT, DON'T GO ASTRAY!

Why don't we treat the non-muslims nicer? Why at some places the non-muslims aren't allowed to enter the mosque? How are they going to get closer to Islam? Are we looking down at them just because they're not muslims? Are we that high above them? For God's sake, we are humans and so are they. With all the misunderstandings, misconceptions and misinterpretations, not only the non-muslims will be driven away, even the young muslims may drift further from Islam.

A layman's view on Islam 2

People are afraid of Islam because it is known as a religion with lots of NOs, CANNOTs, DON'Ts and SHOULDN'Ts and so on. Actually, things are not that complicated lah~ Islam only prohibited bad things and the sources that will lead to bad things, such as alcohols, drugs, gamblings, adulteries etc. Think. How many problems and issues have we heard, that are caused by those things?

To me, Islam is the simplest yet the most concise religion. It's logical and rational, in line with scientific facts. It is complete and comprehensive in its simplicity :) Do good deeds and avoid bad actions, it's that simple. In fact, that's what we need to make this world a better place! Kan? Kan?

Even the muslims themselves are afraid of many things in Islam. But the truth is, they feel so because they do not understand how simple Islam is. Some are too attached with traditions rather than the true islamic practices. Tradition is one of the things that taints Islam. it's the tradition that adds up many NOs, CANNOTs, DON'Ts and SHOULDN'Ts and so on. So please, let's all refer back to al-Quran and as-sunnah. Seek for the true knowledge of Islam.

Allah will never burden us beyond our capacity. Everything we are asked to do are all within our capability, and they are all rational. In fact, He simplified things for us and provided us with the best solutions that will make our lives easier and better. Even the solah (prayer) can be combined and shortened during travelling ;) When you yourself think that something in Islam cannot be comprehended by your logical mind, please go and find out about it. Do not simply follow blindly. But be careful, some ulama' or pious-looking muslims are Islam by traditions. They'll only tell you what their father or grandfather told them previously, which might be tainted by traditions. Therefore, ask for proofs, ask for quranic verses, ask for hadith, ask for logical reasons, then recheck whether the proofs given are true and authentic (sahih).

In Islam, we are not blamed for our mistakes that are done unpurposely, for things that we forgot, and for the things that we are forced to do by other people. We are not blamed for the things that we do not know of. But of course, we must avoid ambiguous things. And if there are confusions on what's the right thing to do in an islamic situation, we are asked to choose the less burdening solution. We are asked to be moderate and balanced.

Someone told me before, religion is like driving a car. Islam is a good car, the best car. Then, there's also rules and regulations, traffic lights, guidelines when you're on the road. Like many other things, even soccer, Islam is tainted by fanatics, by hypocrites, by rabid 'blind' followers, and also by people who think that they are soooo above others. Hence, you really can't blame the car if the driver himself is a reckless moron!

So, drive your BMW 7 series or Jaguar XKR or whatever, follow the road signs, respect other drivers, smile to them, drive to your destination safely. May Allah bless us all (^_^)v