RE-DISCOVERING LIFE

By: Amina Nawaz
Islamabad, Pakistan.

Assalam-o-Alaikum All.

        Some of you know me and some of you don't. The reason I'm mailing you this is that I really wanted to share something very important with all of you. And this is about my few days at Al-Huda.. Maybe you all don't know about Al-Huda. Well, it is the Institute of Islamic Education for Women in Islamabad. They had arranged a summer course of one month. I was able to attend only two-third of this one-month course. But these few days at Al-Huda became the mossstttt precious days of my life.

        And I want to tell you why.

        Before coming to Al-Huda, I had heard, "Oh Al-Huda! Oh Yeah, it's a different institute, they have educated teachers…but they are extremist…they impose their opinions on others…try to stay away…you can learn the Quran and Sunnah at home … you've got access to so many things like books and the net…etc, etc." By the way some of the above was said to me by people and some of it was said to me by myself. And I kind of believed that too. Anyhow, this summer I had nothing else to do so I thought of going to Al-Huda to attend the English summer course. I knew it wasn't going to change my views because, after all I was already very Islami and I had firm beliefs. I thought I would just join the English course to improve my vocabulary at the most. Afterall, I'm quite educated, mature and I pray almost regularly. I've also read the Quran. Let's meet those girls whose families have nothing to do with Islam and see how they think about Islam.

        But this three-week stay at Al-Huda was full of surprises. The first and most essential was that most of the girls, though much younger than me, knew MUCH more about Islam than I. Most of the girls, were much closer to ALLAH SWT than I was. It became far more than improving my English vocabulary. It was about realizing how little I knew about this GREAT Religion. And how little I knew about Prophet Mohammed (SAW). At times I felt so ashamed of myself, of my arrogance, that I don't have words to express it. I had thought that I was a ready-made Muslim. But Islam is nobody's birth right. You get as much of it as you strive for.

        One of my fellow students has come from New York City. Her knowledge about Islam was so limited that she once asked me how many Juz (paras) the Quran has. She'll be joining Al-Huda's one-year Diploma course this August. And when I met her, I thought, "What a shame, she has come from the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to the LAND OF TERRORISTS for ALLAH SWT's love! And look at me, I have been living in Islamabad all my life, but I never bothered! This truly indicates that ALLAH SWT Gives guidance to whom He wills. She's just one example. There are many others, girls from England, Denmark, Japan, all here JUST for this summer course, to learn about Islam.

        This has been such an experience that I suppose I wouldn't be able to do justice to it in words. I always knew Islam was the best Religion, but somewhere, deep inside, the infatuation with the West made me want some logic, some miracle about Islam. But now I must say, Islam itself is a miracle - the way it pulls and attracts the heart - the way it comprehends all aspects of life - the way it liberates man from materialism, from the hardness of the hearts. It is incredible.

        We have been so thoroughly brainwashed by the media that even I, for example, thought that Islam is a bit unjust about atleast the woman of this era. Afterall, I had seen so many documentaries on BBC that in Islam, the husband is one level superior to the wife. We think, "Isn't it unjust? Why is it so? Women are equal! BBC is right!" But now I realize that BBC hasn't made any documentary on the rights given to women in Islam, that after marriage Islam gives 3 times more rights to a woman compared to a man, when she becomes a mother. So where is BBC this time? See how easily they have mixed up the oppression in our culture with Islam. But, I hadn't known better.

        I would like to share one more thing that I've learnt about women in Islam at Al-Huda. ALLAH Almighty is hidden. None of His creations, neither the Prophets (PBUT), nor the blessed people, the mountains, the land, the sun, moon and stars, absolutely none of them possess this quality of being hidden, except THE WOMAN. Because a woman is ALLAH SWT's special creation. We always keep diamonds hidden inside our homes inside lockers, we don't hang them at the doors for others to have a look at them. Is a woman less precious?

        Again, ALLAH SWT is the Creator, the Nourisher, the One Who Makes us grow and He has chosen a similar role for the mother.

        I had always thought that Computer Science is the best field for me. This is all I wanted in my life. And I thought that I am among the luckiest of people who have achieved what they wanted in this world. And I couldn't even think of anything better. But now I think of my stupidity and short-sightedness. How shallow was my understanding of this world!

        These 17 days of Al-Huda are on one side and the 17 years of my education are on the other. For the first time in my life I have thought that there is something more precious than this.

        The reason why I've written this long mail and taken so much of your precious time is because even I didn't know how much I was missing out on THE LIFE. I wish I could go back in time. But I don't want anyone else, who has a desire for this, to miss it out because of a lack of information. I would strongly recommend that if any one of you ever gets the chance to attend these classes, just go for it without a second thought. You will not regret it!

May ALLAH SWT Grant us His Love. Ameen.

ALLAH HAFIZ.

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