Islamic Awareness: From a Station to the Sky.

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear readers,

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The curtain call is set and in few weeks time I will be leaving this university for good. Like a bird spreading its wings, flying from the tree it used to perch on for so long, I will be set free into the open sky. 

This has been an endeavour for a humble Muslim like me. This is in fact another station, another terminal from which I will have to leave. I have to migrate to embrace another phase of my life, for that is what a Muslim must do; to go on a pilgrimage, to travel and to go for hijrah.

Indeed Allah says in Surah al-Nahl, verse 100:

“And those who emigrated for [the cause of] Allah after they had been wronged – We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know.”

The question remains: What have I gained from this temporary three-year stay? 

It is doubtless true that I have learnt a lot ever since. I have learnt that Islam is more than just the prayers that you performed, and the hunger and thirst from your sawm. It is the love that you build as you knit your beautiful garment of Iman. It is the love that you colour from your drawing of Ihsan. It is the awareness of Islam that binds it all together. 

Studying in this university has brought about a new perspective to me. I have learnt that learning process is never easy. Knowledge is owned by Allah and who are we to compare ourselves to the depth of knowledge owned by Him? Too often too did we complain and whine over the struggle as we went on attaining this knowledge. We blamed our stupidity but we hardly blamed our lack of effort. We blamed our teachers and instructors but we never blamed our own egos. 

It got me thinking. Knowledge is after all from Allah. It must be hard to attain something so big and precious from Him. Jihad, by default, is mandatory. It can never be easy. 

I may not have highlighted the physical awareness that I have experienced thus far, but this is the single most glaring element that resonates in me. This is a reminder for me and for others too. We may be living in an Islamic environment but without our own effort to procure the lesson and wisdom behind every event and action, we can never attain the Islamic values.

One thing for sure, I have set myself to be in the journey of actualizing the Muslim in me. This is a never-ending journey but the experience here in IIUM has indeed paved the way to it. I will never forget the love of my lecturers, the camaraderie I have built with my friends and the belief I have instilled in myself. So, what’s next? Bon voyage!

With salaam, 
Shafiq