kita berada dimana?
ms 199/241, Even Angles Ask: A journey to islam in america
As the bus pulled away from the curb, I opened my eyes slightly to make sure that I had excited no one's curiosity. Sure enough, a man in the second row on the left in the aisle seat was staring and smiling right at me.
Please stay where you are! I thought to myself. Then I closed my eyes completely and turned my head to the right.
A few seconds later, I felt someone take the seat to my left.
"Excuse me, but could I ask you something?" He said in a very polite and apologetic tone.
I slowly turned my head straight while keeping my eyes shut.
"Go ahead," I said with a deep sigh.
"Are you American?" he asked, sounding astonished.
"Yes." I sighed wearily, knowing what to expect next.
He then leaned a little closer to me and asked, almost in a whisper, "Can you tell me how you became a Muslim?"
During the last seven days, my answer to that question became progressively shorter each time it was put to me. The first time, it took me about a half hour to tell my story but by now I had reduced it to a half minute blurb. Without altering my posture nor opening my eyes, I gave him the following dry summary: I was born a Christian. I became an atheist at eighteen because of certain rational objections I had to the idea of God. I remained an atheist for the next ten years. I read an interpretation of the Qur'an when I was twenty eight.
Not only did I find in the Qur'an coherent replies to my objections but I came to believe in God again through reading it. And so, I became a Muslim.
When I finished my synopsis, I peeked to my left to see if he was put off by my curt reply to his question. To my surprise, I saw tears running down the man's cheeks. And was I ever embarrassed!
At that moment, I asked God to forgive me for being so insensitive and arrogant and begged Him to help me to become more like this humble brother of mine, whose strong love of faith could move him to tears so easily and who could still perceive the mercy and greatness of God in such an
uninspired story. I sat up straight and turned towards him.
"What's your name and where are you from?" I asked.
"My name is Ahmed and I'm from Bangladesh," he answered with a smile, as he wiped away his tears.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ahmed. My name is Jeffrey. I'm from the state of Kansas in the U.S."
After we exchanged a little more information about ourselves, Ahmed suddenly asked joyously, "Wasn't this a wonderful hajj, brother Jeffrey?"
I offered no response.
"Remember on the day we arrived," he continued, "how all around you could hear the pilgrims calling, 'Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk! Labbayka Allahumma Labbayki?" Do you know what "labbayk" means in my country?" he asked.
"I'm sorry to say that I know almost nothing about Bangladesh," I replied.
He looked at me very intensely and said: "In my country, when a teacher calls on a student in class, the student will at once stand at attention and call out 'Labbayk, teacher, Labbayk!' as if to say: 'I am ready, teacher-I am at your service!' This is the way we Muslims are supposed to be towards Allah-this is the way the prophets were. Like when Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim, alayhi salaam, to call for the hajj, there was almost no one else in Makkah with him at that time-at most his family and a few shepherds may have been in the area. If that were you or me, we almost certainly would have hesitated and said, 'Why make a call to the hajj when there is no one around to hear it?' But Prophet Ibrahim's faith and trust in Allah were so great that he did not wait for a single moment. Instead, he stood up in that empty place and immediately called the adhan! 0, brother Jeffrey, if only Prophet Ibrahim, alayhi salaam, could see the millions of worshippers here today responding to that call, if only he could see the two of us-you from America and me from Bangladesh-sitting here together-as brothers-on a bus back to Mina!'
It was now my turn to feel a rush of emotion. I felt so ashamed of myself. I felt like crying-and I almost did-but I successfully fought the impulse.
I knew now what my pilgrimage lacked:
it was deficient of any feelings of unity, brotherhood, and love that Islam enjoins upon its followers.
As a result of a few unfortunate incidents in which I was involved during the past year and a little bit of culture shock, I had allowed myself to slip into cultural chauvinism and racism. I let myself feel superior to and distant from the Muslims all around me, so that in the end, even my pilgrimage became a private ritual (it is supposed to be just the opposite).
It was Ahmed's words of inspiration that showed me the error of my ways. I now knew that I could have gained so much from this year in the Middle East and so much from this pilgrimage, but once again I had let pride get in the way. I felt as if I needed to make the hajj all over again, for one of its most essential ingredients-love for my fellow Muslims had been absent from my performance.
A few minutes later, our bus stopped where I had to get off.
"I'm lucky to have met you, Ahmed," I told him while shaking his hand, "and may Allah bless you! Assalamu alaykum, brother Ahmed!"
"Wa alaykum salaam, brother Jeffrey!" he said with a big smile.
imo, utk muslim di mesia, baca boleh tapi jgn silap faham lalu jadi quranist.
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