The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 21

Oh, the days just fly by don't they?

Before you know it... its already Syawal...


well, not yet anyway... Today is a Sunday, fortunately, not a slow Sunday like usual. But today i went out with a friend... a girl... once more breaking a few uhm.. guidelines which i should have been following... ehehe

Anyway, i was helping her out with some interview that she had for her project then i accompanied her around brickfields, an area i am somewhat familiar with to take pictures of religious buildings for her project as well.

It was a learning experience for me as well. We went into one of the Churches and the huge Maha Vihara Buddhist complex.

The Church was cute, built in a triangular shape, representing the Trinity and the church workers were very.. very friendly. They even invited us for Sunday mass...hmmm...

The Buddhist temple was really nice i we managed to pick up some buddhist literature which i find to be quite enlightening as it helped me to realise how much Buddhism and Islam have in common, a lot of which i find most Muslims seem to have forgotten.

The tolerance for others, to treat others they way we would like to be treated and to ahve compassion even for those who hate us.

A story regarding the Prophet s.a.w. Once upon a time in Madinah, there lived this old Woman who really hated him. Everytime she saw Muhammad s.a.w. walk past her house, she would chuck faeces and garbage in his general direction. But one day, it just stopped. Curious, Muhammad asked around where she was. Some of the locals told him she was sick. The next day he came to her house bearing fruits and dates, to visit the old woman. Upon seeing him and his gifts, she felt ashamed and from that day on she became his friend.

There are minor variations to this story, but the gist is the same. The worse thing that you can do to someone who hates you is to be nice to them.

By being nice you rob them of any reason to hate you, and in the end, they may even develop greater respect for you.

Comparing Islam in Malaysia with the other religions, i wonder if our Mosques could be as open and accomodating to non-Muslims who would like to come in, take a look around and learn more about the faith. Although i can name a few Mosques which practice this openness (Masjid Negara, for one) most of the Muslim establishments have this air of exclusivity about them which only serves to tarnish the name of Islam. By opening our doors to them, only then can we share with them the beauty of our religion.