Bismillahir rahman nir rahim
In the name of Allah , the most compassionate and merciful
Once again, pouring my thoughts in this long winded blog. I have dwelled on this matter for a very long time, which had occurred to me before i was a revert.
Being judgemental.
Had the title of the post make sense? Don't judge a book by it's cover. I have thought it was human nature, to judge on first impressions and appearances. But i have realize that Malaysia typically focus on one : piousness (kealiman). And the piousness we speak of mostly only revolve around whether or not you don a hijab, regardless the length of it. As long as we don't see your hair. Anyone else seem to think this is wrong??
Personally i have gone through this. Even before I officially reverted, I had long start to pray to get used to doing what's wajib. Naturally when i go out with my parents i would not have a hijab on my head, though i daresay the rest of my clothing are quite modest. I would slip away from my parents (sometimes with great difficulty) to sneak to the surau. Unfortunately, these are the most uncomfortable times because the women there would look at me as if to say "dah la tak pakai tudung, ada hati nak solat" which rendered me VERY uncomfortable. It may be just my mind going wild, because it could be possible that they look at me for i have traces of "chineseness" etched on my face (i have no idea how i looked like to them, but that is my impression)
What I'm trying to say is, you never know what that person is going through at the moment to immediately draw conclusions. She may be like me, a to-be revert that do not have the luxury to wear hijab, or a lady who is trying to change from mini skirts to long jeans, if you know what i mean. For all we know, the lady's family and friends may come from less religious backgrounds, rendering her almost impossible to wear a hijab without getting taunt "sejak bila jadi ustazah ni" even if she's only wearing a shorter-than-average hijab.
I have also seen many keyboard warriors discrediting Muslim women's achievements "Berjaya tak guna jugak kalau tak pakai tudung". I am not justifying their actions of not complying to what Allah has asked us to do, but them not doing it give us absolutely no right to belittle them. They may have a closer bond to Allah than many of us. Therefore, forgive me for quoting Miley Cyrus "Only God can judge us" which is true to every word. I regret some Malaysians exhibiting their holier-than-thou attitude. Nasihat ? Of course. Do it privately. They are stubborn? There are still many ways to change them before resorting to public humiliation. Hidayah tu Allah je boleh bagi. Du'a is the still the strongest of all weapons.
Believe me, if you have been gossiping about someone and how they handled the situation, Allah will put you in the same situation to make you understand, and unsurprisingly, you will behave exactly as the person you have been gossiping. Allah is Wise and the Almighty. I know because I have been through this many times, and I thoroughly regret my actions of judging someone. Alhamdulillah, Allah had let me see the light.
This post is as much of an advice to me as it is to you readers. Always think before you judge. I vouch for the phrase Husnudzon. For a book's cover can only tell so much about a person. I hope with this post, there will be lesser hate. For the world can do without it.
Assalamualaikum,
