Dont tell me you Religious
Why is the word 'religious' such an offensive term these days? I'm one of the first who falls victim to this. I know it's not a simple yes or no answer, but just for argument's sake, when someone asks, "Are you religious?" I instinctively turn it into a philosophy lesson about the term 'religious' and what it means.
We all know one or two people from the religious crew. They are the ones who stare while you talk to a male (not knowing that he's your brother) and throw a comment when you walk into the mosque for the first time since Ramadan.
To join this cult... sorry, I meant crew*, you will need to meet certain criteria and pass a certain amount of tests to be invited in. The point of me mentioning any of this is to make myself and all of you aware of what it truly means to be religious.
Meeting the minimum requirements of all five pillars of Islam is what's known in our community as the basics (not an extremist yet). The moment you stop listening to music is the moment you become known as an Ayatollah (congratulations). Being religious doesn't mean you have the right to judge or belittle. In fact, doing these things means that you are far from God-fearing.
Yes, religion is about the jurisprudence (Halal and Haram), but it's also about one's attitude and the way you treat people. I can go to the mosque every other day and recite 100 Surahs a day, but when I so much as side-eye someone whose neck is showing, everything cancels out.
The righteous believers are those who make 70 excuses for their brothers and sisters in Islam
Imam Ali (a.s)
How do you know that the girl with her neck showing is a not a non-Muslim and is trying her hardest to learn about Islam? You don't. So give people the benefit of the doubt. Better yet, focus on bettering yourself and killing your own Nafs, but by all means, if you can help, then do. Offer aid and advice but do it discretely as to not embarrass your fellow Muslim.
This reminds me of a story my teacher once told me about a young Imam Hassan and Hussein (a.s).
There was a Muslim man who was doing wudu, and our young imams had noticed that he was doing it completely wrong. So instead of belittling and judging him, they went up to the man and respectfully asked him to check if they were doing their own wudu correctly. The man said yes and watched them as they performed wudu perfectly as taught by the Prophet (PBUH). The man then realized that it was, in fact, he who was doing wudu wrong.
Take from this what you will and remember: Your attitude towards others whom you deem lower than yourself will be your biggest enemy and will grow your Nafs to a level that no one can tame unless Allah (swt) wills.
This is a message to myself first and foremost, and inshallah, together we can fight our own Nafs and become among those whom Sayeda Fatima (a.s) can be proud of.
Yours Truly
That Muslim Girl xx
Disclaimer: All my writings are aimed at myself first and foremost, I am but a servant of my Imam (a.s) trying to seek knowledge.
https://www.al-islam.org/articles/various-sayings-imam-ali-ibn-abi-talib