Dear Readers, now most of you would be born Muslims, identifying yourself with a Faith and religion that has belonged to your father and forefathers, or one that belongs to the state, and being born within these confined entities, you, too, call yourself a Muslim. My question, however, is simple. At what point in life, did you choose this lifestyle, this belief system, this set of moral and ethical decorum, this history and future, for yourself, consciously, if at all? At what point in life did you stop reciting the chapters of the Holy Quran as excerpts of a foreign language you barely understand, but which, for some unknown or unquestionable reason, hold utmost significance and sanctity, and started understanding what each word meant for you as a Muslim and as a human being?
The fact is, most of us never experience this moment. But for some fortunate or, as some may say, ‘unfortunate’ ones, this moment comes in the highlights of our life. That one life-defining, life-altering, monumental wakeup call from God above, can be at the best of times, or the worst of times, but while most rationalize it and reduce its importance to some worldly explanation, a very few choose this moment as their ‘calling’ and therefore, there and then, decide to be Muslims – reborn, revitalized and reassured.
Here begins their journey of Faith – no longer born Muslim, but chosen to be one, to live every waking moment upholding that identity and moving, step by step, closer to understanding and submitting to God.
(Verita is a Positive Living Institute which combines human behavior and social sciences with religious studies to understand truth from a nuanced perspective. Faith Matters is a one day willshop which focuses on embarking on a journey of transformation from the inside out, through the most vital component where the story started, and where all stories will eventually end – Faith).
