Third time's the charm...

I had forgotten how hard it can be, going home. The reciprocation of your parents' love, the bitter sweet but mostly sweet feeling of being pampered and not lifting a finger to help, the ties of brotherhood formed in university strengthened by the sight of your blood brothers and sisters, the old friends who you could never imagine replacing...people change.

It is inevitable. Your friends will range from having minor differences to flipping 180 degrees in your eyes, as will you to them. Your parents will be ecstatically proud of changes you have made, and perhaps blatantly hesitant about others, hopefully with your best interests at heart. I am sure my ever decreasing devoted audience is aware of what I am trying to say, but I will indulge you with what some might call an anecdote.
I came to university and found it hard. I loved it, but it was hard. I was not used to washing my dishes, I was absolutely astonished as to how a washing machine is actually operated, I was proud of myself each time I cleaned, only to be annoyed at the exponentially increasing dust particles that gather in every square micrometer of space, I was amazed that food does not actually cook itself, as I was previously misconceived to think, and I was pleasantly surprised and eventually horrified at my new found independance.

I quickly learned that religion was the answer to all problems. I quickly learned that these problems were beyond miniscule. I quickly learned how easy life is at university ; if you let it be. When you join the Islamic Society, it is the easiest thing in the world to be a muslim. Surrounded by muslims, it is more of a chore not to pray than to pray. It is harder to be a bad example for people than a good one. It is genuinely harder not to practice your religion, or atleast the wonderful morals we all have embedded in our souls, than to do so. You just need the right guidance. Here I will bring back a recurring theme from all of these blogs : Seek knowledge. Find answers.

- But I don't believe in God
. Really, which part of the bible didn't you like?
- ...Haven't read it. But it can't make sense
. Right, so is your logic from the Psalms, the Torah or the Quran then?
- ....nope....but religion constricts.
. I feel more liberated than I've ever felt in my life
- You're wrong
. That's a great argument, brother!

Our true tests lie in times when it is harder to follow our Deen. Being amongst a society of friends who are not used to seeing you a certain way, who think you have suddenly become 'boring' or feel that you should 'live your life and just have fun'. These 'open-minded' arguments that aren't even open enough to accept you. It is your job to explain this to people. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and if someone does not understand it, take your time and explain it. Da'awah is an obligation on muslims. I blame the media all the time. But when someone calls me a terrorist, I should blame myself, and my community. Because we are not strong enough to tell people what our religion really stands for. Seek knowledge and educate people. It is not a shameful thing not to drink, it is a moral  belief to be proud of.

Now, since I am not officially president yet, and as mentioned before, our task to focus on is mainly the camping trip, I can elaborate on one more relevant and important point. First off, the camping trip is going smoothly Alhamdulillah. Communication is slightly slow since everyone is preoccupied, but we are currently choosing activities to have, and a recent update shows that we might just have secured an Imam who will be able to give us some educational talks and interactive, inspirational halaqas during the trip.  Everything is currently in the process of being done, or finalised...to be completely honest, there is absolutely no reason for me to be writing a blog...but I feel like testing the tolerance of my rapidly growing loyal fan base. So this next part is for the both of you

Jihaad...
- Did he say what I think he did? Someone call the CIA....NOW!

Sister Sarah Joseph wonderfully says that converts are no better than born muslims. We all make a choice everyday. We choose to follow our religion, we choose to be morally correct, we choose good rather than bad. In spite of struggles that we face, we make this choice everyday. And this is Jihaad. It literally means 'striving in the way of Allah'. This could be absolutely anything. Praying everyday in a society where it is considered bizarre, refraining from stealing where temptation is high, giving a fraction of our hard earned money to charity...this is all Jihaad. In a battle against muslims, where muslims are FIRST provoked, AND given that no innocents die, AND given that the second the enemy asks for peace, we grant that for them, along with asylum, then that is Jihaad in the context of war. I know that anyone reading this, be them Christian, Jew or Hindu, has committed Jihaad at some point, and quite possibly does so on a daily basis. Seeking knowledge is Jihaad of the soul. Seek knowledge!

I will next post when there are more updates about the Isoc. This is not just a platform for my personal thoughts, because the last thing I would ever call myself is the atrocious term 'blogger'. This is strictly business. So even though I am possibly the only person reading these, these blogs will soon become very much oriented with the society. Also, I pray that what I wrote is in accordance with Islam. Whatever is true comes from Allah, and all errors come from me, and I sincerely hope that none of us spreads misinformation and misguides rather than guides. To end on a slightly less bitter note, I have been indulging in Lebanese food and for those who have never tried hummus with some steaming hot mishaawi (mixed grill), get on it!