By: Maria Zain
Source: http://www.onislam.net/
We often hear of Hijrah as a journey to personal betterment and enlightenment as far as our faiths are concerned. Normally, we talk about a physical migration – uprooting from and leaving the zone of comfort, usually known as your home, and moving to a faraway sometimes exotic land to seek out new opportunities.
Well, in the cases cited in Seerah (Prophetic Biography) it has been for the sake of Allah and the Hijrah then was pretty gruelling ;and in this modern day setting, there should not be a cause greater than Allah’s either. But perhaps the smaller motivations and reasons differ from the Muslims during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
When we think of Hijrah in the context of history, Abyssinia often comes to mind, and of course, later, Madinah – where Muslims fled persecution in their own land and made way to start their lives, putting their faith in Allah alone. It must have been scary going through those motions, especially when national pride was pretty much at an all time high, besides the uncertainties of embracing a new faith, which was full of challenges. Coupled with the oppression they were facing, those were their exit plans and it was a Hijrah that they had to make.
Why Shall I Move?
Perhaps Hijrah nowadays is somewhat similar, many Muslims flee persecution in countries of their homes; some from Muslim countries, others from predominantly non-Muslim nations, and many are looking for safer places to continue with their lives.
Our Hijrah wasn’t so much as such. We were living comfortably in Malaysia when we decided to move to the UK, but that alone was a challenge of its own, due to the comfort zone my husband and I had already niched out.
After all, he was climbing the academic ladder in his career of academia, I had my birth business in full swing and its fruits were flourishing immensely. So were our four children, who were happily homeschooled and growing in healthy spurts. Then, came the calling to move to the UK; an opportunity nonetheless, but one that rattled our stability, and in a way, it shook us out of our mundane but blessed daily routine in a Muslim-majority country.
So why shall we move from a zone of immense comfort to a non-Muslim country with a myriad of uncertainties? That’s what many people ask me, and generally, they worry about such a transition. But think about it, Abyssinia was not a Muslim country, yet along went the first handful of Muslims to practice Islam peacefully amongst brethren of the Christian faith, and Madinah was a “new” Muslim country. What difference does it make?
As strangers or travelers in this world, it is up to us to make the best of opportunities that Allah hands over to us. Breaking out of the comfort zone camaraderie is actually a great sign of progress. Perhaps there are those who believe we need to stick to people of our own nation, race, even faith, but there is so much out there in this diverse world that we can come to learn and love at the same time, without compromising our faith. After all, we can be good Muslims wherever we are, as long as we don’t journey away from Allah.
It’s Not Where We Live, It’s How We Live
Many Prophets in the Qur’an lived in nations where there were only a handful of believers. Some only managed to raise their few children as believers while they were scorned by their communities, no matter how hard they tried to practice their religion.
And there were Prophets whose families turned them away because they did not believe in their cause. Yet, these Messengers and Prophets of Allah remained steadfast in Allah’s path, trying their best to spread Islam, even if no one was with them except for their Creator. Why worry, when Allah is near? It does not matter where we are, the community we live in, how harsh the environment is – as long as Allah has decreed for us to be there, God-willing there is a reason and a journey worth travelling.
I won’t sugarcoat our move to the UK because, as there were many challenges. One of them was again living as students on a scholarship in our 30s with more responsibilities than undergraduates – but that was the main reason why we were leaving. We were also moving away from family, friends, a whole homeschool network, financial stability, and the general comforts as I mentioned above. And there were the logistics to think about. Packing, finding a new home, travelling half way across the globe with four little children and I was also coming to an end with my 5th pregnancy. It was overwhelming to say the least.
We only had one option after the decision was made to go – to start planning, strategizing, to cover our entire basis as foreigners, and of course, ultimately to put our faith in Allah with intentions to please Him and Him alone.
Having lived for a few decades in Europe myself helped prepare us with ideas for raising the children. We decided to stick to homeschooling them to keep things as consistent as possible amidst the changes they were facing, and not all of them were coping with this massive juxtaposition in their tiny lives. While we wanted to expose them to this new culture, this new environment, we wanted to keep them rooted in our values.
They are integrating well as they continue to meet people outside of the school box and pick up on new activities here – simple things that were not always available in Malaysia – like the libraries and youth centers.
I do believe challenges in raising children exist anywhere. Living in a Muslim country or community only does not mean full safeguard from temptations that surround them. In fact, it can get confusing when Muslim peers are often dwelling in dubious activities as far as our religion is concerned, whereas it’s easier to point out the differences when non-Muslim comrades engage in such. We distinguish between the two and teach them to maintain respect for others without compromising their faiths, again. Not to mention, living in a Muslim environment can also be very confusing for little ones, especially when it is plagued with cultural traditions that override the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
That’s the beauty of moving on out – you make the best out of it because you simply believe that Allah will guide as long as you make conscientious efforts to follow His directives. I don’t believe it will always be strawberries and cherries in a lush park of daisies, but it is not always easy either when you’re just stuck in a routine in your homeland or enjoying the dynamics of a Muslim community within a certain zone of comfort and feel reluctant to push the boundaries. There are ways to make mistakes and there are ways for worship, if we only figure out how.
This diverse world, whether we are thinking about countries, cultures, ethnicities, belief systems, racial lines, languages, animals, crops, food…. anything, in fact, is by Allah’s will – and it is our responsibility towards Him to appreciate everything that has been made available to us, rather than hide under a shade of comfort, not wanting to venture out beyond one’s safe neighborhood.
Think about the Prophet’s Companions who went through the most turbulent hardships and how they took the chance to make the changes for Allah’s sake. Allah has alleviated those hardships from most of us, yet he hands us lemons on a daily basis to churn out lemonade – which honestly, tastes much better than the sour fruit on its own. It’s up to us to live our lives en route of His pleasure, no matter what we do, no matter where we are. And while we are often told that the grass really isn’t that greener on the other side, we can always water our own grass and enjoy the strawberries, cherries and lemonade in a lush field of dandelions and daisies.
