The Religion of Nostalgia
Among people are those who think themselves into believing that they are on the right path. These people lead their lives thinking they are the types of people who have Allah's approval. However, a quick glance reveals that their idea of religion consists of nothing more than conforming to a set of traditions. These traditions include such things as dressing up and taking a certain appearance, sitting down in some manner, or saying certain Arabic jargon words to their peers. It usually includes a special effort to keep away from the opposite gender as much as possible. In general, the aim is to create an atmosphere that feels religious and fulfils their nostalgic idea of religion, and not the absolute aim to earn the pleasure of Allah. For this reason, they are also incapable of being forward-thinking and keeping up with positive modern changes.
People
who fall into this form of religion loose the capability of looking at
all events with an open-mind and ability to decide on actions,
mannerisms, and ways of conduct that are most appropriate to the
environment they are in. Such people by their own acknowledgement,
can function properly only in that environment which they create. Their
time is almost always spent on reading or exchanging stories about
certain incidents and doings of this and that figure of the past, and
feeling great emotional excitement from reading and hearing these. They
think they found religious sincerity. Discussion about Allah's
blessings, mercy and signs hardly happen because they do not feel the
same way about Allah. Religious devotion is simply
an emotional devotion and excitement of these human characters and past
events and a desire to emulate their behaviour - to keep up the
nostalgia of that time. They are unable to grasp the importance of
having inner faith in Allah as stressed in the Qur'an, and thus never
engage in discussion that are truly beneficial to the human soul. For
example, thinking about Quranic Verses for ones self and talking about
them are frowned upon and discussions are quickly closed with vain
excuses.
Share this Article:
See also: Taking the Religion of Islam as a Dogma
Reading the Qur'an but Practicing Something Else
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All materials can be freely copied, printed or distributed. Please cite this website as the source.