Islam, Religion, and Inner Peace

Islam, or being Muslim is definitely not the most familiar term for Vietnamese people, and sometimes it might even sound intimidating given the negative media portrayal as a “violent-prone religion”. I am pretty sure that most of you who are reading this do not entirely understand the difference between “Islam” and “Muslim” (“Islam” is the religion and “Muslim” are the people who follow the practice).

For those who have been to Malaysia or Indonesia, it is not difficult to encounter women under the crazy heat wearing headscarf covering their head. This March during my trip to Malaysia, namely in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, it was a usual scene for me and I cannot help but wonder how they are “forced” to do that? Is that by the hand of religion? Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against it, it’s just not something I got accustomed to.

My curiosity has finally been relieved as I got the most incredible opportunity to get firsthand experience inside a Mosque (it’s a Muslim church) and receive a brief lecture about what Islam actually is. A quick tip if you want to experience like me, go to Kapitan Keling Masjid in Penang, rather than the Masjid Negara in KL, just to avoid the long crowd and of course, you would get better experience!

If you want to know what I learnt, don’t worry because I will disclose them to you!

1, Who is Allah?

It is The Mighty God, the one and only.

2. The Qur'an:

Qur’an is like the Islamic version of the Bible.. Qur’an talks about everything you can imagine in life, from love, perseverance, fidelity, to cruelty, death and even about science (shocking).

3. 5 Pillars of Islam:

For every Muslim they strictly abide by 5 Pillars of Islam for the rest of their life. Shahada is a strong faith to Allah, Salah is praying, Sawm is Fasting (no eat or drink) in Ramadan, Zakat is Charity and Hajj is Pilgrimage to Mecca.

4. Salah:

Like I have mentioned, Salah means Praying, and don’t be surprised as Muslim pray 5 times a day. And the time of the praying depends on the position of the sun of that particular pray. There is even a mobile app to calculate the position of the sun and remind them to pray, How cool is that!

Now that you know a little bit about Islam, don’t you feel strange, because believing in God, praying 5 times a day, no eating for a month? That sounds unrealistic for an atheist like the majority of us here. However, try to put yourself into their shoe and you will see the BEAUTY of RELIGION to human development and cognition.

Look at the Qur’an- the book that Muslim read and mumble everyday, and the knowledge that the book spreads: which is happiness, serenity, the firm belief in God and his protection; the importance of rule-abiding and forgiveness- because us humans are not perfect. To us surprise, the Qur’an talks about gender equality, and Islam even put women at a high position. For women, they wear hijab (headscarf) because the Qur’an says that Hijab will be a shield to protect them from molestation and display a love of God. For your information, even the word Islam means Peace in Arabic!

After the tour, it started to sink in to me how much important religion is to our “inner peace”. Inner peace is the state of calmness without any worries and you can feel it deep down inside. Inner peace can help you heal all the wombs, sorrow and depression you got from this hectic life. For Muslim, they go to Mosque and pray 5 times a day as a way to appreciate life and remind themselves the valuable teaching of Allahs. Please be reminded that praying 5 times is NOT prerequisite, but they still willingly waking up before sunrise to pray, because they believe praying will give them inner peace. Malaysia highly values this, and they can fine any corporations for not letting their male employees going to Mosque every Friday (called Friday prayer)

Not only Muslim, but even us Vietnamese we worship our ancestors or go to the Temple every beginning of the year to pray for a prosperous and happy year. For a youngster like myself despite so little knowledge about Buddhism, I still experience a sense of serenity going to temples because I believe MY BELIEF will be heard and responded, which creates a sense of SAFE and SECURE

Travelling is not all about getting that perfect Instagram post or fulfilling all of your to-do list. It is all about expanding your horizon and consume different cultures. You will see yourself grow more when you put away your prejudice. I hope this blog post gives you a new perspective into religion, and of course, inspire you to pack your bag and go to Malaysia right instantly!