Faith

Much have been said and argued about the controversial judgment delivered recently by the Court of Appeal. Some lauded it as a stamped approval of how a certain word belongs to a particular race professing that particular religion. Some saw it as a preposterous decision that infringes the rights of a certain group of believers to call their God by a certain name. Many are just keeping quiet, perhaps having their own stand but prefer not to rock the boat further. As for me, I have never discussed this issue with anyone. What I'm stating below is just my opinion, one which I feel is my freedom to write about. It is not meant to condemn or condone what has occurred.

 

I am a Malay Muslim. The fact that I belong to this group should automatically warrant me to support the decision. Yet, I can't. For what strength is the faith to me if I'm easily disturbed when other faiths address their God(s) with the same name as I do mine? The God I believe in is also known by his 99 other virtues, each bearing a name which will more often than not, be reflected in the names of the male Muslim followers and their sons. I'm honestly flattered that other faiths have also accepted the Arabic term 'Allah' as the equal to the widely-used 'God'. Does my faith in Him become lesser when a person of another faith uses the same reference? It doesn't. The same goes to the fact that my family members call me by my personal name and friends/acquaintances call me as 'Raja'. Some friends, for varying reasons, call me just like a family member would. That act doesn't change the fact that we're still not related by blood, no matter how close we may be.

 

Certain quarters have also been very vocal that the idea of using the same name to address God by different religions may confuse the Muslim believers. That it'll lead to apostasy and downfall of the religion. While there's merit in that, the argument itself should not be the basis of denying others to call their God in whatever name they choose. And if that argument is accepted, it doesn't say much for the strength of our belief then. I may not have been a good student during my religious classes or a good practicing Muslim for that matter but I know one thing for sure. It's a whole spectrum of difference between accepting Allah and Muhammad as his Prophet on one part and God, his Son and the holy Spirit on the other. Conversions will still happen whether or not another faith calls their God as 'Allah'. People leave their religions for the simplest reasons like marriage and what they stand to gain from such conversion. I doubt they'll even consider what God's name may be as part of the picture!

 

One of the most fundamental tenets a Muslim must cling to is to believe 'qada' and 'qadar'. That everything has been planned and will happen according to God's will. Although this itself invites attractive arguments, like how far should we try before saying 'I'll leave it to God' or becoming lazy just because one thinks it's already God's will, the tenet applies to the religion itself. One may be born a Muslim but there could never be a guarantee that he or she will leave this world as one. Similarly, another may have been born as a non-believer but chooses the beacon of light that God offers and dies a Muslim. For us Muslims, we are promised heaven in the afterlife only after we've atoned for the sins committed in this world by way of different levels of punishment in Hell. Correct me if I'm wrong but surely, one cannot get this confused with another faith's promise that everyone will be resurrected in heaven's welcoming embrace thanks to God's son who died for the sins of others.

 

We may at times be ruled by emotions but let's not use that to kick reason out of the window. Faith is a personal thing, one that you choose to believe in or not. It shouldn't matter what your God is called as. Instead, it matters most that when you profess a certain religion, you believe that God is with you, however He is called.