JOURDAN DUNCAN — Staff Writer
Feb. 10, 2012
Today is my last day wearing the hijab as a practicing Muslim and I am feeling a mix of emotions. It has been an interesting, life changing, beautiful journey. I am excited to reveal my hair again, but at the same time I will miss wearing the head scarf in honor of Allah.
While I was practicing the religion for five days many people asked if I had considered converting permanently. Although I have never had an established religion and was never raised in any church setting, I am still thankful for my parent’s decision to let my siblings and I choose our own faith. Some people believe you should pass it on and instill it in your children as they grow to guide them, while others believe you shouldn’t interfere and it is a choice for them to make; not something that should be forced.
Yes, if I was raised as a Christian, Muslim or Jew, I might view religion and life in general differently. However, I still believe in God just as much as the Christian who attends church weekly and the Muslim who prays five times a day. I have been blessed to live so freely with an open mind that has allowed me to explore a completely different life than my own and embrace a foreign culture. Being Muslim for five days taught me a new way of embracing Allah, the same God I have believed in all along, and it has really shown me a new angle on life.
Even though the religion has made me more informed on the subject and gave me firsthand experience of taking on the daily beliefs and routine that come with it, it has also reassured me that I am as thankful and appreciative of God as other religious people, such as Muslims.
Writing and performing poetry is one of my hobbies, and as president of the poetry club on campus I couldn’t help but make the connection to passages in the Bible or Quran. My Muslim experience has inspired me to set a new goal of reading the Quran, and when I think about all the prayers and scriptures people have pointed out as their favorites or ones that mean the most to them, it reminds me of poetry. I wrote a “passage” or poem for Allah, and it reads as the following:
Every morning I wake to a splash and the river of paradise flows over me. As I meet him in a different light for the first time,
I send my words of praise his way.
We have an unbreakable connection while engaging in conversations day to night.
He remains silent, but I don’t mind.
I know he hears me.
He is the best listener.
That’s why it is you I confide in every 24 hours.
Tell you I love you five times a day.
You are the cloth sewn through my soul and wrapped around me.
He is my protector, my spirit within.
Covered from head to toe, the warmest wind I know.
You are an everlasting scarf full of season.
You never go out of style.
I will always wear you over my heart.
I’m sorry if I come off selfish,
but you’re all I need.
Allah, please hear my gratitude.
I love you.
Although this is my last journal entry for the Muslim Diaries, it is certainly not a goodbye to Allah. Every breath, move, thought, word or life lesson ends with a new beginning. So instead of “farewell” I will say “Asalamu Alaikum” (Peace be with you).
