“Are we landing in
“Yes, we are madam,” she replied.
The fact is, a majority of the passengers of MH 147 that night had no idea that the flight they booked will transit into
I was not too keen about it at first, but then we were told that it will only take one hour before we leave
As I arrived to my seat, a Chinese-looking young lady was sitting right next to me. I said; excuse me while squeezing myself into my window seat. She smiled and we proceeded to mind our own business. As the rest of the passengers got comfortable and took their seats, we both reached for our books to read. For some reason, I was curious to know what she was reading. And I sensed she was eyeing my book as well. To my surprise, she was reading a book about Islam. About Allah and His Messenger. About my religion.
You see, this lady seemed very modern – stylish clothes, dirty blonde hair and did I mention she looked completely Chinese. I would never imagine her to be a Muslim.
And then it struck me. I was being totally judgmental and incredibly naïve about it all. I had no knowledge if this lady and just by a mere look at her appearance, I made a conclusion that she is a non-Muslim. I even felt a quiver of hesitance when I wanted to read my book (Memperbaharui Komitmen Dakwah by Muhammad Abduh). In a split second, I thought to myself, would this lady next to me mind that I’m reading a book about Islam? But I reached for the book anyway.
We didn’t converse with each other. But I sat through the flight feeling rather embarrassed at myself for thinking the way I did.
After all, the Quran has time and time again reminded us about the diversity of people that Allah has created.
Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God’s sight is that one of you who best performs his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (49:13)
One of His signs is the creations of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colors (30:22).
Islam has spread throughout the world, into the hearts of millions of people regardless of race and nationality.
It was a total wake up call. Allah is the only worthwhile judge.
3 comments:
you should talk to her...it gonna open a golden experience that you will keep for your whole life..
alwi: yep, in retrospect, I should have talked to her. i'm sure getting to know a little bit about her would teach me a whole lot since our wordless encounter has taught me much already. we'll see what happens in my next flight.. :p
Sometimes, opportunities just make us think too long
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