Three new Muslimat in one month, alhamdulillah.
None of our accomplishments, of course since hidayah/guidance is Allah's work and Allah's work alone - but I am grateful for we had been chosen to be here to facilitate the syahadah ceremonies...
The first was a Japanese girl, intending to marry a Pakistani guy. That was on the night of 17 Ramadhan, Nuzul Quran. I was not feeling well that particular day, and at first was a bit disgruntled、wondering why do people choose to get married in Ramadhan. But well, I guess the girl wanted to make her first ‘reversion’ to Islam extra special by proclaiming syahadah in Ramadhan, then so be it. Alhamdulillah, as it happened, Hafiizh and Jan from Ibaraki were visiting us that evening, so Hafiizh acted as the Bahasa Melayu - Nihonggo interpreter for hubby as he conducted the syahadah and nikah ceremony that night.
The second girl is a Mongolian, currently studying in Niigata. She first proclaimed her syahadah in June, but she wanted to make it official, with proper witnesses and all, so that there will be no dispute of her true religion if she were to die. Faizly had written an entry about her conversion as he was acting as one of the witnesses that day. Undrakh-san was born Buddhist, converted to Christian on 2nd October 2004, and three years and 4 days later, on 6th October 2007, officially became a Muslim. She came to this mosque accompanied by three friends – 2 Japanese and 1 Indonesian - who also witnessed her ‘official’ syahadah ceremony which was conducted by hubby in Malay with me acting as the English interpreter. She came ready with a new Muslim name – Nurul Hidayah binti Abdullah, claiming that the beautiful name (Guiding Light) was given by her room-mate’s father. Her two Nihonjin friends – Mariam-san and Sofea Haruka-san were a bit puzzled by the use of ‘binti Abdullah’, so I explained that ‘binti Abdullah’ is used sometimes for new reverts with non-Muslim parents, as is commonly practiced in certain Muslim countries like Malaysia. Undrakh aka Nurul Hidayah quickly concurred, admitting that her room-mate, Najmiah, comes from Malaysia.
And yesterday, a pregnant girl came from Chiba for her syahadah ceremony, conducted by Brother Selim from Islamic Cultural Center of Kyoto, with hubby and brother Uthman, an Indian national who is currently doing his iktiqaf in this mosque, acting as witnesses. She chose Muna as her Muslim name; happy that she had chosen to be a Muslim before she gave birth, as she intends to give birth to a Muslim child. “What about her husband?,” I asked hubby, since I had to give Muna’s syahadah ceremony a miss due to my class schedule. He shrugged – brother Selim did not tell him much of his dealings with Muna and all their conversation was in Nihonggo that hubby did not understand. I pray that Muna will not be alone in her 'reversion'...
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It has indeed been quite a memorable Ramadhan. (and not only because I have forgotten to ask for a set of butang baju melayu to be included in the family sedondon baju raya package from Malaysia, and thus now wonder if I could get to borrow a set of 5 butang baju melayu from anyone...)
Hubby is planning to join Syahril and Zetty going to the Eid party organized by Nihon Muslim Kyokai (Japanese Muslim Association), bringing with us Sofea Haruka who had only seemed happy that we had invited her along for Eidul Fitri gathering at the Malaysian embassy. Hubby and I have decided to sort of ‘adopt’ Sofea Haruka. I want her first Eid to be something she can remember fondly in years to come – as one where she would not be left standing alone while others surrounding her happily (or sobbingly) kiss and hug their parents, friends, spouses or kids. She deserves a good Eid – after all this is only her first Ramadhan but she had never intentionally missed fasting, even on those days when she missed waking up for sahur.
It is easy to fall in love with Sofea Haruka. Although she confessed that she hasn’t found the courage to put on hijab daily, she came to the mosque properly attired – in normal Nihonjin youngster outfit – jeans, long sleeved top, flowy sleeveless dress - topped with a long Indian veil as her hijab. She is a refreshing sight. While more and more born Muslims are abandoning Islamic rituals, she is fast learning and practicing them. Already she has memorized all the major readings in solat and 6 short surahs from the Quran. She attends class regularly at Otsuka Mosque, and tries hard to fulfill her obligations as Muslim. Everything about Islam is fascinating to her. In fact, her hunger for knowledge about Islam was part of the reason she chose Egypt as her destination to spend her last summer holiday. Touring while absorbing and observing how Islam is being practiced in a Muslim country. (To be honest, I am partially relieved that she did not chose Malaysia – I am afraid she might be shocked to see born Muslims behaving in un-Islamic manners…)
This Eid, with Sofea Haruka by my side, I hope to introduce her to the joy of Eid not merely as the feast of breaking fast, but also as a familial gathering. She might not be able to celebrate Eid with her parents just yet, but she has other family now, starting with us…
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Selamat menyambut kemenangan mujahadah sebulan Ramadhan
May we be blessed and protected by Allah always.
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