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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Another interesting story about how Hindus from
Singapore became Muslim ( unlike Hartina who rejected
the true guidance from Allah)
Wassalam
Sitora Jebat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why Indrani and Chandara embraced Islam
Sister Nishani (previously known as Indrani) and her
husband, Brother Rafiq (previously known as Chandara)
shared with Sister Muneerah Al-Idros, their path
toward embracing Islam.
Indrani was 6 years old when her father died. Her
mother stopped praying as she felt that God had been
unfair to make her a widow with 5 little children.
Indrani and here brothers and sisters were brought up
as nominal Hindus. They had neither an altar nor
pictures of gods in their house as many Hindus do.
When Indrani was 10 yrs old she began to love God. She
collected pictures of Hindu gods and godesses and
worshipped them at home. She felt the need to pray and
thought it was odd that, unlike other Hindu families,
her family performed few Hindu rites.
During her teenage years, Indrani started going to
temple thrice weekly. She encouraged some of her
friends to go to the temple with her as she quickly
became more interested in Hinduism.
She participated in bhajanai (devotional singing)
activities and became a committee member in Ayyapan
Group in Perumal Temple for several years.
One day, Indrani became very ill. She consulted
several doctors but was informed that there was
nothing wrong with her. However, her illness
persisted. She later consulted a Swami (a Hindu
priest) so that he would clear the sevanai (evil
spirits) that she suspected were dwelling inside her.
The Swami and his assistant came to visit her. The
assistant was Chandara, who was involved in her
temple's religious rites and who has also organised
religious trips to Malaysia for Indrani and her
friends.
Indrani was very impressed with the knowledge the
young man demonstrated while assisting the swami.
After that visit, Chandara dreamt of his favourite
goddess, Kaliamma, telling him to take Indrani as his
bride. After much persuasion, his family asked for
Indrani's hand in marriage. Indrani and her family
were pleasently surprised by the marriage proposal.
Indrani could not believe that her dreams of marrying
a pious Hindu had come true.
Unlike Indrani, Chandara was brought up in a religious
Hindu family. On top of that, Chandara was the most
religious in his family. He would often slip into a
trance, reciting the holy mantras, in praise of the
gods and goddesses who would possess him and speak
through him. In Hinduism, it is considered an honour
to be possessed by the gods or godesses.
Chandara and other members of the group often got
together to listen to the teachings of the swami. They
would also make house visits to chase evil spirits out
of other people's houses and bodies. This is how
Chandara was appointed to be the swami's assistant.
Indrani had never entered into a trance but had seen
Chandara being possessed by the elephant god,
Vinayagar. Chandara would behave exactly like an
elephant, eating the fruits that the elephant ate.
When in a trance, Chandara would be approached to
solve problems. Those who approached him would
prostrate before him, for they regarded him as "God".
The vibuthi (white ashes) used to anoint the forehead
would be brought to Chandara to be blessed.
Despite all this, Chandara did not feel complete.
Dissatisfied, he knew there was something not right in
his life. He failed to see the light and always felt
that his path was blocked by some kind of darkness
which he wanted to clear so he could reach the light.
He knew that were 3360 Hindu gods and he prayed to
several of them.
Whenever he felt confused, he would go to the library
to find out more about Hinduism. He learned from the
elders but knew there was still alot more to learn.
Many of the Hindu priests did not want to share
everything that they knew; knowledge was their
ricebowl and they did not want their source to be
taken away.
It was difficult to learn on your own about Hinduism,
as most of the writings were in Sanskrit. Chandara
could not find any holy books that satisfied his
quest. All the books were written by different authors
and each of them had different ideas about how and
when Hinduism started. Even the Bhagavat Geeta (which
emphasised more on Vishnu), Ramayana and Mahabrahta
were very limited. These holy scriptures were more
literature books, teaching that we should do good and
pray to the gods. Above all these gods is the female
god who is the Aadhi Parasakhti. She controls the
whole universe. The essence of Hinduism is to strive
at getting a good reincarnation and to worship God and
to pray to God through demigods.
During this search for enlightenment, Chandara was
approached by a Christian missionary worker in Toa
Payoh. He got involved in Christianity in the hope of
enlightenment. However, he did not like Christianity,
mainly due to the behaviour of the people in the
church; he noticed that young men and women were
behaving indecently. Christianity was not what he was
looking for and he withdrew.
Still, Chandara could no longer bring himself to pray
to so many gods. He could worship only one God
spiritually and worship the other idols physically,
but he did not know who the One God was. Chandara
occassionally still got into a trance.
Chandara had curious Malay friends asking him about
Hindu worship. They did not tell him about Islam but
they told him that unlike him they pray to one God:
Allah.
Chandara, who was the leader among his working mates,
would go along with Malays when they performed their
Zohor prayer, waiting while they prayed. At the same
time, he would pray to God in his hear, and ask for
the right path.
Chandara was very impressed with the adhan, which had
a soothing effect on this. The adhan touched his heart
so deeply, especially when it was followed by the
prayer that his friends and other Muslims never failed
to fulfill. He felt like it was so simple to recognise
the true God. "Just worship him. Why does one need all
these idols and mediators?" It did not take long
before he felt it was Islam and Allah that he had been
searching for.
After their marriage, his wife Indrani was still quite
active in her temple activities. She became puzzled
when her husband, a more pious Hindu than herself,
used to hint repeatedly at the existence of one
Almighty God, about praying to one God and that a true
religion should not have many gods. Her mother-in-law
felt that her previously pious son might have offended
the gods.
Even after marriage, Chandara continued his search for
enlightenment. He was trying to search for his One God
in Hinduism, trying to know the One God he was praying
to spiritually. He was no longer interested in any of
the temple activities, no longer got into a trance.
His mother, while in a trance, pointed out that her
son's change in behaviour was due to his being under a
charm.
Chandara did not know anything about Islam except that
in Islam, God is One. He would meditate daily and
Uthrachamale (zikr or rosary) Usually he would be
chanting the various god's names. However, this time
when he called out their names he felt something was
wrong so he just said in English, "Almighty God,
Almighty God..." In his meditation, he knew Muslims
are praying to the true God.
Chandara's biggest problem in practising Islam was
Indrani. She didn't like Muslims and was active with
her temple activities. He tried to influence his wife
on the teachings of Islam by turning on to the
Malaysian Islamic programmed on televisions, like
"Pedoman." Indrani would complain that it was not
necessary for her husband to take so much interest in
Islam. He took this opportunity to express to her that
he no longer believed in Hinduism, reasoning that it
does not have a holy book and a basis of belief.
Failing to find out how Hinduism started it merely
seemed a culture full of complexity brought down by
their ancestors.
He bought a translation of the Quran by Yusuf Ali and
was deeply impressed when he read about the Prophets,
of the beginning of mankind and of heaven and hell. He
found many things that are necessary for every human
bring to know and he encouraged Indrani to read it.
When he read that idol-worshippers will be thrown to
hell, he had all the idols and pictures removed from
their home.
Chandara now concentrated on learning more about Islam
from various sources. He tried to learn more about
Islam from his Malay friends. However, they usually
could not give him answers to his questions. They
suggested that he should seek help from an Ustadz (a
religious teacher). None of them took the initiative
to take him to see any Ustadz until he met a member of
the Al-Arqam group. This person shared what he knew
about Islam with Chandara. But Chandara found some of
his teachings misleading; contrary to the teachings of
Islam was the display of pictures of their leaders.
Chandara started bringing home books on Islam, as well
as on Christianity, Sikhism and Hinduism, telling his
wife to read and make a comparison of these religions.
Indrani was not interested. he was very satisfied with
her belief and with Hinduism. She told herself that
there no way he could influence her with his idea of
One Almighty God and swore in her heart that she would
bring him back to her way.
Indrani had no intention of reading the books her
husband brought home. Yet when she had trouble
sleeping at night, something made her pick up the
Quran and read it. Again and again, when she could not
sleep, it was the Quran that she picked up and read.
She felt so lost because since her husband removed the
Hindu deities from their home, she could no longer
pray to them.
Indrani began to have dreams. During her first
pregnancy, she dreamt of the Kaaba. She related her
dream to one of her Muslim colleagues, who the related
Indrani's dream to her father. He told her that she
was fortunate to have dreamt of the Kaaba.
She also dreamt of Hindu Gods giving her warnings and
threats but she had more dreams about Islam and pious
Muslims. She continued to pray to Hindu idols, but
wondered about her dreams. When she was expecting her
third daughter, she had another strange dream. She
heard a voice coming from the open window of the
bedroom window. The voice said, "I am Muhammad, the
Messenger of God. Follow my way and all evil will go
away. If you want to know more, ask your husband."
She awoke after this dream but fell asleep again. She
had a second dream. In this dream, she saw herself
telling her husband about her first dream. She asked
him what the "way" was and he told her to look out the
window. When she did, she saw Yusuf Islam dressed like
an Arab giving a talk on Islam, surrounded by other
people dressed like him. [Yusuf Islam is the former
rock star, Cat Stevens. To read how he embraced Islam,
please click http://www.catstevens.com Indrani had
never seen Yusuf Islam before but she had heard of
him. Somehow, in her dream, she knew it was him.
These dreams had a very strong impact on Indrani's
belief. She became increasingly drawn toward Islam and
wanted to follow the way fo Muhammad, the Messenger of
God. She recalls that she wanted to accept Islam but
was afraid as she was expecting her third child. She
feared something would befall her baby as she thought
of the threats the Hindu deities had made in her
dream. After her delivery, Indrani told her husband
that she was ready.
They were told about Darul Arqam - The Muslim
Converts' Association of Singapore, where they could
register their reversion to Islam. Chandara initially
refused as he thought Darul Arqam was affiliated to Al
Arqam. They went to Jamiyah (Islamic Theological
Society of Singapore) instead, and registered their
names as Mohamed Rafiq and Nishani.
When they announced their reversion, they encountered
many problems. This was especially so when Indrani
started wearing the hijab. Their parents, siblings,
relatives and friends who used to hold them dear, now
chided them. All the friends Indrani has guided to
Hinduism now refused to have anything to do with her,
for fear that she may succeed in bringing them to
Islam. They were especially surprised because Indrani
used to dislike Muslims more than they did. Indrani's
parents warned her that her husband must have a hidden
interest in having more than one wife.
Indrani and her husband, ostracised by their parents,
missed the affection they previously received from
them. Indrani repeatedly told herself that since Allah
loves her so much, the sacrifice she was making in
losing her family was nothing. She knows that no one
loves her more than God Himself.
Learned Hindus and gurus tried to bring Chandara back
to Hinduism but he turned them down politely. They
then severed their relationship with him. Indrani's
family swore to see that he children Nisha, Nafeesa
and Natasha be brought back to Hinduism when they grow
up, refusing to acknowledge their grandchildren's
Muslim names. The children, now studying at the
Madrasah (Islamic school), are very pleased with their
religion. Chandara encourages them to wear the hijab
even though they are still young, with the intention
of getting them used to veiling. The parents observed
that the children like the hijab so much that they
themselves refuse to remove it.
Despite being rejected by their families, Indrani and
Chadara never gave up trying to improve their
relationship with them. Today, both Indrani's and
Chandara's mothers have expressed that they have a
filial son and a filial daughter.
Alhamdulillah.
[Indrani and Chandara's story was published in the
"Muslim Reader", Aug-Nov 1995 Vol. 13 No. 3. This is a
publication of the Muslim Converts' Association of
Singapore which is located at 21 Onan Road, The
Galaxy, Singapore 424484. For enquiries please Tel:
65-3488344 or visit their website at http://www.darul-arqam.org.sg]
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