Taking the Road Less Travelled

What does taking the road less travelled means?  Well, it could mean different meanings to different people but to me it is the path that I have decided to tread on in the journey of my life, a path that less would pursue on due to its abstractness, its difficulties and its understanding. It is very easy to follow the crowd and have a desire to stand out in the crowd, but its not as easy to walk away and tread off the beaten path. 

off the beaten path

I grew up in a society that was developing and the nations focus during my childhood was education, education and education – secular education that is.  Education that could help  put the younger generation on a path that would build the nation.  It was a successful pursuit from materialistic standpoint because, the generation that I grew up with eventually participated in building of the nation.  However, in the pursuit of development, we had lack the spiritual education that would balance the effects of modernization and what we saw was everyone started participating in the rat race in pursuit of material wealth while values and morals were compromised.

Personally, I felt that during those years, I was stripped of every identity of a Muslim except by name.  Sad, but that was what it was.  Those years that I was growing up with was brainwashed by western values and secular education.  Little emphasis was given to any form of spiritual development and any religious classes that we had was never taken seriously but maybe only to teach us the rituals, void of any spiritual form.  I think our ustazs (religious teachers) must have been very frustrated with us.  We were so in awe by anything that came out of our country especially our PEACE CORPS teachers. 

As a result of this unbalanced education system with no priority given to developing moral values or spirituality, we became a nation that was decaying In every social aspect.  Yes, I too was experiencing that decay and did not know how to handle most situations except by materialistic manner which really did not solve the emotional and spiritual aspects.

Having gone through much pain in my personal life forced me to look at spiritual alternatives and that is where this journey on the road less travelled began.  Basically my road less travelled is my journey towards my CREATOR, mind, body and spirit.  There is a hadeeth  by the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, that says, “Islam came as a stranger and will return as a stranger.  Glad tidings to the strangers.”    From this hadeeth it already indicates that taking this path will be a lonely path and you will be looked upon as strange – the more you follow the teachings of Islam as it should be followed, that is through the teachings of Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, the more you will be seen as strange – in your ritual practices, in your physical look, in the way you dress, in the way you stand firm on upholding Allah’s laws.

On this path, you will find that sometimes it requires you to leave behind many things that you were familiar with in pursuit of a life seeking the grace of Allah swt.  Sometimes it requires you to make hijrah, leaving behind comforts that you are used to in order to be able to practice your religion in the way it should be practiced.  Sometimes it requires you to leave loved ones behind and that is one of the biggest sacrifice emotionally.  Sometimes it requires you to sacrifice your wealth, without being afraid that you would end up in poverty and destitution.  But if you are sincerely in pursuit of a way of life to please HIM swt, biiznillah (with HIS permission), insyaAllah (with HIS will), HE will make the path easy for you and lighten your burden. 

This is a path of knowledge, practice and faith and all must be done in sincerity only with the objective of seeking HIS pleasure and nothing else, a path that require you to have FULL FAITH in HIM swt.  It is a path full of obstacles, trials and tribulations and much sacrifice – but all are as a means to build you up spiritually and bring you closer to HIM, the All Mighty.  When you overcome those obstacles, you will taste the sweetness of the victory and that is the sweetness of FAITH.

I took the road less travelled.