Bringing Syam to Singapore? How??

It has been ages since I last saw myself strolling along the busy streets of Singapore.

Sights like Muslim men going to the mosque for the weekly Friday prayer in their coloured baju kurung, Chinese physician prescribing medicine for patients in the typical Chinese Medical Hall and the enchanting chalk-drawings at the front step of any Indian’s house, really gives me a sense of belonging. In a way, I feel welcomed as soon as I’ve reached my homeland safely.

However, that sets me thinking. Somehow, Singapore reminds me of Damascus. Rukn Eddin, specifically, where people from around the globe, with different ethnicity, tradition, and colour, come to learn one thing; the language of the Qur’an, and Islam itself.

Personally, I think that we can bring the peaceful atmosphere in Rukn Eddin to this sunny island called Singapore.

How?

For starters, it is clear that nowadays, the demand for citizens who are fluent in the Arabic language is very high, in many working sectors. Take Raffles Hospital, for instance, which is searching for potential employers who can converse in Arabic.

Furthermore, the number of Arabic courses is great and the participants, which are mostly Chinese, are rising. Hence, this means that we, as the sincere seekers of knowledge (ameen ya Rabb!), who are studying and speak Arabic fluently (I know that every DMASYQian speaks better than me), are extremely fortunate to have known and loved this beautiful language all these while. And surely that means job opportunities are very wide in Singapore.

Moreover, Islamic Banking too is ‘in’ these days. Since we’ve learnt the Shari’a laws of Mu’amalat in Fiqh, I bet that at least we know the basics of this field. So, why not spread the beauty of Islamic Shari’a, by mastering this branch and then, entering this field? That way, we’ll contribute to the society and the country. (=

However, there’s a catch to it.

After knowing all the ‘top demands’ in Singapore, I’d like to bring our focus to this point: ‘Why are we doing these?’

Remember, dear DMASYQians and to my other fellow blog-guests, as Muslims, we should know that we are Du’aat too. Hence, let me get straight to the point (!);

> We should always remember that wherever we go, we should spread Islam, as wherever a Muslim goes, he brings goodness. So bear in mind that IF we were to work in these ‘high demand’ fields, it’s not because of material needs, but because of the good opportunity to spread goodness, which is Islam.

Principally, it all goes back to our basic Islamic education. Our intentions and the knowledge we’ve learnt should be right and concrete, if we are willing to live in Singapore and contribute to the country.

So perhaps one day, we will get to see ourselves strolling among people of different colours and ethnicity, in the busy streets of Singapore, all of them believing in one faith; there is no God but Allah.

-Hafizah binte Abdul Latif-