American Muslim

Returning to a Hindu Temple

Bismillah Rehmanir Rahim (In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful),

Last weekend I went to Chicago - again - but this time it was for a really short trip. I landed at Midway on Thursday afternoon and went home and a few hours later hit the road with my Mom for a family friend's wedding near Milwaukee. I had been very excited about this wedding for some time because it was a dear friend of mine and of the family's - his mom and my mom are like sisters and in fact my mom brought a lot of stuff for the wedding during one of her recent India trips.

But, I also had some apprehension going into the weekend because it was also the first time I would be going into a Hindu temple since I became Muslim. Now, like everything else in Islam, there's a lot of variation in opinion as to whether it's ok for a Muslim to attend a non-Muslim wedding. Some people say that it is 'haraam' or forbidden for a Muslim to enter the place of worship of another religion - or if you enter, you cannot allow yourself to overhear any prayers for any other gods, etc. But, I asked the 'imam' of my masjid a couple months ago and he said there was no problem as long as my intentions were good. And that's really the key to this whole issue - intentions.

Intentions are a big part of a lot of our 'ibadah or actions as Muslims. In everything I do, I should have the intention of pleasing Allah (SWT). And if I do anything that I know displeases Allah (SWT), I must ask for forgiveness. And when we boil down the issue of visiting a Hindu temple, one must look at my intentions. I wasn't going to the temple to worship, but for a wedding. At no time were my intentions to cast off my faith or worhsip another god (the worst sin possible) nor did I feel drawn to doing so. Yes, I was very close to the sanctum, along with everyone else, but since Allah (SWT) knows all of our thoughts and desires and we can hide nothing from him, then I am not afraid for I have done nothing wrong. Not once did I have an intention of doing anything to harm my 'iman' or faith.

But, with all of that, it was still interesting to return to a Hindu temple because although my family's religiosity is not as high as others, that culture is still part of my past. The sounds, sights and smells of Hinduism are all too familiar and I would be lying if I said those three senses didn't bring back memories of India.

This brings up an interesting point, which is how different will India be for me now in future visits? Will Muslim India be radically different than Hindu India? For the next post ...