The World My Son Will be Born Into

Dear son,

Soon you will be born into this world (insyaallah, if God permits). We, your father and I, are very excited to welcome you. Not one day goes by without us talking about you and talking to you (I read that you can hear sound now). The happiness is beyond words.

However, as a soon-to-be-mother, I have my anxiety as well. Do we have enough saving for your future? Am I going to make a good parent? Can I give you the care and attention that you need? The list is endless. One of my greatest concerns is about the world and the people that you're going to meet here. Let me tell you why.

This world that you're going to live in, my son, sometimes can be very deceitful. Things are not always black and white and, speaking from my own experience, there will be times when you are no longer know whether you are on one side or the other. As much as I love you, sweetheart,  I am afraid that I am not strong and wise enough to constantly tell you right from wrong. Nor is your father and anyone in this whole wide world. People are flawed, sometimes we get greedy, pompous, envious, and malign. Now, I am not saying that we are bad all the time, no. People can also be really generous, compassionate, kind, and forgiving, but you should know that humans have those two sides in them. While you need a life guidance that can consistently show you the right path, you should not depend completely on humans on that matter for we are lacking that kind of persistency quality. Instead, take the words of The Most Gracious Allah that you can read from Al-Qur'an and learn from our Prophet Muhammad's hadith.

The tricky part is, in your journey you are probably going to meet certain people who say that they are moslems yet conviniently twist the words of God. In the name of freedom, they embrace part of Qur'an that are relevant (for them) and defy those that are not, and they loudly speak about it. With their flashy degrees and fancy words, these people look and sound intelligent and sophisticated. Whether they actually have read the Holy Qur'an cover to cover or had the wisdom and capability to make and spread their own interpretation of Islam, that I doubt it. As mentioned in the first 7 ayahs of surah Luqman in the Qur'an:

1. Alif Lam Mim
2. Inilah ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an yang mengandung hikmah,
3. sebagai petunjuk dan rahmat bagi orang-orang yang berbuat kebaikan,
4. (yaitu) orang-orang yang melaksanakan salat, menunaikan zakat, dan mereka meyakini adanya akhirat.
5. Merekalah orang-orang yang tetap mendapat petunjuk dari Tuhannya dan mereka itulah orang-orang yang beruntung.
6. Dan di antara manusia (ada) orang yang mempergunakan percakapan kosong untuk menyesatkan (manusia) dari jalan Allah tanpa ilmu dan menjadikannya olok-olokan. Mereka itu akan memperoleh azab yang menghinakan.
7. Dan apabila dibacakan kepadanya ayat-ayat Kami, dia berpaling dan menyombongkan diri seolah-olah dia belum mendengarnya, seakan-akan ada sumbatan di kedua telinganya, maka gembirakanlah dia dengan azab yang pedih.

Your mother is nowhere near a perfect moslem (yet, I hope). There are still many aspects of my life and behavior that are not in accordance with what they are supposed to be. I must say, for me at least, it is not easy to completely liberate myself from all of the temptation to deviate from the guidance.  However, my dear, don't let it be a reason for you to turn your back on what you commit to believe in. Don't let it be a reason to justify opposing the truth only to suit your needs and comfort.

So many wishes I have for you, my son. One of them is that I wish that you will have the wisdom and fortitude to tell right from wrong. May God gives your father and I the strength to raise and educate you to be one fine moslem.