Drowning in Islam

Muslihoon from Pakistan:

Religion (or, rather, religiosity) here is stifling. It is so pervasive. It is annoying and grating, especially for one who doesn’t buy into it.

Now, I am a religious and spiritual person. But even I think there should be a limit to religious ostentation. The levels to which people express and showcase their religiosity is ridiculous here.

Yup. Quite frequently, the religion is used by lazy people or by those who want zero responsibility. Let me explain: The one thing that really grates me is Inshallah. It means 'God Willing'. (Also, see this excellent definition.) Often, Muslims use this in a context where they don't want to offer a helping hand.

For example, say you are moving to a new place in two days. You ask a Muslim friend for help. He replies, "Yeah, I'll be there...Inshallah."

Damn it! He didn't show up. Allah didn't will it!

Inshallah has basically become code for you're screwed.

Continuing with Muslihoon:

I should talk about sawaab. Sawaab (from the Arabic ثواب, thawaab, “reward”) among South Asian Muslims refers to one’s tally of good deeds. Certain acts rewards one with certain amount of sawaabs. The goal is to accumulate as many sawaabs as possible. Certain ulema have this down to an almost mathematical art. People are obsessed with accumulating sawaabs.

The opposite of sawaab is gunnah. At Judgment Day, if you have more sawaab than gunnah, then you're going to heaven (yay, 72 raisins!), otherwise it's hell. One part about this system has always bugged me.

You see, the act of Haj, a pilgrimage to Mecca, can remove all the gunnah a person has accumulated in his/her lifetime. That just seems to be a "get out of jail card" for rich Muslims. The fat cats of the Ummah can live an infidelicious life and then go to Mecca when they're 65-years-old. Voila! Their slate is wiped clean.

That is simply bad incentives, if you ask me.