Being tested in the post-modern era is not easy. Maybe it is not as difficult as being a Muslim in the Meccan era, but the era we live in has its own unique challenges. Muslims of this era are probably accepting that Allah (swt) is an Ilah ( Deity/God) more easily. But they are experiencing great difficulty in accepting that Allah (swt) is the One and the Only Ilah, and to reject Ilahs other than him. For many believers - although they do not express it this way or desire it this way - Prophet Muhammad (saw) has become a regular human being. The Qur'an has become an ordinary book. Islam has become just a religion.
Today, many Muslims, moreover, many Muslims born and raised in Islamic lands, are chasing their salvation not in Islam but in "Isms". Unable to create their own agendas free from "Isms," they engage with the post-modern agendas imposed on them. They are finding ways of stopping, waiting and postponing change, each more enjoyable, more ambitious, and more creative than the other. They are distracting themselves with the excuse of seeking the truth when the truth is just before their eyes.
People, even people who say, "I believe in Allah." are seeking the meaning of life in search engines, social media, TV shows, Hollywood productions, their bank accounts, career paths, teams they support, music they listen to, getting wasted, nightlife, shopping malls, fashion, politics, "Isms," mindfulness, yoga, flow, meditation sessions, chasing power, chasing love, chasing their desires, the darkness of traditions, the uncertainty of the future, sufi monasteries, the doorsteps of their sheikhs, kandil nights, Christmas celebrations, TV shows of religious (!) showmen, chaotically written religious (!) books, legends and fairy tales they heard here and there, in places that, briefly, they will never be able to find.
People are bringing the Qur'an into their homes and hanging it in the highest place possible, so that it is hard to reach, hard to read...
Is it because Islam is not enough for Muslims? Is it because there is a lack of knowledge about Islam? Perhaps it is a psychological reflection of the complex mixed with admiration in Islamic lands for the centers of "Isms". Maybe it is an emotional result of our inability to fill the great void we feel inside with Islam.
As Muslims, it is possible that we might have been caught unprepared for the social media era. It is possible that we have lost ourselves to the social bondage and media popularity of "Isms" in an age where truth is no longer important. Young people, in particular, may be reacting to the wrongs that the society they live in, which they try to impose on them under the guise of Islam, with "Isms". They may be looking for salvation not in Islam but in post-modern "Isms" due to their resistance to change, loneliness, pretentiousness or lack of self-confidence.
Or maybe we are just at the beginning of the road: we haven't defeated our egos yet. The love of Allah (swt) has not fully prevailed in our hearts over other loves. We have not succeeded in isolating ourselves from the "Isms" of the post-modern society that surrounds us.
Life is Just a Test is challenging contemporary Muslims to ask the right questions that shape their faith before it is too late, drawing a roadmap to embrace and live true Islam. Written with sincere love for my brothers and sisters, it is not an easy book. Because true love is not entertaining our loved ones with the easy lie but warning them with the hard truth.
