Followers

Friday, June 12, 2009

A little lost in translation

Peace! Salam!

Is it weird for me to use the Arabic terms in referring to God (Allah) and thanks and stuff because I'm not muslim yet? I really worry about misrepresenting myself in this way because I'm afraid that out of my ignorance I will do something wrong/incorrect and people will attribute it to a muslim, which I am not yet. I understand that even as a muslim I will most likely make mistakes because I am human, but I REALLY don't want to give someone the wrong impression here.

I have a lot of muslim friends and I have picked up a lot of the Islamic phrases that go along (Subhana Allah, Insha'Allah, alhamdulillah, etc.) and I think them in my head almost constantly, but I don't say them out loud often (except around my closest friends) and I don't type them here. I type out the English equivalent in most cases. Like I said before, I'm afraid of misrepresenting myself and this beautiful faith.

Am I making a big thing out of nothing? Please let me know if you think I'm being silly or if you understand what I'm saying... I'm just feeling a bit in between stages and I'm not really sure how to proceed.

Thank you and God Bless! JazakAllah Khair!

5 comments:

Stacy K. said...

I don't think that its weird to use the Arabic as you would the English equivalents. After being around my Muslim friends for years I find myself just as comfortable with them as I am with English. I think that your intention with using them is good, and I don't that that it is a misrepresentation of yourself as a person who is interested in Islam and thinking of converting at some point. I think it is much the same as a person who spoke Arabic natively using the term God when explaining their faith to an American who speaks English.

Yasemin said...

I think it's normal and comes with the territory. Even with my best friend who stopped being Muslim, we always still say Salaam. Where it's annoying for some, is the girls who stop speking English entirely. Love you habibty.

Unknown said...

Salam,
Oh just go straight ahead, I am sure you will never cause a bad impression to Islam, NEVER !!!

Oh no I can't get your email too it is really frustrating, but I think you would find mine in your gmail account as it does show.

Take Care.

Massalamah

NeverEver said...

lol, i have no idea what gmail account, but my e-mail is findingguidance@gmail.com

hopefully that will be easier!! :-D

Candice said...

I know you're officially Muslim now, but I think whether you are or aren't, whatever term feels comfortable and is meaningful to you is what you should be using. It's nice that you consider the image you could be giving of Muslims, but I seriously think it cannot be anything negative as long as you follow what you know is right, and what you are comfortable doing and saying.

I kind of worry about this same thing when it comes to hijab though. I haven' officially converted yet, but I might just end up being a few weeks behind you in this thing and I don't feel like I'd be able to wear hijab for some time. There's my family, yes, but I also don't feel like I could wear hijab in as proper a way as I'd like to by just adding a headscarf over my current clothing, and I don't want to give the impression to anyone that I am wearing perfect hijab, if I wear it like I would have to with my current wardrobe. And I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to explain Islam well enough to people who would ask until I'm more immersed in the faith. I'm worried about the impression I'd give of Muslims like you are!

But really when I think about it, it would be the best thing to do as much as I could (like wear the hijab I was capable of wearing and explain to the best of my knowledge and feelings) and just let things fall into place...

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