Once, Allah blessed me with the opportunity to educate one of my Lecturers who happened to be the coordinator for my set way back in Nursing school, he also doubled as a lecturer of anatomy. He had claim that there is nothing anyone can tell him to convince him about Islam as he spent his undergraduate days living with Muslim roommates and he knows virtually everything about Islam.
During one of his classes in a month very close to Eid -ul- Adha, I didn’t know what motivated him; perhaps, An opportunity for evangelism or something else? He started blurting about the salvation of Christianity through the sacred blood of Jesus Christ. Adding that this heavenly sacrifice of Jesus Christ has washed away their sins. On my seat, I was boiling with fury following the unnecessary divergence of the day’s topic. He went further to make the most ridiculous comparism I have ever heard: “Unlike the Muslims who still slaughter animals to atone for their sins”. He safely concluded.
The whole charade was to establish a superiority of salvation. Being a student Nurse that has been programmed with not been able to challenge the authority, I decided to swallow my irritation and prevent a big explosion. But Allah in His mercy gave me an opportunity that I believe influenced a lot of things. He decided not to stop, and ‘the spirit of the Lord’ directed him to mention my name: “Or Qasim, isn’t it true?”.
Ah! An electric wave swept through my body. I didn’t have enough time, but this is Grace. In a sequence and a speed suggestive of anticipation, I educated him about the most obvious basis of Eidul Adha:
“We do not kill ram to atone for our sins, it is simply an imitation of Abraham’s iconic behavior who also happens to be your father of faith”. But, what is tea without the beverage itself? I went ahead to decorate the cake with a nice texture of whipping cream: “Also, we do not believe that Jesus has died. He ascended to Heaven and will still come back to complete his life and message, thereafter, he will then die a natural death”. Probably awe-stricken with the adequacy of my response, he simply retorted: “Well then, let’s go back to today’s topic”, and that was the end of it. After the class, my other colleagues whom we share the same faith were so excited and thankful.
Looking back, I am amazed at how vast the ignorance of people is, their lack of readiness to learn, which has eventually shaped their attitude towards Islam. But then, it is difficult for the one who does not know he does not know what he knows to seek beneficial knowledge.
— Aminah Qasim Oniwarere.
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