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Muslimah Reformis

Why Are Women More Religious? (Worship Experience with the Lajnah Imaillah Congregation

Why Are Women More Religious?

(Worship Experience with the Lajnah Imaillah Congregation)

Musdah Mulia (Founder of The Indonesian Conference on Religions for Peace)

Women with thick layers of winter clothes, walking passionately towards one destination, the Mubarak Mosque. Faces are seen shining with happiness, the cold weather of two degrees Celsius is unable to erode their spirit of worship. Spiritual longing is soaring, stirring up determination, not easily giving up on any obstacles. That is the power of belief, and that is how religion works.

This condition cannot be explained rationally with logical arguments. Belief and faith do not require critical explanation and philosophical analysis, it is enough to be experienced and practiced according to belief. I believe that religion is entirely the path to God. With religion, it is hoped that humans will become more humane, prioritizing human qualities, such as justice, honesty and love. Therefore, let’s make religion a spring that flows love, peace and happiness for all human being.

Worship solemnly in silence

The Mubarak Mosque is the first mosque built by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiyya in 1883. It is located in Gurdaspur district, Qadian in Punjab, a state of India. The city is famous as the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which he founded. The Ahmadiyya community considers Qadian as a holy city after Mecca and Medina. They also make the Mubarak Mosque the third holiest place after the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. After several expansions, the Mubarak mosque is now able to accommodate a fairly large number of worshipers. However, the place for women is still not larger than the place for men. This condition is contrary to the increasing religious spirit of women.

Upon arrival at the mosque area, we were directed to a special door for women. We took off our shoes and some immediately took a place to start praying. Some others walked to the ablution area before joining the other congregation. In the mosque we felt warmer so we could perform our worship comfortably. I noticed some women immediately performed the tahajud prayer solemnly because it was one of the important teachings, as read in their oath of allegiance.

The spiritual atmosphere in the Mubarak Mosque feels like performing Umrah and Hajj. Here, women gather, coming from various countries. They have different languages and traditions, different skin colors, different ways of dressing, including when praying. Although in general they do not know each other, the similarity of beliefs is enough to make them friendly, full of respect for each other. All the diversity among them merges into one identity, Ahmadiyah women.

Ahmadi women are members of an organization called Lajnah Imaillah. This organization, among other things, gathers Ahmadi women to have a commitment to always maintain and carry out with all their might the ten conditions of bai’at in every step of their lives. It is interesting to note that one of the bai’at reads: Will always establish the five daily prayers solely because of following the command of Allah Ta’ala and His Messenger, and with all their might will always establish the Tahajud prayer, and send salawat to His Majesty, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. and ask forgiveness from mistakes and ask for protection from sin; will remember at all times the blessings of Allah, then be grateful for them with a sincere heart, and praise and uphold Him with a heart full of love. It is also important to know that every bai’at in Ahmadiyah always begins with two sentences of the shahada: I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One God and He has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. The Ahmadiyah group does not write praise for the Prophet Muhammad with the abbreviation “saws, as is commonly done, but writes it in full, namely Shallalahu ‘alaihi wasallam. This is an affirmation that what they fully believe in is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, like other Muslims.

When praying tahajud, they usually do the last prostration for quite a long time. Prostrating for a long time at the end of the prayer also happens to be my tradition so far, because I believe that is the most sacred moment. At that time I usually pour out all my longing for the Creator. As if I don’t want to be separated from Allah. In these seconds I offer all praise, apologize for all mistakes and sins, and pray all prayers for the good and happiness of the world and the hereafter. Not only prayers for myself, but also for parents, elders and all family. Even also, there are prayers for oppressed groups and for the welfare of all humanity. It’s just that, I usually do that when praying tahajud in solitude, not when I am in a crowd like in a mosque.

Regardless of the crowd, some female worshipers prostrated for so long while sobbing. I usually have spiritual experiences like this when I am around the Baitullah in the Grand Mosque or the Prophet’s Mosque. In addition to praying tahajud and others, some did tadarus Al-Qur’an. When the dawn call to prayer was heard, everyone prepared to pray in congregation. Unfortunately, we could not see the prayer leader (the imam) because he was in a different place with the male congregation. After praying, some immediately rushed home. Unlike the tradition in the Nahdhatul’ Ulama environment, the dhikr and prayers are long after prayer.

One uniqueness in the Ahmadiyah community, they generally pray in silence, likewise when praying, apart from the voice of the imam, no sound is heard. Silence and stillness! Frankly, I like silence, because it is one of the characteristics of humility. In our worship we should keep it quiet, try not to disturb the peace and comfort of others.

Religion is completely for humanity

Love for All, Hatred for None, this slogan clearly made me fall in love with Ahmadiyah for the first time, and that happened in 2000. Since then, I have been interested in studying the teachings of Ahmadiyah, even having to learn Urdu to understand the views of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. At that time I led ICRP, an interfaith organization that was very active in fighting for the right to religious freedom for all groups in Indonesia, especially for religious minorities, including Ahmadiyah.

Every year, the Ahmadiyya community gathers in Qadian to hold an annual religious event called Jalsa Salana. This event is attended by thousands of people from various countries, including Indonesia. They not only attend the official Jalsa Salana event, the main activity of which lasts for three days, but also make pilgrimages and visits to places they consider holy. Among them, the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the place where the revelation came down, the place where he meditated and did other spiritual activities, the place of his first allegiance, the place where he first taught, the graves of him and his family as well as the saints and figures who have contributed. While in Qadian, the congregation always prays in congregation, especially at the Mubarak Mosque, performs Tahajud prayers and various other worships. In addition to the Ahmadiyya congregation, there are also a number of specially invited guests from various countries, such as my presence here. We participants from Indonesia are placed in the Indonesian Guesthouse called Saraye Ayoob, this name is attributed to the first generation of Ahmadiyya preachers in Indonesia.

In contrast to mainstream Muslims, the Ahmadiyah congregation has an obligation to believe in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the prophet after the Prophet Muhammad, even though he was not the prophet who brought the shari’ah. The Sharia adhered to by the Ahmadiyah Community is the Sharia brought by the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, they only believe in the holy book Al-Qur’an which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad saw. Apart from being a prophet who did not carry the Shari’ah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is also believed to be Ummati Prophet, namely the prophet who is also the people of the Prophet Muhammad saw. In addition, he is also believed to be the Imam Mahdi and the Messiah Al-Mau’ud solely because of Allah with the confession of obedience in matters of ma’ruf (all good things). They uphold the bonds of this agreement more than the bonds of worldly, be it family ties, friendship ties or work ties. This concept of faith is rather difficult to understand for those who are not Ahmadiyah followers.

As someone who fights for the right to religious freedom, I can understand and respect their beliefs. This is just a matter of interpretation regarding what is meant by the last prophet (khataman nabi). For mainstream circles, there are no more prophets after Muhammad, Rasulullah saw. Unlike Ahmadiyah, they admit that there was a prophet after Rasulullah even though they did not bring the new shari’a. Therefore, their Syahadat and Shalawat sentences are no different from the majority of Muslims. In my opinion, as long as they do not force this belief on others, where is the wrong? We are not forced to believe in their beliefs, and vice versa. Let’s believe in each other’s beliefs, and the best among us are those who provide the most benefits and welfare to others and the universe.

As someone who was raised in a pesantren environment and lived a social life in the Nahdhatul Ulama environment, I feel like I am on the same journey as the Ahmadiyah congregation. Isn’t religion just a path to God? Why should we debate or claim our own truth by negating other truths? Let the Creator work to carve out grace and gifts to His servants. We only need to be more devout in worship and prayer, hoping that we are all included among the faithful servants according to His will.

Religion is entirely for humans, not for God! Rest assured, God does not need anything from all His creatures, He is everything. That is why a person’s religiosity must have implications for humanity. This means that a person’s form of piety should not only be individual, but also have a social impact by bringing goodness to the people around them.

I am so sure, someone who is fully religious or has a strong spirituality is not only able to put forward a humanist attitude full of compassion, but also has an attitude of tolerance and respect for all human beings of different religions and beliefs, even those who are not religious at all. Only God has the right to judge humans! As long as we are human, we are enough to fastabiqul khairat according to the command of the Qur’an. Contesting to do good while establishing friendship (silaturahim), collaboration and warm and intense communication between us.

Why more women?

During the two weeks of participating in Ahmadiyah spiritual activities, I noticed more women than men. Women seemed more active in many things. For example, when praying the five daily prayers, especially the dawn prayer at the Wisma, women were always ready first at the place waiting for the imam who must be a man. The women seemed to have a strong bond of solidarity and were very responsive in providing assistance to others. Ahmadiyah women seemed autonomous, empowered and independent. The proof is, some of them came here on their own, not with the group. Most of them came without their husbands or mahrams. They felt they were treated fairly in the Ahmadiyah environment, even though Huzur (the nickname for the Ahmadiyah Caliph) did not provide opportunities for women to become imams or preachers.

The increasing enthusiasm of women in religion is confirmed by the results of Pew Research Center study. Women are more religious in various ways than men, including praying more often and believing in God more. Women tend to be more open about personal issues, and women also have closer relationships than men. This leads to a closeness in their spiritual lives. Just look at the evidence in Indonesia, we see that almost all religious meetings and religious events are always dominated by women.

Several factors support the argument that women are more religious. Among them, religious communities can provide strong social networks. For many women, religious communities provide comfort, clarity of purpose, and a support network, especially when facing social challenges over which they may feel powerless or out of control.

Other contributing factors are often linked to women’s role as caregivers and the emphasis on nurturing values in many religions. Typically, people turn to religion in search of meaning, peace, or answers to life’s fundamental questions, such as the nature of human existence, suffering, and morality. For many, religion provides a sense of community, a moral framework, but also solace, especially in times of hardship when women are most likely to experience it. In fact, women often see religion as a unique way to instill positive values and morals in their children.

One of the advantages of Ahmadiyah women is their real participation and contribution in religious life in the form of the obligation to pay chanda, outside the obligation of zakat. Chandah from Urdu Chandah is a kind of philanthropic concept in the Ahmadiyah environment. Similar to infaq and sedekah, but this is for social and religious interests that have been determined in terms of the amount, time and management institution. The initial purpose of chanda was initiated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to spread the ideas of his faith which at this time the purpose has become broader. The types of distribution include health, education, and social, both national and international, as well as humanitarian social institutions (humanity first), da’wah and environmental improvement efforts. The obligation to pay chanda, including for women, creates an awareness of the importance of economic empowerment, and this is very urgent in women’s lives. I found a number of women claiming that the chanda they paid was greater than the amount spent by their husbands. The amount of chanda can also be used as a measure of obedience and compliance. Ahmadiyah women manage their own funds which are their share without male intervention.

I do believe by paying chanda, these women are taught the awareness of “belonging” so that they are moved to jihad, to struggle, to develop, not only the Ahmadiyah faith, but also to foster a sense of humanity full of love and strong bonds of solidarity of sisterhood in their environment, that is love for all hatred for none, loving all, not hating anyone.

I felt a strong aura of relationship between them, especially if one of them fell ill or had difficulties. If there was a problem, without any command one of them would be ready to help. This attitude applied to all members, without any discrimination whatsoever. It so happened that we were four people in a room. If anyone had a cough or flu, they would immediately give me medicine. I felt closeness and warmth even though I had only just met them there. In terms of treatment, this environment developed a form of alternative medicine called homeopathy. The principle of this treatment is the use of solutions from natural ingredients, both plants and animals. The principle of homeopathy treatment is not actually to treat the disease but to increase the body’s resistance. If the resistance is good, the body will automatically fight the disease.

Despite being thousands of kilometers from home, women who are pursuing a spiritual life in Qadian, also do not forget their domestic duties. I often smile when I see mothers giving instructions via telephone to their husbands to pay more attention to their children, asking whether their daughters have arrived home, whether the maid has done her job. In fact, a mother who is also a culinary entrepreneur can still provide business direction to her family and marketing staff. Women are indeed extraordinary, wherever they go, their families are always in their eyes. Indeed, respect and concern for family and others are a reflection of one’s spirituality.

Prince Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia recently issued a progressive fatwa regarding the removal of mahram. For me, this is sad because Ahmadiyya women have long implemented this progressive view. In 2003 when attending Jalsa Salana in London, a number of women attended it without their mahram.

On the way back from Punjab to Jakarta, I really felt how much self-confidence women have. Our group is all women, we are leaders, at least for ourselves. We don’t need to feel like we have power and are leaders. We just need to discuss and then reach a consensus, isn’t that beautiful? Spiritual strength guides us to a polite attitude of loving each other. Honestly, this is an abundant spiritual experience affection. Women make a difference for a more humane civilization!

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