SYAWAL is strange, again. No open houses. No house visits. No grave visits.

No balik kampung, for sure.

Strange. Ganjil. Pelik.

But that’s how Islam began. In a hadith narrated by Muslim, Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him (pbuh) said: “Islam began as something strange and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.”

According to Muslim, the hadith is sahih (authentic). Sahih Muslim is considered as the second most authentic hadith collection after Sahih al-Bukhari.

Hadith scholar al-Sindi (d. ca. 1720) explained the hadith as follow:

“’Strange’ (ghareeb) refers to the small number of its adherents/followers. The basic meaning of ‘ghareeb’, is far from being one’s homeland. ‘And will revert to being strange’ refers to the small number of those who will adhere to its teachings even though its followers are many. ‘So blessed (tooba) are the strangers’ means those who follow its commands. This shows that following the teachings of Islam may require leaving one’s homeland and being patient in bearing the difficulties of being a stranger, as was the case in the beginning.”

In today’s context, blessed are the Muslims who celebrate Syawal in a strange way. Who do not leave their homes and stay at home. Who stay patient by being at home. By staying at home, Muslims stay safe and keep the community safe.

Muslims who stay at home this Syawal are strangers to the ways Syawal is usually celebrated. 

But blessed are strangers. – May 13, 2021.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.