That Hand Shake...
... you know the one. The one that prevents you from preparing adequately for any interview because that moment in itself marks the pinnacle of the whole event and informs you of how well the interview will go.
But I go off point somewhat.
Today, I heard one of the nicest things I have heard from a non Muslim thus far in life. A comment so unexpectedly courteous that it deserves to be noted to be remembered. As Muslims we are taught to be of those who put others at ease. Subhannallah, the manner in which I was put at ease is smile rendering.
The legal world. Full of men and handshakes. My world. A female and more interested in grand sheikhs. With an upcoming legal competition I will be participating in, I decided to inform my competition partner about my preference before hand (excuse the pun!), in the interest of full disclosure and what not and to make the whole situation less awkward if it came down to it.
"....So I just wanted to inform you of something. *pause* I don't really shake hands of men and so in the competition I won't feel comfortable shaking the opponents hands. It's a religious belief. I just wanted to let you know beforehand so that you ar awarw and to let you know that I still want to keep things professional without offending" (or to that effect)
He was silent at first.
Then said, in a manner of kindness,
"Don't worry. I am sure the judges have met many different people in their time and are used to such situations!" (or to that effect)
Yehp. Pretty normal nice thing.
Phew.
But then...
"For all you know you all (competitiors) might have the same belief of not shaking hands and I might be the only strange one there going upto people forcing my hand on them and embarassing myself."
And thus it was. Having felt and indeed been a minority of somesort all my life, I was made to feel, by a English non muslim male, completely at ease and infact part of the majority.
The power of words eh. The sharing of sentiments. Maturity of intellect. Alhamdulilah.
How many an ayah of the Quran and hadith come to mind about Allah stating that if his servant seeks to act in obedience to Him, He indeed facilitates it and He indeed Comes even nearer. May Allah enable us and make it easy for us to be of those who seek to act in obedience to Him, seek His Nearness in our daily works and when faced with dunya keep loyal to the essential priorities. Ameen!
But I go off point somewhat.
Today, I heard one of the nicest things I have heard from a non Muslim thus far in life. A comment so unexpectedly courteous that it deserves to be noted to be remembered. As Muslims we are taught to be of those who put others at ease. Subhannallah, the manner in which I was put at ease is smile rendering.
The legal world. Full of men and handshakes. My world. A female and more interested in grand sheikhs. With an upcoming legal competition I will be participating in, I decided to inform my competition partner about my preference before hand (excuse the pun!), in the interest of full disclosure and what not and to make the whole situation less awkward if it came down to it.
"....So I just wanted to inform you of something. *pause* I don't really shake hands of men and so in the competition I won't feel comfortable shaking the opponents hands. It's a religious belief. I just wanted to let you know beforehand so that you ar awarw and to let you know that I still want to keep things professional without offending" (or to that effect)
He was silent at first.
Then said, in a manner of kindness,
"Don't worry. I am sure the judges have met many different people in their time and are used to such situations!" (or to that effect)
Yehp. Pretty normal nice thing.
Phew.
But then...
"For all you know you all (competitiors) might have the same belief of not shaking hands and I might be the only strange one there going upto people forcing my hand on them and embarassing myself."
And thus it was. Having felt and indeed been a minority of somesort all my life, I was made to feel, by a English non muslim male, completely at ease and infact part of the majority.
The power of words eh. The sharing of sentiments. Maturity of intellect. Alhamdulilah.
How many an ayah of the Quran and hadith come to mind about Allah stating that if his servant seeks to act in obedience to Him, He indeed facilitates it and He indeed Comes even nearer. May Allah enable us and make it easy for us to be of those who seek to act in obedience to Him, seek His Nearness in our daily works and when faced with dunya keep loyal to the essential priorities. Ameen!
Labels: cause of Allah, hands, handshake, islam, law, legal, muslim, non muslim, personal lessons, professional, reflection, shaking
posted by *Under*Cover*Sister* at Thursday, January 12, 2012
2 Comments:
Ah, twas quite splendid indeed. A cool Eng.
During the competition, he kindly backed me up too in any possible awkward handshake situations!! Alhamdulilah :)
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