Islamic Tourism: A matter of faith

Faith and thought have a lot in common. But there is a difference between a man of faith (say a saint or a prophet) and an ordinary thinker. The man of faith cannot doubt his faith or he will lose the very essence of his mission and vision. The thinker can. It is good to reflect on this idea.

We have just gone through the season of good will which brought together the Islamic Feast of Al-Adha (or the End of Hajj) and Christmas. In both faiths we meet incorruptible personalities with rare qualities, and a clear and well defined call.

We read in the Koran and the Bible about miracles pertaining to the prophets and saints. These miracles concern them personally and are not for their followers. For example, the story about Prophet Abraham asking God  to show him how he raised the dead, or Moses standing in front of the mountain, or Jesus whose birth is the very incarnation of a miracle, or Prophet Mohammad in Hara Cave or on his Isra and Miraj (ascending to the sky).

In my opinion the prophets needed to see these miracles, because they were going to face a long, hard road and responsibility. They had no room for doubt or hesitation.

We can, in the same way, understand the request of the disciplines of Jesus at the last super.  If they were going to carry the message forward they needed the undisputable proof of what they were entrusted with.

The prophets did not surrender their messages despite their tremendous suffering. In the words of our Prophet Mohammad to his uncle Abu Talib: "O Uncle, By God, even if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left and asked me to forsake this message I will not do".

The lesson I learned from this is that some projects start with an idea and many questions to which you try to find the right answer. In the theoretical arena there is room for doubt - but not in practical matters.  Sometimes you need more than a thought. You need faith in what you are doing to provide you with the strength which is required to carry on.

The road to the recognition of Islamic Tourism was long and hard. It needed a leap of faith into the unknown. However, we are now seeing the recognition of the importance of this type of tourism and the catch phrase is "Halal Tourism": Halal hotels, Halal airlines, Halal food. We are pleased with this development and the contribution of our magazine and its website towards this trend.

Please logon to our website (http://www.islamictourism.com/) to get an idea about our various activities and please write to (post@islamictourism.com) with your comments and suggestions.

Dr. Abdul-Rahim Hassan
Editor-in-Chief