Interviewer: Ever wondered what other people of faith believe, what their faith means to them, how they live it? That’s what this audio podcast is about. It’s called “All Faith Counts,” because well, all faith does count. The more each of us knows about other people’s faith, the more we understand, accept, and respect them for their belief. Hopefully, this is a reminder of all the good faith brings to our world. Today we’re going to hear from an amazing millennial woman, and how she lives her Muslim faith.

Maliha: My name is Maliha Masud. I am 21. I come from a pretty big family, I have four other sisters. My dad is a doctor, he’s from Pakistan. My mom, she does a lot of volunteer things, but she’s from Ireland. And I was born and raised here in Salt Lake City. I went to elementary school, middle school, high school, and now I attend the University of Utah, and I’m a pre‑medical student. I’m a biology major, hoping to go to the med school here. I take a full course load, so I’m always studying. But on the weekends, on Fridays I’ll go to my mosque for our congregation service, and I’ll come back later. We have like a story time. And then Saturdays, in the mornings, every other Saturday, we’ll have a homeless event. So, my weekends are packed. We serve the homeless with our mosque group here in Utah, and then Sundays I’m teaching back in the masjid. During the week, I’m here, and I’m with all my peers, but then during the weekend I’m fully immersed in my masjid.

Interviewer: Maliha uses two terms to describe her place of worship. She explained the use of these two terms.

Maliha: There are, I guess two ways that I can name the place that we pray. It’s mosque or masjid. And we usually use the word “masjid,” because I’ve heard—I’ve read—that “mosque” has a negative origin. So, we don’t really call it that. But it’s common for everyone, so we’ll use it. That’s like our church, it’s like our synagogue, it’s where everyone comes together, where we all pray, and socialize and learn.

Interviewer: Speaking of prayer, it’s a very important part of Muslim worship, and something their faithful do several times a day. Maliha embraces prayer, and the part it plays in her faith.

Maliha: We’re told to pray five times a day, it is an obligation for us. It’s once at sunrise, then early afternoon, and then you know, late afternoon, nighttime, and then once the sun has set. And I think the point of it, you know, God is so powerful, He doesn’t need our prayers. So that’s why it’s all on our plate because it’s only going to help us. I’ve been told it’s been spaced out over the day because we’re humans. We’re going to sin the entire day, so He gives us literally five chances to come in and say, “Look, I did this, I’m sorry, let’s move on.” So, prayer for me, is a chance to redeem myself constantly throughout the day, and just to talk to him. People make it so complex; you’re just having a conversation with the person that created you. And it’s that simple and it’s that effortless, that people sometimes forget. You can just sit down and pray and talk to Him. It’s impacted my life where I feel so protected. Even if I do something bad, I know I can go back and talk to Him, and that’s what He wants us to do, is even if you stray, just come back. So, for me I feel like my bases are covered. No matter what I do, someone’s there for me, waiting for me, to talk to me.

Interviewer: The Koran is the Muslim’s holy book of scripture. Maliha helps us understand its origins and how it influences decisions in her life.

Maliha: The Koran, like any other book in Islam is divine revelation. So, we believe that our god, those are His words, and nobody else’s. It was revealed to our last prophet, Prophet Muhammad. It took 23 years for it to be revealed to him. And we believe that the angel Gabriel came down and would give him the verses. And then he would memorize them, and then he would go instantly to his companions, and he would recite it for them, and they would write it down. So, we believe this is the word of God, and it has not been changed. There have been people throughout the years to protect the Koran and make sure, you know, nobody comes in contact to changing the meanings. Of course, it’s been translated into other languages which may, you know, shift some of the meanings. Arabic has a lot of meanings for certain words, but that is what the Koran is, it’s just, it’s a guide for us in life. So, Allah tells us what things we shouldn’t do, what effects they would have in our lives. And the biggest thing that He gave us was the prophet, which is sort of a blueprint for us, for he was the perfect human. So, you have those two things: you have the Koran, which is a guide for you, and then He gave you a perfect human to follow. And it’s your responsibility to learn about it, and then to live your life based on that. So, the Koran, it’s a guide for us, it’s not a storybook or anything. But it’s Allah’s words, and then it’s our responsibility to take from it what we do and implement it in our life.

Interviewer: One of the most recognizable observances among Muslim women is wearing the scarf over their heads. It’s called the hijab. Maliha explains this practice and reasons the hijab is worn.

Maliha: The hijab, this is a very (chuckles) controversial topic, but again, like everything in our religion, it’s simple, but the reason why it’s complicated is because people tied culture to it, and people’s customs and then it gets messy, you know? Because you can look at a family that’s forced to wear it, and you say, “Oh, Islam forces.” That’s totally not right. I come from a family where when you know your reason and your purpose to wear it, wear it. Otherwise, we’re not going to force you into it. And that’s how it is. It’s a personal thing—a decision you make yourself to devote yourself more to Allah. And basically, what it is, it’s modesty. And it has such a—when I think about it—it’s such a beautiful meaning because we’re being judged on the things we say, and the stuff we do, other than our physical appearance. For me, the whole reason for modesty is that, of course, is to protect yourself from people that have negative intentions about your body, but also so that you’re seen for who you are, rather than how you look.

Interviewer: Some may feel there are too many rules and commandments in the Muslim religion and these rules are restrictive and oppressive. Maliha shares her feelings regarding the commandments and the rules of Islam.

Maliha: The reasons for these rules are to keep us on a path that’s going to protect us, and that’s going to make us better people. For me, the purpose of all these commandments or rules aren’t to restrain us or oppress us, but to lift us higher, to connect us to more people, to make us better, and to ultimately bring us to Him. So, of course that took me a long time to come to because I, myself was ignorant about some of the teachings. Because it takes you (chuckles) quite a while to learn everything, like every other religion. But now that I’m getting there, I see that you know, there are positive things to it.

Interviewer: Like many people of faith, Maliha sometimes faces distrust about her beliefs. She shares how she continues on, in the face of ridicule.

Maliha: In high school kids would make comments. I tried to be kind but that gets really hard, especially when I was growing up. And it’s not easy because I’m a human. You know, of course I’m going to get upset and angry. And the thing you want to do next is say it back to them, so you feel the same sort of satisfaction. But the way that I think about it, is our Prophet Muhammad, he lived his life being tormented by the majority, you know, because they didn’t understand, and they didn’t take time to understand. So, when we look at how he responded to hate, that’s how we try to do the same. And he was kind.  So that type of response has an effect.

Interviewer: Being a millennial and being religious isn’t an easy combination in our society. Maliha knows all about that.

Maliha: To be religious at my age in general is not popular, you know? (Chuckles) It’s really hard for me. Like I’m still struggling with it today. I’m still defining what my faith is, how I’m going to follow it every single day. But there’s also such a beauty to being religious, because you can connect to so many people, even people who aren’t religious. There’s always going to be some common ground. Because I mean, all religions have the same foundations, which is love, and having devotion to something that created you, believing in that higher power. So, it’s a very hard balancing act, but I’m sticking to it because I found my purpose in it, and I feel happy in it.

Interviewer: Maliha’s faith is the foundation of her actions. These actions define her.

Maliha: My life without Islam—I’m not a perfect person, of course I’m faltered, and I’ve had phases of my life where Islam wasn’t as incorporated. So, I’ve experienced a bit what it’s like to not be as Muslim as I am today, however much that is. To be honest, I felt completely lost, and I didn’t feel like myself. So, I know every religion preaches love, and Islam is the same. We preach love, brotherly love, unity, equality, everything.  If you want to find a central theme, of course it’s worshiping Allah and doing what He’s asked us to do, and it’s also helping everyone around us. We are put here with everyone for a reason and it’s to help each other. Everything Islam has given me, it’s me. So, if I didn’t have Islam, I wouldn’t be myself. Just straight‑up, that’s how I feel, that’s how it is. Without it, it would be completely different. I wouldn’t be me.

Interviewer: And we’re grateful, Maliha, that you are who you are because you’re making a difference in our world by letting your faith count. Thank you Maliha, and thanks to you, our audience, for listening. We invite you to visit faithcounts.com to learn more, and be inspired by different faiths, because our world is a better place when all faith counts.