Second place winner 2015 - What would you do if a boy who is very interested in being Muslim, asked you to prom?
Asalamu alaikum, my name is Najma Amarkhail. Today I will be discussing something that is personal, but can be said aloud without a problem for me. So the question is: What would you do if a boy who is very interested in being Muslim, asked you to prom? Would you say yes? Would you say no? Why or why not? In this essay, I will be answering these questions, so lets jump into the answers and find out.
Personally, I would say yes. One of the reasons being is, its not like the guy wants to marry you! No where in the Quran does it say that a girl/woman can’t hangout or talk to a boy/man. However, there are restrictions upon men and women “being together”. Two of which include: 1.) No temptations. This means to have a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. 2.) No promiscuity. This means having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships.
Before I say yes, I would like to ask the person some of the things he likes about Islam and what interests him. This way I can tell if he is lying and making up an excuse just to go to prom with me or if he is telling the truth and wants to go to prom with me for any other reason. Even for people who are non-Muslim, it would be nice to get at least some information on who they are going to end up at prom with. I know I would. Besides, who is going to go to prom with a person they have no info on whatsoever?
I would say yes because if the boy is actually interested in Islam, I can him help with the questions he wants to ask. I can also help him learn more and more about Islam so that one-day he might even think about converting to Islam from whatever religion he may have. This is what Prophet Mohammad (SAW) said towards friendship, “When you meet him, salute him. When he calls you, respond to him. When he seeks advice, give him advice. When he sneezes and praises Allah, respond to him. When he falls ill, visit him. When he dies, follow him. (the funeral bier)”
Another reason why I would confirm this offer is that you don’t even have to go as a “couple”. As you may already know that friendship is a very important subject in Islam. Without friends, Islam would probably not even be a religion. This is true because the word will not be spread among millions of people as it is today. Prophet Mohammad (SAW) says, “You shall not enter Paradise until you believe; and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to a thing? Which when done, will make you love one another: Spread the greeting of Salam among you” This is proof that Islam would probably be nowhere without the help of friends. This is why friends are an important part of not just Islam, but of the world.
Those are three of many reasons why I would accept being asked to prom by a non-Muslim boy, who is highly interested in Islam. To conclude, I would first get info on if he is lying or telling the truth about being interested in Islam not just for me, but also for the sake of the religion. Second, if I am allowed to have this right, why decline? I would love to go out for a night with friends and enjoy the last two years of high school. The last, but not least reason, I would say yes is that the boy and I could go as friends and not as two people who are in an actual committed relationship.
I don’t know about others, but this is the way I would handle this particular situation. It might get awkward or weird, but be prepared if your not already, because awkward and weird things are going to happen throughout your entire life. Your life isn’t going to be perfect. Imagine it as Cinderella’s life, in the beginning it was tough for her, but eventually she made her way through those tough times and managed to marry a prince! Now I’m not saying that you’re going to marry a prince someday, but there are going to be bumps along the road. At the end you will get through them. Anyway, this is how I would deal with this sort of circumstance.