There is a massive difference between “Religion” and “Tradition”. These are two things, but most people mostly take tradition for religion without knowing what it is. We Muslims tend to follow traditions in the name of religion unthinkingly, and that’s what makes us the “Heard Mentality.” We don’t question, we don’t research, we don’t educate ourselves. When I say education, it doesn’t mean you need to be a college graduate or a Ph.D. only to understand the difference between tradition and religion. We all have seen a very highly educated person speak utter nonsense.
Recently (Feb 2024) in Pakistan, a woman went to a restaurant with her husband wearing a shirt with an Arabic print. She was mobbed by the crowd and was asked to change her shirt, which she was accused of blasphemy because she was “disrespecting” the religion. Some even threatened to behead her. Police were called to manage the crowd, and a female police officer pacified the crowd and rescued the woman by entering the restaurant.
Do you know what it turned out to be written in Arabic? It had the word “beautiful” written on it in Arabic calligraphy, and there were no verses of the Holy Quran on it, but the uneducated, insensitive, and disgusting people took it for granted.
We all must understand that Arabic is just like any other language. The Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic because Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him was from Arabia, and therefore, The Holy Quran was written in Arabic. This does not mean that everything written in Arabic is the verse of The Quran. This reminds me of a joke by a comedian from Pakistan, Umer Shareef, somewhere in the 90s. A Pakistani once got a job in Dubai, and as soon as he landed at the airport, he saw “Toilet” written in Arabic; he got so excited that he ran to kiss the sign, only for someone to explain to him that this is “toilet” written in Arabic and not any verse from The Quran. Looks like nothing seems to have changed since the 90’s or since time-memorial with us, Muslims.
Talking about tradition, most and almost all traditions are artificial and are being followed without any questions asked. Some traditions are so illogical that the people following them know in their hearts that they are baseless, but since their elders have been following them, they are compelled to follow them. This reminds me of a story that my grandfather once told me. During a Nikah ceremony in a village, the groom saw his perplexed father from a distance a cat roaming around here and there, which the father was trying to catch since it was disturbing the guests attending the ceremony. The father was able to see the cat, and he tied it to a tree; he then signaled his son on the stage who was getting married and the Qazi (the priest) to go ahead with the Nikah. The Nikah was complete, and people continued with the wedding celebrations, food, etc. Years went by; the father was now dead. It was the time for the Nikah of the son’s son. As soon as the Qazi (the priest) was about to start the ceremony, the son (now the father) said, “Hold on, lemme tie the cat to the tree first as a part of our age-old tradition. We found this story hilarious back then, but following any tradition unthinkingly is a severe issue!
It’s often seen Muslims following so many traditions that are not mentioned in The Holy Quran or the Hadith.
I am sure all these men who accused this woman of blasphemy and disrespecting the religion are themselves not following their religion religiously.