Celebrity Status

Someone a while back gave me the link of one of the rappers who has become muslim, namely, Loon.

With great excitement and celebrations the word was spread around. Quickly picking on the news were most if not all the islamic forums on the net. For me, it was a good news, as there is now Alhamdulillah another person who has been blessed with the dheen. However, what struck me the most was how quickly the ‘pop stars’ manage to leave all the status and fame they once drooled over. For instance, it is  amazing  to know someone like loon completely leaving the music industry. Generally speaking, once the celebs become muslim, the bread or the hijab comes out and mashaAllah they become even more stronger than the practicing muslims!

Some even to the end up giving out fatwas (judgements) against other muslims, as to who is right and who is wrong. unfortunaltey, the reality of all the ‘celebrity status’ once they enjoyed comes back to hunt them. For some it maybe a year or two, or for others it maybe a few years of practicing the deen – strong, steadfast and ‘happy’. Unfortunately though, this (the steadfastness in dheen) then slowly begins to drown with the constant pull to want to enjoy the fame once enjoyed.  I remember back in the 90’s when Yusuf Islam was producing the pioneering ‘islamic nasheeds’. It was a relief for the ears, a chance to hear something refreshing for once. A new standard amongst the old, filthy, clouded atmosphere of music. His nasheed were a breath of fresh air, a new hope that islam could be enjoyed in the western world. However, as many of you probably know by now he has gone back to his ‘glory days’. Singing and to some extent, dancing with the flow of the music. This is an unfortunate state where many of the celebraties who become muslim are plunged back into their previous state of affairs. although they try and  justify their actions with islamic coatings it is clear how the actions they are doing or do are contrary to the dheen. With Yusuf Islam going back to the music industry he has  opened the gate and flooded the ‘nasheed industry’ with ideas of how one can still be a singer/songwriter aswell as be a practicing muslim. Dawud Wharnsby Ali, Sami Yusuf amongst others, have taken up this idea and also followed their senior, that is Yusuf Islam back into the limelight of singing and entertaining.

In my opinion, one of the reason this happens is simply because the ‘celebrity muslims’ take a dramatic stand and in one massive effort they stop all the previous lifestyle they used to lead. This is somewhat the reason why they end up going back to their old ways of . The dramatic urn of events leaves them tramatised in one respect as at time when they, at quiter times look back at their previous lives, the ‘pull’ experienced is unbearable. Which as a result leads them slowly back to square one.  The change should have been in gradual steps. What this will enable them to do is slowly and gradually build on their iman, learn more about their new way of life and hence be ready to take the complete change. when one tries to change in one go, he in one sence is unaware of the consequences in the longrun and therefore in the majority of the cases returns to the game from where he/she left off. With this said, another reason is that everyones nafs (ego) is a thing far more dangerous than the devil himself as he was also a victim of it. When the nafs is at its strongest it will not head to stop at anything but get what its out to reach. Drawing on the same lines, when a person, espically a famous person becomes muslim for a moment the nafs subsides therefore the complete change. Nonetheless, when it reemerges and is at its strongest, the sensation of the ‘days’ of the past is strong enough to start the process of going back to the golden days that he/she once had the privilege of.