Smiling. It's not just a sunnah, it's a way of life

Bismillah, in the name of Allah,

I set myself a humongous task of being positive, smiling more and exuding happy vibes to the world around me. Out with the misanthrope attitude, in with the Little Miss Sunshine.

After spending three hours on packing the last envelopes and glueing down labels for Eidy gifts, I threw on a headscarf and waited at the bus stop for fabulous public transport to post it all. I forced myself today to be extra nice to people, 'I will be nice', yep. I psyched myself to interacting with the commoners and helping more too. Smiles are infectious so I figured that's the first thing I could attack people with. It's a sunnah. A sunny-sunnah. A smiley-sunny-sunnah... Alright, I'll stop.

The bus arrived 20 minutes late, but I overlooked that and smiled at the ghostly looking bus driver, paid the correct amount but he didn't smile back, but when I said 'Thank you kindly Mr bus driver very much' he grinned a little and nodded his head. RESULT!

I penguin walked to an empty seat between an ageing man and two nattering women in front. After 30 seconds of sheer bus silence I began to whistle a song that was playing in my head on repeat since 1998. I can whistle to almost every tune, which is my only talent. The song that blew out was 'Smile' by Nat King Cole. How appropriate I thought. Now of course, whistling in public would attract attention and many would call the haram police to shackle me but it was my moment of happy, so hush. The man behind began to hum along too and a woman on the left smiled at me, I smiled back. RESULT!

Into town I lugged the two large hemp bags of post, walking with a large smile all over my face and stood in the post office queue. I noticed, wearing a smile takes effort, I was the only person smiling from joy. Not a body anywhere, shopping, waiting, or talking smiled from inner happiness. I practised holding onto a half smile on my lips, waiting for victims in order to spring a cheesy grin at them. Every time someone looked at me - ting - I smiled <-----this-----> wide. Most of them smiled back, some really smiled with their eyes. Some just stared at me, perhaps thinking I was delusional. Still, I got a nice flow. RESULT!

I tried to act natural with two large bags of suspicious goods in the post office. I didn't want to get shot at or detained for a rucksack so I kept the bags as visible as possible, 'it's just post! no chemicals, liquids or bleaches here!'. I began humming that tune again, 'Smile, though your heart is aching, smile even though it's breaking...' and a woman in her 40s with loads of eye-liner turned and smiled at me, presumably recognising the song. I smiled wide back. Again, '...when there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by...' I got to the counter-desk and was waited on by a "Muslim" woman. I say "Muslim" because her name badge said 'Aman' and after she asked me about Ramadan. I informed her I had a ton of post and she freaked out a little. A newbie on the job, 'Aman' kept using charts and asking two women behind about what the difference between 'paper' and a 'small packet' was. The other woman came forward, tutting at how much cargo I had, but I SMILED at her, full glaring teeth, she eventually gave in and half-smiled back. I was on a roll. RESULT!


It took us no less than 40 minutes to label and send through all that post. On each of my parcels I had written 'brother-so-and-so' and 'sister-such-and-such' since they were gifts and cards to Muslims around the world; we're family. She looked at the addresses, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico and exclaimed "Woah, you have a lot of family abroad don't you?" I smiled wide and affirmed, "Yes, I do, masha'Allah", which wasn't a lie. I explained "it's the month of fasting for Muslims now and these are my greeting cards to my global friends and family in celebration of Eid, which is coming up next week". She nodded, she was "Muslim", of course she knew. But she wasn't wearing a headscarf or fasting, so I left that conversation at that. It would have been preachy of me to ask or inform her of rulings. She was pleased I told her about my Ramadan, I was the only person talking in the whole room anyway, everybody stood in the queue listened to my rant and chuckled with Aman when I said things like 'it's feeenominal, I've got all me Facebook friends' details and am sendin'em all goody-bags to celebrate Eidmas wi'me!' More smiles! RESULT!

It cost me a small fortune to post them all out. Aman smiled widely and ended with 'Happy Eid' as I left, I smiled back with 'salam'. Another RESULT!

I had a spare hour so decided to check out the local art gallery and library. I'm a sucker for abstract weird art and I "totally" get it. Deformed images and sculptures are great for making people feel unintelligent, nobody can suss out what they mean! A whole floor of abstract and plastic stuff was spread out in the gallery, at least 50 bronze, metal and fabric piece. I pretended to be absbored but in my head the words 'What the-?!' rung like a fire alarm. A polypropylene sheet with the bottom end dipped in yellow paint hung from the ceiling. Another wall canvas showed a rainbow loom weave with squares cut out of it. That wasn't art, that was furnishings! I took photos to prove to you how trippy looking the gallery was.



A woman with a clipboard approached me as I clicked a camera phone - I left my spiffy camera at home - and I panicked. My head rummaged through a number of excuses for snapping copyrighted junk but she smiled at me... -sigh of relief- She had a survey to take, I accepted, we exchanged banter and I rambled on again about my Muslimness, how I'm fasting right now, that it's like Lent but with even less food, water etc, how I sort of liked the displays but didn't get any of them. I told her I studied Art last year so the paintings and colours I could analyse, but not the basketball-balancing act. That was just trickery.



She found my talking amusing, I could tell, she was also freaked out by me, I could tell that too because she backed away an inch every time I said another sentence. I asked her what her name was: Ruth. I shook her hand as we ended our temporary relationship, I was feeling the sisterly love, said 'thank you for letting me take the beloved survey, sharing my thoughts on artwork and product design' and informing her of Muslim lifestyles. I should have had an Islamic leaflet on me, that was definitely another Potential Dawah Opportunity (PDO). 'Rooooth!' I exclaimed shaking her hand with both of mine, thank you, thank you! No, thank you'. I swear, she turned and ran so fast you'd think I was about to eat her. At least I got many Ruth smiles. RESULT!

While it has taken over three weeks, my ice cold heart has melted through to reveal a smidgen more goodness, human compassionate and zealousness that was hidden in there somewhere, finally sparkling out, so wohoo for that!

Must be off now, speak to you all soon insha'Allah. If you see layla'tul qadr, tell it to wait for me.

Zaufishan ★ flipping through a pop-up dinosaur book bought today for £2 - very cool