Today, Bollywood actor Zaira Wasim announced her retirement from movies in a letter posted on Instagram. In the six-page letter, she says “Bollywood took me away from Islam” and cites the interference on her religious practices as the reason for this decision.
She said that she wasn’t truly happy with her line of work despite her fame and success. It was only while trying to adjust to the new lifestyle did she realized that her career had impacted her relationship with religion.
She explains, “though I may fit here perfectly, I do not belong here”. The Dangal star adds, “This field indeed brought a lot of love, support, and applause my way, but what it also did was to lead me to a path of ignorance, as I silently and unconsciously transitioned out of ‘imaan’ (faith). While I continued to work in an environment that consistently interfered with my ‘imaan’, my relationship with my religion was threatened”.
Talking about the difficulties that she had faced, Zaira Wasim says that she has found solace in Allah and Quran. She says, “In the great and divine wisdom of the Quran, I found sufficiency and peace. Indeed the hearts find peace when it acquires the knowledge of Its Creator, His Attributes, His Mercy and His commandments”.
She says that there are two types of diseases mentioned in the Quran – the first one being doubt and error, the second one being lust and desire. According to her, the Quran says, “In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Allah has increased her diseases. And I realized the remedy to this could only be attained through the guidance of Allah and indeed Allah guided my path when I lost my way”.
She says that she has taken the first step by realizing her true path and has now announced retirement from movies so that she could focus on her faith.
Earlier in 2017, Zaira was targeted by Islamic fundamentalists for acting in a “polluted” medium and acting against “religious norms” and bringing shame and disgrace to the entire Koshur community. Trolls had attacked her after she met with J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti.
