3 Malaysian Celebrity Turned Better Muslimahs

The glamorous parties with the most famous people in attendance, the unconditional adoration from fans and the bulks and bulks of money that could buy countless luxuries are the reasons that make celebrities very hedonistic.

Even the ones with religion fall prey to the temptation of fame and fortune. It takes a lot of courage and a strong iman to bring these fallen celebrities back to the holy path.  Fortunately, there are a few who have.

One of the Malaysian celebrities who are now good Muslimahs is Wardina Safiyyah. This delicate beauty gained attention after winning a beauty pageant called Dewi Remaja. With her talents, she eventually became a TV host for ntv7, a local TV channel; and later, an actress. In her acting career, she is best known for her role in the sitcom Spanar Jaya. 

Though, her fame catapulted the highest when she started wearing the hijab which came as a shock to everyone as actresses in Malaysia lose their popularity once they are covered. She is the first Malaysian celebrity to prove that wearing the hijab does not hinder one’s talents and this earned the approval of many Malaysians who now respect her.

She admitted that she had actually always desired to adorn the hijab, but she was never brave enough to do so; one day she simply woke up and felt the need to start wearing the hijab and from then on, she has done so claiming to be more comfortable with her change of dressing.

Another stunning Malaysian celebrity who found the light is Natasha Hudson. Just like Wardina, she is a half Australian model and actress known for her beauty. She has won awards for her work as an actress and is also famous for her published written works, an English poetry book and a children’s Malay poetry book. She confessed that her change of heart happened while she was pursuing her studies; she became exceedingly ravenous for knowledge in Islam and attended every seminar and talks about the religion.

She realised that her extravagant lifestyle meant nothing to her. Befriending a long lost friend from her teenage days who started to become a great influence to her in her religious discoveries, her love for Islam grew more and with it, her love for her friend grew as well which resulted in a small wedding. Her story of finding the call of Allah is rather trying as she found it difficult to maintain her friendships with people she used to be close to in her previous stylish life. Even more challenging, her career dwindled after she wore the niqab, a veil covering the face from nose down, making her take it off for a while. She later wore the niqab again after truly embracing the holy way of Islam and thankfully for her, Allah has blessed her with more job opportunities as an Islamic teacher for children.  

Mizz Nina is yet another Malaysian celebrity who is now pious. A daughter of the Chairman of AmBank Group, she became well known in her musical career by co-finding the Teh Tarik Crew, a local hip-hop group. However, she became world renowned in her solo career, collaborating with international super stars such as Flo-Rida, Jay Park, Theo Martins and Colby O'Donis. She performed at numerous concerts including MTV World Stage 2012 and her video clips on Youtube garnered tens of thousands of views.

Soon after her marriage to the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Hujan, she performed her umrah with her husband and it was then that she heard the calling from Allah to alter her ways. Now retired from her singing career, she is more focused on her fashion line and improving her Quranic recitations. She stated that some days she does feel lazy to read the Quran, but she forces herself to do so and she has now come to love it.

The road to becoming more Islamic can be a rocky one, but with relentless endeavours and constant prayers, Allah will ease the burdens at the end of the day. These three Malaysian celebrities are living proofs that there is goodness in everyone; it is only the matter of time for the goodness to come forth.

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References:

http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2001&dt=0217&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Hiburan&pg=hi_01.htm&arc=hive

http://www.indahnyaislam.my/2016/12/dari-seorang-model-ke-muslimah-berniqab-kisah-hijrah-natasha-hudson/

http://www.mstar.com.my/hiburan/berita-hiburan/2017/06/16/mizz-nina-hijrah/

Article is written by: 

Nur Jalilah Binti Abdul Aziz, freelance writer of this blog at Zaahara. Interests include blog writing, academic writing and creative writing.

-Photos are taken from google images

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