The Meaning of Faith and Transformation of Religious Practices among Middle-aged Women in Hulu Langat, Selangor (Makna Agama dan Transformasi Amalan Agama dalam kalangan Wanita Islam Bekerjaya Pertengahan Usia)

Abstract

Middle-aged career women looking to assess the improvements brought on by life, would probably give some forethought to their aging years, like where they have gone to, and what they have been doing. They reassess their priorities and make changes to their goals and orientations to command a higher purpose in all aspects of life. Many theorists believe, an older woman’s successful navigation of work-life balance is associated with her having a strong faith. Thus, a qualitative research was conducted to explore the meaning of faith from the perspectives of middle-aged Muslim career women. It also identified the transformation of religious practices performed by these women as they reach middle life. A few rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 middle-aged Muslim working class women from different levels of education, career, income and health. The research adopted a purposive maximum variation sampling technique in order to have a variety in the respondents’ profiles, before transcribing and analysing all interview data in Nvivo software. What followed was a thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes of the data. The results showed that the respondents’ perspectives on faith rested on four meanings; 1) guide and way of life, 2) principle of life, 3) obedience, and 4) source of peace. This research also identified five central themes of the transformation being investigated; 1) inculcating religious values, 2) attending religious talks, 3) reciting and understanding the Quran, 4) improving the quality of prayer, and 5) dhikr and supplication were cited as the most visible manifestations of the transformation. It is hoped that these findings will provide a clearer understanding into the spiritual and internal growth of middle-aged Muslim career women. Apart from strengthening the works on developmental psychology in Malaysia, this research can tap on contribution opportunities, ranging from benefiting counsellors and social workers in their programs planning to enhance the psychological well-being of middle-aged Muslim working class women in Malaysia. 

Keywords: Women; middle-aged; meaning of faith; transformation of religious practices; life satisfaction

 Abstrak

Wanita pertengahan usia yang ingin menilai penambahbaikan yang dibawa oleh kehidupan, pasti akan mengingat kembali di mana mereka sebelum ini dan apa yang mereka telah lakukan sepanjang usia. Dalam fasa ini, mereka menilai semula apa yang penting dan membuat perubahan pada matlamat dan orientasi bagi memenuhi tujuan hidup yang lebih tinggi. Para ahli teori berpendapat, kejayaan seseorang wanita dalam menjaga keseimbangan antara kerjaya dan kehidupan adalah kerana keteguhan iman yang timbul dalam jiwanya. Justeru, kajian berbentuk kualitatif ini telah meneroka makna iman dari perspektif wanita Islam pertengahan umur bekerjaya, juga mengenal pasti tranformasi amalan agama yang dilakukan oleh mereka apabila mereka mencapai usia ini. Temu bual separa berstruktur telah dijalankan untuk 10 wanita Islam pertengahan umur dari latar belakang yang berbeza pendidikan, kerjaya, pendapatan dan tahap kesihatan. Kaedah persampelan yang digunakan ialah persampelan bertujuan, iaitu dengan menggunakan teknik varians maksimum bagi mendapatkan kepelbagaian dalam profil responden. Proses temu bual mengambil masa antara 45 minit hingga satu jam. Input temu bual kemudian ditaip dan diproses menggunakan Nvivo. Seterusnya, tema dan sub-tema data dikenal pasti menggunakan analisis bertema. Hasil analisis mendapati bahawa responden menyatakan empat makna agama daripada perspektif mereka, iaitu; 1) sebagai panduan dan cara hidup, 2) sebagai prinsip hidup, 3) ketaatan, dan 4) sumber keamanan. Sementara itu, dari segi transformasi amalan agama, lima tema amalan utama terhasil; 1) memupuk nilai-nilai agama, 2) menghadiri ceramah agama, 3) membaca dan memahami Al-Quran, 4) meningkatkan kualiti solat, dan 5) zikir dan doa. Penemuan ini memberikan pemahaman lebih jelas mengenai pertumbuhan rohani dan dalaman wanita pertengahan umur. Ia seterusnya menyumbang kepada kekuatan psikologi perkembangan di Malaysia, selain memberi manfaat kepada kaunselor dan pekerja sosial dalam perancangan program bagi meningkatkan kesejahteraan psikologi wanita Islam pertengahan umur di Malaysia.

Kata kunci: Wanita; pertengahan usia; makna agama; transformasi amalan agama; kepuasan hidup