What's happening to the Muslims in the US?
The Sentencing of Dr. Ali al-Tamimi
"One man is a non-Muslim business leader convicted of a tangible crime. He [former Worldcom CEO, Bernard Ebbers] presided over 'the largest corporate fraud in U.S. History.' His administration's actions wiped out billions of investor dollars and personal savings, resulting in untold human carnage. He received a sentence of 25 years, and doesn't have to begin his sentence until October of this year. Not only that, the federal judge in the case [Barbara Jones] has stated that she would accept written arguments from the lawyers on whether Ebbers 'should be allowed to remain free while he appeals the verdict.'
"Another man, a Muslim religious leader [Dr. Ali Tamimi] is convicted of a thought crime, in an alleged "terrorist conspiracy" - a conspiracy which, even according to the government, never achieved fruition. His was the crime of speech; and for his speech he received a sentence of Life, without the possibility of parole. This "criminal" was immediately taken into custody, and will no doubt begin serving his sentence in a federal prison far removed from his family. These are examples of 'the rule of law,' and justice American style." - Mauri' Saalakhan, Director of Operations, The Peace And Justice Foundation
Today a decision was made, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, that brings the United States of America no closer to the realization of "national security." If anything, it takes the nation further away from its illusory pursuit. Judge Leonie Brinkema sentenced Dr. Ali al-Tamimi to LIFE (without the possibility of parole) for essentially saying things that the court found offensive.
The Government's decision to prosecute this case; the jury's decision (verdict) after hearing this case; and Judge Brinkema's official stamp at the conclusion of this case, are all reflective of the pro-prosecutorial bias that surrounds any Muslim accused of a "serious" criminal offense. The tragic events in London just a few days ago helped to ensure that Ali Tamimi – and any other Muslim(s) so situated – would not have a snowball's chance in hell of receiving any type of "fair and impartial" disposition.
At the end of the day, we fully agree with an observation made by Dr. Tamimi at the conclusion of his statement to the court:
"Imprisonment of any term, as this Court well knows, is a crisis for the incarcerated and his or her loved ones. I am no exception. But the real crisis brought on by my imprisonment, I sincerely believe, is America's. For if my conviction is to stand, it would mean that two hundred and thirty years of America's tradition of protecting the individual from the tyrannies and whims of the sovereign will have come to an end. And that which is exploited today to persecute a single member of a minority will most assuredly come back to haunt the majority tomorrow."
Dr. Tamimi's astute observation reminds us of the words of one of America's most distinguished "Founding Fathers." At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1789, Benjamin Franklin was asked, "What have you wrought?" His response: "A Republic, if you can keep it!"
THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
11006 Veirs Mill Rd, STE L-15, PMB 298
Silver Spring, MD. 20902
July 13, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Thursday, July 14, 2005
I Want To Be Like The Rain
I want to be like the rain. It is full of love, mercy and rahmah.
Ia begitu rendah hati membersihkan bumi dari sisa-sisa kotoran yang terlihat. Tidak segan silu menyapu jalanan serta membersihi longkang. Memberi seisi dunia aroma yang bersih lagi menenangkan.
Kehadirannya dirindui oleh tumbuh-tumbuhan, kerna ia memberikan kesegaran kepada hidup mereka. Menjadikan hidup mereka lebih bermakna.
Kewujudannya melibatkan persoalan hidup dan mati. Ia memberikan kehidupan kepada benih-benih yang dari luarnya kelihatan tidak bernyawa dan tidak bermakna.
Yang paling istimewanya, ketika hujan turun, pintu langit terbuka luas. Turun para malaikat berbondong-bondong mengiringi hujan. Lantas mereka bertanya, siapakah yang mengemis kasih Tuhan tatkala tetamu hujan rahmah itu berkunjung datang? Tuhan akan perkenankan permohonannya. Begitu istimewanya dikau di sisi Tuhan.
Bahkan kau mendapat tempat yang istimewa di hati kekasih Tuhan. Menjadi kegemarannya membiarkan kulitnya disentuhi hujan. Memang ia terasa benar hubungan yang akrab dengan hujan. Ia satu jalinan rahmah yang mereka berdua tersangat faham akan ertinya. Beruntungnya dikau wahai hujan.
Tatkala usai dari ziarahnya sang hujan, seolah-olah seluruh alam menyanyikan lagu ketenangan. Damai lagi mendamaikan. Hati terasa aman.
Yes, I want to be like the rain. It is full of love, mercy and rahmah.
I want to be like the rain. It is full of love, mercy and rahmah.
Ia begitu rendah hati membersihkan bumi dari sisa-sisa kotoran yang terlihat. Tidak segan silu menyapu jalanan serta membersihi longkang. Memberi seisi dunia aroma yang bersih lagi menenangkan.
Kehadirannya dirindui oleh tumbuh-tumbuhan, kerna ia memberikan kesegaran kepada hidup mereka. Menjadikan hidup mereka lebih bermakna.
Kewujudannya melibatkan persoalan hidup dan mati. Ia memberikan kehidupan kepada benih-benih yang dari luarnya kelihatan tidak bernyawa dan tidak bermakna.
Yang paling istimewanya, ketika hujan turun, pintu langit terbuka luas. Turun para malaikat berbondong-bondong mengiringi hujan. Lantas mereka bertanya, siapakah yang mengemis kasih Tuhan tatkala tetamu hujan rahmah itu berkunjung datang? Tuhan akan perkenankan permohonannya. Begitu istimewanya dikau di sisi Tuhan.
Bahkan kau mendapat tempat yang istimewa di hati kekasih Tuhan. Menjadi kegemarannya membiarkan kulitnya disentuhi hujan. Memang ia terasa benar hubungan yang akrab dengan hujan. Ia satu jalinan rahmah yang mereka berdua tersangat faham akan ertinya. Beruntungnya dikau wahai hujan.
Tatkala usai dari ziarahnya sang hujan, seolah-olah seluruh alam menyanyikan lagu ketenangan. Damai lagi mendamaikan. Hati terasa aman.
Yes, I want to be like the rain. It is full of love, mercy and rahmah.
MLNG Tiga to Supply LNG to KOGAS
Malaysia LNG Tiga Sdn Bhd (MLNG Tiga) today signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) to supply up to two million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 20 years beginning 2008, with an option to extend for another five years. KOGAS has selected MLNG Tiga as one of its preferred suppliers from 12 bidders that participated in a tender exercise carried out by the South Korean importer late last year.
The LNG will be supplied to KOGAS from the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu and will be transported to KOGAS receiving terminals in Pyeong Taek, Incheon and Tong Young in South Korea by LNG vessels owned and operated by Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Bhd.
KOGAS is currently the single largest LNG importer in the world, importing close to 20 million tonnes per annum. With today's signing, KOGAS became the largest LNG importer from Malaysia LNG Companies with a total amount of 6.7 million tonnes per annum. Malaysia LNG Companies will supply approximately 24% of the total volume of KOGAS import estimated to be around 25 million tonnes in 2008.
The relationship between Malaysia LNG Companies and KOGAS started in 1991 with sales of spot cargoes, followed by a long-term contract signed in 1993 for two million tonnes per annum. The volume was further expanded to 6.7 million tonnes per annum following the award of medium-term and short-term supply contracts in 2003 and 2004 respectively, and today's long-term contract.
MLNG Tiga is a joint venture between PETRONAS (60%), the Sarawak State Government (10%), Shell Gas BV (15%), Nippon Oil LNG (Netherlands) BV (10%) and Diamond Gas Netherlands BV (5%). The MLNG Tiga plant comprises two liquefaction trains with an annual production of 3.4 million tonnes each and commenced operations in 2003.
The MLNG Tiga plant with two other plants owned by Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd and Malaysia LNG Dua Sdn Bhd boosted the LNG production capacity to about 23 million tonnes per annum making the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu the world's largest LNG production facility in a single location.
At the SPA signing ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur today, MLNG Tiga was represented by its Chairman, Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican while KOGAS was represented by Mr. Lee Kyu-Sun, the Acting Chairman, President and CEO.
Also present at the ceremony was Dr. Toh Kyung-Hwan, the Director of Gas Industry Division, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea.
Issued by
Media Relations Department
PETRONAS
12 July 2005
Malaysia LNG Tiga Sdn Bhd (MLNG Tiga) today signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) to supply up to two million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 20 years beginning 2008, with an option to extend for another five years. KOGAS has selected MLNG Tiga as one of its preferred suppliers from 12 bidders that participated in a tender exercise carried out by the South Korean importer late last year.
The LNG will be supplied to KOGAS from the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu and will be transported to KOGAS receiving terminals in Pyeong Taek, Incheon and Tong Young in South Korea by LNG vessels owned and operated by Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Bhd.
KOGAS is currently the single largest LNG importer in the world, importing close to 20 million tonnes per annum. With today's signing, KOGAS became the largest LNG importer from Malaysia LNG Companies with a total amount of 6.7 million tonnes per annum. Malaysia LNG Companies will supply approximately 24% of the total volume of KOGAS import estimated to be around 25 million tonnes in 2008.
The relationship between Malaysia LNG Companies and KOGAS started in 1991 with sales of spot cargoes, followed by a long-term contract signed in 1993 for two million tonnes per annum. The volume was further expanded to 6.7 million tonnes per annum following the award of medium-term and short-term supply contracts in 2003 and 2004 respectively, and today's long-term contract.
MLNG Tiga is a joint venture between PETRONAS (60%), the Sarawak State Government (10%), Shell Gas BV (15%), Nippon Oil LNG (Netherlands) BV (10%) and Diamond Gas Netherlands BV (5%). The MLNG Tiga plant comprises two liquefaction trains with an annual production of 3.4 million tonnes each and commenced operations in 2003.
The MLNG Tiga plant with two other plants owned by Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd and Malaysia LNG Dua Sdn Bhd boosted the LNG production capacity to about 23 million tonnes per annum making the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu the world's largest LNG production facility in a single location.
At the SPA signing ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur today, MLNG Tiga was represented by its Chairman, Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican while KOGAS was represented by Mr. Lee Kyu-Sun, the Acting Chairman, President and CEO.
Also present at the ceremony was Dr. Toh Kyung-Hwan, the Director of Gas Industry Division, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea.
Issued by
Media Relations Department
PETRONAS
12 July 2005
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Diskusi Malam Tuk (DMT)
Usrah is the breath of my life. Kemanisannya melupakan aku pada segala kepahitan dunia.
Dan semalam, lelaki itu menangis lagi. Aduannya kepada Tuhan tentang betapa payahnya untuk kekal di jalan dakwah telah menjadikan dirinya sebak. Dan di celah sedu itu, empangan air matanya akhirnya pecah. Dengan suara yang tersekat-sekat, pujian kepada Tuhan beliau panjatkan. Kerna Allah masih sayang akan dirinya, sebab itulah beliau masih kekal dalam usrah, akui beliau. Memang adakalanya ujian begitu berat tidak tertanggung, bagai menggenggam bara api, sehingga yang ada di jiwa hanya putus asa, keluh kesah dan duka nestapa.
Tapi Allah masih sayang, Allah masih sayang. Kemanisan mengenali Tuhan, mengatasi segalanya. Mungkinkah ini yang dinamakan cinta?
Dan pengakuannya itu turut membuatkan mataku berkaca. Berderai akhirnya.
Terima kasih sahabat, terima kasih Allah.
Usrah is the breath of my life. Kemanisannya melupakan aku pada segala kepahitan dunia.
Dan semalam, lelaki itu menangis lagi. Aduannya kepada Tuhan tentang betapa payahnya untuk kekal di jalan dakwah telah menjadikan dirinya sebak. Dan di celah sedu itu, empangan air matanya akhirnya pecah. Dengan suara yang tersekat-sekat, pujian kepada Tuhan beliau panjatkan. Kerna Allah masih sayang akan dirinya, sebab itulah beliau masih kekal dalam usrah, akui beliau. Memang adakalanya ujian begitu berat tidak tertanggung, bagai menggenggam bara api, sehingga yang ada di jiwa hanya putus asa, keluh kesah dan duka nestapa.
Tapi Allah masih sayang, Allah masih sayang. Kemanisan mengenali Tuhan, mengatasi segalanya. Mungkinkah ini yang dinamakan cinta?
Dan pengakuannya itu turut membuatkan mataku berkaca. Berderai akhirnya.
Terima kasih sahabat, terima kasih Allah.
AMARAN: Ini adalah realiti perihal nafsu rakyat Malaysia secara umum.
Ustaz Daud (bukan nama sebenar), adalah seorang ustaz di salah sebuah sekolah rendah di Sabah (bukan lokasi sebenar). Beliau yang berumur lewat 20-an mengajar mata pelajaran Bahasa Arab dan berada di bawah projek perlaksanaan Islam Hadhari.
Di suatu Sabtu petang,
Ustaz Ahmad : Shaykh, malam ni jom kita main badminton .. riadhah sikit. Dah lama kita tak exercise ni.
Ustaz Daud : Ala, malam ni tak boleh lah. Ana nak tengok Akademi Fantasi.
Ustaz Ahmad : Astaghfirullah al-azeem, shaykh. Enta tengok Akademi Fantasia? Kan haram tu tengok perempuan menari-nari dan melenggang-lenggok selama dua jam.
Ustaz Daud : Takpelah, sekejap je dua jam tu. Ana rancangan tv yang lain memang tak tengok sangat. Akademi Fantasia je yang ana layan.
Selang beberapa jam kemudian,
Ustaz Ali : Shaykh, malam ni Akhie Jamil jemput datang rumah dia, dia ada buat makan-makan sikit dan kenduri kesyukuran.
Ustaz Daud : Aiseh, shaykh tak boleh lah,malam ni ada Akademi Fantasia.
Ustaz Ali : Ya Allah. Menghadiri jemputan tu kan hukumnya wajib. Sedangkan tengok Akademi Fantasia tu entah apa la hukumnya.
Ustaz Daud : Ala, tak boleh lah shaykh. Ana memang tak boleh miss Akademia Fantasia ni, dah makin hangat sekarang.
Dan manusia terus menerus bertuhankan nafsu, nafsu kepada hiburan. Sedar atau tidak sedar, pada 'that particular point of time' manusia dah menjadikan kiblat mereka berkiblatkan Akademi Fantasia. Pada saat itu, tuhan mereka adalah Tuhan Nafsu Akademi Fantasia.
Ustaz Daud (bukan nama sebenar), adalah seorang ustaz di salah sebuah sekolah rendah di Sabah (bukan lokasi sebenar). Beliau yang berumur lewat 20-an mengajar mata pelajaran Bahasa Arab dan berada di bawah projek perlaksanaan Islam Hadhari.
Di suatu Sabtu petang,
Ustaz Ahmad : Shaykh, malam ni jom kita main badminton .. riadhah sikit. Dah lama kita tak exercise ni.
Ustaz Daud : Ala, malam ni tak boleh lah. Ana nak tengok Akademi Fantasi.
Ustaz Ahmad : Astaghfirullah al-azeem, shaykh. Enta tengok Akademi Fantasia? Kan haram tu tengok perempuan menari-nari dan melenggang-lenggok selama dua jam.
Ustaz Daud : Takpelah, sekejap je dua jam tu. Ana rancangan tv yang lain memang tak tengok sangat. Akademi Fantasia je yang ana layan.
Selang beberapa jam kemudian,
Ustaz Ali : Shaykh, malam ni Akhie Jamil jemput datang rumah dia, dia ada buat makan-makan sikit dan kenduri kesyukuran.
Ustaz Daud : Aiseh, shaykh tak boleh lah,malam ni ada Akademi Fantasia.
Ustaz Ali : Ya Allah. Menghadiri jemputan tu kan hukumnya wajib. Sedangkan tengok Akademi Fantasia tu entah apa la hukumnya.
Ustaz Daud : Ala, tak boleh lah shaykh. Ana memang tak boleh miss Akademia Fantasia ni, dah makin hangat sekarang.
Dan manusia terus menerus bertuhankan nafsu, nafsu kepada hiburan. Sedar atau tidak sedar, pada 'that particular point of time' manusia dah menjadikan kiblat mereka berkiblatkan Akademi Fantasia. Pada saat itu, tuhan mereka adalah Tuhan Nafsu Akademi Fantasia.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
"The basis of existance are molecules, not only atoms. Therefore, we have to commune!"
~ Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
li anna qulubukum qad matat bi 'ashrati ash-ya'.
1. 'araftum Allah fa lam tu-addu haqqahu.
2. qara'tum al-qur'an wa lam tu'mal bihi.
3. ad'iyatum hubba rasul wa lam tu'mal bi sunnati.
4. taqulun inna syaitan aduwwukum fa waqtumuh.
5.
~ Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
li anna qulubukum qad matat bi 'ashrati ash-ya'.
1. 'araftum Allah fa lam tu-addu haqqahu.
2. qara'tum al-qur'an wa lam tu'mal bihi.
3. ad'iyatum hubba rasul wa lam tu'mal bi sunnati.
4. taqulun inna syaitan aduwwukum fa waqtumuh.
5.
Friday, July 08, 2005
In the name of Allah, The Benificient, Most Merciful
WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS
By Ibn 'Arabi
Note:
What the seeker needs is also known as Kitab Kunh ma la budda minhu lil- murid. This short work was written in Mosul in 1204 in answer to the question of what the seeker "should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before anything else."
Translations of this work have been printed on several occasions: in Turkish (by Mahmud Mukhtar Bey, 1898); Spanish (excerpts by M. Asin Palacios, 1931); and in English (by A. Jeffrey, 1962).
* * * * * *
WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS
All praise and thanks are due to Allah Most High, and may His benedictions and salutations be upon His messenger, and the progeny and companions of His messenger.
This short guide is a response to one who wishes to take the path of faith, hope, and love so that he might become complete and perfect as he was created. It was written to answer his questions about what he should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before anything else.
O you who yearn for eternal beauty, traveler on the path of the true wish, may Allah make you successful in knowing the true way, finding it, and being upon it. May He use you and us in actions that please Him and are done for His sake. For the beginning and the end and what is in between, and success in them all, belong only to Him.
The way and means to eternal salvation and bliss is in coming close to the Truth. Allah Himself teaches us the meaning of His closeness to us. He teaches us by sending us His prophets. We say, "we believe." It is the truth. We accept and confirm it. The only thing then left for us to do is to follow the teachings and the example of His prophet.
First, you must believe in the oneness and uniqueness of the One who is before the before and after the after, who created us and everything else, and you must not associate with Him anything unbefitting the purity of His Essence. He Himself says in His divine book:
If there were in them gods besides Allah, (the heavens and the earth) would both have been in disorder (mixing and clashing and being destroyed).
(Anbiya', 22)
The wills of many creators would clash and cancel each other, not permitting anything to be or to happen. Therefore, if we and all existence exist, He -- the One and Unique Creator - exists, and He has no associates.
O you with beautiful nature and pure heart, do not debate, discuss, even talk with people who attribute partners to Allah. There is no use in trying to convince them. Even the deniers will finally concede:
And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth they will say, Allah.
(Luqman, 25)
They as well will finally admit an unknown force as the initial Creator of the creation - but they will add to Him further creators. The difference between them and the believers is that they suppose that others, among the created, are also able to create. You do not have to prove to them the existence of Allah. Let them prove, if they can, the existence of His associates.
This is sufficient advice for you on the subject of professing the oneness of Allah. Time is valuable: you cannot be careless with it. If the mind has reached a state in which it is free from doubt and the heart is safe and secure, it makes no sense to disturb this peace with superfluous proofs.
The second matter of importance for one who wishes to learn is the belief that Allah Most High is free from all resemblance to anything visible or invisible in the creation. He is free from all defect.
There are some who, wanting to see the image of their Creator, err, and liken Him to a human being. Let His own words be your guide in this. He says:
Nothing is like Him....
(Shura, 11)
Any thought, any word, any qualiy or attribute not corresponding to this principle is a falsehood, unworthy of the Divine. Therefore seek no further than the fact that none resemble or are like Him. That is His reality. This is also confirmed by the declaration of His messenger, who said, "At the beginning was Allah, and none with Him." The ones who followed him added to this statement, "It is now as it was." As it was before the creation, it is after the creation. From the time when matter was hidden under the veil of nonexistence and there was no form, nothing has been added or subtracted. Though He has created the creation, still there are none like Him. Nothing is like Him. Nothing is Him, but everything is from Him. The divine word that He is without likeness cancels all other thoughts, claims, and interpretations.
You must also accept, and believe, even if you do not understand, the allegorical verses of the Holy Qur'an and the ambiguous statement of the Messenger of Allah concerning the unity and the ultimate cause, as well as all the declarations of the prophets which have come to us unaltered. You must consider that the significance of these words is a part of divine knowledge and that as such, you accept them. The monumental meanings of these holy expressions are for the understanding of people who are close enough to Allah to be able to see His beautiful attributes.
There is no better proof of the perfection of the Divine, who is self-existent and whose existence is a necessity for the existence of all else, than the holy verse:
Nothing is like Him....
Allah declares with this verse His being, His essence, His divine nature, His limitless greatness, His glory. So write in your heart and mind this principle, this foundation of faith, and believe in Allah's prophet and the message that he brought from the Divine Truth, and in Allah's orders and justice. Furthermore, have faith in the true declarations of all the prophets known and unknown. Love their companions; accept the truth of their mission. Do not speak against them. Do not value one over another. Think of them with terms of praise, as they are described in the Holy Qur'an and in the words of other prophets, which can only be the truth. Show respect, as did the prophets, for the character that distinguishes the perfect man, and for holy places. Accept and believe in the deeds and the words of the saints, even though you may not understand their state and the miracles attributed to them.
Look upon the whole creation, and above all, mankind, with good will - accepting, approving, forgiving, serving, loving. Make that your nature in your dealings with the world. Listen to your conscience. Cleanse your heart. In that clean heart, keep up prayer for your faithful brothers. Help and serve, as much as you can, the people who hide their misery, who are content with their poverty, the travelers on the path to truth. Do not attribute to yourself virtue, goodness, and graciousness because of your service to the creation. Consider that you owe other people thanks for having humbly accepted your help. It is incumbent upon you to lighten the load of those who are burdened. If people whose pain you have helped to alleviate cause you pain in return - if their responses, their ways, their habits are dark and cast shadows upon you - show patience and forbearance. Do not forget that Allah says:
...surely Allah is with the patient.
(Baqara, 153)
Do not spend your life in empty endeavors and your time in idle talk. Instead, reflect and remember Allah, read the Qur'an, guide the misguided to the enlightened path. Help others leave evil and turn to doing good. Mend broken friendships. Help others to help others.
Find the right friend, who will be a support for you, a good travelling companion on the path of truth. Faith is a seed. It grows into a tree with the beneficent watering and sunshine of faithful friends. Beware of being close to those who do not discriminate between the faithful and the unfaithful - not knowing either faith or the faithful, they do not care about them. They are either strangers to or enemies of the truth in which you believe.
Look for a perfect teacher who will lead you on the straight path. In your search for a guide, be sincere, because sincerity distinguishes the true seeker. It is certain that if you cling to sincerity and truthfulness, the Lord will manifest His attribute of the Ultimate Guide upon you and will guide you to a perfect teacher. Sincerity in the seeker is such a blessing that when it is present, Allah will even turn the accursed devil himself and the seeker's personal devil, his ego, into angels of inspiration serving him. Sincerity is such a catalyst that it turns lead into gold and purifies everything it touches.
A matter of the greatest importance, one of your greatest needs, is to be sure that the morsel of bread you put in your mouth is lawful. Lawful sustenance, the lawfulness of all you enjoy in this world, is the foundation of your faith. It is upon this foundation that your religion can be built.
To advance in this path, in the footsteps of the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), you have to be light - light in worldly goods, light in your concerns about this world. An unmistakable sign of the heaviness that will prevent you from advancing is to be a burden on people. Neither be a freeloader nor let others carry your load. Particularly, don't accept goods and favors, either for yourself or for others, from people whose hearts are dead, submerged in the sleep of heedlessness.
In what Allah permits you to gain as your sustenance - in all your actions, behavior and words - fear Allah. Do not seek comfort and luxury, especially when you have not worked hard for it. Lawful sustenance is obtained by working harder than is demanded of you. A clear sign of the lawfulness of one's gain is that it will not permit you to be either stingy or a spendthrift.
Take care, since if the love of this world takes root firmly in your heart, it constricts your heart, and it becomes exceedingly hard to pull it out and throw it away. This world is a trial ground; don't seek comfort and riches in it. Eat less. That will leave more space in your heart and will increase your desire to pray and be obedient It will make you more active and less lazy.
Cleanse and beautify your days and nights with worship. The generous Lord asks you to His presence five times a day. Do your prayers at the times He calls you, five times daily, and at each prayer make an accounting of your actions since the last prayer. It is to be hoped that only good deeds and actions befitting a Muslim are done between the times of prayer.
Most people complain that this world, their work to secure their sustenance, and their work as householders for their families, take time away from their worship. Know that work done heedfully, with consideration for others, in accordance with proper behavior, for the pleasure of Allah, is also worship.
Allah has blessed you with intellect, knowledge, profession, strength, and health. All grace and power are due to Him. Use these to gather as much of your sustenance as possible in the minimum of time. If possible, secure in one day your week's sustenance. Take the example of Ahmad al-Sabti, a prince, the son of the 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. He used the maximum of his talents and strength and effort and worked exceedingly hard as a manual laborer on Saturday. With what he earned in one day he was able to live a whole week. He dedicated the remaining six days of the week to working for Allah and worshipping Him.
After you perform your morning prayer, stay with your Lord until sunrise, and after your afternoon prayer stay in His presence until sunset. These are two periods of time when spiritual powers and enlightenment flow in abundance. Keep your heart tied to Allah in humility and in peace.
There is great virtue and merit in performing extra worship of twenty cycles of prayer between the afternoon and evening prayers, and between the evening and night prayers. Perform extra prayers of four cycles just before the noon prayer, after and just before the afternoon prayer, and after the evening prayer. Perform another ten cycles of prayers in sets of two after the obligatory night prayer, and the three cycles of closing prayer, witr, as the last worship of the day.
Do not sleep until you are unable to stay awake. Do not eat until you are hungry. Dress only to cover your body and to protect it from cold and from heat. Make it a habit to read from the Holy Qur'an every day. When you read, hold the holy book with respect. Keep it in your left hand at the level of your chest, and move your right hand along the words you read. Read aloud, but just loud enough that you can hear your own voice.
Read without haste, slowly thinking of the meaning of each word. Wish for divine mercy and beneficence when you come to the verses that inspire His mercy. Take warning from the verses of admonition, and when reading them, promise your Lord your determination to act upon His command, repenting, taking refuge in His mercy, seeking salvation. When you read verses describing the praiseworthy qualities of the truly faithful, think of your own qualities. Be thankful and praise Him for your good qualities, and feel shame for the qualities missing in you, so mat you may hope to find the character of the faithful in yourself. And when you read about the faults of the nonbelievers and of the hypocrites who hide and distort the truth, think about whether you are also afflicted with such faults. If you are, try to stop them, to chase them away, to eliminate them. If you do not have them, take refuge in Him, be thankful and praise Him.
What is essential for you is to be heedful at all times, to be attentive to what comes into your mind and your heart. Think about and analyze these thoughts and feelings. Try to control them. Beware of the wishes of your ego, settle your accounts with it.
Have conscience, shame, in front of Allah. That will be a motivation to make you heedful. You will then care about what you are doing or saying or thinking, and the thoughts and feelings that are ugly in the eyes of Allah will be unable to settle in your heart. Your heart will then be safe from wishing acts not in accordance with Allah's pleasure.[1]
Give value to your time, live in the present moment. Do not live in imagination and throw your time away. Allah has prescribed a duty, an act, a worship for your every moment. Know what it is and hasten to do it. First perform the actions He has given to you as obligations. Then do what He has given to you to do through the example of His Prophet. Then take on what He has left you as voluntary, acceptable good deeds. Work to serve the ones who are in need.
Do everything you do in order to come close to your Lord in your worship and prayers. Think that each deed may be your last act, each prayer your last prostration, that you may not have another chance. If you do this, it will be another motivation for becoming heedful and also for becoming sincere and truthful. Allah does not accept good deeds done unconsciously and insincerely as readily as deeds done in consciousness and sincerity.
Cleanliness is an order of Allah. Keep your body and your inner self clean at all times. Whenever you make an ablution make two cycles of prayer following it, except when you have to make an ablution at times when praying is not permitted: at sunrise, at high noon, and at sunset. Friday is an exception to that rule; it is permissible then to pray at high noon.
Above all, what you need is high morals, good character, proper behavior; you must identify your bad features and rid yourself of them. Your relationship to whomever you come into contact with must be based on the best of conduct - but what this means may vary with conditions and circumstances.
Whoever neglects a single item of good behavior is considered to have bad character. Men are created different from each other. Their levels are different. Good behavior and character are also in different levels. Behavior is not a form. It is not to act in the same way on every occasion towards everyone. You have to consider each case, each person, in accordance with the circumstance and. the need of the person. A good rule to remember is that if a thing is done to bring salvation, truth, comfort, and peace to others, to oneself, and to as many people as possible, protecting them, eliminating pain and hardship, it is good behavior - on condition that it is not done for personal benefit, but for Allah's sake. Is not man the servant of Allah? Are not his life and his deeds dependent on divine predestination? He is in a frame whose limits he, cannot leave. His will, his freedom of choice, his destiny written on his forehead, are in the hand of the All-Powerful upon whom all acts, all moves depend.
Proper behavior is the means by which an intention becomes a good deed. Therefore it is the greatest capital in the hand of the seeker. The proof is the word of the one who was brought with the most beautiful character, the last prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who said, "I have been sent to perfect good behavior."
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
And the recompense of evil is punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with Allah....
(Shura, 40)
The religious law says that you may choose to demand your right or you may choose to leave it. Choose to leave that which is due to you and forgive, instead of punishing, so that you will be counted among the compassionate, the peaceful, the righteous, whose rewards are promised by Allah.
It is also within good behavior to be angry and to seek to punish when this is justified by the religious code. Anger and its manifestation are one of the great sins if aroused by wrongs done to you personally. But it is permissible and right and a part of correct behavior and good character to become " "Use of something done against Allah and His divine precepts, to manifest it, and to fight for Allah's sake. It is best to separate yourself from people who do not believe in what you believe, who do not do what you do, and who are against your faith. Yet at the same time you should not think badly of them or condemn them for what they are. Your intention in ignoring them should be that you prefer the company of believers. Spend your time in remembering, glorifying, and worshipping Allah instead of being with them. Treat well those who are dependent upon you: the people who work for you, your children, your wives and husbands, your mothers, sisters, and friends, the animals in your care, the plants in your garden. Allah has given them into your hands to test you. You are in His care. Treat the ones in your care as you want the One in whose care you are to treat you. The Messenger of Allah says, "All of creation are Allah's dependents." He has left a few of His dependents, such as your family, in you hands. That is why His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says that the one who is best loved by Him is the one who is best towards his dependents. Show love, compassion, delicacy, generosity, and protection towards those who depend on you - and in fact, to everyone. If you wish His compassion and protection, remember that you yourself depend on the One, the lord and owner of all and everything.
Teach Allah's words in His divine book and the good behavior of Islam to your children. Secure for them conditions in which they can exercise what you have taught them. Do this without expecting any return from them. From the very beginning, teach them to bear difficulty, to have patience, to think. Do not place in their hearts the love of the world. Teach them to dislike the things of this world that will render them proud - luxuries, beautiful clothes, delicacies, excess of ambition - because all these, if obtained, will be subtracted from the good due them in the hereafter. Let them not get accustomed to good things; break their habits. Beware that this, which may seem austere, should not bring forth in you the ugly character of miserliness towards your children. Do it in respect and attachment to your religion.
Do not seek to be close to the heedless, to the ones who are slaves to the desires of their flesh. They take hearts away from the light of truth and throw them into the dark hole of heedlessness, as they did with their own hearts. If you are placed with them in the same time and space, then face them and advise them. If they turn their backs on you, it is because they do not know their fronts from their backs. Do not stab them in the back. Be the same way to them whether they turn their faces to you or their backs. Then they may like and respect you and perchance they may be attached to you and follow you.
Do not be satisfied with your spiritual state; advance. Advance ceaselessly, without interruption. With firm intention pray to Allah, the Ultimate Truth, to bring you from the state in which you are to a state beyond it. In every state, in every move, while doing a thing or while being inactive, be sincere and truthful. Be with the Ultimate Truth. Do not ever forget Him. Feel His presence always.
Learn to give, whether you have plenty or little, whether you are happy or in pain. This is a proof of your faith in Allah. Try to satisfy the needs of the needy. This is an affirmation that Allah has assigned everyone's sustenance and nothing will change it. This is a proof of your trusting in Allah.
A miser is a coward. The accursed Devil whispers in his ear that there is no death, that he will live a long time; that the world is hostile; that if he gives he will be left destitute, dishonored, and alone; that he should not be fooled by the plenty that he now has, for no one knows what will happen tomorrow. Worse still, if the miser has little, the devil tells him that soon he will have even less. No one will help him; he will be a load on others and will be detested. He has to look after himself. If these evil imaginations capture the heart one may be led to he edge of hellfire. On the other hand, the ones who give their ears to Allah hear His blessed words. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
...and whoever is saved from the miserliness of his ego, these it is that find salvation.
(Hashr, 9)
...whoever is miserly is miserly to himself.
(Muhammad, 38)
The final warning is:
If you turn back (on the path) He will bring another people in your place.
(Muhammad, 38)
That is to say, after having been taught and after having been brought to the path of faith, if you begin or continue to be a miser, you may lose your place, your level, and Allah's favor. Someone else, who is generous and believes in Allah's generosity, will be brought in your place.
The one who is niggardly has not realized the terrifying meaning of Allah's words:
Destroy their riches and harden their hearts.
(Yunus, 88)
This is the curse of the prophet Moses (peace be upon him) upon the Pharaoh. When Allah willed the destruction of Pharaoh and his chief, the prophet Moses (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah, the Absolute Judge, for them to be cursed with miserliness. With the effect of this curse the Egyptians were afflicted with miserliness and envy. The poor and the weak died of hunger and Allah judged the Pharaoh and his followers and punished them because of their miserliness.
The ones who are cursed with stinginess do not listen to the words of Allah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who says, "Allah has two angels next to Him who pray every morning, 'O Lord, increase Your bounties upon the ones who give, and take away what they have from the ones who keep it!"'
When Hadrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wished to donate all that he possessed and brought it to the blessed presence of our master, the Prophet of Allah asked, "What have you put aside for he care of your family?" He responded, "I leave them in the care of Allah and His messenger." When Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) brought half his fortune to donate and was asked the same question, he answered, "I have left half of my goods for the sustenance of my family." The prophet of Allah told them, "The difference between you two is in accordance with your response to my question "
The one who gives from his sustenance attracts; a more than he has given from the Ultimate Sustainer. The miser, in addition to his sin of miserliness, accuses Allah Most High of stinginess and prefers and trusts his miserable goods over the generosity of his Lord. This is the unforgivable sin of attributing partners to Allah and may cause one to be rejected from Allah's mercy and lose his faith, may Allah protect us.
Therefore, spend from what Allah has given you. Do not fear poverty. Allah will give you what He has promised, whether you or everyone asks for it or does not ask for it. No one who has been generous has ever perished in destitution.
If you wish to find the truth and have Allah's pleasure and support in it, then avoid being negative and control your temper and anger. If you cannot stop anger, at least do not show it. When you do this, you will please Allah and disappoint the devil. You will begin to educate your ego and straighten and shorten your path. Anger is a result and a sign of the ego not being under control, like a mean wild animal untied and uncaged. As you hold your temper, it is as if you put a bridle on its head and barriers around it. You begin then to tame it, teach it how to behave, to obey, so that it cannot hurt others or itself (because it is a part of you).
When this discipline reflects from you, revealing someone who can control his temper and hold his anger, your adversary will be calmed. You will not be reacting to his provocations. You will not be punishing him or responding to his negativity, but ignoring it. This is more effective than punishing him. He may be led to see the reality of his acts, to realize what is fair, and to confess his faults.
Give heed to this advice and make it a habit. If you do, you certainly will see the positive result and the rewards here and in the hereafter. You will be the winner on the day when your deeds will be weighed. That is the greatest reward and the greatest grace that you will receive. For if you hold your temper, the All Just will also hold back His punishment for your sins, which are punishable by His divine wrath. Your forgiving will be rewarded by His forgiving you. What better benefit may one expect for effort in bearing hardship caused by your brothers and sisters in faith?
Allah will treat you the way He has ordered you to treat others. So try to assume the good qualities of being just, peaceful, helpful, gentle, and loving. Persist in these qualities; act with them. You will see that this character will spread from you to others around you, creating harmony, mutual love, and respect. The Beloved of Allah, our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), orders us to love each other, to be in a continuous loving state. He repeats this in so many ways, in so many statements. To leave anger, to replace it with bearing hardship, with forgiving, with caring for the one who causes the hardship, is one of the cornerstones of the foundation of love.
* * * * * *
Open your heart in order to receive divine benevolence. A benevolent heart becomes the mirror in which Allah's favors are manifest. When the divine favors manifest and come through you, when you feel His presence, you will feel shame at your improper actions. This will cause both you and others to have conscience. Thus your benevolence will protect you and others from sin.
When the archangel Gabriel asked our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "What is divine benevolence?" The Last of the Prophets answered, "To pray and glorify Allah as if you are in His presence, as if you see Him." Reverence reflects in the heart of a believer who has reached the level of praying as if he sees Allah.
Then our master the Prophet continued, "For if you are unable to see Him, He certainly sees you." The one who has reached that level of realization of divine benevolence will have conscience. He will feel that gaze of Allah upon him and will be ashamed to sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Conscience is total good." If a believer has conscience, he is aware of what he is doing and he cannot do wrong; Men a heart is filled with conscience, the possessor of that heart encounters no harm either in this world or in the Hereafter. The sign of a man with conscience is his lack of arrogance and self-importance. He never oppresses or tries to dominate others. May you also reach the level of benevolence and have conscience, and may you have the strength and foresight to try to attain it.
* * * * * *
Wake before sunrise, remember Allah, and repent. When repentance follows sin, it erases it The sin disappears as if it never happened. When repentance follows a benevolent action or prayer, it is like light upon light, grace upon grace. To remember Allah and to praise Him unifies the heart when it is scattered all around - like a mirror broken into a thousand pieces - and mends it, makes it into one, and turns it towards the One. Then all trouble leaves the heart, and it is filled with the joy of the One whom it remembers.
When your heart is filled to the brim with remembrance, then read the Holy Qur'an. When you read, reflect upon the meaning of what you have read. When verses remind you of His oneness and of His being without likeness and free from all defect, praise Him. When you read verses describing His blessings, bounties, generosity, and love or His wrath and punishment, take refuge from Him in Him and beg for His mercy. When you hear the parables about past prophets and their people, take heed and draw lessons from what happened to them. There are infinite meanings within the verses of the Holy Qur'an, within every word - changing with your states and levels, knowledge and understanding. Therefore you cannot possibly be tired, weary, or bored in reading them.
* * * * * *
Try to undo the knots of your persistence in sinning. Knot over knot ties you up. How are you going to save yourself? You will need the help of the one who tied those knots, your own self. Talk to it, reason with it. Tell it: "O temporal flesh, you resent listening to reason, but listen. Are you sure, as you inhale, that this is not your last breath? Allah knows best, but the next breath may be your last in this world to which you are so attached. Death will seize you by the throat; yet you persist in piling wrong upon wrong, sin upon sin. The Ultimate Judge warns the ones who persist in sinning with such punishment that mountains of rock cannot bear it. How then can you, flimsy as a straw, imagine that you could bear such horrible torments? Do not turn your back on me One who created you. Face Him and repent. Do it now, without delay, for you do not know when death will break you in two."
And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes to one of them he says, "Now I repent ......
(Nisa', 17)
Say to the self: "Indeed, after the aura of death has rendered you prostrate and life is fading away, if you can remember at all and repent, that repentance will not be accepted by Allah. The Prophet whom He sent as a mercy upon the universe said that though Allah accepts your repentance until the time when your breath is being choked out of you, at the moment of your death throes it is too late. Death comes without: warning - to some while eating, to some while drinking, to others while sleeping with their wives, to others in deep sleep from which they do not awake. Whoever, before that, has not turned from falsehood to truth, has not repented but persists in sinning, will fall into the abyss of death."
Talk this way to your self. Try to discipline and educate the desires of your flesh. As. they are persistent in sinning, be persistent in convincing them to stop sinning. If you keep warning your lower self, with the help of Allah the knots binding your heart will be untied. That is the only way to be saved.
* * * * * *
Fear Allah both in your actions and deep in - your heart and thoughts. Fear of Allah is the fear of Allah's punishment. Whoever truly fears the warnings of torment of the Absolute Judge cannot but act in accordance with the pleasure of the Creator and seek the right over the wrong. The Owner of the Final Word Himself said:
...and Allah cautions you against His retribution....
(Al-Imran, 27)
... and know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so beware of Him....
(Baqarah, 235)
The fear of Allah is a protection, the thing that guards you from harm. Allah's protection is the strongest of all armor, of all fortifications; no harm can penetrate it. That is what divine fear secures for you. The Prophet of Allah, whom He sent as His mercy upon the universe, himself took refuge in his lord. Praying to Him, he said, "I take refuge in Your pleasure, in Your beauty, in Your gentleness, from Your wrath and Your strength. I take refuge in Your divine mercy and compassion, from your punishment. I take refuge in You from You."
Seek, learn about, and imitate K beneficent acts of your Creator that manifest all around you. Protect yourself against divine wrath with acts and deeds in accordance with Allah's pleasure. Whatever act, whatever thing, whatever path is under the shadow of doubt and fear, do not come close to it. Leave it. Know that knowing your Creator and obeying Him is the only path that will lead you to peace and felicity. Revolt and selfishness are a dead end. Only by gaining the divine consent can you save yourself from your Lord's wrath. Only be entering the straight path can you get out of the abyss of that dead end; only by actions proper to paradise can you keep away from the fire. Allah says:
Fear Allah... and fear the Fire.
(Al 'Imran, 130-31)
With the fear of Allah, rise away from fire and towards felicity.
* * * * * *
While you persist in sinning and stubbornly refuse to see your errors, why are you so proud that Allah treats you with patience, kindness, and generosity in spite of your sins? Is it that you are fooled by what the devil whispers in your ear, saying, "If it weren't for your sins and your revolt, how would Allah manifest His infinite mercy, compassion, and generosity?" Don't you see how irrational that evil teaching is? Would it be less merciful and beneficent for the Owner of Infinite Wisdom to prevent His servant from opposing His will and pleasure?
Then the devil may whisper in your ear again: "You have no hope of attaining the level of benevolence of those who are born with good character and obedience. They have come to this world and shown their obedience to the will of Allah, gathered their Lord's mercy and beneficence in this world, and left it. The real mercy, generosity, and kindness of Allah will be manifest in the Hereafter on the Day of Judgment, Men He judges His disobedient servants who need of His mercy."
Only someone who has lost his senses could believe in and be deceived by such thoughts. Protect yourself against such temptations and tell your devil: "What you say about Allah's infinite patience and generosity towards His servants is true. Indeed, if there were no revolt, disobedience, and sin, we would not see the manifestation of His divine attributes. So many examples are related to us in the holy books and statements. But you, evil one, are using the truth for your own purposes - so that Allah's mercy be manifest, you encourage me to sin! You are trying to make me revolt because Allah is patient and kind.
"You ask me to test Allah's mercy and beneficence. How do you know, O accursed one, that I am of those who will be forgiven? Indeed Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes injustice whom He wills. How do I know to which party I belong? All I know is that I am full of sin. And just as I was left in this world without the ability to repent and ask His forgiveness, He may well refuse me His mercy before I enter hell and punish me with the fire. Although one dies as one lives, and sin is the messenger of disbelief, if I am fortunate and give my last breath as a believer, then He will purify me in hellfire and take me out and give me peace in His mercy.
"If I knew for sure that there were no day of reckoning with my sins, that there were no punishment, and if I were certain that I would receive divine absolution, I might have considered your twisted reasoning. Even then, it would be no better than admitting foolishness, for it is certainly an unforgivable behavior for a servant to test the patience of his Lord.
"On the other hand, even if I were certain that I would receive divine punishment, the proper thing for me would be shame and thankfulness for His delaying His punishment and spending of all effort of which I am capable in trying to obey the commands of my Lord.
"I have not heard of any good word that all sins will be forgiven. On the contrary, one is left free to choose between the right and the wrong, and the Ultimate Judge is free to forgive or to punish. In your case, though, O evil-commanding ego, there is no choice. You are constant in your wish for the wrong and the forbidden!"
* * * * * *
Be chaste; chastity is to be cautious, to try to abstain from all that is unclean and sinful. It is protecting yourself from all that is doubtful and suspicious in and around you. When the Messenger of Allah said: "Leave that which is doubtful and reach for that which is sure," he was speaking of the necessity of abandoning things that render you doubtful and hesitant, that create uncertainty, suspense, and fear in your heart - and of turning towards things that render you secure and peaceful.
It falls upon you to examine each act, each word, each act of worship, each relation with others such as friendship or marriage. You must find whether each thing is good or bad, clean or unclean, right or wrong-in other words, lawful or unlawful. In some cases it is clear; then you must choose the right over the wrong. In some cases it is doubtful; then you must leave it as if it were wrong and seek that which is sure.
Follow the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Even if you feel in need of that which is doubtful, even if you are unable to get anything else, do not take it; leave it for the sake of Allah. This is chastity. Be sure that Allah will reward the chaste with abundant goods much better than the doubtful thing that was abandoned. But do not expect your reward immediately.
Chastity is the foundation of religion and the path to truth. If you are chaste, all your deeds will be pure and sincere; all you do will end well; you will be in harmony with the divine order. You will be the recipient of divine generosity; all will turn to you. You will be under divine protection. If you are chaste and pious, avoiding the wrong and the doubtful, there is no doubt that you will receive all these blessings. But if you turn your back to chastity and piety, the Absolute Judge will place you in a shameful state - helpless, terrified. He will leave you by yourself in the hands of your ego. Then you will be a toy for the devil, who will find no resistance, no opposition to his tempting you, to his taking you away from truth.
Spend all your effort to stay on the path of piety, and may Allah help you.
* * * * * *
This world is a place of preparation where one is given many lessons and poses many tests. Choose less over more in it. Be satisfied with what you have, even if it is less than what others have. In fact, prefer to have less.
This world is not bad - on the contrary, it is the field of the hereafter. What you plant here, you will reap there. This world is the way to eternal bliss and so is good - worthy to be cherished and to be praised.
What is bad is what you do with the world when you become blind to truth and totally consumed by your desires, lust, and ambition for it. Our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in whom wisdom was as clear a crystal, was asked, "What is worldliness?" He answered, "Everything that makes you heedless and causes you to forget your Lord." Therefore the goods of this world are not harmful in themselves, but only when you let them render you forgetful, disobedient, and unaware of the Lord who has generously offered them to you. It is your sense of the world, your relationship to it, your preference of it over the One who gave it to you, that makes you insensitive and causes you to break your connection with divine truth.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever prefers the world over the Hereafter is made to suffer three things: an unbearable load that is never lightened; a poverty that never becomes richer, and an ambition, a hunger, that is never satisfied."
Therefore the one who lives for this world alone is bound to bear its pains and difficulties - trying to resolve its problems by himself, being totally dependent on it like a beggar, trying to obtain the needs of his flesh and his ego from it. That flesh, that ego whose appetite never knows satiation, whose ambitions are endless, is always wanting, always hungry, always dissatisfied. These are the rewards of the world to those who make the world their lord, forgetting the Lord of all the Universes.
This does not mean that you should abandon the world, not do your duties in it or participate in its affairs - retiring to a corner, making no effort, doing no work. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah likes to see the believer working at his profession." "Indeed Allah likes the one who has a craft." "The one who earns his sustenance lawfully through his efforts is beloved of Allah." These sayings mean that Allah's beneficence encompasses all who work hard in a craft or business in this world. It is for this reason that all the prophets worked for their sustenance.
It is related that one day Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) met a group of people who were sitting around lazily doing nothing. He asked them who they were. "We are of those who put their affairs in the hands of Allah, and we trust in Him," they replied.
"Indeed you do not!" he angrily responded. "You are nothing but freeloaders, parasites upon other people's efforts! For someone who truly trusts in Allah first plants the seed in the belly of this earth, then hopes and expects and puts his affairs in the hand of the Sustainer!"
Some true theologians come close to claiming work - in the professions, crafts, and businesses that are lawful according to divine law - as a condition of faith. They have claimed that certainty of faith is defined by the carrying out of religious obligations, and that work is one of these. They based this on the verse:
But when the prayer is ended, disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much that you may be successful.
(Jum'ah, 10)
Thus to leave the worldly and the world does not mean not to do your duties in it.
Perhaps what is meant by being worldly is giving yourself up solely to gathering the world's benefits. The worldly person identifies with what he has gathered and is proud of it. Full of ambition, he devotes himself to amassing the goods of this world without any consideration of whether they are lawful or unlawful, his rightful portion or the portion of others. Worse still is not to see any wrong in all this, to think that it is the right way, the only way.
When the love of the world fills your heart totally, it leaves no space for the remembrance of Allah. Forgetting the hereafter, you prefer this temporal world. All that you need from the world is something lawful to satisfy your hunger, something with which to cover yourself, and a roof over your head. Let these be the only things you ask from this world, nothing more. Don't be envious of the apparent temporal abundance the world-bound seem to enjoy, nor wish for the riches they have gathered without any consideration of right or wrong, of lawful or unlawful. How long does one stay in this world?
Someone who chooses this temporal world over the true good of the eternal Hereafter will never reach his goal, either here or there. For the ambition of one who is ambitious for this world will never be satisfied. Don't you see that the Maker of Destiny decides your lot in this world, and that you receive neither more nor less than what you are destined to receive? Whether you care or not, what Allah has set forth does not change. Whether we want more or not, we can only attain that which is reflected in the mirror of our destiny. Allah says:
We portion out among them their livelihood in the life of this world.
(Zukhruf, 32)
But people who take this world as their god have endless wants, and those wants of theirs that are not appointed to them, they will never receive. Thus they will be dissatisfied and unhappy all of their lives and in the Hereafter they will have to face the wrath of Allah.
The desires of this world are like sea water. The more you drink of them, the more you thirst. The Messenger of Allah likened this world to a garbage heap in order to tell you to keep your distance from it. Be satisfied with the portion of it that Allah has included in your fate. Whether you like it or not, that will be your lot. Allah advised and warned the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), "O son of Adam, if you are satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will set your heart at rest and you are worthy of praise. But if you are not satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will grant the world power over you. You will race in it as a wild beast races in the desert. And by My power and majesty, you will not receive from it anything but what I have apportioned to you, and you will be worthy of blame!"
This means that man will attain peace of heart and the level of Allah's praise and grace if he accepts and is content with his lot in accordance with Allah's divine apportionment. On the other hand, if you do not accept the lot that is your fate, Allah will render the world, which you so desire, your enemy. The world will become like a desert to a hungry animal. You will run and run and tire yourself without being able to find anything in it. Allah vows for the world-bound that no matter how they run after the world, they will receive nothing more than their lot The only things they will receive beyond that are fatigue, dissatisfaction, and disgrace.
Let us suppose that Allah has bestowed upon you all the goods of this world, all the material properties of which you may conceive - how much can you use besides the food and drink your stomach can take, the clothing that will cover your body, and a place to live? The humble of this world have no less, yet they are much better off. For they are at peace, without worry, in this world; and certainly in the hereafter they have less to account for.
Do not exchange your spiritual peace and the possibility of eternal bliss for the temporal, decaying goods of this world. No matter how grand and secure they look, they will die when you die. Death may come in your next step upon this earth, and all your dreams of this world will evaporate.
As the world-bound are sons of this world, there are also people bound for the hereafter, sons of the hereafter. As the Messenger of Allah advised, "be sons of the hereafter, bound for eternity, not temporal sons of the earth who will return to the earth." Read these words of your Lord and abide by them:
Whoever desires this world's life and its finery, We repay them their deeds therein and they are not made to suffer loss in it. These are they for whom there is nothing but fire in the hereafter. And what they work therein is fruitless, and their deeds are vain.
(Hud, 15-16)
Whoso desires the harvest of the hereafter we give him increase in his harvest, and whoso desires the harvest of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the hereafter.
(Shura, 20)
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AFTERWORD
May the Eternal Truth wake you from the slumber of heedlessness. May He make you aware of the origin, to which we will all return and in which we will all remain for the rest of eternity.
May the Divine Seer of all and everything open your inner eye, so that you can see and remember what you have done and said all through your life in this temporal realm of experiments. Then you will know and always remember that you must account for it all and that you will be judged on the day of final judgment.
Do not leave your accounting to the Day of Reckoning. This is the place and the time to do it. See yourself., close your accounts. The only way to salvation is to go into the Beyond clean and clear of debts. Give heed to the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said, "Make your accounting before it is made for you, weigh your sins before they are weighed for you." Examine your life; weigh your transgressions against your good deeds. Do it while you still have time in this world of numbered breaths, while you can, before you are left alone in that dark hole in the ground.
While you are alive, your worldly self is like a collector of benefits from Allah's bounties, which come to you from myriads of hands. What you receive is not really yours; you are like a cashier who distributes what he has received, and you are responsible for the accounting of it.
If you do not do this today, be sure that tomorrow on the burning Day of Reckoning you will scream and ask for help. No one will come to your aid. You will. hear the divine voice coming from the center of all divine orders, the voice of the Absolute Punisher who punishes the guilty, reducing them to nothing. it will be saying:
Read your book. Your own soul is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day.
(Bani Isra'il, 14)
Hasn't the Lord sent you messengers; hasn't He shown you the right way; hasn't He ordered you to remember Him and praise Him day and night? Hasn't He given you time within the day and within the night to follow His orders?
If you wait until the last minute, you will receive no good from your regret. If you insist on waiting and delay the accounting of yourself, know that all doors and windows will be closed to you and you will be left outside. If this is the case, know that there is no other door, no other place in which to seek refuge. There is no place to go - for you or for anyone or anything in the creation - except Allah's door of mercy. Go and kneel at its sill. Shed tears of repentance and beg for entrance. Try and see what is behind the curtains.
There are three dangers which may keep you from examining yourself making the accounting of your acts, and being thankful to your generous Lord. The first of these dangers is unconsciousness, heedlessness. The second is the flood of tastes and desires that gush from your ego, your lower self. The third is bad habits, in fact all habits, which make one like a machine. The one who can protect himself against these three dangers, with Allah's help, will find salvation in both worlds.
Blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his progeny and his companions - in all tongues, in all places, and at all levels.
Whoever theorizes his religion
offends against the Way of God, and peace. Heretic!
Deviate toward the Law! Don't complicate.
All that is forbidden. All this learned talk
is ignorance. Station and state discard it.
It's not discussion: Religion's what my Lord said
or what he said - the master guide, the envoy
(and peace be his) - for he said not a word!
Footnotes
[1 ]Al-Shaykh al-Akbar. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi had a shaikh who used to write down on a piece of paper everything he did or said during the day. At night he would make an accounting of that day's words and actions. If he had done wrong, he would repent and ask forgiveness; and if he had done right, he would offer thanks to Allah. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi noted not only what he did and said, as his shaikh had done, but also his thoughts and feelings.
WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS
By Ibn 'Arabi
Note:
What the seeker needs is also known as Kitab Kunh ma la budda minhu lil- murid. This short work was written in Mosul in 1204 in answer to the question of what the seeker "should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before anything else."
Translations of this work have been printed on several occasions: in Turkish (by Mahmud Mukhtar Bey, 1898); Spanish (excerpts by M. Asin Palacios, 1931); and in English (by A. Jeffrey, 1962).
* * * * * *
WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS
All praise and thanks are due to Allah Most High, and may His benedictions and salutations be upon His messenger, and the progeny and companions of His messenger.
This short guide is a response to one who wishes to take the path of faith, hope, and love so that he might become complete and perfect as he was created. It was written to answer his questions about what he should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before anything else.
O you who yearn for eternal beauty, traveler on the path of the true wish, may Allah make you successful in knowing the true way, finding it, and being upon it. May He use you and us in actions that please Him and are done for His sake. For the beginning and the end and what is in between, and success in them all, belong only to Him.
The way and means to eternal salvation and bliss is in coming close to the Truth. Allah Himself teaches us the meaning of His closeness to us. He teaches us by sending us His prophets. We say, "we believe." It is the truth. We accept and confirm it. The only thing then left for us to do is to follow the teachings and the example of His prophet.
First, you must believe in the oneness and uniqueness of the One who is before the before and after the after, who created us and everything else, and you must not associate with Him anything unbefitting the purity of His Essence. He Himself says in His divine book:
If there were in them gods besides Allah, (the heavens and the earth) would both have been in disorder (mixing and clashing and being destroyed).
(Anbiya', 22)
The wills of many creators would clash and cancel each other, not permitting anything to be or to happen. Therefore, if we and all existence exist, He -- the One and Unique Creator - exists, and He has no associates.
O you with beautiful nature and pure heart, do not debate, discuss, even talk with people who attribute partners to Allah. There is no use in trying to convince them. Even the deniers will finally concede:
And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth they will say, Allah.
(Luqman, 25)
They as well will finally admit an unknown force as the initial Creator of the creation - but they will add to Him further creators. The difference between them and the believers is that they suppose that others, among the created, are also able to create. You do not have to prove to them the existence of Allah. Let them prove, if they can, the existence of His associates.
This is sufficient advice for you on the subject of professing the oneness of Allah. Time is valuable: you cannot be careless with it. If the mind has reached a state in which it is free from doubt and the heart is safe and secure, it makes no sense to disturb this peace with superfluous proofs.
The second matter of importance for one who wishes to learn is the belief that Allah Most High is free from all resemblance to anything visible or invisible in the creation. He is free from all defect.
There are some who, wanting to see the image of their Creator, err, and liken Him to a human being. Let His own words be your guide in this. He says:
Nothing is like Him....
(Shura, 11)
Any thought, any word, any qualiy or attribute not corresponding to this principle is a falsehood, unworthy of the Divine. Therefore seek no further than the fact that none resemble or are like Him. That is His reality. This is also confirmed by the declaration of His messenger, who said, "At the beginning was Allah, and none with Him." The ones who followed him added to this statement, "It is now as it was." As it was before the creation, it is after the creation. From the time when matter was hidden under the veil of nonexistence and there was no form, nothing has been added or subtracted. Though He has created the creation, still there are none like Him. Nothing is like Him. Nothing is Him, but everything is from Him. The divine word that He is without likeness cancels all other thoughts, claims, and interpretations.
You must also accept, and believe, even if you do not understand, the allegorical verses of the Holy Qur'an and the ambiguous statement of the Messenger of Allah concerning the unity and the ultimate cause, as well as all the declarations of the prophets which have come to us unaltered. You must consider that the significance of these words is a part of divine knowledge and that as such, you accept them. The monumental meanings of these holy expressions are for the understanding of people who are close enough to Allah to be able to see His beautiful attributes.
There is no better proof of the perfection of the Divine, who is self-existent and whose existence is a necessity for the existence of all else, than the holy verse:
Nothing is like Him....
Allah declares with this verse His being, His essence, His divine nature, His limitless greatness, His glory. So write in your heart and mind this principle, this foundation of faith, and believe in Allah's prophet and the message that he brought from the Divine Truth, and in Allah's orders and justice. Furthermore, have faith in the true declarations of all the prophets known and unknown. Love their companions; accept the truth of their mission. Do not speak against them. Do not value one over another. Think of them with terms of praise, as they are described in the Holy Qur'an and in the words of other prophets, which can only be the truth. Show respect, as did the prophets, for the character that distinguishes the perfect man, and for holy places. Accept and believe in the deeds and the words of the saints, even though you may not understand their state and the miracles attributed to them.
Look upon the whole creation, and above all, mankind, with good will - accepting, approving, forgiving, serving, loving. Make that your nature in your dealings with the world. Listen to your conscience. Cleanse your heart. In that clean heart, keep up prayer for your faithful brothers. Help and serve, as much as you can, the people who hide their misery, who are content with their poverty, the travelers on the path to truth. Do not attribute to yourself virtue, goodness, and graciousness because of your service to the creation. Consider that you owe other people thanks for having humbly accepted your help. It is incumbent upon you to lighten the load of those who are burdened. If people whose pain you have helped to alleviate cause you pain in return - if their responses, their ways, their habits are dark and cast shadows upon you - show patience and forbearance. Do not forget that Allah says:
...surely Allah is with the patient.
(Baqara, 153)
Do not spend your life in empty endeavors and your time in idle talk. Instead, reflect and remember Allah, read the Qur'an, guide the misguided to the enlightened path. Help others leave evil and turn to doing good. Mend broken friendships. Help others to help others.
Find the right friend, who will be a support for you, a good travelling companion on the path of truth. Faith is a seed. It grows into a tree with the beneficent watering and sunshine of faithful friends. Beware of being close to those who do not discriminate between the faithful and the unfaithful - not knowing either faith or the faithful, they do not care about them. They are either strangers to or enemies of the truth in which you believe.
Look for a perfect teacher who will lead you on the straight path. In your search for a guide, be sincere, because sincerity distinguishes the true seeker. It is certain that if you cling to sincerity and truthfulness, the Lord will manifest His attribute of the Ultimate Guide upon you and will guide you to a perfect teacher. Sincerity in the seeker is such a blessing that when it is present, Allah will even turn the accursed devil himself and the seeker's personal devil, his ego, into angels of inspiration serving him. Sincerity is such a catalyst that it turns lead into gold and purifies everything it touches.
A matter of the greatest importance, one of your greatest needs, is to be sure that the morsel of bread you put in your mouth is lawful. Lawful sustenance, the lawfulness of all you enjoy in this world, is the foundation of your faith. It is upon this foundation that your religion can be built.
To advance in this path, in the footsteps of the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), you have to be light - light in worldly goods, light in your concerns about this world. An unmistakable sign of the heaviness that will prevent you from advancing is to be a burden on people. Neither be a freeloader nor let others carry your load. Particularly, don't accept goods and favors, either for yourself or for others, from people whose hearts are dead, submerged in the sleep of heedlessness.
In what Allah permits you to gain as your sustenance - in all your actions, behavior and words - fear Allah. Do not seek comfort and luxury, especially when you have not worked hard for it. Lawful sustenance is obtained by working harder than is demanded of you. A clear sign of the lawfulness of one's gain is that it will not permit you to be either stingy or a spendthrift.
Take care, since if the love of this world takes root firmly in your heart, it constricts your heart, and it becomes exceedingly hard to pull it out and throw it away. This world is a trial ground; don't seek comfort and riches in it. Eat less. That will leave more space in your heart and will increase your desire to pray and be obedient It will make you more active and less lazy.
Cleanse and beautify your days and nights with worship. The generous Lord asks you to His presence five times a day. Do your prayers at the times He calls you, five times daily, and at each prayer make an accounting of your actions since the last prayer. It is to be hoped that only good deeds and actions befitting a Muslim are done between the times of prayer.
Most people complain that this world, their work to secure their sustenance, and their work as householders for their families, take time away from their worship. Know that work done heedfully, with consideration for others, in accordance with proper behavior, for the pleasure of Allah, is also worship.
Allah has blessed you with intellect, knowledge, profession, strength, and health. All grace and power are due to Him. Use these to gather as much of your sustenance as possible in the minimum of time. If possible, secure in one day your week's sustenance. Take the example of Ahmad al-Sabti, a prince, the son of the 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. He used the maximum of his talents and strength and effort and worked exceedingly hard as a manual laborer on Saturday. With what he earned in one day he was able to live a whole week. He dedicated the remaining six days of the week to working for Allah and worshipping Him.
After you perform your morning prayer, stay with your Lord until sunrise, and after your afternoon prayer stay in His presence until sunset. These are two periods of time when spiritual powers and enlightenment flow in abundance. Keep your heart tied to Allah in humility and in peace.
There is great virtue and merit in performing extra worship of twenty cycles of prayer between the afternoon and evening prayers, and between the evening and night prayers. Perform extra prayers of four cycles just before the noon prayer, after and just before the afternoon prayer, and after the evening prayer. Perform another ten cycles of prayers in sets of two after the obligatory night prayer, and the three cycles of closing prayer, witr, as the last worship of the day.
Do not sleep until you are unable to stay awake. Do not eat until you are hungry. Dress only to cover your body and to protect it from cold and from heat. Make it a habit to read from the Holy Qur'an every day. When you read, hold the holy book with respect. Keep it in your left hand at the level of your chest, and move your right hand along the words you read. Read aloud, but just loud enough that you can hear your own voice.
Read without haste, slowly thinking of the meaning of each word. Wish for divine mercy and beneficence when you come to the verses that inspire His mercy. Take warning from the verses of admonition, and when reading them, promise your Lord your determination to act upon His command, repenting, taking refuge in His mercy, seeking salvation. When you read verses describing the praiseworthy qualities of the truly faithful, think of your own qualities. Be thankful and praise Him for your good qualities, and feel shame for the qualities missing in you, so mat you may hope to find the character of the faithful in yourself. And when you read about the faults of the nonbelievers and of the hypocrites who hide and distort the truth, think about whether you are also afflicted with such faults. If you are, try to stop them, to chase them away, to eliminate them. If you do not have them, take refuge in Him, be thankful and praise Him.
What is essential for you is to be heedful at all times, to be attentive to what comes into your mind and your heart. Think about and analyze these thoughts and feelings. Try to control them. Beware of the wishes of your ego, settle your accounts with it.
Have conscience, shame, in front of Allah. That will be a motivation to make you heedful. You will then care about what you are doing or saying or thinking, and the thoughts and feelings that are ugly in the eyes of Allah will be unable to settle in your heart. Your heart will then be safe from wishing acts not in accordance with Allah's pleasure.[1]
Give value to your time, live in the present moment. Do not live in imagination and throw your time away. Allah has prescribed a duty, an act, a worship for your every moment. Know what it is and hasten to do it. First perform the actions He has given to you as obligations. Then do what He has given to you to do through the example of His Prophet. Then take on what He has left you as voluntary, acceptable good deeds. Work to serve the ones who are in need.
Do everything you do in order to come close to your Lord in your worship and prayers. Think that each deed may be your last act, each prayer your last prostration, that you may not have another chance. If you do this, it will be another motivation for becoming heedful and also for becoming sincere and truthful. Allah does not accept good deeds done unconsciously and insincerely as readily as deeds done in consciousness and sincerity.
Cleanliness is an order of Allah. Keep your body and your inner self clean at all times. Whenever you make an ablution make two cycles of prayer following it, except when you have to make an ablution at times when praying is not permitted: at sunrise, at high noon, and at sunset. Friday is an exception to that rule; it is permissible then to pray at high noon.
Above all, what you need is high morals, good character, proper behavior; you must identify your bad features and rid yourself of them. Your relationship to whomever you come into contact with must be based on the best of conduct - but what this means may vary with conditions and circumstances.
Whoever neglects a single item of good behavior is considered to have bad character. Men are created different from each other. Their levels are different. Good behavior and character are also in different levels. Behavior is not a form. It is not to act in the same way on every occasion towards everyone. You have to consider each case, each person, in accordance with the circumstance and. the need of the person. A good rule to remember is that if a thing is done to bring salvation, truth, comfort, and peace to others, to oneself, and to as many people as possible, protecting them, eliminating pain and hardship, it is good behavior - on condition that it is not done for personal benefit, but for Allah's sake. Is not man the servant of Allah? Are not his life and his deeds dependent on divine predestination? He is in a frame whose limits he, cannot leave. His will, his freedom of choice, his destiny written on his forehead, are in the hand of the All-Powerful upon whom all acts, all moves depend.
Proper behavior is the means by which an intention becomes a good deed. Therefore it is the greatest capital in the hand of the seeker. The proof is the word of the one who was brought with the most beautiful character, the last prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who said, "I have been sent to perfect good behavior."
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
And the recompense of evil is punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with Allah....
(Shura, 40)
The religious law says that you may choose to demand your right or you may choose to leave it. Choose to leave that which is due to you and forgive, instead of punishing, so that you will be counted among the compassionate, the peaceful, the righteous, whose rewards are promised by Allah.
It is also within good behavior to be angry and to seek to punish when this is justified by the religious code. Anger and its manifestation are one of the great sins if aroused by wrongs done to you personally. But it is permissible and right and a part of correct behavior and good character to become " "Use of something done against Allah and His divine precepts, to manifest it, and to fight for Allah's sake. It is best to separate yourself from people who do not believe in what you believe, who do not do what you do, and who are against your faith. Yet at the same time you should not think badly of them or condemn them for what they are. Your intention in ignoring them should be that you prefer the company of believers. Spend your time in remembering, glorifying, and worshipping Allah instead of being with them. Treat well those who are dependent upon you: the people who work for you, your children, your wives and husbands, your mothers, sisters, and friends, the animals in your care, the plants in your garden. Allah has given them into your hands to test you. You are in His care. Treat the ones in your care as you want the One in whose care you are to treat you. The Messenger of Allah says, "All of creation are Allah's dependents." He has left a few of His dependents, such as your family, in you hands. That is why His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says that the one who is best loved by Him is the one who is best towards his dependents. Show love, compassion, delicacy, generosity, and protection towards those who depend on you - and in fact, to everyone. If you wish His compassion and protection, remember that you yourself depend on the One, the lord and owner of all and everything.
Teach Allah's words in His divine book and the good behavior of Islam to your children. Secure for them conditions in which they can exercise what you have taught them. Do this without expecting any return from them. From the very beginning, teach them to bear difficulty, to have patience, to think. Do not place in their hearts the love of the world. Teach them to dislike the things of this world that will render them proud - luxuries, beautiful clothes, delicacies, excess of ambition - because all these, if obtained, will be subtracted from the good due them in the hereafter. Let them not get accustomed to good things; break their habits. Beware that this, which may seem austere, should not bring forth in you the ugly character of miserliness towards your children. Do it in respect and attachment to your religion.
Do not seek to be close to the heedless, to the ones who are slaves to the desires of their flesh. They take hearts away from the light of truth and throw them into the dark hole of heedlessness, as they did with their own hearts. If you are placed with them in the same time and space, then face them and advise them. If they turn their backs on you, it is because they do not know their fronts from their backs. Do not stab them in the back. Be the same way to them whether they turn their faces to you or their backs. Then they may like and respect you and perchance they may be attached to you and follow you.
Do not be satisfied with your spiritual state; advance. Advance ceaselessly, without interruption. With firm intention pray to Allah, the Ultimate Truth, to bring you from the state in which you are to a state beyond it. In every state, in every move, while doing a thing or while being inactive, be sincere and truthful. Be with the Ultimate Truth. Do not ever forget Him. Feel His presence always.
Learn to give, whether you have plenty or little, whether you are happy or in pain. This is a proof of your faith in Allah. Try to satisfy the needs of the needy. This is an affirmation that Allah has assigned everyone's sustenance and nothing will change it. This is a proof of your trusting in Allah.
A miser is a coward. The accursed Devil whispers in his ear that there is no death, that he will live a long time; that the world is hostile; that if he gives he will be left destitute, dishonored, and alone; that he should not be fooled by the plenty that he now has, for no one knows what will happen tomorrow. Worse still, if the miser has little, the devil tells him that soon he will have even less. No one will help him; he will be a load on others and will be detested. He has to look after himself. If these evil imaginations capture the heart one may be led to he edge of hellfire. On the other hand, the ones who give their ears to Allah hear His blessed words. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
...and whoever is saved from the miserliness of his ego, these it is that find salvation.
(Hashr, 9)
...whoever is miserly is miserly to himself.
(Muhammad, 38)
The final warning is:
If you turn back (on the path) He will bring another people in your place.
(Muhammad, 38)
That is to say, after having been taught and after having been brought to the path of faith, if you begin or continue to be a miser, you may lose your place, your level, and Allah's favor. Someone else, who is generous and believes in Allah's generosity, will be brought in your place.
The one who is niggardly has not realized the terrifying meaning of Allah's words:
Destroy their riches and harden their hearts.
(Yunus, 88)
This is the curse of the prophet Moses (peace be upon him) upon the Pharaoh. When Allah willed the destruction of Pharaoh and his chief, the prophet Moses (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah, the Absolute Judge, for them to be cursed with miserliness. With the effect of this curse the Egyptians were afflicted with miserliness and envy. The poor and the weak died of hunger and Allah judged the Pharaoh and his followers and punished them because of their miserliness.
The ones who are cursed with stinginess do not listen to the words of Allah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who says, "Allah has two angels next to Him who pray every morning, 'O Lord, increase Your bounties upon the ones who give, and take away what they have from the ones who keep it!"'
When Hadrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wished to donate all that he possessed and brought it to the blessed presence of our master, the Prophet of Allah asked, "What have you put aside for he care of your family?" He responded, "I leave them in the care of Allah and His messenger." When Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) brought half his fortune to donate and was asked the same question, he answered, "I have left half of my goods for the sustenance of my family." The prophet of Allah told them, "The difference between you two is in accordance with your response to my question "
The one who gives from his sustenance attracts; a more than he has given from the Ultimate Sustainer. The miser, in addition to his sin of miserliness, accuses Allah Most High of stinginess and prefers and trusts his miserable goods over the generosity of his Lord. This is the unforgivable sin of attributing partners to Allah and may cause one to be rejected from Allah's mercy and lose his faith, may Allah protect us.
Therefore, spend from what Allah has given you. Do not fear poverty. Allah will give you what He has promised, whether you or everyone asks for it or does not ask for it. No one who has been generous has ever perished in destitution.
If you wish to find the truth and have Allah's pleasure and support in it, then avoid being negative and control your temper and anger. If you cannot stop anger, at least do not show it. When you do this, you will please Allah and disappoint the devil. You will begin to educate your ego and straighten and shorten your path. Anger is a result and a sign of the ego not being under control, like a mean wild animal untied and uncaged. As you hold your temper, it is as if you put a bridle on its head and barriers around it. You begin then to tame it, teach it how to behave, to obey, so that it cannot hurt others or itself (because it is a part of you).
When this discipline reflects from you, revealing someone who can control his temper and hold his anger, your adversary will be calmed. You will not be reacting to his provocations. You will not be punishing him or responding to his negativity, but ignoring it. This is more effective than punishing him. He may be led to see the reality of his acts, to realize what is fair, and to confess his faults.
Give heed to this advice and make it a habit. If you do, you certainly will see the positive result and the rewards here and in the hereafter. You will be the winner on the day when your deeds will be weighed. That is the greatest reward and the greatest grace that you will receive. For if you hold your temper, the All Just will also hold back His punishment for your sins, which are punishable by His divine wrath. Your forgiving will be rewarded by His forgiving you. What better benefit may one expect for effort in bearing hardship caused by your brothers and sisters in faith?
Allah will treat you the way He has ordered you to treat others. So try to assume the good qualities of being just, peaceful, helpful, gentle, and loving. Persist in these qualities; act with them. You will see that this character will spread from you to others around you, creating harmony, mutual love, and respect. The Beloved of Allah, our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), orders us to love each other, to be in a continuous loving state. He repeats this in so many ways, in so many statements. To leave anger, to replace it with bearing hardship, with forgiving, with caring for the one who causes the hardship, is one of the cornerstones of the foundation of love.
* * * * * *
Open your heart in order to receive divine benevolence. A benevolent heart becomes the mirror in which Allah's favors are manifest. When the divine favors manifest and come through you, when you feel His presence, you will feel shame at your improper actions. This will cause both you and others to have conscience. Thus your benevolence will protect you and others from sin.
When the archangel Gabriel asked our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "What is divine benevolence?" The Last of the Prophets answered, "To pray and glorify Allah as if you are in His presence, as if you see Him." Reverence reflects in the heart of a believer who has reached the level of praying as if he sees Allah.
Then our master the Prophet continued, "For if you are unable to see Him, He certainly sees you." The one who has reached that level of realization of divine benevolence will have conscience. He will feel that gaze of Allah upon him and will be ashamed to sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Conscience is total good." If a believer has conscience, he is aware of what he is doing and he cannot do wrong; Men a heart is filled with conscience, the possessor of that heart encounters no harm either in this world or in the Hereafter. The sign of a man with conscience is his lack of arrogance and self-importance. He never oppresses or tries to dominate others. May you also reach the level of benevolence and have conscience, and may you have the strength and foresight to try to attain it.
* * * * * *
Wake before sunrise, remember Allah, and repent. When repentance follows sin, it erases it The sin disappears as if it never happened. When repentance follows a benevolent action or prayer, it is like light upon light, grace upon grace. To remember Allah and to praise Him unifies the heart when it is scattered all around - like a mirror broken into a thousand pieces - and mends it, makes it into one, and turns it towards the One. Then all trouble leaves the heart, and it is filled with the joy of the One whom it remembers.
When your heart is filled to the brim with remembrance, then read the Holy Qur'an. When you read, reflect upon the meaning of what you have read. When verses remind you of His oneness and of His being without likeness and free from all defect, praise Him. When you read verses describing His blessings, bounties, generosity, and love or His wrath and punishment, take refuge from Him in Him and beg for His mercy. When you hear the parables about past prophets and their people, take heed and draw lessons from what happened to them. There are infinite meanings within the verses of the Holy Qur'an, within every word - changing with your states and levels, knowledge and understanding. Therefore you cannot possibly be tired, weary, or bored in reading them.
* * * * * *
Try to undo the knots of your persistence in sinning. Knot over knot ties you up. How are you going to save yourself? You will need the help of the one who tied those knots, your own self. Talk to it, reason with it. Tell it: "O temporal flesh, you resent listening to reason, but listen. Are you sure, as you inhale, that this is not your last breath? Allah knows best, but the next breath may be your last in this world to which you are so attached. Death will seize you by the throat; yet you persist in piling wrong upon wrong, sin upon sin. The Ultimate Judge warns the ones who persist in sinning with such punishment that mountains of rock cannot bear it. How then can you, flimsy as a straw, imagine that you could bear such horrible torments? Do not turn your back on me One who created you. Face Him and repent. Do it now, without delay, for you do not know when death will break you in two."
And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes to one of them he says, "Now I repent ......
(Nisa', 17)
Say to the self: "Indeed, after the aura of death has rendered you prostrate and life is fading away, if you can remember at all and repent, that repentance will not be accepted by Allah. The Prophet whom He sent as a mercy upon the universe said that though Allah accepts your repentance until the time when your breath is being choked out of you, at the moment of your death throes it is too late. Death comes without: warning - to some while eating, to some while drinking, to others while sleeping with their wives, to others in deep sleep from which they do not awake. Whoever, before that, has not turned from falsehood to truth, has not repented but persists in sinning, will fall into the abyss of death."
Talk this way to your self. Try to discipline and educate the desires of your flesh. As. they are persistent in sinning, be persistent in convincing them to stop sinning. If you keep warning your lower self, with the help of Allah the knots binding your heart will be untied. That is the only way to be saved.
* * * * * *
Fear Allah both in your actions and deep in - your heart and thoughts. Fear of Allah is the fear of Allah's punishment. Whoever truly fears the warnings of torment of the Absolute Judge cannot but act in accordance with the pleasure of the Creator and seek the right over the wrong. The Owner of the Final Word Himself said:
...and Allah cautions you against His retribution....
(Al-Imran, 27)
... and know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so beware of Him....
(Baqarah, 235)
The fear of Allah is a protection, the thing that guards you from harm. Allah's protection is the strongest of all armor, of all fortifications; no harm can penetrate it. That is what divine fear secures for you. The Prophet of Allah, whom He sent as His mercy upon the universe, himself took refuge in his lord. Praying to Him, he said, "I take refuge in Your pleasure, in Your beauty, in Your gentleness, from Your wrath and Your strength. I take refuge in Your divine mercy and compassion, from your punishment. I take refuge in You from You."
Seek, learn about, and imitate K beneficent acts of your Creator that manifest all around you. Protect yourself against divine wrath with acts and deeds in accordance with Allah's pleasure. Whatever act, whatever thing, whatever path is under the shadow of doubt and fear, do not come close to it. Leave it. Know that knowing your Creator and obeying Him is the only path that will lead you to peace and felicity. Revolt and selfishness are a dead end. Only by gaining the divine consent can you save yourself from your Lord's wrath. Only be entering the straight path can you get out of the abyss of that dead end; only by actions proper to paradise can you keep away from the fire. Allah says:
Fear Allah... and fear the Fire.
(Al 'Imran, 130-31)
With the fear of Allah, rise away from fire and towards felicity.
* * * * * *
While you persist in sinning and stubbornly refuse to see your errors, why are you so proud that Allah treats you with patience, kindness, and generosity in spite of your sins? Is it that you are fooled by what the devil whispers in your ear, saying, "If it weren't for your sins and your revolt, how would Allah manifest His infinite mercy, compassion, and generosity?" Don't you see how irrational that evil teaching is? Would it be less merciful and beneficent for the Owner of Infinite Wisdom to prevent His servant from opposing His will and pleasure?
Then the devil may whisper in your ear again: "You have no hope of attaining the level of benevolence of those who are born with good character and obedience. They have come to this world and shown their obedience to the will of Allah, gathered their Lord's mercy and beneficence in this world, and left it. The real mercy, generosity, and kindness of Allah will be manifest in the Hereafter on the Day of Judgment, Men He judges His disobedient servants who need of His mercy."
Only someone who has lost his senses could believe in and be deceived by such thoughts. Protect yourself against such temptations and tell your devil: "What you say about Allah's infinite patience and generosity towards His servants is true. Indeed, if there were no revolt, disobedience, and sin, we would not see the manifestation of His divine attributes. So many examples are related to us in the holy books and statements. But you, evil one, are using the truth for your own purposes - so that Allah's mercy be manifest, you encourage me to sin! You are trying to make me revolt because Allah is patient and kind.
"You ask me to test Allah's mercy and beneficence. How do you know, O accursed one, that I am of those who will be forgiven? Indeed Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes injustice whom He wills. How do I know to which party I belong? All I know is that I am full of sin. And just as I was left in this world without the ability to repent and ask His forgiveness, He may well refuse me His mercy before I enter hell and punish me with the fire. Although one dies as one lives, and sin is the messenger of disbelief, if I am fortunate and give my last breath as a believer, then He will purify me in hellfire and take me out and give me peace in His mercy.
"If I knew for sure that there were no day of reckoning with my sins, that there were no punishment, and if I were certain that I would receive divine absolution, I might have considered your twisted reasoning. Even then, it would be no better than admitting foolishness, for it is certainly an unforgivable behavior for a servant to test the patience of his Lord.
"On the other hand, even if I were certain that I would receive divine punishment, the proper thing for me would be shame and thankfulness for His delaying His punishment and spending of all effort of which I am capable in trying to obey the commands of my Lord.
"I have not heard of any good word that all sins will be forgiven. On the contrary, one is left free to choose between the right and the wrong, and the Ultimate Judge is free to forgive or to punish. In your case, though, O evil-commanding ego, there is no choice. You are constant in your wish for the wrong and the forbidden!"
* * * * * *
Be chaste; chastity is to be cautious, to try to abstain from all that is unclean and sinful. It is protecting yourself from all that is doubtful and suspicious in and around you. When the Messenger of Allah said: "Leave that which is doubtful and reach for that which is sure," he was speaking of the necessity of abandoning things that render you doubtful and hesitant, that create uncertainty, suspense, and fear in your heart - and of turning towards things that render you secure and peaceful.
It falls upon you to examine each act, each word, each act of worship, each relation with others such as friendship or marriage. You must find whether each thing is good or bad, clean or unclean, right or wrong-in other words, lawful or unlawful. In some cases it is clear; then you must choose the right over the wrong. In some cases it is doubtful; then you must leave it as if it were wrong and seek that which is sure.
Follow the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Even if you feel in need of that which is doubtful, even if you are unable to get anything else, do not take it; leave it for the sake of Allah. This is chastity. Be sure that Allah will reward the chaste with abundant goods much better than the doubtful thing that was abandoned. But do not expect your reward immediately.
Chastity is the foundation of religion and the path to truth. If you are chaste, all your deeds will be pure and sincere; all you do will end well; you will be in harmony with the divine order. You will be the recipient of divine generosity; all will turn to you. You will be under divine protection. If you are chaste and pious, avoiding the wrong and the doubtful, there is no doubt that you will receive all these blessings. But if you turn your back to chastity and piety, the Absolute Judge will place you in a shameful state - helpless, terrified. He will leave you by yourself in the hands of your ego. Then you will be a toy for the devil, who will find no resistance, no opposition to his tempting you, to his taking you away from truth.
Spend all your effort to stay on the path of piety, and may Allah help you.
* * * * * *
This world is a place of preparation where one is given many lessons and poses many tests. Choose less over more in it. Be satisfied with what you have, even if it is less than what others have. In fact, prefer to have less.
This world is not bad - on the contrary, it is the field of the hereafter. What you plant here, you will reap there. This world is the way to eternal bliss and so is good - worthy to be cherished and to be praised.
What is bad is what you do with the world when you become blind to truth and totally consumed by your desires, lust, and ambition for it. Our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in whom wisdom was as clear a crystal, was asked, "What is worldliness?" He answered, "Everything that makes you heedless and causes you to forget your Lord." Therefore the goods of this world are not harmful in themselves, but only when you let them render you forgetful, disobedient, and unaware of the Lord who has generously offered them to you. It is your sense of the world, your relationship to it, your preference of it over the One who gave it to you, that makes you insensitive and causes you to break your connection with divine truth.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever prefers the world over the Hereafter is made to suffer three things: an unbearable load that is never lightened; a poverty that never becomes richer, and an ambition, a hunger, that is never satisfied."
Therefore the one who lives for this world alone is bound to bear its pains and difficulties - trying to resolve its problems by himself, being totally dependent on it like a beggar, trying to obtain the needs of his flesh and his ego from it. That flesh, that ego whose appetite never knows satiation, whose ambitions are endless, is always wanting, always hungry, always dissatisfied. These are the rewards of the world to those who make the world their lord, forgetting the Lord of all the Universes.
This does not mean that you should abandon the world, not do your duties in it or participate in its affairs - retiring to a corner, making no effort, doing no work. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah likes to see the believer working at his profession." "Indeed Allah likes the one who has a craft." "The one who earns his sustenance lawfully through his efforts is beloved of Allah." These sayings mean that Allah's beneficence encompasses all who work hard in a craft or business in this world. It is for this reason that all the prophets worked for their sustenance.
It is related that one day Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) met a group of people who were sitting around lazily doing nothing. He asked them who they were. "We are of those who put their affairs in the hands of Allah, and we trust in Him," they replied.
"Indeed you do not!" he angrily responded. "You are nothing but freeloaders, parasites upon other people's efforts! For someone who truly trusts in Allah first plants the seed in the belly of this earth, then hopes and expects and puts his affairs in the hand of the Sustainer!"
Some true theologians come close to claiming work - in the professions, crafts, and businesses that are lawful according to divine law - as a condition of faith. They have claimed that certainty of faith is defined by the carrying out of religious obligations, and that work is one of these. They based this on the verse:
But when the prayer is ended, disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much that you may be successful.
(Jum'ah, 10)
Thus to leave the worldly and the world does not mean not to do your duties in it.
Perhaps what is meant by being worldly is giving yourself up solely to gathering the world's benefits. The worldly person identifies with what he has gathered and is proud of it. Full of ambition, he devotes himself to amassing the goods of this world without any consideration of whether they are lawful or unlawful, his rightful portion or the portion of others. Worse still is not to see any wrong in all this, to think that it is the right way, the only way.
When the love of the world fills your heart totally, it leaves no space for the remembrance of Allah. Forgetting the hereafter, you prefer this temporal world. All that you need from the world is something lawful to satisfy your hunger, something with which to cover yourself, and a roof over your head. Let these be the only things you ask from this world, nothing more. Don't be envious of the apparent temporal abundance the world-bound seem to enjoy, nor wish for the riches they have gathered without any consideration of right or wrong, of lawful or unlawful. How long does one stay in this world?
Someone who chooses this temporal world over the true good of the eternal Hereafter will never reach his goal, either here or there. For the ambition of one who is ambitious for this world will never be satisfied. Don't you see that the Maker of Destiny decides your lot in this world, and that you receive neither more nor less than what you are destined to receive? Whether you care or not, what Allah has set forth does not change. Whether we want more or not, we can only attain that which is reflected in the mirror of our destiny. Allah says:
We portion out among them their livelihood in the life of this world.
(Zukhruf, 32)
But people who take this world as their god have endless wants, and those wants of theirs that are not appointed to them, they will never receive. Thus they will be dissatisfied and unhappy all of their lives and in the Hereafter they will have to face the wrath of Allah.
The desires of this world are like sea water. The more you drink of them, the more you thirst. The Messenger of Allah likened this world to a garbage heap in order to tell you to keep your distance from it. Be satisfied with the portion of it that Allah has included in your fate. Whether you like it or not, that will be your lot. Allah advised and warned the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), "O son of Adam, if you are satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will set your heart at rest and you are worthy of praise. But if you are not satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will grant the world power over you. You will race in it as a wild beast races in the desert. And by My power and majesty, you will not receive from it anything but what I have apportioned to you, and you will be worthy of blame!"
This means that man will attain peace of heart and the level of Allah's praise and grace if he accepts and is content with his lot in accordance with Allah's divine apportionment. On the other hand, if you do not accept the lot that is your fate, Allah will render the world, which you so desire, your enemy. The world will become like a desert to a hungry animal. You will run and run and tire yourself without being able to find anything in it. Allah vows for the world-bound that no matter how they run after the world, they will receive nothing more than their lot The only things they will receive beyond that are fatigue, dissatisfaction, and disgrace.
Let us suppose that Allah has bestowed upon you all the goods of this world, all the material properties of which you may conceive - how much can you use besides the food and drink your stomach can take, the clothing that will cover your body, and a place to live? The humble of this world have no less, yet they are much better off. For they are at peace, without worry, in this world; and certainly in the hereafter they have less to account for.
Do not exchange your spiritual peace and the possibility of eternal bliss for the temporal, decaying goods of this world. No matter how grand and secure they look, they will die when you die. Death may come in your next step upon this earth, and all your dreams of this world will evaporate.
As the world-bound are sons of this world, there are also people bound for the hereafter, sons of the hereafter. As the Messenger of Allah advised, "be sons of the hereafter, bound for eternity, not temporal sons of the earth who will return to the earth." Read these words of your Lord and abide by them:
Whoever desires this world's life and its finery, We repay them their deeds therein and they are not made to suffer loss in it. These are they for whom there is nothing but fire in the hereafter. And what they work therein is fruitless, and their deeds are vain.
(Hud, 15-16)
Whoso desires the harvest of the hereafter we give him increase in his harvest, and whoso desires the harvest of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the hereafter.
(Shura, 20)
* * * * * *
AFTERWORD
May the Eternal Truth wake you from the slumber of heedlessness. May He make you aware of the origin, to which we will all return and in which we will all remain for the rest of eternity.
May the Divine Seer of all and everything open your inner eye, so that you can see and remember what you have done and said all through your life in this temporal realm of experiments. Then you will know and always remember that you must account for it all and that you will be judged on the day of final judgment.
Do not leave your accounting to the Day of Reckoning. This is the place and the time to do it. See yourself., close your accounts. The only way to salvation is to go into the Beyond clean and clear of debts. Give heed to the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said, "Make your accounting before it is made for you, weigh your sins before they are weighed for you." Examine your life; weigh your transgressions against your good deeds. Do it while you still have time in this world of numbered breaths, while you can, before you are left alone in that dark hole in the ground.
While you are alive, your worldly self is like a collector of benefits from Allah's bounties, which come to you from myriads of hands. What you receive is not really yours; you are like a cashier who distributes what he has received, and you are responsible for the accounting of it.
If you do not do this today, be sure that tomorrow on the burning Day of Reckoning you will scream and ask for help. No one will come to your aid. You will. hear the divine voice coming from the center of all divine orders, the voice of the Absolute Punisher who punishes the guilty, reducing them to nothing. it will be saying:
Read your book. Your own soul is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day.
(Bani Isra'il, 14)
Hasn't the Lord sent you messengers; hasn't He shown you the right way; hasn't He ordered you to remember Him and praise Him day and night? Hasn't He given you time within the day and within the night to follow His orders?
If you wait until the last minute, you will receive no good from your regret. If you insist on waiting and delay the accounting of yourself, know that all doors and windows will be closed to you and you will be left outside. If this is the case, know that there is no other door, no other place in which to seek refuge. There is no place to go - for you or for anyone or anything in the creation - except Allah's door of mercy. Go and kneel at its sill. Shed tears of repentance and beg for entrance. Try and see what is behind the curtains.
There are three dangers which may keep you from examining yourself making the accounting of your acts, and being thankful to your generous Lord. The first of these dangers is unconsciousness, heedlessness. The second is the flood of tastes and desires that gush from your ego, your lower self. The third is bad habits, in fact all habits, which make one like a machine. The one who can protect himself against these three dangers, with Allah's help, will find salvation in both worlds.
Blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his progeny and his companions - in all tongues, in all places, and at all levels.
Whoever theorizes his religion
offends against the Way of God, and peace. Heretic!
Deviate toward the Law! Don't complicate.
All that is forbidden. All this learned talk
is ignorance. Station and state discard it.
It's not discussion: Religion's what my Lord said
or what he said - the master guide, the envoy
(and peace be his) - for he said not a word!
Footnotes
[1 ]Al-Shaykh al-Akbar. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi had a shaikh who used to write down on a piece of paper everything he did or said during the day. At night he would make an accounting of that day's words and actions. If he had done wrong, he would repent and ask forgiveness; and if he had done right, he would offer thanks to Allah. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi noted not only what he did and said, as his shaikh had done, but also his thoughts and feelings.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Assalamualaikum wrt...
Semoga sihat2 di seberang laut sana. AlhamduliLLah, ana dan family semua sihat mcm biasa.
Sedikit laporan program huffaz yang ana pergi minggu lepas.
AlhamduliLLah, ana puas hati dengan program tu. Maaflah, yg ana cerita ni cuma sebahagian yang ana dapat salin. Dan sebahagian dari sebahagian yang Ust Shafie tu sampaikan.
Sebelum sampai ke tempat prog, ana bayangkan yang datang ramai baya2 kita. Tapi subhanaLLah, lebih ramai warga2 emas. Yang dah beruban putih penuh pun ramai. Boleh kata, yang lebih ramai ialah golongan pakcik makcik.
Ada 3 slot ceramah semua sekali. Ust Shafie ni, terlibat dengan bahagian motivasi; motivasi keluarga, hafaz quran dan sebagainya. Selain tu, dia juga menguruskan sekolah tahfiz. Background dia bukanlah dr orang yang belajar agama. Dan dia start belajar mengaji pun masa dia belajar dioversea. Sebelum tu, dia mengaji merangkak2.
Pernah nak melarikan diri masa kawan2 dia ajak buat halaqah mngaji al-Quran. Tapi, start dari situ dia bcita2, nak belajar Quran. Tak terfikir pun sampai dapat hafaz. Tapi dia berazam, kalau dia balik msia tanpa ada alquran dalam dada, dia rasa macam org cacat. Kiranya masa ni lah turning point dia dalam jadi orang yang minat dengan
al-quran.
Dalam slot pertama ni Ust Shafie banyak cerita pengalaman dia untuk naikkan semangat. Semua benda tak mustahil dengan izin ALlah. Lebih2 lagi ada orang yang boleh buat perkara tu. Yang plg penting sebelum mula hafaz quran, cakap yang positif pada diri; kita pun boleh dan nak hafaz macam orang lain yang boleh hafaz tu. Persediaan mental ni bagi 70% kekuatan bebanding kekuatan2 lain. Dan hasil kerja tu bukan tanggungjawab kita. Hasil kerja tu tanggungjawab Allah. Sebagai makhluk, tanggungjawab kita usaha. Hasilnya biar Allah yang tentukan.
Orang yang hafaz Quran ni org yang pandai. Ulama' kita banyak boleh dicontohi. Dari segi sains nya...otak kiri dan otak kanan dua2 mainkan fungsi yang berbeza. Tapi otak kiri dapat meransang otak kanan supaya bekerja dengan lebih baik. Otak kiri berfikir ttg logik, manakala otak kanan berfikir ttg kreativiti. Dalam menghafaz Quran kita menggunakan otak kiri. Hafazan ni sebenarnya banyak bagi ketenangan pada hati kita. Dan manusia adalah sangat kreatif waktu dia tenang. Ketenangan
ni dapat menjana otak kanan supaya bekerja.
Jangan samakan al-Quran dengan benda lain. Setengah orang kata, apalah maknanya kalau kita hafaz Quran tapi tak hafaz makna. Takde faedah. Betul, kene berusaha untuk fahamkan makna. Tapi nak buat semua dalam satu masa bukan semua orang boleh buat. Buat sikit2. Bagi ana, bila kita menghafaz, kita berusaha untuk faham maknanya juga walaupun tak secara langsung. Bagi siapa yang mampu untuk memahami tafsirnya bagus, alhamduliLLah. Tapi bagi yang tak mampu, boleh cuba sikit2. Kalau lagi
mampu utk hafal quran, buat yang tu dulu. Kalau tak dapat semua jangan tinggal semua.Yang pentingnya, Al-Quran tak sama dengan buku2 lain.
Ada berkatnya kalau kita berusaha membaca, memahami, dan menghafaz.
Antara perkara2 yang sgt perlu utk memudahkan hafazan ialah buat perkara yang ALlah suka:
1. Solat: Hubungan dgn Allah
2. Cintai majlis ilmu
3. Menjadikan Al-Quran sebagai makanan rohani bagi jiwa
4. Letakkan Al-Quran sebagai satu keutamaan dalam hidup
5. Mudah memaafkan orang lain
6. Banyakkan Istighfar
7. Taqwa; buat baik sebanyak-banyaknya, buat baik tu sebenarnya utk diri sendiri, buat jahat juga akan kembali pada diri sendiri, buat sahaja kewajipan dan mohonlah ganjaran dr Allah, nescaya kamu akan gembira.
Utk persediaan minda ni, kita perlukan:
1. Keyakinan yang kuat pada Allah
2. Menjaga amalan fardhu supaya hubungan kita sentiasa rapat dengan Allah
3. Menambah amalan sunat supaya Allah kasih dngan kita
Dalam proses hafazan biasanya kita akan pindah bila dah "rasa2" mcm hafaz ayat sebelumnya. Tapi sebenarnya hafaz cara ni, kita save hafazan dalam short term memory. Gunakan long term memory lebih baik dan lebih selamat lagi daripada hafazan hilang dengan cpt. Cara yang Ust Shafie amalkan, setiap satu ayat dia akan sebut sebut sebanyak 60 kali dan masa sebut tu, tunjukkan pada ayat yang sedang dihafaz tu.
Setiap ayat yang pendek cuma makan masa dalam 3 minit sebenarnya untuk diulang sebanyak 60 kali. Kalau ayat panjang, boleh di potong2 untuk memudahkan hafazan. Hari yang berikutnya, kita cuba ulang ayat yang telah kita hafaz sebelum ini juga. Kaedah ni sebenarnya melatih mendisiplinkan diri. Walaupun mula2 rasa susah, bila dah biasa, xrasa apa sgt. Ust Shafie dah buat eksperiment pada anak2nya. Semua sekali
ada 12 org. Yang dah selamat menghafaz 30 juzuk seramai 4 org. SubhaanaLLah. Kalau 12 orang semuanya hafaz Quran, banyak yang dpt bg shafaat pd ust shafie nanti.
Kena jelas tujuan dalam menghafaz Quran. Hafazan ni dapat bri kekuatan pd kita utk jadi khalifah di dunia ni. Biar sedikit yang di hafaz, tapi ingat semuanya. Org kafir tanya kenapa Allah x turunkan Quran semua sekali sekali gus. Allah turunkan sikit demi sedikit supaya Nabi dapat ajarkan sikit demi sedikit pada org mukmin dan mereka dapat ingat kemudian amalkan.
Pada slot yang kedua, ust shafie ajarkan bagaimana teknik2 huffaz. Ana dah tuliskan di atas tadi. Secara umumnya, teknik yang digunakan adalah teknik berulang-ulang kali sehingga apa yang dihafaz dapat disimpan dalam long term memory. Ust Shafie menyediakan buku tanda, untuk menandakan sebanyak 60 kali bagi setiap satu ayat. Boleh buat cara tu untuk mendisiplinkan diri. Nampak di sini, disiplin dalam
menghafaz Quran ni sangat penting. Kat sin yang orang selalu masalah.
Kalau kita tak benar2 letakkan al-Quran dalam kehidupan kita, kita tak dapat menghafaz. Soalnya kat mana kedudukan al-Quran pada kita skrg?
AstaghfiruLLah.
Dalam slot ni juga ust shafie terangkan sebab2 lupa..banyak. Antaranya:
1. Kurang perhatian
2. Tak gunakan apa yang dah dihafaz
3. Percampuran pada ayat2 yang hampir sama
4. Maksiat yang dilakukan
Slot yang terakhir, ust shafie buat praktikal teknik huffaz.
Contoh:
Hafazan Surah Yaasin.
Isnin: Ayat 1, 2 Ulang 60 kali (ni yang mesti buat). Masa2 terluang dalam sehari tu cuba gunakan. Anggaran yang kita dapat: 200 kali.
Selasa: Ayat 3. Sama seperti diatas. Kemudian ulang Ayat 1, 2, 3 sebanyak 10 kali.
Kena kuat azam, lkt tak lekat urusan Allah. Yang penting kita kena usahakan.
Setakat ni dulu yang dapat di catatkan. Banyak lagi mutiara ilmu yang dapat dr program tu. Tapi setakat ni shj yang mampu dicatatkan. Semoga Allah berikan kekuatan utk kita menghafaz Al-Quran selepas ni sikit demi sikit. Aamin. Maaflah, panjang sngat. Dah jadi mcm karangan SPM dah. Semoga ada manfaat yang boleh dikongsikan bersama.
Wassalam.
--
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Al-faqirah ilaLLah:
http://adiemad.blogspot.com/
http://faqirfillah.blogspot.com/
http://noradila.tripod.com/
Semoga sihat2 di seberang laut sana. AlhamduliLLah, ana dan family semua sihat mcm biasa.
Sedikit laporan program huffaz yang ana pergi minggu lepas.
AlhamduliLLah, ana puas hati dengan program tu. Maaflah, yg ana cerita ni cuma sebahagian yang ana dapat salin. Dan sebahagian dari sebahagian yang Ust Shafie tu sampaikan.
Sebelum sampai ke tempat prog, ana bayangkan yang datang ramai baya2 kita. Tapi subhanaLLah, lebih ramai warga2 emas. Yang dah beruban putih penuh pun ramai. Boleh kata, yang lebih ramai ialah golongan pakcik makcik.
Ada 3 slot ceramah semua sekali. Ust Shafie ni, terlibat dengan bahagian motivasi; motivasi keluarga, hafaz quran dan sebagainya. Selain tu, dia juga menguruskan sekolah tahfiz. Background dia bukanlah dr orang yang belajar agama. Dan dia start belajar mengaji pun masa dia belajar dioversea. Sebelum tu, dia mengaji merangkak2.
Pernah nak melarikan diri masa kawan2 dia ajak buat halaqah mngaji al-Quran. Tapi, start dari situ dia bcita2, nak belajar Quran. Tak terfikir pun sampai dapat hafaz. Tapi dia berazam, kalau dia balik msia tanpa ada alquran dalam dada, dia rasa macam org cacat. Kiranya masa ni lah turning point dia dalam jadi orang yang minat dengan
al-quran.
Dalam slot pertama ni Ust Shafie banyak cerita pengalaman dia untuk naikkan semangat. Semua benda tak mustahil dengan izin ALlah. Lebih2 lagi ada orang yang boleh buat perkara tu. Yang plg penting sebelum mula hafaz quran, cakap yang positif pada diri; kita pun boleh dan nak hafaz macam orang lain yang boleh hafaz tu. Persediaan mental ni bagi 70% kekuatan bebanding kekuatan2 lain. Dan hasil kerja tu bukan tanggungjawab kita. Hasil kerja tu tanggungjawab Allah. Sebagai makhluk, tanggungjawab kita usaha. Hasilnya biar Allah yang tentukan.
Orang yang hafaz Quran ni org yang pandai. Ulama' kita banyak boleh dicontohi. Dari segi sains nya...otak kiri dan otak kanan dua2 mainkan fungsi yang berbeza. Tapi otak kiri dapat meransang otak kanan supaya bekerja dengan lebih baik. Otak kiri berfikir ttg logik, manakala otak kanan berfikir ttg kreativiti. Dalam menghafaz Quran kita menggunakan otak kiri. Hafazan ni sebenarnya banyak bagi ketenangan pada hati kita. Dan manusia adalah sangat kreatif waktu dia tenang. Ketenangan
ni dapat menjana otak kanan supaya bekerja.
Jangan samakan al-Quran dengan benda lain. Setengah orang kata, apalah maknanya kalau kita hafaz Quran tapi tak hafaz makna. Takde faedah. Betul, kene berusaha untuk fahamkan makna. Tapi nak buat semua dalam satu masa bukan semua orang boleh buat. Buat sikit2. Bagi ana, bila kita menghafaz, kita berusaha untuk faham maknanya juga walaupun tak secara langsung. Bagi siapa yang mampu untuk memahami tafsirnya bagus, alhamduliLLah. Tapi bagi yang tak mampu, boleh cuba sikit2. Kalau lagi
mampu utk hafal quran, buat yang tu dulu. Kalau tak dapat semua jangan tinggal semua.Yang pentingnya, Al-Quran tak sama dengan buku2 lain.
Ada berkatnya kalau kita berusaha membaca, memahami, dan menghafaz.
Antara perkara2 yang sgt perlu utk memudahkan hafazan ialah buat perkara yang ALlah suka:
1. Solat: Hubungan dgn Allah
2. Cintai majlis ilmu
3. Menjadikan Al-Quran sebagai makanan rohani bagi jiwa
4. Letakkan Al-Quran sebagai satu keutamaan dalam hidup
5. Mudah memaafkan orang lain
6. Banyakkan Istighfar
7. Taqwa; buat baik sebanyak-banyaknya, buat baik tu sebenarnya utk diri sendiri, buat jahat juga akan kembali pada diri sendiri, buat sahaja kewajipan dan mohonlah ganjaran dr Allah, nescaya kamu akan gembira.
Utk persediaan minda ni, kita perlukan:
1. Keyakinan yang kuat pada Allah
2. Menjaga amalan fardhu supaya hubungan kita sentiasa rapat dengan Allah
3. Menambah amalan sunat supaya Allah kasih dngan kita
Dalam proses hafazan biasanya kita akan pindah bila dah "rasa2" mcm hafaz ayat sebelumnya. Tapi sebenarnya hafaz cara ni, kita save hafazan dalam short term memory. Gunakan long term memory lebih baik dan lebih selamat lagi daripada hafazan hilang dengan cpt. Cara yang Ust Shafie amalkan, setiap satu ayat dia akan sebut sebut sebanyak 60 kali dan masa sebut tu, tunjukkan pada ayat yang sedang dihafaz tu.
Setiap ayat yang pendek cuma makan masa dalam 3 minit sebenarnya untuk diulang sebanyak 60 kali. Kalau ayat panjang, boleh di potong2 untuk memudahkan hafazan. Hari yang berikutnya, kita cuba ulang ayat yang telah kita hafaz sebelum ini juga. Kaedah ni sebenarnya melatih mendisiplinkan diri. Walaupun mula2 rasa susah, bila dah biasa, xrasa apa sgt. Ust Shafie dah buat eksperiment pada anak2nya. Semua sekali
ada 12 org. Yang dah selamat menghafaz 30 juzuk seramai 4 org. SubhaanaLLah. Kalau 12 orang semuanya hafaz Quran, banyak yang dpt bg shafaat pd ust shafie nanti.
Kena jelas tujuan dalam menghafaz Quran. Hafazan ni dapat bri kekuatan pd kita utk jadi khalifah di dunia ni. Biar sedikit yang di hafaz, tapi ingat semuanya. Org kafir tanya kenapa Allah x turunkan Quran semua sekali sekali gus. Allah turunkan sikit demi sedikit supaya Nabi dapat ajarkan sikit demi sedikit pada org mukmin dan mereka dapat ingat kemudian amalkan.
Pada slot yang kedua, ust shafie ajarkan bagaimana teknik2 huffaz. Ana dah tuliskan di atas tadi. Secara umumnya, teknik yang digunakan adalah teknik berulang-ulang kali sehingga apa yang dihafaz dapat disimpan dalam long term memory. Ust Shafie menyediakan buku tanda, untuk menandakan sebanyak 60 kali bagi setiap satu ayat. Boleh buat cara tu untuk mendisiplinkan diri. Nampak di sini, disiplin dalam
menghafaz Quran ni sangat penting. Kat sin yang orang selalu masalah.
Kalau kita tak benar2 letakkan al-Quran dalam kehidupan kita, kita tak dapat menghafaz. Soalnya kat mana kedudukan al-Quran pada kita skrg?
AstaghfiruLLah.
Dalam slot ni juga ust shafie terangkan sebab2 lupa..banyak. Antaranya:
1. Kurang perhatian
2. Tak gunakan apa yang dah dihafaz
3. Percampuran pada ayat2 yang hampir sama
4. Maksiat yang dilakukan
Slot yang terakhir, ust shafie buat praktikal teknik huffaz.
Contoh:
Hafazan Surah Yaasin.
Isnin: Ayat 1, 2 Ulang 60 kali (ni yang mesti buat). Masa2 terluang dalam sehari tu cuba gunakan. Anggaran yang kita dapat: 200 kali.
Selasa: Ayat 3. Sama seperti diatas. Kemudian ulang Ayat 1, 2, 3 sebanyak 10 kali.
Kena kuat azam, lkt tak lekat urusan Allah. Yang penting kita kena usahakan.
Setakat ni dulu yang dapat di catatkan. Banyak lagi mutiara ilmu yang dapat dr program tu. Tapi setakat ni shj yang mampu dicatatkan. Semoga Allah berikan kekuatan utk kita menghafaz Al-Quran selepas ni sikit demi sikit. Aamin. Maaflah, panjang sngat. Dah jadi mcm karangan SPM dah. Semoga ada manfaat yang boleh dikongsikan bersama.
Wassalam.
--
*********************************
Al-faqirah ilaLLah:
http://adiemad.blogspot.com/
http://faqirfillah.blogspot.com/
http://noradila.tripod.com/
Friday, June 24, 2005
Episode Cinta untuk Rahmat Abdullah
Helvy Tiana Rosa
Seperti tak percaya aku mendengar kabar itu: kau sudah pergi untuk selamanya. Dan kenangan demi kenangan berkelebat cepat di benakku, menyisakan satu nama: Rahmat Abdullah.
Kita memang tak banyak bertemu, tak banyak bercakap. Tapi percayakah kau, aku menjadikanmu salah satu teladan diri. Kau menjelma salah satu sosok yang kucinta. Tahukah kau, hampir tak ada tulisanmu yang tak kubaca? Dan setelah membacanya selalu ada sinar yang menyelusup menerangi kalbu dan pikiranku. Tidak sampai di situ, buku-bukumu selalu membuatku bergerak. Ya, bergerak!
Kau mungkin tak ingat tentang senja itu. Tapi aku tak akan pernah melupakannya. Saat itu kau baru saja pulang dari rumah sakit untuk memeriksakan kesehatanmu. Aku dan seorang teman menunggumu. Kami membutuhkanmu untuk memberi masukan terhadap apa yang tengah kami kerjakan. Tanpa istirahat terlebih dahulu, dengan senyuman dan kebersahajaan yang khas, kau menemui kami. Tak kau perlihatkan bahwa kau sedang tak sehat.
Bahkan kau bawa sendiri makanan dan minuman untuk kami. Dengan riang kau menyemangati kami.
"Ini kebaikan yang luar biasa," katamu. "Bismillah. Berjuanglah dengan pena-pena itu!"
Lalu kami mengundangmu untuk hadir pada acara milad organisasi kecil kami. Sekadar menyampaikan undangan, dan tak terlalu berharap kau datang, karena kami tahu kau sangat sibuk dengan begitu banyak persoalan ummat.
Hari itu, bulan Juli 2002, milad ke 5 organisasi kami: Forum Lingkar Pena. Semua panitia direpotkan oleh banyak hal yang harus dikerjakan. Aku masih sempat bertanya pada panitia: "Adakah yang menjemput Pak Taufiq Ismail dan Pak Rahmat Abdullah?"
Panitia menggeleng. Banyak yang harus dikerjakan. Tak ada mobil atau tenaga untuk menjemput.
Sudahlah, pikirku. Pak Taufiq dan Pak Rahmat terlalu besar untuk hadir di acara seperti ini.
Aku hampir melompat ketika melihat Pak Taufiq Ismail datang sendirian dengan taksi dan menyapa kami riang. Dan aku tak percaya ketika tak lama kemudian kau muncul!
"Ustadz, terimakasih sudah datang. Kami tidak menyangka?," sambutku.
Kau tersenyum. "Saya sudah agendakan untuk datang," katamu. "Ini acara FLP. Istimewa."
Mataku berkaca. Ini ustadz Rahmat Abdullah, ia terbiasa diundang sebagai pembicara dalam berbagai acara nasional sampai internasional. Dan kini ia sudi hadir sebagai undangan biasa!
"Maaf ustadz tidak dijemput. Ustadz naik apa tadi?"
Naik bis. Tempatnya mudah dicari," katamu biasa.
Kau sempat turut memberikan award dalam acara tersebut dan memimpin doa penutup. Aku menangis mendengar doa yang kau lantunkan, Ustadz. Kau berulangkali mendoakan agar organisasi kami: FLP selalu bisa melahirkan para pemuda yang tak akan berhenti berjuang dengan pena?.
Pada akhir acara, kau turut berjongkok bersama para pemuda lainnya dan menandatangani spanduk yang kami gelar bertuliskan "Sastra untuk Kemanusiaan."
"Saya mencintai sastra dan suka membuat puisi," ceritamu.
Hari itu kehadiranmu benar-benar memberi semangat baru bagi kami.
Ustadz, aku selalu mengenangmu sebagai suami dan ayah yang baik dalam keluarga. Sebagai guru sejati bagi ribuan da'i. Dan ketika kau terpilih menjadi anggota DPR RI tahun 2004 lalu, tak ada yang berubah darimu, kecuali usaha yang lebih keras untuk membuat rakyat tersenyum. Dalam keadaanmu yang sederhana, kau tak berhenti memberi zakat dan infaq dari gajimu. Kau satu dari sedikit orang yang pernah kutemui, yang sangat berhati-hati dengan amanah dan berjuang untuk menunaikannya tanpa cacat.
Ah, pernahkah kau meminta tarif untuk mengisi ceramah? Tak ada. Kau bahkan pernah berkata: "Alhamdulillah ada lagi orang yang mau mendengarkan taushiyah dari hamba Allah yang lemah ini."
Terakhir kali kita bertemu, Ustadz, di sebuah jalan raya, sekitar akhir tahun lalu. Dan aku tak percaya, kau?anggota dewan yang terhormat--- masih saja menyetop kopaja.
Kini dalam usia 53 tahun, kau pun kembali untuk selamanya. Ribuan orang, tak terhingga orang, datang mengiringi untuk terakhir kali, sambil tak henti bersaksi tentang keindahanmu.
Selamat jalan, Ustadz. Jalan kebaikan dan cinta yang selalu kau tempuh di dunia, semoga mengantarkanmu ke gerbang yang paling indah di sisiNya.
Amiin.
Helvy Tiana Rosa
Seperti tak percaya aku mendengar kabar itu: kau sudah pergi untuk selamanya. Dan kenangan demi kenangan berkelebat cepat di benakku, menyisakan satu nama: Rahmat Abdullah.
Kita memang tak banyak bertemu, tak banyak bercakap. Tapi percayakah kau, aku menjadikanmu salah satu teladan diri. Kau menjelma salah satu sosok yang kucinta. Tahukah kau, hampir tak ada tulisanmu yang tak kubaca? Dan setelah membacanya selalu ada sinar yang menyelusup menerangi kalbu dan pikiranku. Tidak sampai di situ, buku-bukumu selalu membuatku bergerak. Ya, bergerak!
Kau mungkin tak ingat tentang senja itu. Tapi aku tak akan pernah melupakannya. Saat itu kau baru saja pulang dari rumah sakit untuk memeriksakan kesehatanmu. Aku dan seorang teman menunggumu. Kami membutuhkanmu untuk memberi masukan terhadap apa yang tengah kami kerjakan. Tanpa istirahat terlebih dahulu, dengan senyuman dan kebersahajaan yang khas, kau menemui kami. Tak kau perlihatkan bahwa kau sedang tak sehat.
Bahkan kau bawa sendiri makanan dan minuman untuk kami. Dengan riang kau menyemangati kami.
"Ini kebaikan yang luar biasa," katamu. "Bismillah. Berjuanglah dengan pena-pena itu!"
Lalu kami mengundangmu untuk hadir pada acara milad organisasi kecil kami. Sekadar menyampaikan undangan, dan tak terlalu berharap kau datang, karena kami tahu kau sangat sibuk dengan begitu banyak persoalan ummat.
Hari itu, bulan Juli 2002, milad ke 5 organisasi kami: Forum Lingkar Pena. Semua panitia direpotkan oleh banyak hal yang harus dikerjakan. Aku masih sempat bertanya pada panitia: "Adakah yang menjemput Pak Taufiq Ismail dan Pak Rahmat Abdullah?"
Panitia menggeleng. Banyak yang harus dikerjakan. Tak ada mobil atau tenaga untuk menjemput.
Sudahlah, pikirku. Pak Taufiq dan Pak Rahmat terlalu besar untuk hadir di acara seperti ini.
Aku hampir melompat ketika melihat Pak Taufiq Ismail datang sendirian dengan taksi dan menyapa kami riang. Dan aku tak percaya ketika tak lama kemudian kau muncul!
"Ustadz, terimakasih sudah datang. Kami tidak menyangka?," sambutku.
Kau tersenyum. "Saya sudah agendakan untuk datang," katamu. "Ini acara FLP. Istimewa."
Mataku berkaca. Ini ustadz Rahmat Abdullah, ia terbiasa diundang sebagai pembicara dalam berbagai acara nasional sampai internasional. Dan kini ia sudi hadir sebagai undangan biasa!
"Maaf ustadz tidak dijemput. Ustadz naik apa tadi?"
Naik bis. Tempatnya mudah dicari," katamu biasa.
Kau sempat turut memberikan award dalam acara tersebut dan memimpin doa penutup. Aku menangis mendengar doa yang kau lantunkan, Ustadz. Kau berulangkali mendoakan agar organisasi kami: FLP selalu bisa melahirkan para pemuda yang tak akan berhenti berjuang dengan pena?.
Pada akhir acara, kau turut berjongkok bersama para pemuda lainnya dan menandatangani spanduk yang kami gelar bertuliskan "Sastra untuk Kemanusiaan."
"Saya mencintai sastra dan suka membuat puisi," ceritamu.
Hari itu kehadiranmu benar-benar memberi semangat baru bagi kami.
Ustadz, aku selalu mengenangmu sebagai suami dan ayah yang baik dalam keluarga. Sebagai guru sejati bagi ribuan da'i. Dan ketika kau terpilih menjadi anggota DPR RI tahun 2004 lalu, tak ada yang berubah darimu, kecuali usaha yang lebih keras untuk membuat rakyat tersenyum. Dalam keadaanmu yang sederhana, kau tak berhenti memberi zakat dan infaq dari gajimu. Kau satu dari sedikit orang yang pernah kutemui, yang sangat berhati-hati dengan amanah dan berjuang untuk menunaikannya tanpa cacat.
Ah, pernahkah kau meminta tarif untuk mengisi ceramah? Tak ada. Kau bahkan pernah berkata: "Alhamdulillah ada lagi orang yang mau mendengarkan taushiyah dari hamba Allah yang lemah ini."
Terakhir kali kita bertemu, Ustadz, di sebuah jalan raya, sekitar akhir tahun lalu. Dan aku tak percaya, kau?anggota dewan yang terhormat--- masih saja menyetop kopaja.
Kini dalam usia 53 tahun, kau pun kembali untuk selamanya. Ribuan orang, tak terhingga orang, datang mengiringi untuk terakhir kali, sambil tak henti bersaksi tentang keindahanmu.
Selamat jalan, Ustadz. Jalan kebaikan dan cinta yang selalu kau tempuh di dunia, semoga mengantarkanmu ke gerbang yang paling indah di sisiNya.
Amiin.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
8m see Jackson verdict on BBC
Ben Bold
Tuesday June 14, 2005
Nearly 8 million people watched the BBC's main evening news last night for live coverage of the culmination of Michael Jackson's high-profile, four-month trial.
The timing of the verdicts proved highly fortuitous for the BBC, which went live to correspondent Matt Frei outside the Santa Maria courtroom in California at 10pm, shortly after the judge announced the jury had reached a verdict.
Although cameras were not allowed into the courtroom, broadcasters were given a live audio feed of the verdicts being read out in court.
Ratings for the half-hour bulletin peaked at 7.9 million at 10.15pm as the jury's 10 not guilty verdicts were read out one by one.
The BBC 10 O'Clock News averaged 7.5 million viewers - more than one in three viewers - according to unofficial overnight figures.
The audience for last night's bulletin was the largest since the last week of 2004, when BBC1's coverage of the tsunami disaster pulled in an average of 7.8 million viewers a night.
This was a major boost for the corporation, which usually draws 5-6 million viewers for its flagship bulletin.
Viewers were shown the army of Jackson fans outside the courtroom, one of whom released a white dove as each not guilty verdict was read out.
While Jackson wept quietly at the result, at ITV there may well have been tears of frustration at the timing of the verdict. ITV's News at 10.30pm averaged an audience of 2.9 million, less than half that of the BBC.
The 24-hour news channels also enjoyed a ratings boost from the Jackson verdict. Sky News achieved its fourth highest ever ratings, peaking at 1,069,000 viewers and a 6.79% share between 10pm and 10.15pm. BBC News 24 had a peak of 616,000 and a 3% share at the same time.
In 1997 Sky News recorded its highest peak of 1,697,000 for the Louise Woodward trial. The Iraq conflict in 2003 also peaked at over a million with 1,213,000 tuning in - narrowly ahead of the numbers viewing the OJ Simpson trial in 1995 (1,203,000).
Since the trial started 13 weeks ago, Sky News and Sky One have been airing daily reconstructions of the events taking place in court using a Michael Jackson lookalike.
BBC News was helped by a strong inherited audience from cop drama New Tricks at 9pm. The show averaged an audience of 6.5 million (a 34% share), peaking 15 minutes before the news with 7.1 million .
Celebrities are still proving more popular than Joe Public in the reality TV stakes. Channel 4's Big Brother is continuing to lose its battle with its ITV rival, achieving an audience last night of 3 million.
More impressively, the tawdry goings-on at Celebrity Love Island continued to pull in the viewers, with an average audience of 4.2 million and a peak of nearly 5 million.
However, the show peaked early with 4.9 million viewers when it started at 9.30pm. Throughout its duration it lost more than a million viewers.
ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald fared well given its subject matter. Tracking the demise of Britain's last major car manufacturer and presented by slick-haired former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson, Why Rover Crashed pulled in 3.5 million viewers.
Ben Bold
Tuesday June 14, 2005
Nearly 8 million people watched the BBC's main evening news last night for live coverage of the culmination of Michael Jackson's high-profile, four-month trial.
The timing of the verdicts proved highly fortuitous for the BBC, which went live to correspondent Matt Frei outside the Santa Maria courtroom in California at 10pm, shortly after the judge announced the jury had reached a verdict.
Although cameras were not allowed into the courtroom, broadcasters were given a live audio feed of the verdicts being read out in court.
Ratings for the half-hour bulletin peaked at 7.9 million at 10.15pm as the jury's 10 not guilty verdicts were read out one by one.
The BBC 10 O'Clock News averaged 7.5 million viewers - more than one in three viewers - according to unofficial overnight figures.
The audience for last night's bulletin was the largest since the last week of 2004, when BBC1's coverage of the tsunami disaster pulled in an average of 7.8 million viewers a night.
This was a major boost for the corporation, which usually draws 5-6 million viewers for its flagship bulletin.
Viewers were shown the army of Jackson fans outside the courtroom, one of whom released a white dove as each not guilty verdict was read out.
While Jackson wept quietly at the result, at ITV there may well have been tears of frustration at the timing of the verdict. ITV's News at 10.30pm averaged an audience of 2.9 million, less than half that of the BBC.
The 24-hour news channels also enjoyed a ratings boost from the Jackson verdict. Sky News achieved its fourth highest ever ratings, peaking at 1,069,000 viewers and a 6.79% share between 10pm and 10.15pm. BBC News 24 had a peak of 616,000 and a 3% share at the same time.
In 1997 Sky News recorded its highest peak of 1,697,000 for the Louise Woodward trial. The Iraq conflict in 2003 also peaked at over a million with 1,213,000 tuning in - narrowly ahead of the numbers viewing the OJ Simpson trial in 1995 (1,203,000).
Since the trial started 13 weeks ago, Sky News and Sky One have been airing daily reconstructions of the events taking place in court using a Michael Jackson lookalike.
BBC News was helped by a strong inherited audience from cop drama New Tricks at 9pm. The show averaged an audience of 6.5 million (a 34% share), peaking 15 minutes before the news with 7.1 million .
Celebrities are still proving more popular than Joe Public in the reality TV stakes. Channel 4's Big Brother is continuing to lose its battle with its ITV rival, achieving an audience last night of 3 million.
More impressively, the tawdry goings-on at Celebrity Love Island continued to pull in the viewers, with an average audience of 4.2 million and a peak of nearly 5 million.
However, the show peaked early with 4.9 million viewers when it started at 9.30pm. Throughout its duration it lost more than a million viewers.
ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald fared well given its subject matter. Tracking the demise of Britain's last major car manufacturer and presented by slick-haired former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson, Why Rover Crashed pulled in 3.5 million viewers.
A quick jot by my colleague ..
Salam... ttg azan yg bersahut-sahutan, saye dpt tau waktu pegi prog BAKIP kat Kelab Desa Rantau Petronas Kerteh dgn sahabat2 hr tu.
Sedikit ilmu utk dikongsikan bersame... mase kite skolah dulu kan ade blaja, aruhanelektomagnetik... semakin laju pusingannye, akan kluar cahaye... mcm tu gakkat plant, sape kerje kat plant mesti tau psl turbine... Turbine... kalaulaju pusingannye, shaft, impeller, blade semua tu rotate, pastu akan kluarspark.. cahaye... (sape xtau turbine, compressor bukak blk bukuthermodynamics atau fluid mechanics atau gie kat compressor house).
Mcm tu jugak laa kat Mekah, org Islam tawaf sebyk tujuh kali non stop, kalo
ade org yg tgh buat umrah... akan naik cahaye kat Masjidil Haram tu naik ke Sidaratul Muntaha, langit pertama, kedua... ke3, ke4..... sampai pdAllah.... sbb tu doa insyaAllah dimakbulkan kat Mekah.
Tapi, RasulullahSAW xwajibkan pun kite pegi ramai2 berhijrah kat Mekah... saye masih lg diTganu... ade yg kat Sarawak... kite masih lg boleh dpt \'cahaye\' dr tawaftu... dr azan bersahut-sahutan.... skrg nie pun ade yg tgh solat jemaah,umrah non-stop... so, kite kena sentiasa tahu betapa besarnye, hebatnyeazan bersahut-sahutan... kite sentiasa berada dlm gelombang LaaIlahaillallah.
Oleh itu, saye menyeru pd shbt2 dan juga diri saye nie.... jgn biarkan diri kite terkeluar dr landasan gelombang azan nie... mcm kat plant, cube korg semua baling batu kat turbine/compressor/turbo expander yg tgh running tu..ape jd pd turbine tu? Mesti trip, n akan menyebabkan flaring danmengakibatkan kerugian yg bukan sedikit pd plant, dh tu kena jawab pulak pd DOSHH.
Mcm tu jugak dgn iman kite... plant xpe, at least ade alarm....iman kite nie kalau terbakar mcm kat flare, ade alarm ke? ade indicator kenak bgtau ade problem pd iman kite.. xde kan? jom same2 memperbaiki diri...jgn tinggal solat, jgn cube baling batu pd turbine (jgn buat dosa sepanjangmase), solat jemaah sokmo...
Wassalamu\'alaikum....
The Glory of Azan
Azan: The Amazing Phenomenon
Amazing as it sounds, but fortunately for the Muslims of the world, it is an established fact. Have a look at a map of the world and you will findIndonesia on the eastern side of the earth. The major cities of Indonesiaare Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil.As soon as dawn breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30am local time, Fajar Azaan begins. Thousands of Muazzins in Indonesia begin, half hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes inJakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia.
Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reachesDacca, the capital ! city of Bangladesh. After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advancestowards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot, Quetta, and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.
Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.
The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour's difference.
The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the reciting the Azaan. The process advances towards West Indonesia. One and ahalf hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia. Burma isnext in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reaches Dacca, the capital city of Bangladesh.
After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advances towards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time differencebetween Sialkot, Quetta,and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour'sdifference. The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the
Therefore, the proclamation of the Tawheed and Risaalat that had begun inIndonesia reaches the Eastern Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and half hours.Prior to the Azaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of Zohar Azaan has already started in east Indonesia, and before it reachesDacca, Asar Azaan has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and half hours later, the time of Maghrib becomes due, and no sooner has Maghrib time reached Sumatra, the time for calling Isha Azaan has commenced in Saibil!
When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out Fajar Azaan, theAfrican Muazzins are calling the Azaan for Isha.If we were to ponder over this phenomenon thoughtfully, we would concludethe amazing fact that there is not even asingle moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Azaan on the surface of this earth.
Even as you read this material right now, you can be sure there are atleast thousands of peoplewho are hearing and reciting the Azaan!!!Allah said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you." If youare not ashamed, please send this message..."Yes, I love Allah. Allah is my fountain of Life and My Savior. Allah keepsme going day and night. Without Allah,I am no one. But with Allah, I can do everything. Allah is my strength.""
Salam... ttg azan yg bersahut-sahutan, saye dpt tau waktu pegi prog BAKIP kat Kelab Desa Rantau Petronas Kerteh dgn sahabat2 hr tu.
Sedikit ilmu utk dikongsikan bersame... mase kite skolah dulu kan ade blaja, aruhanelektomagnetik... semakin laju pusingannye, akan kluar cahaye... mcm tu gakkat plant, sape kerje kat plant mesti tau psl turbine... Turbine... kalaulaju pusingannye, shaft, impeller, blade semua tu rotate, pastu akan kluarspark.. cahaye... (sape xtau turbine, compressor bukak blk bukuthermodynamics atau fluid mechanics atau gie kat compressor house).
Mcm tu jugak laa kat Mekah, org Islam tawaf sebyk tujuh kali non stop, kalo
ade org yg tgh buat umrah... akan naik cahaye kat Masjidil Haram tu naik ke Sidaratul Muntaha, langit pertama, kedua... ke3, ke4..... sampai pdAllah.... sbb tu doa insyaAllah dimakbulkan kat Mekah.
Tapi, RasulullahSAW xwajibkan pun kite pegi ramai2 berhijrah kat Mekah... saye masih lg diTganu... ade yg kat Sarawak... kite masih lg boleh dpt \'cahaye\' dr tawaftu... dr azan bersahut-sahutan.... skrg nie pun ade yg tgh solat jemaah,umrah non-stop... so, kite kena sentiasa tahu betapa besarnye, hebatnyeazan bersahut-sahutan... kite sentiasa berada dlm gelombang LaaIlahaillallah.
Oleh itu, saye menyeru pd shbt2 dan juga diri saye nie.... jgn biarkan diri kite terkeluar dr landasan gelombang azan nie... mcm kat plant, cube korg semua baling batu kat turbine/compressor/turbo expander yg tgh running tu..ape jd pd turbine tu? Mesti trip, n akan menyebabkan flaring danmengakibatkan kerugian yg bukan sedikit pd plant, dh tu kena jawab pulak pd DOSHH.
Mcm tu jugak dgn iman kite... plant xpe, at least ade alarm....iman kite nie kalau terbakar mcm kat flare, ade alarm ke? ade indicator kenak bgtau ade problem pd iman kite.. xde kan? jom same2 memperbaiki diri...jgn tinggal solat, jgn cube baling batu pd turbine (jgn buat dosa sepanjangmase), solat jemaah sokmo...
Wassalamu\'alaikum....
The Glory of Azan
Azan: The Amazing Phenomenon
Amazing as it sounds, but fortunately for the Muslims of the world, it is an established fact. Have a look at a map of the world and you will findIndonesia on the eastern side of the earth. The major cities of Indonesiaare Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil.As soon as dawn breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30am local time, Fajar Azaan begins. Thousands of Muazzins in Indonesia begin, half hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes inJakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia.
Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reachesDacca, the capital ! city of Bangladesh. After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advancestowards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot, Quetta, and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.
Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.
The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour's difference.
The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the reciting the Azaan. The process advances towards West Indonesia. One and ahalf hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia. Burma isnext in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reaches Dacca, the capital city of Bangladesh.
After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advances towards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time differencebetween Sialkot, Quetta,and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour'sdifference. The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the
Therefore, the proclamation of the Tawheed and Risaalat that had begun inIndonesia reaches the Eastern Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and half hours.Prior to the Azaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of Zohar Azaan has already started in east Indonesia, and before it reachesDacca, Asar Azaan has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and half hours later, the time of Maghrib becomes due, and no sooner has Maghrib time reached Sumatra, the time for calling Isha Azaan has commenced in Saibil!
When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out Fajar Azaan, theAfrican Muazzins are calling the Azaan for Isha.If we were to ponder over this phenomenon thoughtfully, we would concludethe amazing fact that there is not even asingle moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Azaan on the surface of this earth.
Even as you read this material right now, you can be sure there are atleast thousands of peoplewho are hearing and reciting the Azaan!!!Allah said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you." If youare not ashamed, please send this message..."Yes, I love Allah. Allah is my fountain of Life and My Savior. Allah keepsme going day and night. Without Allah,I am no one. But with Allah, I can do everything. Allah is my strength.""
Friday, June 10, 2005
Agi Hidup Agi Ngelaban
Anda boleh bergerak,
Tapi tidak semestinya tiba ke destinasi yang dituju,
Kerna haluan arah tidak ditentu.
Anda boleh bekerja,
Tapi tidak semestinya buah yang anda inginkan diperoleh,
Kerna benih yang digunakan berbeza.
Anda boleh tersenyum,
Tapi tidak semestinya hati kecil anda gembira,
Namun biarlah senyuman itu menjadi pengubat luka.
Anda boleh bergerak,
Tapi tidak semestinya tiba ke destinasi yang dituju,
Kerna haluan arah tidak ditentu.
Anda boleh bekerja,
Tapi tidak semestinya buah yang anda inginkan diperoleh,
Kerna benih yang digunakan berbeza.
Anda boleh tersenyum,
Tapi tidak semestinya hati kecil anda gembira,
Namun biarlah senyuman itu menjadi pengubat luka.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Each and every morning, on my way to work, while musing through the scenes from the vehicle window, I look into myself and ask these questions:
"What am I doing with my life?"
"Where will I be in the next 5 years, 10 years .. 20 years to come?"
15 minutes thinking about life every morning, is never sufficient.
And it would never be.
There arises the need or change.
"What am I doing with my life?"
"Where will I be in the next 5 years, 10 years .. 20 years to come?"
15 minutes thinking about life every morning, is never sufficient.
And it would never be.
There arises the need or change.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Hygiene
There are some amazingly interesting ahadeeth which are on the back of my head regarding contemporary hygiene. Unfortunately I don't memorize them by heart. Nevertheless, I'm honored to share the gist of them with my dear friends.
1. Bad breath
A few years ago, I perused an informative article in The Star newspaper. It focused on handling the problem of bad breath. Interestingly, one of the dentistry ways to prevent bad breath is by brushing and cleansing our tongue.
SubhanAllah. This triggered me a hadith mentioning a time when our beloved prophet (saw) was brushing his teeth using miswak. And the narrator mentioned that whilst he was doing that, an "uukk .. uukk" sound-like came from his mouth. How else can a sound like that come from someone who is brushing his teeth, unless he was at the same time brushing his tongue!
To control bad breath IS part of the sunnah :)
2. Flush
Honestly, to me personally, one of the best opportunity to think deeply is when your with your ownself in the toilet. That's the time when everything is serene and peaceful and you're at ease (or easing yourself .. hehe).
When you are sitting at the bowl (before you leave a souvenir), try and look down. What you'll see is a still water. (Hint: the water in the bowl is not moving). One of the hadeeth that interest me is a hadeeth from our teacher (s.a.w) which prohibits easing ourselves in still water. In other words, it's either haram or makruh or undesirable for us to use the modern toilets!
Is that what it really means? But wait a moment. There IS a way, to make the water running! Ehe, therefore to flush the toilet after 'leaving the kids in the pool' is not only a direct sunnah but to NOT flush the toilet is in some sense makruh.
So please remember that, especially if you're living in Malaysia :)
There are some amazingly interesting ahadeeth which are on the back of my head regarding contemporary hygiene. Unfortunately I don't memorize them by heart. Nevertheless, I'm honored to share the gist of them with my dear friends.
1. Bad breath
A few years ago, I perused an informative article in The Star newspaper. It focused on handling the problem of bad breath. Interestingly, one of the dentistry ways to prevent bad breath is by brushing and cleansing our tongue.
SubhanAllah. This triggered me a hadith mentioning a time when our beloved prophet (saw) was brushing his teeth using miswak. And the narrator mentioned that whilst he was doing that, an "uukk .. uukk" sound-like came from his mouth. How else can a sound like that come from someone who is brushing his teeth, unless he was at the same time brushing his tongue!
To control bad breath IS part of the sunnah :)
2. Flush
Honestly, to me personally, one of the best opportunity to think deeply is when your with your ownself in the toilet. That's the time when everything is serene and peaceful and you're at ease (or easing yourself .. hehe).
When you are sitting at the bowl (before you leave a souvenir), try and look down. What you'll see is a still water. (Hint: the water in the bowl is not moving). One of the hadeeth that interest me is a hadeeth from our teacher (s.a.w) which prohibits easing ourselves in still water. In other words, it's either haram or makruh or undesirable for us to use the modern toilets!
Is that what it really means? But wait a moment. There IS a way, to make the water running! Ehe, therefore to flush the toilet after 'leaving the kids in the pool' is not only a direct sunnah but to NOT flush the toilet is in some sense makruh.
So please remember that, especially if you're living in Malaysia :)
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
MUHAMMAD IN NON-MUSLIMS' EYES
Michael H. Hart was a mathematician, historian and astronomer. In 1978 he listed 100 influential men throughout history and he singled out Prophet Muhammad as the most influential among them! In his book, The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, he wrote, "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive."
Stanley Lane Pool, an eminent historian especially in oriental history, had these to say about the Prophet in The Speeches and Table Talk of Prophet Muhammad, "There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgement unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a nature inspire. He who, standing alone, braved for years the hatred of his people, is the same man who was never the first to withdraw his hand from another's clasp; the beloved of children, who never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful eyes and kind words for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism into admiration."
George Bernard Shaw, a Nobel Laureate in Literature in 1925, believed that Prophet Muhammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind. In Letter to Najmi Sahib, he said, "The Christians and their missionaries have presented a horrible picture of Islam. Not only that, they also carried out an organized and planned propaganda against the personality of Prophet Mohammad and the religion he preached. I have very carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet. I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to the conclusion that Mohammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and a benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under a most agonising pain."
In The Genuine Islam, he went on to say that, given the chance, the Prophet would succeed in solving the problems of the modern world, "I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today."
Thomas Carlyle, a famous historian, thinker, writer and social activist from Scotland, called Prophet Muhammad a veritable hero that was hard to emulate. In On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, he wrote, "Mahomet himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a sensual man....His household was of the most frugal; his common diet barley-bread and water; sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak......careless of what vulgar men toll for..........or these wild Arab men, fighting and jostling three-and-twenty years at his hand in close contact with him always, would not have reverenced him so! They were wild men, bursting ever and anon with quarrel with all kind of fierce sincerity; without right worth and manhood, no man could have commanded them.....No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in cloak of his own clouting. During three-and-twenty years of rough actual trial, I find something of a veritable hero necessary for that myself."
Professor Laura Veccia Vaglieri was impressed that Prophet Muhammad, in his missionary work, used methods that can be comprehended by the mind and intellect. He did not deceive people with supernatural feats and ability. In her Apologia dell Islamismo, the professor said, "In his missionary work towards the correct belief in Allah, the One, the Unique, Muhammad did not use methods which stunted human ability for thought and reflection. Nor did he deceive them or dupe them with supernatural phenomena, or what would be called miracles. Nor did he excessively admonish them with heavenly threats. What did he do? He simply called them to contemplate and reflect upon the creation of the universe and the natural laws; as opposed to detaching them from the reality of their environment. He called them with the utmost simplicity to read " the book of life " and to contemplate on life and creation in order to gain complete certainty about the Oneness and The Uniqueness of Allah, whom they can never do without."
For Professor K.S. Ramakrishna Rao, a dean at the School of Philosophy, University of Mysore, Prophet Muhammad was simply the greatest in every aspect of life. In Islam and Modern Age, he said, "There is Mohammad the Prophet, there is Mohammad the General; Mohammad the King; Mohammad the Warrior; Mohammad the Businessman; Mohammad the Preacher; Mohammad the Philosopher; Mohammad the Statesman; Mohammad the Orator; Mohammad the reformer; Mohammad the Refuge of orphans; Mohammad the Protector of slaves; Mohammad the Emancipator of women; Mohammad the Law-giver; Mohammad the Judge; Mohammad the Saint...If for instance, greatness consist in the purification of a nation steeped in barbarism and immersed in absolute moral darkness, that dynamic personality who has transformed, refined and uplifted an entire nation, and made them the torch-bearers of civilization and learning, has every claim to greatness. If greatness lies in unifying the discordant elements of society by ties of brotherhood and charity, the prophet of the desert has got every title to this distinction. If greatness consists in reforming (people) warped in blind superstition and pernicious practices of every kind, the prophet of Islam has wiped out superstitions and irrational fear from the hearts of millions. If it lies in displaying high morals, Mohammad has been admitted by friends and foe as Al-Amin, or the faithful. If a conqueror is a great man, here is a person who rose from a helpless orphan to be the ruler of Arabia, equal to Chosroes and Caesars, one who founded a great empire that has survived all these 14 centuries. If the devotion that a leader commands is the criterion of greatness, the prophet's name, even today, exerts a magic charm over millions of souls, spread all over the world."
Venkata Ratnam in his book, An Essay on Islam, try to compare Prophet Muhammad with Jesus Christ. He wrote, "If now we compare Muhammad's character with Jesus Christ's we find it is infinitely better than his. Muhammad never made himself equal with God. He always professed himself to be only a messenger of God, teaching His will to men.. The Islam of Muhammad with its stern discipline and stern morality proved itself the only practical religion. Muhammad the Prophet of God, has done more good to the world than any other man."
By Dr. Danial bin Zainal Abidin (M.B.Ch.B., University of Alexandria)
Michael H. Hart was a mathematician, historian and astronomer. In 1978 he listed 100 influential men throughout history and he singled out Prophet Muhammad as the most influential among them! In his book, The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, he wrote, "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive."
Stanley Lane Pool, an eminent historian especially in oriental history, had these to say about the Prophet in The Speeches and Table Talk of Prophet Muhammad, "There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgement unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a nature inspire. He who, standing alone, braved for years the hatred of his people, is the same man who was never the first to withdraw his hand from another's clasp; the beloved of children, who never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful eyes and kind words for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism into admiration."
George Bernard Shaw, a Nobel Laureate in Literature in 1925, believed that Prophet Muhammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind. In Letter to Najmi Sahib, he said, "The Christians and their missionaries have presented a horrible picture of Islam. Not only that, they also carried out an organized and planned propaganda against the personality of Prophet Mohammad and the religion he preached. I have very carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet. I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to the conclusion that Mohammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and a benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under a most agonising pain."
In The Genuine Islam, he went on to say that, given the chance, the Prophet would succeed in solving the problems of the modern world, "I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today."
Thomas Carlyle, a famous historian, thinker, writer and social activist from Scotland, called Prophet Muhammad a veritable hero that was hard to emulate. In On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, he wrote, "Mahomet himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a sensual man....His household was of the most frugal; his common diet barley-bread and water; sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak......careless of what vulgar men toll for..........or these wild Arab men, fighting and jostling three-and-twenty years at his hand in close contact with him always, would not have reverenced him so! They were wild men, bursting ever and anon with quarrel with all kind of fierce sincerity; without right worth and manhood, no man could have commanded them.....No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in cloak of his own clouting. During three-and-twenty years of rough actual trial, I find something of a veritable hero necessary for that myself."
Professor Laura Veccia Vaglieri was impressed that Prophet Muhammad, in his missionary work, used methods that can be comprehended by the mind and intellect. He did not deceive people with supernatural feats and ability. In her Apologia dell Islamismo, the professor said, "In his missionary work towards the correct belief in Allah, the One, the Unique, Muhammad did not use methods which stunted human ability for thought and reflection. Nor did he deceive them or dupe them with supernatural phenomena, or what would be called miracles. Nor did he excessively admonish them with heavenly threats. What did he do? He simply called them to contemplate and reflect upon the creation of the universe and the natural laws; as opposed to detaching them from the reality of their environment. He called them with the utmost simplicity to read " the book of life " and to contemplate on life and creation in order to gain complete certainty about the Oneness and The Uniqueness of Allah, whom they can never do without."
For Professor K.S. Ramakrishna Rao, a dean at the School of Philosophy, University of Mysore, Prophet Muhammad was simply the greatest in every aspect of life. In Islam and Modern Age, he said, "There is Mohammad the Prophet, there is Mohammad the General; Mohammad the King; Mohammad the Warrior; Mohammad the Businessman; Mohammad the Preacher; Mohammad the Philosopher; Mohammad the Statesman; Mohammad the Orator; Mohammad the reformer; Mohammad the Refuge of orphans; Mohammad the Protector of slaves; Mohammad the Emancipator of women; Mohammad the Law-giver; Mohammad the Judge; Mohammad the Saint...If for instance, greatness consist in the purification of a nation steeped in barbarism and immersed in absolute moral darkness, that dynamic personality who has transformed, refined and uplifted an entire nation, and made them the torch-bearers of civilization and learning, has every claim to greatness. If greatness lies in unifying the discordant elements of society by ties of brotherhood and charity, the prophet of the desert has got every title to this distinction. If greatness consists in reforming (people) warped in blind superstition and pernicious practices of every kind, the prophet of Islam has wiped out superstitions and irrational fear from the hearts of millions. If it lies in displaying high morals, Mohammad has been admitted by friends and foe as Al-Amin, or the faithful. If a conqueror is a great man, here is a person who rose from a helpless orphan to be the ruler of Arabia, equal to Chosroes and Caesars, one who founded a great empire that has survived all these 14 centuries. If the devotion that a leader commands is the criterion of greatness, the prophet's name, even today, exerts a magic charm over millions of souls, spread all over the world."
Venkata Ratnam in his book, An Essay on Islam, try to compare Prophet Muhammad with Jesus Christ. He wrote, "If now we compare Muhammad's character with Jesus Christ's we find it is infinitely better than his. Muhammad never made himself equal with God. He always professed himself to be only a messenger of God, teaching His will to men.. The Islam of Muhammad with its stern discipline and stern morality proved itself the only practical religion. Muhammad the Prophet of God, has done more good to the world than any other man."
By Dr. Danial bin Zainal Abidin (M.B.Ch.B., University of Alexandria)
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Why I Love Bintulu?
Sebab nyaman ya, di sinun tiada traffic jam.
Kamek ada teman-teman seiman yang rajin buat usaha agama, pergi usrah, dengar ceramah, lakukan ziarah. Banyak pohon-pohon hijau yang menyejukkan mata, menghilang kabus di wajah, menenang dada yang resah.
Ada pantai boleh jalan-jalan di waktu petang, ada peluang untuk santai di kolam renang. Ada asatiz yang dulu belajar di Mesir, boleh ajar-ajar bab agama. Pace pun tidak sehectic KL.
Pendek kata, I Love Bintulu!
Hamdan lillah.
p/s: tulisan sementara belum stress kerja .. ehe.
Sebab nyaman ya, di sinun tiada traffic jam.
Kamek ada teman-teman seiman yang rajin buat usaha agama, pergi usrah, dengar ceramah, lakukan ziarah. Banyak pohon-pohon hijau yang menyejukkan mata, menghilang kabus di wajah, menenang dada yang resah.
Ada pantai boleh jalan-jalan di waktu petang, ada peluang untuk santai di kolam renang. Ada asatiz yang dulu belajar di Mesir, boleh ajar-ajar bab agama. Pace pun tidak sehectic KL.
Pendek kata, I Love Bintulu!
Hamdan lillah.
p/s: tulisan sementara belum stress kerja .. ehe.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Memahami Keganjilan Aminah Wadud
Oleh: Adian Husaini
“Khâlif, tu’raf!”.Bersikap Ganjillah kamu, kamu akan terkenal, begitu kata pepatah Arab. Kalimat itu yang kini dipakai Aminah Wadud, termasuk kawan-kawannya di Indonesia! Baca CAP Adian Husaini ke-94.
Pada Hari Jumaat, 18 Mac 2005, dunia Islam dikejutkan oleh sebuah peristiwa di sebuah gereja di Amerika Serikat. Ketika itu, seorang tokoh Islam Liberal yang dikenal aktif memperjuangkan hak sama rata gender (gender equality), bernama Prof. Dr. Aminah Wadud, menjadi imam dan khatib untuk salat Jumaat.
Jemaahhnya berjumlah sekitar 100 orang bercampur laki-laki dan wanita. Dari gambar-gambar yang disiarkan oleh media massa terlihat barisan shaf Solat bercampur aduk antara laki-laki dan wanita. Shaf laki-laki dan wanita sejajar. Disamping itu, muazinnya seorang wanita yang tidak mengenakan jilbab, tetapi dia ikut salat Jumaat juga. Para ulama di dunia Islam, seperti Syaikhul Azhar dan Yusuf Qaradhawi, telah memberikan kritik keras terhadap peristiwa tersebut.
Majma’ al-Fiqhi al-Islami (MFI), badan internasional dalam hukum Fiqh Islam, mengecam keras tindakan Aminah Wadud, yang merupakan seorang profesor bidang kajian Islam di Virginia Commonhealth University. Lokasi salat Jumaat itu tepatnya di Synod House, gereja Cathedral St. John, di Manhattan, New York.
MFI yang bernaung di bawah OIC ini menilai apa yang dilakukan Wadud ini sebagai bid’ah yang menyesatkan dan musibah. Itu tercermin dengan majunya seorang wanita untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah Islam, menjadi khatib dan Imam untuk solat Jumaat, dengan jemaah campuran laki-laki dan wanita, dan dilaksanakan di sebuah Cathederal.
Pernyataan resmi yang dikeluarkan MFI, menjelaskan bahawa Wadud telah melakukan pelanggaran hukum-hukum syariat dari beberapa segi; iaitu khutbah Jumaat oleh wanita, imam wanita atas jemaah lelaki, jemaah wanita dan lelaki yang berdiri sejajar dan berdampingan serta terjadinya ikhtilath (campur-gaul antara laki-laki dan wanita) dalam ibadah. Ahli Fiqih Islam sepakat bahawa solat Jumaat hanya diwajibkan atas kaum laki-laki.
Selain itu, seperti sudah maklum, kedududukan wanita dalam solat seharusnya di belakang laki-laki. Berdasarkan berbagai nash dalam hadits Rasulullah Saw, maka MFI memutuskan, bahawa salat Wadud dan kawan-kawannya tidak memenuhi syarat dan mereka harus menggantinya dengan solat Zuhor.
Tindakan Wadud sudah banyak mencetuskan kecaman dari berbagai pihak. Sudah pasti, banyak juga yang kagum dan memuji kenekadan Wadud dalam menentang tradisi yang sudah dianggap mapan selama 1400 tahun lebih. Khabarnya, di Indonesia sudah ada rencana sebahagian kaum wanita untuk mengikuti jejak Wadud. Wakil Pengarah Pusat Kebudayaan Islam di New York, Muhammad Syamsi Ali, misalnya, juga menyatakan bahawa ibadah Jumaat versi Wadud itu tidak sah. Yusuf Qaradhawi juga mengecam keras tindakan Wadud, dan menegaskan bahawa solat Jumaat versi Wadud itu adalah bid'ah yang munkar.
Begitulah pendapat berbagai ulama dan lembaga Islam antarabangas. Kita sedia maklum akan hal itu. Secara dalil-dalil syar’i, tindakan “Wadud and the gang” memang teruk. Namun, tentu saja, bagi Wadud dan kawan-kawan, berbagai hujah fiqih yang diajukan oleh para ulama terkemuka itu tidak mereka pedulikan. Sebab, mereka sudah kemaruk dengan fahaman‘gender equality’ ala Barat-sekular, bahawa laki-laki dan wanita harus dipandang sejajar, tidak boleh ada manusia yang diberi status hak istimewa atas dasar jenis kelamin. Yang menjadi dasar adalah soal kemampuan. Jika wanita lebih bagus bacaan al-Qur’annya, maka ia lebih berhak menjadi imam, dibandingkan laki-laki yang kurang bagus bacaan imamnya. Ketua rumah tangga tidak didasarkan pada jenis kelamin —yakni semestinya laki-laki— tetapi berdasarkan kemampuannya. Mungkin sahaja wanita menjadi kepala rumah tangga, jika dia lebih mampu berbanding suaminya.
Begitu juga dalam soal khatib, baik khatib Jumaat maupun salat Id. Dasar ideologinya sama: ‘gender equality’.
Natijah dari cara berpikir ini sangat jauh dan akan membongkar sistem metodologi penetapan hukum Islam. Hujah Amina Wadud dan kawan-kawan tidak akan ‘bertemu’ dengan argumentasi para ulama yang berasaskan dalilnya kepada kaedah-kaedah dasar ushul fiqh. Sebab, bagi Amina Wadud, kaedah ushul fiqih itu pun mereka mendakwa hasil ciptaan laki-laki yang diciptakan untuk melestarikan hegemoni laki-laki atas wanita. Mereka sudah dipengaruhi fahaman bahawa fiqih adalah ciptaan laki-laki. Sebuah buku berjudul Rekonstruksi Fiqh Perempuan (1996:9) menulis kata-kata sebagai berikut: “Konstruksi fiqh yang sarat dengan norma dan doktrin yang androsentrik di satu sisi dan di sisi lainnya bernuansa permasalahan zaman tertentu dirasakan menghambat realisasi potensi kaum perempuan dalam arus transformasi.”
Sebagai contoh, jika dikatakan, bahawa jika wanita bertindak sebagai imam, maka laki-laki di belakangnya akan bisa terganggu salatnya, maka mereka akan menjawab, bahawa wanita pun juga bisa tergoda oleh laki-laki. Bukan hanya laki-laki yang bisa tergoda oleh wanita. Jika dikatakan, bahawa suara azan wanita bisa mengganggu syahwat laki-laki, maka mereka akan berargumen bahawa suara laki-laki juga bisa membangkitkan syahwat wanita. Dan seterusnya. Maka, Wadud membuat lolongan untuk mencampuradukkan antara laki-laki dan wanita dalam salat Jumaat versi dia sendiri. Mungkin gaya salat seperti ini akan dijadikan model oleh orang-orang yang memang ingin bercampur aduk antar laki-laki dengan wanita.
Maka, dalam mengambil sikap terhadap kes Amina Wadud, sebaiknya kita tidak hanya melihatnya dalam aspek fiqih semata, tetapi juga aspek worldview (pandangan hidup) dan epistemologi (metodologi ilmu). Bagaimana Wadud sampai kepada kesimpulan semacam itu. Bahkan, perlu juga dilihat pada aspek psikologi. Apakah tindakan itu ada kaitannya dengan ‘mental minder’ yang bisa menjangkiti kaum kulit hitam di AS? Apa untungnya bagi Amina Wadud melakukan tindakan ganjil dan "waton suloyo" alias (janji berlainan) dengan kaum Muslim pada umumnya?
Sebahagian manusia akan memberi gelaran kepada Amina Wadud sebagai seorang yang ‘progressif’ (dari bahasa Latin: progredior, artinya: saya maju kedepan). Sebab, A. Wadud dinilai berani mendobrak tradisi lama yang sudah berusia 1400 tahun. Luar biasa! Dia seorang progresif, bukan konservatif, bukan orthodoks. Bukan orang kuno lagi, tetapi sudah maju ke depan, sudah progressif. Begitu biasanya gelaran yang diberikan kepada orang seperti Aminah Wadud.
Sebenarnya, jika direnungkan lebih mendalam, Aminah Wadud bukan seorang progressif, tetapi justeru dia seorang yang sangat konservatif. Kenapa? Kerana dia sebenarnya telah hanyut dan menghambakan dirinya pada ideologi global yang sedang dominan (hegemonik) saat ini, iaitu ideologi gender equality. Cara pandang dia terhadap laki-laki dan wanita adalah cara pandang yang sudah terhegemoni oleh wacana gender sekular, sudah tidak merdeka lagi sebagai seorang Muslim. Wadud bukan seorang yang progressif, dalam arti, dia tidak berani berpikir jauh ke depan, melintasi batas-batas hegemoni ideologi dominan saat ini, yaitu ideologi gender equality. Dia gagal untuk menilai hakikat dan hikmah hukum-hukum Islam yang memang banyak memberikan perbezaan tindakan terhadap laki-laki dan wanita.
Kerana syariat Islam bersumber kepada wahyu Ilahi, maka prinsip dasar Islam adalah menekankan kepada keyakinan kepada keagungan dan keadilan Allah dalam ketentuan-ketentuan hukum-Nya. Allah Maha Tahu atas makhluk-Nya. Lebih Tahu daripada si makhluk itu sendiri. Bagaimana pun, laki-laki memang berbeza dengan wanita. Biarkanlah mereka dalam perbezaannya.
Kita lihat, bagaimana cara berpikir Amina Wadud bersifat tidak tetap dan hanya menjurus ke bahagian-bahagian yang dianggap menguntungkan jenisnya (wanita).
Sebagai contoh, A. Wadud membangkang kerana tidak diperbolehkan menjadi imam dan khatib salat Jumaat. Lalu ia buat ibadah Jumaat, versinya sendiri. Ia seperti ingin menunjukkan, bahawa wanita juga mampu menjadi khatib dan imam Jumaat, seperti halnya laki-laki. Dicarilah ‘dalil-dalil pinggiran’ untuk menjustifikasi perbuatannya. Ia memprotes pembatasan wanita dalam soal salat Jumaat. Tetapi, dia tidak protes, mengapa wanita tidak boleh melaksanakan salat saat haid atau nifas. Harusnya, sesuai dengan perkembangan teknologi pengobatan, wanita tidak perlu lagi dilarang meninggalkan salat ketika haid atau nifas. Bukankah itu penghinaan kepada kaum wanita, kerana wanita dianggap sebagai makhluk yang lemah? Seolah-olah wanita dianggap berhak beribadah kerana haid.
A. Wadud harusnya mengajak kaumnya ramai-ramai protes terhadap hal-hal semacam itu dan mendemonstrasikan keberaniannya untuk masuk masjid dan salat beramai-ramai waktu mereka sedang haid. Kan, sudah banyak alat-alat yang mampu mencegah tercecernya darah haid atau nifas ke lantai masjid. Begitu juga, mestinya mereka protes, dengan larangan wanita untuk puasa waktu haid dan nifas. Dengan menggunakan hermeneutika yang memasukkan unsur sejarah dan sosio-kultural dalam analisis teks-teks hukum, mereka bisa beragumen, bahawa dalil-dalil yang melarang wanita masuk masjid atau solat di waktu haid dan nifas diturunkan di zaman kuno, ketika manusia belum mampu memproduksi alat pembalut wanita.
Kita boleh melihat lebih jauh bagaimana konservatifme A. Wadud dan para aktivis gender dalam berbagai kes. Mereka hanya tertawan kepada ideologi yang sedang dominan, yang sedang “ngetrend” di Barat dan dunia global. Mereka tidak berani berpikir jernih dan melihat jauh ke depan, bagaimana konsep ‘gender equality’ itu sendiri sebenarnya sebuah konsep yang bermasalah dan perlu dikritik. Cara pandang terhadap ‘gender’, konsep hubungan laki-laki dan wanita ala Barat-sekular itulah yang perlu ditelaah dengan cermat. Sebab, banyak perbezaan antara konsep ‘equality’ Barat dan Islam.
Memang ada sebuah hadits Rasulullah Saw yang menyatakan:
“Innama al-nisa’u syaqa’iqu al-rijal.” (Sesungguhnya kaum wanita adalah setara dengan kaum laki-laki). [HR. Abu Dawud dan an-Nasa’i].
Maksudnya, secara prinsip, di hadapan Allah, tidak ada perbezaan antara laki-laki dan wanita. Mereka akan menerima pahala dari Allah, jika mereka menjalankan perintah dan larangan Allah. Jadi, dalam pandangan hidup Islam, konsep ‘equality’ dalam gender mengandung muatan atau dimensi ilahiyah. Maka, dalam pandangan Islam, martabat wanita yang mengasuh dan mendidik anaknya dengan baik di rumah, tidak lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan laki-laki yang berdemo di depan gedung DPR menolak keputusan pemerintah yang tidak adil dalam menaikkan harga BBM. Allah tidak menyia-nyiakan amal tiap manusia, baik laki-laki maupun wanita. (Qs. an-Nisâ’ [4]: 195).
Dimensi ilahiyah dan ukhrawiyah (adanya pahala dan siksa) inilah yang tidak ada dalam pemahaman “gender equality” Barat-sekular. Maka, kaum sekular ini melihat aspek-aspek duniawi sebagai standar tinggi dan rendahnya martabat wanita. Mereka kemudian memandang perlu agar wanita mendapatkan nilai peratus tertentu sebagai anggota kabinet, anggota legislatif, dan berbagai jabatan duniawi lainnya. Sebab, bagi penganut ideologi ini, kedudukan-kedudukan wanita dalam lapangan duniawi seperti itu, dianggap sebagai kemuliaan bagi martabat wanita. Islam sendiri sangatlah jelas sikapnya dalam hal-hal seperti itu.
Islam tidak melarang wanita bekerja. Islam juga mengharuskan wanita mencari ilmu, sama dengan kewajiban laki-laki. Wanita boleh duduk dalam berbagai jabatan publik. Untuk menjadi kepada negara (khalifah), memang semua ulama mazhab bersepakat tidak mengizinkan. Bagi kaum feminis, larangan itu dianggap penghinaan terhadap wanita.
Sekali lagi, ini menyangkut worldview dan cara berpikir. Hingga sekarang, di AS saja belum pernah ada seorang wanita yang menjadi Presiden di sana. Bahkan, anggota parlemen wanita di Iran jauh lebih banyak dibandingkan dengan di AS. Dalam dunia Katolik, hingga kini, wanita tidak diizinkan menjadi pastor. Maka, agak aneh, jika katedral di Manhattan itu mengizinkan Aminah Wadud menjadi imam solat Jumaat.
Sepanjang sejarah Islam, kaum Muslim paham, bagaimana konsep ‘persamaan’ antara laki-laki dan wanita diterapkan. Rasulullah Saw sendiri sudah menjelaskan dan memberikan contoh, bagaimana Kaum Muslimin menerapkan konsep itu. Kaum Muslim faham, bahawa pemberian masa iddah bagi wanita selepas talak, bukanlah penghinaan kepada wanita —sebagaimana difahami oleh Siti Musdah Mulia dan kawab-kawan, sehingga mereka juga mengharuskan laki-laki punya iddah. Hak talak buat laki-laki juga bukan penistaan martabat bagi wanita. Begitu juga dengan penempatan wanita dalam saf salat di belakang laki-laki. Ini bukan penghinaan bagi wanita. Yang dinilai dalam solat adalah ketepatan syarat dan rukunnya serta kekhusyukan hati.
Sepanjang sejarah Islam, telah lahir ribuan ahli fiqh wanita. Sejumlah guru para imam mazhab dan ulama hadits, juga wanita. Seorang ahli fiqh wanita terbesar adalah Aisyah r.a. Pendapat beliau dalam fiqh tidak berbeza dengan pendapat para sahabat laki-laki. Para ulama Islam —baik laki-laki atau wanita— sepanjang sejarah, telah memahami konsep ‘equality’ dan ‘diskriminasi’ laki-laki dan wanita dalam Islam.
Mereka tidak memandang penempatan wanita di shaf belakang laki-laki sebagai satu bentuk penindasan wanita.
Jika waktu ini ada orang-orang seperti Aminah Wadud, Musdah Mulia, dan lain-lain, kita memahami, bahawa konsep mereka tentang ‘equality’ memang bukan berangkat dari worldview Islam. Mereka mengadopsi konsep worldview lain yang kemudian digunakan untuk meneropong Islam. Wajar jika hasilnyakacau. Lihat saja, hingga kini Wadud belum menghasilkan sebuah cara pandang keilmuan yang sistematik dalam metodologi pengambilan (istinbath) hukum Islam. Bisa diduga, Wadud tidak akan konsisten dengan gagasannya. Kita lihat, apakah setiap hari Jumaat dia menjalankan ibadah salat Jumaat, sesuai dengan gagasannya itu. Mungkin Profesor satu ini punya pikiran: “Kalau laki-laki bisa khutbah Jumaat, masa saya tidak boleh? Jadi, ia ingin menunjukkan, bahawa dia juga boleh khutbah dan jadi imam, seperti laki-laki.”
Kalau cara berpikir ‘dendam’ dan ‘iri’ semacam itu yang digunakan, maka kita siap-siap saja menunggu berbagai kejutan dari Aminah Wadud, hingga mungkin saja suatu ketika dia juga ingin menunjukkan, “Kalau laki-laki mampu beristeri lebih dari satu, saya juga mampu bersuami lebih dari satu.” Untuk mengokohkan citra dirinya sebagai pejuang ‘gender equality’ Wadud dan kawan-kawan bisa mengusulkan agar dunia menghapus semua diskriminasi antara laki-laki wanita, sehingga tidak ada lagi perbezaan kategori laki-laki dan wanita dalam bidang olah raga; tidak ada lagi pembezaan toilet laki-laki dan wanita; tidak ada lagi hak cuti haid dan cuti melahirkan untuk wanita. Sebab, semua itu adalah bentuk diskriminasi dan pelecehan wanita. Di zaman edan, hal-hal yang tidak terpikirkan sebelumnya, bisa saja terjadi. Jika Wadud menolak diskriminasi gender dalam soal ibadah, tetapi menerima diskriminasi gender dalam bidang olah raga dan ‘pertoiletan’, maka kita patut menelaah dengan cermat, bahawa kasus
salat Jumaat Wadud di Manhattan ini sebenarnya bukan soal fiqih semata, tetapi lebih kepada masalah pola pikir dan kejiwaan.
Pepatah Arab menyatakan: “khâlif, tu’raf!”, (nyelenehlah kamu, maka kamu akan terkenal). Atau, dalam istilah Latin: “esto alius, notus es!”. Ali ra bahkan pernah mengatakan, bul mâ’a zam-zam (kencingilah air zam-zam). Wallahu a’lam. (KL, 24 Mac 2005). [Hidayatullah.com]
Sesuatu yang pasti dan Pasti dilalui adalah
Kematian. Setiap patah perkataan yang kita tulis
Ada yang menghisabnya.
Ahmus
Oleh: Adian Husaini
“Khâlif, tu’raf!”.Bersikap Ganjillah kamu, kamu akan terkenal, begitu kata pepatah Arab. Kalimat itu yang kini dipakai Aminah Wadud, termasuk kawan-kawannya di Indonesia! Baca CAP Adian Husaini ke-94.
Pada Hari Jumaat, 18 Mac 2005, dunia Islam dikejutkan oleh sebuah peristiwa di sebuah gereja di Amerika Serikat. Ketika itu, seorang tokoh Islam Liberal yang dikenal aktif memperjuangkan hak sama rata gender (gender equality), bernama Prof. Dr. Aminah Wadud, menjadi imam dan khatib untuk salat Jumaat.
Jemaahhnya berjumlah sekitar 100 orang bercampur laki-laki dan wanita. Dari gambar-gambar yang disiarkan oleh media massa terlihat barisan shaf Solat bercampur aduk antara laki-laki dan wanita. Shaf laki-laki dan wanita sejajar. Disamping itu, muazinnya seorang wanita yang tidak mengenakan jilbab, tetapi dia ikut salat Jumaat juga. Para ulama di dunia Islam, seperti Syaikhul Azhar dan Yusuf Qaradhawi, telah memberikan kritik keras terhadap peristiwa tersebut.
Majma’ al-Fiqhi al-Islami (MFI), badan internasional dalam hukum Fiqh Islam, mengecam keras tindakan Aminah Wadud, yang merupakan seorang profesor bidang kajian Islam di Virginia Commonhealth University. Lokasi salat Jumaat itu tepatnya di Synod House, gereja Cathedral St. John, di Manhattan, New York.
MFI yang bernaung di bawah OIC ini menilai apa yang dilakukan Wadud ini sebagai bid’ah yang menyesatkan dan musibah. Itu tercermin dengan majunya seorang wanita untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah Islam, menjadi khatib dan Imam untuk solat Jumaat, dengan jemaah campuran laki-laki dan wanita, dan dilaksanakan di sebuah Cathederal.
Pernyataan resmi yang dikeluarkan MFI, menjelaskan bahawa Wadud telah melakukan pelanggaran hukum-hukum syariat dari beberapa segi; iaitu khutbah Jumaat oleh wanita, imam wanita atas jemaah lelaki, jemaah wanita dan lelaki yang berdiri sejajar dan berdampingan serta terjadinya ikhtilath (campur-gaul antara laki-laki dan wanita) dalam ibadah. Ahli Fiqih Islam sepakat bahawa solat Jumaat hanya diwajibkan atas kaum laki-laki.
Selain itu, seperti sudah maklum, kedududukan wanita dalam solat seharusnya di belakang laki-laki. Berdasarkan berbagai nash dalam hadits Rasulullah Saw, maka MFI memutuskan, bahawa salat Wadud dan kawan-kawannya tidak memenuhi syarat dan mereka harus menggantinya dengan solat Zuhor.
Tindakan Wadud sudah banyak mencetuskan kecaman dari berbagai pihak. Sudah pasti, banyak juga yang kagum dan memuji kenekadan Wadud dalam menentang tradisi yang sudah dianggap mapan selama 1400 tahun lebih. Khabarnya, di Indonesia sudah ada rencana sebahagian kaum wanita untuk mengikuti jejak Wadud. Wakil Pengarah Pusat Kebudayaan Islam di New York, Muhammad Syamsi Ali, misalnya, juga menyatakan bahawa ibadah Jumaat versi Wadud itu tidak sah. Yusuf Qaradhawi juga mengecam keras tindakan Wadud, dan menegaskan bahawa solat Jumaat versi Wadud itu adalah bid'ah yang munkar.
Begitulah pendapat berbagai ulama dan lembaga Islam antarabangas. Kita sedia maklum akan hal itu. Secara dalil-dalil syar’i, tindakan “Wadud and the gang” memang teruk. Namun, tentu saja, bagi Wadud dan kawan-kawan, berbagai hujah fiqih yang diajukan oleh para ulama terkemuka itu tidak mereka pedulikan. Sebab, mereka sudah kemaruk dengan fahaman‘gender equality’ ala Barat-sekular, bahawa laki-laki dan wanita harus dipandang sejajar, tidak boleh ada manusia yang diberi status hak istimewa atas dasar jenis kelamin. Yang menjadi dasar adalah soal kemampuan. Jika wanita lebih bagus bacaan al-Qur’annya, maka ia lebih berhak menjadi imam, dibandingkan laki-laki yang kurang bagus bacaan imamnya. Ketua rumah tangga tidak didasarkan pada jenis kelamin —yakni semestinya laki-laki— tetapi berdasarkan kemampuannya. Mungkin sahaja wanita menjadi kepala rumah tangga, jika dia lebih mampu berbanding suaminya.
Begitu juga dalam soal khatib, baik khatib Jumaat maupun salat Id. Dasar ideologinya sama: ‘gender equality’.
Natijah dari cara berpikir ini sangat jauh dan akan membongkar sistem metodologi penetapan hukum Islam. Hujah Amina Wadud dan kawan-kawan tidak akan ‘bertemu’ dengan argumentasi para ulama yang berasaskan dalilnya kepada kaedah-kaedah dasar ushul fiqh. Sebab, bagi Amina Wadud, kaedah ushul fiqih itu pun mereka mendakwa hasil ciptaan laki-laki yang diciptakan untuk melestarikan hegemoni laki-laki atas wanita. Mereka sudah dipengaruhi fahaman bahawa fiqih adalah ciptaan laki-laki. Sebuah buku berjudul Rekonstruksi Fiqh Perempuan (1996:9) menulis kata-kata sebagai berikut: “Konstruksi fiqh yang sarat dengan norma dan doktrin yang androsentrik di satu sisi dan di sisi lainnya bernuansa permasalahan zaman tertentu dirasakan menghambat realisasi potensi kaum perempuan dalam arus transformasi.”
Sebagai contoh, jika dikatakan, bahawa jika wanita bertindak sebagai imam, maka laki-laki di belakangnya akan bisa terganggu salatnya, maka mereka akan menjawab, bahawa wanita pun juga bisa tergoda oleh laki-laki. Bukan hanya laki-laki yang bisa tergoda oleh wanita. Jika dikatakan, bahawa suara azan wanita bisa mengganggu syahwat laki-laki, maka mereka akan berargumen bahawa suara laki-laki juga bisa membangkitkan syahwat wanita. Dan seterusnya. Maka, Wadud membuat lolongan untuk mencampuradukkan antara laki-laki dan wanita dalam salat Jumaat versi dia sendiri. Mungkin gaya salat seperti ini akan dijadikan model oleh orang-orang yang memang ingin bercampur aduk antar laki-laki dengan wanita.
Maka, dalam mengambil sikap terhadap kes Amina Wadud, sebaiknya kita tidak hanya melihatnya dalam aspek fiqih semata, tetapi juga aspek worldview (pandangan hidup) dan epistemologi (metodologi ilmu). Bagaimana Wadud sampai kepada kesimpulan semacam itu. Bahkan, perlu juga dilihat pada aspek psikologi. Apakah tindakan itu ada kaitannya dengan ‘mental minder’ yang bisa menjangkiti kaum kulit hitam di AS? Apa untungnya bagi Amina Wadud melakukan tindakan ganjil dan "waton suloyo" alias (janji berlainan) dengan kaum Muslim pada umumnya?
Sebahagian manusia akan memberi gelaran kepada Amina Wadud sebagai seorang yang ‘progressif’ (dari bahasa Latin: progredior, artinya: saya maju kedepan). Sebab, A. Wadud dinilai berani mendobrak tradisi lama yang sudah berusia 1400 tahun. Luar biasa! Dia seorang progresif, bukan konservatif, bukan orthodoks. Bukan orang kuno lagi, tetapi sudah maju ke depan, sudah progressif. Begitu biasanya gelaran yang diberikan kepada orang seperti Aminah Wadud.
Sebenarnya, jika direnungkan lebih mendalam, Aminah Wadud bukan seorang progressif, tetapi justeru dia seorang yang sangat konservatif. Kenapa? Kerana dia sebenarnya telah hanyut dan menghambakan dirinya pada ideologi global yang sedang dominan (hegemonik) saat ini, iaitu ideologi gender equality. Cara pandang dia terhadap laki-laki dan wanita adalah cara pandang yang sudah terhegemoni oleh wacana gender sekular, sudah tidak merdeka lagi sebagai seorang Muslim. Wadud bukan seorang yang progressif, dalam arti, dia tidak berani berpikir jauh ke depan, melintasi batas-batas hegemoni ideologi dominan saat ini, yaitu ideologi gender equality. Dia gagal untuk menilai hakikat dan hikmah hukum-hukum Islam yang memang banyak memberikan perbezaan tindakan terhadap laki-laki dan wanita.
Kerana syariat Islam bersumber kepada wahyu Ilahi, maka prinsip dasar Islam adalah menekankan kepada keyakinan kepada keagungan dan keadilan Allah dalam ketentuan-ketentuan hukum-Nya. Allah Maha Tahu atas makhluk-Nya. Lebih Tahu daripada si makhluk itu sendiri. Bagaimana pun, laki-laki memang berbeza dengan wanita. Biarkanlah mereka dalam perbezaannya.
Kita lihat, bagaimana cara berpikir Amina Wadud bersifat tidak tetap dan hanya menjurus ke bahagian-bahagian yang dianggap menguntungkan jenisnya (wanita).
Sebagai contoh, A. Wadud membangkang kerana tidak diperbolehkan menjadi imam dan khatib salat Jumaat. Lalu ia buat ibadah Jumaat, versinya sendiri. Ia seperti ingin menunjukkan, bahawa wanita juga mampu menjadi khatib dan imam Jumaat, seperti halnya laki-laki. Dicarilah ‘dalil-dalil pinggiran’ untuk menjustifikasi perbuatannya. Ia memprotes pembatasan wanita dalam soal salat Jumaat. Tetapi, dia tidak protes, mengapa wanita tidak boleh melaksanakan salat saat haid atau nifas. Harusnya, sesuai dengan perkembangan teknologi pengobatan, wanita tidak perlu lagi dilarang meninggalkan salat ketika haid atau nifas. Bukankah itu penghinaan kepada kaum wanita, kerana wanita dianggap sebagai makhluk yang lemah? Seolah-olah wanita dianggap berhak beribadah kerana haid.
A. Wadud harusnya mengajak kaumnya ramai-ramai protes terhadap hal-hal semacam itu dan mendemonstrasikan keberaniannya untuk masuk masjid dan salat beramai-ramai waktu mereka sedang haid. Kan, sudah banyak alat-alat yang mampu mencegah tercecernya darah haid atau nifas ke lantai masjid. Begitu juga, mestinya mereka protes, dengan larangan wanita untuk puasa waktu haid dan nifas. Dengan menggunakan hermeneutika yang memasukkan unsur sejarah dan sosio-kultural dalam analisis teks-teks hukum, mereka bisa beragumen, bahawa dalil-dalil yang melarang wanita masuk masjid atau solat di waktu haid dan nifas diturunkan di zaman kuno, ketika manusia belum mampu memproduksi alat pembalut wanita.
Kita boleh melihat lebih jauh bagaimana konservatifme A. Wadud dan para aktivis gender dalam berbagai kes. Mereka hanya tertawan kepada ideologi yang sedang dominan, yang sedang “ngetrend” di Barat dan dunia global. Mereka tidak berani berpikir jernih dan melihat jauh ke depan, bagaimana konsep ‘gender equality’ itu sendiri sebenarnya sebuah konsep yang bermasalah dan perlu dikritik. Cara pandang terhadap ‘gender’, konsep hubungan laki-laki dan wanita ala Barat-sekular itulah yang perlu ditelaah dengan cermat. Sebab, banyak perbezaan antara konsep ‘equality’ Barat dan Islam.
Memang ada sebuah hadits Rasulullah Saw yang menyatakan:
“Innama al-nisa’u syaqa’iqu al-rijal.” (Sesungguhnya kaum wanita adalah setara dengan kaum laki-laki). [HR. Abu Dawud dan an-Nasa’i].
Maksudnya, secara prinsip, di hadapan Allah, tidak ada perbezaan antara laki-laki dan wanita. Mereka akan menerima pahala dari Allah, jika mereka menjalankan perintah dan larangan Allah. Jadi, dalam pandangan hidup Islam, konsep ‘equality’ dalam gender mengandung muatan atau dimensi ilahiyah. Maka, dalam pandangan Islam, martabat wanita yang mengasuh dan mendidik anaknya dengan baik di rumah, tidak lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan laki-laki yang berdemo di depan gedung DPR menolak keputusan pemerintah yang tidak adil dalam menaikkan harga BBM. Allah tidak menyia-nyiakan amal tiap manusia, baik laki-laki maupun wanita. (Qs. an-Nisâ’ [4]: 195).
Dimensi ilahiyah dan ukhrawiyah (adanya pahala dan siksa) inilah yang tidak ada dalam pemahaman “gender equality” Barat-sekular. Maka, kaum sekular ini melihat aspek-aspek duniawi sebagai standar tinggi dan rendahnya martabat wanita. Mereka kemudian memandang perlu agar wanita mendapatkan nilai peratus tertentu sebagai anggota kabinet, anggota legislatif, dan berbagai jabatan duniawi lainnya. Sebab, bagi penganut ideologi ini, kedudukan-kedudukan wanita dalam lapangan duniawi seperti itu, dianggap sebagai kemuliaan bagi martabat wanita. Islam sendiri sangatlah jelas sikapnya dalam hal-hal seperti itu.
Islam tidak melarang wanita bekerja. Islam juga mengharuskan wanita mencari ilmu, sama dengan kewajiban laki-laki. Wanita boleh duduk dalam berbagai jabatan publik. Untuk menjadi kepada negara (khalifah), memang semua ulama mazhab bersepakat tidak mengizinkan. Bagi kaum feminis, larangan itu dianggap penghinaan terhadap wanita.
Sekali lagi, ini menyangkut worldview dan cara berpikir. Hingga sekarang, di AS saja belum pernah ada seorang wanita yang menjadi Presiden di sana. Bahkan, anggota parlemen wanita di Iran jauh lebih banyak dibandingkan dengan di AS. Dalam dunia Katolik, hingga kini, wanita tidak diizinkan menjadi pastor. Maka, agak aneh, jika katedral di Manhattan itu mengizinkan Aminah Wadud menjadi imam solat Jumaat.
Sepanjang sejarah Islam, kaum Muslim paham, bagaimana konsep ‘persamaan’ antara laki-laki dan wanita diterapkan. Rasulullah Saw sendiri sudah menjelaskan dan memberikan contoh, bagaimana Kaum Muslimin menerapkan konsep itu. Kaum Muslim faham, bahawa pemberian masa iddah bagi wanita selepas talak, bukanlah penghinaan kepada wanita —sebagaimana difahami oleh Siti Musdah Mulia dan kawab-kawan, sehingga mereka juga mengharuskan laki-laki punya iddah. Hak talak buat laki-laki juga bukan penistaan martabat bagi wanita. Begitu juga dengan penempatan wanita dalam saf salat di belakang laki-laki. Ini bukan penghinaan bagi wanita. Yang dinilai dalam solat adalah ketepatan syarat dan rukunnya serta kekhusyukan hati.
Sepanjang sejarah Islam, telah lahir ribuan ahli fiqh wanita. Sejumlah guru para imam mazhab dan ulama hadits, juga wanita. Seorang ahli fiqh wanita terbesar adalah Aisyah r.a. Pendapat beliau dalam fiqh tidak berbeza dengan pendapat para sahabat laki-laki. Para ulama Islam —baik laki-laki atau wanita— sepanjang sejarah, telah memahami konsep ‘equality’ dan ‘diskriminasi’ laki-laki dan wanita dalam Islam.
Mereka tidak memandang penempatan wanita di shaf belakang laki-laki sebagai satu bentuk penindasan wanita.
Jika waktu ini ada orang-orang seperti Aminah Wadud, Musdah Mulia, dan lain-lain, kita memahami, bahawa konsep mereka tentang ‘equality’ memang bukan berangkat dari worldview Islam. Mereka mengadopsi konsep worldview lain yang kemudian digunakan untuk meneropong Islam. Wajar jika hasilnyakacau. Lihat saja, hingga kini Wadud belum menghasilkan sebuah cara pandang keilmuan yang sistematik dalam metodologi pengambilan (istinbath) hukum Islam. Bisa diduga, Wadud tidak akan konsisten dengan gagasannya. Kita lihat, apakah setiap hari Jumaat dia menjalankan ibadah salat Jumaat, sesuai dengan gagasannya itu. Mungkin Profesor satu ini punya pikiran: “Kalau laki-laki bisa khutbah Jumaat, masa saya tidak boleh? Jadi, ia ingin menunjukkan, bahawa dia juga boleh khutbah dan jadi imam, seperti laki-laki.”
Kalau cara berpikir ‘dendam’ dan ‘iri’ semacam itu yang digunakan, maka kita siap-siap saja menunggu berbagai kejutan dari Aminah Wadud, hingga mungkin saja suatu ketika dia juga ingin menunjukkan, “Kalau laki-laki mampu beristeri lebih dari satu, saya juga mampu bersuami lebih dari satu.” Untuk mengokohkan citra dirinya sebagai pejuang ‘gender equality’ Wadud dan kawan-kawan bisa mengusulkan agar dunia menghapus semua diskriminasi antara laki-laki wanita, sehingga tidak ada lagi perbezaan kategori laki-laki dan wanita dalam bidang olah raga; tidak ada lagi pembezaan toilet laki-laki dan wanita; tidak ada lagi hak cuti haid dan cuti melahirkan untuk wanita. Sebab, semua itu adalah bentuk diskriminasi dan pelecehan wanita. Di zaman edan, hal-hal yang tidak terpikirkan sebelumnya, bisa saja terjadi. Jika Wadud menolak diskriminasi gender dalam soal ibadah, tetapi menerima diskriminasi gender dalam bidang olah raga dan ‘pertoiletan’, maka kita patut menelaah dengan cermat, bahawa kasus
salat Jumaat Wadud di Manhattan ini sebenarnya bukan soal fiqih semata, tetapi lebih kepada masalah pola pikir dan kejiwaan.
Pepatah Arab menyatakan: “khâlif, tu’raf!”, (nyelenehlah kamu, maka kamu akan terkenal). Atau, dalam istilah Latin: “esto alius, notus es!”. Ali ra bahkan pernah mengatakan, bul mâ’a zam-zam (kencingilah air zam-zam). Wallahu a’lam. (KL, 24 Mac 2005). [Hidayatullah.com]
Sesuatu yang pasti dan Pasti dilalui adalah
Kematian. Setiap patah perkataan yang kita tulis
Ada yang menghisabnya.
Ahmus