Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Who's the true Muslimah? II

I assume you have watched the video I posted earlier. So, who's actually the true Muslimah? I already revealed my vote which goes to the two with Hijab; but not because of their hijab. They have my vote because what they said. And I believe it's what they believe in.

I see there's one vote went to Sonia. I didn't vote for Sonia for one reason, and for that very reason Sonia cannot be a true Muslimah. You can never be a true Muslimah or Muslim, when you arrogantly think that any of the teachings of the Quran can or has become obsolete. Sonia did exactly this when she said, "... we need to be able to move from one culture to the other without looking something out of a different era." She thinks women in Hijab are weird! Please tell me, who would we expect to champion Hijab but not the Muslims?

The worse thing is that when she tried to interpret the verse on Hijab to justify her not putting on one. The verse clearly states that Muslimah needs to "extend their scarf to cover their bossom". And where else would you put on your scarf if not on your head. How can the verse not be particular?


People easily forget about the truth of themselves; where they've come from, why they live, where they will end, etc.. Being a Muslim or Muslimah is about realizing the truth of self, all the time. How do you learn about the truth? From Allah who has created you, no other else. And the Quran is the words of Allah.


wAllahu 'alam

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Masalah lari

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan padanya tergantung buah-buah pelajaran,
buat bekalan kehidupan.

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan di sebaliknya terdapat jalan-jalan keluar,
resolusi kepada konflik dan persengketaan.

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan di dalamnya terkandung makna sabar.

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan sesudahnya teratur peluang-peluang,
untuk kita mencipta kebahagiaan,
berkongsi kebaikan.

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan dengannya kita mampu lukiskan pembaharuan,
keseronokan, dan keceriaan.

Kenapa kita lari daripada Masalah?
Sedangkan hakikat masalah itu adalah penyelesaian.

Tetapi, harus tetap waspada,
tatkala meniti liku-liku Masalah,
kerana bertaburan duri-duri putus asa, kecewa, hampa.

wAllahu 'alam

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Husband vs. Wife

The husband works as a managing director in a multi-national company. The wife is a doctor. Both are middle-aged. They have three children; the youngest is 8. And they love each other dearly.

Husband: Yang, I'm thinking of getting myself a super-bike la.
Wife: Super-bike?
Husband: Yeah, a super-bike. I'm thinking the one with a 500cc engine. Cool kan?
Wife: Why suddenly? Are you getting bored of me?!
Husband: Ish, you ni. Ke situ pulak dia. I've always wanted a super-bike. Dulu takde duit. I can afford it now. ...And I love you. Always have. (Chuckles)
Wife: What do you want to do with the bike? Nak bawak pergi kerja? So you can attract more superficial perempuan. Camtu?
Husband: Belum apa-apa lagi you dah jealous. I nak pergi roadtrip. Pusing-pusing Malaysia dengan kawan-kawan.
Wife: Bahaya la motor besar-besar ni abang. You overspeed. Lepas tu you accident. I jugak yang menjanda. Tak pasal-pasal anak-anak I jadi anak yatim.
Husband: Sayang, ajal tu sudah tertulis. Tetap teguh di lauh mahfuz. Tak perlu pun I accident untuk mati. Dalam bilik yang berair-con ni pun I boleh mati. Lagipun, I'm not going for a race. I nak jalan-jalan. Kalau bawak laju-laju sangat, tak boleh la I nak enjoy tempat yang I pergi tu.
Wife: Tapi, being on a motorcycle increases the risk of getting into an accident. Memang la ajal tu dah ditetapkan. Tapi God doesn't ask us to run into it.
Husband: Kalau kita terlalu fikirkan risiko, kita takkan bergerak ke mana-mana la sayang oi. Going for a roadtrip on a motorcycle is nowhere close to going for a bungee jumping. Or smoking.
Wife: Ok lah. Kalau lah abang tak mati pun, abang accident. Putus tangan, kaki. Buta mata ke, kan susah saya, anak-anak semua.
Husband: Haih, I thought we've already agreed on the risk issue. Macam nilah. I'm going to buy a superbike, and I will go for a roadtrip with my friends. Kalau abang accident & jadi cacat, you can leave me. I'll move out. The house is yours. So is the insurance money. And the kids can stay with you.
Wife: Abang... bukan maksud saya....
Husband: No, seriously. I don't mind. I don't mind losing anything, even you. As long as I don't burden you. As long as you can be happy.

We can be either one of them. It depends on who's going to make the 'risky' change in life. I'm just trying to not be sexist.

wAllahu 'alam

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

"Never Give Up": What a ridiculous expression

Salam to all,

I was asked to write an essay titled the above expression in the mid-sem English test. The question asked whether I agree with the expression or don't and to provide an example to support my standpoint. Here's what I wrote:

""Never, never give up!" Do I agree with the expression? Of course I do. Everyone else should. This is the truth of life; to not give up.

I would like to talk about this expression in a slightly different perspective. Dr. Sharifah (my English teacher), I apologize that I may not really answer your question. But I seriously think that we should stop trying to draw examples from expressions and start to think about the reality behind them. It makes us stronger, adds more meaning to ourselves.

First, let's ask ourselves what the above expression really means. Many people would agree that it tells us to never stop working until we achiveve our goal. I personally think that that is a fine definition for the expression. Let's think deeper. What is actually our goal? This question might produce an extremely wide variety of answers. But, I believe the ultimate answer to it is "LIFE"--the one single chance granted by God to us to live as human beings. The next question that might come into mind is what should we do to achieve life? I'd say we have to work on filling in every single moment of life with meaningful things to achieve it.

Trying to answer the previous question makes me realize that there's nothing for us to give up in. We have no reason to do so. We can't find any condition that would allow us to do so. So, it's simply stupid, irresponsible, and pointless to give up in life. We are actually trying to go against the truth of life when we think about giving up in it.

Being in this life is like being in a room with millions of doors around you. The doors are locked by the way and the keys to them are in your hear: your desire. One good thing about these doors is that they fit everyone. Behind them are your goals. Our goals. It is only a matter of our hearts.

I hope one day we don't have to tell people to not give up as people have understood about the truth of life. And from that day on, this expression will seem a ridiculous one to say because everyone is already holding his or her key ready to unlock the doors. " (03.03.09)

wAllahu 'alam

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

PR 2, BN 1

Takbir kemenangan kepada Dato' Seri Mohd. Nizar Jamaluddin, ucapan tahniah & salam perjuangan kepada saudara S. Manikumar.

Kepada saudara Khairy Jamaluddin dan pendokong Barisan Nasional yang lain, sudah cukuplah bukti bahawa "tsunami politik" yang melanda negara pada pilihanraya umum yang lepas bukanlah disebabkan oleh undi protes rakyat, tetapi transformasi pemikiran dan kehendak yang kuat kepada keadilan dan keharmonian negara.

Kepada seluruh pejuang-pejuang kebenaran, pencinta-pencinta keadilan, dan sahabat-sahabat pembaca yang dihormati, teruskan perjuangan anda mencari makna dan ketuhanan. Semoga kehidupan kita diberkati Tuhan yang Maha Adil.

wAllahu 'alam

The art of compromise

A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he / she has the biggest piece. (Ludwig Erhard, 1877-1977)

Hard eh? But still possible. So, let's learn how to do it. And please note that everyone must include ourselves.

"And serve Allah. Ascribe no thing as partner unto Him. (Show) kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and unto the neighbour who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbour who is not of kin, and the fellow-traveller and the wayfarer and (the slaves) whom your right hands possess. Lo! Allah loveth not such as are proud and boastful" (an-Nisa': 36)


Peace.

wAllahu 'alam

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Seorang Kristian Membaca Al-Quran

Seorang sahabat baik bercerita kepada saya tentang Nga Kor Ming, pemimpin DAP Perak yang membaca ayat Quran dalam satu ceramah beliau baru-baru ini. Isu yang dibangkitkan oleh sahabat saya adalah berkenaan dengan pendapat Mufti Perak, Sahibus Samahah Datuk Harussani Zakaria yang kurang senang dengan penggunaan ayat Quran oleh Setiausaha DAP Perak tersebut.

Pengetahuan agama saya tidaklah sedalam dan seluas Tuan Mufti kita, tetapi tidaklah menghalang saya daripada berfikir dan berpendapat; selagi saya sandarkan buah fikiran itu pada ayat-ayat Allah dan sunnah ar-Rasul S.A.W..

Saya berpendapat bahawa strategi dan tindakan seorang pemimpin kafir (Kristian) berhujah dengan ayat Quran menceritakan dua fenomena. Pertama, ia mungkin satu strategi memikat pengundi Melayu Islam dalam kempen politik untuk pilihanraya kecil yang akan datang ini. Ini memberi alamat tentang sikap "awareness" terhadap kepercayaan dan agama pengundi majoriti. Penghormatan yang tidak seharusnya ditolak.

Kedua, kejadian ini boleh dilihat sebagai satu refleksi terhadap umat Islam seluruhnya. Melihat kembali ucapan pemimpin muda DAP tersebut, kita boleh "deduce" bahawa kepercayaan yang benar terhadap Tuhan adalah punca kepada keadilan dan kerahmatan sekalian alam. Orang bukan Islam yang pelat dalam bacaan al-Quran mampu mengeluarkan hakikat ini daripada sepotong kalam Tuhan Rabbil 'Alamin, mengapa tidak umat Melayu yang beragama Islam sejak saban keturunan.

Link video: ucapan Ngo Kar Ming

Tuan Mufti Perak risaukan kekeliruan apabila orang kafir berhujah dan menafsirkan ayat al-Quran. Saya memahami kerisauan beliau dan kita memang harus berhati-hati apabila mendengar hujah-hujah yang disangkut pautkan pada ayat-ayat Allah S.W.T., bukan oleh orang kafir sahaja, tetapi oleh orang-orang Islam. Telah terbukti oleh beberapa kes dalam dekad ini, orang-orang Islam yang berpendidikan, tetapi menafsirkan ayat-ayat mulia daripada al-Quran menurut kehendak nafsu dan pemikiran logik semata-mata. Pemimpin-pemimpin politik, Astora Jabat, Sisters in Islam, dan gerakan-gerakan Islam Liberal yang lain sudah cukup menjadi contoh kebejatan umat Islam dalam memahami sumber hukum mereka yang paling utama. Mungkin Tuan Mufti kita perlu memberikan lebih perhatian dan usaha dalam menyelesaikan masalah ini.

Harus berhati-hati, tapi janganlah keterlaluan sampai tercetus pemikiran negatif yang akhirnya akan menutup pintu-pintu dakwah Islam. Apabila ada kesilapan dalam penafsiran, daripada mana-mana pihak pun, Islam atau bukan, pemimpin atau rakyat jelata, tegurlah sewajarnya. Jelaskan yang kabur, leraikan yang terkeliru. Yang tersalah dan mengelirukan pula haruslah memohon maaf dan membetulkan kenyataan.

"Serulah (manusia) ke jalan Tuhan-Mu dengan hikmah dan peringatan yang baik, berdebatlah (reason) dengan mereka dengan cara yang lebih baik (better), sungguh Tuhan kamu itu lebih tahu tentang siapakah yang telah tersesat daripada jalan-Nya, dan Dia juga yang lebih tahu tentang siapa yang mendapat hidayah" (an-Nahl: 125)

wAllahu 'alam

Saturday, April 4, 2009

PM Malaysia ke-6


Tahniah & takziah kepada Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak atas perlantikan beliau sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang ke-6. Ucapan tahniah itu mungkin sekadar ucapan "typical" di atas anugerah atau kejayaan seseorang. Tetapi yang saya lebih suka fokus kepada ucapan takziah kepada Perdana Menteri kita yang terbaru, sekadar mengingatkan bahawa amanah yang terpikul oleh bahu beliau bakal dipersoalkan oleh Tuhan yang Maha Agung.

Saya tidaklah terlalu terkejut dengan "stunts" PM Malaysia yang ke-6 ini apabila beliau membebaskan tahanan ISA yang kurang berminat untuk memberikan konfrantasi terhadap sebarang kelemahan pemerintahan beliau dan menarik semula keputusan menggantung lesen pengedaran akhbar utama parti pembangkang--Harakah dan Suara Keadilan--, dan turun bersemuka dengan rakyat. Langkah-langkah tersebut bukanlah apa yang diharapkan oleh pencinta tanah air ini. Bukanlah juga harapan mereka untuk mendengar satu lagi slogan baru seperti "One Malaysia" ataupun sebagainya.

Harapan mereka adalah perubahan dalam kehidupan. Keadilan dan keluhuran undang-undang dijunjung dan kezaliman dan kerakusan nafsu dihinakan.


Sebagai seorang rakyat Malaysia yang terlalu cintakan tanah airnya, pada waktu ini, saya berpendapat bahawa Datuk Seri Najib seharusnya menumpukan usaha beliau dalam tiga perkara:
1) Membersihkan nama beliau dalam kes pembunuhan Altantuya (kerana kes ini telah kecoh menjadi perhatian dan analisa di peringkat antarbangsa)
2) Mencari penyelesaian terhadap krisis politik di Perak
3) Meneruskan hasrat Pak Lah untuk membersihkan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional daripada salah guna kuasa dan politik wang.

Saya do'akan keampunan daripada Allah S.W.T. dan petunjuk-Nya kepada teraju baru kepimpinan negara, Datuk Seri Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak.