Pulang

Setiap manusia akan kembali kepada Allah.. Mengungkap kata-kata Syeikh Khalid, sebagaimana kita singgah di 'rahim' ibu sebelum dilahirkan ke dunia, begitulah juga kita akan singgah di 'rahim' bumi sebelum kita menemui Pencipta kita.

Petang tadi selepas solat jumaat, aku mendapat beberapa mesej. Ustaz Zaki, seorang warga pendidik Al-Amin, merangkap kawan rapat keluarga aku, pergi terlebih dahulu menemui Ilahnya. Buat seketika, tangisan kesedihan terbit. Dada seperti kecut, terkejut dengan berita tersebut. Baru beberapa bulan lepas, kami melawat beliau. Muka beliau bersih, dan semakin kurus. Batu karangnya sebesar penumbuk. Dipesan elok-elok pada kami, anak-anak muridnya agar menjaga makan dan minum supaya tidak menyesal di hari tua.

Seketika, terimbas kisah lama bersama beliau. Selaku jiranku sedari aku kecil, beliau mengenali aku dengan dalam. Dan agak banyak aku dan adik-adikku mengusik ahli rumahnya, membaling batu, dan bermacam lagi yang boleh dibuat oleh budak-budak nakal. Bukan sekali dua kami dimarahi dan disyarah. Jikalau ada yang bertanyakan peribadi beliau, aku mengatakan beliau seakan-akan Umar al Khattab. Garang dan keras, namun rendah diri dan lembut hati.

Beliau mengajarku di sekolah menengah. Sekali lagi. Bukan sedikit tangan kami berbirat dirotan beliau. Rindu benar-benar terasa ketika kami melawat beliau setelah beliau berpindah. Lawat kami bukan di rumah, tapi di hospital. Terkejut dengan rupa baru ustaz. Sangat kurus. 

Ustaz ahli teras IKRAM. Seorang huffaz. Juga seorang pengamal tomoi. Beliau berasal dari Thailand. Beliau juga bertemu Ilahnya di sana, Yala. 

Mengenal ma'zirah

Dan (ingatlah) ketika segolongan di antara mereka berkata: "Mengapa kamu menasihati kaum yang Allah akan membinasakan mereka atau mengazabkan mereka dengan azab yang amat berat?" Orang-orang (yang memberi nasihat) itu menjawab: "(Nasihat itu ialah) untuk melepaskan diri dari bersalah kepada Tuhan kamu, dan su.paya mereka bertaqwa". [Al A'raf:164]

 Alhamdulillah, beliau mengenalkan kepada aku konsep ini. Dapat ianya terpahat bersama-sama dengan birat di tangan. Masya Allah, sehingga sekarang dari tingkatan dua, ayat ini masih segar. T.T

Pesanan terakhir
Jaga Quran..jaga Quran.. jaga Quran.
Insya Allah, ana akan jaga Quran baik-baik..
Buat seketika, tangisan kesedihan terbit. Namun, kini tidak lagi. Aku tersenyum. Ustaz sudah pulang..menemui kekasih ustaz :)

Moga ustaz ditempatkan bersama-sama yang diberi nikmat oleh Allah..Amin

Growing seed..

Giant. It's a place that my brothers and sister like to go to, especially Ayaz and Saif. My littlest two brothers. And, lately maybe due to peer pressure, they formed a trend of buying Koko-crunch and Honey Star, in which our family boycott it. And they have a very high persuasive power, and if the persuasion did not come to fruition, they used their last resort - getting cranky.

And so, I started to show them videos and clips about Palestine. About how the Israelis soldiers attacking kids and old people, and et cetera. And they did show their sympathy and concern by making sad faces and sympathetic impressions. And they also learned to spot 'orang jahat's attire. After all, Ayaz often with me and Naim when we were playing Call of Duty. Spotting bad guys was not so hard for him. Slowly, I talked with them, about how the money flows and all of it. About our stance in helping the Palestinians besides praying and removing 'zionistic influence' in ourselves. And I talked to them about how Nestle involves. They often watch things with me, especially during "How the Universe works" in Discovery, explaining this to them won't be a problem. Or so I thought.

So, the field test time came. We went to Giant again. And we went to the cereal section. Suddenly, Ayaz and Saif asked for Koko-crunch. I reminded them on the spot. And they agreed. We chose other non-Nestle cereal. 'Alhamdulillah'.. but, suddenly at the counter, Ayaz and Saif said to my mom, "Mama..tak nak yang ni, tak sedap..nak korunch(short form for koko-crunch)". I talked to them again and again softly, but they refused. And so I thought, this ought to be a long process. When they grow up, they will understand. Insya Allah..

They are the growing seeds. I like to live my childhood dreams in them. And one day, may the be the best of the best. Insya Allah..

Tender them with love and care

p/s : This is a video, made by a senior(I posted about him once Au Revoir) for our Hari Guru, and I feel like crying. I miss him so much, and I hope he'll do fine there. Video

Taujih si Ibu..

Sedang aku berehat-rehat, Ayaz dan Saif bercerita tentang kehidupan tadika mereka. Aku pun kembali digamit nostalgia. Teringat ketika aku masih di Tahap 1, di Tadika Amal, kami selalu menyanyikan nasyid-nasyid mengenai nabi-nabi, dan lagu yang paling dalam terpahat di dalam kepalaku ialah lagu Nabi Yunus ditelan ikan paus.

Teringat kisah sirah terkenal Nabi Muhammad. Mengenai kisah-kisah nabi yang dimotivasikan Allah setelah tahun kesedihan, dan juga peristiwa Taif. Saat itu, kesedihan nabi Muhammad tidak tergambar. Isteri kesayangan beliau, Khadijah meninggal. Begitu juga dengan bapa saudaranya, Abu Talib. Lebih menyedihkan nabi, bapa saudara beliau tidak mati dalam mengakui ketauhidan Allah. Bapa saudaranya yang bersamanya susah dan senang dalam dakwah beliau. Disusuli pula oleh peristiwa Taif. Beliau di Taif dua minggu bersama Zaid dibaling batu, diejek dan dicaci oleh penduduk, dan kanak-kanak Taif sehingga berdarah dan luka. Penduduk langit menyaksikannya dengan perasaan sedih dan kasihan. Malah malaikat sudah pun bersedia membalikkan bukit Taif. Namun, nabi masih mendoakan hidayah buat mereka.

Nabi berehat di satu kebun di hujung Taif bersama Zaid. Dua pemilik kebun itu berasa kasihan kepada baginda yang terusir dan terluka, lalu memerintahkan pembantunya memberi sedikit buah kepada nabi. Pembantunya, seorang Nasrani bernama 'Adas membawa buah tersebut kepada nabi. Beliau menghulurkan anggur tersebut kepada nabi. Nabi berterima kasih, dan mengambil buah tersebut, lalu diucapkan ''Bismillahirrahmanirrahim''. Pembantu tersebut sedikit terkejut, lalu berkata "Perkataan itu agak asing bagi penduduk di sini..". Baginda lalu bertanyakan dari mana asal usul beliau. Pembantu tersebut menjawab, "Aku adalah seorang Nasrani dari Ninawa". Nabi bertanya, "Adakah engkau dari desa lelaki soleh Yunus bin Matta?". "Bagaimana engkau tahu tentang Yunus?" tanya 'Adas sedikit terkejut. Nabi berkata, "Itu adalah saudaraku. Beliau seorang nabi, aku juga seorang Nabi..". 'Adas terus menundukkan dirinya dan memeluk nabi sambil menangis.. lantas beliau mengucap dua kalimah syahadah.

Itu lah taujih sang nabi. 'Umar pula pernah berkata, jikalau tidak kerana tiga perkara, nescaya dirinya akan hancur. Puasa di hari yang panas, qiam di malam yang sejuk, dan sahabat yang saling mengingatkannya kepada Allah.. Itu taujih si 'Umar.

Apakah pula taujih si Ibu? Hati aku kuat berkata, taujih buat ibu tercinta di dunia ini, adalah anak-anaknnya yang soleh dan solehah. Lihat sahaja di Palestin. Ibu-ibu kuat di sana, termotivasi oleh syahidnya anak-anak yang lain. Anak-anak soleh dan solehah. Sedih mengenangkan, aku sering menjadi yang sebaliknya. Di saat ibuku penat mengajar di sekolah, melayan kerenah-kerenah anak-anak murid, aku tidak berada di sisi ibuku. Tidak menjadi motivasi beliau. Tidak menaikkan semangat beliau. Sering, aku merindukan zaman kanak-kanak aku. Dialah segala-galanya buat aku. Dan aku yakin, itulah yang sebaiknya.

Mama, di hujung kiri berbaju kelabu.

Nothing much to say. I pray, so I can be a good and soleh son to her, not only beneficial here, but until akhirat. Amin..

Selamat hari Ibu, mama! T.T

*Family day esok! Can't wait!
p/s - lagu ni, menangis dengar. Pasal Nabi Yunus. Nasyid yang aku hafal dari kecik lagi.. sila kan dengar.. Doa nabi yunus dalam perut ikan paus, La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka inni kuntu minazzaalimin.

Pengalaman, dan tugas kita.

Minggu lepas. Emak aku bercerita mengenai seorang pakcik. Ketika emak dan ayahku dalam perjalanan ke satu destinasi, ada seorang pakcik bersama keretanya memandang kereta kami dengan pandangan semacam lain. Bukan normal. Berkali-kali, sehingga disedari oleh kedua ibu bapaku. Lalu, atas dasar ingin tahu, ayahku berhenti di sebelahnya ketika berhenti di 'traffic light'. Masya Allah, dia mengangkat tangan, dan tersenyum lalu menunjukkan kepada tingkap keretanya, dan berkata "Kita sama" berulang kali. Pada mulanya, mereka tidak faham apa yang pakcik itu cuba katakan. Setelah melihat apa yang ditunjukkan oleh pakcik itu, mereka tersenyum sekali. Rasa semangat kebersamaan itu.. Alhamdulillah...Ini sticker yang pakcik tu girang tunjukkan pada ibu dan ayahku.

Alhamdulillah. Cuti semester minggu lepas aku melalui pengalaman yang amat bermakna. Alhamdulillah.. Selepas memberi pengisian kecil di UPM mengenai ghazwul fikr, aku dihantar oleh Hakim Ali ke stesen KTM malam itu. Terdetik dalam hati, cuti ni nak dibuat apa? Alhamdulillah..Allah menjawab. Dapat mesej daripada kenalan di UIA, mengenai tawaran menjadi sukarelawan di booth Aqsa Syarif. Terus menawarkan diri..

Alhamdulillah.. berdoa agar amalan ini melonjakkan diri termasuk dalam golongan yang berada dalam naungan Allah di mahsyar nanti. Ada sesuatu yang ingin aku kongsi.. Iaitu mengenai peranan kita. Peranan kita-kita yang mempunyai maklumat mengenai Palestin. Di sana, aku melihat beberapa situasi. Di booth Aqsa Syarif, matlamat utama kami adalah untuk pameran dan penerangan, jualan merupakan objektif keempat dan terakhir. Jadi, kebanyakan masa kami di sana, kami luangkan untuk mengedarkan pamplet dan brochure, serta menerangkan serba sikit mengenai video yang ditayangkan, dan bagi yang lebih berminat akan bergerak ke bahagian pameran. Ada juga yang lebih meminati buku dan baju serta produk-produk lain.

Di sana, alhamdulillah, semangat aku mula bangkit. Ramai sangat yang menunjukkan sokongan terhadap Palestin. Letak tepi cara pakai, dan bangsa. Bila kami menghuraikan sikit, dan mengenalkan mereka pada hero-hero termasuk Faris 'Audah, muka mereka kelihatan serious. Sebelum menjadi volunteer ini, kadang-kadang terasa sangat sedikit rakyat Malaysia yang mengambil berat perihal Palestin. Jikalau tidak mahu boikot tidak mengapa, pilihan peribadi, ini sehingga menyalahkan rakyat Palestin yang mempertahankan diri. Tapi di sana, tabung sentiasa dimasukkan duit. Memang ramai yang malu-malu untuk menunjukkan sokongan, sehingga terpaksa aku selalu mengingatkan, "Jangan segan bro/sis! Bangga..kita bantah keganasan, tuntut keadilan..".

Ada pattern kalau tengok. Kalau yang datang ada gaya korporat dan orang kaya, kebiasaannya mereka akan pergi ke seksen pameran dan projek Aqsa Syarif - Kilang Roti dan Ternak Lembu di sana. Mereka biasanya akan meminta kad. Lain pula jika kanak-kanak, mereka akan mengerumuni video. Kagum. Dan sedikit kedekut nak keluar duit beli button RM2. Haha. Kalau yang remaja dan dewasa, Alhamdulillah.. Kadang-kadang, ada yang sangat meluap-luap perasaan ingin tahu mengenai Palestin, terdetik dalam hati, "Derang ni tak tahu lagi ke?". Kesal, bukan kerana mereka tak tahu, kerana usaha orang-orang macam aku ni masih belum cukup untuk sebarkan maklumat mengenai Palestin. Ada juga yang terkejut, pabila ditunjukkan peta Palestin yang dihakis, mengenai perjanjian Oslo, mengenai penderaan mental dan sebagainya. Kebanyakan mereka ingat, Palestin masih kuat, dan tiada apa yang terhakis, cuma diserang secara berterusan. Mereka terkejut, betapa ramai pelarian Palestin, betapa kecilnya negara Palestin, dan mengenai kedudukan Masjid Aqsa di dalam Islam.

Alhamdulillah.. bagiku, Al-Aqsa akan terus jadi motivasi buat muslimin seluruh dunia... ini sedikit gambar kenang-kenangan.. ada seorang pakcik kartunis di booth kami, rapat jadi dengan dia. Sambil bekerja, sambil dengar dia bagi tazkirah. He's a bit into sufi, and JIN!! Rasa nak berkongsi jugak, tapi kang tak jalan keje. Dia lukis dan infaq pada Palestin. Bersyukur dapat bersama-sama orang hebat. Mulut mereka diam, tapi mereka bekerja kuat..

Terasa rapat. Walau sekejap berjumpa.. Terutama Rizuwan, yang berkopiah. Terkilan jugak, masa nak tangkap gambar dia, bateri habis..Insya Allah..lain hari, kita berjumpa.. yang penting, tugas kita, untuk sebarkan maklumat dan menyemarakkan semangat perjuangan Palestin di hati rakyat Malaysia..Allahu Akbar!

Respect

"Hey Asif, could you tell our teacher, tomorrow I will be absent...I will be celebrating Vaisakhi" he said.
"What? Celebrating what?.." I replied.
"Vaisakhi..my religious festival..."...

BAM!

That moment, I feel very guilty. How can I do not know about him? He's one of my best friends here, and I did not even know about his religious festival. Deep down, I feel ashamed. He often asked me about Quran, Jawi, Hudud, even Halal and Haram food. And I did not even know his religious festival. I know about the Khalsa order, but the term 'Vaisakhi' didn't ring a bell, AT ALL. Astaghfirullah.. Until now, I do not know how will I patch that up. He did not show any remarks, at all. Not knowing how remorseful I felt inside I guess. Insya Allah, we often talked and both of us know we are kind of 'open' person. My azam, I wish to dump my ignorance, and show that I too concern about him and his religion. Insya Allah..

Reminiscing, I still remember my former classmates last year during Ramadhan. When they had a birthday party, and I was there. I was there just to wish him and went back. And they understood. But to my surprise, they prepared a polystyrene box to pack the food for me. And when they were wishing, before they started, they gave me my box of cakes and food, so that I could go without watching them eating. Masya Allah.. I pray so that Allah will give them hidayah one day..

Along my experience with 'not-yet Muslim', I know the key is to respect them. We cannot expect them to respect us, when we easily label them infidels and other bad terms. We have to show first. And the vital thing is, to respect them. Know them, and their religion. And do not forget, tarbiyah and dakwah are our keys of life. Maybe along our experience with dakwah, we may find something uncomfortable. I've met an ikhwah, where his intellectual level I respect, said that, if we didn't agree with something in the usrah or group, don't run, be the changing agent. Wallahu a'lam....

There's a BIG difference between religious tolerance and pluralism... Just keep that in mind. 

I believe Islam the one and only true religion.. 

* Alhamdulillah, exam sudah habis..ucap tahniah pada diri. :) Cuti semester seminggu....

Of a diamond and hardship

* This is not an attempt to describe diamond's physical properties and its characteristics scientifically.

Assalamu'alaikum..
I always believe that my God, Allah created His creations with purpose. He created us to worship Him. And He also created this universe with certain purposes, only He knows all the purposes. Wallahu a'lam. I love beauty, and I can be easily astonished by it. Whether it comes from diamond, sun, stars, animals, jungle, or music, it reminds me effectively of who I am. My iman fluctuates frequently, and I pray to Allah, hoping that He will watch over me and let me die in defending His religion. Insya Allah..

"Diamond is a lump of coal that did well under pressure...."

Diamond has a legendary history. When you hold them, you are actually holding one of the ancient world heritages. Diamond consists of carbon. Coal also consists of carbon. But what makes them different? Although most of people thought that diamond really comes from carbon, some may disagree. But, wait, I'm not writing this to explain the science of coal and diamond. Referring to the above beautiful saying, Let me write you a beautiful story of metaphor.

Coal and diamond are made up of carbon. Both of them are from the same element. But, why are they so different? I often think that we have many similarities with them, perhaps I'm wrong, I can't help but to entertain my metaphoric mind, that we as human and them consist of the same material mostly for us, which is carbon - the renowned building-block of life. So, it is one similarity right?

Coal and diamond both are made up from carbon. But, coal, as you can see is made up of complicated impurities other than carbon. It is not a pure carbon. Diamond, on the other hand, is pure carbon. Diamond as we all know is the most fascinating mineral, chemically resistant and wins the hardest natural substance in the world. And they are rare. But their journey is not an easy one. These guys endure a long hard process before they form diamonds. They were formed around 990 million years ago. And not just that, they must be persistent and consistent enough to withstand the unbelievably high pressure under the mantle. But, where does such pressure exist? Diamonds inhabit a level 200-120 miles below our feet, and the pressure down there is fifty thousand times greater than what we feel above the crust. And do not forget, it is also hot down there. 900 -1300 Celcius.. Masya Allah..

Mantle burst out and became lava.

For them to form a complete diamond, they must endure thousands of years or millions, high pressure, and high temperature, where in my mind initially I thought for that kind of condition there was no place for beauty, just total chaos. But, I was wrong. Beauty did come from there. And I know, humans are like that. We always initially start as a lump of coal. Normal people. Coal also has their benefits. But, for great humans, they choose to be the diamond. Each of us has the choice to make. Our life is full of problems, obstacles, and hardship. What makes us different than others is the way we choose to deal with it. Coal-people chooses to endure small temperature, and they might be glowing for a while in red, but later they will turn into ash and dust. Nothing much. While diamond-people chooses to endure unimaginably insurmountable problems and obstacles, they never give up, and they keep trying although it takes time. They push their limits, and keep their faith intact. Hope is always in front of their mind, and they believe they can achieve their objectives. From this process will born a bright and hard man, with exceptional quality and experience. And they become like diamonds - rare, exceptional quality, and invaluable asset to the earthlings.

You see, coal and diamond have the same core substance. Just like human, each of us has our own unique abilities and potential. It is up to us to choose how to live our life. Well, obviously, diamond chooses to live a much more meaningful life. How? Just be persistent and consistent, never give up, and have our faith to Allah, you'll be the diamond. After all, diamond is a lump of coal that did well under pressure.. :) Look at our history. Our prophet Muhammad was a great man, and his problems and obstacles were also great. He grew up as a strong, fine man. He became an orphan since he was six. He was trained to be the shepherd, and he was out-casted by his own people. And many more tests and hardships he had endured. And there he was, the greatest man in the world. With great obstacles, comes great characteristic. With great characteristic, comes great power. With great power, comes greater responsibility.

Natural uncut diamond.

Similar isn't it? It's pureness is astonishing. They are made up of carbon. We are also made up of carbon. Our DNA, the famous double-helix molecule is made possible by carbon's ability to form long molecular chains. We are similar. To take lesson from them is inevitable. So, let us be the best of us... Wallahu a'lam..

Level of life

My cousin and I, Ahmed Nasrul Asyraf in my previous house compound. When I was little, I always told my mum that it must be feeling great to be an adult. When I was in secondary school, I thought that university life must be relaxing. Because I saw most of them were like that.

My friends and I have a chat last week. One of them said, "I thought college life would be easier. But this is sh@t, we don't even have time to eat our lunch". And I somehow agreed with him. We don't have time to eat our lunch most of the week. Our classes are arranged so pack. Like solid. Little room to move.

Heh. Susahlah kalau nak fikir semua susah kan? Kenapa tak fikir senang? Ha.. NLP. Leverage season 3 bagi sangat terbaik. By the way, nak hidup senang, di syurga la kan? :) Sebelum itu kena susah dulu. Dengan susah la kita menjadi lebih baik. Berlian ditempa dalam persekitaran yang sangat 'perit' dan 'pedih'. Di mantel, yang sangat-sangat panas suhu dan tinggi tekanan. Keluar ke permukaan, ia menjadi khazanah bumi yang paling keras di bumi dan paling cantik. Worth the challenge.

p/s - tahniah untuk achievers di Takrim Al-Amin. Tahniah juga kepada Fawwaz dan Diyanah yang menjadi pelajar mithali. Moga kalian dapat menjadi duta Islam di luar sana....