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Monday, February 20, 2006

The Light

Among the many Hollywood actors that I enjoy watching, Clint Eastwood happens to be one of them. For he is one of the 'less talk and more actions' type. And I for one do not watch movies that need you to think and wonder. Though he had been guilty of corrupting us with vulgarities like “Mother F*****” on certain occasions when he was in extreme anger, at least he did attempt to portray good mannerism in some of his movies. He did introduced us to 'polite' phrases like “I’ll make it into a suppository” instead of “I’ll shove it into your ar**”, if you could consider that as polite, i.e. And that aspect is the less remembered better side of Dirty Harry.

I don’t intend to discuss the many adventures of Dirty Harry but I suppose some would recall scenes when Harry, in the course of his duties, stepped into strip-tease joints where the dancers, male and female, danced in king-size bird-cages. Los Angeles was famous for this kind of joints. I am relating this from hearsay as I have never been to one just as I have never been to LA either.

Dr. Rosly, a friend, who was a Jema’ah Tabligh member in the States and now turned politician, told me of an interesting story relating to a caged-couple. During his student days in the States, bird-cages were a plenty. And I am not saying that he regularized those joints. But a friend of his did.

This friend, let us call him Ahmad, was a revert to Islam. After having served in Vietnam for a while, he begun to search for religion and discovered Islam, through a chance meeting with a Tablighi. And that brought him to the Jemaah as well. Having become a strong believer, he set to bring the Muslims in his LA neighborhood who had strayed, back to Islam. And his target was a 24-hour bird-cage joint operated by an Arab, whom he found out was a Muslim.

He visited this Arab on various occasions and warned him of the sins of selling liquor and of operating such indecent shows. And because of the regularity of his visits and the arguments, most of the regular visitors to the joint got used to seeing Ahmad and the Arab exchanging heated arguments. Until one day, as they were arguing, the male dancer who had been witnessing them on so many occasions, stepped out of the cage, walked to them (in the same attire as he had been in the cage), and inquired of what the arguments were all about. And as Ahmad was deeply engrossed in the argument with the Arab, he turned to him and snapped, “Look, it’s none of your business. Here’s my calling card and call me later!” Though the Arab joint-owner had been confronted by Ahmad on many occasions, he was plainly uninterested in Ahmad's call.

But the couple was. When they returned home from work that day that couple decided to find out as to what the whole issue was all about. He called Ahmad to inquire of the arguments. And a meeting was set. Ahmad visited them and explained of his cause, of Islam and of why he was trying to bring back the Arab to Islam. And they began to meet several times after, and eventually the couple became deeply interested in Ahmad’s messages and cause. Finally the caged-couple embraced Islam and discontinued their jobs as dancers. But the Arab was still continuing his business, as sinful as ever.

That is how hidayah reaches the hearts of whom Allah SWT have chosen. Crimsonskye and Kenakelayan, in their blogs and comments discussed at length of how the messages of those who accepted Islam in Texas, had touched their hearts.

Hearts became opened not through fantastic discourses on the Quran, but through what might seem as minor issues to most people. Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller for example, studied Islam at length and in depth before becoming a Muslim, but it was the action of a fellahin Egyptian woman and the attitude of a street youth whom he befriended in Aswan, a remote part of Egypt that opened the beauty of Islam to him and moved his heart to Islam. It was not from the heavy philosophical stuff that he had delved in for many years. A Thai-born American doctor, read of the Quranic verses of how tortures in hell would be through the burning of the skin. And that the skin would be replaced every time it became burnt, to enable the continuous repeats of the tortures. And that led him to conduct researches on the nerves-systems in the skin. Through this he discovered the fact that intense pain not only is experienced from burning but that pain is skin-deep. Thus he was led to the vastness of knowledge in Islam. There are many similar stories of how people revert to Islam, through such simple incidents.

The Holy Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wassalam, said that his duty is to bring the shahadah to the lips of the people, and that Allah subhanahuu wa ta'aala takes care of the affairs of the hearts. Once the heart is touched, the lips become easy. Insha Allah.

29 comments:

dith said...

Don't we just love revert stories?
From a CD lecture, it is related that people revert to Islam in myriads of ways. Some just listen to the few first verses of Al Baqarah and their hearst open. Some gets hidayah by watching muslims pray. Hearing the beautiful Adzan. Observing the muslims fast. Reading the seerah. And some gets hidayah in the least expected fashion, for example a drug junkie who met a Moroccan Muslim in a drug joint and they set talking about Islam for hours, even after they ran out of drugs and finally he reverted. Masyallah!
This is all because the human fitrah leans towards Islam and we just need triggering factors to make us realize the truth i.e. that we had once before made a pledge in front of Allah swt our sole creator!

A.Z. Haida said...

salam. comment takde kene ngene ngn ur post - but just a note to let u know that u have been tagged. please refer to my blog :-)

abdullahjones said...

nice one bro. i like.

Bergen said...

I was here, sir.

Sayuti said...

hidayah itu milik Allah SWT. Dia boleh bagi dan tarik bila2. janganlah kita tertipu dengan kekaguman cerita sehingga terlupa tentang ini.

itu saja.

wallahualam.

Yeop-Harley said...

Ayah Keng

You really 'make my day' thats the line that Tok Batin Umpit A/L Jah selalu cakap...agaknya dia pun sukakan Dirty Harry.

Anonymous said...

Insha Allah, indeed :)

Ku Keng said...

Puan Dr.: Rightly said. Just a triggering point. And many of these kind, excel in the field of dakwah.

Kak Haida: Ouch. This is more than skin deep. Got to crack my head to answer these.

A Jones: Now we got to search our souls. :)

Bergen: Just trying to figure out. Where is Mata Ggaji? Is it near Nibong?

Sayuti: Why not?

Yeoop: Ni dari suku mana pulak?

Anak Saudara?: Yang mana pulak? And why MIA?

Ku Keng said...

NBB:James Dean? Dia ni orang Kuala Ke?

dith said...

Keng- forgot to write that I like that pic- very apt for this entry.

Depicts one who is in a dark realm/recess of a building; suddenly there's a lovely arch opening where beautiful white light comes gushing through and there you find a tall minaret of a mosque symbolising Allah's hidayah!

Is that pic from one of your collection?

Ku Keng said...

Puan Dr.: No. I took it from the net. If you had been to see the Mogul monuments in India, you will find that that was how the architects created effects to visitors to such places. The Taj Mahal is one of them. As one enters the main gate, one had to pass by a dark narrrow passage. Then as one turns the bend, light will hit on one's face and there right in front is the courtyard of the monumnent with the Taj Mahal standing majestically under the light of the sun or the moon. On full moon days, one could see the glistening of the flowery decorations and etches, all decorated with small pieces of cut semi-precious stones such as lapis-lazuli, topaz, garnets, rubies, etc.

That was how the Mogul architects play with light and space in their designs. Today the architects play with feng-shuis.

HCI said...

he he he, tumpang paste kat sini, sebab tak dak masa nak masuk blog sendiri. ni dalam my mail box, which i enjoyed reading.


**MARAH KERANA CINTA, BUKAN KERANA BENCI…**
****Oleh: Pahrol Mohamad Juoi**
****
****Saya masih ingat sikap `unik' (aneh) sesetengah orang-orang tua
kampung dulu-dulu. Ruang di bawah rumah mereka selalunya diperuntukkan
untuk meletakkan barang usang yang `kurang' atau tidak perlu. Selalunya
botol-botol, tin-tin atau papan-papan buruk. Entah kenapa semua itu
tidak dibuang. Hanya di letakkan begitu sahaja. Diguna tidak, dibuang
pun tidak. Peliknya, apabila barang-barang `antik' itu hendak diambil
oleh orang lain, cepat-cepat pula mereka melarangnya. Tak boleh – nak
guna, sayang, dan macam-macam alasan.
Itulah sebuah analogi yang terlintas di fikiran bila saya ditanya
tentang kemarahan umat Islam terhadap penyiaran karikatur menghina nabi
Muhammad s.a.w oleh akhbar-akhbar Eropah khususnya Denmark.
"Encik tidak marah?" tanya seorang siswa sehabis sahaja majlis diskusi
tentang topik berkenaan.
"Marah," akui saya perlahan.
"Tak cukup begitu sahaja. Esok kita berarak, bakar bendera Denmark!"
Saya senyum.
"Kita ada cara yang lebih baik. Ada senjata yang lebih hebat. Doa,"
balas saya. "Kita kena tunjuk kemarahan kepada mereka yang menghina Rasul."
"Menunjukkan kecintaan kepada Rasul lebih utama."
"Marah itulah tanda kecintaan kita…"
"Betul. Tetapi membuktikan kecintaan dengan mengamalkan sunnahnya jauh
lebih utama."
"Encik takut?"Saya renung matanya.
"Mengamalkan sunnah Rasul memerlukan lebih keberanian… Tentangannya
lebih hebat. Bahkan daripada orang Islam sendiri," tusuk saya perlahan.
"Kita bakar bendera mereka!"
"Kita `bakar' cara hidup mereka. Itu lebih relevan."
Giliran dia pula yang diam. Mungkin siswa yang `terbakar' ini mula
mengunyah maksud kiasan saya.
Lalu saya ceritakan analogi awal tadi. Alhamdulillah, dia mendengar teliti.
"Kita dengan sunnah, seperti orang tua-tua dahulu dengan barang-barang
usang di bawah rumah. Nak digunakan tidak, nak dijunjung jauh sekali,
tetapi bila ada orang lain nak mengambilnya, barulah heboh konon nak
digunakan."
"Bagaimana kita hendak tunjukkan perasaan marah?"
"Demontrasi depan manusia. Depan Allah, kita berdoa. Kita muhasabah,
sejauh mana kecintaan kita kepada Rasul-Nya. Mungkin provokasi Barat
membawa pengajaran tersirat."
"Pengajaran tersirat?"
"Ya, tersirat dari Allah… agar kita menilai semula benar-benarkah kita
mencintai sunnah Rasul-Nya selama ini."
"Kemarahan ummah inilah buktinya," ujarnya bersemangat.
"Kemarahan cuma bermusim. Hanya luapan sentimen berkala. Namun
kegigihan, kebijaksanaan, perancangan dan ketabahan jangka panjang amat
perlu."
"Maksud encik?" Jelas dia terpancing dengan kilasan dan kiasan kata-kata.
"Jangka panjang, sudahkah kita mendidik generasi muda mencintai Rasul
dan keluarganya? Saya risau generasi muda yang mabuk hedonisme kini
tidak akan punya kemarahan yang sama seperti yang saudara alami."
"Saya ada kawan-kawan sebaya yang hidupnya lintang pukang, tapi masih
marah bila Rasulullullah dipersendakan. Mereka akan turut berarak esok!"
"Hidup lintang-pukang? Macam mana tu?" tanya saya minta kepastian.
"Rock habis. Sembahyang tidak. Bergaul bebas biasalah… tapi cinta mereka
terhadap Rasul tak luntur."
"Ajak mereka sembahyang dulu. Tak berarak pun tak apa. Cinta dulu, marah
kemudian. Bila ada cinta, pasti ada marah bila kecintaan dicela. Tapi
kalau marah saja, belum tentu ada cinta… "
Dia diam lagi. Kali ini diamnya lebih panjang.
"Agaknya orang tua tu marah tak kalau kita ambil barang-barang berharga
di atas rumah?" tanyanya tiba-tiba.
"Orang tua mana?" tanya saya semula. Hairan.
"Orang tua dalam analogi encik tadi itulah!"
"Soalan tu kurang umph," gurau saya.
"Habis soalan apa yang umph?"
"Agaknya orang berani tak hendak minta barang di atas rumah? Berbanding
barang usang di bawah rumah?" balas saya.
Termenung lagi dia. Seronok rasanya `membimbing' siswa ini berfikir.
Terimbau luapan semangat saya sewaktu di kampus dulu. Beginilah pola
berfikir saya. . Tiba-tiba dia bersuara, "tentu tak berani, kerana
barang di atas rumah tentu lebih berharga."
"Begitulah sunnah, jika dihayati, diamalkan dan diperjuangkan. Ia nampak
sangat berharga di tangan pencintanya. Musuh tak kan berani mengusiknya,
apalagi nak menghinanya…"
"Encik ni, tak sangka ke situ pula kiasannya."
"Kita orang Islam mesti menghormati diri sendiri terlebih dahulu,
barulah orang lain akan menghargai kita. Justeru, jika kita marahkan
musuh yang mengecam Rasul, marahkanlah juga diri kita yang tidak
benar-benar mencintainya!"
"Dan… bukti cinta amalkan sunnah Rasul. Itulah cara paling berkesan
mempamerkan `kemarahan' kepada musuh-musuh yang menghinanya."
Alhamdulillah, saya yakin, kini marahnya kerana cinta bukan kerana
benci. Dominasi cintakan Rasul bukan emosi bencikan musuhnya!

Bergen said...

Sir Kerah Keng:

For the life of me, sir, I have no idea where that is. I first heard it here. I believe that place, by the name, must be somekind of sawmill. If that being the case, there is a sawmill at the end of Jalan Nibong Bawah. It is about a few hundred metres form the bridge connecting this side of Dungun with Seberang Pitasang. That is the only sawmill I know operating in the area.

Nibong Bawah and the vicinity, if you remember, was the second last train stop where there was a pasar, if I am not mistaken, every Wednesday. Aunt and I used to go this pasar regularly to buy sagu for our itek serati. A guy will saw it for you using a flat saw, about a foot wide. I didn't like this pasar all that much because you won't find toys here. It's a true blue pasar tani. Besides it's a long walk from our house in Tanah Lot to this place.

Ikelah said...

1. excellent article. i enjoyed reading it.

2. i love the magnum, both the ice cream and the gun that can blow the head with 1 shot.

3. we had to understand our role as mr keng had pointed out. our duty as a vicegerent to the Creator is to bring peace in this world in accordance what is written in the QUran. Mr Ahmad knew his role, he tried his best with the Arab but Allah loves the 2 birds more. What is important for us to have is is the knowledge and understang of Islam. We also to have a sensitive heart, to have a feeling of whatever issue or action that belittle God and the Prophet. We just ask ourself, what have we done for Islam and is it enough?

4. About the denmark thing. i m just wondering, we dont march, we dont burn flags we dont do this and that but are we still buying denmark goods?(its supposed we also dont buy denmark products).

wallahu 'alam

NATO said...

tok......... i did it tok! check out my blogsite and find out! tok jgn mara lagi tau! ok tak? i can see clearly now the light is on...(nyanyi la..ni lagu tau..!)

Anonymous said...

Hidayah sememangnya milik Allah semata2 (Abu Talib antara yang paling Rasulullah sayang, and yet he still died as a musyrik), tapi tak boleh kata jugak hidayah tu terus2 datang sendiri. still needs the effort from outside and within Islam itself.

Sayuti said...

tuan keng: berkenaan soklan tuan tentang komen saya tu.

kadang2 bila kita membaca cerita sedemikian, kita mungkin akan cakap, "keajaiban Quran telah membawa si polan bin si polan masuk Islam" atau "hatinya tertarik apabila mendengar azan, lalu dia masuk Islam" atau "kemuliaan hati pendakwah itu telah menarik dia masuk Islam".

kita kagum dengan 'bagaimana' orang itu masuk Islam, sehingga kita lupa 'siapa' yang mentakdirkan orang itu masuk Islam. saya rasa kita telah tertipu jika kita lebih kagum dengan 'bagaimana' sehingga kita terlupa dengan 'siapa'.

itulah yang saya maksudkan dengan komen saya sebelum ini.

tapi, itu pendapat saya saja. belum tentu betul atau tidak. terpulang kepada masing2.

has: tulisan pahrol m juoi tu lebih jelas bagi menghuraikan komen saya di blog AJ baru2 ni. mungkin pemikiran kami lebih kurang kerana kami pernah menyertai jemaah yang sama (yg telah diharamkan).

crimsonskye: jika kita kata begitu, kita telah menyatakan bahawa Allah memerlukan bantuan kita utk menyampaikan hidayah (na'uzubillah) sedangkan Allah itu tidak memerlukan sesiapa. kita yang perlukanNya.

saya rasa ini ada dinyatakan di dalam alQuran secara straight forward dan secara subtle. maaf saya tak ingat ayat apa. saya pelupa.

Ku Keng said...

Kak Has: Satu pandangan yang baik. No Komen selanjutnya kerana Sayuti dah komen dengan terbaiknya. Rupa-rupanya member dia. Geng Sg. Pencala.

Bergen: Ya benar, jamang dulu di panggil ggitu lah. I remember that Pasar Malam, just before the bend, before reaching the main road junction. Don't forget to mention about Che Lah Ssisek in your book. They call him ssisek, the Dungung way of pronouncing c.c. Che Lah was a Chief Clerk in the Land Office, I think.

Ikelah:Ha, ha. We need the Magnum more so now, because robbery is rampant in KL. Sometimes we should blow their brains off as the prison is not effective enough.

McKay: Amboi excited nya! Itu lagu Les Sekinchans ke?

CrimsonSkye: Hidayah means 'petunjuk' or guidance. It is God given and not for our effort. We need to put effort to increase our taqwa. Rightfully as Sayuti says.

Sayuti: Sekarang baru jelas dan terang dan nyata.

Saya rasa bukan kita terlupa sehinga tertipu dengan asbab seseorang itu masuk Islam.

UPDATE: SAYA AKAN LESAP UNTUK 2 HARI KERANA ADA LECTURE DI SINGAPURA.

Anonymous said...

"That is how hidayah reaches the hearts of whom Allah SWT have chosen". That is hidayah. Allah chose whom He decides. Not by one's efforts. But one could pray for guidance and hidayah, "Allahumma inna nas alukal huda..." Oh Allah I seek from you guidance...

In dakwah, it is our duty to spread the shahadah.

Hidayah thus comes from divine selection and not from effort of a person. However a person might show interest in Islam due to another person's efforts but not necessarily that his heart will be opened.

Wallahu a'lam.

Anonymous said...

Indeed. What I meant to convey with that comment is the way some Muslims say "tunggulah sampai hidayah dulu, baru solat etc etc" but they don't really try to seek for the hidayah. Paling2 tidak pun, perlu berdoa untuk dibukakan pintu hati (this is what I meant about the 'effort').

And with non-Muslims, from what I've understood, it's our duty to make da'wah to them (again, this is what I meant about the effort) so that they can get to know at least what Islam means and what does it stands for.

Regarding the people who are blessed with the hidayah through what seem to us may be just little things and in the most incomprehensible situations, it's also through their hearts and open minds which are willing to seek for the truth (I take the couple example here). Prof. Tejasen the doctor who discovered about that pain receptors only needed one ayah from the Quran to convince him to declare the syahadah tapi kalau memang dah tak mahu tu, tunjuklah seribu ayat, cakaplah berapa banyak pun, takkan terima jugak.

And of course, in the end semuanya datang dari Allah juga, and I have not the slightest intention to say otherwise, na'uzubillah. am sorry for poorly worded comment.

Ku Keng said...

Crimsonskye:Alhamdulillah, you have clarified well.
I replied in my earlier blog, the dessert is "Coconut Pudding", The best one at Hotel Pualau Labuan 2. Ambuyat is better in BSB.

Sayuti said...

tuan keng: baiklah! tuan keng bagi lecture tentang apa?

pahrol geng sg penchala. saya geng sg sumun, perak.

crimsonskye: sorry for my misunderstanding. thank you for the clarification.

maklang said...

A good one. And kita kena selalu mengingati Nya kerana pada zaman sekarang ni kalau lali sedikit mudah aje terpesong. Yang dah sedia Islam pun banyak yang tak mengamalkan yang sepatutnya. Tempohari seorang kenalan telah bercerita pada Maklang bahawa terdapat lebihkurang 30 orang gadis bertudung litup disebuah bandar dekat tempat Maklang ni, memakai x didalam tudungnya... Ape sudah jadi??? Anak2 kita harus dijaga dan diawasi akidah mereka. Jangan kera dihutan disusukan anak dirumah mati tak makan...

Eh relevant ke komen Maklang ni, Keng????

Sayuti said...

relevant.

(ngade2 tolong jawab soklan Mak Lang sebab Tuan Keng lom balik dari lecture dia lagi)

Ku Keng said...

Abu: Thanks for the explanation.

Sayuti: financial risk management. dry subject.

Maklang: Ha macam Sayuti kata. Memang relevant.

Sayuti:Thanks. You must sign up to participate in Donald Trump's 'Apprentice'.

Lentiform:kena bayar. not to me but to the organising body. subject as I said, is too dry. financial risk management.

Yang degil tu bukan yang dapat hidayah tapi yang lahir Islam. Tak buat kata mereka kerana tunggu hidayah, like what crimsonskye commented. "Kenapa tak pergi haji?" "Belum sampai seru!" Dan banyaklah orang yang tertipu dengan jawapan ini. Sebenarnya, seru untuk pergi haji adalah: Islam, baligh, tak gila dan cukup duit! Antaranya.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Keng,

Kawan saya sedang berkenalan dgn seorang lelaki yang mengaku dirinya mengikuti tarikat. Di akata tarikat dia "the real thing". What do u think about tarikat?

Ku Keng said...

Anon: Tariqah adalah jalan untuk menghidupkan syariah. Sekiranya jalan ini memisahkan dari syariah maka itu adalah jalan yang sesat kerana tak berhaluan. Dalam memilih guru, seseorang harus meniliti silsilah tariqah dan silsilah penerimaan ilmu guru itu sendiri. Penerimaannya mestilah dari alam nyata dan bukannya dari mimpi atau bisikan dalam hati. Bukan pula ilmu yang diajar secara rahsia dan hanya kepada yang terpilih.

Wallahu a'lam.

Sayuti said...

agreed.

my dad learn about what Tuan Keng said, the hard way.

Bunga Rampai said...

Salam.
Cukup menarik.
Terima kasih Keng.