Bulan puasa (Fasting month)

Zero Training and Thigh Size

This fasting season I’m pre-occupied with the academia…. Assignments, presentation, mid-terms..! And on the other side, not much of training..Nearly zero I must confess.. I have been eating healthy alright, but I can feel these thighs getting bigger and fa**er .. (the ** is not ‘st’.. ‘tt’? yes def.)…anyways, I’m pretty looking forward to start my training….No Genting night run this year.. last year, quiet a big bunch of us went up Genting , went up as in ran up okay 🙂 Started from McDonald’s Genting Sempah, and end up at the Starbucks, First World Hotel. Distance? Roughly around 19-21km. Can’t remember exact distance tho.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, but the truth

Anyways, to all my Muslim friends, Selamat Meneruskan Ibadah puasa to all. Let’s take full advantage of this month to reflect on ourselves, and how much do we really know of our religion Islam, our Lord, Allah Almighty. Have faith and Love with Allah, Have faith and Love in Islam.  Do humble ourselves down and get to know Islam. Read, read, gear ourselves with the knowledge of Islam. Islam have long been used and victimized by corrupted people. with corrupted faith It seems this modern era allows anyone to become preachers, make statements on the religion according to their own intent, pursuit and benefit. We gotta be careful with what we say of our religion. If we’re not sure of something, better keep quiet and continue to ask, research , from the right sources, from the right people.

Belief and Gratitude

The internet, the journals, the books,  if not used wisely, can be a poison. We don’t know where this poison will act and react in our system of belief. We don’t know whether it will mess up with our faith. As Muslims, we believe in one God, that is Allah, and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger. And that there is no God other than Allah. Our kalimah Syahadah; that we witness our Lord and His Messenger. Islam is a way of life. I am not perfect, as much as I am not so religious, knowledgeable. of so many things, especially on Islam. It is a continual process which as Muslims, we should partake and ponder upon everyday of our mortal life. Life is not about the material world in. I sympathize those who does not think at all of the hereafter. We spend a lot of time, focus,energy and give commitment to our worldly affairs only. A few minutes for our Lord Allah and for our preparation for the hereafter seems too much. I must admit, I am in this category. Allah loves His Creations, loves us human. So why can’t we show Him our love. He gave us so much. But we don’t give this love back. Are we too high up that we can’t perform our wudu’ and prostrate to our Lord? Some of us don’t even pray? How  do we show gratitude and syukur to Allah? What is 5 minutes too much compared to the endless hours we spent at shopping malls,cinemas, partying, attending fashion shows, ‘braving’ the rain to watch a sports tournament, spending thousands on something so very worldly?  We’re not even asked to pay to pray to Allah. and yet, to discipline ourselves in our obligations and duty to Allah seems such a difficult task. I bet, to some of us, completing a marathon is so much easier. It’s not a question of blaming here. It is a question of choice that we make. If we choose to believe, we will do what it takes to secure our belief.

Compartmentalization and Secularism and Apathy

Some of us might not know this, but Islam is more than a religion. It is a way of life. Problem is, most of us tend to separate it from our daily life. I got this word ‘compartmentalization’ from my lecturer Dr.Abdi,  7 years ago. I totally agree with him. We compartmentalize the religion, we Muslims are so secularized that we can’t differentiate. We are blinded. Reading too much Darwinism, Humanism, Philosophies and Behaviorism, and basing our faith to secularized philosophies, poetries and music,  can endanger the Muslim’s thoughts and vitally his faith, especially when he doesn’t have strong faith,Iman and Knowledge. The Holy Qurán , Hadith and writings by Muslim scholars are not there for nothing. They are there for us to refer. So why don’t we refer? Too lazy? Can’t be bothered? Ahhh what the heck as long as I believe in God, nothing else matter.. These are some of the hundreds of unconscious excuses and reasons that we come up with.

Arrogance and Ignorance

Sometimes its plain arrogance .. Too proud of our worldly gains and comfort .. Proud of the ‘secular’ knowledge we’ve gained and which think is superior, more holistic and surpasses all knowledge. Some go to the extent saying ‘The Qurán was compiled for 22 years. A bit too long I think..’.. This is a statement made by a Muslim friend of mine. I do not blame him, but I have to admit, it saddens me.Really.. That’s one of the reasons I ended up writing this post. Not only his statement questions his faith, but it reflects that Islam is not part of our lives anymore. We claim we’re Muslims, we don our Muslim names, but in reality, we know nuts of the religion. A person, whether a Muslim or not, who studies the sciences of Qurán, or at least know some Islamic history, and how the Qurán was revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), how it was compiled by the Sahabah etc, would not question this, or have doubt in this. If you’re scarcely geared with such important knowledge as these ones, then seek knowledge. Read in the name of Allah ‘Iqra’ bismi rabb…’..meaning read with/by the name of your Lord. Iqra’, or Qa-ra-a means read..’b’ means with/y , ism means name, Rabb, refers to Allah Almighty. Islam is not a religion to be followed blindly.Never was.

Faith and Knowledge and Practise

There are many factors contributing why most of us follow blindly, compared to our Muslim brothers and sisters in America and the UK don’t. Not forgetting the reverts. They don’t follow blindly, they do their homework, they refer, they listen and they observe. On our side, I’m talking about the South East Asia, most of us are Muslim’s by birth. So, there is a high tendencies we’re following blindly. We feel safe being born a Muslim. And we believe that just by being a Muslim we’re granted that pass to heaven. True? No? Well, who doesn’t want to go the heaven right? So in the end, for us who thinks heaven will wait for us, indirectly, we don’t really care what we do here on earth. Whether or not we fulfill our obligations, tasks and expectations from our Lord Allah Almighty..as long as we’re Muslims. We have some Muslim brothers and sisters who haven’t touched the sajadah (prayer mat) for years, and some who drinks and think that Allah is Okay with it and that they can repent when they grow older.

Arrogance is the cause of the Problem

There are endless problems with the Muslim society. I may be wrong, but sometimes I feel like it boils down to one factor.. which is arrogance. Islam wants us to be humble, kneel before our God..but we don’t want…tak nak ! tak kisah la..! i don’t care lah, No time lah, nanti baju kedut la, nanti kena re apply make up la., nanti basah rambut lah.., nanti kawan2 panggil aku ustaz/ustazah lah….ayyo… So many alasan/excuses we give…. uhhmm..Well, I’m not perfect myself, but i do, in the end, care. I write by feel, as you can see here.. this is not an academic writing. I could have made it so by putting some reference, e.g. the Qurán and Sunnah. But better for me to write it from my heart first.

Conclusion

All these issues pertaining of faith , secularism and compartmentalization shouldn’t be treated lightly.. I didn’t say I am exceptional here. This is part of my unresolved problem. But I don’t see no harm of sharing this with all of you, Muslims, or non Muslims. So, do give it a thought what I just shared with all of you today. It may not be the most comfortable topic to talk about. But just give it a thought okay.May Allah Bless all of you, have a nice day. and Selamat Berbuka Puasa !!! 🙂 Don’t over eat tau…. nanti buncit lagi !!! haahaha…

-mj-

p.s. would appreciate comments and feed backs, as usual !

another p.s. : i didn’t plan to write all these. I just wanted to share with ya how my fasting month have been, generally ; busy with studies, lack of training..catching up on other things..including making myself 1 step closer to Allah..and then end up tulis panjang2 nieh.. hihi..hope you liked it 🙂 sorry if i sounded too serious ! (another problem.. being too serious!)