Isu murtad di Malaysia dari kaca mata bekas siswazah luar negara

Saturday, December 29, 2012

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 Sekali sekala, saya akan menjelajah hasil2 penulisan berbagai jenis manusia di internet, samada blog mahupun berita. Dan dalam masa beberapa hari ini saya menemui satu penulisan yang menarik dari salah satu Ustaz yang pernah saya hormati. Saya baru sahaja setahun lebih mengenali ustaz ini yang sering muncul di kaca TV dan peribadinya sangat mengagumkan saya. Maka apabila saya membaca artikel-artikel terbarunya di blog beliau baru2 ini, saya berasa seperti saya baru sahaja melihat salah satu perwatakannya yang tidak pernah saya ketahui. Artikel tersebut menyebut tentang isu murtad di Malaysia; tentang bagaimana orang Kristian *ahem* (tiada niat prejudis di sini) di Malaysia sibuk membincangkan cara2 untuk memurtadkan orang2 Islam di Malaysia. Ini bukanlah isu tergempar kerana kita sudah sekian lama arif tentang isu ini sehingga sudah hilang sensitiviti, maka saya sangka Ustaz berkenaan akan lebih sihat dalam cara penyampaian isu ini. Namun sangkaan saya sedikit kecundang apabila artikel tulisannya telah menyebabkan beberapa orang Islam menjadi lebih kuat dengan sikap anti-Kristiannya.

 Saya juga pernah dipermainkan oleh isu Illuminati suatu masa dahulu oleh pihak yang tidak dikenali. Pernah dengar isu Illuminati? Secara mudahnya, isu Illuminati ini lebih menjurus kepada tekaan masa hadapan di mana Dajjal akan muncul dan menimbulkan huru-hara. Isu ini bukan sahaja ditekankan kepada orang2 Islam, bahkan kepada semua yang beragama Abraham kerana kita semua percaya akan kemunculan Dajjal berdekatan hari kiamat. Penyokong2 isu ini menyebarkan ajaran berkenaan siapakah pendokong Dajjal, siapakah penyembahnya, apakah kekuatan mereka, apakah konspirasi2 mereka dan sebagainya. Dengan itu mereka menyeru agar kita meninggalkan beberapa perkara (yang sebenarnya samar2) dan menuduh sesetengah orang sebagai pengikut Dajjal. Mereka juga menyeru agar isu ini disebarkan agar kekuatan Dajjal itu runtuh dengan menjatuhkan pengikut-pengikutnya yang sudah wujud sejak sekian lama.

 Pada asalnya saya dan kawan2 juga terpengaruh untuk menyebarkan isu ini seolah2 kiamat sudah hampir. Namun setelah beberapa masa berlalu, kami mula mengesyaki sesuatu yang tidak kena. Mengapa orang2 yang mengaku alim dalam isu Illuminati ini terlalu banyak cuba meramal masa depan? Dan yang paling penting sekali, mengapa kita perlu risau tentang kemunculan Dajjal? Dajjal tetap akan muncul bila tiba masanya, dan sama ada masa itu sudah hampir mahupun masih jauh, perkara yang perlu kita lakukan masih sama. Iaitu kita perlu kuatkan iman, kita perlu dekat dengan Allah, kita perlu bersedia untuk hari pembalasan. Samada isu Illuminati ini wujud mahupun tidak, apa yang perlu kita lakukan sebenarnya semuanya sama sahaja. Cuma dengan kemunculan isu ini masyarakat menjadi semakin berpecah-belah dan salah-menyalah sesama sendiri. Maka kami sesali kefanatikan kami dengan isu itu dan kami telah tinggalkan isu Illuminati selama-lamanya.

 Begitu juga dengan isu murtad di Malaysia. Memang, sesetengah orang akan mengatakan bahawa isu ini tidak sama. Kata mereka, bagaimana kami boleh duduk diam sedangkan orang Kristian sibuk berdakyah dengan orang Islam untuk menyebarkan ajaran bible? Tetapi orang yang lebih bijak akan bertanya pula kembali, mengapa tidak orang Islam keluar berdakwah seperti orang Kristian? Bukankah itu seruan asal kita, untuk berdakwah? Dakwah itu bukan hanya kepada orang bukan Islam sahaja, tetapi juga kepada orang Islam sendiri. Berapa ramai antara kita yang tahu hukum mandi junub? Berapa ramai pula antara kita yang tahu hukum-hakam tentang aurat sesama sepupu? Kerana itulah dakwah itu penting. Biarlah wujud mahupun tidak pendakyah Kristian, kewajipan berdakwah tetap wujud pada kita orang Islam sendiri. Apa yang membimbangkan saya ialah apabila kita terlalu fanatik dengan isu ini sehingga menjadi anti-Kristian dan sebagainya, atau yang lebih teruk lagi kita langsung hilang sensitiviti kerana benci akan orang2 yang fanatik. Seharusnya kita sebagai orang Islam lebih tahu, bahawa Allah sukakan orang yang bersederhana dalam melakukan sesuatu, tidak berlebih-lebihan, dan tidak juga terlalu kurang.





 Apa yang paling menarik perhatian saya ialah apabila warga Islam di Malaysia menyatakan kerisauan mereka tentang pendakyah Kristian yang datang ke pintu2 rumah untuk berdakyah. Pihak yang terlalu sensitif  menyatakan kerisauan mereka yang terlampau, manakala pihak yang langsung tidak sensitif mengatakan bahawa selagi iman kuat, tiada apa yang perlu dirisaukan. Dua2 pihak ada betul dan salahnya. Tahukah anda bahawa sesiapa sahaja yang pernah menetap di luar negara lebih dari 2 tahun pasti pernah menemui Jehovah Witness? Malahan saya yang tinggal di Jepun juga tidak terlepas. Kegiatan dakyah mereka sangat kuat sehingga mereka sentiasa berada di tepi2 jalan menyebarkan risalah, dan mereka juga sering datang ke rumah dengan tujuan berdakyah. Di Malaysia, perkara ini mungkin satu kejutan yang amat. Di negara lain, perkara ini satu kebiasaan sehingga orang sudah tahu cara2 berdepan dengan mereka. Kami tidak menghalau mereka atau memaki hamun mereka. Dan kami tidak pula membiarkan begitu sahaja tanpa berdakwah sesama sendiri agar kami tidak mudah dipengaruhi dengan perkara2 yang tidak baik. Apabila pendakyah datang ke rumah kami, kami akan menolak dengan baik dan dengan senyuman. Mereka memahami dan tidak akan mengganggu lagi. Bila sesetengah mereka terus-menerus mengganggu saban hari meskipun telah ditolak dengan baik, barulah kami laporkan pada polis kerana kegiatan itu sudah jelas2 melanggar undang2. Begitu juga dengan pendakyah2 di jalan yang sentiasa menghulurkan risalah mereka kepada kami. Kami tolak juga dengan baik dan dengan senyuman, walaupun kami menghadapi mereka setiap hari. Malah ada beberapa orang Islam negara lain yang lebih bijak dan cuba mendakwah mereka kembali dengan cara yang baik. Apabila jelas bahawa pendakyah itu tidak berminat dengan Islam, mereka tidak kembali ke situ lagi kerana bimbang didakwah kembali oleh orang Islam. Mengapa kita tidak boleh buat begitu?

 Saya sendiri tidak pernah mengajak mereka duduk untuk bersembang, mungkin kerana saya tiada masa. Namun pernah suatu ketika, salah seorang wanita berumur menegur saya di kampus. Pada mulanya, saya menyangka dia ingin bertanya jalan, rupa2nya dia seorang pendakyah yang kebetulan melintasi kampus untuk pulang ke rumah. Kami pun berbincang sedikit sebanyak tentang kegiatan mereka. Tiada apa yang luar biasa pun, mereka sebagai Jehovah Witnesses tidak sama dengan aliran Kristian lain dan mereka wajib berdakyah setiap hari. Tidak hairanlah mereka begitu aktif. Setelah dia cuba memperkenalkan Jesus kepada saya, saya pun menerangkan kembali kepada dia bahawa saya juga mengenali siapa itu Jesus dan baginda pula memiliki kedudukan yang tinggi dalam agama kita. Apabila dia kelihatan terkejut, saya mengagak bahawa dia tidak tahu apa itu Islam. Maka saya pun menerangkan sedikit sebanyak tentang persamaan2 Kristian dan Islam. Akhirnya dia bergesa pulang ke rumah dalam keadaan memikirkan apa yang saya baru sampaikan. Saya tidak berasa bangga dengan apa yang saya telah lakukan, saya cuma berharap bahawa akan ada peluang untuk dia mempelajari dengan lebih dalam apa itu Islam dan kenapa orang Islam memilihnya berbanding Kristian.

 Kini bila saya berpeluang bertemu dengan pendakyah biar di jalan mahupun di rumah, saya tidak gentar dan tidak pula benci pada mereka. Saya tahu memang segilintir kita terlalu kuat dengan sikap anti-kafir seperti kebanyakan ahli keluarga saya sendiri. Rasulullah sendiri tidak bersikap keji terhadap orang kafir dan menghormati mereka sebagai manusia. Mengapa kita tidak boleh buat begitu? Tetapi Rasulullah juga tidak membiarkan umatnya binasa sama ada dengan kefanatikan mahupun dengan sikap tidak ambil tahu. Rasulullah sentiasa menyuruh umatnya agar bersikap mulia dan berdakwah sesama sendiri dan juga bukan Islam. Agar iman kita sentiasa teguh, agar orang bukan Islam tahu apa itu Islam yang sebenar. Islam itu bukan menyuruh wanita ditindas, mahupun menyuruh kepada kekolotan. Islam itu jauh lebih indah daripada apa yang telah disogokkan kepada mereka, maka janganlah kita kotorkannya.

Don't get into fights over Higgs

Monday, July 9, 2012

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 What is this "Higgs"? To those who are still unaware of the word that keeps popping up on the internet recently, it's referring to the Higgs Boson, a type of particle, or at least the definition of it sounds like a particle to me. I admit, I have barely done any detailed research on it since all I wanted to know was what was causing all the uproar between atheists and religious sects.

 And I am urged to tell, that recently I've been thinking about switching over to Bahasa Melayu because after all, I'm addressing Malaysians most of the time. But due to the fact that my Bahasa Melayu is quite terrible and lacking luster, and the fact that my acquaintances from foreign countries sometimes drop over to read these posts, I think I will need some more time before changing completely to Bahasa Melayu. I'm sorry my fellow Malaysians; I am aware that not everybody understands the English language as good as their native tongues, but bear with me for a while.

 Regarding Higgs Boson, I really, really encourage you to do your own research on it. Before you start though, here are a few advice you might find useful:
1. Don't stop at first or second article; continue your research with different keywords.
2. Do not feel offended regardless of the reason.
3. Do not feel obliged to comment on any article unless you have complete knowledge of it.

 As we all know, everyone is different. So, while many people are beaming all over the globe over the new discovery, a lot of people are also very cynical about it. That's why we should at least hear what each side has to say. For example, I came across a lot of posts that compliment the "god particle" discovery, but I also found one writer who does not seem to be very enthusiastic with how supposedly 10billion bucks was spent to build a tunnel so that two physicists can shoot wine corks at each other. (lol)

 Now, if you belong to one or more religious sects, you are likely to be offended by the exact reason they call Higgs the god particle. I won't spoil it now, but when you do find out, don't freak out and start arguing. The moment you fall into rage is the moment you lost the fight. Analyze calmly how the human's mind work and remember how people are ALWAYS different. If they can't make you accept a statement, neither can you. So just embrace your own ideas and talk about other things you have in common. Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike can argue on and on for centuries to prove one of them is right, but they don't always end up without someone getting hurt. The very same reason you shouldn't argue without complete knowledge of it. Like 2+2=4, that you can argue.


 At first I was also confounded when some irresponsible atheists try to use this argument to provoke the religious people. My main question was "Why do they always think science and religion are disproving each other?", even though it's a completely different situation if someone is wise enough to understand. Then it switched to "What is so fun about provoking others?". Trolls on the internet believe that the internet is a free space for people to express freely, and anyone feeling offended must accept the offensive things as a mere joke and nothing more. Trolls call these offended people butt-hurt. Don't misunderstand now, I have no grudge against trolls; in fact they are right about many things. Even us preachers of our own religions might have provoked someone in one way or another in the past. We are not perfect after all. So advise those offenders in reality if you must, but don't waste time arguing. There are times people tell jokes that can be offensive without meaning to provoke, but these jokers will fly into a rage when someone points it out to them. So, seriously, don't waste your time. If such provoker is a really worthy person to be friends with, they will accept your advice. My respectful prophet simply smiled and forgave the people who threw stones and shit on him. No excuse.

There's another food for thought I would like to share, but I am sure many people are already aware of it. Notice how we are always angry at the mistakes that others did? Notice how we also fail to note that there are also people out there doing good deeds all the time but we take them for granted by thinking it is a perfectly normal thing to do? Take this for example. So some irresponsible atheists decided to attack the religious sects. As a natural instinct, I have the desire to backlash with some good retorts (trust me, I had some good ones thought up), but I decided not to. Generally, people get upset over the original provokes and retorts showed by some, but have they ever congratulated the wise atheists that didn't join in the provocation or people like me who don't resort to unending arguments filled with arrogance? Thanks guys.

 Let's go over this once more before I end the night. Science and God do not disprove each other. God gives the yardstick, science gives additional information. God the Creator thus the one who knows everything says that free sex is prohibited, science is the one that researches the reason, not the exact truth because it is unable to. Even if science says free sex is ok, it will eventually make a u-turn one day and admit it was wrong, and make another u-turn much later to change its stand again, and u-turn again and u-turn again, and the u-turn goes on and on. Science is a lot about updates after all.

 And one that does not create is not called God. Period.

The simple mahram chart

Friday, July 6, 2012

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Last edit: 7/7/2012 8:20pm

I thought some people are not aware of the basic chart, so I made one just big enough for understanding.

There are special cases for special situations. Refer to real scholars for further information.

I plan to use this chart again sometime later to describe what hijab is to people who wish to know.

If there are corrections please tell me. I might have overlooked a few things.

p/s: Cousins, cover your aurat in front of us please.

The invisible fish

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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Okay, let's stray a little bit from the usual posts tonight. I thought I should make a quick share about a strange story I just heard.

My mother and I were looking at pictures of Sarakiniko, and she suddenly remembered the repetitive strange events she encountered. Back when she was still living in Marang, Terengganu, there were days when it would rain and slightly deep water puddles would form on the sandy earth of Marang. She would then see pairs of small eyes swimming in the water, and upon close inspection she saw (or at least she believes) that they were invisible fish. The only things visible about them were their eyes and their backbones. When she holds one of them up to look closer, she could clearly feel their shapes, so she is certain they were fish. But after a few minutes, the fish die and just melt into nothing. This happened not once but several times. In fact, it happened once more in Shah Alam. She and several hired girls worked in UiTM's canteen, and one day it rained. One of the girls noticed strange ripples in rain water that collected inside one of the empty basins. She looked closely and saw the invisible fish, confirmed by my mother who went to check on it upon being called.

And now I am interested to know what it was. :D 

Facebook parenting and music

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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And so I am free again after wrapping up my research last week. There isn't much time to waste, but there is always enough to catch up with recent stories, even if just a little bit.

Today I happened to come across a video of a rather famous scholar called Azhar Idrus, playing guitar with a comedian(?) in front of a large audience. Reading through the comments, a well known phrase comes to mind; haters will hate. So how do I turn this around? While there are many who applaud the friendly ways of the scholar, there are just as much who keep saying haraam, haraam. And within both sides there are lots that like to write in caps lock, showing just how ignorant they are of the actual effect. Not forgetting to mention the inappropriate ways of writing that can only be interpreted as insults.

So before that, here's another story.
Have you seen the video titled something like this: "facebook parenting for the troubled teen"? I'm not sure of the correct title, but don't correct me. Because that's not the point. What important is the things that come after that. Well I watched the video from head to tail, and I say to myself; the daughter deserves to be scolded, the dad has all the rights to blow up the laptop. That's my opinion, don't correct me. Then I read through the bickering in the comment section. One person was saying "did the girl pay her mother for carrying her in the stomach for 9 months?". That's a good point. But someone just had to retort with "did the girl ask to be carried?". And that took me hours to contemplate.

I kept asking myself; what's wrong with this dude? What is he trying to convey? Is there anyone in the right mind who would even think about asking an unborn baby whether it wants to be born or not? Things like that. I knew it was pointless to argue with someone who has a different opinion, and that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But I was too curious to leave it as it was. Different as we are, I wanted to know what drove that guy to write such a thing. And the answer I came to was pretty simple.

Imagine this. There were a man and a woman who got married but didn't have much money. They wanted children, but they didn't have money to raise them up all the way through college. So they finally decided among themselves that they will manage somehow to feed their children till junior high; after that the children will be big enough to help out with the household expenses. To the parents, it sound pretty fair. To children, even to me, it sounds pretty selfish. They decided to give birth with the intent to make the children literally pay back for what they spent on them. I mean, look; my parents brought us children up without expecting anything from us even though they themselves have a hard time making ends meet. And that makes me want to pay them back even more. Because they raised me up solely because they love me, not because they wanted to give birth and have fun cooing babies only to make us work when we grow out of the cuteness. But had my parents said they expect us to return the favor, I would get stressed. I will likely ask; if life is that hard, then why even bother giving birth to me?

We are just humans. We want to be loved, not to be indebted by birth.


Back to the issue on music. Just like my case with the parenting issue, when differing opinions come across you, take them in no matter how ridiculous you think they are! Even if they seem ridiculous to us, they are perfectly normal to some people. Bickering with caps lock doesn't solve the issue, look from different perspectives. More importantly, don't insult! I just don't understand why haters hate. *cough* I used to be a hater too, but I can't remember how I outgrew it. If I could, maybe I can turn this phenomenon around. Lovers will love. *lmao*

To people who said music is haram AND insulted people with different opinion:
That's your opinion based on what you've heard and what you've been taught. You don't have to keep it to yourself, but you can't force it on others either. You are not wrong, but so are not those who say music is OK. You must understand that there can be more than one truth in this world. Haven't you noticed that in some sects, solat jama and qasar are completely alien to the practicers? Because there is more than one truth. I challenge you to seek the answer to why are there are at least four main different sects in Islam.

To people who write in caps lock:
Stop it.

To people who insult regardless of opinion:
It gets you nowhere. Insulting is not the way of the prophet. God is always watching you and is always forgiving you, so why don't you forgive others who don't agree with you?

To people not mentioned above:
I salute your manners and patience. OTL Keep up the good work. The world will never be filled with people like you because haters will hate, but let's increase the love and understanding so they overcome the haters. My new dream is to have the meme "lovers will love" become so viral that haters will actually decide to join the club. *grin*

I'm sure a lot of us know Kudo Shinichi's favorite phrase; there can only be one truth. Half true. There is only one truth, but only one knows the complete truth. As for us mere humans with different personalities each, there are many truths so we can adapt. I'm not forcing you to believe, I'm encouraging you to explore the way mysteries work. Mysteries such as, the human mind. Kudos. *cough*


This is why I love cats

Saturday, January 28, 2012

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Cat's side of the story:

I remember vaguely that I was born to a warm family. I had many brothers, but my mother loved me the most. We lived in a house, kept by humans. They called us pets. Mother said we're going to grow up loved and fed by the humans, so we don't have to worry about anything. But mother was wrong.

Just when I started growing teeth and had our first taste of meat, one of the humans took me away from my mother and brothers. I screamed frantically as they brought me into the car and drove away from the house where I was born. Away from mother. I was scared.

The next moment I found that I was abandoned in an unknown place. The humans were gone. There were tall grasses and trees all around. I felt lonely and hungry. I felt betrayed by the humans.

I tried to look for something to eat. Then I saw some small humans. I tried to beg for food, but they threw fire-crackers at me. I ran and ran. I ran till I could not see them anymore. I hid under the roots of a tree. Then rain started falling.

It was cold. It was saddening. I thought of my mother. I thought of how cruel humans were. Then I cried. Nothing happened. I cried some more. I heard a human's voice but didn't care. I kept on crying.

On the third day, a human found me. I tried to crouch deeper under the roots, but she managed to pull me up. I kept on crying, but my voice was dying out. The human placed me inside a cage and placed something that looked like food. But I dared not eat, for it was too scary. I couldn't trust humans anymore.

Then another human came. She was younger than the one who found me. She said something to me, but I couldn't understand humans' words. She opened the cage and brought the food closer to my face. My senses were too bad to tell whether it was really food or not. I refused to eat. Then she left, and came back with something else on the tip of her finger. She brought it in front of my face again. Later I learned that it's called condensed milk. It smelled sweet and tempting, I finally started eating again.

Day by day she came to check on me. If I didn't eat, she would tempt me with that sweet condensed milk again. When my senses were regained, I was able to eat regularly.

Then one day, she let me out of the cage. I was still afraid of the sound of fire-crackers outside, so I was uncertain and finally ran into under the cupboard. She didn't chase. She just sat there and watched. I began exploring the cupboard and found a few pebbles to play with. Time passed quickly. Then I heard her saying a word repetitively, and I knew that it was my name. She had given me a name.

Every morning she would come and take me out of the cage, watch me play, and put me back in again after a few hours. I started trying to reach her, she responded by teasing me. She knew how to play with a kitten. It was fun. I was still dubious of other humans, but if it was her, I knew I was safe.

That happiness didn't last long. Just as I thought I had a human who loved me, one day she just disappeared. She didn't come to greet me in the morning. She didn't come to play with me. I waited and looked for her, but I couldn't find her. I felt abandoned. I was sad.

Days passed, and I told myself she wouldn't come back. I had to move on by myself. The other humans in the house treated me nicely too, so why should I be sad anymore? Besides, I get to lick condensed milk sometimes.

I grew up big and strong. The humans loved me. Even other cats, who I discovered were kept by the house, were jealous of me. I am proud of how I have overcame such trials.

There were always new faces at the house, but they never stay for long except for one. There is a new human who came to live here in this house. She is cool, and very similar to the human who disappeared when I was a kitten. I wonder why? Or maybe I just missed her too much.


My side of the story:

Our house-helper found an abandoned kitten. It was weak and scared, but it wouldn't eat. I baited it with sweet condensed milk and it started eating again. She was so cute, but I had to leave her to get back to campus. I only spent two weeks with her. I heard that at first she was sad when I was gone, but then she regained spirit to live. 6 months passed and now I'm back. Wow, she's gotten big and fluffy, and goes crazy when there's condensed milk around! Don't think she remembers me though.