Sedang penulis memandu adiknya ke sebuah sekolah di Batu 10 Cheras, terfikir penulis tentang betapa orang Islam selalu melaung-laungkan kebaikan bulan Ramadhan dan kaitannya dengan kemanusiaan di mimbar-mimbar masjid apabila Ramadhan semakin hampir. Sering kali kita mendengar ustaz-ustaz memberi kuliah di surau-surau bagaimana Ramadhan merupakan suatu bentuk tarbiyah Ilahi yang antara hikmahnya ialah supaya kita dapat merasai kepedihan orang yang tidak mempunyai makanan yang mencukupi, dan supaya kita bersyukur dengan apa yang ada. Namun mari kita muhasabah diri kita dan sekeliling kita. Bukanlah niat penulis disini untuk menyangkah seruan dan laungan tersebut, tetapi sekadar muhasabah kepada kita semua akan sejauh manakah kita, sebagai orang Muslim yang mengaku beriman, benar-benar menjiwai apa yang dilaungkan itu.
Ahlan Wa Sahlan Ramadhan Al Kareem. Picture: BahanTarbiyah.info
Kemanusiaan adalah, pada fikiran penulis, sesuatu yang wujud dalam diri manusia secara azali dan dikongsi oleh makhluk ALLAH yang dinamakan insan. Kita semua suka melihat insan lain gembira, kita ketawa apabila melihat orang lain ketawa dan terkesan hati kita apabila melihat kedukaan yang dialami orang lain. Maka sebagai seorang Islam yang mengakui menyembah Tuhan yang sebenar-benarnya seharusnya kita yang mendahului dalam usaha-usaha kemanusiaan dan memulakan inisiatif untuk membantu insan yang kurang bernasib baik. Persoalan disini ialah sejauh manakah kebenaran kata-kata ini? Dan di luar batasan negara-negara Islam, sejauh manakah bantuan yang kita berikan atas dasar kemanusiaan?
Bukan sahaja diluar batasan negara Islam, bahkan dalam negara Islam pun kadang kala kita terlepas pandang, terutamanya pada insan yang bukan seagama dengan kita. Contohnya, Andai kita melihat rumah-rumah dan sekolah-sekolah di estet-estet milik orang India bukan Islam, adakah kita berasa yang kita patut membantu mereka? Jika kita melihat keluarga orang beragama Buddha berpakaian compang camping, adakah kita merasa kasihan kepada mereka? Atau kita tidak kisah kerana pada diri kita, orang Islam lebih layak dibantu oleh kita?
Dimanakah kemanusiaan kita?
Ingin sekali penulis tegaskan sesuatu disini, prinsip dan tindakan adalah dua perkara yang berbeza, dan tidak seharusnya disekalikan. Secara prinsip, pada pandangan penulis, semua orang patut dibantu tidak kira samada ianya Muslim atau bukan Muslim, tetapi kerana kekangan-kekangan yang ada dan kerana kita manusia, maka kita mungkin tidak dapat membantu semua orang. Tidaklah bermakna jika begitu, kita tidak menanam cita-cita untuk membantu semua orang, cumanya kita perlu bertindak berdasarkan keutamaan (Aulawiyat) dan juga dalam kapasiti kita. Oleh itu, soalan-soalan diatas adalah soalan prinsip, bukan soalan tindakan. Secara prinsipnya, berapa ramai antara kita yang melihat orang bukan Islam di Malaysia yang kurang bernasib baik sebagai golongan yang perlu dibantu? Secara prinsipnya, berapa ramai antara kita yang sanggup melepaskan sebahagian daripada kelebihan yang diberikan kepada kita untuk membantu orang bukan Islam?
Ini mungkin sedikit kontroversi, tetapi apa yang penulis ingin bawakan ialah andai kita percaya pada keadilan sejagat, dan andai kita yakin bahawa kita ialah umat yang terbaik yang diturunkan ke muka bumi, mengapa kita tidak seolah-olah mengendahkan nasib golongan bukan Islam, di bumi dimana majoritinya umat Islam? Lihatlah sejarah di Sepayol, umat Islam walau ditekan hebat oleh pemerintah Krisitan di Utara Sepanyol masih memberi perlindungan dan hak kepada golongan bukan Islam, walaupun mereka golongan Yahudi. Malahan, golongan bukan Islam lebih selesa dalam pemerintahan orang Islam. Lihat pula dunia sekarang. Berapa ramai orang bukan Islam lebih rela duduk di tempat dimana orang bukan Islam berkuasa? Berapa ramai orang Islam sendiri tidak selesa di bumi umat Islam, kerana merasa bahawa keadilan yang dibawa oleh Islam tidak dilaksanakan?
Mungkin disini akan ada orang yang mengatakan bahawa itu salah pemerintah Islam yang tidak mengamalkan Islam yang suci, dan mengambil sistem kuffar yang tidak bertunjangkan ‘aqidah untuk menjalankan pemerintahan, tetapi itu, pada pandangan penulis, merupakan perkara cabang, dan terbuka untuk interpretasi masing-masing. Peliknya dalam hal ini ialah tidak ramai orang Islam yang memahami sistem-sistem dan ideologi-ideologi Barat, dan mengkritiknya seolah-olah ianya tiada langsung dalam Islam. Pada pandangan penulis, sikap begini terlalu angkuh, dan seharusnya dikaji semula. Andai Barat betul-betul jahat, mengapa kita melihat Barat yang lebih banyak memberi bantuan kepada orang Afrika? Mengapa kita lihat Barat yang mendahului dalam usaha-usaha kemanusiaan dimana-mana di dunia?
Tragedi di Myanmar. Foto: AP
Sekali lagi disini terdapat paradoks dalam pemikiran orang Islam. Kita sering menyebut “Ambil yang jernih, buang yang keruh” tetapi apabila menghadapi perkara sebegini, tidak ramai yang akan mengakui kebaikan yang Barat telah buat tanpa mengutuk Barat sekali gus. Selalunya, respon umat Islam ialah “Ya, Barat telah melakukan perkara ini, tetapi jangan lupa bahawa mereka telah lakukan banyak perkara jahat di dunia ini.” Mengapa kita hanya “ambil yang jernih” dan tidak “membuang yang keruh”? Terutamanya dalam usaha kemanusiaan, kita seharusnya muhasabah diri sendiri, dan bandingkan diri kita dengan usaha orang lain.
Kesimpulannya, umat Islam, pada pandangan penulis, terlalu banyak berretorik dari bekerja. Jangankan kata hendak membantu orang miskin di Afrika, hendak memberi sedekah lebih dari RM 5 pun susah. Ramadhan merupaka satu bentuk pentarbiyahan, benar, tetapi harus diingat yang ianya juga satu tempoh muhasabah. Kita tidak seharusnya hanya memikirkan diri kita dan menyempitkan diri kita kepada membantu orang Islam sahaja. Dimana-mana terdapat orang yang kesusahan, maka sebagai Muslim, seharusnya kita membantu atau berniat untuk membantu. Kita selalu mendengar kisah Rasulullah menyuapkan makanan kepada seorang buta Musyrik yang selalu mengeji baginda, tetapi, apa yang kita ambil dari kisah ini? Oleh itu, gunakanlah Ramadhan yang akan datang ini sebagai medan muhasabah kita tentang semua perkara, insyaALLAH.
Semasa membaca berita-berita dunia di hadapan skrin komputer yang usianya mencecah 3 tahun, berita mengenai Zimbabwe amat menarik perhatian penulis. Baru hari ini penulis membaca dalam BBC News yang Britain telah menarik balik gelaran "Sir" daripada Presiden Mugabe yang telah memerintah Zimbabwe selama lebih 20 tahun (sila betulkan andai penulis tersilap).
Keputusan ini adalah disebabkan oleh kaganasan yang dipelopori oleh rejim yang diketuai Mugabe akibat kemerosotan dalam populariti Mugabe dalam pilihanraya baru-baru ini. Selepas membaca dan menonton video-video dalam BBC News, penulis mendapat impressi yang kerajaan Britain amat bersungguh-sungguh dalam hal ini, sehiggakan pihak pembangkang pun menyokong kerajaan dalam hal ini dan mahu Perdana Menteri Gordon Brown benar-benar mengambil inisiatif yang berkesan dalam menangani masalah ini. Dalam kenyataannya, Gordon Brown menyatakan bahawa adalah penting untuk PBB dan Liga Afrika memainkan peranan untuk memaksa Presiden Mugabe untuk mengalah.
Apa yang ingin dibawa di sini ialah setakat mana respon dunia Islam terhadap isu ini? Bukan sahaja tiada tanda-tanda yang pemimpin dunia Islam mahu membuat kenyataan, masyarakat Islam secara amnya seolah-olah tidak kisah tentang apa yang terjadi di Zimbabwe. Perkara yang sama juga terjadi semasa tragedi Darfur. Berapa ramai antara kita betul-betul faham apa yang terjadi di sana? Berapa ramai antara kita yang kisah tentang keadaan masyarakat di Afrika yang kebuluran? Berapa ramai antara kita kisahkan masyarakat Kurdish yang berjuang di Turki kerana ditindas? Berapa ramai antara kita yang kisahkan isu pekerja kanak-kanak di India? Berapa ramai antara kita yang kisah tentang kempen Fairtrade? Bukanlah tiada, namun tanyalah diri sendiri, di luar dunia Islam, adakah kita kisah tentang insan lain atas dasar kemanusiaan?
Pernah penulis membaca tulisan Dr. Farish Nor, bahawa media umat Islam patut melaporkan berita di luar dunia Islam, dan ada benarnya dalam penyataan beliau. Umat Islam terlalu sibuk dengan apa yang berlaku dalam sempadan negara Islam sampaikan mereke tidak kisahkan dunia di luar sempadan kenegaraan ini. Benar, banyak masalah dalam dunia Islam. Benar, kita perlu memantapkan diri sendiri sebelum cuba menolong orang lain. Tetapi fikirkan, andai rumah kita rosak dan rumah jiran kita terbakar, adakah patut kita tidak mengambil tahu apa yang terjadi kepada jiran kita?
Tindakan yang diambil mungkin tidak banyak; mungkin setakat membuat kenyataan mengutuk, mungkin dengan mengharamkan Mugabe dan pengikutnya dari masuk ke sempadan negara Islam, mungkin tindakan kita sangat minima. Tindakan adalah berdasarkan keutamaan, dan mungkin keutamaan kita bukan di sana. Tetapi secara jujurnya, berapa ramai antara kita yang melihat situasi itu sebagai satu krisis kemanusiaan? 200 000 orang diusir dari rumah, tidakkah itu satu krisis kemanusiaan? Situasi itu mungkin tidak seteruk Palestine, mungkin tidak seteruk Bosnia, tetapi wajarkah untuk kita tidak mengambil tahu? Tidak layakkah mereka dalam pandangan kita untuk kita menghabiskan 5 minit untuk membaca dan memahami keadaan mereka? Bukankah mereka juga manusia?
Atau adakah kita tidak tahu?
Andai kita tidak tahu, maka persoalannya, mengapa? Kita mengikuti perkembangan Palestin dengan rajin, kita mengikut perkembangan harga minyak dengan khusyuk, kita menanti-nanti berita terbaru dari Iraq dan Afghanistan, tetapi kisahkah kita mengenai insan diluar jangkauan sempadan negara Islam? Jika tidak, dimanakah kemanusiaan kita?
Mungkin ada yang akan mengatakan, "Baca sahaja tanpa berbuat apa-apa tidak berguna!" Tetapi tanpa membaca, tahukah kita mengenainya? Andai pembacaan pun tidak dilakukan, bagaimana kita mahu bertindak?
Kita selalu mencemuh Barat berkenaan pelbagai perkara; masalah sosial, sistem kapitalis, sistem sekular dan macam-macam lagi, namun sedar tidak sedar, dalam urusan kemanusiaan, kebanyakan usaha untuk membantu manusia atas dasar kemanusiaan dilakukan oleh Barat. Buang ketepi dahulu isu Palestin, lihat perkara baik yang mereka lakukan. Berbanding mereka, apa yang kita telah lakukan?
Selalu kita dengar bahawa Islam turun sebagai rahmat kepada sekalian alam. Adakah mungkin alam yang dimaksudkan ialah dunia Islam semata-mata? Penulis tidak fikir ianya begitu. Jika tidak, mengapa umat Islam seolah-oleh tidak kisah mengenai dunia diluar dunia Islam?
disclaimer: this entry is not attacking any particular individual or organization. it is merely the writer's thoughts on the subject matter
bismillahirrahmanirrahim..
i was reading about something, and was thinking about how people say Islam being the world order and stuff, and what strikes me as interesting is just that; how people say it out loud, not do it in practice...
it is rather interestingly frustrating that people seem to say many things but also seem contented to just sit in their quiet corner doing only the minimal, if not nothing..
it is simple, work for what one believe in, and God willing, one will reap what one sow. but when people say Islam will certainly come on top someday, do they really walk their talk?
i mean, we all know that that will inevitably happen, but what do we do?
this is especially true for students, who has the most free time of all adults...
don't be so conceited and arrogant by saying that i have no time, i need to concentrate on my studies; these are, quite frankly, selfish and rather immature...
if you want to talk like that, fair enough, but please list down how many hours you waste on the internet doing stuff that doesn't really matter to the world, watching on youtube things that doesn't add anything to your knowledge, talking to friends about the latest trends and fashions, talking about gossips of this artist and that, etc...
if you still don't want to care, then fine. but don't give the excuse of not having enough time to do your part in society if you are doing things like that and don't study, it makes one looks rather weak...
time is a funny thing, because when one is hard pressed to do something, then one can finish it in a quick and efficient manner. but when one has too much time in one's hand, then the efficiency simply goes down..
don't take time as being something absolute, the human consciousness may very well be intimately intertwined with time itself.
and stop saying things like i don't care about politics, or i don't want to get involved in society because i'm bad at communicating with people; fact is, very few people are good with people. in fact, if you're bad at it, then it is precisely why you should do it...
we always say that the youth are the agents of change, and we always look to the time of the prophet as being such a good example of this. but we seldom take a step back and think, what have i done for the betterment of society? do i even care enough about society to act?
and acting does not mean looking at people in society that needs help, yet never talk to any of those so-called troubled people and try to understand them, much less help them. all we do is scorn at them...
it is funny that we say we study hard in university for the sake of ALLAH and that we will contribute to His cause when we work when in reality, we sit in our own corner, doing enough to satisfy our whims, and do the bare minimum for Islam...
funny, isn't it, when students say 'I want to be an Islamic doctor,' or 'I want to be an Islamic engineer,' when all they do is read books, pass exams, get a job, get a spouse, buy a big house, produce some kids, and die... now that, is funny...
i was thinking about the "Christian using the name ALLAH", issue and i spoke to my roommate about this matter-he is inclining towards Christianity (without the bounds of the topic)...
anyways, for anyone without any background information, i shall put forth as much information as i can in here. the issue is as such (as far as i know it is, as of now):
Muslims in Malaysia want to ban the usage of the word "ALLAH" by Christians in all their writings because it will cause confusion in the Muslim community and also, some argue, it taints the name of ALLAH, being used for the God in Christendom with the meaning of the trinity concept that they believe...
the Christians defended their actions by stating that the word "ALLAH" has been in use even before the coming of Islam, and hence is perfectly valid for their use. and i heard some funny comments that if the word is banned for usage by non-Muslims, then they can't sing the state song because there is the name of ALLAH in the song.
anyways, that's the main argument. there are some other arguments by the Muslims, and i will try to list them, as best to my knowledge as possible.
1. (as stated before) the usage of the word ALLAH will create confusion, and we need to shield the Muslim population, whilst educating the society about the concepts of God in both Christianity and Islam, so that when the ban is lifted, it people will understand and not be confused.
2. Christians are purposely doing this to confuse the Muslims so that more Muslims will convert into Christianity. this is regarding the name of the name ALLAH by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Church. because according to an article in Utusan (i'll put the link below, from the source that i got it from), the concept of God by the Eastern Church is parallel to that of Islam, whilst in Roman Catholicism, it is not so.
3. the 'aqidah of Muslims in Malaysia is very shaky, hence we need to do this to protect the Muslims in Malaysia, so that no one will be an apostate because of this.
4. why are they so adamant in using this word? its just ONE word!!!
5. Islam is in power, as far as Malaysia is concerned. therefore, it is the government's task to protect the sanctity of Islam..
well, as my roommate conveniently summarized for me, i can appreciate and understand why they are doing that, but it doesn't seem fair. well, a few arguments when i was discussing this with a few friends...
1. confusion is best combated with knowledge and understanding. this policy will not only serve to destroy any potential problem, it may also increase understanding between religions. and since Malaysia is so very defined by races and religion, it may serve to help to bridge the huge gaps between the races in Malaysia. it will also increase faith of Muslims, because now they actually KNOW the God that they are so devoutly worshiping (not that i'm saying that they don't, but i am a bit skeptical when people speak of being confused over 2 concepts that are absolutely different, when they sufficiently understand one concept to have it as their source of their way of life, maybe there is, but I'm skeptical, and that the concept of God in Islam is so clearly defined in the Quran).
2. information nowadays are so very accessible to everyone. so, if done, as my good friend aimran put it, in a vacuum, people will not really get the whole picture, because it is not presented in the whole to them. and with the non-thinking mindset of Malaysians beyond their own interests, it may even breed even more confusion. and let us be realistic here, banning a word will not cause them to stop using it. maybe they'll stop it in their publication, but they may still whisper in the shadows about how unfairly they have been treated, which will enhance the suspicions between the different religious groups.
3. such a bill is highly unrealistic, because it will mean that the authorities will have to check every single church every single second of every single day every year forever to check that Christians are obeying the law. and even if they manage to do that, the word will still be used, because talk about religion is not confined in the recesses of the church, hence the monitoring of such things is highly unrealistic.
4. a Christian can retort, why can't we not use this word? is it exclusive to Muslims?
5. it is kinda funny, because is the government really Islamic? what is the real purpose of raising this issue in the first place? anyway, that is the realm of politics, so i will try not to comment on it too much here. if the government really wants to do that, then they would have to have the whole population understand the argument on both side, or it will be unjust. again, the issue here is not about banning the word, rather, it is more about is it serving justice to people to do that? are we not telling the non-Muslims what to do and not do in matters of their own religion?
6. i think that this is a bit lacking in the thinking of Muslims, at least in Malaysia. we never thought about our actions other than what we believe, want and think. i mean, picture urself in the premise of a Christian. what will u think about this? if it were me, i'll have these questions:
1. why can't we use it? 2. even if they believe it that their God is ALLAH and he is One, they can't impose it on us...so what if they believe that? we don't! 3. how is this religious freedom? 4. do the muslims hate us? 5. is this how Islam treats people? 6. who can i turn to to resolve this problem?
therefore, it will bring about more misfortune than benefit. for example, as my friend anuar brilliantly argued, how will the Christians believe that an Islamic country will provide religious freedom, and hence, how are we supposed to convince them to join us in our cause? and what's more, what sort of impression will it give to the non-Muslims about Islam? will they not think that Islam is unfair? we always think what only WE want, and what WE think should be done. WE are so unemphatic! and having spoken to my roommate, and from other information that i got, it was clear that they can understand why we want it to be like that, but they just don't find it rational or fair for us to impose our belief system on them (in some sense it does). it is tantamount to a Christian nation, like the UK, saying to Muslims, 'don't use the word "Jesus", because in your religion, he is a prophet, and to us he is a god'. but if we listen to such an argument, we would say, 'no, no. that's different. u see..etc.'. how preposterous! can double standards be more evident than this?! if you want to explain what you believe to a Christian so that they understand, then you must take the same stand with Muslims. because doing otherwise will give the wrong impression about Islam. rather than doing that, why don't we just explain to the masses the true concept in both religion?
in the end, its all a matter of language...and language, to me, is a heritage, and is not exclusive to Muslims, nor Christians, nor anybody. and i do sincerely believe that explanation is much better done in an open environment, as aimran ponted out, because the people will actually think, and try to understand.
and if we are to argue about the weak state of the ummah, then we should blame ourselves for that. they (the Christians) are just doing their job; what they think is the right thing to do. can you blame an atheist for researching theories of how life came into being? you can't, because he believes that what he is doing is true. doing stuff like banning a word reflects how really weak the ummah is, and it is, to me, simply like punishing the Christians for sins that Muslims did...
i beg forgiveness from ALLAH for anything wrong that i said here...
Tragedi di Myanmar. Foto: AP
