melotot dan tersedak

Pagi ini, lamunan pagi di sela kemacetan diingatkan kembali dengan melotot dan tersedak karena membaca tulisan ini di halaman Aa Gym.

Yahya bin Mu’adz menuturkan,

“Sesungguhnya penipuan yang paling besar bagiku adalah terus menerus berbuat dosa dengan disertai pengharapan ampunan tanpa adanya penyesalan, dan berharap dekat dengan Allah tanpa melakukan ketaatan.

Engkau menunggu berseminya benih di surga dengan menyebar benih di neraka, dan meminta rumah orang-orang yang ta’at dengan kemaksiatan, menunggu balasan tanpa amal perbuatan, dan mengharapkan ampunan dosa dari Allah Ta'ala dengan berbuat melampui batas.

Engkau Mengharapkan keselamatan akan tetapi tidak berjalan di jalan keselamatan tersebut, sesungguhnya perahu itu tidak akan pernah bisa berjalan di tempat yang kering

Diriwayatkan oleh Ibnu Hibban dalam Raudhathul ‘Uqalaa` (hal. 248), perkataan di sandarkan kepada Abi Al ‘Atahiyah.

Selamat menafakuri dan menangisi diri ( dikutip dari Sahabat AlQuran )

dan saya akhiri tulisan ini dengan tidak menambah kata-kata lagi. 

why wearing veil?

Previously  I've written about why I decided to use veil . Well it actually happened in 2005, but I wrote it in 2007, 8 years ago, ouch I feel old! Long story short, nowadays I feel the need to share some thoughts about this matter.

Veil or hijab for moslem women is like a boundary, to cover several parts of our body thus it cannot be exposed to other people, except particular family members (called mahram). This has been regulated in the Qur'an,
Al Ahzab (33) : 53, 59
An-Nuur (24) : 30-31
Al Ahzab (33) : 32-33
An-Nuur (24) : 60
(M. Quraish Shihab on Jilbab seri 01, 2006)

so it is not only a priests consensus (ijma') nor Prophet guidance (hadits). Though the details of hijab have various interpretation.

Let's talk about boundaries. Name one of the creatures that do not have any boundary. Air? We do have vacuum area, if I'm not mistaken.  Do we have adequate oxygen in outer space? So air, or in this case oxygen, do have boundaries.
What about another creatures, the smallest cells, they do have boundaries. Does amoeba do not have any boundary? They do have, otherwise they will not have an abstract shape. Even abstract thing has boundary and rule that shape them.

Can we neglect these rules and boundaries? As we know, abnormal cells growth cause cancer which is considered as illness and harmful.

Are these rules created by human? With all do respect to the science world, human can only discover what is already there. Name all the gigantic and comprehensive creators of all time, challenge them to create the smallest creatures out of nothing. They can only clone and modify, with all do respect (once again) to the science world.

Can we neglect the fact that amoeba should be in flexible shape? Can we send objection to the Creator on why we should inhale oxygen rather than carbon monoxide nor helium so we can fly like balloons? Or why we have these 10 hand fingers rather than only 12 which will make them dozen (and cheaper)?

If we go back to the veil as boundary, who made the rule? Prophet Muhammad? Peace be upon him, the rule is written in the Qur'an, not made by him. The source is the same from The Creator of all creatures, same with the Creator of our fingers, amoeba, and your breathing rules.

Now I humbly asked you, do you get benefit by accepting the 'nature rules' and by not ignoring them nor modifying your fingers to a dozen?
If you say yes to the above question, should we ignore another rule, in this case of wearing veil, though you know that it comes from the same the Creator?

If you say that you're not benefited by the 'nature rules', go ahead breathing helium and I will wave goodbye from the ground.

If you still enjoy these random thoughts, I'll share my short experiences.
In life, we cannot limit our friends but we can choose our closest friends. Thus, self consciousness helps us adapt without neglecting the boundary about what is right and wrong.
Guidance is not just granted, it comes to those who have questions and seek for answers. Some walking slowly to it, some running sprint even marathon.

Veil is what I called a tool for a sustainable guidance. We use a tool that attracts people to be involved and engaged with our searching journey. In marathon, you can see so many spectators alongside the track, they cheers though some might criticise, but run ahead. The sunny side is that we get company.

We cannot limit friends, otherwise we'll have an asymmetric perspective. They might have good or bad influences, veil attracts spectators and commentators to get you back on track. And we go back to the right track not to please them, we just simply feel being reminded.

I personally get more benefits as long as I consistently apply the principle of continuous improvement. I wasn't ready for a giant leap toward wearing a nearly-perfect-veil, I started with 2 sheets of short veils and 1 piece of long shirt. I had a 'friendly' name of frog or ninja (not a serious thing, I also made fun of it). I even was challenged by my family and being accused as a religiously fanatic and brainwashed (not a serious thing, just wrong perception). My starter was far from what should be wore. No worry, just start small, from there we can gradually improve it and shall not stop learning, hopefully become better.

Nonetheless, pardon my grammar and do criticise these random thoughts. ;)

5 times

As usual, traveled from east to central Jakarta on Sunday morning. These past two weeks, I added one route, to South Jakarta to learn and expand perspectives. Here I write my souvenir from this changing habit.

Two meetings that I'd attended examined the same topic: How Moslems welcome problems

Problems are inevitable, we all know that. What we seek is not the absence of problems, but that in every problem we've been going through, seek for wisdom or lessons. Stated in QS 23:115 

Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?

Challenges/problems come when we are in a process to grow, just like any other creatures, well in human it is more complex but the logic is still the same. Even when we are born, we went through challenges to come out. Cool baby!

So we sat and listened to him. I don't remember his name but he is a postgraduate from Wali Songo institute. Anyway I think what he said is quite structured and simple on how Moslems welcome problems.

First thing first, Istighfar (seek for absolution) then 

5 times Alhamdulillah (grateful)

1. Alhamdulilllah, that Allah is not giving us harder problem, even if God is beyond able to do so. Seek for lessons to be learnt, seek for wisdom

2. Alhamdulillah, that it is not undermining our aqidah. The worst problem is when the problem takes you further from God.  

3. Alhamdulillah, that these problems will swap away our sins. Be smart in dealing with it

4. Alhamdulillah, that only with problems we grow, upgrade ourselves. As we know, in life we have exam first then we learn, and yes life is not a regular school. Those who are smart will find themselves become better Moslems. 

5.  Alhamdulillah, that these problems will soon become longer rewards in the future. We do believe in afterlife right?

Sometimes we tend to compare our life with others, even compare what good deeds that we've done and correlate it to our problems. Why people that doing so many bad things still live in prosperity, happy, seems like live without problems? 

We shall remember that our good deeds will help us in the future life but it is not a single guarantee. We live seeking for Allah's blessings only. Don't compare your good deeds with others. Just give your best shot (one more time) for God only. 

May we be able to welcome any problem, smile and go through it in a better way, thus we shall be granted by wisdom and blessings. :)

Sementara

This song just get stuck in my head. We'll see how far it can go.

Sementara by Float



Sementara... lupakanlah rindu
Sadarlah, hatiku
Hanya ada kau dan aku
Dan, sementara... akan kukarang cerita
Tentang mimpi jadi nyata
Untuk asa kita berdua

Percayalah, hati
Lebih dari ini pernah kita lalui
Takkan lagi kita mesti jauh melangkah
Nikmatilah lara
Untuk sementara saja

sumber lirik


I perceive this song as (simply) a monologue, that I do it very often, and realistically uplift a devastated soul. :)) well devastated sounds really bad, but most importantly, sadness will not last forever though. :D
Enjoy!

Wait.. I think I was too gloomy in this post when I'm actually not. So here is my next favorite song from the same-smart-musicians.
Song: "I.H.I" (I think it stands for Indah Hari Itu) well done Float! 

Jangka dan pesan ke masa depan

Kepada
Diri saya sendiri
di
Masa depan

Kalau suatu hari, kita tercerai sementara antara iman dan logika carilah surat ini. Sengaja dibuat surat terbuka agar lebih mudah mencarinya (yah kita tau sendiri sering hilang catatan-catatan dan pikiran, bahkan lupa password jika disimpan di draft).

Yakin sekali di kehidupan masa depan, yang mungkin dimulai beberapa detik setelah surat ini dibuat, akan banyak tantangan. Kita tahu, seketika saat kita meneguhkan hati untuk beriman hidup kita tak akan jauh dari ujian baik kesulitan maupun kesenangan.

Bicara soal hidup, ingatlah Jangka sebagai contoh kecilnya, ketika tidak terlalu cukup waktu untuk mengingat semua kalimat filsafat. Iya, Jangka yang sering kita pakai waktu sekolah dan menggambar teknik.

Kita hidup berjalan terus tanpa putus, seperti lingkaran. Akan putus pada waktunya ketika jangka dicabut oleh pemiliknya, dicabut ke atas dan mudah-mudahan Dia senang dan ridha dengan perjalanan lingkaran kita.

Sedikit demi sedikit kita berjalan, melebarkan radius lengan jangka dengan tetap bertumpu pada datum jarum yang sudah dihujamkan terlebih dulu, iman, karena kita terlahir Islam dengan bisikan Adzan di telinga kanan dari lelaki yang paling kita cintai. Datum yang sudah tegak dan kokoh, agar putaran yang kita buat sempurna.

Seiring waktu, kita ingin bertualang melebarkan lengan jangka, melebarkan zona-zona nyaman kita, memperluas lingkaran hidup. Sejauh apapun batas-batas yang ingin kita lewati, pastikan datum menghujam di titik yang sama.

Suatu ketika kita akan lelah berputar dan melebarkan radius, Tiek. Datum akan berpindah titik, dan lingkaran kita akan menyimpang, mungkin tidak melingkar lagi. Ketika itu tiba, jangan lemah atau pergi lebih jauh. Tengoklah kembali datum kita, apakah ia masih kokoh? Kalau tidak, jangan buang waktu untuk terus melingkar, berhenti, kembali ke titik asal dan tegakkan lagi datumnya. Sekuat tenaga, sebisa mungkin sesulit apapun. Kuatkan dengan 39:53 ; dan ingat selalu lakukan yang diperintahkan di 3:113.

Suatu hari ketika kita jumpai peristiwa yang mungkin beraaat sekali, seperti tidak ada jalan keluar, berserah Tiek, karena mungkin itu caraNya untuk menarik kita kembali ke Islam (berserah). Kita sudah berkali-kali mengalami ini, semestinya kita ingat terus. Lupakan pikiran untuk mengeluh, karena ketika suatu peristiwa membawa kita kembali untuk menegakkan datum, sungguh seperti yang kita insyafi berkali-kali, itu karunia.

Bumi dan planet bulat dan tidak bersisi, maka masih relevan-kah jika kita bertahan di satu sisi dan menafikkan sisi lain. Kenapa galaksi tidak diletakkan di bidang datar? Kenapa mereka mengambang dan planet-planet selalu berputar, seperti tidak ada yang tersembunyi? Pandang suatu hal dari berbagai sisi, Tiek, karena hanya dengan cara itulah Tuhan melihat segala hal, dari sisi yang tak hingga, dan hanya dengan cara itu kita paham dan adil. :)

Ketika batas hitam dan putih bercampur tidak karuan, kembali tegak dan ingat 6:116
Panjangkan kerangka berpikir kita dari sekadar dunia, agar ketenangan selalu ada, Tiek. Tuhan kita Maha Adil, ketika hidup terasa tidak adil maka telaah kebijakan-kebijakan manusia yang sedang digunakan dan kita-manusia bisa mengubahnya, seperti yang  disebutkan oleh Ha-Joon Chang (ekonom dari Cambridge yang kita baca bukunya).

Kita sering melamun dengan banyak pertanyaan soal ini dan itu, tapi hingga hari ini kita paham bahwa apa yang terjadi dan dibutuhkan di dunia tidak pernah bertentangan dengan pedoman kita. Kita insyaf bahwa akal dan iman selalu sejalan, seperti yang kita temukan ketika secara bergantian membaca buku ulama dari Padang Panjang dan ekonom dari Korea.

Kebebasan tidak berbatas bukan sahabat kita, Tiek, kalau kita ingin maju. Di blog ini juga ada presentasi dari Barry Schwartz soal kebebasan yang membuat kita malah tidak bisa maju, paralysis, dan buka lagi buku kritik soal pasar bebas. Kita semakin yakin bahwa ajaran yang jadi pedoman kita tidak pernah bertentangan dengan kemajuan.

Ketika akal kita belum bisa menjawab berbagai pertanyaan, bukanlah iman kita yang bertentangan tapi akal kita yang belum sampai, maka belajar terus Tiek. Merasa serba tahu sepertinya akan membuat kita celaka. Seperti yang kita renungi sewaktu hidup kita sulit di masa S2, puncak dari ilmu adalah kesadaran bahwa banyak sekali hal yang kita tidak tahu tentang dunia dan kehidupannya, dan ternyata sejalan dengan apa yang ditulis Buya Hamka di bukunya.

Segini dulu pesan dari kita di 12 Mei 2013. Semoga hidup kita berkah sampai nanti jangka kita diangkat Pemiliknya.