Thoughts..

Nowadays, seems that for a younger person(young as in teenager to late 20s) to don the traditional baju kurung complete with a "songkok" or "kopiah" other than during hari raya is something that is not normal or uncool. It feels like the whole world is watching you and you get the occasional snigger. Then, whenever family members or friends see you, immediately they'll smack you with a label jokingly/ sarcastically,"Haah, ustaz!".

This is a sad thing that's prevalent in our society today.

Aanyway, was thinking about what Dr Mohd Asri said in an audio ceramah I heard just a while ago. About the need to change our views on Islam. Whenever people talk about Islam, its always about things concerning about ibadah, rituals, the hereafter, about it being backward, kuno, old tradition but little about Islam in the context of our daily life and for it to be associated with every single thing we do.

Islam is a way of life. Its just that majority don't understand or practice Islam the way it should be. And this leads to a shabby potrayal of Islam by the way muslims are today. That is not Islam. Islam is VIBRANT and where good morals are preserved in every situation! Just take a look at its rich history during the "so called" dark ages.. ---> (check out ..muslimheritage.com)

Everything in this world is Islam. Even if it concerns the study of science, geography, physics, psychology, maths, business studies, outside the context of what people perceive Islam is not part of.

This kind of misleading perception of Islam is something that needs to be realised and changed and it has to start with muslims themselves.

aanyway, just to share an interesting excerpt from an article ..Link here!!

GURU NANAK DAN KUCING ASHRAM (excerpt from saifulislam.com)

Pernah suatu ketika Guru Nanak dan pengikut-pengikutnya mahu mengerjakan sembahyang cara mereka. Tetapi mereka diganggu oleh kucing ashram yang menyelit-nyelit di celah kaki mereka. Lantas Guru Nanak mengarahkan supaya kucing ashram itu diikat di tiang setiap kali mereka mahu bersembahyang.

Selepas beberapa ketika, Guru Nanak telah meninggal dunia. Pengikutnya masih mengamalkan ajaran Guru Nanak seperti biasa dan setiap kali mereka mahu bersembahyang, mereka akan menambat kucing ashram tersebut di tiang. Akan tetapi selepas kucing ashram itu mati, pengikut-pengikut Guru Nanak mencari pula kucing lain untuk diikat setiap kali mereka mahu mengerjakan sembahyang!

Berkurun selepas itu, barulah ahli teologi membongkarkan hal ini, betapa kesilapan telah berlaku apabila pengikut ajaran Guru Nanak menyangkakan bahawa sembahyang mereka tidak sah tanpa kucing yang ditambat di tiang! Mengapa semua ini terjadi? Jawapannya mudah, bertaqlid buta dan agama menjadi ritual. (--"The Guru's Cat" from The Song of the Bird by Anthony De Mello)

Saya kisahkan cerita di atas kepada pelajar-pelajar sebuah kolej semasa mereka mengikuti sebuah kursus yang saya kendalikan bersama Fitrah Perkasa. Para pelajar dibawa ke tepi pantai dan kami belajar zikir dan fikir terhadap kebesaran Allah berpandukan ayat 190 serta 191 surah Aali Imran. Kemudian kami bersolat dua rakaat. Selepas solat di atas pasir, saya kisahkan cerita kucing ashram tersebut dan saya tanya kepada pelajar, mengapa kalian menyapu muka selepas memberi salam tadi? Soalan itu saya biarkan tergantung supaya pelajar kaitkan ia dengan kisah Guru Nanak dan kucing ashram itu tadi...