New Job

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Hurm... I do not know where to begin with. I went for an interview in an intergovernmental organization in Kuala Lumpur around July and I expected nothing, hehe. I just went there to try my luck and you know this ancient Indian phrase which means "moving the machine" is actually related to the actions. I am just translating everything into English rather than using Pali or Sanskrit words so everyone could see what we understood from our previous experience being a student of Buddhism, Brahmanism and other ancient Indian philosophies.

I applied for an entree position in the organization as I had a missing line in my resume related to the years of working experience. I went to further my studies because of various thoughts. Basically, I understood the rules in seeking the job where famous companies or organizations would basically looking at our experience of working in certain field of job because they do not want to waste their time and capitals in training new employees. Talents and others would be screened later. For that, I would have to apply for an entry position and planning my career again. I actually wanted to study Islam and returning to the unfinished task which I had to pursue last time. That was my highest responsibility or what is known as the fardh al-kifayah for me. But, it seems like this is just a dream that is far from the reach. It is kicking me far from itself and it was my fault. I cried and always blaming my wretched self for this.    

I did not go for the test in the Malaysian Books' Translation Institute in Wangsa Maju. I know that we are not valued anywhere in the country other than what can we do with Malay? We cannot survive as Malay translators because nobody respect the language. I had read about what happened to Abdullah Munsyi from Malacca. That guy is a Yemenite from a Tamil mother. He translated New Testament: Matthew into Classical Malay and was stamped as a Christian priest by locals. I had seen his other translations in our university library last time. He also translated the Panchatantram into Classical Malay as well as other books. Some of his notes such as about Kelantan perhaps were quite bias because he was not traveling so much nor mingling with the Eastern Coast people much but I think we should do researches with clear mind before throwing out our perceptions. Anyway, my father though a Yemenite by descent but he is a staunch Malay language supporter. He wrote poems, expressing his feelings and articles in Malay. It is the only mother tongue that he knows. Arabic only serve as our liturgical language like what happened to other Arab or even Jewish diasporas across the world. It is still vaguely spoken by our elders but becoming an alien language once they passed away.

I also have large corpus of materials related to Judeo-Christian literature and Christian apocrypha. I translated them into Malay just after I read them few times together with Islamic and other philosophical readings either from English or Arabic while I did nothing. However, they are not for public release and I will never release them to people. They simply serve as exercises for mind and personal references for me. Sometimes I released them by accident and I always regret myself and trying to erase them before others could read them. Now, because of this I would like brothers and sisters who know me out there to know. I did not mingle so much with you as I love you. I do not want you to misunderstood anything which comes out of my mouth or my mind. Especially, when you are just mingling with people of the same group or way of thinking. I am not a person who conform to normal social norm. I have my own standard.

By the way, I am going to be a contract staff again for another six months beginning next Monday. I quit from the post of Public Relations Trainee in the Corporate Communications Unit in the Prime Minister's Department. My payment there was on daily basis at the rank of N17 clerk though I had to also do the jobs of my superiors. I am not quitting from the post because of the low payment. I am thankful to them for the opportunities given to prove myself and for offering me the letter to continue my contract. Especially to my boss and my supervisor. They were late to announce that I would be promoted into the M41 rank with two years contract as I received the call from the new work place asking my confirmation to accept the post earlier than that.

I am just curious about the the new job and men always have to get involved with risky things and challenges, right? My new office would be in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Well, it is only a contract based job but I could apply for other posts in the system once I am an internal person. What concerns me now is that I live far from my work place. I would have to plan my driving route and time.... How could I perform my obligations such as salat services when I am working there.... My responsibility as a son to a bed-ridden father... 

I end my working hour early today without attending the farewell party which was held together with Eid al-Fitri feast for the office because I simply do not know what else to say. I said everything to my boss just before I quit today. And I wrote another note on my station (desk) saying thanks to everyone besides apologizing on my shortcomings before leaving. It was in English and I feel sorry for not respecting the national language but I use to think and write in English. I still have four remaining days as according to the previous contract. But I had given the resignation and handing-tasks letters to the boss since last week. I have no one to train so lucky me, haha... I would have to hand in my documents to the new office at their human resource on this Friday, 6th September 2013.

Oh, yeah just after I walked out from my office I took a bus to the shopping mall. I went to the temporary musalla and performing the Dzuhr service. Then I went to have some noodles. After that, I went down and randomly bought a ticket in the cinema. I watched a movie titled Mortal Instruments: the City of Bones alone. It was not so much impressive but I could say that it is just a nice movie with some Gothic elements in the settings. The movie ends around 17:00 something and I went to the musalla performing 'Asr service. I bought some rice and ate them before returning home. 

I performed Maghrib and 'Isya prayer services at the musalla near home. Not walking up the hill like always. I am not sure whether I could regularly go there when I am going to start with my new job. I am going to miss the mosque up there : (

Sealed with prayer for mercy, peace and love, amin!      

Zuhud and Modesty in Life

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Attachment to the worldly matters is the root of evil

What is Zuhud? It is a terminology used by Muslim to show modesty. Speaking about tasawwuf, there are boasting Orientalists who trying to talk like they know about everything. As an individual who profess the faith to only the God as the Most Highest, the King of worlds and universe, I don't buy anything from them either their opinion or suggestion suits well with my thought or in the opposite because they have no authority to judge others when they do not have any faith to the six pillars of faith and the five pillars of the nature. I hate this shallow notion about certain matter is influencing others just to downgrade others. This earth is shared and human come from the same source unless if those human who turned to be human from apes, that is different thing since they were not human by origin but animal. 

In Islam we have ihsan which is a concept where we believe that He is watching over us even when nobody is looking at us since He is the One who Supervise. Ihsan is mentioned by prophet Muhammad s.a.w during the discourse with archangel Gabriel a.s who actually was sent by the God to teach companions of prophet Muhammad s.a.w and to be taught to generations in to come in disguise of questions and answers about the basis of the nature of human-being and other creatures. Our devotion to the God is based from prophetic tradition and we reject Orientalists ideas. They are not the authority for us, their opinions whether supporting us or opposing us has no significance to us. Their standard is not in compliance with our standard.

Concerning things exported from Christianity? Jesus a.s who is the "Lord" of Christians and the originator of the "religion" which is known as Christianity is one of the prophet of Islam. Islam is not a "new religion" but it is "a nature" which originated from the God the Highest who possesses the Most Glorious Names. It does not originated from Muhammad s.a.w because he was a medium chosen by the God to transmit the teaching to other non-chosen human-being just like other prophets and messengers of the God since Adam a.s. Jesus a.s is the brother of Moses a.s and Muhammad s.a.w by souls and by the same first ancestor which is Adam a.s. They are not from apes offspring and those who believe that they are descended from apes are not wrong. They are indeed what they believe. Another thing that we need to bear in mind, we do not submit ourselves to Church Fathers but only to the God the Most Highest. Jesus Christ need not Church Fathers to decide anything for him if he is the Lord. So, if Christians wanted to devote themselves to whatever "Theophany" they wanted to devote, go on. Just avoid from evil morality which does not reflect the morality taught by Jesus Christ and they would be fine. I don't simply call people as infidel because it is not me who decide but the God to decide over His creatures. If anything being mentioned in the scripture, then it is His word and not my word. It will remain as it is.

Those Christian monasticism influencing others is not an issue for us. Those influencing matters are nonsense and those "scholars" I believe are not people who practice any religion instead they worship themselves under their so-called "scholarly" statements or "suggestions." They are human and not the God to be worshiped on their opinions and they have flaws just like other human-being. Those Christian evangelists mostly do not portray the moral of Jesus Christ but they showed the negative side of human-being to me as a lay person because I had encountered such experience with them. I didn't even choose to be baptized last time but considering Buddhism because I detest the way they talk to others, bajet suci gitu. I would also demand to stop calling us Muslims as Mohammedan. We are not worshipers of Muhammad either when he perform "divine" miracle or when he was in human characteristic because we don't need such a philosophy to explain his characteristics and developing a dogma. Everything is clear in basic suras in the glorious Quran, the Word of the God. We are Muslims. We submit ourselves to the One who posses the Peace, the One who protects everyone with Peace. In al-Fatihah surah it is already mentioned that we follow only Him. Not Church Fathers' philosophies nor Orientalists teachings : )

A person who is devoted to the God actually has no time to look to other places or thinking to rival with others in term of worldly matters but feeling afraid that he would be dipped into torments and being far from the God with misconducts. A person who is devoted to the God does not actually talk much because much of talking would only bring negative impact toward the environment and nature. So, my Muslim brothers and sisters who perform da'awa especially to other community, always keep in mind to adhere to morality conduct revealed by the God in Quran and Sunnah. We perform everything through the Light of the God, the knowledge, wisdom, practices, and sincerity only for His sake. Not because we wanted to gain anything, to gain glory in others' eyes, gaining fund for example from organization, and etc. Guidance and Mercy is His work and not our work. Our responsibility is only to deliver to fellow creatures. This is also an advise for myself : )

Now this article is actually an article published by Islamic Center of USM which I had kept for long and reading it over and over but due to that it is in Malay, I think it should also be translated into other languages may everyone receive the Mercy of the God. I would like to share it with anyone passing here whatever faith that they have. Anything good should be shared and this has nothing to harm anyone Creed toward any doctrine because it is noble morality. 

Zuhud means a characteristic of heart which is not attached to the world or worldly matters. It does not mean that we are wearing dirty clothes, torn everywhere or looking poor like a beggar in front of other. Even when we are poor, we do not show it to others but maintaining the look of normal people. In Islam, we are taught to look the same like others. Even if we learn scriptural studies, we do not necessarily wearing clothes which show us as a cleric or a minister. It is enough to look like other civilians and live like others. Zuhud only means that the condition of heart which is not attached toward worldly matters, does not depend to anything in the world but only depends to the God.

The tranquility of life in this world is what everyone desires. But we still see that many people are living in anxiety, fear, worrying about something which is uncertain, hatred to others (I also have this evil thing in mind) and many unnecessary things. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w through the Revelation taught us a practice which will makes the God love us. 

His teaching is recorded in a hadith narrated by Abu Abbas Sahal bin Sa'ad Sa'idi r.a where he mentioned again that when a man walking passed prophet Muhammad s.a.w, he asked prophet Muhammad s.a.w: "Dear messenger of the God, show me a practice in which I will be loved by the God and everyone around me will also love me. Said prophet Muhammad s.a.w: "Be modest in the worldly matter, as the God will love you. Be modest on anything which is possessed by human, and human will love you."    

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w teaches everyone to be like a person who is traveling. He said: "be like a foreigner in the world." A person who travels never being attached to anything or feeling that they should have any possession since they are just temporarily staying at a certain place. Just take a look at travelers, how do they look like? Do they bring anything like valuable stuffs with them while traveling or doing sightseeing? They just bring things that they need right? For example few clothes, few hygienic stuffs, passport, identity card, some money to use while staying in a certain place, some notebooks, or books to read while waiting for passport control. Another example that we could see are migrant workers. Look at how they live. Are they living a comfortable life or just enough for them to live in a foreign country where they are earning the money to be sent home? A modest person has no greed toward worldly matters.

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w further said: "Indeed a modest person in the world will feel relieved in the world and hereafter. A person who is attached to the world will feel suffocated and exhausted in the world and hereafter." (reported by Thabrani, Baihaqi from Abu Hurayrah r.a)

Imam al-Ghazali divided zuhud or modesty into three stages:

1. Lowest modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters to avoid evil consequences in the hereafter.

2. Middle modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters to get rewards in hereafter.

3. Highest modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters because of the devotion and dependence only to the God. 

People at lowest level of zuhud still are attached to worldly matters but at least they are striving hard to refrain from submission toward evil desires. The better zuhud appears when the heart of person actually had left the world and has no interest in worldly matters anymore. Highest zuhud is a stage where a person knows Who is his Creator and Lord. For these people, the world and its content actually have no significance anymore but their whole heart, thought and soul is only directed toward hereafter and the God.

Human have choice and rights to choose. The God had also grants us with mind to think what suits us better. So, it actually depends on us where should we go. Even the devil could also choose and he also has freedom to choose to be what he wants. He had chosen to be a boast. So do, Western Orientalists. They had chosen to make people around the world fight among each other with their attachment to worldly matters. Where are they now? Are they still living or resurrected as a cyborg by machines and technology? LOL   

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

Prophet Muhammad (saw) words of wisdom to Imaam Ali (ra)

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

Dear Ali, for a knowledgeable person there are three remarks which are honesty in his speech, avoiding anything illegal, and humility. 

Dear Ali, for a honest person there are three remarks where whenever he performs worship it is in secret, his donation is secret, and the tests of God upon him are secret between him and His God. 

Dear Ali, there are three remarks for a fearful person where he is afraid of involved in disgusting lies, avoiding evil, always asking for the legal ones because afraid of falling into the illegal ones. 

Dear Ali, the remarks for a person who is always in worship to Him is that he is monitoring his own self, musing his self, and intensifying the worship to Him.  

May Allah forgives me my sins being an ingrate to Him. May Allah forgives my brothers and sisters but bless them. May Allah makes His blessings descending on us through His guidance and may we achieve success. Sealed with prayers for peace and love amongst His creatures, aamin!