Di Hening Malam

(Ditujukan untuk diriku dan insan-insan yang telah memilih jalan yang sukar demi mencari Cinta Agung yang Abadi)

Di waktu hening malam
Di waktu sepi sebarang bunyi
Di waktu manusia di alam mimpi
Embun pagi membasahi bumi



Bangunlah insan
Bangunlah buangkanlah selimutmu
Sucikan badanmu dan pakaianmu
Sujudlah, menyembah, membesarkan Tuhanmu

Panjatkanlah doa
Pohonkan ampunan dariNya
Agar bersih hatimu dan juga akalmu
Tundukkan nafsumu kepada kebenaran




Pangkat dan darjat yang tinggi
Bagi yang berjaga malam
Di waktu malam yang sunyi sepi
Untuk Tuhan
Tertinggi lagi terpuji

Bangunlah insan
Bangunlah buangkanlah selimutmu
Sucikan badanmu dan pakaianmu
Sujudlah, menyembah, membesarkan Tuhanmu

Jadikanlah malam
Merintih dan mengadu
Kepada Tuhamnu
Agar kerja kita
DipimpinNya

Nasyid oleh Diwani

Ya Qawi..
Berikan kami kekuatan
Untuk melawan nafsu
Di hujung malam
Mengadu kepadaMu

Crying Again?

"When was the last time you cry?"

I remembered asking students in my class.
Some of the girls smiled, "Last night.." One of them said.
"Last week.." another one said.

But the boys gave me an emotionless look.
"We don't cry, Madam..man don't cry..."
I imagine that those words were in their mind.
May be. I don't know, because none of them said anything.

There are many categories of tears, I agree to the opinion that there are three categories of tears.

The first one is physical tears. You fell down, your feet got twisted..ouch! That hurts!It is so painful, that tears came out from your eyes. That's physical tears. This is the kind of tears that mothers will remind their young sons, "Don't cry..you are a boy.."

The second one is emotional tears.
You are watching a Bollywood movie. The handsome hero died, so the girl was left alone, heart broken..and she ended up being forced to marry the man that she could never love because her true love has died. Tears welled up in your eyes, how sad that is..why does the movie has a sad ending?...You cried.

The third one is the kind of tears shed by prophets, faithful believers and righteous people. Tears of repentance are shed in the darkness of the night by faithful believers and righteous people while seeking for forgiveness from The Most Forgiving, Al-Ghaffar. Tears of love shed by prophets, how they yearned to return to The Most Loving, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Rahiim. The heavy burden of carrying the message of truth always make prophets cry in the privacy of their night prayers, begging for the divine help and guidance. These noble men found solace through their tears. This is called spiritual tears.

We shed physical tears when we are physically touched. It's quite natural that when we experience unbearable pain, tears would flow even from the eyes of the toughest man. I saw someone who's very close to me cried quietly after his coronary bypass surgery. He is the type of man who can endure pain, nothing is ever too painful to him, but a heart surgery is not a joke. I cannot imagine the pain that he went through after his ribcage is opened and clamped to the sides, the rib bones had to be cut, not to mention the surgery for the heart itself. On that day I understood why morphine is actually a useful drug, to help people in the most severe pain.

When we are emotionally touched, our tears flow out of happiness or sadness. People cry at funeral, wedding, graduation day or farewell party. If it is out of sadness, we feel the pain inside, we are not hurt physically but it is painful. Crying can be a form of relief from this pain. If it is out of happiness, we feel the joy inside, so much joy that it brought tears. But sometimes emotional tears can also come out over such a mundane thing that it can be considered as useless tears.

Spiritual tears is the most gratifying of all. A new Muslim revert often relate their experience of being moved to tears the moment they recognize the truth and found the light of Islam that they have been searching for years.
A pilgrim would cry upon seeing the Kaabah for the first time and performing a prayer in Raudhah in our beloved Prophet's (SAW) mosque can move even the hardest heart to tears.
It is a mixture of indescribable feelings but it is not out of pain. When we can feel our insignificant existence in this gigantic universe, we are spiritually touched and our tears flow out of realization that whatever we 'own' is nothing. There's no reason for us to walk on earth arrogantly.

Sometimes we mistakenly presume that tears is a symbol of weakness or femininity. Boys who had been trained by their parents not to cry tend to misunderstood the function of tears and felt ashamed to cry.
While it is true that women cry more than men, it is the category of tears that makes a difference, it is not a privilege for women. Tears is natural.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW was once reported to have said that,
'If you know what I know, you will cry more and laugh less'.
May Allah blessed us with tears, the kind that will save us from the fire of hell.

A Reflection

Lexus IS250C Convertible.
Red.
My dream car, will remain in my dream.
It's not going to be a reality.

I began to take interest of convertible cars when I visited Europe last year. I used to dislike the idea of a roofless vehicle considering the climate of our country. But the latest model of convertible cars where the roof can be opened or closed in just 20 seconds with the touch of a button is very appealing. Awesome!

I saw many convertibles on the road in Europe, especially in Switzerland.
Besides the 'affordable' price,
the cool and pleasant climate there can be one of the major contributing factor to their preference to this type of car.
After a long cold winter, spring and summer are just too nice to be wasted by staying indoor, and driving a roofless vehicle allows you to enjoy the weather to the fullest.
Hence a convertible is a logical choice.

But besides the vehicles, almost everything that I saw there symbolized the standard of living of the Europeans. The houses, the ultra-modern facilities and technologies. The tunnels and bridges on the mountainous highways, the cable cars and the extremely delicious Swiss chocolate! Well.. may be chocolate does not signify a standard of living, but Swiss chocolate is in a class of it's own, at least to me.

When we visited downtown Zurich on a Sunday while almost all of the shops were closed, we enjoy looking through the glass doors to the branded items on display. As we always say in Malay, 'cleansing the eyes'.
And I still remember my visit to the famous Harrods in London. Walking along rows of Dior clothings, Jimmy Choo shoes, Marc Jacobs handbags, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Versace etc, etc. The aura of high fashion and classy, elegant life style did get into my head. I would be lying to say I am not attracted to any of that. But, I don't see any logic in spending RM4900 for a handbag, no matter how classy it is (that's the price of a Prada handbag that caught my attention).

And when I reached home, back to my humble place, I began to reflect.. is this what people in the world had worked hard for? Losing sleeps, sacrificing families and loved ones in pursuit of the so called high class life style?
Then I reflected back on the fact that despite the beautiful scenic country that they lived in and the relatively very peaceful life, the large majority of Europeans are not blessed with the light of Islam. How is it that most of them couldn't see the greatness of The Creator through the majestic mountains, the beautiful spring flowers, the crystal clear streams and the bright sunny day that they love so much?

My vacation to Europe has taught me a lot.
I am thankful to HIM, The All-Merciful, The Guide, The Light.
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Ya Hadi
Ya Nuur
Guide me to your light
Ameen..

Take Five....

My dream car will stay in my dream.

Watch this.