I found this comment (one of the last few) on one of Aiz's posts from Inezza:
"Humans tend to justify their actions and they tend to move goalposts when ideals seem unreachable or "inconvenient".In the end, what do we really, deep in our hearts, believe? And if we want to be good Muslims, then how committed are we to the discipline that involves? Because religion, like it or not, involves discipline. We have to discipline our nafsu, discipline our time (for prayers, especially) and discipline our actions. "
Personally, I've always had a tendency of flouting rules. I hate them. I hate being told what my limits are. But the day I truly accepted my own religion as my faith, I made a commitment to let the faith seep into my life. True, as humans, we are doomed to falter once in a while. But keeping that voice I call my conscience, while it makes of a dreadfully torturous existence, at the end of the day gives me comfort that I know that I'm still on that path of discovery.
She also left a resounding reminder:
"In Islam, there is a central message that the world is not a playground. It is a test - something that is all too easy to forget."
Wise words. Wise woman. She should start her own blog. ;)
Worship is an act of obedience.Flouting the rules is an act of disobedience. If we disobey Allah, we actually obey 'something else'.It is our nafs.
Recommended further reading: Chapter 4 of Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam by Syed Naguib al-Attas.
Posted by: Adib at 2003年07月08日 06:59Its times when i falter that i remember Chairil Anwar's 'Doa Kepada Pemeluk Tubuh'
Tuhanku
Dalam termangu
Aku masih menyebut namamu
Biar susah sungguh
mengingat Kau penuh seluruh
......
Tuhanku
aku mengembara di negeri asing
Tuhanku
di pintuMu aku mengetuk
aku tidak bisa berpaling
Yes the world is a test. All too often we falter, trying our best to do what is expected of us, we falter at the easiness of straying.
May God in his Infinite Mercy find kindness on our attempts to find salvation in His name.
PS/ Yes Innezza should do a blog . thats 3 votes.
Quote: In Islam, there is a central message that the world is not a playground.
Errr... Whuzzat again? Well, talking about Islam, worlds and playgrounds, this reminds me of a phrase "ad-dunya la'ib" which means 'the world is a game' or sumthin' like that, can't remember whether it's from the Quran or a hadith though.
IMHO, the meaning of this phrase is life is a 'game', game as in the Monopoly game. Everything in the Monopoly game is fake, fake money, fake real estate ownerships, etc. They're toys. Everything that exists in the world are also 'toys' when compared to what that exists in the afterlife. Think that our 'sufferings' in this world is bad enough? Think again about the punishments in hell. Dig chicks? Think again about those fine babes in heaven.
So instead of being obsessive and blinded with the pursue of physical possessions that are actually 'toys', why don't we act a li'l bit mature, think long term and go for the real thing? Ever wondered why our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW lived and died in poverty? He was a 'king' ain't he, the ruler of a state? Besides, as the 'sayyidul anbia', he always have his 'do'a ma'bul', why didn't he asked for a mountain of gold or sumthin' like that?
Oh, ooo-kay, he's a Prophet. But what about Abu Bakar and Umar? ...
Actually, all this talk about 'wasadtiah' when we were kids has been blown way out of proportion by those ulama's who wished to live rich and famous. Those Who dislike the 'zuhud' way of life of the Prophet SAW and his Companions r.a. Yeah... these days, when people don't like a certain aspect of religion, they'll twist the facts until the 'haram' become 'halal' and vice versa. Hey, I'm also not practising the 'zuhud' way of life, but at least I look up to people who do. Yeah, makes me wonder... we respect all those who hold a master degree or Phd in academics, but when it comes to religion, we regard those who do better than us as fanatics?
I-M-H-O. H for humble.
"Humans tend to justify their actions and they tend to move goalposts when ideals seem unreachable or "inconvenient".
Bullseye. Blog vote number 4.
Posted by: DeaconFrost at 2003年07月28日 23:32