Ramadan, Counterculture, and Soul

Living Islam - Not just performing it

Al-Andalus - Peninggalan kejayaan Muslim di Spanyol

Muslim Food Guidelines

Advanced geometry of Islamic art

The Purpose of Life

Dzikrul Maut

Essence of Eid

Ethical Triangle of Islam

The Muslim malaise

To study or not to study the Quran!

Mind Building - A neglected dimension of Islam

Islam`s Liberation of Women

Sympathy - Women who suffer

Rationality of the Quran

Sunni - Shia: Brief History

This is Muhammad - Pendapat orang-orang besar tentang Nabi kita

Muhammad and the West

The oldest Quran in the world

KEAJAIBAN AL-QUR'AN

RAHASIA SILATURAHMI

Do you know this book? AL-QUR'AN and SCIENCE

ISLAM the Misunderstood Religion

HUKUM BERBURUK SANGKA dan MENCARI-CARI KESALAHAN

KEHIDUPAN : Ibarat Semut, Laba-Laba dan Lebah

KIAT SEHAT Ala....Rasulullah

RENUNGAN SABAR dan BERSYUKUR

Qur’an Explains Real Purpose Of Life

by Harun Yahya
From: The Ambition - The first Journal of young Muslims in Canada
Issue: November 2006 - - Website: http://www.theambition.com

Throughout world history, billions of people came into being, lived and then died. Only a minority of these people endeavoured to grasp the real purpose of life. The rest simply drifted with the daily flow of events and spent their lives in vain pursuits. Basically, fulfilling their own desires became their main purpose in life. An unconscious and irresponsible attitude underlay this dominant mode of behaviour in almost all societies throughout ages. Every generation, with a few exceptions, repeated the errors of the preceding ones and simply adopted the purposes and values of their forefathers. This is a vicious cycle still repeated today.

The majority of people are enslaved by “unvarying” philosophies and principles, which are mostly based on the following line of reasoning: Man comes into existence, becomes adult, grows old and dies. One is born only once, and death puts an end to everything. This is why people have to “make the most of life” and strive to satisfy their whims and desires throughout their lives.

Thus, people come to spend their lives which they think to be their one and only chance by adhering to the life style and mode of behaviour they inherit from past generations. In a spirit totally deprived of the awareness of death, they make pursuing pleasures and planning for the future the ultimate aims of their lives. Regardless of cultural and social differences, this fact holds true for all people. A prestigious education, an admirable position in business life, high standards of living, a happy family and countless similar goals become the unchanging pursuits of life.

These goals can be further extended and would fill many pages if enumerated. However, the truth is, all these people turn a blind eye to the one and only reason for their existence. Meanwhile, they spend a whole life, which is a unique opportunity offered to them to accomplish their ultimate purpose, in vain. This ultimate purpose is to be a servant of God. God explains this in the Qur’an as follows: “I only created jinn and man to worship Me.” (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 56)

The way to be a good servant of God is also communicated in the Qur’an. Being a servant of God means accepting the unity and existence of God; knowing His attributes and appreciating His majesty, serving no other deity except Him and devoting one’s life to earning His approval. In the Qur’an, the moral values and lifestyle favoured by God are described in detail and people are summoned to this way of living.

A person living within the boundaries set by these values is given the good tidings of a perfect life both in this world and beyond. Otherwise, a bitter end awaits man.

The lifestyle one adheres to in this world shapes his eternal life. After death, there is no opportunity whatsoever to compensate for one’s reprehensible deeds. Therefore, behaving as if man owes his existence in this world to coincidences, as if he is not bounded by any limits, and as if he has come to this world to spend his life in the pursuit of vain desires would ultimately lead to his own ruination. Those behaving irresponsibly

towards their Creator, ignoring the real purpose of their existence, and remaining unconcerned about its consequences in the life beyond will be chided thus in the Hereafter: “Did you suppose that We created you for amusement and that you would not return to Us?” (Surat al-Mu’minun: 115)

In reality, such people are not unaware of their purpose in life: God proclaimed it through His messengers and books and provided guidance to the true path. Furthermore, man is granted a lifetime to take warning. A show of regret by those who, having turned a deaf ear to all these opportunities, have deviated from their real purpose in life and pursued their own desires will not save them from torment: “They will shout out in it: ‘Our Lord! Take us out! We will act rightly, differently from the way we used to act!’ But He will answer: ‘Did We not let you live long enough for anyone who was going to pay heed to pay heed? And did not the warner come to you? Have a taste of it then! There is no helper for the wrongdoers.’” (Surah Fatir: 37)

The Muslim malaise (from Toronto Star - www.thestar.com)
Aug. 20, 2006. 07:03 AM
by: HAROON SIDDIQUI

link to this article

He who wrongs a Jew or a Christian will have me as his accuser on the Day of Judgment.

— Prophet Muhammad

Contrary to the popular belief that the West is under siege from Muslim terrorists, it is Muslims who have become the biggest victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001, as inconceivable as that would have seemed in the aftermath of the murder of 2,900 Americans. Since then, between 34,000 and 100,000 Iraqis have been killed by the Americans or the insurgents. Nobody knows how many have been killed in Afghanistan. In the spots hit by terrorists — from London and Madrid to Amman, Istanbul, Riyadh and Jeddah, through Karachi to Bali and Jakarta — more Muslims have been killed and injured than non-Muslims.

None of this is to say that Muslims do not have problems that they must address. They do. But the problems are not quite what many in the West make them out to be.

One of the strangest aspects of the post-9/11 world is that, despite all the talk about Muslim terrorism, there is hardly any exploration of the complex causes of Muslim rage. Muslims are in a state of crisis, but their most daunting problems are not religious. They are geopolitical, economic and social — problems that have caused widespread Muslim despair and, in some cases, militancy, both of which are expressed in the religious terminology that Muslim masses relate to.

Most Muslims live in the developing world, much of it colonized by Western powers as recently as 50 years ago. Not all Muslim shortcomings emanate from colonialism and neo-imperialism, but several do.

As part of the spoils of the First World War, Britain and France helped themselves to much of the Ottoman Empire, including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and what is now Israel, Jordan and the Palestine Authority. In later years, they and other European colonial powers created artificial states such as Kuwait and Nigeria. Or they divided peoples and nations along sectarian lines, such as bifurcating India in 1947 into Muslim Pakistan and largely Hindu India. In more recent years, the United States has maintained repressive proxy regimes in the Middle East to stifle public anti-Israeli sentiments, keep control of oil and maintain a captive market for armaments.

While the past casts a long shadow over Muslims, it is the present that haunts them. Hundreds of millions live in zones of conflict, precisely in the areas of European and American meddling, past and present — U.S.-occupied Iraq, U.S.-controlled Afghanistan, the Israeli Occupied Territories, and Kashmir, the disputed Muslim state on the border of India and Pakistan in the foothills of the Himalayas. Only the Russian war on Muslim Chechnya is not related to the history of Western machinations, but even that has had the tacit support of the Bush administration. These conflicts, along with the economic sanctions on Iraq, have killed an estimated 1.3 million Muslims in the last 15 years alone. Why are we surprised that Muslims are up in arms?

In addition, nearly 400 million Muslims live under authoritarian despots, many of them Western puppets, whose corruption and incompetence have left their people in economic and social shambles.

It is against this backdrop that one must look at the current malaise of Muslims and their increasing emotional reliance on their faith.

Economic Woes

The total GDP of the 56 members of the Islamic Conference, representing more than a quarter of the world's population, is less than 5 per cent of the world's economy. Their trade represents 7 per cent of global trade, even though more than two-thirds of the world's oil and gas lie under Muslim lands.

The standard of living in Muslim nations is abysmal even in the oil-rich regions, because of unconscionable gaps between the rulers and the ruled. A quarter of impoverished Pakistan's budget goes to the military. Most of the $2 billion a year of American aid given to Egypt as a reward for peace with Israel goes to the Egyptian military.

The most undemocratic Muslim states, which also happen to be the closest allies of the U.S., are the most economically backward.

The Arab nations, with a combined population of 280 million, muster a total GDP less than that of Spain. The rate of illiteracy among Arabs is 43 per cent, worse than that of much poorer nations. Half of Arab women are illiterate, representing two-thirds of the 65 million Arabs who cannot read or write. About 10 million Arab children are not in school. The most-educated Arabs live abroad, their talents untapped, unlike those of the Chinese and Indian diasporas, who have played significant roles in jump-starting the economies of their native lands.

A disproportionate percentage of the world's youth are Muslim. Half of Saudi Arabia's and a third of Iran's populations are younger than 20. There are few jobs for them. "Young and unemployed" is a phenomenon common to many Muslim nations.

A majority of the world's 12 million to 15 million refugees are Muslims, fleeing poverty and oppression. Europe's 20 million Muslims suffer high unemployment and poverty, especially in Germany and France. It was inevitable that many Muslims would find comfort in Islam.

Islamic Resurgence

Fundamentalism has been on the rise, and not just in Islam. There has been a parallel rise in Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, with its inevitable political fallout — in the Israeli settler movement in the Occupied Territories, the politicization of the American conservative right (culminating in the election and re-election of George W. Bush), the rise to power of the Hindu nationalists in India, the Sikh separatist movement in the Punjab in India, and the aggressive nationalism of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka.

That many Muslims have become "fundamentalist" does not mean that they are all fanatic and militant. Nor is the Muslim condition fully explained by the use of petro-dollars. First, Arab financial support for Islamic institutions around the world is still no match for the resources available for Christian global missionary or Zionist political work. Second, and more to the point, the rise of Islam is not confined to areas of Arab financial influence; it is a worldwide phenomenon.

Mosques are full. The use of the hijab (headscarf ) is on the rise. Madrassahs (religious schools) are packed. Zakat (Islamic charity) is at record levels, especially where governments have failed to provide essential services. In Egypt, much of the health care, emergency care and education are provided by the Muslim Brotherhood, in the Occupied Territories by Hamas, in Pakistan and elsewhere by groups that may be far less political but are no less Islamic.

With state institutions riddled with corruption and nepotism, some of the most talented Muslims, both rich and poor, have abandoned the official arena and retreated into the non-governmental domain of Islamic civil society.

The empty public sphere has been filled with firebrands — ill-tutored and ill-informed clergy or populist politicians who rally the masses with calls for jihad (struggle) for sundry causes. The greater the injustices in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Israeli Occupied Territories, Chechnya or elsewhere, the greater the public support for those calling for jihad. Jihad has also proven to be good business for many a mullah (Muslim priest) who has become rich or influential, or both, preaching it. Meanwhile, unelected governments lack the legitimacy and confidence to challenge the militant clerics, and fluctuate between ruthlessly repressing them and trying to out-Islamize them.

To divert domestic anger abroad, many governments also allow and sometimes encourage the radicals to rant at the U.S. and rave at Israel, or just at Jews. Sometimes even the elected leaders join in, as has Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinijad, denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

In reality, most Muslim states are powerless to address the international crises that their publics want addressed. They have neither the military nor the economic and political clout to matter much to the U.S., the only power that counts these days. Or, as in the case of Egypt, Jordan, and the oil-rich Arab oligarchies, they are themselves dependent on Washington for their own survival.

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`Muslims have developed a complex. They think they won't

be heard if they don't shout. Every statement is like a war'

Sharifa Zuriah - Founder, Sisters in Islam

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Feeling abandoned, the Muslim masses find comfort in religion. The Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation was a secular struggle before it became "Islamic." The same was true of the Lebanese resistance to the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, and also of the Chechen resistance to Russian repression.

Similarly, domestic critics of authoritarian regimes have found a hospitable home in the mosque. Islam being their last zone of comfort, most Muslims react strongly — sometimes irrationally and violently — when their faith or their Prophet is mocked or criticized, as the world witnessed during the Danish cartoon crisis. They react the way the angry disenfranchised do — hurling themselves into the streets, shouting themselves hoarse and destroying property, without much concern for the consequences, and engendering even more hostility in the West toward Muslims and Islam. But, as the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King famously said, riots are the voice of the voiceless.

Muslims have developed a "siege mentality, which is what the screaming, dogmatic and atavistic clerics" appeal to, says Chandra Muzaffar, Malaysian Muslim human rights activist. As he was telling me this in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, Sharifa Zuriah, a founder of Sisters in Islam, an advocacy group for Malaysian Muslim women, intervened: "Muslims have developed a complex. They think they won't be heard if they don't shout. Every statement is like a war."

Then there is real war, the war of terrorism.

Terrorism's Fallout

"That a majority of Al Qaeda are Muslims is not to say that a majority of Muslims are Al Qaeda, or subscribe to its tenets," Stephen Schulhofer, professor of law at New York University, told me in 2003. But it is also true that most terrorists these days are Muslims. That may only be a function of the times we live in — yesterday's terrorists came from other religions and tomorrow's may hail from some other. Still, terrorism has forced a debate among Muslims, who are divided into two camps. One side says that Muslims should no more have to apologize for their extremists than Christians, Jews or Hindus or anybody else, and that doing so only confirms the collective guilt being placed on Muslims. The other side believes that as long as some Muslims are blowing up civilians in suicide bombings, slitting the throats of hostages and committing other grisly acts, it is the duty of all Muslims to speak out and challenge the murderers' warped theology.

The latter view has prevailed. Terrorism — suicide bombings in particular— has been widely condemned. Just because an overwhelming majority of Muslims condemn Osama bin Laden and other extremists, however, does not mean that they feel any less for Muslims in Iraq or Palestine. Or that the internal debate that he has forced on Muslims is new. Throughout their 1,400-year history, Muslims have argued and quarrelled over various interpretations of the Qur'an and religious traditions.

But it is a sign of the times that the most extreme interpretation of the Qur'an appeals to Muslim masses these days, and that far too many clerics are attacking Christians and Jews and delivering fire-and-brimstone sermons full of the imagery of war and martyrdom. This is contrary to the message of the Qur'an — Do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation other than in the most kindly manner (29:46) — and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad: "Do not consider me better than Moses," and, "I am closest of all people to Jesus, son of Mary."

For all the emphasis that today's clerics put on the Prophet's war record, he spent a total of less than a week in actual battle in the 23 years of his prophethood. He advised his followers to "be moderate in religious matters, for excess caused the destruction of earlier communities." A moderate himself, he smiled often, spoke softly and delivered brief sermons. "The Prophet disliked ranting and raving," wrote Imam Bukhari, the ninth-century Islamic scholar of the Prophet's sayings. Ayesha, the Prophet's wife, reported that "he spoke so few words that you could count them." His most famous speech, during the Haj pilgrimage in AD 632, which laid down an entire covenant, was less than 2,800 words.

Muhammad was respectful of Christians and Jews. Hearing the news that the king of Ethiopia had died, he told his followers, "A righteous man has died today; so stand up and pray for your brother." When a Christian delegation came to Medina, he invited them to conduct their service in the mosque, saying, "This is a place consecrated to God." When Saffiyah, one of his wives, complained that she was taunted for her Jewish origins, he told her, "Say unto them, `my father is Aaron, and my uncle is Moses.'"

Yet angry Muslims, not unlike African Americans not too long ago, pay little heed to voices of moderation. This is partly a reflection of the fact that there is no central religious authority in Islam. Only the minority Shiites have a religious hierarchy of ayatollahs, who instruct followers on religious and sometimes political matters. The majority Sunnis do not have the equivalent of the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury. A central tenet of their faith is that there is no intermediary between the believer and God. This makes for great democracy — everyone is free to issue a fatwa (religious ruling) and everyone else is free to ignore it. But the "fatwa chaos" does create confusion — among non-Muslims, who are spooked by the - rhetoric, and also among Muslims, who are left wondering about the "right answers" to some of the most pressing issues of the day.

Muslim Apologetics

There are two kinds of Muslim apologetics. The first is denial: there's little or nothing wrong with Muslims, when there clearly is. The second, seen among some Muslims in the West, takes the form of self-flagellation, of apologizing for their faith or distancing themselves from it. To wit:

"Yes, the problem is Islam, and we must fix it." (Why is Islam any more of a problem than any other faith? And how are they going to fix it?)

"I am a Muslim but I am not a fundamentalist Muslim." (Do Christians say, "I am Christian but not an evangelical Christian?")

"I am a Muslim but ashamed to call myself one." (Do all Hindus have to apologize for those few who, in 1992, went on a mosque-ravaging rampage in India?)

Some of these sentiments may be genuinely held. More likely, they reflect the immigrant pathology of catering to majority mores, a new twist on the past practice of immigrants to North America anglicizing their names.

Such defensiveness aside, Muslims do suffer from deeper problems. Many are preoccupied with the minutiae of rituals (Should one wash the bare feet before prayers or do so symbolically over the socks?) at the expense of the centrality of the faith, which is fostering peace, justice and compassion, not just for Muslims but for everyone. Many Muslims are too judgmental of each other, whereas a central tenet of their faith is that it is up to God to judge — Your Lord knows best who goes astray (53:30) (also, 6:117, 16:125, 17:94, 28:56, 68:7).

Some Muslims have taken to a culture of conspiracy theories. Hence the notion that Princess Diana did not die in an accident but was killed because the British royal family did not want her to marry Dodi Al Fayed, a Muslim. Or the canard that Jews working at the World Trade Center had advance notice of 9/11.

There is too much of a literalist reading of the Qur'an (a trait, ironically, also adopted by anti-Islamists in the West). There is too little ijtehad (religious innovation) as called for by Islam to keep believers in tune with their times. Theological rigidity and narrow-mindedness have led, among other things, to Sunni hostility toward the minority Shiites, as seen in the sectarian killings in Pakistan.

Muslims complain about the West's double standards, yet they have their own. While they often criticize the United States and Europe for mistreating Muslims, they rarely speak up against the persecution of non-Muslims by Muslims. They also show a high tolerance for Muslims killing fellow Muslims. The Sudanese genocide of the non-Arab Muslims of Darfur drew mostly silence. The killing of Shiites by the Sunnis in Iraq was shrugged off as part of the anti-U.S. resistance. The overt and subtle racism of the oil-rich Arab states toward the millions of their guest workers goes unmourned.

Muslims do not have much to be proud of in the contemporary world. So they take comfort in their burgeoning numbers. At the turn of the millennium in 2000, there were many learned papers projecting the rise in Muslim population. But if Muslims have not achieved much at 1.3 billion, they are not likely to at 1.5 billion, either.

To escape the present, many Muslims hark back to their glorious past: how Islam was a reform movement; how Muslims led the world in knowledge, in astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, natural sciences, philosophy and physics; and how the Islamic empires were successful primarily because, with some egregious exceptions, they nurtured the local cultures and respected the religions of their non-Muslim majority populations. This is why Egypt and Syria remained non-Muslim under Muslim rule for 300 years and 600 years, respectively, and India always remained majority Hindu.

As true as all that history is, it is not very helpful today unless Muslims learn something from it — to value human life; accept each other's religious differences; respect other faiths; return to their historic culture of academic excellence, scientific inquiry and economic self-reliance; and learn to live with differences of opinion and the periodic rancorous debates that mark democracies.

It may be unfair to berate ordinary Muslims, given that too many are struggling to survive, that nearly half live under authoritarian regimes where they can speak up only on pain of being incarcerated, tortured or killed, and that they are helpless spectators to the sufferings of fellow Muslims in an unjust world order. Yet Muslims have no choice but to confront their challenges, for Allah never changes a people's state unless they change what's in themselves (13:11).

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"Being Muslim" is scheduled to be released Sept. 15. For more information, visit http://www.groundwoodbooks.com

Additional articles by Haroon Siddiqui

RAHASIA SILATURAHMI

Tahukah kalian tentang sesuatu yang paling cepat mendatangkan kebaikan
ataupun keburukan? "Sesuatu yang paling cepat mendatangkan kebaikan adalah
pahala orang yang berbuat kebaikan dan menghubungkan tali silaturahmi,
sedangkan yang paling cepat mendatangkan keburukan ialah siksaan bagi
orang yang berbuat jahat dan yang memutuskan tali persaudaraan" (HR. Ibnu
Majah).

Silaturahmi tidak sekedar bersentuhan tangan atau memohon maaf belaka.
Ada sesuatu yang lebih hakiki dari itu semua, yaitu aspek mental dan
keluasan hati. Hal ini sesuai dengan asal kata dari silaturahmi itu sendiri, yaitu
shilat atau washl, yang berarti menyambungkan atau menghimpun, dan
ar-rahiim yang berarti kasih sayang.
Makna menyambungkan menunjukkan sebuah proses aktif dari sesuatu yang
asalnya tidak tersambung. Menghimpun biasanya mengandung makna sesuatu
yang tercerai-berai dan berantakan, menjadi sesuatu yang bersatu dan utuh
kembali. Tentang hal ini Rasulullah SAW bersabda, "Yang disebut
bersilaturahmi itu bukanlah seseorang yang membalas kunjungan atau
pemberian, melainkan bersilaturahmi itu ialah menyambungkan apa yang telah
putus" (HR. Bukhari).

Kalau orang lain mengunjungi kita dan kita balas mengunjunginya, ini tidak
memerlukan kekuatan mental yang tinggi. Boleh jadi kita melakukannya
karena merasa malu atau berhutang budi kepada orang tersebut. Namun, bila ada
orang yang tidak pernah bersilaturahmi kepada kita, lalu dengan sengaja kita
mengunjunginya walau harus menempuh jarak yang jauh dan melelahkan, maka
inilah yang disebut silaturahmi. Apalagi kalau kita bersilaturahmi kepada
orang yang membenci kita, seseorang yang sangat menghindari pertemuan
dengan kita, lalu kita mengupayakan diri untuk bertemu dengannya. Inilah
silaturahmi yang sebenarnya.

Rasulullah SAW pernah memberikan nasihat kepada para sahabat, "Hendaklah
kalian mengharapkan kemuliaan dari Allah". Para sahabat pun bertanya,
"Apakah yang dimaksud itu, ya Rasulullah?" Beliau kemudian bersabda lagi,
"Hendaklah kalian suka menghubungkan tali silaturahmi kepada orang yang
telah memutuskannya, memberi sesuatu (hadiah) kepada orang yang tidak
pernah memberi sesuatu kepada kalian, dan hendaklah kalian bersabar (jangan lekas
marah) kepada orang yang menganggap kalian bodoh" (HR. Hakim).

Dalam hadis lain dikisahkan pula, "Maukah kalian aku tunjukkan amal yang
lebih besar pahalanya daripada shalat dan shaum?" tanya Rasulullah SAW
kepada para sahabat. "Tentu saja," jawab mereka. Beliau kemudian
menjelaskan, "Engkau damaikan yang bertengkar, menyembungkan persaudaraan
yang terputus, mempertemukan kembali saudara-saudara yang terpisah,
menjembatani berbagai kelompok dalam Islam, dan mengukuhkan tali
persaudaraan di antara mereka adalah amal shalih yang besar pahalanya.
Barangsiapa yang ingin dipanjangkan umurnya dan diluaskan rezekinya,
hendaklah ia menyambungkan tali silaturahmi" (HR. Bukhari Muslim).

* * *
Sahabat, bagaimana mungkin hidup kita akan tenang kalau di dalam hati
masih tersimpan kebenciaan dan rasa permusuhan kepada sesama muslim. Perhatikan keluarga kita, kaum yang paling kecil di masyarakat. Bila di dalamnya ada
beberapa orang saja yang sudah tidak saling tegur sapa, saling menjauhi,
apalagi kalau di belakang sudah saling menohok, menggunjing, dan
memfitnah, maka rahmat Allah akan dijauhkan dari rumah tersebut. Dalam skala yang lebih luas, dalam lingkup sebuah negara, bila di dalamnya sudah ada kelompok
yang saling jegal, saling fitnah, atau saling menjatuhkan, maka dikhawatirkan
bahwa bangsa dan negara tersebut akan terputus dari rahmat dan pertolongan
Allah SWT.

Silaturahmi adalah kunci terbukanya rahmat dan pertolongan Allah SWT.
Dengan terhubungnya silaturahmi, maka ukhuwah Islamiyah akan terjalin dengan
baik.
Bagaimana pun besarnya umat Islam secara kuantitatif, sama sekali
tidak ada artinya bila di dalamnya tidak ada persatuan dan kerja sama untuk taat
kepada Allah. Sebagai umat yang besar, kaum muslim memang diwajibkan ada
yang terjun di bidang politik, ekonomi, hukum, dsb, karena tanpa itu kita
akan dipermainkan dan kepentingan kita tidak ternaungi secara legal di
dalam kehidupan bermasyarakat. Namun demikian, berbagai kelompok yang ada harus dijadikan sarana berkompetisi untuk mencapai satu tujuan mulia, tidak
saling menghancurkan dan berperang, bahkan lebih senang berkoalisi dengan pihak
lain. Sebagai umat yang taat, kita berkewajiban untuk mendukung segala
kegiatan yang menyatukan langkah berbagai kelompok kaum muslimin dan
mempererat tali persaudaraan diantara kita semua. Wallahu 'alam...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(diambil dari tausiah Aa Gym, www.republika.co.id)

Kiriman Endang Pratini.

HUKUM BERBURUK SANGKA dan MENCARI-CARI KESALAHAN

Oleh Syaikh Abdul Muhsin Bin Hamd Al-'Abbad Al-Badr

Allah Ta'ala berfirman.

"Artinya : Hai orang-orang yang beriman, jauhilah kebanyakan berprasangka, karena sesungguhnya sebagian tindakan berprasangka adalah dosa dan janganlah kamu mencari-cari kesalahan orang lain" [Al-Hujurat : 12]

Dalam ayat ini terkandung perintah untuk menjauhi kebanyakan berprasangka, karena sebagian tindakan berprasangka ada yang merupakan perbuatan dosa. Dalam ayat ini juga terdapat larangan berbuat tajassus ialah mencari-cari kesalahan-kesalahan atau kejelekan-kejelekan orang lain, yang biasanya merupakan efek dari prasangka yang buruk.

Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam bersabda.
"Artinya : Berhati-hatilah kalian dari tindakan berprasangka buruk, karena prasangka buruk adalah seduta-dusta ucapan. Janganlah kalian saling mencari berita kejelekan orang lain, saling memata-matai, saling mendengki, saling membelakangi, dan saling membenci. Jadilah kalian hamba-hamba Allah yang bersaudara" [Diriwayatkan oleh Al-Bukhari hadits no. 6064 dan Muslim hadits no. 2563]

Amirul Mukminin Umar bin Khathab berkata, "Janganlah engkau berprasangka terhadap perkataan yang keluar dari saudaramu yang mukmin kecuali dengan persangkaan yang baik. Dan hendaknya engkau selalu membawa perkataannya itu kepada prasangka-prasangka yang baik"

Ibnu Katsir menyebutkan perkataan Umar di atas ketika menafsirkan sebuah ayat dalam surat Al-Hujurat.

Bakar bin Abdullah Al-Muzani yang biografinya bisa kita dapatkan dalam kitab Tahdzib At-Tahdzib berkata : "Hati-hatilah kalian terhadap perkataan yang sekalipun benar kalian tidak diberi pahala, namun apabila kalian salah kalian berdosa. Perkataan tersebut adalah berprasangka buruk terhadap saudaramu".

Disebutkan dalam kitab Al-Hilyah karya Abu Nu'aim (II/285) bahwa Abu Qilabah Abdullah bin Yazid Al-Jurmi berkata : "Apabila ada berita tentang tindakan saudaramu yang tidak kamu sukai, maka berusaha keraslah mancarikan alasan untuknya. Apabila kamu tidak mendapatkan alasan untuknya, maka katakanlah kepada dirimu sendiri, "Saya kira saudaraku itu mempunyai alasan yang tepat sehingga melakukan perbuatan tersebut".

Sufyan bin Husain berkata, "Aku pernah menyebutkan kejelekan seseorang di hadapan Iyas bin Mu'awiyyah. Beliaupun memandangi wajahku seraya berkata, "Apakah kamu pernah ikut memerangi bangsa Romawi?" Aku menjawab, "Tidak". Beliau bertanya lagi, "Kalau memerangi bangsa Sind, Hind (India) atau Turki?" Aku juga menjawab, "Tidak". Beliau berkata, "Apakah layak, bangsa Romawi, Sind, Hind dan Turki selemat dari kejelekanmu sementara saudaramu yang muslim tidak selamat dari kejelekanmu?" Setelah kejadian itu, aku tidak pernah mengulangi lagi berbuat seperti itu" [Lihat Kitab Bidayah wa Nihayah karya Ibnu Katsir (XIII/121)]

Komentar saya : "Alangkah baiknya jawaban dari Iyas bin Mu'awiyah yang terkenal cerdas itu. Dan jawaban di atas salah satu contoh dari kecerdasan beliau".

Abu Hatim bin Hibban Al-Busti bekata dalam kitab Raudhah Al-'Uqala (hal.131), "Orang yang berakal wajib mencari keselamatan untuk dirinya dengan meninggalkan perbuatan tajassus dan senantiasa sibuk memikirkan kejelekan dirinya sendiri. Sesungguhnya orang yang sibuk memikirkan kejelekan dirinya sendiri dan melupakan kejelekan orang lain, maka hatinya akan tenteram dan tidak akan merasa capai. Setiap kali dia melihat kejelekan yang ada pada dirinya, maka dia akan merasa hina tatkala melihat kejelekan yang serupa ada pada saudaranya. Sementara orang yang senantiasa sibuk memperhatikan kejelekan orang lain dan melupakan kejelekannya sendiri, maka hatinya akan buta, badannya akan merasa letih dan akan sulit baginya meninggalkan kejelekan dirinya".

Beliau juga berkata pad hal.133, "Tajassus adalah cabang dari kemunafikan, sebagaimana sebaliknya prasangka yang baik merupakan cabang dari keimanan. Orang yang berakal akan berprasangka baik kepada saudaranya, dan tidak mau membuatnya sedih dan berduka. Sedangkan orang yang bodoh akan selalu berprasangka buruk kepada saudaranya dan tidak segan-segan berbuat jahat dan membuatnya menderita".

[Disalin dari buku Rifqon Ahlassunnah Bi Ahlissunnah Menyikapi Fenomena Tahdzir dan Hajr, Penulis Syaikh Abdul Muhsin bin Hamd Al'Abbad Al-Badr hal 17-21, Terbitan Titian Hidayah Ilahi]

KEHIDUPAN : Ibarat Semut, Laba-Laba dan Lebah

Tiga binatang kecil ini menjadi nama dari tiga surah di dalam Al-Qur'an.
An Naml [semut], Al 'Ankabuut [laba-laba], dan An Nahl [lebah].

Semut, menghimpun makanan sedikit demi sedikit tanpa berhenti. Konon, binatang ini dapat menghimpun makanan untuk bertahun-tahun. Padahal usianya tidak lebih dari setahun. Ketamakannya sedemikian besar sehingga ia berusaha dan seringkali berhasil memikul sesuatu yang lebih besar dari tubuhnya.

Lain lagi uraian Al-Qur'an tentang laba-laba. Sarangnya adalah tempat yang paling rapuh [Al 'Ankabuut; 29:41], ia bukan tempat yang aman, apapun yang berlindung di sana akan binasa. Bahkan jantannya disergapnya untuk dihabisi oleh betinanya. Telur-telurnya yang menetas saling berdesakan hingga dapat saling memusnahkan.

Akan halnya lebah, memiliki naluri yang dalam bahasa Al-Qur'an - "atas perintah Tuhan ia memilih gunung dan pohon-pohon sebagai tempat tinggal" [An Nahl;16:68]. Sarangnya dibuat berbentuk segi enam bukannya lima atau empat agar efisen dalam penggunaan ruang. Yang dimakannya adalah serbuk sari bunga. Lebah tidak menumpuk makanan. Lebah menghasilkan lilin dan madu yg sangat manfaat bagi kita. Lebah sangat disiplin, mengenal pembagian kerja, segala yang tidak berguna disingkirkan dari sarangnya. Lebah tidak mengganggu kecuali jika diganggu. Bahkan sengatannya pun dapat menjadi obat. Sikap kita dapat diibaratkan dengan berbagai jenis binatang ini.
Ada yang berbudaya 'semut'. Sering menghimpun dan menumpuk harta, menumpuk ilmu yang tidak dimanfaatkan. Budaya 'semut' adalah budaya 'aji mumpung'. Pemborosan, foya-foya adalah implementasinya.

Entah berapa banyak juga tipe 'laba-laba' yang ada di sekeliling kita. Yang hanya berpikir: "Siapa yang dapat dijadikan mangsa"

Nabi Shalalahu 'Alaihi Wasallam mengibaratkan seorang mukmin sebagai 'lebah'. Sesuatu yang tidak merusak dan tidak menyakitkan : "Tidak makan kecuali yang baik, tidak menghasilkan kecuali yang bermanfaat dan jika menimpa sesuatu tidak merusak dan tidak pula memecahkannya"

Semoga kita menjadi ibarat lebah. Insya Allah!

[Dari Lentera Hati - M. Quraish Shihab]

KIAT SEHAT ALA RASULULLAH

1. SELALU BANGUN SEBELUM SUBUH
Rasul selalu mengajak ummatnya untuk bangun sebelum subuh, melaksanakan sholat sunah dan sholat Fardhu,sholat subuh berjamaah. Hal ini memberi hikmah yg mendalam antara lain :
- Berlimpah pahala dari Allah
- Kesegaran udara subuh yg bagus utk kesehatan/ terapi penyakit TB
- Memperkuat pikiran dan menyehatkan perasaan

2. AKTIF MENJAGA KEBERSIHAN
Rasul selalu senantiasa rapi & bersih, tiap hari kamis atau Jumaat beliau mencuci rambut-rambut halus di pipi, selalu memotong kuku, bersisir dan berminyak wangi. "Mandi pada hari Jumaat adalah wajib bagi setiap orang-orang dewasa. Demikian pula menggosok gigi dan memakai harum-haruman"(HR Muslim)

3.TIDAK PERNAH BANYAK MAKAN Sabda Rasul :
"Kami adalah sebuah kaum yang tidak makan sebelum lapar dan bila kami makan tidak terlalu banyak (tidak sampai kekenyangan)"(Muttafaq Alaih)

Dalam tubuh manusia ada 3 ruang untuk 3 benda :
Sepertiga untuk udara, sepertiga untuk air dan sepertiga lainnya untuk makanan.

Bahkan ada satu tarbiyyah khusus bagi ummat Islam dengan adanya Puasa Ramadhan untuk menyeimbangkan kesehatan

4. GEMAR BERJALAN KAKI
Rasul selalu berjalan kaki ke Masjid, Pasar, medan jihad, mengunjungi rumah sahabat, dan sebagainya. Dengan berjalan kaki, keringat akan mengalir,pori-pori terbuka dan peredaran darah akan berjalan lancar. Ini penting untuk mencegah penyakit jantung

5. TIDAK PEMARAH
Nasihat Rasulullah : "Jangan Marah"diulangi sampai 3 kali. Ini menunujukkan hakikat kesehatan dan kekuatan Muslim bukanlah terletak pada jasadiyah belaka, tetapi lebih jauh yaitu dilandasi oleh kebersihan dan kesehatan jiwa.

Ada terapi yang tepat untuk menahan marah :
- Mengubah posisi ketika marah, bila berdiri maka duduk, dan bila duduk maka berbaring
- Membaca Ta 'awwudz, karena marah itu dari Syaithon
- Segeralah berwudhu
- Sholat 2 Rokaat untuk meraih ketenangan dan menghilangkan kegundahan hati

6. OPTIMIS DAN TIDAK PUTUS ASA
Sikap optimis akan memberikan dampak psikologis yang mendalam bagi kelapangan jiwa sehingga tetap sabar, istiqomah dan bekerja keras, serta tawakal kepada Allah SWT

7. TAK PERNAH IRI HATI
Untuk menjaga stabilitas hati & kesehatan jiwa, mentalitas maka menjauhi iri hati merupakan tindakan preventif yang sangat tepat.
::Ya Allah,bersihkanlah hatiku dari sifat sifat mazmumah dan hiasilah diriku dengan sifat sifat mahmudah...::



RENUNGAN SABAR dan BERSYUKUR

Selalu ingatlah bahwa :
1. Setiap hembusan nafas kita adalah rasa syukur kita kepada Allah SWT.

2. Kesulitan/cobaan datang untuk menyambut kebahagiaan abadi, tanpa itu semua betapa hampanya hidup dan dunia ini.

3. Betapa indahnya hidup ini.

4. Boleh dan wajib berusaha keras tetapi hasil akhir pasrahkanlah kepada Allah SWT.

5. Janganlah terlarut dalam kekecewaan karena kegagalan, BANGKITLAH, karena Allah SWT telah mempersiapkan kesuksesanmu.

6. Amatlah sayang bila waktu kita dihabiskan hanya untuk menambah musuh, mencela, dan menyalahkan orang lain, SADARLAH, bahwa diri ini hanyalah bagian yang sangat kecil dari kehidupan karena kita sangat dekat dengan kematian.

7. Sekecil apapun kenikmatan dan sebesar apapun kesulitan yang kita terima, BERSYUKURLAH, karena Allah SWT sangat menyayangi dirimu.

8. Jangan pernah mengeluh karena sebenarnya Allah SWT sudah mempersiapkan segalanya yang terbaik untukmu.

9. Berikanlah sebagian dari rejekimu kepada yang berhak karena sesungguhnya itu bukan hakmu sepenuhnya, tetapi rejeki orang lain yang datang melalui tanganmu.

10. Janganlah malu untuk meminta kepada Allah SWT karena Dialah yang mempunyai semuanya ini.