Is it right to protest with a cow’s head?

This morning a friend in facebook posted a video with a heading 'morons in action'. Apparently a few men wearing ‘kopiah’ and ‘songkok’ among others were shouting some slogans (amidst a small group of malays in the background) and were seen later to join in a procession. I wondered what was it that they did which justified them to be labeled as ‘morons’. It was then that I found out that the protest occurred yesterday.

‘Some 50 residents enraged with the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple to their area staged a noisy protest with a severed cow's head this afternoon. The residents from Section 23 in Shah Alam who gathered after the Friday prayers, placed the head outside the gates of the state secretariat building for a short period before removing it’

After watching throughout the whole length of the video I also realised something else. The cow’s head was an unplanned part of the protest. A resident said that it was brought out by someone in anger.

I personally think the protest was appropriate in a way if almost 80% of Section 23 residents are Muslims (as claimed by a resident). However, this is an extremely sensitive issue and since Muslims should defend their rights, they must also keep in mind that their conduct should be as diplomatic as possible, and as peaceful as possible (considering the current condition of our country). I salute the residents’ effort in fighting for their rights. However the cow’s head part was wrong and such action should never take place anywhere ever again. I say it is wrong based on Surah Al- An’aam verse 108.

The following is taken from ‘TAFSIR IBNU KATSIR, JILID 3, PUSTAKA IMAM ASY-SYAFI’I, page 272-273’.

(6:108)Dan janganlah kamu memaki ilah-ilah mereka yang kamu ibadahi selain Allah, kerana mereka nanti akan memaki Allah dengan melampaui batas tanpa pengetahuan. Demikianlah Kami jadikan setiap ummat menganggap baik pekerjaan mereka. Kemudian kepada Rabb merekalah kembali mereka, lalu Allah memberitakan kepada mereka apa yang dahulu mereka kerjakan.

Allah s.w.t. melarang Rasul-Nya, Muhammad dan orang-orang yang beriman mencaci, ilah-ilah kaum musyrikin meskipun cacian itu mengandungi kemaslahatan, hal itu menimbulkan kerosakan yang lebih besar daripada kemaslahatan itu sendiri, yaitu balasan orang-orang musyrik dengan cacian terhadap Ilah orang-orang Mukmin, padahal Allah sw.t. adalah ‘Rabb, yang tiada Ilah (yang berhak diibadahi) selain Dia’.

Sebagaimana yang dikatakan oleh Ali Bin Abi Thalhah, dari Ibnu Abbas, mengenai ayat ini: Orang-orang musyrik itu berkata: ‘Hai Muhammad, engkau hentikan makianmu itu terhadap ilah-ilah kami, atau kami akan mencaci-maki Rabbmu.’ Lalu Allah melarang Rasulullah s.a.w. dan orang-orang Mukmin mencaci patung-patung mereka. “Kerana mereka nanti akan memaki Allah dengan melampaui batas tanpa pengetahuan”.

Abdurrazzaq mengatakan dari Ma’mar, dari Qatadah: “Dahulu kaum Muslimin mencaci berhala-berhala orang kafir, lalu orang-orang kafir mencaci-maki Allah Ta’ala secara berlebihan dan tanpa didasari dengan ilmu pengetahuan, lalu Allah menurunkan ayat : “Dan janganlah kamu memaki ilah-ilah mereka yang kamu ibadahi selain Allah, kerana mereka nanti akan memaki Allah dengan melampaui batas tanpa pengetahuan”

Hal ini menunjukkan bahawa meninggalkan kemaslahatan untuk menghindari kerosakan yang lebih parah adalah lebih diutamakan. Hal itu didasarkan pada hadith sahih bahawasanya Rasulullah bersabda:

“Dilaknat orang yang mencaci-maki orang tuanya.” Para sahabat bertanya: “Ya Rasulullah, bagaimana seseorang mencaci-maki orang tuanya?” Beliau menjawab: “Ia mencaci ayah seseorang, maka orang itu pun mencaci ayahnya. Ia mencaci ibu seseorang maka orang itu pun mencaci ibunya (atau sebagaimana yang dikatakan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w.

Firman Allah: “Demikianlah Kami jadikan setiap ummat menganggap baik pekerjaan mereka.” Maksudnya , sebagaimana Kami telah hiasi bagi orang-orang itu cinta kepada berhala-berhala mereka, fanatik terhadapnya, serta mendukungnya. Demikian pula kami hiasi setiap ummat-ummat yang sesat amal perbuatan mereka yang mereka kerjakan. Allah mempunyai hujah yang kuat dan hikmah yang sempurna atas semua yang dikehendaki dan dipilih-Nya.

“Kemudian kepada Rabb merekalah kembali mereka, lalu Allah memberitakan kepada mereka apa yang dahulu mereka kerjakan.” Maksudnya, mereka akan diberi balasan sesuai dengan amalan perbuatan tersebut, jika baik, kebaikan pula balasannya, jika buruk, keburukan pula balasanya.

In conclusion with the above information I hope it is clear that we cannot insult other religions under any circumstances. Cows are sacred to the Hindus so it is very wrong to resort to such an action. I think those involved with the protest should apologize to the Hindus and the authority should make an effort to find a better location for the temple to be built.

Finally I would like to remind myself and others that in effort to stand for Islam we have to base every single action on true knowledge otherwise we might end up causing embarrassment to Islam rather than actually fighting for it.

NEW YEAR DEVASTATION - A FRIEND ARRESTED IN A SEX AND NARCOTIC PARTY

On January 01, 2009, 26 people were arrested in a sex party at a hotel in KL. When nine were tested positive for ecstasy and ketamine, the case was handed over to the Narcotics Department the next day. One of them was my classmate back in primary school. I was sleeping when my mom called to break the dreadful news to me. I got extremely shocked and speechless. I just met her in September last year in a reunion. After hearing the news I couldn’t stop thinking how things could go up to that extent and what I can do in my position to fix the situation. Later, I found myself writing this.

In my opinion, this kind of immoral act is not something new. It has started since the time of Adam when the Satan made a promise to mislead the human race and is still continuing until today. This is stated in Surah Al-A’raf, 7:16-17.

Iblis said: “Because you have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (Human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).”

None of us is free from this reality. Therefore in whatever we do, we either in favor of the satan or against him.

People do not straight away go to sex parties. They start by involving in minor decadents first and progress from there. I feel that everyone contributes directly or indirectly to this matter as well as other social problems. Today, majority of people still oppose sex party and drug abuse. Yet majority of people also agree with a lot of things that can contribute to these acts. We may respond with anger and disgust towards free sex, consumption of drugs, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and subsequent abortion but we accept minor version of such acts like wearing sexy outfits, mingling around without boundaries between people of opposite sex, consuming alcohol and smoking. These contradictions in thoughts and actions have made all the efforts put forward to curb social crises fail terribly. It is just like treating the symptoms of a disease without treating its underlying cause, the disease is progressing still.

I belief what has happened is another wake up call for everyone to get back on the right track. The above contradictions and the resulting confusion have to end. We cannot draw the lines between the dos and don’ts ourselves according to our own thinking or the majority else we will go astray as stated in Surah Al-An’aam, 6:116.

“And if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah’s Path. They follow nothing but conjectures, and do nothing but lie.”

The dos and don’ts have been told clearly by the One that knows everything about us through Quran and Sunnah for us to follow. For that reason, we need to live our lives in accordance to these two completely without being picky about it.

Ignoring this issue is like waiting for the mounting social illnesses to get to us and the people we are close to. Usually, news like this comes from foreign countries or strangers from our own country but here my own friend is involved, a friend that used to struggle together with me and other friends to get good grades in order to achieve our dreams. This is indeed devastating. So let’s do what we should do before similar problems get to us and our beloved.

USRAH???

I first heard of usrah when I was in form 4. Every Friday, the girls were made to meet at the surau to listen to religious talks. I thought usrah ends there. However my understanding towards usrah changes after joining usrah in MMMC. Unlike religious talks (ceramah agama) where people can only listen, the approach is much more personal; you can discuss, clarify any doubts and share your problems.

From what I have learnt, usrah was started in Egypt by Hassan al Banna, founder of Ikhwanul Muslimin, in response to the end of caliphate in Turkey in 1924. The end of this system marks the fall of Islamic civilization. He realized the need to educate Muslims at the individual level to truly understand and practice Islam in order to bring back its glory. To this purpose, a lot of efforts had been put forward and usrah was one of the ways.

Even though the term usrah was not used during the time of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, the strategies that he used such as creating strong bonds in the name of Allah, personal approach, musyawarah etc are actually implemented in usrah. However, over the years, due to lack of understanding and error in conducting usrah, there are a lot of misconceptions regarding it.

Through my own experience, my usrah has helped me a lot in understanding Islam. I used to be confused in juggling the different aspects of my life; religion, relationships, studies, entertainment etc. but now I understand that Islam cannot be separated from any facet of life. As I try to integrate Islam in everything I do life becomes more meaningful and fun too.

As a human I can never run from making mistakes, but thank God, I have a group of friends bonded in the name of Allah who always remind me to return to the right path. Sometimes I feel inferior for my lack of knowledge but then on second thought this shouldn’t be an issue as we all have our own specialties and weaknesses and at the same time share equal amounts of obligation as a servant and caliph.

Another thing that I have realized is that in conducting usrah, we need to free ourselves from any sentiment of obsession towards any one organization or group of people. Organizations are only used as tools to carry out certain programs. There shouldn’t be any dispute among groups of usrah as long as the ultimate aim is to bring back the glory of Islam and the means applied are in accordance to Al- Quran and Sunnah.

In a nutshell, for me usrah is the best way to build an individual spiritually because if it is conducted properly, a Muslim at any level will be in a system in which he or she can always learn new things about religion, clarify any doubts and share their knowledge and experience with others. My usrah has benefited me a lot, perhaps you should try too :)

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Surah Yusuf [12]:108,

Katakanlah (wahai Muhammad) : Inilah jalanku, aku dan orang-orang yang menurutku, menyeru manusia umumnya kepada agama Allah dengan berdasarkan keterangan dan bukti yang jelas nyata.

Whenever i come across this verse or any verse from the Quran with similar meaning, i feel unpleasant and guilty for my lack of effort in telling people about what i have learnt in life. I hope i can improve that part of me through my blog.

FROM MY HEART TO YOUR HEART,
HOPING TO MOVE TOGETHER TOWARDS THE ONE THAT OWNS OUR HEARTS