In Loving memory of Me Faiz

His was the story of a classic case of a blooming life being cut short by a tragic incident 

which caught everyone by surprise. Nobody would have expected that to happen to 

someone like him. He was in the prime of his life when everything seems to go his way 

when he was suddenly called home to have an audience with his Creator.

It was a great shock when me first got the news of his sudden demise from me son Nazmie. 

Me was so taken aback and was greatly saddened by the circumstances that me remained 

speechless for a long time while flashes of him kept coming back flooding me memory with 

instant replays of him growing up, from a few months old bouncing baby boy (which me was 

given the honor to do "tahnik" on him by his late Wan), into a fine young man and later being 

married to a lovely wife. Due to his closeness from young, me had always thought of him as 

me own son.

During his growing up years, he had been sort of me favorite nephew too, he was a bit

different from the rest due to his easy going and witty nature, especially when he was horsing 

around and making jokes with those around him, be them his uncles and aunties or whomever he met. 

Many a times when he just started working, he had called to meet or seek me opinions or 

advices on certain matters related to his work, hobbies or his planning for the future. And at times, 

me noticed he was so full of enthusiasm and brimming with ideas that me never got tired of 

entertaining him whenever he turned up. 

One thing for sure, he was one that never become easily satisfied with what he has achieved 

and he would always portray that gung-ho - "fighting to the last" spirit, which is so much lacking 

in many of us, by wanting to improve himself and change his circumstances for the better and 

by not being afraid of taking chances and its risks in order to develop his professional skills - 

becoming one of the very few people in the country who had mastered the art of "ROV Driving" 

well!

It was really very unexpected and so sudden, for when me last saw him a week earlier at the 

wedding of me brother's daughter, he was his usual jovial self, joking and bantering around 

with his cousins and many other close relatives attending the wedding, who were equally left 

shocked and reeling with sadness over the suddenness of his parting.

And poignantly so, as God has dictated, exactly a week later, he was no more amongst us,

leaving many that had had the chance to experience his "magical touch" in a state of utter shock 

and disbelieve. Such is life, so fragile and temporary that we tend to forget it could have 

happened to any of us, normally without any warning - when our number is up!

When me wrote this post, me was on board a flight to KLIA after a 2 day whirlwind tour to 

Japan on some biz matters. Me didn't know why during these past few days, especially on me

way to and back from Japan, the memory of him kept popping up inside me mind. The least me 

and the readers could do is to say Al-Fatiha for him and pray to Allah that his soul is in peace 

with the other dear departed souls and being also blessed by Allah...

Reminiscing over his short and tragic life, me realized that me Faiz was one of the very few from 

our "Jimat Clan" that has managed to break free from the "shackles of complacency" by venturing 

into an unknown territory and benefiting greatly from his adventures. 

For him, God has opened up the floodgate of "rezeki" in such a manner that what we normal 

mortals would take great many years to achieve, he could do it within a very short period of 

time. Such is God's Wisdom, however, there will always be a trade off with one kind or the 

other in this life, just like the two sides of a coin - we can never have both sides at the same time - 

we have to make the choice that would eventually be "packaged" together to become our own 

destiny in this life - as written in His Book. 

For me Faiz, at least he did get to enjoy and experience life in the "fast lane",  although for a very 

brief period only, in which mortals like us could only dream of doing such things. Maybe God in 

His infinite Mercy and Wisdom would like me Faiz to experience some of the thrills associated 

with the "richness of life" in a short span of time for He knew he will soon leave us with a legacy 

only the "rare breed" people like him could achieve for others to learn from.

For us who still breath the God given air, me can only conclude on one thing that we could learn 

from this saga of tragedy i.e. we are all living a temporary life, under loan from God, as the Owner, 

He could do anything He pleases with us or our loved ones, at any time, at any place. Knowing 

this fact, we should all be grateful and thankful to Allah for His infinite blessings and for what 

He has bestowed upon us, even though we always thought others got a much more better deal 

than us! Always be prepared before our time is up by being istiqomah in our “Amalan Soleh” even 

if little and seek Allah’s  protection whenever we travel on this earth.

Al-Fatiha to me dear beloved Faiz, you know you didn't die in vain as we could all learn something 

from you that could increase further our awareness and how we should submit to our Creator – with 

respect and supplications. 

May you find peace, blessings and happiness in the hereafter, in the company of Allah and all other 

blessed souls who have earlier "crossed the line". For sure we will also follow you to cross that line 

soon enough, inshaaAllah...,aameen.

...."And enough is Death as a lesson to us all"....Sayidina Ali R.A.

 

A Brief Stopover in Tokyo (Part 1)

Me JAL's flight JL724 landed at the Narita airport on 11.10.2012 at exactly 6:35 am local time after a six hours journey from KLIA. 

Arriving at the Narita airport on a cool October morning, on me way for a biz meeting in Nagoya, has brought back countless memories and many lingering images of Japan, as the land of the rising sun and its people which had been in me all these while since me first trip here back in 1992. 

Back then during me first trip to Japan, me assignment was to look into the concept of "intelligent buildings" as part of the preliminary conceptual design for the KLCC project, together with me other team members including me then Manager and a representative from the President's office, who coincidently moved on to become me former company's current President/CEO! 

While putting in me thoughts on this post at the waiting lounge of the airport and onboard the connecting flight to Nagoya, me still vividly remember that first trip exactly 20 years ago today, as it was marked by a few unforgettable incidents which had formed an everlasting impression on Japan, its people and their "technology crazed" culture. These experiences had actually been very helpful during me many later sojourns when dealing directly with me Japanese biz partners. 

The first unforgettable or rather "silly" incident during that first trip was when me found meself locked-out at Taipeh airport during a transit on me way to Tokyo. Me was trying to find a place to pray at the airport when me found a door leading to a staircase which was a bit secluded. Without much thinking me opened the door and started praying. While trying to open the door afterwards, me found meself locked-out at the staircase area as the door was actually a one way fire escape door for emergency use only! As the time for boarding was approaching fast, me was stricken with panic and couldn't think of what to do next. 

Somehow, out of desperation, me banged on the door and after a few anxious moments, lo and behold the door was opened by a rather bewildered lady cleaner!! Without wasting too much time and even thanking the obviously puzzled and bemused lady, me bolted out of the staircase door, as if being chased by a ghost, dashing and panting to the departure hall in time to catch me next flight to Tokyo. Phew! that must have been the most "scary" thing a first time traveler like meself could face – being left in the lurch as your plane left without you and you getting stuck in the middle of nowhere! Even now me still relish at relating this incident to the amusement of me colleagues! 

Come to think of the incident which happened some 20 years ago, while it can still make me laugh at me carelessness, it also taught an important lesson for us Muslims as a whole. As travelers, we must be prepared with the necessary knowledge of how to carry out our religious duties while on the move. Our religion has made it easier when we travel and we should not shy away from making a statement of our faith openly and not hiding behind some secluded places like what me did! 

On board the plane safe and sound, me started chatting with the person sitting next to me seat. He was coincidently on his way back to Tokyo after a short holidays in his hometown Melaka. He also happened to be the owner of a Malaysian restaurant operating in Tokyo! As the flight was approaching our destination, he invited me for a meal at his restaurant on the following day. Without hesitation me agreed to the invitation and the chance of savoring some Malay dishes in Tokyo! As the age of mobile phones had not arrived yet back in the early 90's, he told me to wait for him at the Shibuya train station near a dog statue - apparently a popular meeting place at the station. 

On the following day, although me was very new to Tokyo, me somehow managed to get meself to the Shibuya Station and promptly found a dog statue where me waited as instructed. But that wait was to turn out to be “the longest wait of me life” as the man didn't turn up even after me waited anxiously for several more hours! 

To cut the long story short, finally he did turn up and was surprised to see me waiting at the wrong dog's statue! Without me knowing, there was another dog's statue at the station’s main entrance where all the while, he had waited for me while wondering what had happened to me! Later me found out the dog statue at the main entrance turned out to be that famous Hachiko dog statue!..... 

Those were the days gone by without the mobile phones as our companion. Back then, we simply didn't have the freedom that we take for granted nowadays with the advent of the mobile age with almost everybody becoming “addicted” to the wireless world. Since its use became prevalent towards the late 90's, it has changed our life style forever making "markers" like the dog statue “obsolete” when you can just use your mobiles to instantly check on each other status or whereabouts! 

Indeed, after more than 20 years of “observing the Japanese phenomenon”, the coming of the mobile age has by far managed to transform the already technology crazy Japanese society into one of the most prolific users of wireless devices... 

End of Part 1.

Matters of the Hearts

The last Ramadan which had just ended had brought me a very important lesson in the matters of the heart. Our heart is normally at the center of everything we do. If the heart is bad and not properly "trained" or controlled, it may easily go astray and do things which are contrary to our "fitrah" or basic instinct, which is to do good. 

As we progresses in life, our surroundings will undoubtedly change and will continue to play an increasingly significant role in determining our final destination in life. Obviously our actions and reactions when dealing with a myriad of situations in this worldly life would eventually be determined by the action of our hearts in accordance with how well it has been brought up or trained. 

Often times, we hear cases of people being hurt or unjustly treated by non other than their loved ones who would most likely possess hearts which are "tainted". These perpetrators would rather do unkind things than be kind to their loved ones. Although there are so many reasons why crimes are committed, one common reason would be due to the "matters of the hearts". In this instance, when one party is not satisfied with the action of another party, conflict would arise which could lead to unwanted behaviors taking place which in most cases involved the life and limbs of the victims and in some case their loved ones too. 

These kind of "crime of the hearts", is very difficult to suppress as it doesn't manifest itself in the open. From the outside, everyone would be looking the same and we would often expect them to be just ordinary people doing ordinary things. But when their dark side emerge and took control of themselves, then all hell break loose. One bad thing would lead to another as bad aura would attract bad people likewise with good aura would attract good people and never the twain shall meet! 

What the last Ramadan had taught me was how to be aware of this "sickness of the hearts" and slowly get rid of this so called the "tainted heart syndrome" and turn it into a beautiful and sincere heart which is full of love and compassion. 

Of course in the beginning it wasn't also easy for me to accept this new direction. Being Muslims would obviously put the corrective action much easier to follow and faster to put into action. The only solution that me has been practicing is to submit yourself entirely to Allah and deep inside, we should realize that we actually having nothing on this earth since everything belongs to Allah. Whatever we have is only temporarily "loaned" to us by Allah. 

After knowing and accepting this fact, we should realize that, everything that is happening around us is with the blessing of Allah and things will not "hit" us if it is not destined to hit us in the first place. Knowing all of the above, we should relax and feel the stress free situation so that our heart now could become more sincere and able to take up its "fitrah" or basic instinct of doing good and being kind to others thus producing in its wake a stress free environment for the people involved.... 

Everyone should realize this simple fact, those who wanted to enter Paradise must also behave and act like the people of Paradise before they can be accepted as part of the Paradise community. And the people of Paradise are made up of people with peaceful hearts. Their hearts have been cleansed from the "tainted heart syndrome" where they roam free inside the Paradise without any feeling of jealousy or hatred which we people of the world still can't live without them!. 

Nicole Queen Revisited - A Journey to a Greater Good

Well me not been posting a lot for a long long time now. Now half of Ramadan 1433H already gone. Time to pick up speed and grab all the goodies being thrown for the believers during this Ramadan for one good deed performed in Ramadan would be equivalent to 70 or more rewards from Allah. 

One thing that me learned from this year's Ramadan is that we have to release ourselves from the ills of this world and purify our hearts so that anything that we do is only for Allah. In other words, if we want to enter Paradise, we have to live by the way of those who deserve Paradise. Where else except in Paradise that we can find such people who are free from hatred and bad feelings from one another, which in the world today these are becoming a very scarce commodity where not many are able to live by its edict. 

To conclude this short entry, me would like to share the experiences of our sister Nicole Queen whose extraordinary journey to Islam has helped her to make peace with her self through finding the simplicity of her new faith and the ease she found to live her life according to its tenets as an American Muslim. All the best to her and her husband, may you find peace to be shared with others in your country. 

Salam Ramadan to all may Allah bless us all, insyaAllah...aameen. 

Kuala Lumpur 

16 Ramadan 1433H

5th August 2012

Mengingati Sasterawan Mesir Najib Kaelany

Najib Kaelany (1931-1995), Sastrawan Mesir
Februari 14, 2009 oleh sastrasantri
Beliau dilahirkan tahun 1931 di desa Syarsyabah di tengah keluarga petani. Tamat dari SLTA tahun 1949 di Thanta. Kemudian meneruskan di Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Cairo. Menjelang akhir kuliahnya beliau di tangkap pada tahun 1955 dengan tuduhan terlibat sebagai anggota al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin. Dan divonis 10 tahun penjara. Pada tahun 1954 dibebaskan karena alasan kesehatan, setelah selama hampir lima tahun berpindah-pindah penjara dan menerima berbagai macam penyiksaan. Kemudian beliau meneruskan kuliahnya di universitas dan jurusan yang sama hingga tamat tahun 1960. Sejak saat itu disamping bekerja sebagai dokter beliau menulis puisi, cerita pendek, novel dan naskah teater. Pada tahun 1965, Gamal Abden Nasser menginstruksikan dari Moskow untuk kembali menangkapi para aktivis IM. Termasuk diantaranya, beliau, ditangkap untuk kedua kalinya. Sampai akhir keruntuhan rezim tahun 1967 beliau kembali menghirup udara bebas.
Tahun 1968 Beliau meninggalkan Mesir ke Kuwait dan bergabung dengan para dokter di sana. Tak lama kemudian beliau pindah ke Emirat dan bekerja sebagai dokter yang mengetuai sebuah yayasan kesehatan. Dan tetap berada di luar mesir hampir seperempat abad lamanya.
Tulisan-tulisan beliau sangat khas. Karena lahir dari penghayatan nilai-nilai kemanusiaan, persaudaraan dan cinta. Ditengah penghimpitan dan tekanan kezaliman. Terutama berbagai bentuk penyiksaan di penjara. Lebih dari 70 buku novel dan cerita yang beliau tulis.
Nuansa-nuansa sosial dalam tulisan beliau sangat kental. Terutama pembelaan terhadap para kaum lemah dan teraniaya, serta melawan rezim kezhaliman dan kebatilan. Disamping itu nuansa-nuansa religius yang cukup kental. Serta mengangkat para ulama dan ilmuan.
Justru pada saat beliau di penjara, novelnya “Ath-Thariq At-Thawil” (Jalan Panjang) meraih penghargaan karya terbaik lomba menulis yang diadakan Kementrian Pendidikan dan Pengajaran Mesir. Sebuah novel tentang perang dunia kedua. Beliau menggunakan nama pena. Dan baru diketahui nama asli beliau setelah pengumuman pemenang lomba tersebut.
Karya beliau yang lain yang mendapat penghargaan adalah kumcer “Dumu’ al-Amir” (Air Mata Pangeran) sebuah antologi cerpen sejarah Islam. Cerpen-cerpen beliau yang lain yang mengangkat fenomena sosial di Mesir dan beberapa negara Timur Tengah: “Ardhul Anbiya” (Bumi Para Nabi); “Umar Yadhar fi al-Quds” (Umar Muncul di Yerussalem); Novel “Layali Turkistan” (Malam-malam Turkistan); “Amaliqah asy-Syimal” (Raksasa dari Utara); “Adzra’ Jakarta” (Gadis-gadis Jakarta); “Al-Yaumu al-Mau’ud” (Hari yang Dijanjikan) sebuah kisah tentang perang salib. Novel “Qatilu Hamzah” (Pembunuh Hamzah).
Novel “Ath-Thariq At-Thawil” (Jalan Panjang), pemenang lomba menulis Kementrian Pendidikan dn Kebudayaan tahun 1959 mendapatkan sambutan hangat dari berbagai kalangan. Hingga kemudian dijadikan diktat wajib pelajaran sastra para siswa SLTA. Juga telah diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Rusia.
Menurut sastrawan ini, tak ada yang bertentangan dan berlawanan antara seni, sastra dan Islam. Jika ada kontradiksi, pada hakikatnya merupakan sebuah pemahaman parsial dari Islam, atau upaya menjauhkan seni dan sastra dari nilai-nilai Islam. Yaitu usaha sekularisasi dari aspek sastra dan seni. Islam tak pernah memerangi atau mengebiri seni dan sastra. Justru menumbuhkan dan mendukungnya. Hanya saja mengedepankan nilai-nilai normatif dan moral. Bukan mengatasnamakan liberalisasi tanpa aturan untuk membungkus kebobrokan dengan nama seni dan sastra.
Beliau termasuk yang anti dengan sastra-sastra cabul yang mengeksploitasi tubuh manusia serta menilai sesuatu dengan sudut pandang materi.
Novel beliau “Alladzina Yahtariqun” (Mereka yang Terbakar) pernah disinetronkan pada tahun 1980-an. Mengisahkan tentang kebobrokan manajemen sebuah poliklinik dan kejujuran serta keuletan dan kegigihan seorang dokter muda yang didera berbagai fitnah.
Beliau dikenal kepiawaiannya dalam menulis novel. Pandai memilih diksi yang kuat dan variatif serta kuat pengaruh kata-katanya. Disamping itu gaya dialog yang elegan membuat pembaca menjadi terbawa arus cerita dengan penuh penghayatan. Sebut saja novel-novel sejarah beliau menghadirkan para sahabat dengan potret kekinian. Selain itu penguasaan cerita diberbagai belahan dunia seperti; “Layali Turkistan” (Malam-malam Turkistan) menggambarkan perjuangan seorang perempuan yang berkorban untuk kesucian tanahnya yang diinjak-injak penjajah. Seorang perempuan yang gigih melawan koloni. Namun cobaan yang dihadapinya sangat berat. Pilihannya menyebabkan ia divonis sebagai pengkhianat bangsanya. Rakyatnya baru tahu kalau ia adalah pahlawan, ketika ia menemui syahidnya.
Demikian juga “Amaliqah asy-Syimal” (Raksasa dari Utara); yang mengupas berbagai permasalahan kaum muslimin di Nigeria. “Adzra’ Jakarta” (Gadis Jakarta); yang menceritakan kisah perlawanan kaum muslimin terhadap gelombang komunisme yang cukup kuat. Perlawanan yang merenggut nyawa lebih dari ¼ juta jiwa. Ketiga novel ini telah diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Indonesia. Juga beberapa bahasa lainnya.
Kemudian ada lagi novel “Adh-Dhil al-Aswad” (Bayangan Hitam) kisah dari negeri Ethiopia. Mengungkap arsip-arsip sejarah dan rahasia yang banyak disembunyikan oleh para sejarahwan.
Selain tulisan-tulisan fiksi yang selalu laku itu, beliau juga menulis tentang Kritik Sastra. Beliau menulis, “Al-Islamiyah wa al-Madzahib al-Adabiyah” (Islam dan Aliran-aliran Sastra); “Madkhal ila al-Adab al-Islamiy” (Pengantar Sastra Islam); “Rihlati ma’a al-Adab al-Islamiy” (Perjalananku Bersama Sastra Islam) dll. Beliau juga menulis naskah teater; “Ala Aswar Dimasyq” (Penjara Damaskus) dll. Tulisan-tulisan non fikdi beliau: “Tahta Rayah al-Islam”(Di Bawah Bendera Islam); “Ath-Thariq ila Ittihad Islamiy” (Jalan Menuju Persatuan Islam); “Haula ad-Din wa ad-Daulah” (Seputar Agama dan Negara). Tulisan fiksi dan nonfiksi beliau yang ditunjang oleh spesialisasi sebagai dokter juga cukup banyak. Diantaranya: “Al-Ghida’ wa ash-Shihah” (Makanan dan Kesehatan); “Ihtaris min Dhaght ad-Dam” (Hati-hati Dengan Tekanan Darah Tinggi). Novel “Alladzina Yahtariqun” (Mereka yang Terbakar), “Qishatu al-Idz” (Kisah Aids) dsb. Juga karya dan tulisan-tulisan beliau yang lainnya.
Aliran sastra islam yang begitu kuat dalam berbagai tulisannya, terutama novel dan cerpen-cerpennya tak menghalangi karya tersebut untuk diterjemahkan ke dalam berbagai bahasa; Indonesia, Inggris, Jerman, Perancis, Urdu dan beberapa bahasa lainnya.
Dan sastrawan bersahaja dan agung itu akhirnya memilih kembali ke Mesir, tanah kelahirannya; setelah merantau kurang lebih seperempat abad. Sakit yang dideritanya juga tak menghalanginya menggerakkan jari-jarinya untuk terus berkarya dan berdakwah.Hingga Allah pun memanggilnya. Pada tanggal 5 Syawal 1415 H bertepatan dengan 6 Maret 1995, beliau wafat dan mengakhiri perjuangannya di dunia ini. Menghadap Tuhannya. Meski jasad beliau telah 10 tahun dikubur di Mesir, namun ruh perjuangan beliau masih memencar bukan hanya di Mesir, namun ke seluruh pelosok dunia; termasuk di Indonesia. Semoga FLP termasuk salah satu generasi penerus beliau. Dan saya berharap bisa termasuk dalam gerbong dakwah ini. Amin.