"solat macam mana?"
"sorang tu tak solat langsung. the other one said die solat tapi die qadha.
she said her uncle said it's okay to qadha solat everyday."
*********
astaghfirullah. it was pretty much a little conversation i had with my sister about her circle of friends. and we're only talking about a bunch of girls. what about the community, our country, and the world as a whole? one can only wonder.
so i continued this conversation with my husband in the car. pretty much lamenting how scary the world is nowadays. because solat is the pillar of islam, and yet so many muslims are taking them lightly. so much so that even seeing people who don't perform solat doesn't seem that big of a deal anymore. astaghfirullah, may Allah protects.
but my husband shared his two cents about malaysian muslims. he says there are two groups of people:
one group who are very nice people, but they just don't adhere much to Allah's rules. taking some and leaving some. modest clothing, not really keen to cover the hair, but totally a soft well mannered lady. not praying 5 times a day, but is actively doing charity work. goes clubbing at night perhaps drinking some alcohol, but spends a lot of time helping the poor and the needy. by definition of human nature, they are nice people. and they go about feeling bliss with being the 'good' human.
the other group are those who adhere totally to Allah's rules, but they are just not that nice. you know, sometimes the ustaz we see on youtube who are calling other people 'bodoh / sombong / bongkak' and every other dirty words he could think of. those who totally cover their aurah from top to bottom, but go about sleeping with random boys in the end. those who pray 5 times a day, and yet doesn't have the decency to throw rubbish at the rightful place. those wearing serban or kopiah 24/7 but is also smoking 24/7, huffing and puffing in front of their kids. them, by definition, are 'practicing' muslims. they pray, they fast, they avoid haram food, they cover their aurah, and they go about feeling bliss with being the 'good' muslim.
and these two groups are what makes up most of our muslim community in Malaysia. the ones who settled with being nice. and the ones who settled with being a 'practicing muslim'.
but the truth is, a true muslim needs both hand-in-hand.
one is never complete without the other.
being a nice person is not enough, if we fail to adhere to Allah's commands. stop lying to ourselves that it's okay to not wear a hijab, or it's okay to show some skin, it's okay to touch our non-mahram friends, when they are all clear commands from Allah. and those things will be accountable for in our akhirah. but we now live in the world where those who reminds are being chastised instead. "awak bukan baik sangat. Allah tengok keikhlasan hati. jangan 'judge' orang lain. die buat banyak lagi benda baik." the list goes on.
and vice versa for the other end. adhering to Allah's rule but not all. avoiding all those big sins - pray 5 times a day, fasting in Ramadhan, paying your zakat - but taking those smaller sins for granted. going to work late, making empty promises, talking bad about others, writing harsh words over the net, spreading fitnah, gossiping, and the list goes on.
being a muslim is about building your relationship with Allah. and it entails adhering to His commandments in all aspect of life. picking some and leaving some is not the way to Him. being a better person requires us to be a good 'abid as well as a good human-being. yes, nobody is perfect aside from Rasulullah s.a.w, but aiming to perfect our iman and amal is not impossible, as it's an ongoing process. we may never be a perfect muslim, but Allah takes effort into account. istiqamah is always the key. and this effort requires us to be in both groups of people, not either. so stop choosing sides and try to be both.
one who are loved by other people and
most importantly loved by Allah s.w.t.
وَلِكُلٍّ وِّجۡهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيۡهَا ۚ فَاسۡتَبِقُوا الۡخَيۡرٰتِؕ
اَيۡنَ مَا تَكُوۡنُوۡا يَاۡتِ بِكُمُ اللّٰهُ جَمِيۡعًا ؕ
اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ
“Dan bagi tiap-tiap umat ada arah (kiblatnya sendiri) yang mereka menghadap ke arahnya (ketika solat). Oleh itu, berlumba-lumbalah kamu mengerjakan kebaikan, kerana di mana sahaja kamu berada pasti Allah akan menghimpunkan kamu semua (pada hari kiamat untuk menerima balasan). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Berkuasa atas tiap-tiap sesuatu”. [2:148]
