January 22, 2011

“I’ll go to Heaven. You’ll go to Hell”

Salam all.. Well, this post is supposed to be my first article in BENSS' newsletter The Asterisk. However, as usual, it is not approved. Hence, it becomes another post in my blog.. Haha.. Anyway, this article has been edited by Farhana (the editor of Asterisk) so the words are not 100% mine; and hers are really great by the way.
For those who has followed my blog since it was cipalatcilaknat*,you will notice the old similar pattern :) Here it goes.


Assalamualaikum.
In this first issue of the Asterisk, Reality will shout out one of the major situations we are facing in our religious community which is usually overlooked; and no, I am not talking about dogs or pigs. I’m actually referring to a group of people blinded by the coruscating light of illusory superiority – drowned in the delusion that they are holier than others. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to judge or condemn anyone; I just want to point out to the upsetting reality of this disgraceful situation. At some point or other in our lives, there is a high eventuality that we would come head to head with people who condemn others by mere sight. And believe me, it’s a pretty big hit on one’s pride (not to mention honour) when one is looked down upon like an unsavoury can of worms.

One of the most notable things that can make us feel uneasy around this group of people is the fact that they have an uncanny tendency to ‘divinely’ prejudge others. What do I mean? Well, let me illustrate the situation; there’s a Muslim girl - wearing tight jeans and t-shirt with a rather short ‘tudung’; of course, it is not the most Islamic sight. Then suddenly, you hear this group of people whispering among themselves; their eyes full of censure, their speech filled with repugnance - reprimanding on her appearance. For me, giving disparaging remarks on how another person looks is still tolerable but when it goes to the point of saying ”Ni la jadi kalau Iman lemah” - that is really unacceptable. Obviously, the girl is not Islamically dressed but that does not mean one is licensed to condemn her to hell – or accuse her of weak Iman. In a way, doing so could be termed as slander. Now, is slander not also a sin in the eyes of Allah? We don’t even know the degree of our own Iman. How can we – mere human beings know the degree of another person’s Iman? The knowledge is exclusive only to Allah. Hence, what right do we have to declare knowledge over something only Allah knows?

The way someone dresses does not really determine his/her level of Iman. I am not implying that someone who dresses like a prostitute has a higher chance of entering Heaven, no. However, my point is that one could easily wear a ‘jubah’ and turban but at the same time be addicted to sex and pornography – attire is not the measuring instrument for piety. The bottom line is, we as human beings do not have the right to make prejudiced proclamations about another person’s relationship with Allah based on how they are dressed.

Judgemental view on how people dress is not the only thing that makes people grow discomfort towards this kind of attitude. Another thing that is advisable for this group of people is when they start talking on how non-nasyid songs are sinful to be listened to and nasyids are the only ‘halal’ music. What are their justifications? – non-nasyids are “lagha” and unbeneficial. Well, for starters, nasyids can also be ‘lagha’ or oblivious if they are heard for pure entertainment. I mean, can someone honestly say that he/she is listening to nasyids only because of Allah and not for entertainment at all? If it’s really ONLY for Allah, why not just listen to the Quran? – I bet that contributes more rewards than listening to nasyids. It’s not that I’m saying it’s bad to listen to nasyids, no – I also listen to nasyids at times. However, my point is that; we should not be hypocritical and say that we are listening to nasyids ONLY for the sake of Allah.

That's it from me. Assalamualaikum.

7 comments:

  1. knapa depa tak approve eh? kesian betui asyik tak approve ja -.-

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  2. it's not directly 'x approve' tpi mcm direnyah2kan ja..
    so better xltak trus..
    aku xkisah pon lah
    haha

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  3. better lagi letak dalam blog, ramai lg yg boleh tgk :D haha
    good job !

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  4. salam n hello there :) im Fatin n im a BEN student too... k, enough intro... jst to let u knw, i rly like ur post here... n it sucks tht ur post didn't get an approval... well, u cnt rly please everyone right? anyways, keep on writing.. ure good :)

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  5. thnx fatin.
    love ur post about hijab.
    ;)

    ReplyDelete