Alhamdulillah, all praises and thanks to Allah, the One who has blessed me with the destiny to be born, raised, and living in Malaysia.
From the complete freedom to practice our faith - be it the tolerance for beard in a professional environment, sisters being able to wear niqab (face-veil) unharassed, Azan and masjids out in the clear open, abundance of books and islamic lectures/courses/reminders; to its abundance of delicious halal food; to its relative wealth, peacefulness and political stability; security from civil war, mass murders, militant coup and bombardment; right down to being free from major cataclysmic "natural disasters" such as earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes, volcanoes and the like : Alhamdulillah, Malaysia is such a blessed country.
Rather, the big question is, how should we express our thankfulness and love for living in this blessed country?
In an authentic hadith narrated in Sahih Bukhari (Book #11, Hadith #589), the prophet said if the people knew the (true) reward of praying isha in congregation (at the masjid), they would certainly present themselves even if they had to crawl.
And in another hadith in Sahih Muslim, the prophet promised that the reward of isha in congregation is entitles one to the reward of praying half the entire night.
Now, imagine that someone offers you a great reward for something simple for 10 minutes, and our attitude is simply ignoring the offer. It's rude, arrogant and - quite simply put, ungrateful for that promise.
At this point, some will be quick to say that "well it's not WAJIB right?". put Fiqh and "hukm" aside (although a huge number of scholars have said it is wajib); are you grateful for these bounties Allah has offered for you for such a small effort? Or we just don't care? The question to our conscience boils down to this: if you are thankful for being a Malaysian, and you prefer partying over prayer, is this really the RIGHT thing to do?
Perhaps it is this lackadaisical attitude and apathy of Allah's reward that angered the prophet to the point that he wanted to burn the houses of those who didn't attend the congregational prayer at the masjid (Narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #11, Hadith #617)
In this context, the spirit of "patriotism" becomes lip service.
And then you have those who, in more subtle fashion, merely "squander" resources for the benefit of "display" of their patriotism; from fireworks, to utilizing tons of resources for the sake of generating a huge malaysian flag - and other examples i won't mention out of fear of backbiting.
It's interesting to ask the question that - is the commitment of these bombastic acts truly a show of sincere gratitude and love of our country? More often than not, it does seem that, all it serves to do is to create a means for someone to get on newspaper articles and 15-seconds of fame in the Merdeka TV-spot.
I am not questioning the sincerity of those who have dedicated themselves to these deeds, but merely asking the rhetorical question - are we prioritizing style over substance?
Bearing in mind the thousands of Malaysians who are living in poverty, is that bit of "added patriotism" from the squandering of national resources really worth it?
By waving flags, singing songs, partying, and burning firecrackers; or by our actions of gratitude to the One God who destined for us to BE Malaysian- by racing to seek His Mercy and Unlimited Promised Bounties, and doing what He asks of us, as an open expression of our thanks, and by dedicating our time, money and effort to invest towards the betterment of Malaysians around us because it is what He is pleased with?
Patriotism is about substance. If you love your country, walk the talk - give back to the nation even more than it has given you.
Feed the poor. Cheer the orphan. Fight corruption in any scale within your ability. Advise your colleagues to do good and to abstain from evil. Motivate the youth. Support and care for the elderly. Clean up the neighborhood. Give food to your neighbour. Sponsor medication to assist someone to quit smoking. Educate others expecting absolutely no reward in return - except for the reward of Allah. And more importantly, as an expression of your shukr, NEVER abandon your congregational prayers unless in dire circumstances.
That - among many countless other acts of selflessness - is SUBSTANCE of how we show our love for Malaysia, and how we express our thanks for being Malaysian.
"And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny [& be ungrateful], indeed, My punishment is severe.' "." (Qur'an, Surah Ibrahim 14:7)
We are celebrating merdeka - independence. But the real deal is that we're still being 'conquered' - dijajah - by the west.
ReplyDeleteI blame it on those in power. We need a more balanced leader. Or we need to create another position that can balance out how the country's being ruled. If the government were to organize an isya' prayers and kesyukuran ceremony before all those celebrations, i'm sure there would be support.
Anyways, good article. Will share this!
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ReplyDeleteJazakumullah khair, Erin, thanks for sharing your opinion!
ReplyDeletePerhaps, it's true. But i like to encourage myself and others to think of the issue differently: in fact most of the time we are in this state because we, collectively, subconsciously choose to be in it (i.e. conquered) - in short: no demand, no supply. Those in power are just dancing to the tune the demand of the masses. Until the people themselves learn the true value of shukr and the best way to implement this shukr without wastage or plain show, this is how it's going to be. And Allah knows best, perhaps that's what Allah is trying to teach us in surah ar-ra'd verse 11 - "Verily! Allah will not change the state of a people until they change what is in themselves"
And when we talk of those in power, the reality is - everyone of us has some degree of 'power' or 'responsibility': The Prophet said all of us are shepherds/leaders, and all of us will be questioned for our responsibilities.
if, when these responsibilities are small, we can discharge these duties with justice and excellence (as commanded in surah 16: verse 90) then insha Allah we can establish that when our roles develop to higher levels. So greatness starts on a small scale, one test at a time =)
In a nutsehll : let's be the change we want to see in the people. Perhaps we might have a chance to make a difference some day, and perhaps Allah is testing us to see if we can have the integrity, steadfastness, patience and willpower to holdout until that day arrives when we can make that difference.
By the way erin, pls don't forget to call us when that day arrives because we sure do wanna be a part of it!
And Allah knows best.