FRENZ
Friday November 16th 2007, 1:00 am
Filed under: Current Affairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Friendship
is a significant meaning we need to truly comprehend and appreciate.
The meaning of "the good friend" differs from one to another. Some
people believe that the righteous friend is the one whom you trust and
can tell all your secrets. Others define that person as one who stands
by your side you in sadness and in happiness alike.
   

Although
opinions vary, all of them are relatively correct. And if we put the
different views together, they can still form a true definition of the
righteous friend. But there is a significant meaning and role for the
virtuous friend that is missing: The one who assists you to be more
close to Almighty Allah, obey His orders and teachings, and be a
positive and beneficial individual for the Ummah (Muslim nation).

 

Criteria

 

Think
for a while about your friends, and let me ask, "How do you choose your
friends? What is the role of your friends in your life? Is it solely to
go out and have fun with you?" If you answered in the affirmative, then
you have to rethink and try to understand the meaning and role of the
righteous friend. He or she is not just someone to enjoy your time
with. The role of the friend is more profound than such a superficial
point of view.

 

A
friend can help you carry out great deeds and thus gain rewards and
reach Paradise. On the other hand, that very friend can weigh you down
on your quest to Paradise. Your friends can have a great influence upon
you, even more than your family does. That is why it is very important
to be cautious in selecting your friends.

 

The
essential thing you should think about while choosing your friends is
their closeness to Almighty Allah, and you can know this not only
through their appearance — as it can deceive in many cases, but also
through their attitudes, behavior, beliefs, and actions.

 

These
kinds of friends who are all the time thinking of ways to gain heavenly
rewards and be more close to and satisfy Almighty Allah through all
their actions are the ones whom you can trust and seek their friendship.

 

Impact

 

If
you do not pray, if you never fast, if you gossip, or if you do not
have any active role in your society, your friends are the ones who can
either help you improve your behavior and attitude to the better or can
worsen your morals, attitude, and even beliefs.

 

Evil
and ill-natured friends can push you toward doing bad deeds. Lying,
smoking, or even being addicted to drugs are but some of the terrible
results of so-called friends.

 

Mohamed
Nabil, a 29–year-old German engineer, has met various good people
whose friends negatively influenced and worsened their behavior.
"Friends have an obvious impact upon one another to the extent that
might influence one’s whole life," said Nabil.

 

On
the other hand, the righteous friend is capable of making a positive
influence upon your life, changing it to the better. For instance, your
friend who does charity activities can encourage you to participate
with him or her; instead of wasting your spare time doing nothing or in
places full of haram with evil friends, such a righteous friend can
accompany you to visit an orphanage, attend Qur’an lessons, or spend
your time in other useful things.

 

Even
in times of fun and merriment, which I believe are very significant
among friends, things differ greatly with the good friend, as he or she
always reminds you of renewing your intention for the sake of Almighty
Allah anywhere and at any occasion. In addition, the righteous friend
always promotes you to do things to keep the honor and the beauty of
Islam awake in your heart.

 

This was the case with Iman Al-Sherif, a 25–year-old Egyptian, whom one of her friends traveled to Denmark after the cartoons row in an attempt to alter the negative image Islam had garnered there.
What encouraged Al-Sherif to think of doing something to improve
Muslims’ image all over the world? "My friend was the one who
encouraged me to do something for my Ummah, and from there I started to
read more about Islam and I took a course in introducing Islam to
non-Muslims. Actually, I cannot deny the role of my friend in helping
me to be more positive," said Al-Sherif.

 

Think

 

With
virtuous friends, you will be positive and beneficial to Islam and
Muslims, and you will be able to live a life free of selfishness,
sadness, hatred, and anxiety that exist among evil friends.

 

You
may not feel the impact of your friends upon you, but if you think
deeply, you will find that even if you have a strong personality, you
will be influenced by them. That is why you have to choose your friends
wisely, as they can alter your whole life whether positively or
negatively.

 

For this reason, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so look whom you befriend"
(Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi). It is very essential to understand this
hadith; it shows the sound impact of friends upon one another and the
essentiality of selecting the virtuous friend.

 

Think
about it, and even — God forbid — if all your friends are evil, you
have to search for at least one virtuous friend who can be your
companion on your way to Paradise!


Jari
Friday November 16th 2007, 12:11 am
Filed under: Religion

Dalam
solatku yang sudah sekian kalinya, aku tetap merenung telunjukku dalam
setiap tasyahud (tahiyyat) awal dan akhir, mengharapkan pahala menurut
sunnah mengisi setiap kantung pahala yang tak pernah ku lihat. Berpuluh
tahun berbuat demikian, perasaan ingin tahu tetap menerjah hatiku.
Mengapa Rasulullah s.a.w. berbuat demikian? Mengapa disunatkan merenung
telunjuk sewaktu tasyahud? Pasti ada sesuatu sehinggakan disunatkan
berbuat demikian. Bagi yang tak ambil pusing, tetap bahagian mereka
dengan kantung pahala yang sarat di akhirat, dijamin Allah s.w.t..


 

Dirujuk persoalan itu kepada yang arif. Kata mereka telunjuk itu satu, diangkat ketika mengucapkan kalimah "Aku bersaksi bahawa Tiada Tuhan Yang disembah melainkan Allah"
bagi menandakan keEsaan Allah yang Satu, Yang Maha Esa dan Tiada yang
sebanding denganNya. Jawapan yang diberi mententeramkan jiwaku hanya
buat seketika. Memang benar apa yang dikatakan yang arif itu tadi, tapi
mengapa gelodak jiwa mengatakan ada sesuatu yang lain.


Aku
sentiasa terganggu dengan persoalan yang ditimbulkan hati yang
mendesak-desak mencari rahsia sebenar sehingga hatiku puas. Kenapa
hanya perkara ini begitu mendesak jiwa sedangkan perbuatan itu hanya
dilakukan dengan seketika dalam solat.


Sehinggalah
di suatu senja yang sangat hening. Hujan lebat mula turun di luar
rumah, menghalang langkah insan yang beriman lemah ini untuk ke tempat
azan dilaungkan. Ditunaikan tanggungjawabku kepada Yang Maha Pencipta
dalam kamar bacaan di rumah. Maghrib itu membuka persoalan lama itu
kembali.. Mula sahaja tasyahud awal, telunjukku direnung dan
membangkitkan kembali persoalan yang sering bermain dijiwaku.


Kekhusyukan
dalam ibadatku sedikit teganggu, minda ditumpukan kembali kepada bacaan
solat supaya hatiku tetap berpaksikan rasa syukurku kepada Yang
Menciptakan diriku dengan segala kesempurnaan. Tapi semua itu terganggu
kembali bila saja aku berada dalam tasyahud akhir. Sekali lagi aku
mengucapkan kalimah " Ashhadu allaa ilaa ha illallah (Aku bersaksi bahawa Tiada Tuhan Yang disembah melainkan Allah) sambil jari telunjukku diangkat menandakan aku mengakui keEsaan Allah s.w.t..
 

Bagaikan
hendak tersembur kandungan dadaku tatkala aku merenung jari telunjukku
pada kali ini. Serta merta airmataku mencurah-curah keluar tak
tertahan, ditahan sebak dadaku supaya tidak terbatal solatku.
Allahuakbar! Allah Maha Besar! Ampunkanlah segala dosa yang telah
kulakukan dengan tanganku [UTF-8?]ini… Ya Allah! Betapa Engkau
memuliakan kami manusia dengan kalimah NamaMu pada jasad kami yang
kotor ini.. Ampunkanlah kami, ampunkanlah [UTF-8?]aku… Mulai
maghrib hari itu, perbuatan mengangkatkan dan merenung telunjuk dalam
tasyahud tidak lagi mengganggu kekhusyukan solatku, tapi ia membuatkan
hatiku sentiasa gentar dan sayu..


Sayu
mengenangkan dan merindui Allah s.w.t., gentar kerana aku melihat aku
ini milik [UTF-8?]Allah… Ya! Benar.. akhirnya jawapan bagi
persoalan itu telah kutemui bila saja terpandang kalimah Allah
ditelunjuk kananku.. Subhanallah! Maha Suci Allah! Ampunilah aku
sekiranya tangan yang membawa kalimah namaMu yang Maha Suci dan Mulia
ini telah aku gunakan untuk melakukan dosa dan maksiat melanggar
perintahMu.. Ampunkanlah HambaMu ini Ya [UTF-8?]Allah…..