Muslim Wonder House

(malay edition below)

This mosque situated in Finsbury Park (When I say Finsbury Park, people go like -.-? But when I say 'its close to the Arsenal stadium', they go like owh okay :D) looks like a run down shop house more than a spiritual house. But I wouldn't trade it for a 100 beautiful mosques in Malaysia. It's called the Muslim Welfare House but we malaysians used to call it Mewah (Muslim Welfare House -> MWH -> MeWaH).

Because it is so awesome. Look at the advertisements on their electronic noticeboard, they have:

1) Quran & Arabic class for kids (okay)
2) Housing advice for house-related problems (woah)
3) Training classes for those wanting to work in construction (woahhh)
4) Karate classes! (sugoiiiiiii!!!!)

Even Jackie Chan would be proud of this mosque.

And I know they also have classes to train teachers, and local businessmen would use the mosque to hold their meetings. AND the mosque is packed to the brim during Maghrib prayers.

Skeptics (disguised as intellectuals) would point out that 'muslims in britain lack the formal institutions, thus necessitating the use of the mosque as an all-encompassing avenue for resolving daily situations unlike in Malaysia where our institutions are more decentralised'. Still, it is rare to find a mosque offering karate classes, and we can definitely do more to position our mosques as the center of community life. So think about it please ;)

***

Masjid yang terletak di kawasan Finsbury Park ini (dekat dengan stadium Arsenal. Kalau cakap dengan orang Malaysia kena bagi rujukan stadium bola) nampak macam rumah kedai, bukan rumah ibadat. Tapi masjid ini lebih saya cintai daripada 100 masjid yang cantik di Malaysia. Namanya Muslim Welfare House (Rumah Kebajikan Islam) tapi kami pelajar malaysia panggil masjid ni Mewah (Muslim Welfare House -> MWH -> MeWaH. Malas nak sebut panjang lah tu)

Masjid ni sangat mantap. Tengok papan bulletin dia:
1) Kelas quran dan bahasa Arab untuk kanak-kanak (okay)
2) Sesi nasihat perumahan (pergh)
3) Latihan untuk bakal buruh pembinaan (perghhh)
4) Kelas karate (すごい!!!!!)

Jackie Chan mesti bangga dengan masjid ni. Saya dah lama dah bangga.

Setahu saya ada juga kelas latihan untuk bakal guru, dan peniaga tempatan akan buat mesyuarat mereka di bilik mesyuarat masjid. Kalau pergi waktu Maghrib, masyaallah, penuhnya sampai terpaksa buka bilik belakang.

Orang-orang skeptis akan berkata 'memanglah semua guna masjid. Kat sini kita ada pusat giatmara, Institut Latihan Perguruan, dewan sukan, dll' Ya, mungkin betul, tapi bukan semua masjid di UK ni yang tawarkan macam-macam program pembangunan masyarakat. Dan saya yakin masjid di Malaysia boleh buat lebih daripada menawarkan ustaz untuk kuliah subuh dan maghrib. Fikir-fikirkan dan selamat beramal ;)

Master Oogway's School

(Malay version below. Disclaimer: the Malay version is not a translation and I did not intend it to be so. Both languages have a different mode of thinking and different ways of conveying, and it is the meaning that I intend to convey, not the exact words)

Yesterday I had the good fortune of visiting my university for the first time. The first time I heard about it was, I think, during my undergraduate days. We had an Islamic Society dinner and some guys from SOAS were there as well.

I looked it up later and was quite intrigued. There's just something about the word 'oriental' that adds mystique to any word paired with it. Like how 'Oriental cuisine' conjures up an image of steaming tom yum made with a hundred different spices served in a 14th century Ming dynasty porcelain bowl (with dragons on the bowl, of course). Or how 'Oriental wisdom' brings to mind Master Oogway from Kungfu Panda. 

Anyways, why did I choose to come here? You know, people try to rationalise a lot of their decisions as if they came about as a result of deliberate thought when actually, it was just a 'wow' or 'let's do it!' moment. I may spin stories about how my fridge is value-for-money, energy efficient, bla bla bla, while the actual 'wow' was the cool metallic silver exterior that made it look like it could be an Autobot in secret. And only then do we find good reasons to justify buying an Autobot.

I guess it was the same with this university. School of Oriental and African Studies brings to mind the kind of school that Indiana Jones would have gone to before embarking on his quest to find oriental and african treasures. It brings to mind professors speaking 10 different Asian languages and wearing kain pelikat (jokes aside, there is a Russian professor at this institution whose specialization is medieval Malay manuscripts. He can read old Jawi, which makes him more literate than 99.9% of Malaysians!)

And the good reasons kept coming in. Their page in Wikipedia had this bit of history: 'The school immediately became integral in training British administrators, colonial officials and spies for overseas postings across the British Empire.' Cool. Any school that trained an army of James Bonds gets my vote. And apparently Pendeta Zaaba and Syed Naquib al-Attas studied here too, so I hope real Oogways here could impart just a tiny bit of that wisdom to this unripe soul.

***

Sekolah Master Oogway

Semalam saya bertuah dapat melihat universiti saya buat kali pertama. Saya mula-mula dengar nama U ini masa zaman mahasiswa; ada makan malam Islamic Society dan adalah beberapa orang dari SOAS yang makan sekali.

Kemudian saya kaji sedikit tentang tempat ini. Saya tertarik. 'Oriental & african' membayangkan orang-orang seperti Snouck Hurgronje, orientalis yang belajar bahasa orang kita, benar-benar masuk dalam budaya kita untuk mengambil hati dan mengubah cara fikir kita. 'Oriental' memberi bayangan sekumpulan pendeta ala-ala Master Oogway dalam Kungfu Panda, memberi kata-kata hikmah dan pedoman.

Kenapa saya memilih untuk datang sini? Kita selalu memberi alasan panjang lebar untuk mewajarkan tindakan kita, padahal yang sebenarnya kita hanya ikut rasa hati. Contoh: peti sejuk saya memang jimat tenaga dan sangat tebat haba. Tapi saya cenderung nak beli mula-mula dulu sebab warnanya 'metallic' seperti seekor Transformers. Bila mahu ada seribu jalan, bila tak mahu ada seribu alasan. Betul sangat kata-kata tu.

Samalah halnya dengan memilih universiti. School of Oriental and African Studies bunyinya macam sekolah yang melatih Indiana Jones sebelum beliau mengembara mencari harta karun. Bunyinya seperti ada Profesor yang reti bertutur bahasa-bahasa nusantara dan memakai kain pelikat (ada seorang Profesor Rusia di universiti ini, bidang pengkhususannya ialah manuskrip melayu lama. Perghh! Jangankan Jawi lama, Jawi masa SPM pun kita merangkak-rangkak).

Hati saya udah terpaut. Kemudian saya buat lagi pembacaan, apa lagi alasan-alasan baik untuk saya datang ke sini. Dalam wikipedia tertulis sejarahnya secara ringkas: 'Sekolah ini menjadi sangat penting (semasa zaman penjajahan) dalam melatih pegawai-pegawai kerajaan British, pegawai kolonial dan para mata-mata' (saya bukan SB tuan-tuan).

Kalau sekolah ini boleh melatih mata-mata sehingga fasih bahasa & budaya tempatan, saya nak tahu apa rahsia pendidikan tempat ini sehingga begitu ramai orang berkebolehan yang keluar darinya. Ilmuan Islam yang hebat seperti Pendeta Zaaba dan Syed Naquib al-Attas pun pernah belajar di sini, jadi saya rasa ini satu tempat yang baik untuk membuka minda yang kecil ini.

Nusantara Bonds

Ukhuwah Nusantara
(english translation below)

Di airport Heathrow ni, saya rasa saya seorang saja yang bawa bekal nasi impit, sambal bali & ikan bilis. Dengan tak malunya saya pun buka dan makan depan kedai marks & spencer. Orang sebelah saya yang mukanya kemelayuan pun tanya

'where are you from?'
'malaysia'
'oh, no wonder you're eating rendang'

Itulah permulaan perkenalan saya dengan sahabat dari Brunei ini. Rupa-rupanya beliau pun penerima biasiswa Chevening + bekerja dengan kerajaan (Pejabat PM) + berkahwin dan ada anak berumur 8 bulan. Allahuakbar, banyak yang serupa. Takdir yang menakjubkan.

Dalam borak-borak kami yang singkat, saya tanya apa perancangan selepas belajar nanti, nak masuk politik ke. Dia kata 'Di Brunei tiada politik'. Menteri-menteri dipilih dari golongan yang berkelayakan, disaring oleh sebuah jawatankuasa dan diluluskan oleh Sultan.

Dalam bidang yang saya akan belajar nanti (political economy) ini satu kes yang menarik. Brunei bukan negara demokrasi, tapi HDInya (human development index) mencapai 0.856, lebih tinggi dari Malaysia (0.779). Betulkah demokrasi itu prasyarat untuk pembangunan negara? Kenapa Brunei secara umumnya maju menggunakan sistem monarki manakala Malaysia pula agak-agak maju dengan monarki berperlembagaan, dan Singapura pula tak ada raja langsung dan sangat maju.

Ini soalan-soalan yang menarik dan insyaallah akan saya gali dalam setahun datang. Buat masa ini, saya gembira kerana terjalinnya hubungan bilateral (dua hala) dalam masa 10 minit disaksikan nasi impit.

***

Nusantara Bonds

I might be the only one in Heathrow Airport eating a packed breakfast of nasi impit (compressed rice) and sambal (which, being a flammable object, thankfully escaped confiscation by the airport authorities). But it was due to this delectable dish that the guy sitting next to me asked

'where are you from?'
'malaysia'
'oh, no wonder you're eating rendang'

You see? No one can rightfully call themselves a citizen of the nusantara if they could not identify rendang from a mile away. As it turned out, he was also a Chevening scholar, worked in the Bruneian PM's office (which surprised me as I didn't know that Brunei had a PM, until he said that the PM was the Sultan. Teehee) AND he was married with a 8-month old boy. Masyaallah, the wonders of destiny.

In our short chit chat I asked him his plans for the future. I asked if he was planning to go into politics. His response: 'In Brunei there are no politics'. Ministers are chosen based on merit, assessed by a nominating committee and approved by the sultan (If Trump heard this he'd be applying to become the Sultan of Brunei tomorrow). But things are working well so no one's making a big fuss out of it.

In the field that I am going to study (political economy) this is a really interesting case. Brunei is not a democracy but its HDI is 0.856, higher than Malaysia's (0.779). Is democracy really a prerequisite for development? Why is Brunei much well-off with a monarchic system, Malaysia reasonably so with a constitutional monarchy and Singapore very much well-off with no king at all?

These are interesting questions which I hope to understand (understanding is hard enough, let alone answering) in the next one year. For now, I'm just ecstatic in this bilateral relationship forged over food. How very nusantaran.

UMRAH, MENCARI MAKNA MENYINGKAP FITRAH - Bhg 1

Bahagian 1: Andai Kau Pergi
(English version will be posted later)

“Wahai sekalian manusia, bertaqwalah kepada tuhanmu” (Al Hajj:1)

“Dan berjihadlah kepada Allah dengan sebenar-benar jihad. Dia telah memilih kamu dan tidak menjadikan untuk kamu kesusahan dalam ad-Din. Millah bapa kamu Ibrahim”. (Al Hajj:78)

Ayat pertama surah al-Hajj menyentak sanubari, manakala ayat terakhir dalam surah al-Hajj  akan terngiang-ngiang dalam benak sesiapa yang membaca surah tersebut, seakan-akan Allah mahu memberikan ‘parting words’ (kata-kata perpisahan) tentang makna mengerjakan haji dan adik kecilnya umrah, Seolah-olah mengatakan ‘Kerjakanlah Haji/umrah dan ikutilah contoh Nabi Ibrahim. Kamu akan terbentuk menjadi orang yang bertaqwa dan berjuang’.

Tahun lepas saya memberitahu saudara/saudari pembaca bahawa saya menulis dalam nota peribadi nama 3 tempat yang ingin saya lawati: Turki, Indonesia & Mesir. Dua yang pertama sudah dilawati pada 2014 & 2015. Saya berazam juga untuk membuat umrah & haji, cuma tidak tahu bila. Alhamdulillah penghujung tahun 2015 saya dikurniakan rezeki melawat Haramayn ash-Sharifayn. Ketiga-tiga lawatan ini atas ajakan keluarga dan sahabat, dan semasa menerima ajakan keluarga untuk mengerjakan umrah sebenarnya  saya tidak punya simpanan yang mencukupi dan tidak tahu apakah rezeki yang akan saya peroleh. Maha Suci Allah sebaik-baik perancang.

Catatan ini sekadar penceritaan semula pemerhatian-pemerhatian, lintasan-lintasan hati dan buah fikiran yang diilhamkan kepada saya sepanjang perjalanan mengerjakan umrah. Ia bukan ‘revealed truth’ (kebenaran yang diwahyukan), hanya pendapat dan perasaan seorang insan. Jika apa yang ditulis ini bertepatan dengan teks & ruh al Quran dan as-Sunnah, maka ambillah kebaikannya dan jika tidak, maka sewajarnya ia diletak jauh-jauh.

Dalam pendahuluan ini saya tidak menyentuh lagi ibadah umrah secara khusus. Saya mulakan dengan persiapan sebelum umrah tersebut, persiapan spiritual, mental dan fizikal.

  Setelah ditadabbur ayat-ayat berkenaan haji, terutama ayat pembuka dan penutup surah al-Hajj, saya sampai kepada kesedaran bahawa ibadah ini satu ibadah yang istimewa. Ia menuntut jihad yang besar dan persediaan yang rapi. Saya senaraikan antara persediaan-persediaannya di bawah. Ini  bukanlah wajib, kerana syarat sah ibadah cukup dengan menyempurnakan rukun-rukunnya, tapi eloklah kita bersedia dengan mantap supaya boleh mengambil manfaat terbanyak daripada haji & umrah.

- Persediaan harta: Ini semua sudah maklum, berangkat ke Makkah dan Madinah menelan belanja yang tidak sedikit.
- Persediaan jiwa: Meningkatkan kualiti ibadah kita dengan Allah SWT, supaya di sana kita tidak ‘pancit’ kerana tiba-tiba ‘pulun ibadah’.
- Persediaan ilmu: Mengkaji semula kisah Nabi Ibrahim & Nabi Muhammad SAW, kerana di sana kita mengikut semula jejak mereka, merasai dengan dekat perjuangan dan susah-payah mereka menyebarkan risalah kebenaran.
- Persediaan bahasa: Ini adalah peluang terbaik berkenal-kenalan dengan umat Islam seluruh dunia. Alangkah baiknya kita mengetahui bahasa Arab walaupun pada tahap asas.
- Persediaan fizikal: Ibadah haji & umrah ibadah yang memerlukan kekuatan fizikal, wajarlah kita pastikan bahawa jasmani berada pada tahap yang ‘fit’.

Nah, sebelum berangkat lagi jihad yang besar dituntut daripada kita. Dan disebabkan keunikan dan luarbiasanya kesan daripada ibadah ini, saya berpendapat bahawa waktu terbaik untuk melaksanakannya ialah ketika kita muda. Semasa itu kita masih kuat, minda masih segar dan secara kebiasaannya masih banyak baki umur untuk melaksanakan dalam hidup seharian pengajaran-pengajaran yang diperoleh semasa di sana.

“Ya, semasa muda kita masih kuat, tapi masalahnya kita tiada wang dan tiada masa”.

Itu alasan. Sebab utama kita tidak dapat mengerjakan  haji & umrah semasa muda ialah kerana kita tidak merancang untuk mengerjakan haji dan umrah semasa muda. Kita berangkat dalam keadaan wang yang cukup-cukup makan, kita berangkat semasa pekerjaan, perniagaan & keluarga menuntut masa yang banyak. Bukankah itu jihad besar yang kita laung-laungkan di lidah? Bukankah jihad yang besar itu membuahkan hasil yang manis? Kenapa kita tidak bersedia sehabis baik untuk mengerjakannya?

Kita kata kita tidak mampu  menyimpan wang untuk ke tanah haram, tapi kita mampu menyimpan untuk membeli perkakas dan bahan melaram.

Kita kata kita belum mampu untuk berjumpa rumah Allah, tapi kita mampu meletakkan wang muka yang besar untuk membeli rumah mewah.

Bertaqwalah dan berjuanglah, jangan biarkan kecintaan kepada dunia bersarang dalam hati. Bukankah Allah pemilik khazanah langit dan bumi?

Semakin lama saya renung, semakin bertambah keyakinan saya bahawa Islam adalah satu sistem kehidupan yang cantik. Dengan menegakkan rukun-rukun Islam dengan sempurna sahaja sudah cukup untuk mengubah hidup seseorang.

Syahadah mengatur setiap detik hidup.
Solat mengatur  hidup hariannya.
Zakat mengatur hidup bulanannya.
Puasa mengatur hidup tahunannya.
Haji mengatur 'lifetime' (seumur hidup) nya. (kerana ia satu ibadah yang memerlukan perancangan hidup. Orang selalu membicarakan financial planning dan financial freedom. Kenapa tidak dibicarakan ibadah planning dan spiritual freedom?)

Maka jadilah hidup seseorang itu diatur oleh dan berpaksikan ubudiyah (penghambaan kepada Tuhan). Ini satu kehidupan yang damai dan sempurna, yang hanya dirasai oleh mereka yang menyerahkan diri kepada Tuhan mereka.

- Tamat Bahagian 1-

Avengers, re-assembled

“So, Captain America.”

“It’s Captain Amrullah now.”

“Oh, sorry”. She felt like slapping her forehead. Man, how could I forget that?

“Who brought this reporter over here anyway? Subhaaanallah, the things I have to go through.” He let out a long sigh.

“Chill, Captain. You know we need the coverage. If the Avengers start, then everyone else will follow.”

“You talk to her then”. And he walked off.

“Sorry about the Captain. He’s a bit stressed out about the whole Rohingya issue.” He took off his sunglasses, and she could see that he hasn’t been sleeping these past few days. “So, how can I help you miss..?”

“Natasha.” Her voice came out soft, and that’s not like her at all. It was quite intimidating, seeing these legendary men in the flesh. And there was a good reason why a lot of women swoon at the name of Tony Stark.

“Ehmm, let’s see…so Mr Stark, why did your team decide to help now? It seems like a waste of your superpowers. Normal people can handle it, governments can handle it”.

“That’s exactly the point. Governments can, and should, handle the situation, but they aren’t. You have a LOT of Muslim countries, and very rich ones too, but a lot of them are happy to be kicking the can into their neighbours’ street. They’re thinking, ‘Thank god it’s not happening in my backyard’, but that’s not the way to go. The whole ummah is like a body, one part suffers and the whole wakes up in pain. Even I know that”.

“Uhuh. Do you have permission for all this? You’re trespassing into other countries’ land and seas, you know”.

A grin formed at the side of his mouth. “Number one, we don’t need permission from these people who have no sense. Number two, it is Allah’s land and sea, he gave it to us so we can do good. Besides, no one gets angry at the Avengers, and we hope that this superhero stuff will push people into doing something.” At that, his eyes lit up. “In fact.....put this as an ad in your newspaper, ‘Iron Man loves the Rohingyans. Do you?’ And add a picture of Iron Man pointing straight, one hand at the hips.” He chuckles. “There, that would get them going.”

“I really hope that would”. She suddenly noticed something peculiar about him. Throughout the whole interview he never looked at her directly. Most of the time he was gazing at the floor or somewhere else. Tony Stark, who had a well-known penchant for women, not taking the opportunity to even look at one? This struck her as incredible.

“Heads up guys, we’re getting heat signals a few miles down”.

“Wait, wait, before you go, one last question. We were all shocked when all of you announced your reversion to Islam. How has that changed you? I heard that Hollywood’s refusing to make another movie about the Avengers.”

“Well, we like to say that we lost Hollywood, but gained the Holy Word. And that is something I would never, ever give up, not even if they take away my iron suits.”

“Never ever?”

“Never never ever. It has changed us for the better, definitely. Yes the Black Widow decided to stop, she had to protect her modesty and decided to wear the veil, but she’s still coordinating our missions. Now we only care about pleasing Allah, not the studio producers, not the media, nor anyone else. Yeah, its all good.”

“Thank you Mr Stark.”

“You’re welcome.”

“By the way, aren’t you supposed to suit up or something by now? I think we’re getting close.”

“Don’t worry. We have a Hulk.”

*************

Dr Bruce Banner was sitting cross-legged in a pod at the side of the carrier, eyes shut tight, fists clenched. He was muttering something under his breath. Natasha tried hard to listen, but she couldn’t make it out. He was, if she heard correctly, speaking in Arabic.

“What’s he saying?”

“Wait..”

Dr Banner’s muttering became louder, his breathing stronger.

 
...وما لكم الا تقتلوا في سبيل الله

“It’s a verse from the Quran, ‘What is it with you, that you don’t fight in Allah’s cause..’”

“Wow, he’s memorized the Quran? But you became muslim less than a year ago.”

“This is Bruce Banner, he’s a god-given genius. He memorized the whole book in 2 months.”

“Wow.”

 .. والمستضعفين من الرجال والنساء والولدان...

“He’s a lot calmer now. He’s reading these verses to fire himself up.”

 
… الذين يقولون ربنا أخرجنا من هذه القرية الظالم أهلها واجعل لنا من لدنك وليا واجعل لنا من لدنك نصيرا

Dr Banner stopped reciting and opened his eyes. They had turned bright green.

“Hulk ready.”

Hawkeye opened a door. “They’re all yours, Hulk”.

Banner leaped out of the carrier bellowing at the top of his lungs, his body transforming into a colossal green mass. They could hear a large thump as he landed, the sound of gunfire and the Hulk’s awesome roars as he wreaked havoc amongst the bandits.

After a few seconds, there was just silence.

The intercom buzzed. “Banner here. The crooks are finished. There are a lot of our brothers and sisters down here, some in cages. They look famished and some need medical help, but otherwise they’ll be fine insyaallah. Come down.”

And one by one, they all fell down prostrating.