Min Qolbi

Assalamualaikum wrt,

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alhamdulillah, eventhough the weather today was quite cold and most of us were exhausted, we managed again to perform tarawikh prayers today. Syukur lillah, setakat ini... sejak kita memulakan solat tarawikh di bilik ini, tak pernah sekali pun tertinggal. Harapnya dapat istiqamah.

This week was my second class of Philosophy. Frankly, most of the time I have no idea why we are even studying it. Hm, mungkin ada hikmah di sebaliknya. There was one part while we were discussing about Greek philosophers and there came up the term 'contemplation'. While my groupmates and the teacher were discussing what on earth 'contemplation' is - reclusing oneself and reflecting or thinking deeply and really, I have absolutely no idea what the Greek philosophers were thinking about while contemplating - I remembered that the Prophet pbuh once also often contemplated. And he contemplated about the society he lived in. How during the jahiliyah times, there were all sorts of misdoings and chaos around him and there came a time where he could not stand it any longer. It was then that he received his first revelation as a messenger of Allah. With one very important verb, iqra'! or read!..

But contemplation does not stop there, of course. Being a dai'e, contemplating is also one of the qualities we must have. Yes, mixing around with people is also important, for without mixing around or making new friends, how can one possibly enrich ukhuwwah? And without ukhuwwah, how can a dai'e fulfil his responsibilities of dakwah?

'Uzlah, or contemplating is one of the qualities a dai'e must have. But unlike the Greek philosophers who sit around 'thinking deeply' for hours and hours, a dai'e contemplates to bring himself closer to Allah. It is a way to communicate with Him, be it a prayer or performing namaz, or zikir or just telling Him about everything that you are feeling. As I have heard from an ustaz before, without establishing a strong relationship with Allah, how can you possibly let others see the beauty of Islam? If you are faced with challenges and difficulties while inviting people to the path of Islam (and undeniably, it is never-ending), how can you hold steadfast, how can you istiqamah without the strength that Allah grants you? Thus, our iman and our faith must also be stronghold in order to always continue to tsabat on this path.

Ibnu Taimiyyah once said, "Ada keharusan bagi hamba untuk melakukan 'uzlah
agar dapat beribadah kepada Allah, berdzikir kepadaNya, membaca ayat-ayat-Nya,
melakukan muhasabah terhadap dirinya, berdoa kepada-Nya, meminta ampunan-Nya,
menjauhi tindakan-tindakan yang jelek, dan lain sebagainya.

'Uzlah is also one of many ways to istighfar and reflect on the past mistakes which we have done and learn from them. To ask forgiveness from Allah and promise never to repeat them again... To return to Him...

And lastly, always remember that...
"Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest." (13:28)

*Meluahkan ketidakpuasan hati belajar Philosophy..*