It's Our Filthy Choice

Salam.

Reminiscing my old days. Talking and boycotting. So strong. So spiritual. At least I know my very heart enjoy those feelings. A kind of emotion that runs through your meridian. A feeling that is blessed by God. Feeling of care towards our ikhwan, our brothers. I know that feeling was real. I know, in my hardship of boycotting 'great' products there are blessings in it. Although it's very painful. Really. From kecik-kecik almost every month Karim went to McD when my father received his salary, but after the Intifadha' waves reached Malaysia, we restrained ourselves from buying the products and it's kind. Still, the rush of emotions are still inevitable, somehow in the name of hardship He let me sip His grace and kindness. Consoling my heart, alleviating my emotional pain, chilling my burning desire, erasing my personal envy towards my friends who are enjoyingly consume those products. It's not easy, and it will never be easy.

I would like to remind all readers that this post is based from my personal perspectives. You have the freedom to either renounce or corroborate my view as it is not purely from the Quran or Sunnah. It's just my personal digestion of morals from the two Holy sources. So, if you have anything in your mind, please do have your opinion occupies the comment box, and most important do comment nicely. I know this post will somehow cause some upheavals anywhere within anyone's heart. I'm sorry for that firstly. I just feel the need to write this, to remind, as this is the pure purpose of this blog.

This post is partially a conclusion from my ratiocination and it is basically just to trigger each reader to cogitate and to ponder about our role in the Palestinian conflicts. I miss the good spirit once burning in me. Concern towards what is happening to our brothers there. Now it seems that the spirit, the passion and all of the positive attitudes we once possess slip away slowly from us. Unnoticed, day by day our sensitivity is reduced. Karim don't know why but the situation is deteriorating. For us and for them. It's deadly. We are Muslims! A community that is connected, each of us is connected by the divine connection. We serve the same God, we follow the same Prophet, we read the same Quran, and we prostrate towards the same Ka'bah. Then why don't we help them? I mean there are no other ways for us to help them. Why can't we sacrifice something for them? It's like we do nothing to help them. We are completely useless. 2 years ago I had a personal dream. Some called my ambition 'dark dream'. My dream is I want to be a fighter in Palestine. That's one of the reasons why I am so into these survival-jungle-military things. I am not really good in the history of war and weaponology but I do have the dream to become one of them, the greatest living survivors ever lived, survived years of aggression, assailment, tyranny and oppression. They are the chosen ones, to live there, defending the Holy City where the Holy Mosque Al-Aqsa is located. They are the ones that Prophet Muhammad had stated 1400 years ago. A community of Holy Land that will defend the Holy Mosque until their fates come.

Umamah Al Bahili reports that the Prophet said
"A group of my community will remain on truth, they will vanquish their enemy and those who disagree with them will not be able to harm them until Allah commands".
"Where are these poeple?" The Companions asked.
The Prophet replied, "In and around Al-Quds (Jerusalem)". -Imam Ahmad

Back then, Karim was motivated by our history. When the Pakistani General opened the border of Egypt and announced to the world and summoned Muslims from everywhere to come and help the Egyptian defend their homeland from Israeli attacks. A teen from Kedah went there and 'syahid'. Hundred years ago, in one sariyah (wars that Prophet Muhammad didn't participate), when the Muslims were fighting the Persian, they were to cross a river. On the other side were the Persians waiting to attack them. While crossing, suddenly one of them accidentally dropped his pot in the river. Do you know what did the commander said? He said "Don't cross the river yet, find our brother's pot first!". Later the Persians told their king that they will never beat the Muslims, because their ukhuwaah were very strong. Karim hitherto is astounded by these kind of stories. No wonder they could conquer the world. They possessed a very valuable moral value which is ukhuwwah. That's why I once wanted to be a fighter. But, later I know my presence there will only make things worse. A sinful person will only block Allah's help. Name it, although he is a sniper, a commando, but if he is a sinner, it will only make things worse. Read about Badar and Uhud and make a comparison. In Badar, Allah sent thousands of marked angels. But in Uhud, just because the archers disobeyed Muhammad's order, Allah had held the reinforcement from angels. Now the only way I can help them is through the economic way. For this time being. The 'dark dream' is to be modified.

Sometimes when it comes to ruminate this idea, shame rushes through Karim's vein. Really, after the Prophet and his Companions had decorated the Muslim's history with a remarkable design of moral values and akhlaq, we failed to learn from them. We failed! They sacrificed a lot. Karim don't know what Karim had sacrificed purely for Islam. Sometimes I get confused. Do I really serve the ummah? Hmmph..the only way I can help them is through economic medium. By sadaqah and boycotting. Sadaqah and boycott. I guess these words are very familiar. Some of us fed up when these words reverberated in their ear canal. The former is a little bit easier than the latter. The latter is mostly about choice. Boycott is a choice. A Choice. No one can force us to boycott. It's a consumer's right. Power to choose. Just shift the scale from the view of item to the view of option. A wider scale. I jot this down with the intention to remind myself and my friends, and also our fellow readers. Months ago, when Gaza was on assault, the boycott was very intense. Our Malaysian products increased 30 percent of it's original profit. Then, slowly the intensity decreases. I just want to start a spark in our hearts, to start what we have started. To help our brothers just by boycotting. ONLY boycotting. Nothing more nothing less. Can you all see that we do nothing when they ARE in pain?

We try as hard as possible to skip morning classes so that we don't need to wake up early, they try as damn hard as possible to skip the sleep so that they won't die in an unknown air strike. While we are happily counting the days for holidays, they are sadly counting the days they had lived without their parents. Between us and them, they are so much differences. It's considerable if we are trying our BEST to help them, but we don't even try to help them! Not an ounce of effort. In fact, the more the get oppressed, the more we buy the Israeli products. Go go McD, go Nike, go Domino's, go Pizza Hut, go everything! Announce to the whole world that you bought those products, pose for the cameras, celebrate events, yeah! Do everything to consume those products. Do everything to actually sponsor magazines and missiles, war ships and artillery, grenades and rockets. Do everything to kill our own brothers! Please, I'm ok if someone wants to disagree my view, but to deny the facts that these companies don't give anything to Israel, that's a treacherous ignorance. Some are just too occupied to have their updates on artists and songs, movies and sports, games and social sites and then easily refuted blindly researches from some who had done it. Isn't that awful? Personally, I really adore those products. But, for my brothers, I restrain myself. I don't know, whenever I eat or use the products, I feel that I'm dirty and filthy in the sight of God. Very much.

To boycott is your own choice but to deny the facts is absolutely wrong. I just want to invite you, together we boycott the Israeli products. Trust me. It brings no harm. Indeed, you feel calm and peace. If we didn't do anything, we even support the Israeli products that is directly support the assault, it is indeed a very sinful act. Let us imagine, what will happen to us after we die? First we have to go through Munkar and Nakir, which will ask us about our wealth and money, where did we spend the money? Can we answer that question? Errr...I ..I kill my brothers in Islam. The moment we died, it is our hearts' task to answer questions with the help of parts of our body. Our mouths are silenced. Wrong answer we are to be hit and I guarantee you the hit is so painful. After the deadly torment in our grave, we go to the Mahsyar. We will suffer there. Then we are to be judged by Allah. What will be our answer when Allah asks us? What have we done to help them? I can't imagine what will happen if I can't answer the question. If front of all humans ever existed, we deny our so-called humanity. On that Day, we may regret and feel remorseful only because we had skipped one simple pace in our life, help our brothers by boycotting Israeli and their kind. We may cry heavily and bloodily, but that won't change anything there. Never.

Let us shift our paradigm. Don't do this to punish the Israel, do this to help our brothers. It's simple. You have the power to choose. Remember that every choice are to be asked that Day, so do choose wisely. We can make a difference.


Watch and feel it. Understand their pain. Barakallahu fiik.

Salam.

Calon SPM, Selamat Berjaya!

Salam.
Edisi Khas.Kami,KARIM mengucapkan selamat berjaya kepada calon-calon SPM '09.

Semoga setiap dari kalian dirahmati Allah,diberkati usaha serta dipermudahkan urusan. Moga setiap derapan tapak kaki kalian menuntut ilmu diiringi oleh debu-debu rahmah Ar-Rahim. Moga setiap helaan nafas kalian dihembus kibasan sayap malaikat yang menaungi kalian. Moga setiap jerih pahit kalian belajar di jalan Allah dibayar dengan manisnya sungai-sungai di syurga. Moga setiap tangis kalian di malam hari didengari penduduk langit yqng mendoakan keampunan buat kalian. Moga Al-Malik,pemilik kerajaan alam ini,Yang memuliakan dan menghinakan,mengangkat darjat kalian yang belajar di jalanNya. Amin ya rabbal 'alamin..

Sudah ramai yang diajar oleh Tuhan,kerana yakin dengan usaha sendiri.Yakin dengan PUI.Yakin dengan soalan ramalan.Yakin denagn tuisyen.Yakin dengan kecerdikan.Yakin dengan qiamullail.Yakin dengan puasa.Yakin dengan segala-galanya! Namun lupa untuk yakin pada Pemilik mutlak kejayaan dan kegagalan. Karim berpesan agar jangan kalian yakin selain pada Allah. Cukuplah kesilapan-kesilapan pejuang-pejuang silam. Sudah cukup kemas dinukilkan pada sirah umat Islam. Di mana Perang Badr,Khaibar,Khandak, umat Islam menang kerana yakin pada Allah. Malah perang Mu'tah,betapa 3000 muslim berjaya mengalahkan 200,000 kuffar. Di mana umat Islam pada mulanya ingin berpatah balik,namun Abdullah bin Rawahah menyeru "Adakah kalian meletakkan kemenangan itu pada ramainya meraka?Adakah kalian memutuskan sebelum datangnya keputusan Allah? Di manakah yakin kalian pada Al-Fath?" Akhirnya mereka menang. Namun sebaliknya terjadi di perang Hunain, di nmana 12000 muslim berperang dengan kuffar seramai 10000. Pada waktu itu,umat Islam yakin mereka menang,bukan yakin pada Allah,namun kerana bilangan mereka lebih ramai. Pada hemat mereka,mereka menang. Namun,Allah menentukan sebaliknya buat mereka. Kekalahan yang tercatat di dalam Al-Quran.Justeru,Karim ingin menyeru,gantunglah tali pergantungan kalian pada Allah. Kerana Dialah yang akan memutuskan segala-galanya. Karim juga mendoakan agar kalian dapat buat yang terbaik. Islam memerlukan remaja-remaja yang berkualiti. Remaja yang dadanya dipenuhi ilmu,hatinya dilimpahi cahaya ruhiyah,mindanya diisi fikrah sempurna Islam. Kita tak perlu risau sama ada Islam naik atau tidak, Islam tetap akan kembali dijulang, itu janji Allah. Namun, adakah kita termasuk di dalam mereka yang menaikkan nama Islam atau sebaliknya? Buat yang terbaik dan manfaatkan sebaiknya! Bittaufiq wan najah.

Happy Birthday Amirul!

Salam. Readers sekalian. Ehem2. I have an announcement to make. Can we call this an announcement? Hehe. It's about the leader and founder of this blog.
Ok. I will put this short and brief. Tanggal 23 Oktober 1991, telah lahir seorang manusia. Diberi nama Muhd. Amirul Arif. Beliau seorang yang ceria, banyak menyimpan rahsia, skillful, bijak, suka explore- i think that's why he's very expert in Adobe, media and webs. Di sekolah merupakan pengawas, sarjan mejar, Imam besar Caliph14 bersama Anas dan Azfar.

Earlier, I wanted to post this in my blog, but better make it more public. Hehe.

Ya Allah, berkatilah umur kawan aku yang ni. Biarlah umurnya menjadi saksi pembelanya dihadapanmu nanti.
Ya Allah, jadikanlah dirinya pembela agamamu. Jadikanlah kapal terbangnya sebagai pemacu tentera udara agamamu. Jadikanlah beliau antara yang syahid dalam membela agamamu. Amin.

Haha. Happy Birthday Mirol! Sorry pendek. Memang tak boleh panjang-panjang. Handphone kot. Haha. Ok. Bday Mirol! Moga kuat di sana.
Salam :)

Tidur kita.

Salam,

Ape Kabar Kolian?

Waah..dapat gak Karim selitkan slang 'Mandailing'(slh satu suku di indonesia) kat atas tu.

Ok2.Berbalik kpd title di atas,insya Allah Karim akan kupas sedikit sebanyak mengenai tidur kita.Hmm,kalau cite pasal tidur,semua org suke.Sebab disebalik tidur tu ade nikmat yang kita tak mampu nak ungkap.Tambah2 kalau tidur waktu tengah hujan lebat..waaah,tidur matilah nampak gayenye..hehe

Sedar tak sedar(sedar ke tak sedar?dua-duala.hehe),tidur ni merupakan satu ujian wat kita.Sebagai contoh,masa kita masih didalam persediaan utk menghadapi SPM,waah..meja studi kitalah menjadi saksi kepayahan kita.Kerja bertimbun2,dengan buku teksnye,buku rujukannye,latih tubinye,notanye,air Yasin nye,kismisnye,ubat homeopathynye n mcm2 lgla.Sebenarnye ade kaitan di antara jihad belajar kita dengan tidur ni.Yela,adik2 pukul 1130,da bole tidur,kita?melebam biji mata stay up la konon nye.hehe.mane taknye,Set Trial Add Math Mrsm x siap lagi,Trial Acc T'ganu x siap lagi.haish.Jadi,terpakse la kita memasang angan2 yang sebegini rupa;

''Lepas SPM aku nak bantai tidur puaaaaaaas-puaaaaaaaaaas!!!!Aku x peduli!!!!!"

Aleh2,lpas SPM,tak boleh tidur.pulak daaaaaaaah.hehe

Karim tersentuh dengan ayat Allah tentang tidur;

mereka sedikit sekali tidur pada waktu malam(17)pada akhir malam mereka 

memohon ampunan(kepada Allah)(18)

adz-zariyat 51:17-18

Subhanallah.Pada ayat sebelumnya Allah ade menyentuh mengenai ganjaran orang yang bertakwa.dan sebenarnye golongan al-muttaqin ini sedikit sangat waktu tidurnye.mereka banyak menghabiskan malam2 mereka dengan beribadah kepada Allah.Tasbih,Tahmid,Takbir,Tahlil,Tilawah,Tahjud,Taubat dll.Studi di malam hari pun merupakan satu ibadah.Insya Allah.

Jadi,semoga kita cube untk mempraktikkannye bersame-sama.Lebih2 lg,bg student cenfos Uia PJ,Nilai,KUIS,DQ(diploma) dll;cuti ni jgnlah banyak tidur ye..agak2 sikit.hehe

Peringatan utk diriku juga. Salam

P/s:Ada orang tu boleh tidur dimane2 je. :)

Popular and Majority.

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks,
one still in use while the other unused.

Only one child played on the unused track,
the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming,
and you are just beside the track interchange.

You can make the train change its course to the unused track
and save most of the kids.

However,
that would also mean the lone child playing by the unused track would be sacrificed.

Or would you rather let the train go its way?



Let's take a pause..

and think...

what kind of decision we could make?




Most people might choose to divert the course of the train,
and sacrifice only one child.

You might think the same way,
I guess.

Exactly,
to save most of the children at the expense of only one child
was rational decision most people would make,
morally and emotionally.

But, have you ever thought
that the child choosing to play on the unused track
had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless,
he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends
who chose to play where the danger was.

This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday.

In the office,
community,
in politics
and especially in a democratic society,
the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority,
no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are,
and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are.
The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined.

And in the case he was sacrificed,
no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian
who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train
because he believed
that the kids playing on the operational track
should have known very well that the track was still in use,
and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..

If the train was diverted,
that lone child would definitely die
because he never thought the train could come over to that track!

Moreover,
that track was not in use,
probably because the track was not safe.

If the train was diverted to the track,
we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child,
you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware
that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made,
we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular..
and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes..
that's why they put erasers on pencils..

p/s: "jika kamu mengikuti kebanyakkan orang di bumi ini, nescaya mereka akan menyesatkanmu dari jalan Allah. yang mereka ikuti hanyalah persangkaan belaka dan mereka hanyalah membuat kebohongan." - Al-An'am: 116 -

-diambil daripada blog Kak Duha.

God of 'Gods'.

Salam.

It's been a while. Firstly, we, Karim are very sorry. For letting this blog untouched. We have been very busy lately. For one of us is to fly an aeroplane soon, one is occupied by his A-Level at KYUEM, one is boosting his momentum at CFS, one is preparing himself for an Exam at DQ, one is playing with his architectural tools at UiTM while me, I'm typing. Hehe.

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Teringat kisah lama, tentang tuhan kita, Allah. Dahulu, pernah ada seorang bertanyakan pada Karim. "Kenapa kita tak boleh pejam mata bila solat?". Karim tak tahu, ajak sama-sama pergi jumpa ustaz. Masa itu kecil lagi. Comel-comel je. Tanya ustaz. Ustaz kata bukan tak boleh, cuma tak digalakkan dalam Mazhab Syafie. Tapi kalau dalam mazhab lain, ustaz itu kata tak boleh. Kami tanya kenapa. Ustaz cakap "Kerana bila pejam mata, mungkin lebih mudah untuk kita nak cuba-cuba bayang rupa Allah macam mana. Itu bahaya. 'Aqal manusia tak tercapai". Kami tanya lagi, "Macam mana rupa Allah?". Ustaz jawab "Kita tak boleh fikir perkara itu, akal kita tidak dicipta untuk itu. Laisa kamithlihi syai'a. Tidak ada yang sama dengannya". Pesanan itu dipahat dalam dada.


Lama kemudian, Karim membesar. Ada pula yang mempersoalkan, "Kenapa kita, Muslim tak boleh lihat Tuhan kita, sedangkan penganut lain boleh tengok tuhan mereka?". Iya lah. Kristian boleh tengok Jesus Tuhan mereka, Habakkuk malaikat mereka. Hindu boleh tengok dewa-dewa mereka. Buddha boleh puja nenek-moyang mereka. Knights Templars boleh lihat Baphomet mereka. Jadi, kenapa kita tak boleh? Sedangkan Tuhan kita yang paling hebat, berkuasa dan Esa. Jadi, kalau hendak dibandingkan haruslah Tuhan kita paling hebat rupanya.

Hebat tak hebat, itu taraf manusia. Jawapannya sudah ramai yang tahu. Allah, Tuhan kita tak terikat dengan mana-mana undang-undang yang diciptanya. Dia Berdiri Sendiri, Tidak Memerlukan Sesiapa. Dia tak perlukan kita, tapi kita perlukan Dia. Habis, undang-undang apa ini? Senang. Undang-undang Allah ada dua bahagian. Syariatullah dan Sunnatullah. Allah tak terikat dengan kedua-duanya. Sunnatullah kebanyakannya meliputi sains. Ya, sains. Ada apa dengan sains? Apa kaitannya dengan kita melihat Tuhan? Apabila kita melihat Tuhan, bermakna secara automatiknya Tuhan terpaksa merendahkan martabatnya untuk mengikut undang-undang yang dicipta untuk hambanya. Undang-undang cahaya. Jikalau dia dilihat, secara automatiknya dia patuh pada undang-undang cahaya. Dilihat, bermakna berlaku pantulan cahaya. Dan sebagainya. Allah adalah Tuhan, dia di luar batasan ruang dan waktu. Di luar segalanya yang boleh digapai oleh akal manusia. Dialah Tuhan yang menciptakannya. Lihat sahaja bagaimana Dia menciptakan malaikat. Malaikat dicipta daripada cahaya. Mudah, kita tidak dapat melihat malaikat kerana ia tidak terikat dengan peraturan cahaya dunia. Allah berkuasa memilih peraturan mana yang Dia mahukan pada hamba-hambanya. Malaikat daripada cahaya, pure light. Kita tidak dapat malaikat, kerana untuk melihat cahaya mestilah dipantulkan ke dalam mata kita. Cahaya malaikat, tidak tertakluk pada perlunya bergerak lurus, perlunya pemantulan dan pembiasan. Itu kuasa Allah. Dia tak tertakluk pada mana-mana undang-undang.


Yang kedua, baru-baru ini Karim sedar. Bahawa ada Hikmah Allah menetapkan agar umat Islam tidak memberi wajah atau rupa pada Allah, malah dilarang keras sekali untuk membayangkannya. Mengapa? Mudah sahaja, ketaatan. Bagi Karim, ketaatan. Karim suka untuk menyatakan definisi ketakutan yang digariskan oleh Medivh. Magus Medivh. Beliau mengatakan manusia takut kepada apa yang mereka tak tahu. Mereka hanya tahu sifat namun selebihnya mereka tak tahu. Itulah yang menambahkan ketakutan. Ketakutan kita pada Tuhan berbeza dengan ketakutan kita pada makhluk. Jika kita takut pada Tuhan, kita makin dekat pada Tuhan. Jika makhluk, ia akan terjadi sebaliknya.

Karim bawakan beberapa contoh, yang manusia sebenarnya memang dicipta untuk tidak tahu bagaimana rupa tuhan, justeru, ramai yang mengambil idea daripada persekitaran mereka untuk me'wajah'kan tuhan mereka. Kristian, ia merupakan ajaran Paul. Kita lihat bilamana Paul berdakwah pada orang Rom tentang agama baru yang dibawanya, Paul ditanya satu soalan. "Tuan, bagaimanakah rupa Tuhan kami?". Paul memandang sekeliling dan beliau melihat dalam sebuah gambar, seorang dewa yang berada di atas sekali, atas daripada dewa-dewa lain. Zeus. Terus Paul menerangkan Jesus selari dengan ciri-ciri Zeus. Siapa yang pernah main DoTA, tahu rupa lebih-kurang Zeus macam mana. Tujuannya, agar lebih mudah menundukkan mereka dengan berwajahkan bekas Tuhan mereka. Hindu, di mana kita lihat gajah dan monyet menjadi idola. Di mana kita lihat, Tuhan mereka lebih kurang macam mereka. Buddha, suatu fahaman yang tidak mempercayai Tuhan namun menyembah semangat nenek moyang mereka. Kerna melekatnya salah satu ajaran Confucius
iaitu menghormati ibu bapa. Lihat, Tuhan mereka lebih kurang macam mereka. Namun, kajian teologi menyatakan mereka yang tahu rupa Tuhan mereka kurang takut dan taat berbanding mereka yang tidak tahu rupa tuhan mereka. Wah, kajian menyebelahi kita. Haha. Memang sudah lumrah, kita akan kurang takut dengan sesuatu yang sudah kita tahu secara terperinci. Macam hantu sebagai contoh, bagi mereka yang tak tahu pasti akan cabut seratus meter. Bagi mereka yang sudah tahu, hanya tersenyum. Itu contoh mudah.


Oleh itu, Karim ingin menyeru marilah kita mengabdikan diri kepada Allah dengan sepenuhnya. Mati datang bila-bila masa. Takkan ada orang nak datang berjumpa pencipta dia dalam keadaan dia sedang berdosa; berzina, couple, rokok, mengumpat, dsb. Moga dengan peringatan ini, Karim dan pembaca akan sentiasa ingat hakikat hidup ini. For He is The King of kings. God of 'gods'.



Dan sesiapa yang diberi hidayah petunjuk oleh Allah maka dia lah yang sebenar-benarnya berjaya mencapai kebahagiaan; dan sesiapa yang disesatkanNya maka engkau tidak sekali-kali akan mendapati bagi mereka, penolong-penolong yang lain daripadaNya. Dan Kami akan himpunkan mereka pada hari kiamat (dengan menyeret mereka masing-masing) atas mukanya, dalam keadaan buta, bisu dan pekak; tempat kediaman mereka: neraka Jahannam; tiap-tiap kali malap julangan apinya, Kami tambahi mereka dengan api yang menjulang-julang.
Al-Israa' 97

Buat muhasabah...Salam

Stranger in the Dark..

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Bilal, five years my senior, was my example. Fatimah, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play big brother’ and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors - Mom taught me to love the word of Allah, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening.

If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bilal, and me to our first major league baseball game.

He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’t seem to mind but sometimes Mom would quietly get up while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places, go to her room, and read her Qur’an and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.

You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house - not for some of us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that turned my ears and made Dad squirm.

To my knowledge, the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn’t permit alcohol in his home, as good Muslims should. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much, too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I know now that the stranger influenced my early concepts of the man-woman relationship. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of Allah that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents. Yet, he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Wangee Road.

He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents’ den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures… His name you ask? We called him TV.

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and expiate from us our evil deeds, and make us die in the state of righteousness.

"O Allah, let our last days be the best days of our life and our last deeds be the best deeds, and let the best day be the day we meet You." (Surah Al- Imran Ayat 193)

iluvislam