Perfection Part 2

Well now let's continue. :)

On to the 4 aspects of life.

1st off is Physical Limitations~
-at birth, born weak
-no choice of parents
-no control of the environment
-no control of SELF
-many threats

We don't realise how weak we are sometimes, especially when things have been going our way for a long time. The fact is we are weak. Notice that we don't even have control on ourselves. Remember what we read in the doa after reciting Al-Mathurat?

[Walaa takkilna ilaa anfusinaa tharfata'ainin walaa aqalla mindzhaalika yaa ni'malmujiib]
"Jangan (Ya Allah) Engkau biarkan nasib kami ditentukan oleh diri kami sendiri; walaupun kadar sekelip mata atau kadar masa yang lebih mudah dan cepat wahai Tuhan yang memperkenankan doa (perkenankanlah)"

We ask for ourselves not to be controlled by ourselves. Why? Because we do not know what's best for us. Allah does. We face many threats too that we have no control on whatsoever so there is just no way to be perfect. PHYSICALLY, we can't.

BUT to excellence, there's a way.

Humans despite the limitations I mentioned, have the capability of stretching their potentials. This way we are able to do great things but don't forget that even this is provided that Allah wills it.

2nd would be Intellectual Limitations~
-stupidity, idiocy
-wrong shifts in paradigms
-mistaken beliefs
-limitations in opportunity

There is no denying that Allah has created some of us to have certain strengths over others. When you're good at something there's surely someone out there who's better and at times you may not be as lucky as others. Wrong shifts in paradigms are so scary to me. Pray to be far from it. Here again you see no way of being perfect but for excellence when it comes to the mind we have the ability to MEMORIZE.

I don't really like that word but I realise now it's importance. There's no running away from it. Your brain capacity can take it so do memorize.

For excellence you need to have a clean HEART~

You know the requirement of taking care of the knowledge you have? One way it may leak is by looking at 'aurat'. It sure is difficult for men nowadays coz so many girls aren't taking care of their aurat. Be it muslims or non-muslims it will affect you. But to my brothers be strong. Again I say be strong. To my sisters it's easier for us since men at least here in Malaysia don't show off their aurat like women but don't take things for granted. Watch your eyes from sights you're not supposed to see. Conclusion for this part is, we are not INTELLECTUALLY capable of being perfect.

3rd is Emotional Limitations~
-chemical impact on emotion
-depression
-mania
-suicidal tendencies

Ahh...how I relate to this very much. (pinches self :P) For excellence follow the ways of our Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. There are a few stories that the speaker mentioned that touched me very much. It's not that I've never heard of them but the fact that I have forgotten to use those examples made my eyes teary. How easily we forget. Stories next time alright? :) That'll give you something to await for at least. Stories like these are so beneficial and so to spread from mouth to mouth would be so much greater than other stories. ;) And as the above two, we are EMOTIONALLY incapable of perfection.

4th is Spiritual Limitaions~
-don't realise existence of spirit
-spiritual emptiness
-loneliness inside

Another moment to pinch myself! haha :P We are so not doing justice to our souls aren't we? Why? We pay too much attention to this walking, breathing, making mistakes body. :P For excellence we must be fair in treating the two. Now remember, fairness is not about equality. It's about doing what's right. (meletakkan sesuatu pada haknya) Have we deprived our souls from it's right? I know I have :( also some stories to share but again, later cay? :) so finally we are not SPIRITUALLY perfect.

So brothers & sisters to achieve perfection is not quite right. We should strive for excellence. But hey, don't completely forget the word 'perfect'. Perfection is saved for us in heaven. To put it simply, it's not the right time for perfection. Be patient because insyaAllah, you will get to experience what's perfect when the time comes :)

You know, nearing the end of his talk, the speaker mentioned,
"Any form of extremism is not acceptable"

I asked him how do we know whether the extent of what we're doing is extreme? Ye la orang Melayu selalu kata kalau nak buat sesuatu tu buatlah dengan bersederhana dan jangan berlebih-lebih. Tapi apakah yang dikatakan 'lebih'?

He answered that it depends on the situation a person is in. Yup, that helped me but I would like to hear other opinions as well. You reading, please help me. An example I'd give would be this. We feel it's important to explore as much as possible the creations of Allah. We want to study many things at once. Does that make us extreme? If it does, how about those before us who are masters in many fields? 2nd situation is we realise that we must submit ourself to Allah and do as much ibadah as we can. By doing that are we said to be too much? If so, how about those before us that even pray up to more than 300 rakaat per day and khatam the quran every week? What exactly is extreme? Do comment on this.

Finally the end of a very long post. haha... For those who made it till this line, thank you for reading :) May Allah bless you.

Perfection

Salam Alayk :)

Let's not dwell over silly things anymore okay? I apologize for the previous posts that haven't been that important. Well, despite that I hope those of you reading could get something out of it at least. I try to convey useful messages in my posts and eventhough recent events cause me a certain degree of grief it's okay. Why? Because humans are not perfect. That's how it is so deal with it. :P

It's late now but since I'm in the mood, don't mind me writing okay? Just now in conjunction with the closing ceremony of the 2009 I-CODE there was a talk. The question was, "How to be a perfect human?"

WARNING

THIS IS POSSIBLY A LONG POST BUT DO CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON'T MIND :)

The speaker first asked us all a question. He said "Before asking how to be a perfect human you must first know why you want to be a perfect human. So, why?"

I couldn't answer this properly just now. Hmm...Think about it. Why? When I was thinking, suddenly a thought struck me. Do I want to be perfect in the 1st place actually? Haha...questions leading to more questions. Shows how ignorant we are. Now in this case ignorance is NOT BLISS. We must know and so that's why we must continue exploring the mysteries of life for there is no end to Allah's knowledge. Okay, let's not be hypocrites. I'll tell you my first thought when he asked that question. Why do I want to be perfect? Because by being perfect, things are simpler. That's what I thought. Coz if you're perfect then nothing can go wrong.

BUT, as my mind starts thinking further I remembered the feeling of hope. You know when you leave everything to Allah and trust in Him? When you have that strong will to improve, the guilt of making mistakes, the sweetness when you repent, the difficulty in doing something and finally getting it right. All those feelings we experience come rushing to me and I said to myself if I were to have to lose all that would I want to be perfect? I don't think so. Especially that sweet feeling of hope towards Allah that can never be replaced by anything. If I have to lose that, I don't wanna be perfect. And so, the question on 'why' is pushed aside :P

The speaker said that perfection is prepared for those who have faith in paradise. He said, "Perfection is what the eyes have not seen, what the ears have not listened to, and what the heart has never felt." You know, whenever something about the heart comes out I have this sudden feeling to cry. Why? Because I felt touched. A woman's heart is very delicate they say. True enough :) and so when he mentioned "...what the heart has never felt." I could feel my heart reaching out as if wanting to know what is it that it has never felt. [sabar dulu ye hati? :P]

So, the subsequent question is what is it that we want? Is it perfection that we're after or is it actually excellence?

It's excellence.
Now this is not impossible to achieve :)

The talk comprised of the 4 aspects of life (physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual). What's holding us back from excellence are challenges that we face.
-limited knowledge (ignorance is NOT bliss)
-DESIRES, TEMPTATIONS and sins

Desires from within ourselves and temptations from the surroundings. This hit me hard. :( Don't know about you :P

The speaker went on further into the 4 aspects of life but since this post is long already I'll continue in the next entry okay? You might be bored if I straight away write all so this is it for now. Some thoughts for you to think about till I write more. :)

Why am I writing all this you ask? Because knowledge is meant to be spread. We must not assume others already know right? :)

"Sebagaimana Kami telah mengutus kepadamu seorang Rasul (Muhammad) dari (kalangan) kamu yang membacakan ayat-ayat Kami, menyucikan kamu, dan mengajarkan kepadamu Kitab (Al-Quran) dan Hikmah (Sunnah), serta mengajarkan apa yang belum kamu ketahui."

[Al-Baqarah 2:151]

Cinta~

Dulu, selalu ingat perempuan sahaja yang akan rasa tidak dihargai sekiranya pasangan tidak menyatakan perasaan cinta kepadanya. Rupa-rupanya lelaki pun rasa begitu. Haha... Ustaz yang cakap ni, baru Nadira tahu.

Maknanya manusia ni memang ada perasaan tidak pasti dan mahukan kepastian. Kalau senyap sikit je dah mula rasa gelisah. Mulalah persoalan-persoalan di kepala seperti, “Dia ni dah tak sayang aku lagi ke?” haha...

Dapat kita lihat disini yang manusia mahukan bukti cinta dan manusia mahu dicintai kembali oleh orang yang dicintai. Mengapa begitu susah untuk cinta kepada Rasulullah? Mungkin kerana ketiadaan bukti Rasulullah cintakan kita?

Now that’s where we’re wrong. Who says there is no evidence of his love towards us? My brothers & sisters, indeed Rasulullah loves us very much.

With love, what feeling comes up when you’re far apart?

RINDU (to miss)

There was a time when Rasulullah was among his family and friends. (Eh, tak sedap betul bunyi. Keluarga dan sahabat-sahabat lagi sedap :P) He seemed sad. Sahabat asked him, why are you sad Rasulullah when we are all here near you? He answered something along these lines. “I miss those who love and follow me yet unable to see me.”

Who are those people? It’s US! He refers to us as ‘saudara’an even stronger bond than ‘sahabat’. See, he does love us :)

The most difficult moment of a person’s life is when approaching death.

SAKARATUL MAUT

That time, you’d remember the people you love most and nothing else. You’d keep saying their name. Now tell me what was Rasulullah saying on his death bed? What was he so worried about?

“Ummati...Ummati...Ummati”

He was thinking of US. His Ummah....He was so worried about US...

Do we ever think of him the way he thinks of us? Instead of fretting thinking that he doesn’t love us I think it should be the other way round. Do we love Rasulullah? Think about it coz that is what’s still uncertain. What’s certain is....

RASULULLAH LOVES US :)

I'm back :)

Salam Alayk :)

Sorry for the long silence. I've been away for 8 days. 2 camps you see and both plenty of new experiences. My friends should know. Having my holiday burnt is sad. Didn't get to send my father off at the airport yesterday but it's okay. May Allah protect him in his journey and when he comes back. Amin~

Yesterday I was fortunate to go to a wonderful theatre in Istana Budaya. :)

'Teater Sirah Junjungan: Karya Erma Fatima'

It was lovely. Syukur akak dari AJK surau ingat kat Nadira. Hari tu ajak sebelum pergi kem. Dapatlah Nadira pergi semalam walaupun sorang-sorang je junior. Sayang betul rakan-rakan lain tak pergi tapi apa nak buat? Limited chairs.

My chair was among the cheapest so we sat far up but still the view was good enough. The acting, costumes, props and soundtracks were great and being a former stage player myself I was really amazed. The stage floors moved! haha...As it was my first visit to Istana Budaya, excuse me for being very excited :P

I was fortunate to get some autographs of the artists involved. A new experience for me in that. They did a good job. Thumbs up!

Melihat kembali sirah Nabi Muhammad memberi bermacam-macam perasaan. Gembira, sedih dan terutama sekali rindu. Rindu kepada Nabi yang tidak berpeluang diri ini berada dengannya, mendengar suaranya mahupun menatap wajahnya. Sungguh beruntung umat terdahulu namun jangan kita lupa bahawa kita juga sangat beruntung. Walaupun tidak hidup pada zaman itu, Rasulullah tidak pernah melupakan kita. Bahkan baginda merindui kita. Kita, umatnya yang tidak pernah melihatnya tetapi beriman kepada Allah dan pesuruh Allah. Dugaan kita berat tapi percayalah yang kita akan dapat berjumpa juga dengan baginda satu hari nanti.

Pernahkah anda terfikir ingin berjumpa dengan Rasulullah?

Hari tu sebelum pergi kem ada ceramah Maulidur Rasul kat Dewan Seminar Cemara. Ramai jugak yang tak dapat pergi tapi tak mengapa, apa-apa sahaja pekerjaan yang dilakukan demi Allah itu tidak pernah sia-sia. Nadira boleh cerita sikit la.
WARNING: THIS WILL BE A RATHER LONG POST BUT IF YOU MAY, PLEASE CONTINUE READING :)

"...Keluarkanlah kaummu daripada kegelapan kepada cahaya terang benderang dan ingatkanlah mereka kepada hari-hari Allah..."

[Ibrahim 14:5]

Benda ni pun Nadira baru je perasan dalam Quran. Allah menyeru kita untuk mengingat hari-hari Allah kerana terdapat tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah bagi setiap orang penyabar dan bersyukur. Hari-hari Allah disini bermaksud peristiwa yang terjadi pada kaum-kaum terdahulu yang menigingatkan kita kepada Allah. Di sini ialah peristiwa kelahiran Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. Tujuan menyambut Maulidur Rasul bukanlah sembarangan tetapi untuk kita mengingati sejarah. Yang pergi BTN hari tu mesti sedar betapa pentingnya sejarah kan? Betullah, kerana sejarah tidak pernah berbohong.

"Dan semua kisah rasul-rasul, Kami ceritakan kepadamu, agar dengan kisah itu Kami teguhkan hatimu dan di dalamnya telah diberikan kepadamu kebenaran, nasihat dan peringatan bagi orang yang beriman."

[Hud 11:120]

Mari kita renungkan perkataan sejarah di dalam bahasa Arab iaitu Ibrah. Ibrah asalnya daripada perkataan Abarah yang bermaksud menyeberang. Mengapa Allah memilih perkataan ini? Sekiranya kita menyeberang, misalnya menyeberang jalan ke, sungai ke, apa yang kita buat? (masa tu Nadira pikir pandang kiri pandang kanan ke? :P buat lawak plak) Tapi ada betulnya dalam lawak tu. Perbuatan itu maknanya berhati-hati. Jadi dapat kita simpulkan di sini bahawa sejarah itu perlu kita ketahui untuk kita berhati-hati kerana di situ ada pengajaran yang dapat kita ambil. Sejarah itulah masa depan. Indah benar bahasa Allah. Kena belajar bahasa Arab! :)

Jadi persoalan sewaktu ceramah itu ialah,
"Apa yang mahu kita kenang dalam Nabi?"

1. Nabi dilahirkan sebagai seorang manusia :)
Bersyukurkah anda tentang hal ini? Nabi Muhammad telah dilahirkan sebagai seorang manusia dan bukan malaikat. Dengan itu kita mampu menjadikannya contoh untuk diikuti. Baginda juga perlu minum, makan dan tidur seperti kita. Kalau baginda lahir sebagai malaikat apa akan terjadi kepada kita? (Nayalah...bak kata org utara :P)

2. Nabi lahir sebagai anak yatim
Di sini hendak dikatakan yang semua manusia itu tidak terkecuali daripada dilahirkan untuk menjadi juara. Menjadi yatim bukanlah satu penghalang. Tidakkah terubat luka di jiwa apabila mengenangkan yang Rasulullah juga merupakan anak yatim? Dan bagindalah pemimpin teragung di dunia.

3. Nabi lahir di tanah Arab (centre)
Sudah terbukti yang Kaabah itu merupakan 'the centre of the world.' Pada masa itu, mengapa nabi tidak dilahirkan di Rom, Parsi, Yunani atau Hindi? Hal ini bagi menyucikan Rasulullah daripada fitnah. Cuba kita lihat, Rom pada masa itu merupakan kuasa tentera yang kuat, org akan menyimpulkan yang dakwah rasul kerana semangat ketetenteraan. Parsi pula ekonomi terkuat di dunia, org akan berkata dakwah itu untuk mendapat keuntungan perniagaan. Yunani terkuat dalam ilmu & falsafah, org akan menganggap Islam itu ideologi yang diciptakan manusia dan di Hindi pula krisis sosial paling teruk ketika itu. Dakwah akan seperti satu pembelaan terhadap kesusahan yang dialami kerana keadaan yang terdesak. Oleh sbb ingin menghapuskan tanggapan-tanggapan salah ini, Rasulullah dilahirkan di tengah-tengah iaitu di Mekah.

Ustaz masa tu ada bagitau sesuatu yang Nadira memang tak pernah tahu. (kejahilan diri :S) Sebenarnya 17 kali setiap hari kita diminta mengingat dan mengenang Rasulullah. Bagaimana? Kita diajar untuk rindu Rasulullah dalam solat.

Meh belajar bahasa Arab sikit lagi. :) Dalam tahiyat kita baca 'Assalamualaika' Di sini bermaksud selamat sejahtera ke atas kamu dan orang itu mmg perlu ada di depan kita. Ini bermakna pada ketika kita mengucapkannya, ia seolah-olah kita berdepan dengan Rasulullah. Bukannya 'Assalamualaihi' yang maknanya selamat sejahtera kepada dia (merujuk kepada org yang jauh). Kalau mcm ni la kan, kita kena excited la nak solat! Nak berdepan dengan kekasih Allah :)

Semoga kita mengambil pengajaran :)

" Sungguh telah ada pada Rasulullah itu suri teladan yang baik bagimu iaitu bagi orang yang mengharapkan rahmat Allah dan kedatangan hari kiamat dan yang banyak mengingat Allah"

[Al-Ahzab 33:21]