good guys, bad guys

assalamualaikum..

this post is something i have been thinking of since a few weeks back, probably about something sensitive and some may not agree with me, and some may agree, but this is just my opinion and nothing to do with anyone around me. it is quite long, and if you find this is boring you, i'm fine with that. :) this post is mainly about 'hijrah', by that i mean hijrah from bad to good. people always look for guidance whether they realise it or not, because that's just a basic instinct of a human being. they need guidance, someone to show them the right way and path. in this case, the guidance is 'hidayah' from Allah S.W.T. and this hidayah may come in various ways, situation, and we never knew when or how this hidayah will come to us.

and that brings me to a thought. let me share you a tweet that i read on twitter a few weeks back which sparks the idea on this post.

so first i'll take the former tweet as a discussion. i'm a person of two halves. what i mean here is i've been in both positions. before this i admit, i'm not a good person, especially when it comes to Islam, been reckless and careless about my responsibility as a Muslim. and now i believe i'm a better person than who i am before, but still not enough to be warranted as a good Muslim. and by attending these 'majlis ilmu' i have learnt a lot from people who have a lot of 'ilmu' on Islam itself. and why those tweets above? because i've been in those two opposites of good and bad people, i see something which some may not see. what i mean here is i'm seeing this matter in two ways. from the eyes of the bad person, and from the eyes of a slightly better person should i say. everyone wants to become a better person than who they were before, no doubt about that. never i heard a person likes being a bad person nor accepts him/her as the way they are (being a bad person). so these changes, or 'hijrah' is completely normal, a nature of a human being which always seeks for guidance.

but what i'm trying to concentrate in this post is, sometimes when people shift from bad to good, that transition period sometimes has it's own complication. which is mentioned in the tweets above. what i see from my school, college and university days is something that worries me. i understand that no one likes bad people. but then in Islam, no matter how bad or worse a person is, he/she deserves a right. a right to be preached, or in a proper way, Da'wah. a person with even a piece a knowledge must share that knowledge to another person who haven't heard of it. and what i see around me sadly, there's an opening gap between those two opposites. the 'good' guys see the 'bad' guys as 'jahil', doesn't look like they are looking for help, and not intending to develop into a better person. while on the other hand, the 'bad' guys sees the 'good' guys as intimidating, secluded to their own group, doesn't mix with other people and unapproachable. socially those two opposites will never mix. presumably because each has their own views on other people.

and when this happens, the 'good' guys will only mix among themselves, and the 'bad' guys will stay on their current state, probably will not become the 'good' guys. this is merely due to a misunderstanding. i've been on the bad side, and its not like we intentionally like being bad. its just we didn't knew that we were. we have no problems in making friends or mixing with others. and being on the 'good' side, only as a slightly better person that who i am before mind you, i saw something wrong. its not that the 'good' guys hate those 'bad' guys. because they have developed into a better person, somehow that sense of feeling that they have 'understood' the religion creeps under. the 'good' guys feel like they knew something, and they see the 'bad' guys as some hopeless people, or shall i say hopeless, because they didn't 'understand' what the 'good' guys fought for. this is a big problem, which is making ASSUMPTIONS out of your PERCEPTIONS. you can never be right all the time, and when you get it wrong, usually things will go bad. and these gaps will only become even bigger by time.

for example, yes it is true that the 'bad' guys may refuse to go to a 'majlis ilmu', say an 'usrah'. but i as a person who was in their shoes before, it is because i didn't understand the purpose, the goal of being in an 'usrah'. and those 'good' guys who have some knowledge, some information, must tell those 'bad' guys of what really an 'usrah' or 'majlis ilmu' is. that is the real purpose of those kind of groups. to bring people to the good, not by selecting a few who you think have the potential to become good because everyone have that potential. and everyone have the right to be told what is right and what is wrong. the biggest problem here is the APPROACH. just as i posted in my last post, you must 'seek to understand, to be understood' by the 'bad' guys. you shouldn't go harsh on these people, cause they may rebel or fight back. but you should not ignore them completely. as a Muslim we must spread our knowledge to other people.

i've went out with few jama'ah (tabligh) before, for like 3, 40 days. and also sat together with 'usrah' groups. there's nothing wrong with those two, in fact its a good thing to have or to be in. only that the method, the approach sometimes disappoints you. when i was out with the tabligh jama'ah, on a 'ghast' (ghast is when jama'ah goes from home to home, usually after Asar to invite people to go to masjid for bayan or ta'alims by the jama'ah). and it is almost Maghrib when i along with the jama'ah walked passed by a football field. as usual, there a few 'newbies' in the jama'ah, and in those guys i see something wrong, similar to 'newbies' in usrahs which i will talk about it later. so those 'newbies' went to the field, and invited the boys and guys who are still playing at the field to come along with us for Maghrib prayer. mind you that they all are sweaty and dirty from playing football just now, but these guys insist to take them along as well. to me, at least allow them to go back home, clean themselves up, shower, and then come to the masjid. not taking them along with all those smelly odour and dirty clothes to the holy place, home of Allah which is the masjid. and you might say what if they go home and never show up at the masjid? that's when your HUSNUZON comes in. you talk about 'husnuzon' all the time, and try maybe once to apply it in a real life situation. maybe they're not coming for Maghrib because they are still showering, or they perform jama'ah prayer back at home. or even better they are also taking along their other family or friends. and even when they didn't show up at all, don't give up. SABAR. even our beloved Rasulullah have been tested even worse than us. and who we are to say those people have no hope, bad or whatever? husnuzon is one of the 5 characters of Sahabat which makes them glorious in Dunia & Akhirat.

and for the 'usrah' groups, just because those 'bad' guys doesn't seem interested in your group, do not befriend them. yes i do agree, the factor which causes Bani Israil to fall down is because they try to bring people to good, and when they failed they kept mixing with those people. there's an Ayat in the Quran about that matter. but in this case, it is a completely different issue. its not that you've failed. its the approach that fails you. be friends to those 'bad' guys. make yourself approachable, understandable. even if you come up with explanation of 'dosa' or 'pahala' or even the 'Akhirat' to them, they may not understand, which repels them away from you. instead, go easy on them. be nice. insyaAllah somehow Allah with His mercy, will give those bad people 'hidayah'. whether they change or not, it is none of our business. 'hidayah' comes from Allah, given to whoever Allah feels like deserves it. our responsibility is to do our very best, take those 'bad' guys and teach them whatever we know. never ever give up, or assume that they are hopeless. never differentiate or discriminate them just because you feel like you understand or know something that they do not know. you might just put yourself into the trap of 'takabbur'. Rasulullah himself spent 13 years on building the basics of Iman on the Sahabats. and you dare to say those 'bad' guys are hopeless, 'mundur' while you yourself have never said or even talked to them? take a look back in the mirror, reflect yourself. you attend 'majlis ilmu', but then deep inside you, a deep hatred to a certain group of people builds up inside. that is exactly the opposite of what a 'majlis ilmu' was meant for. be nice, change our approach, and be more understandable, and insyaAllah everyone will be blessed.

sorry if any of the things mentioned above sounds harsh, but i believe i've made my point, based on my views as a 'bad' person i was before, and my view as a slightly better person now. comments are openly accepted. assalamualaikum. :)