Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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. :)


6 comments:

Amberhanim said...

Salam,

Nice post right here. Been in your shoes; being oblivious to usrah and majlis ilmu and now feels like these things are a part of me.

Kita tak dapat nafikan yg pendekatan salah tu salah satu faktor. Selain kadang2 rasa kalau kita tegur, we might offend that person. Have u ever been corrected and feel slightly annoyed by it? Im sure u do. Kat situ datang keberanian nak mengajak ke arah kebaikan, which not everyone can do.


Sebab ni la, kebanyakan usrah dibuat dlm small groups dan secara senyap2. Sebab they are afraid to recruit new members, the regular people. Da sesetengah org igt kalau mereka diajak ke majlis2 mcm tu, mcm nak perli or something.

So whats the correct method?

In my opinion (based on my experience), it's best to befriend with these people and try to fit in while at the same time, maintain the good image that we are trying to instill in them.

They need to feel accepted first, rather than terus diajak membuat sesuatu yg out of the blue.

mohamad asri said...

waalaikumussalam..

mmg exactly that is what i think. the main issue here actually org kdg2 x faham bila kita explain this and that kat diorg. bukan salah diorg jugak sbb diorg x faham, tapi bukan jugak salah kita sebab memang kelemahan dalam mengajak org ke arah kebaikan x dpt nak dielakkan.

that's what i meant with seek to understand to be understood. bila kita faham org, then only kita boleh carik jalan untuk sampaikan ilmu atau apa2 kpd mrk, and letting us being understood at the same time. :D

Husaini said...

Berjaya gak aku baca abes even aku x suke sgt baca kot omputih..but this is different..congrates!

Mmg aku stuju dgn sume yg ko tulis kat atas nih..even aku pon face the same things..mmg bab2 nk ajak org buat baek ni bkn keje sng..lebey senang nk ajak org yg 'kurang fikrahnya' kalo nk compare nak ajak org yg fikrah dia dan paham dia tinggi..tp mmg sunnah dia mcm tuh..kena rujuk blk camne susahnya nabi dan para sahabat buat usaha..baru kita x mudah futur n lemah bila ada ujian..

Mmg certain2 perkara yg dlm jemaah atau certain persatuan yg buat tuh, ada yg x kena sgt..tp kalo kita rase menda tu x betul, kita boley tegur menegur antara satu sama laen..sume manusia, x maksum..n masing2 buat salah..kalo x mampu pun, kita doa je moga2 Allah bg hidayah..tu je la yg the least kita dpt buat..jgn telan n terima je apa yg kita dpt or kita dgr..kena buat rujukan n study sket..terutama kalo kita dgr bab2 hadis n crite2 sahabat..

Tp bg aku la, bila kita ajak org buat baik tuh, sbnarnya nk didik diri kita sndiri..aku niat nk betulkan diri..kalo org laen xnk dgr apa yg kita dakwahkan, xnak ikut ape je kebaikan yg kita buat..xpela..at least kita da usaha..yg selebeynya Allah la nk tentukan..yg penting..menda2 tu sndiri dpt kat kita..ye dak?

dan kalo org tu betul2 la nk ajak org laen ke arah kebaikan..sebaiknya, hubungan dgn Allah kena jaga..amal kena jaga..akhlak kena jaga..insyaAllah dpt bg kesan x langsung kat org yg kita nk ajak tu..x bermaksud org yg x baek xley ajak org laen buat baek..tp sebaiknya kita 'baikkan' diri seiring dgn kebaikan yg kita ajak.. wallahua'lam

mohamad asri said...

haah. mcm org selalu cakap aa. telinga paling dekat dgn mulut kita yg bercakap ni telinga kita sendiri. sendiri yang cakap, sendiri yang lagi terkesan. n pasal mengajak org berbuat baik memang payah, tapi x sampai tahap mustahil.

halangan2 tu mmg ada tapi biasala apa2 pun mmg akan ada ujian. mungkin org x terima apa yang kite cakap tapi mybe benda yang kita cakap tu akan buat die terfikir, n satu hari nanti kalau ada booster dose, baru die teringat ada org dulu pernah cakap benda camni jgk kat die. hidayah tu lain cerita, urusan Allah. timekasih usennn. :p *bab tulis english tu aku x dapat nak tlg. hehe. aku BM kurang sikit uhuk3 XD *

Abdullah said...

salam ukhuwah saudara asri,

well written post i got here.. it seems that this has inspired me a lot to remind myself yg sungguh byk cacat celanya... apa yg dickpkn saudara asri mmg sgt betol n x dpt dinafikan.. kebiasaannya, golongan yg direfer sbg gud guys mmg jarang skali berkelompok dgn bad guys.. bkn jarang, ttp agak kurg 'mesra" di situ... sumpa betol!=)

dan point yg diketengahkn adalah knape yg baik2 jemasok usrah or in other words yg jahat tu knapa la x nk join usrah yg serious best tuh?? haiiyaa...

insyaAllah, from my point of view, masalah nih mmg obvious skali ttp harus la kita sedar yg join usrah tuh x smestinya baik n anti sosial.. mereka cume ingin mertarbiyahkn dirinya utk mentarbiyah mereka yg anda refer sbg 'bad guys'... yg bad guys tuh sbenarnye sma je dgn good guys, cume yg bad guys tuh belom bersedia utk menyertai usrah yg mmg osem itu..

point kedua, knpe yg gud guys je dipilih masok usrah?? cube kite flashback smula zmn rasulullah bgaimana dy berdakwah.. bukankah rasulullah memilih S. abu bakr krn ciri2 yg ade padanya, n tak lame slpas itu abu bakar memilih 6 org yg mmg cantik mernarik ko mmg debomm la.. dari situ kita bley lihat rasulullah jugak memilih n bukan pilih sembarangan.. kalau x, islam nih mmg x kemana...

point yg lain mybe byk tp in sjhe dpt disharekn.. kita hanya mampu berdoa utk rakan2 kita yg "bad guys" supaya diberi hidayah utk bersama mnjalan D&T nih.. harap maaf kalo tersilap kata yg sungguh x kool nih dan harap suadara asri teros thabat dlm dakwah jgak x lupe sbg medik stud.. =)

mohamad asri said...

time kasih saudara abdullah..

setuju sgt dengan point tu. pasal good guys tu anti sosial tu maybe agak x sesuai lah. maybe kekok bila berhadapan dgn 'bad guys' sikit..mcm ayat saudara 'krg mesra' la kot. hehe.

and pasal point org2 yg dipilih tu pun menarik jugak. ada ciri2 org yang dipilih untuk menerima hidayah, tapi kena ingat jugak hidayah itu urusan Allah s.w.t. dan Allah boleh pilih siapa2 saja untuk diberi hidayah. :) kita cuma mengajak dan menyampaikan apa yang kita tahu walaupun x seberapa.

dan ada kwn share tadi jugak pasal org yang berusaha menyampaikan ajaran Allah ni lebih byk diduga dan lebih dekat untuk melakukan kesilapan..sbb tu org2 yg lebih alim selalu ckp, niat kena sentiasa keep in check. sebelum, semasa, dan selepas..muhasabah diri. :)

timekasih atas komen n perkongsian tu..doakan2 selalu insyaallah. :D

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