Gathering with our loved ones… forever

Of all the blessings that God has blessed us, many would say that the blessing of family is one of the greatest. God has put in our hearts immense love for our family, especially our children. The story of Jacob and Joseph (peace be upon them) is one example of such love, where Jacob lost his sight due to extreme sadness of losing Joseph. This love can become so immense, God warned us to not let them (our family and children) distract us from His remembrance.

Parents can do unimaginable things out of love for their young ones. And you need to experience it first hand to truly understand it. Mothers put their lives at risk whenever they give birth to a child. But what happens after that? Despite all the pain and suffering through labor, the mother is overflowed with joy and happiness, so much so that the sight of the baby subdues the pain.

Fathers may not have the same unreal experience. They may not have as much compassion towards the child as the mother. But still, his love to his children will still be intense. And to be separated from the children, and family in general, is an unpleasant experience. And I say this from real life experience.

It would be most ideal if we could be together with the ones that we love forever and ever. But even in the best condition, it will never happen in this worldly life. There will always be the chance to be separated, whether because of job needs, school, business, and of course death.

However, there is one way to be gathered together FOREVER, in the best of places, as mentioned in the Qur’an. What we need to do is to believe and commit ourselves to good deeds. Furthermore, we also need to educate our children so that they do the same. In turn, they will do the same to their children and them to theirs, and it goes on and on until the end of time (by God’s will).

By doing so, we will be brought back together in eternal bliss. And the best part is, not only will we be gathered by our children, but also with our grandchildren, our great grandchildren, and so forth.

All of us will whither in the end…

It’s summer time here in Japan. Although hot, the plants are at their full lushness (it’s around 34 degrees here in Kyoto, and it will get hotter in August). It’s hard to imagine that just a few months ago, at the end of winter, all of these plants didn't even exist. Well, they might have existed as roots, being dormant, as seeds ready to germinate or whatever, but to the naked eye, they were literally, dead.

The weather changed, spring came, and suddenly all these plants just came out of nowhere. Showing their beautiful spring colors. The sakura (cherry blossom) flowers bloomed, the tulips bloomed, the ume (plum) flowers bloomed, along with all the other amazing flowers and plants. Everybody loves spring, photographers particularly. They can get amazing shots that would have been impossible to get in other seasons.

But all this beauty and magnificence, they don't last very long. Cherry blossoms (which is often used to symbolize Japan) are in full bloom for only two weeks at maximum. If rain comes, their display of beauty could end even sooner. And that goes the same for other flowers as well. In fact, even though the trees and plants are at their full lushness right now, in another few months, they will eventually wither and “die” all over again.  

Such is a lesson for all of us. Nothing lasts forever. It’s a cycle of creative magnificence. Just as we were brought into this world as babies, grew strong and beautiful, full of “lushness”, we will also wither and come to our time eventually. Some of us won’t even be given the chance to reach old age. So it is not so far fetched if we were to be raised up again, even if it’s as a new creation all together. Isn’t it easy for The One who created us in the beginning?

Starting a farm of my own

I often get the question, “what are your plans after you graduate from school?” While for many Indonesian students studying abroad the answer is obvious, to become a researcher, to become a lecturer at a university, among many other awesome answers, my own answer might be somewhat an anomaly.

I’d like to start a farm. Make a vegetable garden, grow vegetables, and raise some farm animals, as well as providing my own clean water, electricity, propane gas (for cooking), take care of my children’s education, and try to be more self-sustained.

One thing for sure is that, I don’t want to work FOR other people (working with other people is of course not a problem). By that I mean by not being trapped in a system that ties me up and keeps me away from doing what I want to do most (read books, teach and spend more time with my family, learn Arabic, study the Qur'an, and other personal projects).

And starting a farm for me would probably be a good idea.

Besides that, I want to work for something that I believe would be worthwhile and can sustain my family even after I’m gone. By starting a farm, hopefully I can set up a good framework for my children to not be too worried about the future (especially in these times where insecurity is constantly instilled into our minds).

Why do people work anyway?

Isn’t it for fulfilling needs? What are our needs? What we really need to survive. Not the ones people tell us we need, like what they tell us in all the commercials on TV, but the ones that we really-really need to have a decent and honorable life.

If only we were able to fulfill our basic needs, wouldn’t it be enough for us and we’d be able to live independently and be engaged in activities that we think are beneficial for us? Of course, it’s not always up to us. Sometimes we just have no choice in choosing what we do. Be it economic pressure, hopes from parents, and other factors, sometimes we’re just deprived of choice when choosing our paths.

But if given the opportunity and resources, I’d really like to start a farm. By starting a farm, I’d be able to fulfill many of the needs of my family. It doesn’t have to be a big farm. Big enough to support my small family is more than enough. I’ll be writing more about this dream of mine from now on. So I’ll be regularly updating my blog with these kinds of posts besides the usual topics. Hopefully, it’ll keep my enthusiasm up and strengthen my will to take the plunge.

Amusing ourselves to death

I have just finished reading another book from the late Neil Postman. And again, I’d have to say that it was a real eye opener for me. The title is “Amusing ourselves to death: public discourse in the age of show business”. Although the book was written in the mid 80’s, it’s still very much relevant even for today. Perhaps that is why the book is being re-published over and over again.

He tells us that we are living in times where everything is trying to be made as a form of entertainment. And by saying everything, he really meant everything. Even education, politics and religious matters have been transformed into a form of entertainment. So much so, it is planted in our mind that in order for an idea to be successful, they must be packaged in an entertaining way. The main agent that created such an environment is none else but the television set. The TV changed dramatically our way of life and our way of viewing things.

In the case of education, in the US at least, “edutainment” was pioneered by Sesame Street of the children’s television workshop. I had my childhood in the 80’s, and I remembered vividly the “education” (or entertainment) from that show. From what I understand from Postman’s book is that this kind of “education” is unnatural and in many ways destructive for the children who watch it. It makes the children think less and entertained more. And to tell the truth, I feel that it’s exactly the case. Of course there is no doubt that children can still benefit from the show, but the long term loss outweighs it by far.

In the case of politics, one example is in presidential elections. It’s no longer a secret that the candidates who win the elections are the ones who spend more time on air, and can manage to make a good impression on the viewers. They don’t need to be intellectually superior or have a better track record. What they need to do is look good on TV. And this is indeed the case in many countries. In the TV culture, the image that the candidates build on TV outweighs their other virtues.

The book also mentions about how people treat religiosity in this age of entertainment. Normally, nowadays, people tend too steer away from religious matters. However, things could change if they are packaged with elements of entertainment.The preachers who will be listened to are those who are able to commoditize what they say in an entertaining way, regardless of what they say. Perhaps through songs, through their style of speech, and gimmicks, among many things.

So for many people living in this age, life is nothing but a continuous cycle of jumping from one entertainment to another. As mentioned in the book, we live in an almost realized Huxleyan reality. In which we are being imprisoned, out of our own free will, and enjoy the imprisonment that we are in. This holds us back from transcendence in becoming the amazing creatures that we were created to become.

"The Day of Resurrection draws near, None besides God can avert it.  Do you then wonder at this Quran?  And you laugh at it and weep not, wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements.  So fall you down in prostration to God, and worship Him (Alone)"

(Qur'an - An-Najm 53:57-62)

Learning from our Japanese brothers and sisters

You can’t help but feel the pain and sorrow of what is happening to Japan. Especially to those who are located near the disaster zone. The earthquake and tsunami has claimed tens of thousands of lives, many people are forced to stay in refugee camps, without any heating in cold winter-like temperatures. And while their supplies run thin, there is also the additional ongoing danger of nuclear radiation. However, no matter how bad it is, in every situation, there are lessons that we can learn to make us better human beings.

I have lived here in Japan for quite some time. Almost 6 years to be exact. And during that time, God has taught me a lot through my Japanese brothers and sisters (I don’t hesitate to call them my brothers and sisters because as God has said, we all came from a single human being (the Prophet Adam), which automatically makes us brothers and sisters in humanity transcending nationality and race). Several important lessons have again been taught to me through this bitter tragedy.

Patience

The first lesson that can be learned from the Japanese is the ability to have patience in difficult times. God values the virtue of patience in very high estimation, as it is mentioned time and time again in the Qur’an. And the Japanese are people who have this noble virtue. Even in times of difficulties with scarce food supplies they can stay in line to get them. Whether in the end they get what they need or not, they don’t transgress other people’s rights (to cut the lines or shove other people). Even without traffic lights (due to the blackouts) and no police officers they can maintain order in the roads. Everyone understands their role in this situation. That everyone is in this together and has to put all egos aside.

Being just

The ability to have patience and control one’s self leads to being just with other people. In this chaos, there are no stores being looted, no properties being damaged, and no rights being transgressed. And "The Just" is one of the names of God (Al ‘Adl in Arabic), and God indeed loves those who are just. It takes a high degree of control to be just to other people, and it becomes even more difficult in times of tribulation. I truly admire the Japanese for this trait.

Empathy and compassion for others

Generally, the Japanese are people with good hearts. Despite the toughness that is apparent in many cases, they will try their best to help others. And in this case, during the disaster, we can still see people trying to help others, even though they need to put themselves in harm's way. They can also cry for other people’s pain, which is indication that they have very delicate hearts, and I mean this in a positive way. One of the greatest disasters that a human being could experience, is to have a hard and dead heart.

Neutrality of the mass media

I might be wrong here, but it seems to me that unlike the mass media in many countries, the media here doesn't try to exploit this dire condition to get more money. I feel that the mass media genuinely tries to be a mean to mitigate the situation and provide information for the people’s sake. And most importantly, they encourage everyone to stand together and help hand in hand. Even the commercials being aired are those that highlight the importance of helping others, which conditions the viewers to have empathy towards the victims.

Although there are positive and negative traits in every society, I feel it’s important to learn from Japan regarding the many noble traits that they have. As the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, that hikmah (wisdom) is the lost treasure of the believer. And we should do our best to strive for finding wisdom in whatever or whoever it may be in. This disaster is an eye opener towards the whole world about the beauty of these lost noble characters.

May God make it easy for us to see the wisdom behind whatever happens to us. May God ease the pain, give goodness, give patience and perseverance to all our brothers and sisters in humanity who are facing difficulties all around the globe. And especially for our Japanese brothers and sisters, may things get better soon and may the scars that have resulted from the recent tragedies be quickly healed.

Being Imprisoned...

"The one who is (truly) imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah, and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him."
-Ibn Taymiyyah-

I'm imprisoned
by school,
by culture,
by photography,
by football,
by the internet,
by technology,
by songs,
by Hollywood,
by delicious food,
by the NBA,
by sports,
by fun,
by money,
by desires,
by life...

The things I think I like and love
Are actually a web of traps
Wasteful things
To eat up my time, my soul and make me lose my way
Distorts me from being noble, righteous and free

Freedom is just a few rejections and steps ahead
With a hard head and hard heart,
Let us conquer life, rather than be conquered by it!!