It must have been about 50 days that I did not touch my blog. I was away. I was restless wherever I went, it could not be helped. Talk about the blog, we are fortunate enough in Malaysia compare with some places that I have been to, many still do not even have a clue what an email address is. Meanwhile, I just I want to say I am back, nice to have a home. I’ve almost forgotten my password when checking my blog and emails, what a dilapidated mind I now have.
Before I begin, I just want to say Selamat Berhijarah-Maal Hijrah for Muslim. One Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty Nine years (1429) ago Islam was born.
Earlier there was celebration of New Year of 2008. I wish every one of us to have a happier time a head, always in the state of good health, always be blessed by God, and be protected by Him only.
I know they are those who would be asking question; where the hell have I been to? I am not telling. Because I am doing a travelogue for this seclusive journey, I am hoping that in a couple of months the book shall be found in our local book stores. Insyallah.
While I was just figuring out of that many thousand years since the born of our religion-Islam, I received sms from my friend also my relative whom we have been in constant contact these days, nothing significant why we behave as we have, may be now it is time think more coherently, slowly but steadily. This is his sms:
“Seribu empat ratus dua puluh sembilan tahun sudah berlalu… sejauhmana lagi perjalanan kita sebagai umat Islam…? Mempukah kita maju kehadapan seribu tahun lagi…? Selamat menyambut Awal Muharam & Salam Maal Hijrah 1429.
I received a couple of dozens of ucapan –sms greeting like this. I thank to those who sent me, most of them I did not reply, a country where I was in transit for a while had problem with their service provider at that time. My hand phones became hopeless; it isn’t nice feeling in situation like this. A professor contacted me about my students’ results; luckily I have had a back up plan in order not to disappoint him.
Now, two things why I pick the above topic, this guy seldom sent me greeting in Bahasa Melayu he did this time. Second, by coincidence we were thinking of the same subject almost at the same time in distant places. I was not sure if he picked this greeting from that many hundreds flying around, but, by looking at the construction of the sentences it must have been his original. Nowadays, in time like this, everybody can be a poet or philosopher, and it really is a matter of choice.
I do not intend to show off that I have studied this subject, no; I am just treating it as a layman does, the so called, the crudest sense of the words without giving further qualification. Also due to space, but I promise to myself given time I would dwell little further in the future.
Has Islam changed over the period of 1429? Most would say no, God does not change anything what He has given, an example and the proof is the Quran. So thus the argument goes no one can change the words of God. Fair enough.
Depending one what kind of change we are talking about, because what in the Quran could be understood in so many ways. God made it that way. Do you think religion is fixed? Or do you think what have been written down in the Quran remains to be understood today as it was 1429 years?
Observing Islam around the globe or to be more general and polite observing any religion around the globe today. I doubt it if it can be said that country A is more religiously right than country B or vice versa. Do we have anything standard like what we know about television encoding system? Even that has variation from PAL, for example, the one we use, to NTSC and SECAM alike?
I am saying any belief; a doctrine or a school, to have it any meaning at all it must be alive and dynamic. Anything static are history, you and I aren’t living by history alone, the most history can give is outline. Islam as I see it now, especially from the way our religious experts emphasize, day in day out in their preaching of Islamic concept, little do they have a clue if they can connect to what they say in real life situation. I take it like comparing a camel with Boeing 707; you are now in Timbuktu thinking of going to New York, which one is more real? I was just with my friends a few hours ago talking about the mystic of Islamic religion; much of it if, I were to look it from a helicopter point of view is made out like an entertainment a part from very few lived to tell the truth. If you believe so much you either using Pal system or if not may be Scam or etc. It isn’t about making it interesting but it about our intellectual appropriately applied. Where are those Islamic scholars?
I pause just here by asking more questions than giving answers, coincide with two New Years. I shall continue the topic elsewhere. God Bless Us
1 comments:
Its great pictures and write up
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