Eh, aku pun nak blog pasal tsunami gak...

Kawanku melaporkan bahawa ada insan-insan dari kem-kem tertentu, apabila memperkatakan tentang Tragedi Tsunami, mencebik bibir seraya berkata,

“Tempat-tempat tu kan banyak maksiat, padan le diturunkan bala…”

And the statement was announced with a slightly superior air, seolah-olah maksiat yang berlaku kat sana tu takde kena mengena dengan orang yang berkata-kata tu.

Ingatlah wahai insan, seruan bagi kita ummat Islam adalah ‘Amar ma’ruf, nahi munkar’. Sebelum berkata sedemikian rupa, cuba le muhasabah diri sikit. Ada tak usaha kita untuk menegah mana-mana maksiat yang berlaku sekeliling kita?

Saya percaya, jarang-jarang sekali kita menzahirkannya bukan? Kebanyakan masa kita hanya tak setuju dalam hati je dan kadang-kadang, rasa tak setuju tu pun takde hatta sekelumit pun. Saya tau sebab saya sendiri mengalaminya.

Jika tsunami melanda disebabkan banyak berlaku dosa, maka salahlah juga mereka yang sibuk mengumpul pahala tetapi tidak sudi mengotorkan tangan demi menegah dosa.

Oleh itu, apabila bencana berlaku, beristighfarlah banyak-banyak dan ambillah peringatan. Itu lebih baik daripada kita memperkatakan perkara yang bukan hak kita untuk membicarakan.

Wassalam daripada Ustaz Ri untuk hari ini… Muahahahaha!

Pak Lang in memory...

As I sit here tonight, replying to my emails, my mind brings back memories of a very good friend whom I call Pak Lang. I guess the atmosphere is very similar to that night we first ‘met’.

It was the night before Aidilfitri (I wonder why I’m currently having a lot of Raya stories in mind?). Back then, Pak Lang was doing his masters in UK. He stumbled upon my advertisement at an international email penpal website and, feeling lonely on a Raya night I guess, decided to reply. It was the beginning of a close email friendship. For almost 2 years, over the vast expanses of the internet, we shared our joys and supported each each other through life’s turbulences.

During our entire friendship, we’ve only met twice. The first time was because he personally wanted to pass me an invitation to his wedding. The second time was at the wedding itself. In fact, I actually went to help out at the wedding from the day before. It’s weird considering that I don’t know his family all that well but I guess that’s just the kind of person I am. It also helped that his family was very welcoming and sporting about the whole thing.

Unfortunately, we’ve now almost completely lost touch with each other. The last contact I had from him was an SMS wishing me a happy Aidilfitri this year and there was no further answer to my reply. It’s a sad but very understandable fact that between your work and your family, there is little time for anything else. However, I do wish that this friendship could have endured for as long as we both lived…