Hijra: 'It's the same old me'...

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Reflection

The Declining Day (Al-'Asr)
1. By the declining day,
2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,
3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort 
one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

SINCE joining the 'OTK' (Orang Tak Kerja - People Without Work) group some five years ago, I 'religiously' followed the daily 'kuliah maghrib-isyak' (lesson between the dusk and early night prayers) at several 'masajid' near my house.

An  'ustaz' who 'touched' on the subject of 'Hijra' (Migration) during his 'tajwid' (correct pronunciation and intonation for reading the Qur'an) lesson recently, rang a wake-up call for me when he reminded congregators not only to be busy celebrating the new year for example wishing one another but to ponder upon 'our 'hijra' in our 'ibadah' (betterment our acts of devotion to Allah SWT).

"If our 'ibadah' for example reading the Qur'an is not getting better compared to last year...then we are not making any 'hijra'," he said. The same could be said about other 'ibadah' especially regarding those articles under the Principles of Islam or 'Rukun Islam'  that are to do the declaration of faith (kalimah syahadah), to perform the five daily obligatory prayers, to fast in the month of Ramadan, to distribute 'zakat' or obligatory charity) and to perform hajj. All 'ibadah' are to get one to be closer to Allah The Greatest (SWT).

"But it is a sad thing to say that the standard of our 'ibadah' is the same as last year or worse still if it keep declining as the years past by; for example how is the quality of our 'solat'; is it the same standard as what we did during our primary school days?" asked the 'ustaz'.

If in the case of 'ibadah' our standard was stagnant or getting worse, the irony of it in the terms of worldly (material) gains, we are quick for change, said the 'ustaz'. 

"Our houses have had several renovations, we kept on changing our cars; even at work we eyed to be in top positions. For styles and attires we too seek for the latest trend, but sadly regarding our 'ibadah' 'it is the same old me'..." fired the 'ustaz'.

I could feel the words targeted to me; it 'pierced deep inside my heart'...well it fit the Malay proverb - 'siapa makan cili dia yang terasa pedasnya'. 

The 'ustaz' said the key word here is to continue learning and then to work hard to improve our 'ibadah'...well we must 'hijra' the quality of our 'ibadah'...remember by each day, even by the seconds we are nearing our graves.

He said even if we are in old age, thus it is difficult for us to learn and improve our 'ibadah' such as reading the Qur'an, do not be shy and loose hope ...have faith and continue learning until our last day on earth; insya-Allah, He would have His Mercy upon us. 

Remember, the time to our death is getting shorter and shorter but many of us are still dazzling on the pleasures of the world; only a selected few are 'going all out' preparing for the days of the Hereafter which is 'forever and forever'.

The main aim of all our 'ibadah' are to increase our 'takwa' (piety) to Allah SWT. The new Hijra year gives Muslims opportunity to audit (have a thought) about ourselves on our performance through out the year. If our country could produce the Auditor-General's Report, then we too could have one for ourselves in valuing our duties as Muslims. 

It is reported that Hasan al-Basree, a renowned Islamic scholar once said,” A believer is a guardian over himself: He audits himself for Allah. Those who take account of themselves in this world will be audited lightly in the hereafter. Those who take this issue lightly will find their auditing very difficult.” 

So, what is our duty as a human being? In Surat Adh-Dhariyat 51:56 (The Winnowing Winds) Allah SWT says; “I have only created jinn and men, that they may serve Me.” 

So from time to time, it’s good to sit back and ask yourself a few questions. Perhaps here’s a starting point. Refer back to the Principles of Islam and ask yourself sincerely what is the score for your obligatory duties as a Muslim such as 'solat' (performing prayers), fasting in the month of Ramadan and distribute zakat. And have you perform hajj, the last articles under 'Rukun Islam'? 

One of the most important things that we can do individually as Muslims is to ponder our own selves and to reflect upon whether or not we have improved, remained stagnant, or have regressed in our overall practice of Islam. For example how is our 'solat' nowadays - is the 'quality' of our 'solat' at 50 years of age the same as our 'solat' when we were 15 years old - that was 35 years ago? 

The same could be said about our 'puasa' - is it the same as the yesteryear when we refrained ourselves from only eating and drinking or 'puasa yang yok' (cheating by eating or drinking when one is alone) but keep our eyes open seeing 'haram' (forbidden) things and open our ears to all sort of gossips and our tongues lash out bad and 'laser' words. 

Well, what about our 'zakat' - is it the same old you ‘that only pay for tithes during Ramadan' and forget the compulsory zakat for incomes, agriculture yields, gold and livestock such as cows and sheep? 

And how's our daily chores going on for example things we take for granted such wasting of money and food, spending on unnecessary items and involving in immoral activities such as going to pubs and disco and involving in smoking, gambling and drinking. 

And how's our time being spend? People tend to waste time; only a few 'veterans' prefer to seek knowledge including attending 'tazkirah' (lessons) at masjids, the rest waste their time doing unnecessary and unproductive activities such as spending long hours chatting or playing 'dam haji' (checkers) in 'warong kopi' (coffee shop). 

The question is, have we been auditing ourselves? We tend not to look at ourselves but waste our precious time on others. Over the course of the year, we can easily fall into the habit of focusing too much on the affairs of others. 

In true sense, our time could be better spent working to improve ourselves in the religion and seeking the Mercy of Allah and seeking His pardon for our own errors and mistakes. Remember our time left is too short; perhaps the Lord would called for us in a year time, tomorrow or even today or after reading this article! 

Allah says; "O you who believe! Fear Allah and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what you do." (59 (Exile):18) 

The interpreters of Qur’an have said that this verse is calling on the believers to take account of themselves before they are taken to account by Allah on the Day of Accounting, i.e., The Day of Judgment.