Muhasabah II

Storm which appeared late last week has calmed...Thank God...so happy ^-^.

While reading harakah just now I came across an article by Li Fook Gao entitled " Orang bukan Islam 'membaca' penganut Islam " Could not agree more with what he said...Islam will be judged by the way its followers behave & live.

Telah termaktub dari zaman Rasulullah SAW; akhlaq baginda adalah "penarik" terbesar ke arah penyebaran Islam dengan meluas. Bukan khutbah, ceramah, tazkirah...tetapi akhlaq baginda dan sahabat2lah yang membawa orang tertarik dengan Islam. Siapa dapat menyangkal kemuliaan peribadi baginda, sanggup mendaki sebuah bukit untuk menyuap makanan kepada seorang tua (yang buta penglihatan), yang saban hari menyumpah baginda (kerana baginda menyebarkn Islam...walhal org tua ini tak tahu yang datang melawatnya itu adalah orang yang dicacinya depan2 setiap hari). Baginda sanggup menziarah & menjaga seorang wanita Yahudi yang sewaktu sihatnya senantisa membuang sampah/najis etc ke arah baginda.
Islam tersebar ke serata dunia tanpa sedikit pun kekerasan/keganasan! Umat Islam berperang hanya sebagai pertahanan diri & sangat patuh pada etika peperangan - Wanita, kanak2, org tua, tanaman, tempat Ibadah (semua agama) - DILARANG SAMA SEKALI UNTUK DIUSIK! Malah diberi perlindungan sepenuhnya.

Tetapi kita lihat keadaan & perilaku umat Islam sekarang.

Berapa ramai daripada kita yang cuba mencontohi Nabi & sahabat baginda dalam mempamerkan peribadi yang baik.
Berapa ramai daripada kita masih berpransangka buruk terhadap saudara se-Islam & masih prejudis terhadap rakan2 berlainan agama.
Berapa ramai daripada kita yang sedar bahawa setiap daripada kita adalah dae'i & wajib untuk kita berda'wah. Berapa ramai daripada kita sedar bahawa da'wah terbaik adalah daripada perilaku & peribadi kita sendiri.

The way we communicate, the way we interact, our EQ, our emphathy, the life we lead...all these are being observed by our non-Muslim brothers & sisters. Really if we portray the real Islamic values, it is a great da'wah effort indeed. And God willing, more people might get interested with Islam (of course hidayah is of Allah's discreetion-but effort & do'a is within our reach). we may not possess the strength to approach (our fellow Muslims & non-Muslim bro & sis) to preach about Islam. However, definitely we have the opportunity to be a better human, better Muslim by portraying what Islam had taught us & this will sure to be of a great da'wah effort.

Moga semua daripada kita mendapat hidayah dari Allah serta kekuatan untuk mengamalkan Islam sebaiknya & marilah kita istiqamah dalam berdo'a kerana itulah senjata terbaik orang mu'min. WALLAHU 'ALAM.

Seksi...terseksa & menyeksa

WHAT SEXY MEANS?
1. provoking or intended to provoke sexual interest (i.e. by a sexy dress)-concerned predominantly or excessively with sex
2. radiating sexuality by looking sexual interesting, arousing
3. interesting, exciting, or trendy (concerning non-living subjects-i.e.cars, bikes)

These are the definitions of SEXY which I got from 2 websites...thefreedictionary.com & dictionary.com.

MY GOOD FRIEND & I
I had brief fun debate recently, with a good friend of mine regarding this matter..BEING SEXY. She feels that being sexy can contribute to boost one's self esteem, confidence etc. I was amused with this...how are they related? I said it had no connection at all. This cute friend of mine continued that by putting on high heels, dressing up sexily to certain extent can put a person more presentable and booming in confidence. Hmm...i just could not agree with her:) That's when I thought of writing about this in my blog.hehe

ZOOM IN-SEXY
When we talk about sexy-it is either sexy human or sexy designs of non-living subjects (i.e. car) Am talking solely about sexy in humans..more precisely ladies; o as they are the one repeatedly subjected to sexiness (though guys are not spared)
Not sure how the general population perceives; for me...sexiness is mainly projected by dressing...the more body parts u expose, the sexier u will appear. Exposing here can be literal or even by covering up half-heartedly(kain jarang, kain separa cukup, kain terbelah, putting on high heels to put the back bumper to limelight...etc.hehe). Well of course the way a person talks or interacts can be sexy too. But i am more concerned about dressing; which is definitely a deliberate act by a person who is mentally sound:)

WHY?
I just can't understand;
Why does women want to look sexy by exposing themselves? They are gorgeous, yet they still want to appear sexy. Some perceive themselves as not so beautiful & use that as an excuse to be sexy (as if sexiness enhances beauty).
My dear sisters, You can dress-up but NEED NOT TO BE SEXY. Put on the finest gorgeous dresses you can find but it does not need to be sexy!
Why are you exposing yourselves to strangers who will look at you as if they have never seen a woman before?
What pleasure do you get by being "peewhitted" by strangers. (though may even happen if you are decently dressed; but will be of xtra "peewhit" if they look at a sexy lady).
Why are you exposing yourself to extra danger by dressing up sexily & walking on our not-so-safe roads?
Why are you putting on a dress which can cause discomfort to you & "suffocate" you (i.e. tight blouses, skirts) You wear a skirt with high cut slit & end up balik2 trying to cover up.
Why do you wear high heels & pre-dispose yourselves to varicose veins?
Apahal duhai wanita?

EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN
Women have long been exploited & degraded. They were declined of their rights. If we look at era of Jahiliyyah in Middle-East...baby girls were buried alive; women are deemed to be merely reproductive machine. Islam brought the just equality women have been yearning for long. Man & women have their own responsibilities, place in society and equal rights to voice out opinion. Equality here is not as what the emancipation group are fighting for...equality means; men have their responsibilities...women have their own; thus equality is in accordance to these responsibilities. Women were given the pride which has long been taken away from them. they are not to be exploited but to be cared & protected. Their bodies are not to be exposed; but to be covered & protected

But let us look at our society now...many are voluntarily exposing themselves. Look at our ads, TV shows, our shopping complexes..huh..just to name a few...
Where is your pride my dear sisters?
If we look at any religion's teachings...I would boldly say, none are in favour of allowing sexy dressing...dare to challenge? so, get back to your respective religion's teachings & protect yourselves...the world is not getting any better, only more cruel.
REMEMBER please...sexiness has nothing to do with confidence. Confidence is within us...decent appearance strengthens it...sexy appearance does not come into confidence line:)
My sincerest apology to all who read this; if I had made any insulting/provocative statements...do correct me...sedia menerima teguran:)

Two verses from the holy Qur'an as for our reminder:

Al-'Araaf :26 (Peringatan untuk mentup aurat)
Hai anak Adam[530], sesungguhnya Kami telah menurunkan kepadamu pakaian untuk menutup auratmu dan pakaian indah untuk perhiasan. Dan pakaian takwa[531] itulah yang paling baik. Yang demikian itu adalah sebahagian dari tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah, mudah-mudahan mereka selalu ingat.

An-Nur :31 (Peringatan khusus untuk wanita)
Katakanlah kepada wanita yang beriman: "Hendaklah mereka menahan pandangannya, dan kemaluannya (nafsu) dan janganlah mereka menampakkan perhiasannya, kecuali yang (biasa) nampak dari padanya. Dan hendaklah mereka menutupkan kain tudung ke dadanya, dan janganlah menampakkan perhiasannya kecuali kepada suami mereka, atau ayah mereka, atau ayah suami mereka, atau putera-putera mereka, atau putera-putera suami mereka, atau saudara-saudara laki-laki mereka, atau putera-putera saudara lelaki mereka, atau putera-putera saudara perempuan mereka, atau wanita-wanita islam, atau budak-budak yang mereka miliki, atau pelayan-pelayan laki-laki yang tidak mempunyai keinginan (terhadap wanita) atau anak-anak yang belum mengerti tentang aurat wanita. Dan janganlah mereka memukulkan kaki agar diketahui perhiasan yang mereka sembunyikan. Dan bertaubatlah kamu sekalian kepada Allah, hai orang-orang yang beriman supaya kamu beruntung.

Empathy....?

I'm on call tomorrow...so happy..huhu (don't be worried..am still sane)
Just something to share here; which has been in my concern for so long..
Witnessing terminal illnesses, deaths, emotional response to a loss, denials ... have been part of me since I started my medical life...more so since being in Sandakan (medical lagi...huh) Well, sometimes I do get carried away if unable to save a life; which I hoped could be saved...but as we know..life & death is beyond our knowledge & control...Allah decides all & we must accept the fate (Faith in Qada' & Qadar). "Every living soul are subjected to death" No one is immortal expect Allah.

But I'm just too sad when many of us (people who are witnessing a near-death situation, trying hard to salvage the life...just lose our EMPATHY & forget that we are resuscitating a fellow human being who is in a brink of death (or already asystole). Laughing, giggling...are this the way we are supposed to behave in facing such situations? Worse still..sometimes the dying patient's family members are just beside the bed, only hidden by curtain. Where have we lost our EMPATHY? We tend to take as "OK,IT IS JUST ANOTHER MORTALITY"....as easy as that! Let it be a terminally ill patient, a frail elderly, a young man or even a homeless human...
Some of us are even happy if a patient is issued DNR.huh (happy the patient gonna die?) Issuing DNR is not easy...the responsibility is just too huge...we are answerable to what we do later...thus issuing this has to be under careful consideration & not with the intention...DNR jak la, malas mau resus!

Friends! a death is a death ... it is not "JUST ANOTHER MORTALITY". Every death involves emotions of the deceased or the dying patient's family. More importantly, we MUST manifest our EMPATHY. Am not saying all those who are resuscitating must be fully quiet & use sign languages; but be rationale...I reckon laughing & giggling as being disrespectful to the patient & family members.



This is something I got from a website:

Sympathy emphasizes sharing distressing feelings whereas empathy does not emphasize any particular type of feeling. The listener using empathy shares (experiences) whatever feelings the talker is expressing at the moment, regardless of whether the feelings are distressing (grief, for example) or pleasant (love, for example).
Sympathy may also involve agreeing with some aspects of the other person's feelings, beliefs, etc. whereas empathy emphasizes understanding all of them with no interest in either agreeing or disagreeing.

The person using empathy tunes into the entire inner world of the other person whereas the person using sympathy typically tunes into only those aspects with which he agrees. The listener using empathy usually responds more comprehensively to the talker as compared with the listener using sympathy.

My point is...we don't have to sympathize...in fact, DO NOT SYMPHATIZE...but do EMPATHIZE. It really makes you look professional & more humane!
As a Muhasabah for me & all those who are fated to be in such situations for their entire life. Hope we all work towards being a better human being...Insya Allah.