Friday, 15 October 2010

Sembang-sembang tarbawi: Tarbiyatul Aulad


“Ana Zaireen, dari Besut. Alhamdulillah, sedang sambung pelajaran di peringkat sarjana di Southampton University dan telah berkeluarga. Dan, Alhamdulillah, ana mula mengenali tarbiyah sejak di MRSM lagi.”

Asma’ tertib mendengar dengan tekun ketika Kak Zai memperkenalkan dirinya kepada sisters yang hadir di situ. Panjang juga kak Zai berkongsi bagaimana mula kak Zai tertarik untuk lebih serius dalam memahami Deen ALLAh ini. Alhamdulillah, sangat menarik. Asma’ suka mengambil pelajaran daripada kisah-kisah sisters seperti kak Zai ini.

Bagaimanapun, dalam diam, Asma’ juga bermuhasabah. Sebentar lagi giliran dia pula untuk memperkenalkan diri. Tetapi, dia resah kerana belum dia peroleh jawapan untuk soalan ini bilakah dia mula mengenali tarbiyah.

“bila ya aku mula kenal tarbiyah?” bisik Asma’ pada dirinya.“err… bukan dari kecil ke?”

Dengan izin ALLAH, saat itu, segala kenangan liqo’ aulad banat yang dia ikuti ketika dia berumur 7 tahun hadir dalam benaknya. Teringat-ingat kenangan makcik Sarah, makcik maimunah, ibunya sendiri dan pelbagai program, pengisian dan permainan yang mereka susunkan untuk Asma’ dan teman-teman sebaya. “Subhanallah, moga Allah rahmati mereka…dari situ rupanya banyak aku belajar…” Asma’ bertasbih dan berdoa untuk murabbi-murabbinya dalam hati. Sungguh, dia akui, sangat banyak jasa mereka dalam membentuk diri Asma’ hari ini.

“Okey, sis Asma’. Sila perkenalkan diri, banyak kami nak tahu ni?” perlawaan kak Ruhi memecahkan gambaran dalam minda Asma’.

“Oh saye ye?” ujar Asma’ sambil tersenyum segan. “Blurr nye aku..” detik hatinya.

Asma’ pun mula berkongsi sedikit sebanyak personal detailnya sampai pada bagaimana mula perkenalaannya dengan tarbiyah. “Ana tak pasti bila ana mula kenal tarbiyah, sebenarnya.. tapi, seingat ana, bahan pertama yang ana digest terkait tauhid ialah pada ana berumur 7 tahun, insya-allah.” Asma’ diam berfikir. “Ya, 7 tahun insya-allah. Bukan halaqah keluarga, tapi halaqah mingguan yang memang terancang dan berguru dengan murabbi-murabbi mithali, insya-allah. Tapi, ya lah, lama dalam tarbiyah tidak menentukan apa-apa sangat sebenarnya…” ujarnya sambil merendah diri kerana sedar siapalah dia berbanding sisters di hadapannya.

“Subhanallah, awak umur 7 tahun asma’? Besar anak akak tu, Durra… hesh.. nak kene mula ngan Durra ni…” kak Sue member respon, teruja.

“Masya-allah, awalnya. Tapi Asma’, awak ingat lagi ye?” soal kak Amee pula.

“Err… insya-allah, kak. Mungkin sedikit perkongsian untuk semua… ana sendiripun belum ada anak… tapi, apa yang ana lalui, seingat ana.. memang kita tak boleh pandang remeh kepada Tarbiyatul Aulad… atau bahasa Melayunya Pendidikan Anak-anak.. Insya-allah, anak-anak yang kita lihat hari ni, yang mungkin pada kita hanya tahu bermain.. tapi sebenarnya mereka sedang aktif belajar… belajar apa sahaja yang didedahkan di sekelilingnya… jika baik suasana kita sediakan, insya-allah… pasti suasana baik itu akan member kesan kepada pemikiran, jiwa dan tingkah laku ana tersebut dalam kita sedar atau tidak, insya-allah.”

“Insya-allah, ana yakin, liqo’ itulah yang pertama ana hadir dalam hidupnya. Selain dari liqo’ di rumah yang memang dijadikan rutin keluarga, liqo’ banat itulah antara yang membantu ana faham Islam dengan lebih baik. Paling penting, Liqo’ itulah yang membina asas aqidah yang ada dalam jiwa Asma’ hari ini. Alhamdulillah. Semoga ALLAh rahmati murabbi-murabbi Asma’” ujar Asma’ tertib.

“Boleh Asma’ kongsi sedikit apa yang makcik-makcik buat dalam liqo’ tu?” tanya kak Tee dengan penuh minat. Ya lah, kak Tee sendiri seorang yang bersungguh dalam mendidik anak-anaknya.

“Err… ana bagi contoh satu bahagian dari liqo’ kami ye kak. Misalnya, terkait tentang Tiga cabang Tauhid.. ketika makcik ingin bantu kami nampak tentang Tauhid Rubbubiyah.. iaitu keesaan ALLAh dalam kekuasaan-Nya.. makcik mulakan dengan menekankan satu ayat sahaja, iaitu surah Al-Furqan, ayat 2. Tapi, dari ayat itu, makcik extract kan jadi 5 phrase yang pendek-pendek, untuk kami tadabbur satu demi satu.”

“Contohnya, phrase 1 yang bermaksud ‘(Allah) yang memiliki kerajaan langit dan bumi’. Minggu 1, kami dibawa bermain di taman permainan… manakan anak-anak seperti kami tidak seronok.. tapi, sebelum dilepaskan bermain, makcik bawa ke sudut padang permainan, dekat dengan pokok-pokok… Makcik buat macam kuiz seperti, sapa yang boleh sebut nama haiwan atau insect yang di sekelilingnya… atau sapa boleh kira awan… atau sapa boleh kira warna hijau yang dia Nampak… Soalan-soalan yang terkait dengan alam sekeliling.”

“Nampak macam kosong dan bosan… tapi, seingat saya, sebagai anak kecil, memang tak kenal erti bosan… ikut saja apa yang disuruh.. tambah-tambah apabila dibenarkan berlari2 untuk pergi ke pohon sekian dan sekian. Tapi, Alhamdulillah, yang lebih penting soalan-soalan itu membantu anak-anak aware, betapa alam sekelilingnya ini luas. Jika dicuba hitung-hitung, memang tak cukup jari. Yalah, masakan kita boleh kira awan, kan? Dari situ, anak-anak kemudiannya pada sesi lain dibawa untuk merasai keluasan keraajan ALLAH di langit dan bumi dengan melukis dan mewarna pula… wallahua’lam..”

“Itu sebagai contoh, banyak lagi, insya-allah pendekatan-pendekatan yang diambil oleh mereka. Tapi, saya tak ingat sangat. Cuma pada saya, kesannya sampai hari ini, insya-allah. Sebut tentang tauhid, dari liqo’ itulah asas-asas keyakinan kepada keesaan ALLAh terbina. Insya-allah. Teringat pula, sehinggakan, semasa sepupu saya mengajak saya menonton cerita Power Rangers, Allah izin saya masih ingat jawapan saya ketika itu, ‘tak naklah, power rangers tu ajak kite syirik. Mana ada kuasa sehebat kuasa ALLAH swt!” dan selepas itu ibu yang dimarahi nenek dan makcik kerana kononnya ibu mengajar anak pelik-pelik. Tapi, sungguh. Insya-allah, saya yakin jawapan saya tu tak dipengaruhi ibu. Tapi, datang dari kefahaman yang terbentuk dari program-program tarbiyah seumpama liqo’ itu insya-allah… wallahua’lam.” Asma’pun akhirnya menutup perkongsiannya kerana lama pula masa yang diambilnya.

“Alhamdulillah.” lafaz yang terkeluar dari banyak sisters.

“Sungguhkan, tarbiyah anak-anak ni tak boleh diringankan…” ujar kak Sue seakan bermuhasabah sambil melihat anak-anaknya bermain.

“Alhamdulillah, terima kasih Asma’. Nampaknya perkongsian yang sangat bermanfaat untuk para ibu generasi ini. Hebat apa yang telah para ibu generasi atas kita usahakan dan tentunya semua ini menuntut jihad dan pengorbanan dari kita. Tak mudah terutama untuk para ibu yang berkerjaya. Apalah yang anak-anak kita lihat dan dengar ketika kita di tempat kerja.” Tambah kak Zai dengan nada sayu.

“tapi…” kak Ruhi. “hanya ibu yang hebatlah, Allah akan dikurniakan anak-anak pewaris yang hebat, insya-allah. Mana mungkin ibu nak berbicara tentang Tauhid, jika ibu sendiri tak sure tentang hakikat TAUHID, ye tak?? So, insya-allah, jom azam jadi ibu-ibu yang hebat!!” Seru kak Ruhi penuh makna dan semangat.

“Yeay, insya-allah!!” sahut para sisters yang lain dengan penuh kesungguhan dan keazaman.

Asma’ malu sendiri. Banyak lagi yang dia harus pertingkatkan. Di hadapan kakak-kakak ini, siapalah dia. Terlalu banyak yang harus Asma’ pelajari, kerana dia yakin pengalaman adalah guru terbaik. Jadi, banyak lagi pengalaman-pengalaman kakak-kakak ini yang harus dia kutip sebagai bekalan diri, insya-allah. Inilah kehidupan. Apa yang baik yang telah dimulai generasi awal, kita teruskan dan pertingkatkan. Kerana kita semua manusia, sehebat manapun kita, ada masa naik, dan ada masa turun. Kita saling memerlukan dalam usaha untuk menjadi manusia yang lebih dekat dengan ALLAh swt. Insya-allah.

Wallahua’lam.

Sunday, 18 July 2010

It is not easy to be SPECIAL


‘Sister, till now, I feel difficult to accept what had happened to me in the past; and I hate it, I hate my past so much...’ said a close friend of mine. ‘Because of that, I kind of seeing sorrow in my future and I don’t want to go forward as I am terrified that the same thing will happen again.’ She ended her half-an-hour sharing with tears.

I looked at her sympathetically; not any word I could say yet. I didn’t want to hurt her feeling. I could imagine if I were at her place, I might not be as strong as she was. I remembered seeing her smiling and being so calm at that time when some of ‘trusted’ people tried to put her down in so many ‘weird’ and ‘crazy’ ways. I knew it was not a fault for her to admit the pain she had gone through. But for me, I could not let myself being immersed into her past. Yet I need to help her bringing herself out of the problem and looking back to it from a different horizon. I believe this is how a counsellor always works.

So, I tried to begin my word with a question. ‘Sister, despites your past, are you happy now?’ She looked at me, frowning and said, ‘Alhamdulillah, of course, I am. It is so much pleasure to know and to be with the people that around me now. I know they love me for Allah; and I love them for ALLAH to, insya-allah. Why is that, sister?’

I smiled. ‘I know I am not the best person to say this; because as you know, I was not the one who went through those horrible experiences.’Oh, come on, sister. You know I would love to listen to any kind of sharing,’ she said.

Thank you. You know sister, it seems a ‘fate’ destined by the Lord of the world that in order to be ‘special’; there will always be so much troubles that we need to go through. For instance, in order to be the most beautiful and sparkling diamond; there are so much difficulties and hardships that the black ‘carbon’ has to go through. Do you know that? The diamond was not formed easily; it has to go through so much heat, force and cut under and above the earth that we could hardly imagine. And then, when all the process is done successfully, there comes the diamond that worth thousand pounds; so enchanting and bewitching so many eyes.’

‘The same goes to us, sister. Allah could let us have an ‘easy’ and ‘trouble-free’ life. But, then, how can we become ‘special’? Special here I think, I would love to refer in both worlds; being special in this world and special in the next world.’

‘How come the troubles and problems made me special in this world, sister?’ she asked.

‘You are special, sister and you should know that. The problems make you special because with them, you are now more ‘expert’ on ‘human’ in general than me. You could understand others’ pain when they are facing similar situations better than me. Sister, if not, how come our beloved Prophet, Muhammad S.A.W. was made by ALLAH to be the man who experienced the most of troubles and tribulations exist in this world. Let us count how much horrible situation he had gone through in his life.’

‘He experienced the sad childhood, if you like to call it; because his father died before his birth, because his mum died in front of him, because he was brought up by an uncle who has 10 other children, because he had to work as a ‘shepherd’ since he was little and so much more. And later on, as he was pronounced to be the ‘messenger’, he experienced being ‘swore’, ‘stab-backed’ and ‘fitnah’ by his own ‘trusted’ people. Then, he experienced the siege, the death of his beloved ones; his wife and his closest uncle and so many other things that we can say ‘horrifying’ experiences before he was now is known as ‘the most influential figure in the world’. Wasn’t he’s seen as so ‘special’ in so many people’s eyes because of his patience and... I shall call ‘success’ to deal with those tribulations, sister?’

She was silent. I knew she was trying to think and relate those words with her situation. Soon as she looked better, I continued. ‘People who experience little difficulties and challenges understand little about this world; because this world is all about challenges. Since born we faced various challenges; but we never gave up. Look at the babies! If they give up in their learning walking now they could never walk when they grow up. And, sister, we were those babies; and we were those who were success to go through all the challenges in the ‘babies-world’. So, because we did not give up in the past; so never give up now, sister!’

There are so many things in the future that now we do not know yet. It is a secret; kept nicely by ALLAH. Why we are frightened by something that we actually do not know yet? May be, we never know that whether those people who has done so badly to us in the past; have changed and have sought forgiveness from ALLAH.. Hopefully, insya-allah. Aren’t we happy for them for joining the ‘good’ crowd like the prophet S.A.W. and his companion were so happy when they receive the most furious ‘kuffar’ generals, Khalid Ibn Walid and A’mr al-asr to join them (Muslim brotherhood)?

‘So, in short, I would like to say to myself as well as you, my dear sister; NEVER LET THE PAST HUNT US DOWN. All the challenges and difficulties appear in our life path are granted by HIM, the Lord of the World, who knows BEST in everything at every time; to make us SPECIAL in this world and in the NEXT, insya-allah. Never give up, and never lose hope, insya-allah. Let us Put our FULL TRUST only to HIM, the ONLY BEST sustainer and the maintainer of the world. Insya-allah.’

‘Wallahua’lam. (Allah knows best)

Soon as I finished, she hugged me, like she always does.

‘Thank you so much,’ she said with a sparkling eyes and sincere smile.


-The End-



Video for reflection:

[Click here to watch how diamond is formed and cut]

[Click here to watch cute walking babies]

[Click here to watch the best ‘picture’ of Muhammad S.A.W. (Peace be upon him)]


Wallahua'lam.


p/s: last bit... Enjoy one of my favourite singers, Maher Zain with his 'Insya-allah' song! ^^


Friday, 16 July 2010

My Poem: Upset Not


Upset Not


I tried to talk to her; she’s busy

I tried to talk to him; he’s away

I tried to talk to them; they never know me

I was upset

I was frustrated

I was sad


But then

I remember

Why should I feel upset?

Isn’t He who is always there?

Because He is Al-Hayyu and Al-Qoyyum

Isn’t He who knows me BEST?

Because He is Al-A’leem and Al-Hakeem

Isn’t He who is the BEST LISTENER?

Because He is Al-Samee’


So, I raise my hand

And I talk to HIM and disclose my feeling

So, I take the Love Letters HE gave me

And I read what He has said to me

So, I take the praying mat

And I bow myself to HIM


Oh my...

I feel free, I feel released


O’ ALLAH,

You are the BEST

You are the GREATEST

All Praises go only to YOU

To You I worship and To You ask for HELP

Thank You ALLAH.

Plymouth

15th July 2010