Begitu besar harapan diri ini untuk bisa bersanding dengan wanita Sholehah, yang dengan kecantikannya selalu berdzikir kepada ilahi rabby "Tuhan pemilik umat". Jalannya bagaikan bidadari-bidadari surga. Perkataanya melembutkan hati yang seadang gundah. Matanya hanya dia kasih untuk orang yang selalu baermunajat kepada Allah. Pandangannya penuh dengan ketakutan akan azab Allah. Laa haula wala Quwwata Illa billah, yang selalu dia ucapkan setiap melangkah.

THE SHAIKH AND PIGEON

A friend of mine told me this story: When I was young I had a shaikh, one of the greatest human beings I have ever known. I had met him quite by accident. He lived in a small shack in a poor neighborhood. I had to deliver some medicine for my father's pharmacy. Once inside this man's quarters I realized I was in the presence of someone quite unusual. For one thing, he possessed the relics of several great shaikhs of different orders. The day I met him he was having a conversation with two other young men about my own age. Their names were Metin and Refik. After hearing their conversation I began to lose interest in the things that had occupied me. I wanted only to attend these conversations. The three of us were learning so much that we wished that more and more people could also hear these conversations.


We begged our sheikh to allow the size of our circle to increase. One day we were attending the prayers at a great mosque. It was the feast of Ashura, the twelfth of Muharram. We were just leaving the mosque when our teacher paused on the steps because he noticed that a pigeon had just dropped dead from the sky. He picked up the poor bird, which was totally lifeless, held it tenderly in his hands, breated a long Huuuuuuu...and the bird came back to life and flew off into the sky. Well, this act did not go unnoticed and before long there were many people intersted in our shaikh. Many of them asked to attend his conversations and our circle grew.


It was not long before we found that we had very little time with our beloved shaikh. He was too busy to see us, attending to the needs of so many people. Then one day, while doing the night prayer after our zhikr, our shaikh let out a loud and smelly fart. People were astounded that this holy man could do such a thing. In a short period of time most of them had lost their faith in him and our circle returned to nearly the size it had been originally. One night when just the three of us were sitting together, our shaikh remarked: "You see my sons, those who come because of a pigeon, leave because of a fart!"

IBRAHIM IBNU ADHAM (RA) GIVING ADVICE AGAINST DISOBEDIENCE

A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, "Abu Ishaq, I am unable to control myself. Please give me something to help me with it"

"If you accept five conditions," said Ibrahim, "and are able to put them into practice, your disobedience will not cause you any problem."

"Just tell me what they are, Abu Ishaq!" the man said. "The first is that when you want to disobey Allah you do not eat anything He provides." "Then how will I get anything to eat? Everything on the earth is from Him!" "So is it right to eat His provision and disobey Him at the same time?" replied Ibrahim.

"No, it is not. What is the second condition?" "When you want to disobey him, move off His land."
"That is even more difficult! Exclaimed the man. "In that case where will I live?"
"Is it right to eat his provision and live on His land and then to disobey Him?" asked Ibrahim. "No, it is not."
"What is the third condition?" "When you want to disobey Him in spite of eating His provision and living on His land, find a place where He will not see you and disobey Him there."

"What do you mean, Ibrahim? He knows everything that happens even in the most hidden places!" "So is it right to disobey Him when you eat His provision and live on His land and when you know that He can see everything you do?" "It certainly is not!" the man replied.

"Tell me the fourth condition." "That when the Angel of Death arrives to take your soul, you say to him, 'Give me a reprieve so that I can repent and act righteously for Allah."

"But he won't listen to me!" "Then if you cannot ward off death long enough to give yourself time to repent, and you know that when it comes there will be no reprieve, how can you hope to be saved?"
"What is the fifth?" "That when the angels of the Fire come to you to take you to the Fire, you do not go with them." "They will take me whether I like it or not!" exclaimed the man.
"So how can you hope to be saved?"

"Enough, enough, Ibrahim! I ask Allah's forgiveness and I turn to Him!"
The man's repentance was sincere and from that time on he was assiduous in his worship and avoided acts of disobedience until the day he died.

A Call to Prayers on a Cold Wintry Morning

It was a wintry morning with much snow falling coupled with the blowing of a strong cold wind. It was not easy to come out in the open air. Yet one could see people rushing to their work and students with books in their hands hastening to their schools.

In one of the mosques in Hamadan - Iran, religious students were assembling in order to attend a morning class. It was an important school of Islamic theology and the tutor was also a very great learned one. His discourses were indeed very thought-provoking and so were his students quite intelligent. The tutor was none else but the world famous and a great Persian thinker and philosopher 'lbn Sina', popularly known in Europe as Avicenna. His lectures and writings on various science subjects had become the standard text books for hundreds of years in the universities of Europe. Students admired his deep philosophical thinking. They felt honoured to sit in his class and hear his inspiring lectures.

That cold morning, students had already assembled in the mosque and were still anxiously awaiting the arrival of their learned tutor. They were wondering if the intense cold weather that day had delayed his coming. A few minutes had passed when suddenly the students witnessed the graceful arrival of 'lbn Sina', their great learned tutor. They felt very happy and stood up as a mark of reverence and respect for him. He sat down at his usual place and exchanged greetings with his students. He commenced his discourse in his usual lucid manner that held his students spellbound. He also gave satisfactory answers to their questions. Among the students was one very young and enthusiastic by name 'Bahman Yar'. He was much more close and attached to 'lbn Sina' the learned tutor. He was also the foremost among the clever and advanced students of the class. Every time he listened to the lectures of his tutor, he became more and more fascinated with his deep philosophy and knowledge on every subject.

He would say to his class-mates: "I wonder why our tutor 'lbn Sina' does not claim to be a prophet despite his supreme intelligence and magic personality" It is said that one day by chance 'lbn Sina' was standing at a baker and loaf-seller shop. His attention was drawn to a very smart young boy who was displaying signs of much intelligence. The boy was saying to the baker: "My mother is requesting for a little fire." The baker responded: "Have you brought any pot to carry the fire?" "No! But I know how to carry it", replied the boy instantly. So saying he applied some ash over his palm and stretched his hand to the baker who placed a piece of burning firewood over his palm. Without any hesitation, the boy took it and went home.

'lbn Sina' was rather amazed to see the intelligence and courage of this boy. He thought of having him for special training and education under his personal care. The proposal was communicated to the parents who agreed and entrusted the boy to his full care. Thus 'Bahman Yar' since then was staying at no other place except at the house of his tutor and care-taker, 'lbn Sina'. They were all the time to be seen together. The boy being highly intelligent derived the best of the knowledge that his tutor could impart. Years passed and 'Bahman Yar' grew up not only in age but also in knowledge and understanding under the patronage of his tutor. The learned tutor was also very proud of this most capable student.It was one of the coldest nights of the wintry season. Midnight had passed and the snow-falling was very heavy. Both 'lbn Sina' and 'Bahman Yar' were sleeping in one room under warm thick blankets. The light in the room was already extinguished but the student was still asking intricate questions on some deep subjects. The tutor was replying in his usual impressive manner. Fascinated by the supreme knowledge and deep philosophy of his tutor, he again made the suggestion which he had made before:

"Oh my learned tutor!" he pleaded, "with all this high status of knowledge that you enjoy and being master of all the sciences, why not declare yourself a prophet? Sir! Don't you think that you even excel some of the previous prophets in knowledge and your status today is unparalleled in the world! Should you decide to claim prophethood, no one would dare challenge you. Let me assure you that I shall be the first to offer my allegiance and would serve you with full faith."

Since 'Bahman Yar' was still young and immature, his above proposal to his tutor was rather emotional than logical. 'lbn Sina' smiled but did not give any reply. That night the cold weather had become extreme and there was heavy snow-falling. Both were already fast asleep. It was past midnight and suddenly 'lbn Sina' woke up and raised his head out of the warm blanket. Incidentally he was very thirsty and the water-mug in the room was empty. So he decided to wake up his student to go out and bring him some water.

"Oh 'Bahman Yar'! My son 'Bahman Yar'! Please wake up and bring me some drinking water from outside", he said repeatedly.
"Why is there no water in the water-mug near your goodself, Sir?" asked 'Bahman Yar.'
"No!" replied 'lbn Sina.'
'Bahman Yar' raised his head and saw heavy snowfall outside. The thrilling sound of the strong cold wind also made him nervous to go out. Again 'lbn Sina' grumbled:
"Oh 'Bahman Yar'! Why the delay? Bring me some water, I am too thristy."

'Bahman Yar' dared not come out of the warm blankets to face the cold weather outside the room. He was, therefore, putting forward lame excuses to his tutor.

"Oh my respected tutor! It is harmful for you to drink water now that you have just come out of the warmth of thick blankets. It is better you go to sleep again till the early morning which is not far off", said 'Bahman Yar'.

"My son! Bring me water, I am too thirsty. I myself am a medical expert and know better what is harmful than you do. I am unable to sleep, please bring me some water from outside", again appealed 'Ibn Sina'

In response 'Bahman Yar' again put forward excuses and argued that he would catch cold and fall sick if he were to go out in that extreme cold weather. So saying he went back to sleep. There was dead silence everywhere and no sound of anything was to be heard. Outside it was still pitch dark except the first light of Subhe Sadiq (true dawn) in the eastern horizon had commenced to appear. Suddenly the silence broke with a melodious voice of a muezzin - caller to prayer from the top of a minaret at the nearby mosque. After reciting some verses of the, Holy Qur'an, the muezzin in a loud voice said, "Allaho Akber" - Allah is the Greatest. "Ash-hado an la ilaha illallah" - I bear witness that there is no god except Allah.

Both the tutor and his student quietly listened to the melodious voice of the muezzin. The call to prayers then proceeded to the words "Ash-hado anna Muhammadan Rasoolullah" - I bear witness that Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah. On hearing this, 'Ibn Sina' thought of taking the opportunity of responding to the repeated proposal made to him by 'Bahman Yar'. He said: "Listen to me, oh my son 'Bahman Yar'. Now I wish to reply to your repeated suggestion". The student sat up to hear attentively of what his learned tutor abruptly wanted to say. 'Ibn Sina' then proceeded:

"You have been suggesting to me several times to claim prophethood, that people would put full faith in me and that you would be the first one to do so. Now look, you have been my close student for several years and benefited from me a great deal, yet you did not think it prudent to obey me by coming out of your warm bed for a moment and bring me water that I badly needed to quench my thirst. Instead you chose to put forward lame excuses."

"But think of this man who is now calling to prayers at the top of the minaret after coming out in the coldest weather and making ablution with cold water in the early hour of this morning. It is for no other purpose but in obedience to and respect for the command of Allah as conveyed by His apostle Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s) some four hundred years ago.

LUKISAN ITU

LUKISAN ITU 

Bagaimana aku bisa melupakan lukisan yang tidak ada bedanya dengan lukisanmu walaupun kau beda fisiknya tapi menurutku kau sama. Sebenarnya aku benci dan benci dengan semua ini karena lukisanmu telah menyiksa hati dan pikiranku. Jika aku ingat waktu itu dan kau malah menari-nari dihadapanku.

Bagaimana aku bisa melupakan ketika cahaya permata yang kau lemparkan bersama lukisanmu, kau hidangkan setiap hari padaku saat mentari menyinari keceriaanmu. Setelah kau muncul dalam pandanganku. Sebenarnya aku tidak menginginkan semua ini. Sebenarnya jika aku mau. Bisa saja aku bilang kalau kau selalu menghantuiku dengan lukisanmu yang indah itu. Tapi aku tidak berani.

“Bodoh sekali kalau aku mengharapkanmu, emangnya aku siapa!”

Ah, selalu saja kau membuatku merasa harus memiliki isi lukisan yang kau lemparkan bersama cahaya, sedangkan aku tidak memiliki modal untuk mendapatkan-Nya. Jika saja kau tahu siapa aku niscaya aku akan siap menghadapi lontaran katamu walaupun itu pahit. Segenap jiwa ragaku akan aku tahan kalaupun menyakitkan adanya. Karena aku yang menginginkan itu semua terjadi.

Ah, tidak. Itu tidak boleh terjadi. Kalaupun kau tahu siapa aku, betapa malunya aku ketika kau mengenalku _ lelaki yang mengharapkan mimpi dan hidupnya tidak tahu pasti. Dengan remehnya kau pasti akan melemparkan kata-kata tajam, dan menusuk relung hatiku. Walaupun seribu kekuatan ada di dalam ada dalam hatiku niscaya aku akan lemah terkapar.

“Begitu juga ketika kamu tahu apa maksud hatiku kau akan mencaciku!’

Aku sangat menyadari ketika itu semua terjadi – yang seharusnya tidak boleh terjadi. Akan menjadi beban bagimu dan bagiku. Tapi aku tidak bisa menyadari kenapa aku selalu dimunculkan oleh hal-hal yang dahulunya ada menjadi ada lagi dalam penglihatanku. Tapi aku pikir itu hanya kebatulan.

***

Dan kau lukisanku yang dulu, masih ingatkah kau padaku, ketika kau tahu, bahwa aku menyukaimu lalu kau benci. Betapa malunya aku, ketika kau bilang padaku. Karena kemauanku kau malu dan benci. Tapi aku tidak menyalahkanmu wahai lukisanku karena aku tidak layak bagimu. Aku sadar bahwa aku memang bukan raja yang kau inginkan – yang sesuai dengan isi hatimu. Aku berusaha menghilangkanmu dari ingatanku, tapi sayang lukisanmu selalu muncul muncul sehingga akupun lelah, lemah, dan tidak berdaya menghadapinya. Aku memang sudah putus asa padamu sehingga harapanku sia-sia, mungkin kau sekarang sedang bahagia dengan raja impianmu. Sehingga kau tidak perlu benci lagi karena kau sudah mendapatkan impianmu. Dan aku yang disini membuang khayalanku kepadamu jauh-jauh.

***

Kau memang lukisan yang selalu mendapatkan cahaya diwaktu pagi. Walaupun aku tidak tahu yang sebenarnya, bagaimana kamu. Tapi bagiku kau lain dari yang lain. Dimataku kau lukisan yang terindah yang diciptakan oleh yang maha kuasa dengan sempurna. Walaupun pasti ada kekurangan dalam dirimu, karena manusia hidup pasti ada kekurangannya, tinggal bagaimana manusia menyikapinya sendiri.

“dengan melihatmu cukup bagiku” akupun tidak terlalu berharap denganmu. Sebagaiman sebelumnya. Karena aku tahu siapa aku – yang hanya bisa berharap mendapatkan Putri Raja. Apalagi bisa kenal denganmu, dan kaupun kenal denganku. Dengan melihatmu cukup bagiku untuk melepas rindu “mengenang masa laluku” aku tidak mau membebanimu terhadapku, karena kau pasti kan malu karena telah mengenalku.

Wanita merupakan dambaan setiap lelaki, dikala lelaki terpesona kepadanya; aku tidak tahu dambaan lelaki Pemabuk, Penjudi, Perampok, Preman dan yang funky – katanya, mendambakan wanita seperti apa. Tapi lelaki yang baik dan beriman mendambakan wanita Sholehah untuk dunia dan akhiratnya.

Wanita yang baik – yang bisa menjaga perhiasaan-Nya, malu dan takut akan kehinaan, sedih dan resah akan kemaksiatan disekitarnya, kalaulah kupu-kupu malam menjadi dambaan lelaki hidung belang. Tapi kupu-kupu istana menjadi dambaan lelaki yang beriman.

Makhluk terindah di Alam nyata wanita, Makhluk tersayang di Alam ghaib Wanita, makhluk yang di dambakan di Akhirat Wanita. Tapi sayang banyak wanita yang tidak tahu akan hal itu. Kebanyakan wanita menjadi kupu-kupu malam dari pada kupu-kupu istana.

“lemahnya – Nya wanita, hancurnya pria “maka janganlah heran apabila kau lihat disekitarmu banyak perzinaan, walaupun tidak 100% bukan salahmu”

Aku berdoa, semoga kau selalu terjaga dalam kesucian. Menjadi permata untuk Raja. Menjadi kupu-kupu istana yang di dambakan orang beriman.