Khabar Kepada Kawan

I went out taking photos of Wellington last night. The scenery was breathtaking, and thanks to my darling Ms. SX10IS, I was able to capture such beauty. Click here to see them. Back from taking photos, I lie in bed with my running nose thinking about how beautiful Allah has created this world around us yet we often take them for granted. Thank you, Allah, for all these blessings.

As my fever gotten worse and my nose clogged with mucus, I fell asleep while chatting with some friends on YM. It was a deep sleep I fell into, which has always been accompanied with dreams. Yes, I dream a lot but only when I have a deep sleep.

Guess what I dreamt about?

No, no, no. Not shweet girls blowing kisses at me, though it would have been a shweet dream indeed. Ahaha~

Okay, I was just kidding. I dreamt about catastrophic natural disasters. I dreamt about tsunami and earthquake, and drought. I woke up with my heart racing fast as if it's gonna burst out from my chest, and I was drowned in cold sweat. I whispered a prayer asking for Allah's protection from any of these disasters.

It is true that I never had been through any of these, or any natural disasters I can classify as "catastrophic" yet, but I had conversation with some friends who were victims. Remember tsunami that hit Penang few years ago? Yes, I have friends who lost their loved ones in that catastrophe. This reminds me of a song by Ebiet G. Ade titled "Khabar kepada Kawan". Look closely at the lyric.


Khabar Kepada Kawan

Perjalanan ini terasa sangat menyedihkan
Sayang engkau tak duduk di sampingku kawan
Banyak cerita yang mestinya kau saksikan
Di tanah kering berbatuan

Tubuhku tergoncang dihempas batu jalanan
Hati tergetar nampak kering rerumputan
Perjalanan ini seperti jadi saksi
Gembala kecil menangis sedih sekali

Kawan cuba dengar apa jawabnya
ketika ku tanya mengapa
Bapa ibunya telah lama mati
ditelan bencana tanah ini

Sesampainya di laut
ku khabarkan semuanya
kepada karang kepada ombak
kepada matahari
tetapi semua diam
tetapi semua bisu
Tinggal aku sendiri
terpaku menatap langit

Barangkali di sana ada jawabnya
Mengapa di tanahku terjadi bencana
Mungkin Tuhan mulai bosan melihat tingkah kita
yang selalu salah dan bangga dengan dosa-dosa
Atau alam mulai enggan bersahabat dengan kita
Cuba kita bertanya pada rumput yang bergoyang



Look at the last stanza. The author questioned why natural disaster happens, and he suggested that it is because of humans' arrogant actions and stupidity.

I remember my ustaz and ustazah told me (and I believe you've heard of it too as it is a reminder from the Holy Quran, though I can't recall which verse) that Allah doesn't punish us humans individually, unless in certain situations when an individual transgressed too far away from what God has forbidden. Allah's punishments come in the form of natural disasters and the outbreak of diseases.

I remember a non-Muslim friend asked me a question: Why would your God punish the whole country or community when only one person sinned? I believe you claimed Him to be Most Merciful? Isn't that evil to punish a group when only one person did wrong?

How would you answer his question?

I answered this: You see, Allah doesn't punish our sins right away. He is so merciful, Most Merciful in fact, He would wait for our repentance. But we always forget that and we are sometimes too selfish to think only about ourselves. We often care only about ourselves. You see, Islam promotes ukhuwwah (bond of love between all Muslims despite their differences). That means, all Muslims should look after one another, reminding one another when they see anyone transgressing the forbidden. This is the concept of "amar ma'ruf, nahi munkar" which means that we promote good deeds and we prevent wrongdoings. Now, to answer your question. Whenever Allah punishes a country of community with natural disasters such as tsunami or disease outbreak such as the swine flu pandemic, try to sit and reflect and you'll realise this: 1) The individual who transgressed must have offended what God has forbidden more than once, and; 2) The community especially those of knowledge who knows overlooked his wrongdoings.

Okay, that was too lengthy I suppose? What I was trying to say there was, Allah send the punishment not only to punish the transgressor but also the people around him who could care less about his repeated offenses, and did not take any action to stop and bring him to the right path. Indeed, Allah is Most Merciful and Most Fair in His Judgement.

*this is a reminder to myself who always forget.

"O Allah, I beseech Thy Protection from any natural disasters or disease pandemics Thou has sent upon us"