Saturday, June 12, 2010

Difficult Question

The K@f@ classes that I have been helping to teach is closed for the long summer break. We will resume after Eid, Insya Allah. Bi Iznillah, if Allah gives me the qudrah and the knowledge I would like to continue teaching there.

I have enjoyed doing this bit of stint. Truly the students and the experience taught me alot. Praises all go to Allah.

qatar qatar
Left :My attempt to draw and write on the board,
Right : Some of the cute children. May they grow up to be righteous.


I learnt from the materials that i had to gather.
I learnt to teach the little knowledge I know and translated it for a 6 year old to comprehend.
I learnt from their reaction.
I learnt from their questions.
I learnt. I learnt. I learnt.

So far the most difficult question I heard was, "Aunty, my father still eat with his left hand. And I have told him what you said. How?" Or something to that effect.

How now brown cow?

10 comments:

Ir. Hanafi Ali said...

Hahahah. Banana has to be profoundly curved. Mana ada banana yang almost straight.

Hahahah.

Lollies said...

Hahahahha! I was having difficulty trying to draw banana. It just refuse to be curved! Siap nampak tu. :P

Sheherazade said...

can learn a lot from kids

masdiana said...

I told a kid abt 3 yrs old to use her right hand as that is what our Prophet s.a.w used to do - dia tgk I mcm antara paham ngan tidak la. :-D Few minutes later I saw her mom eating with her left hand. Errr... mcm mana tuh nak tegur? Kat rumah org lak tuh.

Ir. Hanafi Ali said...

Sorry, if I sound serious and swimming counter-current. Heheh.

But to me this left hand right hand thingy is wayyy getting out of hand (pun unintended. Wah terer jugak aku buat pun ni rupanya. Selalu tengok je orang buat. Anyway I digress).

I am still searching for sources to support my point but so far, takde. Quran only mentioned in verse 5:6 ("O you who believe, when you rise up for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if you are under an obligation, then wash (yourselves). And if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you comes from the privy, or you have had contact with women and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith. Allah desires not to place a burden on you but He wishes to purify you, and that He may complete His favour on you, so that you may give thanks.") but Quran is silent on left/right thing.

"For example, they teach that when eating food, you should sit on your knees, or with one knee up, because the prophet had sat in that manner. Or when eating you must eat with your right hand because the prophet used his right hand. Even left handed Muslim children who struggle to eat or perform tasks with right hand are discouraged from accepting how Allah created them (using left hand). There is no understanding in such people that the prophet did so because he simply felt comfortable to eat in that position or may be because he was right-handed and he would use his left hand if he was left-handed."

"Just because the prophet's favourite colour was green, does not mean we must all have our favourite colour green. Just because the prophet liked to eat dates, does not mean anyone who does not like eating dates is less of a Muslim - merely because of his personal food preferences. Just because the prophet wore an Arab dress (as he was born into an Arab family) does not make the Arab dress recommended for all people. Rather Allah celebrates our variations in culture and tradition:
"Among His signs are the creations of the heavens and the Earth, and the differences in your languages and colours. In that are signs for all people". (Qur'an 30:22)"

"Now, is the message of the prophet in these personal habits and preferences of his, or something greater?

"It is not fitting for any person to whom Allah gives the Book, the wisdom and prophethood, that he should say to people: 'Be servants to me rather than Allah!', rather he would say: 'Be devotees (of Allah) for what you have learnt and studied from the Book'."

(Qur'an 3:79)"

From here:

http://www.quranicpath.com/sunnishia/sunnah.html

My point is we are ascribing to much to this religion sampai it is too complicated. What is and what is not Islam, actually? Rasulullah said "kamu lebih tahu urusan duniamu", as the Prophet SAW himself tak tahu macamana nak tanam kurma, i.e. Baginda tak tahu yang kurma tu kena didebungakan secara manual. Kalau tak, buah tak menjadi sangat.

The maksum-ness of Rasulullah SAW is only in menyampaikan Quran, but not in other things. Even in perang pun Rasulullah SAW listens to his generals. As he himself is not that accomplished as a war strategist!


ALLAH lebih mengetahui.

Let us simplify, but not too simple.

Lollies said...

Actually Hansac, the right hand left hand is a sunnah. If one view sunnah as just a sunat, one will take it as tak buat pun tak apa.

Unlike Prophet saw likes to wear what colour, eating with the right hand is considered by many ulamaks is a necessity. Sorry lah tak dapat nak keluarkan argument yg canggih manggih. Tapi the essence of the sunnah is not to copy shaytan in anyway.

Salim, on the authority of his father, reported Allah’s messenger S.a.w. as saying : “None of you should eat with his left hand and drink with that (left hand) for the Shaytan eats with his left hand and drinks with that hand.” Muslim 5010.

As for myself when i hear the warning in this hadith, I feel afraid already. My only reason that I follow is because I believe in this hadith. I want the ajr of following the sunnah. I do not want to reciprocate the shaytan in any way i can.

Rasulullah saw pernah tegur orang yg makan tangan kiri dgn alasan tangan kanan sakit, and he made dua that tangan dia betul2 sakit, and it did. Maaf no source.

However if someone memang tak ada tangan kanan, this semestinyalah di excuse kan.

Umar Al Khattab pernah tegur orang yg makan pakai tangan kiri, to find out that the man has no right hand. And that is ok.

I myself like to simplify things, but I choose following the sunnah as much as I can as a form of simplifying things. Eating with the right hand is already simple as it is. In fact it is so easy, it become a why-not.

Certain other sunnah lagilah susah nak ikut. As for myself I chose to start with simple sunnah before even embarking on other things.

Masya Allah to people who are lefthanded. They can perform tasks using both hands. Something that i cannot do. i look at it, if they struggle initially to eat with right hand, more ajr will be for them.

Of courselah in the end makan tangan kanan ke tangan kiri tak lah merosakkan akidah someone. Tapi do we not want to aim big? I can't make jihad. Nak bangun sembahyang malam pun susah.

But the gist is, i think i know what you are trying to say.I know some people make everything so difficult. nak masuk islam pun susah. Nak practice pun susah. I am trying to learn it right. That is from the quran and the sunnah. Whatever I can. May Allah make it easy.

Allah knows best.

Lollies said...

ruby - and when you teach you learn double more.

diana - i think people mostly tak realise the importance of this sunnah. we like to talk about big things, tapi lupa the finer detail. Insya Allah slowly slowly. tengah fikir2 ni strategy seterusnya.

Ir. Hanafi Ali said...

You know what, WALLAHI, my conscience is troubled whenever I eat or drink with my left hand, or whenever I see others do that. "Iblis minum dengan tangan kiri" will terngiang-ngiang in my mind when I see people minum dengan tangan kiri. So personally I try to maintain tangan kanan for makan/minum.

But as I am a right-hander, I hold the steering wheel with my right hand, when I need to eat, I am not comfortable letting the steering wheel go and hold it with my left hand. Since started driving in 1992 till last year this is what I did: I use my left hand to hold the steering wheel and eat or drink with my right hand.

This past year I come to think that that is dangerous. So now I eat/drink with my left hand also. If the "voice" terngiang-ngiang too loud, then I use my right hand.

You see, to me this has made me a nervous wreck. To follow certain "rules" in Islam I have to forsake some logic and common sense. And I question these rules now.

I want the context of the situation where the Prophet SAW do/did certain things and I want to compare that to our times.

Sayidina Umar RA may want to follow everything to the letter but I'd rather be pragmatic about things.

Lollies said...

Masya Allah hansac. You know I tak pernah tau pun the deal about shaytan makan tangan kiri and all that. Masya Allah on your conscience. May it lead you to goodness always.

I know what you mean. there are certain sunnah of what and how Prophet s.a.w. did things based on certain contexts. Sorry no example here. But some of us follow it blindly expecting everyone to follow. May Allah make us understand the deen more.

Setakat ilmu cetek i ni, soma kesah prophet and sayidinna umar berkenaan makan, adalah dalam context makan biasa. Allah knows best.

In the end, all revelation sent down to the prophet conveyed to us through the Quran or the prophet's words are surely tak menyusahkan. Cuma kita aje yang kurang faham and kurang tau. I lah tu sebenarnya.

Sheherazade said...

indeed :)