I-SOCusmkle: November 2011

(Please don't be intimidated to read this, just because it's in Hinglish. Read it til the last word and Insha-Allah, you won't regret it. Peace.)

Yes, you got it right. It's a direct translation of Hassan al-Banna's 'Bainal Ams wal Yaum.' But no, this is not an attempt to review the book, nor to promote ISK or anything like that. If you are expecting something along that line, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Whoah. Why so serious Inche gabbana..? You might be asking yourself. Well, there are times when we need to be all serious and macho and able to say confidently, "I mean serious business," right..? So yes, today, please scrap that cheeky and jolly Inche gabbana image from your head and replace it with a more serious Inche gabbana. No, make that Inche seriyes. Yes, I'm now Inche seriyes. Just for today. (You know I couldn't stand the prospect of being labelled as Pak Cik PMS right..?) Hah!

Anyway. Change. To change. Changes. Whatever. What do all these words mean to you..? Minus the whatever of course. It can mean anything eh? To change your little brader's diaper. To change the light bulb for your abah. Hey, where's my change..? You exclaimed when one of the waiters at one posh restaurant you went recently intentionally didn't get back to you, although the restaurant had had service charges imposed already.

No. I'm not talking about that sort of change. I'm referring to a more matured, significant and sorta intelligent meaning of change (Yeah right..). My change is one's personal journey from the land of astalavistabebeh to a more civilised and ethical world of Teletubbies. Eh. I mean one's spiritual and emotional journey to transform himself, from bad to good, from evil to angel and from black to white (I always question why people connote black with something evil. Black is an awesome colour!). To put it simply, one's hijrah from a dark past to a brighter future.

Why do you want to be all baik and pious and religious..? That's so not cool! You might be asking again (You've loads of questions, haven't you..?). Well, you might be disappointed with this answer but naturally, everyone, yes, EVERYONE, would want and love to be all baik and angelic. The truth is, Allah has created every single human with this natural feeling. Whether the feeling is just a speck of dust or as huge as the makcik beside your house (Ops!), everyone wants to be baik. That's a hard fact and please chew it slowly.

And ONE reason why you have to change: 'Coz you NEED it! [Credit]

But what made one person chose to be good and obedient all the time and another chose to be a complete opposite? Well, many pieces come into the puzzle. It might be the upbringing, peer pressure (cliche, yes, I know..), financial distress, weather, environment, the food you consume or whatever. Those things might be significant and very much relevant in deciding who you are today.

But then, all those things are external factors. How about internal? Yourself? Have you ever asked yourself why did I choose to become who I am today..? Oh man, come on. Are you like for real..? Are you telling me you've never had this chitty-chatty pillow talk with yourself..? Man, you are such a loser! Shame on you..! (Ok please pretend you are watching this low-rated low cost Malay drama on TV1)

In truth, one's own decision to be baik or not, is very crucial and important indeed. Let's not go to the true meaning of baik because yes, I know, it can be very subjective. And let's not delve into some people whom are not able to make fair judgment for themselves, due to the stronger influence of the external factors above-mentioned. Or else this article will be loooooonnngggg, so long that you wish you didn't read this in the first place.

Let's just assume that we live in the fairy land of Rational Sapiens, where all the inhabitants are able to decide for themselves whether to be a good citizen or not. We are fully aware of our decision and fully responsible of our actions. For every action we take, we are able to guess rather accurately the consequence that follows. In other words, all of us are mumayyiz; we are able to distinguish bad things and good things and our actions are based on this ability. Sounds very fair right?

Yet, why is it that some of us still choose to be the bad boys of the town? Worst, why the majority of us prefer to live in our own comfort, not want to change a single thing about our life? Or rather, so afraid to change..?

Well, I've got a few theories, as usual, the nerdy and all theoretical Inche gabbana. No, I mean, Inche seriyes. Are you guys ready..?

1) We are afraid of changes because we fear of people's response. We are so worried what people might think of us if we were to change. We are afraid to be ridiculed and we don't want to be the hot topic of the latest makcik-makcik's gossip.

Who says men don't gossip..? Hah! [Credit]

To this type of species, allow me to ask you something. Why do you want to change in the first place? For the betterment of yourself right? And for who or what you are doing this? If you want to change for the better, it has to be for Allah right? And if you are genuinely doing it for Allah, to heck whatever people have got to say. It's not them who will give you pahala or dosa, or to decide whether you'll go to heaven or hell; it's He the guy up there!

So concentrate now on what Allah has got to say about you. Now, stand in front of a big mirror and reflect yourself, physically and spiritually. Take a deep breath and think, what is Allah thinking about you now.

2) We are afraid of the unknowns. We do not want to change because we are so concerned about the consequences that might happen. We are afraid of our own shadow.

My advice would be very straight-forward. Why care about the unknowns? They have not happened! Anything is possible! Even if you have a crystal ball to predict the future, you still can't be completely sure about what awaits you.

And you know you want to change for good. Allah will make it easy for you, Insha-Allah. You help Him, He will offer His helping hands buddy. Cool huh?

3) We do not want to change because we are reluctant to leave all the grandmas and grandpas of jahiliyyah that we have. Be it games, movies, couple, smoking dopes, whatever. Or it can also be our laziness, time-wasting habit or our keenness to procrastinate. They have been ingrained in our head and soul, that it's simply impossible for us to leave them behind just like that.

Let me tell you something sistah. First, you have never really committed enough to leave behind your jahiliyyahs. Am I right..? It has always been warm-warm chicken shit (Mind my language). Try to recall when was the last time you had this exploding urge to change? To really make that once in a lifetime leap of faith, from being a total hopeless to somebody who would bring great benefits to the society? Let me guess. Err, two minutes ago..?

And now, try to recall when was the last time you actually took action? Do give me the honour to play the guessing game again. Never? Oooh, I smell something burning. Is that you..? Wahahaha.. Ok serious serious, please.

And second, FYI, sorga, that heavenly place with all the good things in the world plus extra bonuses that you could have never imagined, is only for people who are truly committed in their mujahadah. Read 2:214 if you don't believe me. Or 29:2. Or if you still need some convincing, try 3:142. I rest my case.

[Credit: iluvislam]

4) Last but not least, the reason why I wrote this in the first place, we are afraid of changes and reluctant to change because of our past. Yes, that ugly skeleton we've been trying hard to hide in our closet.

We are so worried that people might relate with our past if they see the changes we are trying to make. We are so demotivated of the prospect people belittling us when they see we are changing, just because we used to be somebody else before. This is one of the reasons why many girls out there are reluctant to shroud themselves with tudung (or better still tudung labuh) just because they used to be sexy-mexy before. Or why many boys are worried to be labelled as alim, pak lebai or dah bertaubat and hence, stop short at being good, just because they used to be the 'hero' amongst their peers.

The case of road not taken obviously. Sadly, we took the wrong turn; the road that would lead us to self-destruction. Nau'dzubillah..

Now, I have a secret to tell you. Well, it won't be a secret anymore after this. Whoever you were before, note that 'were' is a past tense. Why should you care about your past? Focus on who you are today and in the future. Come on. Everyone has his or her own past. And I can guarantee you it's not all rosy and glittery schzmittery. Everyone.

"I was a very bad boy before. I watched porn, I smoked, I hit people.. How I am supposed to be good now...??"

What? Why can't you be good now? Your past should not have anything to do with your future. I mean, of course it will have some effects to a certain extent. But it doesn't matter. If you want to change, then change. Make it happen!

"I have never worn tudung before. Not just that, I was known to be a kupu-kupu malam. What will people think if the see I'm all changed and covered..?"

They'll think, "Ekele, look at that! She budgets she's that good ah..??" (Read: Dia bajet bagus sangat ke..?)

So what..? Let others say and think whatever they like. Do you want to hear what Allah thinks..?

"And those who strive in Our (Cause)― We will certainly guide them to Our Paths: for verily Allah is with those who do right."

[al-Ankabut, 29:69]

What else can we ask for, other than Allah is always there for us..? To guide and nurture us, to be someone who is better than yesterday?

Whoever we were yesterday, it doesn't mean we have to be the same person today. In fact, we should be a better person today and much better tomorrow. That's mujahadah. That's istiqamah.

It doesn't matter who you were before. It may matter from a human's distorted eyes. But from Allah's views, who you are and who you will be is what matters. The fact that you are still alive today and reading this, He loves you and He wants you to change. Allah is nudging you; "Hey! You've read this! Ain't feeling the heat yet..?"

Between yesterday and today, there's always a space, an opportunity for us to look back and reflect. Between yesterday and today, we'd always have the chance to change; it has always been there for us, not going anywhere. And the best thing is, between yesterday and today, Allah is always there for us, waiting for us patiently for us to seek for His pleasure, love and guidance.

We might be a caterpillar before. An ugly one. But it's time to metamorphose to a beautiful and adorable butterfly. The time has come. The time is now.