Aku Terima Nikahnya

Author: Hasrizal Abdul Jamil @ Abu Saif

Surah al-Furqan, verse 74:

"And those who pray: "Oh Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous."

This book, I think, is a collection of the author's blog entries and articles. He relates how he 'met' his wife, the early years of marriage in Ireland all the way to the current situation with 3 kids and living in KL. With reference to the verse above, he stresses that one must first strengthen one's own righteousness (Taqwa) before leading the righteous.

The author also cautions and admonishes young Muslims who prefer long-term courtships, and reminds that the period of engagement in Islam does not give the same freedom in relationship as marriage. However, he does so in an easy manner that draws you in instead of pushing you away, unlike some 'holier-than-thou' preachers. In between, he shares some points from various talks he has given, as well as the strange questions he sometimes gets from the audience ("How many times are you allowed to SMS your fiance?").

One can also easily relate to him as he is willing to share his own experiences, even his imperfections and mistakes. The author also shows his openness to Western sources of reference: John Gray's 'Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus' and Dr Miriam Stoppard get more than a mention. It is this openness that makes his material so approachable.

In some chapters, he reflects on his parents and his upbringing; in others, he shares with us his thoughts and doubts on his own parenting abilities. Some chapters are hilarious yet enlightening anecdotes of his offspring. In one chapter, the author is telling the story of Sang Kancil to his children, and end the story by saying how clever the mousedeer of Malay folklore is. However, his eldest son, Yop, reacts by saying Sang Kancil is bad, as the animal lies and abuses other animals to get his own way.

Another story that really touched me was when he was on an overseas trip and called home to speak to his family. Yop says that he misses his father, and while speaking on the phone holds a photo of the author in his hand. I could not help but recall how Nu'man apparently clutches my photo to sleep whenever I have to travel out of town for a few days (more tears here).

The book basically talks about our roles in the institution of marriage and family: as Husband, Wife and Parents. As he states, his perception of marriage:

"Melihat perkahwinan sebagai medan untuk memberi, akan menjadikan kita lebih memikirkan soal PERANAN dan bukannya HAK yang tidak berkesudahan".

Rindu Bau Pohon Tin

Author: Hasrizal Abdul Jamil @ Abu Saif (http://www.saifulislam.com/)





This book is a memoir of the author's student days in Jordan. It begins with a discourse between the young Hasrizal and his teacher on verse 122 from Surah al-Taubah:


"Nor should the Believers all go forth together: if a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion and admonish the people when they return to them― that thus they (may learn) to guard themselves (against evil)."

The teacher explains to Hasrizal that studying in the way of Allah is similar to going to war:

1. War is difficult.
2. War requires planning.
3. War requires skills.
4. In war you must know your friends and foes.
5. War promises 'Ghanimah' (spoils of war).

Equipped with these words of wisdom, the author travels as one of the first group of students under the 'Rancangan Bersama JPA-Petronas' to Jordan, where he is greeted by the sight of deserts and camels. Throughout the book, he recalls the various lecturers, friends, neighbours and his observations of students and student life in general.

He notes sadly that the wholesome image of Malaysian students deteriprated somewhat with the influx in 1995, as some of them were sent not with pure intentions to study religion, but as a last resort by their parents to 'return to the straight path'. There's an interesting anecdote where he compares the attitude of Malaysian students with those from other countries. A Chinese student, in his efforts to learn the Arabic language, would write an Arabic word on the back of his hand. When asked why not use a notebook instead, the Chinese student replied, "If I write in my book, I may note remember. If I write on my hand, I will be forced to memorize it before performing ablution (wudhu') for Zuhur prayers."

There are many little gems in the book, and its easy style makes reading it a pleasure. Each chapter is a little story or anecdote of its own, so you can always pick it up and read it at your leisure - although I managed to finish it in one go. There are too many wonderful phrases and to quote, but one sentence in relation to preparing for war/studies that I'll post here:

"Kucar-kacir dalam kebenaran, mustahil ada upaya mengalahkan kebatilan yang sistematik."

Ayat-Ayat Cinta

Author: Habiburrahman El Shirazy



This book, which has been turned into a movie and a song, is REALLY REALLY good.



Go out and read it.

And those of you who still wonder what 1 Malaysia stands for, just read the first few chapters to give you an idea.

Memanusiakan manusia. I like...

Tuhan Manusia

Author: Faisal Tehrani

"Andai kota itu peradaban, rumah kami adalah
budaya, dan menurut ibu, tiang serinya adalah agama."

translation: If civilisation is a city, then our home
is culture, and according to mother, its main pillar is religion.

The prose above greets you at the beginning of every chapter in the latest work by Faisal Tehrani.

Faisal Tehrani is noted as a thinking author. One local English magazine hailed him as one of Malaysia's Most Outstanding Individuals in 2005, describing him as "one of the rare ideologists in Malay literature". And having heard of his credentials and read his blog several times in the last couple of years, I decided to give his works a try.

Mind you, this is the first Malay novel I've read in a very long time. I usually approach Malay novels with some skepticism, seeing as how the few I've read before seem to be merely a tame translation of Mills & Boon romances, which seems wholly inappropriate in a Malaysian (Malay?) setting. And the multi-syllable Malay words and 'bahasa bunga-bunga' make the reading longer and more difficult for me - heck, I'm an engineer, I may be longwinded myself but give it to me straight to the point. No wonder I always go for the discussion/debate topics in Karangan BM.

'Tuhan Manusia' is first of all surprisingly devoid of the traits above. According to one review, "Take away the 'only just' plot, add a few footnotes and a bibliography, and you would've a formidable collection of essays, each demanding the reader digest it separately." I did find it engaging and easy enough to read the first time, though I will probably come back to revisit the novel and properly dwell on the issues brought up in the book. There were a lot of ideological and philosophical terms - pluralism, secularism, name any 'ism' and the word makes an appearance - but it was presented in a manner more palatable than 'Sophie's World'.

Anyway, back to the point of this so-called review. The author himself stated that this is probably his most ambitious work to date. And he tackles a most sensitive but extremely important issue affecting the Muslim world generally and Islam in Malaysia specifically: apostasy.

The protagonist is a teenaged Ali Taqi, pondering the fate of his brother Talha who has renounced Islam for Christianity. Ali Taqi strives to understand why and how his brother becomes an apostate. Eventually he strikes a stand against pluralism, which he believes to be one of the ideologies used to perpetrate apostacy among Muslims.

'Tuhan Manusia' is basically a 'How To Combat Apostasy' manual. His characters are role-players, examples of how to behave and how to deal with the issue. Even as the parents, the ustaz and a bus driver educates Ali Taqi, so is the author actually informing the reader of his proposed strategy. In writing this book, Faisal Tehrani has actually pitted himself against the "manusia yang tidak kenal diri ini pula, hah, menjadi seniman, mereka bikin filem, menulis novel malahan mementaskan teater maka makin ramai orang jahil yang rosak dan terus rosak..." - Ch. 20, pg 322.

Obviously a lot of research has been put into writing this book, with a large number of references to the Qur'an and Sunnah, as well as Sufism. As Ali Taqi himself stated to his mualaf friend Tse, "Hujah ilmiah dan akhlak yang menambatlah senjata sebenar Islam. Begitulah Islam disebarkan." Ch. 17, pg 247

If ever it was the intention of the author to do so, it certainly succeeded in sparking an interest in philosophy as much as Ali Taqi himself thirsts for it. My only regret is that, unlike the novel's main character, I am no longer a remaja lepasan SPM but a 31-year-old with only 9 years of youth left inside me. But it's never too late to start, right?

My only grouch about the book is its epilogue. Ali Taqi going back to his roots after an illustrious career as a philosopher is fine, but to have his daughter marry Tse's son, and the children's names similar to some of his former mentors is a bit - well, too much like the epilogue from Harry Potter. Fortunately he didn't go so dar as to marry Zehra.

Some more quotable quotes from the book:

"Masyarakat secara fitrah adalah pengikut kebenaran. Akan ada yang setia kepada kebatilan bukan kerana kebatilan itu kebenaran. Tetapi lebih kerana antara jambak keadilan itu, engkau cuba selitkan bunga kebenaran. Dan ini namanya fitnah.

Dan dalam keadaan serba fitnah siapa yang akan selamat? Ada, ada yang akan selamat, orang yang sesuai dengan takdir Ilahi. Dan percaya dengan keMahabijaksanaan Allah, orang jenis ini yang akan cuba menemukan kebenaran, dan bila dapat, mereka akan menggenggamnya dengan kemas..." Ch. 16, pg 241