Competition

Muhammad Syahruzzaky
mcdarknight@gmail.com

Definition
In this high-pressure complicated world, life can be defined as never ending competitions. Competition itself is a contest between rivals. Human being must fight against others, whether in the same race or the different one, to win the competition. These fights may appear in many different types and contexts such as business, trading, politics, food and so forth so on. In the end, the winner will enjoy some privileges considered the prize of this competition.

Arrogance

M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni
Siliwangi University, Indonesia

I sometimes wonder why God created mankind in a great number of diversities. There are poor, rich, white, black, strong, weak, fool, smart, etc. It can be easily mentioned that the rich are better than the poor, while the smart is worthier than the fool. The white are judged better than the black and the strong have more authority than the weak. Unfortunately, these diversities, as what I sometimes see, separate people into some groups which don’t know each other. Furthermore, in extreme condition these diversities cause some miserable conditions in mankind’s life. The story about the rich underestimate the poor or the smart conquer the fool often appears in our television’s daily issue.

What Have the Poor Contributed to Your Life?

M. Syahrul Zaky Romadloni
a blogger, a teacher and an author of several books

Do you ever think that the poor, the forgotten race of mankind, have contributed the worth thing towards your life? Most of you, I believe, will say ‘never’ for you think that all what you do have no relation to what they do. Moreover, you’d think that they are parts of problem in our social life as all what they conduct every day make this city more messed. Because of their existence, government should prepare million dollars for subsidizing their life. Besides, your life and theirs are quietly different each other, and how come this silly question should appear in the beginning of this posting?

Put the Tools in Their Fair Position!

M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni

Can you lift a ton of stone with your bare hand? Of course, not. We need some tools to help us lift it. Instead of using our bare hand, some of us usually use the lever to lift a heavy thing from one place to another, so it won’t burden us so much.

How Do You Define Your Life?

M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni
Siliwangi University, Indonesia

How do you define your life, guys? It seems that people have their own concept of life and how it should be conducted. It is usually influenced by the faith they believe. The way they believe then bears many concepts of happiness’ pursuit in many ideologies in the world from the secular ones till the religious ones as mankind’s common life’s goal is how to be happy in conducting life. I believe that none of them want to be miserable in life, don’t they?

However, it’s considered that Marxism and Islam have the complete guide of how men should conduct their life in dealing with pursuing happiness, for many philosophers have a long discussion on it. It’s as both of them have its own worldview that encompasses all angles of life. Despite their comprehensiveness, they have contradictive and opposite concepts of life as they come from different perspective.

Well, I am not going to tell you how Marxists define their life’s goal, as I’m not a Marxist and I won’t be, I think. Since I was born as a Muslim, I see this life in Islamic perspective. It’s very important for a Muslim to see everything in Islamic perspective as if they don’t their Muslim identity will disappear. We can say that a Marxist will lose his Marxism identity if he or she uses the premises of capitalism in seeing everything. So I can say that I think in Islamic perspective, therefore I’m a Muslim.

For the first time, I just follow what my parents conduct as Muslims, but as well as I grow up I definitely know that Islam has its own concept of life and happiness’ pursuit. The literatures I’ve read show that Islam is different from other religions as it is not only religion but the way of life as well. Islam, like Marxism, encompasses all angles of life from the table-manner up to how to manage the society.

When many distinguished philosophers had great efforts in defining this life in their own perspective, Allah the Almighty had kindly pointed out us the goal of mankind creation thorough revealed verses in al-Quran kareem. Al-Quran kareem is considered a handbook for all Muslims of how to conduct and live this life through its verses. Of course we should put it hand in hand with Prophet Muhammad’s prophetic traditions.

The ‘instant’ guide from God through His books and prophets, however, doesn’t underestimate the thing so-called ‘mankind’s brain and reason exploration’. It doesn’t ignore the concept that brain is the most worth thing God had given to the mankind. What I want to say is that we should use this revealed verses as a guide for our brain in seeking life’s goal as the brain we have sometimes does wrong. The ‘liberal’ usage of brain certainly will bring mankind to the tragedy as the western history had shown.

Allah the Almighty had given us the clues of how this life should be devoted, and then we should explore more and implement it in our daily life. The implementation can be different among Muslims based on their ability to interpret, but they have the same perspective in beginning. This diversity of implementation then proves that Islam never underestimate the usage of brain in interpreting its tenets. Islam, as its history had shown, accepts the rationality.

So what has God pointed us in dealing with the goal of this life? In al-Quran [51:56] Allah said that He created not jinns and humans except they should worship Him. Quite simple, but has a great influence in building Muslims’ paradigm in defining their life’s goal. It means that all what we conduct in this life should be devoted as an implementation of worshiping Him, not others.

Fortunately, the meaning of worship in Islam is not that simple. Islam has a ‘liberal’ meaning of worship [ibadah], so every Muslim can expand it as widely as possible, as long as it comes from Islamic perspective. This is what I said before that Islam never underestimates mankind’s brain exploration. Allah just gave us the clue [in this case worship] and we then should explore more the implementation of God’s worshiping in daily life. In dealing with this, many Muslim scholars had divided worship into two kinds; mahdloh [transcendental worship] and goir mahdloh [social worship].

Alright, let me now explain further these two kinds of worship. Mahdloh is everything which can be related to direct worship to God such as praying, going for hajj [pilgrimage], syahadat, fasting, etc. In the other hand, goir mahdloh is everything we conduct that has an indirect relation to God such as giving smile to other, helping the poor, working, reading, teaching, etc. [I’m so sorry for this unscientific and simple description.]

This definition comes to the conclusion that we shouldn’t pray and fast all the time in dealing with worshiping God. Ali Syari’ati, a distinguished Iranian Muslim scholar, ever criticized Muslims who wholly devoted their time in the corridors of the Mosque, leaving all daily routine of life for their wrong and restricted definition of worship. He argued that if only all Muslims do this, Islam will become the fossil in this world and is going to its extinction. Furthermore, seerah nabawiyah never reported that Prophet Muhammad PBUH fasted and prayed all the time.

Look. I’ll try to explore the uniqueness of worship in Islam which has a large diversity in its implementation. I’d say that all what Muslims conduct in their daily life as long as it’s intended in the sake of God and it doesn’t break the Islamic rules are considered the implementation of God’s worship; no matter it forms. Well, I give you examples to make it clear. Writing is an activity that has not direct relation to God’s worship. It however can be considered a kind of worship if we intend it to spread knowledge and call people to the right. Singing the song seems to not have any relation to God’s worship at all, but it can be considered as long as we intend it to call people to do the right. Opick and other Muslim singers have proved that. Then, we come to know that Islam accommodates all the right things as the implementations of God’s worship as long as they are in the corridor of Islamic rules. What a unique.

Coming from this definition, many scholars then relate the large scope of worship in Islam to the possibility of building a great civilization which is based on the Islamic tenets. Furthermore, the Islamic history have shown it, when many Muslims ‘conquer’ this world by the civilization of knowledge. The flexibility of Islamic teaching which accommodate the rationality in interpreting the religious scriptures had brought the mankind to the true happiness of life. In sum, Islam, I think, can be a good reference to those who are still looking for the life’s goal. Exactly.

Garden of Knowledge,
September 16, 2010

Why?

It’s been clear that everyone has his/her tasks in life. It’s been taken for granted since he/she was born in this temporary world. That life has its tasks and consequences is something that has been well accepted among the mankind in this world. The problem, however, appears when we ask them why they do these tasks and what makes them feel obliged to do these consequences. These questions seem to need further discussion.

Many people work every day and go to office from 08.00 up to 17.00. Their children go to school in the weekdays and have some extra curricular in the weekends. Their wife [if they’re married] does some housework from morning till night. So, what makes them do these jobs?

Some of us pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan months and go to Mecca for pilgrimage while the rich spends billion rupiahs for paying zakat. So, what makes them sacrifice too much?

My uncle is determined to stay in poverty in charge of maintaining his small ‘pesantren’. He teaches his students night and day and ‘unfortunately’ all what he does aren’t paid at all! He does it sincerely- not expecting any payment in charge of his effort. If only he expected, he could leave this pesantren and build his own corporation and make much money, but ‘oddly’ he didn’t. So, what makes him ‘suffer’ too seriously?

Huh, those questions seem to be silly, don’t they? But it’s what I got from my kyai- that everything should be inspired by the word ‘why’. Why do we work? Why do we pray? Why do we sacrifice? It will be different if a man works night and day because he needs some money to buy food for fulfilling his stomach and a man works his daily tasks as he thinks that he needs to buy food for enabling him to pray five times a day, and so forth and soon.

Then, if we’ve found their answers, our intentions of doing these tasks won’t be infected by some poisonous virus that will destroy their purity. And what we do will be fruitful before Allah. Wallahu a’lam.

Garden of Knowledge,

Fourth of Ramadan Mubarok

22.11

Thank You

By: M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni

I always consider the portrait of my self the luckiest man in the world. No matter how far you will laugh at me for this, I insist on the truth of this statement. Having kept in touch with my self for more than 23 years, I encourage my self to arrange this statement as I believe God has been giving me the perfect life.

You must be jealous whenever you see the perfection of my family. I have an attentive mother who is always ready to serve the family wholeheartedly. To me she is the wisest women I’ve ever found in my life. Moreover, she is the one who will be with her children whenever they have problems. In another side, the existence of my father is an everlasting blessing given by God. He is the shield of my family who is ready to throw over all coming threats. Although he is rather tough and often gets angry to his children, I believe that this anger is intended for the sake of their goodness. And then, my younger sister and my younger brother are the complements of the perfection of my family. I love them over what I have.

As long as I’ve been living in this earth God the Almighty never lets me stay in hunger and poverty. Although I’m not one of the people who can easily get what they want at once, but I never feel insufficient. I have enough food to eat everyday. In addition, my house is strong enough to protect me from rain and heat. I have a motorcycle which is ready to pick me up wherever I want to go. In sum, what God had given to me is over what I need.

I don’t need to worry whenever I graduate from the college as many people do. I won’t be confused of seeking the job upon the completion of my study as at present I have been busy with a lot of works in managing the instructional process in the school where my big family manages. Moreover, I’m one of a few staff who selects the recruitment of new teachers every year.

What I thank very much in my life is that my life is always colored by a lot of kinds of friendship. My God gave me the best friends and companions who are ready to be with me whether in the sadness or in the happiness. The trails of my life show that there will be some friends who color the commotion of my life. I can’t suppose how my life will be if they don’t exist in my life. It must the boring life, of course.

The health is another side of the perfection of my life awarded by God the Almighty. Although I’ve ever kept in touch with some hospitals and doctors, but I am not one of those who are intimate with the sickness and the medicines. Sometimes I feel very sorry when I see some people who must regularly keep in touch with medicine and spend million rupiahs in charge of that. It is as if their lives are controlled by such these bitter medicines.

Another side and the most worth one that builds the perfection of my life is God’s virtue to give His guidance as long as I’m living in this earth. My faith in the existence of God the Almighty who leads and lives this life inspires all things I conduct. I believe that if I am determined to follow this straight path, I will be safe later, in the judgment day.

Finally, my God has been giving me a wide field to do a large number of the pious deeds whenever and wherever I want. I’m living in pesantren where all things I conduct must be devoted as a sincere dedication to God the Almighty. All things I do are other kinds of efforts to awake the virtue of Islam and Moslems.

***

This present life is absolutely full of joy and happiness. It, however, will last soon. The perfection of my family will disappear as soon as I leave this earth. No more laughing, no more joking. The wealth God had given will not be brought to the grave. My job, my vehicles, my friends, and my money are not following me when I’m destined to die. All these things will certainly be over. It’s true then when the distinguished Islamic da’i, KH. Abdullah Gymnastiar, said that we must be like the parking boy who lets the cars in and out without arguing as he thinks that these cars aren’t his. And all things we have aren’t us and they will disappear once upon day.

All things God had given are too beautiful and perfect. Therefore, what we must do is how to show our best gratitude to God the Almighty for this by utilizing what we have as useful as possible. Hence, God, Insya Allah, has served us another joyful life in our next life. Amen…

The Garden of Knowledge, March, 18, 2010 8:10

*Inspired by the song entitled ‘Terima Kasih” by Mahadasa, a local teacher band in Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor.

Dare to Dream

M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni

“I still remember what Marwah Daud Ibrahim said in her monumental book, MHMMD; in order to reach the success, one must define his life by writing lists of dreams, the specific ones. She, moreover, suggested us to write daily, weekly, monthly even annually dreams so they will be the roadmap of our lives. Once you’ve arranged your dreams, you’ve known how your future will be. Of course it doesn’t ignore the theory of ‘man proposes God disposes’, but she believes that the fate of someone’s is in the edge of his effort.”

I was joking with my friends when the speaker delivered his speech that night. His speech was nearly not listened by almost all students crowding Mandala Meeting Hall. Their thoughts and conversations, I believe, had flied to destined tourism resort; Ciwidey, Bandung. One of my classmates said that it wasn’t suitable time to listen to such this ‘junk’ speech since all students were going to have recreational activity in few hours.

In the middle of his speech, the speaker suddenly turned on the inspiring movie made by one of IPB lectures who successfully sketched his life through hundred lists of dreams. Through his movie entitled ‘jejak sang pemimpi’, he emphasized the importance of dreaming in conducting life. He beautifully proved the audiences that all dreams he ever made when he was young step-by-step did come true later. Now, apart from his success, he’s still sketching his life in his my-dream-lists and endeavoring to reach them.

All audiences, included me, was amazed by this inspiring movie. How can we conduct this life without dreaming since it must be the one motivation we can depend on?

After returning from the tiring camp in Ciwidey, I hurriedly looked for my old diary. I remembered that I ever did what the actor of the movie did. Through the pure sheet of the paper I sketched the shape of my future. Just then, I realized that some of what I wrote had come into being. Finally, I took my pen trying to write other dreams I want to reach.

***

Can you suppose how your life will be without dreaming? Absolutely, it’ll be tasteless and hopeless. To me, the lists of the dreams are the parade of my hopes. I still can stand the extreme challenges of this life since I have many dreams to reach. I study hard day and night as I dream being one of the distinguished people in the world. I enthusiastically teach my students as I dream accompanying them to be the leaders of the world. Otherwise, I will be the ‘common’ people who fight against the challenges of the life in order to keep their stomach full.

In the transcendental side, the dreams are the lists of praying which the men ask their God in the midnights. When Allah the Almighty had obliged the mankind to ask Him for everything [ud'uni astajib lakum], I arranged hundred dreams as the praying. I regularly maintain those dreams in almost all parts of the daily life such as after the obligatory praying, in the beginning of the day, in the midnight, etc. This makes me believe that someday those dreams will come into being.

Seeing the lists of my dreams, I begin my life. My days are always inspired by the lists of hopes arranged before. My days are devoted to paying for the dreams in installments. I believe that the small things I make every day are going to be bigger and bigger day by day and then those dreams will do come true.

Once I lose my way in my life, those lists of the dreams then remind me to find it anymore. They will not only cure my laziness at once but burn my spirit as well. Those dreams must answer the questions from those who lose their spirit in conducting this life.

To write the lists of the dreams is equal to have visions and missions in the life. Some experts say that the leading corporations are mostly born by their visions and missions. The excellent and clear visions of missions of a corporation will guide its personnel to work hard in order to reach them in the measured ways and time. Tweedledum and tweedledee, our visions and missions will guide us how to reach the goals of our lives. If we have lists of dreams we would know how to manage and conduct this life.

Take your pen and your note book. List your dreams right now. Don’t be afraid of having dreams. If so, don’t live in this world, because you’ll be left by other people. You just need to dream, act and then be persistent to what you’ve dreamed. Be like Lintang ‘Sang Pemimpi’ who, despite of the weakness surrounding him, still can hang his dreams in the sky and reach them later. Be like Danang, an IPB lecturer I’ve mentioned in the beginning of this story, who bravely sketched his life through lists of dreams and he proved them. He preferred working hard reaching his dreams to listening to his friends’ mockery.

Huh, you may also mock me for this. You may think that I’m daydreaming all the days, waiting for the money falling from the sky. Or you may think that I’m a lazy man who can only hope, daydream and sit in the coffee shop, never making effort to reach what he hopes. Yeah, that mockery seems suitable for someone who depends his life on the lists of the dreams.

But I’m sure that dreams aren’t impossible imaginations, but they are possible ones. Many people mocked the twin Wright when they tried to make an aeroplane, but they succeeded. Everyone knows that all people laughed at Christopher Columbus when he proposed to sail round the world, but he did. Don’t you know that to be able to write English was my dream when I was a first grader of junior high school? So what makes you afraid of having dreams?

Condong, February, 17, 2010
7:20 AM

*inspired by the book entitled ‘dare to fail’ written by a Malaysian writer.

Time to choose

M. Syahruzzaky Romadloni

Life is choices. I believe you’re usually faced by the occasions forcing you to choose one of many confusing choices. These must be driving you mad at once for you think that all the choices are important to your life. You must be afraid of choosing the wrong, that it will impact your subsequent future.

Once you choose the wrong, you’ll regret for good. Sometimes, it’s hard to return to what you used to be. This choice you’ve decided will impact the whole life. In sum, deciding what you must choose needs a very thorough thought.

Sharing the choices with parents must be the first thing you do. They are supposed to know the life more, so they can give you some useful ideas. However, they always see everything in their own side, ignoring your special interest. Sometimes, the choice they’ve given makes you stuck, as it doesn’t go with your real interest. Many graduates of medicine department, for instance, choose to work as poets, artists, or actors as their parents

Some of you use an instinct when deciding the choice. I think it’s the most careless thing you’ve ever done in you life. This way costs you much. When you’re mistaken you must carry the impact on your own shoulders. This way, to me, is too risky and dangerous for your future.

Some people have their own way when they’re faced by many confusing choice in life. They usually get up at night and pray istikharah asking what is the best to the Creator of this universe. He often replies this pray by a dream as soon as they feel asleep. As long as they live with these choices, they never feel mistaken with these choices. Does it sound interesting?

What must you do if you have decided the choice?

To decide the choice needs a conscious action. Whenever you decide to choose, do it consciously. What you choose is what you want and what you are good at, not what others find you good at. Sometimes, people living surrounding you want you to choose what they consider best. It’s important to note that they aren’t you and the impact of the choice will be wholly burdened on your shoulders.

You must pay attention to some elements when offered by some confusing choices. Be sure that what you choose must be considered as your ultimate goal in life. If you believe that being a teacher is the greatest goal you must achieve, choose it consciously and don’t listen to the people who underestimate this kind of job for its low salary or other reasons. Discuss it to your parents and assure the people living around that this choice is ‘the call of your soul’.

Deciding what to choose, your life, wealth, thought and time must be wholly devoted to get the best in it. Being a poet, despite of its ‘lower prestige’ than other occupations, will make you better if you do the best. We can find some poets who can travel around the world as they do their best when they’re conducting their work.

When you successfully do the best in conducting your choice, you’ve shown the best gratitude to God for it. Whatever you choose, you won’t regret this decision. The right way of choosing and the right manner of conducting it will make you assured that you’ve done the right. Your bright future, then, is waiting for your coming.

Finally, the decision you choose mustn’t be a shield or an escape to cover your fear and cowardice. What you choose doesn’t mean that you’re not brave enough to face all challenges it’ll give later, but it comes for your bravery and faith that it will make you better in the future. Your fear in facing these challenges will surely make you weak and cowardly.

When you’ve decided your choice, be sure that it’s the best God gives to you. Don’t look at the past. Face its challenges with the power you have. Once you’ve reached your goal, thank to God as He had given you the best choice.

Condong, 27^th January 2009

When heart hesitates about the choice it had decided.

What a Shame!

You must understand my confusion of being a part of this wicked world as I used to live in the different side of the world. My childhood taught me that we must keep the value of honesty in the daily life. However, when I grow I find that a systematic lie had been arranged in almost all angles of life.

This systematic lie that I mean, unfortunately, stains the world of education that is considered as the most important role in building our youth’s character. How come the Indonesian youth is being educated in such the training processes that contain many deceits in its practice? I can’t imagine how the Indonesian youth will be when they control the government in the future since they had been educated in this kind of education.

The first time I entered a field of education [as being a teacher] I found some deceits blotting our educational system. One of them was the government’s policy of assessing students through the national final test which left some serious problems that I find it very essential.

The first time this policy was released, it immediately arouse some critiques from those who care in improving the quality of education. They argued that this assessment which possibly makes the students fail disturbs the students’ right to get the appropriate educational service. The three-year educational process will unjustly be measured in just three days! The courses the students had studied will be useless as they will have only four lessons for judging their success in final test.

This case becomes more serious and frightened as the minimum requirement for passing the test is being higher and higher year by year. Not wanting to make their students fail, the teachers then compete to help their students by using the irrational ways; giving the answers, re-correcting the answers sheet, and many more. This vividly destroys the value of honesty that must be included in our educational process.

What we’ve done for the sake of developing our educational quality is totally messed by one program; national final test which costs million rupiahs. I’m getting more confused as soon as I see an innocent student who tries to follow her heart’s words by doing her work alone without begging any help from the teacher. When she received the test result, she was sentenced to not pass the exam. What a shame!
Condong, June, 30, 2009
07.48