Calling the Qur'an amazing is not something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it amazing.
One thing which surprises non-Muslims who are examining the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what they expected. What they assume is that they have an old book which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that the book should look something like that - an old book from the desert. And then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all. Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk about the desert. Well the Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it's like to be in a storm on the sea.
Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea. A Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an to read. The merchant marine knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea. When he was told, "No as a matter of fact, Muhammed lived in the desert," that was enough for him. He embraced Islam on the spot. He was so impressed with the Qur'an's description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea. The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds" was not what someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like. This is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to a certain place and time. Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago.
Many centuries before the onset of Muhammed's prophethood, there was a well-known theory of atomism advanced by the Greek philosopher, Democritus. He and the people who came after him assumed that matter consists of tiny, indestructible, indivisible particles called atoms. The Arabs too, used to deal in the same concept; in fact, the Arabic word dharrah commonly referred to the smallest particle known to man. Now, modern science has discovered that this smallest unit of matter (i.e., the atom, which has all of the same properties as its element) can be split into its component parts. This is a new idea, a development of the last century; yet, interestingly enough, this information had already been documented in the Qur'an which states:
" He [i.e., Allah] is aware of an atom's weight in the heavens and on the earth and even anything smaller than that..."
Undoubtedly, fourteen centuries ago that statement would have looked unusual, even to an Arab. For him, the dharrah was the smallest thing there was. Indeed, this is proof, that the Qur'an is not outdated.
Another example of what one might expect to find in an "old book" that touches upon the subject of health or medicine is outdated remedies or cures. Various historical sources state that the Prophet gave some advice about health and hygiene, yet most of these pieces of advice are not contained in the Qur'an. At first glance, to the non-Muslims this appears to be a negligent omission. They cannot understand why Allah would not "include" such helpful information in the Qur'an. Some Muslims attempt to explain this absence with the following argument: "Although the Prophet's advice was sound and applicable to the time in which he lived, Allah, in His infinite wisdom, knew that there would come later medical and scientific advances which would make the Prophet's advice appear outdated. When later discoveries occurred, people might say that such information contradicted that which the Prophet had given. Thus, since Allah would never allow any opportunity for the non-Muslims to claim that the Qur'an contradicts itself or the teachings of the Prophet, He only included in the Qur'an information and examples which could stand the test of time."
However, when one examines the true realities of the Qur'an in terms of its existence as a divine revelation, the entire matter is quickly brought into its proper perspective, and the error in such argumentation becomes clear and understandable. It must be understood that the Qur'an is a divine revelation, and as such, all information in it is of divine origin. Allah revealed the Qur'an from Himself. It is the words of Allah, which existed before creation, and thus nothing can be added, subtracted or altered. In essence, the Qur'an existed and was complete before the creation of Prophet Muhammed, so it could not possibly contain any of the Prophet's own words or advice. An inclusion of such information would clearly contradict the purpose for which the Qur'an exists, compromise its authority and render it inauthentic as a divine revelation.
Consequently, there was no "home remedies" in the Qur'an which one could claim to be outdated; nor does it contain any man's view about what is beneficial to health, what food is best to eat, or what will cure this or that disease. In fact, the Qur'an only mentions one item dealing with medical treatment, and it is not in dispute by anyone. It states that in honey there is healing. And certainly, I do not think that there is anyone who will argue with that!
If one assumes that the Qur'an is the product of a man's mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of what was going on in the mind of the man who "composed" it. In fact, certain encyclopedias and various books clam that the Qur'an was the product of hallucinations that Muhammed underwent. If these claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in Muhammed's mind - then evidence of this would be apparent in the Qur'an. Is there such evidence? In order to determine whether or not there is, one must first identify what things would have been going on in his mind at that time and then search for these thoughts and reflections in the Qur'an.
It is common knowledge that Muhammed had a very difficult life. All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a wife of several years who was dear and important to him, who not only proceeded him in death at a very critical period of his life. As a matter of fact, she must have been quite a woman because when the first revelation came to him, he ran home to her afraid. Certainly, even today one would have a hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, "I was so afraid that I ran home to my wife." They just aren't that way. Yet Muhammed felt comfortable enough with his wife to be able to do that. That's how influential and strong woman she was. Although these examples are only a few of the subjects that would have been on Muhammed's mind, they are sufficient in intensity to prove my point. The Qur'an does not mention any of these things - not the death of his children, not the death of his beloved companion and wife, not his fear of the initial revelations, which he so beautifully shared with his wife - nothing; yet, these topics must have hurt him, bothered him, and caused him pain and grief during periods of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.
A truly scientific approach to the Qur'an is possible because the Qur'an offers something that is not offered by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general. It is what scientists demand. Today there are many people who have ideas and theories about how the universe works. These people are all over the place, but the scientific community does not even bother to listen to them. This is because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a test of falsification. They say, "If you have theory, do not bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether you are wrong or not."
Such a test was exactly why the scientific community listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century. He came with a new theory and said, "I believe the universe works like this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am wrong!". So the scientific community subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all three. Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to because he said, "This is my idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that." This is exactly what the Qur'an has - falsification tests. Some are old (in that they have already been proven true), and some still exist today. Basically it states, "If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or this or this to prove that it is false." Of course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do "This or this or this, " and thus it is still considered true and authentic. I suggest to you that the next time you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at first and make this suggestion. Ask him, "Is there any falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?" Well, I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a chance to prove they're wrong. However, Islam does that. A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify it authenticity and "prove it wrong" occurs in the 4th chapter. And quiet honestly, I was surprised when I first discovered this challenge. It states:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy."
This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim. Basically, it invites him to find a mistake. As a matter of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is inconsistent with man's personality. One doesn't take an exam in school after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end saying, "This exam is perfect. There are no mistakes in it. Find one if you can!". One just doesn't do that. The teacher would not sleep until he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Qur'an approaches people. Another interesting attitude that exists in the Qur'an repeatedly deals with its advice to the reader. The Qur'an informs that reader about different facts and then gives the advice: "If you want to know more about this or that, or if you doubt what is said, then you should ask those who have knowledge." This too is a surprising attitude. It is not usual to have a book that comes from someone without training in geography, botany, biology, etc., who discusses these subjects and then advises the reader to ask men of knowledge if he doubts anything.
Yet in every age there have been Muslims who have followed the advice of the Qur'an and made surprising discoveries. If one looks to the works of Muslim scientists if many centuries ago, one will find them full of quotations from the Qur'an. These works state that they did research in such a place, looking for something. And they affirm that the reason they looked in such and such a place was that the Qur'an pointed them in that direction. For example, the Qur'an mentions man's origin and then tells the reader, "Research it!" It gives the reader a hint where to look and then states that one should find out more about it. This is the kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem to overlook - but not always, as illustrated in the following example. A few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia collected all if the verses in the Qur'an which discuss embryology - the growth of the human being in the womb. They said, "Here is what the Qur'an says. Is it the truth?" In essence, they took the advice of the Qur'an: "Ask the men who know." They chose, as it happened, a non-Muslim who is a professor of embryology at the University of Toronto. His name is Keith Moore, and he is the author of textbooks on embryology - a world expert on the subject. They invited him to Riyadh and said, "This is what the Qur'an says about your subject. Is it true? What can you tell us?" While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all of the help that he needed in translation and all of the cooperation for which he asked. And he was so surprised at what he found that he changed his textbooks. In fact, in the second edition of one of his books, called Before we are born... in the second edition about the history of embryology, he included some material that was not in the first edition because of what he found in the Qur'an. Truly this illustrates that the Qur'an was ahead of its time and that those who believe in the Qur'an know what other people do not know.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keith Moore for a television presentation, and we talked a great deal about this - it was illustrated by slides and so on. He mentioned that some of the things that the Qur'an states about the growth of the human being were not known until thirty years ago. In fact, he said that one item in particular - the Qur'an's description of the human being as a "leech-like clot" ('alaqah) at one stage - was new to him; but when he checked on it, he found that it was true, and so he added it to his book. He said, "I never thought of that before," and he went to the zoology department and asked for a picture of a leech. When he found that it looked just like the human embryo, he decided to include both pictures in one of his textbooks. Dr. Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presented this information in Toronto, it caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the front pages of some of the newspapers across Canada, and some of the headlines were quite funny. For instance, one headline read: "SURPRISING THING FOUND IN ANCIENT BOOK!"! It seems obvious from this example that people do not clearly understand what it is all about. As a matter of fact, one newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore, "Don't you think That maybe the Arabs might have known about these things - the description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes and grows? Maybe there were not scientists, but maybe they did something crude dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things."
The professor immediately pointed out to him that he [i.e., the reporter] had missed a very important point - all of the slides of the embryo that had been shown and had been projected in the film had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said, "It does not matter if someone had tried to discover embryology fourteen centuries ago, they could not have seen it!". All of the descriptions in the Qur'an of the appearance of the embryo are of the item when it is still too small to see with the eye; therefore, one needs a microscope to see it. Since such a device had only been around for little more than two hundred years, Dr. Moore taunted, "Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had a microscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he somehow taught Muhammad and convinced him to put this information in his book. Then he destroyed his equipment and kept it a secret forever. Do you believe that? You really should not unless you bring some proof because it is such a ridiculous theory." In fact, when he was asked "How do you explain this information in the Qur'an?" Dr. Moore's reply was, "It could only have been divinely revealed."!
Although the aforementioned example of man researching information contained in the Qur'an deals with a non-Muslim, it is still valid because he is one of those who is knowledgeable in the subject being researched. Had some layman claimed that what the Qur'an says about embryology is true, then one would not necessarily have to accept his word. However, because of the high position, respect, and esteem man gives scholars, one naturally assumes that if they research a subject and arrive at a conclusion based on that research, then the conclusion is valid. One of Professor Moore's colleagues, Marshall Johnson, deals extensively with geology at the University of Toronto.
He became very interested in the fact that the Qur'an's statements about embryology are accurate, and so he asked Muslims to collect everything contained in the Qur'an which deals with his specialty. Again people were very surprised at the findings. Since there are a vast number subjects discussed in the Qur'an, it would certainly require a large amount of time to exhaust each subject. It suffices for the purpose of this discussion to state that the Qur'an makes very clear and concise statements about various subjects while simultaneously advising the reader to verify the authenticity of these statements with research by scholars in those subjects. And as illustrated by the Qur'an has clearly emerged authentic. Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Qur'an which is not found anywhere else. It is interesting how when the Qur'an provides information, it often tells the reader, "You did not know this before." Indeed, there is no scripture that exists which makes that claim. All of the other ancient writings and scriptures that people have, do give a lot of information, but they always state where the information came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it states that this king lived here, this one fought in a certain battle, another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it always stipulates that if you want more information, then you should read the book of so and so because that is where the information came from. In contrast to this concept, the Qur'an provides the reader with information and states that this information is something new. Of course, there always exists the advice to research the information provided and verify its authenticity. It is interesting that such a concept was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, the Makkans who hated the Muslims, and time and time again they heard such revelations claiming to bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said, "This is not new. We know where Muhammad got this information. We learned this at school."
They could never challenge its authenticity because it really was new! In concurrence with the advice given in the Qur'an to research information (even if it is new), when 'Umar was caliph, he chose a group of men and sent them to find the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn. Before the Qur'anic revelation, the Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but because the Qur'an described it, they were able to discover it. As a matter of fact, it is now located in what is called Durbend in the Soviet Union. It must be stressed here that the Qur'an is accurate about many, many things, but accuracy does not necessarily mean that a book is a divine revelation. In fact, accuracy is only one of the criteria for divine revelations.
For instance, the telephone book is accurate, but that does not mean that it is divinely revealed. The real problem lies in that one must establish some proof of the source the Qur'an's information. The emphasis is on the reader. One cannot simply deny the Qur'an's authenticity without sufficient proof. If, indeed, one finds a mistake, then he has the right to disqualify it. This is exactly what the Qur'an encourages. Once a man came up to me after a lecture I delivered in South Africa. He was very angry about what I had said, and so he claimed, "I am going to go home tonight and find a mistake in the Qur'an." Of course, I said, "Congratulations. That is the most intelligent thing that you have said." Certainly, this is the approach Muslims need to take with those who doubt the Qur'an's authenticity, because the Qur'an itself offers the same challenge. An inevitably, after accepting it's challenge and discovering that it is true, these people will come to believe it because they could not disqualify it. In essence, the Qur'an earns their respect because they themselves have had to verify its authenticity. An essential fact that cannot be reiterated enough concerning the authenticity of the Qur'an is that one's inability to explain a phenomenon himself does not require his acceptance of the phenomenon's existence or another person's explanation of it.
Specifically, just because one cannot explain something does not mean that one has to accept someone else's explanation. However, the person's refusal of other explanations reverts the burden of proof back on himself to find a feasible answer. This general theory applies to numerous concepts in life, but fits most wonderfully with the Qur'anic challenge, for it creates a difficulty for one who says, "I do not believe it." At the onset of refusal one immediately has an obligation to find an explanation himself if he feels others' answers are inadequate. In fact, in one particular Qur'anic verse which I have always seen mistranslated into English, Allah mentions a man who heard the truth explained to him. It states that he was derelict in his duty because after he heard the information, he left without checking the verity of what he had heard. In other words, one is guilty if he hears something and does not research it and check to see whether it is true. One is supposed to process all information and decide what is garbage to be thrown out and what is worthwhile information to be kept and benefited from at a later date. One cannot just let it rattle around in his head. It must be put in the proper categories and approached from that point of view. For example, if the information is still speculatory, then one must discern whether it's closer to being true or false. But if all of the facts have been presented, then one must decide absolutely between these two options. And even if one is not positive about the authenticity of the information, he is still required to process all of the information and make the admission that he just does not know for sure. Although this last point appears to be futile, in actuality, it is beneficial to the arrival at a positive conclusion at a later time in that it forces the person to at least recognize, research and review the facts. This familiarity with the information will give the person "the edge" when future discoveries are made and additional information is presented. The important thing is that one deals with the facts and does not simply discard them out of empathy and disinterest.
The real certainty about the truthfulness of the Qur'an is evident in the confidence which is prevalent throughout it; and this confidence comes from a different approach - "Exhausting the Alternatives." In essence, the Qur'an states, "This book is a divine revelation; if you do not believe that, then what is it?" In other words, the reader is challenged to come up with some other explanation. Here is a book made of paper and ink. Where did it come from? It says it is a divine revelation; if it is not, then what is its source? The interesting fact is that no one has with an explanation that works. In fact, all alternatives have bee exhausted. As has been well established by non-Muslims, these alternatives basically are reduces to two mutually exclusive schools of thought, insisting on one or the other. On one hand, there exists a large group of people who have researched the Qur'an for hundreds of years and who claim, "One thing we know for sure - that man, Muhammad, thought he was a prophet. He was crazy!" They are convinced that Muhammad (SAW) was fooled somehow. Then on the other hand, there is another group which alleges, "Because of this evidence, one thing we know for sure is that that man, Muhammad, was a liar!" Ironically, these two groups never seem to get together without contradicting. In fact, many references on Islam usually claim both theories. They start out by saying that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and then end by saying that he was a liar. They never seem to realize that he could not have been both!
For example, if one is deluded and really thinks that he is a prophet, then he does not sit up late at night planning, "How will I fool the people tomorrow so that they think I am a prophet?" He truly believes that he is a prophet, and he trusts that the answer will be given to him by revelation. As a matter of fact, a great deal of the Qur'an came in answer to questions. Someone would ask Muhammad (SAW) a question, and the revelation would come with the answer to it. Certainly, if one is crazy and believes that an angel put words in his ear, then when someone asks him a question, he thinks that the angel will give him the answer. Because he is crazy, he really thinks that. He does not tell someone to wait a short while and then run to his friends and ask them, "Does anyone know the answer?" This type of behavior is characteristic of one who does not believe that he is a prophet. What the non-Muslims refuse to accept is that you cannot have it both ways. One can be deluded, or he can be a liar. He can be either one or neither, but he certainly cannot be both! The emphasis is on the fact that they are unquestionably mutually exclusive personal traits.
The following scenario is a good example of the kind of circle that non-Muslims go around in constantly. If you ask one of them, "What is the origin of the Qur'an?" He tells you that it originated from the mind of a man who was crazy. Then you ask him, "If it came from his head, then where did he get the information contained in it? Certainly the Qur'an mentions many things with which the Arabs were not familiar." So in order to explain the fact which you bring him, he changes his position and says, "Well, maybe he was not crazy. Maybe some foreigner brought him the information. So he lied and told people that he was a prophet." At this point then you have to ask him, "If Muhammad was a liar, then where did he get his confidence? Why did he behave as though he really thought he was a prophet?" Finally backed into a corner, like a cat he quickly lashes out with the first response that comes to his mind. Forgetting that he has already exhausted that possibility, he claims, "Well, maybe he wasn't a liar. He was probably crazy and really thought that he was a prophet." And thus he begins the futile circle again.
As has already been mentioned, there is much information contained in the Qur'an whose source cannot be attributed to anyone other than Allah. For example, who told Muhammad about the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn - a place hundreds of miles to the north? Who told him about embryology? When people assemble facts such as these, if they are not willing to attribute their existence to a divine source, they automatically resort to the assumption someone brought Muhammad the information and that he used it to fool the people. However, this theory can easily be disproved with one simple question: "If Muhammad was a liar, where did he get his confidence? Why did he tell some people out right to their face what others could never say?" Such confidence depends completely upon being convinced that one has a true divine revelation. For example, the Prophet (SAW) had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab. This man hated Islam to such an extent that he used to follow the Prophet around in order to discredit him. If Abu Lahab saw the Prophet (SAW) speaking to a stranger, he would wait until they parted and then would go to the stranger and ask him, "What did he tell you? Did he say, 'Black.'? Well, it's white. Did he say, 'Morning.'? Well, it's night." He faithfully said the exact opposite of whatever he heard Muhammad (SAW) and the Muslims say. However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in the Qur'an was revealed to him. It distinctly stated that he would go to the Fire (i.e., Hell). In other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim and would therefore be condemned forever. For ten years all Abu Lahab had to do was say, "I heard that it has been revealed to Muhammad that I will never change - that I will never become a Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well I want to become a Muslim now. How do you like that? What do you think of your divine revelation now?" But he never did that. And yet, that is exactly the kind of behavior one would have expected from him since he always sought to contradict Islam. In essence, Muhammad (SAW) said, "You hate me and you want to finish me? Here, say these words, and I am finished. Come on, say them!" But Abu Lahab never said them. Ten years! And in all that time he never accepted Islam or even became sympathetic to the Islamic cause. How could Muhammad possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e., Muhammad) was not truly the messenger of Allah? How could he possibly have been so confident as to give someone 10 years to discredit his claim of prophethood? The only answer is that he was Allah's messenger; for in order to put forth suck a risky challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that he has a divine revelation.
Another example of the confidence which Muhammad (SAW) had in his own prophethood and consequently in the divine protection of himself and his message is when he left Makkah and hid in a cave with Abu Bakr during their emigration to Madeenah. The two clearly saw people coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid. Certainly, if Muhammad (SAW) was a liar, a forger and one who was trying to fool the people into believing that he was a prophet, one would have expected him to say in such a circumstance to his friend, "Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a back way out of this cave." Or "Squat down in that corner over there and keep quiet." Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu Bakr clearly illustrated his confidence. He told him, "Relax! Allah is with us, and Allah will save us!"
Now, if one knows that he is fooling the people, where does one get this kind of attitude? In fact, such a frame of mind is not characteristic of a liar or a forger at all. So, as has been previously mentioned, the non-Muslims go around and around in a circle, searching for a way out - some way to explain the findings in the Qur'an without attributing them to their proper source. On one hand, they tell you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, "The man was a liar," and on the other hand, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, "He was crazy." What they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they refuse to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they need both excuses to explain the information in the Qur'an.
About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home. In the particular room which we were sitting there was a Qur'an on the table, face down, and so the minister was not aware of which book it was. In the midst of a discussion, I pointed to the Qur'an and said, "I have confidence in that book." Looking at the Qur'an but not knowing which book it was , he replied, "Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible, it was written by a man!" In response to his statement, I said, "Let me tell you something about what is in that book." And in just three to four minutes I related to him a few things contained in the Qur'an. After just those three or four minutes, he completely changed his position and declared, "You are right. A man did not write that book. The Devil wrote it!" Indeed, possessing such an attitude is very unfortunate - for many reasons. For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation. As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that mentions how one day some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus raised a man from the dead. The man had been dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, he simply said, "Get up!" and the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of the Jews who were watching said disbelievingly, "This is the Devil. The Devil helped him!" Now this story is rehearsed often in churches all over the world, and people cry big tears over it, saying, "Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been as stupid as the Jews!" Yet ironically, these people do exactly what the Jews did when in just three minutes you show them only a small part of the Qur'an and all they can say is, "Oh, the Devil did it. The devil wrote that book!". Because they are truly backed into a corner and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest and cheapest excuse available. Another Example of people's use of this weak stance can be found in the Makkans' explanation of the source of Muhammad's message. They used to say, "The devils bring Muhammad that Qur'an!" But just as with every other suggestion made, the Qur'an gives the answer. One verse in particular states:
"And they say, 'Surely he is possessed [by jinn], 'but it [i.e., the Qur'an] is not except a reminder to the worlds."
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In fact, there are many arguments in the Qur'an in reply to the suggestion that devils brought Muhammad (SAW) his message. For example, in the 26th chapter Allah clearly affirms:
"No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down. It would neither be fitting for them, nor would they be able. Indeed they have been removed far from hearing."
And in another place in the Qur'an, Allah instructs us:
"So when you recite the Qur'an seek refuge in Allah from Shaytaan, the rejected."
Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, "Before you read my book, ask God to save you from me."? This is very, very tricky. Indeed, a man could write something like this, but would Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate that they cannot come to one conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim that Satan would not do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to; yet, on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much less than God. In essence they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do. And as a result, when they look at the Qur'an, even as surprised as they are as to how amazing it is, they still insist, "The Devil did this!" Thanks be to Allah, Muslims do not have that attitude. Although Satan may have some abilities, they are a long way separated from the abilities of Allah. And no Muslim is a Muslim unless he believes that. It is common knowledge even among non-Muslims that the Devil can easily make mistakes, and it would be expected that he would contradict himself if and when he wrote a book. For indeed, the Qur'an states:
"Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy."
In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in futile attempts to justify unexplainable verses in the Qur'an, there is another attack often rendered which seems to be a combination of the theories that Muhammad (SAW) was crazy and a liar. Basically, these people propose that Muhammad was insane, and as a result of his delusion, he lied to and misled people. There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as mythomania. It means simply that one tells lies and then believes them. This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad (SAW) suffered from. But the only problem with this proposal is that one suffering from mythomania absolutely cannot deal with facts, and yet the whole Qur'an is based entirely upon facts. Everything contained in it can be researched and established as true. Since facts are such a problem for a mythomaniac, when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering from that condition, he continually confronts him with facts. For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, "I am the king of England," a psychologist does not say to him "No you aren't. You are crazy!" He just does not do that. Rather, he confronts him with facts and says, "O.K., you say you are the king of England. So tell me where the queen is today. And where is your prime minister? And where are your guards?" Now, when the man has trouble trying to deal with these questions, he tries to make excuses, saying Uh... the queen... she has gone to her mother's. Uh... the prime minister... well he died." And eventually he is cured because he cannot deal with the facts. If the psychologist continues confronting him with enough facts, finally he faces the reality and says, "I guess I am not the king of England." The Qur'an approaches everyone who reads it in very much the same way a psychologist treats his mythomania patient. There is a verse in the Qur'an which states:
"Oh mankind, there has come to you an admonition [i.e., the Qur'an] from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts - and guidance and mercy for the believers."
At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the meaning of this verse is clear when one views it in light of the aforementioned example. Basically, one is healed of his delusions by reading the Qur'an. In essence, it is therapy. It literally cures deluded people by confronting them with facts. A prevalent attitude throughout the Qur'an is one which says, "Oh mankind, you say such and such about this; but what about such and such? How can you say this when you know that?" And so forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what matters while simultaneously healing one of the delusions that the facts presented to mankind by Allah can easily be explained away with flimsy theories and excuses. It is this very sort of thing - confronting people with facts - that had captured the attention of many non-Muslims. In fact, there exists a very interesting reference concerning this subject in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.
In an article under the subject of the Qur'an, the Catholic Church states, "Over the centuries, many theories have been offered as to the origin of the Qur'an... Today no sensible man accepts any of these theories."!! Now here is the age-old Catholic Church, which has been around for so many centuries, denying these futile attempts to explain away the Qur'an. Indeed, the Qur'an is a problem for the Catholic Church. It states that it is revelation, so they study it. Certainly, they would love to find proof that it is not, but they cannot. They cannot find a viable explanation. But at least they are honest in their research and do not accept the first unsubstantiated interpretation which comes along. The Church states that in fourteen centuries it has not yet been presented a sensible explanation. At least it admits that the Qur'an is not an easy subject to dismiss. Certainly, other people are much less honest. They quickly say, "Oh, the Qur'an came from here. The Qur'an came from there." And they do not even examine the credibility of what they are stating most of the time. Of course, such a statement by the Catholic Church leaves the everyday Christian in some difficulty. It just may be that he has his own ideas as to the origin of the Qur'an, but as a single member of the Church, he cannot really act upon his own theory. Such an action would be contrary to the obedience, allegiance and loyalty which the Church demands. By virtue of his membership, he must accept what the Catholic Church declares without question and establish its teachings as part of his everyday routine. So, in essence, if the Catholic Church as a whole is saying, "Do not listen to these unconfirmed reports about the Qur'an," then what can be said about the Islamic point of view? Even non-Muslims are admitting that there is something to the Qur'an - something that has to be acknowledged - then why are people so stubborn and defensive and hostile when Muslims advance the very same theory? This is certainly something for those with mind a to contemplate - something to ponder for those of understanding!
Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church - a man by the name of Hans - studied the Qur'an and gave his opinion of what he had read. This man has been around for some time, and he is highly respected in the Catholic Church, and after careful scrutiny, he reported his findings, concluding, "God has spoken to man through the man, Muhammad." Again this is a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the very leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself! I do not think that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the opinion of such a noted, repute public figure must carry some weight in defense of the Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the Qur'an is not something which can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact God is the source of these words. As is evident from the aforementioned information, all of the possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance of finding another possibility of dismissing the Qur'an is nonexistent. For if the book is not a revelation, then it is a deception; and if it is a deception, one must ask, "What is its origin" And where does it deceive us?" Indeed, the true answers to these questions shed light on the Qur'an's authenticity and silence the bitter unsubstantiated claims of the unbelievers. Certainly, if people are going to insist that the Qur'an is a deception, then they must bring forth evidence to support such a claim. The burden of proof is on them, not us! One is never supposed to advance a theory without sufficient corroborating facts; so I say to them, "Show me one deception! Show me where the Qur'an deceives me! Show me, otherwise, don't say that it is a deception!" An interesting characteristic of the Qur'an is how it deals with surprising phenomena which relate not only to the past but to modern times as well. In essence, the Qur'an is not and old problem. It is still a problem even today - a problem to the non-Muslims that is. For everyday, every week, every year brings more and more evidence that the Qur'an is a force to be contended with - that its authenticity is no longer to be challenged! For example, one verse in the Qur'an reads;
"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder, and made from water every living thing? Will they not then believe?"
Ironically, this very information is exactly what they awarded the 1973 Noble Prize for - to a couple of unbelievers. The Qur'an reveals the origin of the universe - how it began from one piece - and mankind continues to verify this revelation, even up to now. Additionally, the fact that all life originated from water would not have been an easy thing to convince people of fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, if 1400 years ago you had stood in the desert and told someone, "All of this, you see (pointing to yourself), is made up of mostly water," no one would have believed you. Proof of that was not available until the invention of the microscope. They had to wait to find out that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell, is made-up of 80% water. Nonetheless, the evidence did come, and once again the Qur'an stood the test of time. In reference to the falsification tests mentioned earlier, it is interesting to note that they, too, relate to both the past and the present. Some of them were used as illustrations of Allah's omnipotence and knowledge, while others continue to stand as challenges to the present day. An example of the former is the statement made in the Qur'an about Abu Lahab. It clearly illustrates that Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, knew that Abu Lahab would never change his ways and accept Islam. Thus Allah dictated that he would be condemned to the Hellfire forever. Such a chapter was both an illustration of Allah's divine wisdom and a warning to those who were like Abu Lahab.
An interesting example of the latter type of falsification tests contained in the Qur'an is the verse which mentions the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews. The verse is careful not to narrow its scope to the relationship between individual members of each religion, but rather, it summarizes the relationship between the two groups of people as a whole. In essence, the Qur'an states that the Christians will always treat the Muslims better than the Jews will treat the Muslims. Indeed, the full impact of such a statement can only be felt a~er careful consideration of the real meaning of such a verse. It is true that many Christians and many Jews have become Muslims, but as a whole, the Jewish community is to be viewed as an avid enemy of Islam. Additionally, very few people realize what such an open declaration in the Qur'an invites. In essence, it is an easy chance for the Jews to prove that the Qur'an is false - that it is not a divine revelation. All they have to do is organize themselves, treat the Muslims nicely for a few years and then say, "Now what does your holy book say about who are your best friends in the world - the Jews or the Christians? Look what we Jews have done for you!" That is all they have to do to disprove the Qur'an's authenticity, yet they have not done it in 1400 years. But, as always, the offer still stands open!
All of the examples so far given concerning the various angles from which one can approach the Qur'an have undoubtedly been subjective in nature; however there does exist another angle, among others, which is objective and whose basis is mathematical. It is surprising how authentic the Qur'an becomes when one assembles what might be referred to as a list of good guesses. Mathematically, it can be explained using guessing and prediction examples. For instance, if a person has two choices (i.e., one is right, and one is wrong), and he closes his eyes and makes a choice, then half of the time (i.e., one time out of two) he will be right. Basically, he has a one in two chance, for he could pick the wrong choice, or he could pick the right choice. Now if the same person has two situations like that (i.e., he could be right or wrong about situation number one, and he could be right or wrong about situation number two), and he closes his eyes and guesses, then he will only be right one fourth of the time (i.e., one time out of four). He now has a one in four chance because now there are three ways for him to be wrong and only one way for him to be right. In simple terms, he could make the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the wrong choice in situation number two; OR he could make the wrong choice in situation number one and then make the right choice in situation number two; OR he could make the right choice in situation number one and then make the wrong choice in situation number two; OR he could make the right choice in situation number one and then make the right choice in situation number two. Of course, the (only instance in which he could be totally right is the last scenario where he could guess correctly in both situations. The odds of his guessing completely correctly have become greater because the number of situations for him to guess in have increased; and the mathematical equation representing such a scenario is 1/2 x 1/2 (i.e., one time out of two for the first situation multiplied by one time out of two for the second situation).
Continuing on with the example, if the same person now has three situations in which to make blind guesses, then he will only be right one eighth of the time (i.e., one time out of eight or 1/2 X 1/2 X 1/2). Again, the odds of choosing the correct choice in all three situations have decreased his chances of being completely correct to only one time in eight. It must be understood that as the number of situations increase, the chances of being right decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely proportional.
Now applying this example to the situations in the Qur'an, if one draws up a list of all of the subjects about which the Qur'an has made correct statements, it becomes very clear that it is highly unlikely that they were all just correct blind guesses. Indeed, the subjects discussed in the Qur'an are numerous, and thus the odds of someone just making lucky guesses about all of them become practically nil. If there are a million ways for the Qur'an to be wrong, yet each time it is right, then it is unlikely that someone was guessing. The following three examples of subjects about which the Qur'an has made correct statements collectively illustrate how the Qur'an continues to beat the odds.
In the 16th chapter the Qur'an mentions that the female bee leaves its home to gather food.l2 Now, a person might guess on that, saying, "The bee that you see flying around - it could be male, or it could be female. I think I will guess female." Certainly, he has a one in two chance of being right. So it happens that the Qur'an is right. But it also happens that that was not what most people believed at the time when the Qur'an was revealed. Can you tell the difference between a male and a female bee? Well, it takes a specialist to do that, but it has been discovered that the male bee never leaves his home to gather food. However, in Shakespeare's play, Henry the Fourth, some of the characters discuss bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespeare's time - that the bees that one sees flying around are male bees and that they go home and answer to a king. However, that is not true at all. The fact is that they are females, and they answer to a queen. Yet it took modern scientific investigations in the last 300 years to discover that this is the case.
So, back to the list of good guesses, concerning the topic of bees, the Qur'an had a 50/50 chance of being right, and the odds were one in two.
In addition to the subject of bees, the Qur'an also discusses the sun and the manner in which it travels through space. Again, a person can guess on that subject. When the sun moves through space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The Qur'an states the latter - that it moves as a result of its own motion.'3 To do such, the Qur'an uses a form of the word sabaha to describe the sun's movement through space. In order to properly provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the implications of this Arabic verb, the following example is given. If a man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in reference to his movement, it can be understood that he is swimming, moving of his own accord and not as a result of a direct force applied to him. Thus when this verb is used in reference to the sun's movement through space, it in no way implies that the sun is flying uncontrollably through space as a result of being hurled or the like. It simply means that the sun is turning and rotating as it travels. Now, this is what the Qur'an affirms, but was it an easy thing to discover? Can any common man tell that the sun is turning? Only in modern times was the equipment made available to project the image of the sun onto a tabletop so that one could look at it without being blinded. And through this process it was discovered that not only are there three spots on the sun but that these spots move once every 25 days. This movement is referred to as the rotation of the sun around its axis and conclusively proves that, as the Qur'an stated 1400 years ago, the sun does, indeed turn as it travels through space.
And returning once again to the subject of good guess, the odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex of bees and the movement of the sun - are one in four!
Seeing as back fourteen centuries ago people probably did not understand much about time zones, the Quran's statements about this subject are considerably surprising. The concept that one family is having breakfast as the sun comes up while another family is enjoying the brisk night air is truly something to be marveled at, even in modern time. Indeed, fourteen centuries ago, a man could not travel more than thirty miles in one day, and thus it took him literally months to travel from India to Morocco, for example. And probably , when he was having supper in Morocco, he thought to himself, "Back home in India they are having supper right now." This is because he did not realize that, in the process of traveling, he moved across a time zone. Yet, because it is the words of Allah, the All-Knowing, the Qur'an recognizes and acknowledges such a phenomenon. In an interesting verse it states that when history comes to an end and the Day of Judgment arrives, it will all occurring an instant; and this very instant will catch some people in the daytime and some people at night. This clearly illustrates Allah's divine wisdom and His previous knowledge of the existence of time zones, even though such a discovery was non-existent back fourteen centuries ago. Certainly, this phenomenon is not something which is obvious to one's eyes or a result of one's experience, and this fact, in itself, suffices as proof of the Qur'ans authenticity.
Returning one final time to the subject of good guesses for the purpose of the present example, the odds that someone guessed correctly about all three of the aforementioned subjects - the sex of bees, the movement of the sun and the existence of time zones - are one in eight!
Certainly, one could continue on and on with this example, drawing up longer and longer list of good guesses; and of course, the odds would become higher and higher with each increase of subjects about which one could guess. But what no one can deny is the following; the odds that Mohammed an illiterate, guessed correctly about thousands and thousands of subjects, never once making a mistake, are so high that any theory of his authorship of the Qur'an must be completely dismissed - even by the most hostile enemies of Islam!
Indeed, the Qur'an expects this kind of challenge. Undoubtedly, if one said to someone upon entering a foreign land, "I know your father. I have met him," probably the man from that land would doubt the newcomer's word, saying, "You have just come here. How could you know my father?" As a result, he would question him, "Tell me, is my father tall, short, dark, fair? What is he like?" Of course, if the visitor continued answering all of the questions correctly, the skeptic would have no choice but to say, "I guess you do know my father. I don't know how you know him, but I guess you do!" The situation is the same with the Qur'an. It states that it originates from the One who created everything. So everyone has the right to say, "Convince me! If the author of this book really originated life and everything in the heavens and on the earth, then He should know about this, about that, and so on." And inevitably, after researching the Qur'an, everyone will discover the same truths. Additionally, we all know something for sure: we do not all have to be experts to verify what the Qur'an affirms. One's iman (faith) grows as one continues to check and confirm the truths contained in the Qur'an. And one is supposed to do so all of his life.
May God (Allah) guide everyone close to the truth.
Supplement
An engineer at the University of Toronto who was interested in psychology and who had read something on it, conducted researched wrote a thesis on Efficiency of Group Discussions. The purpose of his research was to find out how much people accomplish when they get together to talk in groups of two, three, ten, etc. The graph of his findings: people accomplish most when they talk in groups of two. Of course, this discovery was entirely beyond his expectations, but it is very old advice given in the Qur'an:
Additionally, the 89th chapter of the Qur'an mentions a certain city by the name of 'Iram (a city of pillars), which was not known in ancient history and which was non-existent as far as historians were concerned. However, the December 1978 edition of National Geographic introduced interesting information which mentioned that in 1973, the city of Elba was excavated in Syria. The city was discovered to be 43 centuries old, but that is not the most amazing part. Researchers found in the library of Elba a record of all of the cities with which Elba had done business. Believe or not, there on the list was the name of the city of 'Iram. The people of Elba had done business with the people of 'Iram!
"Say, 'I exhort you to one thing - that you stand for Allah, [assessing the truth] by twos and singly, and then reflect.....' In conclusion I ask you to consider with care the following:
"And they say, 'Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?' Say, 'Indeed, the signs are with Allah, and I am but a clear warner.' But is sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book [i.e. Qur'an] which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in that is mercy and a reminder to people who believe."
Source: http://www.islamicity.com/science/theamazingquran.shtml
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tip-tip Khusyu' dalam sholat
Allah berfirman :
حَـٰفِظُواْ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٲتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلۡوُسۡطَىٰ وَقُومُواْ لِلَّهِ
قَـٰنِتِينَ.
Peliharalah segala shalat [mu], dan [peliharalah] shalat wusthaa [1].
Berdirilah karena
Allah [dalam shalatmu] dengan khusyu'. (al-Baqarah: 238)
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى
الْخَاشِعِينَ (45)
Dan mintalah pertolongan [kepada Allah] dengan sabar dan [mengerjakan]
shalat. Dan
sesungguhnya yang demikian itu sungguh berat, kecuali bagi orang-orang yang
khusyu',
(al-Baqarah: 45)
Khusyu' merupakan kekuatan sholat. Tanpa khusyu' sholat seakan tidak
mempunyai makna
bagi pelakunya, karena sholat hanya berupa aktifitas fisik yang rutin, tanpa
kenikmatan
dan tanpa rasa hidmat di dalamnya.
Menghancurkan dan merusak kekhusyu'an dalam sholat adalah salah satu misi
syetan di
dunia ini. Firman Allah dalam menceritakan misi syetan tersebut:
ثُمَّ لَآَتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ
أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ (17)
Kemudian aku akan mendatangi mereka dari muka dan dari belakang mereka, dari
kanan dan
dari kiri mereka. Dan Engkau tidak akan mendapati kebanyakan mereka
bersyukur [ta'at].
(al-A'raaf: 17)
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ( أول شيء يرفع من هذه الأمة الخشوع ، حتى لا ترى
فيها خاشعا .)
Yang pertama akan hilang ari umatku adalah khusyu', hingga kalian tidak lagi
melihat
orang khusyu'. (H.R. Tabrani. Sahih)
Hudzaifah pernah berkata: Apa yang pertama hilang dari agama kalian adalah
khusyu', dan
apa yang paling akhir hilang dari agama kalian adalah sholat, banyak orang
sholat tapi
tidak ada kebaikan pada mereka, kalian nanti akan masuk masjid dan tidak ada
lafi orang
khusyu'" (al-Madarij 1/521).
Maka khsyu' ini juga merupakan salah satu sifat orang beriman. Allah
berfirman:
{ قد أفلح المؤمنون الذين هم في صلاتهم خاشعون }
Sesungguhnya beruntunglah orang-orang yang beriman, (1) [yaitu] orang-orang
yang khusyu'
dalam shalatnya.
Ibnu Katsir mengatakan: khusyu' adalah tidak bergerak, tenang, penuh
tawadlu' karena
disebabkan takut kepada Allah dan perasaan diawasi Allah. Khusyu' adalah
sadarnya hati
seakan berdiri di depat Allah dengan penuh penghormatan, pengabdian.
(al-Madarij 1/520).
Tempat khusyu' adalah di dalam hari dan membekas ke seluruh tubuh manusia.
Kalau hati
sudah tidak khusyu' maka seluruh anggota tubuh tidak lagi beribadah secara
serius karena
hati ibarat komandonya dan anggota badan adalah tentaranya.
Khusyu' juga menjadi bukti keikhlasan. Karena hanya mereka yang ikhlash
ibadah karena
Allah dan sholat karenaNya yang dapat melakukan khusyu' secara sempurna.
Tanpa
keikhlasan, maka seseorang hanya melakukan kekhusyu'an palsu atau yang
sering disebut
kekhusyu'an dusta.
Ibnu Qayyim mengatakan ada dua jenis khusyu', yaitu khusyu' iman dan khusyu'
munafik.
khusyu' Iman adalah hatinya menghadap Allah dengan penghormatan,
pengagungan,
ketenangan, penuh harapan dan rasa malu, lalu hatinya penuh dengan cinta dan
pengakuan
kepada Allah yang membekas ke seluruh anggota badannya.
Adapun khusyu' munafik adalah fisiknya khusyu' tapi hatinya tidak. Para
sahabat sering
berdoa: Ya Allah lindungilah aku dari khusyu' munafik. (Ruh 314).
Ulama mengatakan bahwa hukum khusyu' adalah wajib, karena banyaknya dalil
yang
menganjurkan khusyu' dan mencela orang yang tidak khusyu' dalam sholat.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Lima sholat yang diwajibkan oleh Allah, barang
siapa
memperbaiki wudlunya dan melaksanakan sholat pada waktunya, menyempurnakan
ruku'nya dan
kekhusyu'annya, maka ia mendapatkan janji Allah untuk mengampuninya. Barang
siapa tidak
melakukan itu, maka ia tidak mendapatkan janji Allah, kalau Allah
berkehendak maka
Mengampuninya, kalau Allah berkehendak maka akan menyiksanya." (H.R. Abu
Dawud – sahih)
Dalam hadist lain Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Barang siapa berwudlu dan
memperbaiki
wudlunya kemudaian ia sholat dua rakaat, ia konsentrasikan hati dan wajahnya
(dan tidak
diganggu oleh nafsunya), maka ia akan diampuni dosanya yang telah telah
lewat. (H.R.
Bukhari).
Rasulullah s.a.w. juga pernah bersabda:"Banyak sekali orang yang sholat
hanya
mendapatkan capek berdiri" (H.R. Nasai: hasan).
Tip menghadirkan khusyu dalam sholat
Menghadirkan khusyu' dalam sholat dalam dilakukan melalui dua cara. Pertama:
mengupayakan amalan-amalan yang merangsang kekhusyu'an dan kedua:
menghilangkan hal-hal
yang merusak kekhusyu'an.
Adapun amalan-amalan yang mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an adalah sbb:
1. Persiapkan diri untuk sholat. Itu dimulai dengan mendengarkan adzan
dan mengikutinya,
berdoa adzan, memperbaiki wudlu, berdoa setalah wudlu, melakukan siwak
sebelum sholat,
mempesiapkan baji sholat, tempat sholat dan menunggu waktu sholat. Bukan
bergegas sholat
ketika waktu hampir lewat.
2. Thoma'ninah: yaitu berhenti sejenak pada setiap rukun-rukun sholat.
Dalam hadist
diriwayatkan bahwa Rasulullah s.a.w. ketika sholat, beliau melakukan
thma'ninah hingga
semua anggota badan beliau kembali pada tempatnya. (H.R. Abu Dawud dll.)
Dalam hadist
lain Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Seburuk-buruk pencuri adalah pencuri
sholat. Bagaimana
itu wahai Rasulullah, tanya sahabat. "Mereka yang tidak menyempurnakan ruku'
dan
sujudnya. (H.R. Ahmad dan Hakim: sahih). Seseorang tidak akan bisa khusyu'
tanpa
thoma'ninah ini karena cepatnya pergerakan sholat telah menghilangkan
kekhusyu'an dan
konsentrasi hati.
3. Ingat kematian saat sholat. Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah
bersabda:"Ingatlah mati saat
kamu sholat, sesungguhnya seseorang yang ingat mati saat sholat maka ia akan
memperbaiki
sholatnya, dan sholatlah seperti sholatnya orang yang mengira itu sholatnya
yang
terakhir" (Dailami: sahih). Rasul juga pernah berpesan kepada Abu Ayub r.a.
"Sholatlah
seperti sholatnya orang yang pamitan" (Ahmad: sahih).
4. Tadabbur (menghayati) ayat-ayat Quran yang dibaca saat sholat, begitu
juga
dzikir-dzikir dan bacaan sholat lainnya lainnya serta menyerapkannya dalam
diri mushalli.
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آَيَاتِهِ
وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (29)
Ini adalah sebuah kitab yang Kami turunkan kepadamu penuh dengan berkah
supaya mereka
memperhatikan ayat-ayatnya dan supaya mendapat pelajaran orang-orang yang
mempunyai
fikiran. (Shad:29).
Dari Hudzaifah r.a. :Aku sholat di belakang Rasulullah s.a.w., satu malam.
Beliau
membaca dengan bebas. Ketika melewati ayat di dalamnya ada tasbih, beliau
bertasbih,
ketika melewati ayat permintaan beliau meminta dan ketika melewati ayat
minta
perlindungan, beliau pun meminta perlindungan" (Muslim).
Tadabbur dan tafakkur terhadap ayat-ayat Allah merupakan pengantar
kekhusyu'an. Begitu
juga menangis saat mendengar atau membaca ayat-ayat Allah. Allah berfirman:
وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا
Dan mereka menyungkur atas muka mereka sambil menangis dan mereka bertambah
khusyu'.(Isra':109) .
Atho' pernah bertanya kepada Aisyah r.a.: ceritakan kepadaku apa yang paling
kau kagumi
dari Rasulullah, lalu Aisyah menangis. Suatu malam Rasulullah s.a.w. berdiri
untuk
sholat, beliau berkata: Wahai Aisyah biarkan aku menyembah Tuhanku.
Sesungguhnya aku
senang bersamamu dan aku senang menyenangkanmu". Lalu beliau pun bangun dan
sholat, lalu
beliau sholat sambil menangis sehingga lantai kamarku basah karena air mata
beliau. Lalu
berkumandanglah adzan Bilal untuk subuh, ketika Bilal melihat mata
Rasulullah basah
karena menangis, Bilal pun bertanya:"Wahai Rasulullah, untuk apa engkau
menangis padahal
Allah telah mengampunimu dosamu yang lalu dan yang akan datang? Rasul
menjawab: Wahai
Bilal aku lebih suka untuk menjadi hamba yang banyak bersyukur. Malam ini
diturunkan
kepadaku ayat yang ruglilah orang yang membacanya dan tidak menghayatinya,
yaitu ayat
Ali Imran 190-194. (Ibnu Hibban:sahih) .
5. Membaca ayat satu-satu. Ini juga mengantarkan kepada khusyu' karena
mengantarkan
kepada pamahaman dan penghayatan. Umi Salamah berkata bahwa Rasulullah
membaca fatihah
dalam sholat dengan basmalah, lalu berhenti lalu membaca hamdalah lalu
berhenti lalu
membaca arrohmaanirrohiiim dan seterusnya. (Abu Dawud: sahih).
6. Memperindah bacaan Quran dan tartil dapat mengantarkan kepada
kekhusyu'an. Allah
berfirman:
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلۡمُزَّمِّلُ قُمِ ٱلَّيۡلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ نِّصۡفَهُ ۥۤ
أَوِ ٱنقُصۡ مِنۡهُ قَلِيلاً أَوۡ زِدۡ عَلَيۡهِ وَرَتِّلِ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ
تَرۡتِيلاً
Hai orang yang berselimut [Muhammad], (1) bangunlah [untuk sembahyang] di
malam hari [1]
kecuali sedikit [daripadanya] , (2) [yaitu] seperduanya atau kurangilah dari
seperdua itu
sedikit, (3) atau lebih dari seperdua itu. Dan bacalah Al Qur'an itu dengan
perlahan-lahan. (Muzammil 1-4)
Rasulullah s.a.w. berpesan:"Perindahlah al-Qur'an dengan suaramu yang merdu,
karena
suara yang indah akan memperindah al-Quran" (Hakim:sahih) . Dalam hadist
lain beliau
bersabda:"Sesungguhnya seindah-indah suara orang membaca Quran, adalah kalau
ia membaca
maka orang-orang yang mendengarnya akan takut kapada Allah. (Ibnu Majah:
sahih).
7. Beranggapan bahwa saat sholat ia sedang menghadap kepada Allah. Dalam
sebuah hadist
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Sesungguhnya kalian apabila sholat maka
sesungguhnya ia
sedang bermunajat (bertemu) dengan Tuhannya, maka hendaknya ia mengerti
bagaimana
bermunajat dengan Tuhan. Hakim: sahih).
8. Memperhatikan pembatas depan sholat. Sebaiknya ketika sholat
menghadap pembatas
depan, misalnya dinding atau pembatas yang polos. Tujuannya adalah agar
pandangan mata
kita tidak terganggu oleh obyek-obyek visual yang mengganggu konsentrasi
kita.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda" Hendaklah kalian ketika sholat menaruh pembatas
di depannya
agar syetan tidak memutuskan sholatnya" (Abu Dawud: sahih). Sebaiknya
pembatas tersebut
berjarak tiga jengkal dari tempatnya berdiri dan sejengkal dari tempat
sujudnya. (Fathul
Bari).
9. Meletakkan tangan kanan di atas tangan kiri di atas dada. Rasulullah
s.a.w. bersabda:
Kami para nabi diperintahkan agar dalam sholat meletakkan tangan kanan di
atas atas
tangan kiri (Thabrani:sahih) . Imam Ahmad menjelaskan bahwa tujuannya adalah
agar kita
menundukkan diri di depan Allah dengan khusyu'. Ibnu Hajar mengatakan bahwa
sikap
seperti itu adalah sikap seorang yang meminta dengan merendahkan diri dan
sikap seperti
itu lebih mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an.
10. Mengarahkan pandangan mata pada tempat sujud. Dai Aisyah r.a.
Rasulullah s.a.w.
ketika sholat beliau menundukkan kepalanya dan pandangannya tertuju ke
tempat sujud.
(Hakim:sahih) . Begitu juga ketika beliau memasuki Ka'bah beliau tidak
memalingkan
pandangannya dari tempat sujudnya hingga keluar dari Ka'bah". (Hakim:
sahih).
Bagaimana dengan pendapat sebagian orang yang melakukan sholat dengan
memejamkan mata
dengan dalih itu bisa mengantarkan kepada kekhsyu'an. Sesungguhnya itu
bertentangan
dengan contoh yang diberikan Rasulullah s.a.w. Beliau diriwayatkan tidak
pernah sholat
dengan memejamkan mata. Namun demikian para ulama beda pendapat mengenai
masalah itu.
Imam Ahmad mengatakan memejamkah mata saat sholat hukumnya makruh karena itu
kebiasaan
orang Yahudi. Sebagian ulama mengatakan tidak makruh asalnya demi tujuan
baik, misalnya
kalau tidak memejamkan mata terganggu oleh obyek-obyek visual yang ada di
depannya atau
di sekitar tempat sholat, maka memejamkan mata pada kondisi seperti itu
dianjurkan.
11. Sebagian ulama melihat bahwa meragamkan bacaan sholat dapat
mengantarkan kepada
kekhusyu'an karena menciptakan suasana baru dalam melaksanakan sholat.
Misalnya redaksi
bacaan doa iftitah, ruku', sujud, I'tidal, duduk antara dua sujud dan
tashahhud ada
beberapa riwayat sahih yang berbeda-beda. Membacanya dengan redaksi yang
berbeda-beda
dapat mempersegar suasana sholat dan mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an. Begitu
juga
bacaan-bacaan surat setelah fatihah dapat dilakukan dengan variasi ayat yang
berbeda-beda.
12. Disunnahkan membaca ta'awwudz (أغوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم) ketika
merasakan ada
gangguan konsentrasi dalam sholat. Konon ketika seorang hamba hendak
melaksanakan
sholat, syetan menurunkan pasukannya yang disebut Khanzab untuk mengganggu
orang sholat.
Abi 'Ash r.a. berkata kepada Rasulullah, Wahai Rasulullah syetan telah
mengganggu
sholatnya dan membolak balikkan bacaannya, Rasulullah bersabda: Itu syetan
bernama
Khanzab kalau kamu merasakannya maka bacalah ta'wudz lalu tiuplah ke kiri
tiga kali".
Iapun melakukannya dan syetan tidak lagi mengganggunya. (Muslim). Rasulullah
juga
mengingatkan: Kalau kalian sholat maka datanglah syetan mengganggu kalian,
sehingga
kalian lupa hitungan rakaatnya. Kalau kalian merasakannya maka sujudlah dua
kali ketika
ia duduk (Bukhari). Rasulullah juga mengingatkan bahwa Syetan datang kepada
kalian
ketika sholat lalu membuka tempat duduk kalian, lalu ia merekayasa agar dia
ragu apa
kentut apa tidak, kalau kalian merasakan itu janganlah membatalkan sholat
hingga dengar
suara atau mencium bau (Thabrani: sahih). Bahkan konon syetan juga menganggu
orang yang
sholat dengan isu-isu kebaikan seperti masalah dakwah, masalah sunnah,
masalah keilmuan
dan politik agar sholatnya tidak lagi terfokus.
13. Bacalah cerita orang solih terdahulu bagaimana mereka berkhusyu'
dalam sholatnya.
Ali r.a. ketika hendak sholat maka mukanya berubah, lalu ia ditanyai tentang
itu, beliau
menjawab: datang waktu ketika amanah ditawarkan kepada langit, bumi dan
gunung-gunung
tapi mereka menolak tapi aku kini membawanya. Konon mereka ketita sholat
memerah
wajahnya karena takut akan menghadap Allah. Salah seorang sahabat
diceritakan terkena
panah saat berperang, lalu ia minta agar dicabut saat ia sholat karena saat
itu ia lupa
semuanya dan hanya ingat Allah.
14. Berdoa dalam sholat, khususnya saat sujud. Rasulullah s.a.w.
bersabda:"Kondisi
paling antara hamba dan Tuhannya adalah saat sujud, maka perbanyaklah doa"
(Muslim).
15. Dzikir setelah sholat. Setelah melaksanakan sholatnya hendaknya
seorang hamba
melakukan dzikir selesai sholat untuk memperkuat dan menyempurnakan
sholatnya. Tentu
saja tidak hanya dzikir dalam lisan tapi juga diresapi makna dan
kandungannya.
Adapun perkara-perkara yang mengganggu kekhusyu'an adalah sbb:
1. Membersihkan tempat sholat dari hal-hal yang mengganggu konsentrasi
seperti
gambar-gambar dan ornamen yang menarik perhatian orang sholat. Aisyah r.a.
pernah
mempunyai kelambu di rumahnya berwarna-warni, lalu Rasulullah memintanya
agar
menyingkirkan itu karena itu mengganggu sholat beliau. (Bukhari). Maka
hendaknya
melakukan sholat di tempat yang jauh dari kebisingan dan banyak orang lalu
lalang,
tempat orang ngobrol, apalagi tempat hiburan dan bersenang-senang karena itu
akan
mengganggu kekhusyu'an sholat. Begitu juga agar lokasi sholat tidak terlalu
panas atau
terlalu dingin. Rasulullah s.a.w. memerintahkan agar para sahabat melakukan
sholat
dhuhur saat cuaca agak dingin.
2. Memakai pakaian yang polos dan tidak banyak warna. Karena itu akan
menarik pandangan
mushalli dan mengganggu konsentrasinya dalam sholat. Rasulullah pernah
sholat dan
terganggu dengan kelambu Aisyah yang berwarna-warni lalu beliau meminta
untuk
menyingkirkannya. (Bukhari dll.).
3. Hindari solat di waktu makan. Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda"Tidak baik
sholat di hadapan
makanan" (Muslim). Riwayat lain mengatakan "Ketika maka malam sudah siap dan
datang
waktu sholat, maka dahulukan makan malam" (Bukhari).
4. Hindari menanah buang air besar, kecil dan angin. Rasulullah s.a.w.
melarang sholat
sambil menahan kencing (Ibnu Majah:sahih) . Riwayat lain mengatakan bahwa
Rasululllah
s.a.w. bersabda kalau kalian akan sholat dan ingin ke wc maka pergilah ke wc
dulu (Abu
Dawud:sahih) .
5. Hindari sholat dalam keadaan ngantuk berat. Rasulullah s.a.w.
bersabda "Kalau kalian
sholat dan ngantuk maka tidurlah hingga ia mengerti apa yang dikatakan"
(Bukhari).
Riwayat lain dengan tambahan: ditakutkan ketika kalian ngantuk dan melakukan
sholat maka
ia tidak sadar maunya meminta ampunan Allah tapi malah mengumpat dirinya.
(Bukhari)
6. Hindari sholat di tempat yang kurang rata atau kuarng bersih karena
itu akan
menganggu konsentrasi saat sujud. Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Janganlah kau
membersihkan
tempat sujudmu (dari kerikil) saat sholat, kalau terpaksa melakukannya maka
itu cukup
sekali (Abu Dawud:sahih) .
7. Jangan membaca terlalu keras sehingga mengganggu orang sholat di
samping kita.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Ingatlah bahwa kalian semua menghadap Allah,
janganlah
saling mengganggu, jangan membaca lebih keras dari saudaranya dalam sholat"
(Abu Dawud:
sahih).
8. Jangan tengak-tengok saat sholat. Rasulullah s.a.w. mengingatkan
bahwa tengak-tengok
dalam sholat adalah gangguan syetan. (Bukhari). Dalam hadist lain dikatakan
"Allah
senantiasa melihat hambanya saat sholat selama ia tidak menengok, kalau
menengok maka
Allah meninggalkannya" (Abu Dawud: sahih).
9. Jangan melihat ke arah atas. Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah bersabda "Ada
orang-orang
sholat sambil menghadap ke atas, mudah-mudahan matanya tidak kembali"
(Ahmad:sahih) .
10. menahan mulut ketika ingin menguap. Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w. Ketika
kalian menguap
saat sholat, maka tahanlah sekuatnya karena syetan akan masuk ke mulut
kalian" (Muslim).
11. Jangan sholat seperti kebiasaan binatang. Dalam sebuah hadist
Rasulullah s.a.w.
melarang sholat seperti patukan gagak, duduknya harimau dan menjalankan
ibadah di tempat
yang satu seperti onta (Ahmad: sahih).
Akhirnya, khusyu' ini berat tapi dapat kita jalankan melalui latihan dan
membiasakan
diri. Salah satu upaya agar kita dapat melakukan khusyu' dengan mudah adalah
dengan
memperbanyak doa:
اللَّهُمَّ طَهِّرْنِي بِالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ وَالْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ ،
اللَّهُمَّ طَهِّرْ قَلْبِي مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا طَهَّرْتَ الثَّوْبَ
الأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ ، وَبَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ ذُنُوبِي كَمَا
بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ
مِنْ قَلْبٍ لاَ يَخْشَعُ ، وَنَفْسٍ لاَ تَشْبَعُ ، وَدُعَاءٍ لاَ يُسْمَعُ ،
وَعِلْمٍ لاَ يَنْفَعُ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ
هُؤُلاَءِ الأَرْبَعِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِيشَةً نَقِيَّةً
وَمَيْتَةً سَوِيَّةً وَمَرَدًّا غَيْرَ مُخْزٍى.
Mudah-mudahan bermanfaat.
Disusun Muhammad Niam (?)
Source: milis IMAS
To: Me & my family
حَـٰفِظُواْ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٲتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلۡوُسۡطَىٰ وَقُومُواْ لِلَّهِ
قَـٰنِتِينَ.
Peliharalah segala shalat [mu], dan [peliharalah] shalat wusthaa [1].
Berdirilah karena
Allah [dalam shalatmu] dengan khusyu'. (al-Baqarah: 238)
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى
الْخَاشِعِينَ (45)
Dan mintalah pertolongan [kepada Allah] dengan sabar dan [mengerjakan]
shalat. Dan
sesungguhnya yang demikian itu sungguh berat, kecuali bagi orang-orang yang
khusyu',
(al-Baqarah: 45)
Khusyu' merupakan kekuatan sholat. Tanpa khusyu' sholat seakan tidak
mempunyai makna
bagi pelakunya, karena sholat hanya berupa aktifitas fisik yang rutin, tanpa
kenikmatan
dan tanpa rasa hidmat di dalamnya.
Menghancurkan dan merusak kekhusyu'an dalam sholat adalah salah satu misi
syetan di
dunia ini. Firman Allah dalam menceritakan misi syetan tersebut:
ثُمَّ لَآَتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ
أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ (17)
Kemudian aku akan mendatangi mereka dari muka dan dari belakang mereka, dari
kanan dan
dari kiri mereka. Dan Engkau tidak akan mendapati kebanyakan mereka
bersyukur [ta'at].
(al-A'raaf: 17)
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ( أول شيء يرفع من هذه الأمة الخشوع ، حتى لا ترى
فيها خاشعا .)
Yang pertama akan hilang ari umatku adalah khusyu', hingga kalian tidak lagi
melihat
orang khusyu'. (H.R. Tabrani. Sahih)
Hudzaifah pernah berkata: Apa yang pertama hilang dari agama kalian adalah
khusyu', dan
apa yang paling akhir hilang dari agama kalian adalah sholat, banyak orang
sholat tapi
tidak ada kebaikan pada mereka, kalian nanti akan masuk masjid dan tidak ada
lafi orang
khusyu'" (al-Madarij 1/521).
Maka khsyu' ini juga merupakan salah satu sifat orang beriman. Allah
berfirman:
{ قد أفلح المؤمنون الذين هم في صلاتهم خاشعون }
Sesungguhnya beruntunglah orang-orang yang beriman, (1) [yaitu] orang-orang
yang khusyu'
dalam shalatnya.
Ibnu Katsir mengatakan: khusyu' adalah tidak bergerak, tenang, penuh
tawadlu' karena
disebabkan takut kepada Allah dan perasaan diawasi Allah. Khusyu' adalah
sadarnya hati
seakan berdiri di depat Allah dengan penuh penghormatan, pengabdian.
(al-Madarij 1/520).
Tempat khusyu' adalah di dalam hari dan membekas ke seluruh tubuh manusia.
Kalau hati
sudah tidak khusyu' maka seluruh anggota tubuh tidak lagi beribadah secara
serius karena
hati ibarat komandonya dan anggota badan adalah tentaranya.
Khusyu' juga menjadi bukti keikhlasan. Karena hanya mereka yang ikhlash
ibadah karena
Allah dan sholat karenaNya yang dapat melakukan khusyu' secara sempurna.
Tanpa
keikhlasan, maka seseorang hanya melakukan kekhusyu'an palsu atau yang
sering disebut
kekhusyu'an dusta.
Ibnu Qayyim mengatakan ada dua jenis khusyu', yaitu khusyu' iman dan khusyu'
munafik.
khusyu' Iman adalah hatinya menghadap Allah dengan penghormatan,
pengagungan,
ketenangan, penuh harapan dan rasa malu, lalu hatinya penuh dengan cinta dan
pengakuan
kepada Allah yang membekas ke seluruh anggota badannya.
Adapun khusyu' munafik adalah fisiknya khusyu' tapi hatinya tidak. Para
sahabat sering
berdoa: Ya Allah lindungilah aku dari khusyu' munafik. (Ruh 314).
Ulama mengatakan bahwa hukum khusyu' adalah wajib, karena banyaknya dalil
yang
menganjurkan khusyu' dan mencela orang yang tidak khusyu' dalam sholat.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Lima sholat yang diwajibkan oleh Allah, barang
siapa
memperbaiki wudlunya dan melaksanakan sholat pada waktunya, menyempurnakan
ruku'nya dan
kekhusyu'annya, maka ia mendapatkan janji Allah untuk mengampuninya. Barang
siapa tidak
melakukan itu, maka ia tidak mendapatkan janji Allah, kalau Allah
berkehendak maka
Mengampuninya, kalau Allah berkehendak maka akan menyiksanya." (H.R. Abu
Dawud – sahih)
Dalam hadist lain Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Barang siapa berwudlu dan
memperbaiki
wudlunya kemudaian ia sholat dua rakaat, ia konsentrasikan hati dan wajahnya
(dan tidak
diganggu oleh nafsunya), maka ia akan diampuni dosanya yang telah telah
lewat. (H.R.
Bukhari).
Rasulullah s.a.w. juga pernah bersabda:"Banyak sekali orang yang sholat
hanya
mendapatkan capek berdiri" (H.R. Nasai: hasan).
Tip menghadirkan khusyu dalam sholat
Menghadirkan khusyu' dalam sholat dalam dilakukan melalui dua cara. Pertama:
mengupayakan amalan-amalan yang merangsang kekhusyu'an dan kedua:
menghilangkan hal-hal
yang merusak kekhusyu'an.
Adapun amalan-amalan yang mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an adalah sbb:
1. Persiapkan diri untuk sholat. Itu dimulai dengan mendengarkan adzan
dan mengikutinya,
berdoa adzan, memperbaiki wudlu, berdoa setalah wudlu, melakukan siwak
sebelum sholat,
mempesiapkan baji sholat, tempat sholat dan menunggu waktu sholat. Bukan
bergegas sholat
ketika waktu hampir lewat.
2. Thoma'ninah: yaitu berhenti sejenak pada setiap rukun-rukun sholat.
Dalam hadist
diriwayatkan bahwa Rasulullah s.a.w. ketika sholat, beliau melakukan
thma'ninah hingga
semua anggota badan beliau kembali pada tempatnya. (H.R. Abu Dawud dll.)
Dalam hadist
lain Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Seburuk-buruk pencuri adalah pencuri
sholat. Bagaimana
itu wahai Rasulullah, tanya sahabat. "Mereka yang tidak menyempurnakan ruku'
dan
sujudnya. (H.R. Ahmad dan Hakim: sahih). Seseorang tidak akan bisa khusyu'
tanpa
thoma'ninah ini karena cepatnya pergerakan sholat telah menghilangkan
kekhusyu'an dan
konsentrasi hati.
3. Ingat kematian saat sholat. Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah
bersabda:"Ingatlah mati saat
kamu sholat, sesungguhnya seseorang yang ingat mati saat sholat maka ia akan
memperbaiki
sholatnya, dan sholatlah seperti sholatnya orang yang mengira itu sholatnya
yang
terakhir" (Dailami: sahih). Rasul juga pernah berpesan kepada Abu Ayub r.a.
"Sholatlah
seperti sholatnya orang yang pamitan" (Ahmad: sahih).
4. Tadabbur (menghayati) ayat-ayat Quran yang dibaca saat sholat, begitu
juga
dzikir-dzikir dan bacaan sholat lainnya lainnya serta menyerapkannya dalam
diri mushalli.
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آَيَاتِهِ
وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (29)
Ini adalah sebuah kitab yang Kami turunkan kepadamu penuh dengan berkah
supaya mereka
memperhatikan ayat-ayatnya dan supaya mendapat pelajaran orang-orang yang
mempunyai
fikiran. (Shad:29).
Dari Hudzaifah r.a. :Aku sholat di belakang Rasulullah s.a.w., satu malam.
Beliau
membaca dengan bebas. Ketika melewati ayat di dalamnya ada tasbih, beliau
bertasbih,
ketika melewati ayat permintaan beliau meminta dan ketika melewati ayat
minta
perlindungan, beliau pun meminta perlindungan" (Muslim).
Tadabbur dan tafakkur terhadap ayat-ayat Allah merupakan pengantar
kekhusyu'an. Begitu
juga menangis saat mendengar atau membaca ayat-ayat Allah. Allah berfirman:
وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا
Dan mereka menyungkur atas muka mereka sambil menangis dan mereka bertambah
khusyu'.(Isra':109) .
Atho' pernah bertanya kepada Aisyah r.a.: ceritakan kepadaku apa yang paling
kau kagumi
dari Rasulullah, lalu Aisyah menangis. Suatu malam Rasulullah s.a.w. berdiri
untuk
sholat, beliau berkata: Wahai Aisyah biarkan aku menyembah Tuhanku.
Sesungguhnya aku
senang bersamamu dan aku senang menyenangkanmu". Lalu beliau pun bangun dan
sholat, lalu
beliau sholat sambil menangis sehingga lantai kamarku basah karena air mata
beliau. Lalu
berkumandanglah adzan Bilal untuk subuh, ketika Bilal melihat mata
Rasulullah basah
karena menangis, Bilal pun bertanya:"Wahai Rasulullah, untuk apa engkau
menangis padahal
Allah telah mengampunimu dosamu yang lalu dan yang akan datang? Rasul
menjawab: Wahai
Bilal aku lebih suka untuk menjadi hamba yang banyak bersyukur. Malam ini
diturunkan
kepadaku ayat yang ruglilah orang yang membacanya dan tidak menghayatinya,
yaitu ayat
Ali Imran 190-194. (Ibnu Hibban:sahih) .
5. Membaca ayat satu-satu. Ini juga mengantarkan kepada khusyu' karena
mengantarkan
kepada pamahaman dan penghayatan. Umi Salamah berkata bahwa Rasulullah
membaca fatihah
dalam sholat dengan basmalah, lalu berhenti lalu membaca hamdalah lalu
berhenti lalu
membaca arrohmaanirrohiiim dan seterusnya. (Abu Dawud: sahih).
6. Memperindah bacaan Quran dan tartil dapat mengantarkan kepada
kekhusyu'an. Allah
berfirman:
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلۡمُزَّمِّلُ قُمِ ٱلَّيۡلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ نِّصۡفَهُ ۥۤ
أَوِ ٱنقُصۡ مِنۡهُ قَلِيلاً أَوۡ زِدۡ عَلَيۡهِ وَرَتِّلِ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ
تَرۡتِيلاً
Hai orang yang berselimut [Muhammad], (1) bangunlah [untuk sembahyang] di
malam hari [1]
kecuali sedikit [daripadanya] , (2) [yaitu] seperduanya atau kurangilah dari
seperdua itu
sedikit, (3) atau lebih dari seperdua itu. Dan bacalah Al Qur'an itu dengan
perlahan-lahan. (Muzammil 1-4)
Rasulullah s.a.w. berpesan:"Perindahlah al-Qur'an dengan suaramu yang merdu,
karena
suara yang indah akan memperindah al-Quran" (Hakim:sahih) . Dalam hadist
lain beliau
bersabda:"Sesungguhnya seindah-indah suara orang membaca Quran, adalah kalau
ia membaca
maka orang-orang yang mendengarnya akan takut kapada Allah. (Ibnu Majah:
sahih).
7. Beranggapan bahwa saat sholat ia sedang menghadap kepada Allah. Dalam
sebuah hadist
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:"Sesungguhnya kalian apabila sholat maka
sesungguhnya ia
sedang bermunajat (bertemu) dengan Tuhannya, maka hendaknya ia mengerti
bagaimana
bermunajat dengan Tuhan. Hakim: sahih).
8. Memperhatikan pembatas depan sholat. Sebaiknya ketika sholat
menghadap pembatas
depan, misalnya dinding atau pembatas yang polos. Tujuannya adalah agar
pandangan mata
kita tidak terganggu oleh obyek-obyek visual yang mengganggu konsentrasi
kita.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda" Hendaklah kalian ketika sholat menaruh pembatas
di depannya
agar syetan tidak memutuskan sholatnya" (Abu Dawud: sahih). Sebaiknya
pembatas tersebut
berjarak tiga jengkal dari tempatnya berdiri dan sejengkal dari tempat
sujudnya. (Fathul
Bari).
9. Meletakkan tangan kanan di atas tangan kiri di atas dada. Rasulullah
s.a.w. bersabda:
Kami para nabi diperintahkan agar dalam sholat meletakkan tangan kanan di
atas atas
tangan kiri (Thabrani:sahih) . Imam Ahmad menjelaskan bahwa tujuannya adalah
agar kita
menundukkan diri di depan Allah dengan khusyu'. Ibnu Hajar mengatakan bahwa
sikap
seperti itu adalah sikap seorang yang meminta dengan merendahkan diri dan
sikap seperti
itu lebih mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an.
10. Mengarahkan pandangan mata pada tempat sujud. Dai Aisyah r.a.
Rasulullah s.a.w.
ketika sholat beliau menundukkan kepalanya dan pandangannya tertuju ke
tempat sujud.
(Hakim:sahih) . Begitu juga ketika beliau memasuki Ka'bah beliau tidak
memalingkan
pandangannya dari tempat sujudnya hingga keluar dari Ka'bah". (Hakim:
sahih).
Bagaimana dengan pendapat sebagian orang yang melakukan sholat dengan
memejamkan mata
dengan dalih itu bisa mengantarkan kepada kekhsyu'an. Sesungguhnya itu
bertentangan
dengan contoh yang diberikan Rasulullah s.a.w. Beliau diriwayatkan tidak
pernah sholat
dengan memejamkan mata. Namun demikian para ulama beda pendapat mengenai
masalah itu.
Imam Ahmad mengatakan memejamkah mata saat sholat hukumnya makruh karena itu
kebiasaan
orang Yahudi. Sebagian ulama mengatakan tidak makruh asalnya demi tujuan
baik, misalnya
kalau tidak memejamkan mata terganggu oleh obyek-obyek visual yang ada di
depannya atau
di sekitar tempat sholat, maka memejamkan mata pada kondisi seperti itu
dianjurkan.
11. Sebagian ulama melihat bahwa meragamkan bacaan sholat dapat
mengantarkan kepada
kekhusyu'an karena menciptakan suasana baru dalam melaksanakan sholat.
Misalnya redaksi
bacaan doa iftitah, ruku', sujud, I'tidal, duduk antara dua sujud dan
tashahhud ada
beberapa riwayat sahih yang berbeda-beda. Membacanya dengan redaksi yang
berbeda-beda
dapat mempersegar suasana sholat dan mengantarkan kepada kekhusyu'an. Begitu
juga
bacaan-bacaan surat setelah fatihah dapat dilakukan dengan variasi ayat yang
berbeda-beda.
12. Disunnahkan membaca ta'awwudz (أغوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم) ketika
merasakan ada
gangguan konsentrasi dalam sholat. Konon ketika seorang hamba hendak
melaksanakan
sholat, syetan menurunkan pasukannya yang disebut Khanzab untuk mengganggu
orang sholat.
Abi 'Ash r.a. berkata kepada Rasulullah, Wahai Rasulullah syetan telah
mengganggu
sholatnya dan membolak balikkan bacaannya, Rasulullah bersabda: Itu syetan
bernama
Khanzab kalau kamu merasakannya maka bacalah ta'wudz lalu tiuplah ke kiri
tiga kali".
Iapun melakukannya dan syetan tidak lagi mengganggunya. (Muslim). Rasulullah
juga
mengingatkan: Kalau kalian sholat maka datanglah syetan mengganggu kalian,
sehingga
kalian lupa hitungan rakaatnya. Kalau kalian merasakannya maka sujudlah dua
kali ketika
ia duduk (Bukhari). Rasulullah juga mengingatkan bahwa Syetan datang kepada
kalian
ketika sholat lalu membuka tempat duduk kalian, lalu ia merekayasa agar dia
ragu apa
kentut apa tidak, kalau kalian merasakan itu janganlah membatalkan sholat
hingga dengar
suara atau mencium bau (Thabrani: sahih). Bahkan konon syetan juga menganggu
orang yang
sholat dengan isu-isu kebaikan seperti masalah dakwah, masalah sunnah,
masalah keilmuan
dan politik agar sholatnya tidak lagi terfokus.
13. Bacalah cerita orang solih terdahulu bagaimana mereka berkhusyu'
dalam sholatnya.
Ali r.a. ketika hendak sholat maka mukanya berubah, lalu ia ditanyai tentang
itu, beliau
menjawab: datang waktu ketika amanah ditawarkan kepada langit, bumi dan
gunung-gunung
tapi mereka menolak tapi aku kini membawanya. Konon mereka ketita sholat
memerah
wajahnya karena takut akan menghadap Allah. Salah seorang sahabat
diceritakan terkena
panah saat berperang, lalu ia minta agar dicabut saat ia sholat karena saat
itu ia lupa
semuanya dan hanya ingat Allah.
14. Berdoa dalam sholat, khususnya saat sujud. Rasulullah s.a.w.
bersabda:"Kondisi
paling antara hamba dan Tuhannya adalah saat sujud, maka perbanyaklah doa"
(Muslim).
15. Dzikir setelah sholat. Setelah melaksanakan sholatnya hendaknya
seorang hamba
melakukan dzikir selesai sholat untuk memperkuat dan menyempurnakan
sholatnya. Tentu
saja tidak hanya dzikir dalam lisan tapi juga diresapi makna dan
kandungannya.
Adapun perkara-perkara yang mengganggu kekhusyu'an adalah sbb:
1. Membersihkan tempat sholat dari hal-hal yang mengganggu konsentrasi
seperti
gambar-gambar dan ornamen yang menarik perhatian orang sholat. Aisyah r.a.
pernah
mempunyai kelambu di rumahnya berwarna-warni, lalu Rasulullah memintanya
agar
menyingkirkan itu karena itu mengganggu sholat beliau. (Bukhari). Maka
hendaknya
melakukan sholat di tempat yang jauh dari kebisingan dan banyak orang lalu
lalang,
tempat orang ngobrol, apalagi tempat hiburan dan bersenang-senang karena itu
akan
mengganggu kekhusyu'an sholat. Begitu juga agar lokasi sholat tidak terlalu
panas atau
terlalu dingin. Rasulullah s.a.w. memerintahkan agar para sahabat melakukan
sholat
dhuhur saat cuaca agak dingin.
2. Memakai pakaian yang polos dan tidak banyak warna. Karena itu akan
menarik pandangan
mushalli dan mengganggu konsentrasinya dalam sholat. Rasulullah pernah
sholat dan
terganggu dengan kelambu Aisyah yang berwarna-warni lalu beliau meminta
untuk
menyingkirkannya. (Bukhari dll.).
3. Hindari solat di waktu makan. Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda"Tidak baik
sholat di hadapan
makanan" (Muslim). Riwayat lain mengatakan "Ketika maka malam sudah siap dan
datang
waktu sholat, maka dahulukan makan malam" (Bukhari).
4. Hindari menanah buang air besar, kecil dan angin. Rasulullah s.a.w.
melarang sholat
sambil menahan kencing (Ibnu Majah:sahih) . Riwayat lain mengatakan bahwa
Rasululllah
s.a.w. bersabda kalau kalian akan sholat dan ingin ke wc maka pergilah ke wc
dulu (Abu
Dawud:sahih) .
5. Hindari sholat dalam keadaan ngantuk berat. Rasulullah s.a.w.
bersabda "Kalau kalian
sholat dan ngantuk maka tidurlah hingga ia mengerti apa yang dikatakan"
(Bukhari).
Riwayat lain dengan tambahan: ditakutkan ketika kalian ngantuk dan melakukan
sholat maka
ia tidak sadar maunya meminta ampunan Allah tapi malah mengumpat dirinya.
(Bukhari)
6. Hindari sholat di tempat yang kurang rata atau kuarng bersih karena
itu akan
menganggu konsentrasi saat sujud. Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Janganlah kau
membersihkan
tempat sujudmu (dari kerikil) saat sholat, kalau terpaksa melakukannya maka
itu cukup
sekali (Abu Dawud:sahih) .
7. Jangan membaca terlalu keras sehingga mengganggu orang sholat di
samping kita.
Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Ingatlah bahwa kalian semua menghadap Allah,
janganlah
saling mengganggu, jangan membaca lebih keras dari saudaranya dalam sholat"
(Abu Dawud:
sahih).
8. Jangan tengak-tengok saat sholat. Rasulullah s.a.w. mengingatkan
bahwa tengak-tengok
dalam sholat adalah gangguan syetan. (Bukhari). Dalam hadist lain dikatakan
"Allah
senantiasa melihat hambanya saat sholat selama ia tidak menengok, kalau
menengok maka
Allah meninggalkannya" (Abu Dawud: sahih).
9. Jangan melihat ke arah atas. Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah bersabda "Ada
orang-orang
sholat sambil menghadap ke atas, mudah-mudahan matanya tidak kembali"
(Ahmad:sahih) .
10. menahan mulut ketika ingin menguap. Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w. Ketika
kalian menguap
saat sholat, maka tahanlah sekuatnya karena syetan akan masuk ke mulut
kalian" (Muslim).
11. Jangan sholat seperti kebiasaan binatang. Dalam sebuah hadist
Rasulullah s.a.w.
melarang sholat seperti patukan gagak, duduknya harimau dan menjalankan
ibadah di tempat
yang satu seperti onta (Ahmad: sahih).
Akhirnya, khusyu' ini berat tapi dapat kita jalankan melalui latihan dan
membiasakan
diri. Salah satu upaya agar kita dapat melakukan khusyu' dengan mudah adalah
dengan
memperbanyak doa:
اللَّهُمَّ طَهِّرْنِي بِالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ وَالْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ ،
اللَّهُمَّ طَهِّرْ قَلْبِي مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا طَهَّرْتَ الثَّوْبَ
الأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ ، وَبَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ ذُنُوبِي كَمَا
بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ
مِنْ قَلْبٍ لاَ يَخْشَعُ ، وَنَفْسٍ لاَ تَشْبَعُ ، وَدُعَاءٍ لاَ يُسْمَعُ ،
وَعِلْمٍ لاَ يَنْفَعُ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ
هُؤُلاَءِ الأَرْبَعِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِيشَةً نَقِيَّةً
وَمَيْتَةً سَوِيَّةً وَمَرَدًّا غَيْرَ مُخْزٍى.
Mudah-mudahan bermanfaat.
Disusun Muhammad Niam (?)
Source: milis IMAS
To: Me & my family
Monday, September 1, 2008
Buat Apa Sholat ?
Anak : Pa, solat itu buat apa sih?
Ortu ; (menghardik) Udah, lu jangan tanya-tanya macem-macem.. kapir lu
nanti!
Anak : (terdiam)
Belasan tahun kemudian, si anak bertemu lagi dengan saya (Fani) Mana saya tahu
kalau dia dulu tunya-tanya kayak gitu kan? Biar gampang, kita sebut aja dia Boni
(cowok loh)
Saya : Woy, jumatan atuh.. orang-orang udah pada ngabur!
Boni : Hoream ah.... keur naon solat? (males ah, buat apa sholat?)
Saya : (untung ajah, dulu kenyang di plonco adik PAS) Dasar.. Ari kamu
sholat buat apa?
Boni : Saya mah, sholat kalo butuh dong. Nggak solat kalo aku nggak merasa
butuh. Solat itu harus merupakan kebutuhan, bukan kewajiban dong. Tuhan nggak
butuh solat kita, yang butuh itu kita! Sekarang gua lagi nggak butuh solat, jadi
buat apa gua solat. PEUN.
Saya : Itu betul, memang kita harus punya sense 'butuh' terhadap sholat.
Tapi, menurut gua, kita tetep 'wajib' sholat, meskipun kita sedang tidak
'butuh'.
Boni : Buat apa? Menurut gua, disitulah letak nggak gunanya solat.
Lebih cuih lagi, kalo orang solat buat ngejar 'gelar', gua paling nggak suka!
Saya : Maksud loe?
Boni : Ya itu, jenis-jenis manusia yang solatnya buat pamer, kalo dia itu
paling soleh!! Menurut gua sih, kalo die solat seribu rokaat juge, kalo abis
solat die korup, die membunuh, die menjelekkan orang, menggunjing, tetep aje die
tu, lebih buruk, dibanding orang nyang gak solat tapi berbuat baik sama orang
lain!
Saya : Lu bener di satu sisi..Orang yang menzalimi orang lain, meski solat,
tetep lebih buruk dibanding yang gak solat tapi berbuat baik
Boni : Tuu, bener kan gue!
Saya : Tapi di sisi lain, lu juga salah Bon! Menurut saya nih, solat tetep
wajib!
Boni : Salah gimane? Ah paling lu mau ngeluarin ayat.
Saya : Ok, kita pake akal aja. Nah, sekarang saya mau nanya neh. Gaji lu
berapa Bon?
Boni : Rahasia dong.. yah oke deh, sekitar 3-an lah
Saya : Lu kerja berapa jam sehari tuh, buat 3-an itu? 8 jam sehari ada nggak?
Boni : Ya iya lah.. lebih kali
Saya : Selain itu, saya yakin kalo lu dapet segitu, karena skill dan gelar lu
kan? Gak cuma karena kerjaan lu. Yang jelas, pengorbanan lu untuk dapet gaji
segitu, lebih banyak dari sekedar kerja 8 jam sehari. Bener gak?
Boni : Bener banget! Tapi segitu juga udah untung. Gua suka dapet bonus, jadi
gua yah, berterimakasih banget dah, sama Boss gua. Dia care banget sih sama
kita.
Saya : Nah, Bon, ngomong-ngomong lu pernah denger ada jual beli ginjal gak
buat transplantasi?
Boni : Oh iya dong, gile, satu ginjal ada satu milyar kali! Gua sih nggak
bakal jual. Gila aja kali! Ntar gua pake apa dong?
Saya : Nah lu dikasih semilyar, kok gak mau berterimakasih sama sekali?
Boni : Bentar-bentar gua nggak ngerti neh.. dikasih semilyar gimana?
Saya : Tuh, mata loe... harganya berapa? Ok, ginjal satu milyar kan? Oh ya,
belon ntu tuh, kuping, mulut, muka... hm, loba euy (banyak euy), semua jatuhnya
berapa ya? Trilyunan tuh.
Tapi semuanya dikasih gratis...
Boni : ........
Saya : Bon, Sekali lagi neh, menurut aku, sholat tetep wajib, karna, itu
salah satu cara kita untuk berterimakasih sama Yang ngasih badan kita, rejeki
kita, keberuntungan kita, yah, segalanya yang udah Dia kasih dah.
Kita rela bekerja 8 jam sehari untuk mendapatkan 3 juta rupiah. Kita sangat
berterimakasih sama orang yang ngasih kita tambahan bonus sekedar
seratus-duaratus ribu, tapi kita kadang lupa berterimakasih sama 'seseorang'
yang ngasih kita mata, mulut, tangan, kaki, ginjal, yang harganya jauh lebih
mahal kalo kita jual. Well, bahkan bisa dibilang tak ternilai harganya. CUma
orang kepepet berat atau orang bodoh yang mau jual badan dia sendiri.
Memang idealnya, orang solat tuh terhindar dari perbuatan buruk. Toh solat kan
aslinya mencegah perbuatan buruk, dan membuat kita terbiasa melakukan perbuatan
baik. Tapi itu kalau dia menghayati makna sholat sebagai sarana mengingat Tuhan,
bukan sekedar menggugurkan kewajiban (seperti saya hehehe).
Di situasi ideal ini, selepas sholat, orang jadi mengingat kembali, betapa
banyak yang Tuhan berikan dan lakukan demi kebaikan kita. Coba aja telaah arti
bacaan shalat dan arti gerakan solat. So pasti lu temukan deh, banyak bacaan
solat maknanya kearah ini.
Karena dia ngeh bahwa Tuhan selalu melihat, dan telah banyak berbuat buat dia,
dia bakal berfikir 1000 kali buat berbuat hal yang nggak Tuhan sukai.
yah kalo solatnya sekedar nyari gelar seperti yg lu bilang sih, memang gak bakal
ada manfaatnya.
Tapi lu cerdas Bon, lu juga SQ-nya tinggi, makanya lu nggak mau solat sekedar
menggugurkan kewajiban. Karena itu, lu pasti ngerti bahwa solat tetep wajib,
meski kita lagi nggak butuh solat. Kita wajib solat, untuk berterimakasih sama
yang telah ngasih kita segalanya.
Boni : Seandainya dulu bapa gua ngejawab kayak gitu, gua mungkin gak bakal
terlalu anti solat ya...
Saya :????
Boni : Sudahlah, gak usah dibahas... Tapi thanks ya.. gua jadi ngerti neh.
yah, alhamdulilah, berkat dialog yang kacrut ini (aslinya jauh lebih ngalor
ngidul dan panjang), Boni sekarang rajin shalat, dan berusaha menghayati
solatnya.
To: Me & my dear children
Source: IMAS
Ortu ; (menghardik) Udah, lu jangan tanya-tanya macem-macem.. kapir lu
nanti!
Anak : (terdiam)
Belasan tahun kemudian, si anak bertemu lagi dengan saya (Fani) Mana saya tahu
kalau dia dulu tunya-tanya kayak gitu kan? Biar gampang, kita sebut aja dia Boni
(cowok loh)
Saya : Woy, jumatan atuh.. orang-orang udah pada ngabur!
Boni : Hoream ah.... keur naon solat? (males ah, buat apa sholat?)
Saya : (untung ajah, dulu kenyang di plonco adik PAS) Dasar.. Ari kamu
sholat buat apa?
Boni : Saya mah, sholat kalo butuh dong. Nggak solat kalo aku nggak merasa
butuh. Solat itu harus merupakan kebutuhan, bukan kewajiban dong. Tuhan nggak
butuh solat kita, yang butuh itu kita! Sekarang gua lagi nggak butuh solat, jadi
buat apa gua solat. PEUN.
Saya : Itu betul, memang kita harus punya sense 'butuh' terhadap sholat.
Tapi, menurut gua, kita tetep 'wajib' sholat, meskipun kita sedang tidak
'butuh'.
Boni : Buat apa? Menurut gua, disitulah letak nggak gunanya solat.
Lebih cuih lagi, kalo orang solat buat ngejar 'gelar', gua paling nggak suka!
Saya : Maksud loe?
Boni : Ya itu, jenis-jenis manusia yang solatnya buat pamer, kalo dia itu
paling soleh!! Menurut gua sih, kalo die solat seribu rokaat juge, kalo abis
solat die korup, die membunuh, die menjelekkan orang, menggunjing, tetep aje die
tu, lebih buruk, dibanding orang nyang gak solat tapi berbuat baik sama orang
lain!
Saya : Lu bener di satu sisi..Orang yang menzalimi orang lain, meski solat,
tetep lebih buruk dibanding yang gak solat tapi berbuat baik
Boni : Tuu, bener kan gue!
Saya : Tapi di sisi lain, lu juga salah Bon! Menurut saya nih, solat tetep
wajib!
Boni : Salah gimane? Ah paling lu mau ngeluarin ayat.
Saya : Ok, kita pake akal aja. Nah, sekarang saya mau nanya neh. Gaji lu
berapa Bon?
Boni : Rahasia dong.. yah oke deh, sekitar 3-an lah
Saya : Lu kerja berapa jam sehari tuh, buat 3-an itu? 8 jam sehari ada nggak?
Boni : Ya iya lah.. lebih kali
Saya : Selain itu, saya yakin kalo lu dapet segitu, karena skill dan gelar lu
kan? Gak cuma karena kerjaan lu. Yang jelas, pengorbanan lu untuk dapet gaji
segitu, lebih banyak dari sekedar kerja 8 jam sehari. Bener gak?
Boni : Bener banget! Tapi segitu juga udah untung. Gua suka dapet bonus, jadi
gua yah, berterimakasih banget dah, sama Boss gua. Dia care banget sih sama
kita.
Saya : Nah, Bon, ngomong-ngomong lu pernah denger ada jual beli ginjal gak
buat transplantasi?
Boni : Oh iya dong, gile, satu ginjal ada satu milyar kali! Gua sih nggak
bakal jual. Gila aja kali! Ntar gua pake apa dong?
Saya : Nah lu dikasih semilyar, kok gak mau berterimakasih sama sekali?
Boni : Bentar-bentar gua nggak ngerti neh.. dikasih semilyar gimana?
Saya : Tuh, mata loe... harganya berapa? Ok, ginjal satu milyar kan? Oh ya,
belon ntu tuh, kuping, mulut, muka... hm, loba euy (banyak euy), semua jatuhnya
berapa ya? Trilyunan tuh.
Tapi semuanya dikasih gratis...
Boni : ........
Saya : Bon, Sekali lagi neh, menurut aku, sholat tetep wajib, karna, itu
salah satu cara kita untuk berterimakasih sama Yang ngasih badan kita, rejeki
kita, keberuntungan kita, yah, segalanya yang udah Dia kasih dah.
Kita rela bekerja 8 jam sehari untuk mendapatkan 3 juta rupiah. Kita sangat
berterimakasih sama orang yang ngasih kita tambahan bonus sekedar
seratus-duaratus ribu, tapi kita kadang lupa berterimakasih sama 'seseorang'
yang ngasih kita mata, mulut, tangan, kaki, ginjal, yang harganya jauh lebih
mahal kalo kita jual. Well, bahkan bisa dibilang tak ternilai harganya. CUma
orang kepepet berat atau orang bodoh yang mau jual badan dia sendiri.
Memang idealnya, orang solat tuh terhindar dari perbuatan buruk. Toh solat kan
aslinya mencegah perbuatan buruk, dan membuat kita terbiasa melakukan perbuatan
baik. Tapi itu kalau dia menghayati makna sholat sebagai sarana mengingat Tuhan,
bukan sekedar menggugurkan kewajiban (seperti saya hehehe).
Di situasi ideal ini, selepas sholat, orang jadi mengingat kembali, betapa
banyak yang Tuhan berikan dan lakukan demi kebaikan kita. Coba aja telaah arti
bacaan shalat dan arti gerakan solat. So pasti lu temukan deh, banyak bacaan
solat maknanya kearah ini.
Karena dia ngeh bahwa Tuhan selalu melihat, dan telah banyak berbuat buat dia,
dia bakal berfikir 1000 kali buat berbuat hal yang nggak Tuhan sukai.
yah kalo solatnya sekedar nyari gelar seperti yg lu bilang sih, memang gak bakal
ada manfaatnya.
Tapi lu cerdas Bon, lu juga SQ-nya tinggi, makanya lu nggak mau solat sekedar
menggugurkan kewajiban. Karena itu, lu pasti ngerti bahwa solat tetep wajib,
meski kita lagi nggak butuh solat. Kita wajib solat, untuk berterimakasih sama
yang telah ngasih kita segalanya.
Boni : Seandainya dulu bapa gua ngejawab kayak gitu, gua mungkin gak bakal
terlalu anti solat ya...
Saya :????
Boni : Sudahlah, gak usah dibahas... Tapi thanks ya.. gua jadi ngerti neh.
yah, alhamdulilah, berkat dialog yang kacrut ini (aslinya jauh lebih ngalor
ngidul dan panjang), Boni sekarang rajin shalat, dan berusaha menghayati
solatnya.
To: Me & my dear children
Source: IMAS
Jangan Pernah Berhenti Mencari Jawaban
Jangan pernah berhenti mencari jawaban tentang sesuatu yang kita nggak ngerti tentang Tuhan atau agama.
Banyak orang kecewa terhadap agama (apapun), kemudian jadi atheis, atau punya sekte sendiri, cuma karena pertanyaan
dia tidak terjawab.
Bertanyalah pada ulama, bila belum puas, cari ulama lain, bila nggak puas juga, layangkan email ke ulama di luar negeri. Atau berdiskusilah dengan banyak teman-teman. Jangan puas dengan hanya satu jawaban. Jadilah pencari Tuhan yang sebenar-benarnya.
Bukan pencari Kebenaran Hakiki namanya, kalo cuma ngaku-ngaku aja. jangan ngaku pencari kebenaran, kalo tak pernah mencari.
Nah ini situs bagus buat teman-teman yg pengen bertanya neh :
www.makaremshirazi.org .
Jangan kaget, bahkan ada yang bertanya 'kalau
segalanya itu ada pencipta, maka siapa pencipta Tuhan?'
To: Me & My family
Source: milist
Banyak orang kecewa terhadap agama (apapun), kemudian jadi atheis, atau punya sekte sendiri, cuma karena pertanyaan
dia tidak terjawab.
Bertanyalah pada ulama, bila belum puas, cari ulama lain, bila nggak puas juga, layangkan email ke ulama di luar negeri. Atau berdiskusilah dengan banyak teman-teman. Jangan puas dengan hanya satu jawaban. Jadilah pencari Tuhan yang sebenar-benarnya.
Bukan pencari Kebenaran Hakiki namanya, kalo cuma ngaku-ngaku aja. jangan ngaku pencari kebenaran, kalo tak pernah mencari.
Nah ini situs bagus buat teman-teman yg pengen bertanya neh :
www.makaremshirazi.org .
Jangan kaget, bahkan ada yang bertanya 'kalau
segalanya itu ada pencipta, maka siapa pencipta Tuhan?'
To: Me & My family
Source: milist
Mampukah Kita Mencintai Istri Kita Tanpa Syarat ?
Ini cerita Nyata, beliau adalah Bp. Eko Pratomo, Direktur Fortis Asset
Management yg sangat terkenal di kalangan Pasar Modal dan Investment,
beliau juga sangat sukses dlm memajukan industri Reksadana di Indonesia .
Dilihat dari usianya beliau sudah tidak muda lagi, usia yg sudah senja bahkan
sudah mendekati malam,Pak Suyatno 58 tahun kesehariannya diisi dengan merawat
istrinya yang sakit istrinya juga sudah tua. mereka menikah sudah
lebih 32 tahun.
Mereka dikarunia 4 orang anak disinilah awal cobaan menerpa,setelah istrinya
melahirkan anak ke empat tiba2 kakinya lumpuh dan tidak bisa digerakkan itu
terjadi selama 2 tahun, menginjak tahun ke tiga seluruh tubuhnya menjadi lemah
bahkan terasa tidak bertulang lidahnyapun sudah tidak bisa digerakkan lagi.
Setiap hari pak suyatno memandikan, membersihkan kotoran, menyuapi, dan
mengangkat istrinya keatas tempat tidur. Sebelum berangkat kerja dia letakkan
istrinya didepan TV supaya istrinya tidak merasa kesepian.
Walau istrinya tidak dapat bicara tapi dia selalu melihat istrinya tersenyum,
untunglah tempat usaha pak suyatno tidak begitu jauh dari rumahnya sehingga
siang hari dia pulang untuk menyuapi istrinya makan siang. sorenya dia pulang
memandikan istrinya, mengganti pakaian dan selepas maghrib dia temani istrinya
nonton televisi sambil menceritakan apa2 saja yg dia alami seharian.
Walaupun istrinya hanya bisa memandang tapi tidak bisa menanggapi, Pak
Suyatno sudah cukup senang bahkan dia selalu menggoda istrinya setiap berangkat
tidur.
Rutinitas ini dilakukan Pak Suyatno lebih kurang 25 tahun, dengan sabar dia
merawat istrinya bahkan sambil membesarkan ke empat buah hati mereka,
sekarang anak2 mereka sudah dewasa tinggal si bungsu yg masih kuliah.
Pada suatu hari ke empat anak suyatno berkumpul dirumah orang tua mereka
sambil menjenguk ibunya. Karena setelah anak mereka menikah sudah tinggal
dengan keluarga masing2 dan Pak Suyatno memutuskan ibu mereka dia yg
merawat, yang dia inginkan hanya satu semua anaknya berhasil.
Dengan kalimat yg cukup hati2 anak yg sulung berkata " Pak kami ingin sekali
merawat ibu semenjak kami kecil melihat bapak merawat ibu tidak ada sedikitpun
keluhan keluar dari bibir bapak....... ...
bahkan bapak tidak ijinkan kami menjaga ibu" . dengan air mata berlinang anak
itu melanjutkan kata2nya "sudah yg keempat kalinya kami mengijinkan bapak
menikah lagi, kami rasa ibupun akan mengijinkannya, kapan bapak menikmati masa
tua bapak dengan berkorban seperti ini kami sudah tidak tega melihat bapak, kami
janji kami akan merawat ibu sebaik-baik secara bergantian".
Pak Suyatno menjawab hal yg sama sekali tidak diduga anak2 mereka."
Anak2ku ......... Jikalau perkawinan & hidup didunia ini hanya untuk nafsu,
mungkin bapak akan menikah..... .tapi ketahuilah dengan adanya ibu kalian
disampingku itu sudah lebih dari cukup, dia telah melahirkan kalian.. sejenak
kerongkongannya tersekat,... kalian yg selalu kurindukan hadir didunia ini
dengan penuh cinta yg tidak satupun dapat menghargai dengan apapun. coba kalian
tanya ibumu apakah dia menginginkan keadaanya seperti Ini.
Kalian menginginkan bapak bahagia, apakah bathin bapak bisa bahagia meninggalkan
ibumu dengan keadaanya sekarang, kalian menginginkan bapak yg masih diberi Tuhan
kesehatan dirawat oleh orang lain, bagaimana dengan
ibumu yg masih sakit."
Sejenak meledaklah tangis anak2 pak suyatno merekapun melihat butiran2
kecil jatuh dipelupuk mata ibu Suyatno.. dengan pilu ditatapnya mata suami yg
sangat dicintainya itu.. Sampailah akhirnya Pak Suyatno diundang oleh salah
satu stasiun TV swasta untuk menjadi nara sumber dan merekapun mengajukan
pertanyaan kepada Suyatno kenapa mampu bertahan selama 25 tahun merawat Istrinya
yg sudah tidak bisa apa2.. disaat itulah meledak tangis beliau dengan tamu yg
hadir di studio kebanyakan kaum perempuanpun tidak sanggup menahan haru
disitulah Pak Suyatno bercerita.
"Jika manusia didunia ini mengagungkan sebuah cinta dalam perkawinannya,
tetapi tidak mau memberi ( memberi waktu, tenaga, pikiran, perhatian )
adalah kesia-siaan. Saya memilih istri saya menjadi pendamping hidup saya,
dan sewaktu dia sehat diapun dengan sabar merawat saya mencintai saya dengan
hati dan bathinnya bukan dengan mata, dan dia memberi saya 4 orang anak yg
lucu2..
Sekarang dia sakit karena berkorban untuk cinta kita bersama..dan itu merupakan
ujian bagi saya, apakah saya dapat memegang komitmen untuk mencintainya apa
adanya. sehatpun belum tentu saya mencari penggantinya
apalagi dia sakit,,,"
To: My beloved wife, I Love U!
Source: many milists
Management yg sangat terkenal di kalangan Pasar Modal dan Investment,
beliau juga sangat sukses dlm memajukan industri Reksadana di Indonesia .
Dilihat dari usianya beliau sudah tidak muda lagi, usia yg sudah senja bahkan
sudah mendekati malam,Pak Suyatno 58 tahun kesehariannya diisi dengan merawat
istrinya yang sakit istrinya juga sudah tua. mereka menikah sudah
lebih 32 tahun.
Mereka dikarunia 4 orang anak disinilah awal cobaan menerpa,setelah istrinya
melahirkan anak ke empat tiba2 kakinya lumpuh dan tidak bisa digerakkan itu
terjadi selama 2 tahun, menginjak tahun ke tiga seluruh tubuhnya menjadi lemah
bahkan terasa tidak bertulang lidahnyapun sudah tidak bisa digerakkan lagi.
Setiap hari pak suyatno memandikan, membersihkan kotoran, menyuapi, dan
mengangkat istrinya keatas tempat tidur. Sebelum berangkat kerja dia letakkan
istrinya didepan TV supaya istrinya tidak merasa kesepian.
Walau istrinya tidak dapat bicara tapi dia selalu melihat istrinya tersenyum,
untunglah tempat usaha pak suyatno tidak begitu jauh dari rumahnya sehingga
siang hari dia pulang untuk menyuapi istrinya makan siang. sorenya dia pulang
memandikan istrinya, mengganti pakaian dan selepas maghrib dia temani istrinya
nonton televisi sambil menceritakan apa2 saja yg dia alami seharian.
Walaupun istrinya hanya bisa memandang tapi tidak bisa menanggapi, Pak
Suyatno sudah cukup senang bahkan dia selalu menggoda istrinya setiap berangkat
tidur.
Rutinitas ini dilakukan Pak Suyatno lebih kurang 25 tahun, dengan sabar dia
merawat istrinya bahkan sambil membesarkan ke empat buah hati mereka,
sekarang anak2 mereka sudah dewasa tinggal si bungsu yg masih kuliah.
Pada suatu hari ke empat anak suyatno berkumpul dirumah orang tua mereka
sambil menjenguk ibunya. Karena setelah anak mereka menikah sudah tinggal
dengan keluarga masing2 dan Pak Suyatno memutuskan ibu mereka dia yg
merawat, yang dia inginkan hanya satu semua anaknya berhasil.
Dengan kalimat yg cukup hati2 anak yg sulung berkata " Pak kami ingin sekali
merawat ibu semenjak kami kecil melihat bapak merawat ibu tidak ada sedikitpun
keluhan keluar dari bibir bapak....... ...
bahkan bapak tidak ijinkan kami menjaga ibu" . dengan air mata berlinang anak
itu melanjutkan kata2nya "sudah yg keempat kalinya kami mengijinkan bapak
menikah lagi, kami rasa ibupun akan mengijinkannya, kapan bapak menikmati masa
tua bapak dengan berkorban seperti ini kami sudah tidak tega melihat bapak, kami
janji kami akan merawat ibu sebaik-baik secara bergantian".
Pak Suyatno menjawab hal yg sama sekali tidak diduga anak2 mereka."
Anak2ku ......... Jikalau perkawinan & hidup didunia ini hanya untuk nafsu,
mungkin bapak akan menikah..... .tapi ketahuilah dengan adanya ibu kalian
disampingku itu sudah lebih dari cukup, dia telah melahirkan kalian.. sejenak
kerongkongannya tersekat,... kalian yg selalu kurindukan hadir didunia ini
dengan penuh cinta yg tidak satupun dapat menghargai dengan apapun. coba kalian
tanya ibumu apakah dia menginginkan keadaanya seperti Ini.
Kalian menginginkan bapak bahagia, apakah bathin bapak bisa bahagia meninggalkan
ibumu dengan keadaanya sekarang, kalian menginginkan bapak yg masih diberi Tuhan
kesehatan dirawat oleh orang lain, bagaimana dengan
ibumu yg masih sakit."
Sejenak meledaklah tangis anak2 pak suyatno merekapun melihat butiran2
kecil jatuh dipelupuk mata ibu Suyatno.. dengan pilu ditatapnya mata suami yg
sangat dicintainya itu.. Sampailah akhirnya Pak Suyatno diundang oleh salah
satu stasiun TV swasta untuk menjadi nara sumber dan merekapun mengajukan
pertanyaan kepada Suyatno kenapa mampu bertahan selama 25 tahun merawat Istrinya
yg sudah tidak bisa apa2.. disaat itulah meledak tangis beliau dengan tamu yg
hadir di studio kebanyakan kaum perempuanpun tidak sanggup menahan haru
disitulah Pak Suyatno bercerita.
"Jika manusia didunia ini mengagungkan sebuah cinta dalam perkawinannya,
tetapi tidak mau memberi ( memberi waktu, tenaga, pikiran, perhatian )
adalah kesia-siaan. Saya memilih istri saya menjadi pendamping hidup saya,
dan sewaktu dia sehat diapun dengan sabar merawat saya mencintai saya dengan
hati dan bathinnya bukan dengan mata, dan dia memberi saya 4 orang anak yg
lucu2..
Sekarang dia sakit karena berkorban untuk cinta kita bersama..dan itu merupakan
ujian bagi saya, apakah saya dapat memegang komitmen untuk mencintainya apa
adanya. sehatpun belum tentu saya mencari penggantinya
apalagi dia sakit,,,"
To: My beloved wife, I Love U!
Source: many milists
Freeware to Memorize The Holy Quran
Indeed all praises and thanks belong to Allah, The Most Merciful.
I would like to share a superb Freeware (free software) to help you memorize the Glorious Qur'an efficiently Insh-Allah. The name of the
Software is "Juz30".
It can be downloaded from http://www.imaanstar.com/juz30.php.
It is quite user friendly and has several useful features to aid you memorize verses of the Glorious
Qur'an by listening to recitation by reknown *Qari Mahmood Khaleel Al-Husaree*.
I am personally using this excellent software and found it very helpful. Even my 9-year old son has started using it and found it useful for memorizing Qur'anic Verses.
I would also like to suggest two youtube video clips on "How to Memorize the Qur'an"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqpWZ-GUGhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zf86U-RHRQ
May Allah, The Most High, enable us to recite, memorize, ponder and sincerely implement the versese of the Glorirous Qur'an for His pleasure.
Ameen.
Source:
Teddy Surya Gunawan - tsgunawan@yahoo.com to IMAS
I would like to share a superb Freeware (free software) to help you memorize the Glorious Qur'an efficiently Insh-Allah. The name of the
Software is "Juz30".
It can be downloaded from http://www.imaanstar.com/juz30.php.
It is quite user friendly and has several useful features to aid you memorize verses of the Glorious
Qur'an by listening to recitation by reknown *Qari Mahmood Khaleel Al-Husaree*.
I am personally using this excellent software and found it very helpful. Even my 9-year old son has started using it and found it useful for memorizing Qur'anic Verses.
I would also like to suggest two youtube video clips on "How to Memorize the Qur'an"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqpWZ-GUGhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zf86U-RHRQ
May Allah, The Most High, enable us to recite, memorize, ponder and sincerely implement the versese of the Glorirous Qur'an for His pleasure.
Ameen.
Source:
Teddy Surya Gunawan - tsgunawan@yahoo.com to IMAS
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