The Foolish Intellect (Article Version)

I wrote an article and emailed it to some friends and relatives for their comments. Many have given me their output and I have gratefully included it all in the following draft. I plan to send it to The Star and a really good friend of mine, Aunty Azra, have managed to edit the article into a comprehensive letter to The Editor. (Maklumlah, first time nak tulis surat kat surat khabar... hehehe)

Excellent piece Aunty Azra! Couldn't have done it without your articulate wisdom!

Anyhoo, I'm posting my article here. Insya Allah if The Editor accepts my letter, i'll post the edited version later.

Introduction:

I was “inspired” to write this article as I was driving home from KLIA. It was a long drive and I began thinking about how the Devil is tied up during Ramadhan (the fasting month). Then I remembered how disturbed I was after reading The Star Newspaper report on Thursday, September 25th 2008 : Perak Umno: Act on men who admitted having illicit sex. One thought led to another and eventually I completed this article.

This article is based upon two authentic authorities according to my belief. Number one is the Quran, the Muslim’s comprehensive book of guidance and the The Star Newspaper report that I mentioned above. This report ought to be true as I also believe that our local reporters should and ought to have the integrity to report something that is ONLY true. Better to not have any report than to report a blatant lie, right?

I base my article upon two premises namely, the Quranic verse and the newspaper report of 25 September 2008 I will elucidate both premises before reconciling both premises in arriving at my conclusion.

The First Premise:

In the Quran, in surah number 7, the chapter called Al-A’raf or The Heights, from verse number 11-18, I summarize these words of God as follow.

God mentioned that He had created Adam and ordered those within the Divine presence to bow to Adam (as a form of respect). All of them bowed except for Iblis.

(Certain commentaries believed that Iblis was a creature who came form the community of the Angels before this incident and some believed that Iblis was only present together with the Angels but was not an Angel. This issue is irrelevant in this article.)

When God asked Iblis, why he had not bow, Iblis answered that it was because he (Iblis) was made of fire and Adam is only made of clay. Because of his arrogance in the Divine presence, Iblis was ordered out as no creature is allowed to show even the tiniest form of arrogance before God. Iblis however asked for respite till the Day of Judgment and such respite was granted. Thereafter, the Quran related what transpired after Iblis was being told for showing arrogance in verse 16-18:

16. He (Iblis) said: "Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way:

17. "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)."

18. ((Allah)) said: "Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee,- Hell will I fill with you all.

(Emphasis underlined in bold is author's own).


As you can see in verse 16, Iblis blamed God for throwing him out of the way. Now what I am trying show is this:

-Iblis was ordered to bow to Adam but he didn’t.
-He gave his materialistic reasoning for not doing so whilst not taking into consideration the Divine wisdom and,
-After showing arrogance before God, Iblis had the cheek to blame God for his arrogance.

Some scholars commented at this foolish intellect. In the beginning, it was Iblis who did not want to comply with God’s order because of his materialistic reasoning. Then, he blamed God for ordering him to do something which he would not do.

The Second Premise:

Now I shall discuss the newspaper report which I had cited above. According to the newspaper report, one “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer” have been reported to have made a complaint against the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) for encouraging him into fornication by providing him with a woman from China. Another individual with some priorities issues have been reported to have said, “What is important is we did not ask for the women. He supplied them to us. If people sedekah (donate), don’t you want to accept the sedekah?”

Now what I am trying to show is this:

- It is a known fact to every Muslim that adultery is a major sin.

-Muslims have been ordered to stay away from adultery. (Refer to Surah Al-Isra’ (The Night Jouney / Children Of Israel): 32 Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils)).

-It is RIDICULOUS to compare a noble act of donation with the supply of prostitutes.

The “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer” is blaming the ACA for supplying him a prostitute when the ACA should have known that he would go for a full service.

The Connection Between The Two Premises:

In premise one: Iblis blamed God for ordering him to do something which he would not do. In premise two: The “self proclaimed adulterer” blamed the ACA for supplying him with a prostitute when the ACA should have known that he would go for a full service.

My conclusion form these two premises is that Iblis and the “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer” share the same foolish intellect.

I reiterate what I have said in the first paragraph, the Devil is tied up during the fasting month. This can only mean that it was not Iblis who had whispered the idea to blame the ACA into the “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer's” ears. He came up with such reasoning on his own accord. Coincidentally, to my mind, the “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer” shares the same altitude as Iblis’ materialistic intellectual.


On A Different Note:

I pause to digress. Based on the newspaper report, I agree with Perak UMNO Youth that the Perak State Religious Department should take necessary steps to investigate both the “self proclaimed Muslim adulterer’s” admitted act of fornication and the individual who believes that there is nothing wrong if he commits a major sin as long as it was “offered” to him, just like a donation. Donation and sin certainly does not go hand in hand!



by:
Two_One

(Former Host for Hijrah Remaja 2 and a core member for the Young Muslim Project (YMP))

Blog adjourned!