Antara isi-isi syarahan beliau yang dapat saya catatkan:
- According to BBC, humans are less happy now than 50 years ago.
- Women were happier then than now
- Values such as self-esteem, security, optimism, sense of hope have been down in UK since 1950's
- These are the values that secularism can't really supply
- Humans are exposed to many kind of technological advancements
- But they are not more happy because of it : technology are just distractions and modern world is a world of distractions
- A story by Maulana Rumi - about a baby that can't stop crying, and not satisfied with every food offered
- We are all holding a crying baby in our arm, human soul that is crying out for authentic nourishment
- The soul is not satisfied with bits and pieces e.g : technology
- Zikrullah - milk the crying baby needs
- What is a moderate muslim? - If u believe in materialism and Darwinism but at the same time believe in Qur'an & Sunnah, there will be a crisis in spirituality
- Technology - are just toys and tools, we should pay no heed to them
- Intelligent muslim sense an estrangement with duniya
- Grip with akhirat - there's enough for everybody
- Grip with duniya - envy, because resources are finite
- State of joy comes from intimacy with akhirat
- History of human is cyclical
- Believers must always be in a state of optimism; pessimism -> despair -> kufur
- Certain shafts of lights are visible
- Study of quantum mechanics - future already exist (I wish I know more about this subject. Fascinating stuffs!)
- Time is no longer what it seems to be
- Reaffirm the concept of qada' and qadar
- Our view of reality now : far more dynamic, slippery
- On 'self', modern world view : self is glorious, can do extraordinary things. e.g : be yourself, challenge yourself
- But no single entity of self : consciousness -> collection of memories? (a bit lost here)
- We are not really what we thought we are, no linear continuity of thoughts
- What is self?
- There's a collapse of ethics, rise of communism, totalitarianism
- Modern world, inharmonious, paradox, focus on materialism but also try to fight for universal human rights
- Religion have more to offer now than what it did previous years ago
- Imam Ghazali, when confronted with hedonism : e.g - modern world, we must see what we can use
- But a spiritual soul must be inside in order for us to see what is usable, what is forgery (like a money changer)
- How do we get the wisdom? It is right of believers
- Someone with wisdom, firasat, intuition can know and differentiate belongingness to term of Allah's rule
- But human consciousness can be polluted with envy, ego, nafs
- Ugliest manifestation of religion comes when driven by ego, frustration, trauma, envy, rage rather than spiritual
- Example, distortion of Jihad, ends in destruction
- To be in the middle - hardest path to be
- Sirratul Mustaqim - hardest place to be
- Quality of believer is having awareness that we are just passing through
- Human's soul is not from this world, but from a divine world
- Our true home is the heaven
- We must set a boundary from free-fleeting wandererness, pray for hikmah
- People with wisdom restrain themselves
Pada sesi petangnya, Shaykh Seraj Hendricks pula memperkatakan tentang identiti Muslim, tetapi ketika ini saya sedang 'gila-gila' menahan mengantuk maka hanya beberapa perkara saja dapat saya fahami.
Usai workshop, kami berjalan ke Stesen Keretapi Kuala Lumpur, sambil menangkap gambar-gambar seperti pelancong. Kami menaiki komuter ke Subang Jaya, makan malam di Subang Parade dan pulang diambil Mama (terima kasih lagi Mama).
InsyaAllah saya akan berusaha untuk ke majlis-majlis ilmu sebegini lagi di masa akan datang. Ucapan tahniah kepada pihak penganjur yang berjaya menganjurkan program syarahan yang sangat bermanfaat.
