"Rock the Mic" should only be left to the Rock & Rollers....

Here is an interesting article. Please read "Indonesia jails American man for blasphemy" first before embarking into a twisted journey with me, putting my head through my own asshole. You may find that this journey into my own lower bit of my intestine through my asshole would probably end up too high up resulting in you not seeing my point of view. Nevertheless, here goes.

Azan is the call to prayers. Fine. Although Muslims have moved on from riding the camels, elephants or using our two bare feet to get us from point A to point B, the calling to prayers still remain the same, well, almost. Now, instead of using the unique architectural design of the the Mosque in such a way that a Bilal's (the person who is responsible to call the azan) voice are thrown as far and away without the aid of technology, today, we have resorted to using the microphone, ironically without qualms that they are infidel made. (well, most microphones are made in either China, Japan or Germany etc).

In this aspect, the Muslims have not yet progressed to the next level of being able to tell time or have what is called time instinct. Somehow rather our own biological reminder is presumed unusable. (although funny how our minds are able to spontaneously recall, most of the time to things like the telenovela playing on TV at the same timing each day). Muslims still needed to be reminded 5 times a day when to pray. Despite the invention to alarm clock, reminder via the handphone or even a reminder call from the hotel receptionists upon request. So, okay, never mind that.

The Azan that is blasted off through the microphone 5 times a day, 365 days a year, 366 during a leap year. After all, we must stay on top of the game by beating others, such as the Hindu Temples, with their call to prayers .

So that's settled then. Azan rocks.

But wait. What about what goes on in the Mosque past the azan? The Live Telecast of the prayers from the beginning till the end. And if we're "lucky", they will throw in a Live Telecast of some Ceramah Ugama (sermon).

I live very near the mosque. Don't ask how that happened, it's a long story. Throw a stone from the mosque, and that's the site of my house. So everyday, I get a free lesson on how to conduct a prayer and that is how I discovered that the prayers today is still the same as the prayers they taught us in school during Ugama Class. And still the free lesson continued.

Then there's the ceramah Ugama. If I were to sit in my living room, frankly all I hear is, "Blah, blah, blah" in a very loud tone. I don't have a choice though. If I were to stay in the living room, I get irritated by the noise. If I go out and sit in my otherwise zen garden, I get irritated by some of the content of the teachings.

I give you an example. There was once this loud penceramah (not his fault, it's the darn microphone), said this:

"We must include the names of the descendant of Muhammad in our solat, otherwise, God will stop the ascend of the prayers halfway" and he quoted some hadith to back up his statement. I stopped dead from my hanging the washed clothes and a picture of Neo's pose (from the Matrix) came to mind.

Of coz if you have imagination as active and creative as mine, you would be able to imagine that those bullets are prayers in capsule form, well, probably in quantum bulks. And no, I did not imagine Neo anywhere as close as God. Just the act of stopping.

And all this while I thought that God listens to prayers of every suppliants...silly me..

[Yusufali 2:186] "When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way."

By golly gee !! Blistering barnacles!! I'm upset !! Apparently God listens to everyone and anyone who calls upon Him. Not fair !! I demand a Bumiputra quota from God !!! I'm bumiputra and I'm "istimewa"... somebody pass me the Keris, I feel the need to run amok...

More lame stuff inside when you click on that rabbit hole.....

So okay, lame comments aside, I want to ask my dearest readers, and you need to answer truthfully, is there a point to all that blasting of prayers and sermons ? It's not like we don't know where the Mosque is. Had we wanted to go there and listen to the sermon, we would get up and leave the hundreds of online sermon at our disposal 24-7, and get our sorry butts to the mosque. If we are not there, it simply means that we are not interested in listening to your sermons, or perhaps something pressing comes up that need our attention. Or perhaps it's the only time we have to chill out after a stressful day at work etc. You cannot force people to listen to something at the time you want them to listen to it. After all, there is no compulsion in Islam

[Yusufali 2:256] "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things."

Alas! No one dares to complain to these people responsible of running the mosques, because of the example such as above, of what happened to the daring Mat Salleh. Or even if they do, these people hardly take heed because they are so consumed with whatever it is that filled up their brains. They fail to see that maybe, just maybe, not everyone likes to hear the live telecast and are just too polite, or too scared to voice their resentment out.

I have filed a complain against them,
1. To them
2. To the Majlis Perbandaran of my area.

Here is the copy of that letter.

Assalamulaikum.

Saya ingin meminta jasa baik pihak masjid agar microphone masjid diturunkan nadanya,(tidak termasuk panggilan azan). Ini kerana, setelah azan berkumandang, pihak masjid gemar menyiarkan secara langsung, melalui microphone, samada,

1. upacara solat dari rakaat pertama hinggalah ke akhir solat

2. memberi ceramah ugama yang berkumandang kuat tetapi jika berada di dalam rumah, kami tidak dapat memahami apa yang di perkatakan dan ceramah hanya menjadi satu pencemaran bunyi. Ini juga berlaku pada pagi ahad yang shahdu, dimana itulah satu satunya pagi yang dapat kami qada' tidur yang tidak mencukupi sepanjang minggu hari bekerja.

Anak anak kami yang kurang sihat dan tidak dapat tidur malam akan terjaga hanya apabila baru dapat lena kerana dikejutkan oleh bunyi kuat dari masjid(terkecuali azan).

Ada diantara kami yang kerja shif dan fardhu kifayah mungkin akan bertukar menjadi dosa, apabila hati mencerca caci kerana tidak dapat tidur yang secukupnya, untuk bangkit semula bertugas pada masa yang singkat.

Pembacaan dengan pemahaman Al Quran adalah amat digalakkan lebih lebih lagi diwaktu subuh kerana pada masa itulah suasana tenang dan pemikiran tajam setelah otak berehat melalui tidur pada waktu malam. Ini tidak dapat dilakukan sekiranya pihak masjid menyiarkan secara langsung apa yang berlaku di dalam masjid, selepas azan, umpama siri realiti TV.

[17:78]

Dirikanlah olehmu sembahyang ketika gelincir matahari hingga waktu gelap malam, dan (dirikanlah) sembahyang subuh sesungguhnya sembahyang subuh itu adalah disaksikan (keistimewaannya)

Dalam terjemahan melayu, tidak terdapat "pembacaan quran" walaupun ianya diterjemah sedemikian ( http://www.alquran-melayu.com/17-al-israa/ ) ;

Dalam terjemahan Bahasa Inggeris dan word by word translation juga terdapat "pembacaan quran" ( http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=17&verse=78 )

[Shakir 17:78] Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed.

[Pickthal 17:78] Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed.

[Yusufali 17:78] Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony.

Mungkin itulah sebabnya Allah berfirman dalam

[17 : 110]
" Katakanlah (wahai Muhammad): “Serulah nama ” Allah” atau nama “Ar-Rahman”, yang mana sahaja kamu serukan (dari kedua-dua nama itu adalah baik belaka); kerana Allah mempunyai banyak nama-nama yang baik serta mulia”. Dan JANGANLAH ENGKAU NYARINGKAN BACAAN DOA ATAU SEMBAHYANGMU, JUGA ENGKAU PERLAHANKANNYA, dan gunakanlah sahaja satu cara yang sederhana antara itu.

DAN

[7 : 205]

" Dan sebutlah serta ingatlah akan Tuhanmu dalam hatimu, dengan merendah diri serta dengan perasaan takut (melanggar perintahnya), dan dengan tidak pula menyaringkan suara, pada waktu pagi dan petang dan janganlah engkau menjadi dari orang-orang yang lalai"



Sesungguhnya Allah maha memahami.... Saya amat berharap pihak masjid juga turut memahami masalah kami dan mengharapkan kerjasama pihak masjid menurunkan kekuatan bunyi microfon semasa solat serta ceramah ugama di jalankan.

[ 2 :256]
Tidak ada paksaan dalam ugama (Islam), kerana sesungguhnya telah nyata kebenaran (Islam) dari kesesatan (kufur). Oleh itu, sesiapa yang tidak percayakan Taghut, dan ia pula beriman kepada Allah, maka sesungguhnya ia telah berpegang kepada simpulan (tali ugama) yang teguh yang tidak akan putus. Dan (ingatlah), Allah Maha Mendengar, lagi Maha Mengetahui.

Salam.

I have yet to receive a response from them. They are probably deliberating, and going through some text books of hadiths to dig something to justify the noise they make in the name of Allah. Power is sweet, so they say. I just hope that I don't suffer the same fate as Mr Luke there (I know how he feels and I do understand the reason why he allegedly disconnected the mic... ), because, it won't be the jailing that will upset me, rather, the failure of the authorities to grasp a simple argument, should such things happen. After all, I have made my argument in peace.

Insulting Islam? I think Muslims should learn to appreciate constructive comments and not twist them in order to withold our ego. You have to agree with me, that most of the time, it is our ego that stands in a way to justice and truth.

We should be able to differentiate between "Insulting Islam", "Insulting Allah" and "Insulting the people who thinks they are right just because they have the authority mandated to them".
Although, it is alarming when this Surah came to my attention:

[Yusufali 9:31] They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One Allah: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).

Of course this surah referred to the time of Isa (Jesus), but if I did not tell you this last bit of information, does this not sound to some extent,like the Muslims? I mean, if God did not tell us to flog alcohol consumers, for example, and yet, we follow our priests in doing it anyway, how different are we from the people God had referred to in surah 9:31 ?

I think the biggest blasphemy in Islam that any Muslims can ever commit is the ignoring of God's words, which is in the form of the Quran. No other man's words should supercede that of Allah's. They can compliment the words of God, but never to supersede them.

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

[Yusufali 39:23] Allah has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful Message (Hadith ;الْحَدِيثِ ) in the form of a Book, consistent with itself, (yet) repeating (its teaching in various aspects): the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble thereat; then their skins and their hearts do soften to the celebration of Allah's praises. Such is the guidance of Allah: He guides therewith whom He pleases, but such as Allah leaves to stray, can have none to guide.

Note that the word "message" is "Hadith" in arabic. Basically, Quran IS the best HADITH...

If complaining about the noise made by the mosque when clearly it is God's words that said otherwise, then blasphemy it is, only when majority don't see it that way, then it is just too bad that we don't understand our own religion, merely inherit it.

For those who suffer the same sentiments as me regarding the noise from the mic, well, do as Malaysians do, COMPLAIN. Even God said this;

[Yusufali 8:53] "Because Allah will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things)."

C'est la vie !!

As for the people who think that blasting sermons and prayers through the microphones are part of spreading Islam (menyebarkan syiar Islam), here's something to ponder....

" There is a reason why some of us just walk out when a Heavy Metal number is played"

Think. Try it. Embrace it.....It's liberating..

Oh, by the way...post ends here, so please don't click on the rabbit hole below...
...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....