Dinner At Auntie Aini's Garden Cafe

Last night Mimi hosted dinner...again. This time it was at Auntie Aini's Garden Cafe in Nilai; a place introduced to her by a client and serves wonderfully authentic Negeri Sembilan malay cuisine. 

I shall not go into detail of the location or how difficult it can be to locate the place at night nor its description; there are enough articles on the internet including GPS coordinates (here, here, here, here, here and many more). It was Mimi's second visit and she being also from Negeri Sembilan I trust her taste buds when she waxed lyrical about her first culinary experience there. As for me, I was more interested in the various masak lemak cili padi.

We arrived late as usual but Mimi had already pre-ordered the food and we were ushered to a table that could accommodate the 6 of us. Nothing to complain about the service.

The main courses that Mimi ordered (shown here in portions for 3): 

(L-R) Pucuk paku masak kerang, sambal kupang, ayam kampung goreng, kangkung belacan, and signature dishes, daging salai masak lemak cili padi, telur itek masak lemak cili padi and the udang galah masak lemak tempoyak. There were of course many other dishes on the menu and the must try later would be the asam pedas and rendang offerings.  

How do I rate the food that we had? The masak lemak cili api dishes were of course exquisite with the rich santan flavor cut with the sourness of belimbing and probably asam keping. I think they reduced the hotness for us with less cili api. The poached telur itek would have been better underdone with the yoke still able to ooze out. Tempoyak aficionados would call me an idiot (I am not a tempoyak fan) for having just tried a bit of the udang galah masak lemak tempoyak for taste. The gulai daging salai to me was just perfect and the ayam kampung goreng was well marinated (a tinge of asam or lime sourness) and fried the way most Malaysians like; crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.  

I suspect vegetables may not be Auntie Aini's cup of tea. The kangkung belacan and pucuk paku goreng kerang although not over-fried, lacked more distinct flavor normally associated with the two dishes. Being a masak lemak place a kerabu pucuk paku with santan would have been a better choice. The kupang masak sambal was nice but rather ordinary.

However, this dessert was by no means ordinary. Homemade tapai with vanilla ice cream!

Auntie Aini? Well, she is both a personality and a character. Go meet her for yourself as Auntie Aini's Garden Cafe is a must visit destination on the Malaysian culinary map.  

To Mimi, a big thank you.

Here's a preview:

  

The Taste Of Victory

The year was 1978 and I was in Upper Six at King Edward VII School, Taiping. We had a fantastic rugby team for the first time in years and were fresh from victories in two friendlies (Bukit Mertajam High School and Sultan Abdul Hamid College) and two district games (Vocational School and St Georges Taiping). The team had scored a total of more than 200 points and not only had no team crossed our try-line, none managed to score a single point! We were formidable but we were next to play Malay College Kuala Kangsar; a team we had not beaten since the early sixties! 15 years to be exact.

Just before the game, our charismatic new coach Mr Yew Siew Seng showed up with a bottle of what looked like plain water. He said the water was air jampi from a bomoh in nearby Kampung Air Kuning and he was serious in that only the Muslim players be allowed to take a sip each. The rest of us pork-eating players were not supposed to. The team created history that day. We beat MCKK 26-12 to lift the Perak schools title officially for the first time, enroute to winning the national championship. It was our toughest game that season but needless to say, the boys played like they had raging fire in their bellies.

I found out later that the water actually came from a school tap and of course with nary any chlorine let alone incantations from a shaman!

Now you will understand Seth Godin's snippet below better.


Folk wisdom and proofiness

"Is it feed a cold, starve a fever, or the other way around, I can never remember?"

Does it matter if you get the rhyme wrong? A folk remedy that doesn't work doesn't work whether or not you say it right.

Zig Ziglar used to tell a story about a baseball team on a losing streak. On the road for a doubleheader, the team visited a town that was home to a famous faith healer. While the guys were warming up, the manager disappeared. He came back an hour later with a big handful of bats. "Guys, these bats were blessed and healed by the guru. Our problems are over."

According to the story, the team snapped out of their streak and won a bunch of games. Some people wonder, "did the faith healer really touch the bats, or was the manager making it up?" Huh? Does it matter?

Mass marketers have traditionally abhorred measurement, preferring rules of thumb, casting calls and alchohol instead. Yet, there's no real correlation between how the ad was made and how well it works.

As the number of apparently significant digits in the data available to us goes up (traffic was up .1% yesterday!) we continually seek causation, even if we're looking in the wrong places. As the amount of data we get continues to increase, we need people who can help us turn that data into information.

It's important, I think, to understand when a placebo is helpful and when it's not. We shouldn't look to politicians to tell us whether or not the world is getting warmer (and what's causing it). They're not qualified or motivated to turn the data into information. We also shouldn't look to a fortune teller on the corner to read our x-rays or our blood tests.

Proofiness is a tricky thing. Data is not information, and confusing numbers with truth can help you make some bad decisions.

Tiger E-List Gathering At "Chill Out" and At "Skewers": 30th April 2010 Subang Jaya

Highlight of the evening (well, apart from Co-Moderator, Nic Ong who was visiting from Singapore) was the Hoegaarden Beer at cost price the whole night long, thanks to Tiger Liz Tan.

Next "Tiger Tani Session" will be at "Ole Skool" Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya on the 14th of May.

Just Do It...Najib

The Preacher Man did. Is Najib doing it? Do what? Just talk and no action. Not even cakap tak serupa bikin or bikin tak serupa cakap. The Preacher Man did nothing. Period. Now Najib is talking but will he walk his talk? Last night, Najib talked the loudest he has ever done since becoming PM. I hope he is talking loud and not big. Whatever it is, if he can only listen to Nike and JUST DO IT! maybe we will support him. This was what he said...you be the judge.

As reported by the Malaysian Insider:

Najib says his head is on chopping block

By Sheridan Mahavera

SINGAPORE, April 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed tonight that he has put his political career on the line by committing to purging rent-seeking and patronage politics in Malaysia’s economy.

He said this is because those who benefit from these practices are powerful and politically connected, and he hinted that they could even exert their influence in Umno, the party of which he is president.

Najib, who has made needs-based instead of race-based affirmative action an important plank of his administration, said that his approach has put him in a “dangerous” position.

“We don’t want rent seekers and the politics of patronage in our economy. I committed to that and it is dangerous because they are politically connected.

“But we have to help the Bumiputeras who need help, the Sarawakians, the Sabahans and the Orang Asli. Not just the Malays.

“Affirmative action has to be market-based, merit-based and needs-based because we want a more equitable society,” he told the audience at the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Gala Dinner here tonight.

“Every single Malaysian who is poor and vulnerable must be helped. If you are earning less than RM1,500 a month, you must be helped and it does not matter if you are Chinese, Indian or Malay.”

The prime minister reiterated that affirmative action policies will continue under the New Economic Model, parts of which he announced last month, but they will target the needy from all communities. This is in contrast to the financial aid and preferential treatment given to Malays which was a main feature of the New Economic Policy and which was practised by previous administrations.

Fighting for and instituting Malay-beneficial aid and policies is also the main struggle for Umno and is often used by the party to cement its presence and influence in the country’s most populous community.

Najib was fairly confident that thus far Umno members and leaders understood the need for the government to re-calibrate affirmative action so that it benefited all communities.

Yet he realised that by doing so, he has made his position in Umno more vulnerable as his presidency could be challenged at the next party elections, which are scheduled in 2012.

“Last year, we amended the Umno constitution so that anyone can challenge the party president. There will be no need for quotas. I had put my career on the line when I changed the constitution but as a leader, you need to lead by example.”

Before the amendment last year, an Umno member needed to be nominated by at least 30 per cent of the party’s 200-over divisions nationwide in order to run for president.

“I could have decided not to amend the constitution and be there for a long time, even more than 22 years,” he quipped to laughter from the audience. Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed held the party presidency and was prime minister for 22 years.

Najib was also confident that his administration could “manage” the demands made by Malay supremacist group Perkasa, which has pushed for Malay-specific affirmative action and economic aid to be continued.

He also fielded queries from the audience who pressed him for details on the New Economic Model (NEM) and his administration’s foreign policy.

Reiterating that he was serious about pushing through painful but necessary measures, Najib said fuel subsidies would gradually but surely be eliminated.

This is despite the government’s decision to scrap plans for a tiered fuel subsidy scheme that was supposed to be done in May. It is understood that the plan was cancelled due to its complexity.

“The important thing (with removing subsidies) is that you must show the public where the savings from these subsidies are going. They don’t understand budget deficits but when you say we saved RM10 million and you show where and how you are going to spend it, then they will understand.”

He also said it was realistically unlikely that Malaysia and Singapore would politically re-merge but hoped that the economic ties between both countries would be strengthened.

A reunification after the 1965 separation, he felt, would be “painful” but closer economic integration made sense due to their shared history and proximity. This was being realised in the Iskandar growth corridor in southern Johor, which is supposed to be a hinterland for Singapore industries to expand.

“For example, the most recent development is that the Raffles Institution of Learning has agreed to set up a university with an initial capacity of 5,000 students.”

At the same time, outstanding issues such as the agreement to supply water to the island republic would still have to be ironed out but he was confident that his generation of leaders was committed to finding solutions.

“As for water, I was told that Singapore doesn’t need anymore of our water.”

Two Sides Of The Same Coin

De-facto law minister (by the way, why must it be that our law ministers are always de-facto?), Nazri Aziz has come out and accused Ibrahim Ali's Perkasa of being opportunists. He based this on Perkasa's objection to the NEM, Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) as being unconstitutional. Please read this Malaysian Insider article first.

Me thinks both are talking and thinking cock. How to have equal opportunity when some are always more equal than others? Both loose cannons are singing cover versions of the same song and targeting the same Bumiputra audience. Both end up with a winning hand when it comes to Bumi perception.  

It is just like Muhyiddin "I am Malay first and Malaysian second" Yassin playing off Najib "1Malaysia" Tun Razak when it comes to playing to the Malay proletariat.  

My take is that they should both cut the cackles because the only way to have a level playing field in equal opportunity is to have meritocracy driven equal opportunity for ALL Malaysians and affirmative action based on class rather than so-called race. Teach Malaysians to fish and give them equal opportunity at the fish pond. By sheer weight of numbers, our Malay brethren will catch more fish than the rest.

Hidup Bangsa Malaysia!!!

Fame 1980

Watched "Fame" the original 1980 version on DVD with JJ yesterday; rekindled some old memories it did. The song "Is It Okay If I Call You Mine" is one of my favorites:



And then there's another good one also by Paul McCrane, "Dogs In The Yard" which reminds me of our labrador, Shadow in the yard of our house.



But the song that takes the cake was definitely Irene Cara's "Out Here On My Own":

Follow Your Heart...

"Follow Your Heart" was one of Jeannie's favorite songs and when it was first released by Mario Frangoulis I remember looking for the CD in so many shops till we found it. Enjoy...




Follow Your Heart by Mario Frangoulis

Every little tear you cry
Leaves your heart so heavy
Every time you hear goodbye
You wonder will it ever end
There's nothing I can tell you

The word moves on and on
But I still believe
In love
Follow your heart
Wherever it takes you
Nobody knows
Where the wind blows
No one can say

Follow your dreams
Wherever they find you
Lost and alone
The light in the storm
Will always be with you
If you follow your heart

When the world's a little crazy
The truth's so hard to find
But I still believe in love

Follow your heart
Wherever it takes you
Nobody knows
Where the wind blows
No one can say

Follow your heart
Wherever they find you
Lovers and friends
They fade in the end
But the love that's inside you
Grows stronger inside you
Will always be with you
Follow your heart

Invictus

I watched live on TV, the dramatic 1995 Rugby World Cup final between the victorious South Africa Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks. It was a fairy tale come true for the Boks and at the time, no country needed to win the Webb Ellis trophy more than South Africa. Mind you, it was indeed a very strong field in 1995; holders Australia had not lost a match in the preceding 12 months, England and France were always a threat and the Jonah Lomu powered All Blacks was the in-form hot favorite!
I clearly remember thinking then that the Bokka story would make a great movie. This morning, 14 years later I found out Clint Eastwood's new movie "Invictus" is that movie. The film is a look at the life of Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa, during his term as president, when he campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen.

Invictus, a Latin word meaning unconquerable, undefeated, is also the title of a short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley. It is the title of the movie because of the fact that Mandela had the poem written on a scrap of paper on his prison cell while he was incarcerated.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus, the movie has it that Mandela gives the "Invictus" poem to Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar, before the start of the Rugby World Cup. In reality, however, Mandela actually provided Pienaar with an extract from Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" speech from 1910. The following is an excerpt:

"...It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat..."

...next is to watch the movie!

...And We Have Racism Issues?

I could not resist but to nick this off Antares' website, Magick River.

After more than 50 years of Merdeka we still have problems with race. The oranghutan and hound shames us!!! I edited the end of the video because it contained an anti-palm oil message that I felt was unjustified.

Justifying Bad Breath And Tears In Heaven?

Whether a person is good or bad is a relative perception, depending on who is on the receiving end. The law aside, if I were to kill you because I perceive that you are about to harm me or my family, I am "bad" in the eyes of your loved ones. However, my loved ones would likely feel I have done "good". This of course applies vice versa.

In this sense, I have always felt that self-justification can be a dangerous thing. As sentient beings our strong sense of self-preservation is "hard coded" into our genes and I think that in order to be happy we need to achieve some form of mental and emotional equilibrium whether consciously or sub-consciously.

Consequently, we are continually trying to reconcile ourselves to ourselves for our acts or omissions after having to make hard choices that may have resulted in dubious moral implications. Our sense of self-preservation dictates that the mental and/or emotional equilibrium of being able to "live with ourselves" after the fact is achieved through our inborn self-justification mechanism. We can more often than not self-justify the "bad" and the "good" that we do.

If we are somehow not able to do that then in extreme cases we pay the price with our very lives. No wonder suicides are so common and in this sense, paradoxical because our strong sense of self-preservation has told us that in order to live with ourselves we have to die! How often have we heard that so and so committed suicide because he couldn't live with himself anymore.

Look around us; if we were to distill all the man-made ills of the world into just one basic cause, I would not be surprised if it all boils down to the word, self-justification. Consider the wars that have been or are being fought, the global destruction of our environment, the social injustices in societies, the religious divides; the list is endless. Look closer to home and it becomes even clearer and ominous.

By all considerations, our country should not be struggling with itself whether socially or economically. Malaysians should be One and 1Malaysia should not have been necessary. Historically, our past colonial masters left us with adequate infrastructure, a good education system, an effective civil service, a viable resource/agriculture based economy and a Constitution in which the equitable rights of the multi-races are ensconced.

Ours is still a small population relative to the country's vast natural resources and geographical size. The potential for economic growth has not diminished yet we seem unable to achieve optimum progress because as a people, the potential of Malaysians to be a truly productive, progressive and sophisticated society is waning. We are told the British unjustly divided and ruled us in a multi-ethnic society but why are we still today divided as a people 52 years after achieving independence? We obviously have not embraced our diversity but instead are obsessed with our differences.

Many questions need answering and one of which is why are there still dire calls such as this latest by Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah to inoculate the body politic against “ethnicized politics”? Are we on our way towards being a failed nation? How did we justifiably put ourselves in this corner? Did we fall for that oldest and most common "we are only human" self-justification?

Perhaps it is "ethnicized religion" rather than "ethnicized politics" that really divides us as a people? Must we be a nation of one religion before we can be One nation? I don't think so and Najib's 1Malaysia says not too. In the Malaysia of 1Malaysia, we must ALL learn to agree to disagree; even (especially?) on religious matters.

Maybe we can learn from our Tun Mahathir, arguably Malaysia's Number One justifier (self or otherwise) who shows the way. Che Det says lots in his latest blogpost entitled "Hukum Islam". He was probably alluding to his spat with Tok Guru Nik Aziz more than a month ago about infidels and passports to heaven but he illustrated by quoting my favorite authority on Islam, the former mufti of Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri bin Zainul Abidin who wrote about justification in his own blog. Perhaps Che Det was also refering to the likes of Dr Hasan Ali and Zulkifly Nordin who would be well advised to take things in perspective. In any case please read:

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Mahathir says Nik Aziz sinful for infidel remark

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today it was sinful of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to have labelled fellow Malay Muslims as infidels because the whole world recognises Malays as Muslims.

“The whole world, I believe, recognises Malays as Muslims. This is one race which has race associated with religion. An individual is not Malay if he or she is not a Muslim,” he told reporters after launching an exhibition at the National Art Gallery, here.

Mahathir said: “If we accuse a Muslim of being an infidel, the accuser himself becomes the infidel.”

He was commenting on a recent statement by Nik Aziz, who is Kelantan mentri besar, that the Islamic teachings of Umno would not enable the party’s supporters to go to heaven.

Mahathir said Malays should strive to raise their values and capability to compete with the other people of the world instead of remaining complacent by thinking that Malays, as Hang Tuah said, would not become extinct in this world.

“Going by what Hang Tuah said, if we think that we will not become extinct, we do not have to strive at all. In the end, we will deteriorate and become the slaves of others. “If we do not strive, what type of Malay will not become extinct?” he asked. — Bernama

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HUKUM ALLAH
By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on October 2, 2009 12:12 PM

1. Apabila sesuatu dilakukan dengan nama Islam, ramai yang cepat berkata ia adalah hukum Allah yang perlu kita lakukan. Kita jarang bertanya samada sesuatu itu benar-benar hukum Allah.
2. Saya tertarik dengan rencana bekas mufti Perlis (baca disini) berkenaan dengan kononnya Islam melarang gosok gigi di bulan puasa. Kononnya mulut yang bau busuk kerana berpuasa sebenarnya harum seperti bau kasturi. Ini diulangi berkali-kali dalam televisyen.
3. Benarkah pendapat ini adalah hukum Allah?
4. Sebenarnya hukum ini tidak terdapat dalam Al-Quran. Mungkin ada hadith yang menyarankan bahawa ini adalah ajaran Islam (yang diwajibkan). Tetapi kita tahu banyak hadith yang diterima oleh sesetengah daripada orang Islam adalah lemah atau bukan hadith yang sebenarnya.
5. Sebab itu kita dapati banyak perbezaan daripada segi kepercayaan dan amalan oleh orang Islam di negara-negara Islam. Ada negara Islam di mana purdah atau hijab diwajibkan walaupun oleh perempuan yang sudah tua. Al-Quran tidak mewajibkan wanita tutup muka dan tangan. Bolehkah kita kata amalan pakaian purdah ini adalah hukum Allah?
6. Larangan bagi wanita bersekolah untuk menuntut ilmu juga tidak terdapat dalam Al-Quran atau hadith sahih.
7. Membunuh wanita kerana memalukan keluarga juga tidak ada. Tetapi di beberapa buah negara Islam dilapor berkenaan dengan wanita dibunuh oleh bapa atau abangnya kerana perbuatan tertentu. Islamkah ini? Hukum Allah kah ini?
8. Dalam melaksanakan hukum Islam, Al-Quran menyebut tentang hukuman yang setimpal. Demikian mata dibalas dengan mata, telinga dengan telinga dan seterusnya jiwa dengan jiwa. Dalam pada itu Al-Quran menyebut sesiapa yang melepaskan hak membalasnya, maka itu menjadi penebus dosanya.
9. Sesungguhnya Allah s.w.t. menyukai orang yang bertimbangrasa dalam mengena atau melaksana hukum. Yang diutamakan dalam Al-Quran ialah apabila menghukum, hukumlah dengan adil. Terdapat 43 ayat yang menyebut tentang pentingnya hukuman yang adil. Beberapa ayat lagi menegah perbuatan yang zalim.
10. Seperti yang kita semua maklum, alim ulama memahami dan membuat tafsiran berpandu kepada isi kandungan Al-Quran dan hadith dan kitab tulisan ulama silam. Oleh kerana alim ulama bukan rasul kefahaman dan tafsiran mereka tidaklah selalunya sama antara satu dengan yang lain. Demikianlah kelainan antara pendapat dan kefahaman mereka sehingga berlaku perpecahan dan permusuhan dikalangan orang Islam dan rusuhan serta bunuh-membunuh antara mereka.
11. Soalnya apakah mungkin semua alim ulama benar-benar berpegang kepada hukum Allah apabila memberi pendapat atau membuat fatwa? Jika ya, kenapakah ajaran mereka tidak sama dan begitu bertentangan antara sesama mereka?
12. Atau apakah ada diantara mereka yang secara sengaja atau tidak sengaja, telah membuat tafsiran yang salah berkenaan apa yang dikatakan hukum-hukum Allah. Kerap ternampak mereka seolah-olah tidak puas hati dengan kesederhanaan dan kelonggaran yang terdapat dalam Islam.
13. Oleh kerana ada kemungkinan salah tafsiran berlaku janganlah kita terlalu cepat berkata bahawa hukum yang ditentukan oleh alim ulama adalah hukum Allah dan dengan itu kita tidak boleh mempersoalkannya dan kita akan berdosa jika kita abaikannya.
14. Oleh itu sebelum menghukum atau menjalankan hukuman tidak bolehkah kita bertanya dahulu adilkah hukuman yang dikenakan? Dan benarkah hukuman yang dikenakan adalah hukum Allah?
15. Kita juga harus diberitahu dari mana puncanya hukuman yang dijatuhkan, sebelum kita terima hukuman berkenaan adalah hukum Allah.
16. Dan janganlah kita lupa bahawa Allah suka kepada mereka yang bertimbangrasa dan tidak keterlaluan dalam melaksanakan hukum.
17. Juga harus kita jaga kebaikan nama Islam dan tidak melakukan sesuatu yang akan mencemarkannya.
18. Kita disuruh berdakwah dan mengembangkan agama Islam. Kita sendiri berbahagia kerana menganut agama Islam disebabkan pedagang Islam dari negara Arab dan India telah menunjuk kebaikan dan keadilan dalam Islam. Jika kita melakukan sesuatu yang sebenarnya bukan dari ajaran Islam dan ini menyebabkan orang lain menjauhkan diri dari Islam, apakah kita mematuhi tugas berdakwah yang diwajibkan keatas kita semua?

Wallahua'alam.

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Islam: Antara Nas Dan Pendapat Tokoh
Disiarkan pada Sep 06, 2009 dalam kategori Politik oleh: Dr. Mohd Asri bin Zainul Abidin

Memberi pendapat yang berbeza dengan al-Quran dan al-Sunnah adalah satu kesalahan bagi seorang muslim. Namun memberikan pendapat yang berbeza dengan tokoh agama atau ulama tertentu, bukan semestinya satu kesalahan. Selagi mana pendapat atau pandangan seseorang tokoh agama itu sekadar pandangannya, maka orang lain boleh berbeza dengannya.

Jika pun dia mengemukakan nas atau dalil tertentu, tapi dalil atau nas tersebut masih boleh diberikan berbagai tafsiran yang lain, apatah lagi jika di sana ada pandangan ilmuwan lain yang berpaksikan penghujahan yang kuat, maka pandangan seorang tokoh agama bukan semestinya diterima sebagai ‘itulah kehendak Islam’.

Hal ini penting untuk difahami oleh orang awam, agar mereka dapat membezakan antara pandangan tokoh agama dan agama itu sendiri. Agama berpaksikan al-Quran dan al-Sunnah. Mana-mana pihak yang berpegang kepada al-Quran dan al-Sunnah maka itulah Islam. Namun di sana bukan sedikit juga nas-nas agama samada al-Quran atau al-Sunnah yang boleh diberikan atau terdedah kepada lebih daripada satu tafsiran atau andaian.

Mungkin juga apa yang dikatakan oleh tokoh agama sebagai pandangan agama itu, hanya satu tafsirannya sahaja, bukan nas yang jelas. Dalam perkara hukum atau selainnya yang tiada nas yang jelas, pastinya di sana akan ada lebih daripada satu pendapat, bahkan mungkin puluhan pendapat yang berbeza di kalangan sarjana. Maka, orang awam boleh memilih pendapat yang diyakininya lebih mendekati maksud nas dengan kadar yang difahaminya.

Maka sebab itu, setiap individu muslim yang mampu berfikir membaca dan meneliti, apatah lagi pada zaman teknologi ini hendaklah ketika bertanya pendapat tokoh ilmu agar meminta alasan bagi pendapat mereka. Campakkan ke dinding sikap sesetengah pihak yang cuba menjadikan agama ini eksklusif untuk diri mereka sahaja dengan membuat arahan yang ‘memandir’ otak umat Islam dengan menyatakan ‘dengar dan taat sahaja apa yang saya beritahu, sebab saya tokoh agama, awak orang biasa’. Rangkapan jahiliah yang seperti ini bukan budaya ilmu dalam Islam.

Makruh Gosok Gigi

Di bulan Ramadan ini mungkin kita terdengar pandangan ustaz yang menyatakan makruh menggosok gigi atau berkumur semasa atau selepas tergelincir matahari ketika berpuasa. Jika kita tanya mereka: ‘apakah nas dalam masalah ini?’. Sebahagian mereka mungkin menjawab: ‘dah ulama cakap macam tu, atau kitab cakap macam itu, terima sahajalah’. Ini tentulah satu jawapan yang boleh dianggap ‘pandir’ dan dangkal sekali.

Islam bukan agama taklid buta, menelan apa yang orang cakap tanpa perlu tahu dalilnya. Mungkin yang lebih berpengetahuan akan menjawab: “ada hadis Nabi s.a.w menyebut:

“Bau busuk mulut orang yang berpuasa itu lebih harum di sisi Allah daripada haruman kasturi” (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim).

Ya, memang ada tokoh-tokoh ilmuwan silam pun yang memberikan pendapat sebegini. Tetapi hadis ini jika kita lihat tidak pula menyatakan seseorang yang berpuasa tidak dibenarkan atau digalakkan menggosok gigi. Pendapat yang memakruhkan menggosok gigi –samada menggunakan ubat gigi atau tidak- hanyalah andaian atau kesimpulan yang dibuat daripada hadis ini, bukan ada nas sahih yang jelas melarang hal ini.

Hadis ini tidak pula menyatakan bahawa Allah suka supaya bau busuk itu dikekal sepanjang hari. Ada pun hadis-hadis lain yang seakan menggalakkan orang yang berpuasa mengekalkan bau kerana kering mulut orang berpuasa itu cahaya pada Hari Kiamat adalah daif atau lemah sanadnya. Ini boleh dilihat dalam ulasan al-Imam al-Mubarakfuri (meninggal 1353H) dalam Tuhfah al-Ahwazi mengenai bersugi bagi orang berpuasa.

Dalam konteks kehidupan harian, apakah patut kita membiarkan mulut kita sentiasa busuk sepanjang Bulan Ramadan sehingga mengganggu rakan sepejabat atau sekerja yang mungkin di kalangan mereka ada yang tidak faham Islam dan akan mentohmah agama ini?! Pada saya, andaian yang memakruh bersugi atau membersihkan mulut ketika berpuasa tidak boleh mengatasi galakan bersugi yang Nabi s.a.w sabda:

“Jika tidak kerana bimbangkan membebankan umatku nescaya akan aku perintahkan mereka bersugi setiap kali waktu solat” (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim).

Hadis ini tidak mengecualikan Bulan Ramadan, dan tentu sekali antara waktu solat itu adalah solat Zohor dan Asar ketika berpuasa.

Tidak Lojik

Nabi s.a.w dalam hadis menyebut ciri-ciri imam solat:

“Hendaklah yang menjadi imam bagi sesuatu kaum (jamaah) itu sesiapa yang paling baik dalam kalangan mereka bacaan kitab Allah (bacaan al-Qurannya). Jika mereka itu sama dalam bacaan, maka (pilih) yang paling mengetahui sunnah. Jika mereka itu sama, maka (pilih) yang paling awal hijrahnya. Jika mereka itu sama, maka (pilih) yang paling banyak usianya” (Riwayat Muslim).

Inilah ciri-ciri imam. Jika semua mereka masih sama, maka bererti kesemuanya yang sama itu layak. Namun sesetengah ulama seperti al-Imam Hasan bin ‘Ammar al-Syurunbulali (meninggal 1069H) menyebut dalam kitabnya Maraqiy al-Falah menambah ciri-ciri lain yang tidak disebut oleh hadis, antaranya; “yang paling cantik isterinya, yang paling banyak hartanya, yang paling besar kepalanya, juga yang paling kecil kemaluannya.”(lihat: ms 143).

Pada andaian mereka, ini membantu kusyuk. Orang yang isterinya cantik kurang ingat wanita lain, maka lebih khusyuk. Demikian yang kemaluannya kecil kurang syahwat maka lebih khusyuk. Persoalannya, adakah andaian ini benar?! Atau mungkin sebaliknya berlaku. Kemudian, siapa pula yang hendak menjadi hakim kecantikan isteri para imam ini?! Lebih daripada itu, bagaimana pula hendak mengukur kemaluan mereka?!. Andaian atau tambahan yang dibuat ini, walaupun oleh seorang ulama yang terkenal tidak dapat kita terima. Ia bukan nas al-Quran atau hadis yang terpaksa kita telan bulat-bulat.

Demikian dalam sesetengah kitab fekah Mazhab al-Syafi’i menyebut tentang bab mandi wajib dengan membuat berbagai-bagai andaian yang pelik seperti

“jika zakar terbelah dua, dimasukkan satunya ke dalam kemaluan isteri pertama, dan yang satu lagi ke dalam isteri kedua, maka wajib mandi ke atas suami, tidak wajib ke atas kedua isterinya. Jika dimasukkan satunya ke dalam kemaluan seorang isteri, sementara satu lagi ke dalam dubur isteri berkenaan, maka wajib mandi keduanya (lihat: Hawasyi al-Syarwani, 1/260).

Dalam Hasyiah al-Bajuri ditambah jika seseorang masuk (keseluruhan tubuh) ke dalam faraj perempuan, maka keduanya wajib mandi..”. Cuba bayangkan, andaian dan huraian yang sebegini agak ganjil. Mungkinkah hal-hal seperti ini berlaku? Atau, kita katakan, di samping kita menghormati sumbangan dan ketokohan ulama-ulama ini, namun perbahasan atau andaian sebegini melebihi batasan keperluan. Saya sebut hal ini kerana saya terdengar ada tokoh agama keluar dalam media menyatakan apa sahaja yang telah ulama dahulu tulis kita terima sahaja. Katanya, ‘tidak perlulah kita ‘memandai-mandai’ untuk memberikan pendapat yang berbeza dengan orang yang lebih alim daripada kita’.

Taklid yang seperti inilah yang menyebabkan ilmu umat Islam tidak berkembang. Pandangan tokoh akhirnya dianggap setaraf dengan nas al-Quran dan Sunnah. Bahkan lebih daripada itu, apabila mereka memberi pandangan yang agak ‘berlebihan’ tetap dipaksa umat menelannya. Kita menghormati tokoh, namun pendapat mereka bukan wahyu yang tidak boleh dikritik atau dibincangkan.

Biasanya, golongan agama yang cuba mengujudkan mentaliti ‘ustaz atau tok guru tak boleh dipersoalkan’hanyalah untuk menjaga status keselesaan mereka. Kita memberikan pandangan yang berbeza dengan tokoh-tokoh agama tertentu, bukan bererti kita disuruh biadap atau tidak menghormati mereka.

Memberikan pandangan dan mempersoalkan sesuatu kenyataan dengan sopan dan bertujuan mencari kebenaran adalah keperluan dunia ilmu dan sesuatu yang dituntut dalam agama. Hal ini penting untuk difahami. Bukan semua pendapat tokoh agama itu mewakili kehendak Allah dan rasulNya.

Sebagai muslim, kita berhak bertanya dan mencari yang lebih tepat sesuai dengan akal yang Allah kurniakan kepada kita. Kita hormati tokoh, tapi dalam masa yang sama kita tidak akan menggadaikan kebenaran. Kita patut bezakan antara nas Allah dan rasulNya, dengan pandangan tokoh yang mungkin betul, mungkin salah, mungkin patut disemak semula, mungkin juga melepasi batasan keperluan dan kemunasabah untuk umat.

Disebabkan tidak memahami hal inilah, umat Islam pening kepala dengan pandangan tokoh-tokoh agama hari ini yang bermacam-macam. Jika ulama itu berniaga, mungkin dipengaruhi urusan bisnes, yang politik mungkin dipengaruhi urusan politiknya. Begitulah seterusnya. Jalan keluar, kita menyemak alasan dan hujah setiap mereka dan bertanya: adakah ini daripada Allah dan rasulNya, atau tuan ‘rasa-rasa’ sahaja?!

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