Cerita pasal kawan…(About friends)

A few weeks ago, I met an old friend. It has been sometime since we last met so we took the opportunity to talk and have some sort of catching up session. One of the remarks that he made was that I am pretty much the same person as I was years ago.

In some way, being the same person is good in that we probably are people of character, one that is not easily influenced by the changes that happen around us. Depend on how we look at it. To not change can mean that we have not improved, static, jumud or even resistant to change.

“Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu kaumsehingga mereka mengubah apa yang ada dalam dirimereka” (Ar-Rad: 11)

Improving oneself to be a better person should be a continuous effort. Learning is a lifetime affair which is not limited to what we formally learn at school or university.That is the beauty of Islam. That every Muslim has the responsibility to always improve his/herself - celakalah golongan yang harinya sama dengan hari semalam.

One thing for sure is that nobody's perfect. Even more comforting is that Islam never expects its followers to be perfect.While change for the better is what Islam ask for, change must occur in ways that do not go against human nature or fitrah. We do not expect someone who has lived his way for his entire life to change overnight.

Obviously, change may not come easy. Some changes may occur over a short period of time whereas the other may occur after hundred of years – eg. in cases like a change of the world superpower.

As for my old friend, he has changed in some (good) ways...we have differing opinions and views about certain things, but Insyaallah, we will continue to be friend. For as Muslim, I must continue to remind myself that I must love my fellow Muslims and try my best to love them like I do for myself.

(Written on 29th May 2001)