Question of belief

I used not to think too much of what I believe in. I guess that is quite normal, typical of any Malay of my age then.It's only a few years ago when someone taught me that, 'nafsu' can be my God, Ilah in Arabic. That was new to me. I never heard anything like that before. Not in any of Islamic lessons I learned in my 11 years at school.

" Maka pernahkah kamu melihat orang yang menjadikanhawa nafsunya sebagai tuhannya dan Allah membiarkannyasesat berdasarkan ilmuNya..." (Al-Jaatsiyah:23)

It opened my eyes. Apart from the common meaning of God that most people have, the word Ilah also means:
- the only God that deserves any worship
- one where we seek protection
- one in which we focus our love
- one that gives us 'rezeki'
- one that rules right vs wrong, laws and order thatwe should follow

(All these meanings of God/Ilah come from the Quran).

I realized that in life, there's just too many things that attract one's heart. And the danger is, when any of this things that one focused in life become themmost important, above all else, then it can also be of one's ilah - eg. a career, so dedicated one is to his work to the extent that, say, he does not pray (solatf ardhu), or drinks 'khamar'/arak just to be in the same boat with his superior.

" Dan Aku tidak menciptakan jin dan manusia melainkan supaya mereka menyembah Ku" (Ad-Dzariyat: 56)

(Written on 22nd March 2001)