Sunday, February 17, 2008

According to Muslim’s life insight, mukmins are brothers, innama al mu’minuna ikhwah fa aslikhu baina akhowaikum. Conceptually, every mukmin has a commitment to worship God; his or her prayers, his religious services, his life, and his death are dedicated to God only. Furthermore, similarity in vertical vision will make easy in organizing horizontal visions. Mukmins, in their same faith, are brothers. The most appropriate partners are those who having the same aspiration in faith. A faithful person, however, who has other interest than God will have his brotherhood in faith easily broken or weakened.

A figure who always becomes an enemy in performing various tasks of life, according to muslim’s life insight, is satan. Conceptually, satan is an enemy, aduwwun mubinm, since satan is indeed created by God as a kind of seducer, testing qualities of man. Satan can have a form of demon (jin), or man, min al jinnati wa an nas. Essence of satan is invitation to evilness. He is in man’s blood flow, always trying to find opportunities to make man go astray by using lust and syahwah as his vehicles. In angriness, arrogance, greed, and wrongdoings people do, satan always give his encouragements.

According to a hadith of Prophet Muhammad, satan often stays in markets and intersections. It may mean that evil influences are always ready to play their roles whenever there is a transaction or transition. In every transaction, man is always seduced to commit crimes like taking benefits by unfair ways. Likewise, in every transition period, whether transition of times or transition of positions, people are often seduced to take benefits from the narrow times. Satan has a very wide territory, penetrating borders of time and space. Only the power of zikir (remembering God) can expel satan, therefore, we are advised to read bismillah and ta`awudz (taawuz) ; a`udzu billahi min as syaithan ar rajim, I seek the refuge of Allah from Satan, the accursed."