There Is No Greater Inheritance Than Adab

It has been narrated by many scholars of Islam that if parents have any inheritance, there is no greater inheritance than Adab. Al-Walid ibn Numayr said that he heard his father say ‘righteousness is (a gift) from Allah, but Adab (right conduct) is from parents". Adab plays an important role in society. The actions of members in society are considered immoral or bad if they lack manners. Indeed, having good manners and doing few good deeds are better by far than doing many good deeds and having no or little manners.

Adab is central to the teachings of Islam. Due to the great importance of Adab in everyday life, Imam Bukhari separated the discussion on Adab in a special book entitled al-Adab al-Mufrad. If one were to survey the books of Hadith, one would discover that each have chapters on Adab. The narrators of Hadith have reserved special elaboration for Adab in their books. For instance;

1. The Muwatta' of Imam Malik: The book of good behaviour
2. The Sahih of al-Bukhari: The book of manners
3. The Sahih of Muslim: The book of duties, ties of kinship and manners
4. The Sunan of Abu Dawud: The book of manners
5. The Sunan of al-Tirmidhi: The book of manners, and the book of duties and ties of kinship
6. The Sunan of Ibn Majah: A Chapter on manners

Adab can be taught. We learn by example. Therefore, it is crucial that we encourage good habits and deeds, although bad habits are perhaps the easier to acquire. Knowledge alone is insufficient to build a sound and balanced personality. What use is knowledge to us without exemplifying those mannerisms and etiquette that really define us as Muslims? A Muslim scholar mentioned that "knowledge without Adab is like fire without wood, and Adab without knowledge is like a spirit without a body". Suffice it to say that Adab is acquired naturally, it is not really taught or learnt, but is naturally developed. Children learn Adab from their parents, students from their teachers, the less experienced from the experienced. One may have knowledge but lacks ‘Adab'; and one may have Adab but lacks knowledge; however without Adab, one cannot know which knowledge is more prior. Today it is painfully obvious that material gain regardless of how it is acquired, has taken priority over virtue. The spiritual development of humanity has fallen far behind its intellectual growth. It would seem that looking back through history, our greatest search for knowledge has been for the knowledge of destruction, and our greatest discoveries are the result of an all-encompassing drive for power.

The destruction and violence of war is obvious. At the touch of a button millions of people die, whole cities are destroyed, and poisons remain to defile our earth for all generations to come. I wonder, if we were to or must struggle and fight among ourselves, could we return to a less sophisticated time when the battlefield was filled only with the screams of soldiers killing soldiers? War is only a word to much of a modern society. Removed by technology, many have never seen the pain in the eyes of a starving child chewing at his or her dead mother's breast. All these are the result of a loss of Adab.

Article courtesy of : Suzalie Bin Mohamad, IKIM Fellow.

Antara Bola dan Agama…

Sudah sekian lama blog ini tidak dikemaskini. Setelah menyepi agak sekian lama, tercoret disanubari penulis untuk meluahkan apa yang dilihat, didengar dan diteliti dengan sekelumit rasa dukacita. Sebagaimana yang sedia maklum, semalam (25.4.09), merupakan perlawanan bola sepak Liga Malaysia diantara Kelantan dan Selangor. Secara analitisnya, dapat digambarkan betapa “bersatunya” rakyat Malaysia apabila berinektrisi dengan sukan lebih-lebih lagi bola sepak. Penyatuan yang lahir dari semua penyokong setiap pasukan sudah tentu menggambarkan toleransi diantara semua pihak. Sorakan dan tepukan yang di”tempur” sudah membuktikan akan perkara tersebut. Penyatuan manusia melalui aspek kesukanan bukanlah sesuatu yang ganjil, bahkan ia sudah dibuktikan sejak zaman Rasulullah S.A.W. Namun, perspeksi penyatuan pada masa kini sudah terlalu menyimpang dari “akar” sebenar perpaduan.

Tidak perlu melangkaui sempadan untuk melihat situasi tersebut. Di Malaysia sahaja sudah cukup untuk dijadikan sebagai contoh. Penyatuan ummah bermodalkan “agama” sudah semakin pudar dalam masyarakat Melayu khasnya. Kita sanggup bersatu untuk menjadi juara, namun tidak sanggup untuk bersatu kerana Agama. Walhal, dalam Al-Quran banyak menyatakan bahawa, perpaduan agama merupakan asas kecemerlangan ummah. Islam yang diwacanakan semenjak kecil sudah cukup untuk menggambarkan personaliti seorang Muslim. Keperibadian yang luhur yang dimiliki oleh Rasul, Nabi-nabi, sahabat2 dan wali-wali semakin lama semakin terhakis dek prasangka dan “kurang bijak” dalam menilai seseorang. Perkara inilah yang merupakan musuh utama umat Islam kini. Mereka amat bijak, hebat, petah dalam berbicara, namun pada masa yang sama langsung tidak dapat menilai “harga diri" dan “nilai pengorbanan” seseorang insan. Melihat satu keburukan / kelemahan pada diri seseorang sudah menjadi “habit” dalam diri mereka.

Dari satu keburukan sudah memadai untuk mengaibkan seseorang. Semalam, saya turut mengikuti Bicara Ad-Din yang dibawa secara langsung. Dalam perbincangan yang membariskan dua orang penceramah agama itu, salah seoarang penceramah (dari JAKIM) menyentuh berkenaan “aib”. Antara kata-kata beliau adalah “jagalah aib orang lain sepertimana menjaga aib kamu”. Rumus dari perbincangan tersebut, jangan kamu mencari aib seseorang, kerana aib kamu mungkin beribu kali ganda dari aib saudara mu itu. Akhir kata, jadilah ummah yang gemilang berlandaskan lunas-lunas Islam yang sebenar, elakkan dari permusuhan dan perkelahian yang akhirnya membawa kepada keruntuhan ummah itu sendiri. Salam Ta’aruf dari penulis. “Bahastu anil hakikatul hubb”….. irkhairuddin 

Attention ! Makluman !

Assalamualaikum dan Ahlan Wasahlan

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