Little by little I try to acquire the habit of writing again. Not in this sense (but in precisely this sense), but you get what I mean. To be able to let thoughts run through freely. One doesn’t always have a friend to be listened to, and mothers are always running around doing groceries or getting back from school (but it is always a delight listening those first two words of greeting “As-sa-la-mua-lai-kum” “Helo?” ). Some things are meant to be private anyway, and F is busy working late into the night or having an escapade at some resort in Janda Baik. What is one to do except to peer into our own selves? So I begin to scribble a snippet or two in the under-utilized notebook.
Knowing that two friends have utilized (Hi, Hemingway) those books well, I am happy. Given that I acquired five of these for 200 Yen in some convenience store in Japan, I think I have a real knack for those Japanese school notebooks. To think that Kinokuniya sells each for seven ringgit is appalling (but they don’t stock it anymore, last I checked). And apparently ebay sells the exact same thing for $30. Talk about ripping off. Good things are hard to come by, so we settle with our deadbeat Typo notebook.
I have a specific pen to write with. It is the black Pilot G1 0.5pt one, first discovered during form 1, and have been using it ever since. They don’t stock soft plastic ones anymore, only the more transparent ones which can easily damage the flow of the pen (and I am in the habit of losing the caps all too often). But in times of desperation, any pen would do.
A friend gave me a pencil case for my birthday. It is one of those rough-and-hard-threaded materials with earthy colours made in Pakistan. I love it, although it is a bit heavy. I haven’t used a pencil case since the beginning of Form 4. Always thought that a pen and a calculator (with the occasional ruler) would suffice for class. Having said that, I have plenty of unused stationery in my drawer, and probably a lot more at home (12 years of schooling for five plus hotels, camps, conferences, company gifts). Too many pens, so little pages.
I was reading Freire the other day because I had nothing else (preferable) to read. It says those who are never oppressed will never feel truly oppressed, and consequently truly feel the need to fight for it. The bourgeoisie can only theorise, sympathise, but he cannot feel it because he was not put in such a position. But those who are oppressed most often do not feel himself oppressed. This might align to the black slaves in 19th century America where they felt it their duty to serve the white man. Also he writes that it is the task of the opressed to liberate themselves and their oppressors. At any rate, I find all this terribly interesting because today I was reading Said Qutb’s prologue of his tafsir of Surah Al-Anaam, talking about social justice, where he describes thus;
He (Muhammad)) could then have directed them towards the goal of liberating their lands from the colonial rule of the Byzantines to the north and the Persians to the south. He could then have been in a position to establish a strong and united Arab state throughout the Arabian Peninsula. It could be argued that had the Prophet (peace be upon him) directed his call in this way, all the Arabs would most probably have responded positively to him. In turn, this would have spared him thirteen years of tortuous opposition by those who wielded power in Arabia.
It may also be argued that when Arabia had thus responded to the Prophet’s call and recognized his leadership, and when he had led the Arabs to such national glory, he could have used all his power and standing to convince the Arabs to accept the message entrusted to him by his Lord. He could then have preached the faith based on God’s oneness. He would have made the Arabs surrender themselves to God after they had submitted to his authority. But God who knows all did not, in His wisdom, direct his Messenger to follow this route. Instead, He directed him to declare that “there is no deity other than God”, and to bear with his few Companions all the ensuing persecution.
Again why did this happen? It was not God’s purpose to subject His Messenger and the believers to oppression. But God knew that replacing Byzantine or Persian tyranny with Arab tyranny was not the right way. For all tyranny is the same. The earth belongs to God and must submit purely to God. This cannot be achieved unless the banner of no deity other than God’ is unfurled across the earth.
— With such a concept people would willingly accept whatever God rules in respect of fair distribution and mutual social solidarity. Thus, both the giver and the recipient realize that they are implementing a divine system and hope to be well rewarded for their obedience both in this life and in the life to come. Thus, such a society would be free of both greed and grudges. Things are not put into effect by strong-handed measures that strike terror into people’s hearts. People do not feel desolate, and their spirits are not broken, as is the case under systems based on principles other than that of God’s oneness.
It was then that I understood the basis behind the concept of Maratib Amal by Hassan Al Banna, popularized by these usrah people (but this is for another time, I guess).
Now I shall utilize my mind to create my thesis poster.
perkaraperkara 