Sayyid Muhammad al-Naquib bin Ali al-Attas (born September 5, 1931) is a prominent contemporary Muslim philosopher and thinker from Malaysia. He is the author of twenty-seven authoritative works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature. (Source)

The Forgetfulness of Man

By Sayyid Naquib al-Attas

“The seat of knowledge in man is a spiritual substance which is variously referred to in the Holy Qur’an sometimes as his heart (al-qalb), or his soul or self (al-nafs), or his spirit (al-ruh), or his intellect (al-’aql). In virtue of the truth that man knows God in His absolute unity as his Lord, such knowledge, and the reality of the situation that necessarily follows from it, has bound man in a covenant (al-mithaq; al-’ahd) determining his purpose and attitude and action with respect to his self in his relation to God.

This binding and determining of man to a covenant with God and to a precise nature in regard to his purpose, attitude, and action, is the binding and determining in religion (al-din) which entails true submission (al-islam). Thus knowledge and religion are natural correlates in the nature of man, that is, the original nature in which God has created him (al-fitrah). Man’s purpose is therefore to know and to serve God (‘ibadah) and his duty is obedience (ta’ah) to God, which conforms with his essential nature created for him by God.

But man is also “composed of forgetfulness (nisyan)” – as a Prophetic tradition says, and he is called insan basically precisely because, having testified to himself the truth of the covenant he sealed with God, which entails obedience of His commands and prohibitions, he forgot (nasiya) to fulfill his duty and purpose. Hence according to ibn ‘Abbas with reference to a passage in the Holy Qur’an, the term insan is derived from nasiya when he said that man is called insan because, having covenanted with God, he forgot (nasiya).

Forgetfulness is the cause of man’s disobedience, and this blameworthy nature inclines him towards injustice (zulm) and ignorance (jahl). But God has equipped him with the powers and faculties of right vision and apprehension, of real savouring of truth, of right speech and communication; and He has indicated to him the right and the wrong with respect to the course of action he should take so that he might strive to attain his bright destiny. The choice for the better (ikhtiyar) is left to him.

Moreover, God has equipped him with intelligence to know and distinguish reality from non-reality, truth from falsehood, and rectitude from error; and even though his intelligence – or rather his imaginative and estimative faculties – might confuse him, and provided he is sincere and true to his noble nature, God, out of His bounty, mercy, and grace, will aid and guide him to attain to truth and right conduct. The supreme example of this is the case of the Prophet Ibrahim, upon him be peace.

Man thus equipped and fortified is meant to be the vicegerent (khalifah) of God on earth, and as such the weighty burden of trust (amanah) is placed upon him – the trust and responsibility to rule according to God’s will and purpose and His pleasure. The trust implies responsibility to rule with justice, and the ‘rule’ means not simply ruling in the socio-political sense, nor in the controlling of nature in the scientific sense, but more fundamentally in its encompassing of the meaning of nature (al-tabi’ah), it means the ruling, governing, controlling, and maintaining of man by his self or his rational soul.”

(p 143-145 of “Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam” by Sayyid Naquib al-Attas)

Further Reading:

The Tragedy of Humanism – Sayyid Naquib al-Attas

On Good Character

The Loss of Adab and the Fall of the Muslim World – Sayyid Naquib al-Attas

Al-Attas’ Concept of Ta‘dib as True and Comprehensive Education in Islam – Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud

Applying the Prophetic Sunna to the Modern World – Interview with Sayyid Naquib Al-Attas – Lastprophet.info

The Concept of Religion by Sayyid Naquib al-Attas

• All events that take place in one’s life or around one are by default from God.
• Regardless of the nature of the occurence – positive or negative – , it is a test for our skills, attitudes and most importantly our faith.
• In case of negative occurences there is cause for additional thought particularly when we can relate the happenning to a particular chain of events involving a series of actions on our part that fall under the head of Choice (Ikhtiyar) and Strategy (Tadbeer). When the link between our intentional and strategic choices with the subsequent outcomes is logical, we are to accpet the responsibility rather than just file it away under the head of Bala bis-Sayyi’ah (Test by a negative occurence).
• In case of a positive occurence, there is a particular need to focus on the ‘blessidng’ side, no matter what the contribution of our own Choice and Strategy in it. This is in view of our essentially weak natures consistently accessible to satanic attitudes of arrogance, self-promotion, inflated self-esteem, and a foolish  superiority (which are always followed by belittling others by heart, tongue, or hand).  

 May Allah allow us to benefit from His perfect guidance.

Ada sudut pandang bahwa dengan do’a tertentu maka kita akan mendapat fadhilah atau manfaat tertentu. Atau dengan membaca do’a tertentu sebanyak yang ditentukan, maka juga akan mendapat keberkahan, dan apa yang diinginkan dapat tercapai.

Pendapat ini tidak salah, tapi sering disalahpahami. Karena, sekilas dari pendapat di atas menyatakan bahwa “cukup dengan do’a maka kemudahan dan keinginan dapat tercapai”. Padahal tidak demikian.

Bahkan lebih jauh ada yang berpendapat bahwa jika kita mau menghadapi kesulitan yang melibatkan orang lain – ujian, wawancara kerja, sidang, pengadilan misalnya – jika kita bacakan do’a tertentu, maka orang yang akan menguji atau menyidang kita itu akan kebingungan atau ada kecenderungan untuk memudahkan kita.

Memang Allah Maha Kuasa atas segala sesuatu. Tapi bukan berarti kita berdo’a tanpa mau melakukan Ikhtiyar. Karena “Allah tidak mengubah keadaan sesuatu kaum sehingga mereka mengubah keadaan mereka sendiri” (ar-Ra’d (13) : 11)

Coba renungi cuplikan kisah dari al-Qur-an al-Karim berikut:

1. Kisah Maryam As.

“..Kemudian rasa sakit akan melahirkan memaksanya (bersandar) pada pangkal pohon kurma, dia (Maryam) berkata: “Wahai, betapa (baiknya) aku mati sebelum ini, dan aku menjadi seorang yang tidak diperhatikan dan dilupakan. Maka Jibril berseru kepada nya dari tempat yang rendah: “Janganlah engkau bersedih hati, sesungguhnya Tuhanmu telah menjadikan anak sungai di bawahmu. Dan goyanglah pangkal pohon kurma itu ke arahmu, niscaya pohon itu akan menggugurkan buah kurma yang masak kepadamu ..” (QS Maryam (19): 23-25)

Yang harus diperhatikan dari ayat di atas adalah bagaimana Maryam – salah satu wanita termulia dalam sejarah manusia, yang keimanannya terhadap Allah tidak pantas diragukan, yang melaluinya ditunjukkan salah satu tanda kekuasaanNya, yaitu Nabi Isa As – ketika dalam kesusahan hendak melahirkan, dalam kepayahan, bahkan hampir putus asa, diperintahkan oleh Allah melalui malaikatNya, Jibril, untuk tetap berikhtiyar: “Dan goyanglah pangkal pohon kurma itu ke arahmu, niscaya pohon itu akan menggugurkan buah kurma yang masak kepadamu ..”

Jadi Allah ga langsung ngasih.. Brek! Gitu aja buah kurma ke beliau.. tapi beliau diperintahkan untuk tetap berikhtiyar.

2. Kisah Nabi Musa As.

“..Maka setelah kedua golongan itu saling melihat, berkatalah pengikut-pengikut Musa: “Sesungguhnya kita benar-benar akan tersusul.” Musa menjawab: “Sekali-kali tidak akan tersusul; sesungguhnya Tuhanku bersamaku, kelak Dia akan memberi petunjuk kepadaku.” Lalu Kami wahyukan kepada Musa: “Pukullah lautan itu dengan tongkatmu.” Maka terbelahlah lautan itu dan tiap-tiap belahan adalah seperti gunung yang besar.” (QS asy-Syu’araa’ (26) : 61-63)

Lihat pada kisah tersebut, do’a nabi Musa As. : “sesungguhnya Tuhanku bersamaku, kelak Dia akan memberi petunjuk kepadaku” dan Allah menjawabnya dengan: “Pukullah lautan itu dengan tongkatmu”. Bukan ujug-ujug, laut merah itu terbelah gitu aja kan? Perlu juga ikhtiyar, yang harus dilakukan beliau.

Semuanya harus dilaksanakan dengan seimbang, do’a dan ikhtiyar harus berjalan seimbang. Jangan kita berdo’a lalu tak ada sedikit pun ikhtiyar dari kita, menanti keajaiban. Kita berdoa meminta uang 1 Milyar, lalu kita berharap uang itu jatuh gitu aja dari atap rumah? Mungkin ga? Mending kalo uangnya uang kertas, kalo uang koin?? Ketiban! Ancur dah tuh rumah!

Juga jangan sebaliknya, melakukan ikhtiyar tapi tidak pernah berdo’a. Allah berbeda dengan mahlukNya yang akan murka jika dipinta, justru Allah akan murka ketika hambaNya tidak memohon kepadaNya.

Pertanyaannya, apakah semua usaha yang kita lakukan untuk memenuhi keinginan kita itu bisa disebut ikhtiyar? Ketika kesulitan waktu ujian, apakah menyontek termasuk Ikhtiyar? Ketika sakit komplikasi panu-kadas-kurap-eksim (na’udzubillah) susah disembuhkan, apakah ke dukun ato para(ab)normal ato minum air celupan batu ‘Ponari Sweat’ juga termasuk Ikhtiyar?

Kata “ikhtiyar” atau bentuk lainnya dalam bahasa Arab: ikhtaro-yakhtaru-ikhtiyar, berarti memilih. Kata ini seakar dengan kata khoir (baik). Karena itu kata ikhtiyar lebih tepat diartikan sebagai memilih usaha terbaik di antara yang ada. Terbaik! Bukan dengan cara terburuk dan seenaknya! Dan sebagai Muslim, tentu saja tidak keluar dari batas-batas Islam donk?!

Sebagai kesimpulan, ane sendiri memandang do’a itu sebagai tumpuan, pijakan, dan harapan sebagai pelecut motivasi  untuk berikhtiyar mencapai tujuan yang diharapkan. Dengan adanya keyakinan terhadap akan dikabulkannya do’a, ketika itu pula muncul ghiroh, semangat, yang luar biasa dari dalam diri, untuk terus menggapai apa yang diinginkan. Menurut ane itulah mengapa do’a dan ikhtiyar harus berjalan seiringan.

Wallahu a’lam bishshowab