the Art of the Vow

The art of the vow.

Saiful has finally carried out his swearing by the Quran. It is called mubahallah in Arabic. It means vowing before god that he has not done the wrong for which is accused. He swears in God’s name and invites God’s wrath if he lies.

So, what has Saiful done? He was as he has always maintained, the victim. In his case, it was done unto him? Where does that place his mubahalah? Has he then dis-mubahalah himself?

The accused is Anwar Ibrahim. He is the one who should do mubahalah. He can choose whatever form he wants. He can ‘potong ayam’ if he so chooses and let the blood drain into the mee kari bowl.

But this man has steadfastly refused to do the mubahalah. His refusal only fuels the suspicion that he is guilty. He hides behind every known legal loopholes, religious excuses and so forth. He has managed to elude every dare and challenge that we have thrown.

So if the mountain does not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must come to the mountain. During his time, our Prophet Muhammad( PBUH) affirmed the truth of Aisha’s innocence with the help divine intervention. God revealed the truth to him.

Many of you may remember, that Aisha was accused of adultery by many of the prophet’s travelling companions and other desert Arabs at that time. She was accompanying the Prophet on a journey whereupon she realised she has either lost or left her jewellery. Hey- can the misfortune that befell Aisha be used as an injunction against the adornment of jewelleries by Muslim ladies?

Aisha went to search for her missing necklace and soon got lost. So she waited for anyone from the prophet’s party to fetch her. None mounted a search party. She was later discovered by a young good looking Arab and together they rode after the prophet’s group. They arrived the following day which meant the Arab and Aisha must have spent the night somewhere together. Together? With each other? Near each other? I don’t know. By whatever imaginations they could come out with, that soon set tongues wagging with insinuations of adultery.

To cut the story short, the Prophet Muhammad managed to resolve the issue by divine intervention.

Can this episode impart the following lessons?:-

· Jewellery and other adornments are a cause of misfortune

· Never break ranks from your main party

· Never go alone or you get lost

· Refuse the offer of help from strangers

But the most interesting principle that can be extracted from that episode was that punishment was meted out to the accusers and not to the accused.

What shall we do to Saiful? He is no Muhammad . Let us indulge him anyway.

I remember suggesting to pretty boy Saiful, when news about his sodomy came up, that he must carry out mubahalah alone. He did not.

He must do everything possible to vindicate himself first. His lover Anwar can go to hell. If its consensual, then Anwar must be his lover right?

So when Saiful chose to swear on the eve of the Permatang pauh by-elections, I said, boy- is he in deeper waters. He’s in hot soup.

Not because what he said may be actuated by truth but of the many interpretations that can be created and manufactured.

He has first of all debased the mubahalah into a lie detector test. He has trivialised the sanctity of vows. He has incurred the wrath of the holiest among us.

When pretty boy Saiful tells the world he does not know Anwar Ibrahim will contest in the by-elections, this boy is a real bloody fool. Only few weeks ago, he sent a good luck message to Anwar for his impending by-elections. At that time his tone sounded more that of a jilted lover. There was a tone of longing in his message.

Don’t worry Saiful dah-ling, AA (Abang Anwar) still loves you.

When in his bald stupidity he said he is not aware that Anwar is contesting, I now realised why he was kicked out from his university.

In the much quoted phrase by judge Augustine Paul, Saiful’s swearing upon the Quran is no longer relevant to Anwar’s inevitable erection ..er elections triumph. The timing of his mubahalah invites the accusation that it is politically motivated. Once again, this boy has proven himself to be an ignoramus. Perhaps that’s why he was buggered in the first place. He is the archetypal dumb blond- male version.

When the mubahalah was done on the eve of the by-elections, the whole world has already decided that Anwar is innocent. The whole of Malaysia has already resolved to give Anwar victory. That, despite Anwar being mauled with such bestiality. That despite, he may in fact be a rear-end connoisseur.

Saiful should have performed mubahalah two months ago. If he had done it then, that would provide ample space for the vow to be debated, mulled over, talked over continuously. It could be political capital for the political mercenaries. It could be fodder for UMNO’s marauding canons. It could have further damaged Anwar’s’ already soiled reputation and dent his majority. Time was of the essence boy.

He could have ridden on the waves of endorsement by religious personalities. Remember Nik Aziz? He stated that vowing by placing the Quran on the forehead would be appropriate. The mufti of Perlis suggested mubahalah to clear the air. Various other Islamists intellectuals endorsed the idea. That could have been the leverage for Saiful to do Anwar in.

Things have changed now. Political interests are the overriding preoccupation. Perhaps UMNO leaders are not aware that the prevailing sentiment is not to give Anwar a win or a loss. The obsession now is to punish UMNO further. People want to punish UMNO leaders. The DPM in Permatang Pauh could very well be a liability to UMNO. The only thing UMNO can do now, is to prevent irreparable damage.

Saiful’s sumpah is just the final nail on the coffin of UMNO which has been given its final rites

We now turn to the concept of a vow or swear itself. The more I gloss over this whole business of mubahalah or sumpah, the more I am respectful of the wisdom of wise men in our society. Society frowns upon making vows lest we self destruct.

Making vows, promises, pledges or whatever term one uses, has a long history. Indeed it has its origins when GOD created Adam and the original vow has not given humanity peace on earth since then.

The first vow could be very well made by Iblis( Lucifer?) himself. In verse 16-17 in the surah Al Araf- Allah revealed that Iblis has vowed to lead the sons of Adam astray from the straight path. And Iblis will have countless ways to carry out his evil designs. Lucifer is a master tactician and a superb strategist.

I am impressed by a poem written by a Muslim writer which appeared on the internet. I take the liberty to repeat it here verbatim in its original language form;

Hai anak2 adam!
Aku adalah mahkluk yang dulunya paling taqwa diantara kamu,
Aku patuh kepada perintah Tuhan dan aku sanjung Dia tinggi menjulang,
Dan tidak pernahku merasa bosan tunduk kepadaNya,

Hai anak2 adam!
Aku tidak pernah mengenal maksiat,
Aku tidak pernah tahu apa erti sombong dan bangga diri,
Dan aku tidak pernah berkata tidak sebelum adam diciptakan,

Hai anak2 adam!
Selepas aku dihalau dari syurga di atas kesombonganku,
Aku berjanji kepada Allah, akanku jadikan kamu pengikutku,
Maka ber"sedia"lah untuk menghadapiku pada waktu pagi, petang & malam

Hai anak2 adam!
aku akan membuat kamu kamu bodoh dan malas,
aku akan membuat kamu futur dijalan Allah,
akan aku menjadi kamu menjadi orang kebanyakan,

Hai anak2 adam!
Akan ku tepati janjiku kepada Allah,
Akan ku penuhi neraka dengan manusia berkelakukan seperti aku,
Yang cinta dan patuh kepada pujuk rayuku..

Which I loosely translate like so;

O sons of Adam

I am the most pious amongst you then

I obey the Lord and I hold HIM most high

I never tire in my submission to him

O sons of Adam

I never knew infidelities

I have never known haughtiness or self inflation

I have never said no, until Adam came

O son of Adam

After I have been cast out from paradise on account of my conceitedness

I pledged before God, I will make thee all my followers

Therefore be thee ready, for

You will face me in the mornings, in the evenings and in the dark of nights

O sons of adam

I shall make thee stupid and lazy

I shall make you disbelievers

I shall make you debased.

Since then, sumpah has never brought peace to the world. Will Saiful’s be any better?