The Love To Surpass

Its what people like to do. It satisfies them to outdo each other. When one does something good, someone would surely like to do better. If Tom does something bad; Harry would outdo him by being outright evil.

If Haris Tea Pot of The People's Parliament chokes on Mahathir's interpretation on the Social Contract, his comment section vomits out puss, poison and cyanide.

When Khalid Samad comes out with a psuedo-edict or any "authoritative" proclamation or command concerning Islam, Husam Musa's community like Tulang Besi of Perisik Rakyat or Malaysia Waves spews out pretenders-to-ulama' and half-baked sufis demanding UMNO people to obtain their sanctions first before they could quote any Qur-anic interpretations to stress their points.

When Lim Guan Eng introduces Middle Malaysia after the conquest of "Penang Upper Malaysia", Hindraf repeats their demand that all Indians be made 'bumiputeras'. Their reason? That some of our top leaders are not 100% Malay.

Enough of the darker side of ourselves. Lets have a peep at our brighter sides.

Abu Bakar r.a. and Umar r.a. were the closest of Companions (to each other and to Muhammad s.a.w.) They would always compete with each other in good. Abu Bakar r.a. would mostly surpass Umar r.a.

If Umar r.a. were to be early for prayer, he would find that Abu Bakar was already at the mosque. If he were to feed a poor person, he would learn that Abu Bakar had already done the same before him.

Once the Prophet rallied the people to give charity to lighten the hardship the Muslims were facing. Umar r.a. who happen to be affluent then decided, "I'll surpass Abu Bakar r.a. today if I'm ever to surpass him at all."

Umar r.a. then gave half of what he had. What was the reaction of the Prophet s.a.w.? Did he s.a.w. asked how much Umar r.a. brought? Did he s.a.w. asked what type of goods Umar r.a. brought?

No. The Prophet s.a.w. uttered words showing that Umar r.a. and family was his most beloved, saying "What did you leave behind for your family O Umar r.a.?" Umar r.a. said, "O Messenger of Allah, I left behind its like for my family." Umar r.a. then sat beside Rasulullah s.a.w. enthusiastically.

Then came Abu Bakar r.a. with plenty of wealth and gave it to the Prophet s.a.w. Umar r.a. stood up in respect. The Prophet s.a.w. looked at Abu Bakar r.a. then enquired of him, "O Abu Bakar r.a. what did you leave behind for your family?"

Yes, he s.a.w. loved and showed concern for Abu Bakar r.a. and his family. So Abu Bakar r.a. responded, "O Messenger of Allah, I left for them Allah and His Messenger s.a.w."

He came with all his wealth. Not half, not a quarter but all. Umar r.a. acknowledge saying, "This is no surprise. I will never be able to surpass Abu Bakar r.a."

The people would love the Prophet s.a.w. intensely as they felt that he s.a.w. loved them. The Prophet s.a.w. once prayed with them, but shortened his prayer noticeably. After the prayer, the Prophet noticed that the Companions were surprised. He s.a.w. said, "Perhaps, you are surprised that I shortened the prayer?"

Yes, O Messenger of Allah.

I heard a child cry, so I feel what the mother feels. (Perhaps the child was left unattended the duration the mother was in prayer.)
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Today we have most of everything. Not surprisingly this too is not enough. We strive to have more than our neighbour. Perhaps we should also feel for the plight of those who have less than us.