#26. Adong Kamuan Pagun Sawat

Assalaamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh.

Our dearest well-mannered and kind-hearted Khaulah,

I'm here again in my letter to you :) Sometimes I really want to write to you in Malay but I can't seem to remember how to write in Malay besides formal letters at work haha.. So for today I'll just share a Dusun proverb : Adong Kamuan Pagun Sawat which basically means don't forget the abode above / hereafter / akhirah.

Though thinking back, the hereafter that those people refers to might not be the same with the akhirah that we have faith in, Khaulah, but we can still take the hikmah of the proverb itself especially because we are Muslims.

I might have told you somewhere some-when Khaulah that true Muslims are actually those who always keeps akhirah in their mind that Allah said in the Quran,

"But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that which Allah hath given thee and neglect not thy portion of the world, and be thou kind even as Allah hath been kind to thee, and seek not corruption in the earth; lo! Allah loveth not corrupters," [Al-Qasas, 28 : 77]

Yep, that's how much we should strive to be. May us be true Muslims Khaulah, that should anyone wants to give us nasihah it would sounds like, "Kerja dakwah tu buat jua tapi jangan lupa makan."

 Or something like that   It sounds a bit nostalgic though..

As of now, I still think myself as at the former so let me remind myself again, adong kamuan pagun sawat!

Yours Lovingly,

Ayah.

#25. I'll Change The World For You

Salaam.

Dear Khaulah,

Right now you are still fast asleep, enjoying your school holiday and the last 10 days of Ramadhan. I'm having my work leave too so that we can spend time together during your holiday :)

You, your mom, my parents, and everyone that I cared about, were never mine to begin with. We're just some souls who by His decree crossed paths while journeying our purposes. Lucky for us, loving each other is also essential in achieving the said purposes.

Years ago before embracing Islam, I invited my parents to revert together with my eldest brother and me and they declined. The next year, I asked them again to revert with my 3 other siblings and again, they declined. It may be because of other factors too, but from what I can see, one of the main reason was because of how Muslims appeared to them throughout their lives : bad manners, not doing what Islam teaches, taking advantages of other people etc.

Sometimes, it felt like they're hostages. Perhaps Allah will give them guidances if I change the world into something a little bit better : practicing Muslims, more people to talk and invite others to Islam, Muslims who treated other people with splendid manners, who are kind and genuinely shows what being a Muslim is like. Thats what I thought and just thinking about it makes me fired up to do something even more. Don't get me wrong though, I do believe that Allah gives guidances to whomever He desires. If things ends not the way I wanted and worked so hard for, then at least I hope I can say, "O Allah, I did my part."

You know Khaulah, if Allah allows me, you don't have to change for this world because I'll change the world for you too.

Because I love you,
Ayah.