Malaysia-- after the Battle on Bonkers Hills

Malaysia-- After the Battle on Bonkers Hills

Two Hills were won – Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang.

I still remember when I was a child; the name “Bukit Gantang” is associated with a “Panglima” or a warrior of fierce look and disposition equipped with the keris, Steroid-pumped up body and a tanjak (headgear). Hence Panglima Bukit Gantang. “Gantang” is a unit of measurement used to calibrate the amount of rice. A bigger unit than “secupak”. The more powerful one is in society, the more gantang one gets. The lower the rakyat is in rung of the “dog-eat-dog world”, the less “cupak” one gets.

I still remember the word "selamba", close to the sound of "Selambau". I know what selamba means -- "poker-faced" and no shame in playing dirty games. Selamba saja muka dia ... That's from a Johor dialect I grew up with. Now, "lahabau" is a bad/unacceptable/inappropriate/cuss word used by my friends from Melaka. It mean "jackass", or worse, maybe. It is actually an affectionate greeting. Truly the Melakkans are good at 'gangsta-use" of language. They would curse good friends secupak segantang ( a "truckload" of nasties) when the meet friends who they have not met for months, years, maybe -- wondering where this "lahabau" have been all these years. That explains my fear of meeting my friends from Melaka. Fear of being called "lahabau" or "hamlau".

So, selambau and segantang are two words that are fiercely affectionate yet contradictory. They represent a face-saving poker-faced situation of anyone who wields the keris and try to take over two hills at the same time. That's the linguistic-anthropological link between those two words of historical significance and the human condition we Malaysians are in now.

Politicians make the selamba face out of their corrupt past as they show their warriorship hoping to again cheat the rakyat of many gantangs of gold and silver by using the machinery at their disposal -- using money, materials, media, and mental manipulation. All these are done as if nothing has happened in the past 50 years. As if the law cannot even touch them with a ten-foot pole.

So, Bukit Selamabu and Bukit Segantang are those two significant battlefields one can see as significant events not just philologically and linguistically but also metaphorically as we dig deeper into the psyche of the Malay.

Now what does these two hills got to do with "Ba Ba Black Sheep" which came to my mind a few seconds ago? Recall the nursery rhyme, Ba Ba Black Sheep. I read it differently now.

Ba Ba Black sheep have you any wool
Yes sir yes sir three bags full
One for my master
One for my dame
But none for the little boy
who lives down the lane

Brilliant message.

One for my master one for my dame and none for the little boy who lives down the lane. And the boy lives down the lane? Indeed, the syndrome of “Atap Genting Atap Rumbia”. Reminds me of Muchtar Lubis’s novel Senja di Jakarta (Twilight in Jakarta).

And what did the little boy do?

He went to the Master and the Dame and demanded his bag of wool. He is not contented with “secupak” which he is not getting. He wondered why others are getting “segantang” and more and he and his “imagined community” living down the lane are not getting any. He is reminded of the New Economic Policy and how it has now become “New Economic Plutocracy”. Smart kid. He must have read Pramoedya Ananto Toer’s “Bumi Manusia” and “Kisah Dari Blora” before demanding those bags of wool from the master – and the dame. The dame sounds like Ibu Tien Suharto (of Bapak "Yudistira" Suharto fame) affectionately called "Ibu Ten Percent" those days.

Hence, the boy grew up to become Panglima Bukit Gantang, and with a band of bloggers took over the hills, installed a new kingdom, arrested the Master and the Dames and put them in the bags with wool and ship them via FedEx to Cayman Islands.

That rhyme inspired the French Revolution. Maybe it did.Just like a child's whistling of a tune inspire the French to adopt it as its national anthem Marseilles

The Master is one who owns the means of production. The Dame is the crony of the Master. The little boy are the growing nation that is enslaved and given goodies once in a while but in a Master –Slave sado-masochistically inspired political-economic arrangement.

So there is a history behind our memory of names. It is these moments that bring a child’s imagination into modern day analysis of things.

In June of 1775 The American Revolutionary Army led by Colonel William Prescott, in its battles against King George fought a battle near Bunker Hill. That was a decisive battle with tactical mistakes from both sides, ending in the victory of the King's army but advancing General George Washington's plan for the seize of Boston.

In Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang it was two battles in one. The revolutionary forces won. Ideologically what does this mean? Here are my thoughts:

1. Times have changed. The change is needed now – change that should have happened yesterday. And time is of essence here, since the more time one is given to rule the world the more one consolidates power and do not wish to leave. That has happened in our history – twenty two years was a long long time. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
2. The end of race-based politic is near. If indeed one wants to play around with the R.A.H.M.A.N prophecy, the N-word at the end signifies a short note to the ending. A whimper. It is neither a crescendo nor a fierce Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani – like guitar riff. Not will it be a Pete Townshed act. It will be a glorious gamelan ending played by Gangsta rappers from the South Bronx, New York.
3. The bloggers have become a more powerful force governments can no longer ignore. Band of Bloggers moving from one by-election to another is a scary sight. These are cybernetic legionaries that move back and forth from the Maya-world of cyberspace to the kampongs and urban trenches of Malaysia’s realpolitik-al scenes. Many, like Raja Petra Kamaruddin have become the Nostradamuses of our time – “soothsayers” in a world of “Dragon-slayers”. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight syndrome we are seeing time after time since the Internet was unleashed out of the Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor.
4. The middle class is getting more and more agitated with the countless violation of civil liberties. Except from the members of the Malaysian academia that has remained silent on all these issues, other segments of the middle class -- lawyers, journalists, artisans, traders, craftsmen, and even the modern indentured serfs and a few aristocrats here and there -- have remained louder, clamoring for radical changes. They speak from their heart. Hopefully we will hear more academicians in our public universities playing the role of “organic intellectuals” to guide our citizens out of this Malaysian world of “instrumental reason, human capital, and crony capitalism,” we have plunged ourselves into.

Those hills have eyes. And they did see through the heart of men. Hearts of poker-faces and patriots alike.

One Malaysia -- Divisible

A divisible 'One Malaysia'
Azly Rahman | Apr 6, 09 1:03pm


I grew up hearing slogans, as each regime passed power to its successor.


In the 1960s it was Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh. In the 1970s it was Bersekutu bertambah mutu. In the 1980s we were serenaded for 22 years with Bersih, Cekap, Amanah.

There was a song Demi Negara that went along as soundtrack. Next came a new leader with Kepimpinan Melalui Teladan and Islam Hadhari. Now we have One (1) Malaysia.

Malaysians saw the chronology of sloganising as ‘unity increases quality’, ‘clean, efficient, trustworthy’, ‘leadership via good example’ and finally ‘Malaysia as one’.

Nice slogans. We have created branding in governance. But if we are to lift the veil and look at what is behind these words, we will discover the complex interplay between political-economy and hidden agendas, between political bribery and hegemony, and between ethnocentrism and hedonistic capitalism.

Malaysians are not as excited as Americans when Barack Obama took control to create a ‘One America, indivisible with liberty and justice for all’. Malaysians have a long way to go in terms of translating slogans into data-driven system of governing.

For Muslims, Malaysia in this age is like Mekkah circa the emergence of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) - hedonistic, tribalistic, with multiple demigods of materialism, contradictory and hypocritical.

Like Mekkah during the reign of Abu Sufyan, when power rested on the display of signs and symbols of wealth and little concern for the plight of the poor, Malaysia has evolved into a country in which the disparity between the rich and the poor has become too wide and that those in power use any means to ensure that divisions in society are maintained. Thus we have a country in which homes of the poor are bulldozed to build for yet another shopping mall.

While we hear the ‘One Malaysia’ slogan being trumpeted, we have also seen the evolution of structural violence in our economic, educational, cultural, and legal systems.

We have Acts that imprison the body, mind, and spirit of our citizens. Using the state ideological apparatuses, the powerful among us have used power not to liberate, but to cage the powerless.

Structural problems

But as in many a renewal processes, we must continue to work towards dismantling the very foundation of race-based politics; from the psychological to the ideological. The problem is not necessarily in the leadership that moves from one hegemonic phase to another; the problem is deeply structural.

The structure can no longer hold the weight of the masses that are demanding for justice to serve all and not to enrich the few. The violence that need to be eradicated is inherent in the system; a system that is build upon slogans and feel-good messages trumpeted across ages through the media controlled by those who own the means of intellectual, economic, and perhaps moral production.

I propose that the beginning of a successful goal of a ‘One Malaysia’ nation should begin with the dismantling of all race-based political parties. As long as we are organised along racial lines, we will continue to protect each others' interest using the idea of might is right.

Our institutions will continue to be built along these lines and our culture will continue to evolve in ways that will enable and disable each other. Our children will continue to learn about better ways not to tolerate each other and how to build walls and cages around us. We will, as citizens, continue to see race and ethnicity - rather than class or caste - as obstacles to progress.

I propose we pry through the slogans and make the government of the day accountable. If the regime says that is one of ‘clean, efficient, trustworthy’, we must demand proof that it is so.

If the regime of Najib Abdul Razak (left) wants to see a One Malaysia, we must demand that the One-ness of Malaysia be rebuilt on the foundation of politics, economics, culture, and education that will ensure that a humane system of regulative and distributive justice is installed, made transparent and always evolves to deal with the challenges of globalisation and multi-culturalism.

In One Malaysia we are seeing merely systemic change; a fine-tuning of a system that is breaking down. Those who created and run the machine are also breaking down and plagued with a political pathological condition that exacerbates the problem.

In One Malaysia, what we need is a truly revolutionary process of transformation that will bring back the dignity of the poor and the dispossessed of all ethnic groups, punish the robber barons, bring back freedom of inquiry in all our educational and cultural institutions, create a God-fearing law enforcement system.

Most importantly, it must create a cadre of leaders that will explore humane capitalism means rather than sloganise on human capitalism that create a newer form of indentured servitude.

In short we need to explore the primacy of ‘spiritual capitalism’ rather than continue to become capitalists evolving into merely spirits in a material world. Let us make our slogans meaningful. Like a living holy scripture.

What's wrong with non-Muslims quoting Quranic verses?

I read the following troubling newsstory> It happened in Malaysia:

'Belittling Islam' - police report against DAP leader
Jimadie Shah Othman | Apr 5, 09 11:52am

A police report has been filed against Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming for allegedly belittling Islam during a ceramah in the campaign for Tuesday's Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election.
MCPX

The report was filed by Malay Unity Action Front president Osman Abu Bakar at the Taiping district police headquarters this evening.

bukit gantang by election nga kor ming dap ceramah 310309 01According to him, Nga - who is also the Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyperson - made the disputed remarks during a ceramah in Changkat Jering two days ago, the contents of which were also published on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's blog.

In his report, Osman accused the DAP leader of belittling Islam by reciting Quranic verses from the Surah Al-A' raf for campaign purposes. Furthermore, he said the holy verses were recited improperly.

In view of this, Osman said he felt compelled to lodge a police report in his capacity as president of the Unity Front.

The activist was accompanied by some 15 supporters, some donning shirts bearing Barisan Nasional and Umno logos, to the police station.


I do not see anything wrong in a non-Muslim finding wisdom in Quranic verses; the message of Islam is universal.

I do not see anything wrong in Muslims quoting from the Bible, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and Mahabharatta, the I Ch'ng, the Analects of Kung Fu Tze, or even from Marx's Das Kapital.

No need for to lodge a police report on the DAP man who quoted the Quranic verses.It merely display our ignorance of the perspectives of others. We should be proud if we hear politicians finding wisdom from all religions and philosophical texts.


Embrace multiculturalism and learn from the wisdom of all scriptures. Universal values and timeless wisdom in all these texts.

We must grow up, read more, and grow old with timeless wisdom.

Learn from Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) Last Khutbah below:







The DAP man was said to have quoted verses from Surah Al Araf ("The Heights") I am reproducing in full below:

7. Surah Al-A'raf (The Heights)

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings].

2. (This is the) Book (the Qur'an) sent down unto you (O Muhammad ), so let not your breast be narrow therefrom, that you warn thereby, and a reminder unto the believers.

3. [Say (O Muhammad ) to these idolaters (pagan Arabs) of your folk:] Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord (the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad's Sunnah), and follow not any Auliya' (protectors and helpers, etc. who order you to associate partners in worship with Allah), besides Him (Allah). Little do you remember!

4. And a great number of towns (their population) We destroyed (for their crimes). Our torment came upon them (suddenly) by night or while they were sleeping for their afternoon rest.

5. No cry did they utter when Our Torment came upon them but this: "Verily, we were Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.)".

6. Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.

7. Then surely, We shall narrate unto them (their whole story) with knowledge, and indeed We were not absent.

8. And the weighing on that day (Day of Resurrection) will be the true (weighing) . So as for those whose scale (of good deeds) will be heavy, they will be the successful (by entering Paradise).

9. And as for those whose scale will be light, they are those who will lose their ownselves (by entering Hell) because they denied and rejected Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.).

10. And surely, We gave you authority on the earth and appointed for you therein provisions (for your life). Little thanks do you give.

11. And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being), then We told the angels, "Prostrate to Adam", and they prostrated, except Iblis (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrate.

12. (Allah) said: "What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay."

13. (Allah) said: "(O Iblis) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced."

14. (Iblis) said: "Allow me respite till the Day they are raised up (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)."

15. (Allah) said: "You are of those allowed respite."

16. (Iblis) said: "Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path.

17. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You)."

18. (Allah) said (to Iblis) "Get out from this (Paradise) disgraced and expelled. Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely I will fill Hell with you all."

19. "And O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Paradise, and eat thereof as you both wish, but approach not this tree otherwise you both will be of the Zalimun (unjust and wrong-doers)."

20. Then Shaitan (Satan) whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts (before); he said: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals."

21. And he [Shaitan (Satan)] swore by Allah to them both (saying): "Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both."

22. So he misled them with deception. Then when they tasted of the tree, that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to stick together the leaves of Paradise over themselves (in order to cover their shame). And their Lord called out to them (saying): "Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Shaitan (Satan) is an open enemy unto you?"

23. They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers."

24. (Allah) said: "Get down, one of you an enemy to the other [i.e. Adam, Hawwa (Eve), and Shaitan (Satan), etc.]. On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and an enjoyment, - for a time."

25. He said: "Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (i.e.resurrected)."

26. O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better. Such are among the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, that they may remember (i.e. leave falsehood and follow truth ).

27. O Children of Adam! Let not Shaitan (Satan) deceive you, as he got your parents [Adam and Hawwa (Eve)] out of Paradise, stripping them of their raiments, to show them their private parts. Verily, he and Qabiluhu (his soldiers from the jinns or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them. Verily, We made the Shayatin (devils) Auliya' (protectors and helpers) for those who believe not.

28. And when they commit a Fahisha (evil deed, going round the Ka'bah in naked state, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.), they say: "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has commanded us of it." Say: "Nay, Allah never commands of Fahisha. Do you say of Allah what you know not?

29. Say (O Muhammad ): My Lord has commanded justice and (said) that you should face Him only (i.e. worship none but Allah and face the Qiblah, i.e. the Ka'bah at Makkah during prayers) in each and every place of worship, in prayers (and not to face other false deities and idols), and invoke Him only making your religion sincere to Him by not joining in worship any partner to Him and with the intention that you are doing your deeds for Allah's sake only. As He brought you (into being) in the beginning, so shall you be brought into being (on the Day of Resurrection) [in two groups, one as a blessed one (believers), and the other as a wretched one (disbelievers)].

30. A group He has guided, and a group deserved to be in error; (because) surely they took the Shayatin (devils) as Auliya' (protectors and helpers) instead of Allah, and consider that they are guided.

31. O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying and going round (the Tawaf of ) the Ka'bah, and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance).

32. Say (O Muhammad ): "Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Taiyibat [all kinds of Halal (lawful) things] of food?" Say: "They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them)." Thus We explain the Ayat (Islamic laws) in detail for people who have knowledge.

33. Say (O Muhammad ): "(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al-Fawahish (great evil sins, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge."

34. And every nation has its appointed term; when their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).

35. O Children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from amongst you, reciting to you, My Verses, then whosoever becomes pious and righteous, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

36. But those who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and treat them with arrogance, they are the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire, they will abide therein forever.

37. Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)? For such their appointed portion (good things of this worldly life and their period of stay therein) will reach them from the Book (of Decrees) until, when Our Messengers (the angel of death and his assistants) come to them to take their souls, they (the angels) will say: "Where are those whom you used to invoke and worship besides Allah," they will reply, "They have vanished and deserted us." And they will bear witness against themselves, that they were disbelievers.

38. (Allah) will say: "Enter you in the company of nations who passed away before you, of men and jinns, into the Fire." Every time a new nation enters, it curses its sister nation (that went before), until they will be gathered all together in the Fire. The last of them will say to the first of them: "Our Lord! These misled us, so give them a double torment of the Fire." He will say: "For each one there is double (torment), but you know not."

39. The first of them will say to the last of them: "You were not better than us, so taste the torment for what you used to earn."

40. Verily, those who belie Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and treat them with arrogance, for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle (which is impossible). Thus do We recompense the Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.).

41. Theirs will be a bed of Hell (Fire), and over them coverings (of Hell-fire). Thus do We recompense the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.).

42. But those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and worked righteousness - We tax not any person beyond his scope, such are the dwellers of Paradise. They will abide therein.

43. And We shall remove from their breasts any (mutual) hatred or sense of injury (which they had, if at all, in the life of this world); rivers flowing under them, and they will say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has guided us to this, never could we have found guidance, were it not that Allah had guided us! Indeed, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth." And it will be cried out to them: "This is the Paradise which you have inherited for what you used to do."

44. And the dwellers of Paradise will call out to the dwellers of the Fire (saying): "We have indeed found true what our Lord had promised us; have you also found true, what your Lord promised (warnings, etc.)?" They shall say: "Yes." Then a crier will proclaim between them: "The Curse of Allah is on the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.),"

45. Those who hindered (men) from the Path of Allah, and would seek to make it crooked, and they were disbelievers in the Hereafter.

46. And between them will be a barrier screen and on Al-A'raf (a wall with elevated places) will be men (whose good and evil deeds would be equal in scale), who would recognise all (of the Paradise and Hell people), by their marks (the dwellers of Paradise by their white faces and the dwellers of Hell by their black faces), they will call out to the dwellers of Paradise, "Salamun 'Alaikum" (peace be on you), and at that time they (men on Al-A'raf) will not yet have entered it (Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it) with certainty.

47. And when their eyes will be turned towards the dwellers of the Fire, they will say: "Our Lord! Place us not with the people who are Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers)."

48. And the men on Al-A'raf (the wall) will call unto the men whom they would recognise by their marks, saying: "Of what benefit to you were your great numbers (and hoards of wealth), and your arrogance against Faith?"

49. Are they those, of whom you swore that Allah would never show them mercy. (Behold! It has been said to them): "Enter Paradise, no fear shall be on you, nor shall you grieve."

50. And the dwellers of the Fire will call to the dwellers of Paradise: "Pour on us some water or anything that Allah has provided you with." They will say: "Both (water and provision) Allah has forbidden to the disbelievers."

51. "Who took their religion as an amusement and play, and the life of the world deceived them." So this Day We shall forget them as they forgot their meeting of this Day, and as they used to reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.).

52. Certainly, We have brought to them a Book (the Qur'an) which We have explained in detail with knowledge, - a guidance and a mercy to a people who believe.

53. Await they just for the final fulfillment of the event? On the Day the event is finally fulfilled (i.e. the Day of Resurrection), those who neglected it before will say: "Verily, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth, now are there any intercessors for us that they might intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back (to the first life of the world) so that we might do (good) deeds other than those (evil) deeds which we used to do?" Verily, they have lost their ownselves (i.e. destroyed themselves) and that which they used to fabricate (invoking and worshipping others besides Allah) has gone away from them.

54. Indeed your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and then He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty). He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly, and (He created) the sun, the moon, the stars subjected to His Command. Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!

55. Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.

56. And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers.

57. And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed.

58. The vegetation of a good land comes forth (easily) by the Permission of its Lord, and that which is bad, brings forth nothing but a little with difficulty. Thus do We explain variously the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for a people who give thanks.

59. Indeed, We sent Nuh (Noah) to his people and he said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha ill-Allah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a Great Day!"

60. The leaders of his people said: "Verily, we see you in plain error."

61. [Nuh (Noah)] said: "O my people! There is no error in me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!

62. "I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord and give sincere advice to you. And I know from Allah what you know not.

63. "Do you wonder that there has come to you a Reminder from your Lord through a man from amongst you, that he may warn you, so that you may fear Allah and that you may receive (His) Mercy?"

64. But they belied him, so We saved him and those along with him in the ship, and We drowned those who belied Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). They were indeed a blind people.

65. And to 'Ad (people, We sent) their brother Hud. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha ill-Allah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). Will you not fear (Allah)?"

66. The leaders of those who disbelieved among his people said: "Verily, we see you in foolishness, and verily, we think you are one of the liars."

67. (Hud) said: "O my people! There is no foolishness in me, but (I am) a Messenger from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!

68. "I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord, and I am a trustworthy adviser (or well-wisher) for you.

69. "Do you wonder that there has come to you a Reminder (and an advice) from your Lord through a man from amongst you that he may warn you? And remember that He made you successors after the people of Nuh (Noah), and increased you amply in stature. So remember the graces (bestowed upon you) from Allah, so that you may be successful."

70. They said: "You have come to us that we should worship Allah Alone and forsake that which our fathers used to worship. So bring us that wherewith you have threatened us if you are of the truthful."

71. (Hud) said: "Torment and wrath have already fallen on you from your Lord. Dispute you with me over names which you have named - you and your fathers, with no authority from Allah? Then wait, I am with you among those who wait."

72. So We saved him and those who were with him by a Mercy from Us, and We cut the roots of those who belied Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), and they were not believers.

73. And to Thamud (people, We sent) their brother Salih (Saleh). He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha ill-Allah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). Indeed there has come to you a clear sign (the miracle of the coming out of a huge she-camel from the midst of a rock) from your Lord. This she-camel of Allah is a sign unto you; so you leave her to graze in Allah's earth, and touch her not with harm, lest a painful torment should seize you.

74. "And remember when He made you successors after 'Ad (people) and gave you habitations in the land, you build for yourselves palaces in plains, and carve out homes in the mountains. So remember the graces (bestowed upon you) from Allah, and do not go about making mischief on the earth."

75. The leaders of those who were arrogant among his people said to those who were counted weak - to such of them as believed: "Know you that Salih (Saleh) is one sent from his Lord." They said: "We indeed believe in that with which he has been sent."

76. Those who were arrogant said: "Verily, we disbelieve in that which you believe in."

77. So they killed the she-camel and insolently defied the Commandment of their Lord, and said: "O Salih (Saleh)! Bring about your threats if you are indeed one of the Messengers (of Allah)."

78. So the earthquake seized them, and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes.

79. Then he [Salih (Saleh)] turned from them, and said: "O my people! I have indeed conveyed to you the Message of my Lord, and have given you good advice but you like not good advisers."

80. And (remember) Lout (Lot), when he said to his people: "Do you commit the worst sin such as none preceding you has committed in the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns)?

81. "Verily, you practise your lusts on men instead of women. Nay, but you are a people transgressing beyond bounds (by committing great sins)."

82. And the answer of his people was only that they said: "Drive them out of your town, these are indeed men who want to be pure (from sins)!"

83. Then We saved him and his family, except his wife; she was of those who remained behind (in the torment).

84. And We rained down on them a rain (of stones). Then see what was the end of the Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.).

85. And to (the people of) Madyan (Midian), (We sent) their brother Shu'aib. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. [La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)]." Verily, a clear proof (sign) from your Lord has come unto you; so give full measure and full weight and wrong not men in their things, and do not mischief on the earth after it has been set in order, that will be better for you, if you are believers.

86. "And sit not on every road, threatening, and hindering from the Path of Allah those who believe in Him. and seeking to make it crooked. And remember when you were but few, and He multiplied you. And see what was the end of the Mufsidun (mischief-makers, corrupts, liars).

87. "And if there is a party of you who believes in that with which I have been sent and a party who do not believe, so be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the Best of judges."

88. The chiefs of those who were arrogant among his people said: "We shall certainly drive you out, O Shu'aib, and those who have believed with you from our town, or else you (all) shall return to our religion." He said: "Even though we hate it!

89. "We should have invented a lie against Allah if we returned to your religion, after Allah has rescued us from it. And it is not for us to return to it unless Allah, our Lord, should will. Our Lord comprehends all things in His Knowledge. In Allah (Alone) we put our trust. Our Lord! Judge between us and our people in truth, for You are the Best of those who give judgment."

90. The chiefs of those who disbelieved among his people said (to their people): "If you follow Shu'aib, be sure then you will be the losers!"

91. So the earthquake seized them and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes.

92. Those who belied Shu'aib, became as if they had never dwelt there (in their homes). Those who belied Shu'aib, they were the losers.

93. Then he (Shu'aib) turned from them and said: "O my people! I have indeed conveyed my Lord's Messages unto you and I have given you good advice. Then how can I sorrow for the disbelieving people's (destruction)."

94. And We sent no Prophet unto any town (and they denied him), but We seized its people with suffering from extreme poverty (or loss in wealth) and loss of health and calamities, so that they might humiliate themselves (and repent to Allah).

95. Then We changed the evil for the good, until they increased in number and in wealth, and said: "Our fathers were touched with evil (loss of health and calamities) and with good (prosperity, etc.)." So We seized them of a sudden while they were unaware.

96. And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes, etc.).

97. Did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming of Our Punishment by night while they are asleep?

98. Or, did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming of Our Punishment in the forenoon while they play?

99. Did they then feel secure against the Plan of Allah. None feels secure from the Plan of Allah except the people who are the losers.

100. Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth in succession from its (previous) possessors, that had We willed, We would have punished them for their sins. And We seal up their hearts so that they hear not?

101. Those were the towns whose story We relate unto you (O Muhammad ). And there came indeed to them their Messengers with clear proofs, but they were not such as to believe in that which they had rejected before. Thus Allah does seal up the hearts of the disbelievers (from each and every kind of religious guidance).

102. And most of them We found not (true) to their covenant, but most of them We found indeed Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).

103. Then after them We sent Musa (Moses) with Our Signs to Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his chiefs, but they wrongfully rejected them. So see how was the end of the Mufsidun (mischief-makers, corrupts, etc.).

104. And Musa (Moses) said: "O Fir'aun (Pharaoh)! I am a Messenger from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

105. "Proper it is for me that I say nothing concerning Allah but the truth. Indeed I have come unto you from your Lord with a clear proof. So let the Children of Israel depart along with me."

106. [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] said: "If you have come with a sign, show it forth, - if you are one of those who tell the truth."

107. Then [Musa (Moses)] threw his stick and behold! it was a serpent, manifest!

108. And he drew out his hand, and behold! it was white (with radiance) for the beholders.

109. The chiefs of the people of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said: "This is indeed a well-versed sorcerer;

110. "He wants to get you out of your land, so what do you advise?"

111. They said: "Put him and his brother off (for a time), and send callers (men) to the cities to collect (and) -

112. "That they bring up to you all well-versed sorcerers."

113. And so the sorcerers came to Fir'aun (Pharaoh). They said: "Indeed there will be a (good) reward for us if we are the victors."

114. He said: "Yes, and moreover you will (in that case) be of the nearest (to me)."

115. They said: "O Musa (Moses)! Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?"

116. He [Musa (Moses)] said: "Throw you (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic.

117. And We inspired Musa (Moses) (saying): "Throw your stick," and behold! It swallowed up straight away all the falsehoods which they showed.

118. Thus truth was confirmed, and all that they did was made of no effect.

119. So they were defeated there and then, and were returned disgraced.

120. And the sorcerers fell down prostrate.

121. They said: "We believe in the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

122. "The Lord of Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron)."

123. Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said: "You have believed in him [Musa (Moses)] before I give you permission. Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city to drive out its people, but you shall come to know.

124. "Surely, I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, then I will crucify you all."

125. They said: "Verily, we are returning to our Lord.

126. "And you take vengeance on us only because we believed in the Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.) of our Lord when they reached us! Our Lord! pour out on us patience, and cause us to die as Muslims."

127. The chiefs of Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people said: "Will you leave Musa (Moses) and his people to spread mischief in the land, and to abandon you and your gods?" He said: "We will kill their sons, and let live their women, and we have indeed irresistible power over them."

128. Musa (Moses) said to his people: "Seek help in Allah and be patient. Verily, the earth is Allah's. He gives it as a heritage to whom He will of His slaves, and the (blessed) end is for the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)."

129. They said: "We (Children of Israel) had suffered troubles before you came to us, and since you have come to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth, so that He may see how you act?"

130. And indeed We punished the people of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) with years of drought and shortness of fruits (crops, etc.), that they might remember (take heed).

131. But whenever good came to them, they said: "Ours is this." And if evil afflicted them, they ascribed it to evil omens connected with Musa (Moses) and those with him. Be informed! Verily, their evil omens are with Allah but most of them know not.

132. They said [to Musa (Moses)]: "Whatever Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) you may bring to us, to work therewith your sorcery on us, we shall never believe in you."

133. So We sent on them: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood: (as a succession of) manifest signs, yet they remained arrogant, and they were of those people who were Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.).

134. And when the punishment fell on them they said: "O Musa (Moses)! Invoke your Lord for us because of His Promise to you. If you will remove the punishment from us, we indeed shall believe in you, and we shall let the Children of Israel go with you."

135. But when We removed the punishment from them to a fixed term, which they had to reach, behold! They broke their word!

136. So We took retribution from them. We drowned them in the sea, because they belied Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and were heedless about them.

137. And We made the people who were considered weak to inherit the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which We have blessed. And the fair Word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because of their endurance. And We destroyed completely all the great works and buildings which Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his people erected.

138. And We brought the Children of Israel (with safety) across the sea, and they came upon a people devoted to some of their idols (in worship). They said: "O Musa (Moses)! Make for us an ilahan (a god) as they have aliha (gods)." He said: "Verily, you are a people who know not (the Majesty and Greatness of Allah and what is obligatory upon you, i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone, the One and the Only God of all that exists)."

139. [Musa (Moses) added:] "Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in (idols-worship). And all that they are doing is in vain."

140. He said: "Shall I seek for you an Ilahan (a God) other than Allah, while He has given you superiority over the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns of your time)."

141. And (remember) when We rescued you from Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people, who were afflicting you with the worst torment, killing your sons and letting your women live. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.

142. And We appointed for Musa (Moses) thirty nights and added (to the period) ten (more), and he completed the term, appointed by his Lord, of forty nights. And Musa (Moses) said to his brother Harun (Aaron): "Replace me among my people, act in the Right Way (by ordering the people to obey Allah and to worship Him Alone) and follow not the way of the Mufsidun (mischief-makers)."

143. And when Musa (Moses) came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said: "O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You." Allah said: "You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain if it stands still in its place then you shall see Me." So when his Lord appeared to the mountain , He made it collapse to dust, and Musa (Moses) fell down unconscious. Then when he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers."

144. (Allah) said: "O Musa (Moses) I have chosen you above men by My Messages, and by My speaking (to you). So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful."

145. And We wrote for him on the Tablets the lesson to be drawn from all things and the explanation of all things (and said): Hold unto these with firmness, and enjoin your people to take the better therein. I shall show you the home of Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah).

146. I shall turn away from My Ayat (verses of the Qur'an) those who behave arrogantly on the earth, without a right, and (even) if they see all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they will not believe in them. And if they see the way of righteousness (monotheism, piety, and good deeds), they will not adopt it as the Way, but if they see the way of error (polytheism, crimes and evil deeds), they will adopt that way, that is because they have rejected Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and were heedless (to learn a lesson) from them.

147. Those who deny Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and the Meeting in the Hereafter (Day of Resurrection,), vain are their deeds. Do they expect to be rewarded with anything except what they used to do?

148. And the people of Musa (Moses) made in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image of a calf (for worship). It had a sound (as if it was mooing). Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to the way? They took it for worship and they were Zalimun (wrong-doers).

149. And when they regretted and saw that they had gone astray, they (repented and) said: "If our Lord have not mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall certainly be of the losers."

150. And when Musa (Moses) returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said: "What an evil thing is that which you have done (i.e. worshipping the calf) during my absence. Did you hasten and go ahead as regards the matter of your Lord (you left His worship)?" And he threw down the Tablets and seized his brother by (the hair of) his head and dragged him towards him. Harun (Aaron) said: "O son of my mother! Indeed the people judged me weak and were about to kill me, so make not the enemies rejoice over me, nor put me amongst the people who are Zalimun (wrong-doers)."

151. Musa (Moses) said: "O my Lord! Forgive me and my brother, and make us enter into Your Mercy, for you are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy."

152. Certainly, those who took the calf (for worship), wrath from their Lord and humiliation will come upon them in the life of this world. Thus do We recompense those who invent lies.

153. But those who committed evil deeds and then repented afterwards and believed, verily, your Lord after (all) that is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

154. And when the anger of Musa (Moses) was appeased, he took up the Tablets, and in their inscription was guidance and mercy for those who fear their Lord.

155. And Musa (Moses) chose out of his people seventy (of the best) men for Our appointed time and place of meeting, and when they were seized with a violent earthquake, he said: "O my Lord, if it had been Your Will, You could have destroyed them and me before; would You destroy us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us? It is only Your Trial by which You lead astray whom You will, and keep guided whom You will. You are our Wali (Protector), so forgive us and have Mercy on us, for You are the Best of those who forgive.

156. And ordain for us good in this world, and in the Hereafter. Certainly we have turned unto You." He said: (As to) My Punishment I afflict therewith whom I will and My Mercy embraces all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who are the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2), and give Zakat; and those who believe in Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs and revelations, etc.);

157. Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e.Muhammad ) whom they find written with them in the Taurat (Torah) (Deut, xviii, 15) and the Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16) , - he commands them for Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Taiyibat [(i.e. all good and lawful) as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.], and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khaba'ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allah's Covenant), and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad ), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur'an) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful .

158. Say (O Muhammad ): "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah - to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He); It is He Who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad ) who believes in Allah and His Words [(this Qur'an), the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and also Allah's Word: "Be!" - and he was, i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary),], and follow him so that you may be guided. "

159. And of the people of Musa (Moses) there is a community who lead (the men) with truth and establish justice therewith (i.e. judge men with truth and justice).

160. And We divided them into twelve tribes (as distinct) nations. We directed Musa (Moses) by inspiration, when his people asked him for water, (saying): "Strike the stone with your stick", and there gushed forth out of it twelve springs: each group knew its own place for water. We shaded them with the clouds and sent down upon them Al-Manna and the quails (saying): "Eat of the good things with which We have provided you." They harmed Us not but they used to harm themselves.

161. And (remember) when it was said to them: "Dwell in this town (Jerusalem) and eat therefrom wherever you wish, and say, '(O Allah) forgive our sins'; and enter the gate prostrate (bowing with humility). We shall forgive you your wrong-doings. We shall increase (the reward) for the good-doers."

162. But those among them who did wrong changed the word that had been told to them. So We sent on them a torment from heaven in return for their wrong-doings.

163. And ask them (O Muhammad ) about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel (see the Qur'an: V.4:154).

164. And when a community among them said: "Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment?" (The preachers) said: "In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may fear Allah."

165. So when they forgot the remindings that had been given to them, We rescued those who forbade evil, but We seized those who did wrong with a severe torment because they used to rebel (disobey Allah).

166. So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected." (It is a severe warning to the mankind that they should not disobey what Allah commands them to do, and be far away from what He prohibits them).

167. And (remember) when your Lord declared that He would certainly keep on sending against them (i.e. the Jews), till the Day of Resurrection, those who would afflict them with a humiliating torment. Verily, your Lord is Quick in Retribution (for the disobedient, wicked) and certainly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (for the obedient and those who beg Allah's Forgiveness).

168. And We have broken them (i.e. the Jews) up into various separate groups on the earth, some of them are righteous and some are away from that. And We tried them with good (blessings) and evil (calamities) in order that they might turn (to Allah's Obedience).

169. Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation, which inherited the Book, but they chose (for themselves) the goods of this low life (evil pleasures of this world) saying (as an excuse): "(Everything) will be forgiven to us." And if (again) the offer of the like (evil pleasures of this world) came their way, they would (again) seize them (would commit those sins). Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not say about Allah anything but the truth? And they have studied what is in it (the Book). And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2). Do not you then understand?

170. And as to those who hold fast to the Book (i.e. act on its teachings) and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), certainly, We shall never waste the reward of those who do righteous deeds.

171. And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): "Hold firmly to what We have given you [i.e. the Taurat (Torah)], and remember that which is therein (act on its commandments), so that you may fear Allah and obey Him."

172. And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."

173. Or lest you should say: "It was only our fathers afortime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised Al-Batil (i.e. polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?" (Tafsir At-Tabari).

174. Thus do We explain the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail, so that they may turn (unto the truth).

175. And recite (O Muhammad ) to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), but he threw them away, so Shaitan (Satan) followed him up, and he became of those who went astray.

176. And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desire. So his description is the description of a dog: if you drive him away, he lolls his tongue out, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls his tongue out. Such is the description of the people who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect.

177. Evil is the likeness of the people who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses and signs, etc.), and used to wrong their ownselves.

178. Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the guided one, and whomsoever He sends astray, those! They are the losers.

179. And surely, We have created many of the jinns and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.

180. And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah , so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names. They will be requited for what they used to do.

181. And of those whom We have created, there is a community who guides (others) with the truth, and establishes justice therewith.

182. Those who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not.

183. And I respite them; certainly My Plan is strong.

184. Do they not reflect? There is no madness in their companion (Muhammad ). He is but a plain warner.

185. Do they not look in the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all things that Allah has created, and that it may be that the end of their lives is near. In what message after this will they then believe?

186. Whomsoever Allah sends astray, none can guide him; and He lets them wander blindly in their transgressions.

187. They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection): "When will be its appointed time?" Say: "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (Alone). None can reveal its time but He. Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth. It shall not come upon you except all of a sudden." They ask you as if you have a good knowledge of it. Say: "The knowledge thereof is with Allah (Alone) but most of mankind know not."

188. Say (O Muhammad ): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."

189. It is He Who has created you from a single person (Adam), and (then) He has created from him his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her. When he had sexual relation with her, she became pregnant and she carried it about lightly. Then when it became heavy, they both invoked Allah, their Lord (saying): "If You give us a Salih (good in every aspect) child, we shall indeed be among the grateful."

190. But when He gave them a Salih (good in every aspect) child, they ascribed partners to Him (Allah) in that which He has given to them. High be Allah, Exalted above all that they ascribe as partners to Him. (Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol.9, Page 148).

191. Do they attribute as partners to Allah those who created nothing but they themselves are created?

192. No help can they give them, nor can they help themselves.

193. And if you call them to guidance, they follow you not. It is the same for you whether you call them or you keep silent.

194. Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like you. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful.

195. Have they feet wherewith they walk? Or have they hands wherewith they hold? Or have they eyes wherewith they see? Or have they ears wherewith they hear? Say (O Muhammad ): "Call your (so-called) partners (of Allah) and then plot against me, and give me no respite!

196. "Verily, my Wali (Protector, Supporter, and Helper, etc.) is Allah Who has revealed the Book (the Qur'an), and He protects (supports and helps) the righteous.

197. "And those whom you call upon besides Him (Allah) cannot help you nor can they help themselves."

198. And if you call them to guidance, they hear not and you will see them looking at you, yet they see not.

199. Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. don't punish them).

200. And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaitan (Satan) then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

201. Verily, those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2), when an evil thought comes to them from Shaitan (Satan), they remember (Allah), and (indeed) they then see (aright).

202. But (as for) their brothers (the devils) they (i.e. the devils) plunge them deeper into error, and they never stop short.

203. And if you do not bring them a miracle [according to their (i.e. Quraish-pagans') proposal], they say: "Why have you not brought it?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur'an) is nothing but evidences from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe."

204. So, when the Qur'an is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy. [i.e. during the compulsory congregational prayers when the Imam (of a mosque) is leading the prayer (except Surat Al-Fatiha), and also when he is delivering the Friday-prayer Khutbah]. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol.9, Pages 162-4]

205. And remember your Lord by your tongue and within yourself, humbly and with fear without loudness in words in the mornings, and in the afternoons and be not of those who are neglectful.

206. Surely, those who are with your Lord (angels) are never too proud to perform acts of worship to Him, but they glorify His Praise and prostrate before Him.

"One (1) Malaysia" -- what it means

I propose that the beginning of a successful goal of a One Malaysia nation begin with the dismantling of all race-based political parties. As long as we are organized along racial lines, we will continue to protect each others' interest using the idea of might is right. Our institutions will continue to be built along these lines and our culture will continue to evolve in ways that will enable and disable each other. Our children will continue to learn about better ways not to tolerate each other and how to build walls and cages around us. We will, as citizens, continue to see race and ethnicity -- rather than class or caste -- as obstacles to progress.

Some time ago I wrote the following piece in response to a proposal to introduce a race relations act.

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Race Relations Act - why now?

Azly Rahman

This sounds like a good idea; but after 51 years of independence? We should have had this act to prevent the emergence of race-based parties and to ensure that all citizens be given equal opportunity and the rights and privileges accorded to them as a result of surrendering their natural rights to the state. After 51 years of the institutionalisation of ethnocentrism and many times outright racism in terms of allocation of resources, open-secret indoctrinations, and the exploitation of racial and religious issues for political gain, we are now proposing an act to improve race-relations? I am now puzzled – by the inherent contradictions we are confronting and will continue to confront vis-à-vis this proposed act. Questions abound Since the government had asked citizens like me to make suggestions and seek clarification concerning this proposed act, I have the following questions: How will we judge the existing race-based parties that live and breathe on racial sentimentality to the point of being seditious in their pursuit of hegemony? How will this act be used against governmental institutions such as the Biro Tata Negara whose livelihood has historically been based upon making sure that the damaging ideology of Malay (Pseudo) supremacy will forever prevail? How will this act be used against public-funded educational institutions that promote "Ketuanan Melayu" which is clearly antithetical to our will to teach multi-racial understanding? How many members of Parliament will be arrested under the Race Relations Act based on the nature of speeches they had given? How many teachers and public servants will be investigated for using their position to deny their students and clients respectively the rights to be treated equally before the Constitution - rights accorded regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, color, creed, and religious orientation? How many years of the possibility of multicultural education and intercultural understanding have we lost as a consequence of not having a Race Relations Act way back on Sept 16, 1963 during the formation of Malaysia? How many racist policymakers in governmental and non-governmental sectors have we produced as a result of no Race Relations Act? How many racist youth party leaders have we given birth to and how many can we afford to see "cloned" and "artificially inseminated" as a result of the absence of any act that erases racism and curbs arrogance and greed? How will this proposed act, if passed, abolish the Internal Security Act that has been used to crush amongst others, those who oppose race-based policies and fight for racial and social justice? How will this act allow for the passage of a new brand of politics – one that sees a truly multiracial party ruling the country and implementing policies based on the philosophy of equality, equal opportunity, excellence and empathy? We are proposing this act at a time when we arrest our citizens for no good reason and no trial, using the instrument of oppression no longer suitable for an ultra and hyper-modern society such as ours. We are proposing this out of desperation and out of sync with the mass sentiment of the day; at a time when the Berlin Wall of our Balkanized race relations is crumbling by the day, each brick in the wall ripped off by the power of the digital tsunami. We are hearing this proposal coming from a race-based coalition government that wants to ensure that the divide and conquer and sub-divide and sub-conquer policies of British colonialism prevail in the filter-funneled minds of our little brown brothers and sisters. The need to go deeper Perhaps what we need is not another act to add to the ambivalence of acts such as The University and University Colleges and the Internal Security Acts but to go deeper into our public institutions and ask why we have not progressed much in race relations after all these decades. We should investigate further how the New Economic Policy itself as a grand Stalinist-inspired programme of national development has contributed not only to the deterioration of race relations but has cemented racism in newer forms – both subtle and open. We should investigate how the topic race relations has been taught in our community centers, schools, universities, and other public institutions to see what goes into the mind of our citizens by way of schooling, indoctrination, training, and education – to see what went wrong and what is still not right. We should examine governmental policies and see if we indeed uncover practices that promote equality, equal opportunity, and empathy in place; policies that ought to have improved race relations, inclusionary, and integrate rather than disintegrate the different races. This will be a mind-boggling noble proposal for us to contribute ideas. Do we need a new act? Or will a new government with a brand new ideology suffice? But as peace and justice-loving Malaysians, let us offer constructive ideas to this proposed act. Let us propose that only a truly multiracial party that has the will, motivation, intelligence and the set of acquired skills should be given the mandate to implement a Race Relations Act. Any communal-based party is too much a contradiction to put their act together on this one.

Posted by DR. AZLY RAHMAN at 11:55 PM

Agi Idup Agi Mengelabah, or A corrupting life is not worth living

To my Sarawak friends, I have always been fascinated by the phrase "Ai idup, agi ngelaban" but I have always though also an alter slogan "agi idup agi mengelabah" to signify how corrupt the world we are living in and how we will continue to live in a world of corruption.

Agi idup agi mengelabah ... as long as we are homo economicus (economic beings) living in a world constructed by those who have the means to shape our reality, we will not know our role as masters of our own destiny and makers of our own history. This is an existentialist moment in each one of us. Of alienation, despair, and oppresion. Of corruption that permeates into the everyday affairs of men.

Socrates's maxim. "An unexamine life is not worth living" is worth exploring here. Malaysians are entering a period of devastating exuberance, a depressing hope, a dystopic utopia, and a rhetorical realpolitik -- a world full of contradictions and widespread corrupt practices in which "might is right" and the law of the postmodern urban jungle rules.

Some ago I wrote about this. Here is an excerpt:

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Hai orang-orang yang beriman, makanlah di antara rezeki yang baik yang Kami berikan kepadamu dan bersyukurlah kepada Allah, jika benar hanya kepada-Nya kamu berserah (Al-Baqarah:172).

This comes from the website of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), whose slogan is Tingkatkan integriti, Hapuskan rasuah. I am tired of contradictions. And of slogans. The nation is tired of them too.

Who but the ACA can we turn to report corrupt people, corrupt practices? We have become a pathetic nation made helpless by the revelations we are reading daily. Things are falling apart.Yet we have a general election coming - one in which even the Election Commissions itself cannot claim to be independent. How many dozen ‘Royal Commissions’ of Inquiry have we asked to be set up since Independence to help us uncover truths - how many have materialised?

We no longer have any shame as a nation. Even worse, we still vote for vultures.

Corruption runs in the veins of the body politic - in business, politics, religion, education, culture, etc. Even in our mind. Even in our language. Consider the Approved Permit issue, the half-bridge to Singapore, and teh multitude of cases in the archive of the anti-corruption agency ... you name it...we do not know where these cases are going. History tells us that we will not see consequences, nor see anyone resigning voluntarily.

We do not have any shame.

Unlike the Japanese.Even our universities are seeing corrupt practices. We see students thrown out for speaking up, academicians axed for taking a stand, lecturers made to feel good about how moral and benevolent the government is, and how academic-cronyism is taking shape.Conferences in public universities are about discussing feel-good themes, presenting papers to make feel-good communalistic ideologies feel elevated, and going into academic detail of how to parrot government propaganda better.

How do we expect to produce critical thinkers among graduates when critical analyses about our society are seldom produced and presented. From our public universities to our think tanks, we see lethargy in the way we view society and politics.Our consciousness has been corrupted by the fear, fantasy and fetish we have structured into our mind though a funneling process of depthlessness of thought.

Only if we had the Malaysian version of the great Argentine medical-doctor turned social messiah, Che Guevara, as education minister, We would see true transformation of the education to fight corruption of the soul, mind, and flesh.

Perak State Assembly: The Neo-Melaka tree

Le Serment du Jeu de Paume or The Tennis Court Oath, early French Revolution
(painting by Jacques Louis-David)

And on that historic day of March 3, 2009, They sat and met under a tree. And the tree turned yellow.

NOTES WRITTEN UNDER A NE0-MELAKKA TREE, CIRCA MARCH 3, 2009:

Excerpts from an essay on the yellow wave
by Azly Rahman

Systemic corruption

I think the root of the showdown between the ‘yellow wave’ movement and the ‘red- faced’ power structure is economic in nature - true to the idea that we are all economic beings or of the specie homo economicus.

We still talk about an economic pie as if it is a constant. The faulty tool is popular with policy makers who are bankrupt of alternative perspectives of looking at systemic change. They continue to defend the indefensible in a time when change is imminent and coming at a very fast pace.

Even newer generation of race-based leaders are ill-equipped with the fundamental character of these radical changes. They use rock logic to meet the demand of a fluid society. Rock logic includes the use of force to prevent demands to these changes.

We must now abandon the metaphor of the pie; one that is increasingly becoming synonymous with the race to meet the gains of material standards at the expense of the real issue - distributive and regulative justice. We ought to adopt a new form of justice that cuts across racial lines and one that looks at the poor in the eye and into their souls.

That form of justice will meet our nation's physical, emotional, and metaphysical needs. The present wave of dissatisfaction is not only an emanation of frustration over the issue of the judiciary and confusion over the line between the Legislature and the Executive; it is an emanation of a class-based issue, of which we are in denial.

Race is merely a sugar-coating of that nagging argument of this and that rights of this and that people; a coating that has become calloused with fossilised viruses that have corrupted the entire system since the British handed Malaya her independence on a silver platter. Race is a convenient basis for argument as it masks the issue of the ownership of power, knowledge and ideology.

Class-based system

The new issue facing us is class-based. We can longer use race and its sentimentality as a perspective to analyse what is gravely wrong with the developmental project we are pursuing.

We have subdivided ourselves into classes of the rich and poor from all the major races and the classes of those who owns the material and cultural capital. Our pattern of consumption, our daily grind, the kind of car we drive, the school our children go to, and how widely travelled we are, all reflect the class we are in.

But our politics is renewed every now and then to re-state the commitment to "correct the imbalances" using econometrics, without engaging in a sustained deep inquiry into the harder reality of living.

We are engaging in another exercise in keris-wielding, to renew of political-economic spirit that wishes to see the creation of more and more multi-million perhaps multi-billionaire Malays, Chinese, Indians, and other pribumi, but fail to inquire into the impact of such continuing policies that will further divide us into classes. No longer do arguments on racial imbalances, to me, seem to be attractive. Classes create antagonism.

Revelations of the issues of the distribution of wealth as in the multitude of unresolved cases of high-level corruption reflect how much public interest is intertwined with personal greed.

It reflects how much those in power invoke the mantras of "economic progress for this or that race" yet create a system that benefits this and that person/s. This is the game of equity we play. Our voters are either ignorant of the nature of interlocking directorate-ship in politics, or are too comfortable playing this game of patronage politics.

We somewhat do not get the clearest picture of what 30 years of ‘growth by equity’ policy has taken shape; who benefits? how are the benefits distributed? and why have the benefits of growth not trickle down as they theoretically should?

Price of progress

The human cost of development has taken its toll on the nation - that of those marginalised and lost-in-the-numbers game of the economic policy we design. We are startled by the nature of by-products of developments such as:

• The growing poverty (urban and rural) among Malaysians of all races, and we will also see rising poverty among immigrants who are helping build our economy;
• An increasing percentage of drug addiction among the Malays - especially those marginalised by an uncaring, uncreative, and uninspiring educational system that measures people by numbers and by truncated notion of achievement alone - and I am sure of other races in general;

• An increasing number of persons living with HIV/Aids as a possible result of the nature of the economic developmental paradigm we have constructed and the nature of schooling system that promotes a few and marginalises and alienates many;

• A growing population of our youth disenfranchised in our school system as a result of the slow-paced growth of teaching-skills acquisition - skills that are needed to make the school a very happy place one wherein children do not get bored and translate their boredom into drug addiction or gangsterism;

• A growing breed of our elected representative that cannot articulate logical analysis, prognosis, diagnosis to issues of distributive and regulative justice, but instead choose to continue to verbally clobber each other based on race sentiments;

• A clear continuation of the political paradigm in which our politicians are engaged - one that needs lots of money to keep one's constituency happy and even worse, to keep one's political position stronger;

• A clear picture of how our society has developed - the dangerous growth of classes of the multi-cultural rich and the multi-cultural poor and the relegation of the multi-cultural middle class into a new class of ‘urban poor’ whose life is tied to an increasingly dangerous pattern of hyper-modern consumption;

• A picture of the breaking down of families as a result of the changing patterns of our economy after the implementation of the NEP - there’s too much drive in human beings to earn more to make the first million Ringgit so that they will be ‘on par with the other races’. This has resulted in a dangerous form of psychological breakdown as a consequence of the mental breakdown of modern life. The work ethic imposed on Malaysians by global companies, especially profit-driven ones from the advanced nations, have impacted the way we look at work, juggle family life, pursue leisure and pleasure, and the way we create or break families;

• A dangerous trend of a breakdown of race relations, reflected in the nature and style of arguments we engage in, be they in Parliament or in our public schools - this is a continuing pattern of mistrust of the other race based on the struggle to outwit and out-greed each other in our pursuit of material wealth;

• A continuation of the grooming of political-economic dynasties based on the struggle to protect family interests as well as to create more wealth so that money can further sustain power - the idealism and ethics of the early years of Independence are now in the dustbin of history; we now watch a saga of what looked like a war between the Jacobins and the Girondins during the French Revolution, only this revolution is played silently, not for the future well-being of peoples of all races, but for the purpose of empire-building.

There are possible inroads to the long-term economic solutions we can undertake in order to rekindle the spirit of restructuring society and eliminating poverty.

Our current pursuit is creating the opposite effect. It is still-based on the protection of the interest of each race, ideologically derived form the British legacy of divide and rule.

The current path is creating classes of the extremely wealthy few and a growing population of poor. It is creating classes of the extremely wealthy few and a growing population of poor.

We need to go back to studying human nature and what kind of society we wish to recreate. The wealthy class wants to be ensured of control of economic resources so that the system can be maintained and be fine-tuned.

To meet the challenges of a nation that is beginning to think like a dolphin, we have to reject the notion of using force and violence to promote Dinosaur Age thinking.

I suggest we abandon Dinosaur Age thinkers in our march for real-time progress; one in which dolphins surf the yellow waves - elegantly and intelligently.

FROM THE PAGES OF EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY:

The Oath of the Tennis Court (June 20, 1789)

BAILLY: I do not need to tell you in what a grievous situation the Assembly finds itself; I propose that we deliberate on what action to take under such tumultuous circumstances.

M. Mounier offers an opinion, seconded by Messieurs Target, Chapelier, and Barnave; he points out how strange it is that the hall of the Estates General should be occupied by armed men; that no other locale has been offered to the National Assembly; that its president was not forewarned by other means than letters from the Marquis de Brezé, and the national representatives by public posters alone; that, finally, they were obliged to meet in the Tennis Court of Old Versailles street, so as not to interrupt their work; that wounded in their rights and heir dignity, warned of the intensity of intrigue and determination with which the king is pushed to disastrous measures, the representatives of the nation bind themselves to the public good and the interests of the fatherland with a solemn oath.

This proposal is approved by unanimous applause.

The Assembly quickly decrees the following:

The National Assembly, considering that it has been called to establish the constitution of the realm, to bring about the regeneration of public order, and to maintain the true principles of monarchy; nothing may prevent it from continuing its deliberations in any place it is forced to establish itself; and, finally, the National Assembly exists wherever its members are gathered.

Decrees that all members of this assembly immediately take a solemn oath never to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the realm is established and fixed upon solid foundations; and that said oath having been sworn, all members and each one individually confirm this unwavering resolution with his signature.

Bailly: I demand that the secretaries and I swear the oath first; which they do immediately according to the following formula:

We swear never to separate ourselves from the National Assembly, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the realm is drawn up and fixed upon solid foundations.

All the members swear the same oath between the hands of the president.

[Source: Gazette Nationale, ou Le Monituer universel, trans. Laura Mason in Laura Mason and Tracey Rizzo, eds., The French Revolution: A Document Collection (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999), pp. 60-61.]