In the third paragraph of "The Birth of Majnun", Layla Majnun, Nizami Ganzavi wrote, "...However, although he was honored like a king, he felt himself like a candle, consumed by its own flame, without being able to emit enough light."
Humans always collect material as long as they have breath. Get one, still not enough, and want to add two, three, four, and so on. Endless desires. Imam Syafi'i reminded that nothing is eternal, be it sadness or happiness in this world: "There is no eternal sadness, no eternal happiness. No misery lasts forever, neither does prosperity."
Humans want to pursue heights, depths, breadth and all kinds of power to make themselves happy. Pious people call it: "chasing the world." A poem says, "Whoever is Allah's goal, the world will surely serve him, but whoever is the world's goal will surely be tired and will surely be miserable, enslaved by the world until the end of time." Isn't it permissible to "chase the world"? Of course it is permissible, even the world is part of the afterlife. This means that how we are in the afterlife is very much determined by how we are in the world. Religion teaches the vision: "happiness in the world" and "happiness in the afterlife." In the "future" and "present" times we are taught to pursue happiness. The highest, highest, or noblest goal is the happiness of loving our Creator do good at all times according to His guidance.
Worldly happiness can be obtained by humans in many ways. Starting from the right, moral way to the wrong, immoral. People can be rich, become rulers, become the most popular people, and so on. However, all of that is not true, because in time it will fade too, and will change from one person to another. Religion directs us to include elements of intention, method, and meaning from the movement of our lives. What is our intention to work? If the intention is to support ourselves, our families, and make our loved ones happy, that is certainly very noble. However, intention alone is not enough. There is another way. Is the way to get the material halal or haram? After that, where is the allocation of something that has been obtained?
Some people I meet usually say this, "... I will never feed my children and wife with haram money." Hearing that, I began to reflect, how true that statement is. Why? Because haram wealth will destroy our souls. Buya Dr. Yahya Zainul Ma'arif, founder of the Al Bahjah Islamic Boarding School in Cirebon, said that illicit possessions would have an impact on children's inner intelligence: "Guidance from Allah is far away, wanting to do good is difficult," he said. Certain Sufis truly protect themselves from what is haram, including what is "doubtful" or doubtful. They do this because they really want to protect their nature, so that their hearts continue to be connected to Allah and are not polluted by spots of sin.
However, is there a human being who is completely whole in his life's journey? Those of us who usually call ourselves "ordinary people" certainly make a lot of mistakes and make a lot of mistakes. Religion teaches that there is a door to repentance. Repentance is always open to time. Whenever people want to repent from their sins, God opens and He is the One who accepts repentance.
Chasing the world will never end. The more you chase, the more thirsty you become, you want to drink more and more. World greatness, popularity, good name, high position, superior capacity, respect, wealth, all of that should not make us forget the Creator. The Creator always gives a message to ourselves as a "small world" (microcosm) and a "big world" (macrocosm) about the phenomena of our lives that are not in vain, namely there must be a purpose. Allah SWT says: "And why do they not think about (the occurrence of) themselves? Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them except with (a purpose) and a specified term. And indeed most of mankind are ungrateful to the meeting with their Lord." (Ar-Rum: 8)
Pursuing goodness as best as possible, but do not forget to release the results as soon as possible. Do not pile up goodness, while there are other people's rights that should be fulfilled. Other people's rights can be our wealth, our knowledge, or perhaps something simple: our greetings.
Like the third paragraph of the work of the Persian Sufi poet, Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209) above, humans are very likely to be successful and respected like kings, but if their souls are empty of faith and meaning in life, then their lives will feel like candles. They give light to those around them but they themselves are consumed by the flame.
Imam Syafi'i, in his diwan again, wrote: "Time has always educated me, every time I have seen all the shortcomings of my mind. Every time my knowledge has increased, every time my ignorance has increased."
When there is a lot of applause, the emptiness of the soul may not be felt. But, one day when sitting alone, he will feel that there is something wrong with the way I live my life. Is all this greatness the purpose of my life? What is my meaning as a human being? In other situations, crises, people will find their inner voice more deeply, realizing their own negligence.
If self-awareness is possible, the next is the movement of the heart to change. Some want to change, but there are also those who are pessimistic, as if there is no more hope. In fact, as long as life is still ours, there is always the opportunity to change, improve ourselves, and get closer to the Owner of the Soul and Ruler of All the Universe.
The conditions, if you may say so: humble yourself, realize that at the beginning of your life you were also a nobody, a weak creature who didn't know anything, who is now being tested with glory, strength, superiority and applause. Open the door to your heart.
Advice for others, if advice can still be given: Always humble yourself before Him, asking for His guidance so that you are kept away from implied and explicit bad qualities and find happiness in this world and later, God willing, in the afterlife.
YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.
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