What started to be a threesome dinner@Beach Road market end up bein a "pentosome"@ Spize and I have to say...one of the most interestin, thinkin & blasphemously funny ever. it's like a "cell group" discussion, coffee shop style. tsk! i'm not gonna mention any names in our conversations cos all of us were pretty much Guilty! 4 Muslims & 1 intend to be a Muslim. What is mentioned here is solely discussion materials, personal theories, piecing info we noe and rationalisin them.
it all started because one of us shot a question abt "Hantaran". why do Guys have to give so much money for hantaran to the Girls? is it a Must?
Answer #1: it's for givin the wife and her parents.
Answer #2: it's not an Islamic obligation for marriage, actually dun see why parents demand so much. A dowry is important but not hantaran. To me hantaran is juz like gifts u wanna present to ur prospective wife & her family. it's a Malay thing, not a religious thing..
Answer #3: i could understand that hantaran may be useful for olden days ladies cos they usually stay at home instead of work...but nowadays, girls are actually more educated, workin and independent, so instead of Increasingly high Hantaran, the price should DROP!! and why u people dunno how to answer abt hantaran??
Cos it was not mentioned in our lessons, but the Dowry is! And upon provokation of the mind, I had to go dig up my trusty old book and look up and confirm the Non-existence of hantaran! But it stated that the DOWRY/mahar/Maskawin is decided by the Girl, and it can be given in the form of CASH, THINGS, ACTIONS (like teachin Quran) and Giving Independence (to slave girls back then).
So now my question is...
is the Malay tradition of givin hantaran PART of the DOWRY (Maskawin)??
Ok hantaran was a pretty mild subject...we moved on talkin & questionin abt God, Angels & Islamic stuff.
Why does God create Man and why does God allow man to think and choose, but ultimately He determines our actions. So if someone was to choose to say commit a crime, why does God allow that and punish him after that?
Emm someone spouted...To amuse Him?? Haha but somehow the answer we came to was that, He created us to serve Him. God gives us brains to think so that we can differentiate what is good and what is bad, also to question about Him, reflect on His creations and eventually guide us to Him.
Then came more blasphemous stuff, i know some pious people will not like this, but these are What Ifs...God knows, probably these are the angels that'll kick our asses into hell for wonderin of them like these:
Q: Hey...guess which Angel has retired?
A: Jibril (Gabriel) lah...no more Wahyu (revelation) from God what!
Ahh for all u noe...he's now playin golf in heaven!
Q: So who is slackin in heaven now then, waitin for the command of his task?
A: Izrafil cos he will only blow his "horn" when it's Doom's Day!
So he might be playin WOW and watchin anime till then??
Q: u noe which prophet i like most? it's Sulaiman (Solomon) a.s.
A: i think he's sick, a freak..he can talk to animals & jinns! can u imagine anyone doin that, like dr doolittle...dun u think he's like a cuckoo??
*BUT the person actually think it is an extremely amazing capability that God grants to Solomon and to be able to rule an empire like him...WHoa..Very Very Respectable, out of tis world!*
We messed the head of that person who intended to be a Muslim with our conversations, i was told. Yes he is right, we shouldn't make fun of the angels and all. We were not tryin to make fun or did we intend to mock our religion or God himself. God Forbid and if it is really a sin, may God Forgive us...
Some SENSIBLE quotes/questions that came from the conversations:
F: Islam is a Thinkers' religion
I : There can be Miracles when u Believe
S: U want to be judged by people or do u want to be judged by GOD?
S: When we don't understand/know the reason WHY God ask to do this and that, juz follow cos some things are beyong our rationale (cos He Knows Best).
At the end of the day, is it planted in us that God's power is Magnificent, God's knowledge is Abundant, God is all Forgivin and Islam is a religion for those who seeks submission to God through both Logics and Faith.
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.Walillahilhamd