The Eastern Promise
M. Zakyuddin Munziri
@zakiego
Originally written in Bahasa Indonesia.
One day, a young man made an appointment with Sheikh Ali Thantawi. The meeting time was agreed upon at 4:00 PM. However, the person only met Sheikh Ali at 5:00 PM.
Sheikh Ali invited the young man in and asked him to sit in the living room, while the sheikh went to play and joke with his grandchildren. He left the young man waiting in the living room until 5:45 PM.
A few moments later, Sheikh Ali came to meet him and said, "O young man, keeping a promise is the same as respecting other people's time. What did you feel during those 45 minutes? Know that I felt the same thing for 1 hour while waiting for you."
He continued, "I don't know how people manage the most precious blessing from Allah in their lives, which is time. A doctor writes on his practice sign, 'Open from 8:00 AM', while he arrives at the practice at 9:00 AM. What sin have the patients committed that they must wait? A wedding invitation says 8:00 PM and only starts at 9:00 PM. What sin have the guests who arrived on time committed that they must wait? An employee comes late to the office with a casual expression on his face."
O people whose worship has been arranged according to its times, what is wrong with you?
We talk about the slow liberation of Palestine, yet lateness is our habit. We are even often late for the most obligatory thing in our lives, which is prayer. How long will we live like this?
Notes:
In the book Ma'annas, Sheikh Ali tells many stories about the various people he met in his life. He also critiques many social issues, the spirit of Islam today, and matters of social interaction.
There are 38 chapters in this book, and among the most interesting chapters is "الوعد الشرقي" (The Eastern Promise). An expression that suggests that Eastern people like to procrastinate, not caring about promises. He criticizes this expression and awakens Muslims that they are the ones who taught the West about the urgency of time. Therefore, they should be at the forefront in respecting time.
May Allah have mercy on you, O Sheikh.
Notes:
This writing fully belongs to Ustadz Aan Candra Thalib -may Allah preserve him-. I saved it here because I feel this writing has great benefit, teaching about the importance of respecting time.
