Ustaz Azhar Idrus is once again in the spotlight - he was quoted to have said "Hanya orang munafik yang menjaga hati org kafir" (Only ‘false Muslims' care about being considerate to the feelings of non-Muslims) in one of his latest sermons. A post that includes the quotation has since gone viral on social media.
A Malay Facebook user has since created a post on Facebook where he defended ‘kafir’ (disbelievers - used commonly to describe non-Muslims) in Malaysia against Ustaz Azhar Idrus. His post is as follows:
"I just converse with my non-Muslim neighbour. His child is sick - he lives at the same condo as me. The instance he saw me, he invited me to have a cup of tea. His wife even invited me to sit down and have a chat in their home. His child has gone down with a fever.
I felt sympathy for his child due to the child's poor health. I pray that his child recovers soon. Am I a ‘munafiq’ (hypocrite or contextually, ‘false Muslims’) for doing so?
I have a friend - his name is Gopal. He lives near to my condo. He will greet me whenever he sees me, ‘How are you, Dr.?’. That's the atmosphere at my condo.
I also have a Muslim friend who married a Chinese. Both of his in-laws are ‘kafir’ (non-Muslims). He has to be considerate of his in-laws and care for them. Is he a munafiq? Did I befriend a munafiq?
I was always invited to the homes of ‘kafir’ on Chinese New Year. Am I a ‘munafiq’ for befriending a ‘munafiq’?
Am I a ‘munafiq’ because I befriend and care about fellow Malaysians who are ‘kafir’? I understand that I have 40 neighbours at my condo. It is hard to know everyone who is living at my condo.
I work hard to know all my other neighbours even those who are ‘kafir’. This is because I live in a multiracial and multicultural country. The Prophet taught me to care and know about my neighbours.
Sometimes, I am astonished by religious people especially those who studied the religion (of Islam). They study the religion (of Islam) but to me, they look like those who just put it on a high pedestal; the book (referring to Quran) and knowledge (of Islam) didn't manage to teach them the attitude and actions that a true Muslim would carry themselves in accordance to Islam.
My apologies - perhaps I said too much. Now, I experience different feelings when I watch videos of religious people. I will just swipe away whenever I see those posts. Now, I lost respect for those who are religious.
Maybe the main reason ‘kafir’ stay away from Islam is because in Muslim countries, the Muslims believe that the key to heaven belongs to them and ONLY them. We mainly hear about the advice of religious people than we hear about ‘kafir’ converting to Islam.
I graduated with a PhD from the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya. I am proud of my alumni but I am embarrassed to claim to be an ‘ustaz’ (teacher in the Islamic context) because of the behavior of fellow ‘ustaz’ and religious people in the country.
Sekian (That's all)
Disclaimer: If the picture (referring to the quote by the ‘Ustaz Azhar Idrus’) is true, I pray that the meaning of the caption is not the true meaning.
Update 1/12/2023:
My comment on Facebook went viral. This is what happens when my caption is taken out of context and critiqued. Thus, it prompted many reactions from people. I expected this - I just wanted to see the comments of my fellow Malaysians; which of them are the ones that advise and which are the ones that punish."
Many fellow Muslims condemned the Facebook user and left nasty comments. One comment says this, ‘There is a saying about PhD back in the day when I was studying at university, the saying goes that PhD means Permanent Head Damage’ (this refers to the Facebook user who holds a PhD). Another commented, ‘I hope you are given hidayah (guidance) before you kick the bucket’.
What do you think of the issue? Is the Facebook user right to defend fellow non-Muslim Malaysians (or Muslim Malaysians who care about non-Muslim Malaysians) against the comment of Ustaz Azhar Idrus or was he wrong? Let me know in the comments.
Aaron Colt is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.