:: Blessing or Curse? ::

This posting was copied from MBA (The Muslim Bloggers Alliance).

http://themuslimbloggersalliance.org/

Sorry, couldn't leave a comment there, as I have no Wordpress ID..

BLESSING OR CURSE? by Sister Aliya Yeoh Abdullah

“You’re not going to the surau today?” Mrs. Tan (not her real name) asked me.
“Nope, I’m having my day off.”

“Day off?”
“Menses.. monthly period.”

“Oh… It’s degrading isn’t it, the way women are treated in Hindu and Islam. You can’t pray when you’re having your periods.”

I was shocked at her comment. Recovering quickly, I replied, ” Well actually no. Islam treats women so well that we are given the days off when we’re having our monthly menses.”

“What do you mean?”
“Well, as we all know, having menses can be very messy and physically tiring for women. Some suffer from cramps. Allah is Most Merciful, so Muslim women are excused form performing the prayer and fasting when she is coping with the monthly menses. In fact, it’s a sin for the woman to perform the 5 times a day solat during this time of the month. It’s not a punishment but rather, a compassionate gift for women.”

“But I thought women can’t pray at this time because they’re unclean?”

“Muslim women can still pray or doa to Allah, and recite the zikir or praises to Him. It’s just that she doesn’t need to perform the 5 times a day prayer ritual or solat, because it’s physically taxing on her during her menses. Allah in His wisdom lifted the load of solat prayer and the burden of fasting for Muslim women during these times of her life. Uncleanliness is only in her menstrual blood, not her physical self. She can still be with her husband, except having sexual intercourse.”

“But why prevent a woman from praying as usual? Isn’t menses a natural part of a woman’s biological cycle that God makes for a woman?”

“Tell me, are you in a good mood when you’re having your menses? Would you voluntarily wake up at the early hours of dawn, or you’d prefer to sleep a little longer? Do you like to perform exercises when you’re suffering discomfort from menstrual cramps? Do you want to go hungry for hours when you’re having your menses?”

“Of course I’d prefer to sit and rest if I can.”

“Naturally. So Muslim women are exempted from observing prayer or solat, and fasting during her menses because both these tasks are difficult and physically demanding. It’s not a punishment. It’s actually Allah’s gift for the Muslim woman during her menses, to remove hardship and religious obligations from her and allow her space to focus on what she is experiencing during her monthly cycle.”

“So you mean it’s actually to help the women, not as a form of treating women as second-class worshippers?”

“Women are respected in Islam, contrary to what many people prefer to believe. Allah in His wisdom and mercy has ordered women to stop performing her prayer and fasting at such times. So a Muslim woman who does not perform prayer and fast during her menses is actually worshiping Allah too. She obeys His commands and submit to Him.”

“But why can’t she go to the mosque and read the Quran at these times?”

“Actually anyone who is impure, like a man who has just made love to his wife, can’t read the Quran or go to the mosque unless they wash themselves clean first through ablution or mandi hadas. It’s nothing to do with being a woman or a man. In Islam, we show great respect and reverence for the Creator, which is why we wash ourselves clean first and wear clean clothing when we perform the prayer before Him, as well as touch the Holy Quran.”

“So a Muslim woman is actually respected when she’s having her menses?”

“Yes, of course. Muslim women are prevented from praying not because she’s dirty/unclean during her menses. Actually she’s given the holidays from God Almighty so that she can rest and regain her strength. Allah does not intend to place any difficulty on the shoulders of His servants. When a person is experiencing difficulty, Islam will give him or her some concessions that make life easy.”

” I see..”

“Do you know how many days a woman is exempted from performing the solat every month?”

“One week?”

” As long as she’s having her menses.Maximum is 14 days. And she doesn’t have to replace the number of prayers she doesn’t perform at those times. That’s how merciful Allah is to Muslim women.”

“Ok… now I understand.”

Conclusion:

1. It's a reward, not a curse. It's a sign of love and acknowledgment from God that having menses is not something to be toyed with. (So, sabar banyak2 eh bro if your partner lain macam siket bila datang bulan..)

2. It's not because of being unclean (since you can still do doa and zikir), it is because solat is a physical thing, and it needs lots of focus and effort. (So, sapa2 yang solat sambil lewa, pikir2 la sendiri..)

3. Even by not fasting and not doing solat while having menses is an act of obedience to God. Best tuh! Furthermore, even though a women having menses can't fast, her action of helping her family (esp. husband), by actions (eg. bangunkan sahur, temankan masa sahur, etc) menjadikan dia dapat plus points.

4. So, since you've already known this, please explain and clear things out if anyone says that Islam mistreats women when they're having menses. Thank you.

:: degree program comparison ::

Well, for writing this article, I might get some backlash from some people. But I don't care. The reason why I'm doing this is to clear up the air should there be any misunderstanding between those students (and graduates) who is doing (or did obtained) a degree in Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from both universities: Adelaide University, Australia, and UTM, Malaysia.

Why did I choose to compare these two universities? Because both claims to be the best (or one of the best) university for doing Engineering courses in their countries, respectively.

Some of the stereotypical issues might be:
1. student or grad oversea relax je la, belajar siket je subjek..!
2. sombong seih budak grad oversea, padahal aku belajar lagi banyak dari dia..!
3. apa kelas budak grad local uni je?

To do justice, here are what I think students (or graduates) from both countries can claim:

For UTM students:
1. Kitaorg terer, sebab amek banyak subjects!
2. Busy wo idop dolu2, banyak assignments! Dah la sampai 50% value untuk full mark! But kitaorg dapat lepas dengan berjaya! Dah la ada lecturer yang macam...!
3. Kitaorg ada banyak awek2 cun kat sini! Stok penapisan untuk dijadikan pasangan idop sangat besar!
4. Kitaorg makan best! Nak balik umah untuk makan yang lagi best pun tak la susah sangat, paling jauh pun, flight 2 jam je.
5. Dugaan ah beb, banyak hal ah kat sini, politik la, family la, nak bayar pinjaman la etc..
6. Ada ke patut kena amek subjek2 yang takde kena-mengena dengan degree nih? But kitaorg kan terer? Sumer clear beb!
7. Sini persaingan tinggi bro! Dah la kerajaan kalau boleh nak semua students all-rounded: bijak, beriman, beramal, terer sukan, etc etc. Nasib baik tak jadi robot terus.

For Adelaide Uni students:
1. Mana kau tau quality subjek siket tak sama dengan yang banyak? Giler kau, kitaorg buat assignments macam giler perfect pun, kitaorg dapat around 20% of grade je.. Buat lah se-excellent mana sekalipun..
2. Hidup mencabar weh, assignments tiap2 minggu ada. Masalahnya, kau buat ke tak assignment, datang kelas ke tidak, lecturer pedulik apa? Bukannya fail terus, cuma kitaorg ni agak terer gak ah bila exam, buat giler babeng dasat (maklumlah 80% dari exam). Attendance untuk kelas? Apa tuh? Last time kena amek rollcall masa kat skolah la. Rindu pulak zaman dulu kena paksa belajar. Ada jugak orang yang tengok2 perkembangan.
3. Walaupun subjek siket, tapi most likely syllabus sama banyak. Siap advance lagi tuh, ada projek nanotechnology. Tak caya, tengok kat bawah ni..
4. Kitaorg nak cari stok gadis Melayu terakhir susah ah. Tapi, global market bro! Global! Tapi, untuk sapa2 yang ada gf/tunang kat Malaysia, kira terer gak la. Walaupun otak dan jantung tiap2 hari rasa macam nak meletup risau, dapat juga maintain waras dan setia. Orang kata: long-distance tu macam belajar MATHS 1011 la, kacang je!
5. Alamak, makanan halal susah gak nak cari! But kalau kitaorg still pilih untuk hidup dengan makan benda2 halal je, rasa2nya, boleh claim iman kitaorg lagi kuat.. Bab balik umah jumpa parents memang susah la, mahal. Call pon kena ikut time, malam2 ada la cheap time period to call. But concert2 banyak woi sini, takde censor2 pulak tuh! (Alamak, lupa pulak aku belajar apa tadi..)
6. Dugaan? Oversea politik takde hal, cuma kuat tak kuat iman, dan mampu tak mampu tiap2 hari nak speaking je lah yang menduga. Maklumlah, takde azan, takde pencegah maksiat, uni bagi kondom free (macam gula2), nightclub depan uni, KFC yang memang tak halal berlambak, ganja/alkohol/hiburan macam jumlah masjid kat Malaysia. Banyak giler!
7. Nasib baik ah kitaorg takde kena amek subjek macam tuh. Eh eh, patutlah kitaorg maybe kurang bermoral, kurang Islamic dan kurang Asian. But takpelah, kitaorg belajar direct dari idop, 4 tahun, tiap2 hari kena duga. Practical tu beb!
8. Persaingan? Susah beb, susah! Bebudak mat saleh ni bukannya ada dapat offer utk gi belajar mana2 uni kat oversea. So, yang tahap IQ macam ala2 Einstein pun berlambak dalam kelas. (cuba try tengok dalam wikipedia, berapa ramai ex-student Adelaide Uni yang dah menang Nobel Prize!). Tuh yang masa bila aku menang debat, atau dapat report sampai lebih 90%, aku sengeh2 macam gile tuh! Rasa macam Einstein bawah tapak kaki je.. Haha..

Nota editor: sorry kalau nampak berat sebelah. Tak berniat apa2, cuma as orang yang tak duduk kat Malaysia now, tak tau apa hujah2 best budak local U..


So, apa moralnya?

Hormatilah satu sama lain.

Yang belajar atau grad oversea mungkin kurang sopan, kurang Islamic, kurang bersikap keMalaysiaan dan mungkin kurang jumlah subjeknya berbanding apa yang budak local U amek, BUT disebabkan at least 4 tahun tercampak kat tempat orang yang penuh dugaan, diaorg ni bab2 survival dalam menjaga maruah atau experience persaingan bebas tanpa tongkat kerajaan atau pun bab2 pelajaran jatuh-bangun memang mungkin ada kelebihan.

Yang belajar local U pulak, walaupun ada yang mungkin kata university takde kualiti (tak masuk top 100), atau jagoan kampung, atau tak tercabar sebab masih dalam negara, aku rasa, they deserve a lot of repect! Mana ada orang dari uni2 negara lain yang kena amek banyak2 subjek, dah la subjek yang pelik2, siap ada kokurikulum pulak tuh? So, kena respect diaorg nih, 4 tahun keje keras, kena pakai bahasa yang bukannya tiap2 hari kena praktis dan berjaya lulus walaupun diduga dengan segala apa yang berlaku. Diaorg nih, benda2 pasal negara berlaku depan mata tiap2 hari, but berjaya jugak focus. Lagipun, diaorg nih la yang membesar dalam negara, mengalami lebih banyak perkara dalam negara masa tengah bertambah kematangan diaorg.

So, for both, rendah2kan lah diri. Hormat pihak yang satu lagi. Jangan pandah rendah pihak satu lagi, tapi jangan la sampai biarkan orang kata degree uni korang tak berkualiti, atau tuduh korang sambil main2 pun boleh grad!

By the way, here is the comparison between the program for Bachelor of Engineering in both universities:


Sila klik untuk lihat dengan lebih jelas..