Sri Sementara

About ten years ago, i visited a family friends, Abang Yusof and Kak Moh ( it should be Kak Mah but  she's a Kelantanese, so we called her Kak Moh, just as how the Kelantanese would have addressed her).  As we parked our car in front of her small bungalow, we noticed that they named their house "Sri Sementara" (means The Temporary).

After we have been seated comfortably in their living room, i just couldn't wait to ask them why they had named their house 'Sementara', are they planning to move soon?  

I met Abang Yusof and Kak Moh when we were traveled together to Amman, then to Medinah and Mekah in September 1999.  I had my mother Aminah Taib, my wife Rozita and my two kids, Akram & Balqis, traveled with me.  Akram was eight and Balqis was five at that time. We took a Jordanian flight to Amman and had a night stopover.  Later we were joined by Wan Muhd Zamri for the trip to Madinah & Mekah.
That was my first trip to Mekah and Madinah and I just couldn't describe my feelings of being there. On the return trip, we made a stopover in Amman again and this time we took the opportunity to visit Baitulmaqdis/ Masjidil Aqsa in the neighboring country. (I would write more of my first trip to these three holly lands later.)

My eyes scanned the entire area of Abang Yusof's house.  There was nothing much in the house. It was a  very simple setting with minimum decorations.  Perhaps they were really moving somewhere, I said to myself.

Kak Moh was serving the kopi-O and pisang goreng (black coffee and banana fritters) when Abang Yusof said," Buke koh kito semo ni ake tingga ke dunio ni pado  bilo-bilo maso sajo?" (Aren’t all of us shall be leaving this world at anytime now?).

With that answer, i immediately understood what they meant by naming their house as Sri Sementara.  It was a temporary stay for them in this world. 

Shouldn't we all think like that? Sometimes we are too busy chasing the rainbow that we forget that at any time Allah Almighty can call upon us at anytime. Are we prepared for that? Do we have all the answers for the all the questions that He will ask us?

Where did all our wealth come from? And where had we spent them? Had we read the Qur'an and understood all His messages? Had we lived by them?  

Or perhaps we have been infected by the disease of the akhir zaman, al wahan, like what our Prophet had said,

Rasulullah SAW pernah bersabda yang bermaksud: "Seluruh umat manusia hampir mengelilingi kamu seperti mereka (yang kebuluran) mengelilingi hidangan makanan,
lalu seorang sahabat bertanya: Adakah kerana bilangan kami pada waktu itu sedikit, wahai Rasulullah?
Jawab Baginda: Tidak, bahkan bilangan kamu amat ramai tetapi kamu adalah laksana buih di lautan.
Allah akan mencabut daripada hati seteru atau musuh kehebatan kamu dan menyematkan dalam hati kamu perasaan al wahn.
Lantas sahabat bertanya lagi:
Ya Rasulullah! Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan al wahn itu? Ujar Baginda: Iaitu cintakan dunia dan takutkan mati."
(Hadis riwayat Abu Daud dan Ahmad) 

Prophet had said, which means: "All people surround you as they sit around the food", then a friend asked: "Was it because we are small in number at that time, O Messenger of Allah?"His answer: "No, there are actually lots of you, but you are like bubbles in the ocean. Allah will draw your greatness from the heart of the your enemies and will put al wahn in your hearts".So a friend asked: Ya Rasullullah! What is al wahn?He said: "The love for life and fear of death. "(Hadith narrated by Abu Dawood and Ahmad)


Perhaps I too, should name my house a " Sri Sementara 2".