...:: tambahan: sesiapa yg nak entri ni diterjemah, tlg bgitau ye.. tgglkn email kat bhgian comment (especially buat adik2 SMK Dato') ::..
> We can plan, but Allah also plans. And His plans are the best of all.
Perhaps it is something that is oft heard and repeated. The verse seems very apt during the evening of the second day of the camp. We had planned a number of activities for the night, but Allah knows best. He had wanted to ‘tarbiyyah’ the students on how to really put their trust, and hope only to Allah. How to really rely on depend on Him fully. How is that? Allah had planned for the night, to have three people getting ‘hysteria’ one after the other.
Hence, the evening was filled with ma’thurat and two rounds of Yasin. We also get to really relate the talks and remind the students of Allah’s power over His creations, His love and the fact that He is always there for us.
Honestly, I was actually freaked out too, when the first girl got hysteria. On top of that, I was the only girl facilitator around too! Plus I have never experienced anyone getting hysteria when I am around before. But Alhamdulillah, I was able to keep my cool at the time, reminding myself again and again that whatever ‘the thing’ is, Allah is much more powerful. Coincidentally, one of the facilitator is used to dealing with this situation. Hence we let her handle the girl, while the rest of us calm other participants and organize activities for them.
Later on, during the post-mortem, all of us agreed that the experience is a highly valuable one indeed.
> Da’wah is an art – a business of winning people’s heart
Yup… it is an art. An art that take years to master. It is not a simple task to touch hearts and influence people. Because people are not the same. Everything is not just black and white.
During the camp, I saw firsthand one of the art at work. Oft times, when facing those who we perceive as bad, we tend to be hard on them, setting punishments upon punishments. But a da’ei should be different. Take a different outlook, and be creative with these people. Because fire may not be put out with oil. Thus, we should try to pour water no the fire instead. This is the approach that the camp commander had decided to apply. Alhamdulillah, it works. Handling the guys who are labeled as ‘bad’ in a softer way, befriending them and talking nicely to them actually helps a lot. The impact? They are willing to join in all the activities, even help out in cleaning up. Also, after the hysteria case, the facilitators actually succeed in getting these guys to pray. In the end, I think that most of them are not really bad. Maybe naughty, yes, but not bad. All they need is to be given a chance to prove themselves. And someone who actually care.
> Obtaining perfection is impossible, but all the way to perfection, you’ll gain excellence
Tribute to sis Hlovate, for sharing this quote in ‘Versus’. I love this quote a lot, and shared it a few times with my friends and the participants of the camp. Yes, we all hope to be perfect, but sometimes, it seems so far and impossible to achieve. However, if we go on trying, in the end, we’ll excel, though we can never be perfect.
This is my hope for the participants. I know they are all far from perfection. Yet I hope that they can improve, gain more knowledge, learn to control themselves, try to be better sons and daughters to their parents, better students and study harder, and most importantly, be better servants to Allah, our Savior, Creator, and Lord. The road ahead is tough, yet we can go on, insyaAllah, with trust, hope and prayers to Him.
Well… I guess that’s the summary, on the whole… a very long entry this time.. (^_^) as for pictures… I’ll upload them as soon as another facilitator is able to email them to me… may all these life lessons be of use, to me, and also to all the readers.
>> Sorry for any mistakes in relying the events here… or for any other khilaf anywhere else, for that matter. I’m just a humble servant of Him, still on the long road of self improvement… hence I welcome any comments and additions, etc.
~Signing off…
