Sunday, May 11, 2014

Housewife Vs Doctor

Assalamualaikum.

So I heard this today.
"Aku yang pandai ni lekat kat rumah je. Kawan-kawan yang dulu tak pandai jadi doctor-lah, apa lah."

So I said,
"InshaAllah di mata Allah, you are in a high position. Tugas ibu ni bukannya soal remeh."

And she said,
"Alah, tapi tak class lah."

So I said,
"Di mata Allah, class sangat."

My sister who happen to be there added,
"Tak nak ke class di mata Allah?"

I think there's an issue here.
Doctor, housewife? Siapa yang lebih hebat?

The point in this is not to attack any sides.
The main reason I chose to write this blog post was to differentiate between the two and then we can decide for ourselves where we are, which side we are on.

Firstly, let's target soal wanita yang bekerja (yang sudah berumahtangga).
Bukan menjadi tanggungjawab isteri untuk mencari nafkah.
Adapun isteri bekerja, suami tidak berhak meminta wang daripada isterinya hasil dari kerja isteri.
Wanita tidak diharamkan bekerja.
Basically, hukum wanita bekerja adalah harus.
But there are certain conditions and rules to go by (kena dengan fitrah wanita, menjaga aurat, etc).
Do you want a separate blog post dedicated to that? I might do that.
Tapi paling digalakkan adalah supaya isteri menumpukan sepenuh perhatian terhadap membesarkan dan mendidik anak-anak.

Suami tidak ada tanggungjawab untuk mendidik dan membesarkan anak ke?
Eh ada, mestilah ada. Tak terlepas juga dari tanggungjawab mereka.
Cuma, sesuai dengan fitrah semulajadi wanita yang lebih lembut dan lebih sensitif, the presence of the mother is more vital in the early growth stages of the child.
Bukan nak kata bapa itu tidak penting, cuma lagi parah kalau ibu tiada dibandingkan dengan kalau bapa tiada.
Plus, suami sudah ada tanggungjawab yang berat untuk mencari nafkah untuk keluarga.

These days, in certain cases, it isn't sufficient for the husband to be the sole breadmaker of the family.
Times can be hard, and in these cases, if the wife chooses to work, and help her husband, she is rewarded by Allah (inshaAllah) as if she has done charity.

Jadinya, housewife vs doctor?
Of course, Islam menggalakkan isteri supaya menjadi housewife kecuali apabila keadaan sudah terlampau mendesak seperti dalam situasi seorang janda membesarkan anak sendiri.
But the question here cannot be so simply generalised.
On the housewives side, there are all sorts of mothers.
And the same is said on the doctor's side.
So the question here is how do these mothers use their time?

Now do you understand why there is often a generalisation?
It's almost inevitable, you know, not having a lot of time for the family when you are working as a doctor.
It's one of the main reasons why I had my doubts on furthering my studies in Medicine.
I remember when I was doing my hospital attachment and a doctor (female) told me,
"Nak ambil Medicine, family, bye bye."
Kind of scary, huh?

When you have to choose between treating an emergency patient and going to your kid's Parent-Teacher's meeting, it's easy to take the latter for granted.
And I'm not saying it's bad of a person to choose to treat the emergency patient.
I understand how it can't be helped.
The person you treat might go on to live a wonderful life and that's great.
But a petty thing, like, a Parent-Teacher's meeting, you might think it would not affect the child.
Children are fragile.
They might not cry over it.
They might not sulk or hold a grudge.
But subconsciously, it affects them.
And I am not making this up. And no, I am not being dramatic. 
I know this for a fact.

That is why Islam does not burden the women with the task of providing for the family (in terms of shelter, food, money, etc.).
Isteri ada tanggungjawab menjadi manager rumahtangga.

Memang orang selalu pandang suri rumah tangga ni remeh.
"Jadi suri rumah, tak payah ada degree pun."
Amboi. Degree itu cuma status yang manusia bagi.
Agaknya di sisi Allah, apa qualification level kita? Degree? pHD? UPSR?
Suri rumah pun perlu bijak.
Macam-macam ilmu perlu ada.
Diplomacy, psychology, fardhu ain, adab santun, etc.

So, it depends on the person.
Kalau housewife, tapi kerjanya asyik tidur saja, tengok tv, then hmmm, hebatkah?
Kalau doctor, and sangat strict dalam memperuntukkan waktu untuk meluangkan masa dengan  keluarga, hebatnya!

So in this battle, between housewife and doctor, WHO WINS?
Whoever does not abandon their duties.
That's the winner.
Be it doctor or housewife.

I dedicate this blog post to my mother, who is a super-mum, a housewife, yang sabar je melayan kerenah kitorang yang macam-macam ni.

Di mata kami, Mak lah yang paling glamour!
Happy Mother's Day!!

Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dum,
Assalamualaikum.
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Saturday, May 10, 2014

Niqab Q&A : Experiences and Opinions

Assalamualaikum.

Determined not to ramble.
Just going to answer a few questions regarding the niqab.
Questions are in random order and not organised.

What is the niqab?
The niqab is a piece of cloth used to cover the face (usually of a Muslim woman).

Why did you start wearing the niqab?
I was always attracted toward the idea of the niqab. The idea of me wearing a niqab was one of those ideas that remained at the back of my head. I put it off thinking I was not ready for it.
Seribu satu alasan.
Ilmu tidak mencukupi.
Yada yada yada.
One day, I just decided, okay, "Today is the day".
I find with most resolutions, it's best to just go for it.
What's there to lose anyway?

How long did you wear the niqab since you no longer wear it?
I would say about two months. I will get into the reason why I quit wearing the niqab further on in this Q&A.
Not that I feel I need to justify my actions, I just have no problem stating the reason.

Do you think wearing the niqab is an obligatory practice?
No. I take it as a form of prostration towards Allah. I was not forced into wearing the niqab.

How did you go about implementing the niqab?
Going into this, I had pre-decided that I would not wear my niqab in certain situations.
I would take off my niqab when I wanted to eat.
At the time I started wearing the niqab, I was under a hospital attachment program.
I would take my niqab off as soon as I arrived at the hospital.
I was also still a student at INTI IU (where muslims are a minority) and I would take the niqab off when I was in class.
I am not one of those people that believe the execution of the niqab is without flaws. It is important to acknowledge certain limitations when deciding to wear the niqab.
I understood fully that some people would find it uncomfortable and in some situations, the niqab would make communication harder.

Do you have an obsession with people not seeing your face/are you shy?
No. I don't really mind people seeing my face.
If I were one of those people that stayed at home 24-7 or went to lectures and back to my room as a continuous cycle, I probably would not have started wearing the niqab.
I go out a lot (NOT TO PAR-TAYH OKAY).
Pandangan itu semestinya perlu dijaga and sometimes, it just happens. And I'd like to prevent that.
Am I shy?
Hmm. Not really.
Most people think I'm in between.
Not super outgoing but not shy either.
I'd say I'm more reserved.
I'm more of a listener than a talker.

What is the difference between part-time niqabis and full time niqabis?
Part-time, is more like what I did (I don't think 2 months justifies calling myself a niqabi).
Full-time, is what it sounds like. They wear the niqab full-time (don't be silly, not when they are sleeping).

What is a common perception about part-time niqabis?
Hypocrites.
Undecided.
"Wear it at all times, or don't wear it at all"
Some people accept it. Some people don't.
Depends on whether you think it is obligatory or not.
I personally do not think that doing the niqab part-time is a mockery to Islam.
Islam does not burden it's followers.

How did people react to you wearing the niqab?
Alhamdulillah. Most went well. I find the men's gazes would not last as long.
My friends supported me. I'm thankful for that.
Some people weren't so kind. "You're not pretty enough to be wearing the niqab."
Yeah, but people say hurtful things all the time. Doesn't make them right.
My opinion is, kalau orang yang cantik itu sehingga boleh mendatangkan fitnah kepada mata yang memandang adalah lebih digalakkan memakai niqab TETAPI tidak ada syarat bahawa anda harus secantik supermodel mana-mana untuk dibolehkan memakai niqab.
InshaAllah, Allah terima segala usaha kita untuk dekat kepada-Nya.

Did you feel uncomfortable wearing the niqab?
It was pretty hot and sauna-ish the first two days.
Then I got used to it and felt comfortable after that.
I guess it depends on what country you live in.
I live in Malaysia so it's like 32 degrees Celsius most days.
In colder climates, I don't think there would be much adjusting.

Why did you stop wearing the niqab?
I was put in a situation where an official (not the police don't worry haha) claimed to have received a complaint due to security issues about the-yeah you guessed it-niqab.
I'd expect something like this in a different country (not naming here) but Malaysia?
Malaysia might not be an Islamic country but the majority of it's citizens are muslims.
I guess I expected less prejudice.
So, yeah, the incident upset me to the point where I couldn't put on the niqab without feeling some sort of disappointment.

After wearing the niqab, how did it feel to take it off?
Kind of neutral. Kind of not. I kind of missed it.
It felt so liberating to put the niqab on.
Taking it off, just felt, blehh.
Tapi angin sampai lah sikit dekat muka. ;D

Pros and cons of wearing the niqab?
Pros: jaga pandangan, mengingatkan kepada Allah, no need to wear sunscreen, just felt peaceful and guarded.
Cons: may face prejudice, uncomfortable at first, some communicational limitations.

Would you wear the niqab again someday?
Yes. I've always kind of gravitated towards it. It's a constant reminder of Allah and as a humble forgetful servant, I need constant reminding. SO, PERFECT MATCH.

That's it for now.

Email any questions you have regarding this topic or any other topic to amisamsuri@yahoo.com or contact me on Facebook and I'll be sure to help you with all that I can.

Tweedle-dee Tweedle-dum,
Assalamualaikum!

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