Of Istihsan & Istiqamah

How personal is a 'sincere' opinion can be? And how beautiful - good & rightful - a thing that is always preferable? Elsewhere, hedonism has been refered to as things/actions/decisions people choose to do or not to do due to their inner fear of so many things. Can we say something personal then? Is this all about ihtisan, a method of exercising personal opinion in order to avoid unfairness (in terms of law & enforcement)? If so, then, this leads us to another preferable method of deciding; the istiqamah, i.e. how people look for ways to avoid deviations and extremes. This, of course involves sincerity, uprightness, integrity and honesty.

Would not it be possible to have such a wonderful way of complying with the spirit of going along the mainstream?

Until, and only when sincerity, honesty and integrity are indeed reflected as clear as crystal, can we talk freely about the beauty of not going against the mainstream.

This is certainly not a political efficacy

It was not really about work, I guess. It must be more than simply a petty thing or issue that can be handled in seconds by anyone. The last time we engaged in a conversation - telephone or face to face - we talked about something else. And this time, he seemed to be reflecting also about something else, certainly not about office or current political issues. We talked about change & perception. But the idea did not go down pretty well. We stopped. Then we talked about efficacy: perception of any individual that certain activities can bring about change. Should we go ahead with the idea? No. We were not ready, that I can be very certain. I will wait for more hints from him, of course.

Kids

I agree that most parents (Malaysian, of course) are 'a curious breed indeed', as iterated by this one scholar (Farish, 2005:152). He says,

"They produce children who never asked to be produced in the first place, and then demand - as their right - that their children grow up to be exactly what they wish them to be."

In view of this, I always seek to first understand, then to be understood. My youngest son, Zuhair, is now in year 1, primary school. He gets up at 6am; waits for Mdm Harban's van at 7am. He'll be in school for at least 3 hours (Sekolah Agama). He has less than 2 hours to get ready for the evening school. He will have to spend another 5 hours in school before he is back at home by 630pm. Then, he has about 10 minutes to get ready for al- Quran lesson and have dinner right after that, i.e before maghrib prayer. After dinner/maghrib, Zuhair will do his homework until 915pm. Sometimes, if he is still strong and fresh, he will watch tv for, say about 30 minutes, usually 'Dunia Baru' program. Then he goes to bed.

I used to spend hours on football pitch when I was at the same age as Zuhair... and I played badminton every night, usually after al-Quran lesson at the Madrasah Kuarters Penjara Taiping. Pity Zuhair.

Learn

Prior to last night's discourse, a few conclusions were withdrawn. People learn from each other. They interact and communicate in so many ways (not necessarily via two-way communication. It can be one way, anyway). The information about how people manage themselves is universally available - autobiographies etc. Kennedy (1993) talks about 'preparing for the twenty-first century'; Naisbitt (1999) speaks his mind in 'high tech high touch'; Soros (2002) suggests ways to 'transforming this world into a more prosperous and peaceful future'; while Osman Bakar (2007) reflects on the Andalusian achievements in science and their significance to human civilization. These are all information that we use to transform them into knowledge, if God permits.

There is no stopping.

Fear

Ive just finished flipping through and re-read pages of 'Battles: the art and science of modern warfare' (edited by Lewis, J.E 1995). What I like most about the book is how it is introduced.

Lewis says, "If war is not an inevitable part of human nature, it is an enduring one."

Paused for while, I am quite certain that life is fairly an arena that is full of challenges. It is.

Life is not like that!

When one door closes, another door opens; but more often than not we look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we dont see the ones which open for us. Oh dear! My, my!

Of bestowing & witholding knowledge

He who bestows knowledge on the ignorant wastes it; And he who witholds it from the worthy has done them wrong.

What should I say, then?

Light

I have to admit that after a short reflection of what 'light' is all about - i.e after having a rather 'short but impactful' discourse with someone yesterday, January 15th - the concept of light as iterated by Al-Ghazali has emerged fairly clearly in the horizon of my visual. Al-Ghazali made it clear by saying (derived from the particular verse - the Light - that:

God is the light of the heavens and earth; the likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp, the lamp in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star kindled from a blessed tree, an olive that is neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil well-nigh would shine, even if no fire touched it; light upon light; God guides to His light whom He will. And God strikes similitudes for men, and God knowledge of everything.

Thank you, whoever that someone is.

Global Leadership

Assalamualaikum wbt,

Dear class of EMAS 716 (Dec-April 2007), welcome back!

For this weekend - since that will be the first meeting - we will take every opportunity we have to most of all, discuss about how we will make the most from our meetings. First, we will discuss about 'integrity' (academic, in particular). Then, we will move on to talk about the necessary things we need to prepare especially for seminar/classes, like for instance, what we should do before, during, and after each of our meeting. You may want to know more about what integrity requires of you & me during discussions; so this weekend will be the best time for us to really talk about it. You may also wish to discuss at length all issues pertaining to exams, written assignments, final grade etc; this weekend should be the appropriate time for that.

Handouts - like study plan, outlines & additional study materials - will be provided.

For a beginning, I would like to suggest three titles (books) for our reading pleasure:

ISMAIL, N. (1999). Prophet Muhammad’s leadership. The paragon of excellence altruistic management. A cross-application to modern management and leadership practice. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd.

Steers, R.M., Porter, L.W., & Bigley, G.A (1996). Motivation and leadership at work. McGraw-Hill: Singapore.

Goldsmith, M. et.al. (2003). Global leadership. The next generation. Pearson: NJ.

More journal articles and books (as recent as 2006) will be suggested during our first class. Have a nice day.