Category: Faith

Ramadan is a time when all of us would be making doa more frequent than usual, more detailed than usual. In your many doa, how do you know it has been answered? You pray for work success but how do you know Allah’s plan for your success is the same thing you consider to be inconvenient now. You pray for good academic results but how do you know you not getting your targeted results is a door to greater successes?

I recently watched a lecture on the power of doa and it made reference to the story of Nabi Musa A.S, as mentioned in surah al-Qasas ayat 24-27. The story told of how during one of his visits to town, he accidentally killed an officer from the ruling class. That incident made him a wanted man, despite him being affiliated to the Pharoah’s household. He escaped Egypt immediately and had to traverse uncomfortable desert conditions with little provisions. He happened upon a well and he saw two girls, holding back their herd of animals from running towards the water. He asked them, “what are you doing?” The girls tell him the area near the water is populated with men, that the girls’ father is old and that the men rudely call out to the girls when they come so they have to wait till the men leave before they can bring their herd to drink. Musa told the girls that he would gladly help and brought the animals to drink on their behalf.

After he was finished, in the shade, he made doa to Allah, “My Lord, I am in need of whatever good you could send me”. The girls said their thanks and left only to later return and to invite him to meet their father. Musa had to the wisdom to realise this is Allah’s answer to his prayer, he said yes to meeting the girls’ father. What came to follow was that the father rewarded Musa with a roof on top of his head, a job and in realising his good character, marriage to his daughter. 

There are many lessons to be learnt from this story – one of which is having the wisdom to know the form Allah’s help appears. In our many doa this Ramadan, may we all also have to wisdom to recognise in what form our prayers are answered.

Some years ago I attended an event organised by Frost & Sullivan in Nusajaya. It was the kind of event where they invited CEOs from various organisation, both multinationals and GLC, to speak. As part of the itinerary, they had a one on one session with Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. The interviewer was one of the global heads of Frost & Sullivan and one question (and it’s answer) stuck with me. 

The question was, “what are the attributes of a person you value most?”.

I’ve attended many speaker sessions such as this and this sounds like a typical question where answers range from the need to be charismatic, visionary, driven, leading by example and the sort.

Tan Sri’s answer to the interviewer, who was a foreigner mat salleh, was “there are two qualities which I believe are important for a leader, that is Sabar and Shukur”. I remember telling myself, “wow, I’ve didn’t expect that”. He went on to explain to the crowd what Sabar and Shukur means, patience and gratitude respectively, and why it is important any person has them.

It always impresses me when a veteran leader, corporate or otherwise, emphasises the importance of good moral and religious values, which I consider patience and the need to be grateful to be. I remember it was sometime shortly before the talk that I read Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 7, where Allah promised:

“And remember when Lord proclaimed, if you are grateful, I will surely increase you; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe”

I often feel in selected industries in corporate Malaysia, piety is absent and to show you have it is unfavourable. It’s refreshing for me to see at least one leading corporate leader to believe in these values.