By: Samsul Nizar
Professor & Head of STAIN Bengkalis
Translated by: Riska Saputra
Master Student at Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology in National Central University, Taiwan
Almost everyone knows peanuts with various variants, especially shelled peanuts. The choice of shelled peanuts as a snack is popular to fill every event and occasion, especially when gathering with family while watching TV. The crispness and delicacy make for a communicative interaction, and it seems like time passes without notice. However, it turns out that peanut shells hold scientific and religious messages that not many want to reveal. The news lost in the middle of the focus is just eating it. Or a message lost by the closed mind and heart, even though the proverb’s statement has been known for a long time.
Scientifically, when people put the nuts in the water, they will differ in position between the nuts inside the shell and without the shell. Nuts that are still in the shell will float. Meanwhile, when the nuts are removed from the shell, they will sink. A phenomenon that seems strange but can be answered scientifically (scientific).
However, when the scientific approach is associated with a philosophical-religious process, the phenomenon has deep meant and teaches meaningful lessons. Among these lessons include:
First, peanuts that never forget the shell will be on top and float to the water’s surface. He will be safe from water that wets him and even dirty water that can damage his chastity. He can still survive and is known to anyone who sees him. It is easy to pick up without wetting the hand that picks it up.
That’s how humans have the character of “peanuts which is not forgotten their shell”. Life does not make him forget where he came from and about his environment. Since there was no young or old, even in high positions, he never failed at all. He always remembers where he came from and respects other (people) environments. Although work and higher education can be achieved, even abundant wealth has been owned; it does not make him forget himself. The nature of tawadhu’ is maintained, politeness is held, and the quality of worship is constantly increasing. His high education made him an instructor in the dark, his high position gave him a protector to protecting himself, and his increased charity made him even more ashamed of Allah SWT.
Lucky humans always remember their identity. You will get blessings and safety. Such character is in the form of tawadhu’s capability of being possessed. With his quality maintained, he will always float to the top, despite the earth’s creatures not looking at him because they cannot be invited to “play with their eyes” by any means; indeed, his istiqomah is well-known and missed by the inhabitants of the sky.
Second, Peanuts will sink deep into the water if they forget their shells. The water will make peanuts incapable of being infallibly influenced by the water (colour and taste) and fall to the bottom without the ability to rise to the surface again “to meet his shell”. The traditional proverb reminds us, “it is like a nut that forgets its shell”.
The forgotten character of the origin of itself leads to the emergence of arrogance. Even though this character shows low self-quality when “just getting something”. As the proverb says, “like a curd (no finger) gets a ring”. He is proud of what he gets and forgets where he came from. As if what is owned by his work and trying to eliminate the side of the previous person’s work. Self-greatness is like a pea that can be big because it is protected by the earlier shell (interaction and cooperation). Indeed, Allah warns of the dangers of self-forgetfulness that leads to arrogance through His words: “Then descend from it (heaven); for you should not boast in it. Come out! Verily, you are among the despised creatures” (Surah al-‘Araf verse 13).
Although the above verse is aimed at the devil, it is also aimed at humans. Because when upstream initially forgot oneself, downstream will lead to self-arrogance. Meanwhile, pride is a sign of destruction and calamity that will be obtained. Because God hates such a character, as stated in His word: “There is no doubt that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Indeed, He does not like arrogant people” (Surat an-Nahl: 23).
As a result, “forgetting their identity” makes humans arrogant about what they have. High knowledge to be proud of, high position to collect “tributes”, and charity (variants of goodness) to be exhibited to cover up existing faults. People who make arrogant of “quantity privilege” as differentiating a solid wall building. The Prophet once warned about that, in his words said that: “Arrogance (due to self-forgetting) is to reject the truth and humiliate humans” (HR Muslim).
Likewise, Humans forget themselves when they acquire dazzling accessories and become intoxicated by worldly degrees that are “bought or forced” by lust. When trust is gained in the wrong way and received by a negative person, the result will be misery. It may seem noble and famous to earth creatures since they can invite him to “flirt”, but heaven’s inhabitants have never been introduced to him and even ridiculed him for their arrogance.
As a result of self-forgetfulness and the emergence of arrogance, at the same time, a “field of hatred” grows with endless gossip. Horizontal hatred can occur bottom-up or down across educational titles or social statuses. Everything can happen to each person according to the quality of their (original) character.
Many circles will hate and envy his position as “peanuts who always remember the shell”. Wisdom will overcome hatred and envy. Pray for the person who hates and envies him to live a long life to see his success in religious teachings as the fruit of istiqomah. They perceive themselves as a threat when they are hated. Because when people are unable to collab, haters cannot do what they hate (to carry out their foolish actions.
At the same time, haters are often ready to “discuss under the table” even if they violate the law (religion or norms), as long as they want to be achieved, without being able to make significant achievements. For them, a million achievements that were hated never existed, a speck of weakness would be mounted. Actually, they hate themselves for not being able to achieve what the person that they hate is.
Indeed, psychologically the haters or slanderers (due to forgetting their shells) never have peace of mind and cleanliness of their minds. His time and energy are wasted just looking for the weaknesses of people who are hated and made targets of slander, so he doesn’t forget to improve himself. His weakness and humiliation were wide gaping. As a result, his soul and mind become tired, destroying life due to the hatred surrounding him. There is no building of the civilisation of creatures that can be built.
Meanwhile, the building of civilisation achieved by “opponents” is considered to have never existed. Strangely, those who unaccepted reality are often perpetrators who have been helped and lifted from the “dirty hole” before. After being satisfied, they “barked and a bit”. Like the saying, “like helping a dog in a pinch”. Activities only look for hated weaknesses as material for carrying out attacks to bring down, if necessary, through the “hands of third parties”, looking for flaws and spreading disgrace to others. The attack justifies all means by building negative opinions and slander as gossip. Sayidina Ali bin Abi Talib once reminded, “Whoever kindles the fire of slander and enmity, then he has made himself as fuel “.
Due to the energy and time to find fault with the opponent, he forgets about his “rotten self” and can only carry out routines to build a false image that aims to cover up his hypocrisy and weakness. All the rottenness of the self must be exposed in time; that is the promise of God to humans. Allah states this through His words: “I will give them a grace period. Truly, My plan is very strong and well-planned, strong, and no one can match it “(Surah al-A’raf: 183).
Such is the promise of God to humans whose arrogance exceeds the audacity of the Devil. When you are at the top, you receive applause, but when you fall, ridicule and blasphemy accompany you. There can be no more pious accessories to cover a servant’s shame when Allah opens it to him. It was only because of self-forgetfulness and arrogance that these self-glories were destroyed within a short period. Consequently, if Allah causes the character of “peanuts forgetting on their shell”, it is a certainty that they will suffer humiliation in the end. The disgrace will be visible at the right time, and no one will be able to hide it. A hypocritical character, such as a propeller on a hilltop, will become the sole owner of eternal interests if such a thing occurs. Everyone blames the other and saves themselves. At that time, the visible original form was around the authentic self.
So great is the influence of the shell on the nut, whether it will rise to the surface or sink to the bottom of dirty water. Surprisingly, even though what happened is real, humans still like to maintain and have self-forgetfulness with such absolute arrogance. As if to challenge the word of God in QS. al-Baqarah: 7 as his true self. They were so humiliating the fate of humans who have the character of forgetting themselves due to the glare of what they get, like “the nuts forgetting their shell”.
Third, Peanut’s shell. Even though the reality is that when peanut shells are eaten, the shell will be thrown away. A peanut’s shell is a symbol of sincerity in doing. The honesty of the shell must be followed even though it is thrown away as garbage. Peanut shells show a person who is sincere in assisting the contents of the nuts, without any strings attached, let alone the tantalising “coffers” promise. Peanut shells are a rare display of a sincere figure amid a 5.0 era tradition full of self-serving, like the saying “no free lunch”. But sure, there are still a few figures of sincere servants, even though “it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack”. Even though it exists, it is hidden by the crush of interests and “pressure conditions” that do not want it to surface.
Then, where are our positions and choices for the 3 (three) peanut characters above? No one knows, except for the owner of the self, who is illuminated by the heart with regard for the truth given by Allah SWT with the right choice according to religious policy. Wa Allahua’lam bi al-Shawaab.
