Take the following four as given and not calling for proof.
First, that there is a God who will one day judge all of us.
Second, that there is a heaven and a hell and, based on God’s judgment, all of us will either go to heaven or hell. There is no halfway house.
Third, God’s law for all of us can be summed up by the following : serve Him by loving all of creation.
Finally, we all believe in God.
Yet even as we all believe, some believe in the unseen God whilst others ascribe to Him a form.
Imagine now that one Z, a bachelor with no family dependents, believes that the jambu tree in his garden is God. Every morning , Z wakes up, goes into his garden, prostrates before the jambu tree and gives thanks for the blessings he will receive and asks that he be given strength and courage to do what is good and right.
After his morning prayers, Z leaves his house and heads for his workplace of the last 30 years : an orphanage. Z teaches English to young orphans. Lunch is provided at the orphanage and in the evening, before he leaves for home, Z picks up two food packs. One for dinner that night and the other for breakfast tomorrow. That’s his wages for the day.
That, in a nutshell, sums up Z’s daily life.
Fast forward to judgment day.
Z’s turn is up and he is summoned into the judgment chamber.
He enters with great trepidation, expecting to see his familiar jambu tree.
No tree.
Nothing, except the sense of a Great Presence.
And then he hears judgment being handed down.
“Expecting a tree were you, you silly bugger! Go on, the door to heaven’s on the left”.
tarings
June 19, 2008
Wouldn’t it be cool if religion or being religious is that simple. No need of complicated soul searching and complex intellectual discussions of hazy issues. No need for crusades. No need for jihads. No need for televangelists.
Do good, heaven you go.
And yes, more than a few of my schoolmates in Seremban back then swore by Jambuism.
tarings,
I do believe it is as simple as that.
Love Him and, in that love of the Divine, love all.
yh
June 19, 2008
if everything is reduced to such simplicity, you will never find bigotry, strife and war.
but then human beings have the tendency to complicate matters as they try to be to near God, aint it?
Nanda
June 19, 2008
Jambuism?
Jambu? It meant something else when I was studying and staying in hostel.
Hmmmm..
Nanda,
Ah, another jambu worshipper?
a concerned voter
June 19, 2008
Dear Brother Haris,if this simple and charitable guy Z is permitted to enter heaven through the left door,does this means the right door is for those who are more aggressive and violent like the terrorists or martyrs?After all,they killed and died in the name of God.Surely they deserved heaven too,don’t they?He,he,just tickle your funny bone on a dull Thursday afternoon!
a concerned voter,
Actually, no.
What happens is they are pointed to the same door on the left that leads to heaven. What they don’t know is that as they step right in front of that ‘left’ door, the sheer weight of the hate they bear causes a trap door below them to drop open.
Just tickling back!
a concerned voter
June 19, 2008
Come to think of it again,God might say,”The right door is for those believers who had not done much charities but more harm like lying to the rakyat, cheating them of their hard earned money, plundered their country’s wealth and incarcerated the innocents but BELIEVERS nonetheless.As for those terrorists and martrys who died in the name of God and religion,they can have a place in heaven but entering through the back door.” Hmm,that sounds more like it,I mean, this simple imagination.Sorry Haris,for taking your imagination a bit too far.
Nanda
June 19, 2008
Nah, no sir, not a jambu worshipper.
Have been reading all the other beliefs related posts, opinions as well as comments, and wanted to ask you, what happened to the actual online Cyberspace discussion between you and MG58?
Also, what’s the update on the RepWatch and Bangsa Malaysia initiative? Your framework/outline for RepWatch is brilliant, but seems like just too many things happening at once right now, I think.
Good lunch yesterday?
Nanda,
Lunch : productive, me thinks
MG58 : ball’s in his court, me thinks
Repwatch : Nedd to do a fresh posting to start the build-up of the database I lost when my notebook was stolen last month
Bangsa Malaysia : Working on it
malayamuda
June 19, 2008
Haris,
God is one and is called by many names.
Allah, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus are all His names. I’m sure some fanatics out there will not subscribe to what I believe in, but its OK.
Life these days is so complex and difficult. I dont want to make it any more complex by hating another just because he is of a different race and of a different religion.
I just want to ” Be Good and Do Good ” to all.
Some people face the Kaaba, some people use statues, trees , crosses etc etc.
I know a Muslim lady who was helpless seeing her ypung son having a fit at one one evening about 10 years ago. He was there lying fitting with saliva drooling for nearly an hour. The lady called her Christian neighbour for help, and as their neighbour rushed in to help, this lady actually screamed
” Jesus please help my son ” x 100
After some prayers the fitting actually stopped. This Muslim lady was very thankful to her neighbour but she continues to be a pious Muslim and it has never made her any less a Muslim.
When we are desperate we will resort and accept anyone who can help us. So never look down upon another just because you feel your belives are superior to his
a concerned voter
June 19, 2008
Hi there Haris,I got your meaning! You mean those hateful terrorists and martyrs got to heaven too but got hang there instead!!Spot on,brother!!
rajraman666
June 19, 2008
haris,
i have a jambu tree planted outside my garden.Seldom eat although everyday gots fruits.Its for my wild squirel and birds who drop by to visit me.(not joking)
maybe i will start 2moro to pray the jambu tree (maybe i got chance to go to heaven throu back door).
rajraman-I HAVE A DREAM – but depending to one candle to lights up my dream.
shar101
June 19, 2008
The right door has 60 less virgins and are not as jambu as the ones in the left door.
Now, I wonder if God will create a ‘middle’ door for blogvangelists. That would be poetic, wouldn’t it.
Satria Asia
June 19, 2008
I once asked a religious man if people like Bob Geldof would go to hell or heaven. Bob Geldof had done a lot during the famine in Africa.
The man said that only Allah swt will determine who will and who won’t go to heaven and hell, who is and who is not a Muslim.
sang kancil
June 19, 2008
Life is indeed simple. It is the rachet humans that make it so complicated. My two sens worth.
LJ
June 19, 2008
Jambuism (and story therein – i.e. that the good immaterial of religion will go to heaven) is acceptable to all (including most Christians (save Southern Baptists) today), except Muslims.
Am I right?
LJ,
‘Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve’ – Surah 2 verse 62 of the Holy Qur’an
matt
June 19, 2008
Harris just read don’t ask petronas how profits used, wonder what kind of a–ho–s working in petronas if they don’t even know about ak leasing a gulfstream to their establishment for the last 5 or 6 yrs.
You see by leasing it to petronas he still makes money otherwise the the old man[tun] will always borrow.Anyway he now also has syed bukhari’s bombadier to use.
Parli-Man
June 19, 2008
Haris ,
We puny humans are really obsessed about God…wether He exists or not , and in which form etc.
Is it so important ?
Why can’t we all just believe in good vs evil ?
Be Good everybody
And by being good you are a God
Joe Gomez
June 19, 2008
Absolutely right Haris.
X says, “my jambu is the only true jambu.” ………… and all hell ( sic ) breaks loose eh ?
village idiot
June 20, 2008
Hey Haris, nice little story….have you been smoking them jambu leaves? Can’t imagine what visions you will have with some real grass
Samuel Goh Kim Eng
June 20, 2008
God-given religion is basically simple and straight
forward
Man-made version of religion is simply made complicated and complex
Let us not, wrongly in the name of religion, go backward
But simply love God, love mankind and love how to relax
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng – 200608
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Fri. 20th June 2008.
rajraman666
June 20, 2008
haris,
goodmorning,
i dontknow when which subject i commented first,after that for a long time i have a good sleep.just woke up without valium.(record 7 hours sleep i think)
maybe the jambu tree spirit?
rajraman-u looking for trouble FROM all the little mullah because this jambuism.
MAY THE JAMBU TREE SPIRIT WILL STOP THEM.
RAJRAMAN-I HAVE A DREAM-hoping the jambu tree spirit can light up my dream
su
June 20, 2008
I don’t pray. I don’t know how to. Different religions teach different ways to pray, and sometimes it frightens the hell out of me (pun unintended) should I pray wrongly, and get kicked out of my place in heaven.
So I don’t pray. I don’t kneel by bedsides, I don’t put my hands together.
But I believe in God. I believe God loves me even if I don’t pray. And then I think, if God still loves me even when I don’t pray, then maybe God still loves everyone no matter how they pray.
God Bless you, su
A Man With His Feet On The Ground
June 20, 2008
From the comments so far made I distill the following points and lay them out in somewhat progressive order:
The problem begins when one person or groups starts to claim that “my/our jambu is the only true jambu”. (Joe Gomez)
Why do we need to complicate issues about religion and God and indulge in debate over arcane verses when we can keep things basic and simple and still achieve the same effect (as exemplified by the Jambuism parable)? (tarings/YH)
Wouldn’t it be sufficient to be good and do good (e.g., to follow the Golden Rule), rather than to obsess with matters pertaining to whether or not God exists, or what his name or shape or characteristics are? (Malayamuda/Parli-Man)
And in concluding, consistent with the hopeful tale of the Jambu tree, could we not go further to say that,
In nurturing love in our hearts, in earnestly connecting with this love and tenderness we all have in the heart of our hearts, should not all that we do and all that we say be as fine as the best asking of any God man can conceive of?
A Man With His Feet On The Ground,
With you all the way, bro
Patricia
June 20, 2008
Hi Haris
I like your jambu tree. Pagan tree worshippers rock!
As a used-to-be catholic, I find it hard to reconcile the fact that I may’ve been granted a place in heaven, but not my husband, who does not believe in a god. You see, for me, heaven would not be heaven if he were not there with me. So how?
So, now, I question if there’s a god when I see the evil around me, the pain in the eyes of children, and innocent animals suffering at the hands of heartless humans.
Both my husband and I believe, as John Lennon says, “no hell below us, above us only sky”.
I think if we all lived to just BE good, and hurt no one, this world will surely be a better place. All this need to be good just to ‘secure’ a place in heaven, reeks of selfishness to me. It is back to that ‘me-me-me’ syndrome that got us in this mess in the first place.
I know I am gonna get whacked for this. But I am so tired of the holier-than-thous around!
Patricia,
You said : All this need to be good just to ‘secure’ a place in heaven, reeks of selfishness to me. It is back to that ‘me-me-me’ syndrome that got us in this mess in the first place.
My response : Setuju, setuju, setuju
You said : I know I am gonna get whacked for this.
My response : Ah, sticks and stones…! You come back again, you hear!
JOHJ
June 20, 2008
My first comment, Haris,
Nice to read your “jambuism”
All religion are man made version, made complicated and complex, so please dont think too much about it, just follow our law and you wont be in trouble. Maybe you will end up in heaven, instead.
ghenjis khan
June 20, 2008
Haris Ibrahim,
isn’t there first of all the “Day of Alastu” before the Jambu Tree was made to grow in the gardens of Z ????
and between that “Day of Alastu” and the “Left Door of Heaven” is the “Half-Way House” variously known as the “al dunya”.
Z chooses to dwell in the “half-way house” and worships the Jambu tree, he could have stayed in “alastu” …
that’s where his troubles started ….
ghenjis khan,
Didn’t know that Z got into trouble.
zahariah
June 20, 2008
“By the worship of calf you have wronged your own souls ; repent : mortify (=slay) your souls now : it will be better in the sight of God.”
So Z wronged his own soul? There was no need for Z to repent? Moses was wrong?
zaharah,
“Say to my servants who exceeded the limits, ‘Never despair of God’s mercy; God forgives all sins; for He is the forgiver, the merciful.” – 39 : 53.
Ashok
June 20, 2008
Haris,
You are indeed my prophet of jambuism. Please guide me to your commune My Lord, and I shall serve till the end.
BTW, it better be something like that commune in Pune, India.
All said and done, how I wish it was this uncomplicated.
Ashok,
My faith is uncomplicated
TJ
June 20, 2008
Dear Haris, you best article ever!! Love it and love the jambu tree. Thanks!
However, I am an atheist. Was a Christian for 15 years and I realised 3/4 of my relatives and friends will most probably burn in hell. So I tossed it. I rather have a party in hell with my loved ones and friends than be in heaven with a bunch of holier than thous.
And was never any sadder for it. In fact, happier!
Everyday I try to do my bit to be kind in my thoughts, deeds and speech to any and every one I meet. I know I fail often in these respects but I will try again. And again till I am on my death bed. I try to pay no attention to violent and harsh thougths, be gentle in my speech and lend a hand whenever and wherever I can.
So, you think I will end up in Jambu Heaven, Haris?
TJ,
Don’t know, but if you do get there and find I’m not there, could you put in a good word for me, please?
zahariah
June 20, 2008
“Verily God will not forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that for whom so ever He wishes”
( An- Nisaa 4:48 and 116)
zaharah,
Perhaps it is the concept of joining partners that needs to be understood.
Z thinks (foolishly, perhaps) that the tree is God, yet in living out his life, does not join any partners with God in that Z does not ascribe to another lawmaker besides God. So he just does good.
We see today, though, many who ascribe law-making partners to God. In fact, many bestow upon themselves the stature of law-makers, who have the audacity to add to God’s law.
Maybe that’s the partnership that will lead to men being the fuel for the fires of hell?
Paul Warren
June 20, 2008
And I thought it was my coffee cup!
Nevermind!
Anyway, you started off with “First, that there is a God who will one day judge all of us.”
So what if there is a God? What assumptions do you make of Him? What attributes do you assume of Him that then assumes that you are subordinate to Him? What assumptions do you succumb to so that you let yourself to be subject to your God’s will on you?
Obviously there is an assumption that is being made here rather than a “given” and that assumption itself results in the relationship that you then establish with your God! You acknowledge that relationship and take your position in that relationship and serve out your term as you know it to be. Does that then explain why that supposedly same God that we all refer to takes a different representation of Himself to each and everyone of us?
Rather confusing la…Prefer politics anytime.
zahariah
June 20, 2008
All sins forgiven?
24. But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,- which is prepared for those who reject Faith.
(Al Baqarah; 2:24)
10. Those who reject Faith,- neither their possessions nor their (numerous) progeny will avail them aught against Allah. They are themselves but fuel for the Fire.
(Al Imran; 3:10)
10. Those who reject faith and deny our signs will be companions of Hell-fire.
(Al Maeda; 5:10)
“Say: Shall we tell you of those who lost most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?” they are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of judgment, give them any weight. That is their reward, Hell; because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest.
(Al-Kahf 18:103-106)
zahariah,
Z has not rejected faith. He believes. Not perhaps as you do, but he believes.
unii
June 20, 2008
Dear Haris,
many years ago, a carpenter friend of mine said” everyone talks of their own beliefs as the real one,but only into death we’ll be sure,if its true”
Farida
June 20, 2008
I wonder what the jambu tree did for Z to think it is God. Because surely he didn’t just decide one day, “Jambu tree, you are my God.”
Did it bear fruit for him so he thought it was God? There has to be a stimulus, I would think. I have heard there are people who worship the bicycle because it has the power to take them from point A to point B. Obeisance very often is linked to power and favour.
To extend further, as Z went to the orphanage, he probably passed other trees. What did he think of the other trees? Anyone ?
zahariah
June 20, 2008
So did those who worshipped the calf believe.They did not reject faith.Why did Moses reprimand them?
Likewise they did not ascribe partners to the calf. So why were they reprimanded and told to repent?
zahariah,
You asked : did those who worshipped the calf believe?
Reply : Don’t know
You asked : They did not reject faith?
Reply : Don’t know
You asked : Why did Moses reprimand them?
Reply : Cos God told him to?
You asked :they did not ascribe partners to the calf. So why were they reprimanded and told to repent?
Reply : Cos God told him to?
pavlova
June 20, 2008
Wow, isn’t it great if everyone in the world embrace this belief
But then again, we probably wouldn’t have been able to celebrate the differences among individuals.
If only we could live in peace, without war, amidst the differences.
Not sure I made any sense…
pavlova,
You said : But then again, we probably wouldn’t have been able to celebrate the differences among individuals.
Reply : Not true. Someone mentioned durianism. The list could go on and on.
Of course, we must not forget the possibility of a ‘my durian tree god is better than yours’ starting, or ‘death for apostates from durianism’ for former durianists who suddenly find that cikuism resonates more with their being.
zahariah
June 20, 2008
Only 2 questions were asked.
1.Why did Moses reprimand them?
2.So why were they reprimanded and told to repent?
Not 4 questions as you state.
As they had faith in the calf to have worshipped the calf, what difference is there with Z worshipping the jambu tree?
Wont Z then have to repent?
zahariah,
If Samiri was amidst the calf-worshippers, telling them to do this and that, in addition to God’s law, I can well see that they may have joined partners with God.
For instance, if God’s command was to feed the poor, but cos of Samiri’s intervention, they only adhered now to feeding the poor calf-worshippers, then I suppose they have joined partners with God.
Or, if God said all men are equal, but now, on account of the intervention of Samiri and his cohorts, these calf-worshippers claimed that they were the ‘sons of the soil’ with more rights then the other non-calf-worshippers, then I suppose they have joined partners with God.
Z would, in my view, certainly have to repent if he did even half the crap I have depicted above.
laylowmoe
June 20, 2008
Christian theology has debated this very same thing for centuries. It’s the “faith vs. good works” debate. Basically, do you need to believe in (the One True) God, or do you just need to do good deeds, to get into Heaven.
If I’m not mistaken, this was part of the whole Protestant vs. Catholic movement. Martin Luther was the guy who started it.
Martin Luther lived some 400-500 years ago.
Islam has never had a Martin Luther.
zahariah
June 20, 2008
You said:
“Z has not rejected faith. He believes. Not perhaps as you do, but he believes.”
Then you went on to say:
“You asked : They did not reject faith?
Reply : Don’t know”
From “he believes ” to ‘Dont know”?
sambal muncha
June 20, 2008
Dear HA,
Awesome, awesome writing.
A famous 8th century saint called Rabea from Basra, Iraq was famous for this prayer. More so than praying for thankfulness and for blessings, she saw LOVE in the tree and creations of the tree…
“Dear God, if I worship you for fear of hell, burn me in hell;
if I worship you in hope of paradise, exclude me from paradise;
but if I worship you for your own sake, grudge me not your everlasting beauty”
This sums the story of Z, who saw and mirrored so much beauty…
sambal muncha,
I’m teary eyed
TJ
June 20, 2008
Dear Haris, sure do. I will save a jambu for you too until one day you find your way there, which I am sure you will. All of us will. One way or another.
God bless, TJ
A Man With His Feet On The Ground
June 20, 2008
To Farida, 1:01 pm:
Z loves the jambu tree and he loves it because it is.
Thus, Z is someone who is capable of loving all other trees — durian trees, ciku trees, etc. — and, in fact, all other things too — a child, a pebble, a puff of cloud, a lizard in the sun.
Examine closer and you will realise that Z is dealing not with the physical; his concern is with a form of inner magic, an all-encompassing piety some of us may refer to as love (with a capital L), and this he would see in all things.
To quote the Beatles, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”
Get it?
rajraman666
June 23, 2008
Thanks for the,
A MAN WITH ON HIS FEET ON THE GROUND.
rajraman.
mary_khu
June 24, 2008
i’m glad you have put into words what i have been feeling all along.
Thank you.
mary_khu,
Thank you. Glad to know I’m not the only one who feels that way
Pak Yeh
January 3, 2012
Religion is not that simple as you made it to be Haris.You are corrupting religion by this article.
You have to find the truth to enter heaven.Heaven is not for stupid people.
Worshiping a false god such as a Jambu Tree,Jesus,idols would lead you to hell.Good work will be rewarded but not with heaven.(ref Quran
I wonder whether you are a Muslim and have read the Quran.(ref 2:62,5:69,22:17 for reward for good works.But refer17:39.hell more that one god and many more verses for sinners,disbelievers).
Satish Kumar
January 4, 2012
Pak Yeh: If religion were not so simple what happened to all those people who lived before any religion existed, would they all be in Hell just because there was no Messiah at that time to tell them how to pray or what/who to pray to. I’d like to quote Muhammad Ali who said “Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams – they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths.” Believe what you may Pak Yeh but please don’t try to discredit other religions or practices. Believe and practice whatever religion you want, at the end of the day whether right or wrong we shall all be judged by the Almighty. But in my personal view, God will favor those who were kind and loving to their fellow man but never prayed compared to those that reverently prayed but were of no service to others.