Salamun 'ala man ittaba' al-Huda.
People always say: never judge a book by its cover. Well, this is true—the cover does not necessarily reflect the contents of a book. So we, who have known this, should never judge something by only its outward appearance. Yeah, never judge a book by its cover, but always judge your book by its cover. Don't get it? Continue reading.
Face the Fact
People do judge books by their covers. That's a fact that we need to learn, no matter how desperate we want people to not judge something by its outward appearance. I've heard of someone, okay, it's my father, who wanted to buy quite a good book but decided not to because it uses a script font for body text. And you know what, I always judge a book by it's cover, well, maybe partly because I am a graphic designer, ha ha.
A beautiful cover means that the publisher has made an effort to make the book appealing to the public. Good design demands money; therefore, for the publisher to spend a great deal of bucks on the design of a book indicates that they think the book will sell, or in words, it has good content. An example I can give is PTS Publications; just look at the covers of their books: they know that good content must be accompanied with good presentation.
Judge your book by its cover...
That's why when we are in the business of da'wah—the process of transferring Islamic contents from its sources into human hearts—we need to decorate our message in its most appealing form. Allah Ta'ala said in the Qur'an:
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance. (Surah an-Nahl: 125)
Allah calls us to spread His message with wisdom—with ways that don't make people run away from us. Allah said in the Qur'an:
It was mercy from God that you became compassionate towards them. Had you been harsh and mean-hearted, they would have abandoned you. Therefore, you shall pardon them and ask forgiveness for them, and consult them. Once you make a decision, carry out your plan, and trust in God. God loves those who trust in Him. (Surah Ali 'Imran: 159)
Allah, the Lord Himself, when revealing His words upon mankind, did so with the most beautiful way: the Qur'an is decorated with the most beautiful use of language and rhythm, recited with tajwid, and hummed to the most beautiful tune that is very pleasing to the ear. The scholars of Islam (may Allah bless them), after the death of our beloved Prophet (s.a.a.s.), presented the Quran elegantly by perfecting the Arabic calligraphy, khatt.
Therefore, when we want to explain Islam to the society, by sword or mouth or pen, we must do so with the most beautiful way. In a war, we need to practice adab (courtesy) as decreed in Islam. In speech, Islam told us to use the best and non-discriminating words. In writing, present your message with elegant use of language and appropriate use of typography.
... but not others'
Yeah, we, as Muslims who are conscious of who we are, should always present our da'wah in the most appealing way, but we need to accept da'wah of others even if it's horribly presented. There is a saying: unzur ila ma qila, wa la tanzur ila man qala. Look at what is said, don't look at who is saying. There's one moral value in Islam which is highly encouraged, that is husnuzzann. It is about thinking good of people's thoughts. Allah said in the Qur'an:
O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it. But fear Allah. For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Surah al-Hujurat: 12)
We are seekers of truth, so we need to obtain it in whatever form it is presented to us. We need to accept words of truth from anyone, even if it's from a drug-addict, if his words that time conform to the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet. Maybe some time ago, he learnt about Islam what we haven't. And that's the only knowledge of Islam he has. A good Muslim is a good listener to others. Truth is clear and false is clear, be them coming from an ustaz or a drug addict.
What are you trying to say, Ilman?
To judge a book by its cover or not? It is a GOOD virtue to NOT judge a book by its cover. However, the reality is people DO judge a book by its cover. Therefore, we need to judge OUR book by its cover, so that it will appeal to the people, make them buy our books that'll educate them to not judge a book by its cover. Savvy?
Okay. We want to educate the society that it is not good to judge something based on outer appearance. But, the society do judge everything based on outer appearance. Therefore, in order to make them want to listen to us, we need to make our outer appearance as good as possible, so that they feel easy to approach us, and learn from us that it is not good to judge something based on outer appearance. Comprende?
He he. That's the gist of this post.
Oh, by books, I don't mean 'books' literally. In case you didn't get it. :p
Wallahua'lam.
Firstly, I want to apologize for not updating this blog for more than a month. I've been both busy and lazy. Shouganei darou na? I'm sitting for my SPM now, lol. There's only one subject left, i.e. Pendidikan Syariah Islamiah, which will take place this Wednesday, insya-Allah. Please pray for us, onegai shimasu!
Second, I've got a happy anouncement to make: I've done a reformation to my other blog, Markazul Fikr. It's motto now is Centre of Reference of Spread of Islam through Language, Literature, and Publication. Too many of's, but the Malay version is nice, I assure you. Check it out; it's in Malay and will be updated every week, insya-Allah, even when I'm at Kelantan—I'll use Blogger's scheduled posting feature.
*Ah, I really crave a domain name (preferably mfikr.com) for my Markaz! RM50 a year, that's cheap—kono yarou! Next year, Ilman, next year...
That's it, enjoy your life!
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