Selamat Tinggal Tok Guru
al-fatihah buat Tuan Guru Haji Abdullah bin Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Rahman yang telah kembali kepadaNya awal pagi tadi (waktu msia).... terima kasih atas segalanya. (bersambung)------------------------------------------------------
post entry:
In our family household, back in Tanah Serendah Sekebun Bunga, the title ‘Tok Guru’ doesn’t refer to the widely known person in Msian politics, but to (the late) Hj Abdullah bin Hj Abdul Rahman, the Grand Guru of Pondok Lubuk Tapah, Pasir Mas, Kelantan Darulnaim, or better known as 'Tok Guru Hj Lah Lubuk Tapah'.I can’t actually put a date nor the year when I first encountered this great alim; it was right at my early age when memory yet to exist permanently in me, I suppose. Neither do I know if he was related to my family or simply a teacher-students relationship on my paternal side which had gone back many years. Regardless, Tok Guru knew my Dad personally.
That kind of closeness however, I had never spoken to Tok Guru directly; always on Dad’s side whenever he bowed and spoke softly to Tok Guru’s ear as the latter’s hearing wasn’t great. Dad once told me, normally that was a tell-tale of someone with ‘ilmu besi’…. whatever that might be, I don’t really know much in detail. Though I remember one of Tok Guru’s many tales was when he was warded into KB Hospital (or may be USM Kubang Kerian) for a minor surgery. As always, wherever Tok Guru went, hundreds of his students, normally in white robes, would follow. Anyway, to cut the story short, a few minutes after he was wheeled into the operation theatre, the surgeon came out and asked for his wife. He informed her that Tok Guru was under anesthetic and everything was ready, but when he put his scalpel down, it barely made any scratch on Tok Guru’s flesh, and he tried many times. She asked the surgeon if he had personally asked Tok Guru’s permission to do that? He said, as Tok Guru signed the form, that would be considered as permission. She told him, not quite, one had to ask Tok Guru verbally/personally. As the anesthetic wouldn’t last much longer, they had to abort the operation and rescheduled. It went smoothly on the second time. That I pressume, was something to do with the so called 'ilmu besi' of which my Dad knows better.
There were many more, like the one happened to one taxi man who not just refused to stop at Tok Guru’s hail but also uttered some derogatory remarks about ‘an old man by the road’. Strangely, he didn’t get any passenger all day after that morning. I must say, that happened when Tok Guru was less known decades ago. But, the one close to my heart is:
When I was small, I got into arguments and fights with my next-door cousin, N, who is a year older, on a regular basis, almost daily. I had scratches on my face many times from N’s long nails. I can’t actually recall the event that finally broke the patience of Tok Nik, his grandma, one day. But I do remember both of us being hauled into a ‘kereta sewa’*, definitely one of those old Mercs that still going strong up and down my land to this very day, and made a long trip to Pasir Mas. I mostly slept on that unforgettable trip. When we finally arrived at Lubuk Tapah, it was almost maghrib time, and Tok Nik didn’t waste any time to present N and I to Tok Guru. What happened after that was a bit sketchy, but I remember the ‘geduk’ was hit melodiously when both of us were bathed from the ‘kolah’ water at his mosque. We slept soundly that evening. Since that special maghrib bath, N and I have never ever argued, fight or cross each other again, to this very day.
Three years ago, Tok Guru gave me something, via my Dad. Something I keep in my wallet, as instructed.
Al-fatihah to Allahyarham Tok Guru Haji Lah Lubuk Tapah, the greatest of all pondok gurus in Malaysia. May Allah’s rahmah be with his soul. Many thanks for everything. I will always remember you. Amin.
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Kelantanspeak glossary:
kereta sewa = taxi
teksi = trishaw
geduk = horizontally placed drum used to announce prayer time
kolah = ablution water compartment
posted by Atok @ 10:32:00 am
