Empty Seats
12 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
By Rizka Pramadita
Such wrath, such gloom.
Despicable gloom in my heart,
To witness these empty seats.
My Teacher came to spread his Light,
yet empty are the seats.
Present were of what was seen,
Merely flesh, and blood, and bones.
But no soul, no soul, no soul.
My Teacher came, what a delight!
and was welcomed by no more than unflown kite.
Fingers are tamping,
Pens are doodling,
Thoughts wandered around somewhere.
Lost, and carried away.
All these empty seats,
such wrath and defeat.
While my Teacher came and still,
patiently sit and teach us ‘ilm:
“Because ikhtiyar is bound in meaning with khayr, meaning ‘good’, being derived from the same root khara (khayara), the choice that is meant in ikhtiyar is the choice of what is good, better, or best between the two alternatives”.
- Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, “Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam”
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