Summary – “Nafsu” is not a bad thing

A very busy day… Too busy that I don’t even have time to check my phone and reply the shoutbox. Again, I’m very sorry.

Still, while working one thing come to mind. let me share it with you. And maybe you can further develop the idea with me

So why do we work? There are a lot of answers to this question but in general, it is because we want more for our life. More money, more excitement, more experience, better status etc. This feeling of wanting more is better known as desire or “nafsu”

The thing is people almost always like to think that desire is the path to corruption. People want more money, so they received bribe. Teenager curious about sex took the wrong path. “Desire” were blamed for all these.

Then these people who blame “desire” started doing extreme thing to repair the damage. People who used to take bribe, suddenly realize the sin he committed.. then decided to throw away all money, because according to him, money corrupts. His family is now in danger of starvation, and his children left unschooled.

Then there are also people who get fatter because of their love for eating. They were convinced that they look unatractive by their friends. Trying to be thinner person, they stop eating entirely in the name of diet… perhaps die in a week or two.

What the examples are showing are how people tends to blame their desire when something bad happened. In my opinion this is partially wrong. Meaning… desire is not entirely responsible for the corruption. Let me explain..

I remember this saying back in high school. Human is claimed by Allah in Surah AtTin to be the best of his creation. (sebaik2 kejadian). Why not the animals? Because they have “nafsu” (desire) but no “akal” (the ability to think).Why not the angel (malaikat)? Because they have “akal” but no “nafsu”.

If an angel is assigned to manage the rain all over the world. He will do it until the judgement day without objecting. He will not trade his assignment with other angels for the fun of it or because his job is getting boring. That’s because he doesn’t have any desire to achieve more.

Human are the best creation because we are given both “akal and “nafsu”. Then we will strive to better ourselves motivated by our “nafsu” but we know exactly when to stop, because of our “akal”. It is when we do this we will be the best of creation.

In the same time, if we continue to satisfy our “nafsu” ignoring our “akal”, like killing our own flesh and blood because of shortage of money. or having sex with prostitute without thinking of Allah’s wraith and of course STD. Aren’t we then the worst of creation?

Conclusion – Don’t blame desire for everything bad in the world. It is almost always because of the “akal” is being ignored. Wear them both proudly and of course equally balance. Come to think of it, “nafsu” if used in balance with “akal” is what make us a better.

————— Personal Note ————————–
As you know in a palm oil mill, we strive to extract as much oil as possible. For the past few days, the amount of oil extracted is declining. Yesterday, by calculation, the amount of oil extracted is just 16%, which is very low. Upon investigation, we found where the problem lies. You see, there is this one big tank which we used to separate water and oil. Technically, we just pour in the mixture and as we all know, water and oil don’t mix. So with time, the two separated naturally. This is where we suspect the source of the low percentage. To make things short, almost half the tank is full with fine sand and soil. This will prevent the mixture of water and oil to separate properly because not enough time. Cleared everything… Let’s see how’s the figure tomorrow.

ehehe My attempt to explain what I do 🙂

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This post has 10 comments.


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  1. noushy syah
    01 Aug 07 8:08 pm

    Banji..hehhehe, gotcha, gotcha!! SO indirectly that’s part of your duty in the mills kan…

    Desire is not a bad thing at all, in fact in certain situation , we need to have the desire…well I guess we are all adult more than 18yrs old, imagine if there is no desire to be intimate or make love with your partner/hubby or wife?..what’s the outcome?

    The one to be blame when something goes wrong is when desire over take akal!! BIla manusia bertuankan nafsu membelakangi akal fikiran…

    p/s I thought you’re having insomnia? Get the pen and write down about insomnia then hehehhe..

  2. J.T.
    01 Aug 07 9:29 pm

    Hi Banji

    Thanks for dropping by my blog.

    Good post. Desire is not bad if it is put to good use.

    “Let your desires be ruled by reason.” – Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)

  3. Pawana Malam..
    02 Aug 07 12:25 am

    hai banji..

    how are u?
    to me..living a life withour desire reflects ur purpose and aims…

    so, high desire is just nice sometimes…but depends on the subject itself..
    instead of dreaming, lets build the desire which will then lead towards the greater and happier life..

    use all combinations of “anugerah” that allah grant us to achive it..i believe thats crystal clear enough to show that u are so grateful of allah’s giving…hehheh

  4. Banji
    02 Aug 07 2:09 am

    knicksgrl – ur comment deleted because it is a spam

    noushy – the keyword is when desire over take akal. desire should always be the car behind at a double line road huhu

    not an insomnia lah, more like the addiction to blog 🙂

  5. Banji
    02 Aug 07 2:14 am

    JT – nice quote, and thanx for visitting me here 🙂

    pawana malam – im find thanx, and u?

    good point u hv there, the best way to show gratitude to our creator is to use the tools given wisely

    long time no see 🙂

  6. Banji
    02 Aug 07 2:16 am

    typo – fine eheh (using phone)

  7. pocket
    02 Aug 07 11:01 am

    heh…
    dah kenyang… tapi ikan ado lagi
    separuh lagi…
    nak makan tapi kenyang…
    nak simpan tapi kat kedai … segan nak mintak bungkus…
    so makan la jgak…
    ended up too kenyang…
    nafsu mengatasi akal?

  8. Banji
    02 Aug 07 1:10 pm

    pocket – tu perasaan mengatasi akal, sebab nafsu dah tolak dah ikan tu, dah kenyang… tapi perasaan malu yg takmo minta bungkus 🙂

  9. Jim
    05 Aug 07 2:38 am

    Desire ahhhhh
    its a beautiful emotion (?)a craving

    its what makes me alive
    if i had no desire i wud be a vegetable

  10. Banji
    05 Aug 07 3:41 am

    jim – yup, a vegetable… good one 🙂

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