Hamka is a renowned religious figure as well as an artist of language. I first read his book back in 2016, if I'm not mistaken, called Tafsir Al-Azhar. It was not like I wanted to read it but more because I had to as to finish up my assignment for the Islamic Studies class and it involved using the book for research. As many other students, I searched only for the information I needed and did not finish the whole book. Although that was the case, Hamka did not fail to impress. That first read really made me think that all the recognition he received, whether when he was alive or after his death, was very well deserved.
His words. Oh my. His words are like you are listening to a storyteller who knows where he is heading to and he is well aware that he is not on the journey alone; he has the whole crew of readers to be led to the destination. His words are poetic but not to the extent that laymen cannot understand; some literature pieces are very heavy with their words that scare away people from reading them. I think having the opportunity to listen to his voice is a plus point as well. There was this one TV programme that 'invited' Hamka to discuss a topic and it was broadcasted way after Hamka's death. What they did was kind of 'asking questions to Hamka' and the answers would come from a recording of Hamka's past interview. It was an interesting idea of introducing Hamka to our generation, not by simply putting forth Hamka's wisdom through someone else's voice other than his own. I can tell you that his voice was very calming. Certainly the voice of a storyteller.
Tuan Direktur or Mr. Director is a short story about how the rich, portrayed by Jazuli (the Mr. Director), usually mistreats people who are of lower status than them. They see people who are not as rich as nothing more than their puppets or robots to merely carry out their orders, who only deserve criticism when they do wrong and when they do right, they deserve no compliment because... well, they are paid to do their job, aren't they? Although some of the rich are also once classified as underprivileged, they only use their background to brag about how they had successfully move from the bottom and manage to secure the position at the top of the ladder without no one's help except their own determination and hard work.
Of course it is not fair to generalise all the riches to be the same as Jazuli. But the idea is never far-fetched. We can easily spot this kind of behaviour and mindset, say at our very own workplace. It is more often that we hear people back talking about how their bosses treat them poorly rather than the other way around.
Another thing to love about this book is the quotes it contained. I personally like this quote from one of the characters named Haji Nawawi, "Apa perlu saya dengki kepadanya. Selagi wang itu masih tetap bulat dan boleh digulung ke mari dan boleh ke sana. Kesetiaan wang itu tidak boleh dipercaya, bukan?". Hamka really brings down the value of money and adds to say that it is silly to trust the loyalty of money because the hands that own it can easily change.
I really recommend this book especially for ones who are new to Hamka and only beginning to read Hamka's work. This book is thin, the words are light and the story is interesting.
Tuan Direktur or Mr. Director is a short story about how the rich, portrayed by Jazuli (the Mr. Director), usually mistreats people who are of lower status than them. They see people who are not as rich as nothing more than their puppets or robots to merely carry out their orders, who only deserve criticism when they do wrong and when they do right, they deserve no compliment because... well, they are paid to do their job, aren't they? Although some of the rich are also once classified as underprivileged, they only use their background to brag about how they had successfully move from the bottom and manage to secure the position at the top of the ladder without no one's help except their own determination and hard work.
Of course it is not fair to generalise all the riches to be the same as Jazuli. But the idea is never far-fetched. We can easily spot this kind of behaviour and mindset, say at our very own workplace. It is more often that we hear people back talking about how their bosses treat them poorly rather than the other way around.
Another thing to love about this book is the quotes it contained. I personally like this quote from one of the characters named Haji Nawawi, "Apa perlu saya dengki kepadanya. Selagi wang itu masih tetap bulat dan boleh digulung ke mari dan boleh ke sana. Kesetiaan wang itu tidak boleh dipercaya, bukan?". Hamka really brings down the value of money and adds to say that it is silly to trust the loyalty of money because the hands that own it can easily change.
I really recommend this book especially for ones who are new to Hamka and only beginning to read Hamka's work. This book is thin, the words are light and the story is interesting.
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