COMMENT | My dad often brings home delightful stories from the mosque.

A few months ago, he came home from his terawih prayers and summoned my mum for some tea, as he always liked to have his ginger tea during his storytelling sessions. Mum ran to the kitchen and brought a pot of ginger tea, which was waiting for his arrival on the kitchen table.

We were all very curious about his story, simply because he had lost his helmet at the mosque the night before, and so we assumed the thief had been caught.

“You do remember that my helmet went missing at the mosque yesterday, don’t you?” asked dad, sort of reminding us about the last episode before beginning a new one.

“Yes, yes. So, did the Tok Imam manage to find the thief?” Mum asked in anticipation.

“No, but something else belonging to one of the villagers went missing,” Dad continued.

“What did he lose?” we asked in total suspense.

Dad slowly sipped his hot ginger tea before answering, “His watermelon.”

We all burst out laughing.

Apparently, the man had left a watermelon on his motorcycle when he came to the mosque for prayers, and when he returned, it had vanished.

Protecting pineapples

A day later, we waited for Dad’s arrival from the mosque with a pot of ginger tea ready for him in our living room.

“So tell us the juicy story for the day,” I mocked dad.

“You would never believe what happened today,” he said.

While we sat there with our eyeballs bulged double in size, dad took his sweet time taking off his kopiah and baju Melayu with a naughty smile on his lips. Such a teaser he is.

Finally he sat down and after taking a sip of ginger tea, he said, “I was leaving my sandals at the entrance of the mosque when a man arrived in his motorbike and called for the Tok Imam. He had pineapples in his motorbike basket.

“Let me guess, the pineapples went missing too?” I jumped to conclusion.

Dad laughed as he continued, “The man brought pineapples from his orchard and wanted to give the Tok Imam some, as a gift.

"He asked the Tok Imam if he should leave the pineapples in the Tok Imam’s motorbike but the Tok Imam quickly told him not to, fearing it would disappear too, just like the helmet and the watermelon.”

Dad then went on to tell us how the Tok Imam safeguarded his pineapples by placing them by his side during prayers. And all of us laughed hysterically as we imagined the Tok Imam in his white jubah and serban, praying with a few bright orange pineapples next to him.

Missing cow

A few nights ago, Dad came home from the mosque and, upon finding no one around to join him for his ginger tea session, he made a loud announcement.

“I have a story from the masjid.”

Mum knocked on my door and I knocked on my brother’s door. We were all gathered around Dad in less than a minute.

“What’s the story?” Mum asked.

“A man from the neighbouring kampung who often joins us at our mosque has been complaining about his missing cow for quite some time,” Dad began.

“Missing cow, pulak?” my jaw dropped.

“For days, the man and his family have been roaming around the kampung looking for his lost cow,” continued Dad.

“Rescue mission for an abducted cow,” my brother joked. “Did they find the cow or was there a ransom to be paid?”

Dad smiled blandly.

“And then what happened?” Mum was curious.

“After a few days of launching the ‘rescue mission’, the cow was still missing and he realised that he needed some help. So he came to the mosque tonight during our yasin recital session and requested the Tok Imam to dedicate the yasin recital to finding his lost cow,” said Dad.

Valuable items

Everyone in my family burst into laughter, except Dad.

“That’s really hilarious, a divine intervention to find a missing cow,” my brother said.

I chuckled as I reminded them how similar the story is to the P Ramlee film, “Nujum Pak Belalang”.

“What’s the matter?” asked Mum upon noticing Dad’s silence.

The noise of laughter subsided. With all eyes on him, Dad said, “When I shared the story of the watermelons and pineapples, I failed to see how valuable these things were to the people. Of course, to us it is hilarious, but to the kampung folks, it’s their rezeki (livelihood).

“These people work so hard for their rezeki. And with our economic climate, every sen counts. If you think about it, even a banana is valuable because it can ease someone’s hunger for the night – what more a watermelon and a pineapple.”

Suddenly, the missing cow story was not funny anymore.

“The price of beef is now almost RM30 per kilogramme at the market. And a cow is priced somewhere between RM4,000 to RM5,000. Just imagine the number of months they could have supported themselves for if they were able to sell the cow or its meat,” Dad continued.

As I put myself in the shoes of the man who had lost his cow, I felt very sad. Also upset at myself for laughing earlier.

I realise that while the rest of us bicker about the rising cost of living while saving enough to indulge in branded coffees, shopping and watching cinemas on a weekend, some folks are indulging in their prayer mats to seek blessings.

While the rest of us have smartphones to tweet about how the rise in living costs is affecting us, some folks are tweeting God in the form of prayers for a divine intervention.

Sigh.

FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.