Akhirnya, Masjid Brunei di Danau Tok Uban! (At last, the Brunei Mosque at Danau Tok Uban!)

Nota: Artikel in mengandungi terjemahan bahasa Inggeris daripada cerita Melayu yang dibuat di CATATAN SI MERAH SILU siang Khamis. Untuk maklumat, ini adalah artikel terakhir yang ditulis dengan cara sebegini... Maksudnya, cerita yang sama dibuat dalam tiga versi, masing-masing untuk blogspot dwi-bahasa ini, blogspot berbahasa Melayu CATATAN SI MERAH SILU dan blogspot berbahasa Inggeris BERPETUALANG KE ACEH. Selepas ini, setiap blogspot akan ada pengkhususan ceritanya sendiri. Harap maklum!

Note: This article includes the English translation for the Malay version written at CATATAN SI MERAH SILU during the day on Thursday. For information, this is the last article to be written in this manner... That is, the same article written in three versions, one each for this bi-lingual blogspot, the all-Malay CATATAN SI MERAH SILU and the all-English BERPETUALANG KE ACEH. After this, each blogspot will have its own particular stories. Do take note!

Mula-mula tengok gambar ini... Jeng jeng jeng!!! Siapa sangka di sebuah kawasan ceruk di dalam negeri Kelantan ada masjid secantik ini... Malah siapa sangka, masjid yang indah di dalam kawasan Rong Chenok (walaupun di tepi Danau Tok Uban, orang sini kata Tok Uban tu belah seberang), jajahan Pasir Mas ini telah didirikan oleh Sultan Brunei, individu yang pernah dikatakan orang paling kaya di dunia suatu masa dahulu! Sebelum kedudukannya dalam senarai kekayaan harta benda dipotong oleh Bill Gates, tuan punya Microsoft...

Start by looking at this picture... Jeng jeng jeng!!! Who would have thought in this no man's land in the state of Kelantan lies such a magnificent mosque... Come on, who would have thought, the beautiful mosque inside the area of Rong Chenok (Although it is beside Danau (the lake of) Tok Uban, the immediate locals say Tok Uban is on the other side), province of Pasir Mas was built by the Sultan of Brunei, the individual once said to be the world's richest man! Before his position in the list of wealth was taken over by Bill Gates, the owner of Microsoft...

Perhatikan tulisan di atas... Masjid Brunei Darussalam... Serta-merta saya teringat nama kerajaan lama Samudera Darussalam yang diasaskan oleh Sultan Malikus Salih di Aceh abad ke 13 Masihi... Apakah ada kaitan?

Look at the inscriptions above (in Jawi)... The Mosque of Brunei Darussalam... At once I remembered the old kingdom of Samudera Darussalam founded by Sultan Malikus Salih in Aceh in the 13th century AD... Is there any connection?

Yang pasti, dalam sejarah Islam dunia, tempat pertama memakai nama Darussalam adalah Madinah Darussalam setelah diperintah Nabi Muhammad Rasulullah SAW... Dan di Tanah Melayu pula kerajaan Samudera Darussalam lah yang mula-mula dikenali dengan nama Darussalam yang bermakna daerah yang aman sejahtera, juga kerana penduduknya masuk Islam tanpa dipaksa atau perlu diperangi. Kemudian baru muncul Pattani Darussalam juga Brunei Darussalam.

What is sure, in the world history of Islam, the first place to use the name Darussalam is Madinah Darussalam, after it was ruled by Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah SAW... And in the Malay Archipelago, Samudera Darussalam is the first to be known with the name Darussalam which means abode of peace, also because the populace embraced Islam without being forced or having to wage war against. Then only came Pattani Darussalam, also Brunei Darussalam.

Maka apakah kaitan semua ini? Cukuplah kalau dikatakan, semua tempat-tempat Darussalam ini melibatkan para Ahlul Bait anak cucu Nabi sebagai para penguasa yang berwibawa serta pendakwah Islam yang membawa kesejahteraan di manapun mereka berada!

So what is the connection between all these? Enough if said, all these Darussalam places involve the presence of Ahlul Bait, the offsprings of the Prophet as competent rulers and administrators also as Islamic missionaries who brought peace wherever they go!

Sekarang fikirkan, kenapa pula Sultan Brunei boleh mendirikan masjid di Rong Chenok ini, di sisi sebuah tasik agak luas yang dikenali sebagai Danau Tok Uban. Apakah sebab-musababnya? Kenapa tak dibina di Kota Bahru, ibunegeri Kelantan? Kenapa tak di Kuala Lumpur atau Putrajaya yang jauh lebih terkenal dan glamour?

Now think, why must the Sultan of Brunei built a mosque in Rong Chenok, besides a wide expanse of water known as Danau Tok Uban. What is the reason? Why not built it at Kota Bahru, the capital of Kelantan? Why not in Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya which are far more well-known and glamorous?

Untuk pengetahuan, tak ramai orang yang tahu pun bahawa masjid ini wujud. Jalan untuk masuk ke sini pun agak berbelit-belit melalui perkampungan orang, agak jauh daripada mana-mana jalan besar. Nak masuk ke situ pun satu hal... Kenapa pula perlu bersusah-payah mendirikan masjid sebegitu indah di tempat sebegitu ceruk? Nama pun Rong Chenok... Nasib baik bukan Rong Tenuk.

For information, not many people know the mosque even existed. The road to get there is also rather difficult meandering through backwater villages, quite far from any main road. To get inside is already a problem... Why go through all the trouble to built such a beautiful mosque in such a place? Even the name Rong Chenok sounds very funny, almost sounding like tenuk, the Malay word for the rather funny-looking animal known as tapir.

Oh... Pada sesiapa yang tak tahu pasal cerita Danau Tok Uban ni, silalah menjengok di Danau Tok Uban pula...

Oh... For those who don't know about Danau Tok Uban, do have a look at Now, Danau Tok Uban...

Tu dia... Papan peringatan masjid dalam tulisan Jawi... Baca sendiri da... Saya setakat boleh menyatakan Masjid Brunei Darussalam ini didirikan tahun 1992 berserta sebuah madrasah (masjid ini dalam kawasan madrasah mengaji Quran) atas nama almarhum Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, ayahanda kepada Sultan Brunei sekarang. Dan ia dirasmikan oleh Sultan Kelantan!

There... The mosque's commemorative plaque written in Jawi... Try to read it yourself.... I can only clarify the Brunei Darussalam Mosque was built in 1992 along with a religious college (the mosque is within a Quran learning college yard) in the name of the late Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, father to the present Sultan of Brunei. And it was officiated by the Sultan of Kelantan!

Setelah membelek papan peringatan masjid tadi, timbul gerak hati untuk meletakkan poster promosi buku "Berpetualang ke Aceh" di sini! Malah ia dibiarkan di situ selama saya berada di masjid ini sampai tengahari keesokannya. Siapa pula nak tengok poster ini di tempat terpencil yang jarang didatangi orang ya tak?

After studying the plaque, there came the urge to put up the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" poster here! In fact it was left up there as long as I was at the mosque until noon the next day. Who on earth would look at this poster when the place is so off the beaten tracks and hardly receive any visitor?

Kebetulan semasa saya sampai petang Jumaat itu, ada sekumpulan guru sekolah dan keluarga serta anak murid juga baru sampai untuk membuat sedikit majlis makan-makan di rumah-rumah penginapan di sebelah masjid milik madrasah. Boleh kata hampir semua mereka yang datang ini baru pertama kali menjejakkan kaki ke Danau Tok Uban walaupun mereka semuanya berasal daripada daerah Pasir Mas!

It happens that when I arrived Friday afternoon, a group of school-teachers, their families and students have just arrived for a small dining function at the college-owned rest-houses beside the mosque. You can say, it was the first time most of them stepped foot at Danau Tok Uban although all of them came from Pasir Mas!

Dalam pada itu, kelihatan anak-anak kecil bermain berlari-lari riang-ria meneroka segala ceruk rantau masjid ini. Nampaklah anak tangga berpusing naik ke atas... Apa lagi saya... Ibarat beruk diberi pokok suruh panjat le jadinya... Hehe!

At the same time, one can see small children running up and down happily exploring every nook and cranny of the mosque. That's when I realised there's a spiralling staircase to get to the top... What do you expect I did... Like a monkey given a tree to climb do I become... Hehe!

Menara masjid setakat yang mampu ditangkap oleh kamera digital murah yang tidak ada wide view...

The mosque's tower as could be captured with a cheap digital camera without wide view...

Kawasan rumah penginapan di sebelah... Nampak meriah juga dengan kehadiran pelawat-pelawat daripada Pasir Mas ini... Kalau tak kawasan ini boleh dikatakan jarang ada orang kecuali para pelajar madrasah, itupun mereka selalu berada di kawasan lain dalam lingkungan madrasah yang boleh tahan luas ini, madrasah yang menurut ceritanya ditanggung sepenuhnya oleh Sultan Brunei termasuk kos pembiayaan pelajar!

The rest area besides... Seemed so happening with the presence of visitors from Pasir Mas... Otherwise this area rarely has people around except for college students, even then they mostly spend their time elsewhere within the rather wide compounds of the college, a college reputedly fully supported by the Sultan Brunei who also pays the student bills!

Jeti tepi masjid ke Danau Tok Uban dilihat daripada satu sudut yang cuma 'beruk-beruk' macam saya sahaja boleh sampai. Orang lain yang melihat kedudukan saya ketika itu terus rasa seriau... Gilo ke hapa budak ni bertenggek kat sudut atas masjid cam ni weehh??

The jetty besides the mosque for Danau Tok Uban seen from an angle which could only be taken by 'monkeys' like me. Others who saw where I was then immediately felt queasy... What the heck? Is this guy mad perching up like that at the corner of the mosque??

Subhanallah! Ternyata Danau Tok Uban jauh lebih indah apabila dilihat daripada Masjid Brunei berbanding dengan di seberang!

Praise be to God! It's obvious Danau Tok Uban looks much more beautiful seen from the Brunei Mosque compared to from the other side!

Oh... Lupa hendak beritahu. Sebenarnya sebaik sahaja nampak bangunan Masjid Brunei daripada teksi yang dinaiki dari Pasir Mas, terus saya rasa satu macam kejutan eletrik di badan. Ah... Saya deja vu lagi... Seluruh reka bentuk masjid ini, kawasan sekelilingnya, malah-malah pagar kecil juga bangunan rumah penginapan di sebelah pernah saya lihat dalam mimpi atau bayangan lama dahulu... Tak pasti bila tapi memang saya pernah nampak semua ini walaupun secara fizikalnya, baru kali inilah saya sampai di sini!

Oh... Forgot to tell. Actually, as soon as I saw the Brunei Mosque from the taxi taken at Pasir Mas, immediately I felt a kind of electrical current rushing through the body. Ah... I had another deja vu... The overall design of the mosque, its surrounding, in fact the small gates also the rest houses besides have already been seen in a dream or a vision long ago... Not sure when but I did saw all of these although physically, that is the first time I got there!

Apakah makna semua ini? Ah... Relaks.... Bagi suspense sikit lah... Hehe!

What is the meaning of all this? Ah... Relax... Let there be a bit of suspense... Haha!

Mimbar masjid dengan kubah di atas ini mengingatkan saya pada topi perang orang Islam dahulukala... Mungkin ada kena-mengena?

The mimbar (small building for giving sermons) with the dome above reminded me of war headgear worn by Muslim warriors of old... Maybe there is a connection here?

Adapun pada malam itu, seorang ustaz kanan madrasah dengan seorang anak muridnya telah datang menemui saya. Tujuannya adalah untuk memastikan siapakah saya ini sebenarnya... Lawyer? Majistret? Atau cuma Kasim Selamat! Kerana ada juga pengunjung (orang-orang Pasir Mas yang menyewa rumah di sebelah) risau akan kehadiran seorang manusia yang tidak dikenali di situ... Takut saya ini perompak ataupun penyangak?

As it is, that night, one of the college's religious teacher came with a student to see me. They want to find out who I really was... Lawyer? Magistrate? Or just Kasim Selamat! (Sorry, only those who followed the Malay movies acted by P. Ramlee would understand the pun). Because the visitors (the Pasir Mas folk who rented the rest-houses) were worried with the presence of an unknown figure... Are they scared I might be a thief or a gangster?

Ah... Saya dah biasa dengan semua ini. Malah sepanjang pengembaraan kali ini, ramai orang beranggapan saya adalah seorang anggota Special Branch polis Bukit Aman, yang ingat saya military intelligence pun ada, mungkin keluar menyamar untuk meninjau keadaan sekeliling... Kalau saya kata bukan pun, sesetengah orang dah buat kesimpulan lebih awal... Mana ada orang berani mengembara seorang diri masuk ceruk rantau kampung orang seorang diri macam saya dengan penuh keyakinan diri kecuali orang itu ada kaitan dengan pihak berkuasa ya tak?

Ah... I am used to all these. In fact along this current travel, many thought I was a member of the police Special Branch from Bukit Aman, some even thought I was military intellegence who came in disquise to observe the going-ons around... Even if I say I'm not, some of them had already made their conclusions... Where does exist anyone so brave the way I look with confidence and all venturing deep inside other people's territories alone all by himself unless he is connected to the authorities?

Apapun, ustaz itu sedikit lega setelah melihat kad pengenalan saya serta membuat sedikit temu-ramah. Apa yang menarik adalah temu-ramah lapisan lain yang dibuat secara batin... Nampaknya ustaz muda yang umurnya mungkin tak sampai lagi 40an ini pun bukan orang sembarangan. Ya lah... Takkan hantar orang 'kosong' untuk bertemu orang asing yang mungkin boleh membahayakan ya tak...

Whatever, the teacher was relieved after examining my identity card and making a little interview. What is interesting is the interview made at another level using spiritual means... It seems the young religious teacher who might not have reach his 40s is not just a nobody. Of course... Would you sent a 'zero' to meet a stranger who could be dangerous to you?

Dalam perbualan itu saya berterus-terang mengaku suka menziarahi makam para wali, raja-raja dan tempat-tempat berkaitan demi menelusuri sejarah Melayu Islam terutama yang berkaitan dengan keluarga. Saya tahu ustaz ini juga meneliti saya secara batin untuk memastikan samada saya bercakap benar ataupun tidak...

In our conversation, I was frank enough to admit I like to visit the graves and tombs of saints, royalty and related places all to study the Malay Islamic history especially those related to family. I know the teacher was also verifying me spiritually to see if I'm telling the truth or not...

Yang menarik adalah apabila ustaz ini mengaku masjid itu malah seluruh Danau Tok Uban terletak di dalam lingkungan kawasan sebuah kota lama yang masih boleh dilihat dengan mata batin... Hmm... Tak boleh cerita sangat tentang ini. Cukuplah kalau dikatakan dalam Danau Tok Uban itu terdapat banyak harta peninggalan dahulukala, cukup banyak... Kata si ustaz, ada juga beberapa pihak cuba menarik harta ini tetapi tidak berjaya. Yang menarik, ustaz ini tahu bahawa harta tersebut adalah harta untuk belanja perang akhir zaman... Hmm... Cukuplah...

What's interesting is when the teacher admitted, the mosque in fact the whole Danau Tok Uban is situated within an ancient walled city which could still be seen using the spiritual eye... Hmm... Can't talk much about this. Enough if it's said inside Danau Tok Uban, there's plenty of treasures of old, plenty plenty... Said the teacher, there are those who tried to pull out the treasure with no success. What's interesting, he knows that the treasure is meant for the expenses incurred for the end of times war... Hmm... Enough...

Oh, untuk menjawab soalan para pembaca terutama Kak Tim, apakah kaitan Brunei dengan Kelantan. Le... Ingatkan ramai dah tahu... Bukankah Sultan Kelantan itu dikatakan berasal daripada keturunan Sayyid Hussein Jamadil Kubra yang pernah mengetuai kumpulan Wali Tujuh datang ke Tanah Melayu abad ke 14 Masihi dahulu? Sultan Brunei pula adalah keturunan Sharif Mekah yang nasabnya sampai pada Saidina Hassan, cucu sulung Rasulullah SAW! Masing-masing berpunca daripada darah daging Nabi Muhammad SAW jua... Allahumasali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad!

Oh, to answer questions by readers especially from Kak Tim, what is the relationship betwen Brunei and Kelantan... La... Thought most already knew... Isn't the Sultan of Kelantan said to have originated from the offsprings of Sayyid Hussein Jamadil Kubra, the head of the group of Wali Tujuh (the seven saints) who came to the Malay lands in 14th century AD? The Sultan of Brunei dsecends from the Sharif of Mekah whose genealogy reaches up to Saidina Hassan, the eldest granchild of Rasulullah SAW! Each came from the blood of the Prophet Muhammad SAW... Allahumasali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad!

Sekarang fikirkan apakah kaitan semua ini... Di manakah anak cucu Nabi ini pernah berkumpul di Tanah Melayu ini sehingga Sultan Brunei terpanggil untuk mendirikan masjid di sini setelah mengalami sebuah mimpi... Ada cerita lain pula menyebut, ada penduduk lama di Rong Chenok mendapat mimpi tiga malam berturut-turut lalu mencari jalan untuk menghadap Sultan Brunei demi menceritakan pesanan yang diberi dalam mimpi.

Now think what is the relations between all these... Where did the progenies of the Prophet met in the Malay Archipelago such that the Sultan of Brunei was called to built a mosque here after experiencing a dream... Another story said, there's an old folk in Rong Chenok who had the same dream three days in a row and so sought ways to meet the Sultan of Brunei just to relate the message from the dream.

Apapun, masjid ini didirikan setelah seseorang (atau mungkin banyak orang?) mendapat mimpi yang misteri tapi penuh makna. Yang pasti, kehadiran Masjid Brunei di tempat terpencil ini menimbulkan banyak tanda-tanya lalu menjadi asbab atau sebab-musabab untuk pihak-pihak tertentu dipertemukan lalu saling kenal-mengenali ni sini... Peh... Tiba-tiba teringat nama Tok Kenali...

Whatever, the mosque was built after someone (maybe many?) had a mysterious dream full of questions. What is sure, the existence of the Brunei Mosque in this backwater place raised much curiousity and so became the reason and excuse for some parties to meet and get to know each other here. Fuh... Suddenly the name Tok Kenali came to mind... (The nick-name of the famous late Kelantanese saint rhymes with the Malay word for getting to know, that is mengenali)

OK... Cukuplah ya... Dah lama saya menulis ni... Perlu bergerak meninggalkan Alor Setar sekejap lagi... Teringat pula ustaz yang menemu-ramah saya dan anak muridnya dua-dua orang Kulim. Macam nak suruh saya pergi situ pula... Insyaallah jumpa kita di lain waktu. Wassalam!

OK... Enough ya... I've spent plenty of time writing this... Must go and leave Alor Setar soon... Suddenly came to mind the teacher who interviewed me and his student, both originated from Kulim. As if asking me to go there next (which I did as I'm writing this English translation in Kulim at night!)... God willing, we'll meet again another time. Peace!