My Visit to Brunei Darussalam
My friend, who was in contact with a renowned and published scholar of Islam in the English language who resides in Brunei, contacted me and asked me if I wanted to visit him as well. Given that I was in the region, and that the plan for me to give the sermon this Friday in Manila was not finalized at any particular location, I replied in the affirmative, quickly obtained tickets, and within a few hours was on my way to Bandar Seri Bagawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam. The name of the capital, borrowed from Sanskrit, is apparently an attribution of Bandar, or port in Persian, to an honorific of the sultan; Seri Bagawan or holy and saintly.
The country is conservative to say the least. When you're about to land the pilot makes an announcement warning people that drugs are strictly prohibited and carrying in trafficking them has only one punishment, death.
There is a stark difference you observe getting off the plane in the country, that everything is much cleaner and more orderly.
There is no alcohol or hedonistic pursuit to be seen or alluded to anywhere in sight.
The town is a sleepy town and most things close at 5:00 p.m., or 9:00 p.m. at way max.
Landing on Thursday night, the next morning on Friday, when we went out, the roads were almost devoid of traffic, given that it was the weekly holiday. The difference between the scene here and Manila could not be more different.
The Shaykh I came to visit, Gibril Haddad, is known to many in the West as being a staunch proponent of a type of very traditional sunnism. Whether someone agrees with him or not, he is an extremely intelligent, extremely articulate and extremely well-written man, and may God help anybody who he refutes. Because of the exactness of his words and his willingness to deploy them, I had a little bit of apprehensiveness about meeting him in my heart. Upon seeing him and shaking hands, all of it vanished. And real life he's a very kind, soft, loving, and social person. He took me out for coffee, then a type of southeast Asian version of a Desi breakfast. Afterward we went to the Friday Mosque of the father of the current Sulṭān, where we read from a compilation of Musalsalāt: a type of specialized Ḥadīth narration, waiting for the Friday prayer.
After praying, he graciously took us around to see some traditional architecture and sites: namely a village built on the water on stilts, much like some of the villages I saw in Tawi Tawi and Semunul.
He done graciously brought me to his house, where he read from a book about the virtues of Friday by Imām Suyūṭī, before taking me to the airport, and not merely dropping me off, but parking and having tea in order to see me off right before my flight.
Although the time was short, one can imagine that time spent with such a person would be anything but boring. With such people even the small talk is not small talk.
Here I am now waiting in front of my gate, on my way back to Manila for a few more hours before heading back home, trying to piece together a couple of thoughts in order to share what seems like a dream, with my brothers and sisters back home.
I can't help but marvel at how this place is physically much closer to Tawi-Tawi than Manila is by a lot, but the destiny that the Lord has made it out for both people and places, as similar as they may be, could be so different.
Allāh Ta'ālā preserve the people of Brunei, and their Islām, which they have held on to in a way that many other nations have let go. May He also aid preserve the Muslims of the Philippines, through their struggles, poverty, and isolation from the rest of the Ummah and show them days of prosperity and security in there Islam and wealth from His grace.
