HONG KONG - Emas di Hong Kong mencatat jualan lebih AS$1,500 (RM4,522) satu auns (28.34 gram) semalam kerana para peniaga mencari pasaran selamat di tengah kebimbangan masalah ekonomi global.
Logam bernilai itu mencatat harga pada AS$1,500 hingga AS$1,501 (RM4,525) setiap satu auns beberapa hari selepas Standard & Poor's menurunkan hutang Amerika Syarikat (AS) dari negatif kepada stabil.
Harga emas di negara itu sebelum ini mencatat harga AS$1,495 (RM4,507) hingga AS$1,496 (RM4,510) satu auns
Para penganalisis menyatakan bahawa kesan kenaikan harga emas itu adalah akibat ketegangan yang sedang berlaku di Asia Barat, Afrika Utara dan zon Eropah serta kebimbangan hutang tinggi AS.
Sementara itu di London, harga emas turut melonjak melebihi AS$1,500 satu auns buat kali pertama semasa dolar AS berada dalam keadaan lemah selain kebimbangan inflasi tinggi dan hutang.
Keadaan itu menyebabkan para pelabur beralih kepada emas yang merupakan satu pelaburan yang selamat.
Harga emas mencecah AS$1,505.65 (RM4,539) satu auns di Pasaran Jongkong London sebelum diniagakan pada harga AS$1,503.60 (RM4,533) satu auns. - Agensi
Source: http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2011&dt=0421&pub=Kosmo&sec=Dunia&pg=du_03.htm
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The best currency is gold and silver, says Marc Faber
INTERNATIONAL. Marc Faber the Swiss fund manager and Gloom Boom & Doom editor predicted the value of the dollar in the long term will be zero and advised investors to become "their own central banks and gradually accumulate gold reserves as a currency".
Speaking early on Monday to CNBC Asia, Faber said: "We are in a contest for the ugliest currency".
Most investors have at least 70%-80% of their money in US Dollars, he said, adding that occasionally the money speculators may be heavily into the euro and negative about the dollar but "there is a huge overhang of US Dollars globally. If people could sell their dollars and move into something they believed in, they would do it".
"I still believe the best currency is gold and silver, and this is not the perception of most people. They believe gold and silver are speculative investments," Faber added.
In a reply to a question from a viewer, Faber said investors "should be their own central banks and gradually accumulate gold reserves as a currency", rather than speculating in gold.
He recommended holding physical bullion over other gold assets and advised against holding gold assets in the US because of the risk of "expropriation" by US authorities, as they did in the early 1930s.
The price of spot gold jumped closer to US$1500 today, reaching a new all-time high of US$1497 per ounce.
Fear of inflation...the high oil price...extreme financial difficulties [for some] Eurozone nations...the US debt-crisis...problems in the Arab world...and the situation in Japan...There are more than sufficient reasons why the gold price further extended its gains to a new all-time high," writes Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach in his latest Precious Metals Weekly at German refining group Heraeus.
"The moderate interest-rate hike in Europe has not had the ability to change the trend, nor has the relatively restrained demand for bars and coins, observed not only in Germany but also in Asia."
On the direction of the US Dollar, he told CNBC the greenback may see a temporary rally but he maintained his long term prediction: "The value of the US Dollar will be precisely its intrinsic value, namely zero, precisely zero".
The Gloom Boom & Doom editor has not changed his stance towards gold. In a March 2009 interview he advised to "buy every month a little bit and become your own central bank because you can't trust central banks anymore to act responsibly and maintain the function of paper money as a store for value. So, you want your own reserve".
In a discussion about the US deficit in today's CNBC appearance, Faber said he didn't think it was possible to "reduce the deficit meaningfully unless the US increased taxation significantly and cut spending meaningfully".
He expects "the US government to raise the debt ceiling, but the deficit will stay around US$1.5 trillion for the foreseeable future" because of politics.
The US has the Republicans on one side and the Democrats on the other and I don't think they will compromise, he said.
Note: Dr Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics. Between 1970 and 1978, Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Co in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong.
Since 1973, he has lived in Asia. From 1978 to February 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK). In June 1990, he set up his own business which acts as an investment advisor and fund manager.
In 2000 Faber decided to spend more time writing his newsletters as well as growing his advisory business. He moved back to his home in Chiang Mai, Thailand, maintaining only a small administrative office in Hong Kong.
Dr Faber publishes a widely read monthly investment newsletter 'The Gloom Boom & Doom Report' which highlights unusual investment opportunities, and is the author of several books.
Source: http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=52224&t=1&cg=4
Gold and currencies: an historical perspective - Mineweb
Gold was money long before currencies came into the fray but a look at how the world moved from a gold standard to the current situation provides some useful food for thought
Author: David Levenstein
JOHANNESBURG -
s gold continues to make new record highs, there are many analysts scratching their temples trying to understand what is going on. And, as I have mentioned many times in the past, many of these analysts are stock brokers, financial advisors, accountants and other geniuses. Some of them even have a string of academic qualifications behind their name. But, what has this got to with the gold. The answer is absolutely nothing. And, this is one of the problems facing individuals who are interested in investing in precious metals, in particular gold and silver.
Most of these individuals rely to a large extent on the advice given to them by their financial advisors. This is certainly the case in South Africa. Or they watch and listen to the commentators on main stream media. While many of these analysts are brilliant when it comes to evaluating stocks, most of them have no knowledge about the actual physical markets for gold and especially silver. In South Africa, practically every single one these "experts," have denigrated gold as an investment since the price was less than $300. However, they have yet to understand that investing in gold mining shares and accumulating the physical metal is not the same thing. And, yes, I agree, South African gold mining shares have been miserable performers in the current gold bull market. But, in their confused state, these analysts have failed to make the important distinction between gold mining shares and the reason why someone would want to buy physical gold. And, the majority of these advisors are only familiar with the modern day fiat currency system with some vague understanding of gold. Yet, it is these individuals who proffer advice on investing in gold. If you break your leg, do you go to the nearest library and ask the librarian on duty to help you by looking up the relevant procedure from some medical journal? Or do you go to your doctor? The same applies with investing in precious metals. If you want to know more, go the people who are the experts in this field and not someone who has no idea of what is going on. When it comes to understanding gold it is important to have a knowledge and understanding of money.
The emergence of money was perhaps one of the most important events in the history of mankind. Historically many different goods have been used as money including beads, shells, tobacco, copper and sugar etc. Without money there was no medium of exchange and thus the only way people could trade with one another was through a system of barter. However, it was not a practical means of trade because some goods were more widely demanded than others and some were more divisible into smaller units without the loss of value. Some were also more easily transported than others.
But, over centuries gold and silver emerged as the two commodities that offered the best solution. Both these precious metals were uniquely marketable in that they had worldwide acceptance. This allowed for much easier trade transactions, both domestically and internationally, something we now take for granted. And, over the years, silver was used for smaller transactions while gold was used for larger transactions. Then, gold and silver were minted into coins, for smaller, day-to-day transactions, and into large bars for bigger transactions.
As these coins and bars gained wider acceptance, there were other problems such as the supply of money and of course the problem of "fractional reserve banking." In simple terms this came about by banks that were the custodians of gold on behalf of clients. They simply printed more warehouse receipts than the actual quantity of gold that they held. While these pseudo receipts were nothing more than counterfeit documents, governments gave banks their approval. These banks were simply using the gold reserves of their depositors to create new money. And, of course, this new money increased the economy's supply of money without the country having to increase their holdings of gold.
For many years, the world adopted a gold standard or a form thereof. It must be emphasized that gold was not selected arbitrarily by governments to be the monetary standard. Gold had developed for many centuries on the free market as the best money; as the commodity providing the most stable and desirable monetary medium. From 1815 to 1914 the world was on a gold standard, which meant that each national currency (the dollar, pound, franc, etc.) was merely a name for a certain weight of gold. The US dollar was defined as 1/20 of an ounce of gold, the pound ¼ an ounce of gold, and so on. This international gold standard meant that the benefits of having one money medium were extended throughout the world, thus facilitating freedom of trade, investment, and travel throughout that trading and monetary area. But, with the advent of World War I this system broke down, The system itself did not break down, but in order to pay for this disastrous war, governments had to inflate their own supply of money which meant that it was impossible for the warring governments to keep their pledges of seeing that all paper money was redeemable in gold, and so they went off the gold standard.
Then, from 1926 to 1931 the world returned to a gold standard. While the US continued to redeem dollars for gold, England and the other countries of the West returned to somewhat of a pseudo gold standard. British pounds and other currencies were not payable in gold coins, but only in large sized bars, suitable only for international transactions. This prevented the citizens of Britain and other European countries from using gold in their daily life, and this allowed for a wider degree of paper and bank inflation. Furthermore, Britain redeemed pounds not merely in gold, but also in dollars while other countries redeemed their currencies not in gold but in pounds. As sterling balances piled up in France and the US, and when France attempted to cash in its sterling balances for gold, Britain went off the gold standard.
The world was back to the monetary chaos of World War I. International economic and monetary warfare raged between currencies as they devalued against one another. This was followed by exchange controls, and trade barriers until eventually international trade and investment came to a virtual standstill. Sound familiar?
Then, a new international monetary system emerged at a monetary conference held at Bretton Woods in 1944. And, the world returned to another gold exchange standard which lasted from 1945 to 1968. This gold standard was much the same as gold exchange standard of 1920 but now the dollar had taken over from the pound. The other difference was that the dollar was no longer redeemable in gold to American citizens but it was redeemable to foreign governments and their central banks. Under the Bretton Woods system the US pyramided dollars on top of gold while other governments held dollars as their basic reserve. And, since the US had a huge stock pile of gold at the time there was plenty of room to create more dollars. And, as the US government embarked on its post war policy of continual monetary expansion, a policy that it has pursued ever since, by the early 1950's the continuing US inflation began to worry other nations. While the US was expanding money and credit, many of the major European governments (Germany, Switzerland, France, and Italy) pursued a more "hard currency" approach. By the late 1950's these countries as well as Japan were getting even more concerned about being forced to pile up dollars that had then become increasingly overvalued. But, Europe still had the option of redeeming dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, and, this is exactly what they did for almost two decades until the US gold stock pile had dwindled from some $20 billion to $9 billion. And, as US dollars kept inflating on a gold stock pile that was gradually declining the system began to unravel in 1968.
As European central banks threatened to redeem as much of their dollars for gold as possible, in August 1971, President Nixon, declared that the US would no longer be part of the gold standard and for the first time in American history, the dollar became a totally fiat currency without the backing of gold in any shape or form. As the dollar declined in value and the West German mark, the Swiss Franc, and the Japanese yen, all soared higher against the dollar, Friedmanite economists hailed this as the monetary ideal. And, since the US went off the gold standard and established the Friedmanite fluctuating rate system of currencies in March 1973, the entire world has suffered some of the worst bouts of inflation in its history. And, in their scorn of gold, Keynesians and Friedmanites, each devoted to the fiat monetary system, predicted that when fiat money was established, the market price of gold would fall to about $8 an ounce.
We are currently in the midst of another monetary crisis brought on by many of the same reasons that brought on previous disasters. While I do not know how this crisis is going to be resolved, I do know that it has the potential to be the worst we have ever experienced. And, the higher gold prices are merely reflecting the deteriorating situation with global currencies. Unfortunately, it seems that this global monetary crisis is only going to get worse before it gets better.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
The break above $1440 an ounce has set gold up to test $1480 and then $1500 in the short-term. However, the longer-term picture suggests that gold is head to $1600.
Source: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103855?oid=125324&sn=Detail&pid=102055
Author: David Levenstein
JOHANNESBURG -
s gold continues to make new record highs, there are many analysts scratching their temples trying to understand what is going on. And, as I have mentioned many times in the past, many of these analysts are stock brokers, financial advisors, accountants and other geniuses. Some of them even have a string of academic qualifications behind their name. But, what has this got to with the gold. The answer is absolutely nothing. And, this is one of the problems facing individuals who are interested in investing in precious metals, in particular gold and silver.
Most of these individuals rely to a large extent on the advice given to them by their financial advisors. This is certainly the case in South Africa. Or they watch and listen to the commentators on main stream media. While many of these analysts are brilliant when it comes to evaluating stocks, most of them have no knowledge about the actual physical markets for gold and especially silver. In South Africa, practically every single one these "experts," have denigrated gold as an investment since the price was less than $300. However, they have yet to understand that investing in gold mining shares and accumulating the physical metal is not the same thing. And, yes, I agree, South African gold mining shares have been miserable performers in the current gold bull market. But, in their confused state, these analysts have failed to make the important distinction between gold mining shares and the reason why someone would want to buy physical gold. And, the majority of these advisors are only familiar with the modern day fiat currency system with some vague understanding of gold. Yet, it is these individuals who proffer advice on investing in gold. If you break your leg, do you go to the nearest library and ask the librarian on duty to help you by looking up the relevant procedure from some medical journal? Or do you go to your doctor? The same applies with investing in precious metals. If you want to know more, go the people who are the experts in this field and not someone who has no idea of what is going on. When it comes to understanding gold it is important to have a knowledge and understanding of money.
The emergence of money was perhaps one of the most important events in the history of mankind. Historically many different goods have been used as money including beads, shells, tobacco, copper and sugar etc. Without money there was no medium of exchange and thus the only way people could trade with one another was through a system of barter. However, it was not a practical means of trade because some goods were more widely demanded than others and some were more divisible into smaller units without the loss of value. Some were also more easily transported than others.
But, over centuries gold and silver emerged as the two commodities that offered the best solution. Both these precious metals were uniquely marketable in that they had worldwide acceptance. This allowed for much easier trade transactions, both domestically and internationally, something we now take for granted. And, over the years, silver was used for smaller transactions while gold was used for larger transactions. Then, gold and silver were minted into coins, for smaller, day-to-day transactions, and into large bars for bigger transactions.
As these coins and bars gained wider acceptance, there were other problems such as the supply of money and of course the problem of "fractional reserve banking." In simple terms this came about by banks that were the custodians of gold on behalf of clients. They simply printed more warehouse receipts than the actual quantity of gold that they held. While these pseudo receipts were nothing more than counterfeit documents, governments gave banks their approval. These banks were simply using the gold reserves of their depositors to create new money. And, of course, this new money increased the economy's supply of money without the country having to increase their holdings of gold.
For many years, the world adopted a gold standard or a form thereof. It must be emphasized that gold was not selected arbitrarily by governments to be the monetary standard. Gold had developed for many centuries on the free market as the best money; as the commodity providing the most stable and desirable monetary medium. From 1815 to 1914 the world was on a gold standard, which meant that each national currency (the dollar, pound, franc, etc.) was merely a name for a certain weight of gold. The US dollar was defined as 1/20 of an ounce of gold, the pound ¼ an ounce of gold, and so on. This international gold standard meant that the benefits of having one money medium were extended throughout the world, thus facilitating freedom of trade, investment, and travel throughout that trading and monetary area. But, with the advent of World War I this system broke down, The system itself did not break down, but in order to pay for this disastrous war, governments had to inflate their own supply of money which meant that it was impossible for the warring governments to keep their pledges of seeing that all paper money was redeemable in gold, and so they went off the gold standard.
Then, from 1926 to 1931 the world returned to a gold standard. While the US continued to redeem dollars for gold, England and the other countries of the West returned to somewhat of a pseudo gold standard. British pounds and other currencies were not payable in gold coins, but only in large sized bars, suitable only for international transactions. This prevented the citizens of Britain and other European countries from using gold in their daily life, and this allowed for a wider degree of paper and bank inflation. Furthermore, Britain redeemed pounds not merely in gold, but also in dollars while other countries redeemed their currencies not in gold but in pounds. As sterling balances piled up in France and the US, and when France attempted to cash in its sterling balances for gold, Britain went off the gold standard.
The world was back to the monetary chaos of World War I. International economic and monetary warfare raged between currencies as they devalued against one another. This was followed by exchange controls, and trade barriers until eventually international trade and investment came to a virtual standstill. Sound familiar?
Then, a new international monetary system emerged at a monetary conference held at Bretton Woods in 1944. And, the world returned to another gold exchange standard which lasted from 1945 to 1968. This gold standard was much the same as gold exchange standard of 1920 but now the dollar had taken over from the pound. The other difference was that the dollar was no longer redeemable in gold to American citizens but it was redeemable to foreign governments and their central banks. Under the Bretton Woods system the US pyramided dollars on top of gold while other governments held dollars as their basic reserve. And, since the US had a huge stock pile of gold at the time there was plenty of room to create more dollars. And, as the US government embarked on its post war policy of continual monetary expansion, a policy that it has pursued ever since, by the early 1950's the continuing US inflation began to worry other nations. While the US was expanding money and credit, many of the major European governments (Germany, Switzerland, France, and Italy) pursued a more "hard currency" approach. By the late 1950's these countries as well as Japan were getting even more concerned about being forced to pile up dollars that had then become increasingly overvalued. But, Europe still had the option of redeeming dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, and, this is exactly what they did for almost two decades until the US gold stock pile had dwindled from some $20 billion to $9 billion. And, as US dollars kept inflating on a gold stock pile that was gradually declining the system began to unravel in 1968.
As European central banks threatened to redeem as much of their dollars for gold as possible, in August 1971, President Nixon, declared that the US would no longer be part of the gold standard and for the first time in American history, the dollar became a totally fiat currency without the backing of gold in any shape or form. As the dollar declined in value and the West German mark, the Swiss Franc, and the Japanese yen, all soared higher against the dollar, Friedmanite economists hailed this as the monetary ideal. And, since the US went off the gold standard and established the Friedmanite fluctuating rate system of currencies in March 1973, the entire world has suffered some of the worst bouts of inflation in its history. And, in their scorn of gold, Keynesians and Friedmanites, each devoted to the fiat monetary system, predicted that when fiat money was established, the market price of gold would fall to about $8 an ounce.
We are currently in the midst of another monetary crisis brought on by many of the same reasons that brought on previous disasters. While I do not know how this crisis is going to be resolved, I do know that it has the potential to be the worst we have ever experienced. And, the higher gold prices are merely reflecting the deteriorating situation with global currencies. Unfortunately, it seems that this global monetary crisis is only going to get worse before it gets better.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
The break above $1440 an ounce has set gold up to test $1480 and then $1500 in the short-term. However, the longer-term picture suggests that gold is head to $1600.
Source: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103855?oid=125324&sn=Detail&pid=102055
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Debunking Anti-Gold Propaganda
By Doug Casey, Chairman, Casey Research
Monday, April 18, 2011
A memo is now circulating that gold is in a bubble and that it's time for the wise investor to sell. To me, that's a ridiculous notion. Certainly a premature one.
As you listen to the current blather from talking heads about where gold is going, keep in mind most of them are just journalists, reporters that are parroting what they heard someone else say. And the "someone else" is usually a political apologist who works for a government. Or a hack economist who works for a bank, the IMF, or a similar institution with an interest in the status quo of the last few generations.
You should treat almost everything you hear about finance or economics in the popular media as no more than entertainment.
So let's take some recent statements, assertions, and opinions that have been promulgated in the media and analyze them. Many impress me as completely uninformed, even stupid. But since they're floating around in the infosphere, I suppose they need to be addressed.
"Gold is expensive."
This objection is worth considering – for any asset. In fact, it's critical. We can determine the price of almost anything fairly easily today, but figuring out its value is as hard as it's ever been. From the founding of the U.S. until 1933, the dollar was defined as 1/20th of an ounce of gold. From 1933 it was redefined as 1/35th of an ounce. After the 1971 dollar devaluation, the official price of the metal was raised to $42.22 – but that official number is meaningless, since nobody buys or sells the metal at that price.
(More importantly, people have gotten into the habit of giving the price of gold in dollars, rather than the value of the dollar in gold. But that's another subject.)
Here's the crux of the argument. Before the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, a $20 bill was just a receipt for the deposit of one ounce of gold with the Treasury. The U.S. official money supply equated more or less with the amount of gold.
Now, however, dollars are being created by the trillion, and nobody really knows how many more of them are going to be shazammed into existence. It is hard to determine the value of anything when the inch marks on your yardstick keep drifting closer and closer together.
"Gold is risky."
Risk is largely a function of price. And as a general rule, the higher the price, the higher the risk, simply because the supply is likely to go up and the demand to go down – leading to a lower price. So yes, gold is riskier now, at $1,400, than it was at $700 or at $200. But even when it was at $35, there was a well-known financial commentator named Eliot Janeway (I always thought he was a fool and a blowhard) who was crowing that if the U.S. government didn't support it at $35, it would fall to $8.
In any event, risk is relative. Stocks are very risky today. Bonds are ultra risky. Real estate is in an ongoing bear market. And the dollar is on its way to reaching its intrinsic value.
Yes, gold is risky at $1,400. But it is actually less risky than most alternatives.
"High gold prices will bring on huge new production, which will depress its price."
This assertion shows a complete misunderstanding of the nature of the gold market. Gold production is now about 82.6 million ounces per year and has been trending slightly down for the last decade. That's partly because at high prices, miners tend to mine lower-grade ore. And partly because the world has been extensively explored, and most large, high-grade, easily exploited resources have already been put into production.
But new production is trivial relative to the 6 billion ounces now above ground, which only increases by about 1.3% annually. Gold isn't consumed like wheat or even copper. Its supply keeps slowly rising, like wealth in general. What really controls gold's price is the desire of people to hold it, or hold other things – new production is a trivial influence.
That's not to say things can't change. The asteroids have lots of heavy metals, including gold. Space exploration will make them available. Gigantic amounts of gold are dissolved in seawater and will perhaps someday be economically recoverable with biotech. It's now possible to transmute metals, fulfilling the alchemists' dream. Perhaps someday this will be economic for gold. And nanotech may soon allow ultra-low-grade deposits of gold (and every other element) to be recovered profitably. But these things need not concern us as practical matters in the course of this bull market.
"Gold sentiment is at an all-time high."
Although gold prices are at an all-time high in nominal terms, they are still nowhere near their highs in real terms – of about $2,500 (depending on how much credibility you give the government's CPI numbers) – reached in 1980. Gold sentiment is still quite subdued among the public. Most of them barely know it even exists.
Some journalists like to point out that since there are a few (five, perhaps) gold dispensing machines in the world, including one in the U.S., there's a gold mania afoot. That's ridiculous, although it shows a slowly awakening interest among people with assets.
Journalists also point to the numerous ads on late-night TV offering to buy old gold jewelry (generally at around a 50% discount from its metal value) as a sign of a gold bubble. But this is even more ridiculous, since the ads are inducing the unsophisticated, cash-strapped booboisie to sell the metal, not buy it.
You'll know sentiment is at a high when major brokerage firms are hyping newly minted gold products, and Slime Magazine (if it still exists) has a cover showing a golden bull tearing apart the New York Stock Exchange. We're a long way from that point.
***
These are some of the more egregious arguments against gold that are being brought forward today. Most of them are propounded by knaves, fools, or the uninformed.
The bottom line is that gold and its friends are no longer cheap, but they have a long way – in both time and price – to run. Until they're done, I suggest you be right and sit tight.
Good investing,
Doug Casey
Editor's note: Doug Casey, chairman of Casey Research, is a best – selling author, international investor, and entrepreneur. He travels the world looking for the best real estate and natural resource investments. His work is required reading here at DailyWealth.
Source: http://forums.silverstackers.com/message-110195.html
Monday, April 18, 2011
A memo is now circulating that gold is in a bubble and that it's time for the wise investor to sell. To me, that's a ridiculous notion. Certainly a premature one.
As you listen to the current blather from talking heads about where gold is going, keep in mind most of them are just journalists, reporters that are parroting what they heard someone else say. And the "someone else" is usually a political apologist who works for a government. Or a hack economist who works for a bank, the IMF, or a similar institution with an interest in the status quo of the last few generations.
You should treat almost everything you hear about finance or economics in the popular media as no more than entertainment.
So let's take some recent statements, assertions, and opinions that have been promulgated in the media and analyze them. Many impress me as completely uninformed, even stupid. But since they're floating around in the infosphere, I suppose they need to be addressed.
"Gold is expensive."
This objection is worth considering – for any asset. In fact, it's critical. We can determine the price of almost anything fairly easily today, but figuring out its value is as hard as it's ever been. From the founding of the U.S. until 1933, the dollar was defined as 1/20th of an ounce of gold. From 1933 it was redefined as 1/35th of an ounce. After the 1971 dollar devaluation, the official price of the metal was raised to $42.22 – but that official number is meaningless, since nobody buys or sells the metal at that price.
(More importantly, people have gotten into the habit of giving the price of gold in dollars, rather than the value of the dollar in gold. But that's another subject.)
Here's the crux of the argument. Before the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, a $20 bill was just a receipt for the deposit of one ounce of gold with the Treasury. The U.S. official money supply equated more or less with the amount of gold.
Now, however, dollars are being created by the trillion, and nobody really knows how many more of them are going to be shazammed into existence. It is hard to determine the value of anything when the inch marks on your yardstick keep drifting closer and closer together.
"Gold is risky."
Risk is largely a function of price. And as a general rule, the higher the price, the higher the risk, simply because the supply is likely to go up and the demand to go down – leading to a lower price. So yes, gold is riskier now, at $1,400, than it was at $700 or at $200. But even when it was at $35, there was a well-known financial commentator named Eliot Janeway (I always thought he was a fool and a blowhard) who was crowing that if the U.S. government didn't support it at $35, it would fall to $8.
In any event, risk is relative. Stocks are very risky today. Bonds are ultra risky. Real estate is in an ongoing bear market. And the dollar is on its way to reaching its intrinsic value.
Yes, gold is risky at $1,400. But it is actually less risky than most alternatives.
"High gold prices will bring on huge new production, which will depress its price."
This assertion shows a complete misunderstanding of the nature of the gold market. Gold production is now about 82.6 million ounces per year and has been trending slightly down for the last decade. That's partly because at high prices, miners tend to mine lower-grade ore. And partly because the world has been extensively explored, and most large, high-grade, easily exploited resources have already been put into production.
But new production is trivial relative to the 6 billion ounces now above ground, which only increases by about 1.3% annually. Gold isn't consumed like wheat or even copper. Its supply keeps slowly rising, like wealth in general. What really controls gold's price is the desire of people to hold it, or hold other things – new production is a trivial influence.
That's not to say things can't change. The asteroids have lots of heavy metals, including gold. Space exploration will make them available. Gigantic amounts of gold are dissolved in seawater and will perhaps someday be economically recoverable with biotech. It's now possible to transmute metals, fulfilling the alchemists' dream. Perhaps someday this will be economic for gold. And nanotech may soon allow ultra-low-grade deposits of gold (and every other element) to be recovered profitably. But these things need not concern us as practical matters in the course of this bull market.
"Gold sentiment is at an all-time high."
Although gold prices are at an all-time high in nominal terms, they are still nowhere near their highs in real terms – of about $2,500 (depending on how much credibility you give the government's CPI numbers) – reached in 1980. Gold sentiment is still quite subdued among the public. Most of them barely know it even exists.
Some journalists like to point out that since there are a few (five, perhaps) gold dispensing machines in the world, including one in the U.S., there's a gold mania afoot. That's ridiculous, although it shows a slowly awakening interest among people with assets.
Journalists also point to the numerous ads on late-night TV offering to buy old gold jewelry (generally at around a 50% discount from its metal value) as a sign of a gold bubble. But this is even more ridiculous, since the ads are inducing the unsophisticated, cash-strapped booboisie to sell the metal, not buy it.
You'll know sentiment is at a high when major brokerage firms are hyping newly minted gold products, and Slime Magazine (if it still exists) has a cover showing a golden bull tearing apart the New York Stock Exchange. We're a long way from that point.
***
These are some of the more egregious arguments against gold that are being brought forward today. Most of them are propounded by knaves, fools, or the uninformed.
The bottom line is that gold and its friends are no longer cheap, but they have a long way – in both time and price – to run. Until they're done, I suggest you be right and sit tight.
Good investing,
Doug Casey
Editor's note: Doug Casey, chairman of Casey Research, is a best – selling author, international investor, and entrepreneur. He travels the world looking for the best real estate and natural resource investments. His work is required reading here at DailyWealth.
Source: http://forums.silverstackers.com/message-110195.html
Monday, April 18, 2011
Kewajipan pemilik barang kemas
Wanita dan emas bagai aur dengan tebing, sukar dipisahkan.
Oleh ZUARIDA MOHYIN
Gambar WAHIDAH ZAINAL
MEMANG fitrah manusia sentiasa tertarik kepada harta dan suka mengumpulnya. Malah manusia tidak pernah puas dalam mengejar harta kekayaan. Hakikatnya, tidak ada sesuatu pun yang dapat menghalang kecintaan dalam mengejar harta kecuali kematian.Allah turut merakamkan kecintaan manusia kepada harta benda dalam firman-Nya yang bermaksud: Dijadikan indah pada (pandangan manusia kecintaan kepada apa-apa yang diingini, iaitu; wanita-wanita, anak-anak, harta yang banyak dari jenis emas, perak, kuda pilihan, binatang ternak dan sawah ladang. Itulah kesenangan hidup di dunia; dan di sisi Allahlah tempat kembali yang baik (syurga). (ali-Imran: 14).
Hakikatnya ramai yang alpa atau buat-buat terlupa bahawa harta yang dimiliki itu sebenarnya hak Allah SWT. Hak kita hanyalah sebagai 'pengurus' atau 'penjaga' yang pastinya akan ditanya dari mana harta itu dan ke mana ia dibelanjakan.
Oleh itu, janganlah sekali-kali menganggap harta yang dimiliki hak mutlak kita dengan berbelanja sesuka hati termasuk ke jalan kemaksiatan dan kemungkaran.
Islam tidak menganggap kekayaan sebagai penghalang untuk berbakti kepada agama dan meningkatkan mutu ibadat serta mendekatkan diri kepada Allah.
Bahkan, Islam menyuruh umatnya mencari sebanyak mungkin harta. Syaratnya, jangan sampai lalai daripada mengingati Allah SWT.
Malah, dalam al-Quran banyak disebutkan ayat yang menyeru umat Islam untuk mencari rezeki dan berusaha di atas muka bumi ini.
Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud: Dialah yang menjadikan bumi ini mudah bagi kamu, maka berjalanlah di segala penjurunya dan makanlah sebahagian dari rezeki-Nya. Dan hanya kepada-Nya kamu (kembali setelah) dibangkitkan. (al-Mulk: 15)
Manakala dalam surah al-Jumu'ah ayat 10 pula Allah SWT menuntut kita mencari dan mengumpulkan harta.
Malahan Rasulullah sentiasa berdoa agar dimasukkan dari kalangan orang yang kaya dan dijauhkan daripada kemiskinan dan kefakiran.
Yang pastinya, Islam tidak menyuruh umatnya hidup dalam keadaan miskin dan sentiasa mengharap simpati orang.
Persepsi yang menyebutkan bahawa jika ingin menjadi hamba yang soleh mestilah hidup dalam keadaan miskin bukanlah syiar Islam.
Ini pernah ditegaskan dalam buku karangan ulama terkenal, Prof. Dr. Yusof al-Qaradawi bertajuk Masalah Dalam Kemiskinan dan Cara Islam Mengatasinya.
Dalam buku itu beliau mengatakan kemiskinan boleh membawa seseorang melakukan perkara yang menjejaskan akidah serta merbahaya kepada pemikiran, akhlak, masyarakat dan negara.
Untuk memastikan wujud keadilan antara yang miskin dan kaya, maka terdapat mekanisme zakat yang diwajibkan ke atas umat Islam yang ada kemampuan.
Bagi zakat harta ia turut termasuk zakat emas terutama bagi golongan wanita yang suka berhias dan memakai barangan perhiasan daripada emas dan perak.
Malah ada yang yang menjadikan pembelian perhiasan emas dan perak sebagai satu hobi dan kemestian.
Sedangkan tanpa disedari di sebalik hobi atau kemestian sebenarnya ada kewajipan yang perlu diberi perhatian.
Eksekutif Zakat PPZ-MAIWP, Ahmad Husni Abd. Rahman memberitahu, kesedaran umat Islam di negara untuk mengeluarkan zakat emas dan perak menampakkan peningkatan.
"Ramai yang sudah mula sedar kewajipan berzakat dan menunaikannya. Ini dilihat menerusi statistik dari segi penambahan bilangan pembayar individu, syarikat dan sebagainya serta bilangan kutipan yang meningkat.
"Walaupun ada kesedaran yang baik tetapi masih perlu diusahakan kerana pasaran emas bukan lagi terhad kepada emas perhiasan atau emas yang disimpan dalam bentuk klasik semata-mata bahkan sudah melebar luas kepada emas dalam bentuk perdagangan dan pelaburan," katanya ketika ditemui selepas bengkel Kilauan Firdausi anjuran Pusat Pengutan Zakat, Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (PPZ-MAIWP) dengan kerjasama Felda Holdings Berhad dan Habib Jewels Sdn. Bhd.
Ujar Ahmad Husni, kebiasaannya bagi emas yang disimpan, tidak banyak isu yang dibincangkan.
Perkara yang sering menimbulkan persoalan sama ada wajid berzakat atau tidak ialah yang membabitkan emas yang digadai dan yang dipakai sebagai perhiasan.
Yang pertama terdapat pandangan yang mewajibkan zakat terhadap emas yang dipakai.
Pandangan ini dikeluarkan oleh Umar bin al-Khattab, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin 'Ash, Sa'id bin al-Musayyab, Sa'id bin Jabir, 'Atha', Mujahid dan lain-lain lagi. Mazhab Hanafi, Zahiri dan Zaidiyah juga menyokong pendapat ini.
Kedua, pendapat yang mengatakan tidak wajib zakat ke atas emas yang dipakai sebagai perhiasan sebagaimana yang dikeluarkan oleh Abdullah bin Umar, Aisyah, Jabir bin Abdullah, Anas bin Malik, Asma binti Abu Bakr dan beberapa orang lagi. Mazhab Maliki, Hambali dan pendapat yang ketara daripada Syafie dan Ja'fariyyah juga mendokong pendapat kedua ni.
Kata Ahmad Husni, setelah dilihat dan dikaji, kewajipan zakat emas yang dipakai ini dilihat kepada persoalan uruf (kebiasaan pemakaian) masyarakat setempat.
Jika ia melebihi keperluan, maka dianggap sebagai sesuatu yang bersifat berlebih-lebihan dan keluar dari norma keseimbangan.
Ini berdasarkan firman Allah SWT dalam surah al-Baqarah ayat 219 yang bermaksud: Dan mereka bertanya kepadamu apa yang mereka nafkahkan. Katakanlah: Yang lebih daripada keperluan. Demikianlah Allah menerangkan ayat-ayat-Nya kepadamu supaya kamu berfikir.
Maka lebihan daripada uruf tersebut wajar dizakatkan. Uruf emas perhiasan di Wilayah Persekutuan adalah sebanyak 150 gram.
Isu lain kata Ahmad Husni, adalah berkaitan nilaian untuk kiraan emas, sama ada dinilai secara purata atau mengikut harga semasa.
Perkara ini katanya, masih dalam perbincangan yang akan diumumkan keputusannya.
Melihat kepada nilai emas yang semakin tinggi menyebabkan emas bukan sahaja terhad sebagai barang perhiasan tetapi telah digunakan untuk pelaburan.
Jelas Ahmad Husni, emas pelaburan wajib dizakatkan. Ini berdasarkan kaedah fiqh dalam bab zakat dinyatakan: "Setiap harta yang berkembang atau mempunyai potensi pengembangan dan produktif, maka ia adalah tabungan untuk zakat."
Justeru, kecenderungan menjadikan emas sebagai komoditi harus dilihat kaedah zakatnya. Ia mungkin bukan lagi dalam bentuk emas itu sendiri secara fizikal tetapi lebih kepada pergerakan pelaburan yang mirip kepada zakat perniagaan.
Mengulas tindakan mereka yang lari daripada kewajipan menunaikan zakat, Ahmad Husni berkata, apabila seseorang itu telah mampu dan telah wajib untuknya mengeluarkan zakat tetapi dia melewatkan pengeluaran zakat maka terdapat dua kesan ke atas dirinya:
lBerdosa kerana dia dengan niat sengaja melewatkan pembayaran dan menjadi penghalang orang fakir untuk mendapatkan haknya.
lHak ganti rugi fakir miskin terhadap 'ain harta yang diwajibkan zakat walaupun semua hartanya musnah. Ini kerana dia sengaja melewatkannya tanpa alasan dan dia terpaksa menanggung risiko kelalaiannya demi menjaga kepentingan orang yang berhak.
Dipetik dari Utusan Malaysia bertarikh 01 April 2011
"http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2011&dt=0401&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=Keluarga&pg=ke_01.htm&arc=hive"
Monday, April 4, 2011
Aku Tak Sembahyang....Tetapi Aku Berjaya... ( Muhasabah )
by Abu Hanifah on Friday, December 3, 2010 at 5:25pm
Kita tahu bahawa ilmu itu cahaya, dan tidak akan memasuki hati-hati yang gelap, tetapi kita lihat, kawan kita yang berjudi, yang minum arak, boleh berjaya pula, sedangkan kita terkial-kial walaupun sudah berusaha. Kita tahu bahawa, siapa yang berbuat baik, taat kepada ALLAH akan dipermudahkan jalan kehidupannya, tetapi kita lihat, kawan kita ini tidak solat, tetapi bisnesnya menjadi, kita pula hidup dengan penuh cabaran dan duga. Kita juga tahu bahawa, ISLAM ini agama yang benar, tetapi kita sering melihat orang-orang yang bukan ISLAM itu lebih berjaya, dan ummat ISLAM tertindas dalam kehidupan sempit lagi derita.
Orang bertanya kepada saya. Kenapa begitu? Sekarang ini, yang manakah benar? Adakah kita faham selama ini tidak benar?
Maka saya hendak bertanya kepada anda.
Adakah anda tahu apa itu istidraj?
Istidraj ini adalah satu kalimah, yang sering menunjuk kepada keadaan seseorang itu yang terus dilimpahkan rezeki dan kejayaan yang melimpah ruah dalam kehidupannya, walaupun dia bukan hamba ALLAH yang taat, malah seorang pembuat maksiat yang tegar. Kenapa mereka ini dinamakan manusia yang mendapat istidraj? Apakakah maksud istidraj?
Istidraj adalah, apabila ALLAH memberikan kejayaan, harta kekayaan, rezeki yang melimpah ruah untuk manusia itu menjadi lebih jauh dariNya.
Biasanya, manusia yang mendapat istidraj ini adalah mereka yang tidak berusaha menjalankan ISLAM dalam kehidupan, juga tidak berusaha mengenali ALLAH SWT.
Contoh manusia yang mendapat istidraj ini banyak. Kita lihat contoh yang mudah. Qarun. Apakah anda kenal kepada Qarun? Dia ini adalah seorang manusiayang teramat kaya. Diriwayatkan bahawa, kotak yang mengisi kunci kepada gedung-gedung perbendaharaannya tidak mampu diangkat oleh orang-orang yang kuat. Hal ini hendak menyatakan betapa kayanya dia.
Kisah Qarun terdapat di dalam Al-Quran. Hartanya melimpah ruah. Segala perniagaannya menjadi. Segala pelaburannya mengembang. Hartanya makin hari makin bertambah, sedang yang bertambah semalam tidak pula luak digunakan.
Tetapi bila Nabi Musa cuba mengingatkannya berkenaan semua kekayaannya itu datang daripada ALLAH, maka Qarun dengan angkuh menjawab,
“ Tidak, semua ini adalah hasil dari ilmuku”
Lihat. Lihat apa kata Qarun. Tidak, semua ini adalah hasil dari… ILMUKU. Dia nyata semakin jauh dari ALLAH, walaupun kekayaannya menjadi, rezekinya melimpah ruah dan sebagainya. Dia saban waktu memperlekehkan pengikut-pengikut nabi Musa yang terdiri dari orang miskin dan hamba.
Apakah pengakhiran Qarun? Dia akhirnya ditenggelamkan ALLAH ke dalam bumi dengan seluruh hartanya. Kisah ini terdapat di dalam Al-Quran.
Nah… Apakah itu yang kita mahu?
Sebab itulah, saya hendak mengajak saudara-saudari berfikir, apakah yang akan timbul di dalam hati kalian apabila kalian ini jenis yang melazimi dosa-dosa, melakukan maksiat, kemudian kalian berjaya di dalam peperiksaan atau perniagaan. Apakah yang agaknya akan timbul dalam jiwa kalian?
Saya yakin, 99% akan merasa begini, “ Tengok, aku tak solat pun berjaya. Siapa kata solat tu bawa kejayaan?”
Apakah yang akan terjadi kepada anda ketika itu? Anda berjaya, tetapi anda semakin jauh dari ALLAH. Itulah istidraj.
Maka jangan gusar bila tidak berjaya. Cuba lagi. Hubungan keimanan anda dengan ALLAH itulah yang pertama sekali perlu anda perhatikan. Jika anda berjaya membina hubungan keimanan yang baik, insyaALLAH, datanglah badai apa sekalipun, anda akan mampu melaluinya.
Sebenarnya ALLAH suka menguji hamba-hambaNya yang beriman. Terdapat satu kisah yang saya suka baca ketika saya masih kecil.
Terdapat dua orang nelayan. Seorang penyembah berhala, dan seorang lagi muslim yang taat kepada ALLAH. Ketika menebar jala, yang menyembah berhala menyebut nama berhalanya, manakala yang muslim membaca bismillah. Bila jala diangkat, yang menyembah berhala mendapat banyak ikan, manakala yang muslim, hampir sahaja tiada ikan untuknya pada hari itu.
Malaikat yang melihat keadaan itu bertanya kepada ALLAH.
“ Ya ALLAH, apakah yang telah berlaku? HambaMu yang menyekutukanMu, KAU berikan dia rezeki yang banyak, sedangkan hambaMu yang menyebut namaMu, KAU tidak memberikan DIA apa-apa”
ALLAH menjawab,
“ Yang menyekutukanKu, tempatnya memang sudah pasti NERAKA. Maka apalah sangat rezeki yang pasti akan hancur itu jika Kuberikan kepadaNya? Tetapi HambaKu yang beriman itu, AKU hendak mengganjarkanNya syurga, maka AKU suka mengujinya untuk melihat kebenaran imanNya”
Nah, jangan anda kecewa bila diuji, tidak berjaya di dalam peperiksaan walau sudah studi, gagal dalam perniagaan walau kemas menyusun strategi. Itu semua adalah sebahagian dari ujian ALLAH. ALLAH menguji hanya untuk mereka yang dikasihi. Bukankah ALLAH SWT ada berfirman,
“ Apakah kamu mengira KAMI akan membiarkan kamu berkata kami beriman sedangkan kamu belum diuji?…”
Jika gagal terhadap satu-satu perkara, itu perkara itu. Anda masih belum gagal dalam kehidupan. Teruskan usaha, selagi nyawa masih ada. InsyaALLAH ALLAH akan memberikan sesuatu yang bermakna kepada anda. Bersangka baiklah kita kepada PENCIPTA kita.
Maka sebenarnya, bila hidup kita digegarkan dengan masalah, hendaklah kita rasa bersyukur. Tandanya, ALLAH masih lagi dekat dengan kita. Ujian adalah tanda kasih sayang dan perhatianNya kepada kita.
Mustahil anda suka senang sebentar di dunia, di akhirat yang kekal abadi nanti anda merana. Anda mahukan istidraj?
Saya yakin tidak..
Anda tenang sekarang?
Anda wajib untuk tidak berasa tenang jika anda berbuat dosa, dan anda berjaya. Sebab itulah, muhasabah diri itu penting. Untuk kita sentiasa periksa bagaimanakah hubungan kita dengan ALLAH SWT.
Aku berdosa, tetapi aku berjaya…. Berhati-hatilah kita agar jangan sampai lafaz itu, atau lafaz-lafaz yang membawa maksud serupa itu terkeluar dari mulut kita.
Mari kita sama-sama duduk, dan bermuhasabah semula.
Kita tahu bahawa ilmu itu cahaya, dan tidak akan memasuki hati-hati yang gelap, tetapi kita lihat, kawan kita yang berjudi, yang minum arak, boleh berjaya pula, sedangkan kita terkial-kial walaupun sudah berusaha. Kita tahu bahawa, siapa yang berbuat baik, taat kepada ALLAH akan dipermudahkan jalan kehidupannya, tetapi kita lihat, kawan kita ini tidak solat, tetapi bisnesnya menjadi, kita pula hidup dengan penuh cabaran dan duga. Kita juga tahu bahawa, ISLAM ini agama yang benar, tetapi kita sering melihat orang-orang yang bukan ISLAM itu lebih berjaya, dan ummat ISLAM tertindas dalam kehidupan sempit lagi derita.
Orang bertanya kepada saya. Kenapa begitu? Sekarang ini, yang manakah benar? Adakah kita faham selama ini tidak benar?
Maka saya hendak bertanya kepada anda.
Adakah anda tahu apa itu istidraj?
Istidraj ini adalah satu kalimah, yang sering menunjuk kepada keadaan seseorang itu yang terus dilimpahkan rezeki dan kejayaan yang melimpah ruah dalam kehidupannya, walaupun dia bukan hamba ALLAH yang taat, malah seorang pembuat maksiat yang tegar. Kenapa mereka ini dinamakan manusia yang mendapat istidraj? Apakakah maksud istidraj?
Istidraj adalah, apabila ALLAH memberikan kejayaan, harta kekayaan, rezeki yang melimpah ruah untuk manusia itu menjadi lebih jauh dariNya.
Biasanya, manusia yang mendapat istidraj ini adalah mereka yang tidak berusaha menjalankan ISLAM dalam kehidupan, juga tidak berusaha mengenali ALLAH SWT.
Contoh manusia yang mendapat istidraj ini banyak. Kita lihat contoh yang mudah. Qarun. Apakah anda kenal kepada Qarun? Dia ini adalah seorang manusiayang teramat kaya. Diriwayatkan bahawa, kotak yang mengisi kunci kepada gedung-gedung perbendaharaannya tidak mampu diangkat oleh orang-orang yang kuat. Hal ini hendak menyatakan betapa kayanya dia.
Kisah Qarun terdapat di dalam Al-Quran. Hartanya melimpah ruah. Segala perniagaannya menjadi. Segala pelaburannya mengembang. Hartanya makin hari makin bertambah, sedang yang bertambah semalam tidak pula luak digunakan.
Tetapi bila Nabi Musa cuba mengingatkannya berkenaan semua kekayaannya itu datang daripada ALLAH, maka Qarun dengan angkuh menjawab,
“ Tidak, semua ini adalah hasil dari ilmuku”
Lihat. Lihat apa kata Qarun. Tidak, semua ini adalah hasil dari… ILMUKU. Dia nyata semakin jauh dari ALLAH, walaupun kekayaannya menjadi, rezekinya melimpah ruah dan sebagainya. Dia saban waktu memperlekehkan pengikut-pengikut nabi Musa yang terdiri dari orang miskin dan hamba.
Apakah pengakhiran Qarun? Dia akhirnya ditenggelamkan ALLAH ke dalam bumi dengan seluruh hartanya. Kisah ini terdapat di dalam Al-Quran.
Nah… Apakah itu yang kita mahu?
Sebab itulah, saya hendak mengajak saudara-saudari berfikir, apakah yang akan timbul di dalam hati kalian apabila kalian ini jenis yang melazimi dosa-dosa, melakukan maksiat, kemudian kalian berjaya di dalam peperiksaan atau perniagaan. Apakah yang agaknya akan timbul dalam jiwa kalian?
Saya yakin, 99% akan merasa begini, “ Tengok, aku tak solat pun berjaya. Siapa kata solat tu bawa kejayaan?”
Apakah yang akan terjadi kepada anda ketika itu? Anda berjaya, tetapi anda semakin jauh dari ALLAH. Itulah istidraj.
Maka jangan gusar bila tidak berjaya. Cuba lagi. Hubungan keimanan anda dengan ALLAH itulah yang pertama sekali perlu anda perhatikan. Jika anda berjaya membina hubungan keimanan yang baik, insyaALLAH, datanglah badai apa sekalipun, anda akan mampu melaluinya.
Sebenarnya ALLAH suka menguji hamba-hambaNya yang beriman. Terdapat satu kisah yang saya suka baca ketika saya masih kecil.
Terdapat dua orang nelayan. Seorang penyembah berhala, dan seorang lagi muslim yang taat kepada ALLAH. Ketika menebar jala, yang menyembah berhala menyebut nama berhalanya, manakala yang muslim membaca bismillah. Bila jala diangkat, yang menyembah berhala mendapat banyak ikan, manakala yang muslim, hampir sahaja tiada ikan untuknya pada hari itu.
Malaikat yang melihat keadaan itu bertanya kepada ALLAH.
“ Ya ALLAH, apakah yang telah berlaku? HambaMu yang menyekutukanMu, KAU berikan dia rezeki yang banyak, sedangkan hambaMu yang menyebut namaMu, KAU tidak memberikan DIA apa-apa”
ALLAH menjawab,
“ Yang menyekutukanKu, tempatnya memang sudah pasti NERAKA. Maka apalah sangat rezeki yang pasti akan hancur itu jika Kuberikan kepadaNya? Tetapi HambaKu yang beriman itu, AKU hendak mengganjarkanNya syurga, maka AKU suka mengujinya untuk melihat kebenaran imanNya”
Nah, jangan anda kecewa bila diuji, tidak berjaya di dalam peperiksaan walau sudah studi, gagal dalam perniagaan walau kemas menyusun strategi. Itu semua adalah sebahagian dari ujian ALLAH. ALLAH menguji hanya untuk mereka yang dikasihi. Bukankah ALLAH SWT ada berfirman,
“ Apakah kamu mengira KAMI akan membiarkan kamu berkata kami beriman sedangkan kamu belum diuji?…”
Jika gagal terhadap satu-satu perkara, itu perkara itu. Anda masih belum gagal dalam kehidupan. Teruskan usaha, selagi nyawa masih ada. InsyaALLAH ALLAH akan memberikan sesuatu yang bermakna kepada anda. Bersangka baiklah kita kepada PENCIPTA kita.
Maka sebenarnya, bila hidup kita digegarkan dengan masalah, hendaklah kita rasa bersyukur. Tandanya, ALLAH masih lagi dekat dengan kita. Ujian adalah tanda kasih sayang dan perhatianNya kepada kita.
Mustahil anda suka senang sebentar di dunia, di akhirat yang kekal abadi nanti anda merana. Anda mahukan istidraj?
Saya yakin tidak..
Anda tenang sekarang?
Anda wajib untuk tidak berasa tenang jika anda berbuat dosa, dan anda berjaya. Sebab itulah, muhasabah diri itu penting. Untuk kita sentiasa periksa bagaimanakah hubungan kita dengan ALLAH SWT.
Aku berdosa, tetapi aku berjaya…. Berhati-hatilah kita agar jangan sampai lafaz itu, atau lafaz-lafaz yang membawa maksud serupa itu terkeluar dari mulut kita.
Mari kita sama-sama duduk, dan bermuhasabah semula.
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