The Tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 3 – And so the story goes…

The tomb of Keramat Kuala Bidor in Perak

Continued from the article “The Tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 2 – Touching a bit on the world shadow government”. This story is translated/adapted from the Malay novel “Berpetualang ke Aceh”.

Once upon a time, a long time ago in Sumatera, there were two brothers fighting for the throne of a kingdom. The elder one who deserved the throne more became disappointed and broken-hearted that his own brother would go to any lengths just to become the ruler, and so he left the whole fray and left the kingdom with his beloved wife and only the clothes they are wearing.
They rowed on a small boat across the Straits of Malacca. Arrived at the Perak river and landed in Teluk Intan. That’s where they stayed and lived… By planting vegetables and fishing for a living.

Nenek said, during that time the Kingdom of Perak have not existed yet… Don’t know how long ago this happened… The name Teluk Intan was not yet to be, so were the name Perak and the Perak river. But there was already a small fishing settlement there and so there were some populace. Not sure though where they came from, which kingdom there belong to or which king hold sway over them. According to official history, the Perak Kingdom was started in 1528 AD… So this story must have happened at least 500 years ago.
What is strange, Nenek said Keramat Kuala Bidor used to travel to and fro his orchard in Bidor. He went after Zuhur (the prayer after noon) and returned before Maghrib (time for the sunset twilight prayers). Come to think of it, it would take an hour by car to go from Teluk Intan to Bidor in this modern times, so how could anyone do it during that period travelling through thick jungle and vegetation to and fro with time to work an orchard all within a space of five hours? Did he rode a horse? As far as Rasyid knows, the legendary man was too poor to afford any mode of transportation… What can you say, after all he is a very poor man who owned only a set of clothers, can’t afford to have an ox what more a horse. Or… Perhaps he rode a tiger? Because there are tales saying he did befriended a tiger with one lame foot known in legends as “Harimau Tepok”…

Keramat Kuala Bidor also liked to fish in the wee hours of the morning and give the catch to the villagers without them knowing. Right after he made his catch, he would put a fish at the door of each house before Subuh (time for morning prayers)… The minute one opens the door, there is a fish in front but nobody knew where it came from. The man just took one or two for his own consumption with the wife.
Such was the simple life led by this legendary figure and his woman… They only owned a piece of good clean cloth. That is the cloth used in turn for their prayers but nevertheless they lead a blissful and happy life.

Nenek said the guy could have had a very easy life if he wanted to, anytime if he needs it as he was blessed with many natural-born talents. But Keramat Kuala Bidor is not the type of person to relish wealth and treasure, or any form of worldly luxury and goods.
Rasyid was moved to hear this story. At the core of his being came the thought how happy he would be if he got a wife like that of Keramat Kuala Bidor, the kind of thoughtful pious woman who is willing to accept anything the husband has to give, even though he has nothing at all.
To him this is the example of a woman who truly follows the injunctions laid out in the holy book Al-Quran regarding the rights of woman to receive from her husband which sounds something like this: “Whenever the husband eats, and so the wife. Whenever the husband is clothed, and so the wife too”. This means, the woman is pleased and accepts whatever the husband could afford, not to make demands asking him to buy what-nots as is the case nowadays just to follow the trend or the times and thus forcing the husband to look for extra money just to keep up with the Joneses… Whenever the neighbours have new furnitures, and so the wife demands from the husband… That notwithstanding other things… In the end the husband suffers from migraine just to keep the wife happy.
According to the real injunctions of the Quran, if the husband has nothing to eat, then the wife should not mind to be patient in hunger too. So this would not be a burden on the husband especially in this modern times where one is often forced to go against one’s principles just to make ends meet, where clean and “not-so-clean” money are mixed and it is hard to recognise which is which, where usury holds sway until it becomes the ingredient of every human being.
Believe this ooo dear womankind, in an environment full of love and acceptance such as described above, there exist no man who would consciously allow his wife to suffer in hunger or not have proper clothing. There would not arise the man’s anger in having to compromise his principles just to chase the luxurios life demanded by some wives. If the wife is really pleased with whatever the husband has got to give, then he would have the peace of mind to really pray and lead his life according to the will of Allah. Meanwhile those men who are given certain principles to live and fight for especially those involving the purity and sovereignity of the religion, people and the country would be able to carry out their task whole-heartedly.
Eh… This Rasyid has gone overboard with these thoughts… Perhaps what Nenek told him about how Keramat Kuala Bidor lead his life with the wife made him remember his very own dear sweet-heart…