Opinion: Has Hadi Awang jumped the Shark?

Opinion: Has Hadi Awang jumped the Shark?

28 Apr 2025 • 8:00 AM MYT


TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: Malay Mail


There are many religions in the world, and many of them are as different as night is to day, but if there is one fundamental feature of all the religions in the world, it is that it concerns itself with things that do not have to do with this world.


To the degree that you believe that whatever you desire can be found entirely in this world, you are not religious.


One of the fundamental beliefs that you must possess to delve deeper into religion, is that all the happiness and satisfaction that you can find in this world is inadequate -and thus you need an experience that transcends this world, in order to find a more perfect and everlasting happiness.


Different religions give different name to this more perfect and everlasting happiness – some call it heaven, others Nirvana, others a grand feast in in the halls of Valhalla, others a cosmic union between the self and the universe, but one thing that they all share in common, is that they all believe that this more perfect and everlasting experience of happiness, cannot be found in this world – to find it, you must seek a path that transcends the worldly experience.


That all the religions in the world without fail seek something that transcends worldly experience, is why those who are highly religious from any religious denominations, tend to shun or limit the pleasures that they can gain from worldly experiences.


Rather than plunge wholeheartedly into the worldly pursuit of power, wealth, fame, pleasures, status, titles, position etc,, a religious person tends to limit or even shun their indulgences of the world, and instead engage in such practises as praying, meditating, fasting, going on pilgrimages, giving away their wealth in the act of charity or restraining their senses and controlling their desires, in order to find an experience that transcends worldly happiness.


In Islam, all of us, non-Muslims included, have been taught in school about how the Muslims try to transcend their worldly experiences, which is simplified and encoded in their five pillars.


These Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam, which advises a Muslim to believe in god, pray, be charitable, fast and go on a pilgrimage in order to pursue the goals of his or her religion.


Recently however, PAS president Hadi Awang has said something very odd about the 5th pillar of the Islamic religion, which has even confused many Muslim scholars and clerics.


During a a Perikatan Nasional ceramah in Kampung Tanjong Keramat in Tapah on April 19, Hadi would call on voters, likely voters who are prepared to go on their pilgrimage during the Ayer Kuning elections, to delay going on their pilgrimage and stay in the country to vote instead to ensure victory for PN.


"Political victory cannot be delayed. Islam must be in power, to rule through its teachings.


"This is what Amanah don't understand — those who jumped (from PAS), the Umno members who don't read (the Prophet's history). That's why it's easy for them to follow DAP due to ignorance.


"We must understand, political victory to Islam is very important. Islam must be in power and to rule and lead.


"In Malaysia, the majority of Muslims are Malays.


"They have rights to lead but this doesn't mean we deny the rights of the non-Muslims," Hadi said, to justify his call for voting to take precedence over a pillar of Islam.


Considering that the PM and both our DPM’s are Muslims, and considering that the main two contenders in the Ayer Kuning election are also Muslims ( The third candidate from PSM is the only non-Muslim candidate in the Ayer Kuning election, but opinion are almost unanimous that the PSM candidate will not be able to make an impact in the Ayer Kuning by-election), it is debatable as to whether Hadi wants Muslims to delay their pilgrimage for the sake of Islam, or whether he simply wants them to do so for the sake of PN and PAS.


In philosophy, there is a paradox known as the Ship of Theseus paradox, that explores the concept of identity over time.


The paradox originated in regards to what happened to the Greek hero Theseus's ship, which was preserved in Athens, over time. Theseus’s ship, which was made entirely of wood, would over time rot or become worn out, and when that happens, the part that had rotted or worn out, will be replaced, After all of the parts of Theseus’s ship had been replaced, a debate will erupt in Athens, as to when does the replaced ship cease to be the original Ship of Theseus?


If we apply the paradox of the Ship of Theseus to Hadi Awang, we can probably ask ourselves, when does Hadi Awang , the religious man, cease to be, after he had been replaced part by part, by Hadi Awang the Political Animal, over time?


We have long seen Hadi Awang trying to balance his worldly desire for power and position with his his responsibility as a religious leader, but his latest call, where he will ask his fellow Muslims to prioritise electoral victory, in an election where the two main contenders are both Muslims, in a country that is led by PM and two DPM’s that are both Muslim, even to the extent of delaying and perhaps even foregoing their pilgrimage, which is a core tenet of the Islamic faith, begs the question, is Hadi Awang still a religious leader, who feels that his responsibility is to guide his followers to an everlasting happiness in the afterlife, or is he just a political leader, who is focused on obtaining the sort of worldly happiness, that one can obtain by winning an election and forming the government.


Of course, I would presume that Hadi will say that in Islam, there is no distinction between the corporeal and an the divine, and a Muslims responsibility towards worldly success – especially in regards to forming such things as a government, is not separate from their responsibility to achieve happiness in the afterlife – but considering that this argument is tortuous, long winded, abstruse and complicated, the simpler question would be to ask as to where does Hadi Awang’s priorities lie?


For how long must we call the Ship of Theseus that is Hadi Awang a man of god, when all his parts seem to have been replaced, to the point that he might very well be fully a man of the world today?


His call for Muslims to choose voting for a mere by-election, over performing their core responsibility as Muslims, might very well be the moment when Hadi Awang jumped the shark, and completely transformed himself from a religious leader into a fully secular leader, whose chief concern is in regards to here and now, instead of the world that comes after.