The eid al-fitri advertisement by TV3 this year has surely raised many eyebrows and stirred more emotions and sentiments. It had failed to capture the true spirit of eid al-fitri from the Islamic (not Malays) point of view and drowned with the idea of relegion and cultural equality and shareability. Even in so doing it failed to capture 'Malays' values at the least. It was projecting more of the Christianity; represented by an old white bearded man on a flying sleigh, Buddhism by the blooming lotus and Hinduism by the many oil lamps and laddoo offering.
Before blaming the director/ script writer straight away, one question needs to be addressed; are they Muslims? Based on the outcome, I presume they are not or probably has a terrible misunderstanding about Islam in general and eid al-fitri in particular.
Eid al-fitri is not about magic. It has never had anything to do with magic. Eid al-fitri in about coming back to one's nature as being created by The Creator, Allah. Ramadhan was the training process. Having spent a month to bend one's desire, hawa as stated by the Quran or widely understood by Malays as nafsu, eid al-fitri is supposed to bring back that clean, Allah -concious and obidient self to a person, to submit fully and willingly to Allah with all sincerity.
Hence, that can only be achieved if the spirit of Ramadhan had been lived. Yet we found the very spirit of Ramadhan killed before it arrived. When it used to be weeks before, now advertisement of sales for eid al-fitri clothings, cooking programs, new paints etc. were made months ahead of Ramadhan. Thus the humble spirit of Ramadhan was killed and over killed with excessive eating and wasting. How then could we embrace eid al-fitri as it should be?
Generally, being a muslim is being different from others (in a better way of course). Muslims do not submit to his/her desires but to whatever is decreed by Allah and Rasulullah. That is fitrah, nature. Muslims do not measure happiness by amount of materials but richness of a soul and how close it is to Allah and what Allah has asked it to do. That is fitrah, nature.
Eid al-fitri is a mark of oneself winning over him/herself to become who it should be in the first place; the servant and vicegerant of Allah. Nothing else.
In the early years of Islam, when muslims wanted to call for prayers, suggestions were made by sahabat. Either using flute like the Jews or bell like the Christians. Prophet s.a.w did not respond to either of these until Bilal bin Rabah did the azan. There is also a hadith by the Prophet asking muslim men to have longer beard and shorter moustache to differ from the kuffar. There is a verse in the Quran preventing muslim women from dressing like the jahiliyah women. All in all, muslim cannot copy the non muslims! Especially in term of religion practices as Allah has clearly and strongly said in the Quran through Jibril a.s and Prophet s.a.w:
Say, O believers! I worship not as you worship. Nor do you worship as I worship. Nor do I worship those that you worship. Nor do you worship Him, Whom I worship. For you your religion and for me my religion. (al-Kafirun: 1-6).
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
When it is time to embrace the role
And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect. (ar-Rum:21)
Islam as a holistic way of life has encouraged marriage and prohibited adultery. This is suitable for each of our biological needs. As we grow we search for a company other than our family. Ironically with this partner we want to share more and deeper than what we have shared with our family. That is perfectly normal. It is one of Allah signs.
Marriage is a field in which you must get involved in it at every level of your physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual being. Before we look for certain qualities in our spouse, we might as well prepare ourselves to be one.
Allah said that a mate is who we can dwell in tranquilly. Thus we must be able to be a source of peace to our spouse. What is it that will put our spouse at peace? It could be words of consolation. This was exemplified by Khadijah when Rasulullah s.a.w first received revelation through Jibril a.s. Khadijah assured him that he was a good man and only good things should happen to him; or how Ummu Salamah told Rasulullah to start the tahallul first when no Muslim would budge after the first Hudaibiyah covenant when they could not enter Mecca to perform Hajj. Rasulullah took her advice and the Muslims did follow him to do tahallul. It showed that as a wife we have a role to give advice and help our husbands in need. While as a husband, there is no harm in taking our wives advice time to time. Rasulullah gave Aishah consolation when she was crying in two situations. One, when she first had he menstrual cycle, Rasulullah said it was perfectly fine for a woman to have her haidh and it is a sign of a healthy woman. Second, when she cried after looking at grey hairs on Rasulullah head and remembered about the deceit of Dajjal and Rasulullah said if I were there, I will surely guide you but if I am not, remember that God (Allah) is not handicap.
It could be in the passion of our spouse in doing something he/she likes. Rasulullah often frequented Jabal Nur where Hira’ Cave situated. He would be there for days, sometimes up to a week. Khadijah, instead of asking him why he would do such thing, prepared his meal for three days and if Rasulullah did not come down, she will go up the hill with fresh food. Hafsah enjoyed doing her dzikr every morning and Rasulullah entered her room twice and she had not done with it. Instead of just banning her or asking her to stop at an instance, Rasulullah offered her a better substitute. He taught her subhanallahi wa bi hamdihi, ‘adada qalkhihi, wa ridha nafsihi, wa ziinata ‘arsyihi, wa midada kalimatih. This, Rasulullah told Hafsah will give you the same merits like what you have been chanting. In doing so, Hafsah did not feel like she had lost something and from a different perspective, Rasulullah actually gave time for his wife to do ibadah sunnah and help her to do it more efficiently. Aishah liked Habsyi’s performance. There had been two occasions where Rasulullah himself engaged her in that. Rasulullah invited a group to perform in front of Aishah house while she hid behind him to watch and in another occasion Rasulullah sent for Aishah while he waited at Mecca entrance where the Habsyi’s group was performing. When Aishah arrived, Rasulullah used his turban as a curtain to cover her and let her watched until she had enough of it and went home.
Being a source of peace could also means not letting your spouse to worry about you and other households while he is away. This is particularly to the wives. Khadijah took care of the children when Rasulullah was away to Hira’ Cave. Fatimah did all the house chores without a maid when Ali was not at home. She did not complain. Hajar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. did not argue when the prophet left her with her little baby in the burning hot desert just because Allah asked him to. Can we be this content and satisfied?
On the other hand, Rasulullah and Saidina Ali helped their wives right away when they got home. They did not demand for more quiet time to rest. They really appreciated their wives vice-versa.
Allah confirmed that He will create love and compassion between a husband and his wife. These feelings are only real and happening between a husband and his wife. You did not get it even from a so called hot and passionate love relationship (out of marriage). The love that Rasulullah had for Khadijah was ever-lasting. No wives of his were able to compete Khadijah, not even Aishah. But then each of his wives got his full love. Being compassion, when one of his wives asked Rasulullah who he loved most, Rasulullah answered she who I put the ring on her finger by myself and that was each of them. Thus when the word spreaded, everyone felt that she was the most loved wife. Saidina Ali once overheard Fatimah complaining to Rasulullah how she disliked the way he talked to her as if she was one of his soldiers. Upon hearing this, Saidina Ali said sorry and henceforth talked to her in a mellower tone.
Love and compassion extend even when it comes to polygamous marriage. Rasulullah did not seek permission from any of his wives to take another wife because that was not necessary. But look at how he was being courteous, Rasulullah always told them and never did it in secrecy. By telling other wives, he showed that they are equally important to him and the impact it had on the new wife was that she would be accepted as a new family member, not just another opponents to compete with. When Rasulullah was married to Zainab al-Jahsyi, Aishah sent some bread, dates and cheese for the wedding. When some Muslim men were talking in Zainab’s house after the ceremony that Rasulullah cannot go inside to meet her, Rasulullah went into Aishah house and she asked “How is the Prophet’s family doing?” meaning to ask about Zainab and Rasulullah told her she was fine. This event had caused the revelation of a verse that forbid talking at length in Rasulullah house but you should come in when invited, eat and leave.
On the other hand, when Saidina Ali was offered to marry Zainab binti Abu Jahal, Fatimah complained to Rasulullah that she cannot accept it. It was not because she was jealous but because she cannot accept that Rasulullah be put at par with the head of musyrikin who was fightinmg strongly against Rasulullah. Had Ali took Zainab as his wife, both Rasulullah and Abu Jahal will be his fathers in law and logically, the same. Notice that Fatimah reluctant was because of iman, not her own sake.
Often time I got a message nicely rhymed that if we cannot be like Adam and Hawa or Ibrahim and Hajar or Yusuf and Zulaikha or Muhammad and Khadijah, let us at least be like Ali and Fatimah. Though beautiful as is sounds and ideally we want it to happen, we must first start to reflect within ourselves the whole concept and demands of a marriage because Allah make the signs for those who reflects. Once we get the idea, the mate we are searching for will come in anytime into our lives and we want to be prepared to embrace the role as his/her spouse.
Islam as a holistic way of life has encouraged marriage and prohibited adultery. This is suitable for each of our biological needs. As we grow we search for a company other than our family. Ironically with this partner we want to share more and deeper than what we have shared with our family. That is perfectly normal. It is one of Allah signs.
Marriage is a field in which you must get involved in it at every level of your physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual being. Before we look for certain qualities in our spouse, we might as well prepare ourselves to be one.
Allah said that a mate is who we can dwell in tranquilly. Thus we must be able to be a source of peace to our spouse. What is it that will put our spouse at peace? It could be words of consolation. This was exemplified by Khadijah when Rasulullah s.a.w first received revelation through Jibril a.s. Khadijah assured him that he was a good man and only good things should happen to him; or how Ummu Salamah told Rasulullah to start the tahallul first when no Muslim would budge after the first Hudaibiyah covenant when they could not enter Mecca to perform Hajj. Rasulullah took her advice and the Muslims did follow him to do tahallul. It showed that as a wife we have a role to give advice and help our husbands in need. While as a husband, there is no harm in taking our wives advice time to time. Rasulullah gave Aishah consolation when she was crying in two situations. One, when she first had he menstrual cycle, Rasulullah said it was perfectly fine for a woman to have her haidh and it is a sign of a healthy woman. Second, when she cried after looking at grey hairs on Rasulullah head and remembered about the deceit of Dajjal and Rasulullah said if I were there, I will surely guide you but if I am not, remember that God (Allah) is not handicap.
It could be in the passion of our spouse in doing something he/she likes. Rasulullah often frequented Jabal Nur where Hira’ Cave situated. He would be there for days, sometimes up to a week. Khadijah, instead of asking him why he would do such thing, prepared his meal for three days and if Rasulullah did not come down, she will go up the hill with fresh food. Hafsah enjoyed doing her dzikr every morning and Rasulullah entered her room twice and she had not done with it. Instead of just banning her or asking her to stop at an instance, Rasulullah offered her a better substitute. He taught her subhanallahi wa bi hamdihi, ‘adada qalkhihi, wa ridha nafsihi, wa ziinata ‘arsyihi, wa midada kalimatih. This, Rasulullah told Hafsah will give you the same merits like what you have been chanting. In doing so, Hafsah did not feel like she had lost something and from a different perspective, Rasulullah actually gave time for his wife to do ibadah sunnah and help her to do it more efficiently. Aishah liked Habsyi’s performance. There had been two occasions where Rasulullah himself engaged her in that. Rasulullah invited a group to perform in front of Aishah house while she hid behind him to watch and in another occasion Rasulullah sent for Aishah while he waited at Mecca entrance where the Habsyi’s group was performing. When Aishah arrived, Rasulullah used his turban as a curtain to cover her and let her watched until she had enough of it and went home.
Being a source of peace could also means not letting your spouse to worry about you and other households while he is away. This is particularly to the wives. Khadijah took care of the children when Rasulullah was away to Hira’ Cave. Fatimah did all the house chores without a maid when Ali was not at home. She did not complain. Hajar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. did not argue when the prophet left her with her little baby in the burning hot desert just because Allah asked him to. Can we be this content and satisfied?
On the other hand, Rasulullah and Saidina Ali helped their wives right away when they got home. They did not demand for more quiet time to rest. They really appreciated their wives vice-versa.
Allah confirmed that He will create love and compassion between a husband and his wife. These feelings are only real and happening between a husband and his wife. You did not get it even from a so called hot and passionate love relationship (out of marriage). The love that Rasulullah had for Khadijah was ever-lasting. No wives of his were able to compete Khadijah, not even Aishah. But then each of his wives got his full love. Being compassion, when one of his wives asked Rasulullah who he loved most, Rasulullah answered she who I put the ring on her finger by myself and that was each of them. Thus when the word spreaded, everyone felt that she was the most loved wife. Saidina Ali once overheard Fatimah complaining to Rasulullah how she disliked the way he talked to her as if she was one of his soldiers. Upon hearing this, Saidina Ali said sorry and henceforth talked to her in a mellower tone.
Love and compassion extend even when it comes to polygamous marriage. Rasulullah did not seek permission from any of his wives to take another wife because that was not necessary. But look at how he was being courteous, Rasulullah always told them and never did it in secrecy. By telling other wives, he showed that they are equally important to him and the impact it had on the new wife was that she would be accepted as a new family member, not just another opponents to compete with. When Rasulullah was married to Zainab al-Jahsyi, Aishah sent some bread, dates and cheese for the wedding. When some Muslim men were talking in Zainab’s house after the ceremony that Rasulullah cannot go inside to meet her, Rasulullah went into Aishah house and she asked “How is the Prophet’s family doing?” meaning to ask about Zainab and Rasulullah told her she was fine. This event had caused the revelation of a verse that forbid talking at length in Rasulullah house but you should come in when invited, eat and leave.
On the other hand, when Saidina Ali was offered to marry Zainab binti Abu Jahal, Fatimah complained to Rasulullah that she cannot accept it. It was not because she was jealous but because she cannot accept that Rasulullah be put at par with the head of musyrikin who was fightinmg strongly against Rasulullah. Had Ali took Zainab as his wife, both Rasulullah and Abu Jahal will be his fathers in law and logically, the same. Notice that Fatimah reluctant was because of iman, not her own sake.
Often time I got a message nicely rhymed that if we cannot be like Adam and Hawa or Ibrahim and Hajar or Yusuf and Zulaikha or Muhammad and Khadijah, let us at least be like Ali and Fatimah. Though beautiful as is sounds and ideally we want it to happen, we must first start to reflect within ourselves the whole concept and demands of a marriage because Allah make the signs for those who reflects. Once we get the idea, the mate we are searching for will come in anytime into our lives and we want to be prepared to embrace the role as his/her spouse.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Rising and falling angels
Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his (one) body… (al-Ahzab:4)
Often times I met people who felt that they had changed over the course of time. More often than not, the changes were from good to something less. Some changes were caused by the environment, some were unaware of. But whenever they were subjected to the former environment, the good environment that they used to know, they wanted to become good again and it has always been a surprise for them at how readily they embrace and welcome it and at how much they actually crave for it.
Some people I have known used to ask me what if I found out who they really are (with the connotation that the real persons are not as good as the one I see). My reply has always been that it does not matter to me. I know the good person and I want to keep it at that point. As a friend of course my duty is to give advice and pray. No more than that.
The truth is Allah has not created two hearts in our body. The good news is Allah had actually put a good heart in our body. It is up to us to make it good or we want to pollute it and make it bad.
By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;- Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it! (ash-Shams: 7-10)
Nobody but ourselves can push us towards goodness or otherwise. When we surround ourselves with good environment, bi-ah solehah, chances are we will be a better person. That nature has been in-built by Allah.
If we happen to be on the other end, always see good things in people and highlight these things to that person. By doing this in a caring way, insya Allah, we are encouraging that person to be good again. The person might not change overnight but a speck of fire can light a candle and a candle can light many more. No effort passes by in vain. We strive and leave everything in the hands of Allah. He changes people’s heart, not us.
Often times I met people who felt that they had changed over the course of time. More often than not, the changes were from good to something less. Some changes were caused by the environment, some were unaware of. But whenever they were subjected to the former environment, the good environment that they used to know, they wanted to become good again and it has always been a surprise for them at how readily they embrace and welcome it and at how much they actually crave for it.
Some people I have known used to ask me what if I found out who they really are (with the connotation that the real persons are not as good as the one I see). My reply has always been that it does not matter to me. I know the good person and I want to keep it at that point. As a friend of course my duty is to give advice and pray. No more than that.
The truth is Allah has not created two hearts in our body. The good news is Allah had actually put a good heart in our body. It is up to us to make it good or we want to pollute it and make it bad.
By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;- Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it! (ash-Shams: 7-10)
Nobody but ourselves can push us towards goodness or otherwise. When we surround ourselves with good environment, bi-ah solehah, chances are we will be a better person. That nature has been in-built by Allah.
If we happen to be on the other end, always see good things in people and highlight these things to that person. By doing this in a caring way, insya Allah, we are encouraging that person to be good again. The person might not change overnight but a speck of fire can light a candle and a candle can light many more. No effort passes by in vain. We strive and leave everything in the hands of Allah. He changes people’s heart, not us.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
McDonald is not popular here
O you people, eat of what is on earth lawful and good, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy.
Al-Baqarah: 168
There is French saying ‘you are what you eat’. Islam, being holistic as a way of life has put a great deal of emphasis on food. The above verse of the Quran is one of the many verses talking about food and drink. I choose this verse because it put ‘halal’ and ‘toyyib’ together.
In tafsir Ibn Abbas, as being explained by Qurtubi, halal is that different from haram. This word encapsulates more than just having ‘bismillah’ when you slaughter an animal. It goes further beyond. The source of the food should be halal, it must not be stolen or got by oppressing others or by destroying the environment to get it.
The next word ‘toyyib’ is a subset of halal but it further emphasis the necessity. Imam Syafie interpreted ‘toyyib’ as something that brings worldly pleasure. This could be taste wise (which explains why we are forbidden from taking filthy food) and I personally think it can also mean health wise.
Often times when we go for a fast food such as McDonald in or out of Malaysia, we are very concern about it being halal. Have we ever take a pause and go to the next question, is it toyyib? We all know the clear answer to that.
Being here, far away from Malaysia, I find it very different. People here do go for fast food, more than half the time I can say. But McDonald is not their choice. You’ll be surprised to see a KFC doesn’t have a restaurant here. You can find one buries amongst the many food stalls in a mall. But a restaurant… that is rare. Here they sought after sandwiches or at the least doughnut. I made a random survey asking them why such a choice? The answers came back in variety. Some said they were looking for a more decent food, while others think McDonald is food for the homeless.
We now have the responsibility to not only teach the young generation about halal food but also educate them on consumerism and go for the toyyib when it comes down to the final decision. After all, eating halal and toyyib food is one of the knowledge perfection and the first in leading to secure lives here and hereafter.
Al-Baqarah: 168
There is French saying ‘you are what you eat’. Islam, being holistic as a way of life has put a great deal of emphasis on food. The above verse of the Quran is one of the many verses talking about food and drink. I choose this verse because it put ‘halal’ and ‘toyyib’ together.
In tafsir Ibn Abbas, as being explained by Qurtubi, halal is that different from haram. This word encapsulates more than just having ‘bismillah’ when you slaughter an animal. It goes further beyond. The source of the food should be halal, it must not be stolen or got by oppressing others or by destroying the environment to get it.
The next word ‘toyyib’ is a subset of halal but it further emphasis the necessity. Imam Syafie interpreted ‘toyyib’ as something that brings worldly pleasure. This could be taste wise (which explains why we are forbidden from taking filthy food) and I personally think it can also mean health wise.
Often times when we go for a fast food such as McDonald in or out of Malaysia, we are very concern about it being halal. Have we ever take a pause and go to the next question, is it toyyib? We all know the clear answer to that.
Being here, far away from Malaysia, I find it very different. People here do go for fast food, more than half the time I can say. But McDonald is not their choice. You’ll be surprised to see a KFC doesn’t have a restaurant here. You can find one buries amongst the many food stalls in a mall. But a restaurant… that is rare. Here they sought after sandwiches or at the least doughnut. I made a random survey asking them why such a choice? The answers came back in variety. Some said they were looking for a more decent food, while others think McDonald is food for the homeless.
We now have the responsibility to not only teach the young generation about halal food but also educate them on consumerism and go for the toyyib when it comes down to the final decision. After all, eating halal and toyyib food is one of the knowledge perfection and the first in leading to secure lives here and hereafter.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Who is He again?
There has been a lot of commotion going on these past few weeks regarding the use of ‘Allah’ in referring to Jesus by the Christians in Malaysia. Amongst the Muslims unfortunately breakage of groups further and adds to the already existing ones. Those who agree give their opinions based on either academic rationale be it Islamic wise or historical wise or pure freedom of rights. Those who disagree too give their opinions based on academic rationale Islamic wise and historical too.
As a humble servant, I am writing this only to give my point of view over the unnecessary dispute. If you want to introduce anyone to anybody, you most likely will introduce the person by his/her name. The person to whom you introduced the first person will then remember the person being introduced (some may take a few re-introductions before recognizing a person, some remember effortlessly). The question lies on how do you actually remember a person or anything? It is very simple, you do not really remember, your mind only register a specific character(s) of the person that distinguish the person from everyone else. You might remember ‘A’ because he has a thick moustache or his bespectacled being or because he likes to use a certain phrase or word. Anything!
Thus how has Allah tell us how we can recognize Him and distinguish Him from other god(s)?
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
(al-Ikhlas: 1-4)
If anyone or anything fits in all the attribution of ‘Allah’ then it deserves to be called Allah. If not then it doesn’t.
The second thing that I find grieving is how we do not consider others work and how our opinion (though it is perfectly right) can affect them. It is easy for academics to give their opinion generally but Islam has taught us that in making any decision you must follow the shari’ah, sunnah and also ‘uruf that is the culture of a society. If the culture fits shari’ah and sunnah, you may proceed. This brings us to the term waqi-‘iah that is the present time and place. There has been no confusion for the Arabs to refer Allah as Jesus or Allah as Allah. Yet will it not be confusing to be used in Malaysia? Is it really feasible in our country? What is the reason for using it? Why now? What is the outcome of it? What is the long term risk we are taking by saying yes now as our opinion is being sought and we give a straight answer backed with tons of reference just because we can? Or just because we want to portray ourselves as ‘the sought for leader’ to lead Malaysia? Put some thought in it, winning one chair here might just as well make you win a chair you never want in the hereafter. It is a personal call.
The academics that had not been to the root or the political party that could not spare a cent for the work carried out cannot possibly know how hard it is for the people working on the ground to get our youngsters to turn their face towards Allah and not something else or how these people had risked their lives and sacrificed almost everything they have to propagate Islam to the orang asli and how tiresome and how much trouble these people had gone through to teach comparative religion for free just to help others to understand Islam better and realize the discrepancy of Christianity so they will in turn do da’wah and propagate Islam. What do we say now? We have already owed them too much for not joining their course, let us save ourselves by not turning their efforts into vain.
As a humble servant, I am writing this only to give my point of view over the unnecessary dispute. If you want to introduce anyone to anybody, you most likely will introduce the person by his/her name. The person to whom you introduced the first person will then remember the person being introduced (some may take a few re-introductions before recognizing a person, some remember effortlessly). The question lies on how do you actually remember a person or anything? It is very simple, you do not really remember, your mind only register a specific character(s) of the person that distinguish the person from everyone else. You might remember ‘A’ because he has a thick moustache or his bespectacled being or because he likes to use a certain phrase or word. Anything!
Thus how has Allah tell us how we can recognize Him and distinguish Him from other god(s)?
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
(al-Ikhlas: 1-4)
If anyone or anything fits in all the attribution of ‘Allah’ then it deserves to be called Allah. If not then it doesn’t.
The second thing that I find grieving is how we do not consider others work and how our opinion (though it is perfectly right) can affect them. It is easy for academics to give their opinion generally but Islam has taught us that in making any decision you must follow the shari’ah, sunnah and also ‘uruf that is the culture of a society. If the culture fits shari’ah and sunnah, you may proceed. This brings us to the term waqi-‘iah that is the present time and place. There has been no confusion for the Arabs to refer Allah as Jesus or Allah as Allah. Yet will it not be confusing to be used in Malaysia? Is it really feasible in our country? What is the reason for using it? Why now? What is the outcome of it? What is the long term risk we are taking by saying yes now as our opinion is being sought and we give a straight answer backed with tons of reference just because we can? Or just because we want to portray ourselves as ‘the sought for leader’ to lead Malaysia? Put some thought in it, winning one chair here might just as well make you win a chair you never want in the hereafter. It is a personal call.
The academics that had not been to the root or the political party that could not spare a cent for the work carried out cannot possibly know how hard it is for the people working on the ground to get our youngsters to turn their face towards Allah and not something else or how these people had risked their lives and sacrificed almost everything they have to propagate Islam to the orang asli and how tiresome and how much trouble these people had gone through to teach comparative religion for free just to help others to understand Islam better and realize the discrepancy of Christianity so they will in turn do da’wah and propagate Islam. What do we say now? We have already owed them too much for not joining their course, let us save ourselves by not turning their efforts into vain.
Friday, January 08, 2010
THEY DRINK COFFEE, EAT DOUGHNUT AND…
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).
Al-Hujuraat: 13
It has been a really long time since the last entry and I am wondering if this blog is still active yet I had my mind set that if it is not, I will make myself start a new one (probably using the same name though) and be more committed to it in a more practical and doable way insya Allah.
When I get an offer to pursue my study overseas and given the chance to take my family along, I am thrilled. I am looking forward to see people very different from my people for a change. Well, guess what? Other than their great fond of doughnut and addiction to coffee, we are very much alike in so many ways.
If we have intellectuals who cannot stop discussing about their area of expertise or how they always see things from their respective areas no matter when they are walking, eating or making small talk that you wonder if they even dream of what they are preaching, we have a bunch of them here. If we have seen girls coming face to face with each other over a guy they like, well here they take it in the open air where we prefer in a close room. The common conversations that you catch while passing by people in Malaysia, you can get everything here down to the gossip!
It strikes me how similar people are and how true al-Quran is! We are nothing better than the other unless we have more taqwa than the person next to us. And speaking of taqwa, Dr. Mohd Nor Manuti gave a good background from the Arabic standpoint of the word itself. Taqwa comes from the root word wiqaya that means cautious. Thus taqwa means always being cautious (towards Allah) in the sense that you always watch that you do what He asked you to and leave what He asked you not to. Saidina Umar al-Khattab explained taqwa with an analogy as one walking on a road lined with thorn thus you can never be off guard at all time.
Indeed we are blessed at least we have a deen. We have Allah to hold on to for that matter. For the smart people here, sometimes they get above their head and feel like they are far off better and know everything. Unfortunately they do not realize that there is One who is All-knowing. Some are very humble, down to earth yet not humble enough to submit to Allah.
All of us have our insecurities. It might be our fear of an unfinished study or research or just a plain interview. Some of us lack confidence. They have it too! But we are blessed because at least (I would say we have the most) we have Allah while they feel like they are struggling alone and fighting their own battle. We can cry to Allah, we can ask Allah to help us and we know Allah can listen and Allah can help. We are a notch more hopeful than any other despairs in the world and hope is a powerful tool!
Now come to the getting to know each other to LEARN and NOT DESPISE. Yes, everybody has good qualities as well as the bad ones. Allah asks us to learn, not despise be it good or bad.
It is easy to learn from the good qualities for instance learning to be on time when you make appointment with the Swiss or Japanese, learning to be diligent and hardworking when you meet the Chinese, learning to honour your guests from the Arabs, learning to be courteous from the Malays, learning not to beat around the bushes from the Westerns and the list goes on. But how do we learn from the bad qualities?
I would like to quote the answer from the Prophet Isa a.s. when people asked him how he became good when he was amongst the Israelites (who are known to be very bad)? His answer was simple, “ I don’t want to be like them.”
Hence that is how we learn from the bad qualities. Try to eradicate them from ourselves. And if we meet anyone with certain bad qualities, now that Allah forbids us from despising him/her there must be a way for us to face this person and there must be a reason for that too. For this, our utmost muallim, Rasulullah s.a.w. had given the perfect answer.
In an occasion a guy was coming towards Rasulullah s.a.w. house with Aishah r.a. Rasulullah s.a.w told Aishah all the bad qualities that the man has. Yet when he entered the Prophet’s house, Rasulullah s.a.w treated him very well. When the guest left, Aishah r.a. asked Rasulullah s.a.w if what the Prophet told her before was all correct, Rasulullah s.a.w said yes. Aishah r.a. asked then why did Rasulullah s.a.w treat him very well? Rasulullah s.a.w said, “If no one shows him kindness, he will never learn to be good.”
Subhanallah! If only we strictly follow what Islam has taught us, this world is guaranteed to be a better place. I would bet my life on this. Wallahu a’lam.
Al-Hujuraat: 13
It has been a really long time since the last entry and I am wondering if this blog is still active yet I had my mind set that if it is not, I will make myself start a new one (probably using the same name though) and be more committed to it in a more practical and doable way insya Allah.
When I get an offer to pursue my study overseas and given the chance to take my family along, I am thrilled. I am looking forward to see people very different from my people for a change. Well, guess what? Other than their great fond of doughnut and addiction to coffee, we are very much alike in so many ways.
If we have intellectuals who cannot stop discussing about their area of expertise or how they always see things from their respective areas no matter when they are walking, eating or making small talk that you wonder if they even dream of what they are preaching, we have a bunch of them here. If we have seen girls coming face to face with each other over a guy they like, well here they take it in the open air where we prefer in a close room. The common conversations that you catch while passing by people in Malaysia, you can get everything here down to the gossip!
It strikes me how similar people are and how true al-Quran is! We are nothing better than the other unless we have more taqwa than the person next to us. And speaking of taqwa, Dr. Mohd Nor Manuti gave a good background from the Arabic standpoint of the word itself. Taqwa comes from the root word wiqaya that means cautious. Thus taqwa means always being cautious (towards Allah) in the sense that you always watch that you do what He asked you to and leave what He asked you not to. Saidina Umar al-Khattab explained taqwa with an analogy as one walking on a road lined with thorn thus you can never be off guard at all time.
Indeed we are blessed at least we have a deen. We have Allah to hold on to for that matter. For the smart people here, sometimes they get above their head and feel like they are far off better and know everything. Unfortunately they do not realize that there is One who is All-knowing. Some are very humble, down to earth yet not humble enough to submit to Allah.
All of us have our insecurities. It might be our fear of an unfinished study or research or just a plain interview. Some of us lack confidence. They have it too! But we are blessed because at least (I would say we have the most) we have Allah while they feel like they are struggling alone and fighting their own battle. We can cry to Allah, we can ask Allah to help us and we know Allah can listen and Allah can help. We are a notch more hopeful than any other despairs in the world and hope is a powerful tool!
Now come to the getting to know each other to LEARN and NOT DESPISE. Yes, everybody has good qualities as well as the bad ones. Allah asks us to learn, not despise be it good or bad.
It is easy to learn from the good qualities for instance learning to be on time when you make appointment with the Swiss or Japanese, learning to be diligent and hardworking when you meet the Chinese, learning to honour your guests from the Arabs, learning to be courteous from the Malays, learning not to beat around the bushes from the Westerns and the list goes on. But how do we learn from the bad qualities?
I would like to quote the answer from the Prophet Isa a.s. when people asked him how he became good when he was amongst the Israelites (who are known to be very bad)? His answer was simple, “ I don’t want to be like them.”
Hence that is how we learn from the bad qualities. Try to eradicate them from ourselves. And if we meet anyone with certain bad qualities, now that Allah forbids us from despising him/her there must be a way for us to face this person and there must be a reason for that too. For this, our utmost muallim, Rasulullah s.a.w. had given the perfect answer.
In an occasion a guy was coming towards Rasulullah s.a.w. house with Aishah r.a. Rasulullah s.a.w told Aishah all the bad qualities that the man has. Yet when he entered the Prophet’s house, Rasulullah s.a.w treated him very well. When the guest left, Aishah r.a. asked Rasulullah s.a.w if what the Prophet told her before was all correct, Rasulullah s.a.w said yes. Aishah r.a. asked then why did Rasulullah s.a.w treat him very well? Rasulullah s.a.w said, “If no one shows him kindness, he will never learn to be good.”
Subhanallah! If only we strictly follow what Islam has taught us, this world is guaranteed to be a better place. I would bet my life on this. Wallahu a’lam.
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