It is not all about us...

Once upon a time, Jane berkata, "Aku ingat aku darah AB, rupanya darah A jer. Ingatkan aku special..."

Any picture with ourselves in there, what is the first thing we see? Ooo, I am too fat. I have double chin. Or the colour of my dress is not good enough. Or some others would actually think how smart or handsome they look in that shirt. Whatever angle we look at it, we arrive at the same conclusion.

The event, the people/family around us, the country, the religion become second and less significant to our own selfish selves. Is that how we choose to live our lives? Is it all about us?

First sin ever commited

And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam." And they prostrated except Iblis, he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers. (Al-Baqarah:34)

Pride in fact is the first sin ever committed by the any creation of Allah. Iblis thought that Adam was inferior to him- how can a creature who was created from clay is better that Iblis who was created from smokeless fire? Are we too proud of our Malay supremacy that we failed to acknowledge other inhabitants of the 'Malay' land - are we created from fire of some sort? Not even close!

Four things are among my followers from the traditions of jahiliyyah which will not leave: pride of lineage, slandering kinship, use of astrology for rain, and wailing. (Muslim)

Definition of pride

We are proud to have good family or a good car that we can trust. We do good things and feel good about it. Are those not allowed? Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Rasulullah has explained to us that pride is to reject the truth and look down upon other people. It is ok to be proud of Islam, but to know what we are doing is wrong and still rejecting it - then that is pride. And to have nice car and nice cloth is a reflection of the bounty that Allah gave us, nothing is wrong with that. But to have a nice house or do some good deeds PLUS looking down upon other people - that is the pride that we need to avoid.

He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride164 shall not enter Paradise. A person (amongst his hearers) said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride is rejecting the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people. (Muslim)

Pride in jobs

In doing consult, we definitely will see other people making mistakes. Prescribing NSAIDs in somebody with kidney disease or being asked what to do if creatinine rises from 200 to 220. Physicians condescend fellow doctors in Orthopaedics or surgeons blame physician for not knowing how to examine abdomen. We ask because we don't know. Isn't the Prophet told us to ask people who are knowledgable? People trying to follow the sunnah of the prophet (even without knowing) and we are actually (indirectly) driving people away from it? Yes, there are some silliness in the questions sometimes, but it is our duty to explain and guide the treatment in a nice way so there will be knowledge shared between the specialties.

Ireland is going through a tough time with its economy. Tax increase or salary cut is unavoidable. It is difficult for many people. Those who has plenty of loans to re-pay would probably be worried. Hence, they would be really against any measure by the government to reduce their pay. Of course there are other areas that can be cut, but nevertheless at the end, it is either the country or our loans. Probably we think that if there is no country, there will be no loan to repay!

It is either you or me

Unfortunately we live in the world where salary, title and position play major roles in our daily life. we are surrounded by politicians who want to have a win-lose situation. It is either my party or yours. It is unavoidable sometimes as in reality, there will be losers. But we should ask ourselves, is there any chance of a win-win situation? If somebody has to lose, are we willing to take the sacrifice? How far do we go to help others?

Islam teaches us that we need to protect first of all our religion, than life, mind, offspring and property. It teaches us what is (supposed to be) our priority. If there is one post and we are not chosen to fill in the job, then we step back and think. Is the other guy good for our religion or the life or the mind etc,( which is the greater good)? If it is, then help him.

Somebody asked me about what is the quality of good leader? Among others, somehow I keep coming up with this one answer - a good leader is a good follower as well. I guess i came up with that answer as my experience suggested to me that whoever lose in a competition, then the person would be the sternest competitor against the winner. The loser would gang up with few other guys to cause trouble throughout the other person 'reign'- backbiting, slandering etc. Don't we know that as a follower, we are to follow him as long as it is not against the teaching of Islam? Even if we have opinion of our own, (and the 2 opinions are not against Islam) and after discussion, the leader choose another option, than we are bound to follow him. No talking behind the back - "I have told you I said so before..." That certainly does not help. Leave the pride and start building the bridge.

On a journey, the leader of the group is their servant. (Ibn Majah, Bayhaqi)

Khalid Al-Walid, when he was relieved from being the leader of the army by Umar Al-Khatab and replaced by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, he said, "If Abu Bakr is dead and Umar is the Caliph, then we hear and obey." (Waqidi). Did he go against the caliph or did he not help the new commander to win more battles? Let's not forget that Abu Ubaidah is one of the 10 companions promised paradise, and Umar al-Khattab wanted him to be the next Caliph after him if he didn't die during a plague. Allahu a'lam.

The Greater Good

(Allah is) He who perfected everything that He created. (As-Sajdah:7)

We wonder how come we sometimes were afflicted with lost and death; or we ourselves cause harm to other people. Back to the analogy of a picture where we are part of the picture. Everybody who look at the picture would see their ownselves - fat, handsome, should wear a different shoes etc. Each would think either good (locally good) or bad (locally evil) of themselves. However, as a whole, the picture showed a great memory of family getting together (globally good).

War is no doubt a major disaster that result in killing of numerous people and destruction of properties. Yet, Allah permits them to happen because they fulfill part of His wisdom and overall plan (such as controlling the population, punishing evil nations, trying the believers) that we may not know. Therefore Allah offsets the 'evil' of wars by their important advantages. (Believing in Qadar by Muhammad al-Jibaly 2004). And to Allah belongs the greatest plan. (We don't go to war using those excuses, we are not God!)

It IS about us

I am not saying it is not about us, it IS about us. We are the one who will be rewarded or punished for our good deeds or sins. The final destination is ours to choose. But to achieve the ultimate target, there will be sacrifices that we have to make. Sacrifices that we don't like or will not bring worldly pleasure.

It is about us, but it is not all about us.

@Peace.

A letter that a Mujahid wrote to his wife

Dedicated to my Princess,

You never complained when you knew we would have nothing.
You were content on having what little you needed.

Where others would have left or moaned you never once let out a sigh.
You understood what was written was what we would eat.

I never once complained about what was put in front of me
as I knew it was your hands that brought it to me.

When I had nothing I had you.
We smiled as we saw the destruction around us
knowing that these people were not true.

You never felt sympathy towards the enemy.
You put your trust in your Rubb
and in turn you followed me.
Never did I have to wonder about you
as my secrets, my honour and my Deen were safe with you.

We both know what hardships you faced just by being with me,
but not a word did you speak.
You were strong and in turn you made me strong.

Like a vanguard for this Ummah you concealed yourself.
Where others would rush to please their desires,
you were the essence of Taqwa.

Life was easy with you it came so naturally.
You were the extension of me and
would never need to finish my words as who knew me better than you?
You knew your place, which was by my side.

It’s the little things that make the person
and you would have easily have kept me going for a lifetime.

The way you would look at me with fire in your eyes
showed me that I was the only one for you.
You stole my heart and hid it away.
I loved your jealousy.
I loved to tease you with the thought of others
just so I could know how dear I was to you.

What chance did shaytan have
when you would ensure that fajr was the easiest of the salahs.
I loved that you would forsake me in an instant to fast a voluntary fast.
I loved that the Haq was dearer to you than my life and those of our jewels

Watching you makes me laugh
as I wonder if my heart will ever want another
as I watch you feed my child,
as you lift her out of the bath,
as you wipe her little nose and the face she pulls.

You will never find a diamond in the hands of the poor
in the same way our diamond deserves to be carried in your hands.
We could have it all my love
but who sells Paradise for an hour of passing pleasure?
Not us.
I chose you Umm ***** as I know our fruits are safe with you.
Never would I have to worry about where the loyalties of my babies are.

They will love what we love they will love Allah Most Glorified Most High,
they will Love the Prophets and the best of Companions,
They will love those who they have never met but will long to meet.
They will love those better then us.
They will live to honour one statement.
La illaha illallah Muhammadur RasoolAllah
Others will fall under the weight of it but not them.
Their hearts will beat it, their words testify to it and their hands carry it.

Dont think I left you.
Dont think that in this world anything is dearer to me
then the minute that I walk home
knowing what waits for me behind closed doors.

I went to find a better place for us. I went to fulfil the best of deals.
I saw it written that if you give your life then eternity will be ours.

I saw it written somewhere that this was all a test
and I have no doubt that one who promises us
and whose word is truth must love me very much
as he gave me you and you were the hardest thing to give up.

They say the mind cannot comprehend what awaits us,
that sadness will be forgotten,
and they say that the eye has yet to see
and the ear has yet to hear the beauties that await us
in our new home.

They say rivers of honey my love
they say rivers of milk they say rivers of wine.
They say pearls and Gold thrones ,
they say musk and cool breezes.

Is it not fitting that I go to see this land afar to take you and our children?
I fear that the gates of opportunity will close behind me my love.
I fear others will hear what I hear and rush there and I will have nothing to offer you.

I know you will send our sons to look for their father.
Tell them that they will find me in every battle,
in every fight where the black flag is flown.

Tell them that the pain will be a pinch and then they will see what I see.
Tell them Green Birds wish to meet them.
Tell the Angels will call them by the best of names
and most of all that Allah The One The Eternal will be pleased with them.

I told you once that only 2 things will have me. You and death.

My life was with you but now I must marry again.
I must marry what was promised to me the moment I was born.
I must marry my fate and in turn I must marry death.

After death will come reckoning and if I stand with the best of creation
I will with the permission of Allah Lord of the Heavens and the Earth beg for you.

None was worthy to stand next to me in this life
so why is it I should desire another in the next?

..........................

.................................................................................................

I was shown this song in youtube.
It's long, but every word is worth a reading.

Which part did you like best?

@Peace

Cheap Harry Potter books in Tesco

My wife bought a tudung recently from malaysia. She sent the tudung through a very fast postal service, without actually claim the full charges - out of pity that my wife might not receive it before raya. She didn't want to accept any compensation for that. And she sounds like a really nice muslim.

I wonder whether a salesperson can live with all these charities. Logically speaking, if you sell something less than its price, you will incur loss. Then I realised that Allah's promise that giving charity WILL NEVER decease your provision.

The example in this world is like Tesco was selling Harry Potter's books less than their buying price. Would they be at lost? Definitely not, as even though they are in loss for that particular book, customers will buy other things which will cover the loss, hence the net effect would be more income for Tesco.

Perhaps she (the seller) will receive help from Allah from ways that she never consider, Insya-Allah.

The new era

The way the tudung seller writes in her email was very much my wife's friend who just embraced Islam few years ago. Very soothing and calm, like nothing will ever disturb their focus on doing good deeds. Every so often there will be words that remember Allah like Insya-Allah, Alhamdulillah and May Allah forgives. Meeting them totally change even the way we speak. That is the effect of one person. Can we imagine if the whole kampung is like them? Subhanallah.

The so-called new Muslims (even though they converted many years ago) have been driving the force of dakwah in the west. With Allah's ultimate knowledge, He knows well what is going to happen. Only 100 years ago, Islam would be largely confined to Middle East, Africa and Asia. Probably some migration of Turks to Germany and Eastern European countries but certainly not in the Western Europe. The fall of Uthmaniyah would render Islam weak, or so we thought. How can we move forward when there is no unified body of Muslim to govern us?

Look at the good Islamic books written in English, who are the writers? Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips spent few years in Malaysia (Sabah) but only was attracted to Islam in 1972. He is now a well established lecturer in Arabic language and Islamic studies in UAE (www.bilalphilips.com). Muhammad Al-Jibaly's books are my wife's favourite- especially the Marriage series. I like his Eeman series. All his books were written in an easy to understand, that even my wife who would have short attention span reading complicated religious book could finish his book in one sitting. Jamaal Zarabozo became a Muslim when he was only 16 years of age. His book on commentary of 40 hadith by Al-Nawawi was considered one of the best book on study of hadith in English. Ustaz Hasrizal was using his book to teach us 40 hadith back in Galway many years ago. (www.jamaalzarabozo.com)

Allah knows best. Who would have expected that only after the fall of Uthmaniyah that Islam managed to spread among the people who in the past would really against Islam? Islam has been the fastest growing religion in America, and certainly not by sword. Who would imagine that mosques in Spain are increasing in number nowadays after every single Muslim in Spain was expelled 500 years ago? Why do people want Islam so much? What is there with Islam?

If the current so-called Muslim countries still are lagging behind in their practices and appreciation of Islam, then who knows, we might witness that these countries become the follower (of Islam) instead of the leader. Whatever it is, Allah has the best plan.

@Peace.

Tuhan tak sama dengan Ultraman

Pendedahan awal aku mengenai agama yang aku ingat adalah pengalaman bersama mak semasa berumur 5-6 tahun mungkin. Ketika itu, mak mengumpulkan kami bertiga- aku, kakyong dan miyyah. Dia menceritakan tentang hari akhirat, ada syurga dan neraka. Aku masih boleh merasakan perasaan takutku ketika itu, tertanya tanya kenapa perlu ada kesudahan jahat dan kesudahan baik. kenapa tidak semuanya baik?

Walaupun aku tahu bagaimana nak sembahyang, satu hari ayah memanggilku dan menyuruh aku melakukan gerakan dalam solat semata mata utk membetulkan apa apa yg silap. Pernah satu hari, aku berniat solat isyak 4 rakaat, namun aku cuma solat 3 rakaat. Aku teringat ayah pernah memberitahuku bahawa Nabi pernah terlupa 1 rakaat, lalu apabila teringat, baginda menyambung satu lagi rakaat. Lalu aku solat 1 rakaat lagi. Kak yong menyedari aku cuma solat 1 rakaat tanpa mengetahui aku telah solat 3 rakaat sebelumnya, lalu memarahiku kerana solat laju - mustahil solat isyak boleh selaju demikian!

Anak saudaraku yg kini berusia 4/5 tahun mula bertanya mengenai Tuhan. Bandingan Tuhan dengan Ultraman, kenapa Tuhan perlukan malaikat dan sebagainya.

Bilanya bermula?

Isteriku sering kala bertanya, bila perlunya kita mengajar kanak kanak tentang agama? Bila perlu pakai tudung, bila perlu solat, bila kena tutup aurat?

Aku fikir tidak ada salah/betul. Yang penting merupakan hasil akhirnya. Apabila seseorang itu baligh, maka dosa pahala menjadi tanggungjawabnya sendiri. Tujuan ibu bapa dan saudara mara adalah untuk menyediakan kanak kanak untuk menempuh alam yang akan memberi kesan padanya selama-lamanya (akhirat).

Sama ada ibu bapa ingin memakaikan tudung awal ataupun 'last minute' pada hari balighnya seseorang, mungkin bergantung pada banyak faktor. Kita tidak mahu bayi yg baru lahir dipakaikan tudung kononnya utk menutup aurat, padahal bayi tersebut cuma tahu menangis, belum tahu apa-apa. Mungkin juga kita tidak berani mengambil risiko menyuruh anak kita menutup aurat sebaik sahaja dia akil baligh, ditakuti mereka tidak biasa dgn perubahan mendadak. Jadi, yang lebih penting bukanlah bila, tapi kenapa seseorang itu menutup aurat, dan pentingnya konsisten pada menutup aurat atau apa jua kebaikan.

A menutup aurat pada umur 4 tahun berbanding B ketika berumur 11 tahun, manakah yg lebih baik? Jika yang menutup aurat tetiba membuka aurat ketika berumur 20 tahun dan sebaliknya berlaku pada seorang lagi, nah, kali ini mana yang lebih baik? Dan sekiranya yang membuka aurat kembali menutup aurat, dan B kembali membuka aurat di penghujung kehidupan, manakah pula yang lebih baik?

Then as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be heavy, He will live a pleasant life (in Paradise).But as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be light, He will have his home in Hawiyah (pit, i.e. Hell). (Al-Qariah:6-9)

Akidah

Kekadang kita tersilap dalam mengutamakan mana yang patut didahulukan. Antara sembahyang fardu dan sembahyang sunat, sunat tentu sembahyang fardu yg utama. Antara mematuhi suami dan puasa sunat, maka mematuhi suami lebih utama kerana ia wajib. Begitulah juga dengan proses mendidik. Mengajar anak berbuat baik, solat di awal waktu, menutup aurat - semua itu sangat baik dan dituntut; namun perlulah juga kita dahulukan dengan pengenalan kepada akidah.

Tanpa akidah yang tepat, maka semua amalan kita tidak akan diterima sebagai amal baik. Orang kafir juga boleh belajar sembahyang, puasa, zakat dan haji - tetapi adakah semua itu akan dikira jika mereka masih lagi bertuhankan yang lain selain Allah? tentu sekali tidak. Rasulullah mengambil masa 10 tahun di Mekah utk mengukuhkan akidah, ayat ayat Al-Quran Makiyyah menceritakan tentang keesaan Allah dan balasan di akhirat, menunjukkan betapa pentingnya akidah dalam hidup Muslim.

Dalam mengetengahkan kepada kanak-kanak, sudah tentunya perbincangan kompleks perlu dielakkan terlebih dahulu. Akidah tidaklah kompleks. Jika akidah Islam itu sukar, maka sudah tentu mereka yang cuma beberapa hari bertemu rasulullah untuk belajar mengenai Islam tidak dapat mengIslamkan seluruh kabilah mereka kemudiannya- jika akidah Islam itu sukar.

Mu’awiyah as-Sahmi reported: “I had some sheep which I kept between Uhud and Juwaniyyah with a slave-girl to look after them. One day, I went out to check on my sheep and discovered that a wolf had devoured one of them. Since I am just a human, (I became angry) and struck the girl. Later on, I came to the Prophet and reported to him the incident. He terrified me with the gravity of my action. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah!’ Shall I free her (as an expiation of my sin.) He said ‘Call her over.’ When I did, he asked her, ‘Where is Allah?’ She said, ‘Above the heavens.’ Then he asked her, ‘Who am I?’ She said, ‘The Messenger of Allah.' Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah ordered me, ‘Free her. She is a believer’”

Soalan yang mudah dengan jawapan yang tidak berbelit belit. Siapa yang menciptakan kita? (Allah) Cantiknya pokok ni, siapa yang ciptakan pokok ni? (Allah) Kenapa kita perlu sayang mak ayah? (Allah yang suruh dan sebab lain...). Kenapa kita perlu solat? (Sebab Allah yang suruh)

Beriman kepada malaikat, kitab, nabi, hari akhirat & qada' & qadar

Banyak yg kita perlu ajar dan tanamkan dalam hidup kanak kanak. Namun terlebih dahulu kita perlu tahu tentangnya. Bagaimana mungkin kalau anak anak bertanya, kenapa Allah perlukan malaikat apabila kita sendiri tidak pasti? Kenapa ada kesusahan dalam dunia ni? Kenapa al-Quran berwarna warni? dan sebagainya. Banyak buku buku ditulis untuk menolong kita memahaminya dan juga buku utk menerangkan pada anak anak supaya mereka faham serba sedikit.

Qada' dan qadar antara perkara yang banyak antara kita sukar untuk memahaminya. Jika Allah dah tahu apa akan jadi, kenapa kita perlu buat lagi? Kenapa perlu buat baik kalau ditakdirkan kita masuk neraka? Sehinggalah kepada soalan yang mempersoalkan keadilan Allah... kenapa Allah nak humbankan manusia dalam neraka sedangkan Dia yang menetapkan seseorang itu duduknya dalam nereka semasa diciptakan - adilkah begitu?

Terdapat prinsip seperti Keadilan Allah dan Kebijaksanaan Allah dalam membincangkan qada' & qadar. Allah tahu apa yang akan berlaku tidak bermaksud Allah memaksa seseorang itu berbuat jahat. Manusia mempunyai free will untuk berbuat baik ataupun jahat. Cumanya Allah tahu kesudahan seseorang itu sebab Allah Maha Mengetahui. Tiada guna Allah menciptakan syurga dan neraka jika kita terpaksa ataupun terdapat inner force yang memaksa kita berbuat jahat atau baik. Itu bukan ujian namanya. Bolehkah Allah menciptakan semua manusia beriman kepada-Nya? Tentu sekali boleh, namun Allah dengan Kebijaksanaan yang ada pada-Nya tidak berbuat begitu. Kenapa ada manusia yang miskin dan yang kaya? Ada yang berjaya kerana menipu dan yang gagal walaupun lama berusaha. Yang masuk neraka walaupun mereka ada akhlak yang baik (tapi akidah yang salah)? Banyaknya persoalan yang mungkin kita sendiri perlu mencari jawapan.

Rasulullah menasihatkan Ibn Abbas yang ketika itu sangat muda: O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice] : Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you (have need to) ask, ask of Allah; and if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that even if the Nation (or the whole community) were to gather together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you with anything except that which Allah has already recorded for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with something, they would not be able to harm you with anything except that which Allah has already recorded against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried." (Al-Tirmidhi, sahih)

Solat

Ramadhan baru berlalu. Ada yang berlumba lumba membandingkan anak siapa yang dapat berpuasa penuh, malah ada antara kita yang saling berbanding dan bertanya kerap kali - sudahkan anda berpuasa enam? (Supaya bolehlah diberitahu bahawa mereka dah habis berpuasa sunat Shawal).

Elemen persaingan menjadikan kanak-kanak malah org dewasa mudah berbuat baik. Rasulullah sendiri tidak memarahi mereka yang inginkan persaingan dalam ibadat, sebagaimana yang kita baca mengenai para sahabat berlumba lumba menderma utk fisabilillah. Namun, ada beza antara berlumba-lumba melakukan ibadat dan menunjuk nunjuk melakukan ibadat.

Kita telah maklum bahawa solat adalah perkara ibadat pertama yang akan ditanya di hari akhirat. Maka oleh itu selepas akidah, maka solat merupakan perkara paling utama perlu didahulukan berbanding yang lain. Tentunya ini tidak bermakna apabila anak yang berumur 3 tahun (yang tentunya belum tahu solat) mula memukul adiknya, kita tidak boleh melarang kerana dia belum solat. Tentu sekali tidak. Namun kita boleh mulakan dengan solat jemaah di rumah supaya anak anak menjadi biasa dengan pergerakan solat. Apabila mereka sedikit besar (dan boleh dikawal), dibawa mereka ke masjid untuk membiasakan mereka.

From Amr b. Shu'aib, from his father, from his grandfather, who said : Rasulullah s.a.w said :"Prescribe prayers to your children when they are seven years of age, and punish them (if they do not say them) when they are ten years old of age, and separate their beds (at that age)". ( Abu Dawud )

Ada yang berhujah jika anak anak disuruh bersolat selepas umur mereka 7 tahun, oleh kerana solat adalah yang paling penting, maka perkara lain mestilah diajar selepas 7 tahun , seperti menutup aurat dan sebagainya. Mungkin ada benarnya, namun apabila Rasulullah berkata 7 tahun sebagai umur utk mula melatih solat, itu tidak bermakna kita tidak boleh melatih mereka dengan lebih awal. Apabila mereka dilatih dgn lebih awal utk bersolat, maka ada kemungkinan mereka diajar utk menutup aurat sebelum 7 tahun.

Aurat

Ada antara kita yang merasa rendah diri apabila memakai pakaian Islam dan menutup aurat. Ini bukan sahaja berlaku di kalangan kanak kanak, malah di kalangan orang dewasa. Kita merasakan kita hodoh dan tidak cantik. Islam menggalakkan kita menjaga kebersihan, maka tidak ada sebab utk berbau busuk apabila mengenakan pakaian Islam. Hodoh atau cantik adalah pada pandangan manusia. Semestinya kita faham bahawa yang lebih penting adalah pada pandangan Allah. Namun, seringkali kita terbabas dalam mengenakan niat kita. Begitulah manusia, dan Allah Maha Pengampun.

Oleh sebab itu, niat memainkan peranan penting. Kalau kita menutup aurat kerana suruhan sekolah atau mak ayah, maka mudah sekali untuk kita mengubah niat apabila sebab itu sudah tiada, namun jika kita menutup aurat untuk memenuhi tuntutan hamba kepada Pencipta, sekurang kurangnya Allah tidak mati.

Iman tidak diwarisi

Mungkin betullah nyanyian Raihan bahawa iman itu tidak boleh diwarisi. Ketika sekolah menengah dahulu, aku sentiasa mengaitkan kelakuan anak anak dengan perangai ibu bapa. Kalau anak tak solat, maka mungkin kerana ibu bapa tidak mengajarkan mereka solat. Kalau anak suka memukul, mungkin kerana bapanya suka memukul ibunya. Aku juga kekadang 'memperlekehkan' mereka yang suka memberi nasihat atau motivasi, namun hidup mereka sendiri tidak terurus dengan anak sendiri terjerumus dengan dosa dan sebagainya. Walaupun seringkali perkara tersebut benar, namun Islam mengajar kita agar tidak memperlekehkan seseorang kerana dosa atau kelemahannya, apatah lagi apabila mereka mencuba sentiasa untuk membaiki diri.

Kini ternyata ada ibu bapa yang baik dan cemerlang, namun anak mereka tidak menjadi (untuk masa sekarang). Namun kita tidak tahu, berkat doa ibu bapa, anak mereka mungkin berubah pada masa depan. Mungkin anak itu menjadi ujian dan cabaran untuk ibu bapa yang beriman. Perkara ini bukanlah sesuatu yang baru. Para nabi dan rasul juga diuji dengan keluarga terdekat mereka tidak beriman dengan ajaran yang diketengahkan. Anak Nabi Nuh gagal beriman dengan Allah sehingga ditenggelamkan dalam banjir (Surah Hud:45-46). Ayah Nabi Ibrahim seorang pembuat berhala. Bapa saudara Nabi Muhammad sendiri gagal beriman hingga ke akhir hayat. Adakah boleh kita memperlekehkan para nabi gagal memberi petunjuk kepada keluarga yang terdekat? Jika kita tidak boleh berkata demikian, apatah lagi dengan orang kebiasaan yang lain. Nabi cumalah menyampaikan ajaran Islam, Allah yang memberi petunjuk.

Allah is the Forgiving (Al-'Afuww) and Ever Forgiving (Al-Ghafur)
@Peace

Dulu, kini dan selamanya...

Aku terfikir pasal perkara ni bila membaca salah satu artikel Ustaz Hasrizal bertajuk. Dalamnya terdapat perbincangan tentang manusia dahulu dan sekarang. Bagaimana peristiwa dahulu mencorakkan kehidupan seseorang.

Teringat aku ketika Dr Asri berdebat dengan Astora Jabat. Astora mempertahankan Kassim Ahmad yg dituduh anti-hadis. Katanya Kassim Ahmad telah menyedari kesalahannya dan cuba kembali ke pangkal jalan. Alhamdulillah. Namun ada antara kita yg masih menuduhnya anti-hadis.

Mereka yang meminati politik, perkembangan kebelakangan ini menunjukkan ada yang melompat parti. Daripada parti X ke parti Y. Dengan sendirinya pandangan terhadap sesorang itu berubah apabila berlakunya perpindahan parti.

Kalau kita besarkan lagi skopnya, maka kita akan lihat ramai manusia yg memilih Islam sebagai jalan hidup, apabila memeluk Islam, mereka berubah dan menjadi Muslim yang sejati, Insya-Allah. Lihat saja kelibat Abu Ameenah Bilal Philip ataupun Muhammad al-Jibaly ataupun Jamaluddin Zarabozo - kesemuanya merupakan pendakwah yang berjaya, yang dekat pada hatiku.

Jadi, apa kaitannya?

Apa yang membuatkan aku tersentak adalah apabila aku memilih untuk mengatakan si polan adalah salah berdasarkan sesuatu yang lampau. Kita sedar berdasarkan pengalaman bahawa orang tersebut mungkin telahpun berubah, malah mungkin lebih baik daripada kita. Jadi, apakah adil apabila seseorang memberi kita nasihat, maka kita katakan padanya, "Engkau pun dulu bukannya baik sangat. Ada hati nak ajar orang." Apakah kita berlaku adil apabila kita mencukil keperibadian seseorang yg lampau sekadar untuk memalukannya?

Kita semua pastinya melakukan kesalahan. Ada yang besar dan ada yang amat memalukan sekiranya diketahui ramai. Islam tidak membenarkan kita melaung-laungkan kesalahan kita yang lampau. Kekadang kita mahu berkata, "Aku dulu tidak sembahyang, tapi aku dah bertaubat." Tapi Islam tidak membenarkan keburukan itu ditayangkan sekiranya orang ramai tidak mengetahuinya. Agaknya untuk mengelakkan perasaan ujub bahawa aku kini dah jadi baik, padahal masih banyak yang perlu seseorang itu lakukan. Semoga Allah terus menyembunyikan kesalahan kita di dunia dan mengampunkan kita di akhirat.

Indeed, Allah will bring the believer near Him and cover him with a veil. He will then ask him, "Do you recognize such-and-such sin? He will reply, "Yes, O my Lord." Thus, Allah will make him admit to all his sins, and he will feel that he is surely doomed. But then Allah will say, "I have covered them for you in the first life, and I forgive them for you this Day." He will then be given the records of his good deeds. But as for the disbelievers and hypocrites, they will be called in front of all people: "These are the ones who lied about their Lord. Unquestionably, Allah's curse is upon the wrongdoers. (Bukhari)

Kita tidak nampak semuanya

- Apabila tuduhan sebuah parti politik tersebar fahaman Syiah dan tiada apa yg dilakukan utk menghalangnya, bagaimana kita tahu tiada apa yg dilakukan langsung?

- Apabila kita mengatakan bahawa pusat zakat gagal memainkan peranan kerana zakat lebihan kita masih banyak, setakat mana kita tahu bahawa mereka bukan dalam proses berusaha membetulkannya?

- Apabila kita mengatakan ulama tidak memberi nasihat kepada pemimpin negara, apakah kita 100% pasti? Perlukah mereka mewar-warkan apabila memberi nasihat?

- Apabila kita mengatakan seseorang itu malas kerana gagal hadir untuk sesuatu aktiviti berdasarkan kelakuannya yang lampau, adakah kita tahu bahawa mungkin dia gagal hadir hanya setelah berusaha bersungguh sungguh?

- Apabila kita melihat seseorang berterusan melakukan maksiat, adakah itu bermaksud seseorang itu tidak cuba bertaubat pada malamnya, namun kerana keadaannya yang tertentu, dia gagal menolak hasutan Syaitan?

- Apabila seseorang penceramah agama kahwin lain, kita tak habis-habis mengata pasal keadaan dia yang lampau. Mungkinkah dia cuba berubah dan menjadi insan yang lebih baik?

- Apabila KITA sendiri yang cuba berubah, tapi sentiasa diingatkan mengenai kesalahan kita yang lampau, seolahnya kita tidak pernah berubah. Bagaimanakah kita menghadapinya?

Ini cumalah contoh contoh yang dapat difikirkan. Kalau mengambil kira faktor masa depan, maka lagilah kita tidak mengetahui. Kita memang disuruh amar makruf nahi mungkar terhadap apa yg berlaku pada masa sekarang, namun Islam tidak pernah menyuruh kita menyelongkar kesalahan lepas mahupun menghukum seseorang utk kemungkinan seseorang melakukan kesalahan di masa depan.

Kubur lain-lain

Apabila kita memandang rendah terhadap manusia lain, bermaksud kita memandang tinggi pada diri kita sendiri. Kalau kita Islam dan dia kafir, mungkinlah ada ruang utk kita mengatakan bahawa kita lebih tinggi (dari segi agama), namun tidak bermakna kita mengejek agama lain malah kita tidak tahu apa kesudahan mereka...

Narrated Muadh bin Jabal, Allah Messenger said, "Whoever insults his brother due to a sin (which he has committed), will not die until he commits it himself. (Al-Tirmidhi reported as Hasan, while its chain is broken (Munqati))

@Peace

"Allow me to commit zina" - a lesson on Aqidah

What if somebody ask you this very question?

If he is a Muslim, how dare he ask that question! Some will jump into a quick conclusion. We at some stage will be asked about our religion, or simple thing like does drinking alcohol invalidate fasting in Ramadhan etc. I would easily brush off these type of questions, considering the questioner should know better, but do they? Why did they ask? Certainly not because to show how bad their religous knowledge is...

Then, I stumble upon a beautiful hadith when Prophet was asked this (silly) question.

Abu Umamah reported that a young man came to Messenger of Allah and said,

"O Messenger of Allah, give me permission to commit zina." The people shouted and the Prophet said, "Stop it!" The Messenger of Allah said, "Let him calm down. Calm here." He came and sat in front of Allah Messenger who said to him, "Would you like it for your mother?" He said, "No." He said, "Likewise, people do not like it for their daughters. Would you like it for your daughter?" He replied, "No." (And Rasulullah asked the same question but to sisters and aunts in which the person answered no for each questions). Then Allah's Messenger put his hand on his chest and said, "O Allah, forgive his sins, purify his heart and make him chaste." (Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabeer).

Rasulullah reasoned with the questioner. Rasulullah knew that if the person is really bad, he would not ask. He would just do it The fact that he asked before he committed zina showed how he is interested in religion, but lack of its knowldege. Why would we then go against his teaching? We slander those who doesn't know his religion (while trying to learn). We laughed at those questions, thinking what type of person would he be? O Allah, forgive us and make us chaste.

Zina is not the worst case scenario

I am certainly not promoting sins and maksiat. Traditionally we have been viewing zina and pigs as something we really hate. Hence people (muslim from malaysia) who drinks alcohol still would not dare to eat pigs. There is no doubt that zina is considered one of major sins in Islam, hence the severe punishment upon committing zina. But there are other sins which Allah says are greater than zina itself. If Allah wills, He may pardon the believers who commit zina and admit him into paradise.

In a long sahih hadith, Abu Dzarr related that one night he follow Rasulullah in a dark night. Then he saw Rasulullah was talking to somebody else whom he cannot see. Then Rasulullah related that it was Jibril who come to tell him. Jibril said: Give glad-tidings to your Ummah that whoever dies and does not associate anything with Allaah will enter Paradise in which Rasulullah asked Jibril: ‘O Jibraeel, even if that person steals and even if he commits Zina?’ He: said: ‘yes.’

Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness have no boundary. Do not despair Allah forgiveness if you have commited zina. But, for those who are trying to justify their sins by quoting this hadith, let me remind you that Allah punishment is the most severe of all. Do not be tempted to commit sins just because we know we'll go to paradise. We haven't reached our end of life, so to say we will die in believing Allah is too premature. Allah forbids, but who knows because of all the sins that we commit, inch by inch our connection with religion is lost. We start to question the God himself and finally become non-believers. Nauzubillah.

The Unfogivable Sin

Surely Allah will not forgive the association of partners (shirk) with him, but He forgives (sins) less than that of whomever He wishes (Quran 4:48)

Shirk is the worst sin of all. We probably say... O we are safe. We believe in Allah and Prophet Muhammad. What else could go wrong? If we have been striving hard not to go near zina, or riba, or haraam provison, then we should pay much closer attention to things that can tip us into this unforgivable sins.

Worthless deeds

We pray and fast and went for hajj, and yet some of us do still go to bomoh to ask for supernatural help when we are in trouble. We love our parents, brothers and friends, but yet we follow their orders more that we follow Allah even when it is forbidden.

All the reminders that I've written will be worthless if this single act of worship is not being followed or guarded as well as it should.

Take for example the following hadith:

The solat of whoever approaches a fortuneteller and asks him about anything will not be accepted for 40 days and nights. (Muslim)

The scholars commented on this hadith, saying that this hadith applies to those who went to fortuneteller, even though they don't believe in what he said. If they believe in what he said, then they have disbelieved.

Whosoever approaches a fortuneteller and believes what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad. (Ahmad)

And you can imagine when scholars generalize this issue (using qiyas) into something fortuneteller-like cases - ie horoscope, quizzes that tell us about future, Palm-reading etc. A mere trial (mencuba-cuba) even tough for fun can have grave consequences.

Charms and omens

The power to cause good or evil belongs only to Allah. Therefore, any belief that created things can cause good have no basis in Islam. Amulet (as protection from evil), black cat (as the sign of evil), shamrock (as good luck sign) and the stars are all created things and cannot exert the power of their Creator.

We sometimes did these things unintentionally. In medical profession, even though searching for cure is preferable in Islam, it doesn't mean that we put our trust SOLELY on the treating physician while forgetting the effect of God in curing disease.

When we see our patients, and instead of saying Insya-Allah, we say 'touch wood' or 'fingers crossed'. It might just be a habit from us, but the origin of these belief are against the teaching of Islam - therefore warrants us to leave the habit.

Touch Wood: The origin is unknown, though some writers have pointed to pre-Christian rituals involving the spirits of sacred trees such as the oak, ash, holly or hawthorn. There is, I’m told, an old Irish belief that you should knock on wood to let the little people know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. There’s also a belief that the knocking sound prevents the Devil from hearing your unwise comments. Others have sought a meaning in which the wood symbolises the timber of the cross, but this may be a Christianisation of an older ritual. It wasn’t always wood that was lucky: in older days, iron was also thought to have magical properties, and to touch iron was an equivalent preventative against ill-fortune.

Friday the 13th

I was born on Friday the 13th. If I die someday, would people say I died because I was born on Friday the 13th. The notion of letting numbers to rule our life is not compatible with scientific mind. We created numbers to help us, then we say that one particular number is bad for us. Why created that particular number in the first place?

The origin goes back to the evening of Jesus's last supper as told in Bible. At the Last Supper, there were 13 people. One of the 13 was Judas, the man who supposedly betrayed Jesus. Friday the 13th is supposed to be particularly unlucky for 2 reasons. First, Friday is the day Jesus was supposed to ahve been crucified. And according to medieval belief, Friday is the day when witches held their meetings.

The flight commander of the Apollo moonshot in 1970, which came near to disaster, explained on his return that he should have known that something was going to happen. When asked why, he replied that the flight took place on Friday the 13th, blast off was at 1300 hours and flight number was Apollo 13! (The Fundamentals of Tauheed - Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips 2006)

Little change but big effect

Not to pray to other gods probably is straight forward enough for us Muslims, but purifying our Aqidah is not that easy. That does not include riya' - the minor shirk, which is the act of the heart, and very difficult to control. But we should try to guard our Aqidah from these 'little' things. These 'little things' are actually big for the correct Aqidah, without which all our our deeds will be worthless.

Do we let the moon dictate our actions? Or the sound of owl as a sign of death? Or let any created things to supersede the Creator Himself?

@Peace.

Continuous Good Deeds

The second half

The first half of Ramadhan has gone. We are in the second half. In football, the manager would change tactic, swap players in order to increase the chance of scoring goal. So far, what have we achieved in Ramadhan? What is our goal for the rest of Ramadhan? Do we continue as what we were doing in the first half?

Even in tarawikh, people start making du'a in qunut in the second half to mark the intense phase we are heading. In the next few days, it will be more intense when the search of Lailatul Qadr begins. And at the end, we celebrate with Eid after a month of searching, practising and refraining all sorts of things. Can we continue the act of optional prayers after Isha'. Are we able to close the night with Witr prayer prior to sleep in non-Ramadhan month? Those who manage to cut down their time on the internet and tv, will they be able to continue?

Islam does not burden its followers if they are not able to. Who would want to be hungry the whole day without eating or drinking? That is probably why non-muslim has difficulty understanding why do we need to fast. It just shows that we as muslims are capable of going the whole day without food and drink. We are strong. People might say it is good for health etc even though scientifically it has not been proven (as far as I know), and of course we realise that Allah knows what is best for us. But most importantly we are fasting for Allah, to show that whatever He wants us to do (proven from Quran and Hadith), we will do it. That is what muslim means - submission.

Every deed of the child of Adam is for him except fasting. It is for Me and I shall reward it. The breath of the mouth of a fasting person is more pleasing to Allah than the perfume of musk. (Bukhari)

sincerity...

Not fasting

With our deeds being multiplied in Ramadhan, for some who has to face a phase of not fasting, either because of sickness, travelling, pregnancy or having menses - some of them become afraid and anxious that they might miss the oppurtunity of ibadat in Ramadhan. Subhanallah. If we are in their place, will we feel the same? Or would we rejoice the chance of not fasting (and praying). They are afraid when they hear the hadith:

Truly is lost whoever hears my name and does not invoke blessings on me; truly is lost whoever catches Ramadan and he misses the chance to get his sins forgiven; truly is lost whoever catches his parents in their lives until they become old, and yet he misses to attain Paradise (through honoring and taking care of them. (Al-Tirmidhi)

They are afraid that their deeds are not enough and they need the extra days that they couldn't fast to make up for it. However, Allah is All-Knowing. First of all, it is allowed not to fast for people who fit the criteria. There is no sin. And if they are sabr, then definitely there will be reward for them. We all know that merely wishing to do good deeds will be rewarded already, even without actually doing the deeds.

It is a natural fact that all daughters of Adam will have menses. Having menses during Ramadhan is not a sign of God hating you. Having menses at any time, even during the hajj still does not mean anything. This is very contrary to the belief that if you have your menses while doing hajj, your hajj is not complete and people were intimidated because of what God has given them (menses). It goes the same with any other affliction that happens. How do we know whether it is bala' or a test for muslim? We don't know BUT we know how to face it - which is with sabar and perseverence and that will definitely be rewarded. Even Aishah r.a got her menses while doing hajj - does that mean Allah hates her? Of course not!

Aisha said, "We set out with the sole intention of performing Hajj and when we reached Sarif, (a place six miles from Mecca) I got my menses. Allah's Apostle came to me while I was weeping. He said 'What is the matter with you? Have you got your menses?' I replied, 'Yes.' He said, 'This is a thing which Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam. So do what all the pilgrims do with the exception of the Taw-af (Circumambulation) round the Ka'ba." 'Aisha added, "Allah's Apostle sacrificed cows on behalf of his wives. (Bukhari)

Good News

The good news for those who cannot fast for valid reason (eg: sickness), Allah will continue to record for them the good deeds that he was forced to stop. Isn't that interesting? All the terawih and quran that we read, the good manners that we display - all will continue to become ours even during the time we could not do them. Some scholar include menses as well.

A traveler's or sick person's deeds are recorded in accordance with what he used to do when he was resident or well. (Bukhari)

When a servant who is upon a good worship practice becomes sick, the angel who is appointed to record his deeds is told, "Record for him the equivalent of his deeds when he was free (from illness) - until I free him (from it) or bring him to Me (by death). (Ahmad - sahih)

Other ways

Even if one is in the opinion that the hadith did not include menstruation women, there are other deeds that they can do. They may cook for the family who are fasting, and the same reward will be written for her.

Whoever feeds a fasting person will have a reward like that of the fasting person, without any reduction in his reward. (Al-Tirmidhi- sahih)

Some scholars give verdict (fatwa) that menstruated women cannot do solat, fasting and tawaf. However for other ibadah like entering mosque, reading the quran and touching the quran, they differ. Those who say that women can read and touch the quran quoted that there is no strong evidence of prohibition and quoted a letter to the Hercules (who was kafir) which contains ayat from Quran, and the above hadith by Aishah that she was not allowed to do tawaf (and solat), but yes for everything else. These are the opinions of Ibn Abbas, Saudi Ulama', Albani, Sayyid Saabiq (fiqh sunnah).

Even if we do not accept this fatwa, the menstruating women are still allowed to say zikr and make dua. And don't forget, small little deeds like cooking, smiling, looking after family will be multiplied in Ramadhan. Allah knows best.

@Peace.

Love and hate for the sake of Allah

We were frequently asked, for what reason we like someone. Is it because he is handsome, or clever or he helps you a lot or because he is a good friend?

Those are valid reasons, but what are the ultimate reason? What happen if you like someone because he is kind and clever, and marry him. Then when you grow older, he become snappy and ugly and demented, would you still love him then? or you'll find some other reason to love him - now he is you husband. Is that all we've got?

Allah says:

If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight - are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.(al-taubah: 24)

Family, in full.

Ultimate Love

Indeed the firmest handhold from Iman is that you love for Allah and hate for Allah (Hadith Ahmad - Hasan)

If we are consistent from the beginning that we love someone truly for Allah, that is the ultimate love. But what does it mean? It means that we put Allah's right first before everybody else. It means we love somebody not only for their worldly characteristics, but also for their loving of Allah. We love whom Allah loves and we hate whom Allah hates. If we marry someone, then we love them because Allah orders us to love our spouse. That is, for me, a valid reason to love. If (nauzubillah) somebody get divorced and re-marry, obviously the person has to love his new spouse, not the old one.

... He created for you mates among yourselves,that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts)... (Quran 30:21)

Friends become foes

We probably have lots of friends. Our facebook friends might reach the top limit (5000). We probably also like certain leaders in our country, and follow what they say to the letter. In the hereafter, if this is not done because of Allah, let's hope we will not blame each other for our own wrongdoings.

And (remember) the day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands, he will say: Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhhamad). Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as a friend! He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (the Quran) after it had come to me. And Syaitan is ever a deserter to main in the hour of need. (Al-Furqan:27-29)

Friends that Day will be foes one to another except the pious who fear Allah (Al-Zukhruf:67)

Ways to strengthen one's love for Allah's sake

There was one particular housemate back in student years whom I strive to be like him. He opened up the pathway for me to search for true knowledge. His ideas of unity (and not being racist) still stick firmly in my heart and in my head. I struggle though to have the consistency and sincerity (hope he's sincere, Insya-Allah).

Along the years, we all have friends in which we deeply remember and cherish. Some we are still in contact with, some we are not. I used to have this opinion that in order for us to tell someone that what they do is not right, first we have to know the person. This is important for him not to feel isolated and as if we are against him instead of his sins. When we give advice to a friend instead of 'some insignicant others', we become aware of their feelings and afraid to do too much damage - BUT because of our love for him for the sake of Allah, we do it anyway. However, this probably is not practical and will take too long to work out.

So, for the friends that we currently have, these are the ways to strengthen our love's for Allah's sake.

1. Informing the one whom you love that you love him for Allah's sake

We probably are shy to say this, but just remember, if we can fluently say this to somebody whom we are not supposed to say (yet), then how come we are afraid to say when Allah and His Prophet ordered us so (to the correct person)?

Rasulullah said: If one of you loves his brother for Allah's sake, then let him tell him since it causes familiarity to endure and firmly established love. (Bukhari)

And his brother should reply: May the one for whose sake you have loved me, love you (Abu Dawud - sahih)

Anad ibn Malik said: A man passed by the prophet who was in the company of some people, so a man from those with him said: Indeed I love that person for Allah's sake. So the Prophet said: Have you infromed him? He said: No.Rasulullah said: Go to him and inform him. So he went to him and informed him, so he replied: May the One for whose sake you have loved me, love you. Then he returned nad the Prophet asked him and he told him what he had said. So the Prophet said: You will be with the one whom you have loved and there will be for you the reward that you hoped for.

2. Spreading the greetings of salam

You will not enter Paradise until you believe (have Iman), and you will not believe (have Iman) until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to something which you carry out you will love one another. Spread Al-Salam amongst yourselves. (Muslim)

3. Giving gifts

Give gifts and you will love one another. (Bukhari)

4. Visiting

Visit now and again - your love will increase (Reported by Al-Bazaar - sahih by Albani)

5. Moderation in love & hatred

Love the one whom you love in the moderation, perhaps one day he will be one whom you hate, and hate the one whom you hate in moderation perhaps one day he will be one whom you love. (Al-Tirmidhi-sahih)

6. Love his brother as he loves a good for himself

None of you will truly believe untiol he loves for his brother (the good) that he loves for himself. (Bukhari)


Virtues of loving for the sake of Allah

What is the benefit if we do what Allah say? A silly question. We'll rephrase it. What is the additional benefit (apart from ..... err.. ?paradise) of loving for Allah's sake?

1. Allah will love those who love for Allah sake.

This is a recurrent theme. We have learnt before that if we help others, Allah will help us. If we cover somebody's secret, Allah will cover ours. And if we love someone for Allag, then Allah will love us.

Rasulullah said: Allah the Most High said: My love is due for those who love one another for My sake... (Ahmad - sahih)

2. We'll be under the shade of Allah throne on the Day of Resurrection

The 5 groups that will be under the shade in Day of Resurrection, and one of them is those who meet and depart for the sake of Allah. In another hadith, Rasulullah said:

Allah will say on the day of Resurrection: Where are those who had mutual love for my Glory's sake. Today I will shade them in my shade on the Day where there is no shade except My shade... (Muslim)

3. Envied by the prophets and martyrs

Indeed from the servants of Allah there are some who are not prophets, yet they will be envied by the prophets and martyrs. It was said, " Who are they, that we may love them?" Rasulullah said, "They are people who have mutual love through light from Allah, not due to kinship or ancestry, their faces will be enlightened, upon pillars of light, they will not fear when people fear, nor grieve when the people grieve. Then rasulullah recited: No doubt! Verily, on the friends (awliyaa') of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Surah Yunus, ayat 62)

To be martyred is difficult, to be envied by martyred must be really difficult then. Reflect back, do we love our parents, wives, children, borthers and sisters - is it because they are related to us or for Allah? The Malay supremacy, our ancestories and relatives would have little value to Allah, if we love them not for Allah's sake. Allah's sake means, if it is wrong (islamically) then we say it is wrong.

4. Tasting the sweetness and perfection of Iman

Whoever would like to taste the sweetness of Iman then let him love a person, not loving him except for Allah's sake. (Ahmad- hasan)

He who loves for Allah and hates for Allah; and gives for Allah and withholds for Allah - has perfected Iman. (Abu Dawud - sahih)

5. And yes, Paradise

My err about paradise previously is shattered by this promise of paradise by Rasulullah, only if you love one another for the sake of Allah.

You will not enter Paradise until you believe (have Iman), and you will not believe (have Iman) until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to something which you carry out you will love one another. Spread Al-Salam amongst yourselves. (Muslim)

Difficult, but worth it

We know it is difficult. We know the benefit is huge. And we know we are not going to achieve it just with one try. But it will be worth the try, if we succeed! Insya-Allah.

@Peace.

Patience at all times

This topic is very dear to my heart. My wife told me that i am 'too patient' to the point of being procrastinate. Whenever she asked me:

"Abang... tolong masak nasi." I will say, "Sabarrr." 2 hours later, the rice was still not cooked.
"Abang... buat paper tu." I will say, "Sabarrr." Months later, paper was still in progress.

Definitely that is not sabar as sabar should bring good. That was total laziness. So what is sabar?

Definition

SABAR linguistacally means to restrain or to bind. Allah relates patience with the affliction in the Quran.

"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who say, when afflicted with calamity, 'To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.' They are those on whom descend blessings from their Lord, and mercy. They are the ones who receive guidance." (2:155-157)

When we don't get what we want, we need to be sabar.
When we lose something we love, we pray for the goodness out of it and we need to be sabar.
When we get angry and know it is going to get worse, we switch mode to sabar, and we calm down.

Not ony we should be patient when calamity befall us, but also we should be patient in doing good deeds. At times we feel that we could not understand why Allah prescribes Solat of fasting or apparent injustice in distributing inheritance. If we check and they are truly from Allah and His prophet, then our role to obey. We know Allah is Most Knowledgable and He is Most Wise, so there is no mistake from His part. Only our finite mind could not comprahend the reason behind it.

To what extent we should be patient?

The question then become, to what extent would we be sabar? Do we just leave other people take advantage over us because we did not say anything back? Borrowing what Ustaz Hasrizal used to say, sabar is like a pause button. You think before you decide what you want to do. We are entitled to be angry when we are wronged, or sad when we lose someone - but because of sabar, we don't go to the extreme of wailing when somebody dies and shouting and swearing when we are wronged. We stop, and think - what would Islam ask me to do now. If we need to report to the superior because we are being buliied, go ahead. It has nothing to do with sabar.

The patience shown purely for Allah should not be the source of distress. It should not be then, when we are mad, we say "Sabar, sabar (sambil mengurut dada)" but actually it becomes a restriction to us. Sabar should gives us pleasure as we are following what Allah's want. That is why it is so hard to do.

Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. But that is a very hard thing, except for the humble (Al-Baqarah 2:45).

Why do we need to be sabar?

As with other good manners prescribed to us, patience is one of the ultimate virtue in Islam. Why? Because Allah said, sabar is very comprehensive that there is nothing else better than that.

Whoever practices Sabr, Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa gives him Sabr. And no one can be given anything better or more far-reaching (comprehensive) than Sabr. (Bukhari)

Sometimes we need to be reminded to be patience. I remember when i was involved in my 3rd car accident (and hopefully the last). I came home shaken. My wife was at home. Knowing I just had an accident, she did not say much. However, she put on mp3 so we could listened together a ceramah by Dr Asri. It was about Allah promise that every tiredness, sickness, sadness and even a prick of a thorn - Allah will make it a reason for our sins o be forgiven. I still cherished that moment of calmness and tranquility.

The Prophet said: No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that. (Bukhari)

here's how it looks like after accident - June 2007

Sabar is at the beginning

We certainly would have experience people whom we were trying to console, either because the fail exams or their parents died or anything at all. Our sincere intentions were received with sarcasm. Not uncommon we were told that we are not the one who got the affliction, and nobody will never understand how bad they felt. Certainly at times of sadness, our emotions sometimes cloud our judgment. Only then we realise that we should not have done that. Prophet said, the patience should displayed from the very beginning

Allah's Messenger passed by a woman crying next to a grave. He told her: Have taqwa of Allah and be patient. Not recognizing him, she responded: Leave me alone, you have not been struck by an affliction like mine! She was told that he was Allah's Messenger. Extremely distressed and agitated at her blunder, she hastened to him and said: O Allah's Messenger, I did not recognise you. The Messenger replied: Indeed, patience should be displayed at the beginning of the affliction. (Bukhari)

Strange Muslim

What would happen if we could combine two characteristic of good muslims- sabr and shukur? The goodness will be ours all the time. When we get sick, we remember Allah that this could be expiation of sins and be patient. When we are healthy, we give thanks to Allah (Shukr). Nothing actually can deter us from remembering God.

The matter of a Mu’min is very strange; anything that happens to him is good for him, and this applies only to a Mu’min. If something good happens to him and he is grateful to Allah, it is good for him, and if something bad happens to him and he is patient, then it is good for him as well". (Bukhari)

Let us be strange Muslims!
@Peace.

We will never be at lost

In my last exam, i couldn't sleep well that night. I was really truly afraid - of not passing the exam. I have just lost my mum, of whom i know has been making lots of du'a for me. All this while, Allah has made it smooth for me- probably because of my mother's du'a. That would be the first time i am taking exam without my mother.

And I passed. Alhamdulillah. Probably my mother's prayer was with me, IS still with me.

I like it when one of the scholar compare asking things from Allah (making du'a) and asking things from human being. We as human, the more people ask from us, the more we feel uneasy and uncomfortable. It is very different with our Lord. He loves when we ask something. He ordered us to pray to him. He will get angry if don't make du'a to him.

Verily, the person who does not ask Allah, Allah gets angry at him. (al-Tirmidhi - sahih)

When we make du'a, we acknowledge the presence of our Lord, we acknowledge that all the matters of the world are not within our power. Probably that's why when we make sincere du'a, we feel at ease, we feel at peace. We have made a direct request to the CEO of a company, so it does not matter what His subordinates want as they don't have the ultimate power.

Allah promises us He will answer our prayers

As Muslims, Allah said He will answer our prayers. Only that, in what way. Prophet told us:

There is no Muslim on the face of the earth that asks Allah for anything except Allah gives it to him, or averts from him similar evil, as long as he does not ask for something evil or breaking the ties of kinship. (al-Tirmidhi-sahih)

So we might want to think again when we start complaining that our dua are not being answered. Who knows when we made du'a to go oversea, but we ended up in Malaysia - probably Allah knew that we'll find peace in Malaysia (?wife) or Allah knew if we went oversea, we might lost our faith...

As Allah said (my old time favourite piece):

Jihad is ordained for you though you dislike it. And it may be that you dislike a thing even though it is for your good, or that you like a thing even though it is for your evil. And Allah knows, whereas you do not know. (Al-Baqarah:216)

Learn the way of making proper du'a

Do we pray to God in our sujud or after finishing our solat?
- the du'a is also likely to be asnwered if we make them in between tashahhud and salam.

Do we enjoy Friday after work as we approach weekend?
- there is one moment between asar and maghrib on Friday that our prayer will be answered.

Tired on a 13-hour journey back to Malaysia, or busy watching movies in the plane?
- du'a of a traveller is more likely to be answered

Swearing when we don't get what we want, because we think our boss is being not fair?
- beware of our words, in case they are considered as dua as there is no veil between those who has been wronged and their dua being answered.

There are many tips authentically related to us on how we should make dua. Of all the tips, the main one is to have sincerity. No wonder why our dua at times of distress were more likely to be answered as we were really desperate and there is no one else we could turn to. We know any dua we make will be good for us, either way - so make plenty of dua. ALlah will never become tired of them.

But beware of haram provision

However, one thing that will prevent our du'a from being answered is when our provision is from haram source, like riba'. We will see in the next hadith, the person was in 3 conditions in which usually his dua will be answered - traveller, disheveled and holding his hand high - and still his dua will not be answered:

Then the Prophet mentioned a traveller on a long journey, who is disheveled and dusty, and who stretches forth his hands to the sky, saying, "O my lord, O my lord!" - while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful and he is nourished unlawfully; how can he be answered? (Muslim)

We will never be at lost

One of the good thing about making du'a is that we will never be at lost. We make du'a thousand times a day; directed at everybody we see. We don't even need to raise our hands and it can be as short as 'O Allah, increase this guy's provision.' or 'Make me happy today'. We will never be at lost as Allah promised that our prayers are either answered (as the are or differently for our benefit) or evil be averted from us. Plus an extra point, if we make du'a to our brothers and sisters in their absence, the angels will say 'to you the same'.

There is no Muslim worshipper who prays for his brother in his absence except that an angel says, "And to you be the same!" (Muslim)

So my friends, start making du'a (with sincerity) not confined to around solat only. May Allah accepts our du'a. Insya-Allah.

@Peace

Establishing a good home

We are in the process of designing our own house, Alhamdulillah. The opportunity should be used wisely, Insya-Allah, especially in striving for a well designed house. Because I am a Muslim, I want to make sure that my new house suits the requirement of a good Islamic home. But what is it? My wife suggested that we have a courtyard in the house with orange tree like in Muslim's house in Andalusia, Spain - but obviously our climate would not fit the growth of the tree plus i am lazy to clean up the courtyard, so i have to scrap the idea.

I was busy looking for the 'physical islamic design' until I found this book on how to establish an Islamic home. The physical design is important, but certainly not as important as having a good Islamic family. No point of having a place for prayer, or even a mosque in the house for argument sake, when nobody actually prays there!

A home is a place of rest

What is the function of a house?

And Allah has made for you from your house a place of rest. (Al-Nahl: 80)
Safety for a man in times of tribulations is to stay in his home. (Al-Tabari)

At the very least, the house should fulfill these 2 functions (resting and security), apart from our ultimate goal in life which is to worship Allah.

Physical characteristic of an ideal Islamic home

1. A spacious house

Happiness has 4 elements: a good wife, a spacious house, a good neighbour and a good riding beast. (Ibn Hibaan).

2. A good neighbourhood

Even though we might be busy working and have no time for socialising with our neighbours, still our kids and family will be exposed to their kindness and sincerity. We'll need them especially when we are away to look after the house. Prophet asked us to make dua for a good neighbour:

O Allah, I seek refuge with You from a bad neighbour in my permanent home , for the neighbour in the desert (i.e on a journey while travelling) moves on. (Bukhari)

3. Near to a mosque

Even though there is no specific hadith, common sense prevails as to, if our house is closer to the masjid, then we are more likely to hear the azan and attend the jamaah prayer and be part of the mosque community.

4. A proper place for prayer

This is in accordance to the advise of the prophet that we should not make our home like the graveyard(i.e we are not allowed to pray on graveyard, so we should pray in the house as well as in the mosque). For those living in Ireland, we know how difficult it is to have a decent space to pray even with your wife. It does not need to be a room, an empty space would do.

5. Library

Islamic and general knowledge are important to be established among family members. No doubt that acquiring knowledge is compulsory. Having a library (or a space for books) will be helpful to trigger the interest of reading for the visitors and family members. However, make sure we fill the racks with good books, not with some gossip magazines. There should also be books for children and some of which we can give as gifts.

6. Enough room for separation

This include separate rooms for the daughters and sons (or visitors) as prophet advised us to separate the sleeping arrangement between boys and girls when they reach certain age. This point also means that we should have a spacious enough room to accommodate different gender of family members so that they won't need to sit next to each other.

7. Not having hanging pictures

Scholars have differrent opinions on the permissibility of pictures. What is not allowed is to have statutes or animate picture especially hanged on the wall. This is to close any door that can lead to syirik oridolatory. Picture from camera was allowed by certain scholars but still with the reservation not to hang it up high.

8. Toilet not facing kiblat

Although some scholars said that you can face the kiblat while in the toilet, some others say no. Therefore to be in the safe side, while we have the oppurtunity, why not we make sure our toilets are not facing the kiblat.

9. Building the house not from riba source

This should be the first rule. It would be nicer if we can avoid debt altogether, but paying hundreds of thousands in cash, not everybody can do that.

Filling the home with tranquility

Like I said, what is more important is to fill our new home with happiness and tranquility, starting with ourselves and the family. Specifically we should feel our homes with prayers (not to be like the graveyard), and helping out with the housework like Rasulullah did.

Furthermore, we have to strive hard to make sure that all the activities in the house is within the permissibility of our religion. TV and Internet (if we choose to have one) should be in the general area and the activities are monitored. Should we organise a meeting or gathering, then it should be done within the boundaries of Islam.

Smoking is haram, hence there should not be ash-tray in the house to promote the behaviour.

One thing that is difficult to achive, hence the relatively long discussion in the book is to have male driver and female servants. We heard stories over and over again even at the time of Rasulullah the occurrence of fitnah and zina among the house occupants. The discussion is rather long and i don't intend to dwell to much on it. However, the basic principle is the same. Different gender (male & female) cannot be left alone in the house, as the third will be syaitan. Does not really matter whether they are really good people or not. They are plenty of suggestion, some will suit us, some will not. After we have exhausted all the options and we still could not find solution, probably it would then be permissible (with great caution). Wallahu a'lam.

Conclusion

If you have other ideas, please give suggestions. I am nearly sure (while writing this article) that we are going to have difficulty to achieve these objectives. Some will even be defensive to the ideas that we have to go extra length to build a house. For me, this is my effort to bring the rahmat of Allah into the house i am going to live in. We will fail definitely to achieve perfection as we are human being, but that is what this life is constantly about. Make mistakes and ask for forgiveness from Allah.

Please visit my house, when it is finished, Insya-Allah. You will increase your provisions by visiting your brothers and prolong your life and hopefuly we will be included into the groups who will receive the shade of Allah's throne when there is no shade in the Day of Resurrection.

@Peace.