inmyownskin

Have you ever felt like touching your head to the ground?

2012-01-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

Bismillah.
Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

Have you ever felt like touching your head to the ground?

"I've never bowed to anything in my entire life."

These were the words of Dr. Jeffrey Lang, an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Kansas.

And these are the words of many around the world. I bow to nothing.

'Bowing', the word itself does not describe much. It's a verb. A physical motion of lower one's upper body. But in spirit, 'bowing' means everything. An expression of respect, of honour for the one bowed to. A presentation of surrender and humbleness.

"I've never bowed to anything in my entire life."

Said the man. An Atheist, Dr. Jeffrey Lang has never bowed to anything in his life. One example of many men and women across the world. The choice of not bowing to anything defines freedom to them. It means liberating the self from any restrictions in this world. It means a free mind, they said.

But what does it feels like to bow down?

Has anyone ever asked the question?

What does it feels like to bow down?

Muslims bow down 5 times a day. It's obligatory. But more than that, for the one who's conscious, it's a respite. Putting your head to the ground five breaks in a day feels like a rest. A release of all the stresses of this life. A bed and blanket against all of the activities of the day.

Bowing down feels like you belong. When your head touches that bare ground, you feel like you have just fused with earth around you. You feel like a part of this community. You feel like you are meant to be here.
Touching your head to ground lets you release all your worries and doubts, all your pretension and all the composed persona and expectations that you struggle to keep up. It lets you lax the cordiality, the formalities, the guards and fortresses. It lets you be yourself. With your God. With the One who knows you the most. Your innermost thoughts. Your suppressed feelings. And desires.

Bowing five times a day is a vacation for a Muslim. A time off. A Rest haven. Moments of respites.

Is it an intellectual compromise to bow down to something you can't see? A made-up fiction of the human neediness?
A compromise on the free human mind?

I say, it is not.

Not so long ago, we were not able to see deeper beyond a person's skin. A doctor would diagnose a patient by his sense of touch, what he can see an what he can hear and smell. But nowadays, you can see deep into and in between the skin with X-rays, CT scans and MRI.
If you had been living back then, would you say that the lungs, heart and intestines did not exist just because you can't see them with your naked eyes?

Not all things that we can't see doesn't exist. Men never thought they could fly before. Does that means that he can't?

It's only a matter of time.

I can't see God, but I can feel him. And I see this world. And I don't think this world exists by mere chemical reactions of atoms colliding with each other and suddenly somehow forming into matter. Even if you, sit on a boat on water, you will not be able to get to your destination unless you row. The boat does not move itself. Neither does this world. It exists because something created it.

And same with us. We were created. Something created us. Do you think all this human intelligence just suddenly pops out of thin air and exist?

God is not fiction.

A compromise on the free human mind?

What a human mind does is it thinks. It produces thoughts. Thinking is based on perspectives. What is your perspective of freedom? Freedom is to think the way you want to whenever and whatever you want it to be.

Right?

I call that the opposite of freedom. I call that, a slavery to your own desires. Let me describe it.

You desire a hamburger. So, you go out and buy it. You desire some chips and cola. So you go out and buy it. You desire ice cream today. So, you go out and buy it. What will it make you in the end? Satisfied with your desires maybe, but a fat and sick person.

Following only your own desires is the same as following only your own thoughts and ideology. It leads to destruction. Maybe not as clearly seen as being fat and sick. But in reality actually it's even more damaging. More than anything, being a slave of your own mind, makes you empty, confused, a purposeless wanderer, miserable, unsettled, restless and selfish. What is the purpose of living? Why are you here? Why have you exist? These are the questions your mind can't answer. And it will never be able to. Because it doesn't know more that what it can see. It doesn't know more that what it has made experiments with. The only person who knows is the one who had made you in the first place. And you have to ask Him for that.

What does it feel like to put your head to the ground?

Like all the weight of this world has been lifted off your shoulders. And you are right where you belong.

:)

Watch the videos below. :) I can only offer. But it's your choice to take.

luahan perasaan

2012-01-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

bismillah
assalamu'alaikum wbt

Saya melihat di sekeliling saya, di mana-mana sahaja, manusia mengejar sesuatu.
Kalau tidak dijumpai sesuatu itu, ia akan mencari sesuatu yang baru untuk dikejari.
Kejar, kejar dan terus kejar.
Manusia bagaikan hamster di dalam sangkarnya yang berlari dan berlari di dalam wheel.
Berlari berlari di atas treadmill.
Di letakkan di hadapan seekor tikus itu, sekeping keju.
Memberinya tujuan untuk terus berlari dan berlari.
Manusia pula meletakkan duit di hadapannya.
Meletakkan hiburan di hadapannya.
Meletak fesyen, makanan, duit.
Kalau tiada perkara-perkara itu, apa lagi yang harus aku hidupi, manusia berkata.
Aku mengejar duit. Untuk masa hadapanku.
Aku mengejar ilmu untuk masa hadapan ku.
Aku study untuk pass exams untuk dapat menjadi doktor untuk dapat membiayai keluarga dan bonda.
Aku kerja kerana rakyat telah membiayai pembelajaran ku.
Namun apa jadi jika 10 tahun telah langsai hutang dengan penaja.
Apa jadi jika duit yang dikejar tidak pula datang.
Apa jadi jika esok, kereta melanggar dan patah kaki dna tangan dan hilang penglihatan dan englau hilang segala kudrat yang dikurniakan kepadamu untuk bisa belajar medic?
Bagaimana? Apa pula perlu aku hidupi?
Apa pula perlu aku letakkan sebagai tujuan aku hidup?

Kadang-kadang saya melihat kawan dari jauh. Dan teringin sangat ingin bercerita tentang tujuan hidup yang sebenar. Teringin sangat untuk kau merasai apa yang ku rasai. Namun lidah ini seolah-olah kebal. Tak tahu bagaimana harus dimulai.

Mungkin kau tahu apa yang ingin kusampaikan. Mungkin awak tahu ape yang saya nak sampaikan. Maybe you know what I want to talk about.
Tapi..kau tak tahu..
Percayalah, apa yang kau rasakan tentang apa yang aku ingin sampaikan, terlalu berbeza!
Persepsi kau tentang apa yang ku ingin sangat sampaikan ini terlalu salah, terlalu mis-understood, terlalu serong, terlalu silap, terlalu diselubungi perasaan tidak suka.
Tetapi bagaimana harus aku sampaikan perkara ini?!
Ya Allah, mudahnye kalau saya boleh kata, awak kene lalui apa yang saya lalui dahulu baru awak faham. Cukupkah bagimu jika jawapannya begini?
Cukupkah bagimu untuk engkau memahami sebagaimana aku merasainya ke dalam setiap lubuk jiwaku bahawa tujuan hidup ini bukan seperti ini???

The life story of Imam Al-Ghazali

2012-01-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Bismillah
Assalamu'alaikum wbt

First of all I would like to say that I am not an expert or a specialist on Imam Al-Ghazali. Most of what I will write today has come from a single talk given by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf at Fons Vitae. InshaAllah, I have heard of this accomplished man before in various talks and so on. But I have not personally researched his biography, neither have I read his history. But the aim of this writing today is not tell about the intricate biography of this amazing man, but to share with you some of my thoughts and things I felt and I think are monumental to be taken as ibrah, lessons for Muslims and even any man worldwide in living this life that we have on this earth.

This man called Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is an amazing man of an extraordinary brilliance. He was a man put by Allah into such circumstances in the time and place that has made him on his own choice a monumental man. His life was divided into two phases which I think is the most outstanding pattern of his thread of life that makes him stands out above others geniuses across time.

Imam al-Ghazali was born into a family with a father that cares dearly about knowledge. His fathers adored scholars and although he was not a scholar himself, he wishes that one day his son would be a scholar. After his death, he left his two sons (Imam Al-Ghazali and his brother) in the hands of a scholar to teach. And Imam Al-Ghazali grew up with a good education.

He was by Allah's qadar, a natural genius, in the sense that his mind could understand difficult concepts quite easily, he can think many things simultaneously and grasp and develop many knowledge. He was by his teacher's own words "the best student I've ever had" (Imam al-Juwainy).

As he gets older, he was given posts in places equivalent to Harvard or Oxford or Cambridge nowadays. And he was also appointed to be national scholar and was given a title that elevated his celebrity-status as an intelligent man. At that time, he realized how much attraction that knowledge can attract. And he begins to like the attention and begins to feel that he can further himself more with this talent. He begins to be doing things, spreading knowledge and so on, for his own self-advancement and also for the agendas of the king (I think it was King Imran or something), the government of whom he worked for. And he was also given the position to speak at a grand mosque where thousands of people would attend to hear his words and through his lectures, he grew in name.

During this time, he produced so many scholarly work. Outstanding works revered by men all over the place. And again he grew in his grandeur.

Also at this time, the king wanted to further his agenda of making Sunni traditions prevail over 4 other sects at the time. Imam al-Ghazali thought that this was a good way for him to advance more and he sets out on an effort to dismantle each of the four sects with his intelligence. Essentially, any argument if it is right, can withstand any questionings. Basically, you can dissect each substance, and if that substance is right, then you would not find anything in there that is wrong. So, this what he did.

He took each of the concept of each sect and he exhausted their arguments. And each one was in the end shown to be false. Except, when he got to the fourth one, which was the Sufis.

The claim of the Sufis is that their method is experiential - ie you have to experience it yourself because it can't be described or be articulated with the tongue using the mind. You have to go through it to know it. And Imam al-Ghazali knew that if he sets out on this experience, he would have to leave the place that he is already at right now. He would not be able to give those lectures at the mosque. He would have to take leave from his place in the court of the government of King Imran. Basically he would have to take leave (amik cuti) and therefore his career would stop. And everyone else would go faster than him, would start to become more famous than him and possible he would just loose the praises that he was getting from people now. He would lose his celebrity-status. But he knew he had to take this journey.

So that's what he did.

And during this time, he left his place and travelled outside and lived a "Sufi"'s life. In fact in one place, actually became a sweeper (janitor / penyapu sampah). Imagine going from being from a renowned scholar to a sweeper. MashaAllah.

The essence is that he took the journey of self-realization, he pondered a lot about himself, about what he has done with his life, and why he did things and for what ends and so on.

And this below is what he found out in the end. And it was only after journey that he wrote his magnum opus - the Ihya Ulumuddin (the Revival of Knowledge of the Deen).

Now, the amazing thing about this journey of his, is this realization at the end that is portrayed in these writings in the the Ihya.

If you look at the Ihya, you would realize something very substantial. Which is that, the Ihya, is just so basic.

Out of all the immense knowledge that he had, his magnum opus, the biggest most amazing book that he wrote, is about the 5 pillars of Islam and some other things.
Out of everything in this world, he did not wrote about Philosophy, he did not wrote about some amazing scientific discovery, he did not wrote about some life-changing mathematical equation, he did not wrote about the refutation of this or the refutation of that, he did not wrote about some biological or physical or chemical genius finding, he did not wrote some amazing theory of some amazing branch of knowledge that only some learned scholar in some distinguished university of Oxford somewhere can understand. No. He wrote about the 5 pillars of Islam. The question is, why???

These thoughts would go through your mind when you look at the table of content of the Ihya.

But when you read it, then you would understand. And he answers the question why?? in his autobiography.

In his autobiography, he wrote, that in his journey, he began as a scholar, the best one at his time, in fact actually even the geniuses of nowadays cannot match his intelligence. He was a polymath, of which there is none alike today. So he was the most brilliant man.

And at that time, he said, he relied only on himself. For him to write those amazing books of knowledge, he relied on his own brain, his own intelligence.

So when he sets out on the journey of the Sufi, he had to delved into himself. And he found that there's nothing there. He has has basically exhausted himself. He can't find any more knowledge within himself. And he realized that all this time, he depended on himself for all that knowledge. He depended on his own genius, his own brain.

So that is why there is no more of it. No more knowledge.

At the end of the journey, he realized, that everything is this world is managed by Allah. That none of the knowledge or capabilities or whatever he had or that anyone else had, was his or theirs. Everything was Allah's doings. Allah did and gave everything. And he realized how his life is nothing.

And he realized that the only thing that a person with nothing should do, is to return to the Creator of something, which is Allah.

And this was the moment that he realized how hard it actually is to do. He realized that all this time he had just been talking. He had just been writing. And he talked about so many things. And he wrote about so many things. But in spite of all that, he had done very little of what he has talked about and write about and preached to the people.

It was here that he realized that the essence of this Deen is to return to Allah. That all the knowledge, grandeur and genius that he had in this world means nothing, if there is no returning to Allah. That if you have so many things, but none of it you do for the sake of Allah, that none of it has ikhlas for Allah, then there's nothing there. And that you think all of it is from your own self, that you think that you are independent of Allah, You have just fooled your own selves! You are a fool and a hippocrite.

That is the reason why the Ihya talked about the "basics" of Islam. Because the fact of the matter is, that is Islam. Islam is not about building so many buildings that at empty and useless. It's not about what's on paper. But it's about what is the real facts on the ground. Islam is about change. About doing the things you know. About walking the talk. Islam is transformative. It's not a name in your Identification card. It's not the bin and the binti. It's not the word Islam besides the word religion: on your passport. It's not.

It's about you living your faith. You are a Muslim when you practice what you believe. That Allah is the Only God and Muhammad s.a.w is His Messenger.

And that is the most amazing thing for me in this life story of this man called Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali.

Hamza Yusuf - "The Critical Importance of Al-Ghazali in Our Times" (Fons Vitae Press) from Fons Vitae Press on Vimeo.

A brother once told me. "You never know what it is really like to have something that you want until you have it." And he continues. "You would realize that that is not what you want after all."

Imam al-Ghazali is the intelligent of the the intelligents of the intelligents. Out of all the intelligent, clever men in this world, he was the cleverest. The intelligent-est.
But he said, it's nothing. It's false. It's nothing. There is nothing there. I don't want it. All I want is to go back to Allah. That this genius mind that I have is all Allah. It's all Allah.

We think..., I think..., that I want knowledge. If only I have more time to study. If only no one disturbs me. If only I am smart and that I pick things up fast. If only I could be that smart. Then, life would be easier. Then, I can answer all the questions that my doctor/examiner ask me. Then, I can happy. Then I would not be this worried about exams. If only I am a genius.

I think about all this. I desire all these. But the hakikat is..the reality is.. that I don't know what I would really feel if I had that geniosity. If Allah gave me that smart-ness, really would I have been happy? Would I really be not worried? Would I be satisfied?

Imam al-Ghazali has been there. And he said it's no fun. it's no happiness, it's just emptiness!

He is the most brilliant man on earth. Who else can you listen to.
He has been there. And he found nothing more satisfying than his return to Allah.

MashaAllah.

--

Sometimes we want things. And we think those things can make us happier than what we have right now. But nothing can make us happy except Allah. Allah is the only being that can make us happy.
And the only way to really feel that, is to first accept Allah and then, follow Allah.

InshaAllah.

8 Days in Jordan : Eye-opener to the Muslim world. (Jordan part 2)

2011-12-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Assalamu'alaikum wbt

When I came to Jordan, I came with an open mind. I didn't have any expectations. I came with the mindset or the mind-view of "Jordan, hit me!". Hit me with anything. I didn't know much about the country. And to be honest, I didn't do my research going there. I was kinda busy the days before so I really didn't read anything on the country. I was putting my trusts fully on my sisters there.

The name "Jordan" however did intrigued me. "Jordan" somehow didn't sound very Arabic...anyways.

I did however know a slight bit about the history. Something I learned in ISK (Ini Sejarah Kita). The name Lawrence of Arabia was familiar.. But other that, I wasn't all that prepared.

When I touch down in Amman, we went straight to Irbid, cruising through the capital. Then I went to other places like Aghwar, Petra, Wadi Ram and the Dead Sea. In Aghwar I got to see the countryside, then Irbid was a university town-life, Amman was city and Petra and Wadi Ram tourist areas. With the different mode and function of the different cities, were the different kinds of people you meet. In Aghwar, Irbid and Amman I mostly met with Arabs. In Petra and Wadi Ram, I met with Bedouins (still Arabs, but of a Bedouin lifestyle and origin). And with these different kinds of people, I met and learn about many things, which I will divulge below inshaAllah.

8 Days in Jordan : Eye-opener to the Muslim world.

Jordanians are unlike the Arabs that I've read about in books. And by books I mean, Seerah books, Hadiths and the Qur'an. I've read history. And what better history that the Muslims' history. Compiled by historians, though not matching the strict discipline of Hadiths' collectors, nonetheless well-recognized as strongly valid. Whats more, history of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w's himself is clearly the most intricately and rigorously collected. Just look at how intricate the description of the Prophet s.a.w himself was described and you would know how particular the Companions watched him. No one in this world has a biography as detailed as the Prophet s.a.w. Subhanallah.

In the Seerah books and Hadiths and Qur'an that I've read, the Arab were always described in such a beautiful light. Personalities like the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, Bilal, Umar, Abu Bakr, Uthman, 'Ali and many others were described so beautifully. They had amazing characters, chivalry, politeness, humbleness, modesty. They love doing good and avoiding anything the Allah swt warned against. They were the protector of women and of the society at large. They were the most good of good men out there.

Sadly, and I don't mean this as an insult, but more as a critique that I hope will change as I love the Arabs, sadly, the Jordanian Arabs that I see, do not match the descriptions in the glorious history of Islam. I have not been in other Arab countries nearby, so my assessment I guess is at the moment limited to Jordanians. But generally looking at the general states of Muslim worldwide, the same might well be the description for other Arab and Muslim countries as well. Allah knows best.

Overall..,

I am sad at the state that we are in. We are seen by others as dirty, as lazy, easy to get angry, always fighting, poor, no discipline, women harassing, despotic and many others. Why.., When the title that we call ourselves by - Muslims - are devoid of all these adjectives. Islam has never taught us any of these things. And yet we are full of these things. Hence, do we deserve this title? Are we really Muslims? Yes we are by the minimum definition of professing the Shahadah (testimony that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad s.a.w is His Messenger). But that's it? That's all? That is the minimum! And yet even that sentence has a huge huge meaning. Have we fulfilled that meaning?

To say that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad s.a.w is His Messenger, means to release yourself to Allah. That is the meaning of the word God. Something which you surrender totally to.
So, have we surrender ourselves totally to Allah? And what does it means to surrender?

It means to totally release yourself from your desires and your wants to the desires and the wants of Allah.

And why? What for?
Because Allah is God and you are creation. Can you control your death? Can you control your sleep? If you are the God of you, okay, do not blink. You can't! You can't even control your own eyelids. What kind God is that?

You are who you are - a creation. And Allah is Allah - your Creator. A creation knows no better than another creation. You can choose to follow you boss or some man you look up to. But it will lead you to nowhere. Because even that man can't control his own eyelids. The best way is to follow the Creator. He created you! So He knows best!

It's sad for me to see Muslims leaving Islam. They have not called themselves Non-Muslims - the haven't left the religion on paper, but we Muslims have left the religion if we have not been practising it. Islam is the best ideology, religion, politics, economy, ethics, and everything else that makes up a life, in the world. Islam is the best in the world. And this is not a slogan. It is not a fashion statement. It is for real. If you don't believe me, look it up. Read and research about Islam. And you would find that it's tenets are the best by far in the world!

So why would a person trade gold for paper? Why has Muslims trade Islam for non-Islamic way of life?

The Arab world that I saw in Jordan is a world that wants to copycat the US. The US is going bankcrupt, the US is having family system breakdown, has degraded values of women in the media and men in the battlefield (pornographic and false respectively), their teenagers are turning to armed violence, school terrorism, etc. etc. Why copy the US? Yes the Arab world is in a bad state. But why copy a country that's equally in a bad state. Shouldn't you copy a country that is better? What's better? The Islamic Civilisation!
Read your history. We had a civilisation that is far better than anything we have right now. That is what we should try to copy. How had the Muslims of the past achieve such success? Read their story. Learn their motivation. Learn their methods. You would find that they did nothing new. Everything they did, every justice and peace that was propagated, every success that was made, it was in the Qur'an. The Qur'an has outlined everything! Read and you would know. InshaAllah.

Bottom line, faith is strength, faith is development, faith is achievements. The people that I met in Jordan, I do feel they have faith. When I'm with them, I feel unviolated, I feel respected, I don't feel like I'm being looked at like a women (opposite sexual being). And I feel all this just from normal conversation. The persons weren't saying to me "I respect you. You are a muslimah". It wasn't said. I was asking directions to men at the sides of the roads. I was buying fruits from the fruit seller. I was a tourist talking to the Bedouin jeep driver, the Arab men selling sand art, selling souveniers.. And yet I feel that respect. It's amazing Subhanallah.
But these are minority. Really small quantity.

Most have turned their inclinations towards the US. They have dressed like the West. They smoke. The drink Pepsi. Their shops are all American shops. And when they graduate they aspire to work in the US.

It's sad.. Things need to be changed. Tamannau?

I wish for men like Muhammad s.a.w, like Abu Bakr, like 'Umar, Uthman, 'Ali and many others. This is Islam. And we need to get back to it.

While the memories are still fresh! :) Jordan part 1.

2011-12-30T12:50:00.000-08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

Alhamdulillah alhamdulillah alhamdulillah kulli hal. Alhamdulilahi rabbil 'alamin. Alhamdulilahi rabbil 'azim. Alhamdulillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim Al-Wadud. Alhamdulillah for this time, alhamdulillah for this journey and alhamdulillah for this moment. Rabbish rahli sodri wa yassir li amri wahlul uqdatal min lisani yafqohu qawli.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.....

As I unpack my clothes from Jordan, a whiff of air blew on my face carrying with it the sands of Petra and Wadi Ram, and the dusts of Irbid. The smell of the Bedouin musk still lingering on its every grain. A sweet smell. Bringing you into the world of Arabian nights, of camels and lanterns and poetry melodiously recited in the quiet of the night. The sand dunes and the beautiful grand rocks of Wadi Ram comes straight into vision. The warmth of Bedouin's hospitality. The smiles on their beautiful faces offering a cup of Arab tea. The smiles on their face asking you to smile with a camera at hand with a witty "Cheeeeese!". The rough jeep ride. The horses, the donkeys, the children. The cool dry air, the sun, the sand, the memories.. Jordan is more than what I had hoped for it to be in the most surprising ways. I came with an open heart. And I come back with so much feelings, memories, thoughts, ponderings and love. Love for people, love for my sisters and more than all that, love for Allah. InshaAllah, here's my story. And may you benefit from it. Fi amanillah. :)

I left for Jordan 8 days ago, hoping to set foot in the Middle East since I last breath its air 18 years ago in Mecca. It's been too long and I longed for the company of an Arab, the scent of the desert and the comforts of the faithfuls. I honestly did not realized all these at the initial impulse of travelling. But the feelings and emotions came along the way. And I realized how much I missed travelling and meeting people.

The best thing about Jordan is its people. Many would argue with me on this, but my experience with the Jordanian people has been wonderful. I landed in Amman and went straight to Irbid. And alhamdulillah I got to experience grassroot Arabs near Irbid first before meeting those more trodden by the city and its materialistic western-aligned lifestyle in Amman and Petra. We went in a car and drove around in Aghwar near Irbid, stopping a few times to visit the Maqam of Companions of the Prophet s.a.w. The scenery was beautiful. Desert all around, but graciously decorated with trees lining the roadside. In the background, there's hills and hills and hills all around. All in shades and shades and shades of brown. The best thing I like is what you can see dotting the sides of the roads; families having picnics! Subhanallah. :) I love watching families spending time together. And it's interesting to see the Arabs with their family having picnics by the roadside. Our driver said "There's no beach here, so they picnic by the roadside. The views of the hills replace the sea." Smile. :)

The people I met along the way just warms my heart. Being amateur travellers, we expectedly, got lost many times along the way. What's amazing is, the people around are never hesitant to show us the way. With an "assalamu'alaikum" and a smile, the people we stopped at to ask for directions always greeted us well and point us in the right direction. And I don't know why, I expected the men to be women-harassing, just from what I've heard from people, but alhamdulillah, the men that we met have been kind and respectful. When they speak with us, I feel a kind of comfort. I don't know how to say this, but basically what I felt is a sense of safety. I feel unviolated and respected.

I've talked about this with friends living and travelling in Jordan. And most have testified otherwise. I guess it must be true as I've only been there for 8 days. But alhamdulillah for the 8 days that I was in Jordan, I met with amazing and hospitable Arabs. And these are the memories that I would cherish and keep. Alhamdulilah. :)

Okay, I'm tired now.. need some rest for awhile. I'll write more inshaAllah. For now, I'll sleep on the comfort that out there there's that Arab hospitality that I've heard so much about from stories and tales of old, tales of travel in the Arabian desert and stories from humanitarian missions in the Palestinian lands. I miss this kind of hospitality that I have not felt for a long time living in the Czech Republic. The people here though they may have advanced technology in Medicine, in public transport, and in other aspects, they lack the warmth, kindness and happiness that's inborn in those who have happiness in their hearts. I think the Arabs I met in Irbid (Aghwar specifically), though they live in a measure of poverty, they are happy. They are gracious. And they are faithful. They have hopes and dreams beyond this world and beyond just money, material achievements and things. Conditions are however turning a sharp corner. And I fear it's not for the better.

To be continued in the next entry inshaAllah. ..

rokok dan kopiah by matlutfi90

2011-11-20T15:52:00.001-08:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt

(this entry is in Malay + English.. sorry guys..)

Atas galakan drpd anak2 usrah sy, saye akan tulis entry nih inshaAllah. heheh cm terbalik pulak kn..anak2 usrah yg galakkan mak naqibahnye.. heeeee :p

Anyways..., inshaAllah I'll write about what I feel and think about some of the scenes I like. And you guys can add or give any comments below inshaAllah. I would love to hear some new points of views ;)

Okay..let's begin.. :D (rub palms of hands together. heheh :) )

1st of all. This vid is FHANTASTICCC!!! Subhanallah... matlutfi nih mmg ade talent lah. Naturally funny, but.. of course la kan, all manifestations of human amazingness is actually manifestations of Allah's Magnificence kan. Jadi.., Subhanallah! Allah is super duper FANTASTICCC!!! Boleh cipta manusia sebegini kreatif..mantop ah!! :)
May more great vids come out of Him in the future. InshaAllah.... :)

Okay..Let's look at the vid.

1st scene - Mat Lutfi walking around in the night with a cig in his mouth and a box in his pocket.

Just like everyone else I guess I figured the vid would be talking about cigarettes and its haram place in Islam. I mean, no conjectures, just based on the title of the vid. But also just basing on the title of the vid alone, you know it'll be abstract. You just know that this vid is not really gonna be talking about smoking. Or, yes it might be talking about smoking, but somehow at least for me, first off, I feel it's a lot more about something else. I'll tell you about it in the end. But I would just like to say here that I think the title says it all, in that for me, the two words are meant to be read as abstract, or more correctly symbolic.

ok,

2nd scene - Mat Lutfi and his friend.

I like the interactions between these two friends. I think each one is very accepting of the other, very open and honest. And it's interesting also to see, in a further scene, how it is shown clearly that no man is perfect in his faith. And that while one person may be strong in one aspect of the faith, the other might un-awaring-ly weak. And it's a nice complementation (from the word complementary?) of two persons in a friendship.

Anyways, I like the interactions here... :)

3rd scene - waking the man up for Subuh

gosh..it reminds me of my dad waking me up from Subuh. hahah :p..

Anyways..,
his friend is amazing. I don't know about you guys these days..but, I think even for me..staying steady, staying istiqamah to wake a friend up for Subuh, after you know many times before that he doesn't want to get up.. but staying persistently to save him from the fire..
I think it's an amazing act, amazing character.

Erm, in the last scene there was some things being said that I didn't think I want to elaborate. em..but actually one of my anak usrah didn't get the whole ukulele and Down's Syndrome thing.. So I guess I'll just briefly explain below:

Why suddenly about Down's Syndrome?
- It's an introduction to a substance that's going to be used throughout the whole vid and also for its climax/mega conclusion. I'm using the word substance here because I don't know what word to use. But basically what it means is this. :- When you want make a story, and you want to tell it in an abstract, artistic short way, or actually when you want to tell any story, you need a storyline. You need something that a person watching can hook the story on. So here, the storyline is Mat Lutfi and his brother with Down's Syndrome.

How does it relate to rokok?
- I'll tell you further on iA.

Ukulele?
- It's small instrument usually used in carribean songs. It looks like a small guitar. There are ulama's who say that music and instruments like guitar and so on is haram. There are also other ulama's who say no its not haram. It's an accepted difference in the religion. So, no fuss iA. Because ukulele is smaller that the guitar, that's why he was saying that the sin would be halved. Hahah. He was just be witty - menjawab, buat lawok, loyar buruk, etc. Mat Lutfi's character here is portrayed to be a smart guy..witty in his answers. Cepat je menjawab...

Scene 4 - Mat Lutfi distributing flyers, etc (part-time job) and his friend cycling to the uni.

Here is a selingan to amplify the idea that Mat Lutfi is a guy who takes it "easy", has time to make some extra money, while puffing way of course..and his friend on the other hand.. is rajin.. puts in a lot of work..and is going to study at the uni.. or maybe to pick up his exam results or something..

Scene 5 - Conversations in the car

Kawannye Mat Lutfi nih baru dapat result exam and it turns it's not that good. And he's sad and slightly wallowing and I guess stress-ing or something. Mat Lutfi offered him a cigarette saying that the cig will de-stress him. For me, here it's clearly showing the main theme of the whole. At least for me lah. Iaitu...the keadaan that Mat Lutfi's character here is bergantung kepada rokok for his pergantungan. Anything happens you know, he goes to the cigarette. And for him, de-stressing is also through cigarettes.

The talk about ustazs. For me it's to show that the guy's not perfect. Mat Lutfi's friend though he solat or may seem more adhering to the faith that Mat Lutfi's character..., clearly..., no man is perfect. He (the friend) also has his own holes in the faith you know. It's an error that the strictest is the right way. And its shown here, that sometimes we don't realize that we have the wrong perceptions.
Just because of our own different exposures to life..., we have perceptions and we have our own personal ideas about things. And..., we may be wrong.

So, best lah tengok kat sini....yang kawan Mat Lutfi ade byk bende yang betul, tapi ada juga pemahaman yang dia salah faham, and that tapi, apa yg karakter Mat Lutfi tuh faham betul. Dan alhamdulillah they can teach each other something. It's an amazing friendship. Saye rase mustahil untuk conversation seperti dalam scene ni menjadi, kalau derang tak berkawan baik cmni. Sebab, bukan mudah nak terime bende cmni cmtu je. Betul tak?

Pergantungan kepada Allah. Best tgk ayat2 dlm scene nih. :)
First of Allah..karakter Mat Lutfi tuh memang pandai cakap.. laju je die cakap.. Tapi, how deep it goes in his heart.., selagi tak diuji, selagi tuh takkan tahu kan..

So I would say..definitely, all what he says is right. But he can say it all so smoothly because he is not the one in disappointment of his exam results. So you know, what he says it right. But what comes out so smoothly at the mouth is only proven through actions. How will he act when he is down?

I also like the part about pengaturan Allah and sincerity. It's true. Everything begins with the heart. Ketenangan tuh tempatnya di hati. Kegembiraan tuh tempatnya di hati. A person can be in the worst state ever, with no house, destroyed surroundings by war, tsunami or whatever, and can still be the happiest person. It's in the heart you know. Likewise orang yang kaya raya, rumah besar, husband hensem wife cantik, but still be depressed or distressed inside. Bende tu datang dengan keihklasan.

When you kata you serahkan yourself to Allah..., betul ke? Betul ke you serahkan everything to Allah? kan..
So.. you know.. . InshaAllah. We all work at it.
InshaAllah.

Scene 6 - Mat Lutfi couldn't get to talk to his brother.

Then, he went searching for his cigarettes and ukulele.
So, yeah...it shows how much he holds on to the cigarette and ukulele for comfort.
He says Allah has arranged everything, and yet its not to Allah that he talks to when the arrangement goes wrong. It's a very common thing that we forget.. we go in search of something else when things go wrong. We forget that that something can't help us. That something can't change anything. Kite pergi la berulang kali kepada rokok tuh, kepada music tuh, kepada cerite korea kite tuh, kepada couple kite tuh. Tapi itu takkan mengubah keadaan. Betul ke kite percaya Allah yang menyusunkan everything? Kalau kite percaya, go la to Allah kan. Nangislah dan mengadulah kepada Allah. Kerana Allah sahaja yang dapat mengubahnya...

Scene 7 - Allah's ways..

The friendship is nice.. totally supportive.

This scene is a heart-opener... a realization..

"selagi ko tak bergantung kepada yang tak mati.."

we can hold on to many things in life..
but hold on to Allah.. and Allah alone..
the rest of things in life...
they're just things...
nothing
compares to Allah.
nothing.
-------

okay... :) that's my review of the vid. Moga bermanfaat inshaAllah. :) The last few scenes and kata2 di hujung tuh..you guys tafsir lah sendiri yeh.. kalau sy huraikan.. hilanglah nilai seni bait2 tersebut..
inshaAllah. Gambate! Mari kite berusaha ke arah pergantungan yang suci, pergantungan yang hanya kepada-Nya. :)

"..Adakah pencipta selain Allah yang dapat memberikan rezeki kepadamu dari langit dan bumi? Tidak ada Tuhan selain Dia; maka mengapa kamu berpaling (dari ketauhidan)?"
- Surah Al-Fatir 35:3

w'salam wbt. :)

Love. for the sake of Allah.

2011-11-08T01:13:00.000-08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Assalamu'alaikum wbt

I've always wondered what it means by "love for the sake of Allah". I've heard it oft too many times, especially since two years back being more around sisters (my usrah-mates) and the like. People say it as if it's rice you know. Abundantly and sparingly so easily. I remember thinking about it many many times here and there about what it means exactly. And I've asked a lot people about it, and they gave me answers,
but I still don't get it. What does it mean?

For me love is just love. You just love that someone because you feel like you like them, a lot. You like being around them.

But when you add for Allah, love for the sake of Allah, what does it mean?

I've been in usrah for some time now. And I am forever grateful to Allah for putting me here because I love it. Honestly I never thought I would, but I do. I love being here. Subhanallah.
And the question above has also been asked in my usrahs. And answers were given in beautifully-put words many many times.
And I think today, I finally understand what it means. :)

When you say you love that person just because you love him for him, no strings attached and no squid behind a rock, not for the sake of anything..., what have you loved exactly? I'll give you my answers.

In my life, I have had crushes on a guy because he was handsome, cute, dashing and charming,
because he was brilliant, intelligent and charismatic,
because he's unique and has his own style, and one more,
this guy had none of the above, but somehow I felt such a strong attraction towards him. I just like him. Fullstop. Can't explain it. :)

These are the guys that I have liked in the past and I'm sure in the future I'll probably like the same kinda guys too. Same in friendship with girls. I guess I click with girls who are on the same wavelength as me, liking the same things, having the same or complementary personalities. This probably would not change much in the future too. Because this was what I was born with.

Anyways, the question remains...does liking and loving someone, just ends here? You like and love someone and that's the end? That is the fullstop?

Where would these things that I like in a person, where would these feelings get me to?

These are all features on any man on this world, subjective on the woman that's viewing him. But that man will die. And all his great amazing dashing features will die with him.

It's like a handbag that you like. Sometime you like it for its colour, for its design, for its highly reviewed quality. And sometimes you don't know why you like it, but you just like it. You're attracted to it like mad. And you want to have it. But after some time, a handbag is not everlastingly beautiful. After a time people around you will say its beautiful and yet to you its a handbag. Man will die. And all his features will die with him. Where has the time and commitment that you spent with him has got you to? How has the time and commitment that you have spent with him, get both of you to a better place after that dying? After that death?

All those time money trust loyalty and commitment, will they just die with the body or will they last through death and padang mahsyar into heaven, syurga of Allah Almighty Most Loving?

This is what it means by Love for the sake of Allah.

It is a love not for the features of the human being that will die and just end there. But it is a love that will last into the hereafter. It is a love that when both of you die, you can be truly happy, because you know you will meet each other again in Paradise. You know that you will not miss him for too long. And you know that he is in a happy, peaceful place. And that you will soon meet him again there. Paradise, the best dating spot ever! :)

So now, when someone say to me that they Love me for the sake of Allah, I feel soooo honoured and soooo blessed and sooooo happy beyond happy. My God, what do I have that will get this person to Paradise? =)

I have something that will contribute to him/her getting to Allah?

MashaAllah....

I feel so honoured.... so loved... :)

And what's more, I am loved for something so pure? so beautiful and so amazing. I am their conduit to this amazing being that's most Gracious, most Merciful, most Loving, most Fair, most Peaceful, most Forgiving?

MashaAllah I feel like I don't deserve this...

Gosh.., thank you! Thank you for loving me for the sake of Allah. (blush blush *^^*)

:)

Living

2011-10-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Assalamu'alaikum wbt

I was listening to a talk by an Ustaz about the tafsir of An-Naba'. He was talking about living. About how we live our lives in this world. Many people would just categorize stereotypically that people live in this world for two things - either for dunia (this earthly world) or akhirat (the hereafter). Living for this world or for Allah.

What this Ustaz said actually is different and it's really intriguing tp me. Or actually,
more like a slap in the face. Or a splash of water. heheh :)

He said, it's not true. Because if people are living for this world (dunia), then they would contribute to this world. If you are living for this world, you would do everything for this world. You would take care of its beauty. You would do things that benefit the people that live here. You would build buildings and create technologies or do whatever you can so that you could give something to this world.

But in reality you know, the people that we categorize as 'living for this world' instead of living for the akhirat..., in reality, they are not living for this world. In reality, they are living for their their nafsu! (Slap on the face!). It's true right? We live for our stomach, for fun, for our pleasures, our indulgences and our lust. I mean just look around. And look at ourselves. We are literally living for our nafsu! (desires) We live for nafsu to eat. We live for nafsu of the opposite sex. Nafsu for sports, nafsu for music, nafsu for arts, nafsu for fashion, nafsu for beauty, nafsu for entertainment, nafsu for movies, nafsu for luxury, nafsu for a relaxed and purposeless life. It's sick right?? Oh my God.., all this time we have just been living for our nafsu. Hidup kerana nafsu. Ya Allah. What have I done with my life?

(nafsu in Malay means desires. More accurately, it means desires for yourself.)

It's time to change. We know this now and we can't let this go on. Nak mati kerana nafsu? Nauzubillahi min zalik. I wanna live and die for Allah. That's it, just Allah.

Let's change. Together inshaAllah. :) Let's this humpback whale below. ;) Let's change for the sake of Allah, for a better everlasting life in the hereafter. InshaAllah!

Male-female Relationship in Islam

2011-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Assalamu'alaikum wbt, Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Male-female relationship in Islam is a very touchy subject.
Mainly because...
many of us are doing it - many of us are crossing these boundaries we already know. We know it's a sin and when we're doing it, we're aware that we are sinning, but we can't stop. We somehow keep on doing it.

sigh.. erm.. :(..
to be honest.., this is not an easy subject for me to talk about. The subject is connected to something very very fragile in memories of my past. Whenever anyone mention this, immediately the memory of that sadness emerged. I'll tell you the story so that you would understand. And I hope that person don't mind. I won't be mentioning her name.

I had a friend. Her name is A. She's a medic student and alhamdulillah now she's married. I got to know when we were doing A-Levels. We were involved doing a student activity together and we end having this close group of friends, both boys and girls, all Muslims and we hang out quite a lot together. I wear hijab, she wears hijab and all of us prays. And most of us keep to our boundaries. Basically, my thoughts were that you know, we can take care of ourselves. Erm.. towards the end of the year, we got very close. Almost like family. And you can see control falls off one by one. When we laugh and joke, slapping each other becomes kinda like common. Then, you would a guy and a girl within the group slowly calling themselves a 'couple'. Then you have things like dating and so on. Basically, when I look back, I can see now that the signs were there. Slowly bit by bit, I can see that the 'friendship' is getting out of control. We were friends. No matter how much we got close, we can never be family. You know, Allah made it that the blood ties simply weren't there. We can't treat each other like brothers, like siblings. We can't. So you know it's not halal to just go out girls and boys with absolutely no blood relations or even marital, and go around hanging out together with no solid purpose and boundaries.

So something happened. It's my fault and everyone else in that group. I saw it and everyone of us saw it. I don't know how many of us then actually felt truly that it was wrong. But I felt it and I did nothing. So I'm part and parcel.

What happened was that, there was a 'couple' in the group. 'A' and this guy. During our time doing A-Levels, we lived in a hostel. The girls' hostel was just next door to the boys'. So, anyone, any 'couple' can go out dating any time. No one to look over you, except Allah of course. But of course, no one really cares at that moment. And so, 'A' and the guy go out a lot. And everyone knows they're a couple. They eat together, study together, it seems harmless. She wears the hijab and he came from a 'religious' school (sekolah agama), so they surely can take of themselves right? Maybe that's what everyone was thinking because no one adviced them. At least not that anyone can see. Their actions did not improved, the did not start going out less or anything.

Then one day, it happened. I've heard about this in talks by ustaz, but I never quite believe it. For me, it's juts stories to justify a statement. Or it's just some case somewhere that has nothing to do with me and my friends. What happened shooked me to the core. I never ever thought that it could happen. Not with my friends. But it did. And I can't turn back. I can only cry and cry and cry. My friend, my dear dear dear close friend.. had been caught about to commit zina.

...

This is not an easy topic for me to talk about. For you it may be a far off event, a blog reading, but for me, it's reality. It's not a friend of a friend. It's my friend.

My dear sisters,

Male and female relationship in Islam is tough. I know it's tough. And I know you're going through a very tough time. I know you like the guy. And I know you wanna be with the guy...

But please.., for the sake of Allah.. please raise your boundaries. Put up your barrier. Build a wall between you and him. Learn my dear sisters to say "no." With confidence! With taqwa. Firmly! Say no.
At least try. You will fail and he will keep on coming. And you will want to keep on going. So, keep this one word in your head. Allah.
Allah.
Allah.
Allah will give you strength to try again to say No. You will be able to say it again. Keep on saying it. Again and again. No, I don't want to go out with you. I want to keep my iman. I want to keep my taqwa. I want to be a good Muslimah. Because I want to go to Jannatul Firdaus.

Say it.

I want to go to Jannatul Firdaus.

Whenever you feel weak. Please call Allah. Doa and pray to Him. And ask him for the strength His way of life.

Please also call your sisters, call your friends who you know can keep you away from doing that sin, and talk to her. Tell her your problems. And ask her to help you. You can do it! InshaAllah, I believe in you.

Innalaha ma'ana.

Teens and Growing up in the 21st Century

2011-09-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Bismillah
Salam wbt

(upon request from an anonymous reader ;) )

I agree, it's tough growing up in the 21st century. And I'm not even talking about the toughness of being a normal teenager, I'm talking about being a normal Muslim teenager in the 21st century. It's tougher right sisters? :) Much much tougher. You not only have to deal with monthly hormonal imbalance that sents you off into emotional mess one moment being super happy, the next being ultra angry. Everything irritates you! seriously! And you not have to deal overbearing parents and teachers who expect you to be super perfect, achieve this and do this and do that. And you have school too right? Peer pressure and social pressures and just several other dramas that you have to deal with. It's tough being a teenager in the 21st century. And it's even tougher being a Muslim.

I'm 25, therefore I would say that I'm beyond my teen years.
I can write about this topic from the point of view of a teenager by rewinding back my memory and putting myself back in the shoes of what I feel and felt back then.
Or I can write about this topic, from the point of view of who I am now, someone who had gone through her teen years and has much to tell now to the teens of the 21st century.

What would it be?

I'll take the 2nd one ya. I hope ya guy's don't mind. ;-) (I just feel it's weird to metamorphosized myself back to my young form :p )

Okay..erm..where do I start?

When I look back at the years past, I feel, there's nothing that I regret. There are things I wished I could have done differently, but I don't regret that they happened. I feel like these are the things that made me me. There are bad things and there good things. But this is my life story. And it has its own picture. What would the world be if everything was the same. You wouldn't feel special right? You'd feel just like everyone else. But no. Allah made everyone of us different. He invested in us. He made each and everyone of us our own story. Written in the lauh mahfuz. Completely shaded from our eyes. Completely unknown to us. And therefore surprises us at every corner.

I think, looking back, from where I am now, the main thing that I used to navigate my growing up in the 21st century when I was a teenager was what I had. As a teenager, I think, I had nothing. What does this mean? You see, during your teenage years, to be honest, you don't know much. You have only explored the world for about 7 years. From the age of 1 to 7, there's basically empty spaces right in yourself that you're just trying to fill up. Most of us don't even remember right what happens to us before 7 years old? So, basically only from 7 years old upwards have you really used your heart and mind to really comprehend the world. So, let's say, you're 14 years old. So, that would add up to 7 years of really knowing this world. So, what what you could work with at that time was only what you had. Which is very little.

What I had when I was a teenager was my friends, my school and family. And each one portrays to you a specific social structure. You're supposed to act like this. This is the cool and attractive way. This clique is the one that will get you known in school. And that seems like all that matters. This is the way to dress cool and look cool and be cool. These are the shows you should watch. These are the places you should be.

Ways of understanding my faith was also a one way tract. This is how you understood things. This is how things goes.

Honestly, as a teenager, there's a lot of things we don't and we don't see. It's not our fault or anyone's fault. It's part of being at that age. You've only seen that little of the world and that's all of the world you know. And being a teenager, at that time, we tend to think that that's the only world that exist. That this is how the world works. So, we have to go with it. We have to follow the flow.

Now, being at the age that I am at right now, I've been fortunate enough Alhamdulillah to see a lot more of the world. At least several years more than when I was a teenager. And what I would say to teenagers is that, the world that you know right now is not the only world. The world is huge. It's not small. And there are so so so many things out there that you have yet to discover. Not getting this one dress or owning that one handbag or getting that one guy's attention is not the end of the world. It's not all or nothing. And even though you feel so embarrassed and so horrible now that this thing had happened, or that thing had not happened, or that you made a huge social mistake, believe me, it does not dictate your whole future life after this. This world is very flexible. It has ways that it can turn and bends like you wouldn't believe. After all Allah is it's author. So you can imagine how so amazing your life story is going to be.

The more you grow, the more you're going to learn. I didn't believe this before. I found out that it is true. The hard way. By going through some very tough things in my life. That I'd never thought that I'd get over or through. But Allah pull me through, Alhamdulillah. And how did he pulled me through? By teaching me lessons from those events. The biggest lost I think for any human being in this life, is the lost of tarbiyyah. The lost of learning. Not money, not business. But tarbiyyah. A human being that has not learned from the things that happens in his life is a loser. He has just lost the most precious thing in his life. Which is the ni'mat of learning. And how do you do this? How do you learn? By giving in. By giving in to Allah, by putting your guard down, stop fighting it, just lay that indignancy to rest, and just for one moment, accept. Just accept that one advice that was given to you. Just do as the verses say. And just listen and accept fully. This is a very hard thing to do. I know this because I am not one to just lay. I would fight almost anything. A view, an action, a stand. I have my own words about it. My own opinion. But I've learned that, I don't listen enough. Alhamdulillah I don't know when or how Allah put this in my heart. But Alhamdulillah it has made me more peaceful than ever. Ever. It hasn't made me dumb. Or passive or anything like that. But Alhamdulillah, I don't know. I would like to think that it has made me different in a good way. That finally now, I am learning the things I've read about in much deeper depth that I'd ever imagined that that depth of depth exist.

MasyaAllah my sisters. My teenage sisters. Believe me. This 21st century is nothing. It's just like any other century before this. Whatever hardness that you could think of in this century, you could find a parallel in other centuries. Whatever sweetness that you could think of in this century, you could find also its parallel in the centuries before. Each fits the state of the people at that time. So, whatever things that you are facing now, it was designed straight and right for your capacity. Allah says in the Qur'an, "Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned." in surah Al-Baqarah, surah 2 verse 286. So, this world right now is not beyond us. We can handle it inshaAllah. The trick is how, right?

Well for teenagers, first and foremost, answer this question. How badly do you want to be good? i.e how badly do you really want to be on the right side, to be doing the right thing? And what do I mean by right thing? Right thing is what Allah asks you to do. And I don't mean this like "how badly do want to follow His orders?". But I mean it like, how badly do you want to submit? How badly do you want to give yourself in to Allah?

Okay, if you want it really badly, which I make du'a for you that you will or already are, then, find yourself a halaqah. Get an usrah, a quranic circle, what ever you call it. Get yourself close to people who are good and noble. You don't know what's in their hearts. But even if it's only an opinion from the outside, from how they look, never mind, just go sit with with people that looks good and noble to you. Go. You may not like it. They may not be your friends, the kind that you usually hang out with. It doesn't matter. You need good company if you want to be good. The Prophet s.a.w said this, "A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume seller and a blacksmith: The perfume seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or your might buy some from him or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace." (Bukhari, Muslim). So come on sisters, don't you wanna smell good? :) More than that, Allah said in the Qur'an, "The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise." in surah At-Tawbah, surah 9 verse 71.

Secondly, teenagers, how do you survive in this 21st century with your deen intact? My suggestion is, get close to Allah by getting close to the closest you could ever get in this world of something of Him, which is, His words. Get close to the Qur'an. As much as you love getting an sms, a text from your boyfriend (hopefully you don't have a boyfriend, have a husband instead ;), but you've seen those scenes on the tv, billboards, where ever these days), as much as you love that attention, imagine getting the biggest sms/text/e-mail/letter/call from the biggest Lover of all, Allah, the Most Loving, Most Merciful. Imagine having those words ringing in your ears every day. Those lovely verses of love. Imagine carrying those letters with you wherever you go. And imagine following the things said in those letters. Get close to Allah. That is the fastest way to Paradise in this world and the next.

Allah knows best. May Allah guide us all in all our years in this dunia, this century or any century afterwards. :)

Wassalam wbt.

Qur'an and my Life

2011-07-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

Bismillah

Salam wbt

I just finished reading the Qur'an, not all of it, just a bit.

The first moment that I can recall of really reading the Qur'an was.. masyaAllah, it's quite embarrassing to say was not too long ago. I'm a born Muslim, Muslim family, "Muslim" country.., and I've lived with the Qur'an all my life. And yet, I've only really read the Qur'an just about two years ago. And I've been reading it roughly everyday since insyaAllah.

Two years back, I was in my 3rd year of Med School. And I was at a friends house, freaking out about an exam I was about to take. I was just sitting around, you know, just revising some things, when a thought came...just an idea, to read the juzu' amma (last part of the Qur'an), one surah (title/chapter) or two at a time, after each solat (ritual prayer) with the translation.

I've never done this. And to a non-Muslim or an Arab, this would seem very odd given that I don't understand the Arabic to not have read the translation instead. An yet for most Malaysian or non-Arab Muslims for that matter, at least those born into Muslim families (not converted/reverted), this paradoxical state is not all that odd.

We basically read the Qur'an since we were little in perfectly taught Arabic pronounciations, yet we understood none of it, except maybe some often repeated words. It is odd that we call ourselves Muslims and we pretty much do all the 5 pillars of Islam including daily 5 times ritual prayers and we go Mecca to do our hajj - but we do not read the Qur'an for guidance. It's very peculiar. But somehow, that was not at all odd for us. We had never thought about it. No one had ever asked the question. We, had never asked ourselves that question.

Anyways, I had decided to do that. I opened up the Qur'an, the Yusuf Ali translation, and.. I started to read. And immediately..I was crying. Tears start flowing down my face like waterfalls. Reading the juzu' amma really really struck me. Really.., have you guys read the juzu' amma? It's translations? You'd be surprised.. seriously. There's amazing, amazing things in juzu' amma. And I can't transmit here the feeling right... It's just..masyaAllah..

Just now, I was reading the chapter called At-Tariq, the 86th chapter, translated roughly as 'What comes during the night (The Nightcommer)'.

It brings you down to earth this chapter. It says about the sky and the night. And that there's something that comes in the night. When we're sleeping and we've settled from this world and we're tired and the night is dark and it's cool. And, who here has watched 'How to train a dragon?' :) Night-fury. :) heheh. So cute. Toothless is just so cute. Anyways, many things can happen during the night. For me the night carries a lot of nostalgia.

I used to go hiking back in the days. And the night, sometimes, is the time we play games and have fun and chat or whatever. It's the time where the bonfire is lit. It's the time when we can sit around a campfire. And the light that it casts on each individual's face in that circle is priceless. You can't get that kind of light anywhere in the world.

And the next verse goes on to say..that it's the bright stars. Stars so sharp it lits up the sky in wonder. And nowadays, you don't see stars anymore right. The man-made lights are just too bright. Blinded our eyes from seeing something much more beautiful. As we get more technologically advanced, we missed out on things. Things much greater in their essence. The difference between reality and facade as Sheikh Hamza would say. Reality in Arabic , hakikat, comes from the word haqq, which means truth. Nowadays you know we're missing our mark. We're missing out what's real and what's right. TV is not real. Fashion is not real. Money is not real. These things are just mere playthings compared to Paradise, Heaven, Syurga. It's not real. And if you know how much those artists on TV are going bankcrupt, are depressed, suicidal, lost hope, unhappy, anaeroxic , you would not want to copy them. It's reality.

Sheikh Hamza said, "I went to Mali, and it's a third world country, supposedly one of the poorest in the world, but I think Mali is the richest in the world." "Mali is rich with smiles. The people are happy. They are rich with hearts." If richness is counted by hearts rather than by currency, Mali would win. MasyaAllah.

The surah goes on to say that, did we not see from what we come from? Where do we come from guys? From our mother's womb right? We come from a sperm. We come from fluid from the genitals. We, who regard ourselves so highly..we just come from a sperm. All of us. We are all the same. Just humble human beings. And we should act that way you know. Remember where we same from and we'd realize how much more we have in common than in difference.

There's so much more that I can say about this surah...and it would take ages and ages to complete. The Qur'an is not time-limited. It's everlasting. And as I go through life, I'm reminded of one verse here and another verse there, and the understanding and relations evolve with the life that I go through. InsyaAllah, may Allah guide us all.

I just wanna add 2 pictures below of my Qur'an. :) I wanna show you how I use/benefit from the Qur'an in my life. I actually emulate this from some beautiful sisters in London. And Alhamdulillah till today, this way has stuck with me.

Here's the 1st pic:

This is my Qur'an. It's green, but I actually don't like the colour green. But it was the only one that available at the shop when I got it. It looks kinda big here. But it's actually very small, less than 7 inches diagonally. You can see those tags I put there. They're actually just some small stickers. I'll show you the inside in the 2nd pic.
Here's the 2nd pic:
This is the Qur'an opened up. You can there's the verses in arabic in the right hand corner of the left-side page. Then just beside it, you can see some lines of words. Those are the Malay/Indonesian translation of the Arabic verses. So, at the moment, this is how I'm fully utilising the Qur'an in my life. You can get those small transparent stickers at your local bookstores. And start tagging. :) I like to tag verses that I feel strongly about at the moment reading. And I'll write a key word on the sticker. It's for quicker reference at any time
Alhamdulillah, this way, I can keep the Qur'an in my life all the time. It's small and mobile, I can read it in the bus, at class, while waiting around for things. And alhamdulillah I'm loving Allah and the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w and Islam and this beautiful world that Allah has created more and more.
You know, don't be afraid of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is Allah's words. He is talking to you. So, don't be afraid. But do know that the Qur'an is fro all people at all level of intelligence. There are things that you would not understand fully unless you take a course in Arabic and learn formall tafsir of the Qur'an, in what situation the verse came down, the laws and so on. For these, you need to ask your local imam or scholar for an explaination. But the Qur'an is also suitable for you and me, laymen. We can understand it fro what it says. And when we don't understand, that's when we can say to ourselves 'ok, I don't understand this one point, so I will ask my ustaz/imam/ulama' about this'.
InsyaAllah. :)

W'salam wbt.

of Exams and Tawakkal

2011-07-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Blessings be upon His Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, the last and final Messenger.

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'alamin. All Praises to the Lord of this World, of all worlds, of space and time.
Blessed be to all those that have come before us and will come after us that has and will hold this Deen upright. Blessed be to all those who are this moment pursuing the natural made for man purpose of spreading this word of truth in the face of great obstacles. Blessed be to all those who are here and are reading this post and may Allah bless us all and make it easy for us in the hereafter. InsyaAllah and Ameen.

Today was an amazing today. Today I get to watch the clouds move. I get to wake up to a blessed rain. And I got to walk on beautiful sunny day. Today, I got to do my exam in Internal Medicine. Today, I had to fight jitters, and nervousness and fears and inconfidence to complete but a single exam. Today, I passed the exam. And today, I am still and will always will be happily, Allah's servant.

Alhamdulillah.

For anyone who's taking and has taken Medicine, you will know how big and tough this particular subject it. Internal Medicine. My dad, an engineer/manager by profession, once asked me: what's internal medicine? Isn't all medicine internal? :) Well yeah..all medicine's internal of course, heheh.. But yeah.. what it means is a division of medicine dedicated to diseases of the organs. Basically in Medicine, there's two big division. One is designated Internal Medicine or simply Medicine, and the other is Surgery. Basically, Internal Medicine involves dispensation of medical advice and medications and Surgery is mainly cut, paste, modify, change, add to physical part of the organ. So, in any disease, mostly first you will go to Internal Medicine, and usually when things can't be fixed by change of lifestyle, diet and medications, you will go to Surgery. It's usually the less preferable option in most situations except in trauma. Because Surgery involves a lot more risks in a sense.

In most Medical school, Internal Medicine is studied and students take exams in blocks. You would have several blocks such as Cardiovascular, dealing with diseases of the heart and blood vessels, Respiratory System, dealing with your lungs and oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer, and Nephrology, with diseases of the kidneys. There's a few other blocks more besides these. So the whole division is conveniently divided to ease a students study experience and exam-taking.

Here however, meaning here in the Czech Republic where I'm studying, there's no such division. We studying everything the whole protracted time period of 4 semesters, about 2 years. An we take an oral/viva exam at the end of that 2 years. And we are examined in all of those blocks in one exam. It's a crazy system I would say. I think they should change it. But I think everything Allah has made is good. So, crazy as it is, it has its philosophy. Which I think is basically to disperse the subject in two years of study while also studying other subjects to make it more wholesome and permeated in all field of medicine. Sort of like trying to make it a sugar that dissolve and just melt and disperse in a cup of tea you know. It's philosophically and theoretically ideal, but it's tough on us as students.

Nonetheless, that is the challenge here. And I would one that I had to learn hard and late in the allocated period. Sorry for using all these weird words. Hahah. It's sounds like some serious textbook or something right. Sorry sorry. I'll try to change the words a bit.

MasyaAllah I think I made a mistake you know. A huge one. And I think I paid, probably not enough of, a huge price for you know being just a stubborn kid.

Erm, this exam was tough. Really tough. Not just tough tough. But tough tough tough. Hahah.

Here's my mistake. I was given, all of us here actually, were given last year as a sort of like preparation year for the internal medicine exam this year. Basically, last year was easy. In the sense that we had a lot of free time. What you're supposed to be doing with the free time, is to study. For the big exam that you will be facing the 5th year, this year. And I, astaghfirullah, didn't study. Oh Allah, biiig mistake. So, a Malaysian would say 'jadi, sakitlah tahun ke-5 nih' - meaning - so I suffer terribly the consequences this year.

So, you know, masyaAllah, this is a big lesson on me about time. MasyaAllah, never take your time for granted. Never. Every single breath you take is a gift. Every single breath you take is wonder. It's a miracle. And you are never given back the time you've lost. A minute that has gone by, is gone. It can never come back. A second that have passed, has vanished. You can never recover it. The moon, the sun, the say, the month, that you hope that you can go back to, you can't. It's the past. MasyaAllah, prrrecious. Prrecious time.

You can make time into your pahala, your good deeds that will help you enter jannah, heaven. Or you can use your time to enter hell. It's up to you know. You can choose.

You can use your time to play, drink, do maksiat or whatever. You're booking yourself a place in hell. Nauzubillah.

Or you can do good things, and you will feel peace in this world and you will get peace the hereafter. You get pillows, soft pillows arranged for you in plain of green, with rivers of milk and honey, and lush carpets, so beautiful that the eyes will wonder in amazement and the hearts forget all the desires and fun of this world because this is just too good, nothing compares. That is Paradise. That is Jannah. Subhnallah. Let's all be there! =)

InsyaAllah, everything in life has it's place. Everything happens for a reason. A wise man says, you can't change your circumstances, but you can change yourself. And if you change, Allah will make things easy for you. Even in the midst of the Perang Badar / the Battle of Badr, a companion said, he looked at the Prophet s.a.w and his face was in peace, utter tranquil peace. MasyaAllah, happiness and peace even in the heat of the war. Even when you are in such deep problems, only Allah can give you that peace and show you your way out. InsyaAllah.

May everyday be a lesson and reward for us to move step by step closer to His Rahmah, to Jannah.
InsyaAllah

Wassalamu'alaikum wbt.

Random thoughts

2011-06-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Bismillah

Salam wbt

I haven't doing anything much lately. Just been sitting down and studying. It's exam time. So, you can't really do much but study. But there are some things I do like to do time out for awhile. I like watching converts videos! :) heheh.

Right now, a few that I've watched is with Eddie, The Deen Show. Pretty good aight? :) Uplifting and inspiring. :)

It's interesting to hear about other people's lives. And when you hear about the things other people go through, you'd realize you had nothing to go through. I think every person has a place and has a time and go through things according to what they're destined. And you know that every destiny is always the best for the person. Because it's impossible that Allah would create any fault in His creations. So you know, you'd realize how really ungrateful you've been. And how you're not dead yet you know. You have done so many wrong or bad things. Like hurting others, destroying the environment, not doing what you can do and hurting yourselves. Sometimes even purposely sabotaging yourself. And you're still alive. You're not punished and sent straight to the graves. But you still breath. You still walk. And you're still able to talk. Able to speak. Able to do things. Why? Because you matter. You have a purpose. In the 5 billion plus of people living in this world. You have not been dead. You have not been swarmed by a Tsunami. You have not fallen in collapsing building. So you have to do something right? You have the capabilities. Your existence have a purpose. And you can make it happen. Believe in that!

Do something.

W'salam wbt. Peace be unto you.

Palestine : Irvine 11

2011-05-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

Bismillah (In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)

Salam wbt.

I was searching on MasjidOmar.com for some talks. And I came across this one titled 'Irvine 11'. Clicked on it but it wouldn't play. So I searched on YouTube and got a bunch of results.

Interesting and amazing! =) But....personally, I do think that the way it was kind of rude in the setting that it was in. Basically, Islamic-wise, I think it's a bit against our adab. But, it was mighty brave. And to speak the truth in front of a tyrant is very courageous!

Ok, so today, I'm gonna sharing about the Irvine 11. And we'll go through this with videos, coz this was how I got to know about them.

Okay, so the 1st vid is this. And this is what happened...

On February 8th 2010, 11 students of University of California-Irvine, organized a protest during the speech of Michael Oren, Israeli embassador to the US. One by one, the 11 students stood up during the speech, interrupting the speaker and shouting out the truth, against the cruelty and brutality of Israel and nothing against the Jewish Religion and no anti-semitism. One that was said is:

"You Sir, are an accomplice to genocide!"

and,

"Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech!"

Michael Oren was able to finish his speech. The students also left the speech in peace with no violence.

This form of protest is accepted in the United States as a form of protest called 'Heckling'. And it's been going on amongst the students many many times. Even though, this method may be considered rude and inappropriate, Heckling is nonetheless accepted in the US. And this is validated by President Obama's own words, when a group interrupted his speech. In the US, it is not a crime.

"President Obama speaks to a New Hampshire crowd regarding abortion, where he was interrupted by protestors. Obama says, “Let me just say this though. Some people got organized to do that. That’s part of the American tradition we are proud of. And that’s hard too, standing in the midst of people who disagree with you and letting your voice be heard.”

Also, these students are not the first to have rudely interrupt people. For example:

The sad thing is...that these 11 students are now famous in the US right now for the crime of 'mideameanour'. The District Attorney (Lawyer) of Orange County are pressing charges against them for a this crime that if proven guilty, could send the Irvine 11 to jail for a maximum of 6 month! Isn't this absurd and crazy?!

They did not do any crime. And they did not deserve this kind of punishment. On top of that, they were tried at the University Campus Court and their Muslim Student Union was given a 2 years probation and the students were threatened with suspension and expulsion.

None of these punishments were ever given to the other previous groups before this who interrupted various events and speeches. In fact, as the video said, one participant was even hired to be the Executive Director of ASUCI. So where's the equality and justice here?

This is clearly racism/discrimination against these particular Muslims. Point blank.

A proof that what the Irvine 11 said was nothings against the Jews are these statements by Jewish Voice For Peace:

And what's the most overwhelming for me is this clip below. The JVP is not only supporting truth and justice for the Palestinians and the Irvine 11 by words and statements and letters and petition of 5,000 signatures!!!! They are risking their lives, getting shout at and alienated from their own community to defend what's right! To defend justice! To defend the innocent!

MasyaAllah.....

I'm not sure if they actually got beaten up at the end there. But, MasyaAllah...... May Allah give them Taufiq and Hidayah.

When I put myself in their position..the Irvine 11 and the JVP...I myself can't imagine being brave enough to stand up and say out those words. This is amazing courage..

May Allah bless them all.

This is a clip of summary:

And lastly, I am calling to all of you here reading this. Please please please support the Irvine 11 by signing a petition here for the OCDA to drop the unfair charges towards these young students with a bright future ahead of them. Stand With The Irvine 11!!

Dr. Norman G. Finkelstein: Letter to the OCDA DA

“You might not agree with their action, but these young men are a credit to our country, and we should all be proud of them. They risked their educations and futures for a moral principle in which they deeply believed. Of how many college students nowadays can you say this? I hope you will find it in yourself to do the right thing and drop the charges against them.”

Additional clip: Stand with the Irvine 11 Townhall Meeting.

w'salam wbt

Peace be upon you.

a bit of Nina :)

2011-04-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

2 clips of cute Nina. :)

^_^

Honesty plus Sincerity

2011-03-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

hey there..

:) erm..so...today's topic is honesty plus sincerity.. :)

the word that I actually meant to put as the topic is initially 'ikhlas'.

it's an arabic word which is more accurate to what I'm going to talk about. But i was kinda afraid that no english-speaking person would actually click on that word simply for not understanding what it means.

so you know..i decided to put honesty plus sincerity up there...as a rough translation of what ikhlas means.

Ikhlas.. is something in the heart. It's the feeling of doing things earnestly. Of doing it because of it. It's not affected by external benefits. It's doing it from the heart not from any money received or for praises or for compliments or for stature or for anything else.

In a lot of programs that I've went to, the first question that would be asked, is, why are you here? Why do you join this program? Why do you pay so much to be here?

And the answers differ quite a lot of times.

In life, we often say that we want happiness. Or some sort of experiences. And yet, when those experiences come, we complain and curse the situation.

We often say, that religion is nothing but an opium to the mass. That we are above that. That we have minds, we have brains, we can think better than that. But. When something real and undeniable comes to us, and we, with our own heads can figure it out that it's real, we complain and mock the situation. We turn our heads around and logify it. We bring up bad memories we had of it long time before and make fun of it. Mock it.

How honest are we with our words?

How sincere have we been with our words?

Or have we ever been sincere or honest at all? ever?

Or have we just said those words to just justify ourselves so that we can be right or so that we can continue the same way with our lives, just like before. Like nothing has happened.

I've been thinking about my heart and about why I do things lately, some times. And you know...there are a lot of things, that I know is completely right, but that I am still reluctant, hesitant or just plain lazy to follow or do. And these are when my ikhlas is questionable. Really? Have I really wanted to do this because of Allah? Really? If yes, then why have I been so rebellious?

Sometimes ikhlas is not there. You don't want to do it from the beginning. But this is only because of not knowing or ignorance. If you knew, would you turn your back?

An ikhlas person, when he knew and when his heart is true, he would work hard on his heart to change it from don't want to want. He would strive to make it honest and sincere.

This world we're living in right now has made being dishonest and insincere very easy.

And it has made honesty and sincerity, something you have to work for.

Striving for an honest heart is not wrong. It does not make honesty less honest.

And it does make sincerity less sincere.

It's part and parcel of life. You change and you grow and you learn and you become a better person throughout your life.

So, you know...some times we need to ponder..and introspect... and ask ourselves..,

am I really searching for truth like I've said and claimed?

regards.

Redha

2011-03-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Bismillah

salam wbt

Malam semalam saya berpeluang bertazkirah maghrib bersama teman serumah. Kami membaca buku 'Allah, Kokohkan Kaki Kami di atas Jalan-Mu' karangan Muhamad Lili Nur Aulia. Tengok nama buku saja, dah tau ini buku Indon kan. :)

Alhamdulillah, buku ini sangat best. Banyak menyentuh hati dan perasaan.

Tajuk yang kami baca semalam ialah 'Ya Rabb, tambahkan ma'rifat kami.' Walaupun tajuknya berkaitan dengan ma'rifat, bagi saya, lebih banyak disebut tentang redha. Dan di situlah satu tersentuh.

Redha ialah suatu yang sukar bagi saya. Ada waktu yang saya mudah redha, especially bila benda-benda yang berlaku dalam hidup saya. Tapi, bila keadaan susah, bukan saya tak redha, tapi saya lupa. Saya akan engulfed dengan kerunsingan dan stress dan perasaan yang bercampur-baur, sampai saya lupa untuk redha. Nauzubillahi min zalik.

Tapi Alhamdulillah, serang kali Allah ingatkan saya melalui rakan-rakan saya. Mereka tak sedar pun most of the time. Tetapi kata-kata mereka, tazkirah-tazkirah maghrib kami, tingkahlaku mereka, banyak mengingatkan saya kembali. Alhamdulillah.

Antara ayat yang menyentuh hati saya ialah

"Redha secara bahasanya adalah kegembiraan hati dan kebahagiaan jiwa. Lawannya adalah rasa marah dan benci. Redha ialah sesuatu yang sudah mencapai puncaknya hingga terlihat di permukaan. Dalam bentuk sikap, maka keredhaan harus muncul dalam keceriaan wajah. Redha ertinya perasaan lapang, ketenangan hati, jiwa yang damai. Redha dengan kondisi hari kita dan yakin dengan kondisi esok. Itulah redha."

MasyaAllah. Begitu besar maksud redha. Dan betapa sangat saya ingin mendapatkannya. Kadangkala saya tengok rakan saya yang saya respek keislamannya, yang saya tidak pernah marah, yang kelihatan senyum sentiasa, saya jeles. Memang jeles. Saya fikir, kenapa saya tak boleh macam tu?

Alhamdulillah kalau saya ade mood, saya rase alhamdulillah, tak susah untuk senyum. Tetapi kalau saya tengah serabut, banyak benda yang saya fikirkan, masalah hidup dan sebagainya, dan kalau saya dalam keadaan penat, saya rasa memang nampak pada muka saya. Muka stress, penat, dan serabut. Haih...da'wah bil hal.

Saya rasa memang satu cabaran untuk saya redha sebegini. Dan saya rasa sebab saya tak boleh memaparkan ketenangan tersebut, ialah kerana kurangnya dan mudahnya saya lupa kepada Allah. Bila saya ada masalah atau kerja itu, fikiran saya akan dipenuhi dengannya. Saya akan fikir dan rancang dan fikir dan rancang dan risau dan fikir dan rancang, almost non-stop. Haih, pause lah sekejap kan. Ingat balik. Siapakah yang sebenarnya yang akan menyelesaikan kerja/masalah tersebut? Allah, kan. Jadi, belle...jangan sedih dan jangan risau dan jangan serabut. InsyaAllah...ceria-ceria selalu. Everything will be fine. Allah will make it fine.

Jangan lupa Allah. Inilah nasihat saya untuk diri saya malam ini.

Dan untuk siapa yang membaca blog ini insyaAllah.

w'salam wbt.

Time

2011-03-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

hey guys...salam wbt..

I know it's been a long time. And God knows how many times I've said this every now and again when things got quiet for awhile. By now, you've probably realized that I'm not that constant at writing. Some people write regularly once a week or even once a day. But for me, I guess it's been quite clear that I can't commit to that. I write when I write. When the thought comes, an inspiration, an outburst or basically just anything. I'm sorry that I can't commit to any more than this for this particular thing called writing/blogging.

Time is something so precious to me right now. And it kills me to see people with ample time throw it away. I see the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, he worked to his bones till the day he died. In fact, to his last breath. He never stopped you know. Every part of his breath, every second of his movements, every inch of of his actions are purely da'wah. He worked and he worked and he worked and he never complained about a time to rest. There's no such word in his dictionary. Even as it seems that he is taking a rest, that rest is not in fact a rest but a moment rejuvenation to continue back. He never rest just for the sake of resting. But each move, even a rest, is purposeful. And is salvaged always by what follows.

The world is a shade under a tree. When a traveller travels, he stops for awhile under that shade to continue back soon after. A traveller that stays too long, gets lazy. A lazy traveller travels no more. A non-travelling traveller sees no more, hears no more, his mind gets stale and static and soon he rot under that tree. This world is a shade. And we need to realize that.

At the moment, I'm trying to balance time and utilize the best that I can of each one. It's a struggle. And there's too much ups and downs. But I have the Prophet s.a.w there as my inspiration. And I have Allah s.w.t nearer to me than my jugular vein. So, insyaAllah, it'll work out. :)

w'salam wbt

Independent Film : Garbage Dreams

2011-02-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

Salam wbt,

Ok. These vids are basically like a three-part trailer for the film. I stumbled upon it during the Revolution in Egypt while I was searching for some news about the event.

I gave these vids to my friend in France studying ecology. And these were her comments, which really touched me. It's in BM, I'll try to translate below.

salam wbt belle...

subhanallah jzkk jiddan.. =)
sgt² tersentuh.. yup, europe x kn boleh buat mcm mereka yg recycle hampir 80% sampah.. sbbnya, mereka x kn sanggup kutip manually mcm org² di mesir..

hr tu ana lawat kilang recycle, n mmg exactly mcm part 3 tu.. itupon ana dah rasa sayu n sgt² appreciate makcik² yg kerja disitu sbb tanpa mereka, kita mmg akan hidup dlm sampah..

but then, bila tgk org² di mesir, subhanallah, mereka 10kali lebih mulia.. astaghfirullah².. semoga mereka x merasa malu, since pekerjaan mereka bukan hina..

huhu, rasa nk peluk sorang² org mesir tu.. semoga Allah beri mereka kekuatan utk terus memakmurkan bumi Allah ni..

jzkk belle, tazkirah yg sgt best!

take care sis..

___

salam wbt

Glory be to Allah, thank you very much belle...

i am very very touched.., yup, Europe can never do like they do recycling 80% of their trash...because they won't want to pick up trash manually like the Egyptians.

the other day, I visited a recycling plant, and it's exactly like in part #3,..even then, I've already felt wistful and greatly appreciate the workers because without them, we would be living in garbage...

but then, when I see the Egyptians, Glory be to Allah, they are 10 times more noble. May Allah forgive me.. may they don't feel ashame because their job is not low/despicable.

i feel like hugging each and every one of those Egyptians... May Allah give them strength to keep on bringing prosperity to this earth...

I think she is really amazing. To watch this truly with her heart. Subhanallah. :) :)

I hope you guys like these vids too. :) It's amazing what's going on on the other side of the earth right.

We think the niche we live in is the only world there is. Our neighbourhood, our town, our place and colleague. That things everywhere is like this. That it's impossible for us to change. Our environment, our friends, has always been like this. All our life, it's been like this. The chance for change just seem so unreachable...

But that's not true.

There's always an alternative. There is a whole other world out there. There's a whole different way to live. Just a minute ago, you didn't even realize or know that there are people living within garbages, healthy, productive and hardworking. The thought of living like that never even crossed your mind right? That was a minute ago. And now, you do know.

Within a minute, a change has occured! :)

There is an alternative. We just have to be brave enough to take them! :) Take a chance. Make a change. You'd never knew what you've been missing if you've never give it a try...! ;)

A person who heard of the sweetness of sugar,

will never know what it means,

until he tasted it

wassalam wbt.

In jumping into something new and scary.

2011-02-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned something new..something about the flow of life...something interesting.

I learned this from a dear friend and...I'll share it here.

She said to me.."belle..do you know that there are 3 things for people to do something and to keep on doing it. "

I said, "Really? what is it my friend?" :P

It is this!

faham, sukarela, mujahadah!

faham, understanding what it is that we do.

sukarela, willingness, wanting to do it on our own will.

mujahadah active persistence and perseverance.

Okay...you see.. these three things... they're really easy, for things that you like. For example, I like baking. I love desserts, I love to eat and I like trying new recipes. I know how to bake. I want to bake. And I would bake many many times, again and again. So you know.., when you like something it's not a problem.

But it's not that easy when it comes to things that you don't like. Things that are no fun. But you know is very important for you to do. You understand what is this thing. You know what it entails. You've read about it, you've asked around and you know you have to do it. But...., the desire is not there right? You don't want to do it. You feel forced to do it. It's simply..hard.

What about things like this?

It's hard right..

Hm..

Okay..let's take it easy for awhile.. sit down.. calm down.. and... ponder.

what's the most important being in my life?

Allah

what does He want you to do?

what's right

why?

because it will bring me peace

how?

through having a straight heart

I can think straight

everyone might be stressed thinking about so many things

but I have only one thing to think about

totally straightforward

which is,

Allah

doing only what Allah asks me to do. Khalas. That's it. I'm happy.

peace. Salam wbt. :) :)

Don't worry yourself into thinking too much.. Do what's right. Then, persevere. ;-) inshaAllah, Allah will help you. :)

*Related post : 'Life as we know it'.

Life-changing decisions are not easy to make. But they're there. And you can't turn your back on them.

So let's learn to love them. Embrace. Understand, desire them and persevere. Be passionate in doing the right things. And insyaAllah, Allah promised, that Paradise awaits you. :)

"Peace be unto you because ye persevered. Ah, passing sweet will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home."

-Surah Ar-Ra'd 13:24-

Life as we know it

2011-01-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Life as we know it... is not as we know it. heheh..=p sorry sorry.. very corny way to start an entry...=p heheh..

okay okay...heheh..=)

Life as we know it is full of changes. Volatile, mobile, everchanging but definitely not.., everlasting. =)

We look at this life and we see.... so many things. We see a baby being born. So innocent and helpless. So cute and charming. And we see him grow just like we did. And learn to walk and talk and laugh and cry and fail and succeed. We go through school and friends and life's many impending decisions. To be active, to not be active. To try arts or science? To play sports or to write. To be a leader or a follower. To be in what profession. And to go to which school and college and university. To take up an offer or to reject. To weigh this option or that one.

And we see.. so many things go right, and so many things go wrong. We see a tsunami tore up a seaside. And we see the Burj Dubai being erected. We see the destruction of nation by war based on a devious assumption and the division of a people by cultic sentiments. And we see the coming together of nations in an international sporting event. We see the regret of a superpower after an act of selfish display in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And after that the rise back of the Japanese people. But on the opposite end, the neglect and the shutting of eyes and hearts of the same power towards the utter oppression and killings of a nation in broad daylight.

Going through this all and just watching and observing and thinking... we get lost. We follow the trend of this world. Of the people. We grow up. And we move through the phases of life. And when we are in one phase, we have only the next to think of. When we are a child, we think of playing and what we're going to do when we go to school. When we are at school, we think of getting through school and what we're going to do after school. When we're done with school, we think about university and the chances for work. At the university, we work hard and graduate. Then, we go to work and think about a family. And so on. Until, we get old and then, we can only hope to die quick because we think we have done everything we want in this life or we are just old and sick and want to get out of the misery of our old age pain.

This is the trend. It looks perfect here in words. That can be arranged and erased and edited. But you and I both know that this is a fantasy.

Nothing is this easy. Coz life is not like that. It is as we know it.. volatile, mobile and everchanging.

When we were in school, we were told that a x a = a squared. And a + a = 2 a. And we questioned "why can't it be the other way around?" or "why can't a + b = c? ". But of course we ignored it because we want to pass the exams. And so we accepted that answer. We accepted that trend. It could may well be right even after we've speculated and questioned it profusely. Simply because its just logically right. But of course we didn't really want to care to question it that much. It's too much trouble. And so we just ignore it and just follow the trend. It's easier.

And we learned about Newton and Bernoulli and others. And we accept and agree to these laws. And we concur ourselves to just follow the trend. It's not like there were no question. Of course there were questions that knocked inside right. Like...why does an apple fall to the ground? Why does everything fall to the ground? Why not just go up and stay there? Why does everything, all things, except when you exert some force on it, fall to the ground? Newton's Law said everything falls to the ground because its pulled by this thing called gravity. But Newton did not make this gravity. It's just there. It exist. And it pulls everything to the ground. But why? Who is this 'gravity'? and how come it has so much power to pull everything?

We ignore these questions, don't we? And we prefer to just neglect, forget and enjoy life. Let them braniacs think. I want to have fun.

But this is not the first and the last time that these kind of questions knock at you right?

Why ponder on these questions, when we can forget and enjoy right? Have fun, and be whatever you want to be. Why? Because when I don't think and I just have fun, I am happy.

You are fooling yourself. You and I both know that you are not happy. You are miserable inside.

You go out playing football, and shopping and travelling and party and eat and drink. But at the end of the day, that small emptiness inside is still there. Those questions still poke at you. Or linger there. They're not totally gone. Once in awhile they come back.

And life, the way you've experienced it, partying and having fun.. feels.. simply meaningless. And so, you start thinking about what would make me more happy and fill this empty space. Oh, this next movie that's going to be out tomorrow in the cinema will. This new guy/girl I met yesterday, with fill this empty space with some love. This new handbag will complete me. Tomorrow, I will finish studying this next chapter and I will be complete. I will get that new iPhone and I'll be satisfied. If i'd just get to travel to Paris this winter, I'll be happy.

But the fact of the matter is, you've moved from one thing to the next, to another and another and another. But nothing has completed you yet so far. And so you place more hope in these entertainments of life that you hope will fill that gap. From one thing to another to another to another. Until you get old. And those questions are still there. And that emptiness ungone.

There are some people, however, that have not let those questions in for so long, that they have just ignored from the beginning for so long, that they are like a mirror. Their personality is just fixed in that position and no knockings on them, are heard. Nothing penetrates them and they are just engulfed in or flowing in the trends, completely not aware that they have become the paint or fabric of that trend. There is only one time where they might be awakened.. when they are finally away from these trends, when they sit down, with nothing, no problems that are disturbing their mind, and they just start to think. Or one more time, is if someone come to them and suddenly just ask them that question that triggered them to think.

Each and everyone of us, hopes to have a happy life, a full complete heart with no emptiness, no empty space, and no more questions inside. A complete peace. A settled heart. And a settled mind...

If we hope to have this... we have to start answering those knocks. Those knock, knock, knocks on our hearts and minds.

The answers might scare us. The answers might require that we change. The answers might make it impossible to be our old selves. The answers might make us have to change totally the way we think before. The answers might make us have to change our perception of others. Perceptions that we have believed and hold on to for so long. But the answers are just too right.

We have thought that this thing is like this. And we have thought that thing is like that. And we were sure that we were so right. And we were so sure that others are not like us. Others can't see the way we see. That they have been brainwashed by 'niceness'. But we thought, no, we are not brainwashed. That we are the ones that's right.

And yet,

these answers are just too right. Too right! These answers that I've found.. that are totally opposite to who I am, totally opposite to how I think, totally opposite to what I thought was right... is just too right.

And I can't lie to myself. And I definitely can not lie to the One who knows it right and knows that I know its right.

The One that knows everything, Inside and out.

I can't lie.

w'salam wbt.

Difference between 'Western' art and Islamic Art

2011-01-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Salam wbt

Hey. =)

I just got back from Barcelona. Actually, not just got back, been back more than a few days already. But, anyways, I guess this post is somehow related.

When I was in Barcelona, I walked around the main area for getting souveniers. So, you know how most shops sell t-shirts. I was looking for some good ones to buy. The designs are standard, good ..you know..just like normal t-shirts. But there's some like I think, for me..crude..unnecessarily obscene.

Anyways, it got me thinking...- why oh why is there such an obsession with these kinda things? It's like everywhere! You got erotic museums, shops, magazines, t-shirts, key-chains. And almost every statue or sculpture I saw here in Europe, are of naked people. They're all naked! Why??? I don't understand...aren't they embarrased? It's your private parts! It's like flasher attacks or something.

And then, I got back to Czech. And I started on this book called Jejak Risalah Di Nusantara I by Hafidzi Mohd Noor. Sorry, it's a Malay book. Basically it's like a minithesis on how revelation/Islam came to the Nusantara, nowadays Malaysia, Indonesia, South of Thailand, Singapore and Phillipines.

I was reading through and one point hit the title of this entry on the nose.

It says:

Tamadun Islam turut membangun aspek kesenian seperti yang terserlah pada seni binaan, seni ukiran, seni khat, seni muzik, seni sastera sama ada prosa atau puisi, namun kesenian yang dibangun oleh Islam tetap berteraskan kepada ilmu pengetahuan yang berpaksikan kepada kemurnian akidah. Justeru, tidak ada hasil seni perwarisan Islam yang rendah berupa imej-imej cabul dan perlambangan-perlambangan yang menunjuk kepada kerosakan akhlak dan kerendahan akal budi.

Roughly translated as:

Islamic civilisation has developed aspects of the arts as evident in the architecture, sculpture, calligraphy, calligraphy, art, music, literature in proses and poetry. But, Islamic Art is always centered in the axis of the purity of the faith [meaning that Islamic Arts must and has always been guided by the injunctions in the Qur'an and Sunnah - it can't be against anything in the Qur'an]. Thus, there is no Islamic Artwork in the form of obscene images or symbolisms that points to the corruption and destruction of common sense/decency or that depicts a lowly/ignoble character.

Aha!

Okay... so.. this is the difference between western arts and Islamic Arts. In the Western tradition, there is not much adherence to any noble/dignified guide for making art. And so most art has been made based on what the artist and so basically the general aura of the society( it may be the society of the old days for statues and sculptures, and the society of today for arts in t-shirt designs and what's on the media, tv and music) likes. Western art is based on desires, what humans like. And, since there's no guide, so there's nothing keeping an artist portraying probably the highest delight of man - sex - out there! And so western art has so far been characterized by this main theme - sex!

If I'm a westerner, I would be highly ashamed to read the above statement. But, it is the ugly truth.

This is not a blame game...I guess I'm trying to understand. Coz, seriously..here in Europe, I see obscene statues everywhere. I don't know what to think.

If this is the history and the logic, I think it's high time, we as a whole human kind, reevaluate ourselves...what's our values, you know? Do we just act based on our desires? And let that be our total guide? ?

hm..one last note.

A friend of mine went to Rome and went to all the major tourists sites. She told me of one particular sculpture/statue. It was of a man in the sexual act with a woman. The story behind that particular sculpture, is that the man was raping the woman. It was rape! A disgusting heinous crime! And this is emblemed is a 'work of art'?? I seriously don't understand... the things in people's minds... A rape can become art???

2010-12-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Salam wbt

Alright, so here I'd like to share a video of a talk by Brother Nouman Ali Khan. I'm sure you've heard of him. He's a recent up and coming speaker in the United State. Brilliant guy. And seriously amazing talks.

Initially, honestly, I wasn't all that hyped about him. Probably because of my ego. I was very much into Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and at the moment seriously still am. And so when someone recommend Brother Nouman here, I clicked on the link and just bookmarked the video and of course didn't look at it later. But then, I said, okay fine I'll just watch, and I thought wow seriously this guy's amazing! His style and Sheikh Hamza's is completely different. One's philosophical and the other's very very direct and practical but both comes from the same source.

Anyways, this is a pretty long talk, about an hour and 16 minutes. And as other Nouman Ali Khan's talk...it's concentrated. That's the thing about this brother. I think his talks kinda parallel the Qur'an as in its style. I think probably he learned or got influenced by the Qur'anic style when he was studying the Qur'an. If you know the Qur'an, you'd know that it's very concentrated. Every single word has a an implication on the next, on the whole sentence, on the whole surah, and on the whole book. And every single word matters. Each one has an implication on meaning on a person's life. Therefore, it's very hard to go through the Qur'an fast. You can't read one sentence and just ignore it and read the next. Sometimes a sentence can get a person pondering for a day. Sometimes a year. It's very very powerful.

So, Brother Nouman's style is something like that. Just going through this talk, I felt clicking pause very once in awhile. I think you can extract portions of his talk and make another talk out of it. It's a lot of information in one single talk. But seriously, I think this talk's worth your time. Don't be afraid to watch because of my introduction here. Heheh...I think it's worth it.

Okay..., let's watch...=)

*heheh, just finished watching till the end. kiki. You know what's at the end? hahah. sorry, I just somehow felt like laughing. Erm...heheh..Brother Nouman just mentioned Zaytuna College at the end! heheh. Yeah...it's Sheikh Hamza's college. heheh. Anyways, yeah...I can understand what he's saying. What he means and stuff. But alhamdulillah subhanallah wa masyaAllah that this is a concerted effort. Everyone needs to play their part. And alhamdulillah. =)

Decency in Europe

2010-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

This week in school is the one week that I somehow feel violated. Sigh, this is the life...of a medic Muslim girl studying in a European university. This is the life.

It's not so bad actually. If you think of all the good qualities here that your rarely see in the 'Muslim World'. Things like discipline, cleanliness, selflessness, dedication, etcetra. But when it comes to decency, specifically sexual decency - it's just really really bad.

I think just now in class, my eyes nearly got shot. Oh God, is it really necessary to put up pictures of women's behinds as comparison to inflamed tympanic membrane. I mean, seriously!? It was supposed to be a joke or something. Seriously. No shame at all. It's like someone who watches pornography and publicly announce it to the world. You know, people have seriously lost their mind, lost their sense of shame. Absolutely shameless! It's disgusting!

I seriously don't know how exactly does the Czechs/Europeans view their women. Do they see them only as breasts and behinds? As sexual objects? Oh yeah, I've gotta be kidding right? With all these things on women's right propelled by the "west", the "west" of course don't only see women as sexual objects. Really? It sure don't show.

Women here should be treated better. Men should stop looking at them like she's been born to make him excited/stimulated/aroused. And women here should know that they deserve to be respected. They should treat their body better. And should not degrade their own self worth by swaying into and for, men's lust.

For all its worth, the women's right movement that have swept across western countries in the past century should be honoured by women truely acting respectful and worthy, not by throwing their rights by choosing to be mere objects.

I think women here (in Europe) don't realize how much they are being used and seen as mere sexual object. They readily and simply give their body away for promiscuity. Sex is nothing. At least that's what they seem to show in their behaviour. Their body is nothing. Show it to the world. Come on everyone see my body and oogle at my thighs and breasts and behinds. It's as if they don't feel worthy or something. You know, you are special. Every single human being in this world man or woman, are special, are worthy. So don't degrade your dignity and self-worth by lowering yourself to the level of animals, hedonistic, doing things just because it seems fun or satisfy your sexual lust or your desire to be constantly viewed as attractive sexual objects. Rather, make yourself be seen as respectful, brilliant, intelligent, profesional and honourable. We have brains and rational and logical thinking. So, use it to good use. I'm not equalizing anyone to an animal, I mean, animals have this soft fleshy thing called a brain, but they don't have mind like humans who can make buildings and technology and iPhones and what nots. So, we're not the same right?

Regards..,

- To all women : love yourself. And men : love yourself too. We call ourselves civilised, so we need to start acting civilised you know.

This Path of Ours

2010-12-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Salam wbt...

I just got back from the airport. From sending off a friend home.

She's just like me you know. A student studying here. And hoping for a good stay. Going day by day. Never quite knowing what's gonna happen. But you know, just going.

I think she was sad. And of course many of us too.

It's not the end. She has to know that. That it's not the end. And its not a failure. And its not...bad.

Life is amazing you know. One way its taking you to the beautiful streets of Venice. And another is taking you to the vines of the Amazon. But both are not bad. None of it is bad. It's just life.

You know...Allah, God makes these things for you. For you to experience things. And each of these will make a part of you, you. It is a curve, a notch, an angle, an edge or a mold on this piece of art that is you.

Everything is good in this life no matter how odd it seems.

shrug, It's life. '',

An Act of Kindness

2010-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Salam wbt...

An unexpected breeze

An unexpected curl of white smoke of aroma

An unexpected act of kindness

An admirable surprise

I get to witness these kinds of event sometimes. And usually from the most unlikely player. And I get taken aback. Not by offensiveness. But just by awe. And inspiration.

I like being given these chances. To be a witness.

2010-12-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

I love learning from people. Just looking at people, watching them and admiring the way they talk, the way they walk, the things they say and the way they think.

I like observing. And watching. And thinking.

And I think about all sorts of things. From why this happened. And how it came about. And how's the thought process behind.

I like understanding how things come about.

I admire people. And I like the things they say.

There's a lot to be admired in people you know.

Hmm..

Salam wbt.

Success upon Success

2010-11-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt

A wise man once said (although I don't know which wise man :) ),

'we build on the success of our predecessors'

This quote suddenly jumped to my mind when I was getting some work done. I was thinking, you know, I'm getting this done, and later on I'm gonna be doing some other stuffs...., how well should I get these things done?

Should I just getting it done just enough?

Get it done nicely?

Get it done that it would look nice in other people's eyes?

Or, should I really give it my best?

Then, I thought about history. About our past. And we see massive developments and contributions from our forefathers especially contributions from the various civilisations. The one that strikes me as the most outstanding is the empire that knudge modern science into being, which is the Caliphate or also known as the Islamic Civilisation.

And these civilisations, they give it their all. Just look at the amount of science revolutionized in the period of the Caliphate. Tremendous!

And what we see of technology right now, you know...iPhones and iPods and MacBook Pro and Subways and internet and I dunno so many other things. They are all not possible if algebra did not exist. Or if Avicenna did not revolutionised medicine. If many other things did not happen before.

So its like this. If the first karate master has 10 tricks. And he perfected them all. And he taught them all well to his apprentice. Then his apprentice will have 10 tricks. And if he pass these on, then the next generation will have also 10 tricks.

If the 2nd generation developed those 10 tricks with the advances that come with the advance of age and time, he might have 15 tricks. And he pass on these 11 tricks. And if the 3rd generation develop those 15 tricks into let's say 25 tricks. And he passes these on. In the end, you will get more and more tricks. And this is what you call development, achievements and progression.

But if the 1st karate master is crooked and stingy and he wants to be superior above others. He might have kept one trick for himself. And so he passes only 9 tricks instead of 10 successor. So, what so you think will be the end? In the future generations, you will get declines, failures and deterioration.

This brought me to the point of tarbiyyah, roughly translated into English as education. There are a lot of elements at play in the role of educators, especially the human elements - emotions inside of you, your internal conflicts especially when it contradict your subconscious self-interests. At school, educators don't normal feel this dynamics. The reason being, that teachers are educating a child who are going to be professions other than teachers. Its different if you're a karate master and you're educating a child into being also a karate master. There's a lot of ego at play. You want this child to be good. But when he comes to a high point/level, you don't want him to get an upper hand over you. So, basically your ego does not want him to be better than you. And if this dynamic has no moral core, you might just be creating karate masters worse and more worse than you. Imagine the future karate masters.

This is where a person's moral core is truly tested. Actually, not his morality, but more of his virtue, purity, sincerity, devotion, integrity and dignity shows, more to himself.

Someone told me, that when you are building a successor, make them as good as you if not better.

When I think of tarbiyyah, I think about our Prophet s.a.w. He was the ultimate ideal, perfect man. And after him comes generations of honourable, gallant and successful Muslim until Islam reaches us now with roughly 1.5 Billion of the world's population still professing to the faith. And you have Muslim nowadays who are still very very much active and committed to their Islam, very much able to read and elaborate on the old texts, very much pious and in all walks of life, in all professions but always as Muslims. This is impossible if you don't have predecessors who are fully committed to preserving this deen. Hence this is impossible without daie and dakwah wa tarbiyyah. And we, those who are in this effort on continuing this chain of transmission, cannot fail to remember this - that we are building successors and that we must build them to be better than our own selves. If we have skills, our mad'u must have better skills than us. If we have knowledge, our mad'u must have better knowledge than us. If we have big hearts, our mad'u must have bigger hearts than us.

The future depends on us.

w'salam wbt.

an Airport Experience

2010-10-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

Salam wbt.

I love airports. I know, that's a really weird statement, but honestly, airports have been interesting for me. It's a place for me to experience so many emotions. And to meet so many people.

I was in Germany once. I don't quite remember the name of the airport but I was just sitting around waiting for my flight. It was a transit to back to Czech. I was alone of course. I've been travelling home and back alone for 3 years now. It's not a problem. But nowadays somehow its starting to feel too lonely. Anyways, I was sitting there, reading a book, and a Caucasian lady came by. She did no look lost but she did look like she's trying to make sure that she's at the right place. She was looking at the counter. And there was a man back there. And he didn't even look at her. She came to me and asked , "Is this the flight to Prague?". I said, "Yes". And she sat down in relief. "These people are just rude. They didn't even try to help me." I guess I was oblivious. 3 years back, I might have noticed and cared. But, being in Europe long enough, I got used to the "rudeness" of the people. You have to learn to get yourself around in Europe. People are not as generous as everywhere else. The lady continued,"In America, you can't get away with that kind of attitude/behaviour".

American! I thought. I was immediately excited. Not because I'm pro-America or something like that, but because hearing the word brings back fond memories from my childhood. You see, I lived in the US in my childhood. It was a time when family was good, school was good, life was very good in general. I loved my life there and I loved the culture, the people and so on. America was good for me. So, meeting this American lady just brings me sudden joy. And of course, I immediately understood what she meant. In the US, there's this common slogan in all supermarkets and shops. It's that "Customers are always right". A bit in contrast with the European culture.

Anyways, I continued the conversation with this lady. And we really a good chat. We talked about all sorts of stuff. But the best thing for me is that in that given time, Alhamdulillah, God gave me a chance to share one most important thing in my life, my Islam, with her. :)

It started with me asking her, are you a religious person? Oh yes she said. We go to the church every Sunday.

And then I said, I'm religious too. I'm a Muslim.

And then she said, Oh yes I've heard of that. You pray to Buddha right?

Erk! I almost jumped out of my skin. Hahah. Actually if I was drinking water, I might have spurted them out at that moment! Hahah

Buddha? Oh God, No, I said to her laughing. Heheh. No no...that's Buddhism. I am a Muslim. Islam.

Have you heard of Islam?

And to my surprise, she said, " No actually I don't know what is Islam. " Weird, I thought. With all the news a bout WTC and terrorists and what not, she must have at least heard something about Islam. Of course, Islam is not terrorism. But, misleaded and misunderstood people nowadays usually say the two in unison.

And so, I went on explaining about Islam to her. I was excited actually! :D Coz I get to talk about Islam! Yeay! :)

She just looked at me as if I'm speaking a foreign language. heh.

Seriously? There actually exist people like this (that don't know a thing about Islam) in this world? Incredulous! But totally eye-opening for me. So, Islam is not that well-known. Hmm..
So we Muslims have a lot of job in our hands then..
There's a lot of people out there who don't know about Islam. And maybe a bigger portion too that have completely weird and misleading and wrong ideas about Islam being terrorists and what-not.

Also, we've got this solution for all of the world's problem = Islam, gosh, this really good thing!!
And not everyone knows about it?

I continued talking with the lady until we boarded the flight.

In Prague, we parted.

I kinda felt sad to leave. It felt like we had connected somehow.
She waved her hand to me in a goodbye and I waved back. And I pray that Allah will guide her soon. InshaAllah.

And I hope to have more experiences like this again. :)

w'salam wbt

CzeMSA

2010-10-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum and Dobry Den semua. :)

Tempoh hari saya dilantik menjadi VP Czemsa Pusat 2010. Subhanallah, suatu perkara yang sungguh tidak saya sangka. Saya. Saya? Saya manusia yang kerdil ini diberi tanggungjawab yang besar ini? Sungguh ajaib. Sepanjang hari dan hari seterusnya saya berada in 'a state of shock'. Betul ke ni? Namun, fikir punya fikir, ini takdir Allah. Jika Allah yakin dengan saya, saya perlu yakin dengan diri saya sendiri.

Melihat balik setahun, dua tahun lepas. Sebenarnya, saya tidaklah terasing daripada CzeMSA untuk ia menjadi sesuatu yang tidak saya fikirkan langsung. Saya lihat dan saya fikir. Dan perasaan saya, sepanjang 2 tahun lepas, ialah bahawa ada yang saya kagumi dan ada juga banyak perkara dalam CzeMSA yang ingin saya perbaikkan. Oleh itu, inilah visi saya. Untuk merealisasikan apa-apa perkara lompong yang saya lihat ada dalam perlaksanaan CzeMSA sebelum ini.

Tetapi, kita hidup di dunia yang semuanya tidak smooth dan dilihat perfect belaka pada pandangan kita. Saya sebagai seorang Islam, seorang student, seorang manusia biasa, mempunyai batasan-batasan dan kelemahan-kelemahan. Tidak mungkin semua dapat dilaksanakan perrfect. Saya sendiri perlu menjaga diri saya untuk tidak menggadaikan prinsip hidup saya iaitu Islam saya dan studies saya. InsyaAllah saya hanya boleh buat yang terbaik. Pada saya CzeMSA should be something light. Ringan. Bukan badan politik. Hanya persatuan pelajar untuk kita belajar kepimpinan, belajar mengurus manusia dan program. It is an extra learning experience besides our medical studies. Jadi, tak perlu terlalu serious2 sgt. Kita rilek. Kita belajar.

Usaha + doa + tawakal.

w'salam wbt

-bel-

At the end of my solat

2010-10-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

Whenever I pray my solat, there's always this part that I like - the part near the end, the tasyahud. It goes like this:

'All words of glorification is for Allah...

All acts of worship and good deeds are for Him...

Peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you O Prophet....

Peace be upon us and all of Allah's righteous servants.

I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah

And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.'

I like this part because these words conclude everything. It's a soft beautiful farewell speech. The caller calls on his origin, then subdues himself to him. Then, with utter humility and love, is an outburst of words of endearments towards his most loved one. Then, praises and wishes of peace towards his fellow brothers and sisters, his -hood, his family.

Bittersweet. Very bittersweet. It's the time when I most hope the prayer will never end. That it can go on and on and on. That I would never have to say the salam. That if only I could stay in this position for ever. Even when I've started the prayer with my thoughts wondering around, thinking about all sorts of things. At this moment, my thoughts are only to One. And how I wish it would never end. That there'll be another rakaat after this. That I could just get up and pray another one.

This is my favourite part of the prayer. What's yours? =) Care to share? =)

w'salam wbt

Best Summer so far...=)

2010-10-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Bismillah...

Salam wbt,

I think I've said this to several people already. :) This summer was probably the best I've ever had so far. :) Alhamdulillah....its been just good Alhamdulillah..

Its been a long time actually since I felt this stable. Actually, honestly, I don't quite remember the last time. If I just look back, I think, the last time would probably be in my Form 3 of school. I guess, a very short time just before I went to MRSM.

This summer's sweet.. :)

The best two things I think is the reconnections. And, :) my hospital attachment at UM. These two just made my summer holiday. :)

I guess that's all I just wanna share here. I'm sorry, I can't tell the whole story. Heheh, if you know me, you'll know I'm pretty much tight on my personal things.

Anyways, I guess this is probably the best time for me to get serious and really take hold, and manage my life. Alhamdulillah, at least at this moment, I've been given this pocket. I need to use it to think. InsyaAllah.

Take care guys. =)

w'salam wbt.

Tafsir Surah Al-'Alaq

2010-09-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Bismillah,

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

I just finished watching this video of Tafsir Surah al-'Alaq. It's a very good tafsir, so, I'll just post it down here. Feel free to browse through other lectures by IIOC at vimeo.com. I think they're all worth listening and watching to. I've been listening to quite a few and alhamdulillah I find them all very good. Alhamdulillah. May Allah increases our iman.

Tafseer Surah Al 'Alaq by Dr. Imad Bayoun from Islamic Institute of Orange Cty on Vimeo.

W'salam wbt.

Reflections on Surah At-Takathur

2010-09-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

Bismillah.

The Qur'an is a wonderful gift. A light and a beauty in my life. It's elegance, poetic hymns, praises and prayers have captured my heart and my mind again and again. These beautiful words of Allah has powers beyond my control. It enters into my heart in the most unexpected ways and time and place. And it never fails. It lingers, it captivates and it pulls you again and again towards it no matter how long you stayed away or keep yourself away from it. This is the Brilliance and the Power of Allah.

I was going through At-Takathur, an Indonesian translation. In Indonesian, it starts with

'Bermegah-megahan telah melalaikan kamu'

That's the first verse of this surah and it translates into English as

'Boastfulness has made you distracted'

From other translations, it translates as

Muhsin Khan: The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you,

Yusuf Ali: The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things)

Pickthal: Rivalry in worldly increase distracteth you

Sahih International: Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you

Reading the surah with an Indonesian translation, I associated boastfulness more with ego or arrogance.

The way I felt it, is that, this verse is telling me, or more correctly, Allah is telling me that your ego is distracting you. Your ego is in the way. Of seeing, knowing, getting something valuable. When you put that shield way up high, nothing can get through. You miss out on things.

I was listening to this talk last night. It was actually a talk on sirah of the Prophet. And it was elaborated beautifully. The speaker was mentioning how people can sometimes with obsessed with things they don't have. They will say things like "If only I have this, I'll be happy." or "I'm so jealous of this person. She has this, that's why she's not sad. If only I have the same thing." The speaker was saying that people sometimes associate a very specific thing they don't have to be the key to their satisfaction or peace of mind or happiness. And unless they have this thing, they think they will not be complete. And they ask God profusely for it, day and night, prayers and prayers, until they become sort of like obsessed with the notion. In the process of this fixation, the person miss out on all the good things that comes to him.

It's like when you're on a train. And it's going high speed. And you are it's driver. You're a high-speed train driver. Let's say, you're aiming for an all time high, for a speed record. And so, you're at this starting line, on the track, and there's a huge crowd at the train station, both sides of the track, a bit along the track. All are ready to cheer you on. And your mission is to go from one end of Europe to the other end at full speed. The whistle was blown and you're on your way. You started with low speed and brought it up fast with the sounds of the cheers of the crowd. You go faster and faster and faster. Your eyes are fixed on the track, its bends and its turn. Yes!Yes! You said to yourself. This is the fastest train ever, I am going to get that record. I am going to be famous. Oh Yes! Go go go! And finally, you got to the finish line. And you've won trophy.

Who amongst you have been to Europe? Have you guys ridden its train? What's the best thing about riding a train across Europe? It's view.

That is the best thing on a cross-country Europe train ride - it's view. It's gorgeous. The countryside is just beautiful. And it changes too. Every season, winter summer spring and autumn has its own beauty. At least for me, the view is what I look for and like on train ride in Europe.

So, when you're obsessed with one thing you think will make you all that happy, you miss out the guaranteed happiness good things that you already have, or that came your way.

Coming back to ego. Ego is a shield you put around yourself that you think is protective for you. It protects your dignity, your right being acknowledge for your presence, intelligence, stature or whatever. A man needs a slight measure of ego so that he won't be stepped on or bullied. It gives a man a natural ability to stand up for what he believes, to have his own impact in this world. But too much ego darkens your heart, closes you up from the rest of the world, can make you very strict, cold and imposing. And if you don't recognize this ego and learn to tone it down and control it, it can get to the point where you think you know everything and that its pointless trying to explain it to other people. You end up feeling very difficult to work in a team with others. And even you may be right, somehow you're not that happy inside, as much as you thought you would. And the worst thing is, you'll be alone and lonely.

And the worst worst worst most ever worst thing is, that when you think you are always right, that it becomes very hard for other people to teach you, that you feel indignant inside when an idea does come from you and that you don't want to mix around....... what you're basically saying without actually pronouncing it outloud, is that...you are God. And that is the worst worst worst most worst thing that you could ever ever do as a human being. Nauzubillahi min zalik.

We are humans. We were created. Someone created us. And he is much more powerful, more intelligent, more beautiful, more right, more loving, more rich, more in high in stature, more famous and more wanted than us. The only key to our peace of heart and mind is when we can truly feel in our hearts. When we sincerely feel and acknowledge and willingly want to give it to him. To give Allah what He deserves. Allah has no problem. He doesn't need all these to somehow survives like we human beings do. But, we need Him. And unless we are at peace with that, and we ourselves, we, in our hearts and actions and minds give Allah what he deserves, we will never be happy.

' Competition in worldly gains has distracted you

until you come to your graves.

But no! you will come to know

Again no, you shall come to know!

No! If you only knew with confident knowledge,

you will certainly see Hellfire

Again, you will certainly see it with certainty of sight.

Then on that day, you will be asked about the pleasure you indulged in, in this world.'

I read from an Indonesian translation. And this entry is by no means a tafsir of At-Takathur. More of a reflection. And I think, personally, going through the surah from the first verse till the end, I feel, at the end of it, Allah was trying to help us. This surah is a warning. And warnings are always for the good of the person being warned. Allah loves us. He is the Most Loving. And He doesn't need anything. Its us that needs a lot of things. We need guidance. We need someone to tell us how to live in this world. Allah is doing all this, giving this surah to us, to help us get to the most beautiful destination ever - Heaven. He has even told us our future if we keep going on the way we are. He has given us all the tools, the guidelines, the manual and facilities. Now, the ball is in our hands, what are we gonna do about it? It's up to us now! How are we going to change?

=) w'salam wbt

with love

The Forgotten Picture

2010-08-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Bismillah..

Assalamu'alaikum wbt..

I've just got back from a talk by....drumrolls please...;-) Imam Suhaib Webb. Who? =) Here, I'll give you a pic, this dude:

heheh.

For Malaysians, notice x die pakai baju ape tuh? baju melayuuu..=) heheh..die kawen ngn org M'sia...well you know..Malaysian girls hot stuff kan.. =p

Anyways...its this guy. An American convert to Islam, converted at the age of 20. He's in Malaysia right now, till Thursday, and I just got from one his talks here in KL. Been seeing some of his talks on YouTube, since you know, he's a good friend of Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, and you guys pretty much know how much I like Sheikh Hamza Yusuf. He's honestly a funny guy. Heheh. Very in the 'hood'. =)

Anyways, I just came back from the talk with my parents and...erm..well...there's a lot of good points that he brought up, and quite a handful that I would say, hit me in the nose, if you know what I mean. You probably don't know what I mean. Heheh. I'll talk.

I think he hit a lot of points, at least with me, that really expose your weaknesses. The things I feel indignant about, both those I were aware of but has not been mentioned directly by anyone to me for a long time now, and those I weren't aware of but brought starkly suddenly into bright light right in front of me. In the end, you're left only with yourself to really look deep down and change about. With me, I've pondered, is a lot with the question of honesty or ikhlas. Am I really sincere in doing this? My answer to myself is = it's definitely not showing in your actions.

But other than the points brought up by the speaker himself, the talk tonight brought home to me something I've lost for a long time and I didn't realize until I sat there, on that white chair, looking around at the crowd around me. I've never felt more at home than I ever was anywhere other than with that crowd tonight. I've been a lot of places you know. And I've with sorts of people. And I've not gone through much but enough that I know what's now right, but the right that I've is not in the crowd that I'm at home with. I know you guys probably don't understand this much, I know I'm being very vague here. I'm sorry. This is how I get when things are a bit personal, I get kinda vague with you guys. I guess its a protective mechanism. Actually, I'd write a poem for this kinda stuff, but I'm too tired now. Sorry guys.

Anyways, I guess what I want to say is that tonight I realize how much I miss this thing. And how much, at the beginning of things, I had that small niat to help this thing that I'm at home with. But along the way, I kinda lost it. I found the tool and the method, but I lost the picture (on big picture).

But I guess you know, I still have breaths in my lungs. And I guess, this is life. Imam Suhaib Webb said - " You don't go to one course/seminar of "Perfecting your Adab" and your adab becomes perfect. No, it's a life-long process. This life is an experience, a life-long journey. You earn along the way you know. And its like a big puzzle. Each event in your life is like a piece of many pieces and you realize at one day or another how it fits into the big picture. InsyaAllah.

Alhamdulillah for a good day.

And syukur alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for making me go tonight. =)

Jazakumullahu khairan my sisters and brothers for bearing with my rants. =)

C ya guys soon! ;-)

w'salam wbt.

Qur'an and Science

2010-03-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

First and foremost, I am so so sorry Lyna. I know that you asked for this a long long time ago. And I said I promise I'd write about it. And insyaAllah I'm writing it right now, here; this is the entry. But I am really really sorry for it being so delayed...

Astaghfirullah. May Allah forgive me.

I have been meaning to write out this entry, this particular request, but I haven't found the right outline or style or fashion to go about it. I have a viewpoint, a specific corner from which I view this topic, but I specifically did not know how to write it down.

Erm, I'm gonna give it a try here...

My hope for this entry is to fulfill a promise I made and that it will benefit anyone who read it. InsyaAllah.

The topic that was requested by Ms. Lyna was "Qur'an and Science". click here to go to the Qur'an online or here

Qur'an and Science.

Immediately when seeing this theme, I know, Muslims are happy. Already smiling from ear to ear, east to west, corner to corner..=) I know, coz I am a Muslim and I'm always happy when people talk about the Qur'an and its connections to science.

Now. Many non-Muslims would probably say "huh. Why are they so happy?", for Isn't science the antithesis of religion, proving the absurdity of believing in an unseen power by objective scientific findings?

Heheh.

This is where Muslims' smiles gets larger. Muslims starts to roll up their sleeves like a chef ready and poised to present his recipe to the audience.

Muslims all over are generally happy...because they know.. That for every scientific fact that has been established in the modern world, that fact has already been in the Qur'an 1400 years ago. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is a divine revelation by God through his prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and all this revelation is written down and compiled into a book, called the Qur'an. Muslims believe that this compilation has not been tampered with and has been the same from 1400 years ago up till now. So, when verses of the Qur'an state scientific facts, these are facts stated 1400 years ago, in which time modern science did not exist. So, how could this be? Who could have known about these facts that are only proven now with advanced technology, 1400 years ago? It's impossible that one simple man called a prophet in the middle of the arabian dessert who can neither read nor write can know all this. So, the logic is...it must be magic. Something unseen. Yet something so brilliant and intelligent that it knows everything. So, could it be the work of a higher being? A divine origin? A supreme being generally known as God?

These are the basic questions that a Muslim forces a non-Muslim/non-believer to really think about. Especially with the show of scientific discoveries already in the Qur'an a long time before modern science crept and crawled to discover them.

I am a Muslim. So, I am very happy with anything that can open up the non-Muslim-world's eye to the truth of Islam. And, evidently many Muslims in academia are also working hard to show a bit of the scientific community of the amazing Qur'an and this amazing Islam. As said below:

A topic that has received more attention from Muslim lecturers in the

West during the last two decades is the comparison of modern scientific findings with Qur’anic references to natural phenomena. - Jeffrey Lang, in his book "Struggling to Surrender"

This is how it has been going on within the community all over the Muslim world. There are articles, debates, seminars and many more trying to show the world the truth of the Qur'an which validates established scientific facts.

As a means of da'wah (attracting non-Muslims to Islam), I think it is okay. It is one way to bring people to the Qur'an and from then on, the power of the Qur'an itself will bring people to Allah. This is one good method.

However. For a Muslim, him and herself, this should not be his or her fikrah. By the word 'this', I mean the absolute viewing or a sort of acceptance of the Qur'an as a textbook of science.

I say this because of the worrying trend of Muslims trying to force verses of the Qur'an on scientific discoveries. Trying to show that this verse or that verse is alluding to this discovery or that discovery. This is a worrying trend, because it raises a question in one's mind, of: What is it that Muslims truly base their understandings of the world on? The Qur'an or science?

This is what Ahmad Von Denffer says in his book 'Ulum al-Qur'an, An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an :

The basic question that needs to be raised here despite the very attractive evidence presented by the scholars and writers from the field of science, is: If a scientific fact which is held to be valid, since it presents the latest result of scientific research is in agreement with the Qur'an today and if one is convinced solely by this argument of the heavenly origin of the Qur'an, what will be one's attitude, when or if, after more intensive research, the very same scientific fact in seen in a new light and perhaps differ from what one previously accepted as the Qur'an's position on the matter? Should this discrepancy then convince us of the human origin of the Qur'an, and so refute its heavenly origin? In other words, until very recently, very many scientific facts were in utter disagreement with today's scientific truths - and if today's scientific truths are in agreement with the Qur'an, this means that perhaps a few decades or a century ago no believer in science could have been convinced of the heavenly origin of the Qur'an. Similarly, a few decades or a century from now, science which is after all a human perspective on the true nature of things, might describe its findings entirely differently from the way it presents it's truth today.

Science and Scientific truths, therefore, cannot be generally accepted as criteria for the genuineness or non-human origin of the Qur'an, although at this point in time there are perhaps many good examples to be cited for the concordance between science and the Qur'an on certain questions. However, the Qur'an is a book of guidance for mankind and not a book of science nor a mine of cryptic notes on scientific facts.

Muslims believe the Qur'an to be guidance from Allah, while science is a human endeavour and we believe the Qur'an to be guidance from Allah under any circumstances irrespective of whether science, which changes continuously, seems to be in support of it or not.

A slightly more gentle reply to this theme is by Dr. Jeffrey Lang in his book Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam.

A topic that has received more attention from Muslim lecturers in the
West during the last two decades is the comparison of modern scientific
findings with Qur’anic references to natural phenomena. The work of two
non-Muslim scientists, Bucaille [23] and (to a lesser extent) Moore [24], are most
often cited. However, this subject has been in vogue among Muslim writers
since the turn of the twentieth century.

Muslim religious scholars are somewhat wary of this topic, however.
This may in part be due to the fact that some have little education in modern
science. It may also be because they have a more critical and justifiable
concern: that although the Qur’an frequently invites us to consider
various facets of nature as an indication of God’s beneficence and wisdom,
it is far from being a textbook on science. I believe that many Muslim
scholars would agree with Schuon’s [25] statement that God’s principal aim “is
to save, not to instruct, and His concern is with wisdom and immortality,
not with external knowledge, still less with satisfying human curiosity.”

Accepting this caution, we cannot deny that these references to the workings
of nature are there and that they deserve consideration as “signs” or
evidences of the Qur’an’s divine origin.

There is also another reason for caution: the tendency to view the
Qur’an as anticipating almost every discovery and theory of modern science,
such as the splitting of the atom, Darwinian evolution, the discovery
of “black holes,” and the uniqueness of fingerprints. Often these arguments
involve assigning to certain Arabic words meanings that did not
exist at the time of the revelation. For example, the Arabic word dharrah,
occurring in 99:8, which originally meant “a tiny speck” or “a particle of
dust,” is frequently interpreted as “atom,” because it conveys the sense in
this verse of being the smallest particle of matter known to man. It is assigned
this meaning by interpreters for the benefit of the modern reader,
which is fine. Problems arise, however, when one employs this meaning in
the context of other passages to argue, for instance, based on 10:61, that
the Qur’an predicts the discovery of subatomic particles. These pitfalls could be avoided by referring to such philological studies as those of al Raghib al Isfahani [26] and Lane [27] in order to arrive at the original sense of the
terms in the Qur’an, and only to those discoveries of modern science that
we accept as facts. Even then, we should not insist on a particular understanding
of a Qur’anic passage because truly “none but God knows its
final meaning” (3:7).

As mentioned above, the first words revealed through Muhammad
were: “Read, in the name of your Lord, who created—created man from a
tiny thing that clings” (96:1-2). The Arabic word which I have translated
as “a tiny thing that clings” is ‘alaq. In many translations it is rendered as
“blood clot,” which a human being never is at any stage in his development
and which is not the original meaning of the term, although it has a
nice ring to it in English. Originally ‘alaq denoted a tiny leech-like creature
with the ability to attach itself by one of its ends to a surface. This is
an apt description of the fertilized egg during the initial stages of development,
a time when it literally implants itself in the womb:
The implantation of the egg in the uterus (womb) is the result of
the development of villosities, veritable elongations of the egg,
which, like roots in the soil, draw nourishment from the thickness
of the uterus necessary to the egg’s growth. These formations
make the egg literally cling to the uterus. This is a discovery of
modern times.

After implantation, the embryo continues to grow until it looks to the
naked eye like a piece of chewed flesh. The bone structure then develops
inside this mass, followed by the development of muscle tissue that covers
the bones. This is well known to us today. We find this description in
the Qur’an:
We fashioned the thing which clings into a chewed lump of flesh
(mudghah) and We fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We
enclothed the bones with intact flesh (lahm). (23:l)

One has to acknowledge a fascinating parallelism between the
Qur’anic description of a human being’s development and the recent discoveries
of embryology, especially when we consider the preponderance of mistaken notions concerning human development that persisted for over
a thousand years after its revelation.

In several places (7:54; 35:37; 31:29), the Qur’an directs us to consider
the alternation of night and day as another sign from the Almighty.
An interesting case is the following: “He wraps the night around the day
and He wraps the day around the night” (39:5). The Arabic verb kawwara,
translated above as “to wrap around,” has a more precise meaning. It
comes from the same root as the Arabic word for ball (kurah) and has the
definite connotation of wrapping or winding something around a spherical
object, such as winding a strand of yarn around its ball. From the perspective
of the planet earth, this is exactly what takes place in that a half sphere
of night followed by a half sphere of day is perpetually being wrapped
around its surface. This is due to the earth’s rotation and the sun’s relatively
stationary position in relation to the earth. The Qur’an’s phrasing in
this description is remarkable, unless one accepts its claim to being a revelation
from God.

Another example of subtle yet extraordinary precision in describing a
natural phenomenon occurs in 16:68: “And your Lord inspired the bee,
(saying,) “Take for yourself dwellings in hills, on trees, and in what they
(mankind) build.” The imperative “take” above is the translation of the
Arabic word attakhithi, which is a feminine form (for Arabic, unlike
English, differentiates between the sexes). The feminine form is used
when all of those it refers to are female, whereas the masculine is used
when a group consists of at least one male. Therefore the Qur’an is in fact
saying: “Take for yourself, you female bees, dwellings. . . .” A swarm of
bees is comprised of three types: a queen, the worker bees who collect
honey and build the hive, and the male drones, whose sole purpose is to
impregnate the queen and who are then killed off by the worker bees. The
latter type are females with underdeveloped sex organs. Thus, the phrasing
of this command is in agreement with the fact that male bees do not
participate in the construction of the hive or “dwelling,” which is the sole
work of the females.

Some verses seem to parallel the most modern discoveries. For example,
by studying the galactic spectrum, scientists have recently established
that the universe is expanding. In the Qur’an, we read: “The firmament,
We have built it with power. Verily, We are expanding it.”
(51:47). Arberry’s interpretation comes very close to this, for the word
sama‘ means firmament or heaven in the sense of the extra-terrestrial
world, and the word musi‘un is the present plural participle of the verb
awsa‘a, which means “to widen, to extend, to expand.”
In a similar example, we read:
Have not those who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth
were fused (ratq) and then We broke them apart (fataqa), and we
made every living thing out of water. Will they then not believe?
(21:30)

With the above verse in mind, another tenet of modern science becomes
quite intriguing. Scientists have postulated for some time that the
universe was originally a single primary mass of nearly infinite density
that subsequently split into multiple fragments after a tremendous explosion,
the “Big Bang.” It has also been established that all living cells are
made up mostly of water, which is the essential element for the existence
of life as we know it. This verse accords with these conceptions. But the
more interesting observation is that this challenge to unbelievers was proclaimed
in the seventh century.
We may ask ourselves: Which unbelievers
are being addressed here? For the contemporaries of Muhammad, this
revelation had many compelling aspects, but this question could not have
made much sense to them unless there was some ancient, and presently
unknown, Arabian mythology to which they could relate it. Was it then
meant to be understood by people of a much later era who would be
familiar with modern scientific findings?

The last remark leads us to inquire how those Qur’an exegetes who
lived before the modern era understood these passages. First of all, with
perhaps a few exceptions, all of these verses could be comprehended on
some level by anyone according to his level of knowledge, for all languages,
especially those that are scriptural, contain words that have several
shades of meaning. Even if one does not know that the earth is spherical,
he is still aware of the alternation of night and day, and hence may only consider
the choice of words in 39:5 above peculiar. Also, commentators often
understood such words in a symbolic or esoteric sense, which is a reflection
of the fact that these verses have meanings and purposes on several
simultaneous levels, a subject that we will look into shortly. Sometimes
commentators would hazard scientific explanations that were, more often
than not, completely wrong; in other instances, their understandings were
quite close to what was discovered later. Most importantly, the “signs”
(ayat) appear as parts of larger passages whose primary emphasis is on the
guiding and saving of mankind, and therefore such technical significances
are likely to be missed by those not familiar with modern scientific thought.
It should be mentioned that there are expressions in the Qur’an that
seem to denote the possibility of future scientific explication. The mysterious
symbolic letters (al muqatta‘at) that appear at the beginning of many surahs is one such example.

Bucaille puts forth a conjecture concerning
the repeated reference in the Qur’an to “the heavens, and earth and everything
between them” in his book, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science.
The Qur’an contains an intriguing description of the Day of Judgment:
The Day when We will roll up the heavens as written scrolls are
rolled up. As We brought into being the first creation, so shall We
bring it forth anew—a promise [which We have made binding]
upon Ourselves. Behold, We are able to do [all things]! (21:104)
From this reference to rolling up the heavens like scrolls as in the first
creation and our notions of the Big Bang spoken of above, is it possible to
infer that the universe continued to fragment and expand in an unscrolling
fashion after the Big Bang, revolving outwardly from some linear axis?
Will the end of this cosmos involve a reversal of that process? Of course,
this is only speculation, based on widely held conjectures, but it serves to
demonstrate the existence of verses having implications that might one
day be found to have a scientific basis. Here is still another example:
He Who created the seven heavens one above another. No fault
will you see in the creation of the Most Merciful. So turn your
vision again. Do you see any flaw? Again turn your vision, and
again your vision will come back to you, dazzled, defeated.
(67:3-4)

Although the inability of man to encompass the mysteries and complexity
of creation is expressed in this passage, it seems to point to various
natural phenomenon as well.

We are not taking this opportunity to assert that there are specific
Qur’anic verses that refer to specific scientific discoveries. We are merely
comparing Qur’anic statements that deal with the physical universe and
certain scientific notions. Often there appears to be profound similarities.
But, more notably, as Bucaille observes, the Qur’an is distinguished from
all other works of antiquity that describe or attempt to explain the workings
of nature in that it avoids mistaken concepts. For in the Qur’an,
“many subjects are referred to that have a bearing on modern knowledge,without one of them containing a statement that contradicts what has been
established by present-day science.”

The “signs” accomplish exactly what their designation suggest: they
act as guideposts, capture one’s attention, assist in guiding one to deeper reflection,
and, sometimes, to belief. Their power lies not in giving explicit
and precise descriptions of natural phenomena, but in their ability to inspire
man’s curiosity and awe throughout the ages. Although we may argue about
the true meaning of any of these passages, the topics discussed thus far in
this chapter lead to the definite impression that the author of the Qur’an
anticipated an evolution in the mentality of man, culminating in an age
when reason and science would be viewed as the final criterion of truth.

The above observations, to the dismay of many Muslims, are unlikely
to convince non-Muslims that the Qur’an is the word of God. Genius,
however great, is always mysterious but not necessarily divine. They may,
however, stimulate further investigation. At some stage the Qur’an must
arouse in the reader the eternal questions: “Is there a God, and if so, then
what is our relationship to Him and the purpose and meaning of life?”

[23] Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, 32-35.
[24] Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human, 3d ed. (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1982).
[25] Schuon,Understanding Islam, 45.
[26] Abu al Qasim Husayn al Raghib al Isfahani (d. 503H.), al Mufradat fi Gharib al Qur'an.
[27] William E. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon (London: 1863-93).

Many Muslims like to approach this topic by quoting scientific discoveries and its parallel in the Qur'an which hence proves its magic and divine origin. The main purpose is to impress, as a means of attracting non-Muslims to Islam and showing them how clearly impossible for this to be not the Word of God. Because its simply impossible that a man in the desert a 1400 years ago who can neither read nor write can magically know these modern scientific facts.

This effort for da'wah is highly admirable and I have no qualms with it. But, from the writings above, I hope to show a different point of view and in my opinion the more correct one for a Muslim.

The Qur'an is not a textbook for science. It is a book of signs. Signs to lead you to know your Allah. I think approaching the Qur'an in this manner, and doing da'wah from this standpoint is much more true and credible than using it as a tool to proof scientific discoveries.

The verses could be really proving science, and those scientific facts could be truly established. Fact of the matter is, no one truly knows. And no one can truly claim that they know.

To conclude, I think it's very important that a Muslim truly knows his belief in the Qur'an, its essence, origin and the degree of its guidance on his or her life, and not rely on its relativity to a definitely much weaker anything, whether it be science, rationalism, experiences or anything as the determinant of his faith. In this matter, every Muslim should reflect and ponder and really communicate with Allah for the best of guidance. InsyaAllah.

May Allah bless all of you and may Allah sends us all to paradise
And may we see each other there and greet each other with the greetings of the heavenly people, the greetings of "Salam"...May peace be upon you... :)
(Surah Al-Waqi'ah 10:26) ( Surah Ya Sin 36:58)

Tadabbur Surah Az-Zumar : 1 - 2

2010-03-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Assalamu'alaikum wbt,

The revelation of the Qur'an is from Allah, the All-Mighty, All-Wise.

I was struck by the immediate humbleness of the verse. Allah, the All-Mighty, All-Wise. Gosh... He is Allah and he has made many many things. He has made the mountains, he has made the sky, the sea, the river, animals and skyscrapers, technology and planets and orbits and He has made the planets run in their orbit with intricate order and precision. Allah has made all these, and yet here..He's mentioning one that looked so less extravagant, seemingly small and insignificant in comparison to the majestic mountains and planets. Subhanallah...

Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book [O Muhammad], in truth. So worship Allah, sincerely (ikhlas) to him in religion.

Allah swt is aying. that He has sent down this Qur'an for us in truth. He is the All-Wise, so He knows what he's doing. This is not just some book. But it is The Book. The Book that contains truths of all thruths without any deception. And this is not just any book. It is a Book sent down by The All-Wise, the wisest of the wisest of the wisest. Imagine someone who knows ans has the answer to everything. To every sinle question that you can imagine asking. To every single doubt you have and every single provocation that enters your mind. Allah the All-Mighty is sending this amzing Book to us! To us of all beings. To us that are so full of anger and rebellion and stupidity and aggression. To the human beings who like to make war, who prefer to live luxuriously while others elsewhere are dying of famine, to us who pollute the world and think nothing of of others and too much about ourselves, to us that like to complain and are too egoistic to be grateful. Allah sent this Book of truth to us! And He is All-Wise. So, we must we worth it. And so Allah says, worship Me(Allah). Worship Allah and none else. And worship Him in honesty and sincerity, with all your heart. Subhanallah...

A Beautiful Du'a

2010-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, :)

This is a du'a shared by my sister to me while we were sitting at the university waiting for the lecture. It's actually a du'a on going to the mosque [as reported by Al-Bukhari 11/116 no.6316 and by Muslim 1/526, 529-530 no. 763], but I thought the meaning was just so beautiful, that I'd share it here. Please feel free to read it and practice it, and make it a part of your daily routine :) It's your daily connection with Allah insyaAllah! =)

A longer version of the du'a that is even more beautiful is reported by At-Tirmithi 5/483 no.3419, Al-Bukhari in Al-'Adab Al-Mufrad no. 695, p.258. See also Al-Albani, Sahih Al-'Adab Al-Mufrad no. 536. And, Al-Bukhari, Fathul-Bari 11/118. I couldn't find the Arabic text online, but it is in Hisnul Muslim (hardcopy), so you guys can check it out there. It's a real beautiful du'a and it goes like this:

"O Allah, place light in my heart and on my tongue light and in my ears light and in my sight light, and above me light and below me light, and to my right light and to my left light, and before me light and behind me light. Place in my soul light. Magnify for me light and amplify for me light. Make for me light and make me a light. O Allah, grant me light, and place light in my nerves, and in my body light and in my blood light and in my hair light and in my skin light. O Allah, make for me a light in my grave . . . and a light in my bones. Increase me in light, increase me in light, increase me in light. Grant me light upon light. "

May light be upon all of us.... :)

Peace and blessings be upon all of you my sisters and brothers! @>--

A bright spot on a dark day

2010-03-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Salam.

I found this poem online [link] and I thought I'd put it up here. I found it so beautiful in its own twisted little way. I found myself changing roles throughout the piece and I think the poem speaks for itself and readers can relate it to themselves their own way from many different roles and perspectives. I think the author of the poem wrote it from the perspective of a single entity, but me reading this and feeling all its troubled, weaving currents, I cannot put myself in that one view - of directing it towards a specific single person. At one point in the poem, I feel like directing it to one situation and at another point in the poem, it is directed completely towards another direction. It's beautiful though. And I thoroughly enjoy the whole experience. It's a wonderful poem. And I think it deserves some publicity here ;)

This poem has been my bright spot on this dark today.

Perfection

Elana Alice Pane

no copyright claimed

Exhausted and in pain

a new kind of tired
tired only i can feel
feelings i only know
i sit and watch you marvel at my existence
can you not see that mine is just as ordinary
mine is just as pointless as you feel your is
my reality is twisted and tainted
my soul is tired and scourged
being pulled in every direction
except where i want to go
dragged and fighting in every direction
where all of you want me to go
maybe you know what is best for me
maybe you can decipher the truth
maybe i am your disciple
as your example the flaws of my youth
tempting me to no longer be humble
as you make yourself lower than i
making me feel exalted
as i do what i think to be right
i wish sometimes they wouldn't see me
and wonder at my ways
to them i seem like an enigma
but really i am just the same
i feel pain and love
wrath and warmth
yet you treat me as I'm invincible
the conqueror of all that is wrong
yet i see in myself such a weakness
unable to be overlooked
why can't you notice my weakness
and why don't you make me feel low
help me to get past my weakness
by disgracing all that i know
for all i want is perfection
something you cannot conceive
all that i want is perfection
that you won't help me receive
your blindness is making me weaker
it is scourging and tempting my soul
making my life full of chaos
forcing me back in control
to be your picture of perfection
your vision on a pedestal of lies
making me appear perfect
but only through your pathological eyes
there are some who see these weaknesses
and do decide to make me pay
because they are the perfection
i long to achieve someday
but i know that i never will
never break free of my chains
never will you berate me
so i may learn and change my ways
never rip me down enough
to make me lose all of my pride
to make me finally feel humble and make me feel low inside

Tafsir Surah 'Abasa

2010-02-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Salam,

I think it's been a long time since we did any tafsir right? The last time I think was Tafsir Surah Al-Fil, and then I posted that Tafsir Surah al-Ikhlas from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation, and I think that's basically it right. Alright... So, I think today we'll do one more tafsir ya. Okay..em..

Tasir Surah 'Abasa...

Okay, who here has heard of Surah 'Abasa? Me, personally had heard of 'Abasa watawalla.. When I was a kid, I had to memorize this surah at school. But, you know, I never really knew what it means, or even that the name of surah was exactly that - Surah 'Abasa. That was the way I was as a kid. I memorize the surahs in the Juzu' Amma, but I never knew their name. I knew Surah al-Ikhlas as "surah Qul huwallahu ahad". And then when some mention about Surah Al-Ikhlas, I'm completely oblivious. Hahah. :)

Anyways..

Surah 'Abasa is a surah of a particular story. It was a criticism from Allah swt to the Prophet s.a.w about a seemingly small harmless act - frowning.

'Abasa - it literally means - "He frowned".

Allah swt is saying to his Prophet pbuh, O my beloved Prophet, why oh why did you frowned? A stern and serious criticism to the conduct of a frown. Even to a man who cannot see. Even to a blind man.

The story behind the surah was narrated by 'Aishah r.a. like this :- One day, the Prophet pbuh was talking to the leaders of the Quraisy. They were the leaders of their tribe, the centrepoint of the eyes of the nation, the role model that the people look up to to model their lives by. The Prophet pbuh was talking to this audience eagerly in hopes that they would become Muslim. Oh, if they did become Muslims, this would be a huge advantage, a big upper-hand. They are rich. They have influences. If they enter Islam, everyone will follow suit. They are the key that will unlock the nation. Or so it seems...

As the Prophet pbuh was talking, a blind Muslim man came up to him. O my Prophet pbuh, he said. Please teach me.

The Prophet pbuh turned and frown and turned away. He asked for the blind man to wait for a moment till he's done.

Even though the Prophet s.a.w did no wrong. He was after all rudely interrupted. And the blind man was blind of course, but he was not deaf. He could very well hear that the Prophet pbuh was entertaining an important crowd. So, the Prophet pbuh did him no wrong in asking him to wait for moment. And the blind man was blind. So, he can't even see that the Prophet s.a.w had frowned at him. He probably had the biggest surprise of his life, when he found out about this Surah. Or when the Prophet pbuh relay and teach him and the Companions about this surah. Or when the Prophet pbuh had to recite this surah again and again in leading congregational prayers (solat jemaah). The blind man must have had the surprise of his life!

But Allah says no. No, you cannot frowned at this man. At all times, you must watch your conduct. You are a Muslim. You are the representative of this religion of Islam. My (Allah's) religion that I gave to mankind to be happy and prosperous in this life and the next. You must be careful of your conduct.

People are watching. And people, as kind as people are, most are judgemental. They will judge you based on your conduct. they might blame a good or bad conduct on Islam or not on Islam. On environment and upbringing maybe. Or other external or internal factors. But, nevertheless, Islam always teach its followers to have good manners, to be patient and generally be good to others, no matter who they are, rich or poor, blind or deaf, big or small, white or black, kings or servants.

And Allah says no. This blind man is a Muslim. Someone who is already committing himself to what you are teaching. Someone who earnestly wants to learn. And yet you turned him away for who? For the big guys of the Quraisy who neither want to listen or even care of what you are saying. Who are during the day and night making your life miserable. Who waits for you to make any mistake that they can jump on and publish far and wide in the media. For these people, you give more attention at the expense of an earnest man. The Quraisy and generally those who have not heard of the message of Islam and has to be told the message, this is no doubt. But not at the expense of a Muslim. Something that you hope for is not to be put over something you already have.

More than anything, this story gives the lesson that a man's judgement or assessment, is always short of the best. The best scale ever for a man to know between what is right and what is wrong, and best scale ever by which a man lives his life and builds his life with, and the best ever scale that he uses to make choices in his life - is the scale of Allah swt. And where is this scale? The Qur'an and the life and examples shown by the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Wallahu'alam. :)

Peace y'all! :)

[Sources : Tafsir Fi Zilal by Syed Qutb & Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
video can be found here at masjidomar.com

Drama from the Exam table

2010-02-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Every miracle is a miracle and a miracle is today...

Walking down the cobblestone stairs, down through the snow-covered park, cross the wet road, going down the street. Today is the day. And this is the moment of truth. Making my way down to the uni, hoping for the best of all bests, for me in this world today.

I've reached the uni. Good morning my friends. My fellow colleague of Medicine. My fellow soldiers in a war of honour. Good morning my friends. Today is the day.

Six of us today from the international group. And only six of us today taking the written test. Six of the last. But six that I consider are six of some honourable people. We are not the six of the top. Neither are we six of the bottom. Tides change. And positions change. These six have gone a long way. From failing almost every single minor tests. From sitting for credit. From getting excellent. To a failure. From playing around in 1st year. To taking things way too serious the next. And cooling to mid-level in 3rd. At now at fourth are just happy to be here. From those who are struggling with issues. And those who are struggling with hedonistic addictions. From those who are still finding a balance. And those who have found a foothold. Each one of us more than anything else is a human. And are just happy to be one.

The test was tough. At least for me. It was not confusing neither was it challenging in sense that it tortures you. But it covers a lot. And I remember a little.

I came out last from the room. Something I wanted. But something that was odd. Usually I like to go out early. When I finished, I go. But this time, I wanted to go out last.

I passed Alhamdulillah. And now, the moment began. Oral time.

me, Y, H, D, S, and A

'Y' said she wanted to go in first. I was ok. I understand. I would have done that too. I usually cannot stand to wait too long. Nerves gets to me. But not today. Today, I took my notes, and went up to study. There are 15 altogether today. And I'm prepared to be late. I went up and study.

About an hour later, I went down. H was sitting on the long chair. And D and A was gone. Y had went in earlier with S, before I went up to study. And so I ask H; "Did Y passed?". She said yes. Alhamdulillah I said in my heart. "That's good". H said, " Yeah. Y said she didn't know the last question. And Prof G was angry but still passed her. I think he'll pass everyone today." That's good, I said.

It's been like that the whole exam period. From the beginning. There was only one examiner, Prof G. And I have not heard of anyone failing so far. Things look good.

I sat next to H. "H, who's inside right now?" H, "D and A". "Okay."

A guy I don't know was sitting next to H. He was reading some notes. Let's call this guy "In". In was an international, but I haven't seen him the fourth year. Hmm.

A came out. "Fewh~" "Good?" A nod, "Yeahhh..~"

H said, " I think I'll go in now". I think H was too tired being nervous aldy. I hope she does well.

A: "I got the one question I didn't study. Phewh!" A was shaking his head. A soldier that has just come out of the battle scene. Dodged all the bullets gracefully, but got seared by some that was avoidable. "That one question. Sigh." "But you pass! Yeay! (be happy!)" A; Yeah, but I studied a really long time for this. Three weeks and a half. Hmm..

A wanted it really bad. And I think he can get it. Really. From first year to now, a lot of strides have been made. Don't give up. Its not elusive.

D came out. Good? yeah good. D passed. Confidently. Got questions he knew and I'm quite sure he has really prepared himself. He is confident. And different from the rest, he is bright.

D and A went home. And I sat alone.

I talk to mysterious guy "In". "Are you taking this the second time? " In; "Yeah, I actually took 2 years break. I'm now in the 5th year, but I have to take this Pharmacology exam." "I see..." In: I don't even know how to take exams anymore. 2 years..."

It must be hard. This struggle.

H came out. And In went in. "How was it?" H; "It was good. He can give me a better mark, but he gave me lower because of my written exam." "I see...but it's good. Congrats!" (I'm happy she pass) H;"Yeah...don't be too nervous, you'll be fine." "Ya I've studied everything but i can't remember it all. It's all mixed up right now." H; "Ya, it's always like that. It's okay. I was sacred too. I cried this morning."

Oh.

It's hard on everyone.

H; "Good luck! You'll be fine. Don't be too nervous. =) "

Thanx! Pray for me...

H: InsyaAllah

=) I'm happy. It's so nice to hear InsyaAllah from H.

"In" came back out. He forgot his index and had to go back home to take it.

I wait on the long chair.

"Next/Dalsi" Prof. G called.

I looked at the Czech students. You guys go in first. I want to go last. One gave me a menyampah look. And went in.

I sat. Look through my notes.

I got tired. And decide to just sit and wait, while resting my head on the back of the chair and let my mind sleep for awhile.

"In" came back with a friend. A fifth year. Let's call her B for beautiful. :) B came to give moral support. B chats with In in indian. I. I rest my head.

It's 11.am. In was nervous. But nevertheless very polite and kind. Smiled at me and ask if he could borrow my list of questions. I gave him. Put my head back to rest. In ask for it again a few moments later. I gave gladly. Happy to have company.

It's almost 12 and no Czech student has come out of that room. I was getting worried. Then at 12, one came out. Red eyes. Red cheeks. She had cried. And she shook her head sadly. She did not passed. We were quiet.

"Dalsi" Prof G said.

"In" had to go. And he is stiff nervous. B squeeze his hand. And In entered the room. This is the moment of truth.

I sat outside with B. B said;" In is very nervous. And this has only made him more nervous. This was what happened the last time In took the exam. The day he took, there were a panel of professors. Not one, but four of them.

"Was it like that then?"

B said: "No, it was only that one particular day. Four of them. And a bunch of the students failed that day. In was very scared. It was something very unexpected. And In failed that day."

Another Czech student came out. She too shook her head. I had to go in. It was my time. And I can only say, oh Allah, please be with me. I went in. This is the moment of truth.

I sat at the back, preparing my answers. A Czech student was being examined by Prof G. She was doing fine. Very fine. Knew her answers well. And was soon passed. Prof G shook her hand, and she went out. Next was In.

In went to the front. Sat at the table. Facing Prof G. Then suddenly Prof G stood up. And said;" Wait a while" and Prof G went out and knocked on the door of the next door office. He came back with two other Profs. Prof L and Prof M. Prof L sat on his right side. Prof M sat on his left side. All three sat in front of "In". "In" was again in a flashback of the past.

O-O I thought. This is not good. Oh "In" please be strong. Don't let this panel scare you.

I was preparing my answers. But I could hear In being exam-ed. Thing were not going good. I know In was scared. I know behind that face that was smiling was a nervous soul. I know he was blanking. It's not that he don't know the answers. But he just got blank. Blanking happens to people. It has happened to me, so I know. Oh In. Come on.

I was cheering him on quietly. I was praying for him. I couldn't sit for this, so I went up to excuse myself to the toilet. I went out the door. B was waiting patiently outside. B looked at me. "How is he?" "He's blanking...

B; "I'm so nervous...."

We can only pray for him..

I went back in.

The professors tried to help. They did not want to fail him. They tried every possible angle. But I knew In is blanking really bad. Come on In!

The battle had to end. For In, not today.

Tides change. And seasons change. Odds change. And the path of humans, though they seem to change constantly, they are the things that actually remain still. For they are decreed by God. And nothing can change that. And things are always a challenge. A test. They are neither a reward for a good thing that you had done. Neither are they a punishment or a curse for the wrongs that you had committed. This life is a challenge. And the reward and punishment is afterwards. Take everything that happened, with an enlightened mind. See the world for more that it shows. Open up your heart for the hearts of others to shine in. And open up your heart for the fate of God. InsyaAllah things will be fine. Whether we feel it good or bad. The things in this world is neither a reward nor a punishment. True reward lies in the hereafter. Utter satisfaction is in the hereafter. Pure joy and satiety is in heaven. This life is but a mere battle scene.

I watched so many things today. And today was an experience. A lovely one. Colours of my life. And paintings in my abstract panorama.

These.. are my moments of truths.

Salam..

Now My God Has a Name

2010-02-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Salam :)

An article from Islamonline.net : link

By Jacian Fares

My name is Jacian Fares. I come from the Al-Fares family of Hebron. My father was born in Lebanon, my mother is a Spaniard. I was the first generation born in America (Dearborn, Michigan in fact).

My father took no stock in religion nor did he live it, although my grandparents are devout Muslims, I do imagine his choice and path in life had saddened their hearts. Needless to say my siblings and I were born without a specific religion. We were to be raised as American kids.

Under odd circumstances I was the only one of the three of us to go live in Lebanon for six years, during which I was a teenager. I shall call this time period my first encounter with Middle East culture.

My second phase of encounter came when I was in the U.S. Marine Corps. I led the invasion into Iraq - not a war I agreed with, but I was a soldier just doing his job.

In Fallujah and other areas of the Al Anbar province, I came to know locals. I had witnessed other Arabs during Ramadan over the years. I had watched how devoted to their religion they were.

Unfortunately I was shot in Iraq and lost a kidney - but it is as Allah wills. I had always believed everything happens for a reason.

When I had come home I was depressed and feeling like I had nothing to follow in life. I was used to having routine and now it was taken from me. My relationship at the time went downhill. So I was alone. My grandparents had hinted at Islam, as well as my aunt. Finally a girl I had met from Kuwait suggested it,too.

During August of 2008 I read the Quran. And it just clicked.

During August of 2008 I read the Quran. And it just clicked. It made sense to me, more so than the Bible or the Torah. It was very straight to the point. Muslim life has routine. I needed this change in my life, to find my true self.

[This Quran does indeed show the straightest way. It gives the

faithful who do right the good news that they will have a great reward.](Al-Israa17:9)

Finally I had routine. I had reasons to live for and make my life that much better.

I can say I had made many friends over the past year, all of different Middle Eastern countries. From Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, and Qatar. And these friends helped in developing who I am now. And for that I am forever thankful.

There is even a woman in my life who is Muslim and Palestinian. And she inspires me to be a better Muslim, and to get in touch with my roots. My grandparents are thankful for this also.

This year I have witnessed my second Ramadan. Sadly, I could not fast because I am a juvenile diabetic. But I donated food, money, and time to people in need for all thirty days. And this year is special, my birthday falls on Eid al-Fitr.

And while I am stuck here in America, alone, I am not alone. People in the Muslim communities treat me as any other family member.

And while I am stuck here in America , alone, I am not alone.

And I have to say this life we live, thedeen(Islamic way of life) we live, it brings us all together. It brings us together and makes us brothers and sisters every day of our lives — even without feasts.

So I promise I will always treat everyone as my brother or sister, help out ones in need, even in times without special purpose. I will do this every day of my life.

[Worship God; join nothing with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet),and to your slaves: ForGod does not like arrogant, boastful people.](An-Nisaa4:36)

I love Ramadan and what it represents. It reminds us what being a good Muslim is. But I propose that we make everyday of our lives like Ramadan and share with our fellow man and woman.

As Muslims we can make this world a better place, no matter how the media tries projecting us as, no matter how ignorant people believe we are, we can honestly make this world a better place.

[Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.](Al-Aaraf 7:199)

We should never push our God onto anyone, but we should inform the ones interested correctly. That's how it was done with me; I've come a long way with the support and help of my brothers and sisters, my friends and family in Islam.

I choose Islam because it's part of who I am. I've reverted back to what my family has believed. I now live how they live. This is all because reading the Quran was suggested to me. I'm happy and proud of myself for doing so. The Quran has led me to finding my true self. And now my God has a name: Allah.

I suggest to non-believers to keep an open mind and just look at what the Quran has to say. There is more there to it, if read with open eyes. The Quran is simply a tool and guide that we should use to live a correct path. It promotes peace, love, and a strong trust in Allah.

[What will explain to you what the steep path is? It is to free a slave, to feed at a time of hunger an orphaned relative or a poor person in distress, and to be one of those who believe and urge one another to steadfastness and compassion.] (Al-Balad 12-17)

C ya guys soon! Pray for me ya! I got my exam this Friday. :) @>--

Salam!

Tadabbur Surah Ar-Rum : 20 - 27

2010-02-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

Assalamu'alaikum wbt

And of His signs is that He created you from dust; then, suddenly you were human beings dispersing [throughout the earth].
-Holy Qur'an, Surah Ar-Rum ayat 20-

In the Malay translation of this verse, the word 'dispersing' was translated as berkembang biak. If this was the other way around, translating the Malay word into English, it would mean reproductive expansion. As in, it would mean an increase in the population of the human race via sexual biological means.

I was reading this verse in the Malay translation of the Qur'an and I was immediately brought back in time to a moment I had with a non-Muslim friend of mine. We were sitting and just chatting when the subject of religion came up. I ask her, are you a religious person i.e. do you hold on to any particular faith? Her answer was, "Well no, not really. I don't hold on to any religion." And then I ask her, what do you think is the purpose of life on this earth. And she said, "Well I think, it's a biological purpose. To procreate."

I thought, you know.., it was interesting. That a person could think that the sole purpose of life is to procreate. A human being, with all its capabilities and amazing mind power and skills and personalities, is only made to live in this world to procreate? Made to live to make babies? What will babies then do? Grow up and then make more babies? Endless never-ending cycle? For me, it seems far-fetched and kind of incredulous.

But the conversation went on, and I talked about Islam. I ask her, what do you think will happen after we die? She said, "We'll just die". And I said, I believe in a world after death. And she said, "I'll believe it when I see it." Then she goes on saying, "I admire your faith. That you can believe in something that you don't see." I ask her, and you don't? And she said, "No. It's hard for me to believe that." And I said, "It's too large a leap for you, huh?" And she said, "Yes."

Next verse, ayat 21

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.

For me, it was far-fetched that the purpose we are living this life could be to procreate. For her, my friend, it was far-fetched to believe in something other than what you can see. For her, this means a leap of faith.

But in this verse, Allah says, that His signs is in the procreation. When two people having affection and mercy towards each other become mates and make babies. The fact that there exist a feeling of love that is unseen and untouchable between a man and a women, is the exact proof of the existence of the unseen. Love. What is love? Is it something you can hold in your hands? Touch with your fingers? Or see its shape with your eyes? Love is something so impossible to see. And yet you can feel it right down to the bottom of your heart. Affection and mercy. You cannot see it, but you know it is there.

Next, in verse 22:

And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.

And so Allah says, you can feel that love for that special someone. And so you marry him. And that unseen love hold you and him together. Not chains, neither ropes or lock and keys that hold you together, but an unseen abstract. It gets you through tough times and good times. Through all bad and good time, till death do you part. This abstract thing called love, this unseen untouchable thing is accepted by every human worldwide. Whether you see it or not, no one denies its existence.

If this thing called 'love' you can accept, why not accept something bigger like the presence of your Lord? The presence of an abstract being taking of us. Why not believe the feeling in your heart of a power that let's give you life, let's you breath, created you in the first place and commands this world. A being that makes photosynthesis happens, makes the sun rise and set, that enables you to walk, and the One that puts that love in your heart.

When you are in an airplane. And suddenly, it drops a thousand meters without warning. What's the first thing that comes out of your mouth? "Oh my God!" Immediately, you hold on to something abstract. Because you know, you yourself are helpless. All you can do is hold on to your seat. In the bottom of your heart, you know there is something else controlling you, controlling the world. If you are true to yourself, you won't deny that there is a God. And from there you'll know that you can't possibly be on this world without a purpose. And definitely not just to procreate.

In verse 22, Allah says, look at the sky and look at the earth. Can these things exist just because of physical chemical reactions. And if so, why are the chemical physical reactions that way. Why can't it be some other different ways. Why that specific law. Or that specific rule? Newton said, he found gravity. He did not create it. Neither did any man. It was just there. And Newton simply put it into equations. Now who put it there in the first? It just exists on its own?

And Allah says look at the different languages and different skin colour. These are signs for people who think. Signs to where? Signs your God. Clear signs pointing to the fact that there is a higher being. And what does this higher being wants? He gives us love, and money and air and trees and animals and sea and beaches and food and universities. Now. Why does this higher being gives us all these things? What does He wants from us? What is our purpose on this earth?

Verse 23:

And of His signs is your sleep by night and day and your seeking of His bounty. Indeed in that are signs for a people who listen.

24:

And of His signs is [that] He shows you the lightening [causing] fear and aspiration, and He sends down rain from the sky by which He brings to life the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed in that are signs for a people who use reason.

25:

And of His signs is that the heaven and earth remain by His command. Then when He calls you with a [single] call from the earth, immediately you will come forth.

26:

And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and earth. All are to Him devoutly obedient.

and 27:

And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest attribute in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

Peace and Salam to everyone. :)
Wallahu'alam.

Hi. We're Muslims! And we're human just like everyone else. .. :)

2010-01-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Hi! :)

Found this video online and I thought I'd put it up here since I can't really write much now....exam period..huu...shivers... :( So I basically gotta study. Hope everyone is doing fine...=) How are you guys anyways? Good I hope...;) ..So, anyways..., watch this vid and I hope it will make your day a little bit more brighter! =) ..Hope it has made you smile and laugh like I did when I first watched it. And...I pray for the best for everyone and peace in this world...=) ..If you like it, share it ya! Just send this vid to anyone you know...!
kay, Cau cau! =)

Salam, peace!

age don't matter

2010-01-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

As I go on more and more in life, as I get older, as I basically age and live and go through things and most importantly learn, what I know of Islam is that it can be found anywhere. Seriously, anywhere! You can find it in the park, in the bus, in your room, with your family, in schools, at the beaches, in the air, in the soil, in the tummy of a mother, in the hearts of man, in the minds of geniuses, even in the most unexpected places such as in pubs, clubs, football fields, cinemas, movies, games, clothes, fashion, etcetra etcetra. Literally everywhere! Characters of Islam is everything and anything that is good in this world. Everytime you are anywhere, and in any situation, you see that Islam there, if and only if, you are a truly subservient Muslim only to Allah and Allah alone, and if you have the sensitive heart of a Muslim who is yufaqqihu fiddeen.

A Muslim, who is truly true to his shahadah, who will have already learned the aqidah, and know completely how to distinguish between what is Islam and what is Jahiliyah (Un-Islam), will immediately see what is Islam in each aspect of his or her life.

For example, if he reads a story about a child being good to his parents, he sees that as Islam. It doesn't matter if that child happens to be a Jew living in a lush house in Tel Aviv. It doesn't matter if the writer is a self-pronounced Zionist. A Muslim would still see that quality of being good to your parents as a very Islamic quality.

The same goes for age. Age don't matter when it comes to Islam. You can learn so much from a child. You can also learn a lot from a grandfather or a grandmother. You can learn from your senior, one year older than you. Or your junior, one year younger than you. Needless to say, you can also learn from your peers.

Sometimes, tables can turn. The person who you use to give tuitions to, to teach with all your heart, mould him/her from knowing nothing to knowing everything, is suddenly so much more smarter than you. So much successful. So much more rich, maybe. More filled with wisdom. And is blessed with the intelligence of a lot of things. He or she ends up now teaching you. The student has become the teacher. If this knowledge is Islam, can you accept that? Or will your pride and ego get in the way? Or will traditions be put as your ilah over Allah? Or your emotions as an ilah over Allah? Or your feeling of 'huh, this kid who's still wet behind the ears wants to teach me?? the mighty me who used to be his teacher?!?!?' ?

Islam is something that is so so precious. You can get it anywhere, everywhere. You just need to open up your heart, soften it a bit, really open it, to accept that Islam anywhere and anywhere in any situation. Open up your horizon. Seriously. And be willing to be faithful. It's, MashaAllah, a beautiful feeling. Don't let your grudges about things, or about the past, or about being hurt by somebody or some situation, get in the way of you being Islamic, of you being a good Muslim, who knows how to be kind to his peers and be gentle as his Prophet s.a.w. Things happen always for a reason. And actually when you think about, if you are complaining, in reality, who are you complaining at? Isn't it a shame if you suddenly find that it is Allah? All things come from Allah, So if you're complaining about things, you're basically complaining about Allah. Astaghfirullah.

It's really something to ponder about...

We don't wanna let petty, shallow things get in the way of us learning about Islam or let them get in the way of us actually being Islam-ic and living Islam. You know, how a Muslim wants to truly strive to be Islamic, to actually exude Islam from every pore of their being. So, you know...

The last thing any Muslim intends to do, is to suddenly not be Islamic. The last thing any Muslim intends to do is hurt Allah in the sense of complaining about Him or be completely unfaithful or ungrateful to Him. The last thing any Muslim intends to do too, is to hurt their friends and neighbours in any way, be it by the words they say or the things they do. In this respect, let's be kind to our friends. Take care of the words we say and how we say it. And the best example we have in how to treat our friends is Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Get to know him and emulate him. He is our best example of a best friend.

Wallahu'alam. :)

p/s: Points in this article are basically applicable to anything in life, be it age, ranks/posts, nationality, culture, language, country, personality, past, future, organisation, etc etc. See and differentiate Islam in all these things, and open up your heart to accept it. InsyaAllah. And of course, always start anything with a prayer (doa/dua) to the Creator. He is the Keeper of hearts, so pray to Him to open your heart fresh every single time. ;) :)

Avatar The Movie 2009

2009-12-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

Salam,

I try to keep myself away from movies nowadays, just because of the bad things that's always presented in current movies, obscenities, foul language and what not. But, sometimes I like to watch trailers. To see what kind of movies people are watching nowadays. Current themes and so on.

Anyways, I came across this trailer and I was literally shocked. Okay, you guys watch this first and I'll tell your the reason for my shock after :

You guys got the theme of the movie? War, right....? An outrageously, stupendously stupid, arrogant, crazy, malicious and INSANE war!!!! STUPID people!!

Sorry for for my outburst....sigh..... astaghfirullah astaghfirullah...

Okay....my reasons for being so angry...

The opening scene shows of a spaceship flying to a very mystic location, an alien planet, I presumed. There, lies a treasure beyond man's highest desire, a source of power and wealth. Basically, a rock. But a powerful rock. So man decided to rob the planet of these precious rocks. And man would do whatever it takes to take all of these rocks. If there's more, man will grab for it. Unfortunately, the most powerful of these rocks lies in the center of a village of the local community. So, what else? Kill, shoot, do whatever it takes to get that rock.

Such INSANITY!!!!

How dare you! How would you feel if people go right through the front door of your home, without your invitation, bang and crush the door, barged inside, and took whatever they want and please, and throw you out or rather kill you if you block their way?!?!?!?! Seriously!

What right have you?!

It's an audacity....To present this madness in such a nonchalant manner. I don't know how the public who watches this movie respond and feel about this. I am angry. Definitely. But, if the public have absolutely no feeling at all about the premise of this movie, I don't know what else to say. The Zionists would have then finally succeeded in completely defusing the masses. Defuse, pacify, deactivate the masses. To extinguish the fire of the public before it had a chance to light the night. I'm not even so sure right now that the Americans particularly has a fire. It barely has that fire to begin with. It was at the stage of sparks and embers. Definitely, there's constantly that blow of air that lights up that ember, but again and again, those think-thankers keep pushing with more and more distractions. They're definitely more brave nowadays. Clearly neither unafraid nor ashamed at exposing their strategies in public.

See the link?
-> Avatar = spy / intelligence
-> Marines/soldiers = Zionists Israel
-> Pandora = Palestine
-> Na'vi = Palestinians
-> Little grey rock = ???

or is it

-> Pandora = Iraq
-> Little grey rock = oil

-> Pandora = Iran
-> Little grey rock = oil

-> Pandora = South Africa
-> Little grey rock = diamonds

I don't know what was the ending for this movie. I didn't watch it. I just hope and pray that people be not blind by the awesome sight, pictures, CGI and visual effects. And I hope that the ending creates humanity in people's heart. Maybe those who watched, can share with me the ending and their thoughts on this movie below, in the "comments" section.

Walahu'alam. Du'a is the strongest weapon of the Muslims. Let's pray inshaAllah. For awareness and sensitivity instead of ignorance. And let's pray for positivity and better future. InshaAllah.

Salam. :)

Viva Palestina!

Alhamdulillah..

2009-12-29T04:56:00.000-08:00

Salam..

Hi... :)

Just got back from seeing some friends overseas...As usual..whenever I'm on the plane or travelling, Alhamdulillah I usually end up meeting some very or not so very interesting characters ;)

This winter, I was in France. Just along the coast of Nice, enjoying the sight of the beautiful blue sea, a view Malaysian students studying in the Czech Republic are deprived of. :) Anyways, :) while on the bus to the airport, cruising the coastline, we passed beach by beach. Each one separated by a signboard naming the beach. It's interesting. Although, we were in France, and all signboards were written in French, the beaches were signed in English and with American names. For example, we crossed Florida Beach and Miami Beach. The former, a state in the US and the latter a city in that state. It's interesting for me, how in spite of the French being French. And together with the Europeans being Europeans. Usually furiously defending the usage of their language and sometimes despising people speaking English in their country, evidently, the influence of America is still widespread. The naming of these beaches could be historical. I honestly have no clue and I haven't done any research into the actual history of France. But, it's interesting to me. I do however, believe that this influence of America, who claim at the end of the Second World War that they want to be and self-declared that they are the New World Order, is waning. I believe this influence is waning. Mostly because Americans have been proven to be skilled in the art of exaggeration and have acquired for themselves an image of an unwanted imposing power during the last few years. Nonetheless, this awareness is carefully always kept in checked artificial balance by the Mindmasters of America by the control of the minds through mass media, constants efforts at deviation of focus towards issues created for the sole purpose of distraction, and of course wars and its alliance with Zionists (the master genius of manipulations).

At one of the bus stop, a lady came on the bus. She was a foreigner, not a french, and carrying with her, luggages and a bottle of plain water. We were on this bus to go to the airport. And that water must be disposed of soon, if she wants to get on the plane. And so, she did what me and my friends were surprised by. She offered the bottle of water to the bus driver. Interesting right? :)

On another instant, I was on the plane, seated in between a lady and a gent, I presumed they were together, quite old but were on their way to a holiday. I was alone there, meaning that my friends were huddled together in bunches some other seats elsewhere. And so, I thought, I'd probably have not much to say and be really polite to whoever's around. They probably think I'm some terrorists or something. But surprising, they were so so friendly. They even offered me some pastilles/candy. Really nice people. I looked very much like the oddest person there, but they were nice and did not made me feel uncomfortable at all. :)

These two instances made me thinking afterwards, when my friend was remarking how nice those people are, the lady who gave water to the bus driver and the lady and gent who were so friendly on the plane. That these people, these characters, treat the world from very friendly, positive, nice way. The lady who gave that bottle of water to that bus driver, was only thinking that "I have a lot of water. I cannot bring on the plane. Might as well I give it to someone else. I'll give this water to this bus driver." I think she never thought of offering water as something weird. Offering it to a stranger. It was just an offer.

The lady and the gent on the plane, were pretty much friendly to anyone around. I was sitting besides them, so why not say Hi? Pretty good attitude huh? :)

I think a lot of factors influences us as Malaysians. In Malaysia, it's not normal to just talk to strangers. Depends actually. Sometimes, in certain situations, we can be friendly. In places outside big cities, its usually normal to just say hi or small talk with people. But, when you get out of your comfort zone, you go to the big cities, we do have to put our guard up. Safety reasons. Same thing here in the Czech Republic. In Prague, or even a lot times outside of Prague, you don't get much friendliness from people. People are pretty much rude. And so, you put your guard up to protect yourself from getting hurt physically and emotionally. But, I notice more and more as I travel, that people who are travelling to or people that I meet outside of Czech, are actually quite nice, friendly and so on. Many times, I've strucked up conversations with people while travelling. And many smiles I've given to total strangers. Even, many babies I've teased and played with. Kids and babies belonging to people I don't know. Just fellow tourists or travellers or anyone.

To a certain extent, I think, Caucasians live in really nice places. Safe countries with good public transport, less crimes and a lot of communal positivity and civic minds. Czech Republic does have that kind of environment. We have a lot of pick pockets, and drunkards, punks, and so on. So does Malaysia. There's a lot of crimes in Malaysia. And that, I think, does mould the way Malaysians view foreigners and the way we act once we're outside of Malaysia. We put our guards up.

I'd imagine, in the times of the Khulafa's Ar-Rasyidin, and at the times when Islam ruled with peace, this peace was the envy of all nations. Imagine the peace of going out without locking your doors. Cars without keys. Communties living as a family, totaly caring for one another without suspicions. Recently, someone who was living the UK, in a particularly safe community, told me, that his wife was taking money out of the ATM, and forgot to take the credit card from the machine. Alhamdulillah, the person who was next in line, casually took the card and gave it to her. Another time, he left his keys in the car and the next day, when he went to his car, the keys were still there untouched and everything else safe. This kind of peace creates security in any person. And lead to a view and perception of a way of acting towards other people in a very positive and friendly way. I think, this is how environment, the place you live, can create your perception of the world. And how you treat others.

As Muslim, regardless of how the world is, we are taught to treat anyone in the best of ways. Always. We are taught that Allah is the holders of man's heart and that we as mere humans, can never know the inside of a person, what they are actually thinking or what is their intentions. In that light, we are taught to husnu zon to everyone. To always think good of everyone. That to always assume that their intentions are always good and positive. Whatever happen before or afterwards is up to Allah. So leave the rest to Him.

Wallahu'alam.

:) :) :)

Surah al-Hajj 22:78

2009-12-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

Salam,

Translation by Mukhsin Khan: (link)

And strive hard in Allah's Cause as you ought to strive (with sincerity and with all your efforts that His Name should be superior). He has chosen you (to convey His Message, Islam), and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship, it is the religion of your father Ibrahim (Abraham = Islamic Monotheism). It is He (Allah) Who has named you Muslims both before and in this (the Qur'an), that the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) may be a witness over you and you be witnesses over mankind! So perform As-Salat, give Zakat and hold fast to Allah [have confidence in Allah, and depend upon Him in all your affairs] He is your Maula (Patron, Lord, etc.), what an Excellent Maula and what an Excellent Helper!

(Surah Al-Hajj 22:78, al-Qur'an)

Translation by Yusuf Ali: (Link)

And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector - the Best to protect and the Best to help!

(Surah Al-Hajj 22:78, al-Qur'an)

Here Allah says that He has chosen us. Chosen us. That the mere fact that we are here, that we are born the way we are, in the family we are, in the country we are, in the race and culture we are, Allah is saying that they are not by circumstances, nor by accident. We were chosen to be here. Now, what is that choice for?

Consider this..

Faith is something in the heart. Its true state known only by Allah and the holder of that heart. Faith is not something inherited. Neither is it built by society or culture. Creed (Aqeedah), yes. But not faith (iman).

To be chosen to be born into a family, culture or race of a non-Islamic creed, is the choice of Allah. A human being can only work with what's in front of him. If he was born into a Christian family, he will only know how to be a Christian. But, this is only creed. Not faith. His true faith will only be shown when he is properly introduced to Islam. Not the Islam you see out there in the media and news coverage. But, the real un-refutable Islam rooted in the Qur'an. Once he understood fully what is the Islam taught by generations of Prophets a.s., the creed set for the people of this age in the Qur'an. Then, his true faith will be shown.

Chosen... a mighty word. A mighty word indeed... A word that signifies honour. One immediately feels special once one hears it. But it carries with it a heavy burden. A responsibility of some sort for having that honour. And that, that honour will only last only with a continuous effort in fullfilling that duty, that responsibility. 'Chosen' also entails being rewarded with a or many gifts. Something to help along the completion of that duty. Like a doctor, given a license to practise, who took the hippocrates oath, and with it the power to the stethoscope, give injections, dispense medicine and the trust and hope of the community.

Allah has chosen those who accept this creed and have faith in their hearts:

Given them their license = hidayah

who has spoken their oath = shahadah

grant them their ultimate power = al-Qur'an

and gifted them with abilities = to speak, to walk, to talk, to write, to care, to love, to read

and = food, home, clothes, air to breath, water to drink

and even tools = engineering skills, medical skills, artistic skills, culinary skills and many more

and most importantly, a way of life (deen) that can bring people back to know their Creator, bring peace to the world and to the hearts of men, to solve all the world's problem i.e famine, war, destitution, social degradation and more.

Our Prophets a.s. have done their job. Now, it is our turn. We are that witness over mankind. It is our duty. It is our responsibility. We are granted with these gifts and these abilities. We need to act. For who is more cruel than a witness who hides from testifying the truth.

So Lets pray, and pay our zakat, and have confidence in Allah. Don't be afraid, because Allah is on our side. He will protect us. And he will help us. He is yours and my Protector! And He is yours and my Helper! And who is a better Protector and Helper than Allah s.w.t!

The death of a Daie

2009-12-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Salam,

Recently, a friend died. A fellow Muslim, a fellow student, a fellow Malaysian oversea and most of all a fellow Daie. The late arwah was named Ariff, born in the year of my birth 1986, studied in Nottingham and died in Malaysia in a car accident on his way back from his wedding. A tragic ending indeed, but its own hikmah insyaAllah. May the arwah rest in peace. Innalillah hi wainna ilaihi rajiuun. From Allah we can and to Allah we will return.

I don't why, but this time, this death, has somehow given me a very different point of introspect. I know this will sound very weird, but I think it's important I share. Whether its for my own good or for yours..I dunno...whatever its for...there's something that keeps tugging at me to put my feelings and thoughts here...

erm..okay...here it goes...

I feel strongly like putting myself in the perspective of the late arwah as a soul seperated from his body and viewing and watching the rest of the world, from that unseen transient world. I know it sounds weird, but I think, if I was dead and I was that soul, I would feel very very frustrated and angry. I would be shouting to the rest of the people still living on this earth, to wake up! Get up off your bum and move! There's a lot of work to do, come on you guys, wake up! By then, I would have already seen at least, the angel of death. And I would have already seen myself in my 'soul' form. So, spirits and what is called ghaib is already something that is blatantly real in front of me. Everything that I've learned, that I've believed in, everything that I have been promised to only be shown after death, everything that I put my faith in, are right there in front of me. Truth is undeniable! And I am shouting to the world to wake up! Come on guys, this is REAL! COME ON!!

But...But... my words can't be heard...
My...my voice....has no impact...
People...people...can't hear me

oh my God....
I'm dead right? I can't do anything. Even when I'm this young,
and when I'm this healthy,
when I have this brain still working right

And the world goes on.
And this ummah has lost one of its worker.
Someone who wants to bring Islam back to its glory.
And wants to work..and yet so unable to
Because he's dead...

Secularism

2009-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Salam,

The Arab world was once ruled only by faith, Islam. However, during the colonial era, rulers came from other regions which are non-Islamic. Mainly, of Christian origin. With the entry of the army and infiltration of foreign rulers into the Arab world, there is also entry of foreign culture, language and structure of doing things. For example, in language, there are entries of new words which the Arabs had never even perceive about. Also, new words that they never had any use for before. These words are then Arabinized to suit the tongue and comfort in pronounciation and acceptance of the word by the Arab people. One example of an Arabinized word originating from a foreign (English) word is 'ilmaniyyah (from 'ilm - science) or 'alamiyah (from 'alam - world). These two words are the Arabic equivalent of "Secularism".

From looking at the word, 'ilm means science. 'Ilmaniyyah literally translates as "Science-ism". Then you have 'alam which means world. And therefore, 'alamiyah literally translates as "World-ism".

Any Arab who hears these words, he would think positive about the word. Science-ism sounds very progressive and sounds like a pursuit for knowledge and development of knowledge through research. Science-ism is encouraged by Islam in the sense that Islam ask its believers to learn and acquire knowledge. So, in general, there is a positive connotation to the word 'ilmaniyyah. The same goes for 'alamiyah. Muslims believe Allah created this world beautifully and that it is the humankind's duty to keep the world beautiful. So, World-ism or 'alamiyyah has a very positive connotation too.

However, Science-ism and World-ism is not the same as Secularism.

The word Secularism is a word that describes the separation of the political from the authority of the religious. But, it has also been used to describe a process aimed at limiting Islam to a small scope of life, or of excluding Islam from the process of building a society. The word "Secularism" has never been used to mean the acquisition and development of knowledge, neither has it ever been used to mean keeping the world beautiful. 'Ilmaniyyah and 'alamiyyah is not the correct translation for the word Secularism. And yet, these were the words that were inroduced into the Islamic Arab culture, as inaccurate as they are. There is a purpose for this.

If the word Secularism was translated, by its exact definition, into Arabic, the word in Arabic would be la diniyah. And, as soon as the Arabs hear this word, they would have exclaimed outright rejection. Muslims would immediately reject it! La diniyah = Secularism is totally against the Islamic faith that Islam is a complete system of life encompassing governance, society and all else. And therefore this word would never have survived in the Muslim community.

Why is the introduction of one word so important?

Because the introduction of the word is the first essential step in introducing a concept into any society. To introduce Secularism and to plant it as a seed that will grow effectively, an attractive word needs to be chosen carefully. The word should therefore be a term that implied knowledge and success.

Hence, the word 'ilmiyyah and 'alamiyah was chosen and introduced, and unknowingly the Arabs gobbled them up happily without recognizing their completely dangerous implications.

This was how secularism very secretively, very slyly entered the Islamic Arab world through language, and therefore through the educated social science elite who uses these vocabularies the most. And when these elites finally govern the country, these Secularistic concepts is applied in the governance of the country and in the society as a whole.

It was a very sharp and thin needle, but it was there. And the damaging implications, is what you see now - 2009. Secularism has succeeded in disconnecting a society from its cultural roots/origin, basically causing a complete break of the Arab world from its glorious, magnificent, grand and successful past.

Wallahu'alam.

Reference: The Origins of Arab Secularism, Azzam Tamimi in; Islam and Secularism in the Middle East. John L. Esposito, Azzam Tamimi. Hurst & Company, London. (kitaabun.com)

Power of Money

2009-11-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

Salam,

My dad sent me this wonderful article on the Power of Money and I thought I'd just share this with you guys. :)

Power of Money,

By Adam Khoo

( Singapore 's youngest millionaire at 26 yrs.)

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and Suzhou ( China ). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.

This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self Made Millionaires' ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.

Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).

I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2 year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and D ram a without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur' s Orgn)a few years back (YEO) is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5m,travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota 's and Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, BMWs..

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.

Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.

Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life..

Instead, what makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.

What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired some one's life.

What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing,trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaninglessness.
____________________________________________________________________

I totally agree with what he's saying. :) Happiness does not come from what you have, but from doing your life's work. It comes naturally and unexpectedly, when you see what really matters to you accomplished. Muslims know what is their life's work. ;) To please only Allah i.e. as a servant only to Allah, and to make this world beautiful- its trees, its air, its animals, its surroundings and of course, its people i.e. to be the khalifah we are born to be! :)

Peace! :)

Sacrifice (Qurban)

2009-11-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Salam,

"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise);.." (Surah At-Taubah 9:111)

In this verse Allah said that He has made a deal or a business proposal for His believers. He said, if you would give up to Me your persons and your goods, I would grant you paradise in return.

Your person and your goods..

Your person..

Giving up your person...
Giving up your feelings...
giving up your wants...
giving up your emotions, ego and pride...
Giving up your claims for yourself...
Putting others before you...
Not thinking of yourself at all save the way Allah wants you to be...
Wanting only what Allah wants of you...
Feeling only the way Allah wants you to feel...
Putting emotions, ego and pride aside except in what Allah wants you to have pride and to have ego in....
To be happy only when you know something is pleasing Allah...
And to be sad only when you know something is not...
To give up your anger and your rebellion and your taste and mood and favourites and flavour and wants and feel and needs, only for the way that Allah has ask of you, only for the way that Allah has prescribed for you, and only because Allah ask it of you...
Because of what...?
Because you know Allah loves you.
And that in return He will give you that Paradise.
That Paradise you've been dreaming of all your life....
That you've been striving for....
That Paradise that will quench all your thirst....
Satisfy all your desire....
Kill all your hunger...
You know that Paradise is waiting....
And that Allah wants to give it to you...
It's there.
And It will never go away....
And yet this world.
This world will vanish in an instant!
A blink of an eye, and everything will be gone!

This for me is the hardest, toughest korban. The hardest, toughest sacrifice. The sacrifice of my self. The sacrifice of my person.

And yet it is the most valuable and most worth it sacrifice of them all. Remember that. And InsyaAllah, let us all strive for that.

Heaven was not made for angels. :)

InsyaAllah. Wallahu'alam.
Salam n Happy EidulAdha everyone! =)