I came across this today:

“The best of you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” [al-Bukhari]

“Will not any of you go to the masjid and learn or read two verses from the Book of Allah `azza wa jall? (For) that is better for him than two she-camels, and three (verses) are better for him than three (she-camels), and four (verses) are better for him than four (she-camels). And the number (of verses read in total) are better than the same number of camels.” [Muslim]

“There is no envy (acceptable) except in two (cases): a person whom Allah has given the Qur’an and recites it throughout the night and throughout the day. And a person whom Allah has given wealth, that he gives out throughout the night and throghout the day.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

“Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah will receive a hasanah (good deed) from it (i.e. his recitation), and the hasanah is multiplied by ten. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem is (considered as) a letter, rather Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter, and Meem is a letter.” [At-Tirmidhi, Ad-Darimi]

“He who is skillful in reciting the Qur’an is with the unveiled, honorable, and pious (i.e. Hur al `Ain). And he who stutters when reading the Qur’an, (and its recitation) is difficult upon him, will receive two rewards.” [Al-Bukhari]

“Verily he who has nothing of the Qur’an in his heart, is like a house (which has been) destroyed.” [At-Tirmidhi]

“Read the Qur’an. For verily it will come forth on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its readers.” [Muslim]

“The Qur’an is an intercessor (which by Allah’s permission) intercedes, and an opponent (which is) truthful. He who appoints it as his leader, (then it) will lead him to Paradise. And he who puts it behind him, (then it) will lead him to the Fire.” [Ibn Hibban, Al-Bayhaqi, At-Tabarani, Sahih]

“Fasting and the Qur’an will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: ‘O My Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for him.’ And the Qur’an will say: ‘I prevented him from sleep during the night, so accept my intercession for him.’ He (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘And they will (be allowed to) intercede.’” [Ahmad, at-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, Sahih]

“Maintain learning the Qur’an, by heart for verily it is greater in escaping from the chests of men than camels from their reins.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

“Verily Allah raises nations by this book (the Qur’an) and puts down (i.e. destroys) others by it.” [Muslim]

From Qisas

I really really love this hadith:

“Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah will receive a hasanah (good deed) from it (i.e. his recitation), and the hasanah is multiplied by ten. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem is (considered as) a letter, rather Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter, and Meem is a letter.” [At-Tirmidhi, Ad-Darimi]

And the next hadith, I didn't know of the hadith until somewhere 2008 or 2009 and the first time I heard it, I had tears in my eyes, cos at that time my recitation was very bad, and I actually felt ashamed to recite the Qur'an, I was scared of reciting the Qur'an, for fear I would recite it wrongly. But when I hear the hadith, in my heart, I was like, "SubhanAllah, Allah is so compassionate... Even those who stutters in reciting the Qur'an receives two rewards!!":

“He who is skillful in reciting the Qur’an is with the unveiled, honorable, and pious (i.e. Hur al `Ain). And he who stutters when reading the Qur’an, (and its recitation) is difficult upon him, will receive two rewards.” [Al-Bukhari]

I'm motivated!!!

I'm motivated to revise. I'm motivated to restart memorizing the Qur'an. I'm motivated to improve my solat. I'm motivated to keep my room clean as much as possible. I'm motivated to restart reading my Islamic books!

Apart from that, I am more or less motivated to spearhead the programmes planning for FOC... I've started doing SOMETHING at least... The ukhuwwah between us that got strengthened from the layang2 making, the shooting, the chalet and the carnival really helps :) I love these people, though I've yet to regard them as how I regard my Fityan peeps like family, well except for Amirah whom I've regarded as a sister. Somehow I regard her as an older sister, eventhough I'm the older one hehe...

But I've yet to find the motivation to go silat. Jun, I need you! I'm still scared to go silat. It is fun actually, but I dunno why I'm just so scared. Not to mention, my inner self keep telling me, "Why aren't you quitting silat yet? You would have extra 3hrs each week for studies and/or religion. Didn't you say you're just there to get the experience? Haven't you had enough experience already???" Hmmm.... These thoughts are so not helping larhhhhh...

Anyway, part of my motivation seems to stem from rewatching Huan Zhu Ge Ge (with English subtitles, wheeeee~!). The devotion and respect that the servants give to Huang Shang should be many many times multiplied by me as a servant to the King of the Universe, Allah. And Zi Wei and Yong Qi's poetry reading makes me look back at the Qur'an and appreciate the artistic language used. Their ability to memorize so many poems makes me wanna memorize the Qur'an.

The part about their wu gong skills did not rub off on me in terms of silat though, haha... Oh well...

All in all, I enjoyed my one week break very much, and I guess it's time to move ahead into the second part of the sem and do well in the different aspects of my life! My 21st year :))))

The Creation is in Need of Allah

By Dr. Saleh as-Saleh,

"Man always looks for what benefits him and what protects him from harm. However, to accomplish this, man must be able to realize what is harmful. He must then know whom he should need, trust, and love so that he can attain what is beneficial as well as to feel good about his choice. He also must know the proper and good approach that would make him achieve this goal. This latter condition requires that man:

Know about harm

What ways can be used to drive harm away?

Certainly, man can have no better guidance than that which comes from the One Who had perfected everything, and the One who Has no deficiency in Himself and in His Attributes. The One Who is Ever-Living and Who does not die. There can be no One better than the One Who Has no need for anything; the One Who is rich; the Giver; the One who, after all, controls man's soul. Man is so poor to Him. He is Allah, the True and only God. Man can bring harm to himself if he seeks other than Allah for help. Allah is the One Who can help man drive away any harm for it cannot occur without His Will and His Power.

1.Allah (swt) sent down His Books and chose His Messengers to guide man to:

2.Know His Lord as He (swt) had explained about Himself, and

3.Seek Him Alone while living in accordance with His plan

Knowing Allah's Names and Attributes liberates man from worshiping any form of creation because creation is weak and is in need of The Creator, Allah. The knowledge about Allah leads man to know that he is created to live according to Allah's way as revealed to the last Messenger Muhammad . This Revelation contains a complete code of life. Everything that is beneficial or harmful is established so that man can centre his life around this Revelation. If man commits wrong and knows that Allah is Oft-Forgiving he would turn to Him and to Him alone seeking His forgiveness:

"Know, therefore, that there is no God Who deserves to be worshiped except Allah; and ask forgiveness for your sins."
(Qur'an, 47:19)

It is wrong to think or believe that Allah created other 'gods' besides Him so that man turns to them for help; loves them or fear them, etc. He is the same God of all nations. He does not order that people should make of stars, sun, fire, Jesus, Moses, etc. gods besides Him. He (Most Exalted) cannot be 'contradictory'. He has one way (religion) that calls man to surrender his will only to Him. He warned that if man (even Muhammad would take partners with Him, then his work will fail and will be among losers:

"And verily, it had been revealed to you (O Muhammad ) as has been revealed to those before you. If you join others in worship with Allah (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain and you will certainly be among the losers. Nay! But worship Allah and be among grateful." (Qur'an, 39:65-66)

Let us know what Muhammad, the man-Prophet, who knew Allah best, used to say:

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You for Your Pleasure and against Your Wrath, and in Your Forgiveness and against Your Punishment and in You from You, I cannot Praise You as You can Praise Yourself." (Muslim, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi, ibn Majah)

"I have surrendered myself to You, I have directed my face to You, I have entrusted my affairs to You, I have compelled my back to refuge in You, in want and in fright of You, there is no resort nor survival from You except (in turning) to You. I have faith in Your book (i.e. the Qur'an) which You brought down and in the Prophet (Muhammad) you have sent." (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

When we read in the Qur'an that:

"Whatever of Mercy (i.e. of good), Allah may grant to mankind, none can withhold it, and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (Qur'an, 35:2)

And when we read that:

"If Allah touches you with hurt, there is none can remove it but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is one who can repel His favour which He causes it to reach whomsoever of His slaves He will, and He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an, 10:117)

We should be motivated to return to Him Alone at times of ease and at times of hardship.

And when we read that:

"If Allah helps you none can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, who is there, after Him, that can help you. And in Allah (alone) let believers put their trust." (Qur'an, 3:160)

The Qur'an, therefore, leads man to a true liberation from any false attachment. It brings peace to the heart. It helps the believer against hypocrisy and all forms of dishonesty. Imagine, for example, a believer facing a problem at work. He sees wrong and faces unlawful practices. He does not fear rejecting what is wrong. He knows that the job is only a means to gain his sustenance. While he may be unable to correct what is wrong, he knows well that Allah is the One Who provides. If he leaves his job for the sake of Allah, Allah will give him a better one. Allah (SW) said:

"And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him. He will make a way for him to get out (from) every (difficulty), and He will provide him from
(sources) he could never imagine." (Qur'an, 65:2-3)

The above texts, necessitates that man must depend upon Allah (SW) asking Him Alone for assistance. It also requires that man must love Allah and worship Him Alone to gain His pleasure and His help. Is it not true that the people who consider this life as the "Final Goal" end up worshiping many things in it? You see them so careful about "having it all". They torture themselves: pain, difficulty, and constant worry, keeping their hands in the banks for loan after loan to keep up with the "demands of development". They are under the constant threat of foreclosure. They constantly see poverty in front of their eyes. The Prophet (saw) said:

"Allah says: 'Son of Adam: Fill your time with My worship and I will fill your heart with richness, and end off your poverty. But if you don't, I would make your hands fully busy (i.e. in worldly affairs) and I would not end off your poverty.'" (At-Tirmidhi said that it is a good hadeeth)

Our purpose of existence on earth is more meaningful than being slaves to worldly gains. There can be no meaningful life better than that prescribed by our Creator Allah. Every act done according to Allah's way is an act of worship. Man is the beneficiary and Allah is in no need:

"O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah ,but Allah is Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of All Praise." (Qur'an, 35:15)

Source: http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/Creation.htm

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Muslim Youth

By Altaf Husain - Social Worker — USA

You cannot escape it. The discussion about habits is all around you: Mom and Dad are constantly telling you to break your bad habits; your teachers are telling you to develop good habits; your friends are pressuring you to adopt their habits; and the television and media are influencing you to explore new and supposedly cool habits. "You will never be successful," the constant refrain goes, "unless you drop your bad habits and develop some good habits." In the end, it's all up to you. You have to decide what your habits are going to be. Have you given this matter some thought?
If you are alive and breathing, you should constantly be engaged in an inner struggle to develop habits which draw you closer to Allah Most High. Success in this world is directly related to the strength of your relationship with Allah. The farther one is from Allah and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the less likely one is to achieve success in this world and, for sure, even less likely to achieve success in the hereafter. Is it not time for us to reflect upon Islamic teachings to discern the necessary habits of highly successful Muslim youth?
Here are at least seven habits indispensable for highly successful Muslim youth, derived entirely from the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).


Be Truthful
Being truthful is not always easy, especially when we make a mistake. We fret over whether or not to disclose exactly what happened. We sweat, we are afraid, we feel nervous and anxious. We are often afraid that if we tell the truth about what we have done or said, we will be in trouble with our parents or friends. What we forget is that whether we tell the truth or not, Allah Most High knows exactly what took place, even those things that were never manifest or visible to people around us. Despite how burdensome telling the truth might seem, all of us are aware of the feeling of relief we experience when we tell the truth, even if the consequence of telling the truth is punishment. Casting the telling of truth and the fate of the truthful in terms of profit and loss, Allah Most High tells us in the Qur'an
[This is a day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are gardens, with rivers flowing beneath — their eternal Home: Allah well-pleased with them, and they with Allah. That is the great salvation, (the fulfillment of all desires).] (Al-Ma'idah 5:119)
So much is to be gained from being truthful as opposed to escaping punishment or blame because of not being truthful. Not being truthful, in fact, leads us down a slippery slope, guaranteeing that with one lie, more lies must be told. Being truthful is not an option for Muslims, but rather an obligation, because our goal in being truthful is Paradise. The beloved of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), said, as narrated by `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him),
Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to al-fujur [wickedness, evil-doing], and al-fujur leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is witten before Allah, a liar." (Sahih Bukhari, Book #73, Hadith #116)
Ultimate success is therefore achieved by living one's entire life — the youthful years, the adult years, and the elderly years — being truthful.


Be Trustworthy
Who do you rely on? Of course, Allah. He is indeed the Most Trustworthy. But among humans, who do you rely on? Who can you trust to come through for you all the time? Do people rely on you? Are you considered trustworthy?Moving ahead in life, achieving ultimate success, requires that people consider you trustworthy and reliable. Being trustworthy should not be an arbitrary activity but rather a habit so that you can be relied upon in all instances, big or small, convenient or inconvenient, easy or difficult.
In colloquial terms, we often hear "I've got your back," implying, in the most literal sense, that people cannot see what is behind them so they need to rely on their friends to cover that angle, just in case a threat occurs from the back. Just imagine what it would be like if a friend were climbing a tree and was heading out onto a very thin branch to get a kite that got stuck there. She asks you if you "have her back." In this instance, she is relying on you entirely to hold on to her in case the branch breaks. There is no room for joking around or for being distracted: your friend is trusting you with her life.
When we say Allah is the Most Trustworthy, we are coming to terms with the fact that Allah Most High will never let us down, will never leave our side. He, Most High, says about someone who willingly accepts Islam,
[Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah Heareth and Knoweth all things.] (Al-Baqarah 2:256)
Indeed, the prophets of Allah were all trustworthy people and Allah attested to the trustworthiness of those who were doubted by their communities. Prophet Hud, appealing to his community, declared to them,
[I but fulfill towards you the duties of my Lord's mission: I am to you a sincere and trustworthy adviser.] (Al-A`raf 7:68)
Practice daily developing the habit of being trustworthy. Accept responsibility and then fulfill it. When others trust you, do not betray their trust.
You can read in the beautiful biography of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) how people used to entrust him with their valuables, knowing that upon their return they would find their valuables safe and unharmed. His personal and business practices were commendable to the degree that he was known for it in his community, even before he became aware that he was the Prophet of Allah, literally one who is most truthful and trustworthy.


Have Self-Restraint and Be God-Conscious
Perhaps the most difficult challenge while navigating adolescence is to restrain oneself from falling victim to one's desires — especially one's lower desires.
Our success in life depends to a great extent on how well we are able to restrain ourselves and to be moderate in what is permissible, as well as how capable we are of distancing ourselves from what is impermissible.
Why is self-restraint so critical? Satan's goal is to make you a slave of your desires to the extent that you eat until you are actually uncomfortable; that you consume without restraint beverages made of caffeine, sugar, and artificial flavors; that you find yourself longing for sleep more than prayer; and that you yearn to satisfy your sexual desires. Developing self-restraint as a habit entails making self-restraint your second nature — something which is done almost without thought, without too much effort. We are reminded by Allah Most High,
[And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint, — none but persons of the greatest good fortune.] (Fussilat 41:5)
In seeking to be highly successful Muslim youth, that is, youth deserving of the greatest fortune, it is imperative that you develop self-restraint.
An interesting parallel is that, throughout his Qur'an translation, the late Abdullah Yusuf Ali translates taqwa as self-restraint. While taqwa is most commonly translated as "God-consciousness," one realizes without much effort that the height of self-restraint is full and complete understanding that one is indeed conscious of one's duty to one's Lord. How awesome will it be if you can look back at your life and say to yourself, all praise is due to Allah that I did not succumb to my lower desires and instead exercised self-restraint consistently!


Be Thorough
Look around your room. How many unfinished projects do you have? When you work on homework, are you likely to rush through the assignment just so you can be done with it or are you more likely to take your time, to check your work, and most importantly, to be thorough?
Often teachers will grade a report based on how well and to what extent the student covered the topic at hand. Being thorough is not a habit that is developed overnight. The opposite of being thorough is being incomplete, being rushed, and working in haste without any regard for accuracy or quality. The most perfect is Allah Most High, Who perfected creation, Who perfected our religion, and Who guided His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to be the most perfect among humans in behavior and in character.
We read in the Muwatta of Imam Malik "Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'I was sent to perfect good character'" (Book #47, Hadith #47.1.8).
To be thorough stems from a desire to be perfect to the extent that this is humanly possible. Seeking perfection in our actions and speech from an early age helps us to develop a keen eye, not only for thoroughness in our own life, but also for thoroughness in the lives of those around us. Being thorough in prayer, for example, teaches us to be patient and to concentrate upon the words we are reciting and the different positions of the prayer.


Be Focused
One thousand ideas go through your head the moment you stand up for prayer. Is that you? Really? What do you make of those ideas? Do you process them? What about when you are sitting in class? Do you find your mind wandering, daydreaming, and unable to focus on the lecture at hand? Are you likely to use any excuse whatsoever to leave what you are doing?

Developing the habit of being focused ensures that you are awake, alert, and totally motivated to work on and complete the task at hand, whatever it may be. Being distracted early on in childhood by video games, fast-paced imagery, and constantly changing scenes on television shows contributes to an inability to concentrate, to focus. Among the best ways to develop focus is to practice praying with deep concentration to the extent that you are almost unaware of your surroundings. Allah Most High tells us in the Qur'an that the believers are
[those who humble themselves in their prayers] (Al-Mu'minun 23:2)
The humility referred to here results from total focus and concentration on the fact that one is in the presence of Allah, standing before Him, Most High. Do your best to develop focus, no matter what activity you are engaged in — whether in prayer, in academics, in athletics, or some other pastime.


Be Punctual
Stop saying over and over again that you are late because of "Muslim standard time," or the "standard time" of your particular ethnicity. The last thing we should attribute to Islam is the notion that its teachings somehow make us late, slow, slugging, and anything but punctual. What a sad state of affairs, indeed, that we attribute our own weaknesses to our religion or ethnicity!
Highly successful individuals, be they Muslim or not, understand and appreciate the value of not only their time but the time of everyone else with whom they interact. Keeping people waiting for hours on end is neither something to be proud of nor a habit that has a place in the mindset of a person who tries to be successful.
One of the central pillars of Islam is prayer, and Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) have given us clear reminders that we are to establish prayers at their due times.
When `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked "which deed is the dearest to Allah?" the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times" (Sahih Bukhari, Book #10, Hadith #505).
If indeed your day is to be considered successful, you must have prayed all the obligatory prayers at their established times and as many voluntary prayers as possible. If your day is planned around the times of prayer, you should not pray exactly at the time when you are to pray but then come late to all other appointments. Being punctual is a habit which, when perfected, demonstrates to others the tremendous value that Islam places on time — not only ours but that of everyone else with whom we interact.


Be Consistent
Apart from all the habits listed above, perhaps the one that is sure to help you become a highly successful Muslim youth is that of being consistent. One cannot be truthful one day and a liar the next; one cannot be trustworthy in one instance and totally unreliable in the next; and so on for each of the other habits. A Muslim understands from an early age that it is easier to do something once or whenever we feel like it but much harder to do something regularly and consistently.
Indeed, the Mother of the Believers `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that "the most beloved action to Allah's Apostle was that which is done continuously and regularly" (Sahih Bukhari, Book #76, Hadith #469).
Regular and consist actions show that a person has thought about it, has intended to do it, has planned to do it, and therefore does it.
We urge you to be as consistent as possible, especially in those areas of your life which need constant improvement, such as your prayers, your fasting, your manners, your studying habits, etc. Do not say, I am going to pray all day every day, or fast voluntarily all of the days of every month, or study all night every night, because such actions cannot be humanly sustained over a long period of time. Say on the other hand, I am going to be sure to read at least one part of the Qur'an every day, or I will strive to help my parents with at least one household chore every day, or I will try to study at least one new item every week so that I can be ahead of the lesson plan.


Conclusion
Finally, Muslims aspire to develop all of these habits because, in doing so, we draw nearer to Allah Most High. If you are intent on being a highly successful Muslim youth, then you owe it to yourself to reflect upon your own life and see how many of these habits are already a part of who you are and how many you need to further develop or acquire.
We end with a reminder that developing these habits will help you to emulate the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). His message and his life are summarized well in a narration of `Abdullah ibn `Abbas:
Abu Sufyan told me that Heraclius said to him, "When I enquired of you what he (Muhammad) ordered you, you replied that he ordered you to establish the prayer, to speak the truth, to be chaste, to keep promises, and to pay back trusts." Then Heraclius added, "These are really the qualities of a prophet." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #48, Hadith #846)
Strive to develop the seven habits listed above and many others from the Islamic teachings so that you will be among the highly successful Muslim youth.

From http://www.missionislam.com/youth/sevenhabits.html

In my attempt to free up the spaces in my inbox, which is super full with reminders of all kinds....

Dari Ibn Abbas radhiAllahuanhuma, katanya: Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: Ada dua macam kenikmatan yang keduanya itu disia-siakan oleh sebahagian besar manusia iaitu kesihatan dan kelapangan waktu (Riwayat Bukhari)

- Siti Hawa Teenz Camp 3rd Feb 2010 2205hrs
comment: a timely reminder as I fall sick...


To increase your iman, read the miracle, read the Quran. Here's a fact for the ones who're keener, 92 surahs revealed in Madina, read it everyday and read it proud. The word quran means to read it aloud.

Read the book from the Lord of the words. Over 6000 verses and 77000 words. Read with respect, no disturbance, no laughters from Al-Fatihah to An-Naas, all 114 chapters. And in it 14 times you need to prostrate and say Allahu akbar, meaning Allah is great.

In this book, 25 prophets are mentioned by name, who came at different times, but their message was the same. This miracle was revealed over a 23 yea span sent from Allah, to an angel, and then to a man. That man was Muhammad s.a.w., the best of creation, and we're proud to be part of his nation.

He gave us a message, and that was Islam, so read this miracle, read the Quran.

-Fatimah NI daily reminder 3rd Feb 2010 1027hrs
comment: panjang lebar betol Fatimah sms nak memperingati kita, so apalagi, jom sahut cabarannya untuk baca hari-hari!


Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Tiada beriman seorang kamu hingga ia mencintai untuk saudaranya apa yang ia cintai untuk dirinya" Diriwayatkan oleh Bukhari & Muslim

And only then would we be able to fulfill Allah's command:

"Dan berpegang teguhlah kamu sekalian dengan tali Allah dan janganlah kamu berpisah-pisah" (Surah Ali Imran, ayat 103)

-Musaddiq NI daily reminder 3rd Feb 2010 0943hrs
comment: ukhuwwah

As-Sabr
Islamic Knowledge
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
In the book ‘Tayseer fi Usooli-tafseer’ by ‘Ataa’ bin Khaleel abu Rishta, comes the following explanation of the verse

“And seek help in patience and As-Salah (the prayer). Truly, Allah is with As-Sabirin. And say not of those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead.'' Nay, they are living, but you do not sense (that). And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin Those who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.'' They are those on whom are the Salawat (blessings) from their Lord, and mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones.” [al-baqarah: 153-157]

Allah the Glorified explains in these verses the following:

1. After teaching us that Allah the Glorified sent from us messengers, reciting to us the signs of Allah, purifying us from idolatry, teaching us all that is incumbent upon us from beliefs and rules for us to live according to and for us to remember Allah and for us to invite to Islam. After that, Allah the Glorified ordered us to seek help with sabr (patience and steadfastness) and prayer.

The enunciation (mantooq) in these verses have an indicative meaning that the da’awah to Islam and practicing the Islamic Shari’ah is heavy and in it is hardship. So it is upon the Muslim to remain resolutely steadfast when faced with what comes to him during that. He carries during that two provisions that Allah the Glorified has explained: As-Sabr and Prayer.

2. Then Allah the Glorified mentioned types of affliction that afflict people while living according to Islam and carrying the da’awah to it. Allah also mentioned what is prepared for the sabireen because of that; the steadfast on the truth; those who, when met with a trial, say “inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji’oon” ("Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.''). From the types of affliction mentioned by Allah and what is prepared of goodness for those who are worthy

a) Being killed in the way of Allah. This means that a person is killed while fighting the enemy of Allah to raise His word high, going forward, not deserting, steadfast in the theatre of battle. Such a person is living with Allah, although the rest of people don’t sense it, because he is absent; yet he is alive living a pure good life. “Whoever fights to raise Allah’s word high, advancing not deserting, he is in the way of Allah” (narrated by an-Nisaa’I, Ahmad and ad-Darami). “The souls of the martyrs are inside green birds and move about in Paradise wherever they wish.” (narrated by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, ad-Darami and ibn Majah).

b) Afflicted with something of fear, hunger and reduction in wealth, their selves and fruits. This is affliction of various types, so whichever of them afflicts a believer, then this is a trial: Fear, lack of security, poverty, hunger, reduction of wealth by losing it, reduction in their selves through illness or dying, or diminishing of fruits due to disease.

Allah mentioned (بِشَيْءٍ) ‘with something’, i.e. however was that affliction, small or big, then it is a trial and sabr (patience and steadfastness) in it has a great reward. “The Prophet (saw) would say ‘inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji’oon’ when the lamp died down, so it was said to him about that, so he (saw) said ‘whatever harms a believer is an affliction, and for him is a reward’“ [ad-Dar al-Manthoor 2/380, Tafseer al-Baydawi 1/125]

In the agreed upon hadith “There is no Muslim is pricked by a thorn or what is worse, except Allah raises him up a level and puts aside a mistake”

c) Allah the Glorified explained that when the believer shows sabr during a trial and says ‘lillah wa inna ilayhi raji’oon’, then there is for him a great reward “Salawat (blessings) from their Lord, and mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones.” How good is this great reward!! Allah’s pleasure, His mercy and guidance. Not only that, but for them is much good in this life as well.

Muslim reported that Umm Salmah said “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying ‘There is no Muslim afflicted by an affliction who says ‘lillah wa inna ilayhi raji’oon, allahumma ajjirni fi musibati wakhlaf li khairan minha’, except that Allah most High rewards him for his affliction and follows it with something better than it.’ She said ‘When Abu Salmah passed away I said as the Messenger of Allah (saw) had ordered me, so Allah most High sent a better successor to me, the Messenger of Allah (saw).” (al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, Muslim and Abu Dawud)

3. Allah has ordered us to seek help with patience and prayer in carrying Islam, the da’awah and being firm on the truth. It has been authenticated that the Messenger (saw), if he was something was important to him, would retreat to the prayer. It is the consolation/delight of the believer, meeting his Lord Most Glorified through it, filling his heart with tranquillity by performing it. “Three things of this dunya have been made beloved to me: perfume, women and my delight is in the Prayer.” (an-Nisaa’i and Ahmad) So it gives the believer a powerful energy to resist the oppression and its people, and a true determination to remain firm on the truth; a true believer, unyielding nor weakening in his resolve.

Allah mentioned sabr before prayer, exposing the importance of sabr. Prayer is a relationship between the worshipper and his Lord. Sabr is a relationship between the worshipper and his Lord, and with himself and with the people. It is the measure of stability at the time of strain, calamities and difficulties.

As-Sabr

It is necessary for us to pause here to reflect upon as-Sabr, to remove the confusion existing with some of the Muslims around its meaning and reality.

Some people suppose that if a man withdraws in himself, becoming introverted and separate from the people, leaving the munkar and its people, seeing the sanctities violated, Allah’s limits unemployed, jihad cancelled, and he does not take a stand towards that, rather he is distant from it, leaving forbidding the munkar, some people suppose that such a man is a patient man (saabir).

This is not the sabr that Allah has prepared for its people Jannaat an-Naeem (gardens of luxury),
﴿إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّـبِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾

“Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.” [az-Zumar: 10], rather this is actual disability that the Messenger (saw) used to seek refuge from: “I seek refuge in Allah from the disability, laziness, cowardliness, stinginess, distress, sadness, being overcome with debt and dominance of men.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Truly, as-Sabr is to say the truth and to do what is true, bearing the resultant harm in the way of Allah, without diverting, weakening or yielding.

As-Sabr is what Allah ranked made the consequence of taqwa with his saying
﴿إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾

“He who has Taqwa, and is patient, then surely, Allah makes not the reward of the gooddoers to be lost.” [Yousuf:90]

As-Sabr is what The Most Glorified associated with the mujahideen
﴿وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ
فَمَا وَهَنُوا لِمَا أَصَابَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا وَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾

“And many a Prophet fought and along with him large bands of religious learned men. But they never lost heart for that which did befall them in Allâh's Way, nor did they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allâh loves As-Sâbirin.” [Aal-‘Imraan:146]

It is the steadfastness at the affliction and the judgement; it leads to firmness, not to trembling; it leads to holding onto the Book, not to abandoning it with the excuse of the oppressiveness of the wounded. It is the steadfastness which increases one’s closeness to his Lord, not distance from Him
﴿فَنَادَىٰ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾

“But he cried through the darkness : Lâ ilâha illa Anta (none has the right to be worshipped but You) Glorified are You. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.” [al-Anbia: 87]

It is the steadfastness that sharpens one’s zeal, and brings closer the path to Paradise, the sabr of Bilal, Khubab and the family of Yasir; “Have Sabr, O family of Yasir, your appointment is with Jannah!”

The sabr of Khubaib and Zayd; “By Allah, it is not preferable to me that Muhammad is now in the place he is and is harmed by a thorn and for me to be sitting with my family.” [said in reply to his enemies while he was being threatened with torture asking ‘would you not prefer that Muhammad was in your place now?’]

The sabr of those who hold back the hand of the oppressed without fearing the blame of the blamer “No, by Allah, you will hold back the hand of the oppressor, steer him to the truth and restrict him to the truth, or Allah will beat your heats together and blame you as He blamed the children of Israeel.”

The sabr of the blessed marked family (i.e. having signs of their ablution and prayer on the last day), the companions of the Prophet of Allah (saw) the honest and truthful…

The sabr of the people of the written boycott (i.e. Bani Hashim), the boycotted of the mountain passes, the ones who migrated to Abyssinia and those persecuted for their saying ‘our Lord is Allah.’

The sabr of the Muhajirin and the Ansar in their jihad against the people of idolatry, the Persians and the Romans.

The sabr of the captives, ‘Abdullah bin Abi Hadhafah’s troop.

The sabr of the true, believing mujahideen.

The sabr for you to forbid the mukar and enjoin the ma’roof, not weakening in front of harm in the way of Allah.

The sabr for you to be a soldier in the army of the Muslims advancing to fight the enemies of Allah.

The sabr for you to be the substantiation of if The Most High’s statement
﴿لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا ۚ وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ﴾

“You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and properties and in your personal selves, and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you and from those who ascribe partners to Allâh; but if you persevere patiently, and become Al-Muttaqûn then verily, that will be a determining factor in all affairs.” [Aal-‘Imaran: 186] and His statement

﴿وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتَّىٰ نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَ أَخْبَارَكُمْ﴾
“And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard and As-Sabirûn, and We shall test your facts” [Muhammad: 31] and His statement

﴿وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الاٌّمَوَالِ وَالاٌّنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّـبِرِينَ - الَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُواْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّـآ إِلَيْهِ رَجِعونَ - أُولَـئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَتٌ مِّن رَّبْهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ ﴾

“And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin Those who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.'' They are those on whom are the Salawat (blessings) from their Lord, and mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones” [al-Baqara:153-157]

Today... I went to madrasah... We started the first lesson of this year (FYI: my year 3 sem 1 term 1) with a discussion within 4 groups. 1) female youths, 2) male youths, 3) female adults, 4) male adults. We were to discuss what we think people our age out there generally envision for themselves within the next 10 years... And we talked about 4 aspects. 1) career, 2) community, 3) religion, 4) community. It was an interesting discussion. Unfortunately, we did not have access to internet and such to back up what we say with survey findings etc.

Ustaz gave an insight (it was like a tazkirah) about how is the world like now. he reminded us, that with the passing of another year, we are one more year nearer to returning to Allah swt. Yet, the world nowadays are guiding us away from Allah instead of towards Allah. The older generations are putting their hand on the youths of today to be the leaders (be it political, spiritual etc) of tomorrow yet our youths nowadays are more concerned about glamour, about money. Sadly, the mindset now is such that, what is ma'aruf is viewed as mungkar, not only by the youths btw, while what is mungkar is viewed as ma'aruf (memang dasarlah sekarang ni aku confuse sangat2 dan sedang mencari apa yang haq).

Ustaz directed a question towards us, students of the DPI program, year 3 and above... "Apakah peranan aku dalam agama?" We are ambassodor of Islam everywhere we go. We are da'ie ila Allah, whether we like it or not. It is our role, our responsibility, our amanah as students of this program...

Actually, I do want to know more about what it is like out there. I realise that I have been closing one eye all these while. I'd been living in my own bubble, oblivious of what's happening out there. I say I want to outreach to the community, yet I do not know what is really the situation in the community. I realise that I had been assuming all these while, never really going out there to find out for myself, never really observing, opening my eyes wide to everything around me...

But how do I find out???

For BILL camp, we did a survey on the general public in Tampines. That was interesting. I like what Sufyan's group did. Sufyan, gangster like as he is, can be an asset to us actually. Hmmmm....

Anyway, the module title was actually 'Pengajian Tazkiah Nufus', which actually means 'membersihkan jiwa daripada sifat mazmumah, yang tak elok, kepada sifat mahmudah, yang mulia', which is actually wajib in our lives. Ustaz talked about our purpose in life, yakni: Tidak Aku menjadikan jin dan manusia melainkan untuk mengabdikan diri kepada Aku (Surah 51: ayat 56). It is 100%, no less, obedience to Allah.

Ustaz elaborated further about ibadah umum and ibadah khusus, and bring us to reflect how many of us, even us who learns about the religion, do not prioritise our ibadah khusus, like solat, zakat, puasa, selawat etc, when in fact it is much much more important than our ibadah umum, which is anything good that we do, that is halal, that gives benefit to others such as whatever we do for our job, our volunteer work etc...

Ustaz went on to talk about 2 syarat amalan kita diterima... 1) ihklas, which is beribadah semata-mata mencari keredhaan Allah s.w.t. 2) mengikut landasan syara'.

Woah... That's just the first lesson... 4 more lessons to go!

I have a few interesting reads to share...

1) Siapakah orang-orang yang berakal?

2) Terima kasih ya Allah kerana memilihku

3) Salah faham umat Islam mengenai bab jodoh***

***Yang ni aku setuju!

"Anda tidak perlu TAKUT siapakah jodoh anda kerana pasangan anda sudah pun ditentukan oleh Allah SWT dan apa yang perlu anda lakukan ialah untuk berusaha mendapatkan calon yang soleh dan solehah sebagai memenuhi PERINTAH ALLAH dalam keadaan anda penuh sedar dan yakin ianya sudah ditetapkan."



"Tiada sesiapa termasuk anda dan ulama dapat mengetahui siapakah lelaki atau wanita yang sesuai atau baik untuk anda. Mr. Right atau Mrs. Right tidak akan dapat diketahui oleh Kita selama-lamanya tanpa WAHYU di sisi."

"Majoriti orang "menyelidik", "mengkaji" latar belakang calon pasangan masing-masing dengan tujuan "merisik" mencari calon yang paling sesuai dan terbaik. Hakikatnya hanya ALlah yang mengetahui, boleh jadi setelah dikaji "di dalam makmal"maka didapati seorang wanita itu baik untuk kita atau sebaliknya namun setelah berkahwin dan hidup bersama maka dia kemudiannya berubah hati dan menjadi jahat serta menyeleweng."

"Jangan membuang masa mencari Mr. Right atau Mrs Right sehingga mengabaikan tanggungjawab kita yang banyak. Masa kita terhad, maka perlu dipergunakan semaksima mungkin di dalam gerak kerja ibadah kita seharian."

"Hal ini membuktikan bahawa Islam menganggap perkahwinan itu cuma alat dan tools untuk merealisasikan perjuangan dan tuntutan ibadah bagi menyalurkan keperluan fitrah manusia ke arah yang halal. Lantas untuk orang yang sedar akan segera memahami bahawa adalah tidak perlu untuknya mengambil masa yang lama untuk memberi respon kepada jemputan atau pinangan perkahwinan apabila dirinya dipinang jika cara dan kaedah yang digunakan adalah menurut syarak."

4) Bukan Awla' Membawa Alpa

"Kerap kali saya berjumpa di profile orang yang "menambah" saya di facebook mereka sebagai penggemar filem korea dan peminat novel ayat-ayat cinta.

Bukan sukar untuk saya menemui gadis-gadis bertudung labuh dan berpurdah yang "bergedik" dengan lagu-lagu nasyid bertema cinta.

Apabila kehidupan yang dilalui saban hari tidak didasari oleh Aqidah yang Sahih, manhaj kehidupan yang berpaksikan kepada Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah maka kehancuran umat adalah semakin dekat.

Bagi menghadapi situasi yang sukar ini saya berpendapat sudah tiba masanya cerita-cerita wanita Islam dan tokoh salaf terdahulu perlu ditampilkan kepada massa.

Islam (yang sahih) perlu mengambil alih dunia...

Kisah berkenaan Khadijah isteri yang setia perlu diketengahkan bagi mengantikan cerita cinta yang hina, kisah Zubaidah isteri Khalifah Harun Ar-Rasyid yang bijaksana perlu ditampilkan bagi mengantikan cerita Cleopatra yang jelek.

Pengajaran-pengajaran berkenaan kisah hidup wanita salaf terdahulu seperti teladan isteri-isteri rasulullah, para sahabat wanita perlu disuburkan sentiasa kepada para gadis dan wanita Islam agar mereka terbiasa dengan agama.


Kita perlu ketengahkan kepada mereka bahawa para wanita salaf terdahulu tidaklah bercinta sebelum nikah, tidak bercouple dan berkasih-kasihan sebelum diakad nikah.

Kita perlu cerita kepada mereka para sahabat wanita berkahwin dan bercerai sebagai fitrah dan lumrah kehidupan. Zainab Al-Jahsyi merupakan isteri kepada Zaid bin Haritsah anak angkat rasulullah dan setelah bercerai dengan Zaid maka Zainab kemudian telah dikahwini pula oleh rasulullah, bapa angkat kepada bekas suaminya ~ No hard Feeling...tanpa segan silu...tanpa resah pilu atau nasyid dan sendu...

Kita perlu bercerita kepada mereka Umar bin Khattab yang tua meminang anak Ali bin Abi Tolib bernama Ummul Kultsum yang masih muda usia dan ~ No hard feeling...tiada menjadi berita sensasi atau menjadi tajuk utama di media massa...

Kita perlu bercerita kepada mereka bahawa rasulullah di datangi oleh wanita yang menawarkan diri kepadanya dan apabila baginda tidak menginginkan wanita tersebut maka sahabat yang berada di sisi baginda meminta untuk menikahi wanita itu dan baginda kemudian menikahkan mereka dengan mahar daripada ayat Al-Quran lantaran kemiskinan lelaki itu....tiada menjadi heboh dan kecoh semua jiran tertangga...habis mengata sekampung...miskin tapi gatal nak berkahwin...

Ianya berlaku sekelip mata ~ no hard feeling.

Sungguh Islam yang di amalkan oleh mereka (kaum muslimin) di zaman salaf adalah sangat berbeza dengan kita."

"Sekiranya jumlah pelajar yang menyertai pertandingan menulis kitab, risalah ilmiah, menghasilkan karya sirah dan sejarah Islam, ulasan dan kajian masalah feqah berjumlah 100 buah karya setahun bayangkanlah jumlah naskah ilmu yang akan terhasil apabila 2 tahun ? 5 tahun ? dan seterusnya... Banyak di kalangan kita lupa dan alpa perkara yang awla sehingga mereka terjebak dengan masalah-masalah dan perbuatan yang membuang masa."

5)Islam anda tafsiran siapa***

***In my effort searching for what is the truth and what isn't

"Tafsiran Islam yang terbaik dan paling sempurna ialah apa yang ditafsirkan oleh rasulullah kepada para sahabat baginda radiallahuanhum.

Tafsiran itu namanya Sunnah !

Ianya disebut sebagai sunnah di dalam bahasa arab yang bermaksud : “ Jalan atau teladan yang ditinggalkan oleh rasulullah kepada umat-Nya baik melalui ucapan baginda, perbuatan atau taqrir (pembenaran) baginda. “ (Qawaid Fil Bayan Hakikatul Iman Indal Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah, ms.22)

Imam Ibnu Rejab (Abd Rahman bin Ahmad, meninggal 795 Hijrah) menyebutkan bahawa yang dimaksudkan dengan sunnah itu ialah : “Jalan yang dilalui oleh nabi salallahualaihiwasalam dan para sahabatnya yang selamat daripada syubhat dan syahwat.” (Kasyfu Al-Kurbah Fi Washfi Hal Ahli Gurbah, ms. 15)

Maksud sunnah ini pelbagai namun semuanya merujuk kepada makna yang satu iaitu tafsiran rasulullah terhadap agama ini yang perlu menjadi teladan dan ikutan kita di dalam memahami agama.

Malangnya tafsiran ini semakin lama semakin menjauh daripada kita kerana perbezaan jangka masa dan waktu yang jauh di antara kita dan rasulullah yang mencapai seribu tahun lebih. Menafsirkan Al-Quran dengan tafsiran rasulullah dan memahami Islam dengan kefahaman rasulullah ialah merupakan hikmah dan pertunjuk kebenaran.

Inilah yang disebut di dalam Al-Quran dengan bermaksud : “Sesungguhnya Allah memberikan hikmah kepada sesiapa yang dikehendaki-Nya dan barangsiapa yang diberikan hikmah maka sesungguhnya dia telah mendapat kebaikan yang sangat banyak.” (Surah Al-Baqarah : 269)"

A good reminder... As copied from sis Mahirah's notes on fb.

Fear of Poverty

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) Sura 2: Verse 268 (partial)

"Satan threatens you with poverty and he commands you to immorality. But God promises you His forgiveness and bounty."



One of Satan's tactics is to keep people so occupied with the fear of losing their wealth they end up desperately clinging to their money and depriving the needy - and themselves - of the goodness of giving for the sake of God. A person under the spell of irrational fear is more vulnerable to transgress laws, even to the point of indulging in lewdness, for the purpose of gaining profit and wealth.

The cure for fear of poverty is to have a good opinion of God. People who harbour good thoughts about their Provider deflect insidious whisperings about Him and the subtle provocations that create irrational fear. His dominion is never diminished in the least when He gives to His creation all that they need.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 53, 54


Taking Initiative

One day, close to noontime, while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting and conferring with his Companions, a group of desert dwellers approached. Their purpose was none other than to represent their people to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and declare their faith in Islam. It was obvious from their appearance that they travelled a long way and that their journey had been a hard one. They had no shoes on their feet. Their clothes were scant and threadbare, and amounted to nothing more than scraps of bound cloth. They had no possessions with them and were starving.

The Prophet's face became strained with sorrow and concern. He looked at them with compassion. Then he stood up, turned and went into his house. After a while, he returned and instructed Bilal to call the people to prayer. Then the Prophet led the Muslims in the Noon Prayer.

Afterwards, he stood at the pulpit and recited verses of the Quran which exhort to goodwill and charity. Then he said: "A man should donate some of his gold or silver, or a container of flour, or a container of dates…" until he finally appealed "…or even if but half a date." In this way, he encouraged all the Muslims to give what they could.

He then took his seat and waited for his Companions to help out their brothers who had come to them in such straitened circumstances. No one acted immediately. The minutes of inaction seemed long and heavy. The Prophet's displeasure with such a response could be seen on his face.

Then a man from the natives of Madinah came forward with a large purse full of silver so big he was barely able to carry it in both his hands. He said: "Messenger of Allah! This is for the sake of Allah."

By taking the initiative, he broke the heavy spell of silence and inactivity, for right then, Abu Bakr stood up and made a donation. Then Umar came forward with charity. Then everyone came forward with what they could give of food, clothing, and money. The Prophet's face shone with joy as he looked at the pile of food and clothing that had been placed before him.

However, his attention was drawn more strongly to that man who had been the first to give and in doing so broke the impasse of hesitation.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: "Whoever sets a good precedent in Islam will have the blessing for doing so as well as the blessing for everyone who acts upon it thereafter, without their blessings being diminished in the least. And whoever sets an evil precedent in Islam will have the sin for doing so as well as the sin of everyone who acts upon it thereafter, without their sis being diminished in the least." [Sahih Muslim: (1017)]



We can see the effect the native of Madinah had on everyone else by his taking the initiative and bringing that bag of silver to the Prophet (peace be upon him). We also learn from the story that we do not have to be famous celebrities or prominent people for our initiative to count. We do not even know the name of the man who brought the first bag of silver. All we know is that he was a native of Madinah. Nevertheless, he set a precedent that was immediately followed by the two most eminent citizens of the Muslim community – Abu Bakr and Umar.

Therefore, we should never feel that we are too unimportant or insignificant to set a public example. In fact, taking the initiative is often what makes people successful. If we look at the lives of great leaders, people of influence, and reformers, we find that those lives are a series of positive initiatives. This is how they became so influential, and this is why they were able to have an enduring legacy.

Compiled From:
"Setting an Example of Piety" - Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî


Spiritual Development

The objectives of spiritual development are:

Creating an awareness of self and of God, and an understanding of the meaning and purpose of life.


Creating a yearning for communion with God (dua), turning to Him constantly (tawba) and desiring to worship and serve Him alone (ibada).


Developing a deep sense of gratitude (shukr) to God for all His blessings and mercy, and an inner devotion and humbleness (khushu).


Creating a higher and noble vision; raising oneself above the self and material things.
Creating a compassionate, merciful and soft heart for other people; a deep desire to support and care for others.


Controlling negative emotions and feelings (for example, arrogance greed, selfishness, envy, etc.) that harden and corrupt the soul, character and conduct.



Compiled From:
"Building a New Society" - Zahid Parvez, p. 218

"Verily, After Hardship Comes Ease"
At a time in which the Muslims are beset with trials from every periphery, it is a time when Muslims should continue being Muslims, only better Muslims. I would say to my dear brothers and sisters in Islam "don’t be Sad"; if you are on the true religion – believing in One God and all the Messengers sent to mankind, then don’t be sad.

"...Bear with patience whatever befalls you...." (Qur'an 31:17) and "Be not sad, surely Allah is with us." (Qur'an 9:40)

Our Prophet (pbuh) said: "Verily, if Allah loves a people, He makes them go through trials. Whoever is satisfied, for him is contentment, and whoever is angry upon him is wrath." [Tirmidhi]

Being sad is not encouraged in Islam

"So do not become weak, nor be sad..." (Qur'an 3:139)
"And grieve not over them, and be not distressed because of what they plot." (Qur'an 16:127)

Sadness prevents one from action instead of compelling one towards it. The heart does not benefit through grief. The most beloved thing to the devil is to hinder the worshipper in the path of Allah. The Muslim must repel sadness and fight in any way that is permissible in Islam.

Allah is sufficient for us

"Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allah. No harm touched them; and they followed the good Pleasure of Allah. And Allah is the owner of Great Bounty." (Qur'an 3:173-174)

"And put your trust in Allah if you are believers indeed..." (Qur'an 5:23)
"O you who believe! Seek help in patience and the prayer..." (Qur'an 2:153)

By leaving your affairs to Allah by depending on Him, by trusting in His promise, by being pleased with His decree, by thinking favourably of Him, and by waiting patiently for His help, you reap some of the greater fruits of faith. When you incorporate these qualities, you will be at peace concerning the future, because you will depend on your Lord for everything. As a result, you will find care, help, protection and victory.

Pre-ordainment

"No calamity befalls on earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees – before We bring it into existence." (Qur'an 57:22)

The pen has dried, and the pages have been lifted: all events shall come to pass have already been written. Whatever has befallen you was not meant to escape you, and whatever has escaped you was not meant to befall you: if this belief were to be firmly ingrained in your heart, then all hardships and difficulty would become ease and comfort.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever Allah wishes good for, He inflicts him (with hardship)." [Bukhari]

For those who are afflicted with disaster, glad tidings await them: so remain patient and happy with your Lord. "He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned." (Qur'an 21:23)

Verily, with hardship, there is relief

"Verily, with hardship there is relief" (Qur'an 94:6)
"Perhaps Allah may bring victory or a decision according to His Will." (Qur'an 5:52)

Prophet Ibrahim ('alayhissalam) did not feel its heat because of the help he received from Allah. "We (Allah) said : O' fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim." (Qur'an 21:69)

The sea would not drown Prophet Moses ('alayhissalaam) because he uttered in confident, strong and truthful manner: "Nay verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me." (Qur'an 26:62)
And the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said to 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas (radiyallahu 'anhu): "..Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity... And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship." [Tirmidhi]

Accept life as it is

If you read the Qur'an you will see that all the Prophets went through trials and tribulations. Life is a test so let us learn from the best examples of our Prophets. "Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty, ailments and were shaken." (Qur'an 2:214)

We should know that if we are pleased with our Lord, He will be pleased with us. And if you are pleased with your Lord no matter what the situation is, then you will find that you have earned your Lord's pleasure. On the other hand, there are hypocrites whom Allah rejects their deeds. They are displeased with what Allah sends down and they hate seeking His pleasure; thus their deeds are performed in vain.


Your recompense is with Allah

When Allah, the Exalted takes something away from you, He compensates it with something better, but only if you are patient and seek His reward.
Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Whoever loses a loved one from the people of this world and then seeks recompense with his Lord, will be compensated with Paradise."

Those who are in this world and are close to Allah will be raised in the highest of heaven: "Peace be upon you, because you peresevered in patience! Excellent indeed is the final home!" (Qur'an 13:24)

Truly, the life of this world is short and its treasures are few. O' afflicted ones, if you are patient you lose nothing; and though you may not perceive it, you are profiting.
Extract honey but do not break the hive

"Repel (the evil) with one which is better, then verily! He, between whom and you there was enmity (will become) as though he was a close friend." (Qur'an 41:34)
"….and harm them not. And put your trust in Allah." (Qur'an 33:48)

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Verily, Allah ordered me to keep relations with those that cut off, forgive the ones who does an injustice with me, and to give to those who withhold from me."

"Those who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good-doers." (Qur'an 3-134)

Remembrance of Allah

"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (Qur'an 13:28)
"Therefore remember Me and I will remember you…" (Qur'an 2:152)

We should not be surprised when we hear that people who remember Allah are at peace. What is truly surprising is how the negligent and unmindful survive without remembering Him. Allah says in the Qur'an, "They are dead, lifeless and they know not when they will be raised up." (Qur'an 16: 21)

Truly, He is near when supplicated: He hears when he is called and He answers when He is invoked, so humble yourself before Him and ask of Him sincerely. Repeat His beautiful names, and mention Him alone as worthy of worship. Mention His praises, supplicate to Him: you will find then – by the will of Allah – happiness, peace and illumination. “So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the excellent reward of the Hereafter.” (Qur’an 3:148)

Loving Allah, knowing Him, remembering Him, seeking peace in Him, singling Him out for complete love, fear, hope and dependence – these qualities when combined in a person, constitute a sort of heaven on earth.

These are qualities that bring peace to those who love Allah, a sort of peace that has no comparison in this world.It is important that a special relationship exists in the heart between the slave and his Lord, a relationship that allows the slave to feel so close to his Lord that he requires no other.

Thus, he finds company when he is alone, and he tastes the sweetness of remembering Him and supplicating to Him. Allah's slave will continually face hardship and difficulty until he dies, but if he has a special relationship with his Lord, all of the hardships of life will become easy for him.

The prayer….the prayer – we must return to our mosques

"O' you who believe! Seek help in patience and the Prayer." (Qur'an 2:153)

By earnestly performing the five daily prayers, we achieve the greatest of blessings: cleared off our sins and increase in rank with our Lord. Prayer is a potent remedy for our sickness, for it instills our faith in our souls.

As for those that keep away from the mosque and away from prayer, for them is unhappiness, wretchedness and an embittered life.

"For them is destruction and Allah will make their deeds vain." (Qur'an 47:8)

Take a moment to reflect

O whose mind has wandered in grief, O' you whose eyes are loaded with tears; relax and know that your Creator aids, and that His mercy will bring you peace. And know that your reward is secure with He Who doesn’t disappoint the one who seeks to please Him. Be at peace, for after poverty comes joyous meeting, and after sleeplessness comes sound rest. O you who are oppressed in the lands, who suffer from hunger, pain, sickness and poverty, rejoice in the knowledge that you will soon be satisfied with food and that you will be happy and in good health.

Let us make these supplications, their purpose being to eliminate hardship, anxiety and grief:

"There is no worthy of worship except Allah, the Ever Forbearing, the Most Great. There is none worthy of worship except Allah, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. There is none worthy of worship One Who sustains and protects all that exists, there is none worthy of worship except You, and by Your Mercy do we seek Your aid."
"So be patient, with a good patience..." (Qur'an 70:5)

Taken from "Verily After Hardship Comes Ease"

Semua manusia akan menghadapai pelbagai ujian dan dugaan.
Namun semua ini bukan penghalang untuk kita kelihatan senyum
dan ceria. Sebaliknya,dengan senyuman dan kecerian kita akan
mampu untuk menghadapi ujian hidup.Biasalah jika susah hati
atau ditimpa masalah dan musibah ada yg menanggis.Dalam situasi
anda tidak akan dapat berfikir dengan rasional dalam situasi yg tidak
tenang.

Paling penting,anda perlu menyediakan diri anda untuk menghadapi
dan menyelesaikannya, juga tidak akan selesai jika anda melarikan
diri.Masalah akan selesai jika kita berusaha.Memang susah! memang
payah! Ada tikanya perit dan mengeciwakan malah melukakan.Tapi
bila anda menerima setiap yg berlaku didalam hidup anda sebagai
ujian,anda akan tetap boleh kekal senyum menerima dengan redha.

Inilah panduan:

1-Kenapa aku diuji?
Apakah manusia itu mengira bahawa mereka dibiarkan saja mengatakan,
“sedangkan mereka diuji? Dan sesungguhnya kami telah menguji orang2
yang sebelum mereka, maka sesungguhnya ALLAH mengetahui orang2
yang benar dan sesungguhnya Dia mengetahui orang yang dusta.
….Surah Al-Ankabut ayat 2-3

2-Kenapa aku tak dapat apa yang aku idam-idamkan?
” Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesuatu padahal ia amat baik bagi mu,dan
boleh jadi pula kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu.
ALLAH mengetahui sedang kamu tidak mengetahui,”
…..Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 216

3-Kenapa ujian seberat ini?
” ALLAH tidak membebani seseorang itu melainkan sesuai dengan kesan-
ggupannya,”
…..Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 286

4-Kenapa rasa keciwa?
” Jangan kamu bersikap lemah, dan janganlah pula kamu bersedih hati,
padahal kamulah orang-orang yang paling tinggi darjat-darjatnya, jika kamu
orang-orang yang beriman,”
…..Surah Al-Imran ayat 139

5-Bagaimana harus aku menghadapinya?
“Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Bersabarlah kamu ( menghadapi segala
kesukaran dalam mengerjakan perkara-perkara yang berkebajikan), dan kuat-
kan kesabaran kamu lebih daripada kesabaran musuh, di medan perjuangan ),
dan bersedialah ( dengan kekuatan pertahanan di daerah-daerah sempadan)
serta bertaqwalah kamu kepada ALLAH supaya, kamu berjaya ( mencapai
kemenangan).”
…..Surah Al-Imran ayat 200

6-Apa yang aku dapat daripada semua ini?
“Sesungguhnya ALLAH telah membeli daripada orang-orang mukmin,diri,harta
mereka dengan memberikan syurga untuk mereka……
….Surah At-Taubah ayat 111

7-Kepada siapa aku berharap?
“Cukuplah ALLAH bagiku, tidak ada Tuhan selain daripada-Nya.Hanya kepada-Nya
aku bertawakal.”
…..Surah At-Taubah ayat 129

8-Aku dah tak dapat bertahan lagi!!!
“…..dan janganlah kamu berputus asa daripada rahmat ALLAH. Sesungguhnya
tiada berputus asa daripada rahmat ALLAH melainkan kaum yang kafir.”
…..Surah Yusuf ayat 12

Dipetik dari "Janganlah kamu bersih"

This made me smile and I wanna share this to all of you so that you may smile too. Come on people, face life and it's trials and tribulations with a smile by holding strongly to the Qur'an & Sunnah!!! =)

Ish, betul buat darah up. Sabar Marl sabar...

When you're a leader, commitment should be a priority. Please think about that... Fine with me if you can provide a valid reason (I can understand sometimes circumstances get in the way) but if you CAN commit, yet for one silly reason or another REFUSE to do so, then you should rethink why others consider you a leader. And if you think you did not ask to be a leader, then please take some time off to reflect on the following verses of the holy Qur'an.



Dan (ingatlah) ketika Tuhanmu berfirman kepada malaikat: Sesungguhnya Aku hendak menjadikan seorang khalifah di bumi. Mereka bertanya (tentang hikmat ketetapan Tuhan itu dengan berkata): Adakah Engkau (Ya Tuhan kami) hendak menjadikan di bumi itu orang yang akan membuat bencana dan menumpahkan darah (berbunuh-bunuhan), padahal kami sentiasa bertasbih dengan memujiMu dan mensucikanMu?. Tuhan berfirman: Sesungguhnya Aku mengetahui akan apa yang kamu tidak mengetahuinya. Surah Al-Baqarah(2): 30.

Wahai Daud, sesungguhnya Kami telah menjadikanmu khalifah di bumi, maka jalankanlah hukum di antara manusia dengan (hukum syariat) yang benar (yang diwahyukan kepadamu) dan janganlah engkau menurut hawa nafsu, kerana yang demikian itu akan menyesatkanmu dari jalan Allah. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang sesat dari jalan Allah, akan beroleh azab yang berat pada hari hitungan amal, disebabkan mereka melupakan (jalan Allah) itu. Surah Sad(38): 26.

And then, take some more time to reflect on why you are here on this earth. Thank you.

And I truly apologise for the harshness. It's harsh because I've kept it too long and more and more commitment problems seem to add to the already big pile. And it doesn't come from just one of you, but so many of you...

You know... When you're committed, you stand to gain alot, for noone but yourself.

You make me lose my trust and respect in you when I see you lose commitment...

I hope this serves as a reminder. For you, as well as for me too. If one day I seem to slack on my commitment level anywhere, shove this entry under my face alright?

Reflect, and have a nice day.

Psst, hey committee and commitment have the same root word eh.. Commit...

ALHAMDULILLAH...

Finally I see that on my 'transcript'. Alhamdulillah...

Here ends my journey as a TP student....

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Anyway I accidentally came across my previous posts tagged with 'motivation' and some excerpts really caught my attention :)

1) I still want to write that book I was talking about. And yea I'd started, but stopped after a few pages opps~
"The book can be a gift to someone special passed on to generations of special people, in my hope to leave a tiny legacy, an ilmu that can be a benefit to others even till long after my death. Yes I will die one day. Everyone does. But not everyone leaves a legacy. Some leaves a name, but what point is it to leave behind your name. Leaving a legacy would benefit both the writer and the reader, insyaAllah."

2) I still wanna do well and I hope to be a good role model to others.
"But just one thing, after the session kan, cam rasa motivated nak belajar and do well in school. Padahal the session nak katakan takde kena mengena with motivating us who attended to strive harder in our studies pon. Just that.. entah. Cam I just feel that by doing well in my studies, I will be contributing to the Malay community lar. Small as it is, cam rasa ada jugak contribute. Change the view of others that all Malays are lazy and will not do well in school. Prove them wrong! Another angle to look at it is that by doing well in my studies, I can be a good role model to the younger ones to tell them that it's possible to do well in studies! And indirectly, I'm saying it's perfectly alright to dream big. Asalkan tak jadi mat jenin eh. Dream big and work towards it, insyaAllah boleh. Think positive people!"

3) InsyaAllah I will stay in and contribute to the Science field.
"We Muslims wouldn't want to be at a disadvantage because we refuse to learn secular studies. We need Muslims in every other stream, the Science stream, the Arts stream, the Business stream etc to show that Muslims are not one dimensional. Islam afterall is not just a religion of worship, but it's actually a WAY OF LIFE... MY way of life. Taking the secular stream doesn't mean we can't practice Islam or that we are not practicing Islam."

4) I CAN make a difference!
"There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed."

5) I CAN have time.
“Pay attention to the thing things that are critical to your happiness. Lead a life as a obedient creature of your Creator. Play with your children. Take time to get the medical check-ups. Take your spouse out. Play another game 18 hole at the golf course. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand”

6) I'm a Muslim youth.
"In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
We bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.
We acknowledge that the purpose of our lives is none but to worship Allah
And our intended role on this earth is as His Khalifah.
Thus, we, the Muslim Youth of Today,
Do hereby pledge that we will strive to do all we can to uphold this responsibility
And make this world a better place for all creations.
We believe there is hope for the future
And we seek Allah’s guidance in realising that hope!"



Dan janganlah kamu berasa lemah, dan jangan pula kamu bersedih hati, kerana kamu paling tinggi darjatnya, jika kami orang beriman. (Ali-Imran 3: 139)

He has laid on you no hardships in the observance of your religion. (Al-Qur'an 22:78)

Allah does not wish to burden you, He seeks only to purify you. (Al-Qur'an 5:6)

Allah does not charge a soul with more than its capacity. (Al-Qur'an 2:286)

“And it may be that you dislike a thing that is good for you…” (Qur’an 2: 216)

We shall test your faith by means of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and crops, but give good tidings to those who endured with courage, who in hardship say, "To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return." - Qur'an, Al Baqara, Surah 2:155-56



O you who believe! Strengthen yourselves with resolution and prayer. Indeed Allah is with those who persevere in adversity. - Qur'an, Al-Baqara, Surah 2:153



No disaster, unless it has been preordained and recorded in the book of records, can ever befall the earth nor your own selves. Behold, all this is easy enough for Allah. Know this so that you may not despair for the good fortune you lost, nor exult unduly because of the blessings bestowed upon you. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful. - Qur'an, Al-Hadid, 57:22-23


"Hanya kepada Engkau aku sembah & hanya kepada Engkau jualah aku mohon pertolongan" - Surah Al-Fatihah.

Siapa bersungguh-sungguh, dia mendapat!!!
-from novel ayat-ayat cinta by Habbiburrahman Shirozy

Wa man yattaqillaha yaj’al lahu makhraja. Siapa yang bertakwa kepada Allah maka Dia akan menjadikan untuknya jalan keluar.
-from same novel

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Quran like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Quran?

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Quran being
disconnected

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

P.S. DO WHAT YOU THINK GOD WOULD WANT YOU TO DO WITH THIS EMAIL

Let us ask ourselves, how profound is our iman to Allah s.w.t.? Are we among those who have true faith in Allah s.w.t.?

...

When we see something wrong (mungkar), we should try to advice those involved. Imagine if we take the approach of “that is not my problem”, then what will happen to the community as a whole, because no one is interested to advice those who do wrong.

In a hadith narrated by Imam -Tirmizhi, the Prophet s.a.w said,

”By He whom my life is in His hands, you shall call others to do good, and stop them from doing wrong. Or (if you do not do so) Allah s.w.t will bring to you a punishment and then you ask for His help and your prayers will not be answered.”



My dear brothers,

This hadith of the Prophet s.a.w. means that the whole community should develop together to become one which is prosperous and successful. To become a community in which good acts thrive, and bad acts diminish and disappear totally. So let us continue to advice one another. Surely, we will like to see our Muslim brother or sister do good, and we will not be pleased to see our brother or sister do wrong.

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As usual, thx Sis Mahirah for sharing it!

To share more...

English (Yusuf Ali):
7:164 When some of them said: "Why do ye preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?"- said the preachers:" To discharge our duty to your Lord, and perchance they may fear Him."

Taken from Islamicity.

From that ayat, we are told that even if we are so sure that those whom we 'preach' to would never change and would continue their misdeeds until they are destroyed or they receive a terrible punishment, we still must carry out amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar because it is our DUTY. We will not be punished if the person refuse to stop doing mungkar, instead we may be punished for not carrying out the act of amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar itself. In other words, it is not like, "if that person do bad deeds, that person will pay for it ah, why should I be involved?? nothing will happen to me what." That's wrong. You are really saving YOURSELF when you do amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar.

This is a reminder to my own self before it is one for you.

I agree, it is quite hard to bring yourself to point out to a close friend or to your brother or sister or even parents that this so and so that you did is not right bla bla bla. It takes alot of courage yes! Myself have yet to find that courage. I guess, take it step by step. Though I seem not to have taken the next step after the first at all, opps~ But ya lar, we gotta remind ourselves, we have ourselves to save here, and we should fear Allah's wrath.

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Iman... Aqidah... Faith... Islam... Allah... God... Creator... Ahad...

Anda tau apa yang saya inginkan pada saat ini?

Saya ingin bersiar-siar atau jika boleh, bermusafir sekalipun, buat beberapa hari untuk menenangkan fikiran dan mencari kembali diri saya yang sebenar. Saya rasa saya telah kehilangannya dalam keghairahan saya menikmati kebebasan selepas SIP.

Hmm... Macam Sufi pulak. Ehh tak tak, ia tak terlintas dalam fikiran saya pun sebelum ini.

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Petang tadi saya berpeluang untuk menziarahi kedai Muslimedia di Bussorah Street/Kandahar Street (err... saya kurang pasti yang mana sebetulnya). Berasa sungguh seronok sekali melihat buku-buku di situ. Namun ketika membelek buku-buku di situ, saya mendapati saya hanya mempunyai wang cukup untuk 2 buah buku sahaja... Satu di antaranya ialah untuk tugasan DPI iaitu buku Kitab Fikah Mazhab Syafie Jilid 6. Yang satu lagi, saya mendapati amat sukar untuk mencari buku yang benar-benar penting buat saya dan harganya bersesuaian dengan bajet saya. Setiap buku yang saya belek begitu menarik, tetapi saya terpaksa meletakkannya kembali ke rak-rak buku kerana saya tahu sekalipun saya membelinya, saya tidak akan mempunyai masa untuk membacanya. Di rumah sahaja, saya mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya 3-5 buku yang saya ingin membacanya. Hmm...

Akhirnya buku yang saya pilih adalah buku 9 cara Praktis Menghafal Al-Qur'an... Sebabnya, saya rindu menghafal surah-surah didalam kitab suci. saya sudah meninggalkan amalan ini sejak meninggalkan madrasah separuh masa peringkat menengah lebih dari setahun yang lalu. Tentu sekali ini masa yang lama dan apa yang telah saya hafal pun kebanyakkannya sudah pudar dalam ingatan. Sedih sekali. Terasa iri mendengar teman-teman di NI telah pun menghafal dan mentasmi' bacaan dari belakang hingga Surah Baiyyinah... Sehinggakan terasa tidak berani menghadiri Qur'an Circle kerana rasanya tidak mampu dapat mengejap mereka. Memang hendak seribu daya tak hendak seribu dalih. Entahlah, saya cuma meragukan kemampuan saya. Maklum juga mereka kebanyakkan/semua adalah daripada madrasah sepenuh masa, saya ini hanyalah daripada madrasah separuh masa. Hafal pun tak silap hingga Surah Al-A'la sahaja. Dan sungguh, apa yang telah dihafal sudah dilupakan. Mudah-mudahan dengan adanya buku baru ini, saya akan dapat membulatkan tekad untuk mengharungi cabaran yang saya letakkan pada diri saya sendiri. Memang banyak yang telah mencabar diri saya, tetapi saya selalu gagal dan mengecewakan diri saya sendiri. Ini tentu sekali menjejaskan keyakinan diri saya. Mungkin saya perlu mengecilkan skop cabaran buat diri saya, semoga dapat dicapai.

Hmm... Mendangar suara hati saya ini, sepertinya saya perlu membaca buku Jangan Bersedih yang saya beli tahun lepas. Agak lama sudah saya memiliki buku itu tetapi tidak sempat mengkhatamnya lagi.

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Saya tidak sabar untuk membaca buku-buku yang saya ada. Saya akan bermula dengan buku Fikah tadi secepat mungkin supaya dapat menyelesaikan tugasan sebelum tarikh penghantaran tugasan.

Saya tidak sabar untuk memulakan praktikal memandu. Esok juga saya akan membuat janji.

Saya tidak sabar untuk menyelesaikan pendaftaran ke universiti tempatan. Esok saya akan ke sekolah untuk menyediakan dokumen-dokumen yang perlu dihantar.

Saya tidak sabat untuk setiap perkhemahan yang akan diadakan dalam bulan Mac ini. Esok saya perlu menghadiri mesyuarat untuk satu perkhemahan itu. Perkhemahan yang lain, saya hanya perlu menghadirinya sebagai peserta.

Saya tidak sabar untuk chalet bersam kelas politeknik. Saya akan cuba untuk meluangkan masa untuk membantu membeli makanan buat chalet itu, untuk memastikan ia halal.

Saya tidak sabar untuk keluar bersama teman-teman yang sudah agak lama tidak bersua muka. Jumaat ini saya akan bermula dengan temujanji bersama Siti.

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Saya bersama amat gembira sekali! Pada saat yang sama, saya juga berasa risau dan takut dan sedih... Dan kecewa. Gundah-gulana betul.

Tak mengapalah ini hanya suatu fasa buat waktu ini. Ia akan berlalu. Doakan saya mendapat ketenangan ya? Semoga doa itu untuk awak juga!

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OH, terlupa pula saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada seorang kakak ini yang telah membelikan saya dua buku sebelum ini yaitu buku The Meaning of the holy Qur'an dan buku Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari Arabic-English. Dan beliau juga telah memberikan sedikit wang dan wang itulah yang saya gunakan untuk membeli kedua-dua buku yang disebut diatas. Semoga Allah memurahkan rezekimu dan mendapat ganjaran setimpalnya (atau lebih) atas pemberian yang sungguh bermakna ini.

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Saya ingin memenuhi setiap hari saya dengan baik. Sudah waktunya saya berhenti membuang masa, namun ya... ia akan mengambil sedikit masa buat saya berubah. Saya masih lagi ingin bermain-main =) Darah mudalah katakan! ;)

I gave up.

I gave up wanting to submit a perfect report and getting a perfect shining 'A'.

I just hope to finish a substantial one IN TIME.

E-mail to my mentor:

Thanks for the offer to help me go through and edit my report. I promised to send it by yesterday, but I've yet to finish it even by today.

Sorry if I kept you waiting. I understand you have your thesis to complete as well.

I'll send the complete report when I finish it. If you have some time to spare, I hope you can still help me glance through it and tell me what's not good. Even if it's not in time for the submission on 2nd Feb (of which I will submit what I have), at least I hope to learn from any mistakes in this report so I won't repeat it for future reports because I know writing reports is my weakness.

Thank you once again.

But you know, what I meant by 'substantial' is the best within my limits, insyaAllah. As perfect as I can, even if it's not perfect. Perfectionists, hah.

I'd rather submit a perfect report late than a meagre one in time. But I'm ot risking my 8 credit units *gasps*.

So I shall continue trying and burn the midnight oil and pray for help (like an extended submission date, hehe, which actually would just torture my friends who prefer to get things over and done with by the way) and leave up to Him to decide what's best for me.



What's important is...



I'm loving iluvislam's designs =D

Dengan Nama Allah yang Maha Pengasih, Maha Penyayang.

Teman yang baik adalah anugerah yang tidak ternilai daripada Allah. Teman yang baik penunjuk jalan, penguat langkah dan azam, pendamping yang akan selalu mengingatkan untuk bersungguh-sungguh berusaha membuat bekal negeri abadi. Manusia yang lemah seperti kita tentunya memerlukan teman, untuk berkongsi suka dan duka, untuk mengingatkan kala terleka, untuk menemani kala beramal ibadat agar lebih bersungguh-sungguh, demi bersama meraih syurgaNya. Seorang Nabi Allah, Nabi Musa AS pun memerlukan teman lantas baginda berdoa kepada Allah agar mengurniakan teman penguat langkah, teman ke syurga.

"Dan jadikanlah untukku seorang pembantu dari keluargaku, iaitu (Harun), saudaraku, teguhkanlah kekuatanku dengan (adanya) dia, dan jadikanlah dia teman dalam urusanku, agar kami banyak bertasbih kepadaMu, dan banyak mengingatiMu, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Melihat Keadaan kami" (20:29-35)

Kisah Nabi Musa memohon teman dari Allah untuk membantu menguatkannya membuktikan betapa kita sebagai manusia sangat memerlukan teman untuk menemani dalam urusan hidup seharian dan juga untuk sama-sama beribadat kepada Allah. Bukankah seorang anak Adam itu akan lebih bersungguh-sungguh mengejar redhaNya dan meningkatkan segala amal apabila mempunyai teman yang seiring dan sejalan?

Saidina Umar mengatakan, "Tiada satu kebaikan pun yang dianugerahkan kepada seorang hamba sesudah Islam, selain saudaranya yang soleh. Apabila seseorang di antara kamu merasakan sentuhan kasih sayang dari saudaranya, maka hendaklah ia berpegang kepadanya" Malah, Saidina Umar meminta kita 'berpegang kepadanya', iaitu bermakna tidak melepaskan dan menghargai teman tersebut kerana kita sebenarnya dianugerahkan kebaikan yang sangat besar apabila dikurniakan teman yang soleh.

Namun, berusahakah kita untuk menjadi teman ke syurga kala mencari teman ke syurga? Jadikah kita sahabat yang baik yang sentiasa mengajak teman kita kepada kebaikan, yang sentiasa mengingatkan teman kita akan janji-janji Allah, yang menunjukkan kepada teman kita qudwah yang baik? MENJADI TEMAN KE SYURGA Menjadi teman ke syurga dan mencari teman ke syurga, segalanya hanya berlaku apabila asasnya didasari taqwa yang kuat. Taqwa kepada Allah dengan sebenar-benar taqwa, dengan ketaqwaan yang layak bagiNya.

"Hai orang-orang yang beriman, bertaqwalah kepada Allah dengan sebenar-benar taqwa kepadaNya" (3:102)

Ayat ini mengisyaratkan kepada kita untuk membiarkan hati kita berusaha keras mencapai taqwa menurut batas kemampuan yang ada pada dirinya. Setiap kali ia mendekat kepada Allah dengan ketaqwaan maka akan terbukalah hatinya untuk berusaha mencapai kedudukan yang lebih tinggi dari apa yang telah dicapainya, dan merindukan darjat yang ada di atas apa yang telah diraihnya lalu selalu memandang ke arah kedudukan yang lebih tinggi lagi.

Muhammad Ahmad Rasyid mengatakan "ketinggian itu hanya boleh diraih dengan kelelahan", memberitahu kepada kita bahawa kita perlu berusaha bersungguh-sungguh utk mendapat darjat ketinggian taqwa di sisi Allah. Apa kaitan taqwa dan teman ke syurga? Taqwa dalam diri sahaja yang akan mendorong seseorang mencari teman ke syurga, menemaninya dalam kehidupan siang harinya, mendampinginya dalam ibadah malamnya. Dan seseorang yang benar-benar meletakkan taqwanya kepada Allah sahaja akan bersungguh-sungguh (sehingga kelelahan tetapi) terus ingin meningkatkan darjatnya di sisi Allah dan dia benar-benar memerlukan teman untuk menguatkan urusan siang dan malamnya, sebagai hamba, dan khalifah. Ciri taqwa ini akan menjadikan dirinya sendiri adalah seorang teman ke syurga, lantas dia layak untuk mendapat teman ke syurga yang hanya didapati melalui anugerah dari Allah. Teman yang akan sentiasa mengingatkan, tatkala kelelahan, akan janji yang menjadi asas perhubungan ini, asasnya hanya kerana Allah, lantas itu kita menjadi "menjadi teman ke syurga".



Kita bertemu atas kesungguhan dan ikrar kita pada jalan Allah, dan perpisahan kita pun hanyalah kerana Allah juga kerana walau apapun matlamat kita hanya satu, meraih syurgaNya. "Didiklah diri kamu kepada cinta pada Allah, bermula pada diri kamu. Tingkatkan penghayatan diri kamu pada cinta pada Allah, berusaha membaiki dan meningkatkan diri kamu menjadi hamba Allah yang lebih taat, nescaya kamu akan menjadi teman ke syurga dan Allah akan mengurniakanmu teman ke syurga."

Marilah sejenak kita mengambil pengajaran dari Hadith Qudsi, dari Allah, Pencipta dan Pemilik kasih sayang dan cinta, yang menitipkan kasih sayang antara hati-hati, yang mengekalkan ikatan antaranya, yang memperteguhkan janji ikrar mereka untuk menjadi 'teman ke syurga', mencari redhaNya yang Esa, Pemberi Segalanya, Allah Yang Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang. "CintaKu mesti bagi orang-orang yang saling mencintai kerana Aku, CintaKu mesti bagi orang-orang yang saling bersilaturahim kerana Aku, CintaKu mesti mesti bagi orang yang saling menasihati kerana AKu, CintaKu mesti bagi orang-orang yang saling mengunjungi kerana Aku, CintaKu mesti bagi orang-orang yang saling memberi kerana Aku" (Hadith Qudsi) Lihatlah betapa Allah menjanjikan cintaNya yang Maha Agung kepada "teman ke syurga". Besarnya kemuliaan Allah janjikan kepada mereka yang mendasari perhubungan kerana sama-sama mahu mengejar redhaNya, menjadi teman ke syurga lantas dikurniakan teman ke syurga.

Ayuh, perbaiki diri !

*Artikel dipetik dari http://wardatul-izzah.blogspot.com/2008/11/mencari-teman-ke-syurga.html

I miss my old favourite songs, and therefore I shall change my imeem player back. To those of you non-Muslim friends who visit these blog, you can pause the player if you don't feel comfortable. Afterall, I too would do the same if I'm not comfortable with your songs :)

The previous song I put was:



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I wonder what's happening in Gaza. I'd been getting daily 'doses' of news bits from TODAY on the way to work. And I haven't read any newspaper today, so yeah...

I hope the Palestinians get a bit of relieve with the 3hr daily ceasefire...

Anyway, there was an article in Berita Harian a few days ago about 'understanding' why the Jews of Israel do what they do. It goes all the way back to a period before the WWII. Jews slowly lost their rights as humans, living in Germany. And during the WWII, thousands were tortured and killed for no reason except for the belief they believe in (right?). It was NOT by Muslims btw, it was by the Germans, in case you're wondering... Anyway, that holocaust, that genocide, that massacre, as it is said in the article, affects the Jews greatly (of course it would). It is said that when Hamas sent rockets flying into Israel, the Jews probably feel threatened and decided to relatiate.

However, why do they want to retaliate by killing more than 700 Palestinian CIVILIANS, I have no idea. Especially since these too are the Palestinians who had to give part to their land for the Jews from German to live it. (right?) These are the Palestinians who gave them a chance to live, and here they are killing them.

Reminds me of a peribahasa, "bagai melepaskan anjing tersepit". :I

What we see today is a Jewish extremism act. My point is, just as there are Islamic extremists/militants, there are Jewish extremist/militants, Christian extremist/militants and other kinds of extremists/millitants (I'm thinking of Tamil Tigers etc). These extremists/militants most probably become extremists/militants because they themselves or their fellow 'brothers and sisters' or ancestors had had to face oppression in one way or another.

And the aftermath of this Israel attacks on Gaza, I'm afraid, may just give rise to the world seeing more Islamic extremists/militants. (there was an article in TODAY I think which mentioned this) They saw violence, all they saw was violence and they shall grow up to embrace violence as part of their lives... I'm just saying that if after this, we see more Islamic extremists/militants coming from Palestine, don't blame the Islamic teachings...

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Just wanna share what was shared with me... What is aqidah?

3 translations of Surah Al-Baqarah (2): 177

Yusuf Ali:
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing.

T.U. Hilali-M. Khan:
It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allâh, etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allâh, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to Al-Masâkin (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free, performs As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and gives the Zakât, and who fulfill their covenant when they make it, and who are As-Sâbirin (the patient ones, etc.) in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such are the people of the truth and they are AlMuttaqûn (pious - see V.2:2).

M. Pickthall:
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.

Taken from here.

As I've mentioned earlier, English (or Malay too for that matter) cannot cover the Arabic words fully. Arabic words are rich with meaning and one English translation do not truly give justice to the real meaning of alot of Qur'anic verses...

Anyway, do visit youngmuslims.ca... The online library looks interesting. And there was one book recommended to me: "To be a Muslim" by Fathi Yakkan.

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The Tafsir of Surat Al-Ikhlas (Chapter - 112)
Which was revealed in Makkah
The Reason for the Revelation of this Surah and its Virtues

Imam Ahmad recorded from Ubayy bin Ka`b that the idolaters said to the Prophet, "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord.'' So Allah revealed(Say: "He is Allah, One. Allah He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none comparable to
Him.'')

Similar was recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Jarir and they added in their narration that he said,"(As-Samad) is One Who does not give birth, nor was He born, because there is nothing that is born except that it will die, and there is nothing that dies except that it leaves behind inheritance, and indeed Allah does not die and He does not leave behind any inheritance.(And there is none comparable to Him.) This means that there is none similar to Him, none equal to Him and there is nothing at all like Him.''

Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded it and At-Tirmidhi mentioned
it as a Mursal narration. Then At-Tirmidhi said, "And this is the most correct.''

A Hadith on its Virtues

Al-Bukhari reported from `Amrah bint `Abdur-Rahman, who used to stay in the apartment of `A'ishah,the wife of the Prophet, that `A'ishah said, "The Prophet sent a man as the commander of a war expedition and he used to lead his companions in prayer with recitation (of the Qur'an). And he would complete his recitation with the recitation of `Say: He is Allah, One.' So when they returned they mentioned that to the Prophet and he said,(Ask him why does he do that.) So they asked him and he said, `Because it is the description of Ar-Rahman and I love to recite it. So the Prophet said,(Inform him that Allah the Most High loves him.)'' This is how Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith in his Book of Tawhid. Muslim and An-Nasa'i also recorded it.

In his Book of Salah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas said, "A man from the Ansar used to lead the people in prayer in the Masjid of Quba'. Whenever he began a Surah in the recitation of the prayer that he was leading them, he would start by reciting `Say: He is Allah, One' until he completed the entire Surah. Then he would recite another Surah along with it (after it). And used to do this in every Rak`ah. So his companions spoke to him about this saying; `Verily, you begin the prayer with this Surah. Then you think that it is not sufficient for you unless you recite another Surah as well. So you should either recite it or leave it and recite another Surah instead.' The man replied, `I will not leave it off. If you want me to continue leading you(in prayer), I will do this; and if you all do not like it, I will leave you (i.e., I will stop leading you).' They used to consider him to be of the best of them to lead them in prayer and they did not want anyone else to lead them other than him. So, when the Prophet came they informed him of this information
and he said,(O so-and-so! What prevents you from doing what your companions are commanding you to do, and what makes you adhere to the recitation of this Surah in every Rak`ah) The man said, `Verily, I love it.' The Prophet replied,(Your love of it will cause you to enter Paradise.) This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, with a
disconnected chain, but in a manner indicating his approval.

A Hadith that mentions this Surah is equivalent to a Third of the Qur'an

Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Sa`id that a man heard another man reciting(Say: "He is Allah, One.'') and he was repeating over and over. So when morning came, the man went
to the Prophet and mentioned that to him, and it was as though he was belittling it. The Prophet said,(By He in Whose Hand is my soul, verily it is equivalent to a third of the Qur'an.) Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i also recorded it.

Another Hadith Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Sa`id, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah said to his Companions,(Is one of you not able to recite a third of the Qur'an in a single night) This was something that was difficult for them and they said, "Which of us is able to do that, O Messenger of Allah'' So he replied,("Allah is the One, As-Samad'' is a third of the Qur'an.) Al-Bukhari was alone in recording this Hadith.

There's more. You can read it here.