islam « Seeking His Pleasure Through Patience

Muslim youths, beware of this movement!

March 2, 2009 at 15:33 | In Current Affairs, islam | Leave a Comment
Tags: allah, challenges, faith freedom, forgive, islam, koran, muhammad, muslim, muslim youth, Muslims, Patience, Prophet, quranic science, Rasulullah, science in the Quran

Assalaamu’alaikum everyone

Yes, I know how the title of this post sounds like one of those chain e-mails you get, but believe me, this is not a hoax. I subscribe to Google Alerts for several topics, and one of them is any posts or websites or news that has to do with Muslim Youth.

SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, He Has Made me aware of this movement in an Alert I received today. When I read through one of the articles on the website, I was horrified and I started to fear for my brothers and sisters, which is why I’m blogging about this.

Please beware of this dangerous movement called Faith Freedom International
http://www.faithfreedom.org

This is a snippet of one of the articles they have published on their website:

Many Muslim apologetics claim a scientific perspective to some of the Qur’anic claims. Much work has been done in the past to show that all such claims are bogus. They do not withstand critical scrutiny.

Many researchers who are published on this site have shown that such “scientific” claims of the Qur’an are no more than wishful thinking. Muhammad, in his Qur’an, merely reiterated what the people of his time believed with regard to the physical and biological world.

Astaghfirullah haladzhim…

They’re targeting Muslim youths. Which is why it showed up in the Alert. Read the full article at the website. They are determined to make Muslim youths leave Islam by posting extremely misleading articles about Allah swt, about Rasulullah s.a.w., the Qur’an… everything, EVERYTHING that has to do with our beloved religion.

I’m not angry about the fact that it’s trying to tear down Islam. That has been going on since Rasulullah s.a.w. received the Revelations.

I’m more angry and devastated at the fact that there are Muslims who have left Islam because of this website. There’s a category called Leaving Islam there and when I read through the comments, my heart broke when I came across comments saying how they’ve been misled by Islam.

I’m waiting for ‘Asar to arrive to seek refuge and comfort. I’m just too traumatised. Ya Rabbi…

Let us not be deceived by these words or let them lead us astray. Let us warn our families and friends about this alarming movement. Let us pray for Allah swt to Protect us from them.

But as angry as we may be towards them, we must pray for Allah swt to Guide them back to the right path. For they have been misled by none other than Syaitaan. Only Allah swt Has the Power to change their hearts.

We cannot afford to follow our emotions and wage an outright war against them. That will only turn the world against us, and ultimately against Allah swt.

The safest thing we can only do right now is to pray to Him, and make sure that we help others to understand the real Islam. Not convince them about Islam, just help them understand us.
Fi Amanillah

Khutbah on 20 Feb 2009/24 Safar 1930H

February 20, 2009 at 20:30 | In Khutbahs, islam | Leave a Comment
Tags: allah, friday prayers, friday sermons, khutbah, muhammad, Prophet, Rasulullah, sermon

family1

Striving to Preserve Our Faith

My respected brothers,

Iman is the greatest blessing from Allah s.w.t. Our status in Allah’s measure is through our iman. Allah s.w.t. says in surah al-Hujurat verse : 13

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

Which means : “Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.”

Taqwa and confidence will bring about a positive impact to our lives, whether in our religious practices, in our behaviour and personality, as well as in our relationship with others.

My dear brothers,

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.?

We live in this world guided by the objectives that Allah s.w.t. has stated for us, that is to lead our lives in the most complete manner. There are many responsibilities required of us, to see who among us are the best in their actions. These responsibilities include those that are due to Allah, and due to our community, society and environment.

To gain Allah’s blessings, we must obey His orders. And part of His orders is to encourage others to do good and preventing them from doing wrong. We had discussed this in the past few weeks. Today, we need to ask ourselves, have we done something about it? Do we still think this is a duty only for certain people, such as for the religious teachers?

My dear brothers,

This is a role and duty that we all share. It is an ibadah that will increase our iman. We should try to do this as individuals or collectively, in small or big ways. However, we must base this effort in knowledge and a wise approach (i.e. with hikmah).

For a start, we can accustom ourselves to offering others our salam when we meet them, to smile cheerfully to others, and to visit one another, in the bid to encourage and call others to do good.

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.

As such, I would like to call upon all brothers to work hand in hand and be committed to the path of inviting others to do good, and advising them from doing wrong. We must also ask Allah s.w.t. so that we remain steadfast in our iman to do so. Strengthened by our confidence and tawakkal to Allah after our efforts, InshaAllah, there will be a positive change and let us start now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ameen.

I think this week’s khutbah is a little different. It makes the listeners question themselves, which is good, because I myself have discovered that it’s only through constant reflection that you learn from your mistakes, and learn in what ways you can improve. It’s also a good way to get closer to Allah swt, believe me.

It’s very motivating, this week’s khutbah. But you know, I think the best people for us to start with is our families. Didn’t Rasulullah s.a.w.started spreading Islam through his relatives first? (:

It’s the hardest, but we’ve got to do it anyway, because if we try so hard to guide ourselves and our friends, but if we leave our own families unguided, we’re going to suffer in the end. Because family truly is the backbone of society.

Let me show you this verse from An-Nisaa’:

وَاعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَيْئًا

وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَى

وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ

وَالْجَارِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ

وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ

وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ

مُخْتَالاً فَخُورًا

[4:36] (Asad) And worship Allah [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him. And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger, and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess. Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner;

And this verse from Al-Baqarah:

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ

لاَ تَعْبُدُونَ إِلاَّ اللّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَاناً

وَذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى

وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُواْ لِلنَّاسِ

حُسْناً وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتُواْ الزَّكَاةَ

ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّنكُمْ

وَأَنتُم مِّعْرِضُونَ

2:83 (Asad) AND LO! We accepted this solemn pledge from [you,] ‘ the children of Israel: ”You shall worship none but God; and you shall do good unto your parents and kinsfolk, and the orphans, and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in a kindly way; and you shall be constant in prayer; and you shall spend in charity.”And yet, save for a few of you, you turned away: for you are obstinate folk!

Do you see how our obligations towards our parents and our family comes first before any other person in our lives?

Okay, except Rasulullah s.a.w. of course, but what I mean is the people currently living and breathing around us right now.

I’ve been trying it myself, and believe me, it’s hard, because I’m so used to letting my family see the negative side of me. It’s about time I increase the positive and slowly erase the negative. It’s gonna be a long jihad, and I know it won’t end here, it’ll continue if Allah swt were to Bless me with a family of my own, Insya’Allah (:

Okay, I have to draw up a lesson plan for my youngest bro now. (:

Hope this post has benefited you!

Fi Amanillah!

Qada’ & Qadar (Fate)

February 19, 2009 at 03:21 | In General Musings, islam | 2 Comments
Tags: allah, challenges, destiny, fate, muslim, Muslims, qada, qadar, takdeer, takdir

Assalaamu’alaikum!

It’s currently 2:03 a.m. Singapore time and yes, I know, I should be asleep, Rasulullah s.a.w. will NOT be happy with me compromising my health, what more Allah swt, BUT

I just bought a wonderfully motivating book that I wanted to share!

Perhaps I should tell you the whole ‘journey’ to it.

You see, I was looking for a good mystery or criminal fiction to buy, as well as a good book about Islam if I could find one at Borders Singapore. The former was to develop my analytical thinking, and the latter none other than for my love for this beautiful religion (:

I should also tell you I was feeling a little down at that point of time, hence the need for a long overdue-d book hunt. (:

Well, I found two good books: Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, and another one on Islamic Law. The latter book was really good, because it even touched on Family Law, with issues such as women’s rights.

I suppose the need to find the latter must’ve been fuelled by my desire to find out more about the Shariah Law and also because Pakistanhas decided to officially implement the Shariah Law. That’s fabulous, of course, I’m all for the implementation of the Shariah Law since Allah Only Gives what’s best for us, but if it includes the seclusion of women and the banning of girls from education, I am beyond livid about both.

If you’ve read my posts on the actual meaning of Hijaab, you will understand why. I think it might be based on that misconception, but that’s just my opinion. I do not know what is their niyyah. But banning education for girls?

I shall not rant about that, since I’m not sure of the full story but I found out from this article.

Anyway, back to my book hunt, I realised how much more expensive the books were at Borders, so I decided to head over to another bookstore, Books Kinokuniya.

I found Angels and Demons easily. I had to go around the store several times to find the Islam section though. Haha.

But Alhamdulillah, I eventually found it. Masya’Allah, so many wonderful books, especially biographies about our beloved Prophet s.a.w.

I chanced upon some books about Islamic law, but I couldn’t find the one I found at Borders so I browsed a little longer. I found another book titled Usul-ul-Fiqh, but I decided to put it back on the shelf because the wrapper was not opened. I wanted to flip through and see how ‘readable’ the book was, you see.

I don’t like it if the visual appeal is not there, ie long paragraphs, small fonts, typewriter font. Should not be choosy, heheh, I know (:

So I browsed some more books and I found another book by the author of the Usul-ul-Fiqh, about Human Rights in Islamic Law, and it somehow compelled me to find the latter book again.

I couldn’t.

I could not count how many times I bent over every shelf in that row to find it. It just simply disappeared. And being stubborn, I refused to stop searching for it, for about 15 minutes or so.

In the midst of searching for it, I discovered Harun Yahya’s collection of books (how did that escape me, I do not know). I’ve read some of his books and I was bowled over by them and had been thinking of ‘investing’ in one or two, because his books are expensive. I found a small, thin book titled ‘Hopefulness in the Qur’an’ , selling at $6.96. I decided okay, maybe I’ll buy this one too.

Ten more minutes of searching did not do me any good. So I sighed, smiled, and thought, “Well, maybe You’re concealing it from me for a good reason”.

I started reading the first few pages of ‘Hopefulness in the Qur’an’ in the train and I found myself reflecting on a whole lot of things.

By the end of the ride, I was re-motivated and feeling much more positive, Alhamdulillah!

Here’s an excerpt:

Such a line also exists between hope and despair. Hope befits reason and rationale, while despair is utterly against it. For instance, one may fail a test despite studying hard. Let’s assume that he has been shaken and fallen into despiar, since he worked so hard but still failed. He obviously does not benefit from such a mood and the ensuing distress and trouble harms his body and soul.

But in reality, Allah wills another good for him. Rather than attending college that year, it might be better for him to prepare for the entrance exam. Or perhaps his chosen college or profession could have become a source of trouble and hardship in his future life.

It may be that he will enter an even better college next year or choose a different profession which will be better for him in the future.

Throughout their lives, people encounter events that seem to serve no clear purpose: They cannot get a job they like, lose some money they desperately need, lose something they cherish, or lose through theft possessions that they could buy only after years of hard work. Such events may happen to everyone.

Indeed, Allah makes it clear that poeple are tested by their souls and possessions. In one of his sayings, our Prophet (saas) made this clear:

Whatever Allah takes is for Him, and whatever He gives is for Him. Everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world), and so people should be patient and hope for Allah’s reward.

(Sahih Bukhari)

Thus, those who remain patient will attain good, whereas those who rebel and despair will lose.

It is vital to fully comprehend the importance of being hopeful and to be patient in order to gain Paradise. Being positive is obligatory, as the following verse shows:

Do not despair of solace from Allah. No one despairs of solace from Allah except for people who do not believe.

(Surah Yusuf : 87)

As Allah commands that we have this attitude, we must realize that He dislikes any type of despair. Thus, we must take Allah as our Friend and try to act according to His will.

Masya’Allah… wonderful reminder isn’t it?

One of the many reflections racing through my head just now was also the ‘journey’ of finding those books, particularly the search for the Usul-ul-Fiqh book. Perhaps this is the reason why He (might have) Concealed it from me, because He Knew this book, Hopefulness in the Qur’an, was the book that I needed more.

Subhan’Allah… How Great You Are, Ya Rabbi, Alhamdulillah

Astaghfirullah, 3:15 am already. I’d better go sleep.

May this post benefit all of us, Insya’Allah

Fi Amanillah!

Disturbed.

February 15, 2009 at 19:19 | In General Musings, islam | Leave a Comment
Tags: allah, apocalypse, day of judgement, islam, kiamat, muhammad, muslim women, Muslims, Prophet, qiyamah

Salaam

I woke up to a hazy morning today. I wonder if this was partly the cause behind my sudden bout of flu this week.

I finally managed to read through two weeks’ worth of newspapers. Even though I get daily news updates through e-mail, Twitter, the tv on the bus and radio, nothing beats reading the newspaper.

I’m a news junkie you see, I feel that I MUST be aware of what’s happening in the rest of the world instead of being wrapped up in my own world. When globalisation’s driving the world economy, obviously what one part of the world does will inevitably affect the rest.

I became quite worried for us all actually. Just look at the headlines (you can read the articles by clicking on the headlines) :

Australia fire tolls could exceed 200

Nine killed and 5,000 evacuated as storms flood eastern Australia

Chinese drought affects millions

Heaviest UK snow in 18 years hits international flights

All these added on to the economic crisis worldwide. And Iran almost completing its nuclear weapon. And only Allah swt Knows what other crises we’re facing that we may not even know of.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel slightly suffocated and somewhat frightened as well by all this chaos. Oh yes, the dunya is certainly getting old.

And I believe every tragedy and every calamity is a reminder to us all to never, ever forget Him, and to always fear Him, and remember just how close the Day of Judgement is.

“Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning: yet they heed not and they turn away.” [al-Anbiya' 21:1]

“They ask thee (Muhammad s.a.w.) about the (final) Hour – when will be its appointed time?

Say: ‘The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): none but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth.

Only, all of a sudden will it come to you.’ They ask thee as if thou were eager in search thereof: say: ‘The knowledge thereof is with Allah (alone), but most men know not.’ “ [al-A'raf 7:187]

Wallahu’alam.

I don’t mean to be so cryptic but I’m just worried for us. I pray that neither of us will be witnessing the major signs of Qiyamah happening.

However in the meantime, we must all continously remind ourselves and others of Allah swt and Qiyamah.

Here’s a good video to remind us :

Fi Amanillah

Obsessed over Khutbahs

February 2, 2009 at 00:57 | In Khutbahs, islam | 1 Comment
Tags: allah, friday prayers, hadith, islam, khutbah, knowledge, Prophet, Rasulullah

Assalaamu’alaikum!

I hope you’re all doing okay, I’m okay myself, Alhamdulillah (:

Sorry about the absence, I’ve been busy with my commitments. I hope you enjoyed my series of posts regarding the khimaar, jilbaab, hijaab and niqaab. And yess, I’ve finally returned the book, but I have yet to pay the overdue fine. I’ll do that soon, Insya’Allah

All Praise be to Him for allowing me to soak in the atmosphere of the past few Friday prayers. I’ve performed Friday prayers a couple of times or so before at one of my ’sanctuaries’. In fact, it’s the only mosque here in Singapore that actually has space for women to join in the Friday prayers. It’s the one and only Sultan Mosque

00731

Other mosques? Haha, they’re all filled to the brim by the brothers.

Okay, I think I’d better explain about the ’soaking in the atmosphere’ part

As part of my course requirement, I am currently interning at a Muslim organisation. As in, the internship is part of the requirement, heheh.

The temporary location of this Muslim organisation happens to be very near Masjid Muhajirin, which has just recently completed its renovation and officially opened a couple of weeks ago. Masjid Muhajirin is part of the Singapore Islamic Hub, which consists of 2 other buildings, the HQ for the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah.

I’ve yet to capture a good angle of the place so be patient ok, Insya’Allah I’ll upload it once I do. It’s really beautiful

I’ve been heading there every Friday to both have lunch and get my weekly dose of spiritual revitalisation
The food’s awesome, and the people and the kids are incredible, SubhanAllah, and there’s just this warm feeling I get everytime I’m there, like I’m protected somehow. Anyway, I did manage to hear the khutbah clearly once but I couldn’t hear it clearly consequently.

So Plan B was to tune in to the ‘repeat telecast’ of the khutbah at 6.30pm on the local Malay radio station. Trouble is, I haven’t been able to tune in for the past two weeks, so my last resort is to download the khutbahs from MUIS’s website.

Which, of course, is awesome because I can read them anytime I want, and I can share on this blog of mine, but you see, nothing beats hearing the khutbah. I think you’d really have to be a good speaker to read out the khutbah, otherwise it won’t have an effect on the jam’ah. You’d have to emotionally engage them.

A friend of mine, Brother Shahib, had this idea of recording khutbahs at different mosques every week and uploading them onto the web. Maybe on Youtube or DynTV.com,which is his own online Islamic infotainment channel.

I was beyond exhilarated with the idea, but he would require some help to record it. And obviously, I can’t help out. Any brother out there interested? Do tell me or him, if you know him personally or connected to him in one way or another

It’s an awesome idea, especially for us Muslimahs who aren’t able to perform the Friday prayers. Plus, we can all access it anytime we want to and watch it over and over again, as opposed to the radio broadcast which is a one-time only thing.

Hey if the Vatican can have their own Youtube Channel, why not us?

Meanwhile, since this idea is still in the works, I’ll just make do with the radio broadcasts and the downloads.

And I’m really really grateful that I get to hear lectures every morning and every evening on the way back home. I espcially love Wednesday evenings, that’s when they invite an Ustaz or Ustazah to give a short tafsir on certain surahs. Last week was on Surah An-Naas and Al-Falaq.

The radio station is Warna 94.2FM by the way

Anyway, here’s an excerpt from the 23rd Jan Khutbah (:

THE STRENGTH OF OUR MINDS IN THE QUR’AN

Beneficial knowledge can be attained by continuously reading, attending lectures and classes, as well as learning something new to improve our skills.

Exercise for the brain is to think carefully and critically in finding the best solutions for the challenges which we are dealing with today, either individually, with our families or in the community. We can only think of the solutions and alternatives to the challenges that we are facing only after we have identified their roots.

Please remember dear brothers, seeking knowledge and striving in its cause is in fact Islam’s call to its ummah. The Beloved Messenger s.a.w. mentioned about the group of people who were given hikmah (wisdom) in the following hadith:

There is no envy (allowed) except in two situations: When a man is gifted with wealth from Allah s.w.t. and he spends it to the right path. And when a man is gifted with wisdom by Allah s.w.t. and he uses it (for his own dealings) and then teaches it (to others).

[Hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari and Muslim]

Let us continue to enliven our thoughts, train our brains, which is a blessing bestowed by Allah s.w.t. to attain all forms of goodness and become a true Muslim who succeeds and gets the best out of both worlds. Amin.

SubhanAllah, wonderful…

The one on 31st Jan is about ‘Amr Ma’ruf, which is an awesome topic (wait, which topic in Islam isn’t? haha) so Insya’Allah I’ll share it sometime this week

By the way, please do continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. The terror has resurfaced.

Fi Amanillah