I had the luxury of sitting and watching one of National Geographics documentary on super snakes, in particular, the Anaconda (South America) and the Python (South-East Asia).
A few interesting facts peeking into the adaptations and capabilities of these two huge serpentine carnivores are:
1. Anaconda, being the largest serpent, can weigh more than 300 pounds growing to a length of about 30 feet.
2. Both sees a thermo-infra-red scan image of the world, putting warm-blooded animals in a contrast of red against a much cooler bluish background.
3. Both stick out their forked-tongues intermittently to pick up chemical scents in the air, smelling the odour of potential prey and thereby able to track it down.
4. The long tubular body of more than 10,000 muscles allows the giant snakes to slither in deadly silence.
5. Anacondas have their pair of eyes positioned at the upper part of the head, allowing to see while being mostly submerged in the waters
6. The jaws, are truly an amazing feat! Anacondas have 4 rows of teeth on its upper jaw! Two on the outer row, like humans, with 2 more inside, like sharks! Then the 2 rows of teeth (sharp of course) can MOVE independently of each other, mostly needed for the mouth to crawl and thereby swallow the entire length of the prey, a maneuver necessary since this serpent has no limbs to push its food down its body.
7. The lower jaw consist of 2 parts, UNCONNECTED, meaning, there is no chin. These 2 lower parts can also move independently of each other, allow the lower jaw to open up to 3 times wider.
8. Anacondas have double hinged jaws that allow an opening of almost 180 degrees.
9. Its skin at the jaw area is highly flexible, able to be stretched to 3 times its length, a scary feat when u suddenly see scales very dispersed on the skin which was once covered with scales totally!
10. A record 9000 pounds of force per square inch was delivered upon constriction of prey. Not just suffocating, also forcing bones to break and the heart to just stop under the intense pressure ( like having the entire weight of a school bus on just one inch of your body). No wonder they do not need venom!
Lastly, I was watching the documentary with my nephew on my lap. I looked at him and said, “Kalaulah Anaconda telan engkau, kenyang tu Anaconda setahun!” “If ever an Anaconda were to eat you up, it will be full for a year!”
But I cannot live up to the prospect of having my nephew being eaten up like that! NO! let me be the one to hug him as my bolster at night when I sleep!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wisdom teeth extraction, PART 1
Monday morning, 20 July 2009, I went for my Left Wisdom teeth extraction, top and bottom. The extraction was done at AH and I was given a good 6 days MC hehe.
The morning I woke up, I took my breakfast and my dad fetched me to the hospital, the morning peak hour traffic was quite bad. Anyway, I reached there and the nurses took my BP and SpO2. All was fine and she asked me several questions regarding drug allergies, medical history etc. There was no problem expect that I was a little anxious about the surgery since it is going to be done under Local anaesthesia, which means to say I will be awake hearing all the grilling and experiencing all the pulling, I tell you, it is really like wresting!
Was kind of nervous waiting for my name to be called, meanwhile I smsed Dr Ahmad about it and he told me to plug on my iPod full blast, I said ‘ But still…’. Oh well, I was in safe hands since I was operated on by Head Dept, Senior Consultant dentist.
My name was called to the surgery room, the dentist made me bite on a piece of folded gauze and she then gave me the local anaesthesia injection. Hurts a little, like having the feel of a needle piercing through your gums, but it was really bearable. Waited a little while while the nurses rinsed my mouth with chlorhexidine. They covered me entirely in blanket, exposing only the mouth area. There I was like, hey, I wanna look at how you do the drilling! But never mind, I just surrendered and remained passive throughout.
When the dentist started, I could only hear drilling, the breaking of the bottom tooth, (she didn’t break the top one maybe because it is already exposed) the intense pulling out of the teeth. But in all honesty, the anaesthesia worked so well that I did not know which side she pulled first. It is like my entire left side of the face(lips, cheeks, nose gums, jaw) couldn’t feel anything. The only working sensory perception that allowed me to experience the extraction was the louder hearing of all the procedures, in my left ear. It is like I know from hearing, that some operation is going on in my left side of the mouth. That’s all. But all these while, I was reciting the tahlil with my fingers counting under the blanket. I could feel the dentist pushing and wrestling with the lower tooth.
And after about just 15 minutes, walla! All done! And I was shown my two teeth, one intact, the other broken with a piece of my gum stuck on it. I will take a pic of it for kenangan’s sake.
The effects of the LA will go off in about 2 hours after administration, but heck, I intend to go through the pain without painkillers, just finish off the amox and metronidazole given to me.
6 days of staying at home, with the luxury of reading and watching whatever video I want, and of course spending quality time playing with and pinching my nephew’s chubby cheeks! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
the next is somewhere late September, after hari raya.
I will consume the SAF's money and MC to the max before I ORD
The morning I woke up, I took my breakfast and my dad fetched me to the hospital, the morning peak hour traffic was quite bad. Anyway, I reached there and the nurses took my BP and SpO2. All was fine and she asked me several questions regarding drug allergies, medical history etc. There was no problem expect that I was a little anxious about the surgery since it is going to be done under Local anaesthesia, which means to say I will be awake hearing all the grilling and experiencing all the pulling, I tell you, it is really like wresting!
Was kind of nervous waiting for my name to be called, meanwhile I smsed Dr Ahmad about it and he told me to plug on my iPod full blast, I said ‘ But still…’. Oh well, I was in safe hands since I was operated on by Head Dept, Senior Consultant dentist.
My name was called to the surgery room, the dentist made me bite on a piece of folded gauze and she then gave me the local anaesthesia injection. Hurts a little, like having the feel of a needle piercing through your gums, but it was really bearable. Waited a little while while the nurses rinsed my mouth with chlorhexidine. They covered me entirely in blanket, exposing only the mouth area. There I was like, hey, I wanna look at how you do the drilling! But never mind, I just surrendered and remained passive throughout.
When the dentist started, I could only hear drilling, the breaking of the bottom tooth, (she didn’t break the top one maybe because it is already exposed) the intense pulling out of the teeth. But in all honesty, the anaesthesia worked so well that I did not know which side she pulled first. It is like my entire left side of the face(lips, cheeks, nose gums, jaw) couldn’t feel anything. The only working sensory perception that allowed me to experience the extraction was the louder hearing of all the procedures, in my left ear. It is like I know from hearing, that some operation is going on in my left side of the mouth. That’s all. But all these while, I was reciting the tahlil with my fingers counting under the blanket. I could feel the dentist pushing and wrestling with the lower tooth.
And after about just 15 minutes, walla! All done! And I was shown my two teeth, one intact, the other broken with a piece of my gum stuck on it. I will take a pic of it for kenangan’s sake.
The effects of the LA will go off in about 2 hours after administration, but heck, I intend to go through the pain without painkillers, just finish off the amox and metronidazole given to me.
6 days of staying at home, with the luxury of reading and watching whatever video I want, and of course spending quality time playing with and pinching my nephew’s chubby cheeks! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
the next is somewhere late September, after hari raya.
I will consume the SAF's money and MC to the max before I ORD
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Da Vinci Exhibit 16 July 2009
Been quite a while eh since I last blogged…relatively busy past few days.
Well anyway, I had a good 2 days off this week! Well spent, the first saw me going for my appointment at AH and a good rest, the next day, THUR 16 July, I actually went to see the Da Vinci The Genius Exhibition at Science Centre with 3 of my already-ORDed medical centre friends.
The exhibition was very enlightening indeed, learnt several pieces of information I didn’t know about Da vinci prior to the visit. Numerous mechanical works of Da Vinci(replicas from his notebooks/codices) were on display and it just highlighted how curious Leonardo was. He managed to make full use of the gears system, ranging from lifters to lift heavy weights, to Odometres to tanks to Machine Guns.
I supposed Da Vinci played around with cadavers and being a good visual artist that he is, was able to sketch beautiful images of the human anatomy, to the most intricate details. A perfectionist and a believer in God, Da Vinci always insisted that his works must be accurately reflective of Nature, lest he would be doing Nature and thus God a great deal of injustice.
Learnt a bit or two about Mona Lisa’s history. I must admit that while I was growing up hating the visual arts subject that was compulsory from P1 all the way to Sec 2, a freaking 8 years in total, I’ve never thought of beautiful art/paintings as truly something very magnificent. Yes I do not deny that these great artists and painters have superb skills, but at the end of it, I was like always asking ‘So What?’ I grew up in a world where paint is easily accessible, all colours of them, in the form of crayons, poster colour, felted pens etc. But in the Medieval times, vastly different items were used to produce different colours. And then I remember watching the Discovery Channels documentary on the evolution of the paint industry.it explained how difficult it was in the past to obtain paint colours such as red, blue etc. and I realized I was naïve to assume that medieval artists had easily accessible factory-made poster colours in tubes of tiny glass bottles.
So their art of painting will most of the time include chemistry as well, they were using compounds of lead for colours such as white and the expensive intense blue lapis lazuli. Then comes all the varnishes and oil coatings. Painting an artwork in several layers also create a sense of depth, something truly amazing and mesmerizing about a piece of painting. In short, it truly and undeniably takes supreme mastery to produce an artwork with an indelible and everlasting influence such as the Mona Lisa.
Before the exhibit, we toured around science centre for a little while, reminiscing our primary school days as kids in white uniform running around and marveling at all the displays. The place hasn’t changed much; I could still remember most of the displays.
One thing that struck me was what imam Ghazali said about the different kinds of knowledge.
First we have the sensory knowledge, the kind of knowledge we obtain via our senses, in which the sight is the most far-reaching. Then we have rational knowledge, the use of logical and rationan thinking to come to Truth. We also have divine revealed knowledge, Wahyu.
Imam Ghazali cautioned against sensory knowledge as being used to ascertain Absolute Reality and Truth. Imam Ghazali knew about the non-absolute nature of this world. Will not go into details but the exhibits at science centre will show you just how badly your eyes can deceive you! It may be that we are sleeping in this world, and that we wake up only when we die.
And finally, of course, we had food after all of us were hungry admiring the exhibition for 4 hours. And we had a good chat session, catching up with all the updates ever since those three people ORDed. My turn is in NOV…..less than 4 months away….less than 100 working days…
Well anyway, I had a good 2 days off this week! Well spent, the first saw me going for my appointment at AH and a good rest, the next day, THUR 16 July, I actually went to see the Da Vinci The Genius Exhibition at Science Centre with 3 of my already-ORDed medical centre friends.
The exhibition was very enlightening indeed, learnt several pieces of information I didn’t know about Da vinci prior to the visit. Numerous mechanical works of Da Vinci(replicas from his notebooks/codices) were on display and it just highlighted how curious Leonardo was. He managed to make full use of the gears system, ranging from lifters to lift heavy weights, to Odometres to tanks to Machine Guns.
I supposed Da Vinci played around with cadavers and being a good visual artist that he is, was able to sketch beautiful images of the human anatomy, to the most intricate details. A perfectionist and a believer in God, Da Vinci always insisted that his works must be accurately reflective of Nature, lest he would be doing Nature and thus God a great deal of injustice.
Learnt a bit or two about Mona Lisa’s history. I must admit that while I was growing up hating the visual arts subject that was compulsory from P1 all the way to Sec 2, a freaking 8 years in total, I’ve never thought of beautiful art/paintings as truly something very magnificent. Yes I do not deny that these great artists and painters have superb skills, but at the end of it, I was like always asking ‘So What?’ I grew up in a world where paint is easily accessible, all colours of them, in the form of crayons, poster colour, felted pens etc. But in the Medieval times, vastly different items were used to produce different colours. And then I remember watching the Discovery Channels documentary on the evolution of the paint industry.it explained how difficult it was in the past to obtain paint colours such as red, blue etc. and I realized I was naïve to assume that medieval artists had easily accessible factory-made poster colours in tubes of tiny glass bottles.
So their art of painting will most of the time include chemistry as well, they were using compounds of lead for colours such as white and the expensive intense blue lapis lazuli. Then comes all the varnishes and oil coatings. Painting an artwork in several layers also create a sense of depth, something truly amazing and mesmerizing about a piece of painting. In short, it truly and undeniably takes supreme mastery to produce an artwork with an indelible and everlasting influence such as the Mona Lisa.
Before the exhibit, we toured around science centre for a little while, reminiscing our primary school days as kids in white uniform running around and marveling at all the displays. The place hasn’t changed much; I could still remember most of the displays.
One thing that struck me was what imam Ghazali said about the different kinds of knowledge.
First we have the sensory knowledge, the kind of knowledge we obtain via our senses, in which the sight is the most far-reaching. Then we have rational knowledge, the use of logical and rationan thinking to come to Truth. We also have divine revealed knowledge, Wahyu.
Imam Ghazali cautioned against sensory knowledge as being used to ascertain Absolute Reality and Truth. Imam Ghazali knew about the non-absolute nature of this world. Will not go into details but the exhibits at science centre will show you just how badly your eyes can deceive you! It may be that we are sleeping in this world, and that we wake up only when we die.
And finally, of course, we had food after all of us were hungry admiring the exhibition for 4 hours. And we had a good chat session, catching up with all the updates ever since those three people ORDed. My turn is in NOV…..less than 4 months away….less than 100 working days…
Ah Chong, me and Yun Kai
me, Fariz and Yun Kai with the Tix
Which is more sane? Fries with Garlic Chilli Sauce or Fries with Vanilla Ice Cream??
ANS: ONION WITH CHOCOLATE
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Haul of Shaykh Sayyid Ahmad bin Idris
We would like to inform everyone that there will be a congregational zikrullah at Haji Mohd Salleh Mosque (Palmer Road).
Everyone is invited, both men and women.It will be led by a scholar from Seremban, Malaysia, educated from al-Azhar, Shaykh Faiz bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Sa'id al-Linggi.
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time:8:30pm - 11:30pm
Location:Haji Mohd Salleh Mosque (Palmer Road)
This time round, it coincides with the Haul of Shaykh Sayyid Ahmad bin Idris, the first founder of this Tariqah.
The Event will commence after Isyak Prayers at the prayer hall, insya Allah
Unlike the regular weekly congregational zikir, the Haul zikir will be quite different, so you are encouraged to attend to find experience it 'live' and immerse yourself in zikrullah. A Hadrah is pinnacle of such majlis led by Sidi Faiz.
Insya Allah, Ustaz Mohd Hasbi Bin Hassan will also be present for the congregational zikrullah.
Everyone is invited, both men and women.It will be led by a scholar from Seremban, Malaysia, educated from al-Azhar, Shaykh Faiz bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Sa'id al-Linggi.
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time:8:30pm - 11:30pm
Location:Haji Mohd Salleh Mosque (Palmer Road)
This time round, it coincides with the Haul of Shaykh Sayyid Ahmad bin Idris, the first founder of this Tariqah.
The Event will commence after Isyak Prayers at the prayer hall, insya Allah
Unlike the regular weekly congregational zikir, the Haul zikir will be quite different, so you are encouraged to attend to find experience it 'live' and immerse yourself in zikrullah. A Hadrah is pinnacle of such majlis led by Sidi Faiz.
Insya Allah, Ustaz Mohd Hasbi Bin Hassan will also be present for the congregational zikrullah.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Al-Gharrawain
An offshoot practical problem encountered when dealing with Inheritance(Faraid).
Gharrawain literally refers to two bright stars, and in the context of this, the Father and Mother of the Deceased (the highlight of the problem).
This issue of Gharrawain is also fondly known as Al-Umarain as it was the Ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar that ingeniously solved the problem, as shall be mathematically shown later. This ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar Ibn Khattab r.a was with the consensus of other sahabas such as Zaid Ibn Thabit, Usman ibn Affan and Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, God be pleased with them all!
The reason why I am typing this out is that I believe, typing/writing and or teaching will indelibly leave an impression in our memory, such that we are less likely to forget even after years of loss of contact with the subject matter. Sayyidina Ali karramallahu wajhah said that ‘Ilm is unlike money in that when shared, it increases. As for studying in general, I am more inclined to the appreciation with understanding approach instead of mere memorization. May God bless us all!
I also intend to make this as crystal-clear and as unequivocal as possible, for the sake of perfection of presentation.
In Faraid in general, at the outset there must be 3 conditions:
1. When a deceased has inheritance after settling all his debts and burial expenses, using the deceased’s own money.
2. There are legible Inheritors (via bloodline, or marriage, adherence to the same religion, not a murderer of the deceased, intentional or otherwise).
3. The deceased’s death is real.
Al Gharrawain only happens in two scenarios:
1. The inheritors are ONLY the Husband of the Deceased, Mother of the Deceased and Father of the Deceased, strictly no other legible inheritors. In this case, the Wife died.
2. The inheritors are ONLY the Wife of the Deceased, Mother of the Deceased and Father of the Deceased, strictly no other legible inheritors. In this case, the Husband died.
Therefore Al Gharrawain only pertains to inheritors that strictly included ONLY Spouse, Mother and Father.
We now let X be the original amount of inheritance to be inherited.
According to Default Shares explicitly mentioned in Quran, in the case of no children as inheritors, only those mentioned above strictly:
A. Husband gets ½ of Original Amount to be Inherited = ½X = 6/12X
A. Wife gets ¼ of Original Amount to be Inherited = ¼X = 3/12X
B. Mother gets 1/3 of Original Amount to be Inherited = 1/3 X = 4/12X
C. Father gets 1/6 of Original Amount to be Inherited = 1/6 X = 2/12X
There are two points labeled A because either A is for the respective two scenarios in Gharrawain.
I’ve made the denominators to be 12 because 12 is a common multiple of 2,3,4 and 6.
Whichever the case, either husband died or wife died, the Father will get only half as much as the Mother, since 1/6 is half of 1/3, or 2/12 is half of 4/12.
This is not in agreement with the general commandment in the Quran regarding inheritance in that males ought to get twice as much as females, and not the other way round.
Sayyidina Umar made two proposals in his Ijtihad:
Proposal 1:
So the ingenious Ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar was to propose that the 1/3 share of the Mother be applied to the BALANCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SPOUSE HAS TAKEN HIS OR HERS. So the order of who takes the inheritance first is important in this Gharrawain case. IT IS STRICTLY SPOUSE FIRST, THEN MOTHER, THEN FATHER.
Proposal 2:
Sayyidina Umar also proposed that the Father takes his default 1/6 share of the Original amount of Inheritance, and in addition to that, ASABAH as well. Asabah is whatever remains of the Original after all inheritors have taken their respective proportioned shares. This can happen as you can see that the fractions mentioned in the Quran do not always add up to 1 whole.
By default, whatever fraction of inheritance mentioned is the Quran is of the Original amount of Inheritance. Umar’s Ijtihad is that in the case of the Mother, the fraction 1/3 or 4/12 remains, just that it is now applied to the BALANCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SPOUSE HAS TAKEN HIS OR HER SHARE. This is emphasized in Ust Firdaus Yahya’s Faraid book as Baki Pertama on page 39-39.
So essentially, there are only two Summaraised-Template scenario:
THE FIRST CASE OF: WIFE IS THE DECEASED
Inheritors: Husband, Mother and Father ONLY
Step 1: Husband takes ½ of Original = ½X = 6/12X
Step 2: Mother now takes 1/3 of REMAINING/BALANCE AFTER HUSBAND:
= 1/3 of (1-1/2) = 1/3 * ½ = 1/6 of ORIGINAL = 2/12X
Step 3: Father takes 1/6 of Original = 1/6X = 2/12X AND (according to Sayyidina Umar’s Proposal 2) ASABAH
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH.
Let us calculate ASABAH to see it as a fraction in terms of the Original.
12/12 – 6/12(Husband’s Share) – 2/12(Mother’s Share) – 2/12(Father’s Default Share) = 2/12
ASABAH in the FIRST CASE of WIFE IS THE DECEASED is FIXED AT,UPON CALCULATION AND SIMPLIFICATION, 2/12 of ORIGNINAL = 2/12X
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH = 2/12X + 2/12X = 4/12X
THEREFORE Father takes in total; 4/12X
To Summarise the First Case:
Husband takes 6/12X
Mother takes 2/12X (from 1/3 of Remaining after Husband took his share)
Father takes 4/12X (from 1/6 of Original PLUS ASABAH)
Father’s share is now twice as Mother’s.
It is fair enough that Husband takes more than the Father since Husband has more rights to the Wife than a Father has to his Daughter, where the Wife is also the Daughter.
Settled!
THE SECOND CASE OF: HUSBAND IS THE DECEASED
Inheritors: Wife, Mother and Father ONLY
Step 1: Wife takes 1/4 of Original = 1/4X = 3/12X
Step 2: Mother now takes 1/3 of REMAINING/BALANCE AFTER WIFE:
= 1/3 of (1-1/4) = 1/3 * 3/4 = 1/4 of ORIGINAL = 3/12X
Step 3: Father takes 1/6 of Original = 1/6X = 2/12X AND (according to Sayyidina Umar’s Proposal 2) ASABAH
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH.
Let us calculate ASABAH to see it as a fraction in terms of the Original.
12/12 – 3/12(Wife’s Share) – 3/12(Mother’s Share) – 2/12(Father’s Default Share) = 4/12
ASABAH in the SECOND CASE of HUSBAND IS THE DECEASED is FIXED AT,UPON CALCULATION AND SIMPLIFICATION, 4/12 of ORIGNINAL = 4/12X
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH = 2/12X + 4/12X = 6/12X
THEREFORE Father takes in total; 6/12X
To Summarise the Second Case:
Wife takes 3/12X
Mother takes 3/12X (from 1/3 of Remaining after Wife took her share)
Father takes 6/12X (from 1/6 of Original PLUS ASABAH)
Father’s share is now twice as Mother’s. It is fair enough that Wife takes the same amount of inheritance as the Mother as both are Females.
Settled!
I marvel at how Ingenious Umar was to propose just 2 simply solutions to solve an entire problem perfectly! Subhanallah!
Heal the World, Make it a Better Place, For You and For Me and the Entire Human Race...
Gharrawain literally refers to two bright stars, and in the context of this, the Father and Mother of the Deceased (the highlight of the problem).
This issue of Gharrawain is also fondly known as Al-Umarain as it was the Ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar that ingeniously solved the problem, as shall be mathematically shown later. This ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar Ibn Khattab r.a was with the consensus of other sahabas such as Zaid Ibn Thabit, Usman ibn Affan and Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, God be pleased with them all!
The reason why I am typing this out is that I believe, typing/writing and or teaching will indelibly leave an impression in our memory, such that we are less likely to forget even after years of loss of contact with the subject matter. Sayyidina Ali karramallahu wajhah said that ‘Ilm is unlike money in that when shared, it increases. As for studying in general, I am more inclined to the appreciation with understanding approach instead of mere memorization. May God bless us all!
I also intend to make this as crystal-clear and as unequivocal as possible, for the sake of perfection of presentation.
In Faraid in general, at the outset there must be 3 conditions:
1. When a deceased has inheritance after settling all his debts and burial expenses, using the deceased’s own money.
2. There are legible Inheritors (via bloodline, or marriage, adherence to the same religion, not a murderer of the deceased, intentional or otherwise).
3. The deceased’s death is real.
Al Gharrawain only happens in two scenarios:
1. The inheritors are ONLY the Husband of the Deceased, Mother of the Deceased and Father of the Deceased, strictly no other legible inheritors. In this case, the Wife died.
2. The inheritors are ONLY the Wife of the Deceased, Mother of the Deceased and Father of the Deceased, strictly no other legible inheritors. In this case, the Husband died.
Therefore Al Gharrawain only pertains to inheritors that strictly included ONLY Spouse, Mother and Father.
We now let X be the original amount of inheritance to be inherited.
According to Default Shares explicitly mentioned in Quran, in the case of no children as inheritors, only those mentioned above strictly:
A. Husband gets ½ of Original Amount to be Inherited = ½X = 6/12X
A. Wife gets ¼ of Original Amount to be Inherited = ¼X = 3/12X
B. Mother gets 1/3 of Original Amount to be Inherited = 1/3 X = 4/12X
C. Father gets 1/6 of Original Amount to be Inherited = 1/6 X = 2/12X
There are two points labeled A because either A is for the respective two scenarios in Gharrawain.
I’ve made the denominators to be 12 because 12 is a common multiple of 2,3,4 and 6.
Whichever the case, either husband died or wife died, the Father will get only half as much as the Mother, since 1/6 is half of 1/3, or 2/12 is half of 4/12.
This is not in agreement with the general commandment in the Quran regarding inheritance in that males ought to get twice as much as females, and not the other way round.
Sayyidina Umar made two proposals in his Ijtihad:
Proposal 1:
So the ingenious Ijtihad of Sayyidina Umar was to propose that the 1/3 share of the Mother be applied to the BALANCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SPOUSE HAS TAKEN HIS OR HERS. So the order of who takes the inheritance first is important in this Gharrawain case. IT IS STRICTLY SPOUSE FIRST, THEN MOTHER, THEN FATHER.
Proposal 2:
Sayyidina Umar also proposed that the Father takes his default 1/6 share of the Original amount of Inheritance, and in addition to that, ASABAH as well. Asabah is whatever remains of the Original after all inheritors have taken their respective proportioned shares. This can happen as you can see that the fractions mentioned in the Quran do not always add up to 1 whole.
By default, whatever fraction of inheritance mentioned is the Quran is of the Original amount of Inheritance. Umar’s Ijtihad is that in the case of the Mother, the fraction 1/3 or 4/12 remains, just that it is now applied to the BALANCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SPOUSE HAS TAKEN HIS OR HER SHARE. This is emphasized in Ust Firdaus Yahya’s Faraid book as Baki Pertama on page 39-39.
So essentially, there are only two Summaraised-Template scenario:
THE FIRST CASE OF: WIFE IS THE DECEASED
Inheritors: Husband, Mother and Father ONLY
Step 1: Husband takes ½ of Original = ½X = 6/12X
Step 2: Mother now takes 1/3 of REMAINING/BALANCE AFTER HUSBAND:
= 1/3 of (1-1/2) = 1/3 * ½ = 1/6 of ORIGINAL = 2/12X
Step 3: Father takes 1/6 of Original = 1/6X = 2/12X AND (according to Sayyidina Umar’s Proposal 2) ASABAH
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH.
Let us calculate ASABAH to see it as a fraction in terms of the Original.
12/12 – 6/12(Husband’s Share) – 2/12(Mother’s Share) – 2/12(Father’s Default Share) = 2/12
ASABAH in the FIRST CASE of WIFE IS THE DECEASED is FIXED AT,UPON CALCULATION AND SIMPLIFICATION, 2/12 of ORIGNINAL = 2/12X
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH = 2/12X + 2/12X = 4/12X
THEREFORE Father takes in total; 4/12X
To Summarise the First Case:
Husband takes 6/12X
Mother takes 2/12X (from 1/3 of Remaining after Husband took his share)
Father takes 4/12X (from 1/6 of Original PLUS ASABAH)
Father’s share is now twice as Mother’s.
It is fair enough that Husband takes more than the Father since Husband has more rights to the Wife than a Father has to his Daughter, where the Wife is also the Daughter.
Settled!
THE SECOND CASE OF: HUSBAND IS THE DECEASED
Inheritors: Wife, Mother and Father ONLY
Step 1: Wife takes 1/4 of Original = 1/4X = 3/12X
Step 2: Mother now takes 1/3 of REMAINING/BALANCE AFTER WIFE:
= 1/3 of (1-1/4) = 1/3 * 3/4 = 1/4 of ORIGINAL = 3/12X
Step 3: Father takes 1/6 of Original = 1/6X = 2/12X AND (according to Sayyidina Umar’s Proposal 2) ASABAH
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH.
Let us calculate ASABAH to see it as a fraction in terms of the Original.
12/12 – 3/12(Wife’s Share) – 3/12(Mother’s Share) – 2/12(Father’s Default Share) = 4/12
ASABAH in the SECOND CASE of HUSBAND IS THE DECEASED is FIXED AT,UPON CALCULATION AND SIMPLIFICATION, 4/12 of ORIGNINAL = 4/12X
So Father takes 2/12X + ASABAH = 2/12X + 4/12X = 6/12X
THEREFORE Father takes in total; 6/12X
To Summarise the Second Case:
Wife takes 3/12X
Mother takes 3/12X (from 1/3 of Remaining after Wife took her share)
Father takes 6/12X (from 1/6 of Original PLUS ASABAH)
Father’s share is now twice as Mother’s. It is fair enough that Wife takes the same amount of inheritance as the Mother as both are Females.
Settled!
I marvel at how Ingenious Umar was to propose just 2 simply solutions to solve an entire problem perfectly! Subhanallah!
Heal the World, Make it a Better Place, For You and For Me and the Entire Human Race...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
updated!
Insyallah , Sunday, 12 July 2009, after Isyak at Masjid Mohd Salleh Mqm Habib Nuh, Sidi Faiz will be leading a majlis zikir.
The ideas mentioned by Shaykhul Akbar are not simple ideas. Learning him must be under the guidance of someone qualified; lest we thread on deep sea water perilously.
Again, knowing and experiencing is not the same:
It is said Die before you die.
It is said You are part of Divinity
It is said all actions are His
How to approach and appreciate these?
Alhamdullilah, the material sciences have progressed to the extent that we are more receptive to Ibn Arabi’s ideas.
I could think of several possible ways of how to appreciate that all actions are His.
1. the fact that whatever actions we experience are mere perceptions, and that God gave us these perceptions, sight and hearing etc. a classic example would be that only God dictates why humans see 570nm wavelength of light as green and not red etc. Similarly, our perceptions of us throwing a stone is because God allowed us to perceive as such. Although this by no way means that God is accountable for our actions as His Being Supreme and Having Control over All Things holds no bearings whatsoever that is affecting our freedom/will to choose. We are judged ultimately based on what we chose to do, and God does not coerce us into doing.
2. through cause and effect. Eg. when i type, i can do so becaue i have energy, i have energy because i ate, i ate because there was food, there was food because there was photosynthesis, and on and on until God is the First Cause. Allah as Al-Musabbibal Asbab.
3. Just plainly, GOd is the Doer of All Things. we listen and we Obey.
4. Or is it through unveiling of the veil? kashful hijab? Ladunni? About which this is totally up to the discretion of God, His Grace and Mercy.
5. Qada and Qadar?
6. Simply because there is no might other than His? Hauqalah?
or a combination of all these and more?
I really don’t know.
But this question always lingers on:
If Ibn Arabi’s ideas can be understood scientifically, then where is its spiritual value?
So verly likely, if you found his ideas easy to comprehend, then in all likelihood that is just some superficial material way of understanding. (not what was originally intended)
May Allah guide us all,
Let us only study Ibn Arabi when there is a guide.
Again, knowing and experiencing is not the same:
It is said Die before you die.
It is said You are part of Divinity
It is said all actions are His
How to approach and appreciate these?
Alhamdullilah, the material sciences have progressed to the extent that we are more receptive to Ibn Arabi’s ideas.
I could think of several possible ways of how to appreciate that all actions are His.
1. the fact that whatever actions we experience are mere perceptions, and that God gave us these perceptions, sight and hearing etc. a classic example would be that only God dictates why humans see 570nm wavelength of light as green and not red etc. Similarly, our perceptions of us throwing a stone is because God allowed us to perceive as such. Although this by no way means that God is accountable for our actions as His Being Supreme and Having Control over All Things holds no bearings whatsoever that is affecting our freedom/will to choose. We are judged ultimately based on what we chose to do, and God does not coerce us into doing.
2. through cause and effect. Eg. when i type, i can do so becaue i have energy, i have energy because i ate, i ate because there was food, there was food because there was photosynthesis, and on and on until God is the First Cause. Allah as Al-Musabbibal Asbab.
3. Just plainly, GOd is the Doer of All Things. we listen and we Obey.
4. Or is it through unveiling of the veil? kashful hijab? Ladunni? About which this is totally up to the discretion of God, His Grace and Mercy.
5. Qada and Qadar?
6. Simply because there is no might other than His? Hauqalah?
or a combination of all these and more?
I really don’t know.
But this question always lingers on:
If Ibn Arabi’s ideas can be understood scientifically, then where is its spiritual value?
So verly likely, if you found his ideas easy to comprehend, then in all likelihood that is just some superficial material way of understanding. (not what was originally intended)
May Allah guide us all,
Let us only study Ibn Arabi when there is a guide.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Seek Knowledge and Humility. I have neither
Alas, I had a meaningful conversation with one of my friends in camp; we mostly dwelled into the topic about elitism in some schools. This friend of mine is a Chi-Mat, a codename for something that I am not going to disclose. He is from a very respectable family of all doctors, and was brought up in probably the best school here.
Despite all the preconceptions that many people may have about that school, this friend of mine, you might say, is quite different in the sense that he does not have that elitist touch so commonly associated with people from the school up there.
Now, as muslims, we all understand that to generalize is not correct. Of course this is not what I intend to do here, I just want to highlight a prominent perhaps significant attitude that can be seen in many from that background, and my purpose of doing so is not to condemn or criticize; just for us to contemplate and emulate the right actions and behavior. After all, it is difficult and rare to find an apple that is entirely rotten.
It can all be traced back to the post O levels period, when students begin to apply to their junior college and/or polytechnic of choice. I was under pressure from everywhere, including people who barely know me and those who normally wouldn’t care what I do. Somehow, my choice was virtually restricted to just 2 schools. I chose to reject one, without even hesitating, because I have heard a lot about the sort of elitism that is very prominent there. At this stage, everyone may ask, how is it that I make my decision based on matters intangible such as people’s perception on something? I thought so too. But then again, of course I wouldn’t have first hand experience to be saying such things in the first place, since I’ve never been to that school.
That was it, the few days back when I was talking to this friend, that I got insights into the culture and environment in that school. Again, we must not generalize; wherever you go, there’s bound to have nice people around.
What he described was more vivid than whatever ideas I may have had about the school prior to speaking with him.
Remember about environment and nurture in upbringing; That the Prophet s.a.w. said that environment will influence and shape you.
To begin, I am a Muslim who is a Malay. This alone may raise several issues on its own, like how my friend commented about the reaction of his peers, even teachers, to this fact.
Not that I care much about races, but probably I would feel uneasy being the extreme minority in an elitist environment. Even the Malays there, my friend had asked, said that they were not proud to be Malay.
His mother also said the the Malays up there will ‘kill’ the Malays below.
I am not saying anyone needs to be proud to be Malay. This whole thing about race is not our decree, it is God’s decree. Our Beloved Prophet s.a.w emphasized this message in his moving Final Sermon: That no Arab is superior to a non-Arab and no Non-Arab is superior to an Arab, except by Taqwa. It is always the choices that we make and what we do that is accountable in the Presence of God.
That aside, the politics amongst students there can be quite a shock. And this problem primarily stem from what I would say an unhealthy competition towards achieving greatness in academia. Everyone desires to be the top, the best, the smartest, the most elite. While that in itself is good, because seeking knowledge is commendable in Islam, but when the competition involves the selfish ego, everything becomes appalling. This is perhaps where we as Muslims should take heed. Even as we compete with one another in goodness and in seeking knowledge, I can only guess that it is to be done without negative influences from the ego; lest the very object that we seek would lose all meaning. Easier said than done, I know. Congratulations to me who has defined myself the hypocrite.
At least in our minds, in our heads, in our rational thinking, even if it is not in our hearts yet, we know that such competitions are not good.
Examples of this that he brought up include lying to friends out of not wanting to share insights on future papers etc. Constantly denying studying, in the hopes that others do not study as well, whereas he/she mugs at home in order to ace papers. And many more. Of course such things happen everywhere. Again, let me remind myself, this is an exposure of what is not right, period. Nothing personal whatsoever.
That aside, the kind of school life they lead can be very shocking. Studying more than 14 hours out of 24 in a day?! I don’t think I ever have the stamina to do that. At this juncture, we must note that our scholars of old such as Imam Nawawi invested a lot of time into studying, seeking knowledge. They probably study even longer hours! But the one prominent difference between scholars like Imam Nawawi and those students who study like no tomorrow is that Imam Nawawi is sincere in his seeking of knowledge, for the sake of God, whereas from what that is external, those students study like crazy because of grades, prestige, wanting to be greater than the rest etc, wanting social standing etc. Again, let me remind myself, this is an exposure of what is not right, period. We should all strive to achieve what the purification of hearts would require us to do. Easier said than done, I know. Congratulations to me who has defined myself the hypocrite.
I am trying my best to be as objective as possible; know what is right, know what is wrong, do what is right, avoid what is wrong.
I can only ask, where then would one put the seeking of religious knowledge, if already more than 14 hours is spent per day preparing for a paper exam? I wouldn’t like such a lifestyle, for one it is very taxing, the other is that it is imbalanced.
I have always had this idea that part and parcel of you declaring yourself a Muslim in today’s age means that you are obliged to know knowledge of both worlds, the secular and the religious. In fact, in Islam there isn’t such a separation; if a particular piece of knowledge is the truth, then it is the truth and all truth comes from God and leads to God. Absolutist it may sound, but isn’t it true? The Truth?
And then life in army. It only firms my suspicion that many of those who are elitists will go all out in ns just to again, be the elite. I don’t see how they can have that ‘die-die must commission’ idea. Perhaps my heart is sick and that I am a sore-loser. But thank God I’ve never placed much importance in this. How could you not feel something amiss when the selection opens up more space to accommodate more of the similar minded people to the extent that you are going to have a platoon-cum-class-cum-school photoshoot? My friend also felt left out and secluded when they just bonded with their own cliques.
What I have said, I do not in anyway mean to offend anybody who may have gone through the same environment. I just want to learn how to experience people and what to emulate and what to eliminate.
Always be humble. For the one who has a grain’s weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter paradise.
Last Monday Hadith Lesson by Ust Hasbi:
The Prophet s.a.w. walked pass a group of Companions who were repairing houses. There upon he s.a.w. asked “what is this (repairing)? It may be that death will come to you first even before you finish repairing this house.”
Of course this by no means serves as a discouragement to achieve goodness in this world.
Something for us to ponder upon. I was told that the course I am going to take will have many people from up there. God guide us and help us always! Amin!
i am hesitant about posting this, but i've typed.
No more does this come in useful in any post of mine other than this post;
Whatever that is good comes from God; Falsehood and inequities from my own weaknesses and shortcomings.
i seek all your pardon.
Astaghfirullah, innallaha kaana tawwabaa
Despite all the preconceptions that many people may have about that school, this friend of mine, you might say, is quite different in the sense that he does not have that elitist touch so commonly associated with people from the school up there.
Now, as muslims, we all understand that to generalize is not correct. Of course this is not what I intend to do here, I just want to highlight a prominent perhaps significant attitude that can be seen in many from that background, and my purpose of doing so is not to condemn or criticize; just for us to contemplate and emulate the right actions and behavior. After all, it is difficult and rare to find an apple that is entirely rotten.
It can all be traced back to the post O levels period, when students begin to apply to their junior college and/or polytechnic of choice. I was under pressure from everywhere, including people who barely know me and those who normally wouldn’t care what I do. Somehow, my choice was virtually restricted to just 2 schools. I chose to reject one, without even hesitating, because I have heard a lot about the sort of elitism that is very prominent there. At this stage, everyone may ask, how is it that I make my decision based on matters intangible such as people’s perception on something? I thought so too. But then again, of course I wouldn’t have first hand experience to be saying such things in the first place, since I’ve never been to that school.
That was it, the few days back when I was talking to this friend, that I got insights into the culture and environment in that school. Again, we must not generalize; wherever you go, there’s bound to have nice people around.
What he described was more vivid than whatever ideas I may have had about the school prior to speaking with him.
Remember about environment and nurture in upbringing; That the Prophet s.a.w. said that environment will influence and shape you.
To begin, I am a Muslim who is a Malay. This alone may raise several issues on its own, like how my friend commented about the reaction of his peers, even teachers, to this fact.
Not that I care much about races, but probably I would feel uneasy being the extreme minority in an elitist environment. Even the Malays there, my friend had asked, said that they were not proud to be Malay.
His mother also said the the Malays up there will ‘kill’ the Malays below.
I am not saying anyone needs to be proud to be Malay. This whole thing about race is not our decree, it is God’s decree. Our Beloved Prophet s.a.w emphasized this message in his moving Final Sermon: That no Arab is superior to a non-Arab and no Non-Arab is superior to an Arab, except by Taqwa. It is always the choices that we make and what we do that is accountable in the Presence of God.
That aside, the politics amongst students there can be quite a shock. And this problem primarily stem from what I would say an unhealthy competition towards achieving greatness in academia. Everyone desires to be the top, the best, the smartest, the most elite. While that in itself is good, because seeking knowledge is commendable in Islam, but when the competition involves the selfish ego, everything becomes appalling. This is perhaps where we as Muslims should take heed. Even as we compete with one another in goodness and in seeking knowledge, I can only guess that it is to be done without negative influences from the ego; lest the very object that we seek would lose all meaning. Easier said than done, I know. Congratulations to me who has defined myself the hypocrite.
At least in our minds, in our heads, in our rational thinking, even if it is not in our hearts yet, we know that such competitions are not good.
Examples of this that he brought up include lying to friends out of not wanting to share insights on future papers etc. Constantly denying studying, in the hopes that others do not study as well, whereas he/she mugs at home in order to ace papers. And many more. Of course such things happen everywhere. Again, let me remind myself, this is an exposure of what is not right, period. Nothing personal whatsoever.
That aside, the kind of school life they lead can be very shocking. Studying more than 14 hours out of 24 in a day?! I don’t think I ever have the stamina to do that. At this juncture, we must note that our scholars of old such as Imam Nawawi invested a lot of time into studying, seeking knowledge. They probably study even longer hours! But the one prominent difference between scholars like Imam Nawawi and those students who study like no tomorrow is that Imam Nawawi is sincere in his seeking of knowledge, for the sake of God, whereas from what that is external, those students study like crazy because of grades, prestige, wanting to be greater than the rest etc, wanting social standing etc. Again, let me remind myself, this is an exposure of what is not right, period. We should all strive to achieve what the purification of hearts would require us to do. Easier said than done, I know. Congratulations to me who has defined myself the hypocrite.
I am trying my best to be as objective as possible; know what is right, know what is wrong, do what is right, avoid what is wrong.
I can only ask, where then would one put the seeking of religious knowledge, if already more than 14 hours is spent per day preparing for a paper exam? I wouldn’t like such a lifestyle, for one it is very taxing, the other is that it is imbalanced.
I have always had this idea that part and parcel of you declaring yourself a Muslim in today’s age means that you are obliged to know knowledge of both worlds, the secular and the religious. In fact, in Islam there isn’t such a separation; if a particular piece of knowledge is the truth, then it is the truth and all truth comes from God and leads to God. Absolutist it may sound, but isn’t it true? The Truth?
And then life in army. It only firms my suspicion that many of those who are elitists will go all out in ns just to again, be the elite. I don’t see how they can have that ‘die-die must commission’ idea. Perhaps my heart is sick and that I am a sore-loser. But thank God I’ve never placed much importance in this. How could you not feel something amiss when the selection opens up more space to accommodate more of the similar minded people to the extent that you are going to have a platoon-cum-class-cum-school photoshoot? My friend also felt left out and secluded when they just bonded with their own cliques.
What I have said, I do not in anyway mean to offend anybody who may have gone through the same environment. I just want to learn how to experience people and what to emulate and what to eliminate.
Always be humble. For the one who has a grain’s weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter paradise.
Last Monday Hadith Lesson by Ust Hasbi:
The Prophet s.a.w. walked pass a group of Companions who were repairing houses. There upon he s.a.w. asked “what is this (repairing)? It may be that death will come to you first even before you finish repairing this house.”
Of course this by no means serves as a discouragement to achieve goodness in this world.
Something for us to ponder upon. I was told that the course I am going to take will have many people from up there. God guide us and help us always! Amin!
i am hesitant about posting this, but i've typed.
No more does this come in useful in any post of mine other than this post;
Whatever that is good comes from God; Falsehood and inequities from my own weaknesses and shortcomings.
i seek all your pardon.
Astaghfirullah, innallaha kaana tawwabaa
Friday, June 12, 2009
Lecture by MSH June 2009
Allah…
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani made an eye opener sppech on Sufism, Tasawwuf at the expo last Tuesday; that was what my friend told me, and I readily second that. His booklet on SUFISM also suffices as an excellent introduction to what Sufism is all about, its roots in the Traditions, despite not having the particular term Tasawwuf being used, how it was developed over the years and what it entails.
I attended the lecture with my brother and two of my friends, Alhamdulillah, God works in ways very subtle.
I shall not do injustice to Shaykh Hisham’s speech by attempting to summarise; he spoke from the heart, not any prepared material. Themes touched included how Loving the Prophet s.a.w. is an integral part of spirituality in Islam, in order to get to Allah, we need to Love the Prophet s.a.w.
Shaykh Hisham mentioned a very interesting topic towards the end of his lecture; about Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi’s Whirling. Today, not much about the whirling is studied systematically, Westerners and Orientalists marvel at it as a form of graceful art, whereas muslims in parts of the world other than Turkey perhaps make no mention about it at all.
Yet, and yet a big YET, the understanding and appreciation of the Whirling goes very deep. To begin, it is almost as if God has made it a Divine decree that to circumambulate is one of the main ways of worship. We see this in the constellations; where planets circle the sun, in the atomic world, where electrons circle the nucleus, the syariah where pilgrims do the tawaf, the angels who circumambulate the Kaabah etc.
Movement, or harakah, as Shaykh Hisyam explained, is a manifestation of worship; everything worships God in more ways than we can imagine.
And that everything really encompasses everything:
I quote the THIRD LAW of THERMODYNAMICS:
Third law of thermodynamics, about the absolute zero of temperature:
As a system asymptotically approaches absolute zero of temperature all processes virtually cease and the entropy of the system asymptotically approaches a minimum value; also stated as: "the entropy of all systems and of all states of a system is zero at absolute zero" or equivalently "it is impossible to reach the absolute zero of temperature by any finite number of processes".
The closest scientists got to Absolute Zero (-273.15 deg cel) was -270 deg cel, using liquid helium if I’m not mistaken.
That means, no matter how cold we force the temperature to be, particles will still vibrate and move. Perhaps this is divine decree.
And, we shouldn’t be surprised. Because the Quran says hearts tremble upon the mention of Allah and also, hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah. This so-called mix of opposite reactions is what gets people to experience jazbah or zouk while in Zikr under the lead of a mursyid. Sidi Abdul Rasyid, some of the old-timers told me, used to use his rosary to tap on those who are, *you know, while in zikir. You tend to see this a lot in TAI, because our way is Loud, Expressive Zikir (Jahr). Sidi does not like it when in zikir, dia sorang yang bace ;p
Zikir is like divine light/energy, the more of it we have, the more energetic we become, and may even lead to being more ‘unstable’, as the culmination in the story of Moses demonstrates;
‘O My Lord allow me to see You’, implored Moses to his Lord Most High.
Thereupon God told Moses, “You will not be able to see Me”
‘Look at the mountain as I shine My Light on it’
Guess what? Moses FAINTED.
This is so in line with the concept of Entropy, the positive measure of disorderliness in a system.
Having more energy only makes a system more unstable. Which is why, when bonds are formed in chemistry, producing more stable compounds, energy is given out. At least the same amount of energy is needed to break the bonds in the stable compounds.
E = mc^2 is dealing with vast amounts of energy, thanks to c^2, by its SI unit, carrying a huge value of 3x10^8 squared. That figure, even in joules is very huge. Which is why when even a small mass is lost in nuclear reactions, the energy given out is huge, making the product very stable as an equivalent amount of energy is needed to reverse the reaction. Light Upon Light….
Gibbs free energy; a reaction is only feasible when G = H – TS is negative; unless conditions are altered.
S is the positive measure of entropy, disorderliness. The tendency is such that reactions leading to more disorder tends to happen more than those leading to more orderliness. Is this the reality of Qiamat? Heat Death? Perhaps.
Diamond and graphite have a peculiar relationship in enthalpy; graphite is more stable than diamond; despite the uber strong covalent bonds in diamond that give rise to its famous hardness quality; that being the greatest of any known material.
So yeah, lesson to take home, do not criticize those who have harakah in zikr. Sometimes, it is not done for show-offs.
*words cannot describe the state they are in ;P
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani made an eye opener sppech on Sufism, Tasawwuf at the expo last Tuesday; that was what my friend told me, and I readily second that. His booklet on SUFISM also suffices as an excellent introduction to what Sufism is all about, its roots in the Traditions, despite not having the particular term Tasawwuf being used, how it was developed over the years and what it entails.
I attended the lecture with my brother and two of my friends, Alhamdulillah, God works in ways very subtle.
I shall not do injustice to Shaykh Hisham’s speech by attempting to summarise; he spoke from the heart, not any prepared material. Themes touched included how Loving the Prophet s.a.w. is an integral part of spirituality in Islam, in order to get to Allah, we need to Love the Prophet s.a.w.
Shaykh Hisham mentioned a very interesting topic towards the end of his lecture; about Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi’s Whirling. Today, not much about the whirling is studied systematically, Westerners and Orientalists marvel at it as a form of graceful art, whereas muslims in parts of the world other than Turkey perhaps make no mention about it at all.
Yet, and yet a big YET, the understanding and appreciation of the Whirling goes very deep. To begin, it is almost as if God has made it a Divine decree that to circumambulate is one of the main ways of worship. We see this in the constellations; where planets circle the sun, in the atomic world, where electrons circle the nucleus, the syariah where pilgrims do the tawaf, the angels who circumambulate the Kaabah etc.
Movement, or harakah, as Shaykh Hisyam explained, is a manifestation of worship; everything worships God in more ways than we can imagine.
And that everything really encompasses everything:
I quote the THIRD LAW of THERMODYNAMICS:
Third law of thermodynamics, about the absolute zero of temperature:
As a system asymptotically approaches absolute zero of temperature all processes virtually cease and the entropy of the system asymptotically approaches a minimum value; also stated as: "the entropy of all systems and of all states of a system is zero at absolute zero" or equivalently "it is impossible to reach the absolute zero of temperature by any finite number of processes".
The closest scientists got to Absolute Zero (-273.15 deg cel) was -270 deg cel, using liquid helium if I’m not mistaken.
That means, no matter how cold we force the temperature to be, particles will still vibrate and move. Perhaps this is divine decree.
And, we shouldn’t be surprised. Because the Quran says hearts tremble upon the mention of Allah and also, hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah. This so-called mix of opposite reactions is what gets people to experience jazbah or zouk while in Zikr under the lead of a mursyid. Sidi Abdul Rasyid, some of the old-timers told me, used to use his rosary to tap on those who are, *you know, while in zikir. You tend to see this a lot in TAI, because our way is Loud, Expressive Zikir (Jahr). Sidi does not like it when in zikir, dia sorang yang bace ;p
Zikir is like divine light/energy, the more of it we have, the more energetic we become, and may even lead to being more ‘unstable’, as the culmination in the story of Moses demonstrates;
‘O My Lord allow me to see You’, implored Moses to his Lord Most High.
Thereupon God told Moses, “You will not be able to see Me”
‘Look at the mountain as I shine My Light on it’
Guess what? Moses FAINTED.
This is so in line with the concept of Entropy, the positive measure of disorderliness in a system.
Having more energy only makes a system more unstable. Which is why, when bonds are formed in chemistry, producing more stable compounds, energy is given out. At least the same amount of energy is needed to break the bonds in the stable compounds.
E = mc^2 is dealing with vast amounts of energy, thanks to c^2, by its SI unit, carrying a huge value of 3x10^8 squared. That figure, even in joules is very huge. Which is why when even a small mass is lost in nuclear reactions, the energy given out is huge, making the product very stable as an equivalent amount of energy is needed to reverse the reaction. Light Upon Light….
Gibbs free energy; a reaction is only feasible when G = H – TS is negative; unless conditions are altered.
S is the positive measure of entropy, disorderliness. The tendency is such that reactions leading to more disorder tends to happen more than those leading to more orderliness. Is this the reality of Qiamat? Heat Death? Perhaps.
Diamond and graphite have a peculiar relationship in enthalpy; graphite is more stable than diamond; despite the uber strong covalent bonds in diamond that give rise to its famous hardness quality; that being the greatest of any known material.
So yeah, lesson to take home, do not criticize those who have harakah in zikr. Sometimes, it is not done for show-offs.
*words cannot describe the state they are in ;P
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Carbon, the element. And the mysteries surrounding Annihilation
Two things I want to blog about, both can be rather lengthy though.
So the first is the element carbon, C. and the second is Ida, the fossilized lemur championed as the missing link, perhaps in another post.
When talking about Carbon, the fundamental element that forms the basis of life itself, there are a lot of fascinating information worthy of being mentioned; and this, is not even considering the branch of Chemistry that deals with carbon compounds, which, because of its vastness (there are more than 20 million known organic compounds), can be a subject on its own (Organic Chemistry).
The word carbon comes from Latin Carbo, meaning charcoal.
It’s proton number is 6 and mass no. is 12.0107 (Carbon-12 is made the reference for measurement of relative atomic weights, 12.0107 is due to presence of other isotopes of Carbon.)
Its electronic configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p2 or [He] 2s2 2p2.
It belongs in Group IV, Period 2 in the Periodic Table.
Mostly created naturally in dying stars.
Carbon’s ability to form strong single bonds that can resist chemical attacks under ambient conditions allows it to form long-chained molecules and ring structures.
As a food element, most of what we consume, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibres are made of carbon; and our average daily intake of this element is about 300g per day.
Carbon can exist as several allotropes, or different forms of the element. The allotropes of carbon are: a) diamond, graphite, lonsdaleite, fullerenes (C60, C540, C70), amorphous carbon, carbon nanotube.
It was with the beginnings of chemistry that the various forms of carbon were speculated to be the same element; and as it is obvious, diamonds cast the greatest doubts owing to its anomaly that is extremely different and unexpected of other forms of carbon. Diamond’s hardness which is the hardest known to Man made it difficult to accept that diamond is carbon. That was until diamond was discovered to be combustible; the earliest to burn diamond used magnifying lens to focus sunlight on diamond and later it disappeared, leaving no ash, producing just carbon dioxide.
As an element if our economy, carbon is mostly mined as carbonate, the highest oxidised form of carbon. Fossil fuels would be considered as mining of reduced carbon. Graphite is mined in some parts of the world, to be used as electrodes in fuel cells and ‘lead’ in pencils.
Carbon black is made by burning natural gas in limited air, coke is made by heating coal in the absence of air. Activated charcoal is made by heating coconut shells, giving a granulated form that can absorb pollutants. Activated carbon has a very high surface area, making it a good tool for adsorption, via only van der Waals’ forces.
Carbon fibre is made by controlled heating of acrylic fibre, until it chars to a carbonized material stronger than steel.
Diamond can be synthetically produced in temperatures exceeding 3000 deg celcius and pressures greater than 90000 atms. Synthetic diamonds are mostly used in industries that do digging and mining etc.
There are in the trilliions of tonnes of known reserves of carbon, in its various forms such as coal, oil, natural gas, carbonates etc. The carbon cycle exists due to photosynthesis and respiration.
In diamonds, carbon atoms are organised in a three dimensional tetrahedral structure, with each atom bonded to four others, and at a 109 degree angle, giving it strength and good thermal conductivity. Diamonds are also called ice not because of its crystal like appearance, but because diamond is cool to the touch, having a high thermal conductivity.
In the medical world, carbon is used to detect tumours or cancer in a techique known as positron emission tomography, PET. The radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-11, with a half-life of twenty minutes, is produced on-site from nitrogen atoms by bombarding them with protons. Once the isotope is made, it is quickly placed in a molecule that will detect the tumour when injected into the bloodstream.
When carbon-11 disintegrates, it ejects a particle known as positron, effectively the antimatter counterpart of electron, with a charge of +1. When positron collides with electron, mutual annihilation occurs, emitting 2 gamma ray photons that can be detected.
Now, this thing about positron is very intriguing. As we know, when scientists describe protons and electrons as having charges of +1 and -1 respectively, they are just coming up with a logic system that can ACCOUNT for natural phenomena. This means that we DESCRIBE protons as having a charge of +1 and the same for the rest. What is the reality of these charges? We all don’t know. Which is also the reason why may theoretical physicists can come up with many models trying to explain both the macrocosm and the microcosm. They are essentially finding a logical system that can account for the universe’s happenings.
Somehow, I don’t know why, when we talk about such issues, we are pulled into the discussions of something celestial and transcendent. About the reality of dualities and annihilation;
When the story in Angels and Demons talks about annihilation when antimatter meets matter, you cannot help but to reflect upon the truths of Tasawwuf concepts such as Fana’. The word used is the same, annihilation. It is God’s Order that the electron is attracted to the proton, scientists only accept this as a law, or a rule from which they build up logical inferences that PREDICT particle interactions. At this stage, I am puzzled by many questions and mysteries still; there have been works describing how energy, the one that cannot be created nor destroyed, has links to angels, and now annihilation, when two opposites meet? The four fundamental forces that are linked up in the string theory, the Will of God?
There is seriously a lot to be learnt for Man, and it surprises one to know how Sufi secrets are so subtly entwined in all these ‘physical’ mysteries describing the atomic particles and the universe. From the secrets of whirling, to the concept of jazbah and fana’. I can’t help but to think of both theoretical physics and Tasawwuf literature! How I wish I have the mind of Einstein of Stephen Hawking!
My life would be too short for me to comprehend these mysteries, O God, if You ever throw me to Paradise, I want to learn.
So the first is the element carbon, C. and the second is Ida, the fossilized lemur championed as the missing link, perhaps in another post.
When talking about Carbon, the fundamental element that forms the basis of life itself, there are a lot of fascinating information worthy of being mentioned; and this, is not even considering the branch of Chemistry that deals with carbon compounds, which, because of its vastness (there are more than 20 million known organic compounds), can be a subject on its own (Organic Chemistry).
The word carbon comes from Latin Carbo, meaning charcoal.
It’s proton number is 6 and mass no. is 12.0107 (Carbon-12 is made the reference for measurement of relative atomic weights, 12.0107 is due to presence of other isotopes of Carbon.)
Its electronic configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p2 or [He] 2s2 2p2.
It belongs in Group IV, Period 2 in the Periodic Table.
Mostly created naturally in dying stars.
Carbon’s ability to form strong single bonds that can resist chemical attacks under ambient conditions allows it to form long-chained molecules and ring structures.
As a food element, most of what we consume, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibres are made of carbon; and our average daily intake of this element is about 300g per day.
Carbon can exist as several allotropes, or different forms of the element. The allotropes of carbon are: a) diamond, graphite, lonsdaleite, fullerenes (C60, C540, C70), amorphous carbon, carbon nanotube.
It was with the beginnings of chemistry that the various forms of carbon were speculated to be the same element; and as it is obvious, diamonds cast the greatest doubts owing to its anomaly that is extremely different and unexpected of other forms of carbon. Diamond’s hardness which is the hardest known to Man made it difficult to accept that diamond is carbon. That was until diamond was discovered to be combustible; the earliest to burn diamond used magnifying lens to focus sunlight on diamond and later it disappeared, leaving no ash, producing just carbon dioxide.
As an element if our economy, carbon is mostly mined as carbonate, the highest oxidised form of carbon. Fossil fuels would be considered as mining of reduced carbon. Graphite is mined in some parts of the world, to be used as electrodes in fuel cells and ‘lead’ in pencils.
Carbon black is made by burning natural gas in limited air, coke is made by heating coal in the absence of air. Activated charcoal is made by heating coconut shells, giving a granulated form that can absorb pollutants. Activated carbon has a very high surface area, making it a good tool for adsorption, via only van der Waals’ forces.
Carbon fibre is made by controlled heating of acrylic fibre, until it chars to a carbonized material stronger than steel.
Diamond can be synthetically produced in temperatures exceeding 3000 deg celcius and pressures greater than 90000 atms. Synthetic diamonds are mostly used in industries that do digging and mining etc.
There are in the trilliions of tonnes of known reserves of carbon, in its various forms such as coal, oil, natural gas, carbonates etc. The carbon cycle exists due to photosynthesis and respiration.
In diamonds, carbon atoms are organised in a three dimensional tetrahedral structure, with each atom bonded to four others, and at a 109 degree angle, giving it strength and good thermal conductivity. Diamonds are also called ice not because of its crystal like appearance, but because diamond is cool to the touch, having a high thermal conductivity.
In the medical world, carbon is used to detect tumours or cancer in a techique known as positron emission tomography, PET. The radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-11, with a half-life of twenty minutes, is produced on-site from nitrogen atoms by bombarding them with protons. Once the isotope is made, it is quickly placed in a molecule that will detect the tumour when injected into the bloodstream.
When carbon-11 disintegrates, it ejects a particle known as positron, effectively the antimatter counterpart of electron, with a charge of +1. When positron collides with electron, mutual annihilation occurs, emitting 2 gamma ray photons that can be detected.
Now, this thing about positron is very intriguing. As we know, when scientists describe protons and electrons as having charges of +1 and -1 respectively, they are just coming up with a logic system that can ACCOUNT for natural phenomena. This means that we DESCRIBE protons as having a charge of +1 and the same for the rest. What is the reality of these charges? We all don’t know. Which is also the reason why may theoretical physicists can come up with many models trying to explain both the macrocosm and the microcosm. They are essentially finding a logical system that can account for the universe’s happenings.
Somehow, I don’t know why, when we talk about such issues, we are pulled into the discussions of something celestial and transcendent. About the reality of dualities and annihilation;
When the story in Angels and Demons talks about annihilation when antimatter meets matter, you cannot help but to reflect upon the truths of Tasawwuf concepts such as Fana’. The word used is the same, annihilation. It is God’s Order that the electron is attracted to the proton, scientists only accept this as a law, or a rule from which they build up logical inferences that PREDICT particle interactions. At this stage, I am puzzled by many questions and mysteries still; there have been works describing how energy, the one that cannot be created nor destroyed, has links to angels, and now annihilation, when two opposites meet? The four fundamental forces that are linked up in the string theory, the Will of God?
There is seriously a lot to be learnt for Man, and it surprises one to know how Sufi secrets are so subtly entwined in all these ‘physical’ mysteries describing the atomic particles and the universe. From the secrets of whirling, to the concept of jazbah and fana’. I can’t help but to think of both theoretical physics and Tasawwuf literature! How I wish I have the mind of Einstein of Stephen Hawking!
My life would be too short for me to comprehend these mysteries, O God, if You ever throw me to Paradise, I want to learn.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Belief backed by Conviction.
I just wanted to recap what Ust Iqbal said on one of the nights at Simply Islam, when Shaykh Yahya Rhodus spoke. Ust Iqbal said something like: in order to be a true muslim, your faith needs to have conviction from both the Reasoning and the more subtle things such as Beliefs, Piety, Ihsan etc.
To be honest, that was a topic that got me occupied from that day till today.
Where to begin? I suppose beginning from my secondary school days would be good. I always thought of myself as still playful and childish during my secondary school years; I used to want to play console games, like throughout the entire day. Yet I enjoyed school in the sense that I look forward to lessons that are exciting, and not the fierce shouting teachers ( I don’t see a point in all those shoutings).
I guess my subject preferences since primary school was what defined my inclinations till today. In lower secondary, we had to take all the subjects, E Maths, Science, Geog, History, Visual Arts, D&T, Econs, Lit etc. I recall clearly loathing especially ENGLISH LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS, HISTORY. I didn’t bother revising for those subjects, just did it because I was forced to.
On the other hand, I enjoyed Maths and Science a lot; I could also recall several moments when I got jumpy and bubbly in class when I first understood something, or when I could see why a certain matter is as such. The rest would stare at me as though I am weird. But nevermind, we enjoyed our friendships.
There was once in Sec 2 that I got into an intensive exchange of arguments with one of the girls who was so passionate about literature. I told her off something like “I just don’t get it why some people invest such disproportionate amounts of time in intangible and impractical subjects like Literature!” then as usual, she gave the typical arguments that the arts and the literature is what gives life its meaning, values, and simply life itself. In my mind I was like “bullshit, there’s no way you can prove that, you yourself love the conveniences Science and Technology had made possible”
I also once argued “why do you people have to go beating around the bush, making use of unnecessary metaphors and what not just to deliver a simple point that could have otherwise been delivered much more efficiently!” In that, I was referring to how some texts go out all lengths just to describe how beautiful a girl is. I didn’t like that though.
My secondary school art was pathetic, really. My brothers made fun of my drawings and poster colour paintings but in all honesty, I didn’t feel dampened or down not even a single bit because I know these subjects were a waste of time. So obviously I didn’t care; say what you want about my drawings, you can burn them too for all I care.
And I was sure glad as hell when I got into Sec 3, when I finally managed to drop off all those subjects I long considered a waste of time. What good riddance! I took the subjects I really wanted to study, Triple Science and A Maths. I really felt very happy except for Social Studied with combined Human Geog which I really thought was a sore. It didn’t help that for people like me, the grade for Social Studies MUST be included in computing L1R5.
I had no choice but to learn how to score in Social Studies, I didn’t mind studying historical facts, I enjoyed them actually, just that I hated the way questions were asked in SS.
Thank God, all went well and I got into VJ. Then again, dejavu sort of happened, I had to choose one contrasting subject even if I was in the Science stream, unless if I take KI instead of GP, which wasn’t exactly appealing to me, but luckily this time round, I had the option of taking Economics which I loved ;p
The reason why I was so hostile towards literature which I once called ‘flowery crap’ was perhaps I am more of a left-brained person, the kind that is always more interested in tangible facts, results, logical reasonings etc. Indeed, most personality tests I take say the same predictable thing about me.
So okay, I have to admit, this side of mine still lingers on quite strongly. I came across several articles, dealing with similar issues that I got myself caught up with in secondary school years. They all say almost the same thing: that practical people and logic minded individuals tend to be obstinate, supercilious, boastful and arrogant. And from what I could faintly recall, I once saw a statement “ENGINEERS ARE ARROGANT!”. Hehe. And the best part, I saw the basis for such statements in Islamic Literature, describing how the End Times would come as a shock especially to those who view their human achievements with pride and arrogance. So I thought to myself, Engineers/scientists do not have to be arrogant.
How can Science not be a celebrated field of study in Islam? Look at all the injunctions towards scientific learning in the Quran! Not to mention the many Muslim Polymaths who help make up modern science and technology! Isn’t it a silencing argument if science can unequivocally declare the existence of One Creator?! Of course, my zeal for science never faded. There will always be moments when I feel a deep sense of rapturous delight especially when I chance upon something in the Islamic Literature that has basis in science. It is like, one wing to Truth fulfilled.
In the later years of my secondary school life, as God would have it, I was exposed to Tariqah/Tasawwuf, which I find very appealing. I find it just fits well with the nature of humans, and this I came to via logic and reasoning, not so much via feelings and emotions. My first exposure was Al-Ghazali’s Kimia as-Saadah, ALCHEMY of Eternal Bliss. The name ALCHEMY had to be there! For some reason or another! Are you with me now? Could you imagine how I felt at that moment? When the first topic discussed in the Kimia was about Knowing One’s Self? Man arifa nafsahu, fa qad arifa rabbah. Allah…and Ust Hafazah mentioned Sidi Faiz by name, when he recommended some mursyids for a guide. That was how I became acquainted with Tariqah Ahmadiah Idrisiah, a simple Tariqah that never burdens the followers.
Allah’s Jalal and Jamal. For so long I’ve wondered that maybe the Sciences and the Arts are like entities that closely parallel the Attributes Jalal and Jamal, together completing the picture with Kamal; with science being the Hard, and Arts being the more Subtle. And it got intense everytime I think about Istighfar Al Kabir, because these three Attributes are mentioned at the end of it.
And when Ust Iqbal mentioned Reason and Piety/Ihsan as the two pronged approach to solidifying one’s belief, I couldn’t help but wonder again perhaps they really Parallel God’s Jalal and Jamal. Everything is created in pairs, as such there is a duality to everything. Perhaps.
Reason on its own, as critics would argue, can only lead to Knowing or Knowledge, then again, Knowledge as you know, is highly regarded in Islam. The Wise is he who knows how to appreciate the implications of Knowledge, this itself is not knowledge.
Those who argue that Reason can only take you so far in knowing God, well, let us not loosely use that point. The only reason why Reason can be limited in helping us understand God is our none other than our own lack of Knowledge. One can say now that Reason cannot make you understand the Mi’raj, well that is because our modern theoretical Physics has not gotten us that far yet! Perhaps one day, as a sign of His Continuous Miracle, Mi’raj can be scientifically accepted. Where Reason stop short of understanding God, that is where God has unequivocally defined the Boundaries; that we cannot comprehend His Essence. If you ask me, if Reason cannot make us comprehend His Essence, then Piety/Ihsan/Taqwa also cannot. So in truly appreciating the value of Reason, we must understand that it is an indispensable tool/need in our quest for truth.
I am anxious whenever someone says something like Religion cannot be valued by Reason, agama tidak boleh dinilai dengan akal; I’m just scared that people get the wrong idea about the value of Reason. I don't see how the Religion of Truth can not sit well with our Logic. God will not make us do anything illogical or in vain. People like to ask, when you pass wind, isn’t it more logical to clean the bottom? Why take wudhu again? One should not view this as an inherent fault/incompleteness of Reason; rather it is our own lack of Knowledge, given the Knowledge, Reason will enlighten us as to really why. Trust me. Countless similar things have happened.
That is precisely the reason why I will always love the sciences.
As for the other part, or the other wing; I was speechless when I come across literature in the Islamic World describing qualities such as Love for the Prophet saw and Love for God. The magnificent blessed poems such as the Burdah, were exactly as I had said about literature, full of flowery descriptive all just trying to convey one point, the intensity of the Love for the Prophet saw.
I am speechless…I am speechless, really,I surrender, I take back all my words about literature. And I cry because I’ve underappreciated His Love, and have not reciprocated what truly deserves our love and attention.
I will always bear this in mind, that no matter how stern/strict/tegas Sidi Faiz can be, he never fails to emphasise the zikir of Ya Wadud, Ya Wadud, Ya Wadud…
I suddenly found so many meanings behind what has been going on in my life, the circumstances and all. He is truly the Best of Planners.
And no; if any of my nephews or future children ever wants to pursue Literature full-time, I will make sure I wake up their ideas first.
May God forgive us and guide us all! Amin!
To be honest, that was a topic that got me occupied from that day till today.
Where to begin? I suppose beginning from my secondary school days would be good. I always thought of myself as still playful and childish during my secondary school years; I used to want to play console games, like throughout the entire day. Yet I enjoyed school in the sense that I look forward to lessons that are exciting, and not the fierce shouting teachers ( I don’t see a point in all those shoutings).
I guess my subject preferences since primary school was what defined my inclinations till today. In lower secondary, we had to take all the subjects, E Maths, Science, Geog, History, Visual Arts, D&T, Econs, Lit etc. I recall clearly loathing especially ENGLISH LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS, HISTORY. I didn’t bother revising for those subjects, just did it because I was forced to.
On the other hand, I enjoyed Maths and Science a lot; I could also recall several moments when I got jumpy and bubbly in class when I first understood something, or when I could see why a certain matter is as such. The rest would stare at me as though I am weird. But nevermind, we enjoyed our friendships.
There was once in Sec 2 that I got into an intensive exchange of arguments with one of the girls who was so passionate about literature. I told her off something like “I just don’t get it why some people invest such disproportionate amounts of time in intangible and impractical subjects like Literature!” then as usual, she gave the typical arguments that the arts and the literature is what gives life its meaning, values, and simply life itself. In my mind I was like “bullshit, there’s no way you can prove that, you yourself love the conveniences Science and Technology had made possible”
I also once argued “why do you people have to go beating around the bush, making use of unnecessary metaphors and what not just to deliver a simple point that could have otherwise been delivered much more efficiently!” In that, I was referring to how some texts go out all lengths just to describe how beautiful a girl is. I didn’t like that though.
My secondary school art was pathetic, really. My brothers made fun of my drawings and poster colour paintings but in all honesty, I didn’t feel dampened or down not even a single bit because I know these subjects were a waste of time. So obviously I didn’t care; say what you want about my drawings, you can burn them too for all I care.
And I was sure glad as hell when I got into Sec 3, when I finally managed to drop off all those subjects I long considered a waste of time. What good riddance! I took the subjects I really wanted to study, Triple Science and A Maths. I really felt very happy except for Social Studied with combined Human Geog which I really thought was a sore. It didn’t help that for people like me, the grade for Social Studies MUST be included in computing L1R5.
I had no choice but to learn how to score in Social Studies, I didn’t mind studying historical facts, I enjoyed them actually, just that I hated the way questions were asked in SS.
Thank God, all went well and I got into VJ. Then again, dejavu sort of happened, I had to choose one contrasting subject even if I was in the Science stream, unless if I take KI instead of GP, which wasn’t exactly appealing to me, but luckily this time round, I had the option of taking Economics which I loved ;p
The reason why I was so hostile towards literature which I once called ‘flowery crap’ was perhaps I am more of a left-brained person, the kind that is always more interested in tangible facts, results, logical reasonings etc. Indeed, most personality tests I take say the same predictable thing about me.
So okay, I have to admit, this side of mine still lingers on quite strongly. I came across several articles, dealing with similar issues that I got myself caught up with in secondary school years. They all say almost the same thing: that practical people and logic minded individuals tend to be obstinate, supercilious, boastful and arrogant. And from what I could faintly recall, I once saw a statement “ENGINEERS ARE ARROGANT!”. Hehe. And the best part, I saw the basis for such statements in Islamic Literature, describing how the End Times would come as a shock especially to those who view their human achievements with pride and arrogance. So I thought to myself, Engineers/scientists do not have to be arrogant.
How can Science not be a celebrated field of study in Islam? Look at all the injunctions towards scientific learning in the Quran! Not to mention the many Muslim Polymaths who help make up modern science and technology! Isn’t it a silencing argument if science can unequivocally declare the existence of One Creator?! Of course, my zeal for science never faded. There will always be moments when I feel a deep sense of rapturous delight especially when I chance upon something in the Islamic Literature that has basis in science. It is like, one wing to Truth fulfilled.
In the later years of my secondary school life, as God would have it, I was exposed to Tariqah/Tasawwuf, which I find very appealing. I find it just fits well with the nature of humans, and this I came to via logic and reasoning, not so much via feelings and emotions. My first exposure was Al-Ghazali’s Kimia as-Saadah, ALCHEMY of Eternal Bliss. The name ALCHEMY had to be there! For some reason or another! Are you with me now? Could you imagine how I felt at that moment? When the first topic discussed in the Kimia was about Knowing One’s Self? Man arifa nafsahu, fa qad arifa rabbah. Allah…and Ust Hafazah mentioned Sidi Faiz by name, when he recommended some mursyids for a guide. That was how I became acquainted with Tariqah Ahmadiah Idrisiah, a simple Tariqah that never burdens the followers.
Allah’s Jalal and Jamal. For so long I’ve wondered that maybe the Sciences and the Arts are like entities that closely parallel the Attributes Jalal and Jamal, together completing the picture with Kamal; with science being the Hard, and Arts being the more Subtle. And it got intense everytime I think about Istighfar Al Kabir, because these three Attributes are mentioned at the end of it.
And when Ust Iqbal mentioned Reason and Piety/Ihsan as the two pronged approach to solidifying one’s belief, I couldn’t help but wonder again perhaps they really Parallel God’s Jalal and Jamal. Everything is created in pairs, as such there is a duality to everything. Perhaps.
Reason on its own, as critics would argue, can only lead to Knowing or Knowledge, then again, Knowledge as you know, is highly regarded in Islam. The Wise is he who knows how to appreciate the implications of Knowledge, this itself is not knowledge.
Those who argue that Reason can only take you so far in knowing God, well, let us not loosely use that point. The only reason why Reason can be limited in helping us understand God is our none other than our own lack of Knowledge. One can say now that Reason cannot make you understand the Mi’raj, well that is because our modern theoretical Physics has not gotten us that far yet! Perhaps one day, as a sign of His Continuous Miracle, Mi’raj can be scientifically accepted. Where Reason stop short of understanding God, that is where God has unequivocally defined the Boundaries; that we cannot comprehend His Essence. If you ask me, if Reason cannot make us comprehend His Essence, then Piety/Ihsan/Taqwa also cannot. So in truly appreciating the value of Reason, we must understand that it is an indispensable tool/need in our quest for truth.
I am anxious whenever someone says something like Religion cannot be valued by Reason, agama tidak boleh dinilai dengan akal; I’m just scared that people get the wrong idea about the value of Reason. I don't see how the Religion of Truth can not sit well with our Logic. God will not make us do anything illogical or in vain. People like to ask, when you pass wind, isn’t it more logical to clean the bottom? Why take wudhu again? One should not view this as an inherent fault/incompleteness of Reason; rather it is our own lack of Knowledge, given the Knowledge, Reason will enlighten us as to really why. Trust me. Countless similar things have happened.
That is precisely the reason why I will always love the sciences.
As for the other part, or the other wing; I was speechless when I come across literature in the Islamic World describing qualities such as Love for the Prophet saw and Love for God. The magnificent blessed poems such as the Burdah, were exactly as I had said about literature, full of flowery descriptive all just trying to convey one point, the intensity of the Love for the Prophet saw.
I am speechless…I am speechless, really,I surrender, I take back all my words about literature. And I cry because I’ve underappreciated His Love, and have not reciprocated what truly deserves our love and attention.
I will always bear this in mind, that no matter how stern/strict/tegas Sidi Faiz can be, he never fails to emphasise the zikir of Ya Wadud, Ya Wadud, Ya Wadud…
I suddenly found so many meanings behind what has been going on in my life, the circumstances and all. He is truly the Best of Planners.
And no; if any of my nephews or future children ever wants to pursue Literature full-time, I will make sure I wake up their ideas first.
May God forgive us and guide us all! Amin!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Prison Break Ends!
I really do not know how to describe my feelings as I watched the last two episodes of the series I’ve closely followed since JC1. And I can care less about spoiling it for anyone who has yet to watch the finale ;P
Oh well, the series moved through twists and suspense, unpredictable outcomes, and the finale was really no different. The thing I like about PB is that each of its 4 seasons focuses on a different theme, leaving the audience with things fresh and new to expect. Perhaps, I like season 1 best, followed by 4, then 2 and then 3.
I’ll only talk about the last 2 episodes.
The second last episode started with Scofield in a dilemma; having been forced to choose between the two lives dearest to him; Sara Tancredi and Lincoln Burrows. Lincoln was shot in the lower right area of the chest cavity, leaving him with haemothorax that will eventually drain his life away within five minutes, whereas Sara’s a leverage of General Kranz, who will hand her over and leave her at the mercy of the sinister T-Bag.
As the writers would have it, Scofield managed to save them both, primarily because of the General’s treachery in holding up his end of the deal, however ironic that might seem. Therein, I guess lies a lesson we can learn for life ;p.
The deal was Scylla for Sara. Michael, being the genius that he is, anticipated that Kranz would never bring Sara to the trade, and hence chose to break in into the apartment where T-bag was holding Sara. As such, Scofield got both Sara and Scylla.
As for Lincoln, Scofiled sent Alexandre Mahone, someone not of the biological progeny of Christina, the psychotic mother of Scofield. Scofield reasoned that Christina would know his tactics, but not Mahone’s. Mahone brought an explosive disguised as Scylla to Christina.
Fast forward, and Kellerman showed up with a genuine UN offer; Scylla for absolute exoneration. Good deal. Scofield was hesitant, but handed over Scylla to Kellerman. He said he was exhausted of running, and wants all to end, by then we all know it will end since we are only left with 10 mins of the entire series.
So they all signed the exoneration papers, and voted for T-Bag to be sent bag to Fox River, where his pedophilic side quickly reappears. At the ending, we see the characters united with their loved one, and General Kranz now sat on the electric chair once sat by Lincoln in season 1, albeit with much less dignity and that much more cowardice. You should see how easily General Kranz capitulated to his adversaries’ demands once he lost all his leverage, and this gives us all the impression that as much as he loves to put people into difficult situations, he himself can’t fare better.
The show then fast forwarded 4 years, and the friends gathered to visit the grave of ….of….Michael Scofield…. While I find that this ending is a smart one, one that fits the entire essence of the series, about that which is full of twists and unpredictabilities, killing off the character Michael is like putting an abrupt end to the main character! He did so much across all 4 seasons, he deserved to have a longer ending! But anyway, he died of a tumour in grown in his brain, natural causes. Oh well, he died and the Company was burnt to the ground.
I loved this series, whatever the ending.
Oh well, the series moved through twists and suspense, unpredictable outcomes, and the finale was really no different. The thing I like about PB is that each of its 4 seasons focuses on a different theme, leaving the audience with things fresh and new to expect. Perhaps, I like season 1 best, followed by 4, then 2 and then 3.
I’ll only talk about the last 2 episodes.
The second last episode started with Scofield in a dilemma; having been forced to choose between the two lives dearest to him; Sara Tancredi and Lincoln Burrows. Lincoln was shot in the lower right area of the chest cavity, leaving him with haemothorax that will eventually drain his life away within five minutes, whereas Sara’s a leverage of General Kranz, who will hand her over and leave her at the mercy of the sinister T-Bag.
As the writers would have it, Scofield managed to save them both, primarily because of the General’s treachery in holding up his end of the deal, however ironic that might seem. Therein, I guess lies a lesson we can learn for life ;p.
The deal was Scylla for Sara. Michael, being the genius that he is, anticipated that Kranz would never bring Sara to the trade, and hence chose to break in into the apartment where T-bag was holding Sara. As such, Scofield got both Sara and Scylla.
As for Lincoln, Scofiled sent Alexandre Mahone, someone not of the biological progeny of Christina, the psychotic mother of Scofield. Scofield reasoned that Christina would know his tactics, but not Mahone’s. Mahone brought an explosive disguised as Scylla to Christina.
Fast forward, and Kellerman showed up with a genuine UN offer; Scylla for absolute exoneration. Good deal. Scofield was hesitant, but handed over Scylla to Kellerman. He said he was exhausted of running, and wants all to end, by then we all know it will end since we are only left with 10 mins of the entire series.
So they all signed the exoneration papers, and voted for T-Bag to be sent bag to Fox River, where his pedophilic side quickly reappears. At the ending, we see the characters united with their loved one, and General Kranz now sat on the electric chair once sat by Lincoln in season 1, albeit with much less dignity and that much more cowardice. You should see how easily General Kranz capitulated to his adversaries’ demands once he lost all his leverage, and this gives us all the impression that as much as he loves to put people into difficult situations, he himself can’t fare better.
The show then fast forwarded 4 years, and the friends gathered to visit the grave of ….of….Michael Scofield…. While I find that this ending is a smart one, one that fits the entire essence of the series, about that which is full of twists and unpredictabilities, killing off the character Michael is like putting an abrupt end to the main character! He did so much across all 4 seasons, he deserved to have a longer ending! But anyway, he died of a tumour in grown in his brain, natural causes. Oh well, he died and the Company was burnt to the ground.
I loved this series, whatever the ending.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sat Night with Sidi Faiz
Alhamdulillah! It was indeed revitalizing to be in a gathering of zikir led by Sidi, after so long of not meeting him.
Before I left my house, a friend of mine called, asking whether or not I would be coming to Sunday’s Majlis at Maqam. I said yes insyaAllah, he asked Majlis aper ah? I told him it will be a majlis zikir, he asked again, yang banyak anggok-anggok eh? I laughed and told him that it will be a majlis zikir, and asked him to come along with me.
I came to cpt kassim’s place for maghrib, with sidi faiz as imam. After solat ba’diyah, the majlis began. I sat (uncomfortably) close to sidi, not that I wanted to, but sidi came up and wanted to face the kiblah throughout zikir so he changed his seat and sat beside me. I was kinda scared scared but at least I could hear clearly what he was speaking later on in the middle of the zikir.
As usual, zikir led by Sidi is always revitalizing and full of energy.
At one point, he paused and explained quite a lengthy about some zikir, amalan we ought to do and he mentioned so many awliya in one majlis!
Sidi reminded us to keep up with Quranic recitation, khatamkan quran sebulan sekali ke, dua bulan sekali. Amalkan surah munjiyat, dukhan, insan, mulk, waqiah, ya sin, sajdah etc, banyakkan doa tolak bala. Solat nawafil also must have, tahajjud, tasbih, hajat, isyraq, dhuha.
Then to those who have taken bai’ah in TAI, hendaklah selalu baca Tahlil Khusus, Salawat Azhimiyyah and Istighfar Kabir, sidi noted that Shaykh Muhammad Said recited 70x istighfar kabir for every sahur. Always be in a state of physical purity, wudhu.
Sidi again emphasized the need to thank the Prophet saw, and that our giving him thanks can never be enough, hence we implore God to thank and reward the Prophet saw, with ‘Jazallahu anna nabiyyana muhammadan ….wasiahu ilmullah’ can be found in the ahzab of Sidi Ahmad Ibn Idris.
Sidi Faiz also mentioned that Sidi Abu Hasan Ash-Shadhili mentioned that during azan, the doors of the heavens are opened, so make listen to the azan and make your doa!
Then Sidi Faiz shared about the saints, he mentioned that Egypt and Morocco has a lot of saints, and he described the roads to the maqams of the saints, Sidi Abu Hasan Ash-Shadhili, Ibn Ata’illah Iskandari, Sidi Salim, Shaykh Solih Jafari,Sidi Ahmad Badawi, Sidi Ibrahim Ad-Dusuqi (I realized this name was familiar, it was from the book about rahsia huruf hijaiyah) Ibrahim Adham, about Shaykh Abdul Qadir jailani and Shaykh Ahmad Rifai in Iraq.
Sidi Faiz also mentioned Sidi Abdul Aziz Ad-Dabbagh as the teacher to Sidi Ahmad Ibn Idris.
It was a peculiar night, one in which so many names of saints were mentioned by Sidi Faiz, not something he does often.
That got me amazed, particularly at how TAI is so closely related to the Shadhili Tariqah, I’ve got to read Enigmatic Saint again!
Supper was great, epicurean I should say! Delectable Briyani Dhum, and sup Tulang, with bandung as drink, the fresh grapes, then the many desserts! Alamak, I guess I ate too much ooops! The hospitable host even ensured that all leave with a pack of briyani and a door gift of a cd recording of the group Qaafilah Zikrullah, whose members are close to Sidi Faiz.
I really look forward to Sunday’s Majlis at maqam, and then next sat Shadhili Hadrah at Malabar!And shaykh Hisyam is coming next month!
Before I left my house, a friend of mine called, asking whether or not I would be coming to Sunday’s Majlis at Maqam. I said yes insyaAllah, he asked Majlis aper ah? I told him it will be a majlis zikir, he asked again, yang banyak anggok-anggok eh? I laughed and told him that it will be a majlis zikir, and asked him to come along with me.
I came to cpt kassim’s place for maghrib, with sidi faiz as imam. After solat ba’diyah, the majlis began. I sat (uncomfortably) close to sidi, not that I wanted to, but sidi came up and wanted to face the kiblah throughout zikir so he changed his seat and sat beside me. I was kinda scared scared but at least I could hear clearly what he was speaking later on in the middle of the zikir.
As usual, zikir led by Sidi is always revitalizing and full of energy.
At one point, he paused and explained quite a lengthy about some zikir, amalan we ought to do and he mentioned so many awliya in one majlis!
Sidi reminded us to keep up with Quranic recitation, khatamkan quran sebulan sekali ke, dua bulan sekali. Amalkan surah munjiyat, dukhan, insan, mulk, waqiah, ya sin, sajdah etc, banyakkan doa tolak bala. Solat nawafil also must have, tahajjud, tasbih, hajat, isyraq, dhuha.
Then to those who have taken bai’ah in TAI, hendaklah selalu baca Tahlil Khusus, Salawat Azhimiyyah and Istighfar Kabir, sidi noted that Shaykh Muhammad Said recited 70x istighfar kabir for every sahur. Always be in a state of physical purity, wudhu.
Sidi again emphasized the need to thank the Prophet saw, and that our giving him thanks can never be enough, hence we implore God to thank and reward the Prophet saw, with ‘Jazallahu anna nabiyyana muhammadan ….wasiahu ilmullah’ can be found in the ahzab of Sidi Ahmad Ibn Idris.
Sidi Faiz also mentioned that Sidi Abu Hasan Ash-Shadhili mentioned that during azan, the doors of the heavens are opened, so make listen to the azan and make your doa!
Then Sidi Faiz shared about the saints, he mentioned that Egypt and Morocco has a lot of saints, and he described the roads to the maqams of the saints, Sidi Abu Hasan Ash-Shadhili, Ibn Ata’illah Iskandari, Sidi Salim, Shaykh Solih Jafari,Sidi Ahmad Badawi, Sidi Ibrahim Ad-Dusuqi (I realized this name was familiar, it was from the book about rahsia huruf hijaiyah) Ibrahim Adham, about Shaykh Abdul Qadir jailani and Shaykh Ahmad Rifai in Iraq.
Sidi Faiz also mentioned Sidi Abdul Aziz Ad-Dabbagh as the teacher to Sidi Ahmad Ibn Idris.
It was a peculiar night, one in which so many names of saints were mentioned by Sidi Faiz, not something he does often.
That got me amazed, particularly at how TAI is so closely related to the Shadhili Tariqah, I’ve got to read Enigmatic Saint again!
Supper was great, epicurean I should say! Delectable Briyani Dhum, and sup Tulang, with bandung as drink, the fresh grapes, then the many desserts! Alamak, I guess I ate too much ooops! The hospitable host even ensured that all leave with a pack of briyani and a door gift of a cd recording of the group Qaafilah Zikrullah, whose members are close to Sidi Faiz.
I really look forward to Sunday’s Majlis at maqam, and then next sat Shadhili Hadrah at Malabar!And shaykh Hisyam is coming next month!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Religulous
Two weeks ago, or so, I watched this documentary-movie called Religulous, if you haven’t guessed it already, it is a combination of the two words Religious and Ridiculous.
So Religious + Ridiculous = Religulous
It was documented by a guy of Catholic and Jewish descent, named Bill Maher.
In the documentary, he traveled to various countries to interview religious people, getting their opinion on mostly controversial and sensitive matters. Somehow I feel that Bill tends to turn the argument in such a way that it will portray the ‘religious’ figures as lunatics. To begin with, I feel that he was rather selective in his choice of interviewees.
From what I recall, he interviewed a group of Christians who role-played Christ’s supposed crucifixion, and you can just imagine the kind of lunacy he threw at them. Also made fun of the concept of Salvation by the Blood.
He also interviewed Neturei Karta, perhaps in a way that, to those who do not know NK, will get people thinking that NK is really a lunatic.
He also visited a Jewish research facility, where the people there invent ingenious inventions that are allowed to be used on the Sabbath, a day during which working is not allowed. So he went asking, Fire not Okay? But Air Pressure Ok?
He also interviewed Gay Muslims in USA. I think it is not fair to get their views on religious matters, because they, from what is apparent, are not religious. Habibi Ana was one of their names. And Bill went on saying that Islam does not prohibit homosexuality so much as an emotion, rather it focuses down to a specific act, which is strictly forbidden, so he conjured that in a gay relationship, if we take that act out, we are only left with a (you know what).
Then he interviewed a Dutch Muslim regarding the assassination of Theo Van Gough who made a hate-documentary regarding Islam and muslims. Straits Times recently ran an article that the West’s walkout from Iran’s speech is reaffirming on their part that hate speech is not free speech. In a way, it was like them tasting their own medicine. Either that or they run a risk of being labeled ‘Double-Standard’.
In answering Bill, the muslim politician said that these terrorists misquote the Quran and took passages out of context and even incompletely quote verses. Bill said that that isn’t the case, people who believe in the books do not go around saying “this verse was taken out of context”, rather they say “it is from the Book of God”, thereby adding weight to what they are campaigning for.
We really need to know Asbabun Nuzul and Nasikh Wal Mansukh to tackle this. As muslims we know that certain Quranic verses are applicable only under certain circumstances. This one answers Bill.
I don’t find myself hating Bill because of this, he has a good sense of humour and in all probability, he is just outspoken in asking, and definitely not afraid of throwing questions about others’ faiths. He is an argumentative kind, very rationalistic. I find such a person intriguing, I have a feeling that they are not bound by dogma and demagogy, and that an irrefutable rational proof of God’s existence will surely whack the tauhid into them, because the first stage of belief is in negation, La ilaha, There is no God, what we need is to add in illa Allah, save Allah. Don’t be surprised; God the Muqallibal Qulub, the Turner of Hearts, can turn disbelief into firm belief.
The last 8 mins or so:
The irony of religion is that, because of its power to divert Man to destructive courses, the world actually could come to an end. One thing I hate about Prophecy is (referring to Armageddon) self-fulfilled ones.
If the world can end any day now, does it not drain one’s motivation to improve life on earth while we are here?
Prophet saw said: Live life as if you are going to live for a thousand years, worship as if you are going to die tomorrow.
The plain fact is, religion must die for Mankind to live. The hour is getting very late, to be able to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people, by irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state, not by a compass but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken.
Faith, means making a virtue out of not thinking; it is nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith and enable and elevate it, are intellectual slave holders; keeping Mankind in a bondage, to fantasy and non-sense, that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction. Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don’t have all the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it is wonderful when someone says “I am willing Lord, I will do whatever you want me to do,” except that there are no gods that are actually talking to us. That void is filled in by people, with their own corruptions, and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don’t. How can I be so sure, because I don’t know and you do not possess mental powers that I do not.
The only appropriate attitude for Man to have about the big questions, is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but Doubt, because Doubt is humble, and that what’s Man needs to be.
Shaykh Nazim says, Doubt comes from Pride, you Doubt only when you are not humble enough to believe/accept.
And as always, we need to distinguish the actions of men who claim to affiliate themselves to a particular religion, from that religion. We are not to judge a religion by the actions of its people. This is only fair and logical.
So Religious + Ridiculous = Religulous
It was documented by a guy of Catholic and Jewish descent, named Bill Maher.
In the documentary, he traveled to various countries to interview religious people, getting their opinion on mostly controversial and sensitive matters. Somehow I feel that Bill tends to turn the argument in such a way that it will portray the ‘religious’ figures as lunatics. To begin with, I feel that he was rather selective in his choice of interviewees.
From what I recall, he interviewed a group of Christians who role-played Christ’s supposed crucifixion, and you can just imagine the kind of lunacy he threw at them. Also made fun of the concept of Salvation by the Blood.
He also interviewed Neturei Karta, perhaps in a way that, to those who do not know NK, will get people thinking that NK is really a lunatic.
He also visited a Jewish research facility, where the people there invent ingenious inventions that are allowed to be used on the Sabbath, a day during which working is not allowed. So he went asking, Fire not Okay? But Air Pressure Ok?
He also interviewed Gay Muslims in USA. I think it is not fair to get their views on religious matters, because they, from what is apparent, are not religious. Habibi Ana was one of their names. And Bill went on saying that Islam does not prohibit homosexuality so much as an emotion, rather it focuses down to a specific act, which is strictly forbidden, so he conjured that in a gay relationship, if we take that act out, we are only left with a (you know what).
Then he interviewed a Dutch Muslim regarding the assassination of Theo Van Gough who made a hate-documentary regarding Islam and muslims. Straits Times recently ran an article that the West’s walkout from Iran’s speech is reaffirming on their part that hate speech is not free speech. In a way, it was like them tasting their own medicine. Either that or they run a risk of being labeled ‘Double-Standard’.
In answering Bill, the muslim politician said that these terrorists misquote the Quran and took passages out of context and even incompletely quote verses. Bill said that that isn’t the case, people who believe in the books do not go around saying “this verse was taken out of context”, rather they say “it is from the Book of God”, thereby adding weight to what they are campaigning for.
We really need to know Asbabun Nuzul and Nasikh Wal Mansukh to tackle this. As muslims we know that certain Quranic verses are applicable only under certain circumstances. This one answers Bill.
I don’t find myself hating Bill because of this, he has a good sense of humour and in all probability, he is just outspoken in asking, and definitely not afraid of throwing questions about others’ faiths. He is an argumentative kind, very rationalistic. I find such a person intriguing, I have a feeling that they are not bound by dogma and demagogy, and that an irrefutable rational proof of God’s existence will surely whack the tauhid into them, because the first stage of belief is in negation, La ilaha, There is no God, what we need is to add in illa Allah, save Allah. Don’t be surprised; God the Muqallibal Qulub, the Turner of Hearts, can turn disbelief into firm belief.
The last 8 mins or so:
The irony of religion is that, because of its power to divert Man to destructive courses, the world actually could come to an end. One thing I hate about Prophecy is (referring to Armageddon) self-fulfilled ones.
If the world can end any day now, does it not drain one’s motivation to improve life on earth while we are here?
Prophet saw said: Live life as if you are going to live for a thousand years, worship as if you are going to die tomorrow.
The plain fact is, religion must die for Mankind to live. The hour is getting very late, to be able to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people, by irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state, not by a compass but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken.
Faith, means making a virtue out of not thinking; it is nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith and enable and elevate it, are intellectual slave holders; keeping Mankind in a bondage, to fantasy and non-sense, that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction. Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don’t have all the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it is wonderful when someone says “I am willing Lord, I will do whatever you want me to do,” except that there are no gods that are actually talking to us. That void is filled in by people, with their own corruptions, and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don’t. How can I be so sure, because I don’t know and you do not possess mental powers that I do not.
The only appropriate attitude for Man to have about the big questions, is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but Doubt, because Doubt is humble, and that what’s Man needs to be.
Shaykh Nazim says, Doubt comes from Pride, you Doubt only when you are not humble enough to believe/accept.
And as always, we need to distinguish the actions of men who claim to affiliate themselves to a particular religion, from that religion. We are not to judge a religion by the actions of its people. This is only fair and logical.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Qadha and Qadar
Qadha and Qadar
As promised….
In this post, I will try to follow closely, the contents of the book in Malay by Ust Taha.
So, Bismillahir rahmanir raheem, SallaAllahu alaika Wa sallam Ya Rasulallah, fii kulli lamhatin wa nafasin 'adada maa wasiahu 'ilmullah.
It begins with the definition of Qadha and Qadar.
According to the distinguished Imam of the Ahlus Sunnah, Imam Asy’ari;
QADHA is the decreed outcome that God has already made since eternity; eternity meaning not bound by time.
QADAR according to Imam Asy’ari, is the fulfilling or the execution of the QADHA, that is, simply put, everything decreed by God will SURELY come to pass, as how He has willed it.
Now, the definition of the terms according to the other Imam of the Sunnis, Imam Maturidi, may God be pleased with him:
QADAR is the decreed outcome that God has already made since eternity.
QADHA is the fulfilling or the execution of the QADAR.
In other words, their precise definitions were alternated between the two terms by the two Imams. In essence, they both capture the same meaning, just that the different names were given.
Imam Maturidi’s definition is more accurate from the perspective of Linguistics, whereas Imam Asyari is more accurate when examined from the order in which the two terms(qadha and qadar) appear in the Hadiths.
From this point on, the author uses Imam Asyari’s definition of the two terms.
Qadha’, ie the Decree of God, does NOT change! From hadith: The pens have been lifted and the ink dried. Logically, the fact that Divine Decree does not change sits perfectly with the sound rational mind. For if God were to change His Decree, then He would be fickle (an impossibility since being fickle is a mark of weakness) since He could not predict/determine with accuracy, what is going to happen in the future. And we know God is not bound by time.
In our aqidah, we affirm that God is All-knowing and Omniscient; and in His being All-Knowing, He knows before hand, EVERYTHING that is going to happen.
Qadar on the other hand, does not contradict Qadha’.Qadar is the culmination and execution of God’s foreknowledge of all things, His Qudrah(Power) and His Iradah(Will), such that they all come into being as He Wills it.
Those points established, then what about the fate of Man?
Can Man possibly change anything fated for him?
If not then where lies Justice?
Common questions asked include: What is the point of Ikhtiar, prayer and Tawakkal if everything is all planned out and immutable?
But we all know that in Islam, we are enjoined to put in effort, make doa and then tawakkal on every issue.
In Surah ar-Ra’ad ayat 12: Verily, God will not change a community unless until they change themselves.
In a Hadith: Charity prevents Calamities(Bala’)
And, Qadha will not change except via Do’a(prayer)
The above verses/ahadith SEEM TO be telling us that QADHA can change. However, the true position regarding the matter is as such:
Regarding the nature of our efforts and our tarrying, God said in Surah Saffat verse 96 (And God created you and your actions) and Laa haula walaa quwwata Illa billah(Al Kahfi Verse 39).
That means, whenever a man does an action, in reality it is God who does it.
(this reminds me of an online conversation when Bro Lukman shared what Shaykh Fakhrudin Owaisi shared a few months back; and in the simplest of summaries: that all bad comes from God and all good comes from the Prophet s.a.w, as one of the understanding of the syahadah)
Then, questions such as these come in: Why then must Man be held accountable for all his actions?
It must be understood that Man had been given a Free Will, Freedom of Choice, limited only by human boundaries. This is clearly manifest in the hadith when the Prophet s.a.w. mentioned that all Mankind goes to Paradise save those who do not want. The expression those who do not want clearly alludes to a concept of free will given by God to Man. IT is BASED on this FREE WILL, the CHOICES WE MAKE, that justifies our accountability in the Hereafter and hence Paradise and Hellfire as deemed appropriate.
A good analogy would be a writer who issues calumnies and false statements against a victim. The one capable of being punished can only be the WRITER, definitely not the pen with which he wrote, even though it was the ink from the pen that made the false accusation manifest.
There are several actions that cannot be controlled by the Free Will, such as the pumping of the involuntary heart muscles, our digestive system, the risng and setting of the Sun etc.
In general, God does not interfere in our decision making and our choices. His being All-Knowing and All-Powerful bears no bearings whatsoever on the choices we make, He inclines not into evil. He is Just and never coerces anyone into wrongdoing. This is evident even in Syariah, where God, being Just as He is, will not hold a person accountable for a sin committed upon coercion.
But Allah is first and foremost Merciful before anything else! God has ‘pre-programmed’ upon Himself, endless and vast Mercy! If Justice is taken to mean one for one, then God is surely Merciful first. Why? For every meritorious act, He rewards ten-fold, or if He wills, He rewards it as He likes! For every wrongdoing, He only counts it as one sin, or if He wills, He pardons it entirely!. In this regard, God is Merciful and biased towards/favours those who do good, and Just to those who sin, or maybe even Forgiving. Why are we complaining then?
Unless during certain circumstances, when there is Divine Wisdom behind something’s happening or not happening, God will not interfere in our Freedom of Choice. For example, a man may have chosen to go to a place of vice on one night, but God may save him by making the circumstances unfavourable for going out, such as by making it rain or by making him fall asleep.
It is absurd to state that God does not know what we will be doing in the future; in that regard, He knows before hand, what we will do and what we choose, and ultimately He knows whether we end up in Paradise or in the Fire. This Knowing is not a form of coercion. Just like how police spies can know before hand where a crime is going to take place and who intends to steal, the police’s knowing bears no bearing on the perpetration of the crime.
And then, if God knows our fates and the choices we are going to make and that it is not going to change, what is the purpose of creating us? Why does He make us play a game that has already finished?
Apparently, the answer to this question can be from several aspects. Firstly, the purpose of creation is the Prophet s.a.w (and this explanation alone can get very lengthy). Next, God is a hidden treasure, He desires to be Known, hence He created Creation which is meant for Sayyidina Muhammad s.a.w who is the sole person to know God the best. Creation is also to manifest some of God’s Attributes, such as Al-Khaliq (the Creator), Al-‘Adl( the Just) and others.
Sadaqah, do’as and other meritorious acts that can avert calamities, prayer asking for increased lifespan in piety etc (apparently change Qadha):
In reality, everything, including a person being in a dire situation, and then making a doa and then because of that doa, he is saved; everything is in the Foreknowledge and the Qadha of Allah. There is no escaping God’s all encompassing Knowledge.
On the injunction to practise Tawakkal:
Tawakkal consists of putting in effort, prayer and then submission to God. Submission to God alone, without putting in effort, cannot be called Tawakkal. The hadith on tying the camel secure prior to leaving it unattended….
Our putting in effort serves as a cause, to which Allah will give the appropriate results/effects. There is also the possibility that the effort we put in may not be correct/sufficient and hence the ensuing ramifications.
The Benefits of having a correct understanding and appreciation of Qadha and Qadar:
1. If we fail to achieve something after having putting in effort and do’a and tawakkal, we know then that it is God’s Will, and we insyaAllah will be more ready to be pleased with it.
2. We will also be more ready to undertake certain issues, for we know that the outcome has already been determined.
3. We will not be arrogant upon achieving something, because we know that that is the decree of God and that there is no power save with God.
4. We will not be dismayed or despondent upon failure, for we know that either we have not put in sufficient/correct effort, or that it is not what God intended for us.
Alhamdulillah, I am sure this thin booklet is able to answer many of the clichéd questions on Fate, Qadha and Qadar etc, not just from muslims but from non-muslims as well. May we all benefit from this!
That said, I still need clarifications on the Divine plan to have Man on earth as His Khalifahs.
Surah Ahzab Verse 72: We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool.
That trust entails being the Khalifah of Allah. And He said in surah Baqarah that He wants to have on Earth, His Khalifahs, who are humans. So, I am guessing, was the Fall of Adam made to be a pretext to have Man on earth, who would otherwise according to Tradition, remain in Paradise? What was Satan’s role exactly? Could this be also the reason why Man does not acquire the Original Sin as in the doctrine of the Christians? Was Adam a.s really to be accounted for in his eating of the Forbidden Fruit which was the Pretext for his fall from Paradise to Earth?
All these seem to go in the direction that travelling back in time (as in the sci-fi literature) is impossible and not allowed, because Qadha and Qadar are FIXED. God said in a Hadith Qudsi, Do not Curse Time, I am TIME...wallahu 'alam...Maybe we are not even permitted to ask such questions...
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