I came across an article about tawhid, which makes use of the story about Moses and Pharoah to illustrate the Exaltedness and the Sublimity of God Almighty. The article refers quite a fair bit to Ibn Arabi’s literature. Just as a word of caution, Ibn Arabi is very deep in his writing, so read the article slowly and try to comprehend. Sometimes Ibn Arabi’s content is not that difficult to understand, just that the phrasing and the language used is tough.
If you do not read his work properly with understanding, you may think that Ibn Arabi is a heretic, indeed people have accused Ibn Arabi of being a kafir; he is far from that, he is Shaykhul Akbar and Muhyiddin. In all likelihood, our lack of knowledge is what makes us PERCEIVE Ibn Arabi as a heretic. Just remember that one sahaba either Abu Huraira or Anas Bin Malik ra (I cant rmbr exactly who) once said something like this; “I’ve inherited a lot (knowledge) from the Prophet, only half of which I relate to the people, the other half I keep to myself because if I were to relate that other half, they would surely cut my head off.”
So Here It Is :
Pharaoh in the Qur'an is the epitome of the arrogant, unjust, and egoistic man of power, who calls those below him to worship at the altar of his conceit. Acknowledging the truth of tawhid in his heart, he deliberately suppresses this truth in order to arrogate to himself the attributes that rightfully belong to Allah. For the thirteenth-century Andalusian Sufi Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, (d. 1240) Pharaoh epitomized the perversion of the vice-regal function of man by attempting to rule in his own name and without the guidance of Allah's Law. By contrast, Moses epitomized submission to tawhid and the divine Law, without the intermediary power of self-reliance (tadbir). For Ibn 'Arabi, the great paradox of the Moses narratives was that Pharaoh was aware of the reality of Moses' Messengership, as well as of the truth of tawhid, but refused to acknowledge either of them openly. In a complex and counter-intuitive chapter on "The Wisdom of Highness in the Mosaic Word" in his book Fusus al-Hikam (lit. "The Ring-Settings of Wisdom Teachings"), Ibn 'Arabi depicts Pharaoh as playing the role of Moses' antagonist like an actor playing a role in a drama. He knows that his words and actions are false, but he persists in his creation of falsehoods, thus fulfilling the divine will by parodying in his conceit the true authority that God reveals through Moses.
For 'Arabi, the figures of Moses and Pharaoh are inseparable from each other, like conjoined twins, each representing a contrasting yet complementary aspect of the human condition. This is why Pharaoh can be understood as obeying the Law of Allah while flouting the tenets of divine justice. It is also why he can be understood as acknowledging tawhid at the very moment that he appears to reject it. For Ibn 'Arabi, the key to "The Wisdom of Highness in the Mosaic Word" can be found in the verses where Pharaoh mockingly asks Moses, "And what is the 'Lord of the Worlds?'" [Qur'an 26:23]. According to Ibn 'Arabi, Pharaoh was fully aware of the answer to his question, and only asked it so that Moses could give the answer that his role required him to give:
[Moses] answered:
"The Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and what is in between-- if you are among those who have attained certainty."
[Pharaoh] said to those who surrounded him: "Do you not hear?"
Then [Moses] said: "Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, from the beginning."
[Pharaoh] said: "Verily this Messenger of yours who has been sent to you is possessed!"
[Moses] said: "Lord of the East and the West, and all that is in between, if only you had sense!"
[Pharaoh] replied: "If you take any god other than me, I will surely make you a prisoner!" [26:24-29].
In Ibn 'Arabi's hands, Pharaoh's words become pregnant with double meaning. When Moses affirms the identity of Allah as Lord of all things, Pharaoh exclaims, "Do you not hear?" appearing to rebuke Moses, but actually affirming the truth of what he says. When Moses next describes Allah as the deity of a specific group of people (in this case Pharaoh's royal ancestors), Allah rebukes Moses' apparent shortsightedness by making Pharaoh say, "Verily this Messenger of yours is possessed!" When Moses returns to divine transcendence by proclaiming that Allah is Lord of the East and the West and all that is in between them, his understanding of the true nature of tawhid is affirmed by means of Pharaoh's parody of the divine commandment: "Thou shalt have no other god before Me."
As a final irony, Pharaoh (in Ibn 'Arabi's interpretation) is both destroyed by Allah and "saved" by being drowned in the crashing waves of the sea as he pursues the fleeing Israelites. As his body is crushed by the waves, his soul is "drowned" in the ocean of divine foreknowledge. If only Pharaoh had known, says Ibn 'Arabi, of the true highness within himself! The highness of the human being as vicegerent of Allah, whose altar is lit by a miraculous fire within -- a theophany of the divine, like the burning bush that spoke the word of Allah to Moses:
Like the fire of Moses, which [Pharaoh] perceived in the extremity of his need,
He, too, was the divinity, but was not aware of it!
The problem with Pharoah is not so much about not knowing what is Tawhid or having a wrong concept of Tawhid. He apparently knew what Tawhid is about and what it entails, just that Pharaoh wanted that greatness Tawhid speaks about all for himself, instead of Allah alone who rightfully owns that Tawhid.
In this case, Pharaoh was not being just, not being fair when he chose to allocate Tawhid to himself. He was not putting things in their rightful place, he was zalim.
Pharaoh chose to struggle against God and compete with God for ownership over Tawhid. Why would you even try to steal something from God? We know that whenever anyone competes against God, God always wins.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Reflections, Parallels and Lessons OUGHT to be drawn
well, let me recap, the 9th of Jan, or according to their format, 090108, went to every man's island and there i took the oath of allegiance to the nation. i was trying to comprehend what that entails, the swearing of allegiance. i guess for many of us it's just speech by the tongue. somehow i felt i am not doing things right, took the oath there but still until today i haven't took bai'ah(allegiance) to Sidi. i used to tell myself, don't take bai'ah yet, you are not ready for the strenuous path, there'll be loads of responsibility, it'll require a whole deal of consistency on my part etc etc. it's true that in tariqah sometimes the daily awrad can be strenuous, for example, there is this ijazah of invoking the Name Allah 10000 times every night or 1000 al ikhlas everyday. how to do? won't be easy right? but this is what tariqah teaches you, to keep constantly in mind, the remembrance of God and be disciplined in it.
In the army, discipline is a big thing, and once you are used to it, routine orders there become like a simple everyday kind of thing. so why cant this be applied to tariqah? those 'heavy' zikir can be done by anyone who wants to. if you don't mind, it don't matter. Mind Over Matter. Cast away hypocrisy NOW. if you can do routine orders, surely you can do zikir. maybe there is hikmah in the army anyway.
next up, the thing that touched me personally was how we had to greet and salute superiors, i have no issues with greeting or saluting them, that is the system, plus they have earned their status and deserves such treatment. but this pinpoints me to a very important concept of greetings and veneration for the Holy Prophet SAW. How much should we greet him? How much should we revere him? Some self proclaimed salafis/ wahabis out there say certain groups of muslims are greeting/praising the Prophet TOO MUCH. what gibberish! how can one possibly OVER praise or OVER greet the Prophet?! if God Himself has Greeted and Praised the Prophet, then no matter how we praise him, it will never be too much, too little being the more likely. For he is the Most Beloved and Most Preferred and Most Perfect of all Creation. if to the commanders we salute, then upon the Prophet we send our SALAWAT!
SallaAllahu alaika wa sallam Ya RasullAllah! fii kulli lamhatin wa nafasin a'dada ma wa sia'huu 'ilmullah!
the other thing that struck me was about patience, my superior was talking about how tiring field camp would be and he also talked about the fact that field camp is the time when you will see our friends' true colours. by then all will be very shagged and hungry and we shall see who cares only for himself. honestly speaking, i really don't know how i would do. and i can't stop to marvel at how the Prophet did it. the Prophet mingled amongst the poor and constantly put the poor ahead of himself, remember hijrah? He was the last to leave after everyone else. He survived on just pieces of dates for days (nice pun huh, dates and days) and he never failed to give them to the hungry first. such was the exalted moral character of the Prophet which i have yet to experience for myself, hopefully all goes well Amin, May Allah forgive us all and guide us and plant in us firmly, the love for the Prophet and for the Almighty Himself.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Hiatus
ok, so this blog will be going on a hiatus for at least 17 days coz im bookin chalet this wed 9 jan n book out only during the second weekend. it'll be a new env no doubt, with new challenges as a muslim. anyways, i do hope u ppl out there can selit me in ur prayers such that everything goes well and smooth for me, insyaAllah. i'm lookin for a win-win situation there, May Allah keep it easy for all of us.
to end it off, Allah says in surah An Nisa' , : "Athiullah wa Athiur Rasul, wa ulil amri minkum"
Obey Allah and obey Prophet, and those on authority. An-Nisa' (4:59)
so, i will have new "ulil amri minkum" and yeah, be a kambing just obey and follow ;)
to end it off, Allah says in surah An Nisa' , : "Athiullah wa Athiur Rasul, wa ulil amri minkum"
Obey Allah and obey Prophet, and those on authority. An-Nisa' (4:59)
so, i will have new "ulil amri minkum" and yeah, be a kambing just obey and follow ;)
Friday, January 4, 2008
The 4 levels of the Attitude towards Sin
This is by far one of the most influential pieces of information for all of us. It’s a practical, always relevant issue in our daily lives and it pertains to our weakness, namely that of succumbing to temptation and sins.
The First Level:
You commit a sin and you feel remorseful, regret and you lament it. You dye your hair, flirt lecherously around, imbibe alcohol, get yourself inked up but you are saying “Oh Allah, this is all my bad, my fault; I’m too weak to brush off the whispers of the Devil and the inclinations of my own Nafs. Therefore forgive me.” In such a case, God usually will have no qualms to forgive you, no matter how much or how big the sin, insyaAllah. He says in a hadith Qudsi, “O child of Adam, as long as you beseech Me and hope for Me, I shall forgive you whatever you have done, without minding in the slightest." But again, ourselves will know, do not take advantage of this purposefully.
That is why the Chief of Istighfar thought to us by the Prophet himself has this part,
“abou ulaka bi ni’matika alaiya, wa abou u bi dzanbii, farghfirlii,” which means
“I acknowledge the blessings showered upon me and I admit my sins, therefore forgive me”
The Second Level:
You commit a sin and you don’t feel bad about it. This one already has signs of the heart dying.
The Third Level:
You commit a sin and you are proud about it, you go tell everyone. This is bad for a few reasons; firstly it is a very impertinent and impudent thing on our part to feel good/proud about committing a sin. Very much like a sore loser, you are on the wrong side and you are happy, proud. The other thing is, you don’t even bother to cover your own shortcomings (‘aib), your own iniquities. Almost like throwing away your self-worth.
The Fourth Level:
You commit a sin, you are proud of it, and you condemn the Law of God as being backward, anti-modernity, and the likes of it. This is true sore loser. It is playing on the fences, with murtad and kuffar on one side. God save us from such things, Amin.
This is a serious issue especially today. In the western world the clash at this level mostly comes from the homosexual community. We do not condemn homosexuals as individuals; there is no right to do so. But we condemn their actions and their inclinations. This is because it is going against God. Science, medicine and even evolution, all prove that heterosexual is the way to go.
(Some people say homosexuality is common among animals and thus is normal; my foot! Since when do we take animals as our guides? Animals are also known to engage in necrophilia, pedophilia, fornication, incest. Are we going to condone all these as well?)
Right now there is no known genetic basis for homosexual tendencies, unlikely to be found in the future too, it is mostly psychological and this can change.
The thing is, homosexual communities tend to condemn the established Law of God as barbaric, backward and only fitting for backwater desert-dwellers. The condemnation of the law is absolutely unnecessary, totally a transgression. You have sinned, but why sin again by being a sore loser in front of God? What are you going to say to Him about rejecting His Favors upon you??? This is God asking a favor of you and you blatantly deny?
There is a reason why the verse “which of the Favors of Thy Lord do you deny?” is repeated many times in a surah called Ar-rahman, The Beneficient. It is supposed to appeal to our nature. Rejection only means the death of our hearts.
Such an issue is always much easier said than done, and I pray that God save me from hypocrisy as I type. Such issues are easy to understand but difficult to execute, hence the difference between knowledge and wisdom, between knowledge of paper and knowledge of taste. Each one of us inherently knows what is the right thing to do, that is our fitrah, which is why akhlaq exams, can just go in and smoke your way through, no need to mug. Knowing alone is easy but execution is hard and this is the test. You pass this and paradise is yours. This is precisely why we do not have paradise in hand, especially me. We pray to God for Support, Amin.
The First Level:
You commit a sin and you feel remorseful, regret and you lament it. You dye your hair, flirt lecherously around, imbibe alcohol, get yourself inked up but you are saying “Oh Allah, this is all my bad, my fault; I’m too weak to brush off the whispers of the Devil and the inclinations of my own Nafs. Therefore forgive me.” In such a case, God usually will have no qualms to forgive you, no matter how much or how big the sin, insyaAllah. He says in a hadith Qudsi, “O child of Adam, as long as you beseech Me and hope for Me, I shall forgive you whatever you have done, without minding in the slightest." But again, ourselves will know, do not take advantage of this purposefully.
That is why the Chief of Istighfar thought to us by the Prophet himself has this part,
“abou ulaka bi ni’matika alaiya, wa abou u bi dzanbii, farghfirlii,” which means
“I acknowledge the blessings showered upon me and I admit my sins, therefore forgive me”
The Second Level:
You commit a sin and you don’t feel bad about it. This one already has signs of the heart dying.
The Third Level:
You commit a sin and you are proud about it, you go tell everyone. This is bad for a few reasons; firstly it is a very impertinent and impudent thing on our part to feel good/proud about committing a sin. Very much like a sore loser, you are on the wrong side and you are happy, proud. The other thing is, you don’t even bother to cover your own shortcomings (‘aib), your own iniquities. Almost like throwing away your self-worth.
The Fourth Level:
You commit a sin, you are proud of it, and you condemn the Law of God as being backward, anti-modernity, and the likes of it. This is true sore loser. It is playing on the fences, with murtad and kuffar on one side. God save us from such things, Amin.
This is a serious issue especially today. In the western world the clash at this level mostly comes from the homosexual community. We do not condemn homosexuals as individuals; there is no right to do so. But we condemn their actions and their inclinations. This is because it is going against God. Science, medicine and even evolution, all prove that heterosexual is the way to go.
(Some people say homosexuality is common among animals and thus is normal; my foot! Since when do we take animals as our guides? Animals are also known to engage in necrophilia, pedophilia, fornication, incest. Are we going to condone all these as well?)
Right now there is no known genetic basis for homosexual tendencies, unlikely to be found in the future too, it is mostly psychological and this can change.
The thing is, homosexual communities tend to condemn the established Law of God as barbaric, backward and only fitting for backwater desert-dwellers. The condemnation of the law is absolutely unnecessary, totally a transgression. You have sinned, but why sin again by being a sore loser in front of God? What are you going to say to Him about rejecting His Favors upon you??? This is God asking a favor of you and you blatantly deny?
There is a reason why the verse “which of the Favors of Thy Lord do you deny?” is repeated many times in a surah called Ar-rahman, The Beneficient. It is supposed to appeal to our nature. Rejection only means the death of our hearts.
Such an issue is always much easier said than done, and I pray that God save me from hypocrisy as I type. Such issues are easy to understand but difficult to execute, hence the difference between knowledge and wisdom, between knowledge of paper and knowledge of taste. Each one of us inherently knows what is the right thing to do, that is our fitrah, which is why akhlaq exams, can just go in and smoke your way through, no need to mug. Knowing alone is easy but execution is hard and this is the test. You pass this and paradise is yours. This is precisely why we do not have paradise in hand, especially me. We pray to God for Support, Amin.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Turn to You? Why?
Sometimes I wonder why should I turn to Him? Why does He even care? I’m nothing, I’m worthless. And why does He even care to govern my actions? For no sin, regardless how humongous, can harm Him and no merits, regardless how significant, can benefit Him.
Oh, so now I get it, it’s a love story. Disobedience and disappointment on my part is hurtful to You, O God. You loved me first, You Initiated this love and in return, and out of good manners, I’m supposed to reciprocate that love.
I’m so ashamed in front of You, Your obedience to me is greater than my obedience to You.
But above anything else, please O Allah, I want to love You for all You’ve done. Allow me my indulgence. I want You, don’t tell me anything about paradise, I want You.
Oh, so now I get it, it’s a love story. Disobedience and disappointment on my part is hurtful to You, O God. You loved me first, You Initiated this love and in return, and out of good manners, I’m supposed to reciprocate that love.
I’m so ashamed in front of You, Your obedience to me is greater than my obedience to You.
But above anything else, please O Allah, I want to love You for all You’ve done. Allow me my indulgence. I want You, don’t tell me anything about paradise, I want You.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Praised Station of the Prophet. (Maqaman Mahmudaa)
God commands us to pray, but He Himself never prays!
He makes it obligatory for us to fast, but He never fasts!
He says we must pay the zakat, but He Himself never pays!
But when He enjoins believers to send peace and blessings upon the Prophet, He Himself sends His Peace and Blessings upon the Beloved Prophet s.a.w. and He Himself Praises the Prophet with “wa innaka laa’la khuluqin 'azhim”
And verily, thou (O Muhammad) art of an Exalted Character. - Al-Qalam [68:4]
Such is the Station (Maqam) of the Prophet in the sight of God.
And May God increase our Love for His Beloved s.a.w.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Trembling, yet peaceful and calm
Of ‘La Ilaha illa Allah’ and ‘Allah, Allah’
In any legitimate Sufi Order (Tariqah) you go to, these two zikir are always pinnacle to that Tariqah. This is because the most preferred of zikir is ‘la ilaha illa Allah’.
Afdhaludz dzikri, fa’lam annahuu, Laa Ilaha illaAllah
When you say “Laa ilaha illaAllah” (there is no God except Allah”), you are invoking an absolute truth that encompasses everything, seriously everything. Even in the material sciences when you question deeper, laa ilaha illaAllah will always be an answer. That is why when the Prophet talked about the Balance (mizan), laa ilaha illaAllah is always heavier than anything else.
Then the zikir shortens to “illaAllah” or just simply “Allah, Allah”, to satiate the desire of the murids or salik (seeker). By then, the seeker would desire more of the sweetness of the ecstasy, that spiritual tasting (zouk), such that they are saying, ‘Get to the point! I want Allah!’
I could still vividly recall one of the most powerful and most moving sessions ever. The lights were dimmed, we were all standing and imploring Allah Almighty for His Divine Grace and Mercy by repeating His Name, ‘Allah,Allah’, in a manner so dependant on Him!
It was then that I opened my eyes and I could see the silhouette of Sidi and the other ikhwans behind him, standing with hands raised, imploring Allah Almighty so fervently. Somehow it occurred to me that this scene was very reminiscent, very reflective of the situation in the hereafter when we all stand before Him, awaiting judgment, and then Sidi will represent us, asking Allah for His Mercy and also the Syafaah of the Beloved Prophet s.a.w.
How is it possible not to have khusyuk when you are doing zikir in a congregation and in the presence of your Shaykh or Mursyid? Allah Himself says in the Holy Quran that the Hearts of Believers tremble upon the mentioning of Allah (Al-Anfal, 8:2). In another verse He says “Verily, with the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace” (Al-Ra’d, 13:28).
Apparently, the two verses seem contradictory. Actually, these two feelings come together, making you feel something unique, something pleasant, something sweet, I just can’t describe it in words. Trembling, yet peaceful and calm. And as the zikir progresses, you just can’t take it any longer and you shout it out off your chest, “Allah!” Some find it too overwhelming and just faint. Moses (pbuh) himself fainted when the Light of God was manifested to him.
Standing, you look up into the sky and this is the moment when you truly appreciate and understand the Greatness of God. And as though following a nicely planned sequence of events, you just begin to cry, you just can’t control it. You are crying, weeping and sobbing, barely able to muster enough strength to even mention the Name ‘Allah’, with all these while sincere, powerful and emotional implorations of ‘Allah! Allah!’ still going strong all around you, it’s almost like hearing the zikir of nature itself, the zikir of the plants, the air, the water around you. You are literally engulfed by zikrullah, and at this instant you feel like you are ‘naked’, with no hijab (veil) between you and Him, nothing is hiding you from Him, nothing is blocking you from Him. He knows you inside out and outside in, you feel utterly helpless and virtually powerless in His Presence. You are like a piece of clay dough in the Hands of the Maker. This is when; again, you appreciate in totality, the meaning of ‘Thy Will be Done, O Lord!’ Only His Will counts, nothing else matters. Truly at this very instant you would have kicked everything else out of your heart and your mind, only God remains.
Such is the awareness of God that we ought to maintain, but Man is 99% of his time heedless. Therefore we should be thankful to our qualified guides, or murabbi, or mursyid, or shaykh, as not anyone can lead such a zikir. If scholars of this world have professors to get them to their Ph.Ds, what then, do you think is the case with subtle issues pertaining to the development of the human heart and the ruh? Surely there must be a guide! He who has no guide has Satan as his guide. May Allah guide us to see one of his saints, just like how Allah guided Sayyidina Musa to see Sayyidina Khidr.
In any legitimate Sufi Order (Tariqah) you go to, these two zikir are always pinnacle to that Tariqah. This is because the most preferred of zikir is ‘la ilaha illa Allah’.
Afdhaludz dzikri, fa’lam annahuu, Laa Ilaha illaAllah
When you say “Laa ilaha illaAllah” (there is no God except Allah”), you are invoking an absolute truth that encompasses everything, seriously everything. Even in the material sciences when you question deeper, laa ilaha illaAllah will always be an answer. That is why when the Prophet talked about the Balance (mizan), laa ilaha illaAllah is always heavier than anything else.
Then the zikir shortens to “illaAllah” or just simply “Allah, Allah”, to satiate the desire of the murids or salik (seeker). By then, the seeker would desire more of the sweetness of the ecstasy, that spiritual tasting (zouk), such that they are saying, ‘Get to the point! I want Allah!’
I could still vividly recall one of the most powerful and most moving sessions ever. The lights were dimmed, we were all standing and imploring Allah Almighty for His Divine Grace and Mercy by repeating His Name, ‘Allah,Allah’, in a manner so dependant on Him!
It was then that I opened my eyes and I could see the silhouette of Sidi and the other ikhwans behind him, standing with hands raised, imploring Allah Almighty so fervently. Somehow it occurred to me that this scene was very reminiscent, very reflective of the situation in the hereafter when we all stand before Him, awaiting judgment, and then Sidi will represent us, asking Allah for His Mercy and also the Syafaah of the Beloved Prophet s.a.w.
How is it possible not to have khusyuk when you are doing zikir in a congregation and in the presence of your Shaykh or Mursyid? Allah Himself says in the Holy Quran that the Hearts of Believers tremble upon the mentioning of Allah (Al-Anfal, 8:2). In another verse He says “Verily, with the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace” (Al-Ra’d, 13:28).
Apparently, the two verses seem contradictory. Actually, these two feelings come together, making you feel something unique, something pleasant, something sweet, I just can’t describe it in words. Trembling, yet peaceful and calm. And as the zikir progresses, you just can’t take it any longer and you shout it out off your chest, “Allah!” Some find it too overwhelming and just faint. Moses (pbuh) himself fainted when the Light of God was manifested to him.
Standing, you look up into the sky and this is the moment when you truly appreciate and understand the Greatness of God. And as though following a nicely planned sequence of events, you just begin to cry, you just can’t control it. You are crying, weeping and sobbing, barely able to muster enough strength to even mention the Name ‘Allah’, with all these while sincere, powerful and emotional implorations of ‘Allah! Allah!’ still going strong all around you, it’s almost like hearing the zikir of nature itself, the zikir of the plants, the air, the water around you. You are literally engulfed by zikrullah, and at this instant you feel like you are ‘naked’, with no hijab (veil) between you and Him, nothing is hiding you from Him, nothing is blocking you from Him. He knows you inside out and outside in, you feel utterly helpless and virtually powerless in His Presence. You are like a piece of clay dough in the Hands of the Maker. This is when; again, you appreciate in totality, the meaning of ‘Thy Will be Done, O Lord!’ Only His Will counts, nothing else matters. Truly at this very instant you would have kicked everything else out of your heart and your mind, only God remains.
Such is the awareness of God that we ought to maintain, but Man is 99% of his time heedless. Therefore we should be thankful to our qualified guides, or murabbi, or mursyid, or shaykh, as not anyone can lead such a zikir. If scholars of this world have professors to get them to their Ph.Ds, what then, do you think is the case with subtle issues pertaining to the development of the human heart and the ruh? Surely there must be a guide! He who has no guide has Satan as his guide. May Allah guide us to see one of his saints, just like how Allah guided Sayyidina Musa to see Sayyidina Khidr.
Humour, and its Beauty ;)
The Prophet s.a.w has a very good sense of humour, and this is what we should emulate. Humour brings light-heartedness, a great sense of camaraderie and it spices up relationships, be they with family, friends or even BGR. It is very heartening to read about the Prophet, how humourous he was. Reports say he is often spotted with a smile across his beautiful visage and that he would always spice up a conversation with an appreciable laughter. How sweet!
There was once when I was never more shocked to see an expression of humour, not to mention that it was from the venerable Shaykh Hisyam Kabbani himself. Shaykh Hisyam made the classic “rawr” kind of biting action when the emcee was trying to fix the microphone on his collar. Terperanjat seh aku! Haha, but it was funny indeed to see such a playful act from the Shaykh. What a humour!
Then there was once when an ikhwan was late for a majlis with Sidi. Out of respect, he called Sidi to explain. Here’s how the conversation went, to the best of me memory hehe.
“Maaf Tuan, saya tak dapat hadir awal. Saya kena jaga masjid.”
“Masjid tu tak lari,” replied Sidi cheekily
“Betul Tuan! Saya kena jaga masjid ni! Ni dah takde orang nih!” his voice panicky already.
“Ye betol, masjid tu tetap tak lari,”
By then all the other pakciks around Sidi started to kekek already, all started to laugh. Sidi just smiled away…
Oh ya, I can never forget the incident when we were playing at the stairway. We were playing at the stairway like childish kids and Sidi was coming down the stairway! We were like obviously blocking his way ah. Sidi then stood behind us, smiled a little and extended his right hand as though saying “Please, by all means,”
Pardon me, but at that moment the three of us were already panicked and we just cabut, tak salam Sidi pun.
This one ustaz also commented something about people who like to accuse shirik on other muslims. He said,
“Jangan, jangan mcm gitu, sepatotnyer kiter ni ajak seberape ramai orang2 lain yg kite boleh, masok syurge same2. Syurge tu luas, lagi besar drpd dunia ni, so kalau yg masok syurge tu korang ngan komplok korang ajer, nanti boring pulak korang kat dlm syurge!”
I was down there kekek already cannot tahan! The sarcasm he put forth so plainly and so sardine, really hit the bulls eye man!
I suppose one of the more classic examples of the Prophet’s humour was when he told an old lady that no old person will be in paradise. The old woman cried.
Chill ah mike, maintain ;) Everyone in paradise will be made young again. Sweet seventeen heh? 18 lah ah, im 18 now...
There was once when I was never more shocked to see an expression of humour, not to mention that it was from the venerable Shaykh Hisyam Kabbani himself. Shaykh Hisyam made the classic “rawr” kind of biting action when the emcee was trying to fix the microphone on his collar. Terperanjat seh aku! Haha, but it was funny indeed to see such a playful act from the Shaykh. What a humour!
Then there was once when an ikhwan was late for a majlis with Sidi. Out of respect, he called Sidi to explain. Here’s how the conversation went, to the best of me memory hehe.
“Maaf Tuan, saya tak dapat hadir awal. Saya kena jaga masjid.”
“Masjid tu tak lari,” replied Sidi cheekily
“Betul Tuan! Saya kena jaga masjid ni! Ni dah takde orang nih!” his voice panicky already.
“Ye betol, masjid tu tetap tak lari,”
By then all the other pakciks around Sidi started to kekek already, all started to laugh. Sidi just smiled away…
Oh ya, I can never forget the incident when we were playing at the stairway. We were playing at the stairway like childish kids and Sidi was coming down the stairway! We were like obviously blocking his way ah. Sidi then stood behind us, smiled a little and extended his right hand as though saying “Please, by all means,”
Pardon me, but at that moment the three of us were already panicked and we just cabut, tak salam Sidi pun.
This one ustaz also commented something about people who like to accuse shirik on other muslims. He said,
“Jangan, jangan mcm gitu, sepatotnyer kiter ni ajak seberape ramai orang2 lain yg kite boleh, masok syurge same2. Syurge tu luas, lagi besar drpd dunia ni, so kalau yg masok syurge tu korang ngan komplok korang ajer, nanti boring pulak korang kat dlm syurge!”
I was down there kekek already cannot tahan! The sarcasm he put forth so plainly and so sardine, really hit the bulls eye man!
I suppose one of the more classic examples of the Prophet’s humour was when he told an old lady that no old person will be in paradise. The old woman cried.
Chill ah mike, maintain ;) Everyone in paradise will be made young again. Sweet seventeen heh? 18 lah ah, im 18 now...
Tattoo
I was listening to jordin spark’s tattoo, nice song…
It quickly reminds me of one incident I encountered, a few months ago while performing Jumaah at Siglap. I was lining up for wudu’ and still wearing my school U. There was this guy in front of me, he was taking his ablution (wudu’) and my first sight of him was that of his tattooed forearm, wet with wudu’, literally shimmering and glittering under the sun. My heart shouted Allah! I couldn’t raise my head up to look at him in the eye.
Those black spots, those inked are etched on his skin, whereas for me, my own heart is covered and blemished and tarnished with even darker black spots, all over…He is forgiven, insyaAllah, clean like a white cloth.
“Man deems himself good even before God, who is Perfection, and when he endeavours to recognize his own wretchedness, he again deems himself good on account of this effort.”
O Allah! It is so subtle! Help me and help us...
It quickly reminds me of one incident I encountered, a few months ago while performing Jumaah at Siglap. I was lining up for wudu’ and still wearing my school U. There was this guy in front of me, he was taking his ablution (wudu’) and my first sight of him was that of his tattooed forearm, wet with wudu’, literally shimmering and glittering under the sun. My heart shouted Allah! I couldn’t raise my head up to look at him in the eye.
Those black spots, those inked are etched on his skin, whereas for me, my own heart is covered and blemished and tarnished with even darker black spots, all over…He is forgiven, insyaAllah, clean like a white cloth.
“Man deems himself good even before God, who is Perfection, and when he endeavours to recognize his own wretchedness, he again deems himself good on account of this effort.”
O Allah! It is so subtle! Help me and help us...
The (addictive) vices of the Material World. (part one)
Every ordinary individual muslim will surely at one point of his time will feel the desire, or the temptation to try something forbidden. It's kind of obvious that Satan and our own Nafs(ego & lowly desires) will want us to indulge in such vices. The test lies in refusing these temptations. Don’t worry, even the best among us are tempted and tested with seemingly unbearable tests. ;)
So yeah, here I intend to talk about those few common vices that God has explicitly forbade us from indulging. The idea here is to ensure that we don’t feel left out or feel that God is depriving us from the forbidden (haram) enjoyment of this world that the non-believers get to enjoy.
So firstly, Gambling, a very common vice and superbly exciting especially to those who are affluent.
We know that gambling is prohibited for us, it gets a “No Muslims” rating, worse than R21 hehe. Ok fine, but you should see and should understand that Islam is complete, it meets the needs of the Fitrah (our inherent nature) adequately, after all, who makes the best manual books if not the Manufacturer Himself? He knows us best, inside out, upside down; nothing is a secret to Him whatsoever.
Actually, to think about it, and also to speak in a manner so called “politically INCORRECT”, “gambling” is within Islam! Only difference is that is it called Sadaqah (charity). The idea is that when u give to charity SINCERELY, and sincerity must be emphasized, God rewards you both materially and spiritually, plus He will reward you without due measure in the Hereafter InsyaAllah. So you stand to gain when you give to charity. In fact there have been really a lot of experiences, some personal, of how quickly one gets rewarded with even more money than what he donates. So, isn’t that ‘gambling’ to you? “Gambling” centered upon the trust in Him.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Just hold it there man! A Really BIG WORD OF CAUTION, the sincerity part really must be emphasized. And here lies the irony, or paradox, whatever you call it lah uh, when you have true sincerity when donating, such an issue about this so called ‘gambling’ and its rewards will never even surface! That’s the irony…and the test as well. A sincere person will just donate and hope for absolutely nothing more than the Good Pleasure (ridha) of God Himself. The sincere person would have eliminated ostentation (riya’) from his heart. If you are donating and are just going to brag and show off how much you have donated, than that is totally pointless. You rather keep that money and splurge it on yourself, as that would be halal for you. God, Exalted, Sublime and Transcendent is He, is beyond requiring absolutely anything from us. Period. May Allah Forgive us and Bless us.
So yeah, here I intend to talk about those few common vices that God has explicitly forbade us from indulging. The idea here is to ensure that we don’t feel left out or feel that God is depriving us from the forbidden (haram) enjoyment of this world that the non-believers get to enjoy.
So firstly, Gambling, a very common vice and superbly exciting especially to those who are affluent.
We know that gambling is prohibited for us, it gets a “No Muslims” rating, worse than R21 hehe. Ok fine, but you should see and should understand that Islam is complete, it meets the needs of the Fitrah (our inherent nature) adequately, after all, who makes the best manual books if not the Manufacturer Himself? He knows us best, inside out, upside down; nothing is a secret to Him whatsoever.
Actually, to think about it, and also to speak in a manner so called “politically INCORRECT”, “gambling” is within Islam! Only difference is that is it called Sadaqah (charity). The idea is that when u give to charity SINCERELY, and sincerity must be emphasized, God rewards you both materially and spiritually, plus He will reward you without due measure in the Hereafter InsyaAllah. So you stand to gain when you give to charity. In fact there have been really a lot of experiences, some personal, of how quickly one gets rewarded with even more money than what he donates. So, isn’t that ‘gambling’ to you? “Gambling” centered upon the trust in Him.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Just hold it there man! A Really BIG WORD OF CAUTION, the sincerity part really must be emphasized. And here lies the irony, or paradox, whatever you call it lah uh, when you have true sincerity when donating, such an issue about this so called ‘gambling’ and its rewards will never even surface! That’s the irony…and the test as well. A sincere person will just donate and hope for absolutely nothing more than the Good Pleasure (ridha) of God Himself. The sincere person would have eliminated ostentation (riya’) from his heart. If you are donating and are just going to brag and show off how much you have donated, than that is totally pointless. You rather keep that money and splurge it on yourself, as that would be halal for you. God, Exalted, Sublime and Transcendent is He, is beyond requiring absolutely anything from us. Period. May Allah Forgive us and Bless us.
Who designed the Designer? Or Who created the Creator?
The above is one of the more popular questions often raised by skeptics to debunk the idea of an Almighty Creator who created the entire universe. Truth be told, such skepticism is not new at all. Questions similar to the ones above have been raised by people throughout history. It seems quite obvious and understandable why such questions are common; you claim that a Divine entity created the entire universe, then a similar question conveniently follows, who created that Creator? Great thinkers of old have also dealt with that question adequately. For instant, Aristotle once mentioned that there has to be a First Initial Cause that is itself Uncaused. Muslims call that Uncaused Initial Cause, God or Allah. Aristotle argued that some point in the past there has to be something that first kicks off everything else and there cannot possibly be no Uncaused Cause; lest everything will be trapped in an infinite, never-ending chain of creators/designers. The questions can climb up, incessantly, the hierarchical ladder of questions of who designed the Designer, followed by who designed the one who designed the Designer and so forth.
Imam Ghazali came up with a similar philosophical argument. Count down all the natural numbers from a million to 1, what is before 1? Nothing.
Then comes the interesting part, where modern science handles the task of answering this seemingly disturbing question…
The theory of relativity founded by Einstein showed that time itself as an entity is relative. Meaning time only exists when you have something else to refer to, hence the relativity. So the religious claim that God is the Creator of everything entails the idea that at one point of time in the distant past, there existed a moment where only God and God alone existed. At that moment, there is absolutely nothing else to refer to in order to have the concept of time existing. Hence at that moment time does not exist and it automatically follows that the concept of before and after fails at that moment. Hence, nothing comes before God the One, the Unique.
Subhanallah, it’s just fascinating beyond description to witness how God enlightens us about the Truth via the sciences. I remember a former atheist Professor of Physics who converted to Islam when he found out that physics could potentially prove the basic qualities of God, namely that He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. He was Professor Muhammad Mahdy and I was fortunate enough to attend his highly scientific lecture at Masjid Istiqamah some years back. If I am not mistaken, he holds a PhD from one of the Ivy League. It was truly breathtaking to understand for yourself how the most fundamental principles of Tauhid is being proven by Modern Science. ;)
Just as a cautionary measure, the concept of God being One or Unique requires a more thorough appreciation than just a simplistic understanding of God being one and not many. Don’t be alarmed if you could still measure time when you are absolutely alone in the universe. This is because you are not one! You are many! You are made up of more than a trillion cells of which each is further made up of parts such as the cell membrane, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, ribosomes and what not. At the bottommost of the scale will be atoms and its constituents.
The Oneness of God is about Absolute Oneness, which automatically entails Indivisibility. That is why Surah Al-Ikhlas begins with the proclamation that God is One, Unique. It further reiterates the concept of indivisibility of God when it denies the Christian Trinitarian doctrine that God has a Son. The Muslim Tauhid rejects the Trinity precisely because God is One and Indivisible. It does not accept “three that bear witness in heaven and these three are one.”
May Allah Forgive us and Bless Us with wisdom and beautiful insights into His Beauty and Majesty, thereby strengthening our faith in Him and His chosen Way of Life, Al-Islam, Amin! Peace and Salutations of God be upon His Most Beloved, Sayyidina Muhammad saw.
Imam Ghazali came up with a similar philosophical argument. Count down all the natural numbers from a million to 1, what is before 1? Nothing.
Then comes the interesting part, where modern science handles the task of answering this seemingly disturbing question…
The theory of relativity founded by Einstein showed that time itself as an entity is relative. Meaning time only exists when you have something else to refer to, hence the relativity. So the religious claim that God is the Creator of everything entails the idea that at one point of time in the distant past, there existed a moment where only God and God alone existed. At that moment, there is absolutely nothing else to refer to in order to have the concept of time existing. Hence at that moment time does not exist and it automatically follows that the concept of before and after fails at that moment. Hence, nothing comes before God the One, the Unique.
Subhanallah, it’s just fascinating beyond description to witness how God enlightens us about the Truth via the sciences. I remember a former atheist Professor of Physics who converted to Islam when he found out that physics could potentially prove the basic qualities of God, namely that He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. He was Professor Muhammad Mahdy and I was fortunate enough to attend his highly scientific lecture at Masjid Istiqamah some years back. If I am not mistaken, he holds a PhD from one of the Ivy League. It was truly breathtaking to understand for yourself how the most fundamental principles of Tauhid is being proven by Modern Science. ;)
Just as a cautionary measure, the concept of God being One or Unique requires a more thorough appreciation than just a simplistic understanding of God being one and not many. Don’t be alarmed if you could still measure time when you are absolutely alone in the universe. This is because you are not one! You are many! You are made up of more than a trillion cells of which each is further made up of parts such as the cell membrane, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, ribosomes and what not. At the bottommost of the scale will be atoms and its constituents.
The Oneness of God is about Absolute Oneness, which automatically entails Indivisibility. That is why Surah Al-Ikhlas begins with the proclamation that God is One, Unique. It further reiterates the concept of indivisibility of God when it denies the Christian Trinitarian doctrine that God has a Son. The Muslim Tauhid rejects the Trinity precisely because God is One and Indivisible. It does not accept “three that bear witness in heaven and these three are one.”
May Allah Forgive us and Bless Us with wisdom and beautiful insights into His Beauty and Majesty, thereby strengthening our faith in Him and His chosen Way of Life, Al-Islam, Amin! Peace and Salutations of God be upon His Most Beloved, Sayyidina Muhammad saw.
Of Pride
Man deems himself good even before God, who is Perfection, and when he endeavours to recognise his own wretchedness, he again deems himself good on account of this effort.
Allah!May God save us all from diseases of the heart!
... Prayer Fashions Man, Frithjoh Schuon
Allah!May God save us all from diseases of the heart!
... Prayer Fashions Man, Frithjoh Schuon
Christopher Hitchens’ God is NOT Great, How religion Poisons everything.
This is my first sincere personal book review, well not that im putting claim to true sincerity though. My point is that in the past (secondary school life), book reviews were forced upon us during the nice, super comfortable holidays and guess what? The teachers don’t even bother to collect them when school reopens. Those were the days yeah…
Anyway, thanks to the ever-enlightening, never-boring and always looked-up-to GP lessons in JC I get to appreciate the true value of a solid argument. In it, in one solid argument, you got to have your thesis, and then a possible anti-thesis plus the rebuttal of that anti-thesis. Those 3 components constitute a whole complete solid argument. I thought that was perfectly wonderful, and even islam encourages us to adopt such an approach when debating or having intellectual arguments. Leave no stones unturned, address every issue pertaining to the subject of discussion adequately.
So, back to the book I read. The title was indeed provocative, blasphemous and perhaps close to apostasy for us muslims. When I first saw the book, I thought if islam is al haqq (the truth) then the arguments raised in the book surely must be flawed or baseless or weak. Because Allah says “jaa al haqq, wa zahaqal bathil, Innal baathila KAANA zahuqaa”
Truth has prevailed and falsehood vanquished, VERILY falsehood is, by its very nature, bound to be vanquished.
True enough, the arguments raised by Mr. Hitchens were not at all convincing to me or anywhere near being able to shake the foundations of iman. Most of his arguments are based on the question of Divine Will, which, I have to point out, is not a matter of science or reason. For example, why would a Divine Creator spend so much creating this majestic Universe only to destroy it on Armageddon? My reply is simple, ask this secularist, naturalist, materialist, atheist the same question about gravity. Gravity is responsible for the formation of the most beautiful stars and also the supernova, the death of that same beautiful star. The author also asked why lower animals such as bats have much more powerful senses, eg. hearing etc.
Wa maa tasyaauna illa ai yasyaa Allah, rabbul ‘alamin.
And you do not Will save that Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Wills. ;)
Another classic he likes to point our attention to are the actions of adherents of the faiths. An oft-recurring theme in his book, the blameful actions of extremists are mentioned a whole lot, to the finest details. Again the reply is simple, why judge a religion based on the actions of individuals who are not from the mainstream, classical and traditional Islam? These extremists/ terrorist/jihadist shy away when true, mainstream ulama speak out against them. I shall not mention the clichéd details of such contention. By the way, there are a lot of books by authentic Shaykhs which refute such extremist ideologies.
Plus our author so tactfully left out the Golden age of Islam where the Muslim world was at the forefront of civilization, both intellectually and morally. We were the torchbearers of the world when it comes to the sciences, maths, arts and what have you.
Our author also claimed that ethics or morality does not have to be guided by religion, in other words, they can come from “atheistic humanity”. I was literally shocked when I read this. When we mention an atheistic society, the mental picture that we build in our minds is one of brutality, barbarism, violence and the likes of it. We think about the evils of Nazism, fascism etc, all atheistic ideologies hostile to true religion. You can say that this is a bias but history proves the fact and reality. I was shocked and really could not fathom how atheism can produce such refined qualities of morals. The great humanity that Mother Theresa had exhibited surely must come from a devout person who has the awareness of God throughout her life.
And then not to mention the shameful lack of knowledge of a religion when condemning it. I laughed when he spelt “Allahuh Akhbar”. Makhraj all gone, pronunciation don’t have to say. This tremendously diminishes his authority when speaking about Islam. Why would you respect or acknowledge the credibility and qualifications of a guy whose credentials on Islam is very questionable? In all likelihood he is more of a bigot biased against Islam with only one agenda in mind, to bring down Islam, hence the title ‘God is NOT great’, which is OBVIOUSLY a play on Islam’s slogan God is Great. Which other religion uses this slogan more commonly?
And his lack of knowledge about ahadith is truly laughable. Are we muslims not familiar with the Prophet’s injunction that his ummah strive and put on the best effort to look for a cure when ill? The Prophet said (au
kamaqaala rasul) something like “for every disease there is a cure save death.” The message could not be anymore clearer. In fact, this is what inspired the FIRST MODERN PHYSICIAN/SURGEON, a UNIVERSAL GENIUS, to pursue greatness in medicine, ie. Avicenna or Ibn Sina. So it was utterly surprising when Mr Hitchens asserted that muslims were against public healthcare/ vaccination. The only evidence he could gather to back such a statement was, unsurprisingly nothing from the Quran or Hadith, but rather something that the Taliban (or was it the Pakistanis, I can’t really remember) did during the Polio outbreak. Just because the Taliban did not allow vaccination against Polio, Mr Hitchens claim that this is evidence that ISLAM is against public healthcare and thus POISONS everything. What a laughable effort.
So don’t worry about such books, they are not going to shake our iman provided we have the basic knowledge and our iman is strong, from spiritual practices, to begin with. Insyallah I will read Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and most probably have a good laugh hehe. May Allah bless us and forgive us and bring us to the company of the Prophet saw! Amin! Madad Ya Rasulallah, Madad!
Lastly, we pray that Allah guide such atheists to the Ultimate Truth (Haqiqah); verily they are our brothers who need guidance. True religion and true science will always point to the same Ultimate Truth. Louis Pasteur said “On the gates of science it is written “Ye Must Have Faith.’” Atheists are half way to becoming Muslims. They are saying ever so fervently, “THERE IS NO GOD”…what we need to do is add in
Illa Allah (except Allah)…
This is my first sincere personal book review, well not that im putting claim to true sincerity though. My point is that in the past (secondary school life), book reviews were forced upon us during the nice, super comfortable holidays and guess what? The teachers don’t even bother to collect them when school reopens. Those were the days yeah…
Anyway, thanks to the ever-enlightening, never-boring and always looked-up-to GP lessons in JC I get to appreciate the true value of a solid argument. In it, in one solid argument, you got to have your thesis, and then a possible anti-thesis plus the rebuttal of that anti-thesis. Those 3 components constitute a whole complete solid argument. I thought that was perfectly wonderful, and even islam encourages us to adopt such an approach when debating or having intellectual arguments. Leave no stones unturned, address every issue pertaining to the subject of discussion adequately.
So, back to the book I read. The title was indeed provocative, blasphemous and perhaps close to apostasy for us muslims. When I first saw the book, I thought if islam is al haqq (the truth) then the arguments raised in the book surely must be flawed or baseless or weak. Because Allah says “jaa al haqq, wa zahaqal bathil, Innal baathila KAANA zahuqaa”
Truth has prevailed and falsehood vanquished, VERILY falsehood is, by its very nature, bound to be vanquished.
True enough, the arguments raised by Mr. Hitchens were not at all convincing to me or anywhere near being able to shake the foundations of iman. Most of his arguments are based on the question of Divine Will, which, I have to point out, is not a matter of science or reason. For example, why would a Divine Creator spend so much creating this majestic Universe only to destroy it on Armageddon? My reply is simple, ask this secularist, naturalist, materialist, atheist the same question about gravity. Gravity is responsible for the formation of the most beautiful stars and also the supernova, the death of that same beautiful star. The author also asked why lower animals such as bats have much more powerful senses, eg. hearing etc.
Wa maa tasyaauna illa ai yasyaa Allah, rabbul ‘alamin.
And you do not Will save that Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Wills. ;)
Another classic he likes to point our attention to are the actions of adherents of the faiths. An oft-recurring theme in his book, the blameful actions of extremists are mentioned a whole lot, to the finest details. Again the reply is simple, why judge a religion based on the actions of individuals who are not from the mainstream, classical and traditional Islam? These extremists/ terrorist/jihadist shy away when true, mainstream ulama speak out against them. I shall not mention the clichéd details of such contention. By the way, there are a lot of books by authentic Shaykhs which refute such extremist ideologies.
Plus our author so tactfully left out the Golden age of Islam where the Muslim world was at the forefront of civilization, both intellectually and morally. We were the torchbearers of the world when it comes to the sciences, maths, arts and what have you.
Our author also claimed that ethics or morality does not have to be guided by religion, in other words, they can come from “atheistic humanity”. I was literally shocked when I read this. When we mention an atheistic society, the mental picture that we build in our minds is one of brutality, barbarism, violence and the likes of it. We think about the evils of Nazism, fascism etc, all atheistic ideologies hostile to true religion. You can say that this is a bias but history proves the fact and reality. I was shocked and really could not fathom how atheism can produce such refined qualities of morals. The great humanity that Mother Theresa had exhibited surely must come from a devout person who has the awareness of God throughout her life.
And then not to mention the shameful lack of knowledge of a religion when condemning it. I laughed when he spelt “Allahuh Akhbar”. Makhraj all gone, pronunciation don’t have to say. This tremendously diminishes his authority when speaking about Islam. Why would you respect or acknowledge the credibility and qualifications of a guy whose credentials on Islam is very questionable? In all likelihood he is more of a bigot biased against Islam with only one agenda in mind, to bring down Islam, hence the title ‘God is NOT great’, which is OBVIOUSLY a play on Islam’s slogan God is Great. Which other religion uses this slogan more commonly?
And his lack of knowledge about ahadith is truly laughable. Are we muslims not familiar with the Prophet’s injunction that his ummah strive and put on the best effort to look for a cure when ill? The Prophet said (au
kamaqaala rasul) something like “for every disease there is a cure save death.” The message could not be anymore clearer. In fact, this is what inspired the FIRST MODERN PHYSICIAN/SURGEON, a UNIVERSAL GENIUS, to pursue greatness in medicine, ie. Avicenna or Ibn Sina. So it was utterly surprising when Mr Hitchens asserted that muslims were against public healthcare/ vaccination. The only evidence he could gather to back such a statement was, unsurprisingly nothing from the Quran or Hadith, but rather something that the Taliban (or was it the Pakistanis, I can’t really remember) did during the Polio outbreak. Just because the Taliban did not allow vaccination against Polio, Mr Hitchens claim that this is evidence that ISLAM is against public healthcare and thus POISONS everything. What a laughable effort.
So don’t worry about such books, they are not going to shake our iman provided we have the basic knowledge and our iman is strong, from spiritual practices, to begin with. Insyallah I will read Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and most probably have a good laugh hehe. May Allah bless us and forgive us and bring us to the company of the Prophet saw! Amin! Madad Ya Rasulallah, Madad!
Lastly, we pray that Allah guide such atheists to the Ultimate Truth (Haqiqah); verily they are our brothers who need guidance. True religion and true science will always point to the same Ultimate Truth. Louis Pasteur said “On the gates of science it is written “Ye Must Have Faith.’” Atheists are half way to becoming Muslims. They are saying ever so fervently, “THERE IS NO GOD”…what we need to do is add in
Illa Allah (except Allah)…
The Last Sermon By The Prophet saas
The Last Sermon (This Sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H in the Uranah Valley of Mt. Arafat)
"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I don't know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today. O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (Interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived... Beware of Satan, for your safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things. O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have right over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and comitted helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery. O People, listen to me in earnest, whorship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has superiority over another except by piety and good actions. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur'an and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me direcly. Be my witness, O Allah that I have conveyed your message to your people."
"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I don't know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today. O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (Interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived... Beware of Satan, for your safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things. O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have right over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and comitted helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery. O People, listen to me in earnest, whorship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has superiority over another except by piety and good actions. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur'an and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me direcly. Be my witness, O Allah that I have conveyed your message to your people."
The Urgency to Improve
"Qiamat da dekat dah, tunggu aper lagi?"i can't help but to hear this statement in sidi's voice whenever the notion of questioning in the grave is mentioned. He often repeated this sentence before zkir to get us motivated and to awaken us from our sleep. Time is running short, so he says...
It doesn't take much for one to understand the urgency to improve ourselves, and the understanding and realisation of a reality is the first step towards achieving it. Fortunately, i have stumbled upon the words of a master in this field who puts forth the message in a manner so succint and moving, powerful enough to send shudders down spines and to awaken us all from our own heedlessness... so here it is, from Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (Q)
You should think about the degree of the animal man in relation to the Perfect Man, and then you should try to understand which kind of man you are yourself. For you have the capacity to attain perfection, if you understand. That is why you have been admonished and notified by the whole world. If you did not have the capacity to reach perfection, it would be incorrect to admonish you, and letting you know about perfection would be in vain and useless. So blame only yourself* if you do not reach that to which you have been called!
* " So blame only yourself " is an allusion to the words of Satan to his followers when they enter the chasetisement of Hell, " So do not blame me, but blame yourselves" (Qur'an, 14:22)
Strong words, May God grant us the strength to abide by them. Amin
It doesn't take much for one to understand the urgency to improve ourselves, and the understanding and realisation of a reality is the first step towards achieving it. Fortunately, i have stumbled upon the words of a master in this field who puts forth the message in a manner so succint and moving, powerful enough to send shudders down spines and to awaken us all from our own heedlessness... so here it is, from Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (Q)
You should think about the degree of the animal man in relation to the Perfect Man, and then you should try to understand which kind of man you are yourself. For you have the capacity to attain perfection, if you understand. That is why you have been admonished and notified by the whole world. If you did not have the capacity to reach perfection, it would be incorrect to admonish you, and letting you know about perfection would be in vain and useless. So blame only yourself* if you do not reach that to which you have been called!
* " So blame only yourself " is an allusion to the words of Satan to his followers when they enter the chasetisement of Hell, " So do not blame me, but blame yourselves" (Qur'an, 14:22)
Strong words, May God grant us the strength to abide by them. Amin
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