the sky

Hadi came to me while I was at the computer, and pulled my hand, "Come! tengok ni!.. and led me to our balcony. Subhanallah! what a sight! The view of the sky, from my balcony on the 19th floor.

Do they not look at the sky above them?- How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?

Qaf 50 : 6

"Wa tawaa ssaubil haq" & about hadith

Attended a kuliah yesterday by Ustaz Hafiizh Rapiee, and he brought up a sensitive issue on tahlil on every malam Jumaat, lepas maghrib.He wanted to move it to lepas isya' - which is out of the norm for our people (the Malays). The mosque's board had unanimously agreed that the timing of the tahlil will be swopped with the kuliah on tafsir Quran, which he felt was more important. He went on to explain that there is no sunnah saying tahlil must be done after maghrib, malam jumaat. In fact the steps in the weekly event, like what comes after what, and including the part on sedekah kan to those who passed away, as being done so religiously by our people, IS NOT part of our beloved Rasulullah's SAW sunnah.

He said a few things that struck a chord with me. One of them is when he told the jema'ah to approach him if they had any doubts or if they wanted to feedback. He will accept feedbacks with reasonable arguments. Dia pun cakap, not to be afraid to approach him, dia tak makan orang - good, now that's clear =D. But he told the jema'ah not to give the reason that 'ini kan bapak kita, datuk kita dah buat dari dulu'. This is exactly the reason given by the kafiruns, when asked not to sembah berhala. I've been given the same reason before, and I shudder when I also remembered this ayat.

"When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah hath revealed:" They say: "Nay! we shall follow the ways of our fathers." What! even though their fathers Were void of wisdom and guidance?"
Al Baqarah 2:170

Information is in abundance now, what with the books, and the classes and the internet. And we are generally literate people (of course u are, if u're reading this), I feel strongly that we shouldn't just take what someone says as 'the truth' for granted, especially when macam tak kena gitu. Unless you're sure of the source. No matter how pious the person seems to be. And it is important to realise that all hukum hakam, comes from 2 main sources - the Quran and the Hadith. From there the other derivations like ijma', qias and what have you - but they all go back to refer to these 2 main sources.

And we have to be very careful with hadith. We shouldn't say something to be from Rasulullah SAW, when it's not. So even when WE go and relate a hadith, claimed to be from Rasulullah SAW - YOU better be sure. You don't happily relate it to other people like nobody's business (macam forward those emails yang ada 'Rasulullah SAW bersabda... or Allah SWT says...' think first before you hit that 'Forward' button - u sure or not???).

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: The Prophet said, "Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence, and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 667

And, there lies the beauty and intelligence in Islam's methodology. The ulamas from previous times, have taken pains to ensure what is hadith sohih (authentic) and what's not. The steps to determine that a hadith is sohih includes that the chains of the hadith narrators be KNOWN and is continuous (i.e. you know exactly who passed this hadith to whom, and then he passes to whom etc..). Then, ALL the narrators must be of VERY high integrity. He/She must NOT be known to be forgetful - even on a single phrase - or of having bad morales. What is considered bad? If a person offers a container to an animal, making it think that there's something inside, to get it to move somewhere - that's BAD.

"Ok," u say.." then HOW in the world can I tell all this ah?? mana ada time nak check ni semua??" Tulah dia I said, the ulamas have taken pains to check all these for us. For people like us - we can refer to Sohih Bukhari and Sohih Muslim for a start. Or if someone relates a hadith to you, try ask nicely, "Eerr.. where can I refer to, for this hadith?"

Wallahu'alam.

How you live your life

Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom - said to be a good book on lessons in life. To the author, it is like a final thesis he worked on with his professor, Morrie, who is dying from an illness. Mitch visits his dying professor every Tuesday to talk about life and death.

The main idea is there lah...about how people in this world is chasing after things that are meaningless - like more money, bigger houses, nicer cars.. Being brainwashed by the media on these false necessities ( I sooooo agree with this!! macam boleh write a whole new topic just on this. but that, next time..), Ignoring or putting aside things that should be of more importance in life, plus what matters to people when they are dying. What is important to Morrie is the sincerity and love of the people around him. Of course that is in the perspective of a non-Muslim. A famous quote from the book is 'when you learn how to die, you'll learn how to live'.

But as a Muslim, it's like.. way more than that. It's not just about how you want to die. It's about what you want AFTER death. but of course a person doesn't think about what they want AFTER death, unless he has Iman. As we may be able to see, a person with no Iman, lives this life with not much regards to others or even to his own conscience, but a person with iman, and depending on his level of iman, lives his life with conscience and awareness. And this conscience and awareness encompasses everything he does in life, as how Islam is. Islam is a WAY of life.

So in my humble opinion, a better quote for us would be 'Your iman will show you how to live your life.'

Da mood..

Today, nobody's home (which is equals to only the girls and me at home). Zaujii hubba (my beloved hubby) and hadi went to JB for golf, Rus went out to the mosque with some friends.

The girls and I stayed home, until we were hungry and were forced to leave our cave, in search of food. Don't know where to go for nice ambience and good food.. ended up driving aaaaallll the way to the airport for late lunch at Swensens. But it's ok lah.. I love driving.

Met my former schoolmate at the airport. I'm surprised she recognises me! She hasn't changed a bit! Linda.. exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch. I should.

So after the very late hege2 lunch kat airport with my girls.. we went back home.. then sampai rumah, grabbed the book 'tuesdays with morrie' and brought the girls to the playground at the nearby park, to let the girls play then I can read the book. But not as peaceful as I had planned and imagined it to be - cause baru 20 mins.. Eema nak naik pegi toilet.. She 'tak tahan' and so she like started to run back all the way to our block, and I had to run after her with the house keys. leaving hanaa and nadhrah at the playground.. and so u see, I jogged this evening..

anyway.. when eema was done, we went back down, only to meet hanaa and nadhrah halfway.. because now nadhrah needs to go.. so eema plays at the nearby playground while I send nadhrah back up.. then after that, we all went down again, and they continued playing for another 20 mins and by that time it's maghrib.. after that, dah berpeluh2.. balik.. mandikan the kids.. then I mandi.. then I was like lepak.. and still moody that I cried when Z.H. came back and didn't sit to chat with me.. well, not like he does that normally lah, but anyway.. he just consoled me a bit and went back to reading his newspaper and told the children not to disturb me.. Hmm.... Thanks darling.

I'm fine now. Alhamdulillah.

Do you realise THAT?

>Do you realise that..
>
>On Thursday 4th May next month, at two minutes and three seconds after
>1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be
>
>01:02:03 04.05.06>
>This will never happen again in our life time.
>

Got the above email. well... O K.. like wow! nice number.. but actually kan, if I put date first, which I should, since for the time, it starts with the hours, then minutes then seconds, it's only right the date should start with year, then month then day.. if that's the case, the real thing happened 5 years ago.. on 3rd Feb, 2001 at 4.05am + 6 secs. then, we would have gotten the desired number pattern, in the right sequence...

There are a lot of other stuff in our life time that will also never happen again.. like being 18 years old.. or 19 years old.. We're getting older.. and the time that passed, will never come back.. the time you wasted will NEVER come back. How do you know when u're wasting time and when u're not?

I remember I heard a sermon once kat Masjid Al Khair.. on the surah Al-Asr. It was by an ustaz invited from Malaysia and I don't remember the name! I must make it a point to record the names of ustaz, whose sermons I hear.. ceh!.. nama artiste2 boleh ingat.. nama ustaz.. nama sahabat2 Nabi, and ulama' tak ingat..teruk!..

Anyway, that aside and to be improved, back to the sermon... It was about this short surah with such deep meaning and impact.The transliteration reads:

By (the token of) Time. Verily man is in loss; Except those who believes, and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience

I believe "Those who believe" - is KEY. When we believe, then we act. And with believe, most of every little act we do, can be considered as ibadah, especially when done for the sake of Allah SWT. E.g even eating and sleeping.. When we think, like 'I better sleep early or rest early, so that I can wake up for Subuh - which is ultimately for Allah".. then that act of sleeping.. becomes an ibadah.

Then, this is my further breakdown on the issue.. we could apply it to something not so direct.. but in the cause of Allah SWT.. e.g. Learning programming.. because I want to do up a program that will attract the children, whom we will then slowly shape and influence to be God-concious, and finally be a Good Muslim, for Allah SWT.. then that act of learning programming is an ibadah.. Doing business can become ibadah.. because you want to be rich, to support the Muslims in the Muslim needs..

Seems so easy to get rewarded, but instead, people waste their time away, by watching Singapore Idol (..as one example only lah..).. - I don't know.. maybe for some people it's finally for Allah's sake, Wallahu'alam.. Of course then you also have to consider the better of the 2 options etc.. Bukanlah tak leh tengok terus.. but kalau da macam religiously kena watch every week.. then it's not only that program.. in a week got many programs that people follow up religiously.. add that all up together..how much time is wasted?

When I think of it, I picture a room where men are sitting on piles of GOLD.. the one who's doing good,.. is like picking up the gold around him. While the one who's wasting time, is just sitting there on the pile of gold, staring blankly at a black box. Sad, isn't it?

Do you realise THAT?

Telepathy? & World and Illusion

Some people think that telepathy works. Well I don't know if it really works with some people Wallahu'alam. But it's definitely NOT working with me. I cannot read people's mind. Sometimes I think I can read what people are thinking from body reactions and small conversations - but I still definitely cannot read like what's expected of me exactly.

What is so difficult about talking - communicating? That is soooooooooo much better then silent expectations and assumptions. Please people.. communicate. Bukan lah asking for idle talk..but yang perlu aper. Kalau idle talk tu lain ah.. Allah says in Al-Hadid 57:20

"Know that the life of this world is only play, and idle talk, and pageantry, and boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children; as the likeness of vegetation after rain, whereof the growth is pleasing to the husbandman, but afterward it drieth up and thou seest it turning yellow then it becometh straw. And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and (also) forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure, whereas the life of the world is but matter of illusion."

Reading that last part of the translation, 'world as an illusion' teringat pulak an article by scientist in the West, WHO NOW WONDERS if this world is just an illusion - and we're talking about a scientist here.. not just some philosopher. Some wonder if there is some intelligent designer, who designed this world, because this world is too intricate to have been created by chance. But one scientist ruled that out saying 'that computer system would have to be unimaginably huge'...Subhanallah!

And if we want to talk about idle talk and world as an illusion ni.. memang so many examples to quote. Like the '.. Idol' is idle... A lot of advertisements selling stuff that people don't need. a LOT of things lah!.. think of it, the basic necessity of human. And where and what are all these stuffs we do, and life we live leading to? As Allah SWT has also questioned us..

"Then, WHERE are you going?" (At-Takwir 81:26)

think..

Knowledge that really matters.

Does it REALLY matter that we don't know Trigonometry and Shakespeare? How many of you adults, use Trigonometry in your work or life now? Did knowing Shakespeare help you communicate with your boss? Really, some stuff need not be thought in school, it can be learned and will be learnt well at work, when required. Just like those people taking IT degree. We learn some programming language, as a course requirement - and that language we do not use at all at work. Then we learn on the job, a totally new programming language and become experts at them, and forget most of what we learnt during the course.

Now what, pada saya lah kan..., are more relevant subjects kan....., that children should learn or be exposed to, in schools kan... (suddenly teringat admirable ustaz haniff), are :
Arabic language and the common language of communication in the society.
Quran & Hadith (This is so necessary and it covers almost all aspect of human life on this earth, including accomplishing obligations to God, family, parents, spouse, children, society. Science, geography, physics gets thrown in too, naturally. It teaches us how to be better workers and human in general.)
Maths up to primary level - and Maths need not be complicated just to test how far you can confuse the children.

Other subjects should be optional, depending on the children's interests.. then they go into their respective preference such as.. Science - Biology/Physics etc,they can go deeper into Maths if that's where their interest is. Literature is sooooo unnecessary. And so is Musical lessons.

Yeah.. that's how it would be if I am the Minister in Education. No more stress for the children and they learn to be caring, normal human beings. You will almost not see any teenage mutants on the streets. People will be more civilised, more cultured and much more educated.

Reallieey. It's proven - see historical facts. Imam Bukhari, is among the most intelligent person in that era, or even Einstein - the person who just so happens to be a genious because he ACCIDENTALLY came across an idea. They didn't learn the subjects we learn now in school.

And if you ask me, what I learnt in secular school before.. I almost cannot remember anymore, and it doesn't matter, does it?

Hai.. dunia.. dunia..

Wallahu'alam.

The blogging mood.

See the big time gap between this post and the last post? Somehow in the last few weeks, I don't see any real purpose to update this blog. I was thinking..'for what? sudah lah.. wasting my time.'

Then when I read back my old posts, it reminds me of my previous thoughts.. that's good. Then I'm thinking I should be recording my thoughts about what I feel about some ayat Quran or Hadith that I've come across.

The Quran, The Furqan - is really a Miraculous book - one of the mukjizat from Rasulullah SAW. Everytime you read it, there is something new, something enlightening you'll discover. Or sometimes, you see an ayat that you really relate to.. like it's describing something so perfectly.
In a lot of cases, modern science has proven the facts stated in the Quran to be true. Facts that are impossible for people of that era to know, facts that are only found out now, with modern equipments costing millions of dollars to make. How then can people still doubt the Quran? But then again, as Allah has mentioned.. there are a group of people, whom will just not see the truth. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings. And on their eyes, there is a covering. (Al Baqarah 2 : 7) Na'uzubillah.

In my course, we have to hafal the some part of Al Baqarah. And as I was hafaling this verse. A particular person that keeps getting reflected in my mind. The ayat reads:

And when it is said to them,"Make NOT mischief on earth", They say, "We are only peacemakers." Verily they are the one who makes mischief, but they perceive not.
verse 11-12.

The person that I thought of is Bush.

We were told that the ulama's say that, normally in the Quran, when there is a description of a person or event, but no particular names are mentioned - that type of person or event will recur on this earth. MasyaAllah. Allah knows best.