Ooops. I missed my Ramadhan 3 post. I went on a date with Sam that day and had completely floated off the ground to my bed in a dream, without even stopping by the laptop.
We went to Mid Valley, and I bumped into his studiomates while walking around the food court.
“Kautsar!”
I looked at them hard, trying to figure out if they were from Hartamas, CBN or Langkawi. Then I realized they are Sam’s friends from Uni.
“You datang sorang ke? Sam kata dia berbuka dekat rumah atok dia dekat Sg. Besi hari ni”
HAHAHAHAHHAHA. Kantoi. Sam had a nice time explaining to ME and his friends after that. Hehe.
But, anyway. I prayed for a long lasting, blessed relationship with Sam.
My mum always assure me that Allah’s power is limitless and without boundary. He is the Almighty One, and we should never put Him in a restricted position such as saying things like “He will never forgive me” or “The rule says this and this, thus it will be such”. Mum says, God’s rahmat and blessing is at His discretion and He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim (Most Loving and Most Compassionate).
A sister I met at LSE once noted something really interesting to me. She said, do you realize, whenever you say Bismillah, you say ‘Ar-Rahman’ and ‘Ar-Rahim’? And when you read Al-Fatihah, the second ayat consists of Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim and this you read at least 5 times a day! She said, How very loving and kind Allah, He loves us so much that He Himself reminds us that He is Loving and Compassionate – in our prayers – to assure us that He loves us so much. We say ‘Most Loving’ and ‘Most Compassionate’ most in our daily lives. The sister said how beautiful it is to be so loved, to be reminded of the One who would always Love us and forgive us.
My mum says, Allah LOVES those who seeks His forgiveness. His Rahmat is abundant, we shouldn’t feel undeserving of His mercy, lest we be limiting His power! To seek forgiveness and to repent from it, is one of the ways to bring your heart closer to God and to fill the vault in your heart left by the burden of sins. Loving Allah is beyond any human’s love – the peace it brings, the sakinah, the blessed feeling – it is all so beautiful. Yet, I find it so difficult to surrender to this love, to submit wholly to Islam and Allah. Practicing Islam is different from living it.
I have yet to find a balance between world and afterlife.
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My brother read me an interesting ayat from the Qur’an the other day.
Al-Anfal, 48 :
And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, “No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector.” But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, “Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allah . And Allah is severe in penalty.”
Tafsir al-Jalalayn
And, mention, that Satan, Iblīs, adorned their deeds for them, by encouraging them [to go] to meet the Muslims, when they had feared to set out on account of their enemy, the Banū Bakr, and said, to them: ‘Today no person shall overcome you, for I shall be your protector’, from among the [Banū] Kināna — he appeared to them in the form of Surāqa b. Mālik, the chieftain of that region. But when the two armies, the Muslims and the disbelievers, sighted each other, [when] they met and he [Satan] saw the angels, his hand clasping that of al-Hārith b. Hishām, he turned his back, he withdrew, in flight, saying — when they had said to him, ‘Are you abandoning us in such a predicament?’, ‘I am quit of you, of being your protector, for I see what you do not see, in the way of angels. I fear God, lest He destroy me; and God is severe in retribution’.
This ayat came down during the war of Badr’, and Satan had impersonated the chief of the enemy of the Muslims and lured and tempted them to fight the war. But when the two armies clashed, Satan flee from the ground, abandoned the people who had eaten his sweet promise of protection, because Satan knows the truth (I see what you do not see, in the way of the angels) and also knows that Allah’s retribution is harsh.
In our daily life, Satan whispered us sweet things that makes us feel guiltless in our deeds, but once we actually indulge in out sins, he runs away, for he knows the punishment that comes upon such sin is severe.
But we do not.
We only have our faith to believe that the punishment is severe, through Qur’an and Hadith. That is why Islam means submission to faith. When we think about it, Allah could easily show us everything. But what He wants to see in each of us is that faith that holds on strong against any practical explanation of modernity which we deem more important than religious devotion.
Wallahualam.
Today’s prayer during breaking of fast goes to Pakistan, whose country had been ravaged by flood causing pain and sufferings amongst the nation.
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I decided to write an entry about Islam everyday this Ramadhan, and it could be on anything at all.
Today I will share the prayer I made when my family broke their fast during maghrib. I looked at them sitting around our dinner table, and am extremely grateful for all the food that is on our table and the space we share.
I prayed that God gives us this peace forever.
Family feud is one of life’s great tragedy. Breaking up family ties for reasons like inheritance money, ego or miscommunication seem more common than it should be. It is when you read unfortunate events of family murdering or hurting one another that you shudder at the possibility of it.
Another thing is the gap between parents and children as they grow older. I notice this is especially so between father and sons. It seems that the older they get, the more formal the relationship is. Male ego is a curious thing. Sometimes, when you flick back through old photo albums, do you get the idea of the lives your parents led before you were brought into the world and how they turn all their love to their children and make you their world – and you start wondering if they did miss the lives before you. And thus, how much more you should appreciate and cherish them.
Oh, also, I read on Facebook somewhere an amazing tip to read the entire 30 juz of the Qur’an in 30 days! Just read 4 pages after each solat, and you will be able to complete 20 pages a day. One juz is about 20 pages – thus after 30 days, you will be able to complete 30 juz!! It is so simple, I can’t believe I couldn’t figure it out myself!! Now to actually execute this ‘simple’ plan!
InsyaAllah, I hope this Ramadhan will bring us a lot of meaningful experiences that will push us towards His path throughout our lives.
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Gender Recognition Act 2004 -
If you’re a woman but have lived as a man for the past two years, you can apply to be a man under Gender Recognition Act, and you will after the court’s approval become a man.
So, you can legally marry a woman, because the GRA 2004 will treat you, for all purpose, as a man.
But, a woman could never be a father, she/he can only be a female parent to a child.
The court realize the potential mental and psychological impact this may have on a child but it is outweighed by people’s right and autonomy to determine their sex.
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The court finds it difficult to ascertain the legal fatherhood of a child when a woman cohabits with another man right after separating with her husband. The court would have to determine the date or period of conceiving the baby to conclude who is the real father.
Islam says, a woman has to be legally divorced from her husband and abstain herself from going into another marriage for a period of up to three menstrual cycle to avoid this exact problem.
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A woman divorced her husband on the basis of unreasonable behavior because he demanded to have his feet tickled every evening. Another woman divorced her husband because he couldn’t fix the toilet door after 8 months of nagging him.
Islam says a woman could not call for divorce against her husband, and it’s justification seems to be that women are naturally emotional and might take drastic action when they are in the moods.
Islam makes human life simple and true to its nature.
As of Spring 2010 onwards, I plan to rock this style of wearing hijab. You kind of tie it at nape of your neck but leave plenty of cloth to modestly cover your front. The part that covers your head is not attached to the part that falls downwards across your chest. Best part is, you can wear earrings without showing your neck 
The Mayan prophecy has it that the world will end in 2012. They had a calendar running for 5000 years but it stops in 2012. Obviously, I put this notion aside. I believe only Allah knows when the world will come to an end, so it is not for anyone to prophecies the date.
However, whether it will be the end of the world or not, National Geography ran a documentary on this prophecy. Putting aside the mystical prophetic future predicting element of it, the National Geography team found a pressing concern on why we should be aware of 2012.
For one, there is apparently an evident shift in the earth’s poles. The North pole and South pole had shown evidence of previous shift which had caused abrupt change in geographical terrain and condition. This shift will, apparently, take place again in 2012. It is a continuing movement, but in that year, it will be an extreme shift which will pull North pole towards New York and Alaska to the earth’s equator. If it is such, Malaysia would probably end up where Australia is right now.
Hmm, that is not bad. I love Australian weather. But it will not be a sooth-sailing journey to the outback. It will be accompanied by tsunamis, floods, volcano eruptions and other natural catastrophe. On top of that, human civilization of sky-scrapers, highways and other granite and concrete buildings mean it will be staked against us as it come crashing down.
Another thing predicted for 2012 is this movement of a space object, I am not too sure what it is, that will block the Sun from us for about 4 days to one week. That night not be too bad, a week without sun, but it is enough to turn earth into an ice cube. Okay, maybe not an ice cube. But enough to plummet the temperature to sub zero and effect the world with its darkness. It will be a literal Dark Age for a bit.
I just thought, it wouldn’t be so bad, since we would have lights and electricity, plus Malaysia wouldn’t be too bad. But there is something more sinister to it. Shadows are the cover for evil doings. And it will be chaos and nightmare if people starts going against one another, and plotting to rob or do bad things. Okay, too forward thinking, maybe, but it is a worry.
Ah well, if it is not by this natural catastrophe, one would die of other cause. It is just up to us to be ready for it. Having this 2 years deadline just gives us that reality jolt that time is not for us to manipulate, it is for us to chase.
I am just calculating, if I strive to perform 5 prayers a day, with one Solat for Taubat everyday for the next 2 years, and if I die, would that 2 years worth of deeds be enough to cover the multitude of sins trailing behind me?
I believe that God has more Mercy for His servants than He has for Wrath. He reminds us that He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim (The Most Compassionate and Most Merciful) through our daily utterance of Bismillah and Al-Fatihah, which we recite in our five prayers. Note that it is God’s Compassion and Mercy that are uttered through out our days, to remind us again and again, more than any other Great Names Allah is known with.
My mum also say, never to limit God’s power. I always say things like, “Oh, I have sinned too much, there could never be forgiveness for me”, “He would never forgive me” and “There is no hope, nothing could ever change this situation now”. My mum says, if I say things like that, I have already limited the power of Allah. He is Most Abundant with Power, nothing is beyond Him. As such, He has that capacity to forgive our darkest sin, and to Love us even when we forget Him. And nothing is impossible to Him, thus, if He wants it to happen, it will happen.
So the best is to ask for something is to pray He would let it happen your way and that it is the best way for you in this world and next
InsyaAllah.
I saw a very beautiful woman walking elegantly towards me.
Long robe and black veil with pretty beadings.
Red lipstick.
I saw her walking towards the ubiquitous red telephone box.
Littered with Subway wrappings and waste cans.
She dropped her sling purse to the ground and sat down.
By the telephone box. And pulled out what seem like a piece of white cardboard.
She was shredding small pieces from it.
I almost stopped by to tell her that she can just pray at LSE’s prayer room rather than praying by the sidewalk.
I stood by a corner, contemplating. Waiting. Watching. And walked back towards her.
She was begging.
Her red lipstick was gone, and in her hand, a tattered Starbuck’s cup, jagged and torn by the rim.
What made a lady such as herself go to the extreme measure of taking on the street for money?
I asked.
Her voice was unlike the voice of others. She was not asking for sympathy.
Her nose had a trail of dried blood.
With pride, in a dignified tone, she answered. Her voice deep, her eyes sharp, piercing up to mine. They were clear olive.
She is so beautiful.
I am from Kosovo. I have three children to feed. And rent to pay.
With perfect English accent.
I was ultimately humbled. Desperate situation calls for desperate measure.
She was clearly desperate. It shone through her eyes. You can see her jaw tightening at being in a situation like this. Her face tout with dignity.
It just makes me numb to the core by how fragile we all are. It could easily been me or you, wearing our nice clothes but swallowing our pride to beg by the street to salvage a bit of money to go on.
I shudder at the thought. And at the fact that it is so easy for God to take it all away. Nothing in this life is ours, except for the things we do, good or bad. I felt overwhelmed by a rush of sadness. Which always makes me feel void.
I pray that with her destitution, she will be more favorable in Akhirah. Allah will ask us 5 questions when we face Him. Two of them is regarding our rezeki.
1) Your life and how you spent it.
2) Your youth and how you spent it.
3) What you do with the knowledge you acquire.
4) Your money and where you got it.
5) Your money and how you spent it.
People who had difficult lives, living on money just enough to cover basic necessities would not have a tough time answering the final two questions. It is the people with money who would face long trial, justifying every cent of his or her money.
A rich person would have either a really bad time if he could hardly find any good thing to sing praise with his money; or would be ultimately glorious when he is rewarded for all the wonderful things he had done with the money in his life.
I was just thinking if I could ever justify the little things I like but don’t need and things like expensive lingerie, magazines and a whole load of other unnecessary stuff (but totally necessary now!)! I do pray that God will not be angry with the clothes, shoes and bags I buy since I do use them, and try to reduce waste by selling them off or donate them to charity when they become unloved. I am just thinking how embarrassed I will be in front of Him, trying to justify why I need to buy them. I hardly think ‘Oh, I didn’t really need them, but it was on sale..’ would be a dignified excuse to give.
I guess in the end, it is all about moderation. And everyone has their own level of moderation. So someone’s level of moderation may be another person’s lavishness and vice versa, but as long as you don’t waste and give some to charity and sadaqah with what you can, then hopefully, it will be a plus point in our later life.
It will be so amazing when there are some of the money, when we come to answer for them later, was used for good. ‘Yeay, yes, this one I give to the man who was hungry outside the tube station’. Or for people collecting money for charities. Or for your mum at home. Or helping a poor vendor. Anything.
The money we use is never a loss if we can make them useful either now or later by spending it on necessary items in life, or for sadaqah where InsyaAllah, it will be returned with reward in Akhirat.
Wallahualam.
a man came and asked for a bit of my time to ask me some questions. a random student survey in a library.
the man asked me what is the most important thing in life for me.
i said, faith. faith in my religion.
the man asked his second question.
100 years ago, almost everyone would say ‘God’ as the most important thing. Why do you think that’s changed?
i said, i don’t know. it hasn’t changed for me.
he said, you said faith. not God.
i said, it is the same thing. I have faith in God.
He asked,if you can ask for one thing from God, what would it be?
I said, i wish i hadn’t been born, and that i could go to heaven straight instead.
he asked me why.
i said, because i dont want to wake up from death in solid regret. it would be unbearable.
he said, well everyone has to go through this life so it is only fair. he asked me what regret?
i answered, regret that i did not keep my promise to God. my soul had made promise to God before it was born. i dont know if i would wake up fulfilling it after i die. im a pessimist now, so.
so u believe in afterlife?
yes.this life is like a dream. have you ever dreamt something so good or so awful but when you wake up it is insignificant? life is insignificant when you wake up after you die, like a dream.
he asked, is this a teaching from your faith? or did you make it up?
i answered, no, it is just something i strongly feel about. i always feel dreams are real. just like this life seem real.
the man asked, if i go to heaven then, would i remember i am John? why would i want to go to heaven if i cant have my identity?
i answered, you would remember. your soul remembers. you were a soul before being blown into a fetus. you would remember. that, and the promise you made to God.
but if i cant remember my promise, how do i fulfill it, and does everyone know?
i said, no, no one remembers it. but it is to live this life for God, generally.
how do you know it is true?
because i have the Qur’an to back it up. And prophets like Muhammad (pbuh) and Jesus and Moses and everyone else.
why do you think people in UK nowadays don’t say God is the most important thing?
because it is easier to live in a secular state and separate your soul and your body and just live in this world.
Thank you for your time, i will let you go back to your work.
You lose yourself once you start to follow others.
A great empire can fall down to its knee once it allow itself to imitate others. The Ottoman Empire was once so powerful, the British saw it as a great challenge to its world dominion quest. We would be speaking Arabic now had Ottoman resisted the influence of the West. The strength of the Ottomans withered when it started to emulate the fashion of the British.
It was simple. How do you penetrate a strong empire such as the Ottoman? Their military armies were the best in the world, their spirit and love for Ottoman can never be waived and they will fight to the last drop of blood. The West quietly inject poison through its core instead. By introducing fashion.
The Ottomans used to wear Turkish garments, elaborate and proud with majestic turbans and beards. The West brought in suits – smart shirt, coats and trousers. It was just a small introduction which has domino effect onto everything else (amongst other things, of course). Once the people started to look to this new type of wear as modern and forward, that is when the society crumble from within. That is when the British ruled supreme, and when they make the whole world believe in the ‘White Supremacy’.
Being proud of who you are is an important essence of being truly you. Filter the influence that comes your way, know which one is good for you and your faith and which ones that need to be chucked away. It is alright to look up to a person whom greatly inspire you, but remember that it is more important to be who you are – a core being with your own depth, values and faith but enhance with the things which you see in others that you feel could positively inspire you.
I believe everyone has their own way to God, to Heaven and to the End. Not everyone can go through the same route – God has put us each in their own way but ultimately it should all lead to Him. Some may be rosier, some maybe merrier and some maybe dreadful. But in the end, what we all want is when we die, we smile at the flashback of our life.
p/s: I’m no historian so I believe all the historical anecdotes that people talk about in their speeches and talks. Hehe. Pardon me if there is any error with the historical context I hope I have not just bulldozed my way through history just to get my point across. Sheesh!
This is a story of the power of prayers.
It had been a disease of my heart to have doubt in the power of prayers. My mother always say, in whatever situation, when encountered by a difficult person or upon hearing of evil deeds of a person, pray that Allah SWT will give him hidayah. Light that will seek to uncover the truth to his own eyes.
But, I kept thinking, can you imagine, a zionist converting into Islam? Or someone who has been slaying Islam suddenly profess his love for Allah? I know the story of Khalid Al-Walid, a hero of the Quraysh clan against Rasulullah’ SAW’s uprising Islam who afterwards become the biggest asset of the Muslim army but it seemed unlikely that would happen in this modern time and age. Or so I thought.
This is a story of Daniel Streich. A Swiss politician who was against Islam, that he studied Quran through out his lifetime just so he can slander it. Little did he or anyone knows that it brings him closer to Allah. He was a strong leader in his political party in Switzerland with the main aim to ban minarets in Switzerland. He got it, by slight majority, the vote was with the ban. But, instead of rejoicing it, he proclaimed his belief for Allah and for Islam. He felt the guilt, the shame and the regret that he even desires to start laying foundation for the fifth mosque in Switzerland!
Alhamdulillah syukur. It is a feeling so beautiful. God works miracles in the most unexpected of ways. It is truly magic. I will never, ever, ever again have any skepticism to the power God has over His creation, and the power of Doa’ we have.
It is like finding a new weapon. Now, we can all pray for the non-believers especially those who attacks Islam with accusations and slanders to be given Hidayah – so they may uncover Truth and be as pure as a newborn again.
Ya Allah, may their hatred to Islam be the path that leads them to the knowledge of Truth. May their doubt for you be the discovery of what You truly are – for You are Most Gracious, Most Giving, Most Forgiving and Most Loving.
Have mercy on your humble slaves, for we are all trying to find our way.
Read this article about Daniel Streich :
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/30-Jan-2010/Swiss-antagonist-of-minarets-embraces-Islam
