Kata-kata 'Hikmat'

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem, Alhamdu lillahi Rabb il-'Aalameen, wa as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulihi al-ameen, wa 'ala aalihi wa sohbihi ajma'een.

Zaman muda muda dulu, menjadi kegilaan remaja sekolah menengah menelaah komik komik pendekar Hong Kong. Dalam komik komik tersebut ada pelbagai hikmat (atau kuasa luar biasa) yang digunakan untuk menewaskan musuh.

Antara hikmat hikmat yang ulung adalah hikmat api syurga meragut lalang, hikmat badan kebal titanium dan macam macam lagi (hikmat yang mengarut mengarut).

Bagi seorang muslim, ia juga mempunyai hikmat hikmat yang tersendiri bagi menumbangkan lawan. Salah satu hikmat yang cukup terkenal yang dinamakan oleh teman teman sehati adalah 'hikmat ketenangan abadi'.

Hati

Hikmat ketenangan abadi adalah suatu hikmat yang seharusnya diimpikan oleh setiap mukmin. Salah satu ciri hikmat ketenangan abadi adalah mempunyai hati yang tenang dan sejahtera; qalbun saleem.

Allah swt telah rakamkan di dalam Al-Qur'an bahawa hari itu (hari pembalasan) di mana tidak berguna harta dan anak anak melainkan mereka yang datang kepada Allah dengan qalb yang saleem.

Dengan kata lain, tidak ada seorang pun dan tidak ada sesuatu pun (there is no-one and no-thing) yang dapat membantu kita pada Hari Perhitungan, melainkan bergantung kepada keadaan kesihatan hati kita.

Nafs

Nafs bagi pengamal hikmat ketenangan abadi juga haruslah dikawal. Imam Al-Ghazali rahimahullah mengumpamakan nafs itu seperti kuda. Jika kita berjaya mengawal dan mengendalikannya dengan baik maka kuda itu mampu kita dapat manfaat darinya, namun jika kita gagal mendisiplinkan ia, maka ia akan memperhambakan kita.

Kerna itu acapkali kita perhatikan bahawa manusia diperkudakan oleh nafsu mereka sendiri. Nafsu menjadi raja dan pemilik nafsu menjadi hamba. Segala sesuatu yang nafsu inginkan ia turuti penuh kelemahan. Ia sangka ia hidup penuh kepuasan, tetapi hakikatnya kehidupannya penuh kehinaan.

Allah berikan gambaran bahawa nafs seorang mukmin yang dalam celupan Allah )sibghah Allah), dinamakan nafs al-mutma-innah, iaitu secara literal nya bermaksud nafs yang tenang. Sekali lagi perkataan 'tenang' dititik beratkan di sini.

Iradah

Untuk mereka yang mampu untuk meneroka hikmat ini lebih jauh sehingga ke hikmat ketenangan abadi peringkat kelapan, segala latihan harus difokuskan pada iradah(kehendak) mereka. Seorang yang mencari jalan ini (saalik) harus faham bahawa tujuan utama kehidupan adalah untuk mengikuti arahan dan kehendak Allah swt.

Lantas mulut hanya menuturkan apa yang Allah swt mahukan, mata hanya melihat apa yang Allah swt izinkan, telinga cuma mendengar suara dan audio yang Allah swt cintai, dan ini berterusan pada gerakan tangan, kaki, badan dan seterusnya.

Namun usah kita berhenti atau terhenti pada peringkat yang cetek itu, bahkan seorang murid yang hakiki bukan hanya menjadikan gerakan fizikal mereka mengikut apa yang Allah swt sukai dan kehendaki. Yang lebih utama adalah menjadikan segala gerakan hati kita juga menurut apa yang Allah sukai dan kehendaki.

Natijahnya, apabila seorang yang menyedari hakikat ini dan berlatih keras untuk merealisasikannya akan menyedari bahawa yang menjadi ultimatum objektif kehidupan - adalah sehingga hatinya sudah tidak mempunyai iradah melainkan apa yang menjadi iradah Allah swt. Dengan kata lain iradah dirinya sudah mati(fana), dan yang wujud hanyalah iradah Allah swt. Ini merupakan perkara paling utama dalam hidup ini.

Dengan terhasilnya perkara ini, maka akan tercapai apa yang Allah gambarkan di dalam hadis qudsi bahawa Allah menjadi mata yang di mana dia melihat, Allah menjadi telinga yang mana ia mendengar dan Allah menjadi tangan dan kaki di mana ia bergerak.

Sumber Ketenangan

Ketahuilah bahawa seseorang yang berjalan di kepanasan padang pasir yang luas, di tengah mentari yang terik teramat dan bekalannya airnya sudah kehabisan tidak akan dapat menghilangkan dahaganya kecuali apabila ia menjumpai sumber air. Lebih hampir ia kepada sumber air, maka lebih tinggi kebarangkalian untuk dia menghilangkan hausnya. Lebih jauh ia daripada sumber air, maka amat minimal jika tidak sifar kebarangkaliannya bagi ia membasahi tekaknya.

Dengan nada dan kefahaman yang sama, kerana itu perlu disedari bahawa seseorang itu tidak mungkin dan tidak akan mencapai hikmat ketenangan abadi jika dia berada jauh dari sumber ketenangan.

Dan apakah sumber ketenangan itu?

Sumber ketenangan yang wujud hanyalah satu. Iaitulah Allah swt. Bahkan salah satu dari nama Allah swt sendiri adalah As-Salaam. Kerna itu lah hanya dengan mengingati Allah jiwakan tenang.

Semakin kita dekati Allah swt bermakna semakin dekat kita pada sumber ketenangan maka semakin tinggi kebarangkalian bagi kita untuk mencapai ketenangan.

Sebaliknya, jika kita menjauhi Allah swt, maka semakin jauhlah kita dari sumber ketenangan, lantas semakin sukar bagi kita memperoleh ketenangan malah lebih mudah bagi kita ditimpa gundah gulana dan keluh kesah.

Maka untuk mengamalkan hikmat ketenangan abadi, mulakanlah perjalanan menuju Allah swt dari saat ini. Dan teruskan perjalanan tanpa henti, walau jatuh tersungkur dan tertiarap berjuta kali. Biarkan jantung itu berdegup dengan degupan Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah ....


Selingan:
Kata kata 'hikmat' dan kata kata jampi bagi melawan musuh

Muslim di Malaysia amat gemar kepada kata kata 'hikmat' atau yang lebih biasa didengari - kata kata jampi. Mulut kumat kamit membaca sesuatu ditiup, fuhhh, lantas perkara yang abnormal berlaku.

Contohnya: Kata kata jampi bagi melawan syaitan adalah dengan menuturkan kata kata 'hikmat' isti'azah - A'uzhubillahi min as-syaitani ar-rajeem. Langsung sepantas kilat, kata kata tersebut bertindak bagaikan anak panah menusuk terus ke syaitan; musuh mukmin yang nyata.

Memang benar kata kata 'hikmat' ini sahih dan digalakkan oleh Nabi saw untuk kita membacanya bagi mengalahkan syaitan. Namun kenapa terkadang kita baca dan amalkan kata kata hikmat ini, tapi keinginan untuk berbuat perkara yang dimurkai Allah masih bertempel di hati? Seolah olah syaitan adalah kebal dan tak lut.

Kenapa begini?

Imam Ibnu Qayyim rahimahullah menjelaskan bahawa, kata kata isti'azah adalah ibarat pedang. Maka kalau kita amalkan isti'azah tetapi syaitan tidak lari, adakah itu bermaksud pedang isti'azah itu tumpul dan berkarat?

Tentunya tidak. Sebaliknya pedang isti'azah ini amat tajam sekali dan berterusan tajamnya. Namun apa gunanya pedang yang tajam di tangan seorang yang lemah? Berilah orang tersebut segala jenis senjata, tetapi jika yang memegangnya itu lemah dan tidak bermaya maka sia sialah senjata tersebut.

Justeru kita perlu perkuatkan diri kita dengan iman. Agar dapat kita tewaskan musuh kita dan terus maju menghayun langkah, berlari menuju dakapan Allah swt.

Dan Dia lah sumber ketenangan yang hakiki. Allahu a'lam.

Edwards tests positive

Edwards faces an anxious wait over her futureWorld 100m champion Torri Edwards may miss the Olympics after testing positive for nikethamide in April.

The 27-year-old American claims she accidentally ingested the banned steroid in a glucose tablet at a meeting in Martinique in April.

Her manager said: "She believes there are exceptional circumstances that merit an elimination or substantial reduction of the current sanction.

"She has requested a hearing before the American Arbitration Association."

Edwards finished second in the 100m at the US Olympic trials on Saturday but could lose her place in the American team if found guilty of a doping violation.

Edwards' manager Emanuel Hudson

"Torri is not a drug cheat," insisted her manager, Emanuel Hudson.

"She has never knowingly and intentionally misused any product or drug to gain an unfair advantage over her competitors."

Under World Anti-Doping Agency, Edwards could be suspended for up to two years unless she can prove she inadvertently used the drug.

In that case, she would be given a warning and would lose the results from the meeting where she tested positive.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said she is due to face a US Anti-Doping Agency hearing on Monday.

"Her A and B samples have tested positive," said Davies.

Edwards was awarded the world 100m gold medal from last year after Kelli White, another US sprinter, was stripped of the title in June.

White has been suspended from competition for two years after admitting using steroids and several other banned substances.

Edwards moved from third to second in the world 200m finish when White also lost her gold medal in that event.

The woman who was awarded the gold medal after White's ban, Russia's Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, also subsequently tested positive for a banned substance and is now serving a two-year ban.

Edwards' positive test means that the every athlete on the podium in that world 200m has now failed a dope test.

Source: BBC News

Saya, Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi: Sebuah Kisah Cinta

Pertama kali saya mengenal Mbak Oi, muslimah sederhana itu tahun 1992. Waktu itu saya sedang berkeliling mencari tempat kost di sekitar Universitas Indonesia. Kemudian sampailah saya di tempat kost seorang teman. Di sana saya berkenalan dengan mbak Oi.

“Di tempat saya masih ada kamar. Rumah petak sih tapi nyaman. Kalau mau Helvy bisa tinggal bersama kami,” katanya ramah seraya memberitahu bahwa ada seorang muslimah lain yang juga tinggal bersamanya.

Saya segera menyukai Mbak Oi karena keramahan dan ketulusan yang terpancar di matanya. Saya pun mengangguk. Keesokan harinya saya telah pindah ke tempat kost Mbak Oi.

Dalam waktu beberapa hari saja, tiba-tiba saya merasa menemukan seorang kakak perempuan yang sangat menyayangi saya. Mbak Oi banyak mengajari saya tentang kehidupan tanpa pernah menceramahi. Setiap malam kami bangun bersama untuk munajat kepadaNya, dalam gelap. Setelah itu sambil tilawah Qur’an, Mbak Oi setia menemani saya duduk berlama-lama, mengetik dengan mesin tik tua yang saya bawa dari rumah hingga subuh menjelang.

Waktu itu beberapa cerpen saya sudah dimuat di beberapa media. Saya pun sudah bergabung di sebuah majalah Islam bernama Annida dan sering menulis di majalah tersebut dengan nama Al Hamasah. Namun saya belum menjadi penulis yang produktif, apalagi dikenal. Dan perempuan yang saya panggil Mbak Oi itu tak pernah berhenti menyemangati saya.

“Mbak Oi yakin, melihat usaha Helvy, suatu hari Helvy akan menjadi penulis yang dikenal masyarakat luas. Percaya deh, Dik. Yang penting tetap istiqomah ya!”

“Insya Allah, Mbak. Tapi menurut Mbak Oi nama pena Al Hamasah bagus nggak sih?”

“Bagus, dik. Nama itu tepat buatmu. Artinya “Yang Bersemangat” kan? Ya, seperti kamu yang selalu bersemangat dalam mengerjakan kebaikan! Termasuk menulis!” kata Mbak Oi. “Tapi pakai nama sendiri juga bagus kok,” sambungnya lagi.

Mbak Oi hanya setahun kost bersama saya. Namun silaturahmi kami tak pernah terputus. Suatu hari dengan mata berbinar, ia datang dan memeluk saya, “Helvy, saya akan menikah….”

Saya mencium ke dua pipi, menjabat tangannya, tersenyum dengan mata kaca “Se­la­mat ya, Mbak. Siapakah lelaki yang beruntung itu? Maukah ia menjadi abang fillah bagiku?”

“Kami berdua akan tetap menjadi saudaramu, sayang….” Kata Mbak Oi.

“Lalu siapa dia, Mbak? Siapa dia? Ayo, cerita!” saya berseru kegirangan sambil terus merangkul Mbak Oi. “Ganteng nggak?”

“Husy!” Tapi saya lihat binar yang melebihi biasa di mata Mbak Oi.

Malam itu Mbak Oi menginap di kost saya dan bercerita tentang Yudi, lelaki bijak yang berusia lebih muda darinya. Pria asal Sunda yang cerdas itu baru saja pulang ke tanah air usai menjalankan beberapa tugas di Jepang.

Tak lama Mbak Oi pun menikah, hubungan kami bertambah akrab, meski kami mulai jarang bertemu.

Suatu hari Mbak Oi dan suaminya yang saya panggil A’ Yudi mampir ke kost saya.

“Lho, kok berantakan banget, Vy?” tanya Mbak Oi.

“Aku mulai menulis lagi nih, Mbak. Ada beberapa majalah Islam yang meminta cerita bersambung,” jawab saya. “Lumayan Mbak, selain bisa menyampaikan keindahan Islam, aku juga dapat honor buat tambahan kuliah,” kata saya sambil merapikan kertas-kertas yang berserakan di ruang tamu. “Sayangnya mesin tikku rusak Mbak….”

“Aduh, kasihan sekali. Terus bagaimana?”

“Aku nggak tahu Mbak. Mungkin kutulis dengan tangan saja. Soalnya deadline-nya sudah dekat.”

“Nggak bisa pinjam teman?”

Saya menggeleng. “Susah Mbak. Mereka juga butuh untuk buat makalah.”

“Harusnya kamu memiliki komputer, Dik. Kerjamu jadi lebih efektif.”

Saya nyengir. Komputer? Uang darimana? Yaa mungkin beberapa tahun lagi. Mungkin kelak ketika saya punya suami, baru saya bisa membeli komputer.

Malam itu, usai Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi pulang, saya ‘berkelahi’ dengan mesin tik tua saya yang tidak mau kompromi itu. Tapi tak satu pun cerita selesai. Akhirnya saya benar-benar menulis semua dengan tulisan tangan.

Tanpa saya duga, beberapa hari setelah itu, Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi datang lagi ke kost saya. Tidak seperti biasanya, mereka membawa sesuatu dalam kardus kecil.

“Ini dari kami buat Helvy,” kata Mbak Oi.

“Ya, semoga bisa bermanfaat,” sambung A’ Yudi.

“Tapi ini apa, Mbak?” tanya saya bingung. Tidak biasanya Mbak Oi memberi saya bingkisan seperti itu. Apalagi saya tahu ia seorang yang hidup sederhana.

“Pokoknya benda ini digunakan untuk kemaslahatan ummat ya dan tidak usah dikembalikan,” ujar Mbak Oi lagi. A’ Yudi yang berada di sampingnya masih tersenyum.

Saya belum membuka bingkisan dari Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi itu hingga mereka pulang. Namun rasa penasaran saya terus berkecamuk. Bungkusan apa dalam kardus kecil yang berat ini? Apakah…apakah…air mata saya tiba-tiba jatuh. Mungkinkah ini mesin tik baru buat saya? Ya Allah, bukankah mesin tik masih menjadi barang mahal?

Saya segera membuka bungkusan itu dengan hati berdebar. Dan airmata saya semakin berkejaran. Ya Allah: di hadapan saya kini tampak sebuah laptop buatan Jepang! Laptop! Bukan sekadar mesin tik!

Malam itu saya tak bisa tidur membayangkan wajah Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi. Rasanya sukar sekali menghentikan pecahan-pecahan kaca yang meluncur dari mata saya…cepat dan semakin cepat. Ya Allah, betapa mulia mereka. Mereka belum dua tahun mengenal saya…. Dan siapakah saya? Saya bahkan belum benar-benar menjadi penulis, mengapa mereka mengambil resiko memberikan benda berharga ini pada saya? Bukankah mereka juga membutuhkannya? Berapa dana yang mereka keluarkan untuk ini? Sedang mereka hidup dengan sederhana?

Setelah hari itu saya merasa harus terus menulis. Malu rasanya melalui hari tanpa menulis. Apalagi laptop pemberian Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi selalu tersedia di meja di sudut ruang tamu kost saya. Cerita “Mc Alliester” dan “Akira” saya selesaikan dengan laptop itu. Juga ratusan cerpen lain yang akhirnya dipublikasikan maupun yang hingga saat ini masih saya simpan.

Orang-orang kemudian mulai mengenal saya sebagai pengarang. Buku saya satu persatu terbit dan saya mulai mendapat beberapa penghargaan dari apa yang sudah saya lakukan. Saya bahkan sering diundang keluar negeri untuk mengisi berbagai workshop tentang penulisan.

Dan laptop itu?

Laptop itu kini telah menjadi milik ummat seperti yang diinginkan Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi. Saat saya memiliki komputer, saya meminjamkannya kepada seorang teman yang amat membutuhkan. Ketika teman itu selesai, ia meminjamkannya pada teman yang lain, begitu seterusnya dan seterusnya. Hingga kini tak diketahui dengan pasti keberadaan laptop itu.

Tetapi satu yang saya tahu dengan pasti….

Kini setelah sepuluh tahun berlalu, saya tak pernah bisa melupakan Lolita Damayanti dan Yudi Iswahyudi yang hidup sederhana di rumah mungil mereka di bilangan Kelapa Dua Depok bersama anak-anak mereka yang lucu, yang salah satunya bernama Hamasah. Ya, mereka telah meninggalkan sesuatu yang dalam di hati saya yang rasanya tak akan pernah bisa saya ungkapkan dan saya tulis dengan sempurna. Ya, Allah, saya bahkan belum pernah menyatakan terimakasih dan cinta saya yang paling sungguh pada mereka.

Terimakasih, Mbak Oi dan A’ Yudi. Saya mencintai kalian. Saya mencintai kalian karena Allah, selamanya. Ya, selamanya….

(HTR, dari Bukan di Negeri Dongeng, Penerbit Syaamil, 2003)

Oleh: Helvy Tiana Rosa
http://helvytianarosa.com/ (one of my favourite 5 websites)

Monolog : Self Esteem dan Merasakan Diri Signifikan

Bismillahi wa alhamdu lillah, alhamdu lillahi wa kafa, wa assolaatu wa assalamu 'ala 'ibadihi alhabeeb almustafa, wa 'ala aalihi wa ashaabihi ahli assidqi wa alwafa.

Fenomena biasa tika masuk waktu solah.

"Qad qaamatis solaatu qad qaamatis solaah, Allahu akbar Allahu akbar, Laa ilaaha illa Allah"

Lantas barisan dilurus kan, bahu dirapatkan. Semua orang tunduk dan ada yang menoleh kiri kanan. Mulalah rutin biasa, "Go ahead brother.", "No, you go ahead.", siapa yang nak jadi imam.

Hatiku mula berdetik, "Pergilah, orang dah suruh kau jadi imam tu. Lagipun bacaan kau paling sedap."

[zikir dan istighfar]

(Sejak bila pulak bacaan kau paling sedap? Pernah kau dengar suara sendiri? Buruk! Kau je sebenarnya yang perasan sedap)

"Eloklah kau pergi, kan hafalan kau yang paling banyak sekali. Kau tak ingat ke hadith yang cakap kalau nak lantik imam lantiklah imam yang paling banyak ilmu dia tentang al-Qur'an"

[zikir dan istighfar]

(Mana kau tahu hafalan kau yang paling banyak sekali? Pernah kau tanya orang orang lain yang jarang jadi imam tu, hafalan diorang berapa banyak?)

"Ala pegi je la. Tengok muka muka sebelah kanan dan kiri tu, ada pernah nampak diorang datang masjid? Nak tengok batang hidung pun jarang. Orang semua dah sebut sebut nama kau tu untuk jadi imam, kan kau kira masuk grup grup budak budak baik."

[zikir dan istighfar]

(Astaghfirullah astaghfirullah astaghfirullah. Menangislah wahai diri. Sejak bila kau mula rasakan diri kau lebih baik banding orang lain? Itu sifat kibr! Itu sifat kibr! Orang yang mempunyai sekelumit kecil kibr takkan masuk ke syurga!

Apa kau ingat kibr tu hanya 'show off' sahaja? Kibr itu amalan hati. Memanglah dari segi luaran orang lain tak terlihat langsung amalan kibr tersebut. Tapi kalau dalam hati kau tu, terlintas yang kau lebih baik banding orang lain. Itu kibr! Itu kibr! Neraka tempatnya.

Sejak bila kau rasakan bahawa diri engkau itu terlalu signifikan? Tak teringat kah kau kisah Abu Bakar ra? Ketika ada insan yang mencacinya, maka malaikat melindunginya. Saat sahaja dia mahu menepis cacian, maka malaikat sudah tidak lagi melindunginya, hanya kerana tindakan menepis cacian itu bibit kepada merasakan dirinya adalah signifikan!

Itu Abu Bakr ra. Ini kau nak rasa diri kau signifikan? Boleh blah!

Orang lain hanya memandang kau dengan pujian kerana mereka tidak tahu dosa apakah yang kau perbuat. Kalau mereka tahu, nescaya kau mereka ludahi dengan makian. Muka kau akan dipandang dengan kebencian.

Diri kau itu kau rasa bersih? Sedangkan diri kau bergelumang dengan najis dosa. Mata kau kerap perbuat dosa. Lidah kau kerap membuat dosa. Telinga kau tak terpelihara dari dosa. Hati kau pun kerap memikirkan yang dosa .. dosa dosa dan dosa.

Aduhai hati .. tangisilah kekerasanmu kerna dosa.

Ingat tuhan pun hanya sekali sekala. Itu kau pangggil bersih? Itu kau panggil bersih? Macam hampeh. Ptuih! Ptuih! Ptuih! )

[tangisan, zikir dan istighfar]

Kapan Kita Akan Bersedia?

*snip*

Mengenai upaya tim sukses Mega melobinya agar mendukung capres jagoan PDIP dan PDS tersebut, Gus Dur menjawab, “Boleh saja orang melobi. Hasilnya kayak apa mana tahu. Lobi itu kaya cinta, jangan tepuk tangan sebelah.”

Menurut Gus Dur, tingginya angka golput dalam pemilihan presiden baru lalu menunjukkan masyarakat telah siap dan mandiri dalam menentukan pilihannya. “Siapa yang ragu masyarakat nggak siap. Buktinya, DPP PKB mendukung Wiranto-Salahuddin. Orang Madura nggak mau ikut, padahal itu dianggap basisnya PKB, yang menang SBY. Di Pasuruan yang menang SBY. Itu artinya orang nggak mau diperintah,” tambah Gus Dur.

http://www.tempointeraktif.com

Komentar: Bijak sungguh kata kata dari orang orang tua yang berpengalaman ni. Do you see what i see?

MAS-ICNA Conference (July 2nd-4th, 2004 :: Cleveland, Ohio)




http://www.masnet.org
http://www.icna.org

Innaka La Tahdi Man Ahbabta ..
.. wa lakinna Allaha yahdee man yasha'

* Diadaptasi dari sebuah kisah benar.

[Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah wa assolaatu wa assalaamu 'ala rasulillah.]

Malam Sabtu, suasana di Islamic Center terang-benderang.

Terkumat-kamit penceramah berpidato di hadapan. Walaupun hanya berjarak satu meter dari hadirin yang cuma berjumlah kurang sepuluh orang, namun suaranya seakan tidak dapat kudengari. Bukan kerna tidak cukup lantang, tetapi sebab ia tidak terdengar oleh telinga hati. Masuk telinga kanan, keluar telinga kiri.

Kisah Muaz bin Amr yang meniti di bibir penceramah seolah-olah ditiup angin lalu, enggan menyentuh hati yang penuh lara.

Mata kasarku tampak jelas susuk penceramah, namun mata hatiku terhijab dengan seribu satu permasalahan dunia dan segala isinya.

Fikiranku melayang ke masalah penerobosan kesucian tanah muslim di Iraq, pembunuhan secara semborono muslim di Palestina, gerakan jihad yang tiada henti di Chechnya, keruntuhan akhlak remaja muslim yang meruncing di tanah air ku Malaysia, jiranku Indonesia .. senarai yang tiada kesudahan.

Akhirnya fikiranku kembali hinggap ke tempat studiku kini, West Lafayette. Bumi Amerika yang umat Islam seluruh dunia caci maki dan laknati saban hari.

Tiba-tiba hatiku syahdu, jiwaku menangis. Beginikah nasib umat Islam kini?

Bandar ini punyai lebih 500 muslim, tapi halaqah* mingguan di Islamic Center hadirinnya boleh dibilang dengan tangan cuma. Ramai insan yang namanya muslim namun acuan kehidupannya kekafiran dan kebaratan. Maksiat dilakukan tanpa segan silu.

Tiba waktu solat fardu, di hati masjid cuma dua baris makmum yang bisa dipenuhi. Barisan lainnya memang acapkali kosong tidak terisi, sepertimana lumrah kosongnya hati umat Islam tidak terisi dengan cahaya iman.

Aktiviti dakwah di kampus lesu di waktu summer. Di siang hari, mahasiswi non-muslim berpakaian seksi berjalan di sekitar kampus. Menggugat jalur keimanan. Di malam hari suasana kampus hening, kecuali di sekitar pub dan disko. Mengeluh panjang.

Ya Tuhan, beginikah nasib dunia? Beginikah nasib umat Islam? Usaha dakwah kami, halaqah mingguan di Islamic Center pun kurang 10 orang yang datang!

Aku berputus asa dengan kondisi umat. Aku tertunduk lesu.
Bibir mataku mula berembun.

Kring! Kring! Aku tersentak.

Kring! Kring! Telefon di Islamic Center berdering lagi. "Hello", ujarku.

"Hi there, my names Chris. I have some questions."

"Hi Chris, how are you? Yeah, go ahead."

"I'd like to convert to Islam. Would you teach me how to pray and how to read the Koran"?

Aku menahan sebak, "Sure Chris we'd love to do that, it'll be our pleasure."

Bagaimana boleh aku ragui sinaran cahayaMu? Air mataku turun laju, terasa kehangatannya di pipi. Hatiku kembali berbunga dengan pengharapan.



* halaqah = kuliah agama

Give and Take For God's Sake
A Video Lecture by Imam Hamza Yusuf

For Malaysians who are in daze what American Muslims are standing for ..

:: Play Video ::

http://www.zaytuna.org/video.html

New Release!
Abu Bakr al Siddiq: His Life and Times
By Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki

Publisher: Al-Basheer Publications (2004)
Voice: Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
Media: Audio CD (15)

[Play Sample Track]

Product description:

This series of lectures covers the different aspects of the life of Abu Bakr (R.A.), including his life before Islam, during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), and finally during his Khalifah.

Imam Awlaki brings to life stories from the golden era of Islam in a dynamic style and instills in the listeners a deep love for the Beloved of Allah (P.B.U.H.)

Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico, USA. His parents are from Yemen where he lived for eleven years and received the early part of his Islamic education. Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki has served as an Imam in Colorado, California, and Washington D.C. Currently he resides in Yemen.

Table of Contents:

CD1
Introduction

CD2
His Family
Embracing Islam
The Early Deeds

CD3
Hijrah

CD4
Jihad with the Messenger of Allah

CD5
Life in Madinah

CD6
The Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah

CD7
Inaugural Address
Abu Bakr and the Community

CD8
The Governors
The Army of Usama

CD9
The War against the Apostates

CD10
The War against the Apostates (Continued)

CD11
The War against the Apostates (Continued)
The Compilation of the Qur'an

CD12
The Conquest of Iraq

CD13
The War Against the Romans

CD14
The War Against the Romans (Continued)
The Appointment of Umar
His Death

CD15
Some of his Virtues

http://islamicbookstore.com/a4313.html
http://www.al-basheer.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=Awlaki009&type=store

Mengapa sesetengah ulama' tidak berkahwin
Exemplars From The Scholars 2

( .. sambungan dari Exemplars of the Scholars 1 : Mengapa Sesetengah Ulama' Tidak Berkahwin)

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah wa as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

Seperti yang telah dijelaskan sebelum ini, keputusan yang telah diambil oleh beberapa ulama' besar rahimahumullah untuk tidak berkahwin bukan lah atas dasar tidak mengikuti sunnah nabi saw. Ini adalah jauh sekali dari kebenaran dan 'blasphemy' yang teramat besar.

Tujuan mereka tidak lain hanyalah kerana mahu meng'devote'kan SELURUH kehidupan mereka untuk ibadah dan menuntut ilmu Allah swt seterusnya dengan illmu tersebut menjadi khazanah buat seluruh ummah. Semoga Allah membalas segala jerih payah mereka, wa Allahu haseeb.

Di dalam Ihya' Ulum ud-Deen karangan Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah, terdapat 15 mukasurat yang secara khusus membincang kan samada patutkah scholars berkahwin atau tidak. Jadi isu ini bukanlah suatu isu yang baru bahkan scholars sejak dahulu lagi sedar tentang perlunya pengorbanan sebegini dari masa ke semasa bagi menyeimbangkan kestabilan dunia.

Di bawah adalah beberapa lagi scholars yang namanya termaktub dalam salah satu kitab berikut:

1. Tazkirah ul-Huffaz oleh Imam Az-Zahabi rahimahullah
2. Siyar A'laam un-Nubala' juga oleh Imam Az-Zahabi rahimahullah
3. A'laam ul-Muqi'een oleh Imam Ibnu Qayyim rahmatullahi 'alayh
4. At-Taareekh oleh Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi rahimahullah


Abdullah Ibn Abi Najih al-Makki rA

Beliau merupakan seorang tabi'een. Ketokohan beliau, kewaraan dan ketinggian ilmunya tidak dapat disangkal lagi apabila dilantik sebagai Mufti Makkah al-Mukarramah. Beliau juga merupakan seorang penghujjah hadeeth yang cemerlang dan disegani.

Sesuai dengan tajuk kita hari ini, beliau juga merupakan antara ulama' tersohor yang tidak berkahwin semasa kehidupannya.


Bishr al-Hafi rA

Ulama' dan sufi agung Bishr al-Hafi rA hidup sezaman dengan Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal rA (pengasas mazhab Hambali) dan di dalam buku seerah mengenai ulama' terdapat banyak kisah antara beliau dan Imam Ahmad.

Sakeenah dan haybah (aura) yang dipunyai oleh beliau amat luar biasa. Imam Ahmad sendiri mengatakan bahawa Bishr al-Hafi merupakan salah seorang gurunya, namun Imam Ahmad berkata bahawa beliau tidak pernah berbicara dengan Bishr al-Hafi. Dengan kata lain, kehadiran Bishr al-Hafi di sampingnya sudah memadai dan memuaskan hatinya.

Sepanjang kehidupannya, tidak seorang pun pernah mendengar beliau mengungkapkan kata kata ghibah (bercerita mengenai perihal orang lain walaupun perihal tersebut benar) dari mulutnya apatah lagi fitnah (menceritakan hal insan lain yang tidak tentu kebenarannya) dan lain lain.

Taraf wara' Bishr al-Hafi dan Imam Ahmad adalah satu taraf yang sukar untuk kita bayangkan. Bagi mereka, amalan yang kita anggap remeh, seperti meletakkan pena di kocek baju pun mereka elakkan kerana dikhuatiri membawa kepada riya' bilamana orang lain tahu bahawa mereka adalah students of knowledge.

Pernah diriwayatkan, satu hari adik perempuan kepada Bishr al-Hafi datang kepada Imam Ahmad untuk bertanyakan suatu fatwa atau hukum. Adik perempuan kepada Bishr al-Hafi bekerja sebagai tukang jahit. Disebabkan mereka tidak mempunyai lampu di rumah maka kegelapan pada waktu malam memaksanya untuk menjahit di bawah sinaran menara tentera pengawal yang menyuluh sekali sekala (seperti menara yang dekat tepi pantai tu ; lighthouse).

Bayangkan, soalan seperti ini pun ditanya! Mana mungkin kita sendiri akan bertanya soalan sebegini. Soalan ini serupa seperti kita bertanya, halal atau tidak jika kita bekerja di bawah lampu elektrik di depan rumah? Ini tidak lain dan tidak bukan melambangkan nilai wara' keluarga beliau yang teramat tinggi.

Imam Ahmad sendiri hairan dengan persoalan wanita ini (wujudkah orang orang sebegini?). Memang secara am tak perlu dirisaukan soalan sebegini dan tentu sekali dibolehkan untuk bekerja di bawah suluhan menara tersebut.

Lalu Imam Ahmad bertanya siapakah wanita tersebut. Apabila wanita tersbeut mengatakan bahawa dia merupakan adik kepada Bishr al-Hafi barulah Imam Ahmad faham. Maka lantas dia katakan haram untuk perempuan tersebut bekerja di bawah suluhan menara. Fatwa ini khas bagi adik perempuan Bishr al-Hafi bagi menjaga nilai wara' nya.

Bishr al-Hafi meninggal sewaktu umurnya 87 tahun dengan tidak berkahwin.

(bersambung ..)

Saudi Victims Had Military Link
3 Americans Kidnapped or Killed Were Singled Out as Contractors, Officials Say

By Craig Whitlock and Renae Merle
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, June 14, 2004; Page A12

LONDON, June 13 -- The three Americans killed or kidnapped by Islamic radicals in Saudi Arabia in the past week were likely selected as targets many days or weeks in advance and singled out because of their work as military contractors, U.S. and Saudi officials said Sunday.

Authorities continued to search for the kidnapped American, Paul M. Johnson Jr., 55, an employee of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp., whose family reported Saturday that he had vanished in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

A group calling itself Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement Saturday saying it had captured Johnson and would treat him in the same way that U.S. troops treated Iraqi detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

Although Johnson was employed by Lockheed Martin, the telephone number on his business card indicated that he worked at the Riyadh headquarters of Advanced Electronics Co., a Saudi technology firm that manages a number of defense contracts for the Saudi government.

Advanced Electronics was the employer of Kenneth Scroggs, another American, who was gunned down by three assailants as he pulled into the garage of his Riyadh home Saturday afternoon, Saudi officials said.

A third American was fatally shot in his Riyadh home on Tuesday after leaving the Riyadh office of Vinnell Corp., a Fairfax-based subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Inc. Robert Jacobs, 62, worked for Vinnell on a project to train the Saudi National Guard. Seven Vinnell personnel were killed in May 2003 in a suicide bombing of a residential compound for Westerners in Riyadh.

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh warned Americans in the kingdom to pay close attention to their surroundings and to avoid predictable workday routines that could make them easy targets. The embassy statement said last week's attacks on Americans "appear to have involved extensive planning and preparation and were likely preceded by extensive pre-attack surveillance."

In its statement Saturday, the al Qaeda-affiliated group said Johnson was one of four experts in Saudi Arabia on the Apache attack helicopters used by the U.S. military elsewhere in the Middle East. The statement indicated that Scroggs also advised the Saudi government on the use of Apaches.

Advanced Electronics, located in an industrial park near King Khalid International Airport outside Riyadh, was awarded a five-year, $10 million U.S. Army contract in 1999 for repair work on Apache systems. The program was scheduled to expire in March, according to a contract announcement issued at the time.

It was unclear whether Scroggs had been involved in Apache work.

Executives at the firm declined to be interviewed Sunday, but released a statement confirming that a U.S. employee had been killed "at the door of his house" in Riyadh on Saturday. The firm did not identify Scroggs by name, but called him "a very serious and sincere employee of the company for over 12 years."

In a statement to its own employees, Lockheed Martin said that Johnson had worked in Saudi Arabia on the Apache program, specializing in a targeting system known as Target Acquisition and Designation Sites/Pilot Night Vision System. Known as the "eyes of the Apache," it enables the helicopter's pilots to fly at low altitudes in the dark and in bad weather.

Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's largest contractor, began evacuating its employees' dependents from Saudi Arabia in mid-April after the State Department issued a strongly worded warning urging Americans to leave the country.

The company declined to disclose how many of its employees were stationed in Saudi Arabia or what security measures were being provided to them. "As courageous and brave as they are, they go over there as volunteers," said Tom Jurkowsky, a Lockheed spokesman. "Security is paramount, we're aware of the warnings, the intelligence provided by the embassy. We take necessary precautions."

Lockheed also declined to comment on its work in the kingdom, citing security concerns. Lockheed manages international aircraft depots in Saudi Arabia, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Advanced Electronics has a contract with Lockheed to provide electronics for the F-16 fighter jet, according to Advanced Electronics' Web site.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said he was satisfied with the Saudi government's efforts to investigate the recent attacks and to prevent future bloodshed. "The Saudis know that this is an enemy that is coming after them," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "The killing of foreigners, whether they're Americans or Brits, or what are they, is a direct attack against the Saudi regime."

Mohsen Awajy, a Saudi lawyer and former Islamic radical who now advises the government on dealing with militants, said al Qaeda cells were targeting individual Westerners involved with the military in a bid to regain popular sympathy in Saudi Arabia. He said many Saudis were appalled by recent al Qaeda bombings that resulted in the deaths of Muslims and of expatriates who were seen as important cogs in the country's economy.

"The militants are trying to show some justification for what they're doing," he said. "They are also trying to choose the easiest targets because they are finding it harder and harder to do anything on a bigger scale."

The recent attacks are evidence that for contractors, "the risks are much higher than people anticipated," said Peter Singer, foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Basically, if companies are going to keep people in Saudi, they are going to have to provide better security guarantees. The pay is going to have to reflect the higher danger."

On Sunday, Lockheed's main Web page was dedicated to the kidnapping. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul M. Johnson, Jr. and his family," the Web site said.

Whitlock reported from London, Merle from Washington.

© 2004 The Washington Post Company

Pengejaran Yang Tidak Kesampaian
Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah wa as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

Teka teki:
Orang yang lakukan amalan apa yang paling rugi dalam dunia ni?

Terutamanya musim cuti begini, mungkin ramai yang sangkakan bahawa masa banyak terbuang dengan benda benda yang tidak berfaedah, contohnya bermain komputer/video game, marathon kartun anime, termenung tanpa sebab, tidur yang berpanjangan, berbual/chatting perkara yang lagho etc.

Aktiviti aktiviti di atas ini tidaklah 100% useless kalau kita niatkan kerana Allah .. (and you start to think, macam mana nak niatkan aktiviti aktiviti tu kerna Allah? .. Exactly!! .. Because that logic doesn't work, you yourself is answering that these activities are indeed useless .. period!) *smile*

Now, adakah itu jawapan bagi teka teki, "Orang yang lakukan amalan apa yang paling rugi dalam dunia ni?".

Surprisingly, NO.

Hint

Perlukan hint? Okay, hint dia .. ironinya orang orang yang lakukan amalan yang paling rugi dalam dunia ni tidak sedar yang sebenarnya mereka sedang habiskan masa dengan sia sia.

Berlainan seperti mereka yang terjatuh dalam aktiviti yang disebutkan di atas; bermain video/komputer game etc - mereka ini sedar bahawa mereka ini dalam kerugian, namun tewas pada pujuk rayu hasutan syahwah dan nafsu lalu terus lemas dalam lautan kesia-siaan.

Ini nak diberitahu, orang yang paling rugi dalam dunia ini lebih parah keadaan mereka daripada itu, kerana mereka ini berada dalam keadaan delusional state. Mereka sangkakan bahawa mereka akan meraih keuntungan, namun sebenarnya ia hanyalah suatu mimpi yang langsung tidak akan kesampaian.

[Hakikatnya, bertanya soalan "Orang yang lakukan amalan apa yang paling rugi dalam dunia ni?" adalah sebenarnya satu sunnah yang Allah swt sendiri menyuruh kita bertanya kepada orang ramai.]


Jawapan bagi teka teki:

Allah swt, Yang Mengetahui Segala yang Nyata dan Tersembunyi - menjawab teka teki ini dalam firmannya:

"Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds?

Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?

They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight.

That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest." (18:103-106)

Ini lah the ultimate truth. And Allah speaks the truth and to Him belongs the ultimate truth.

Argumentasi

Terkadang terdengar suara syaitani yang berbisik, "eh .. takkanla sampai terus sia sia amalan mereka? mestilah ada jugak nilai dia kan?"

Perhatikan bahawa Allah swt berfirman, "Nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight". Weight atau dalam al-Qur'an disebutkan wazna, atau berat.

Bagi sesiapa yang pernah mempelajari physics pasti tahu bahawa:

weight = mass x gravitational force

berat = jisim x tarikan graviti

Maka beratnya sesuatu amalan itu kesemuanya bergantung kepada sejauh mana 'grave' nya, atau graviti nya Allah swt memandang amalan tersebut.

Jika kita singgah ke dictionary.com antara definisi lain yang paling simple bagi 'gravity' adalah:
1. Grave consequence; seriousness or importance: They are still quite unaware of the gravity of their problems.
2. Solemnity or dignity of manner.

Maka jika Allah swt letakkan gravitinya (definisi seperti di atas) kosong maka kosong lah ia. Dan apa nilai yang didarabkan dengan kosong, maka kosong juga lah jumlahnya.

Jika Allah letakkan graviti nya 700 maka 700 lah ia. Dan tentu sekali apabila didarabkan maka berlipat gandalah ganjarannya (atau dosanya).


An-Naasu niyaam iza maata intabahu

"They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter)"

Jangan sekali kali menyangka bahawa ayat ini hanya ditujukan kepada orang kafir, dan hanya memandang ayat ini sebelah mata dengan tanpa emosi (have emotions remember?).

Kerana orang yang melihat dengan sebelah mata (monocular) tidak akan dapat menilai kedalaman dengan nilainya yang sebenar. Hanya manusia yang terbuka kedua belah 'mata'nya (binocular) mampu untuk menilai kedalaman.

Berapa ramai sebenarnya dari kita yang buta, tertutup (kufur) matanya dari melihat aayaat and signs of Allah? Berapa kerapkah mata (hati) kita hakikatnya kabur, diselaputi ghaflah dengan tidak teringat bahawa kita akan berhadapan dengan Allah bila bila masa?

"But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: But he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him his account: and Allah is swift in taking account.

Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!" (24:39-40)

Ya Arhama Ar-Rahimeen, irhamnee ya Allah. Allahumma a'inna 'ala zikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik.

Kekosongan?

"Tafarragh li 'ibaadatee, amla' sadraka ghina."

"Empty (thy heart) for My worship, and I will fill thy chest with richness."

Mengapa sesetengah ulama' tidak berkahwin
Exemplars From the Scholars 1

A Lecture by Shaykh Tawfeq
Masjid Al-Fajr, Indianapolis
June 5th, 2004

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah wa as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

Antara sedar atau tidak, tahukah kita bahawa terdapat sesetengah ulama'/scholars dalam realitinya, memilih untuk tidak berkahwin. Dan mereka ini tidak berkahwin seumur hidup mereka.

Adakah ini bermakna mereka ini tidak mengikuti sunnah nabi saw? Ataupun scholars ini hanyalah scholars scholars yang 'kecil' dan tidak terkenal?

Jauh sekali tidak!

Bahkan scholars yang memilih untuk tidak berkahwin ramai dan mereka cukup dikenali oleh ummat Islam dengan kawarakan dan ketinggian ilmu mereka. Antara mereka termasuk Imam Ibnu Taimiyyah dan Imam An-Nawawi rahimahumullah.

Tujuan di sebalik keputusan mereka untuk tidak berkahwin adalah al-eethaar atau al-aathaar, iaitu kerana menitikberatkan kepentingan orang lain (ummah) dari kepentingan diri sendiri. Jika ada skala pemberat antara berkahwin atau menuntut ilmu, nescaya skala kedahagaan menuntut ilmu jauh melebihi skala keinginan untuk berkahwin.

Scholars scholars ini mendevotekan SELURUH kehidupan mereka untuk Allah. Hidup mereka 24 jam sehari, 7 hari seminggu dihabiskan untuk menuntut ilmu, ibadah dan ummah serta tidak meninggalkan sisa sesaat pun untuk diri mereka sendiri.

Dunia memerlukan scholars yang sebegini bagi menyeimbangkan dunia. Mungkin disebabkan scholars sebegini maka diri kita yang dipenuhi kekotoran dan kezaliman ini masih Allah benarkan untuk hidup di muka bumi ini.

Ini natijah dari mereka memilih maslahah 'ammah (kebaikan umum; contohnya benefit for the community), lebih lagi dari maslahah khassah (kebaikan khusus; contohnya benefit untuk diri sendiri dan keluarga).

Di dalam satu hadith, rasulullah saw pernah mengatakan mengenai anak anak, Hasan dan Husin, cucu kesayangan baginda saw dengan katanya yang lebih kurang membawa maksud: Sesungguhnya kamu ini membawa kepada kebakhilan, membawa kepada sikap pengecut, dan membawa kepada kejahilan, dan kamu adalah wangian dari wangian syurga.

Umar ra dalam kata kata yang famous mengatakan: "Tafaqqahuu qabla an tusawwaduu" yang secara literalnya membawa maksud: menjadi faqih lah kamu sebelum kamu mengambil tanggungjawab. Antara kata asal bagi tasawwadu adalah sayyid iaitu menjadi pemimpin. Mengikut Lisan ul-Arab, At-tasawwadu hua an tazawwaju, iaitu at-tasawwadu membawa maksud perkahwinan.

Dengan kata lain, jika kamu ingin menjadi faqih maka lakukanlah sebelum memperolehi anak. Kerana tatkala mulanya mempunyai anak maka seribu satu permasalahan dan halangan akan mula timbul. Spertimana Sufyan At-Thawri rahimahullah pernah mengatakan: Permulaan adanya anak adalah seperti kita melayari bahtera di lautan.

Nama nama scholars yang bakal disebutkan di bawah, untuk rujukan lanjut boleh didapati kisah dan biografi mereka di sekurang kurang nya salah satu buku berikut:

1. Tazkirah ul-Huffaz oleh Imam Az-Zahabi rahimahullah
2. Siyar A'laam un-Nubala' juga oleh Imam Az-Zahabi rahimahullah
3. A'laam ul-Muqi'een oleh Imam Ibnu Qayyim rahmatullahi 'alayh
4. At-Taareekh oleh Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi rahimahullah


Di bawah adalah antara ulama' yang tidak berkahwin seumur hidup mereka:

Imam Ibnu Zaid An-Nisaiburi rA

Peribadi ulama' ini merupakan ensiklopedia berjalan pada zamannya. Tidak keterlaluan untuk zaman moden ini dikatakan setaraf dengan enjin pencarian google di zaman ini. Menghabiskan hampir seluruh hidupnya dengan menuntut ilmu, dan selepas 40 atau 50 tahun baru beliau mengendalikan halaqah atau kelas ilmunya yang pertama.

Antara keperibadiannya yang begitu menonjol adalah selama 40 tahun dalam kembaranya mencari ilmu Allah swt, beliau tidak pernah tidur malam. Dan menjadi lumrah baginya, makanan hariannya hanyalah 4 biji badam sehari. Bukan itu sahaja, bahkan seringkali dalam masa 40 tahun ini, beliau akan menggunakan tidak lebih dari satu wudhu' dari fajar/subuh sehingga ke isha'.

Dan yang menjadikan ia lebih menarik, kesemua aktivti di atas hanya dapat beliau amalkan sebelum berkahwin.


Ma'mar Ibn Rashid Al-Basri rA

Antara sifatnya yang terkenal adalah beliau tidak pernah berhenti mengembara dalam mencari ilmu Allah swt. Dari satu tempat ke satu tempat ia jelajahi tanpa henti, bertahun tahun lamanya ini menjadi kegiatan beliau.

Suatu hari, bermeseyuaratlah rakyat di sebuah bandar yang bakal dilalui oleh Ibn Rashid, bagaimana mahu menghentikan Ibn Rashid rA dari mengembara, agar dengannya dapat mereka memakan buah ilmu yang dipunyai oleh beliau.

Setelah nekad, mereka mengambil langkah untuk mengahwinkan beliau .. maka terhentilah pengembaraan beliau yang bertahun lamanya di bandar tersebut.

(bersambung..)

Anjing 1

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah was as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

Kisah pemuda Ashabul Kahfi (sahabat sahabat gua) yang hidup di zaman 350 AD cukup terkenal dan tersemat di sanubari pemuda pemudi Islam. Pelbagai pengajaran yang boleh digarap dari kisah mereka.

Salah satu pengajaran yang menarik, dapat diteliti semasa Allah swt berfirman:

"(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers." (18:22)

Seseorang yang benar benar mentadabburi ayat di atas tentu tidak dapat menyembunyikan rasa kehairanan yang teramat apabila memerhatikan bahawa Allah swt menyebut frasa "dan anjing mereka" sehingga 3 kali.

Cuba kita perhatikan semula:

- Dan sesetengah mereka katakan bahawa mereka bertiga, dan yang keempat anjing mereka.
- Dan sesetengah mereka katakan bahawa mereka berlima, dan yang keenam anjing mereka.
- Dan sesetengah mereka katakan bahawa mereka bertujuh, dan yang kelapan anjing mereka.

Sebab apa perlu juga disebutkan "dan anjing mereka"? Sedangkan umum tahu bahawa pada kebiasaannya seekor anjing tidak membawa signifikasi dan tidak bernilai untuk dicatatkan.

Namun anjing ini mendapat penghargaan yang tidak ternilai apabila kewujudannya termaktub di dalam kalam Allah yang dimuliakan. Kata kata Allah yang darinya manusia disuruh mengambil pengajaran dan dijadikan sebagai panduan.

Dan tentunya Allah swt tidak membuat sesuatu dengan sia sia.

Bagaimana dan kenapa anjing ini begitu dimuliakan? Adakah kerena ia telah menggigit dan melawan penjahat? Tidak. Adakah kerana ia menyalak dan menjaga mereka dari bahaya? Juga tidak. Jadi apakah hikmah di sebaliknya?

Jawapannya:

Sesetengah ulama' rahimahullah menyatakan bahawa hikmah yang boleh diperolehi di sini ialah anjing tersebut mendapat tashreef dan dimuliakan di sisi Allah swt, sebab utamanya adalah kerana ia mendampingi orang orang yang soleh. Hanya kerana kebersamaannya dengan orang orang yang soleh maka kewujudannya diiktiraf oleh Allah swt di dalam Al-Qur'an. [Imam Ibnu Katheer rahimahullah adalah antara ulama' yang secara explicit menyebutkan pengajaran ini dalam kitab tafsirnya]

Tadabburkan lah pengajaran di atas!

Bak kata Imam As-Shafi'e rahimahullah yang lebih kurang maksudnya : Aku suka untuk berdamping dengan orang orang yang soleh, dan aku bukan lah dari mereka (orang orang soleh). Aku berharap agar pendampinganku bersama mereka dapat menjadi shafa'at buatku di akhirat kelak.

Renungkan secara mendalam, jika tidak mahu berada dalam kerugian. Allahu a'lam.



Anjing 2

Bukti akan kepentingan ilmu terserlah dalam perihal anjing. Bagaimana Allah swt mengharamkan bagi kita memakan haiwan yang telah dibunuh oleh binatang lain termasuk anjing (biasa), namun Allah swt menghalalkan bagi kita memakan haiwan yang telah digigit oleh anjing buruan kita.

Apakah yang membezakan seekor anjing biasa dan seekor anjing buruan? Garis bezanya hanyalah kerana ilmu. Hanyalah kerana ilmu. Hanyalah kerana ilmu.

Wa Allahu al-Musta'an.

Where Are You?

[Read this s l o w l y - with CONCENTRATION and with CAUTION!]

* It would help if you read the writings below ALOUD

Now try and take a deep breath and relax.

You are not relaxing. Take a deep breath again - slowly.

Relax. Feel the muscles in your body relaxing and easening out.

You have just read a sentence contained of a combination-of-words.
Words which are consisted of a group of l-e-t-t-e-r-s.

Your eye balls are moving from left to right - moving with the flow of this sentence.

Left...................................to...................................RIGHT.


Left...................................to...................................RIGHT.


Left...................................to...................................RIGHT.

Light is entering your eyes, neuro-signals are being sent to your brain to understand this writing.

Neuro-signals are again sent to your eye-balls.
Concentrate on your eyelids - they are moving - they are blinking in a random manner.
Blink.

Where are YOU?

Are you INSIDE your head?

Suddenly you notice that you are breathing.

Tarik Nafas.

Hembus Nafas.

Your chest is moving up and down.

Where are YOU?

Are you INSIDE your chest?




Now,

Try and HEAR really hard.
Could you hear that humming sound coming from the computer fan?
Your ears are concentrating and focusing to hear the sound.

Where are you right now?

Are you back INSIDE your head?




Now,

Try and scroll down.





























Your hands and fingers are MOVING!

Where are YOU right now?

Are you INSIDE your hands?



Now,

Have you ever noticed?

You are TRAPPED inside a temporal body.

Human Beings and Water

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah was as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

In Tibb un-Nabawi (Zad ul-Ma'ad) by Imam Ibn Qayyim it is opined that human being is created from three main source of elements namely water, air and earth.

It's interesting to note that the element of earth without water, is an extremely dry and hard substance. It is easily shattered and breakable. Whereas humans are 70% water. Humans are not meant to be dry and hard hearted. A dry tongue is unable to taste the sweetness of food, as of a dry heart is unable to taste the sweetness of love, rahmah and eemaan. Eyes that are dry from overflowing tears are void of compassion.

With water and the abundance of rain, earth that is dead and barren is brought back to life . Without water, human beings are nearing its precinct of death. Do not become dry and hard - please, have emotions.

Allahu a'lam.

Cross Culture?

Talk about inter-cultural-marriages :)


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http://www.islamiclabels.com/pics/

Unrecognized Patterns

Bismillah wa alhamdu lillah allazi laa ilaaha siwaah was as-solaatu wa as-salaamu 'ala rasulillah

Most people have the view that the Qur'an is not arranged in a recognizable pattern. This is only caused by the factor of their limited sight, clouded heart and lack of understanding. The similitude is of a lay person who views the bright shining stars during the night and unable to see their magnificent patterns. Humanity has taken hundreds if not thousands of years to understand the design patterns of the skies and universe. The beautiful architecture lay out of the Qur'an - only people with insight and understanding would comprehend.

Allahu a'lam.

Viewpoint: What the West can learn from Islam

By Imam Hamza Yusuf
Director of Zaytuna Institute, CA
Hamza Yusuf Hanson is an American convert to Islam. He is an outspoken advocate of better understanding between the Muslim world and the West.

Writing in the third century, the Arab poet Mutanabbi describes how a recipient of another's largesse will usually respond with either indebtedness or resentment :

'A generous soul is bought when it receives, a vile one returns good done with disease.'

Your response to another's good toward you determines your nature.

If good in nature, you will respond with indebtedness and respect; if vile, with resentment and envy.

Many of us in the West feel anger and resentment toward Islam and Muslims.

Often this is justified in our minds by the anger and resentment Muslims appear to have toward the West.

'Abstractions'

But what is largely at work is what is properly termed "the fallacy of personification," in which an abstract is referred to as though it were a person.

For instance, in the Muslim world one can hear cries of "Death to America!", but what is America? What is the UK?

It is impossible for us to really pin down the concept of America or the West and point to either of them; they are abstractions that do not have any real existence.

Is the America, that perhaps much of the Muslim world would like to see die, the 63-year-old schoolteacher from Florida who, just prior to the air bombardment of Baghdad and against her country's laws, flew to Iraq to serve as a human shield in protest of what "America" was doing?

What too is Islam or Muslims? Is there some monolithic entity we can point to and say, "There it is!"? Is Islam Muhammad Ali, one of the most loved and recognized athletes in the world?

It might behove us to learn more about this religion and its followers, especially considering the fact that we are talking about one sixth of humanity and a people who occupy a geographical area that extends from Asia to Africa latitudinally, and from Russia to South Africa longitudinally, not to mention the over 30 million Muslims living in the West.

In America alone, for example, there are over 15,000 Muslim physicians.

David Letterman, the American comedian, could say on national television, "I went to my doctor today and he said, 'Turn to Mecca and cough'" because millions of Americans would easily get the joke.

Interdependence

Our world is increasingly interdependent and pluralistic, and in order to ensure a civil future, we must get to know one another.

One of the most important ways to do this is to know what our different cultures have given to the world community.

All peoples have contributed to the overall progress and enhancement of human life.

To be aware of others' accomplishments and the indebtedness we have to so many people is to appreciate and begin to respect all members of the human family.

In a time when enmity and hatred are being exploited for personal and collective agendas, nothing is more important than eliminating the ground of hatred, and ignorance has always been the most fertile soil for the seeds of hatred.

In the case of Islam, this is especially true, and it is important that we reduce the unfortunate level of ignorance that presently exists in the West toward Islam as a religion and Muslims as a diverse people if we are to prevent hatred.

Understanding Islam

Western people can increase their understanding of Islam and Muslims in two ways.

First, we can find out about the almost unbelievable influence that Muslims have had on the progress and enhancement of life in the West.

In doing so, we will not only come to value the Muslims as a people more, but we will also come to esteem other peoples, such as the Chinese, from whom the Muslims brought so many inventions and goods to the West.

The second way we can foster better understanding is learning how Islam and Muslims can contribute to solving the very real problems of the present and future.

Prince Charles, for instance, made a pertinent point in a speech to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies when he remarked that the West must learn from Islam how to integrate science and religion, an area at which the Muslims have historically proved adept.

Indeed, there is much the West can learn from the congruity of science and true religion so often mentioned in the Koran itself.

Moral obligations

The West can also learn from Islam how to deal with the problem of race.

Arnold Toynbee mentions in a prescient and compelling essay written in the 1940's the extraordinary success Islam had in remedying the race problem and declared that the West had a great deal to learn from Islam.

He felt the danger of a race war was quite imminent in the world, and seeing the possibility of that war being launched in Muslim lands against the conquering West, he felt it was important to conciliate Islam and acknowledge the immense power it has had in freeing a large part of the world's population from segregation and exploitation by recognizing and affirming the brotherhood of the "children of Adam and Eve."

The Koran declares, "We have made you a plurality of races and tribes for you to know each other."

If we reflect on the animosities that exist today as a result of ignorance and stereotyping of other people, it is easy to recognize that "knowing one another" is one of the most pressing moral obligations challenging humanity today.

Martin Luther King said, "If we don't live as brothers, we will die as fools."

The human family is a great one and the Muslim branch is certainly worth knowing.

Purification of the Heart 01
By: Imam Hamza Yusuf

After praising and glorifying Allah, and sending salutations to the Prophet pbuh, amma ba'd.

Allah swt says:
"The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, but only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart (qalb as-saleem)." (26:88-89)

Qalbu as-saleem - heart that is free from defects and spiritual blemishes.
Qalb = spiritual heart, not the physical heart

Chinese tradition, heart houses Shen (the spirit). In almost every culture in the world, people use metaphors using the heart eg: cold heart, warm heart, hard hearted, he affected me in my heart/core, he/she stole my heart.

* core - from latin word 'lubb' which means heart.

Indo European - heart that leaps (skipped a beat).

Antara perkara pertama yang Qur'an buat adalah define 3 jenis heart.
1. Hearts that are dead (Kafir)
2. Hearts that are alive (Mukmin)
3. Hearts that are in disease (Munafiq)

Physical heart, centered slightly to the left of human being.

Interestingly, the whole concept of writing (scriptures lama dari kanan ke kiri) is purposed to reach/towards the heart. Also, the concept of Tawaf, sebelah kiri, hearts patut yearn towards ka'bah/Allah.

The physical heart 100,000 times/day, 100 gallons/hour. Buat ini selama 24/7 seumur hidup! Sejauh 60,000 miles! Heart begins to beat sebelum mind was developed. Heart rupa rupanya bukan diinitiate oleh brain/nervous system, tetapi diinitiate sendiri. Heart is the center by itself!

Ramai yang sangka brain is the center of counciousness.

Tapi sebenarnya, lahum qulubun la yafqahuna biha. Ikut fahaman muslim, the center of the human beings is the heart. Ada 40,000 neurons in the heart. Ada 2 way communications between the brain and the heart, maksudnya heart hantar arahan kepada brain, brain hantar arahan kepada the heart.

Based on hadith, heart is the source of knowledge. Crime/bad deeds/sins irritates the heart. Kalau buat salah maka akan berlaku spiritual agitation. Maka manusia akan cari jalan untuk tutup (kufr) akan that agitation dengan alcohol, suicide, sexual acts etc. Mereka cuba masuk state of heedlessness untuk hilang kan that agitation. Kalau abaikan lama lama maka hati akan mati. Tetapi sebelum mati ia akan tunjukkan symptom symptom of illnesses and diseases.

Penyakit hati terbahagi kepada 2:
1. Syubuhaat - berkaitan dgn understanding.

Lipatan Sejarah Membuktikan Haya' Pakaian Lelaki

Salah satu endangered species dalam dunia hari ini bernama haya'. Orang melayu kenali haya' dengan nama PEMALU atau SIFAT MALU.

Ramai orang cakap yang dulu dulu sifat malu ni diassociatekan dengan perempuan, zaman sekarang ramai perempuan yang dah hilang sifat malu mereka. "Malu dah bukan lagi jadi pakaian anak anak perempuan kita", rungut pakcik pakcik and makcik makcik kita.

[Permisi, I beg to differ.]

Yang sebetulnya, sifat haya' ni dulu dulu bukan sahaja diassociatekan pada perempuan, lelaki juga famous dulu dengan pakaian haya' mereka. Haaa .. buktinya?

Teori ni baru je bermain di kepala, so kali ni nak cuba ketengahkan pada netters. Ini mungkin lebih make sense pada netters yang pernah pergi sekolah agama banding dengan yang tak pernah.

Kalau sesiapa yang ingat masa zaman muda muda, semasa fitrah insani masih lagi kuat tertunjang dalam diri, ketika sekolah agama asrama dulu, budak budak perempuan biasanya pakai kain almost 24/7. Jarang nak tgk mereka ni pakai seluar kecuali time pendidikan jasmani, itu pun masa tu lelaki dengan perempuan tak sekali biasanya. Kira kalau ada pelajar putera nampak pelajar puteri dekat kawasan sekolah pakai seluar itu dah kira minah set set 'auta'/gangster atau ganas la kiranya. Jika tak pun, kalau pelajar puteri ni pakai seluar, (here's a very interesting point to bear in mind) mereka akan pakai baju yang agak labuh sampai ke sekurang kurangnya paras lutut atau separuh peha. Kalau pakai baju yang atas dari tu memang akan dilabel oleh students sebagai budak yang tak tau malu atau yang sewaktu dengannya.

[Okeh, kesian pelajar puteri kena put on the spot dalam tulisan ni .. kita alihkan spotlight kepada pelajar putera balik.]

Amazingly, sebenarnya kalau kita imbas balik lintasan sejarah on the surface, pakaian lelaki zaman zaman tok kadok dulu memang tak jauh bezanya dengan pakaian perempuan sekarang. Jepun misalnya (satu culture yang betul betuul titik beratkan haya' dan kesopanan), pendekar samurai mereka pakai seluar yang baggy teramat sangat sampai sekali pandang memang nampak macam pakai kain.

Kita lihat kepada komik komik pendekar China pulak, walaupun pendekar pendekar memakai seluar .. teetapi baju mereka labuh sampai ke lutut! Ini satu frekuensi dengan pakaian haya' pelajar puteri asrama dulu!

Orang orang Pakistan and India jangan cerita lah, pakaian tradisional mereka either berkain pelikat atau kalaupun berseluar, baju mereka labuh sampai ke lutut. Fenemona ini melekat sehingga ke hari ini. Dari Timur tadi, kita pergi ke tengah tengah dunia sikit ke tempat negara negara Arab. Kalau kita perhatikan, orang orang Arab memang pakaian rasmi mereka pagi petang siang malam pakai 'kain yang besar' atau lebih dikenali dengan jubah/jubba, dari dulu sampai sekarang.

Habis meneroka dunia, kita kembali ke tanah tumpah darah kita. Realiti sepertimana yang kita tahu, orang melayu juga berkain pelikat. Tambah peliknya, kalau untuk urusan rasmi lelaki lelaki melayu terakhir ni akan pakai kain pendek menutupi seluar mereka :)

Jadi, persoalannya .. adakah ini hanya satu kebetulan, yang lelaki zaman dahulu memakai pakaian yang menyerupai haya' nya pakaian perempuan masa zaman fitrah di sekolah? Atau sememangnya lelaki zaman dulu dulu dipenuhi dengan sifat haya' sehingga tampak pada cara mereka berpakaian?

Satu lagi interesting point to add is, mungkin point di atas tu nampak pelik dan kelakar .. well here's a more serious proof sebenarnya. As we all know or as we ought to know, hijab or the head cover for sisters is a sign of modesty.

Sebenarnya kalau ikut sejarah Islam, kalau nak tahu seseorang lelaki ini wara' atau pun ahlul hadeeth, one of the signs of ahlul hadeeth (people who are masters in the knowledge of hadeeth) is that they always cover their heads out of modesty. It is a well known fact that the Prophet pbuh always if not all the time covers his head.

Teringat dulu masa tingkatan 2 and tingkatan 3, semua lelaki dalam kelas pakai kopiah. Kalau sesiapa punya kopiah kena cabut memang rasa malu yang teramat. Seolah-olah rasa macam terbuka aurat je.

Maka persoalannya di sini, kenapakah pakaian lelaki pada hari ini sudah tidak menampakkan haya' lagi? Ataupun persoalan yang lebih tepat lagi, mungkinkah hakikatnya status 'endangered species' haya' pada lelaki sudahpun mencapai status EXTINCT !?!

Profile: Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian, a native-born Taiwanese and the island's first president from an opposition party, was re-elected in March 2004 by the narrowest of margins.



CHEN SHUI-BIAN

Strengths: Taiwanese-born, populist touch, stands up to China.
Weaknesses: Unpredictable, economy has been weak, DPP lacks depth.

A charismatic public speaker from a poor rural background, he is seen as a steely fighter with a populist touch.

Mr Chen insists he is a "peacemaker, not a troublemaker", and says he has no plans to declare independence except in the event of a Chinese invasion.

But his often prickly approach towards Beijing, and his Democratic Progressive Party's traditional pro-independence stance, have caused some to worry about Taiwan's long-term stability and prosperity now he has won a second term.

China remains deeply suspicious of him, accusing him of planning constitutional changes that would destroy its hopes of eventual reunification.

Chen Shui-bian's life is an astonishing tale of tenacity in the face of adversity.

He was born to illiterate tenant farmers in a village in southern Taiwan in 1951.

Education became his ticket out of poverty. He was the best student in his county and earned himself a place at the prestigious Taiwan National University where he gained a law degree.

As an ambitious young lawyer, he joined a maritime legal firm and married Wu Shu-jen, the daughter of a wealthy doctor.

Mr Chen fell into politics in the early 1980s when he defended a group of pro-independence leaders following a protest in the port of Kaohsiung.

He lost the case, but he was won over by his clients' ideals. The defendants and their lawyers subsequently became the core of the democratic opposition

Tragedy struck in 1985, when his wife was paralysed from the waist down after a truck ran over her in what many believe was an assassination attempt on Mr Chen himself.

Imprisonment

The following year, Mr Chen was jailed for eight months after losing a libel case involving the ruling party, the Kuomintang (KMT).

But if his enemies hoped to keep him out of politics they achieved the very opposite.

He became a member of the Taipei municipal council, and after the birth of multi-party politics and the formation of the DPP became the capital city's first popularly elected Mayor in 1994.

Mr Chen fought corruption, shut down brothels, improved traffic and levelled a large slum to create a park. But his abrasive and sometimes autocratic style also made him enemies.

When Taipei's voters threw him out four years later, he turned his defeat into an opportunity to run for the presidency in 2000.

His personal success in that campaign was followed by his party's victory in parliamentary elections the following year - the first democratic transfer of power from one party to another in the Chinese world.

Much of Mr Chen's appeal to voters lies in his personal dynamism and his down-to-earth background - many refer to him by his nickname, A-bian.

Theatrical showman

"At his public rallies," says one observer, "he is quite brilliant at working the crowd. He gets them laughing and uses elaborately choreographed music, fireworks and balloons to build up the atmosphere. He's a real showman."

He is also seen as something of a maverick.

In February, in the first-ever televised presidential debate in Taiwan's history, Lien Chan focused on the president's character, calling him "capricious," "irresponsible" and "unreliable."

Mr Chen indignantly dismissed his allegations. "My hairstyle has never changed over the years," he said, "nor my love for my wife."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2172980.stm

Islamic Civilization
By: Dr. Mustafa Sibai



Product information:

'For a thousand years the Islamic civilization was the central light whose rays illumined the world. It was the mother of European culture, for men reared in this civilization were the masters in the Middle Ages at whose feet the Spaniards, the French, the English, the Italians and the Germans sat to learn philosophy, science of mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, physics, medicine and industrial techniques.'

This book covers the glorious Islamic past when Islam reached its peak in terms of Justice, Peace and Prosperity. It covers the following areas:

Racial Equality
Religious Tolerance
Morality in War
Compassion and Kindness to Animals
Welfare Institutions
Schools and Educational Instituions
Hospitals and Medical Institutions
Private and Public Libraries
Capitals and Large Cities.


Extract: Private and Public Libraries

One of the Caliphs sent for a certain scholar to talk to him. When the servant found the scholar, he found him sitting and engrossed in reading whilst around him were many books. He said to him: "You have been called by the Amir al-Mu'mineen." He replied: "Tell him that I am presently in the company of great learned men and philosophers and engaged in conversation with them. When I have finished with them, I will come and see him." The servant returned and informed the Caliph. He asked the servant: "Who are those learned men and philo-sophers engaged in conversation with him." The servant replied: "By Allah, O Amir al-Mu'mineen! I did not see anyone there." The Caliph said: "Bring him here at once." When he came, the Caliph asked him: "Who were those learned men who were keeping you company." He replied: 'O Amir al-Mu'mineen'

They are companions whose talk does not bore you;
Present or absent they are constant and trustworthy.
When we in seclusion their talk is very beneficial
And helpful in taking away anxieties and worries.
They benefit us with their knowledge; knowledge of what has passes
With wisdom, affability, prudence and sound opinion.
You will neither have any apprehension nor fear of discourtesy
Nor dread of any injury from their hand or their tongue.
If I said that they are dead, I would not be a liar
And if I say they are living, I would not be lying.

The Caliph on learning that what he meant by 'learned people gathered with him' was the books of the scholars and learned people, did not reprimand him for not responding to his call immediately.

Dr. Mustafa Siba'i

Dr. Mustafa As-Siba'i was born in 1915 in the city of Hams, Damascus. He memorized the Qur'an at a very young age. His primary and secondary studies were completed in the Masudiyyah School.

He always excelled in studies and was known for his intelligence and academic brilliance. He studied the Islamic Sciences with his father Shaykh Hasani Sibai and in circles with great scholars and jurists of Hams. His teachers included Shaykh Tahir Al-Atasi (Mufti of Hams at the time), Shaykh Zahid Al-Atasi, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yasin, Shaykh Anis Kalalib and others.

From the young age of eighteen he used to deliver the Friday khutbahs in the absence of his father. In 1933, he went to Egypt and enrolled at the Univesity of Al-Azhar to study fiqh.

Upon completing his studies of fiqh, he enrolled at the Usul al-Deen Faculty of Al-Azhar and excelled in his studies. In 1949, he completed his Ph.D. on the theme of 'The Position of Sunnah in Legislation'.

In 1950 he was appointed Professor of Law at the University of Damascus and in 1955, he established the Faculty of Shariah at the same university. He established the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria in 1945. Dr Sibai was elected to the Syrian Parliament from 1949-1954. He passed away in 1964.

http://www.awakeningusa.com/isapi/isapi.dll?product_detail&product_id=26&search_type=browse&cat_id.0

http://store.yahoo.com/islamicbookstore-com/b7249.html

Al-Qasas (28:6-13)

6. To establish a firm place for them in the land, and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their hosts, at their hands, the very things against which they were taking precautions.

7. So We sent this inspiration to the mother of Moses: "Suckle (thy child), but when thou hast fears about him, cast him into the river, but fear not nor grieve: for We shall restore him to thee, and We shall make him one of Our apostles."

8. Then the people of Pharaoh picked him up (from the river): (It was intended) that (Moses) should be to them an adversary and a cause of sorrow: for Pharaoh and Haman and (all) their hosts were men of sin.

9. The wife of Pharaoh said: "(Here is) joy of the eye, for me and for thee: slay him not. It may be that he will be use to us, or we may adopt him as a son." And they perceived not (what they were doing)!

10. But there came to be a void in the heart of the mother of Moses: She was going almost to disclose his (case), had We not strengthened her heart (with faith), so that she might remain a (firm) believer.

11. And she said to the sister of (Moses), "Follow him" so she (the sister) watched him in the character of a stranger. And they knew not.

12. And we ordained that he refused suck at first, until (His sister came up and) said: "Shall I point out to you the people of a house that will nourish and bring him up for you and be sincerely attached to him?"...

13. Thus did We restore him to his mother, that her eye might be comforted, that she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true: but most of them do not understand.

Jeans dan Cap

Teringat zaman muda muda dulu, masa di bangku sekolah rendah mengaji kitab akhlak and tasawwuf, satu color kuning lagi satu color hijau. Kalau tak silap semua pelajar sekolah agama di Selangor kena baca kitab tu.

Yang kelakarnya, studi masa sekolah rendah pun bukannya betul sangat pun, tengok tengok tup tup lepas habis SPM kerja jadi ustaz sekejap, mengajar kitab yang sama dekat budak budak. Kerja dekat situ sebulan je ganti seorang ustazah ni yang cuti bersalin tapi budak budak dah start panggil ustaz.

Ehe .. yang lagi kelakarnya, lepas dah berenti jadi ustaz so satu hari tu macam biasa .. jalan jalan dekat Kompleks PKNS .. pakai seluar jeans, pakai cap (biasala jiwa muda remaja masa tu :)). Sambil jalan jalan tu nampak satu keluarga ni dari jauh, anak dia lebih kurang darjah 4 masa tu nampak tersengih sengih je. Rasa macam kenaaal je budak tu. Bila berselisih dengan famili tu tiba tiba budak tu sapa, "Assalamu 'alaykum ustaz!" .. erk .. so ustaz yang ranggi berseluar jean and bercap baseball ni pun jawab la dengan merah padam "Wa'alaykumussalam warahmatullah".

Haha .. kesian tengok muka mak ayah budak tu sebab konfius macam mana la ustaz boleh end up dengan seluar jean and pakai cap ni. Cabut!

* Astaghfirullah - pendidik jenis apakah aku ini?

[Moral of the story : Jagalah akhlak kendiri]

Ingatan dari Fajr Bayan
Masjid An-Nur, Chicago, IL
Sunday, May 16th 2004

After praising Allah swt and sending salutations to the Prophet pbuh, amma ba'd.

Know dear beloved people, that Allah swt has created each and every thing in this world for the human beings. Allah swt says:

"It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; Moreover His design comprehended the heavens, for He gave order and perfection to the seven firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge. " (2:29)

An amazing point to note, the balance of the world is dependant on the human being's actions. If mankind act in justice then the whole world would be in a state of balance, on the other hand, if mankind creates corruption and fasad on this earth, consequently imbalance and destruction would take place.

Allahu jalla wa 'ala says:

"Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that ((Allah)) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil)." (30:41)

Interestingly, just as the state of the world is dependant on the state of the human beings, likewise the state of the human being is also dependant on a central factor. If that central factor is sound then the condition of the person would be sound, if it is in turmoil and chaos then the state of that person would be in turmoil and chaos.

What is this central factor?

Without doubt, it is the qalb. And this was attested by the famous hadeeth of our teacher pbuh.

[To grasp this huge reality, imagine that as a student, you're enrolled in a subject which has 3 midterms, one final exam, 12 homeworks and 5 quizzes (just like a typical normal class). Now here's the catch, in spite of all the tests that your have to plunge through, the professor makes sure that you fully understand that your grade would be 100% determined by you 3rd quiz only. If you fully understood what that statement meant, what would you do? Definitely, you'll go head on concentrating like crazy on that 3rd quiz.]

[Such is the importance and weight of the role which the qalb plays in our life. So then, why are we neglecting the health of our qalb? Why are we contaminating it with sins and mutating it in ugliness with disobedience to the Creator? Where has the adornments of ta'ah and mahabbah dissapeared from the sight? In reality there's too much veils and too dim of a light that's diminishing our aching senses.]

Illuminate your heart with the nur of eemaan. As had Abu Bakr made radiant his qalb with it, tipped the scale of the emaan of the ummah with his beautiful light. For surely, he did not reach that stage without the numerous bleeding sacrifices and never ending struggles. Remind yourself of the torture of the sahrah (magicians) of Pharoah which they had to face. Their feets and hands were chopped off, their body crucified and the torture lead to their death.

Indeed, this life is a life of test and eemaan is attained only through torturous sacrifices and never ending struggle.

(Ayat ending biasa orang tabligh: "So who's ready for this insha Allah?" :))

Precious Gems

Shaykhul Islam Ibnu Taimiyyah was famous for stating profound statements, below is selection of some of them.

"Every punishment from Him is pure justice and every blessing from him is pure grace."

"Whoever desires everlasting bliss, let him adhere firmly to the threshold of servitude."

"The Lord loves to be loved."

"Guidance is not attained except with knowledge and correct direction is not attained except with patience."

"In this world there is a paradise, whoever does not enter it will not enter the paradise of the Hereafter."

"The one who is (truely) imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desire have enslaved him."

"This whole religion revolves around knowing the truth and acting by it, and action must be accompanied by patience."

"Worship is founded upon the Legal Law and following it, not upon ones base desires and innovations."

"If you do not taste the sweetness of an action in your heart, suspect it, for the Lord, Exalted is He, is the Appreciative."

"The more the servant loves his Master the less will he love other objects and they will decrease in number. The less the servant loves his Master, the more he will love other obejcts and they will increase in in number."

"Perpetually is the servant either the recipient of blessing from Allah, in which case he is need of gratitude; or he is perpetrator of a sin, in which case he is in need of repentance, he is always moving from one blessing to another and is always in need of repentance."

"Sins cause harm and repentance removes the cause."

"Bearing witness to tawhid opens the oor of goo and repentance from sins closes the door to evil."

"The Jihad against the soul is the foundation for the Jihad against disbelievers and hyprocrites."

"A man will never fear something besides Allah unless it be due to a disease in his heart."

"Trials and tribulation are like feeling the heat and cold, when one knows that they cannot be avoided, he will not feel anger at their onset, nor will he be distressed or disheartened."

"The perfection of tawheed is found when there remains nothing in the heart except Allah, the servant is left loving those He loves and what He loves, hating those He hates and what He hates, showing allegiance to those He has allegiance to, showing enmity to those He shows nemity towards, ordering what he orders and prohibiting what he prohibits."

"In this world, man finds in the remembrance of Allah, praising Him and worshipping Him, a delight that is incomparable to anything else."

"The objective of asceticism is to leave that harms the servants Hereafter and the objective of worship is to do all that will be benefit his Hereafter."

"Sins are like chains and locks preventing their perpetrator from roaming the vast garden of tawhid and reaping the fruits of actions."

"What can my enemis do to me? I have in my breast both my heaven and my garden. If I travel they are with me, never leaving me. Imprisonment for me is a chance to be alone with my Lord. To be killed is martyrdom and to be exiled from my land is a spiritual journey."

Source: Diseases of the Hearts and Their Cures

"I am not afraid. I am looking to be a martyr. Why? Because I believe that the last day for me is not in the hand of Sharon, but in the hand of Allah." -Abd Aziz Rantisi-

From: Suria Kencana
Date: Tue May 11, 2004 8:20 am
Subject: Baby Girl

Assalamualaikum,

Just nak inform kepada sesiapa yang tak tau...

Hana Syakirah telah selamat melahirkan anak sulungnya
(baby girl) pada 3ptg 10/05/2004.

Dapat lagi sorang anak buah lah 3rd batch! :) sapa nak
incharge collect duit ...beli hadiah utk baby?

p/s : Congratulation!!! selamat sambut ari ibu.

-ska-
"keep in touch"

Declaration of Independance

Saat ini adalah detik deklarasi independensi. Bak simboliknya Ummi 'Aisyah r.a. memalingkan dirinya - dari ibu bapanya (r.a.) yang tidak termampu memberikan kata kata penenteram jiwa, dari habibnya (s.a.w.) yang terikat tangannya dengan takdir ilahi, dari teman teman yang sudah tidak terupaya memberikan dokongan, dari dirinya yang sudah tidak banyak pilihan - berpusing menghadapkan wajahnya kepada Empunya Segala Kuasa.

Masa pergantungan kepada manusia sudah tamat. Telah tersingkap rahsia bahawa ultimate reliance kepada hanya Yang Satu.

I believe that I've always neglected in acknowledging my friends in this blog, so I'll try and make aware of their existance from here on. Terima kasih pada teman teman sehati yang menolong selama ini, BUT starting from this point this war is mine to battle alone. Reliance belongs to Him alone.

Kam min fi-atin qaleelatin ghalabat fi-atin katheeratin biizinillah.
Rabbana afrigh 'alayna sabra, wa thabbit aqdaamana wansurna 'ala al-qaumi al-kafireen.

Layangkan salam perpisahan to your comrade with a du'a please.

Putera kepada Putera & Puteri KISAS

Assalamualaykum buat uncle2 & auntie2 KISAS!!

Nama saya Afifi Musleh B Abdul Halim. Dilahirkan di Kaherah pada jam 3.30 subuh Isnin 23 februari 2004 bersamaan 3 Muharam 1425. Papa saya Abdul Halim (hayat) 5/11. Mama saya Nurul Balqis Othman 5/8.

Congratulation and Alfu Mabrukk buat uncle2 dan auntie2 yang baru mendirikan mahligai masjid. Semoga bahagia membawa ke syurga... Uncle Faiz & Uncle Farhey biler lagi????

Agak2 muka saya ni macam muka saper?

Saper2 yang nak berkenalan @ pinang saya bolehlah contact saya...... hihihihi

(sorry ler memberatkan mail storage korang semua- papa)

- Hayat

28. Al-Qasas (1-5)

1. Ta. Sin. Mim.
2. These are Verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
3. We rehearse to thee some of the story of Moses and Pharaoh in Truth, for people who believe.
4. Truly Pharaoh elated himself in the land and broke up its people into sections, depressing a small group among them: their sons he slew, but he kept alive their females: for he was indeed a maker of mischief.
5. And We wished to be Gracious to those who were being depressed in the land, to make them leaders (in Faith) and make them heirs,

temanmu yg sebenarnya
ialah orang yang ada bersamamu
dan orang yang menyusahkan dirinya
supaya ia bermanfaat kepadamu

di waktu membimbangkan
ia berkata terus terang kepadamu
dia pecah berantakan
supaya kamu terkumpul selalu

~ imam 'ali r.a.

Halliburton Truck Driver Hamill Escapes Captors in Iraq

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Thomas Hamill, a Mississippi truck driver with Halliburton Co.'s Kellogg, Brown & Root unit, who was kidnapped April 9 in Iraq, escaped and was recovered by U.S. forces near the northern city of Tikrit, military officials said.

Hamill ``is in good health,'' Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said at a brief press conference. Hamill, 43, was captured April 9 after an attack on his convoy west of Baghdad, in which at least four other Halliburton workers were killed.

``He had an opportunity to escape, saw some U.S. forces and made his dash,'' Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on ABC's ``This Week.'' ``That's all I know, at this point.''

At least 34 employees or contractors of Halliburton, the world's largest oilfield-services provider, have died in Iraq and Kuwait since the U.S.-led invasion last year. Houston-based Halliburton has more than 24,000 employees in the Middle East.

(here's what I want to point out regarding the reality in Iraq)

Halliburton, formerly headed by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, has received about $5.7 billion during the past 13 months for work in Iraq. Some members of Congress have said the company had an unfair advantage in getting contracts because of its connection with Cheney.

The company doesn't have details on two other workers who remain missing and ``we are working with the authorities and continue to do everything we can to assist the families, as well as our employees,'' according to a company statement on its Web site. The company said it was ``extremely grateful'' that Hamill was safe.

Hamill Praised

A videotape aired on an Arabic-language television station showed Hamill after his capture, surrounded by hooded gunmen and then being driven away.

``Tommy is a courageous hero and we are proud of his resolve, resilience and refusal to give up hope,'' according to a company statement on its Web site.

Hamill's wife, Kellie, told the Associated Press that she spoke with her husband by telephone early Sunday and said it was ``the best wake-up call I've ever had.''

``There has been a lot of praying and I am so grateful to everybody,'' she told AP. ``We're all so relieved, so excited.''

His hometown of Macon, Mississippi, held nightly vigils for Hamill and set up a fund to help the family.

``We're going to have a parade that never ends, and maybe a picnic,'' said Macon, Mississippi Mayor Dorothy Baker Hines.

Kellie Hamill, who supervises the Noxubee County 911 system, had open-heart surgery in February and has been home since then, Baker Hines said. Hamill also has a son and daughter who had just returned to school, she said.

Hamill Paying Debts

Thomas Hamill had sold the family dairy farm and joined Halliburton to pay off family debts, the mayor said.

``He could have been like a lot of people, file for bankruptcy, but he wanted to be a good man and pay his bills,'' Baker Hines said. ``He also knew he would be helping the Iraqi people.''

Still missing in Iraq is U.S. Army Private Keith Maupin, kidnapped at the same time as Hamill.

``At this point, I'm not aware of any word we have on him,'' Myers said. `But I can guarantee you that that's obviously something we follow very, very closely, trying to pick up any lead, so we can go get him.''

Source: Bloomberg.com


Other Revealing Concerns: The Torturing of Iraqi Prisoners



[A Daily Mirror photograph of one of the British troops caught in the act of kicking, stamping and urinating on a hooded Iraqi in Basra, southern Iraq.]

Kasihmu Amanahku

Pernikahan menyingkap tabir rahsia
Suami isteri inginkan keluarga yang bahagia
Dan mengharapkan sebuah bahtera indah
Untuk bersama belayar ke muara

Pernikahan, menginsafkan kita
Perlunya iman dan takwa, meniti sabar dan redha
Bila masa senang syukuri nikmat Tuhan
Susah mendatang tempuhi dengan tabah

Isteri
janji telah dipateri
Diijab kabulkan dan dirahmati
Detik pertemuan dan pernikahan
Yang dihujani air mata kasih
Demi syurga Ilahi

Suami
jangan menagih setia
Umpama Hajar dan setianya Zulaikha
Terimalah seadanya yang terindah
Di lubuk hatimu
Isteri adalah amanah buatmu

Pernikahan mengajar tanggungjawab bersama suami dan isteri

Isteri hamparan dunia
Suami langit penaungnya
Isteri ladang tanaman
Suamilah pemagarnya
Isteri bagai kejora
Suami menjadi purnama
Tika isteri beri hempedu
Suami tabah menelannya

Tika suami terteguk racun
Isteri carilah penawarnya
Sungguh isteri rusuk yang rapuh
Berhati-hatilah meluruskannya

Note: Ehe .. betul betul .. lagu lagu macam ni melemah kan jiwa .. tapi takpelah sekali sekala sempena majlis perkahwinan rakan rakan yang tercinta .. dedikasi khas buat teman teman yang mendirikan rumah tangga weekends ni .. kira ikut sunnah la jugak .. pasang lagu masa hari perkahwinan.

Kami di sini tengah struggle dengan exam. Please remember us in your prayers. :)