Malaysia a Christian Nation?

What do I think? What do you think I think? I am a Muslim. So again, what do you think I think? A yes? No?

Fiqh Medic

What are the legal maxims of Islamic Law (QAWA’ID FIQHIYYAH). Let's say, if a patient is having a colostomy bag (which contains his urine or feces), would the ablution be valid? How about, if a women is in labour (bear in mind that giving birth to the first child can be as long as 19hours); can she still performs Salah? (Let's find the answer here.)

Men VS Women

Let's think critically. Who is the one which better in governing this world!? Men, who have more influencing and have strong character or women, who have emotional values, and boundless cares and love?

Are You Ready to Fall in Love??

What is love to begin with? we might assume that we have that sort of wonderful love, unshakeable by no others even death. We may sacrifice anything to our beloved person. But, if we claimed that we love Rasulullah, where are the proofs? You are willing to sacrifice anything for his sake?

Does God need us?

Now, tell me, what are the differences between this human-made lego tree and the one who created by our almighty creator,our god?

Friday, July 27, 2012

Are You Ready to Fall in Love??




Assalamu’alaikum wbt 
“Your face was brighter than the sun
Your beauty equaled by none 
You are Allah’s Chosen One 
Muhammad Khaira Khalqillah...”
We all know this song. We have already memorised the lyric by-heart. Some of us might even go as far as re-playing the music video spontaneously in their brains scene by scene whenever the song is on the radio. This song, without doubt is a good song. A wonderful wasilah or approach to attract modern audience especially the younger generation to know more about the personalities and character of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Sometimes, we whine, why do youngsters nowadays know more about singers, pop stars and celebrities more than they do of Rasululllah? Isn’t Rasulullah the one we Muslims should idolised? Isn’t his the kind of lifestyle and personality we should look up to? Isn’t he the best of mankind? 

Please, do not put the entire blame on them. The reality of today’s so-called modern world which prioritizes hedonism over anything else does not seem to help the young muslims to truly adore the Prophet. The slanders and propaganda made by the Western media in effort to jeopardise the image of Rasulullah further exacerbates the situation. But hang on, before we start wildly pointing our fingers and blame the West for everything, let’s look at ourselves and reflect. Do we really know Rasulullah? When we say “Your beauty equalled by none”, do we really mean it, or is it just because the words are there in the lyric? How do we know he is indeed wonderful? Have we met him? Do we really love him? How do we love someone without knowing how he looks like, how his voice sounds like, how he speaks, how he eats, how he treat others? Imagine falling in love with the air. How can you develop feelings for an entity you cannot even visualise? And, true indeed that the key to love is none other than understanding. 

Is there any way we can understand Rasulullah? Of course there is. Like the saying goes, whenever when there is the will, there is the way. Apart from our main source, al Kitab al-Quranul Karim, there are numerous hadiths depicting the personal life of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. In this humble, short article, I would like to introduce you to an interesting work written by Imam Tirmizi radhiallah Anhu. The title is simple, yet meaningful - Syamail Muhammadiyah. Literally it means ‘the Characteristics of the Prophet’. This book presents in great details of how Rasulullah physically looked like, his behaviour, his lifestyle down to his favourite perfume and his preferred types of food. Also included in this wonderful log are the kinds of ibadah the Prophet pbuh frequented, his other names and a brief discussion of his entire life from birth till his last day. Now, are you ready to explore the personality of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam and along the way, fall in love with his beautiful way of life? I take that as a perfect ‘yes’. 

How Rasulullah sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam looks like? Is he good-looking? Well, it is undeniable that the Prophet was indeed one of the most eligible bachelors among his people. As narrated by a companion Al-Bara’ bin Azib r.a., 

“ Rasulullah was a man of average built ( neither too tall nor too short), the distance between his two shoulders was wide ( his shoulder was broad). His thick hair fell down to his ears. When he dressed in red, I had never seen anyone as handsome.” 

Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib Karamallahuwajhah, the Prophet’s cousin who was also Rasulullah’s son-in-law described Rasulullah’s physical look in a very detailed manner. 

“Rasulullah was not too tall nor he too short. He was a man of average height among his people. His hair was neither curly, nor was it plain straight but in between. He did not have a very fleshy face, neither was it completely round, rather it was only slightly so.” 

He further added, “He was white skinned, having a reddish tinge. His eyes were large with jet black pupils and his lashes were long. His joints were large as was his upper back. He did not have hair all over his body but had a line of fine hair extending from his chest to his navel. When he walked, he would walk briskly as if descending a slope. When he turned, he would turn his whole body and between his two shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood ( khatamun-nubuwwah ).” 

On Rasulullah’s social life, he narrated, “He was the Seal of the Prophets; he had the most giving of hearts; he was the most truthful of people, the best of them in temperament, and the most sociable amongst them. Whoever unexpectedly saw him would stand in awe of him and whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him. Those who described him would say, ‘I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.” 

Adding to Messenger of Allah’s fine features was a description by Jabir bin Samurah r.a, “I saw the Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, on a clear night wearing a red dress and I paused and looked at him and then the moon and found that, in my view, he was more beautiful than the moon..” 

Physical aside, let’s look at Rasulullah’s preferences in daily life. The Ummul-Mukmineen Ummu Salamah r.a. stated that the Prophet’s most preferred clothing was the qamis. Asma’ bin Yazid further related that the sleeves of Rasulullah’s qamis reached his wrists. Anas bin Malik r.a said, 

“The sheet (body wrap) most liked by Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was Al-hibarah ( a Yamaani printed sheet made from cotton)." 

Apart from qamis, Rasulullah was also reported of putting on other types of garments as reported by Aisyah r.a. , “Rasulullah once left the house in the morning, wearing a sheet made of black fur.” Mughirah bin Shu'bah stated that at the time of Ghazwah Tabuk, Rasulullah wore a Roman jubbah with narrow sleeves. Regardless the types of clothing, Rasulullah always express his gratitude to Allah subhanawataala. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri r.a recalled, 

“When Rasulullah s.a.w put on a new garment, he would in happiness mention that garment's name, such as turban, qamis or sheet. Then, he would recite the du’a: 

'Allahumma lakal hamdu kama kasauw- tanihi, as-aluka khayrahu wa-khayra ma-suni'a lahu wa-a'u- dhu bika min sharrihi wa-sharri ma-suni'a lahu'. 

“Oh Allah, all praise and thanks to You for clothing me with this (garment). I ask You for the good of it and the good of what it was made for, and I ask Your protection from the evil of it and the evil of what it was made for.” 

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w loved to apply kohl on his eyelids, and the type of kohl he preferred the most was ithmid. From Ibnu Abbas r.a., Yazid bin Harun said, 

“ Rasulullah had a container for kohl he applied every time he went to bed, three times on each eye.” 

As reported by Jabir bin Abdullah r.a., Rasulullah encouraged applying kohl on the eyes as it brightens the eyesight and facilitates the growth of eyelashes. As for shoes, Rasulullah once had a pair of jet-black shoes given to him by King an-Najasyi. When he took wudhu’ Rasulullah just spread some water on the shoes. Rasullah also wore sandals. As narrated by Aisyah r.a., Rasulullah always liked to begin with the right while combing his hair, while putting on his sandals and while performing wudhu’. 

It is interesting to know the type of food that the Messenger of Allah consumed. Ummul Mukmineen Aisyah r.a. recalled that, “the family members of Rasulullah s.a.w never eat wheat bread till full for two consecutive days until his demise.” Ibnu Abbas added, 

“ Rasulullah and his family once had to endure starvation for several nights as they were out of food. The type of bread they ate was bread made of wheat called sya’ir. 

Sya’ir was a type of wheat bread of lower quality compared to other types of bread. From Aisyah r.a., it was known that Rasulullah liked vinegar and recommended olive oil in food and cooking. 

Anas bin Malik r.a related, “Rasulullah liked pumpkins. When food was served or when there was any invitation, I would follow him and served him the pumpkins as I knew he loved them.” Anas bin Malik also narrated in another hadith how he saw Rasulullah s.a.w was looking for pumpkins in his plate. In addition to those, Aisya r.a. described the Prophet’s liking for halwa’ (sweet things) and honey. A hadith from Abu Hurairah r.a. described a very interesting preference of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. 

“ Rasulullah was once served a meat. The forequarter (the leg portion) of the meat was given to him. It was his favourite portion. Therefore he ate it.” 

As for drinks Aisyah r.a. reported that Rasulullah liked sweet and cold drinks. =) 

I leave the rest of other beautiful and interesting characteristics of Rasulullah for you to unravel from the book. There are numerous other facts about our Prophet that majority of Muslims do not know and supposed to be highlighted. I believe that as you journey through the pages of this book, you can slowly beginning to see the Messenger of Allah from a new, better perspective. Learn about him, know him, understand him, see the world as he saw it, and live the life as he lead it. In the meantime, keep your heart widely open to fill it with your love for him. At the end of your reading, you may, insya-Allah have Rasulullah s.a.w in a special place inside your heart. All due to blessings from Allah the Almighty. Before I end this simple article, I would like to deeply apologize for the slightly misleading title. As you can see, there is nothing related to munakahat in this article. Now, I challenge you to pick up this special book, Syamail Muhammadiyah by Imam Tirmizi and ask yourself – ‘ Are you ready to fall in love?’ 

Written by, 

Pink Marshmallow,
Msoc Comittee 2011/12,
July 7, 2012
based on Syamail Muhammadiyah by Imam Tirmizi, PTS ISLAMIKA Sdn Bhd, 2011. 

Footnote: 
- The song lyrics at the beginning of the article is from the Chosen One by Maher Zain. (in case there are people who don’t know…) 
- Ghazwah Tabuk: Battle of Tabuk 
- Kohl: a type traditional cosmetic, similar to eyeliner. (in BM: celak..) 
- Qamis: the Arabic dress, jubbah, similar to shalwar kameez 
- halwa’ or halva: sweets made from honey or dates.


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Estawoo!





Nowadays, when people talk about Islam, they will always associate Islam with terrorism and a religion which oppress its believers especially the women. The truth is, Islam is a beautiful religion and it is like a manual on the way we should lead our lives. However, because of the propaganda made by the West, people only see Islam as they see it now. But, in a program called ONE FAMILY on MAJD channel, the beauty of Islam was potrayed when the speaker, Dr.Yahya Alyahya (head of the CALL to Islam Committee) shared his story.

Dr. Yahya Alyahya said that Muslims are never disorganized; they just need to be CONVINCED. Then he told a story of a non-muslim American who was discussing with him about Islam while watching a live broadcast of Isha’ prayer from Makkah.

The American man was so amazed of how crowded was the masjid, more than 3 million Muslims were there at the last nights of the holy month of Ramadan, so crowded, so disorganized and scattered everywhere around the mosque.

The sheikh then asked the non-muslim man, “How long do you think they'll take to organize themselves in rows and start the Salaat?”

The man answered, “At least 2-3 hours”.

Then the sheikh said, “But the masjid (HARAM) of Kaaba has 4 floors”.


The man said, “Oh, this will make it about 12 hours then”.

The sheikh said, “Put in your mind that they are from countries all over the world with different languages”.

The American man said: “THEN IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ORGANIZE THEM BY ANY MEANS!!”

Then the Salaat time came, and Sheikh Sudais of Makkah stood up and said, “ESTAWOO” (Arrange yourselves).


And within seconds, the whole scene changed and the crowd of 3 million Muslims arranged themselves in well-organized rows in NO TIME ! 



The American man stared at the TV screen for a moment, and then said:

ASH-HADU ALLA ILAAHA ILLA ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASULULLAH. 


By:
Lilac Girl
Msoc Committee 2011/12

Monday, July 2, 2012

Naseehah vs. Humiliation







"O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers."

"Wahai orang yang beriman! Janganlah suatu kaum memperolok-olokkan kaum yang lain, boleh jadi mereka (yang diperolok-olokkan) lebih baik daripada mereka (yang memperolok-olokkan), dan janganlah pula wanita-wanita (memperolok-olokkan) wanita-wanita lain, boleh jadi mereka (yang diperolok-olokkan) lebih baik daripada mereka (yang memperolok-olokkan), dan janganlah kamu mencela diri kamu sendiri, dan janganlah kamu panggil memanggil dengan gelaran yang buruk. Seburuk-buruk nama (panggilan) ialah (panggilan) yang fasik (jelek) sesudah iman, dan sesiapa yang tidak bertaubat, maka mereka itulah orang yang zalim."

Al-Hujurat [49:11]


I guess many of us have already recited or listened to the verse above, and have understood its meaning thoroughly and I believe those who understand the verse is better than me. Insha’Allah.

Let me begin with one best example of the situation relating to this. Someone once asked me did Al-Quran ever mention anything about sticking up for not only religion but for yourself? Because when someone puts you down or say anything about you that clearly not true, should you just ignore it or stand up and defend yourself? So, what should you do? 

First of all, let me emphasize a little bit about the idea of this verse. From my own perspective, there are two groups of people, one who ridicule and insult others, and the other who are being ridiculed and insulted. Islam does not discourage sticking up for yourself in any way, however one should not curse, or shout or speak with anger in retaliation, as that will just be sin for you. Think of what’s in your best interests, if people are not treating you respectfully, then it’s probably best to avoid them and to try and not be around them, or give them advice, in a CALM MANNER (do not advise them with humiliation! Whether you realise it or not, hurting people feeling will not do any good but harm, informing them that what they are doing is not correct in the way that Islam has told us. By HIKMAH.

So, How to advise (naseehah) with HIKMAH? 





1. Seeking the Pleasure of Allaah by giving Naseehah 
It is necessary that a person has the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allaah when giving naseehah. Only such an intention deserves reward from Allaah and acceptance from His slaves.
If the intention is other than that, then that person deserves the anger and wrath of Allaah as well as the hatred and rejection of the people - including the one being advised.

2. Not slandering the one being advised
This is an affliction that has befallen many Muslims. Many times, after taking a closer look, we find that the person giving naseehah actually wants to slander the person he is advising because of personal hatred. This does not befit the one being advised and may lead to a worse situation with no benefit resulting from the naseehah.

3. Naseehah is to be given in secret
Naseehah is most likely to bear its fruit when given to a person when he is by himself, for in such a situation the person is less likely to be affected by the thoughts of others. The sincere advisor should not aid the Devil over his brother by publicly rebuking him and letting Shaitaan beguile his brother into not taking the naseehah. This closes the doors of goodness and acceptance, and reduces the chances of the naseehah from being accepted.
This is why our pious predecessors used to give naseehah in secret.
Hafidh Ibn Rajab writes, "When the righteous predecessors intended to give naseehah to someone, they admonished him privately, to the point that some of them said, "The one who exhorts his brother between him and himself , then it is naseehah. The one who exhorts him in front of people, then it is merely scolding!"
Fudail Ibn Ayyadh, one of the pious scholars from our predecessors, said, "A believer covers up and gives naseehah, whereas an evildoer exposes and humiliates." Ibn Rajab commented on Fudail's saying, "It is naseehah if it is with a cover, while humiliating is with broadcasting".

4. Naseehah is to be given with kindness, gentleness and softness
A sincere advisor must be kind, soft and well-mannered in giving naseehah to others, as this might get the desired response from the one he is advising. One must understand that accepting naseehah is like opening a door, and that the door will not open without the proper key. The one who is given naseehah has a heart that has a lock in some matter - for he has abandoned something that Allaah has demanded from him, or has committed something that Allaah had forbidden him from. There is no better key to unlock the heart than kindness in giving advice, gentleness in exhortation and softness in speech as the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said, "Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty, and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective." [Muslim]

5. Choosing the proper time to give Naseehah
The one giving naseehah must choose the right time to give his advice, since a person is not always ready to receive naseehah. A person may be angry about something, upset about not getting what he wanted, grieved for something he may have lost, or there may be some other reason that might prevent him from responding to the naseehah.
Abdul Hamid Bilali writes, "Choosing proper time and place is one of the greatest causes for the acceptance of naseehah and eradicating evil", and as Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said, "Hearts (sometimes) yearn and are attentive, but (sometimes) they go through lapses and feed repulsion. So take from them when they are (in a state of) yearning and are attentive, and leave them alone when they go through lapses and are feeling repulsion".
However, Islam encourages us to forgive and forget rather than to hold resentment and grudges in our hearts, as we know that this life is temporary and justice will be given in the hereafter.


"And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah . Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers."

"Dan (jika kamu hendak membalas maka) balasan sesuatu kejahatan ialah kejahatan yang bersamaan dengannya; dalam pada itu sesiapa yang memaafkan (kejahatan orang) dan berbuat baik (kepadanya), maka pahalanya tetap dijamin oleh Allah (dengan diberi balasan yang sebaik-baiknya). Sesungguhnya Allah tidak suka kepada orang-orang yang berlaku zalim."

Ash-Shuuraa [42:40]


May this sharing benefits us all. Insha Allah. 

By:
Aishin,
Msoc Committee 2011/12