Friday, March 25, 2011

'ILM - العلم

It's amazing how I've (finally) discovered the language similarities between Arabic and Bahasa Malaysia ever since I started to learn the religion deeply several years ago. It is obvious that the Malays took a handful of Arabic words and made minor adjustments to it so that it fits perfectly to the Malay tongue. We even used Arabic letters (jawi) to write in our mother tongue some 40-50 years ago. Had I not learn the religion which included listening to lectures from different international scholars and students of knowledge, I would never have discovered the many words that secretly derived from the Arabic origin. Curious to know a few?

'ilm (ilmu)
Yakin
Falsafah
Jawab
Zaman
Ikhlas
Amanah
Adab
Khianat
Rizq (rezeki)
Niyah (Niat)
Taubah (Taubat)
Naseehah (Nasihat)  

and the list goes on.....

In fact, when you get used to listening to lectures (in Arabic) be it via youtube, online live classes, actual classes or in any medium for that matter, you will find familiar words that you might be able to recognize. It can be a practice for you to brush up on your Arabic as well. As you know or may not know, I am easily amused. So when I hear words I think I know, I get excited.   

Why 'ilm? What is it about this word that is so important? The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم mentions about 'ilm in many authentic hadith(s), for something to be mentioned even once by the prophet is sufficient to know that it is important for all Muslims to take heed. 'ilm in this context is only referred to 'Islamic knowledge', not chemistry, biology, math or world history.


The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said :

"Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. 

Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both in this world and the Hereafter. 

Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother.


Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to paradise.


No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the book of Allah and studying among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence. Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage."   (Sahih Muslim)



"Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to paradise."

Here we can find the encouragement of Islam in seeking and gaining knowledge. The knowledge seekers will be rewarded if the knowledge is beneficial to oneself as well as for the betterment of the Muslim community. This statement of the hadith can be interpreted in 3 ways :
  • Allah will make it easy for the knowledge seeker to gain the knowledge he is seeking.
  • Allah will make it easy for the knowledge seeker so that he will benefit from the knowledge he is seeking. This means that he will benefit from the knowledge and this will lead him to enter Paradise. There are many people who seek knowledge but there are no blessings in the knowledge they seek. The crucial point here is the person should seek knowledge with good intentions (by good intentions I mean, only for the sake of Allah) 
  • For the one who seeks knowledge with good intentions, Allah will safely help him go through the horrible incidents and situations on the Day of Judgment.
Is Allah not Merciful to His creations for allowing various ways and methods to earn extra bonus rewards to be collected for the akhirah? Subhan Allah. Why are Muslims still wasting their precious time with absolutely valueless mediums of entertainment of this temporary world when they know the heartbeat is a ticking time bomb only waiting to stop and explode? Allahu musta'an.

You will only know the feeling of that 'peace and tranquility' I was talking about when you seek the knowledge of this perfect religion - Islam.

Some of us may have been in situations where we were literally 'forced and dragged' to follow our mums, dads or even aunts to Islamic classes. We only go to please them or just to politely keep them from nagging, trust me when I say this, I have been there and I have done that. Lets try something new this time, try attending those classes ALONE with the right intention of only to please Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Focus in class and try to feel the sweetness of knowledge being presented to you over and over again. By this I mean, listen and ponder when each ayah of the Qur'an and hadith that is mentioned by the ustadh or sheikh. When you have the right intention and goal, 'insha Allah the next step is a breeze.

Learning the knowledge of this beautiful Deen (religion) is endless. No scholar from the ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has ever and will ever say "I have gained enough knowledge". The knowledge of Allah's religion is to be gained until we are buried six feet under and this, believe it or not my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, is obligatory upon all Muslims. You heard right, obligatory. If only we knew..


I ask Allah to grant us steadfastness in learning and practicing Islam, and I ask Allah to guide those who have gone astray, Ameen.


   



Tuesday, March 22, 2011

STRANGER IN THE CROWD - غرباء


How many of us are striving to be strangers?

How odd for me to ask a question of that manner. While most would start to ponder on what it means to be a stranger in the crowd. Not just any crowd, a crowd filled with competition of the dunya, animosity between friends and family, jealousy that could cover a mountain top, desires that could never satisfy, all of which leads to one thing and one thing only - Being far from the remembrance of Allah.

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said :
"Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveler."  

Ibn 'Umar used to say:
"When evening comes, do not expect (to live till) morning, and when morning comes, do not expect (to live till) evening. Take from your health (a preparation) for your illness, and from your life for your death."

[Sahih Al-Bukhari]

How often do we take a second read or the third or the fourth each time we come across a hadith? These are authentic sayings of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that should be applied in our daily lives. The Qur'an and the Sunnah were sent to us as guidance. Only upon these two can we achieve the eternal success - Al-Jannah
When everyone else is chasing what they think is the ultimate goal, we, the strangers are chasing the blessings of Allah azza wa jal. When the world is slowly crumbling down, we the strangers stand firm in our Deen (religion) and strive to be stronger than ever. Unwilling to let the temporary beautification of this dunya overtake us. How many of us are able to stand firm in our religion when trying times are greater than ever?

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم has warned us about this day.

Have you ever felt like saving everyone so that we will all live in Jannah happily ever after? I feel that way all the time. I know it’s impossible, I know I can’t save the whole globe, I know I can’t spread advice to everyone and I surely know I can’t bring everyone to Jannah. The Hellfire was created by Allah for a reason and there will without a doubt be residents there. May Allah protect you and I from the Hellfire and make Jannatul-Firdaus our final abode, Ameen.


The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said :
"Islam began as a stranger and shall return as a stranger as it began. So give glad tidings to the strangers."

[Sahih Muslim]