Thursday, May 24, 2007

From a leader to a peasant (f|NAL chapter)


In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.


[From part 1]....Is this really a good enough excuse for the senior generation not to adapt to changes? Well, it really depends on that individual as in each and everyone of us have different needs and wants. You may prefer your coffee with less sugar and I prefer not to drink coffee at all. This goes to show that I cannot satisfy everybody. However, learning is really a challenge for some and can be quite demeaning up to the point where a person would almost do anything to pass a lousy test. To be successful, you don’t really need to finish on top because what’s important is whether you can make it into practice. Imagine reading a whole book about protein & health. After passing the exam, would you really think you pass the same test 5 years later?

In Islam, I are thought to “practice what you preach” and The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the best example of this and there will be no one like him. He practiced everything that he read in the Qur’an that He was once said to be the walking Al Qur’an (Koran). As his follower, everyone regardless of age/sex/status should follow his footstep. Then, why do most of us choose to give up study and do the following; get employed, get married and have kids? Actually, things should not even be this way. That is why to reflect back to our earlier statement, what makes a person wealth is the knowledge that person has. If you were given $3,000,000.00 dollars, what would you do with it?

a) I don’t know

b) I think I’ll buy a car that cost 2million and I’ll spend the rest on girls, gambling and traveling.

c) Invest in a permissible (halal) low risk & low return project, build a mosque in my village, feed the needy and twofold the amount so that I can help more people.

A would be a person who is incapable of making decisions and perhaps this is due to a slight lack of knowledge. B would be a person who is rich but eager to finish his money without thinking of his future. And C is a person who is not only knowledgeable but also thought of his plans for the future here and after. There is clear distinctions between the 3 individuals and which do you think is the richest amongst them in terms of money and knowledge? Knowledge is probably the most profitable business opportunity for anyone. Unfortunately, the point of this article has not been pointed out. I started out with the definition of wealth (corrected) and later found that wealth is the knowledge you have.

The latter statement still holds true but the “knowledge” I Ire trying to convey is knowledge about Islam itself whether you’re a Moslem or a non-Moslem. If you read carefully, all those knowledge mentioned earlier Ire all towards this universe; teacher, doctor, leader, prime minister, surgeon, spouse, cleaner, a religious teacher? And so on. This is the enigma that hovers over us for quite some time now and solve this, insyaAllah through knowledge. Would it be possible if a person who has acquired PhD or a bachelor’s degree cannot recite Surah Al-Fatihah properly? Would it be possible if a sewage cleaner would recite the same verse perfectly? With time, everything learnt during the early days of religious classes would slowly fades like the winter breeze and rapidly fades like snow flakes, for some. This happens everywhere unfortunately. I think it is due to the mindset I all have; money money money; work, work, work; promotion promotion promotion and all the materials.

On the other side of the fence, a scoop of us may be thinking of; death; life after death; heaven or hell and all that is related. I purposely typed certain words trice to emphasize how desperate, forgetful and neglectful some of us are. You may be a housewife, a boss, a student or to a lowest form, that does not mean you cannot read books about Islam. I don't have the time? I hear that non-Moslem scholars and reverts (converts) in the Western world especially are more curious to know more about Islam than those who are already Moslems. What does that indicate? Are we lazy to study? Are we lazy to broaden our knowledge about Islam especially about? I for one am trying to squeeze time to read books about Islam and everything related to Islam.

I am thankful to Allah that there are still those who still give a heed about the basic of Islam and pity those who does not. I pray to Allah that our heart stays pure and that Allah helps us in this journey. So you see, whether you are leader or a peasant, acquiring knowledge about the canvas of Islam and the poles fixated to it is an ongoing process and it’s a duty of every Moslem.

I pray to Allah that our heart stays pure and that Allah helps us in this temporary journey.

Say: "Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with Light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible." [Ar-R’ad]

Read On......

Kebanyakan manusia tidak bersyukur

Segala yang terbaik hanya untuk Allah.


MASA
adalah sesuatu yang sangat berharga yang tidak akan bisa diganti dengan laut yang dipenuhi dengan duit. Kita tidak akan dapat membeli masa kerana sesaat yang berlalu tidak akan kembali walaupun dengan menggunakan apa cara sekali PUN, kita tidak akan dapat mengembalikan masa yang lepas. Sesuatu barang mungkin dapat kita raih kembali jika kita berusaha dan bertawakkal kepadaNya.


Mari kita perhatikan sedikit tentang filem yang tidak asing lagi bagi kita iaitu "Back to the Future". Adalah tidak munasabah jika terciptanya sesuatu yang boleh merubah keadaan seperti apa yang diceritakan didalam filem ini. Hujan tak ada, ribut tak ada, kenapa cakap pasal MASA!? Seperti yang kita ketahui, masa semakin sehari semakin laju berlari, hinggakan kadang-kadang, sesuatu perkara yang kita rancang tidak siap kita kerjakan. Dalam surah Al-'Asr, Tuhan berfirman:

"Demi Masa! Sesungguhnya manusia itu dalam kerugian; Kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan beramal soleh dan mereka pula berpesan-pesan dengan kebenaran serta berpesan-pesan dengan sabar." [Al-'Asr: 1-3]

Kalau kita perhatikan, surah diatas mempunyai makna yang sungguh berharga. Banyak alim ulama mengatakan yang masa yang disebutkan didalam surah diatas ialah waktu asar ('asr) kerana diwaktu inilah kebanyakan daripada kita lalai dengan keadaaan sekeliling. Lalai dengan minum petang; dengan meeting; dengan bersukan & sebagainya. Ana ingin memperingatkan kepada an'tum dan pada ana sendiri agar kita sentiasa sedar masa yang berlalu terutama sekali masa waktu sembahyang agar kita tidak termasuk orang-orang kebanyakan (majority). Allah SWT berfirman:

"Dan sememangnya sedikit sekali di antara hamba-hambaKu yang bersyukur." [Saba: 13]

Pada suatu hari, seorang sahabat telah mendengar seorang tua sedang berdoa.."Ya Allah, jadikahlah aku diantara hamba-hambuMu yang sedikit." Selepas orang tua itu selesai berdoa, sahabat pun bertanya apa maksud doa itu. Orang tua itu menjawab, "Didalam Al Qur'an ada menyebutkan tentang orang yang bersyukur kepada ni'matNya adalah sedikit." (Seperti ayat diatas)(Ana minta maaf kepada pembaca jika ada kekurangan dan yang bertambah didalam cerita diatas)

Sebenarnya, banyak firman-firman Allah yang menyatakan manusia kebanyakannya tidak bersyukur. Untuk memastikan kita tidak tergolong dalam golongan kebanyakan adalah mudah iaitu dengan membuat semua yang telah diwajipkan dan menjauhi daripada perkara2 yang mengheret kita ke neraka.

Selepas mengucap dua kalimah shahadah, rukun Islam yang kedua yang wajib kita kerjakan ialah mengerjakan sembahyang 5 waktu sehari semalam. Kita hendaklah menjaga sembahyang kita sepertimana kita menjaga anak kita, isteri kita dan sebagainya, bahkan lebih dari itu. Rasulullah pernah bersabda yang kira kira bermaksud, jika sembahyang seseorang itu baik, maka baiklah kesudahannya dan sebaliknya. Akan tetapi, hendaklah diingat yang sembahyang yang kita lakukan itu hendaklah niat kerana Allah kerana jika tidak, sembahyang itu akan menjadi sia-sia. Salah satu usaha kita untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut ialah dengan cara mendalami sembahyang dari segenap penjuru. Barangkali untuk menghuraikan dengan terperinci akan mengambil masa yang lama. Oleh itu, ana kana membuat artikel yang menbentangkan perkara2 yang wajib kita ketahui semasa sembahyang, insyaAllah.


Semoga Tuhan menjauhkan kita dari panas api neraka..

Read On......