1000 words

Dear blog,

I've actually been writing and deleting this entry for the last 40 minutes or so. The long short of it is it looks like just can't spin thoughts in words quite like i used to 

Maybe going old does that to a person.

So I just turned 39.

And I've never been so unsure of my life as I do now. Probably.

Yeah.

Let's just end this post at that.

Also, music. I love music. Again. So I'm gonna continue this blog's old tradition of naming the titles based on music and sharing the namesake with a youtube video link.

https://youtu.be/5F_n71T19cE?si=TUupdFXPhV4wjttw

The age of dragons

...is upon us once again. Dragon Age: the Veilguard, the 4th entry of the Dragon Age RPG series is FINALLY releasing next week after a whole decade since the last entry. Although I'm not entirely convinced this upcoming entry is going the be banger it desperately needs to be, given how long dormant the series has been, I'm gonna purchase and play it regarldless because the Dragon Age games holds a special place in my heart ever since the first game, Dragon Age: Origins I believe theres is a blog post I made about DA:O so many years ago here. Even after all that time, I still fondly remember the brief time I spent as a Grey Warden rookie with the heroic Duncan, Morrigan's condescending remarks, Alistair's jokes, and of course sweet, sister Leliana (who is also an assassin). Will Veilguard be able to give me the same experience? Probably not. I am afterall a different gamer than I was then. DA:O released in... 2008? My gosh that was nearly 20 years ago. I feel ancient just thinking about it. So yeah. Veilguard. Cant wait! I'll write my thoughts about it when I play it.

Into the void

It's been almost a year since I quietly removed myself from social media. There was something about knowing too much about everyone that was overwhelming, suffocating me with a wave of negative energy. 

Recently though, I did dip my feet juuust a wee bit to see what I was missing out and sure enough, I was right about my decision to stay away. 

Yet, maybe it's just human to want to share our thoughts with other. To reach out to someone - something, even when there is nothing.

I am a pent up ball of emotions that is bursting at the seams. 

A ticking time bomb that is waiting to explode.

So here I am, back to my safe space. My ever loyal thought bubble.

I am here to shout into the void. 

Because I am just human.

360

I did not care

And then I did

I cared

Perhaps too much

Too much

That it hurts

Hurts

So I turned back

I stopped caring

I distanced

I closed

I don't wish to be hurt

I don't wish to hurt

I did not care

And then I did

And now I do not

34

Dedicated to my dearest wife, Izanin Sofya, and our (as of now) three children Waliyya, Yahya, and Dehya.

It's November 14th, 2019. My 34th birthday - the last one for this decade. When I was a child, 2020 seemed like a far future. Now it's just a month from now. So should this space exists in the far flung future when you, my children, are all grown up, and I may even have left this world, I hope you will find this time capsule.

Waliyya, our first born. Your mom and I weren't blessed with children for the first 4 years of our marriage. You had a little bit of speech problem growing up - you started speaking properly quite late. But at 6 now, you're an absolute chatterbox! Sometimes to a point which annoys me - but I love you all the same girl. You'll be attending your first year of school next year. I wonder what kind of girl you'll turn up to be.

Yahya. You're 4 this year. You have your mom's skin tone and eyes. And you love to play video games. Maybe a little too much. But hey, apple doesn't fall far from the tree yeah? Just so you know, I only started playing at 7 or 8 years old so chances are, if you're still playing as of the time you're reading this, you'd probably be a killer player. lol. Oh, you're also the hardest to take care out of your 3 siblings. I hope you'll grow up to be a fine young man.

 Dehya, you're 2 years old this year. Surprisingly, you're the most independent of the bunch, and causing the least amount of trouble and worry. Or maybe it's too soon to say? We'll see.

And least but not least (cliché, I know) my wife of 10 years, and best friend well before that. I know the last couple of years of our marriage has been rocky, but we persevered, you and I, where some others might have not. And we came out stronger from it. You're my source of light and love. I could not imagine what live would be without you by my side (literally and figuratively). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

The Greatest Show

Hi blog. Been a while.

Before I go into the topic proper, is worth mentioning that this is the first time in this blog's not-so-storied history that I've written an entry entirely on my phone. Things sure have changed a lot since it's inception, when the best thing I could do on my phone was to play Snake!

But I digress!

The point of today's (or most possibly this years) entry is about my new favourite movie. Finally, a movie that could potentially dethrone Speed Racer (which I wrote about way back when Here) as my favouritest movie of all time. That movie is of course, as the title above suggests - 'The Greatest Showman'!

Disclaimer: Speed Racer will however, most probably be unchallenged in my book of records as the movie I watched most repeatedly at the cinema - must've been five or six times lol)

The Greatest Showman unfortunate will not have that opportunity, cos I only watched it almost 2 years after it's released.

By the way, I'm just realising the limitations of blogging on the phone (it's not pleasant!) so I'm gonna keep this as short as possible to save myself the torture. So let's get down to the nitty gritty.

What is it with The Greatest Showman that I love so much?

#1 For sure the music! I've come full circle into becoming a music junkie again, and boy the music in this movie, even for a musical, is absolutely remarkable in every way. In fact, I'm listening to the album on Spotify as I'm writing right now!

#2 It's a feel good story. In a time of life when I feel stressed out more often than I'd have liked, I can't help but to put on a smile everytime I watch this movie.

#3 I can somewhat relate to the conflicts presented to the characters so bonus points there!

Ok my hand is getting cramped trying to write on the phone already so I'll just stop my rambling here. If for whatever reason somebody else still reads this blog, go ahead and watch The Greatest Showman of you haven't already. And if you've already did, go watch it again.

And if you don't like it, you're a bad person who I hopefully will never have around me as company.

Tablet of Stone

Tablet of stone
Carved over time
Hammer on chisel
Little by little

Now that it's done
Let it be forgotten
Throw it in a chest
Fasten it in chains
Throw away the key
And toss it away
Into the bottom of
The endless ocean

Be out of sight
Be out of mind
Be forever gone
Be forgotten

Tablet of stone
Long though it left alone
Its carving may yet last
Until oblivion

The Untitled

This is a poem I wrote in April 2016 that I've never published anywhere. I never even thought of a title for it. Keeping it here for posterity.

Oh the things I keep forgetting

I tried to remember but from my mind they keep slipping

Too concerned about working

I forgot come time for sleeping

I forgot the family that is waiting

I forgot friends who are coming

I forgot the song I was humming

I forgot to whom I was singing

There is one just thing I have been trying

But alas my poor heart could not bear forgetting

Oh of you, I wish my mind could stop thinking

Back to Blogging

Since the advent of facebook, this blog where I used to share my innermost thoughts has descended into the realm of obsoletism. 

Lately however, I have grown more and more weary of the social media site. While I still post things semi-regularly there (mostly pictures via instagram), I have almost completely stopped to actively read anything on it and refrained from sharing any of my opinions or thought on any issues there. 

And yet, I still have a stronge urge to write down these things - if only for posterity's sake - but not somewhere as open as facebook has now become yet still relatively public. So, the perfect avenue is here, where it all began. 

I already have a couple of things in mind to write about and will InshaAllah, after putting traditional bloggin on a very long hiatus, start to post more things regularly here.

Generation / Gap

At 32, I've never felt myself particularly old, but a recent conversation with a couple of 13 year olds clearly showed me that the 20 years difference is a huge gap. 

The three of us were talking about the same thing; video games, which, if one were to look back in this rather ancient blog, is something that has been a significant part of my life. Yet despite the fact, I was, for the most part, on a completely different page than the other two.

It's not just about enjoying different types of games, which we did, but even the way we talk about video games is different. 'Character shipping'; the idea of pairing a character to another character for instance, is all the rage with young gamers these days. I mean, we had fanfiction back in the days but this is something else. It's like glasses: they're glasses in the 80s, 90s and so on but it's not the same style is it. So to is the way how conversations surrounding video games has changed for the younger generation.

Now if I were to talk with someone else about video games, or read about it on websites (one of my favourites being Kotaku) it is something I can easily relate to because the author(s) are roughly around my age. But these are not the sources younger kids go to, I now realised. Their primary source of information is Youtube, from younger, like minded internet celebrities these days called Youtubers.

Ok, so what is the point that I am really trying to drive home here really?

Truth is, I am SCARED. I wonder just how much of a gap there would be between my own children and I in 10 years down the line. Will I even be able to relate with them anymore? Will they think me as an ancient creature who has no idea what they're talking about? 

Probably yes.

And I don't want that to happen. I'll certainly need to try and do something about it. But I wonder if it's all but impossible. Is generation gap a rift that once opened can never hope to be closed again?

Hello Darkness My Old Friend...

1. 

I'm glad I never deleted this blog. 

I wanted to show some of the stuff I did while studying overseas, and remembered about this blog. Then when I reread some of the earliest stuff I had written, it I felt like I'd used a time machine to visit my younger self. So, for the umpteenth time, I have decided to start blogging the old fashioned way again so that one day, my future self will have a gateway to visit my present self. 

Here's hoping this brief post serves as my reentry into blogdom, and will be one of many more to come. InshaAllah 

ReBoot?

Feeling nostalgic and read some the earliest posts in my now in a coma old blog, which confirmed 2 things :

1. In some ways, I am a VERY different person now than I was some 7,8 years ago. In others, I guess I'm still the same ol me. 

2. I was a far more competent writer back then. 

In conclusion (In conclusion? Seriously, is this the best I could think of? See folks, this is what years of teaching in a secondary school does to you [but i digress]), I'm really glad to have the blog as a tool to reflect on how I have progressed, changed and matured as a person. 

And maybe I should go back to writing. 

The Road to Divine Speech Seminar

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I've updated anything on this blog here that I feel like I've lost my blogging touch completely. Anyways, here goes nothing. 

Those who know me know how much I have been influenced by ustadh Nouman Ali Khan (refer to this post as to why) so when it was announced that he would be holding his signature Divine Speech seminar here in Malaysia, I was set to go.

I have a few students (seriously love them to death) who are a part of my tadabbur halaqah ; the contents of which are mostly from ustadh Nouman's lectures as well - so if I was to attend the Divine Speech seminar, why not try taking some of them along, I thought.

Of course, the execution of said plan was easier said - or thought - than done. For this very purpose, I had gone to lengths that, for the 5 years of my service, I had never ever gone to. I had to discuss repeatedly with the administration,  made paperworks, find a good yet somehow still affordable accomodation (thanks to my beloved wife for this!), arranged for transport and the list goes on, but when all is said and done, I feel that it was well worth it.

Originally, 10 students wanted to and were supposed to be going with me one just told me today that she had other obligations. Shikata ga nai wa ne... (note to self: need to polish up my rusty Nihongo!)

Now all that's left is to wait for the event itself. 20th of June can't come any sooner. Hopefully everything will turn out as planned. Allahumma yassir wa laa tu'assir :)

Will try to write more on the event itself then. InshaAllah.

Allah SWT's advice to Musa AS

Surah TaHa is a powerful surah that is literally filled with gems of wisdom. It is the surah that changed the heart of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab from being a vicious hater of the Muslims into one of world's best. But perhaps the one aya that strucks me the most is aya 44, where Allah SWT says:

فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا لَعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَىٰ

And speak to him gently so that he may take reminder or become *'khashiya'

These are Allah's words towards Musa AS when He ordered him to go to firaun (the pharaoh). It's truly incredible. Musa, the prophet, is told to give reminder to firaun, a man who had ordered the execution of all of Bani Israel's male children every other year, a man who wants Musa AS dead, a man who has the audacity to claim himself a god, a man who could easily be called the worst man who had ever lived the earth.

And still Allah SWT reminds Musa AS to speak to him gently.

SubhanAllah this got me thinking, if a man as bad as firaun deserves to be spoken gently to, how much more deserving do our children, our students, our friends or even our leaders do? This is a very simple yet powerful advice from Allah SWT. Let's try to incorporate it into our speech whenever we are giving advice or dakwah to others. And if we happen to talk to someone we really abhore, remember: that person can't be much worse than firaun.

Wallahua'lam.

*'Khashiya' is usually translated as fear. However, according to br. Nouman Ali Khan, that is a very shallow translation as there are 12 different words in the Quran that are translated as fear. The words 'khauf' and 'taqwa' for example, a also both translated as fear. 'Khashiya' does mean fear, but it's a very specific type of fear. It is a fear of something magnanimous, that simply being in it's presence makes us humbled.

Clearing Misconceptions About Adam AS

Why are we stuck on earth?

Depending on one's religious belief (or one's lack of it thereof), you'll get different answers. I can't really say for every other religious belief, but I do believe that for most of the people of the Abrahamic faiths (Muslims, Christians and Jews), their answer would be because the first man created by God Almighty defied His command by eating from a forbidden tree and was thus banished to the Earth and his wife Eve (we Muslims call her Hawa) along with him.

If I didn't know better, that would've probably been my answer as well. However, a study of the Quran reveals  that that's not entirely true.

You see, according to the Quran, Allah SWT has already decided before Adam AS ('alaihissalam - peace be upon him) was created, that he was to be placed on earth.

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَة

And (remember) when your Lord  said to the angels, "Verily, I will create a *khalifah on earth" (Al-Baqarah, 2:30)

This might raise a particular question: if God really intended for Adam AS to be placed on earth, why was he put in Paradise in the first place? That is a very valid question; one that the Allah SWT did not forget to address in His Book:

وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا  حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Jannah (Garden / Paradise); and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will; but approach not this tree, or you run into harm and transgression." (Al-Baqarah, 2:35)

The Arabic Language has a few words that means 'to live 'or 'to dwell', the most common of which is 'khuld'. For instance when in the following ayah, which describes the people who will live forever in Paradise, the word 'khaalidiin' which is a derivative of the word 'khuld' is used:

جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۖ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ

Their reward is with Allah: Gardens of Eternity beneath which rivers flow; they will dwell therein for ever; Allah well pleased with them and they with Him: all this for such as fear their Lord and Cherisher. (Al-Bayyinah, 98: 8)

However, the word used in the aforementioned ayah isn't 'khuld' but 'uskun' ."Uskun' comes from the root word 'sukun' which means something that was in motion but stops temporarily and will afterwards continue to move (those of you who remember your tajweed should be familiar with this word). By using this word in the ayah, Allah SWT is telling Adam AS - and by extension, us- that his place in Paradise was only temporary and that he will have to move to his actual abode, earth, sooner or later. You can think of it as a transit before the final destination. Had it been a permanent stay, the word that would be the most appropriate to use is 'ukhlud' and not 'uskun' which, as mentioned above, implies the meaning of it being temporary.

Adam AS himself understood this and was aware that they won't be staying in Paradise forever, and Iblis - the Devil - used this knowledge to tempt Adam AS and Hawa into eating from the forbidden tree

وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ

he (satan) said, "Your Lord forbade you this tree lest you should become angels or such beings as live for ever." (Al-A'raf, 7:20)

Another common misunderstanding about this story is that Adam AS and Hawa was banished to earth because of their sin of disobeying the Lord and eating from the tree. This, however, isn't the real reason because Allah SWT clearly says in the narrative in surah Al-Baqarah that He had accepted their repentance.

فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration and his Lord turned toward him (accepting his repentance); for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (al-Baqarah, 2: 37)

If they were forgiven, it wouldn't make much sense for them to be banished to earth as a punishment wouldn't it?

This further enforces the notion that neither Adam AS nor his spouse are to be blamed for the human race to be put on earth. This is clearly a misconception that needs to be set straight especially among the Muslims. We must realize that our place on earth is a matter that has always been decided. It is only after we have proven ourselves worthy of Paradise in this world that we will be allowed to live there in the hereafter.

Wallahua'lam - Allah knows best.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

*Khalifah is an Arabic word literally meaning "one who replaces someone else who left or died" (taken from http://islamic-world.net/khalifah/definition.htm)


**image taken from http://socialtimes.com

Love Others as You Love Yourself

Out of the many ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w) that I memorised way back when I was in high school, one of them sticks clearly in my mind for some reason or another. The hadeeth goes:

”None of you will truly believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself”. (Al-Bukhari)

It's a fairly straightforward and easily understood hadeeth, but it was only recently after hearing a story of one particular great individual that I understood it in a new light.

The story is of of Imam an-Nawawi r.a. He was one of the greatest zahid of his time, which meant he doesn't own much worldly materials. One night as he was praying, a thief broke into his house. Seeing as there wasn't much (if any) to be taken, the thief decided to take the only he could found of value - an-Nawawi's shoes. After finishing his solah, an-Nawawi who realised a thief had entered his house started running outside chasing after the thief shouting.

What exactly did he shouted? If any normal person would be in his shoes, I think it would be something along the lines of "Stop! Thief" though honestly, that is probably putting it mildly.

An-Nawawi said nothing like that at all. Instead, he was shouting to the thief to accept his shoes as a gift! Why? Because he was a man who truly had taqwa. As much as he fears to be punished by Allah and be entered to the hellfire for committing sins, he also fears other to fall into sin. SubhanAllah, just look at the level of iman this man had! Now this is how a person truly loves his brother. This is how we should be loving our brothers.

I pray that we can inculcate even just a fraction of this attitude shown by Imam an-Nawawi into our lives

Wallahua'lam.

Allah Knows What Is Best

One of the names of Allah s.w.t is al-Hakeem - the Most Wise - and part of His wisdom is manifested in the Divine Laws that He imparts to us through the Quran. In fact in surah YaaSiin (among other places), He even says that the Quran itself is wisdom.

As Muslims, we must believe that there is wisdom in each and every command that Allah gave us in the Quran, from issues like, say, the prohibition of riba (usury), the need to cover one's 'aurah, fasting, the five daily prayers and the list goes on. Basically, everything that Allah commands us to do has wisdom in it and is for our own good.

However, there are people in the post-modern society that we live in today who start to second guess the Laws of Allah, claiming it no longer relevant and is inappropriate for the 'modern' society. Some even say it's barbaric! Astaghfirullah, may Allah have mercy on them. This is because in these people's minds, they fail to see the logic - and by extension, the wisdom - behind these Laws.

What does Allah s.w.t has to say about this? In the Quran, He says:

وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُوا مِن دِيَارِكُم مَّا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ فَعَلُوا مَا يُوعَظُونَ بِهِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ تَثْبِيتًا

If We had prescribed upon them to kill themselves or to leave their homes, very few would have done it: But if they had done what they were advised to do, it would have certainly been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen (their faith) [Surah an-Nisa', 4:66]

Think about the above aya for a bit. It says "to kill themselves or to leave their houses". What logic is there in such commands? If anything, the logical mind would say that it is madness. Of course, Allah didn't command any of these to us, He was just proving a point, that is; "if We had prescribed upon them... it would have certainly been best for them". 

In this aya, we learn that there are times when our limited intellect are just unable to grasp the logic behind certain things that Allah reveals to us. We may not understand it or even see the wisdom behind it, but know for sure that it is definitely, definitely better for us. Why? Because Allah is al-Hakeem, He is the Most Wise and He knows what is best. And that answer should be enough for us if we truly believe in Him.

May Allah give us the correct understanding of His Deen and the Quran, and may Allah guide us to and along the straight path.

Wallahua'lam

Allah, Our Rabb

In this post, I'd like to share a reflection on the following two ayaat from the Quran which sums up the reality of our current ummah very well:

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ 

If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". (Surah al-Ankaboot, 29: 61)

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلِ اللَّهُ 

Say: "Who is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." (Surah ar-Ra'ad, 13: 61)

In the aya from surah al-Ankaboot, the question asked was 'who is the Creator' and the people have no problems in declaring that Allah is the Creator of everything. In the aya from Surah ar-Ra'ad however, the question asked was 'who is the Rabb' and interestingly, to this question we don't find the people declaring an answer. Instead we find Allah s.w.t commanding his Messenger s.a.w to tell the people that Allah is indeed the Rabb of the heavens and the earth.

To fully appreciate this aya, we must first understand what Rabb means. Rabb essentially means 'One who has absolute ownership, right and authority'. Actually, this is the concept that is at heart of our relationship with Allah and we can see this in surah TaHa, when Allah first introduced Himself to Musa a.s and said:

إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

Veryl it is I, I am your Rabb therefore take off your shoes; you are in the sanctified valley of Tuwa (Surah TaHa, 20: 12)

Meanwhile in surah al-Alaq which is the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, he was told: 

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

Read! In the name of your Rabb who created. (Surah al-Alaq, 96: 1)

In both instances, Allah is being introduced to a Prophet and the very first thing that these Prophets were told about Allah is that He is the Rabb - He has complete authority. He even goes further to display His authority to the Prophets by giving them each a command in the very same aya in which He is introduced. To Musa a.s He says, "take off your shoes" and Muhammad s.a.w was told, "read!". 

In these ayaat is a summary of our relationship with Allah, our Rabb. He has absolute ownership, right and authority over us. Therefore He has all the rights in the world to tell us what He wants us to do or not do and our responsibility to Him in turn is to obey His commands.

Now that we have established how heavy and important this word is, we should be able to understand the ayaat from surah al-Ankaboot and ar-Ra'ad in a different light. 

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ 

If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". (Surah al-Ankaboot, 29: 61)

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلِ اللَّهُ 

Say: "Who is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." (Surah ar-Ra'ad, 13: 61)

These  ayaat exposes what is going on in the minds of people who readily admits that Allah is their Creator but are unable to accept that Allah is their Rabb. These are people who have problems accepting Allah as having absolute authority over their life. These are people who claim to be Islam but still refuse to obey certain commands of Allah - be it to pray or fast or pay the zakat or concerning their 'aurah.

Unfortunately, this is the state of a large majority of the Muslims among us today are in. People who know very well that Allah is their creator but are utterly heedless in the fact that above and beyond simply being our Creator, He is also our Rabb. And this is a sad reality that we can clearly see going on around us.

And you know what the really scary thing is? It is that the the first question that one is asked in the grave according to the narration of the Prophet s.a.w is "who is you Rabb". Know that simply acknowledging Allah as the God who created us isn't enough to save us on that day. If we do not accept Allah as our Rabb today, how can we expect ourselves to be able to answer that question when on that day?

Wallahua'lam.

Playing our part - A lesson from the story of Maryam r.a.

The surah that I particularly enjoy reading in the Quran lately is surah Maryam, in which the story of the most pure woman who had walked the face of the earth is told. That woman is none other than Maryam (Mary), mother of Isa (Jesus) - peace be upon them both -. There are so much valuable lessons to be had in this short yet beautiful surah and I only wish to share one of them today which comes from the following ayaat:

23 And [when] the throes of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree, she exclaimed: "Oh, would that I had died ere this, and had become a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!"24 Thereupon [a voice] called out to her from beneath that [palm-tree]: "Grieve not! Thy Sustainer has provided a rivulet [running] beneath thee; 25 and shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. 26 Eat, then, and drink, and let shine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him: 'Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.'"

(Translation of surah Maryam by Muhammad Asad, 19: 23.26)

You will find this story that Maryam r.a. heard a voice telling her to shake the trunk of a palm-tree so that dates will drop from it. On the surface, there seems to be nothing unusual about that command. However, think more deeply about it and you'll find something unusual.

The command was to shake the trunk of a palm tree. If you think about it, it's hard enough to do so by a person who is in the fittest of health, let alone a woman who is undergoing labour. So if you think carefully, this isn't something that Maryam r.a. was able to do at that time. So why ask a person to do something that she isn't capable of doing? I mean, If Allah had wanted, He could have just made the dates fall of the tree for her just like that.

What we learn from this is that Allah will help us but only after we have made an effort, even as little as an effort that may seem to be.

We can also see this point made from the stories of Musa (Moses), - peace be upon him - when he was inspired to strike his staff in the water and the sea parted. The sea was parted by the will of Allah, not because of the staff. Musa a.s learnt this when he got to the other side and he struck the water once again, this time hoping to close the sea, but it didn't. Allah could have parted the sea without having Musa a.s to do anything, but by Him inspiring Musa a.s. to do so, He is telling us that as long as we put some effort, He will, inshaAllah, take care of the rest.

Wallahua'lam.

Making Du'a

Du'a is a means for us to directly speak to Allah. We are taught from the sunnah of the Messenger s.a.w to always make du'a to Allah s.w.t. and of course, the majority of us usually follow up the daily prayer with du'a. In fact, even some portions of the prayer are forms of du'a. However, there are times that we may find ourselves not actually making du'a but only rehearsing whatever we've memorised instead. Worst still are the times when we have no idea what the imaam is reciting and we're just raising our hands saying 'amiin' over and over.

On the topic of making du'a, I'd like to share a reflection of a very beautiful ayah from Surah al-Baqarah. InshaAllah, this will motivate us to become more aware when making du'a. Allah s.w.t says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ When My slave asks you about Me, then I am near. I respond to the call of anyone who makes du'a when he makes du'a. Then they should try to respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be rightly guided [al-Baqarah, 186]

How to get close to Allah

There are several gems in this ayah. First of all, this part of the ayah "When My slave asks you about Me, then I am near" is a conditional statement. We are told in other ayaat from the Qurat that Allah is indeed near to us, but this ayah further clarifies who Allah s.w.t is near to - the one who asks about Him. Another lesson that we can derive just from the sequence of the ayah is that in order to get close to Allah, we must be the ones to first make the initiative.

Being close to Allah

There are also important things that we must take notice by Allah using the word qareeb (close). Obviously, it's much more effective to ask something from someone who is in close proximity to us, but even more than that, the word close can also depict the kind of relation we have with another person. For instance, a close friend is someone whom we can trust and just pour our emotions to. This is the kind of relation that we should have with Allah. We shouldn't be shy to admit our mistakes to Him, to ask for His forgiveness and to ask whatever it is we want.

Conditions for Allah's response to du'a

Next, Allah s.w.t says "I respond to the call of anyone who make dua when he makes dua"

Being the Most Merciful, Allah responds to the dua'a of anyone, but with a certain condition:

"Then they should try to respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be rightly guided."

The first condition for Allah's respond to our du'a is that we should try to respond to his commands. Notice the Mercy that Allah grants to us in this statement. For himself, he said "أُجِيبُ" (I respond) whereas for our part, he said "فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا" (they should try to respond), meaning that as long as we make honest efforts to respond to His commands, this is enough for Him to respond to our du'a in return.

The second condition is to have iman (to believe) in Him, which might come off as a little strange. This ayah is intended for the believers, so why is it that Allah is telling us to believe? The answer is simple. Allah s.w.t is telling us to always revitalise our iman and this can be done by means of trying to respond to His commands. InshaAllah, by always adhering to this simple lesson that Allah taught us in the Quran, we might become among those who are rightly guided.

OK, I've been making du'a but it doesn't seem to have any effect

This is something that might come to the mind of some Muslims. Is Allah not responding to our du'a? He does. We just need to realise how He does so. This matter is dealt with in two hadeeth from the Messenger s.a.w:

"There is no Muslim man on the face of the earth who supplicates to Allah but Allah would either grant it to him, or avert a harm from him of equal proportions, as long as his supplication does not involve sin or cutting the relations of the womb." [At-Tirmidhi]

"The supplication of the servant will be accepted as long as he does not supplicate for what includes sin, or cutting the relations of the womb, and as long as he does not become hasty." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allah! How does one become hasty'' He said, "He says, `I supplicated and supplicated, but I do not see that my supplication is being accepted from me.' He thus looses interest and abandons supplicating (to Allah)". [Muslim]

Wallahua'lam

I learnt this from:

A Juma'ah khutbah by Br. Nouman Ali Khan

Tafsir Ibn Kathir