Are We True Muslims?

Sunday morning, or should I say Sunday early morning. It was around 2am, before the dawn, just woke up, waiting for Subuh. Starving, I got some food and decided to watch one of the Nouman Ali Khan's lectures on YouTube. It was just a random choice, but Alhamdulillah.. learned something that I didn't realise before. So, this article is basically what I learned from that short lecture. It's mainly a reminder for me first, then everybody else, in shaa Allah. :)

If you ask a non-Muslim, especially in the west, what do they know about Islam? Most of them would answer: hijab, pray several times a day (i.e. known as salah, not like the normal pray defined in the English dictionary), fasting, go to Mecca for pilgrimage, etc. All these things are related to rituals or rules, if you like. I'm not saying they are not important, because they are. These are parts of Islam, part of a way of life, commanded by Allah*, for our own good. However, here I'm not writing about why these benefit our life, as it needs a separate article to explain it. Rather, I'd like to share with you something that is extremely essential for us to take a lesson from.

Back then, during the early prophecy life of Prophet Muhammad SAW**, how did people in the society know that a person was one of the companions of the Prophet? One might answer, because they were always with him. That's why they were called companions. OK, but actually there are other reasons, which are more profound. If I change the question slightly different, how did the people back then recognise that a person was a Muslim?

Did you know that the revelations to pray (i.e. salah), wear hijab for women, fast during Ramadhan, not to drink alcohol, and many other rules descended years later after Muhammad SAW became a prophet? I'm sure most Muslims know, but there is something deeper we can learn from this fact. If we go back to the questions in the previous paragraph, how did people know that a person was a Muslim back then? They didn't perform salah, they didn't fast, they drank alcohol like everybody else, the women didn't wear hijab, etc. So, what was it that made them identifiable as Muslims?

The answer is one: their character! They were known as people of brilliant character. They were people of kindness, justice, honesty, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, modesty, and dedication. You can do your own research by reading the life of Prophet Muhammad SAW and his companions and friends (e.g. Abu Bakar as-Shiddiq, Umar ibn Abu Bakr, Ustman, ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abu Thalib, Khalid ibn Walid, and many more). Many times I was amazed while reading some of the biographies of these excellent people. Their character is on different level, really! mashaAllah!

This made me contemplate. We can perform salah five times a day, fast during Ramadhan or even add it with voluntary fastings outside Ramadhan, wear hijab, avoid drinking alcohol, avoid gambling, etc, but if our character stinks, can we call ourselves true Muslims?

It's true that the command to wear hijab for women came later, but to be modest was one of the first things commanded by Allah SWT. It's also true that paying zakat (the obligatory charity during Ramadhan) was commanded later, but being generous was also one of the first things commanded by Him. They are just some examples. The point is that all the rules came later, but the foundation had always been there.

Brothers and sisters, including myself, let's ponder upon this deeply. We have a noble amanah, keep and hold it firmly. Do our best to improve ourselves from day to day to get closer to Him, to be a true Muslim, a true mu'miniin, in sha Allah.

"The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Bukhari - 

"There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Tarmidhi and Abu Daud - 

"A Muslim is one whom other people are safe from his tongue and his hand." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Bukhari -  

* "Allah" in Arabic means "the worship One"

** Prophet Muhammad SAW became a prophet from the age of 40 years old (He passed away in the age of 63 years old).

source of the picture: http://www.thetrueknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Attituade.jpg.

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Beautiful Patience of a Beautiful Person

Last month, 23rd - 26th December 2012, I went to FIGO winter camp, which took place in Carlingford, Ireland. FIGO stands for FOSIS Ireland Goes Overdrive. FOSIS (Federation of Student Islamic Societies) is a national umbrella organisation aimed at supporting and representing Islamic societies at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The winter camp's theme was Beautiful Patience, where the main lessons were extracted from Surah Yusuf. Did you know that Surah Yusuf is the only surah in the Qur'an that tells a complete story of a person (i.e. Prophet Yusuf AS). If you read the whole surah carefully, you'll learn so many things! Even much more if you read or listen to the explanation of it. This is one of the videos I found on the explanation of the surah: click here.

The story of Prophet Yusuf AS is from the best of stories because of what it relates from varying phases in life; from trial to tribulation, from being tested to being blessed, from humiliation to magnificence, from slavery to kingship, from division to unity, from grief to joy, from superfluity to famine, from famine to glut, from hardship to ease, and from denial to affirmation. So blessed be the One who revealed it in the best manner possible.

Here, I'm writing a number of lessons I learned from all the talks and the activities at the camp, not only those related to Surah Yusuf, but also other things during the camp. These notes are reminders for myself first and foremost. If you get benefits from this post as well, Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin. :)

• In everything we do, purify our intention! We need to make sure that it's solely for the sake of Allah SWT. We don't start doing things or leaving things for the sake of people (recheck our intention!).


• Whatever we do in this life, as long as it's good, be the best in it, and then give back to the ummah, insha Allah.


• 'Ilm and Amal (knowledge and action) are the twins of faith. They need to go hand in hand. After that, the third thing to do is to share the knowledge we got to others, insha Allah. Be like the first type of ground: absorb and pass to others!


• If you're asked this question: "What would you think of a 55 year old black man, has no job?" Most people might answer, "He's lazy, dumb, etc". If that's the answer you would give as well, then you have some portion of negative thinking in your mind. The truth is that this man is rich and retired earlier as a millionaire. Always think positive as we might not know the complete story of someone or something!


• Reading the story of Prophet Yusuf AS makes us realised that every calamity that strikes us is nothing compared to that happening to him. How he handled it and how he had a strong patience in facing it should make us reflect upon ourselves. Calamity is actually a test from Allah SWT. Just like the tests at school, the higher the level, the harder the test.


• A person can go from 0 to someone really great, very important. So, never assume, never judge, and never lose hope on someone! Only Allah SWT knows how someone's life will turn out.


• The only thing you will bring after death is our deeds. So, think smart!


• Leave the duniya before it leaves you. Utilise this duniya as a means, not our goal.


• There are 3 types of patience:
  1. patience on the commands (what to do),
  2. patience to stay away from prohibition,
  3. patience on calamity we don't have control about.


• "A little that suffices you is better than a lot that spoil you." (Muhammad SAW)


• Being good is to do good to the people who do bad to you, do not oppress those who oppress you, and do not betray those who betray you.


• As you know, the position of parents in Islam is very high. If you die at the night when your parents are angry or crying because of you, two gates of hell are opened for you. If you sleep at night and your parents are smiling because of you, two gates of heaven are opened for you.


• Number one in men's list is respect and number one in women's list is love.


• If you want to disobey Allah SWT, do it outside His kingdom, do it where He can't see you. Where? How?


• Some people say that they will get closer to Allah SWT when they are old. The truth is we never know if we're still alive then, even we never know if we're still alive tomorrow. Do it now! If we want to die in the state of gaining His pleasure, we have to live in doing what pleases Him, insha Allah.

"Patience's position to faith is similar to the position of the head to the body. If the head is cut off, the body dies." Then he raised his voice saying, "There is no faith, for a person who doesn't have patience." - Ali ibn Abdul Thalib RA -

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Consistency Builds Character

I'll begin my post with an analogy. If you want to start a business, what do you need first? Not money, before that. You need a business plan. Similar to your life, you need a plan to live a successful life.

"Failing to plan is planning to fail" - Benjamin Franklin -

However, sometimes (or most of the time), all the things we have planned remain plan, no implementation. Perhaps they are so big or so many that we find them difficult to implement. 

Three days ago, I attended a talk by Sheikh Abdulbary Yahya, entitled "Ambition - Journey of a Thousand Miles". From his name, you know he is a Muslim speaker (a great one btw), but his talk can be applied to anyone, regardless of their belief. However for Muslims in particular, I'll share some of the things he said at the second part of this post.

Start making your plan with small things!

The plan needs to be small to make it achievable. Not only small, there has to be regularity in it. Make your daily, weekly, and monthly plan! Sheikh shared a couple of examples of his own plan:

• Tidy up room for 3 minutes everyday
  
  Sheikh's mother and sister are "clean freaks". They always maintain everything in the house tidy and clean. So, he grew up as a spoiled child because he didn't need to clean anything in the house. They had done it. When he studied abroad (in Medina), the mess started to pile up. Of course his mother's gonna come to clean it. So, he made this plan: he would spend only 3 minutes to tidy up or clean his room every day. He did it. Eventually, his room's always clean and tidy, and he came to the point when he was looking for dirt/dust to spend the 3 minutes he had allocated. Finally he had to reduce it to 1 minute a day.

  
  
• Take 3 pieces of rubbish from the car
  
  Sheikh made this rule for his children. Everytime they are travelling by car, each one of his children has to take 3 pieces of rubbish from the car to be thrown away. The rubbish is like a ticket to get out of the car. This way, his car is always clean.

The point here is consistency. If you're consistent with your plan, it will become your habit. It's no longer a burden. Eventually, you won't even realize that it has become your character. If the plan is applied to your family, then it becomes your family character, and you won't need to remind them anymore.

Consistency is not only about doing your plan, but also doing it in time. For example, 5-minute exercise every day (daily plan); visiting a friend once a week (weekly plan); cooking for the whole family once a month (monthly plan); etc. You should stick to the time you've set for every plan. Try your best to be consistent in time of ease and hardship! How to do it? Do not choose deeds that are too difficult to do! Do not choose too many deeds! Once you succeed with the small plans, you can work it up.

"If you can do something consistently, it becomes your character. It won't be a burden anymore, you'll enjoy it." - Sheikh Abdulbary Yahya -

For Muslims

Here I'm writing several ideas shared by Sheikh regarding our spiritual plan.

As Muslims, we have to pray¹ 5 times a day. Why did Allah SWT order us to pray 5 times a day?² There is a wisdom behind it. It teaches us consistency (istiqomah), which is one of many principles in Islam. The 5 prayers have their specific times when they have to be performed. If we're consistent performing all the prayers in time, then we can take it to the next level, which is to pray no later than 10 minutes after Adzan (the calling for prayer, when the prayer time starts), for example. This could be our daily plan.

I'll tell you a story. Since embracing Islam, Abu Hurairah RA never missed the first takbeer of congregational prayer for 40 years. If you think it's easy, try it for 4 days only, it's hard! Especially when you're busy with study or work. However, you can include this in your monthly or 2-week plan.

Another story about Abu Hurairah RA; since he mentioned Muhammad SAW as his khalil (means intimate friend in Arabic), he never missed these 3 things:

1. fasting 3 days every month,
2. praying witr before going to sleep every night, and
3. praying 2 raka'at of Dhuha every day.

All of them are sunnah (not mandatory), but he was consistent doing those 3 until the day he died.

If we look at those 3 things above, they are achievable. We can start by doing no.2 as our daily plan. Note that those are Abu Hurairah's minimum requirements; he did more than those. For example, he fasted one day, off the next day, fasted again one day, off again, and so on.

Another thing Sheikh suggested was related to technology. We all know that we use computer/laptop/iPad almost every day (if not every day). So, what Sheikh does is that everytime he turns on his iPad, the first thing he does before doing anything else is reciting a page of Qur'an (the Qur'an application on iPad).

With all the routines that have been planned, one might ask, "How to make it not feel robotic?" Try to focus on the quality of your deeds too, not just quantity. For example, when you recite a page of Qur'an, read and understand the meaning too! This way, you learn something that can be applied in your life.

Once you get used to your new habit, please be careful! The plan you've been doing is your personal plan. Do not force others to do exactly what you do! If you do so, it becomes bid'ah.

There are many other ideas we could include in our plan. Some of them are:

• giving €5 every week for shadaqah,
• praying at mosque at least once a week,
• reciting surah Al-Kahfi every Friday,
• performing sunnah prayer (qabliyah and/or ba'diyah) every day,
• etc.

Now you have a good number of ideas for your plan. Of course you're allowed to be creative as long as your plan only contains good deeds. Just remember: start from small things, be consistent, and work it up! :)

¹"prayer" or "pray" is actually not the precise word to describe the prayer Muslims do as it has specific rules and procedures regarding movements and recitations (unlike "pray" in general). So, in Islam the prayer is called "shalat/salah". However, for reading convenience, I'm using the word "prayer" or "pray" in this post .

²The wisdom behind the revelation of the mandatory prayers can be read in this post: http://zahraeyes.blogspot.ie/2012/11/the-wisdom-behind-isra-miraj.html.

 

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The Wisdom behind Isra' Mi'raj

The order to perform mandatory prayers¹ was conveyed to Prophet Muhammad SAW during Isra' Mi'raj. Those who don't know what Isra' Mi'raj is can read it here: wikipedia and IslamiCity.

All Muslims know that the number of mandatory prayers per day was 50 at first. However on the way back, Muhammad SAW met Prophet Moses AS (peace be upon him). He advised Muhammad SAW to go back to to ask for reduction. There's no way Muslims would be able to perform 50 prayers every single day. So, Muhammad SAW went back to do what Moses AS suggested. Basically, Muhammad SAW went back and forth asking from Allah SWT for reduction as Moses AS kept telling him that the number was too many. In the end, 5 is the final number of mandatory prayers Muslims must do, until this day.

Now, read this carefully. Allah SWT is God. Did He not know that Moses AS would tell Muhammad SAW to go back and forth asking for reduction from Allah SWT? Of course Allah SWT knew, He's the Almighty and the All-knowing. So, why did He do this? Why didn't He order 5 the first time? Why did He start from 50?

There's a wisdom behind this. If we had to pray 50 times every single day, how much time left for anything except praying? Let's do the computation roughly: 24 hours / 50 prayers = 2 or 3 prayers per hour. Thus, you would only have a few minutes to eat, study, work, and sleep! Imagine you sleep for a few minutes and then have to wake up to pray. You see that most of our time would be spent in prayer if we had to perform it 50 times a day. It shows that Allah SWT wants us to constantly worship Him. That's the purpose of our life. However, Allah SWT is the most merciful (one of His 99 names/attributes). He knows that we won't be able to perform 50 prayers a day. So, He reduced it to 5.

The order to pray was the only revelation that was conveyed from Allah SWT directly to Muhammad SAW (other revelations were delivered to Muhammad SAW through the angel Gabriel). Why was that? There's also a wisdom behind this. By praying, we, as His creation, can worship Him directly, pray to Him directly, confess our mistakes/sins to Him directly, ask for forgiveness from Him directly, ask for anything from Him directly, without any intermediary whatsoever. No human-being can be an intermediary between you and God. It's like having a direct plug-in to your Creator. He's the most powerful, the Almighty, the All-knowing, so your relationship with Him doesn't need anyone/anything in between.

¹"prayer" or "pray" is actually not the precise word to describe the prayer Muslims do as it has specific rules and procedures regarding movements and recitations (unlike "pray" in general). So, in Islam the prayer is called "shalat/salah". However, for reading convenience, I'm using the word "prayer" or "pray" in this post.

Source of the picture above: http://bahesti.wordpress.com.

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Desire

A regular normal day, regular routines
seems boring? No, that's just a surface

One exciting day
that's what I thought
overwhelming feelings
I kept it calm, unwritten on my face

Just a gratitude I could express
perhaps one tiny smiley curve on my lips
nothing else

It's clear
one thing made me happy
just one thing
but that's enough for me to think
The world behaves nicer towards me today

Suddenly
heard a word
unpleasant word
usually took it as a joke, no hurt feeling

But now completely different
the source of my today's happiness, that's where the word came from
it brought me down, it really did

The moment had passed
brought me to a realisation
something I've already known
but unintentionally ignore it, deny it
nothing I can do to fix the past moment but learn one lesson
one valuable lesson


by Amalia Zahra

"Following your desire in this world will bring you down at some point. If you follow only the Almighty Allah SWT, you'll feel the total freedom. Be grateful and peaceful for whatever Allah gives you as He knows what is best for you."

 

source of the picture above: http://www.masjidma.com.

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[Poem] Hijab

I read this poem on the Muslim Youth Ireland page on Facebook. I love it so much that I want to share it with you, readers. Dedicated to all sisters. ;)

Hijab
I turn the corner find people looking and staring
Simply because my hair isn’t baring
I wonder why…
I then realise…

Some think I am controlled
Whilst others believe I am uneducated
I wonder why…
I then realise…

These people with these thoughts feel I have no voice
They think being hooded means I have no choice
I wonder why…
I then realise…

People whisper that I am oppressed and rejected
For they do not know I am covered and well respected!
I am not judged by how I look
But the way I speak and my conduct

So while passers by may see me as a reject
I know inside I am perfect

~ anonymous (will be updated once I know the author)

source of the picture above: my private collection, taken at Botanics Garden, Dublin.

 

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Quotes by Shaykh Samir Abu Hamza

From 23rd to 26th December 2011, I attended a winter camp organized by Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) in Co. Clare, Ireland. We did a lot of activities: lectures, physical challenge, mental challenge, games, and entertainment night. The lectures were delivered by Shaykh Samir Abu Hamza. He flew from Australia just for the purpose of giving lectures at the camp (May Allah bless him).

During his lectures, I took note of several things I found interesting or inspiring. Here are some of his quotes:

• If you feel upset or angry when someone says something bad about a person, that's a clue that you love him/her.
• Your body needs food, so does your soul (shalat). Shalat (prayer) is nutrition to your soul.
• When you're going to do something, the first thing you should do is to think: Do you want it to be done to you or your family members?
• Shyness is part of faith. The greatest character a sister can have is shyness.
• Read the biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW and take him as your role model.
• If you become angry, be quiet! Control your anger!
• Being quiet is better than bad talking. This is very relevant since a lot of people curse nowadays. If you feel like you want to say bad words, just don't! I'm surprised that curse has become a habit for some people nowadays. It's not cool. Personally, I just can't curse, neither through my tongue nor in my mind.
• Sunnah is like the peel of an apple. If you neglect Sunnah, you neglect the foundation. ps: If you don't know what sunnah is, please refer to its brief explanation on Wikipedia (click here).
• What would you do if your boss calls you? I'm pretty sure that you will come to see him/her as soon as possible. What if Allah calls you? If Allah calls you, you must come quickly. This reminds us to perform the 5-time prayers on time and as early as each time comes.
•  Sometimes, Allah puts us in a test (in the forms of sickness, natural disaster, loss, etc) to bring us closer to Him.

What Shaykh said was something that muslims have probably known, but sometimes we need a reminder. The same message could be absorbed or ignored depending on how it's put in a sentence, and Shaykh was so good in conveying the messages that we understood everything he said easily. :)

source of the picture above: islam44.blogspot.com.

 

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A Beautiful Story of Abu Hanifa's Parents

Here is another beautiful story I got during the winter camp about a week ago...

There was a man, let's say his name was Fulan. He worked for someone who had an apple field. One day, he was so hungry that he took one apple from the field and ate it. Afterwards, he regretted what he had done. The apple was not his, thus he felt really bad about it. He went to his boss and apologized. His boss didn't want to forgive him. Fulan never gave up, he came every day to apologize. The answer he got was still the same, "No." 

After many times apologizing, he finally got different answer from his boss, "I will forgive you if you do one thing for me." Fulan immediately said, "Anything, sir. I will do anything to get your forgiveness."  "Marry my daughter!" Fulan couldn't believe what his boss had said. He surely didn't mind at all. He asked for forgiveness, but he got more than that. His boss hadn't finished what he wanted to say, "But my daughter is blind, ugly, stupid, and disabled." The news shocked Fulan. After a while, he made his decision, "If that's the only thing I could do to get your forgiveness, then I will do it, sir."

Fulan didn't get a chance to see his potential wife until the wedding day came. On the day, she came to the wedding, and she didn't look like what his father said. She's a beautiful lady, not blind, not disabled, etc. She's normal. Fulan was surprised as he didn't expect such a beautiful lady. He talked to her, "You're not like what your father said about you at all. Why did he have to lie?" The lady said, "For a long time my father had been looking for a good husband for me. He finally found you. He's impressed of how you felt so guilty and regretted over a small thing, and never gave up to ask for his forgiveness. He knew that you're the one, you have a good character."

They got married and had one son, whose name is Abu Hanifa. He was one of the greatest Islamic scholars. Masha Allah. :)

source of the picture above: www-staff.lboro.ac.uk.

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The Greatness of Salam

Here I want to tell you a simple and beautiful story I got when I attended a winter camp about a week ago. The winter camp was organized by Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS). It is an organization that consists of Student Islamic Societies of many universities across UK and Ireland. 

First of all, I'd like to explain briefly what salam means to those who don't know about it. Salam (Arabic) means a greeting that muslims say to one another when they meet. Greeting in Islam (salam) is "Assalamu'alaikum", which means "Peace be upon you", and then you answer "Wa'alaikum salam" ("Peace be upon you too"). The complete version of salam is "Assalamu'alaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh" ("Peace be upon you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings"). The greatness of salam is that for those who say salam to other muslims, they will be rewarded a palace in heaven.

Let's start the story. One day there was a gathering at Umar's house (Umar bin Khattab RA is one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad's SAW). In the middle of gathering, Ali bin Abu Thalib (cousin of Prophet Muhammad's SAW and one of his companions as well) came. Instead of saying salam, he asked Umar to say salam first. Other people there asked Ali, "Why did you ask Umar to say salam? Shouldn't it be you that say salam because you just came?" Ali answered, "I know, but I want him to get a palace in heaven. That's because I love Umar very much."

Awh..

That's such a short and simple story, but somehow went into my heart deeply. What Ali did is simply sweet.. :)

ps: The conversation above might not be exactly like that, just want the message of the story delivered.

source of the picture above: jalansemut.wordpress.com.

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