ICR jaulah squad, reassembled!

WARNING! This entry is super long.

Having been back for a couple of days, Br. Kamran made it to our house at last. He brought along his cute, cuddly, adorable little Atiqa and Taha with him too. I just love playing with kids! Especially the cute ones. But all kids are cute, then that means I love playing with all kids..hrmm..ok, don't mind me. We spent some time catching up. He filled us in on this jord he attended back in Pakistan, along with giving us some targheeb. He said he met some Malaysian jama'ah over there. Well..Malaysian jama'ah is all around the globe now!

As for us, we were just really fortunate to have met one back on our first Eidul Fitri here, the Malaysian jama'ah whose 'amir sab was Br. Ismadi if I'm not mistaken. Br. Hanafiah from Sabah...I still keep the tasbih he gave me. He had a diabetic problem last time, hope he's alright now. ICR brothers were hosting them and that was when we first met Br. Kamran and the others and got connected with the local effort here at once. What a beautifully arranged destiny that was. Otherwise, we might have been complete strangers to each other. Enough with the reminiscing. So Br. Kamran left us with some souvenirs (miswak, kopiah, and cologne) from Pakistan and an invitation to jaulah after maghrib.

After maghrib we left in two groups; one group going to the Burmese community downtown, another going to some other housing area. Br. Kamran, Wae and me were in the first, while Mael in the second with Br. Irfan and the others. There is a Burmese jama'ah from Utica, NY staying at Br. Yunus's house, to which we were headed. His house has been made a musolla at which the Burmese have their congregational prayers. Our goal was to find out how many brothers from the Burmese are ready for next week's Winter-break khuruj.

They were at dinner when we came, and they gave us no choice but to join them. The Burmese is one of the few other communities like Somalian and Bosnian who live as refugees here, being under the protection of US government itself. Most of them don't speak English, only a few among the youngsters do. But in jama'ah, language barrier is never really an issue. We are brothers regardless of any physical, geographical or linguistic differences...and brothers always understand each other. Done eating, we went to the attic upstairs for a quick mesyuwarah with the Burmese jama'ah. Br. Kamran did all the talking on our side. Wrapping up, they said they would come to ICR for Isya'.

Back to ICR, Mael and I had some conversation with these two Arab brothers: Br. Saif and Br. Abd Majid. Br. Saif goes to Monroe Community College (MCC), the same school one of my housemates goes to near Rustic Village while Br. Abd Majid is doing his Master's at RIT. Br. Saif is a very handsome guy (speaking from the standpoint of a girl). He has the looks girls would fight over: Bright skin, sharp nose, thick black hair with thin beard wrapping his jaws. If I were a girl, I might have fallen for him. Just kidding. But believe me sisters, he IS good looking. As for Br. Abd Majid, he is just married, and he is taking the same Biochem class we are taking.

We had bayan after Isya' by a Burmese brother from the guest jama'ah. Br. Rauf Bawani was the interpreter. It was short yet packed with important messages. Among the few things I recall; "Don't worry if the people you are talking to don't understand what you're talking, or if they would understand it wrong, because Allah is the one who bestows understanding. And He is the one who makes you understand what I'm talking right now. Our responsibility is just to convey the message."

We had a mesyuwarah again afterwards on our upcoming Winter-break khuruj. We listed out all the potential brothers that came to mind and discuss the other details. The destination is still undecided, but there is a strong possibility that we'll go to Boston since there's gonna be an ijtimak there on this 23, 24 & 25 of Dec. Br. Intikhab was chosen as the 'amir for this jama'ah. After all, he is the most qualified among us in terms of experience and sacrifice level. He has spent 7 months before on khuruj, traveling around the world just for the sake of religion. I noticed Br. Ismail, son of Br. Gungor was there too. He has grown full beard now. Later when we were leaving I said to him, "Nice beard you have. I would die for that beard. Mine just won't grow." He just laughed at this (man..I was pretty serious~).

Wassalam

p/s: The title is an overstatement really. We have abandoned our jaulah for quite some time now. But its good to be back to work. Also it reminds me of "squad ziarah Cemara." Hm..I really miss those days doing ziarah with you guys. Hope you guys are keeping this effort close to heart. Next time...more pics, less words! =)

i got a kiss!

decorative image

I heard Br. Kamran finally came back. The last I heard about him, he was having trouble getting back here because of visa problem or something. Anyway now that he's back, it's a blessing for us all insyaAllah. After being "frozen" for weeks now, it's time to have someone "thaw" or "heatshock" us back to work. There hasn't been any significant progress on our side since the Winter kicked off. When you've got yourself trapped in this misleading "comfortable" zone, it's hard to find your way out. No. Accurately, it's hard enough even to WANT to get out.

Come to think of it, I can't help comparing this whole situation to being caught under a genjutsu in Naruto (anime series). Ok2..Let me brief you on this. Genjutsu is a ninja battle technique that traps your opponent under an illusion, causing a disruption in their senses. There are two ways to escape, one is to have your comrade snap you out of it by disrupting your chakra (energy) flow, the other is to inflict considerable pain onto yourself in trying to cancel it's effect. Apparently, the earlier is more practical. So now we're counting on our comrade (Br. Kamran) who is outside this illusion to pull us out -End of detour-

Br. Intikhab dropped in yesterday and brought us some cookies, upon his coming back from attending city mesyuwarah (held once every two months) at Buffalo markaz. It might appear that he just came to say "salam" and then leave, but I could sense something else behind his coming. He came to give us an encouragement to come to the masjid more often. This is a great blessing of being among muslim jama'ah; When you forget and start losing your way, someone will pull you back home. So basically he came over to say "My dear brothers, you guys haven't been showing up for congregational prayers lately. What's happening? Is there a problem?" Just before he left, he gave me a warm hug, and a fatherly kiss on the forehead as a sign of concern. Karkun 2 got one too. Haha..I bet we both felt a little awkward back then.

Wow, even my dad never did that, at least as far as I can remember. And my mom hasn't done that in a while either..haha (like I'd ever ask my mom to do that anyway). You think it's creepy? Outside the jama'ah, maybe..but within the jama'ah, it's nothing unusual. Not saying that you kiss each other's foreheads all the time, but this is the level of affection sprouted from a strong tie of brotherhood in Islam. You see, until we can establish firm love, respect and care for our muslim brothers and sisters, there is no way unity can be achieved. This is the kind of bond we're trying to establish by going out on khuruj. The feelings of high and mighty, hatred, jealosy..we learn to suppress all these bit by bit. In jama'ah, we learn to honor each other: we eat in the same plate, we watch each other's back, we cover for each other, we even feed each other. All of these are contained in the fourth quality of the sahabah, ikramul muslim. Fuh..I can continue all day on this but I think I'll pen off here. There's still a whole lot of chapters to go over! Bye for now.

adam...

Another fruitful result of a random blogwalking I guess. This one hits me hard on the head. =)

***************

Adam,
Maafkan aku jika coretan ini memanaskan hatimu. Sesungguhnya aku adalah hawa, temanmu yang kau pinta semasa kesunyian di syurga dahulu. Aku asalnya dari tulang rusukmu yang bengkok. Jadi, tidak hairanlah jika perjalanan hidup ku sentiasa inginkan bimbingan darimu. Sentiasa mahu terpesong dari landasan kerana aku buruan syaitan.

Adam,
Maha suci Allah yang mentakdirkan kaumku lebih ramai bilangannya dari kaummu dikala akhir zaman ini. Itulah sebenarnya ketelitian Allah dalam urusanNya, kerana andainya Allah mentakdirkan bilangan kaummu mengatasi kaumku nescaya merahlah dunia ini dengan darah manusia. Kacau bilaulah suasana Adam sesama Adam bermusuh hanya kerana Hawa.

Bukti cukup nyata dari peristiwa Habil dan Qabil. Sehingga pada zaman cucu-cicitnya juga. Jika begitu maka tidak selaraslah undang-undang Allah yang mengharuskan adam beristeri lebih dari satu tetapi tidak melebihi 4 orang dalam satu masa.

Adam,
Bukan kerana ramainya isterimu membimbangkan daku. Bukan kerana sedikitnya bilanganmu merunsingkanku. Tetapi aku risau, gundah dan gulana menyaksikan tingkahmu. Sejak dahulu lagi telah aku ketahui bahawa seharusnya aku tunduk tatkala menjadi isterimu. Patutlah terlalu berat lidahku berbicara untuk menyatakan isi hati ini. Namun sebagai hamba Allah, aku sayang padamu.

Adam,
Sebagaimana di dalam Al-Quran telah menyatakan yang engku diberi kuasa terhadap wanita. Kau diberi amanah mendidikku Kau diberi tanggungjawab untuk menjagaku, memerhati dan mengawasiku agar redha Allah sentiasa menaungi. Tetapi duhai Adam, lihatlah dunia kini.

Apa yang telah terjadi kepada kaumku?

Kini, aku dan kaumku telah ramai yang menderhakaimu. Ramai yang telah menyimpang dari jalan yang telah ditetapkan. Asalnya Allah mengkehendaki aku tinggal tetap dirumah. Dijalan-jalan, dipasar, di bandar-bandar bukanlah tempatku. Jika terpaksa, aku keluar dari rumah seluruh tubuhku ditutup dari hujung rambut sehingga ke hujung kaki. Tetapi realitinya kini, aku lebih dari yang sepatutnya.

Adam,
Mengapa kau biarkan daku begini? Sememangnya aku ibu dan guru kepada anak-anakmu. Tetapi kini, aku jadi ibu, guru dan aku jugalah yang memikul senjata. Padahal engkau duduk sahaja. Ada diantara kau yang menganggur tiada kerja. Kau perhatikan sahaja aku panjat tangga dipejabat bomba. Kainku tinggi menyingsing peha, mengamankan Negara. Apakah kau sekarang tidak seperti dahulu? Apakah sudah hilang kasih sucimu padaku?

Adam,
Marahkah kau jika ku katakan terpesongnya hawa sekarang engkaulah yang harus dipersalahkan! Kenapa kau? Bukankah orang sering bicara, jika anak jahat maka emak bapak tidak pandai mendidik, jika murid bodoh, guru tidak pandai mengajar. Jadi secara formulanya, Aku binasa, kaulah puncanya!!!

Adam,
Kau selalu mangata, Hawa memang degil! Tidak mahu dengar kata! Tidak mudah makan nasihat! Kepala batu! Tetapi duhai Adam, seharusnya kau bertanya kepada dirimu, Siapakah ikutanmu? Siapakah rujukanmu? Dalam mendidik aku yang lemah ini. Adakah ikutanmu Muhammad saw? Adakah rujukanmu Muhammad saw? Adakah akhlak-akhlakmu boleh dijadikan contah buat kami kaum Hawa?

Adam,
Sebenarnya kaulah imam dan aku adalah makmummu. Aku adalah pengikut-pengikutmu kerana kaulah amir. Jika kau benar maka benarlah aku. Jika kau lalai, lalailah aku. Lupakah kau duhai Adam? Kau punya satu kelebihan anugerah Tuhan. Akalmu sembilan, nafsumu satu. Dan aku, akalku satu nafsuku beribu! Dari itu Adam, gunakanlah ketinggian akalmu untuk membimbingku.

Pimpinlah tanganku kerana aku sering lupa dan lalai. Seringkali aku tergelincir ditolak, disorong oleh nafsu dan kuncu-kuncunya. Bimbing dan bantulah aku dalam menyelami kalimah Allah. Perdengarkanlah daku kalimah syahdu dari TuhanMu agar duniaku sentiasa dijalan rahmah. Tiupkanlah roh jihad ke dalam dadaku agar aku mampu tetap menjadi mujahidah kekasih Allah.

Adam,
Andainya kau masih lali dengan kerenahmu sendiri. Masih segan mengikut langkah para sahabat baginda. Masih gentar mencegah mungkar. Maka kita tunggu dan lihatlah dunia ini akan hancur bila aku yang memerintah. Malulah engkau Adam. Malulah engkau pada dirimu sendiri.

Credit: Original source

a drop of reminder, a pool of apology

MySA's general meeting last night was quite interesting, especially the last portion of it when our president was directly addressing us about our putting Malaysia's pride on the line. Well, not all of us of course, but this Malay saying would well describe the situation, "Kerana nila setitik rosak susu sebelanga." What a moving speech. I expected no less from a president of his caliber. The things he said about us bearing the rights of others really made me rethink the purpose of my being here. Just how much sin I have committed by just slacking off in my studies. Sometimes you just need someone to strike at you head-on like that for you to get it. A real friend is someone who can give you a sincere advice when you really need one, even if it costs you your tears. How you would take it, that's for you to decide. After all, reminders are beneficial for Muslims. Back to the issue, so now MySA is not giving out any "aids" to anyone any more. I wish they could have done that way sooner, so I could have spent more time sharpening my reasoning skills.

Speaking of reminder, someone just gave me a warm reminder to come to the dodgeball tournament tonight. Well that's not strange at all since I skipped the last treasure hunt contest and put my team at the risk of losing their winning points. (And my team did win.) MySA have come up with this new rule where points will be deducted for every absence; a particularly effective strategy against those who hardly show up in the meetings. So it seems like I'll have to at least make sure my attendance is checked somehow. "What a drag...", the line my favorite Naruto character would say if he gets caught up in a tricky situation. It's a good thing though that this time around the matches between girls and boys will be done separately; otherwise, some people might not even consider coming at all. I'd love to be actively involved in these get-together activities as much as others do, but for some reasons I can't. By saying that, I'm not trying to offend anyone here, just delivering my sincere thoughts. My apology if it does sound that way. =)

p/s: MySA = Malaysian Students Association

Wassalam

dakwah dan cinta

I did some blogwalking a while back and ran into this nice wordwork. But..it's in Indonesian. Well, I guess it's time to put those hours spent on watching Sinetron to use! =)

***************

Katakanlah, Inilah jalanku, aku mengajak kalian kepada Allah dengan bashirah, aku dan
pengikut-pengikutku. Mahasuci Allah, dan aku bukan termasuk orang-orang yang musyrik.
Jalan dakwah panjang terbentang jauh kedepan
duri dan batu selalu mengganjal, lembah dan bukit menghadang
Ujungnya bukan di usia, bukan pula di dunia
Tetapi Cahaya Maha Cahaya, Syurga dan Ridho Allah
CINTA ADALAH SUMBERNYA, HATI DAN JIWA ADALAH RUMAHNYA
PERGILAH KE HATI-HATI
MANUSIA, AJAKLAH KE JALAN RABBMU
Nikmati perjalannya, berdiskusilah dengan bahasa bijaksana
Dan jika seseorang mendapat hidayah karenamu, itu lebih baik daripada dunia dan segala isinya
Pergilah ke hati-hati manusia ajaklah ke jalan Rabbmu
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah FAHAM
Mengerti tentang Islam, risalah anbiya' dan warisan ulama'
Hendaklah engkau fanatis dan bangga dengannya
Seperti Mughirah bin Syu'bah di hadapan Rustum panglima Kisra
Jika engkau CINTA, maka dakwah adalah IKHLAS
Menghiasi hati, memotivasi jiwa untuk berkarya
Seperti kata abul anbiya, Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidupku dan matiku semata bagi Rabb semesta
Berikanlah hatimu untuk Dia, katakanlah Allahu Ghayatuna
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah AMAL
Membangun kejayaan umat kapan saja, di mana saja berada
Yang bernilai adalah kerja bukan semata ilmu apalagi lamunan.
Sasarannya adalah perbaikan dan perubahan
AL ISLAH WA TAGHYIR
Dari diri pribadi, keluarga, masyarakat dan negara. Bangun aktivitas secara tertib untuk mencapai KEJAYAAN
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah TAAT
Kepada Allah dan RasulNya, Al-Quran dan sunnahnya
Serta orang-orang bertaqwa yang tertata. Taat adalah wujud syukurmu kepada hidayah Allah
Karenanya nikmat akan bertambah melimpah penuh berkah
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah TADHIYAH
Bukti kesetiaan dan kesiapan memberi, pantang meminta. Bersedialah banyak kehilangan
dan sedikit menerima
KARENA YANG DI SISI ALLAH LEBIH MULIA...SEDANG DI SISIMU FANA BELAKA
Sedangkan setiap tetes keringat berpahala berlipat ganda
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah TSABAT
Hati dan jiwa yang tegar walau banyak rintangan. Buah dari sabar meniti jalan,
teguh dalam barisan
ISTIQAMAH DALAM PERJUANGAN DENGAN KAKI TAK TERGOYAHKAN
Berjalan lempang jauh dari penyimpangan
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah TAJARRUD
Ikhlas di setiap langkah menggapai suatu tujuan
Padukanlah seluruh potensimu libatkan dalam jalan ini
ENGKAU DA'I SEBELUM APAPUN ADANYA ENGKAU
Dakwah tugas utamamu sedangkan lainnya selingan
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah TSIQOH
Kepercayaan yang dilandasi iman suci penuh keyakinan
Kepada Rasul, Islam, Qiyadah dan Junudnya
Hilangkan keraguan dan pastikan kejujuran
KARENA INILAH KAFILAH KEBENARAN YANG PENUH BERKAH
Jika engkau CINTA maka dakwah adalah UKHUWAH
Lekatnya ikatan hati berjalan dalam nilai-nilai persaudaraan. Bersaudaralah dengan
muslimin sedunia, umumnya mukmin mujahidin
LAPANG DADA syarat terendahnya, ITSAR bentuk tertingginya
Dan Allah yang mengetahui, menghimpun hati-hati para da'i dalam cintaNya
berjumpa karena taat kepadaNya
MELEBUR SATU DALAM DAKWAH KE JALAN ALLAH, SALING BERJANJI UNTUK
MENOLONG SYARI'ATNYA

original source: umuazzam.multiply.com

so much for kicking back

Well here I am on the very last weekend of my holidays. Hm..this one-week break has been nothing but a disappointment. Hours and hours spent on PS3, watching anime, and other unproductive activities that at the end of the day I'd regret doing. I could not get a single thing done from my work list. Wait, I don't even have a work list to begin with. Great. That's it then. So much for a wonderful break I guess. And yet here I think I can make these last days count. How? Lets see. Oh, I can at least get my brain ready for the kick-off, or clean up my room, or get my laundry beautifully done. Of course I need to also reset my biological clock to default since my circadian rhythm has gone haywire now. My system can no longer tell if it is daytime or nighttime. Well what else would you expect from a prolonged period of sleep deprivation? As a result, I ended up being nocturnal.

Come to think of it, it seems that my whole life has been reduced to an awful period of laxity. Days and nights passed by in waste. This is certainly not the state one would want to die in. Rasulullah saw once said in a hadith, more or less the meaning;

"The dwellers of Jannah will not regret anything except the time they spent in this world without the dzikir (remembrance) of Allah swt."

Looking at this, I can't help wondering how much the dwellers of Hellfire will regret on this Day. And thinking how much time I've wasted so far simply increases the intensity. Only on that day will we realize how precious a single second in this world is. Believe it, on the hereafter scale even half a second of this world counts a lot. Well, of course we all want to improve for the better. I always wanted to occupy my time to the maximum. But to do this we need strength, and this strength comes from iman. And definitely my iman still hasn't reached the level at which I can significantly avoid the irrelevant. So until then I need to work on my iman even more, and you guys too insyaallah. =)

Wallahua'lam

eidul adha @ rochester

Wah..byk juga muslimah di belakang tu rupernye..
(I didn't get to sneak a look)

Imam Syafiq - designated imam at ICR

Chak!

Wae and his acquaintance

Mael listening to the khutbah with full attention

Oops..who's that? The one in red..=)

Pictures courtesy of DemocratandChronicle.com

the long-awaited khuruj

I'm supposed to be studying for tomorrow's Genomics final now but I just couldn't resist the urge to write this entry. I'm thrilled. This month's khuruj is gonna be a lot of fun because Farouk and Omar are joining us too. It's been a while since the last time we went on khuruj together. I really miss those days when we had many youngsters in the jama'ah whenever we went out on khuruj. But the only problem now is we still need an adult to come with us. You know, when it's all kids (I consider myself a kid too) and no adults it'd be hard to keep everything under control. It would be all play and fun and no learning. So we need someone who can hold the jama'ah together, who are superior to us in age, and he does not necessarily have to be the 'amir of the jama'ah. We were thinking Br. Intikhab would be the best candidate. If he can join us then the jama'ah is complete. But in case we can't get him to go, Br. Gungor said he would go instead.

We were discussing about our khuruj destination at mesyuwarah just now. Br. Gungor said that Syracuse won't work for us this time since they have an Eid activity at the masjid over the weekend. There will be a lot of people at the masjid and our going there would just add to the hustle. So Br. Gungor called Br. Ghazanfar of Buffalo markaz and asked his opinion as to whether we should go to Buffalo and merge with a jama'ah there or postpone our khuruj until next week. And he said if there are brothers who are ready for this weekend just let them go, don't stop them. He suggested us to just come over to them and they'll accommodate us in a jama'ah insyaallah. One good thing about Buffalo markaz is there is at least one jama'ah going out from there every weekend. Hm..lets pray so everything will work out just perfect. I've been looking forward to this khuruj since I skipped my khuruj last month. It's time to compensate for that. =)

Salam

cheer me on

These few days have been tough.
I only have myself to blame of course.
Just a few more days to go and
I seem to have lost my study spirit.
Dunno how to get it rekindled.
Come on self, you can do it.
Regroup! regroup! regroup!
Please get thru these critical seconds alive.

penat

Ya Allah. Penat giler harini. Inilah akibat suka menangguh kerja, badan sendiri yang sakit. Cell Phys Report yang sepatutnya mengambil masa seminggu untuk siap (dengan berkualiti) disiapkan dalam hanya satu hari. Tak sampai pun sebnanye. Bila fikir pulak pasal Genomics lagi lah tambah pening. Harap semua berjalan lancar. Minggu last ni rase lame semacam je. Seperti orang-orang lain di RIT, aku pun dah tak sabar nak cuti. Tapi bila dah cuti tak tau nak buat ape pulak. Minggu depan minggu kitorang keluar 3 hari. Bagus pun, bulan lepas dah burn khuruj pasal exam. Harap kali ni semua berjalan lancar dan rapi. This week has been rough. But I can still manage a smile..=) (see?)

Salam.

qualities of sahabah: one

Assalamualaikum

I was thinking about what to put up as my latest entry, and "the six qualities of sahabah" came to mind. So..lets do a quick muzakarah on it. =)

Allah swt has placed the success and happiness in this world and the hereafter in the complete religion. The complete religion is the religion brought by Prophet Muhammad saw, but at this time people still don't have the strength and ability to practice the religion completely. The companions of Prophet Muhammad r.hum had succeeded in practicing the complete religion because they had sublime qualities in their life. These are essential points in Islam, prescribed by our masyaikh (scholars) which if we can incorporate into our life, will make it easy for us to practice the entire Deen. These qualities are not the complete Deen, because the complete Deen is contained within The Holy Quran and the hadith of the Prophet saw. But by bringing these qualities in our daily life, practicing the rest of Islam will be easy for us insyaallah. So, the six qualities are;

Firm belief in the kalimah La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah

Solah (prayers) with full devotion & concentration

'Ilm ma' dzkir (knowledge with remembrance of Allah)

Ikramul muslimim (serving muslim brothers)

Tasihun-niyah (purity of intention)

Tafriqul Auqot (sparing time for deen)

1) Firm belief in the kalimah La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah

This sentence is the kalimah of iman (faith). If there is an effort of iman, our iman will increase, but if there is no effort on iman then our iman will go down or even damaged. Each act of worship ('amal) will be accepted when it is based on iman. Iman is a force that can drive a person to obey the commands of Allah swt, by the way of Prophet Muhammad saw. If there are defects in the 'amal, they may be pardoned directly by Allah or through intercessions (syafaat.) But if there are defects in iman then Allah swt will not forgive. The confession of iman is uttered on the lips but reality is found in the heart. Minimum of iman is the iman that can drive a person to obey the commands of Allah SWT by way of the Prophet. Iman of the size of an atom will be rewarded ten times the world and everything it contains. Maximum of iman is the iman that is not affected by atmosphere and conditions.

How to acquire the reality of iman:

* Preach the importance of iman.
* When there is talk about iman, we listen with tawajuh (full attention.)
* Changing the worldly talks to the talks of iman.
* Pray to get the reality of iman.

When someone says the kalimah "La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah" then he must remove all the beliefs in creations and materials, inserting the one belief in Allah swt and changing his life by way of the Prophet as whole.

When a person works on his iman consistently (with istiqamah), then his iman will get stronger and he will be able to perform all the commands of Allah swt and the sunnah (teachings) of Prophet Muhammad saw and at this time the religion in him is complete, and if he died before reaching the target of complete iman, then Allah swt will raise him with those people with complete iman.

Translated & edited from: original source

Wallahua'lam

Cell Phys to Rustic via Walmart

Over with Cell Physiology lab. To Rustic Village, four of us in the car. We offered Br. Talhah a ride but he refused, saying that he wanted to take the bus with his other friend. Never mind. We stopped by Wallmart on our way home for a quick shopping. Since I didn't have anything to do here, I just wandered around until my housemates got everything they needed. They got in the line for self-checkout. I knew it would take them a while, so I decided to wait at a bench near the checkout counter. This was when I saw Br. Irfan dashing in. I was about to greet him but then stopped when I noticed he was in a hurry. I got back to the bench, sat, and began daydreaming.

I was halfway to the moon when someone suddenly caught me in a hug. It was Br. Gungor. (I wish it had been a girl instead~) He was with his two sons, Omar and Ismail, who seemed to me more like his bodyguards (both of them have a tall and sturdy build.) Br. Gungor is a Turkish American who works as a General Manager (GM) at an HSBC branch here in Rochester. Pretty cool profession I must say. His other son, Adam, is at UB (University at Buffalo, NY) now doing his Bachelor's degree in Medicine. I never asked how long he has been here, but I can tell from his flawless American he has lived here for ages. He's been spending time with us in jama'ah pretty regularly and in fact he is our 'amir for this month. It feels kinda weird that I know very little about them despite having been with them for over one and a half years now. I should open my mouth and ask more.

Home! (unproductive portion of the night you don't want to know about)

Br. Irfan dah balik!

Assalamualaikum

Baru balik dari masjid (Islamic Center of Rochester, ICR) Satu jemaah dari Lackawanna, Buffalo tengah khuruj 3 hari kat sini. Tapi esok diorang semua dah nak balik, lepas 'Asar menurut amir sab. Amir sab jemaah ni ialah Pakistani brother yang bagi bayan (ceramah) semasa malam markaz di Buffalo minggu lepas. Jemaah ni terdiri daripada enam orang (kalau tak silap kira), yang beberapa orang daripadanya aku kenali dengan wajah, tetapi tidak dengan nama. Ada dua orang Arab brothers dalam jemaah ni.

Berita baik! Setelah agak lama menghilang, kelibat Br. Irfan muncul semula. Br. Irfan ialah seorang pelajar PhD dalam bidang Fizik di University of Rochester, UofR (adik sepupu RIT) dari India, merangkap teman seusaha dakwah kami di sini, di Rochester. Br. Irfan pulang ke India beberapa bulan untuk menyempurnakan separuh agamanya (kahwin!) Jadi tidak hairan lah wajah beliau kelihatan lebih berseri-seri, tambah menyerlah dengan baju kurta putih berkilauan yang dipakainya. Hm..bilalah giliran kitorang ni agaknya. Buat masa ni Br. Irfan masih sibuk uruskan kerja-kerja PhD nya yang tertangguh, dan juga kediaman barunya. Lepas Isyak tadi duduk dalam ta'alim sekali dengan jemaah. Br. Abdul Rauf 'dilantik' oleh Br. Sulaiman untuk baca kitab Fazaiel Amal.

Lepas ta'alim sembang sikit dengan Br. Irfan. Kitorang ceritakan keadaan kitorang yang dah tak keruan ni, lebih-lebih lagi semenjak pemergian Br. Kamran yang balik bercuti ke Pakistan untuk beberapa minggu. Sangat lemah nak buat usaha. Pergi masjid pun on-off, ini kan nak duduk ta'alim, jauh sekali duduk mesyuarat. Tambah-tambah dengan time-shifting yang semakin rancak ni (Ish2..salahkan waktu pulak.) Aku cakap kat Br. Irfan; "Br. Irfan, we are falling apart. I think we need to regroup now." Tengah kami berbual, amir sab jemaah Lackawanna mencelah. Seolah-olah mengerti apa yang sedang belaku, beliau memberi nasihat; "Everything is changing around us. Time is always changing. We never know tomorrow might be good or bad. But no matter what this effort has to go on." (Selanjutnya adalah dalam Urdu yang tidak dapat kutafsirkan maksudnya.) Kami setuju untuk buat "quick ziarah" esok lepas Zohor ke rumah Br. Talhah, pelajar Master's di UofR yang juga tinggal di Rustic Village.

May Allah make it easy for us!

Sewaktu nak keluar masjid, aku sempat usik Br. Irfan; "Br. Irfan, it seems like you've gained some weight!" Br. Irfan menjawab selamba; "Haha..ya..I know, I know."

Wassalam

"Bungkus"

RITans are wrapping up the Fall Quarter.

I am slightly behind the schedule I guess.

Need to catch up quick.

Let's wrap it up nice! =)

angels of the medina street?

The plan for today (Friday) is to bring two of the juniors to Buffalo markaz for sabghuzari program (or malam markaz as we call it in Malaysia.) But here comes the problem; The car broke down. (Someone let the engine on overnight.) At this point, it seemed very unlikely for us to go on with the plan. Karkun 2 was a little disappointed with this since it would otherwise be a golden chance to bring new brothers to markaz, & get them in contact with the environment of iman. Plus, we're getting rewards for bringing people to the house of Allah, insyaallah. But it turned out that the car fixed itself just in time and the trip went on as planned. Alhamdulillah! To Buffalo: Karkun 2 was driving with me sitting next to him. The two juniors sat in the back.

FAST FORWARD>>

Few minutes to reaching markaz, as we entered the housing area my eyes caught a pleasantly rare sight: Groups of niqabi walking down the street.

They were heading for their classes at the madrasah I guess. So I could deduce that they are future hafizah or 'alimah. Involuntarily, my head was turning towards them. The fact that they were wearing niqab made me want to sneak a look even more. (Ish2!) I hate to say this but it is an incorrigible nature of mine to be curious about the hidden. They are a comfort to the eyes really. After weeks and months of continuous torture, my eyes had finally found a relief. Looking at the way they dress, people are prompted to give them their due respect without their having to ask for it. Their dresses speak for them. Isn't that cool? The real beauty of a muslima lies in her modesty; for it is this that affects the hearts the most. Everything else added to this is a bonus from her Rabb of course (a bonus to the husband!) From what I heard, the dwellers of Jannah will go visit Allah swt at certain times, but conversely for the niqabi, Allah swt himself will go visit them. So they must be really special to get such an honor from the Rabbul'alamin. Being a little personal, I would loove to have a niqabi as someone close to me. (well, who wouldn't?) But knowing where I stand, this dream, if not a mere fantasy, would be a special gift for me. Sometimes I even go as far as 'alimah and hafizah in daydreaming. I think I really need to get back on Earth ASAP before I run out of Oxygen up here. Come to think of it, it is kinda ironic that I used to feel somewhat uncomfortable seeing the niqabi around, might have been due to the fact that they stand out in the crowd. So I used to somewhat keep my distance from them. Well, that was me then. My apology to niqabi sisters. You deserve my highest respect for holding on to the sunnah in this edge of fasad & munkar: the time when people are compromising the Deen for general norms.

SPEECHLESS INTERVAL...

All of a sudden, a familiar voice pulled me out of my daydream, "Oit, jangan tengok lama-lama sangat..." It was Karkun 2! He kinda figured out what I (if not we) was having in mind. Cis! He just happened to come to his senses earlier than I did. Now I'm voluntarily shifting my sight to the male madrasah students..

There is a madrasah here alright, but I don't know much about it. What I do know is when dakwah is established in a locality, the environment will change. Madrasah will mushroom. Hafiz and hafizah, 'alim and 'alimah will be born from muslim houses. Love and care will spread throughout the community. You can see the proof here at this locality in Buffalo and any other places in which dakwah is established. Just for the record, some of the streets' names here have even been changed to Islamic names. For example, from "something not Islamic" to "Medina Street." This is the powerful effect of dakwah.

LONG STORY CUT SHORT>>

• We grabbed some pizzas from a halal pizza store there.
• We prayed different prayers at different masjid (macam rancangan masjid ke masjid kat tv3): 'Asr at Masjid Zakaria, Maghrib at Buffalo Markaz, Isya' at Masjid Taqwa (across the street from Ramli's apartment)
• We met with Syeikh Yahya & Maulana Abdul Muqeet..and Br. Sajjat as well.
• The two juniors seemed really surprised (seeing how a place in the US can be more Islamic than an Islamic country itself) and happy (being in the company of great brothers at markaz.)

Wallahua'lam

being left out is no good

Hm..This might help alleviate my worry. I have 3 exams coming in a row next week. But of these, the one that's giving me the 'chill' now is Genomics. The other two are manageable I guess. By virtue of intensity, Genomics is even tougher than the other two put together. I've been spending the entire weekend now reading pages which are not really making sense to my brilliant mind. Hope things will start snapping into place soon as I hate having to read everything several times. Anyway, I don't wish for this feeling to get the better of me. I'm well in control! I remember Maulana Abdul Muqeet was saying, more or less;

"A Muslim does not run into trouble except that Allah swt will reward him for his worry or restlessness, even to the most trivial extent."

For example, you put your key in your right pocket and later look for it in your left. Here, in the transition from your right to left pocket, there's a little worry in your heart that you might have lost your key. Allah will reward you for this! See, even this simple thing has a value in the side of Allah, let alone greater trouble and sufferings; It goes without saying that the rewards would be even more tremendous. Besides, these are an expiation for our past sins. So, no matter how difficult a situation may seem, never give up hope. Have trust in Allah and rest assured knowing that He is rewarding us accordingly.

There is one thing that bothers me more though..I decided to skip my khuruj this month to make way for the exams, and I truly feel bad about it. It was a super tough decision to make really. So Br. Kamran, Karkun 1 and Karkun 2 had to go without me this time. This fragile iman needs to be polished. I wish to make up for it next week insyaallah. The exam results better be worth it or else I would regret not going even more. Like this Malay saying goes; "Yang dikejar tak dapat yang dikendong keciciran."

rindumu ya Rasul Allah

Suasana di majlis pertemuan itu hening sejenak. Semua yang hadir diam membatu. Mereka seperti sedang memikirkan sesuatu. Lebih-lebih lagi Saidina Abu Bakar ra. Itulah pertama kali dia mendengar orang yang sangat dikasihi melafazkan pengakuan demikian.

Seulas senyuman yang sedia terukir dibibirnya terungkai. Wajahnya yang tenang berubah warna. "Apakah maksudmu berkata demikian wahai Rasulullah? Bukankah kami ini saudara-saudaramu?" Saidina Abu Bakar bertanya melepaskan gumpalan teka-teki yang mula menyerabut fikiran.

"Tidak, wahai Abu Bakar. Kamu adalah sahabat-sahabatku tetapi bukan saudara-saudaraku (ikhwan)," suara Rasulullah berdera rendah.

"Kami juga ikhwanmu, wahai Rasulullah," kata seorang sahabat yang lain pula. Rasulullah menggeleng-geleng kepalanya perlahan-lahan sambil tersenyum. Kemudian baginda saw bersuara;

"Saudaraku ialah mereka yang belum pernah melihatku tetapi mereka beriman denganku sebagai Rasul Allah dan mereka sangat mencintaiku. Malahan kecintaan mereka kepadaku melebihi cinta mereka kepada anak-anak dan orang tua mereka."

.....

Pada ketika yang lain pula, Rasulullah saw menceritakan tentang keimanan "ikhwan" baginda; "Siapakah yang paling ajaib imannya?" tanya Rasulullah.

"Malaikat," jawab sahabat.

"Bagaimana para malaikat tidak beriman kepada Allah, sedangkan mereka sentiasa hampir dengan Allah," jelas Rasulullah. Para sahabat terdiam seketika. Kemudian mereka berkata lagi, "Para Nabi."

"Bagaimana para Nabi tidak beriman, sedangkan wahyu diturunkan kepada mereka."

"Mungkin kami," celah seorang sahabat.

"Bagaimana kamu tidak beriman, sedangkan aku berada di tengah-tengah kamu," pintas Rasulullah menyangkal hujah sahabatnya itu.

"Kalau begitu, hanya Allah dan Rasul-Nya sahaja yang lebih mengetahui," jawab seorang sahabat lagi, mengakui kelemahan mereka.

"Kalau kamu ingin tahu siapa mereka, mereka ialah umatku, yang hidup selepasku. Mereka membaca al-Quran dan beriman denga semua isinya. Berbahagialah orang yang dapat berjumpa dan beriman denganku. Dan tujuh kali lebih berbahagia orang yang beriman denganku tetapi tidak pernah berjumpa denganku," jelas Rasulullah.

"Aku sungguh rindu hendak bertemu dengan mereka," ucap Rasulullah lagi setelah seketika membisu. Ada berbaur kesayuan pada ucapannya itu.

Begitulah nilaian Tuhan. Bukan jarak dan masa yang menjadi ukuran. Bukan bertemu wajah itu syarat untuk membuahkan cinta yang suci. Pengorbanan dan kesungguhan untuk mendambakan diri menjadi kekasih kepada kekasih-Nya itu, diukur pada hati dan buktikan dengan kesungguhan beramal dengan sunnahnya.

Pada kita yang bersungguh-sungguh mahu menjadi kekasih kepada kekasih Allah itu, wajarlah untuk mengikis cinta-cinta yang lain. Cinta yang dapat merenggangkan hubungan hati kita dengan baginda Rasulullah saw.

Selawat dan salam buat junjungan mulia Rasulullah saw. Baginda bersabda, "Berselawatlah untukku satu kali, maka Allah akan berselawat untuknya 10 kali." (HR Muslim)

Credit to mujaheed

p/s: May Allah swt give us strength to qualify as his "ikhwan." Ameen.

my hijab, your hijab, our hijab

Assalamualaikum. Hm..let's share knowledge this time. The following writing will somewhat clarify the blurred understanding about the boundaries (hijab) between men and women in Islam;

Antara Batas-batas Pergaulan Lelaki dan Perempuan:

1) Menahan pandangan dari kedua belah pihak. Ertinya, tidak boleh melihat aurat, tidak boleh memandang dengan syahwat, tidak berlama-lama memandang tanpa ada keperluan. Allah swt berfirman; "Katakanlah kepada orag laki-laki yang beriman, "Hendaklah mereka menahan pandangannya, dan memelihara kemaluannya; yang demikian itu adalah lebih suci bagi mereka. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang mere perbuat." Katakanlah kepada wanita yang beriman, "Hendaklah mereka menahan pandangannya dan memelihara kemaluannya..." (surah an-Nur; 30-31)

2) Pihak wanita harus mengenakan pakaian yang sopan yang dituntunkan syara', yang menutup seluruh tubuh bada selain muka dan telapak tangan. Jangan tipis dan jangan dengan potongan yang menampakkan bentuk tubuh. Allah swt berfirman; "...dan janganlah mereka menampakkan perhiasannya kecuali yang biasa tampak daripadanya. Dan hendaklah mereka menutupkan kain tudung ke dadanya..." (surah an-Nur; 31) Diriwayatkan daripada beberapa sahabat r.hum bahawa perhiasan yang biasa tampak adalah muka dan tapak tangan. Allah swt berfirman mengenai sebab diperintahkan-Nya berlaku sopan; "...yang demikian itu supaya mereka lebih mudah untuk dikenal, kerana itu mereka tidak diganggu..." (surah al-Ahzab; 59) Dengan pakaian tersebut, dapat dibezakan antara wanita yang baik-baik dengan wanita nakal. Terhadap wanita yang baik-baik, tidak ada lelaki ayng suka mengganggunya, sebab pakaian dan kesopanannya mengharuskan setiap orang yang melihatnya untuk menghormatinya.

3) Mematuhi adab-adab wanita muslimah dalam segala hal, terutama dalam pergaulannya dengan lelaki.

a) Dalam perkataan, harus menghindari perkataan yang merayu dan membangkitkan rangsangan. Allah swt berfirman; "...maka janganlah kamu tunduk dalam berbicara sehingga berkeinginanlah orang yang ada penyakit dalam hatinya, dan ucapkanlah perkataan yang baik." (surah al-Ahzab; 32)

b) Dalam berjalan, jangan memancing pandangan orang. Firman Allah swt; "...dan janganlah mereka memukulkan kakinya agar diketahui perhiasan yang mereka sembunyikan..." (surah an-Nur; 31) Hendaklah mencontohi wanita yang dijelaskan oleh Allah swt dengan firman-Nya; "Kemudian datanglah kepada Musa salah seorang dari kedua wanita itu berjalan kemalu-maluan..." (surah al-Qashah; 25)

c) Dalam gerak, jangan berlengang-lenggok seperti yang disebut dalam hadith; "(Iaitu) wanita-wanita yang menyimpang dari ketaatan dan menjadikan lelaki cenderung kepada kerosakan (kemaksiatan)" (HR Ahmad dan Muslim) Jangan sampai ber-tabarruj (menampakkan aurat) sebagaimana yang dilakukan wanita-wanita jahiliah dahulu ataupun jahiliah modern.

4) Menjaukan diri daripada bau-bauan yang harum dan warna-warna perhiasan yang seharusnya dipakai di rumah, bukan di jalan dan di dalam pertemuan-pertemuan dengan kaum lelaki.

5) Jangan berduaan (lelaki dan perempuan) tanpa disertai mahram. Banyak ahadith sahih yang melarang hal ini seraya mengatakan, "Kerana yang ketiga adalah syaitan." Jangan berduaan sekalipun dengan kerabat suami atau isteri." Sehubungan dengan ini, terdapat hadith yang berbunyi; "Janganlah kamu masuk ke tempat wanita." Mereka (sahabat r.hum) bertanya, "Bagaimana dengan ipar wanita?" Baginda saw menjawab, "Ipar wanita itu membahayakan." (HR Bukhari) Maksudnya, berduaan dengan kerabat suami atau isteri dapat menyebabkan kebinasaan, kerana boleh terjadi mereka duduk berlama-lama hingga menimbulkan fitnah.

6) Pertemuan itu sebatas keperluan yang dikehendaki untuk bekerjasama, tidak berlebih-lebihan yang dapat mengeluarkan wanita daripada narui kewanitaannya, menimbulkan fitnah, atau melalaikannya daripada kewajiban sucinya mengurus rumah tangga dan mendidik anak-anak.

It is hard really nowadays to observe all these etiquette, as hardships of sticking with Islam in these trying times is like holding on to a burning coal. But, the rewards are tremendous for those who understand. May Allah swt give us the taufik to learn our Deen, & act upon our knowledge though gradually insyaAllah. =)

Wallahua'lam

Credit: kikidewee10

diamonds in Islam

I still remember when we first came to the US. There was one time when I spent 3 days with a Somalian 'alim, Syeikh Yahya, at Syracuse masjid. Joining me, as always, my all-time buddies: Karkun 1 & Karkun 2. I somewhat liked this Syeikh really; He is very warm & friendly. Besides, he is proficient in multiple languages: Arabic, Urdu, English & Somalian native language. Being in our company, he even learnt some Malay!

Once at mealtime:

Syeikh Yahya: "How do you ask someone's name in Malay?"
We: "Siapa nama kamu. Siapa is who, nama is name, kamu is you."
Syeikh Yahya: "Oh. Similar to Urdu. aapka kya naam hai. I can learn Malay!"
Syeikh Yahya (all of a sudden, coming up with his very own sentence): "Siapa saya? Siapa saya?" (hilariously)
We: (couldn't help laughing)

At another mealtime, I got the honor to eat in the same plate with him. This is when he told us about his giving dakwah in Germany. He was at a train station when a German guy came up and shot him a question about Islam. From his sunnah wearing, people can tell right away he is a muslim. So this was the question, "Why do women have to cover in Islam?" This was more or less what he answered; "Because in our religion, women have a very high status. They are precious and of high value. See, you don't keep pebbles the same way you keep diamonds? You can find pebbles scattered everywhere, but not diamonds. Pebbles...everyone can touch it, hold it, throw it or do whatever to it. But this is not the case with diamonds. We keep diamonds in a sealed, secure box so they won't get stolen. In Islam, women are our diamonds. That's why they have to be covered, so no filthy hands can grab them at will, no strangers can lay wild gazes on them. Their beauties come in a high price, and only the ones who can pay the price qualify to keep them." (So ladies, which one would you rather be?)

In another slot, he was describing the women of paradise (the Hoor al-Ayn.) This is sure a topic of interest! Basically, the women of Jannah are divided into two;

Hoor al-Ayn are the women whom Allah swt created as the original dwellers of Jannah, meaning they never step foot into this world. They are the women of absolute purity and modesty. They have never been touched by human nor jinn ever since their creation. Their beauty? unimaginable. No matter how explicit a description one can get about them, they are beyond imagination. If one of them were ever to dip their foot into this world, the nur (light) radiated will blanket this entire world as the sun lights up the Earth. The women of this world have come nowhere close to them in beauty; let it be Aishwarya Rai, Fasha Sandha, Siti Nurhaliza, or any other celebrities or models. YET, the righteous women of this world are said to be superior to the Hoor al-Ayn; "Daripada Umm Salamah, isteri Nabi saw, katanya (di dalam sebuah hadith yang panjang); Aku berkata, "Wahai Rasulullah! Adakah wanita di dunia lebih baik atau bidadari? Baginda menjawab, "Wanita di dunia lebih baik daripada bidadari sebagaimana yang zahir lebih baik daripada yang batin." "Dengan solat, puasa dan ibadat mereka kepada Allah, Allah akan memakaikan muka-muka mereka dengan cahaya dan jasad mereka dengan sutera yang berwarna putih, berpakaian hijau dan berperhiasan kuning...(hingga akhir hadith)" (Riwayat al-Tabrani)

The other women of Jannah are those righteous and faithful women of this world who, by the mercy of Allah swt, qualify to enter Jannah. Their beauties will be even more superior to that of the Hoor al-Ayn. Allah swt will grant them with unprecedented beauties. And therein, they will stay married to their husbands of this world. It is said that a woman who sends out her husband in the path of Allah swt and stays at home by herself, maintaining her honor and dignity (i.e. protecting herself against temptation and dishonesty) will enter Jannah 500 years before her husband while seventy thousand angels and Hoors (sweet damsels) will serve her. She will be given Ghusal in Jannah, and sitting on a mountain of pearls, waiting for the arrival of her husband. There will be a time when these two women of paradise will sing to each other, proclaiming & comparing their beauty and purity. To this beautiful singing, the trees will start waving, the rivers will stop flowing, and the birds will find branches for landing. (Even David Archuleta's singing can't do this.)

The Syeikh wouldn't go into details...since we only had one bathroom in the masjid, and they were like 8-10 of us in the jama'ah. He was worried that we would crowd around the bathroom in a queue. Get that? =)

p/s: on "Glad Tidings of Jannah for Women"

the maulana guy

Summer Break 2010

After the first 20 days of our 40-day khuruj, our jama'ah stayed overnight at Rahang Kecil Markaz, Negeri Sembilan for a route change. Here the local syura would decide where we will be working for the remaining 20 days. And we were assigned to work around Palong area. This is when we meet with a jamaah from Egypt. Subhanallah. What a great relief to have them around. I've been hearing about Arab jamaah quite a lot but in person, this is my first encounter with them. They all looked neat and confident in uniform white jubahs. In this effort, Arab brothers are like our big brothers. We might not have a large number of Arab people doing this effort now, relative to the other nationalities, but once they take up this effort nothing can stop them. It's just about time they realize that we need them to lead the way. And when that time emerges, Islam will be the center of attraction insyaAllah. Arab brothers; They have the blood of sahabah running in their veins, & the power of language on their tongues. An 'alim was saying that the real effort of dakwah will only begin when Madinah al-munawwarah is made the world markaz, instead of Nizamuddin. Just like in the time of Rasulullah saw when jamaahs were being sent to all corners of the world. Then the edge of glory will be revived.

One brother from the Egyptian jamaah was assigned to give maghrib bayan. To my surprise, the bayan was interpreted in Malay by a young maulana, a fresh graduate from Sri Petaling Markaz. I bet he is around my age. At that age, he is a hafiz as well as an 'alim. Seeing how good he was at doing the interpretation, I began calculating where I stand. Subhanallah, I got nothing! Only Allah swt knew how inferior I felt at this moment. The distance between me and him is like that between the sky and the earth. I started feeling that all the worldly achievements I've been proud of are pointless. I felt like crying. I got nothing to offer to Allah. This maulana guy would not be as much a surprise to me If I were to meet him in my days of ignorance. But now, there's no way I would feel nothing about it. Not after knowing the rewards these special people are getting. The parents of a hafiz will be made to wear a crown of nur in mahsyar for their teachings of Quran to their children. The huffaz themselves will be in the company of angels on this Stressful Day. When the judgement is going on, the huffaz can intercede for 10 people (40 people in a different narration) whose their entering to hellfire has been made certain. See, how privileged & honored they are.

But then I remember the hadith that tells us to look at the people below rather than the people above, so we will be grateful with what we have from Allah swt. We do need to look at the people above though when it comes to practicing the religion so we'll get the motivation to advance in good deeds. This cheered me up a little. Yes. I couldn't be more grateful that He pulled me out of the darkness and gave me light. The best thing that ever happened to me all my life was the moment I took up this effort through His guidance. Had He not guided me, I can't even imagine how my life would be now. I always pray to Him to keep me steadfast in this effort until I meet death. Thinking positive, this maulana guy has inspired me to double the effort in learning my deen. Thinking ahead, I may not be a hafiz nor an 'alim, but I'll make sure my sons and daughters will! The funny thing was that, after the Bayan, I couldn't help keeping an appraising eye on this Maulana guy until the end of my stay there. (Envy?) Never mind, I'll meet him again someday & shake his hands.

Sorry about the ramblings, let's cut to the chase! So, this is more or less the summary of what the pembayan was talking about;

Kalau kita lihat pada susunan Khulafa ar-Rasyidin, Abu Bakar dipilih sebagai khalifah pertama selepas kewafatan Nabi saw. Sedangkan pada masa tu ramai lagi sahabat ajma'in yang lebih 'alim daripada Abu Bakar. Tapi, Allah swt pilih Abu Bakar. Antara sebab utama adalah kerana kefahaman agama yang ada pada beliau. Dan kefahaman ni Allah swt bagi sebab pengorbanan beliau yang mengatasi sahabat-sahabat lain. Beliau sanggup korban segala-galanya demi agama. Bukti Abu Bakar memiliki kefahaman agama yang tinggi adalah semasa turunnya wahyu yang terakhir dan agama Islam sudah sempurna. Maka semua sahabat bergembira melainkan Abu Bakar. Beliau menangis. Maka para sahabat yang lain bertanya kehairanan, "Abu Bakar, mengapa kamu menangis, bukankah kamu patut gembira Islam telah sempurna?" Maka Abu Bakar menjawab, "Apabila seseorang yang dihantar telah menyelesaikan tugasannya maka dia akan dipanggil pulang. Islam telah sempurna, tugas Rasulullah swt telah selesai, maka baginda akan dipanggil pulang oleh Allah swt." Mendengar jawapan Abu Bakar, para sahabat yang lain pun turut menangis kesedihan. Sahabat ajma'in bertanyakan hal ini kepada Rasulullah dan baginda mengiyakannya. Sewaktu umat Islam dalam keadaan memerlukan dan Rasulullah minta para sahabat keluarkan sedekah, Umar datang dengan membawa separuh daripada hartanya, manakalah Abu Bakar menyedekahkan seluruh hartanya. Rasulullah bertanya kepada Abu Bakar, "Apa yang kamu tinggalkan untuk anak dan isteri kamu?" Abu Bakar menjawab, "Allah dan Rasul-Nya." Sedangkan jarum yang patah pun turut disedekahkan di jalan Allah. Dan ketika inilah Umar sedar bahawa sampai bila pun dia tidak akan dapat menandingi pengorbanan Abu Bakar ra.


Jadi sejauh mana kita sanggup berkorban untuk agama, sejauh tu lah Allah swt akan anugerahkan kita kefahaman dalam agama. Hari ni Ulama' cuma minta kita korbankan sedikit daripada masa dan harta kita di jalan Allah, itu pun kita tak mampu. Dan ini bukan untuk kebaikan mereka, tapi untuk kebaikan kita. Kefahaman agama bukan sesuatu yang boleh diperoleh daripada buku-buku. Bukan boleh diperoleh dengan duduk goyang kaki di rumah. Allah akan bagi kefahaman bila kita keluar dengan mujahadah. Bila iman diusahakan barulah datang kemanisan amal. Keluarlah di jalan Allah untuk lihat keadaan umat di seluruh dunia. Lihat dengan mata sendiri bagaimana umat menderita. Kalau tidak, sampai bila pun kita tidak akan dapat walau secebis pun kerisauan Rasulullah saw atas umat ini.

p/s: a maulana is equivalent to 'alim or uztaz

All that's good is from Allah swt, all that's bad or wrong is from my own shortcomings. May Allah swt forgive me for that. One day the whole ummah will open their eyes for this effort insyaAllah.

Wallahua'lam.

Lackawanna, Buffalo

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Setelah di putuskan dalam mesyuarat. Aku, Karkun 1 & Karkun 2 kuar minggu ni (minggu ke-3 bulan 9) ke Masjid al-Huda di Lackawanna, sebuah bandar kecil dekat dgn Buffalo. Turut serta Br. Intikhab, anaknye Uthban, & anak sedarenya Ammar. Jadi sumenye 5 org utk jamaah Rochester dari ICR. Kami berempat (x t'masuk Karkun 2) gerak petang tu jugak lepas Asar. Karkun 2 datang esoknye sebab de kene keje pagi tu.
So ktorg b'gerak nek minivan Br. Intikhab. Aku dok depan, sembang dgn Br. Intikhab utk pastikan de tak tertido. Tp x jauh pn, just 1 hr drive. Kitorg benti kat Markaz Buffalo dulu, Solat Maghrib dan Isyak kat sana. Sempat la dgr bayan maghrib. Time ni kitorg diberitahu yg jamaah 10 hari buffalo dah ade kat Lackawanna pun. So lepas Isyak terus gerak ke masjid al-huda utk merge dgn jamaah di sana. Sampai2 dorg tgh get ready nak tido. Tp brother sorg ni sempat lg buatkan 'cai' (teh) utk ktorg. Tenkiu2..

Jamaah Buffalo; Kebanyakannye budak2 hafiz, madrasah mane aku tak ingat. Aku kenal Maulana Abdul Muqeet sorg je pn. Yg lain x kenal nama, tp muka dorg mmg familiar kat markaz. Aku ade sembang dengan sorg hafiz dari Bangladesh nih. Br. Zahin kalau x silap. Aku luahkan perasaan kt dia yg betapa aku nak jadi mcm dia (blaja kat madrasah & all that) dan betapa beruntungnya dia. Dia jawab, Allah swt dah tetapkan jalan hidup kita masing2. Orang Islam diperlukan dalam semua bidang, tak semestinya semua perlu ke madrasah. Kamu semua ni bagus, bukan, hebat sebenarnya sebab dapat bawa agama sebagai pelajar kolej. Tak kisah la di mana pun kita, asalkan bawa agama, Allah swt akan reward accordingly. Mendengar jawapan dia, aku rasa sangat bersyukur. Tq bro! That was enlightening.This is all because of the Mercy of Allah Who has bestowed upon us this effort of prophethood. =)

Sepanjang kuar, sempat lah dengar beberapa siri bayan daripada Maulana Abdul Muqeet. Salah satu nye aku masih ingat time dia bagi takril (after-Asr talk) Maulana ade cakap pasal satu hadith ni; "Dunia adalah penjara bagi orang mukmin dan syurga bagi orang kafir." Untuk terangkan hadith ni, Maulana citer lebih kurang; Sewaktu zaman pemerintahan Khalifah ke empat Ali ra, time tu Saidina Ali sedang menceritakan hadith ini kepada para sahabat yang lain r.hum. Mendengar apa yg dikatakan Saidina Ali, sorg Jew dengan pakaian yg compang camping dtg & berkata; "Kamu bohong. Kamu cakap dunia adalah penjara bagi orang islam dan syurga bagi orang kafir. Tapi lihat lah keadaan kamu sekarang dan lihat lah keadaan aku. Bagaimana kamu boleh yakin kan aku yang kamu berkata benar?" (Time ni adalah zmn kegemilangan Islam so para sahabat ajma'in hidup dalam kesenangan.) Maka para sahabat yg lain rasa tak puas hati dengan pertanyaan yang kurang sopan itu. Saidina Ali tenangkan keadaan dan menjawab soalan tersebut; Seorang muslim, hidup sebagai raja, menguasai sebesar2 kerajaan, segala keinginannya di dunia ini dipenuhi, hidup dalam kemewahan yang melimpah ruah, tidak pernah rasa penat, tak penah bekerja berat; Apabila dia dimasukkan kedalam syurga, Allah swt bertanya; "Adakah kamu mahu balik ke 'syurga' (dunia) kamu itu?" Dan dia akan menjawab; "Ampun Ya Allah. Engkau telah menganugerahkan aku dengan syurga yang tersangat nikmat, mana mungkin aku mahu kembali ke tempat yang teruk itu?" Manakala seorang kafir, hidup di dunia ini sebagai hamba, hidupnya dalam kepayahan dan penderitaan, tak pernah sikit pun rasa senang, menderita sakit yang dahsyat, walau seluruh badannya dikerat2 dan garam serta serbuk cili ditaburkan ke atas luka2 tersebut; Apabila dia dimasukkan ke neraka dia akan memohon kepada Allah swt; "Ya, Allah, kembalikan aku ke 'syurga' ku! (keadaan hidupnya di dunia) Kembalikan aku ke 'syurga' ku!" Mendengar jawapan Saidina Ali itu, orang Jew tadi memeluk Islam.

Pengajaran:
1) Syurga sangat nikmat sehinggakan seluruh kesenangan didunia ini jika dikumpulkan, tidak akan dapat menandingi nikmatnya syurga.
2) Neraka sangat azab sehinggakan sehebat2 kepayahan & kesengsaraan di dunia ini tidak dapat menandingi dahsyatnya azab neraka.
3) Betapa bernilainya Laailahaillallah. Kalimah tauhid ini membezakan penghuni syurga dgn penghuni neraka.

Semoga Allah swt selamatkan kita, ahli keluarga kita, dan seluruh umat dari azab yang pedih. Amiin!

Wallahua'lam

here comes a couple more

Here it goes again. This time it was Cell Physiology lecture that inspired me.

Cell Physiology is getting overwhelming,

My head feels dizzy like the world is spinning,

Hm..You want to know what I am thinking?

I wonder what You ate for breakfast this morning.

I have no idea where You are,

You might be near You might be far,

I could ride a plane, a train, or a car,

I'll make it to You somehow just stay sabar.

Hey are You thinking of me?

Oh that's fine just don't get too naughty,

Deep in heart I hope to The Almighty,

Our love story is better than those on TV.

you make me go poetic

Dedicated to the one whose name is written beside mine. May you be at peace and in excellent health most of the time! =)

This is the point when I feel lonely,

Many are around it doesn't bother me,

I've been thinking of You a lot lately,

Waiting for You is a pain really.

Outside, I couldn't look more right,

Inside, my heart is facing a head-on strike,

I pray to Him to grant me the might,

To not let this out till You're in my sight.

Here I wait with a mount of sabar,

The moon shines bright up in the sky,

Thinking You might be looking at the same star,

I said salam like You would reply.

The women here are hurting my eyes,

Only in You comfort they will find,

Rivers of serenity running in your eyes,

Therein I'd like to take a dip if You don't mind.

So many cute girls here You should know,

But when my eyes meet them my head will bow,

The anxieties in my heart almost show,

But when I think of You this mess will go.

I'm in Genomics but my mind can't focus,

Pretending to listen this is real tedious!