Foreword

Assalamu'alaikum. Welcome to this plain, mediocrely designed hut of mine. I love to write, and this is where I write. Things that I write, there might be mistakes in them. I seek refuge in Allah swt for me and you from the harm my writing may bring. Any good from it, may He swt reward me for that and spread the good to others. Any words that appear displeasing to you, don't take it to heart for I don't intend to hurt anyone in any way. Any advices I put forward, may Allah swt give me the taufiq to first act upon them, for they might testify against me in the hereafter. Jazakallah Khair.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

gratitude

O Allah..
I know I'm not qualified for this noble effort
I'm weak..
I'm wrapped in sin

My heart is filled with pride and jealousy

I lack knowledge..I lack quality

My conduct is ugly..my 'amal is shaky


O Allah..
I know not what good You saw in me
But I pray for that good to stay with me

Until the time my soul leaves my body

Keep me in Your guidance
and sheer mercy


O Allah..
Help me with my dealings
Sprout the love in me for my Muslim siblings

Please don't let me hurt their feelings

not in private, not in gatherings
For I fear my 'amal will be in vain..

My good deeds going down the drain


O Allah..
I seek refuge in You..
From being a fitna to this effort

May it be through my actions, writings or words
No might to do good, no power to resist evil..
Except through You, Lord of the worlds


O Allah..
Make me among the sincere..
Living only for Your pleasure


p/s: Not feeling well, both physically and spiritually..mintak doa ye..

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

ada apa dengan janggut?

Tiba-tiba rasa nak cerita pasal janggut. Dulu bila tengok orang berjanggut mesti rasa pelik, hairan, khuatir, dan apa-apa perasaan yang sewaktu dengannya. Bila dah berjanggut, orang selalu tanya, "Kenapa kena simpan janggut?" "Kalau tak simpan tak boleh ke?" Hm..macam mana nak jawab tu. Aku tidak mahu menyentuh masalah hukum, kerana aku bukanlah seorang 'alim yang boleh mengeluarkan hukum. Jadi mari kita lihat ini dari sisi yang lain. Inilah iman. Inilah yakin. Umat hari ini telah hilang keyakinan dengan sunnah. Telah hilang cinta kepada sunnah. Sedangkan hanya dengan mengikuti sunnah-sunnah Baginda saw sahajalah kejayaan dunia dan akhirat dapat diperoleh. Sekecil mana pun sunnah, di dalamnya ada kejayaan.

Allah swt tidak meletakkan "Muhammadurrasullullah" selepas "Lailahaillallah" sebagai perhiasan, kerana suka-suka. Ada maksud yang perlu difaham disebalik ini. Baginda saw ialah manusia yang paling dicintai Allah, kekasih Allah. Jadi, jika kita melakukan sesuatu yang dilakukan oleh kekasih Allah, apakah yang akan kita peroleh? Baginda tidak melakukan sesuatu mengikut nafsu, segala yang baginda lakukan datangnya daripada Allah, untuk mendapat redha Allah. Jadi wajarkan soalan "Kenapa?" di sini? Kita terlalu banyak berdalih bila berbicara soal agama. Apabila sesuatu itu datang daripada Allah dan Rasul-Nya, kita tidak tanya "Kenapa?" tetapi kita dengar dan taat. Inilah sifat para sahabat yang perlu kita usahakan dalam diri kita insyaallah. Jadi, sejauh mana kita dapat bawa sunnah dalam hidup, sejauh itulah bantuan Allah swt akan datang dalam kehidupan kita. Hari ini kerana jahil, kita remehkan sunnah. Kerana jahil, kita kata sunnah dah tak relevan, tak praktikal. Nauzubillah min zalik.

Betul, dakwah adalah cinta. Melalui dakwah aku bercinta. Bercinta dengan ayat-ayat Allah, bercinta dengan sunnah-sunnah Rasulullah. Di medan ini aku menyuburkan cinta. Dan cinta akan meminta semuanya dari dirimu. Bila hati dah cinta, segala daya dicurah untuk menyuburkan cinta. Segala susah sanggup ditempuh. Tak kisah jika yang lain membenci, asalkan yang dicinta mencintai. (Wah2..) Bila iman dah diusahakan, barulah nampak indahnya sunnah, bukan dengan mata tapi dengan hati. Kalau dulu gelisah sebab janggut kelihatan sekarang gelisah sebab janggut tak panjang-panjang. Siap jeles lagi tengok orang-orang lain yang berjanggut lebat tu. Bila iman diusahakan, datangnya kemanisan 'amal. Macam mana kemanisan 'amal tu? Tak boleh nak digambar dengan kata-kata, hanya boleh dirasa. Durian tu sedap. Sedap macam mana? Ntah. Kena la rasa sendiri. Bila yakin (iman) atas sunnah diusahakan, akan timbul rasa seronok untuk amal sunnah. Tak perlu suruh pun akan buat. Kerana iman menolak kepada amal. Adakah kita perlu disuruh, dipaksa untuk membuat orang yang dicinta gembira?

Tanda kecintaan kepada Rasulullah saw bukanlah dengan membawa sepanduk dan berdemonstrasi di jalan bila baginda dihina di dada-dada media. Wallahi. Baginda sudah puas merasa segala jenis hinaan dan cacian. Dan hinaan dan cacian kini tidaklah lebih hebat daripada apa yang Baginda rasakan sendiri. Baginda tidak akan sedih jika seluruh musyrikin menghina dan mencaci baginda, sesedih jika umat Islam yang mendakwa beriman kepada baginda itu sendiri yang meninggalkan baginda, tidak mahu beramal dengan sunnah baginda, malah memperlekeh sunnah baginda. Tanda kecintaan kepada Rasulullah adalah dengan menghidupkan sunnah-sunnah baginda. Dan yang terbesar antara sunnah-sunnah itu adalah dakwah illallah, yang kerananya Baginda dihantar ke muka bumi ini. Apabila kita ambil dakwah, yang lain akan datang dalam diri kita sedikit demi sedikit insyaallah.

Dari Anas bin Malik ra. katanya, Rasulullah SAW telah berkata kepadaku: "Hai anakku! Jika engkau mampu tidak menyimpan dendam kepada orang lain sejak dari pagi sampai ke petangmu, hendaklah engkau kekalkan kelakuan itu!" Kemudian beliau menyambung pula: "Hai anakku! Itulah perjalananku (sunnahku), dan barangsiapa yang menyukai sunnahku, maka dia telah menyukaiku, dan barangsiapa yang menyukaiku, dia akan berada denganku di dalam syurga!" (Tarmidzi) Dari Ibnu Abbas ra. bahwa Nabi SAW yang berkata: "Barangsiapa yang berpegang dengan sunnahku, ketika merata kerusakan pada ummatku, maka baginya pahala seratus orang yang mati syahid." (Riwayat Baihaqi) Dalam riwayat Thabarani dari Abu Hurairah ra. ada sedikit perbedaan, yaitu katanya: "Baginya pahala orang yang mati syahid." (At-Targhib Wat-Tarhib 1: 44)

Wallahua'lam

p/s: Semoga Allah swt memberi kita kekuatan untuk belajar-belajar amalkan sunnah. Say ameen! =)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

ujian

Assalamu'alaikum

Ehem..ehem..dah lama tak menulis dalam Bahasa Melayu, tiba-tiba rasa patriotik pulak malam ni. Perkembangan terbaru, minggu ni jemaa'ah ICR akan keluar ke Buffalo, seperti yang diputuskan oleh 'amir sab bulanan (Mael). Menurut rancangan asal, kitorang sepatutnya keluar ke Syracuse. Tapi memandangkan ada beberapa orang brother baru yang ikut kali ni, adalah lebih sesuai untuk kami keluar ke Buffalo memandangkan suasana di markaz yang sangatlah memberi kesan kepada hati. Lagipun dapur di masjid Syracuse tak boleh digunakan. Semua ni supaya brother-brother baru ni rasa selesa keluar untuk kali pertama, dan akan keluar lagi di masa-masa akan datang insyaallah. Br. Kamran tak pasti sama ada dia akan ikut ke tak. Kalau dia jadi ikut, maka dialah yang akan menyandang tugas sebagai 'amir kitorang untuk khuruj kali ni. Kalau tak, Mael la yang kena ambik tanggung jawab tu. Insyaallah semua akan berjalan lancar. Yang sedikit membimbangkan aku adalah exam Plant Biotech minggu depan, hari Isnin pulak tu. Untuk students yang ada exam, memang tak digalakkan keluar kalau ikut tertib. Pelajaran sentiasa diberikan keutamaan, takut-takut mengundang fitnah pada usaha ni kan kalau results teruk nanti. Bak kata elders, dai'e ni sepatutnya at the top in their studies. (Haha..sedang diusahakan.) Walaubagaimanapun, aku nak keluar jugak. Jadi penyelesaiannya kena mula belajar awal lah. Kalau kena bawak notes skali pun takpe kot. Otak ni dah hari-hari diisi, hati pun nak kena isi jugak tak gitu. Jadi saudara-saudari seIslam ku sekalian, doakan kami semua supaya semuanya baik-baik belaka ye. Jazakallah Khair.

p/s: Mari memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu...dan mari belajar. (-_-")

Monday, January 17, 2011

permata akhir zaman

Everyone else was fast asleep. I was about to join them when my cellphone rang. It's from Malaysia. "This must be mom." I chose a corner by the stairs to pick up the call.

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

(Tut..tut..)
"Assalamualaikum."
"Waalaikumsalam"
"Mak ni. Sihat ke?"
"Ha..sihat je."
"Ni kat mane ni?"
"Skang orang kat satu masjid ni kat Utica NY."
"O..tgh keluar lagi ke?"
"A'ah..tp dah nak habis dah pun, esok balik Rochester dah."
"Kamu keluar tu tempatnye jauh ke?"
"Takde la jauh sgt, dlm 6-7 jam nek kete."
"Ish..jauh la tu. Pegi dgn sape?"
"O..camtu jauh ek. Ade dgn sorg pakcik ni, die yg drive. Die dah bese dah drive jauh. Yang lain budak-budak."
"Orang Pakistan ke?"
"Ha'ah. Nape?"
"Eh, kamu hati-hati sikit ye. Baru-baru ni mak dgr kat TV tu ade berita pasal kumpulan ajaran sesat."
"Ajaran sesat? Dari mane tu?"
"Dari Iran kot."
"Oh..jgn risaulah, tu Iran..ni Pakistan."
"Yela..dekat-dekat la tu."
"Ok..don't worry..orang pandai jaga diri insyaallah."
.................................................

"K..Mak doakan orang ek."
"Hari-hari mak doakan."
"K, krm salam sume. Assalamualaikum."
"Waalaikumsalam."
(Tut..tut..)

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

"Ajaran sesat?" My lips curved a smile. No surprise. I get that a lot. I can't blame my mom for being cautious. It's natural for parents to be protective of their kids, especially when it comes to religious matters. Of course I can't deny the fact that these "ajaran sesat" groups are still existing, and active around us. We are at the end of time after all, things couldn't be more twisted could they? But chill out mom, this is the one thing your handsome little boy won't dare to mess with. (peace! haha) I may not be that knowledgeable about Islam, in many respects...but I am educated enough to distinguish the right from the wrong, haq from batil. And I can tell, without the slightest doubt, this effort is haq. Because...Allah swt will not bring His servant close to Him through a corrupt way. Nothing can bring closeness to Allah except those that come from Allah and His Rasul saw. As for myself, I'd never been so clear about my purpose of life as I have since I took up this effort. And I've never been so excited about being a Muslim as I am now!

So what's with the mentality? It is because in this edge, the effort of dakwah has become so unfamiliar that people regard it as "inappropriate" or "impractical." Some people keep a safe distance from it due to the fear of falling into heresy. Well, can't blame them for that. Playing it safe always appears to be the right choice. The irony is, these "ajaran sesat", heresies, and all other widespread diseases are prevailing simply because dakwah is abandoned. Make sense? This effort is indeed a gift from Allah swt to counteract the invasive fitna of this edge. If it wasn't for this effort, I would have drowned in this materialistic world long ago. The temptations are just too great, especially for the youth..and especially here in the US. Hmm..it is so much much easier to go with the flow than to go against it, isn't it? But, the majority is not always right. Plus, striving against your nafs is a big thing in the eyes of Allah swt. So lets put it this way; dakwah is a "shield" against those temptations. And how well you handle this shield determines how well shielded you are. If you ask me what this effort has to offer, I'd say "security and contentment."

p/s: Get protected. Go dakwah! =)

Monday, January 10, 2011

what's with me?

O Allah..
I know if she wasn't meant for me, she will never be
But this pride of mine won't acknowledge that
Saying "I should get what I want"

Too many openings in my heart
I try to patch one but another will start
Keeping it in feels really hard
But letting it out doesn't sound smart

O Allah..
If she wasn't meant for me
Keep her away from me
from my sight
from my heart
from my thinking
from my breathing
from my talking
from my walking

If she wasn't meant for me
Don't let our paths meet, keep them far separate
For each encounter is a pain
Each meeting is a battle within
The battle I don't always win

If she wasn't meant for me
Snap me out of this wishful thinking
Pinch me, punch me, slap me..just save me
Don't let me drown in illusion
Falling deeper into deception

O Allah
I seek refuge in You...from
MYSELF

Sunday, January 9, 2011

soul feeder!

I guess we could use some ear warming & heart soothing.
Great recitation of Surah An-Nazi'at by my favorite Syeikh Muhammad al-Luhaidan;



Say Subhanallah!

Friday, January 7, 2011

speaking of beauty

Back in Worcester, when I was on jaulah with Br. Intikhab & Bai Yazid, we met the imam of Masjid Alhamdulillah. I don't recall his name though (my apology!) When he saw me, he started a kind of one-way conversation. This was more or less how it went;

Imam: "...subhanallah..you're still young. How old are you?"
Me: "21"
Imam: "What's your name?"
Me: "Adam"
Imam: "Adam? So where's Hawa? Have you found Hawa yet? You didn't bring her with you?"
Me: (what?) (speechless)
Imam: "...you're being with the right people...I pray so that your Hawa is more beautiful than the first Hawa."

Oh imam, how is that even possible? Hawa was created by Allah swt as the most beautiful woman on Earth. No women surpass her in beauty, either from those who have existed or from those to come. Even the wife of Prophet Ibrahim as, Sarah, who was known for her remarkable beauty, comes second on the list. Hearing about the stories of Sarah's beauty, I must say that our Hawa's beauty must have been off the charts! I expected no less from the mother of all mankind.


P/S: I think what he meant was my Hawa will be the most beautiful in my eyes. Exactly! (say ameen!) =)

Sunday, January 2, 2011

say ameen!

Rochester>Albany>Worcester>Springfield>Utica>Rochester



Reaching Worcester

1) Worcester, Boston MA


Worcester Islamic Center MA
(image courtesy of Google maps)

This is where the 3-day ijtima' was held, with an estimated attendance of 900 people. For an indoor ijtima' this is not bad at all. Our jama'ah consisted of Br. Intikhab ('Amir), Br. Kamran, Br. Rauf, Husain Rauf, Br. Talhah RIT, Ammar, Ismail Gungor, Wae, Mael, Farooq, two other brothers, and me of course. We traveled in two vans and one car for about 7 hours. We left ICR at 10 pm and reached here well before Fajr. May Allah reward you persistent drivers! On the way, we picked up Malaysian Azhari in Troy, Albany. Malaysian Talhah joined us later in the ijtima'. Only Br. Intikhab, Farooq and us 5 Malaysians stayed back for 10 days while the rest left for Rochester as soon as the ijtima' was over.

Snapshots




On the same day of our arrival, we got to see an American guy taking his shahadah from Syeikh Abdul Badi', the appointed 'amir for the entire ijtima'. This Syeikh Abdul Badi' is a charismatic guy. The way he handled things affirmed how experienced and wise he was at his job. We listened to lots and lots of great bayans over the 3 days, and the most prominent of all was the one by Syeikh Hasan from Jordan. He talked about the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. in great detail, to clarify the point that "jannah requires sacrifice." I can't find the right words to describe his bayan: "moving"? The way he embroidered his talk with brilliant jokes was just remarkable. You would think twice to blink, let alone doze off. Afterwards when tashkil was done, everyone just couldn't wait to stand up and give their names. The words of an Arab 'alim really count a lot in this effort. Maulana Abdul Muqeet of Bangladesh was saying, "...if we can get them to just support us, (let alone join us) that really is something."


Upon mesyuwarah, our jama'ah was assigned to Masjid Noor (the current Boston markaz) and then to some masjid in Rhodes Island. At this point we had 7 people in our jama'ah. Too bad Ramli went with another jama'ah, I tought he was coming with us.


2) Masjid Noor, Boston MA
It may be a markaz, but Masjid Noor is just a small apartment renovated into a masjid. But anyway a masjid is still a masjid, no matter how small it is, it is the dearest place to Allah on the surface of the Earth. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard we will be working with Syeikh Abdul Badi's jama'ah as one joined jama'ah. My whispering was made true. So now we had a total 16 people in our joined jama'ah. This was sure a challenge to the khidmah brothers. We did jaulahs to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masjid Alhamdulillah, and several other places. I met Penang-born Br. Amin Shah who's been here for more than 20 years now. He does 'cupping' (bekam) as a living and has his own company for that. Too bad he can't really speak Malay any more.

Now I want to talk about Syeikh Abdul Badi' who was the 'amir of our joined jama'ah. He is the most inspiring person I've ever met all my life. He is swift on his feet. And all the steps he takes are confident ones. This effort of dakwah is so common to him, so much so that it has become part of his flesh and blood. He reverted to Islam in 1960's and has been striving in dakwah ever since. He's been all around the world and has become the means of hidayah for countless of people in the process.

One time after Fajr, somewhere in his talk Syeikh Abdul Badi' said "...say subhanallah!" and spontaneously we responded "subhanallah!" Then he said; "...For one subhanallah one tree is planted in jannah, whose shade even the fastest horse takes 500 years to cover. And in the path of Allah this is multiplied up to 700 000 times. I get all the rewards of your saying subhanallah plus my own. I did business..Hah!?" I saw Syeikh Yahya nodding in smile. So much reward for just inviting people to ONE subhanallah. How about inviting others to solah, to zakah, to hajj, to sunnah, to COMPLETE DEEN? Just how much blessed is someone, because of whom, those people who were not praying have started praying...because of whom, those people who were running towards jahannam have started running towards Allah's pleasure. How much pleasure would Allah have for him then? This is the tijarah, the BUSINESS without any losses..dakwah illallah, inviting people towards Allah. This is what I, YOU, THEY, WE, need to understand.

Sneakshots

Syeikh Yahya (sleeping), Syeikh Abdul Badi' (leaning), Mael, Br. Bilal

Wae, Talhah, Azhari

Ahmad, Ibrahim (Syeikh Yahya's son), Yazir

Just look at how much snow there was




Masjid Noor's backyard views



Three days ended in a blink of eyes, and now it's time for us to separate. We did our 3 days here and are now moving to Utica NY (instead of Rhodes Island) as decided in mesyuwarah. I really enjoyed being with them. We had so much love in the jama'ah, the love I'm willing to die to protect. They are AWESOME people. Being in their company, I felt so LITTLE yet so INSPIRED. And I was just starting to get along with Br. Fuwad. But we had to leave anyway. Br. Intikhab said this to Br. Abdul Badi'; "Make us your arrows, wherever you send us we'll go. Like the sahabah." Amir Sab has decided us to go, so we go. The same way Rasulullah saw ordered the sahabah to spread all over the world, with pain in hearts they left the company of their beloved prophet. Their hearts wrenched, crumbled...but they understood lailahaillallah muhammadurrasullullah had to be spread, so mankind would know who their Rabb is and who their Rasul is. Upon leaving, we changed contacts and hugs. Deep in heart I made a vow, if we can't meet each other again in this world we'll meet each other again in Jannah. Say ameen!

blizzard's aftermath

going back from jaulah at MIT

3) Springfield, Boston MA
We picked up Ramli at Islamic Center of New England and he became part of our jama'ah from here on. Ramli got pretty cool people in his jama'ah. I remember these two Bangladeshi twins with bright-skinned beautiful faces, even more beautiful than the girls I've seen..?


Islamic Center of New England, Quincy MA
(image courtesy of Google image)


4) Utica NY

This was our last masjid of the khuruj. This masjid is administered by the Bosnian community in this area. I listened to Bosnian khutbah for the first time in my life. Now that Ramli is with us, our jama'ah has become a little more cheerful. Farooq had no problem at all being around 6 Malaysians, despite his being the only American (well, Pakistani American) in the group. He blended in just fine. By Allah's will, we met with Br. Omar, an American revert who took his syahadah in Malaysia in April 10. He was doing some teaching at UIAM when he found Islam. He was so glad that he met us. He was even wearing Baju Melayu! What a destiny. Say Subhanallah! The night before we left for Rochester, a Burmese jama'ah came for their 3 days here. So the morning after Fajr Amir Sab requested an 'alim from their jama'ah to give us wapsi talk. We dropped Talhah and Azhari at the bus station and headed to Rochester. We had lunch at Br. Intikhab's place, as our last ijtima'i 'amal of the khuruj.

Quickshots

I wonder where on earth did they find this

Br. Intikhab and his "nephews"

Mudzakarah on the story of Jinn

Packing up

Future hafizs and 'alims (Br. Intikhab's boys)



P/S: Fuh..what an entry. I keep my word on the more pics but not on the less words. We had so much fun and learning too. Say Alhamdulillah. This is the most colorful jama'ah I've ever been with. We got Somalians, Africans, Malaysians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Burmese...Muslims are not Malaysians or Arabs, Muslims are ONE ummah. Say ameen! =)