Introduction: Mahmudah Characteristics

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

 Jordan River Source Pic: Deborah Hannah

We had already learned about Madzmumah characteristics. Why not we learn about Mahmudah characteristics? What does Mahmudah means? Mahmudah is not a kind of cookie anyway. Mahmudah means the praised characteristics which is recommended for a civilized human-being in morality of Shariah Islamiah. These characteristics are also outlined in the book called Arba'een fee Usuluddeen which means the Forty in the Origin of Path.

What are they?  We can also learn some Arabic adjectives from here... lol

Tawbah - Repentance

Khawf - Fear to Him in term of fear to commit sins as the consequence is unpleasant

Zuhud - Modesty

Sabr - Patience

Shukr - Thankful

Ikhlas - Sincerity

Tawakkal - Dependence to Him

Mahabbah - Love to Him which reflects in every acts that we do in our daily affairs

Redha - Pleased with whatever decreed and this is the most difficult thing for us

Dzikr Mawt - Remembering death, this is also an anti-climax where we enjoy our life until we forget that we are immortal who live in a short span of time

Urmm, last time, our companies in Malaysia had also adopted Bushido values but I wonder why not companies, organizations and institutions with Muslim employers and employees adopt these morality values proposed by our own scholars and using Quran and Sunnah as our bench mark for everything? It is in our own country and not somewhere in Europe or in some other countries with majority of non-Muslim population or administrators. I think the Quran and Sunnah should be the main sources in our life if we call ourselves as Muslims. If we don't feel the need for Quran and Sunnah, would we be hypocrites and only calling ourselves with something which is not representing ourselves??? No matter what culture that we hold or what nationality we are, Quran and Sunnah should be the main sources including in moral code and working values.   

It's not that Bushido values or what not are not good but I am just wondering. Are we having inferiority complex or what? Why do we have to go far to others' values while we have these values everyday around us and the sources of these values are waiting for us to be opened up? Why we have to leave Him behind while He is the One who Sustain every creature and the One who Manage the universe? People never take our values nor even acknowledge us our values even if they use them. 

Just finished my final assignment and had already sent it at lecturer's room around 22:11. The assignment is due to Monday the next week but feel like vomiting looking at these policies stuff. I would have more time to focus on my thesis and final examination. I have to bear with these and be patient though feeling like my "soul" being pulled and rejected back into this "cage".    

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

Zuhud and Modesty in Life

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Attachment to the worldly matters is the root of evil

What is Zuhud? It is a terminology used by Muslim to show modesty. Speaking about tasawwuf, there are boasting Orientalists who trying to talk like they know about everything. As an individual who profess the faith to only the God as the Most Highest, the King of worlds and universe, I don't buy anything from them either their opinion or suggestion suits well with my thought or in the opposite because they have no authority to judge others when they do not have any faith to the six pillars of faith and the five pillars of the nature. I hate this shallow notion about certain matter is influencing others just to downgrade others. This earth is shared and human come from the same source unless if those human who turned to be human from apes, that is different thing since they were not human by origin but animal. 

In Islam we have ihsan which is a concept where we believe that He is watching over us even when nobody is looking at us since He is the One who Supervise. Ihsan is mentioned by prophet Muhammad s.a.w during the discourse with archangel Gabriel a.s who actually was sent by the God to teach companions of prophet Muhammad s.a.w and to be taught to generations in to come in disguise of questions and answers about the basis of the nature of human-being and other creatures. Our devotion to the God is based from prophetic tradition and we reject Orientalists ideas. They are not the authority for us, their opinions whether supporting us or opposing us has no significance to us. Their standard is not in compliance with our standard.

Concerning things exported from Christianity? Jesus a.s who is the "Lord" of Christians and the originator of the "religion" which is known as Christianity is one of the prophet of Islam. Islam is not a "new religion" but it is "a nature" which originated from the God the Highest who possesses the Most Glorious Names. It does not originated from Muhammad s.a.w because he was a medium chosen by the God to transmit the teaching to other non-chosen human-being just like other prophets and messengers of the God since Adam a.s. Jesus a.s is the brother of Moses a.s and Muhammad s.a.w by souls and by the same first ancestor which is Adam a.s. They are not from apes offspring and those who believe that they are descended from apes are not wrong. They are indeed what they believe. Another thing that we need to bear in mind, we do not submit ourselves to Church Fathers but only to the God the Most Highest. Jesus Christ need not Church Fathers to decide anything for him if he is the Lord. So, if Christians wanted to devote themselves to whatever "Theophany" they wanted to devote, go on. Just avoid from evil morality which does not reflect the morality taught by Jesus Christ and they would be fine. I don't simply call people as infidel because it is not me who decide but the God to decide over His creatures. If anything being mentioned in the scripture, then it is His word and not my word. It will remain as it is.

Those Christian monasticism influencing others is not an issue for us. Those influencing matters are nonsense and those "scholars" I believe are not people who practice any religion instead they worship themselves under their so-called "scholarly" statements or "suggestions." They are human and not the God to be worshiped on their opinions and they have flaws just like other human-being. Those Christian evangelists mostly do not portray the moral of Jesus Christ but they showed the negative side of human-being to me as a lay person because I had encountered such experience with them. I didn't even choose to be baptized last time but considering Buddhism because I detest the way they talk to others, bajet suci gitu. I would also demand to stop calling us Muslims as Mohammedan. We are not worshipers of Muhammad either when he perform "divine" miracle or when he was in human characteristic because we don't need such a philosophy to explain his characteristics and developing a dogma. Everything is clear in basic suras in the glorious Quran, the Word of the God. We are Muslims. We submit ourselves to the One who posses the Peace, the One who protects everyone with Peace. In al-Fatihah surah it is already mentioned that we follow only Him. Not Church Fathers' philosophies nor Orientalists teachings : )

A person who is devoted to the God actually has no time to look to other places or thinking to rival with others in term of worldly matters but feeling afraid that he would be dipped into torments and being far from the God with misconducts. A person who is devoted to the God does not actually talk much because much of talking would only bring negative impact toward the environment and nature. So, my Muslim brothers and sisters who perform da'awa especially to other community, always keep in mind to adhere to morality conduct revealed by the God in Quran and Sunnah. We perform everything through the Light of the God, the knowledge, wisdom, practices, and sincerity only for His sake. Not because we wanted to gain anything, to gain glory in others' eyes, gaining fund for example from organization, and etc. Guidance and Mercy is His work and not our work. Our responsibility is only to deliver to fellow creatures. This is also an advise for myself : )

Now this article is actually an article published by Islamic Center of USM which I had kept for long and reading it over and over but due to that it is in Malay, I think it should also be translated into other languages may everyone receive the Mercy of the God. I would like to share it with anyone passing here whatever faith that they have. Anything good should be shared and this has nothing to harm anyone Creed toward any doctrine because it is noble morality. 

Zuhud means a characteristic of heart which is not attached to the world or worldly matters. It does not mean that we are wearing dirty clothes, torn everywhere or looking poor like a beggar in front of other. Even when we are poor, we do not show it to others but maintaining the look of normal people. In Islam, we are taught to look the same like others. Even if we learn scriptural studies, we do not necessarily wearing clothes which show us as a cleric or a minister. It is enough to look like other civilians and live like others. Zuhud only means that the condition of heart which is not attached toward worldly matters, does not depend to anything in the world but only depends to the God.

The tranquility of life in this world is what everyone desires. But we still see that many people are living in anxiety, fear, worrying about something which is uncertain, hatred to others (I also have this evil thing in mind) and many unnecessary things. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w through the Revelation taught us a practice which will makes the God love us. 

His teaching is recorded in a hadith narrated by Abu Abbas Sahal bin Sa'ad Sa'idi r.a where he mentioned again that when a man walking passed prophet Muhammad s.a.w, he asked prophet Muhammad s.a.w: "Dear messenger of the God, show me a practice in which I will be loved by the God and everyone around me will also love me. Said prophet Muhammad s.a.w: "Be modest in the worldly matter, as the God will love you. Be modest on anything which is possessed by human, and human will love you."    

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w teaches everyone to be like a person who is traveling. He said: "be like a foreigner in the world." A person who travels never being attached to anything or feeling that they should have any possession since they are just temporarily staying at a certain place. Just take a look at travelers, how do they look like? Do they bring anything like valuable stuffs with them while traveling or doing sightseeing? They just bring things that they need right? For example few clothes, few hygienic stuffs, passport, identity card, some money to use while staying in a certain place, some notebooks, or books to read while waiting for passport control. Another example that we could see are migrant workers. Look at how they live. Are they living a comfortable life or just enough for them to live in a foreign country where they are earning the money to be sent home? A modest person has no greed toward worldly matters.

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w further said: "Indeed a modest person in the world will feel relieved in the world and hereafter. A person who is attached to the world will feel suffocated and exhausted in the world and hereafter." (reported by Thabrani, Baihaqi from Abu Hurayrah r.a)

Imam al-Ghazali divided zuhud or modesty into three stages:

1. Lowest modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters to avoid evil consequences in the hereafter.

2. Middle modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters to get rewards in hereafter.

3. Highest modesty where ones avoiding attachment toward worldly matters because of the devotion and dependence only to the God. 

People at lowest level of zuhud still are attached to worldly matters but at least they are striving hard to refrain from submission toward evil desires. The better zuhud appears when the heart of person actually had left the world and has no interest in worldly matters anymore. Highest zuhud is a stage where a person knows Who is his Creator and Lord. For these people, the world and its content actually have no significance anymore but their whole heart, thought and soul is only directed toward hereafter and the God.

Human have choice and rights to choose. The God had also grants us with mind to think what suits us better. So, it actually depends on us where should we go. Even the devil could also choose and he also has freedom to choose to be what he wants. He had chosen to be a boast. So do, Western Orientalists. They had chosen to make people around the world fight among each other with their attachment to worldly matters. Where are they now? Are they still living or resurrected as a cyborg by machines and technology? LOL   

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

The Grand Voyage

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Some movie sharing and it is in French and Moroccan Arabic... I will just put the links here and brothers and sisters may watch them in the site when free. This movie is basically about a journey of a father and a son to the holy city Mecca for pilgrimage. Interesting it is, as the father decided to travel to Arabian Peninsula by car and his son becomes his driver. His son didn't perform pilgrimage anyway. 

There lies messages to audience. It also reminds me of myself. We can see how a father interact with his son during the journey and conflicts or troubles faced by both of them. Have a nice time watching it yourselves on how the son learned valuable lessons about Islam from the journey after he had forgotten his heritage : ')

Part 1     Part 6

Part 2     Part 7

Part 3     Part 8

Part 4     Part 9

  Part 5     Part 10

Movie is directed by Ismael Ferroukhi, starring Muhammad Majd as father and Nicholas Cazale as son. It was released in September 2004. I miss Mecca and Hajj season, ya Alllllaaahhhhhh my Lord!!!!!!

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

What does it mean to be Muslim for a Family?

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

I manage to retrieve back some of these notes that I jot down from last month. I went to Sultan Mizan Zainal Abiddin mosque and listened to a lecture on a chapter from the book written by Fathi Yakan in the gap time before Isya' prayer. This book is quite famous in Malaysia with the title "Apa Ertinya Saya Menganuti Ajaran Islam?"

The ustad had mentioned where Fathi Yakan highlighted six matters. That day, they talked about the fifth matter and I was so unlucky as I had missed few matters earlier and also the last matter highlighted. They talked about being a Muslim from the aspect of family, creed, worship, and morality. Why do Mr. Yakan choose this topic for the discussion? Because we want a society that reflects Islamic characteristics which could be seen in the soul of everyone.

How could we call non-Muslim toward the God if we are showing bad examples to them? If we want to establish a sanctified nation, we should have a model to be seen by others. For example, before we begin our meals, we would recite supplications to the God or begin our meal with manners. Muslim family must be a model and guidance for others. If a house is in chaotic situation, what can we show to others? Thus, we must try to be Muslims in family angle and have to be caring to the community and taking the responsibility to be in service to others.

  

Says the messenger of the God may the God be in contact with him: "whomever ignores his brothers and sisters in faith, they are not apart of the Islamic nation." - narrated by Bukhari. 

As for example, how many persons before fallen into their sleep are thinking about the problem faced by the nation or how many of us had been thinking about our parents? How about people who are close to us? Remembering parents is a responsibility of every Muslim. Everyday, we must recite al-Fatihah for them no matter they are alive or had already returned to Him and protected under His mercy. Parents are the reason where we are here. Without them as the reason, we are nothing in the Universe. When our life growing better, we tend to forget our parents until we have no time to return home and see them whether they are in good condition or else?   

The responsibility of every Muslim is to prohibit vice and performing charity. Our responsibility had already been performed when we asked others to be together in charity and chastity even though those whom we are calling toward charity refused to follow. When we had already knocked the door and they refused to open it up, we are free from the sins and responsibility.  Our role is only to prohibit vice and promoting charity. Being in accordance with the glorious Quran and Sunnah. We perform our responsibility by telling others about what is Islam to the society and trying to establish it in our society or community.

Then Muslims are responsible to form a family with Islamic values. Establishing Islam in the house begins with the education where parents must teach their children to respect the teachings of the God which is Islam and the values in the teachings. The parents are responsible to bring everyone in the family to Him for example making the five obligatory salaat times as the time to remember Him without any interference. 

Muslim parents have the responsibility to ask the people in the family to protect their 'aurah (modesty) as what had been mentioned in surah an-Nur verse 53. An example in asking others to protect their 'aurah and in the same time teaching the family members about the way of life through presents according to sunnah such as veils or beautiful muslimah or muslim dress. A husband are obliged to ask his wife to change her skimpy clothes to better ones if she happens to wear it since she would be working 8 hours with male non-muhrim colleagues.   

Convey Islam to family members and to our selves as what had been mentioned by the God in His holy verses: "never call to the worship of other than the God for you will be dipped into the bitterness" (surah ash-Syuraa'). Teach our close family members and relatives about His Oneness, never proclaim that there are other power with the authority as possessed by Him. We must help and have the care in preserving the creed of our family member. When they are deviating, we would advice them to return to Him.

Check in surah at-Tahreem verse 6th where it mentions that hell fire would be ignited with stones and human, so we must be really careful with our daily conduct. We always think that it is easy when we perform salaat, the God would forgives us our sins just after we perform the salaat. But are we sure that our charity and salaat performed are accepted by the God? We should stop blaming our environment. We must first begin with our selves living our live as Muslims and playing our roles in our family. 

Everyone dreams of a good nation and receiving His forgiveness. This is a general matter, and family institution role is crucial in forming an Islamic family. A husband has a heavy responsibility. The sins committed by children will also be the share of the sins to the parents. The responsibility of promoting charity and prohibiting evil and vice is a very heavy responsibility. 

The glorious Quran shows the way to achieve the goal according to His teachings where it focuses on the family. When a couple get married, their marriage should not only about beauty or how handsome is the groom. The intention must be rightful because of the God and not because of the beauty of the girl or the guy that we want to get marry to. Nikah (marriage) is a reason and a sunnah for the establishment of a good and blessed family. 

When a couple entering the marriage contract, they must be readily to bear the trust from the God in the upbringing of the future generation and soul as what had been mentioned in surah az-Zumaar (I can't recall the verse, I am sorry). Everything that we do in our daily life is actually because of Him. After that, the couple would be stepping into the establishment of a society who understands the way of life according to His teachings. It is not merely a marriage contract where a man and a woman are willing to share their life but more than that where they are responsible in the establishment of a Muslim family. No need for an overly "bersanding" ceremony after the marriage contract and it would be best if the feast for marriage reception being done without waste. As to say, our acts must be viewed through religious rites perspective.

I'm going to print this version of notes typed in our national language and giving it to my newly-wed sister and her husband. I don't want them to just get away without revising their responsibility toward our Islamic society although they had already going to marriage courses before their marriage!!!! 

May Allah be in contact with prophet Muhammad s.a.w and his family and his companion. Allah please bless our society no matter whatever we are. Bless us with Your boundless mercy and forgiveness. Sealed with prayers for peace, mercy, and love for brothers and sisters in faith, amin.