Subhan Allah, this is the first part of a series of 9 videos where Sheikh Riyadh ul Haq explains the causes of disunity of the Ummah and what we can do and the attitude we should have:
[Source courtesy of Halal Da'wah Records]
Showing posts with label Tasawuf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tasawuf. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
Seeking 'Ilm
"Read - In the name of thy Lord Who creates, Creates man from a clot. Read - And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teaches by the pen, Teaches man that which he knew not." [Surah al-Alaq:1-5]
The difference between the 'abd and the 'aleem is that the former can easily be tricked by Syaitan. Indeed, the road to paradise is the road of knowledge ('Ilm). View also this video, which outlines the ni'mah of the 'aql - The Position and Role of the Mind in Islam.
Afternote: Truly, Allah SWT rewards those who seek and gain knowledge, subhan Allah!
"Read - In the name of thy Lord Who creates, Creates man from a clot. Read - And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teaches by the pen, Teaches man that which he knew not." [Surah al-Alaq:1-5]
[Source: Courtesy of Islamic Media]
The difference between the 'abd and the 'aleem is that the former can easily be tricked by Syaitan. Indeed, the road to paradise is the road of knowledge ('Ilm). View also this video, which outlines the ni'mah of the 'aql - The Position and Role of the Mind in Islam.
Afternote: Truly, Allah SWT rewards those who seek and gain knowledge, subhan Allah!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Commemoration
“Say (O Muhammad): If you truly love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins” [Sural al-E-Imran: 31]
A friend shared this article with me. Honestly, this is not a new problem - Some celebrate it with great devotion while some reject it with an equally great vengeance. Such differing opinions split up families, divide friendships as a result of unnecessary hurt. More importantly, it divides the Ummah. Sad isn't it?
So what is it that I'm talking about? It is Mawlid - commemorating (instead of celebrating) the birthday of our beloved Prophet SAW.
It is our prerogative to examine the facts, return to the Quran and Hadeeth about the reality regarding this. What is the history of Mawlid? If it is permissible, as mentioned by another article, what are the boundaries of Adab? If it is not persmissible, what are the justifications? Seek both perspectives fully and justly from authoritative ulama' before one speaks with wisdom about his or her position about this matter.
Read these as well and make an informed decision from there:
- Reprehensible innovations
- Abstinence from celebrations
- Yusuf al Qardhawi approves Mawlid
- Permissibility of Mawlid
- Fatwa on Celebrating Mawlid
- Commemorating Mawlid
To conclude, there is a great need to revive the Sunnah in this age of heedlessness and decadence. The birth of RasululLah SAW is a great blessing and we should express our joy by following his lifestyle perpetually.
Afternote: I appreciate the perspective of both sides. It is always with good intentions that the Ummah debate about this. It shows that we care (maslahat vs. mudarat). Personally, I'm perpetually trying to fully practice TRUE love for our beloved Prophet SAW by following closely the guidance that he brought to his Ummah. May our beloved Prophet SAW be a constant in our hearts and minds as we go about our daily deeds, insya Allah. The good comes from Allah SWT and the bad comes from me.
“Say (O Muhammad): If you truly love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins” [Sural al-E-Imran: 31]
[Video courtesy of Huda TV of Sheikh Assim al-Hakeem]
A friend shared this article with me. Honestly, this is not a new problem - Some celebrate it with great devotion while some reject it with an equally great vengeance. Such differing opinions split up families, divide friendships as a result of unnecessary hurt. More importantly, it divides the Ummah. Sad isn't it?
So what is it that I'm talking about? It is Mawlid - commemorating (instead of celebrating) the birthday of our beloved Prophet SAW.
It is our prerogative to examine the facts, return to the Quran and Hadeeth about the reality regarding this. What is the history of Mawlid? If it is permissible, as mentioned by another article, what are the boundaries of Adab? If it is not persmissible, what are the justifications? Seek both perspectives fully and justly from authoritative ulama' before one speaks with wisdom about his or her position about this matter.
Read these as well and make an informed decision from there:
- Reprehensible innovations
- Abstinence from celebrations
- Yusuf al Qardhawi approves Mawlid
- Permissibility of Mawlid
- Fatwa on Celebrating Mawlid
- Commemorating Mawlid
To conclude, there is a great need to revive the Sunnah in this age of heedlessness and decadence. The birth of RasululLah SAW is a great blessing and we should express our joy by following his lifestyle perpetually.
Afternote: I appreciate the perspective of both sides. It is always with good intentions that the Ummah debate about this. It shows that we care (maslahat vs. mudarat). Personally, I'm perpetually trying to fully practice TRUE love for our beloved Prophet SAW by following closely the guidance that he brought to his Ummah. May our beloved Prophet SAW be a constant in our hearts and minds as we go about our daily deeds, insya Allah. The good comes from Allah SWT and the bad comes from me.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Kalimah "Allah"
This post was initiated due to my personal reflection of the Origins of Religion discussed previously in class. After reading this article and that article from Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, I understood his intent and where he is coming from - evaluate the maslahat against the mudarat and make an informed decision such that one preserves the true image of Islam while defending one's a'qidah.
I also understood where Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas is coming from when he discusses about kalimah Allah - in theological, epistemological and ontological sense. That Christians are not using it in the same manner as the Muslims use it (similar to what Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin's comment about Trinity) because Allah SWT prescribes the kalimah exclusive for the use of Muslims all over the world.
I agree when Syeikh Abdul Halim cautioned us to be mindful and be able to distinguish the intent of the scholars and which school of thought they belong to:
"O Allah! Let us see the good as good, and bless us with following it. And show us the falsehood as falsehood, and bless us with staying away from it, with Your mercy, O Most Merciful!"
I also will heed mum's advice not to be taksub (following blindly any school of thought without question) but hold firmly to the al-Quran (wahyu Allah SWT) and Hadeeth (RasululLah's guidelines).
Truly in Islam, there is the concept of Unity that the Quran emphasises upon, commanding the Ummah not to disunite and become scattered groups:
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember Allah's favour unto you: how you were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that you became brothers by His grace; and (how) you were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah makes clear His revelations unto you, that haply you may be guided.” [Surah al e-Imran: 103]
May Allah SWT bestow us with hikmah (wisdom), protects us from the whispers of Satan and the wrath of the Hellfire, insya Allah.
This post was initiated due to my personal reflection of the Origins of Religion discussed previously in class. After reading this article and that article from Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, I understood his intent and where he is coming from - evaluate the maslahat against the mudarat and make an informed decision such that one preserves the true image of Islam while defending one's a'qidah.
I also understood where Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas is coming from when he discusses about kalimah Allah - in theological, epistemological and ontological sense. That Christians are not using it in the same manner as the Muslims use it (similar to what Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin's comment about Trinity) because Allah SWT prescribes the kalimah exclusive for the use of Muslims all over the world.
I agree when Syeikh Abdul Halim cautioned us to be mindful and be able to distinguish the intent of the scholars and which school of thought they belong to:
"O Allah! Let us see the good as good, and bless us with following it. And show us the falsehood as falsehood, and bless us with staying away from it, with Your mercy, O Most Merciful!"
I also will heed mum's advice not to be taksub (following blindly any school of thought without question) but hold firmly to the al-Quran (wahyu Allah SWT) and Hadeeth (RasululLah's guidelines).
Truly in Islam, there is the concept of Unity that the Quran emphasises upon, commanding the Ummah not to disunite and become scattered groups:
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember Allah's favour unto you: how you were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that you became brothers by His grace; and (how) you were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah makes clear His revelations unto you, that haply you may be guided.” [Surah al e-Imran: 103]
May Allah SWT bestow us with hikmah (wisdom), protects us from the whispers of Satan and the wrath of the Hellfire, insya Allah.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Labels
"Speech about people must be with knowledge and justice, not with ignorance and injustice..." - Ibn Taymiyyah (Rahimullaah)
I personally believe that mankind, by design, has a good heart. It is our fitrah. And it is out of love for one's Ummah, for the sake of Allah SWT, that a piece of advice, gentle reminder or a friendly nudge was given when one sees something 'amiss' from one's perspective. Nonetheless, the intent is always good but sometimes the approach may be unsuitable for the situation or context.
Truly, it takes hikmah (wisdom: putting things in its proper place i.e. Adab) to do da'wah. In essence, before one speaks, ensure one must be equipped with Ilm' (knowledge). Know when to speak and when to be silent. Know how to speak and to whom one should speak.
Afternote: I don't understand the 'labelling culture' of calling someone salafi or wahhabi, etc. Always bear in mind Satan's determined whispers to break the Ummah. Mum's constant reminder stays with me - that we should always see the good in people because that was how our beloved Prophet SAW treated people of all walks of life, race or religion. Indeed, his mercy and compassion for humankind was beyond compare.
"Speech about people must be with knowledge and justice, not with ignorance and injustice..." - Ibn Taymiyyah (Rahimullaah)
I personally believe that mankind, by design, has a good heart. It is our fitrah. And it is out of love for one's Ummah, for the sake of Allah SWT, that a piece of advice, gentle reminder or a friendly nudge was given when one sees something 'amiss' from one's perspective. Nonetheless, the intent is always good but sometimes the approach may be unsuitable for the situation or context.
Truly, it takes hikmah (wisdom: putting things in its proper place i.e. Adab) to do da'wah. In essence, before one speaks, ensure one must be equipped with Ilm' (knowledge). Know when to speak and when to be silent. Know how to speak and to whom one should speak.
Afternote: I don't understand the 'labelling culture' of calling someone salafi or wahhabi, etc. Always bear in mind Satan's determined whispers to break the Ummah. Mum's constant reminder stays with me - that we should always see the good in people because that was how our beloved Prophet SAW treated people of all walks of life, race or religion. Indeed, his mercy and compassion for humankind was beyond compare.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Freedom and Justice in Islam
I feel compelled to put my thoughts down on the true definition of "freedom", especially for the youths of today, whether they come from a broken family or simply live within a secular society in this era of Fitnah.
From the Secular or Western perspective, freedom is defined as the liberating development in choosing between good and bad to an extent that some go through civil marriage instead of the prescribed solemnisation via Syariah court simply because they misinterpreted the ayat:
"There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in Allâh, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower." [Surah al-Baqarah: 256]
"Freedom" as defined by Islam is beautiful - a choice between good deed and better deed because it is unfathomable for a True Muslim to even consider an evil deed that goes against the Truth (Haq), doing this is not exercising smart choices. Truly, freedom is to act as one's real and true nature demands - that is, as one's haq and one's fitrah demands. That is why training of the soul (Tazkiyatul Nafs) is needed to enable us to discern reality and truth from falsehood and it is our ibadah that provides constant reminder of the All-Seeing.
Afternote: I could totally relate to this especially during the earlier days of my youth. Human being, by design, makes mistakes resulting in our Imaan fluctuating between a low and high point and when it is at a low point, we feel lousy, simply because our heart and soul is not aligned to the Haq as it is supposed to. And when we increase our good deeds, it resulted in that feel-good aura. Hence, we have to perpetually ikhtiyar to counter our bad deeds with good deeds. Dowload the article Symptoms of a Weak Iman and Its Cure. May Allah protect us from the hellfire, ameen.
I feel compelled to put my thoughts down on the true definition of "freedom", especially for the youths of today, whether they come from a broken family or simply live within a secular society in this era of Fitnah.
From the Secular or Western perspective, freedom is defined as the liberating development in choosing between good and bad to an extent that some go through civil marriage instead of the prescribed solemnisation via Syariah court simply because they misinterpreted the ayat:
"There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in Allâh, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower." [Surah al-Baqarah: 256]
"Freedom" as defined by Islam is beautiful - a choice between good deed and better deed because it is unfathomable for a True Muslim to even consider an evil deed that goes against the Truth (Haq), doing this is not exercising smart choices. Truly, freedom is to act as one's real and true nature demands - that is, as one's haq and one's fitrah demands. That is why training of the soul (Tazkiyatul Nafs) is needed to enable us to discern reality and truth from falsehood and it is our ibadah that provides constant reminder of the All-Seeing.
Afternote: I could totally relate to this especially during the earlier days of my youth. Human being, by design, makes mistakes resulting in our Imaan fluctuating between a low and high point and when it is at a low point, we feel lousy, simply because our heart and soul is not aligned to the Haq as it is supposed to. And when we increase our good deeds, it resulted in that feel-good aura. Hence, we have to perpetually ikhtiyar to counter our bad deeds with good deeds. Dowload the article Symptoms of a Weak Iman and Its Cure. May Allah protect us from the hellfire, ameen.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Back to Basics - Tawheed
I attended a talk on "The need to redefine the Islamic Education" by Ustaz Mokhtar Stork and here's what I took away from the session:
True wisdom comes from honesty, character building, discipline and seeking knowledge (which must have substance; not superficial understanding of the religion just to get you by... reflect on the true meaning of progress in Islam) in order for a morally righteous system to exist.
To attain true wisdom, Ustaz Mokhtar talked about purity of the heart and adab - look inwardly (introspect on our shortcomings and struggle towards progress at our own pace, that is the individual's jihad to the way of Islam as we are accountable for the Hereafter).
In 'redefining' Islamic education, he meant to get back to basics. He urged the Ummah to begin with Allah SWT and submit fully to the will of Allah SWT in order to attain the True Path. Having a deep and strong foundation in Tawheed is essential to one's well-being.
He also gently reminded educators to be flexible and compassionate - by offering choices to their students as not everyone have the same level of imaan and taqwa.
Narrated Anas bin Malik: "The Prophet said, "Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away (from Islam)." [Source: Bukhari Book 1 Volume 3 Hadith 69]
At the end of the day, we have the freedom of choice as there is no compulsion in the religion. Truly, all rights bestowed upon us ultimately belong to Allah SWT and that hidayah is the sole rights of Allah SWT.
Narrated Muawiya: "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the religion. I am just a distributor, but the grant is from Allah. (And remember) that this nation (true Muslims) will keep on following Allah's teachings strictly and they will not be harmed by anyone going on a different path till Allah's order (Day of Judgment) is established." [Source: Bukhari Book 1 Volume 3 Hadith 71]
Afterthought: From my personal observation, our elders who have deep understanding of Tawheed also have a high level of adab, which the youths of today should emulate.
I attended a talk on "The need to redefine the Islamic Education" by Ustaz Mokhtar Stork and here's what I took away from the session:
True wisdom comes from honesty, character building, discipline and seeking knowledge (which must have substance; not superficial understanding of the religion just to get you by... reflect on the true meaning of progress in Islam) in order for a morally righteous system to exist.
To attain true wisdom, Ustaz Mokhtar talked about purity of the heart and adab - look inwardly (introspect on our shortcomings and struggle towards progress at our own pace, that is the individual's jihad to the way of Islam as we are accountable for the Hereafter).
In 'redefining' Islamic education, he meant to get back to basics. He urged the Ummah to begin with Allah SWT and submit fully to the will of Allah SWT in order to attain the True Path. Having a deep and strong foundation in Tawheed is essential to one's well-being.
He also gently reminded educators to be flexible and compassionate - by offering choices to their students as not everyone have the same level of imaan and taqwa.
Narrated Anas bin Malik: "The Prophet said, "Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away (from Islam)." [Source: Bukhari Book 1 Volume 3 Hadith 69]
At the end of the day, we have the freedom of choice as there is no compulsion in the religion. Truly, all rights bestowed upon us ultimately belong to Allah SWT and that hidayah is the sole rights of Allah SWT.
Narrated Muawiya: "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the religion. I am just a distributor, but the grant is from Allah. (And remember) that this nation (true Muslims) will keep on following Allah's teachings strictly and they will not be harmed by anyone going on a different path till Allah's order (Day of Judgment) is established." [Source: Bukhari Book 1 Volume 3 Hadith 71]
Afterthought: From my personal observation, our elders who have deep understanding of Tawheed also have a high level of adab, which the youths of today should emulate.
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