Bila Tuhan Berbicara

Tsunami Wave in Japan

Kita biarkan Allah SWT menggerakkan 'bala tenteraNya.

Tugas kita adalah, menjadi yang 'layak' dibantu olehNya.

Percaya, Percaya, Percaya dan Percaya.

Sambil amal dan usaha mengiringi kita.

                                                 - Hilal Asyraf

Kalau terjadi malapetaka, kita sentiasa ingat ini kemungkaran Tuhan sahaja. Benarkah begitu?

Allah berfirman dalam surah az-Zukhruf ayat 48: Dan Kami timpakan kepada mereka azab supaya kembali ke jalan yang benar. Ayat ini menunjukkan Allah memberi kirafah kepada manusia. Kifarah ialah satu ujian atau tebusan yang Allah berikan kepada manusia kerana terlanjur melakukan dosa dan kesalahan. Oleh kasih sayang Allah, Tuhan tidak mahu dia diseksa di akhirat maka diberi dahulu azab yang ringan di dunia supaya dia beringat dan bertaubat.

Apa yang berlaku boleh jadi juga satu bala seperti yang dialami oleh umat Nabi Nuh, kaum Add dan Tsamud dan lain lain. Seperti firman Allah dalam surah at-Taubah ayat 74 di mana Allah menyatakan: Dan jika mereka berpaling, nescaya Allah akan mengazab mereka dengan azab yang pedih di dunia dan akhirat.

Mungkin juga ini semua satu ibtila’ iaitu ujian ke atas orang baik supaya mereka melakukan kebaikan dan menggandakan kebaikkannya lagi. Ibtila’ ialah ujian ke atas orang yang baik supaya mereka mendapat pahala sabar, syukur, redha, pemaaf dan qanaah dari Tuhan. Ini Allah firmankan dalam surah al-Baqarah ayat 214: Apakah kamu mengira akan masuk ke dalam syurga sedangkan kepada kamu belum datang penderitaan sebagaimana yang dideritai orang-orang terdahulu daripada kamu, iaitu mereka ditimpa kesensaraan, kemelaratan, dan kegoncangan, sehingga Rasul dan orang-orang yang beriman bersamanya merintih: Bilakah datangnya pertolongan Allah.

Malapetaka berlaku kerana kita terlupakan dua kekuatan yang ada pada kita iaitu fikir dan zikir. Lemah zikir kerana kita kurang menghayati ilmu wahyu sedang kita juga lemah fikir hingga mundur serba-serbi dari orang lain dalam bidang sains dan teknologi. Vulkanologis penakut dan pemalas ini satu buktinya.

- Dr Haji Faizal Tehrani, Bila Tuhan Berbicara, 2007, pg 52-53

My heart goes to all of my sisters and brothers of Humanity in Japan

Apakah penduduk negeri itu merasakan aman dari bala Allah pada waktu malam ketika mereka sedang tidur. Apakah penduduk negeri itu merasa aman dari bala Allah pada waktu pagi sedang mereka bermain atau bekerja. Apakah mereka merasa aman dari azab Allah(jadi mereka boleh hidup berseronok hingga melanggar hukum Allah). Tidaklah yang merasa aman dari azab Allah melainkan orang yang rugi.” (Al-A’raaf 98-99)

Has Not The Time Yet Come?

This 123 years old masjid remains strong

Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And ~ that) they should not be like those who were given the Book before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient. (Quran 57:16)

Before & after pictures showing only the masjid remained standing

 Another masjid surviving the tsunami

Amidst the disarrayed surroundings, at least 28 masjid remain intact.

Indeed, 

"Mankind's reckoning has drawn very close to them, yet they heedlessly turn away." (Al-Anbiya': 1)

Allah SWT had given us so many reminders but yet we continuously ignored them. 

Has not the time yet come for us to go back to our Deen?

An explanation one can deduct from this phenomenon is: 

First, we need to understand that this world and 90% of its occupants sits in the Beta brain waves (e.g stress, working, active thought processes) while the Adhan (Islamic call to prayer called out by the Muazzin in the masjid five times a day) is in the Theta Brain Waves*.

*[Theta Brain Waves are the second slowest frequency of brain waves. They typically cycle at a rate of 4-7 times per second (4 Hz – 7 Hz). Theta Brain Waves have long been associated with early stages of sleep and the process of dreaming. Theta Brain Waves are of high amplitude and usually kick in when you experience powerful surges of emotion. Theta Waves have been associated with states of enhanced creativity, “Super Learning,” deeper relaxation, day-dreaming, and sleep-dream activity.]

Secondly, this world will perish without the theta waves. The Adhan - which belongs to theta waves - functions to stabilize i.e 'relaxes' the world from frequencies that are too high or too low (Halaqah, TV9, February 7 2010).

What many of us do not know is, the recitation of the Adhan revolves around the Earth 24 hours a day non-stop! Subhanallah!

♫ Beautiful Adhan by Sheikh Mishary Rashid Afasy

It is an established fact that there is not a single moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Adhan on the surface of this earth. Indeed, this is a true miracle of Almighty Allah.

"Have a look at a map of the world and you will find Indonesia on the eastern side of the earth. The major cities of Indonesia are Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil. As soon as dawn breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30 am local time, Fajar Azaan begins. Thousands of Muazzins in Indonesia begin reciting the Azaan. The process advances towards West Indonesia. One and a half hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process of calling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia.

Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reaches Dacca, the capital city of Bangladesh. After Bangladesh, it has already prevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advances towards Bombay and the environment of entire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a north city in Pakistan) have the same timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot, Quetta, and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time, Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan. Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat.
 

The time difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resounds during this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy cities of Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.

The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in >>Egypt is again one hour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan during this hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is one and a half hours, and during this Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour's difference. The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the whole of Africa. Therefore, the proclamation of the "Tawheed" and "Risaalat" that had begun in Indonesia reaches the Eastern Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and half hours.  

Prior to the Aazaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of "Zohar Azaan" has already started in east Indonesia, and before it reaches Dacca , "Asr Azaan" has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and half hours later, the time of "Maghrib" becomes due, and no sooner has "Maghrib" time reached Sumatra, the time for calling "Isha Azaan" has commenced in Saibil! When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out "Fajar Azaan", the African Muazzins are calling the Azaan for Isha.
 

If we were to ponder over this phenomenon thoughtfully, we would conclude the amazing fact that there is not even a single moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Azaan on the surface of this earth." 

Now, where is the adhan called in? The masjid, true? So it would make sense for the masjid to be the most stabilize place in any area in this world thus enabling it to survive the tsunami waves! 

But then, we must not forget the recounts of the tsunami's survivors in 2004 on how the waves seemed to part when it reached the masjid.

I remember watching a show on Astro Oasis where they interviewed the survivors in Acheh about how it was when the tsunami hit their land. Many of the survivors who were interviewed, were those who when the chaos broke out, all they could think about was seeking refuge at the masjid. Subhanallah!

Many of us would have run to the highest point on the land (e.g. tall buildings, high hills, trees, etc) but these people thought of nothing but to run as fast as they can to God's House! Mind you, most masjid are not exactly build on high places but usually right at the heart of the town. Subhanallah. Just one of many ways on how Allah showed us the characteristics of His true believers. I felt so humbled and ashamed of myself.

Those who were in the masjid told the Astro Oasis's reporters that the huge waves simply parted when it reached the masjid. In some cases, the water did not even enter the masjid's compound!

"Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!" (Quran 36:82)

They also recounted that the first water waves that hit the land were hot, as in boiling hot. On the other hand, the second waves were acrid black and poisonous. Many people who were hit by the second waves died with symptoms of being poison (e.g froth around the mouth). 

Another thing that I thing all of us can take heed on (especially my Muslim sisters) is:

If you ever saw pictures of the corpses of the people who died in the tsunami, most of them were naked. However, local volunteers said that the bodies of people who cover their aurah when they were alive were perfectly covered! An old man theorized that, if you cover your shame while you are alive, Allah SWT will cover your shame when you die. I felt like crying after I heard what he said.

O Allah, I seek forgiveness from you for me and my Muslim brothers and sisters. Forgive us our sins for there is no one who can forgive sins except You.

Let us all take heed my brothers and sisters. Has not the time yet come for us to go back to our Deen? 

Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And ~ that) they should not be like those who were given the Book before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient. (Quran 57:16)

May Allah bless, always. 
 

Allah Knows

With Him are the keys to the Unseen; none knows them but He. And He knows whatever is on land and in the sea; and not a leaf falls but He knows it; and neither is there a grain in the dark layers of earth, nor anything green or dry, but is (recorded) in a Manifest Book. (Quran 6:59)

♫ Allah Knows - Zain Bikha ft. Dawud Wharnsby Ali

When you feel all alone in this world
And there's nobody to count your tears
Just remember, no matter where you are
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you carrying a monster load
And you wonder how far you can go
With every step on that road that you take
Allah knows
Allah knows

No matter what, inside or out
There's one thing of which there's no doubt
Allah knows
Allah knows

And whatever lies in the heavens and the earth
Every star in this whole universe
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you find that special someone
Feel your whole life has barely begun
You can walk on the moon, shout it to everyone
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you gaze with love in your eyes
Catch a glimpse of paradise
And you see your child take the first breath of life
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you lose someone close to your heart
See your whole world fall apart
And you try to go on but it seems so hard
Allah knows
Allah knows

You see we all have a path to choose
Through the valleys and hills we go
With the ups and the downs, never fret never frown
Allah knows
Allah knows

Every grain of sand,
In every desert land, He knows.
Every shade of palm,
Every closed hand, He knows.
Every sparkling tear,
On every eyelash, He knows.
Every thought I have,
And every word I share, He knows.
Allah knows

And when My servants ask you concerning Me (O Muhammad), then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. (Quran 2:186)

 *Dedicated to all my beloved Muslim sisters... Just remember, if Allah puts you to it, He will bring you through it :)*

May Allah bless

Ego and Pride

  A great reminder by Nouman Ali Khan - Islam & Ego. A must watch!!

Bismillahirrahmannirrahim. Assalamualaikum w.b.t

Ego & Pride. Vanity and Show. These are one of my many personal jihad* . So, what kind of ego am I struggling against exactly?

[Jihad: inner struggle of the soul, which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace.]

Part 1:

a) Ego:

Reading articles and collecting ayah in the Quran and hadith just so you can use them to appear smarter when arguing with your friends, family members or strangers on the internet.

Refusing to reflect your attitudes and admit mistakes - that's ego

b) Pride:

The tendency to find flaws in others i.e. finding faults in how other people dress, their words and actions. Then, think to yourself, "Ah, see, I'm way better than those people,"

But it wasn't easy at first to suppress my ego, I tried and I tried but somehow I just kept coming back with nothing. And then, i realized why. It was because I forgot to ask for my Creator's help in suppressing my ego and vanity! That was problem and once I fixed that, I hit the ground running.

"O Allah! I seek refuge in You from vanity and show. O Allah! Guide me to the best of deeds and the best of morals, as none can guide to the best except You, and save me from bad deeds, as none can save me from what is bad except You."

You see, we are just humans - weak and helpless. There's only so much you can do but without our Creator's help and blessings, nothing will get done. If we forgot or to proud to ask for his help, who other than Allah, the Mighty can help us?

I think this short reminder by Mehrab Reza on ego and pride will make us extra vigilant in fighting these characteristics that shaytan love:

As-Salaamu Alaikum,

The aim of this message is to remind myself on the importance of suppressing the ego. The gravity of this subject is paramount since Allah's Messenger (pbuh) has stated that, whoever has an ounce of pride in his heart can never enter Paradise. [Muslim & Tirmidhi]

Among many reasons, the particular cause for egotism I want to focus on is having the tendency to frequently find flaws in others. We should remind ourselves how Iblis became the greatest enemy of Allah. It was due to the fact that he perceived a defect in Adam (pbuh), which led Iblis to elevate himself above another creation.

The mere fact that we are able to easily identify defects in others displays our own insecurities and shortcomings. Instead, we should immediately remind our eyes that others have eyes also. And they too can see our faults. And others also have tongues, which can also broadcast our defects. This is why Imam Ash-Shafi'i said, "Be hard on yourself, and easy on others."

Harboring praise for our own self will never elevate our status in this world. In fact, we will only be belittling ourselves. Imam Ali (radiAllahu anhu) said "The greatest from mankind is Abu-Bakr, then Umar, and then Uthman, and I am just an average Muslim." It was his sincere humility and awareness of his nafs that elevated him to the great status he has. Who will ever come after Imam Ali that can even come close to his prestige? None.

There's good reason for Allah to hate this characteristic in His slaves. Arrogance is fraternity that can only have one member, for arrogant people cannot even endure others who are also arrogant. This is truly one of the most despicable characteristics.

May Allah give us increased morality in our hearts. May He make us lights putting out darkness and not darkness putting out light, or darkness confronting darkness.

If it benefits you.

30 Facts About Islam for the Curious non-Muslims

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Hope we all can benefit from this, insyaAllah.

1) “Islam” means “peace through the submission to God”.

2) “Muslim” means “anyone or anything that submits itself to the will of God”.

3) Islam is not a cult. Its followers number over 1.5 billion worldwide. Along with Judaism and Christianity, it is considered to be one of the three Abrahamic religions.

4) There are five pillars of practice in Islam. These practices must be undertaken with the best of effort in order to be considered a true Muslim:

A) Shahadah - declaration of faith in the oneness of God and that Muhammad is the last prophet of God.

B) Formal prayer five times a day.

C) Fasting during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan.

D) Poor-due “tax” - 2.5% of one’s savings given to the needy at the end of each year.

E) Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once, if physically and financially able.

5) There are six articles of faith in Islam. These are the basic beliefs that one must have in order to be considered a true Muslim. They are belief in:

A) the One God.

B) all the prophets of God.

C) the original scriptures revealed to Prophets Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad.

D) the angels.

E) the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter.

F) the divine decree (or destiny).

6) Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life: moral, spiritual, social, political, economical, intellectual, etc.

7) Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. To become Muslim, a person of any race or culture must say a simple statement, the shahadah, that bears witness to the belief in the One God and that Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet of God.

8) “Allah” is an Arabic word that means “God”.

9) Allah is not the God of Muslims only. He is the God of all people and all creation. Just because people refer to God using different terms does not mean that they are different gods. Spanish people refer to God as “Dios” and French people refer to God as “Dieu”, yet they are all the same God. Interestingly, most Arab Jews and Arab Christians refer to God as “Allah”. And the word Allah in Arabic appears on the walls of many Arab churches.

10) The Islamic concept of God is that He is loving, merciful, and compassionate. But Islam also teaches that He is just and swift in punishment. Nevertheless, Allah once said to Prophet Muhammad, “My mercy prevails over my wrath.” Islam teaches a balance between fear and hope, protecting one from both complacency and despair.

[Item 11-30 after the break, May Allah bless]

Source: I'm a Muslim