Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Islamic Ethics: Meeting with an Adversary or a Powerful Ruler

     Assalamualaikum, readers (May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you). Subahanallah (Glory be to Allah) we are currently in the second half of December of 2010 and soon 2011 will set into our lives. Time surely passes us by fast. As humans, we are always busy with worldly matters all day long. As usual, life starts after Subuh and sometimes does not even seem to end unless Isyak comes. It is natural to stumble into many kinds of people everyday especially when we work in office and deal with a human network. We cannot help to feel uncomfortable and often scared with someone who has a higher position compared to us since we don’t know what they feel about us in their heart.

     Islam teaches us how to confront with this type of people and deal with them appropriately without losing our dignity and faith. Sometimes, people feel afraid too much more than it is necessary. It keeps going till people think their superiors have power to control almost everything in their lives and future – how they carry themselves and future career development. On the contrary, they are nothing but mere creations of Allah, just like we are. Allah is the Almighty. He is the only sole Entity who has power over anything that has happened, is happening and will happen in this world. Not a single piece of leaf will fall without His knowledge and His realization.

     So, what is the best way to face our superiors? The answer is supplicating invocations (doa) to Allah. There is a bunch of invocations that Islamic scholars suggested us to recite before having any contacts with these people. The verses were derived from the Quran or Hadiths. They are as follows:


Invocations when dealing with a powerful ruler/ an adversary



   May Allah protect us from any evil intentions and deeds of humans. Insyaallah (With Allah’s will).


p/s: The invocations were quoted from a book entitled 
Fortress of the Muslim by Said bin Wahf Al-Qahtani 
and published by Darussalam





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Monday, December 6, 2010

Muharram and Hijrah: Resolutions and Migration for the Better

      Assalamualaikum, readers (May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you). Alhamdulillah (All praises be to Allah). We are given another opportunity to enter a new Islamic year of 1432. Entering this month of Muharram, many of us are preoccupied to jot down a new, long list of resolutions. To be honest, I am doing that too. Yes, we have to reinvent ourselves sometimes to check whether we are on the right track or not. We cannot help falling into Satan’s traps and listening to its bad whispers when all those things are constantly happening around us all the times.

    The question with the long list of resolutions is how efficient it is on us. Did it ever change us to be better people? (or Muslims?) How many times we hear that resolutions have no effects on people. They change for awhile and relapse to be the persons they used to be or, in other words, just stay the same. It is because people pay so much attention on how many resolutions they have instead of how capable they are to make and adapt to the changes. So I would suggest we just make one resolution or two and start working on them first. Then, after feeling comfortable with the changes, then add some more to the list later somewhere down the road. It doesn’t have to be on the magical night of the New Year. It is actually in you. Happy Maal Hijrah. May this year give you more time to think about Allah and investigate His great creations. InsyaAllah (With Allah’s will).




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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Love: Always and Forever...

     Assalamualaikum, readers (May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you). This time I want to spend some time talking about what is continuously spreading in our soul. It’s L…O…V…E…. Yeah right guys, LOVE. It is short, simple and easy. Yet it is long (time), complicated (feeling) and hard (giving it up). As human beings, we cannot deny this nature bestowed by Allah. We always fall in love with someone (it's OK if you follow Islamic guidelines- I mean after got married) or something (hobbies and interests). When we do, we are willing to do anything and lose everything to make the person happy or the interest become a part of something great. At last, those will eventually die and fade away.

    Fortunately Muslims who have strong faith in their heart know who they should devout their LOVE to. It is LOVE between HUMANS and their CREATOR. Yes you heard me. Other than love between humans, we always forget this. I don’t want to mention much about this because it is much well-written in a nasyeed (Islamic-oriented song) by Saujana. I would really suggest you guys to listen to this new nasyeed. It has very nice lyrics. You can hear it in Youtube (Click here to hear it). For those who don’t understand Malay, it’s OK. I, with my best ability given by Allah, translated the lyrics into English.

Nota Cinta                               (Love Note)
Album: Nota Cinta                                               (Album: Love Note)
Artis: Saujana                                                     (Artist: Saujana)


Andainya dapatku menulis                        (If I can jot down)
Nota-nota cinta buat diri-Nya                   (Love notes to Him)
Ingin ku titipkan bersama                         (I wish to compose them with)
Semua kuntuman bunga                           (All petals and buds)
Yang indah berseri                                  (That are strikingly beautiful)

Ku sembur haruman mewangi                    (I spray good perfumes)
Bersama kata-kata puji                            (On the praising words)
Sedang Dia tahu kasih dan cintanya aku     (Although He knows my affection and love)
Menjalin ikatan menuju ke Syurga              (Tied pure to Heaven)

Cintaku kepada Dia                                 (My love to Him)
Rinduku hanya pada-Nya                         (My longing only to Him)
Kasihku tulus buat-Nya                           (My sincere affection to Him)
Setiaku balas kasih-Nya                          (My undivided loyalty to Him)
Kasihku kasih yang setia                          (My passion, undying passion)
Pada yang punya                                   (To Him who deserves it)

Dambaku pada Yang Esa                         (My devotion to The One)
Pujian hanya buat-nya                            (My Praises only to Him)
Akurku kebesaran-Nya                            (I submit to His greatness)
Teragung Maha Suci-Nya                        (The Greatest, His Most Holy)
Taatku hamba yang hina                         (My trueness as a mere servant)
Pada Pencipta                                       (To Lord)

Kiranya aku hilang arah                           (Whenever I am lost)
Jalan hidupku berubah punah                   (My path gets rough)
Namun kasih-Nya tak pernah akan musnah (Yet His love never fades)
Belas rahmat-Nya terus mencurah-curah    (His mercy keeps pouring)
Nur Hidayah-Nya semakin cerah                (His light gets even brighter) 





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