Tuesday, January 29, 2013

LONELINESS AND OVER-SOCIALIZATION

I was thinking over what really kills the time of a student of knowledge and then it could be for everyone else as well; and I found this to be two things: loneliness and over-socializing.

We hate to be alone because it's scary, and that's why marriage is always on our mind. And when we escape loneliness we over do it with too much socializing. Even today, the social media and FB is an example of this false feeling of being with the others and hating of being alone (you comment on something and keep refreshing the page to see how many cared to like your comment so that you would know how many really are out there with you).

Suggested solution:

Fight loneliness with qiyamul layl (night prayer), and over-socializing with reading seerah and the biography of great people of all times. This was the befriending-technique of the past before the invention of FB. This way you will never feel lonely and you will never be overwhelmed with social obligations.

-Copy & pasted from Sheikh Yaser Birjas' Facebook status.

Galakan Membaca Al-Qur'an Walau Sesulit Gagap Sekalipun

Dari 'Aisyah r.a., katanya Rasulullah saw. bersabda: "Orang (mukmin) yang mahir membaca Qur'an, maka kedudukannya di akhirat di teman para malaikat yang mulia. Dan orang yang membaca Qur'an, padahal dia gagap sesulit baginya membaca, maka dia mendapat PAHALA GANDA." [Sahih Muslim, Jilid 2, No.0767]

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Siapa Kata Mengedarkan Terjemahan Al-Qur'an Itu Sia-Sia?


Ada sorang brother dekat University of California, Berkeley ni. Dia ceritakan mengenai kisah -bagaimana dia tertarik untuk memeluk Islam- kepada Imam Anwar al-Awlaqi; dan saya dengar kisah brother ni direct dari Imam Awlaqi:

Brother ni seorang African American. Dan of course time tu dia masih seorang non-Muslim; dia pernah dengar tentang "Islam" tapi tak berapa tahu sangat secara mendalam.

He said:

One day, in the beginning of the semester, I was walking through campus; and a member of the Muslim Association was handing out copies of translation of Qur'an.

So I picked up a copy.

And on my way home, on the bus, I had nothing to do, so I opened up this book that was given to me as a gift. I had no idea what it is.

I opened up the first page (which is Al-Fatihah). I thought this is an introduction to the book, -and who reads introductions?-, so I skipped the page.

And I went straight to the body of the book (The beginning of Suratul Baqarah)

I began reading:

Alif Laam Meem. There is no doubt in this book.

I was shocked by that statement. Usually when an author writes a book, they would start by apologizing for their mistakes and shortcomings. But here you have an author who's so confident about himself, he's stating that there is no doubt in my book. And imagine, that is the first thing that you see in front of your eyes.

So I was quite amazed and I wanted to know who is the author of this book. I flipped the front cover, didn't see any name. Looked at the back, didn't see any name. I didn't know who wrote this book.

And I kept on reading. And then eventually I realized that this wasn't written by a man. This comes straight from God himself.

The power and confidence that faces you as soon as you open the book.

And that brother said: It made my heart...shake.

Dan dia kata itulah reason dia memeluk Islam. Just that verse, "There is no doubt in this book."

Dan Imam Awlaqi sempat memberi pengajaran dari kisah brother tu: bahawa orang yang dok giving out Qur'an dekat campus tu mungkin dok pikir "Nobody's gonna read this. I'm just wasting my time. I'll just do it because they ask me to" blablabla gitu. Tapi kerana Qur'an yang diedarkan itulah brother African American ni memeluk Islam, dan bukan sekadar memeluk Islam malah kini menjadi seorang Imam yang sangat aktif berdakwah, bahkan ramai lagi yang memeluk Islam melalui Imam baru ni.

And that is the product of very small effort.

So guys, never belittle anything.

Maybe there's a small thing you will do here and there, and that will be the cause of your salvation on The Day of Judgement. And this is something that is in the hands of Allah s.w.t. so you'll never know. Therefore you should do whatever good you can. And leave it out there. Just throw the seeds and Allah s.w.t. will make them grow.

So do not belittle anything. Walau an talqaa akhaaka bi wajhin hasan - Even if it is as much as smiling in the face of your brother. [Al-Hadith]

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Imam Anwar Al-Awlaqi's lecture: [The Life of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), Makkan Period: Part 11: The Early Immigrants Part 1]. 【MP3

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Door to Door