Assalamualaikum,
Kepada semua para pengunjung dan khususnya kepada mereka yang telah mendaftar untuk menjadi ahli Hikmah WP pada majlis Jamuan Hari Aidul Fitri tahun 2008 yang telah lalu. Hikmah WP sedang merancang untuk mengadakan satu majllis perjumpaan tahunan di Bandar Baru Bangi, mungkin pada awal Mac 2009 ini untuk tujuan berkenal-kenalan dan mengerat hubungan siratulrahim antara para ahli dan AJK Hikmah WP. Tujuan sebenar kita ingin mengadakan majlis ini ialah untuk sama-sama membincang beberapa aktiviti yang boleh kita jalankan di Semenanjung dan khususnya di negeri asal kita Sarawak untuk menghidup dan menggerakkan persatuan kita sebagai sebuah Cawangan dan Bahagian HIKMAH SARAWAK. Kerjasama kalian semua amatlah kami hargai. Sekian dan terima kasih untuk sokongan kalian. Untuk sebarang pertanyaan dan cadangan sila hantar e-mel di alamat berikut:
hikmahwp@gmail.com
Terima kasih,
Pengerusi HikmahWP
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Khutbah Jumaat dari BSB: Amalan Membaca
Amalan Membaca
Kategori : Jumaat (16-May-2008)
10hb Jamadilawal 1429H
AMALAN MEMBACA
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Marilah kita sama-sama meningkatkan keimanan dan ketaqwaan kita kepada Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dengan melakukan segala suruhan-Nya dan meninggalkan segala larangan-Nya dengan penuh keyakinan dan keikhlasan. Mudah-mudahan kita menjadi insan yang bertaqwa dan beriman serta selamat di dunia dan di akhirat.
Firman Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dalam Surah Az-Zumar ayat 9 tafsirnya :
"Katakanlah lagi kepadanya : Adakah sama orang-orang yang mengetahui dengan orang-orang yang tidak mengetahui? Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang dapat mengambil pelajaran dan peringatan hanyalah orang-orang yang berakal sempurna".
Ilmu merupakan anugerah Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala yang amat besar faedahnya kepada umat manusia. Ia merupakan cahaya yang menerangi kegelapan. Tanpa ilmu, hidup manusia setentunya dalam kejahilan dan kemunduran. Tidak ada masyarakat yang berjaya dan maju tanpa adanya ilmu pengetahuan. Kerana itu di dalam al-Qur'an telah menyebutkan perkataan yang berkaitan dengan ilmu pengetahuan tidak kurang dari 755 kali, bahkan khusus perkataan ilmu sahaja tidak kurang 105 kali disebutkan. Memandangkan ilmu itu amat penting dalam kehidupan manusia, maka kerana itulah agama Islam mewajibkan umatnya supaya menuntut ilmu sebagaimana sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam maksudnya :
"Dari Annas bin Malik ia berkata : Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam : Menuntut ilmu adalah satu kefarduan (wajib) ke atas setiap Muslim". (Riwayat Al-Imam Ibnu Majah)
Menuntut ilmu juga merupakan suatu ibadah yang dijanjikan ganjaran yang sangat tinggi di sisi Allah Subhanahu Wata�ala. Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam maksudnya :
"Dari Abi Hurairah Radiallahuanhu ia berkata : Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam : Barangsiapa yang menempuh satu jalan untuk mencari ilmu pengetahuan maka Allah akan mempermudahkan baginya suatu jalan untuk menuju ke syurga". (Riwayat Al-Imam At-Termidzi)
Telah tercatat dalam sejarah bahawa ilmu itu faktor utama yang menjana kemajuan dan temadun kepada sesebuah kerajaan, contohnya sebagaimana yang telah berlaku pada zaman kerajaan Bani Abasiyah yang berpusat di Baghdad khususnya semasa pemerintahan Khalifah Harun Al-Rasyid dan Khalifah Al-Ma'mun. Pada ketika itu Kota Baghdad telah menjadi sebagai pusat ilmu pengetahuan. Ilmu-ilmu agama seperti tafsir, hadis dan fikah telah berkembang dengan pesatnya. Di samping itu ilmu-ilmu bukan agama seperti sains, falsafah, perubatan dan matematik juga turut dikembangkan yang antaranya diperolehi dengan cara menterjemah buku-buku dari bahasa Yunani dan India ke dalam bahasa Arab.
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Kita semua tahu betapa ilmu itu sangat berharga tetapi untuk memperolehinya tidaklah begitu susah kerana ilmu ada di mana-mana, terserah kepada kita, mahu atau tidak untuk menuntutnya. Tetapi perlulah kita ingat bahawa orang yang memiliki ilmu dan menjadikannya sebagai harta adalah sangat beruntung kerana ilmu itu adalah cahaya dan harta yang tidak akan hilang dan habis, lain halnya dengan harta dan wang ringgit akan berkurang dan habis jika digunakan. Demikianlah kedudukan ilmu dalam kehidupan manusia.
Sebenarnya jika ada kemahuan di situ ada jalan. Jika kita mahu ilmu, banyak cara boleh dilakukan untuk mencapainya, misalnya dengan amalan membaca, perkara ini diperkukuhkan lagi dengan turunnya wahyu pertama yang diterima oleh Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam semasa di Gua Hira' sebagaimana dalam Surah Al 'Alaq ayat 1-5 tafsirnya :
"Wahai Muhammad bacalah dengan nama Tuhanmu yang menciptakan sekalian makhluk, Dia menciptakan manusia dari sebuku darah beku, bacalah dan Tuhanmu yang Maha Pemurah, yang mengajar manusia melalui pena dan tulisan, dia mengajarkan manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya".
Berdasarkan ayat tersebut menunjukkan betapa membaca merupakan faktor yang penting dalam menimba ilmu pengetahuan kerana dengan membaca, pengetahuan akan bertambah dan minda akan berkembang. Kemudahan ke arah itu ternyata begitu luas, lebih-lebih lagi pada zaman ini banyak bahan-bahan bacaan boleh diperolehi dengan mudah dan cepat, terserah kepada kita untuk memilih bahan-bahan yang hendak dibaca. Pembaca yang bijak setentunya akan memilih bahan-bahan bacaan yang bermanfaat dan berfaedah seperti bahan-bahan berbentuk ilmiah, yang mengandungi info dan maklumat, pengajaran, sejarah, etika dan sebagainya.
Ahli Jumaat yang dirahmati Allah,
Membaca merupakan salah satu aktiviti yang sangat baik bagi mengisi masa lapang. Mengisi masa yang kosong dengan membaca bukanlah suatu perkara yang sia-sia tetapi suatu langkah yang bijak yang menguntungkan diri sendiri, misalnya bagi pelajar-pelajar semasa cuti sekolah, janganlah keseluruhannya untuk berehat panjang tetapi isikanlah dengan membaca kerana faedahnya amat besar jika mahu mencapai kejayaan. Bagi kemudahan orang ramai, kerajaan telah pun menyediakan perpustakaan-perpustakaan sama ada di Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, di sekolah-sekolah, di jabatan-jabatan kerajaan dan juga di masjid-masjid.
Oleh itu, ibu bapa perlulah memberikan kesedaran dan galakkan kepada anak-anak mereka supaya minat membaca dari sejak kecil lagi seperti membaca al-Qur'an, membaca kisah-kisah para nabi dan sahabat, kisah-kisah yang mengandungi pengajaran dan tauladan yang elok untuk dicontohi, bahan-bahan yang mengandungi sumber maklumat dan sebagainya. Sebenarnya bahan bacaan boleh mempengaruhi pemikiran dan jiwa anak-anak, maka adalah menjadi tugas para ibu bapa untuk memastikan anak-anak mendapat bahan yang baik dan bermutu, yang mengandungi nasihat dan cerita-cerita yang baik. Selain daripada itu, ibu bapa juga seharusnya menjadi 'role model' dengan menunjukkan sikap minat membaca kepada anak-anak mereka kerana dengan cara yang demikian akan menimbulkan rasa minat membaca yang mendalam pada jiwa anak-anak.
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Marilah sama-sama kita kembali kepada seruan Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dengan memperteguhkan iman dan memperkukuhkan jati diri sebagai Muslim sejati. Satu-satunya cara untuk membina dan membentuk identiti ialah dengan memperbanyakkan ilmu. Orang yang kaya dengan ilmu akan mampu menangkis unsur-unsur yang negatif.
Oleh itu, marilah kita meneruskan dan mempertingkatkan budaya membaca dari semasa ke semasa. Perlu diingat, satu-satunya jalan untuk mendapatkan ilmu yang berguna dan membina ialah dengan banyak membaca dari sumber yang benar dan sahih. Mudah-mudahan dengan kekuatan ilmu pengetahuan, dapat mencipta kecemerlangan dan memartabatkan umat Islam ke mercu kejayaan. Amin Ya Rabbalalamin.
Firman Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dalam Surah Al Mujaadilah ayat 11 tafsirnya :
"Allah meninggikan darjat orang-orang yang beriman di antara kamu dan orang-orang yang diberi ilmu pengetahuan agama dari kalangan kamu beberapa darjat. Dan ingatlah Allah Maha Mendalam Pengetahuan-Nya tentang apa yang kamu lakukan".
Sumber: KHEU Negara Brunei Darussalam
Kategori : Jumaat (16-May-2008)
10hb Jamadilawal 1429H
AMALAN MEMBACA
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Marilah kita sama-sama meningkatkan keimanan dan ketaqwaan kita kepada Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dengan melakukan segala suruhan-Nya dan meninggalkan segala larangan-Nya dengan penuh keyakinan dan keikhlasan. Mudah-mudahan kita menjadi insan yang bertaqwa dan beriman serta selamat di dunia dan di akhirat.
Firman Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dalam Surah Az-Zumar ayat 9 tafsirnya :
"Katakanlah lagi kepadanya : Adakah sama orang-orang yang mengetahui dengan orang-orang yang tidak mengetahui? Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang dapat mengambil pelajaran dan peringatan hanyalah orang-orang yang berakal sempurna".
Ilmu merupakan anugerah Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala yang amat besar faedahnya kepada umat manusia. Ia merupakan cahaya yang menerangi kegelapan. Tanpa ilmu, hidup manusia setentunya dalam kejahilan dan kemunduran. Tidak ada masyarakat yang berjaya dan maju tanpa adanya ilmu pengetahuan. Kerana itu di dalam al-Qur'an telah menyebutkan perkataan yang berkaitan dengan ilmu pengetahuan tidak kurang dari 755 kali, bahkan khusus perkataan ilmu sahaja tidak kurang 105 kali disebutkan. Memandangkan ilmu itu amat penting dalam kehidupan manusia, maka kerana itulah agama Islam mewajibkan umatnya supaya menuntut ilmu sebagaimana sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam maksudnya :
"Dari Annas bin Malik ia berkata : Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam : Menuntut ilmu adalah satu kefarduan (wajib) ke atas setiap Muslim". (Riwayat Al-Imam Ibnu Majah)
Menuntut ilmu juga merupakan suatu ibadah yang dijanjikan ganjaran yang sangat tinggi di sisi Allah Subhanahu Wata�ala. Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam maksudnya :
"Dari Abi Hurairah Radiallahuanhu ia berkata : Sabda Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam : Barangsiapa yang menempuh satu jalan untuk mencari ilmu pengetahuan maka Allah akan mempermudahkan baginya suatu jalan untuk menuju ke syurga". (Riwayat Al-Imam At-Termidzi)
Telah tercatat dalam sejarah bahawa ilmu itu faktor utama yang menjana kemajuan dan temadun kepada sesebuah kerajaan, contohnya sebagaimana yang telah berlaku pada zaman kerajaan Bani Abasiyah yang berpusat di Baghdad khususnya semasa pemerintahan Khalifah Harun Al-Rasyid dan Khalifah Al-Ma'mun. Pada ketika itu Kota Baghdad telah menjadi sebagai pusat ilmu pengetahuan. Ilmu-ilmu agama seperti tafsir, hadis dan fikah telah berkembang dengan pesatnya. Di samping itu ilmu-ilmu bukan agama seperti sains, falsafah, perubatan dan matematik juga turut dikembangkan yang antaranya diperolehi dengan cara menterjemah buku-buku dari bahasa Yunani dan India ke dalam bahasa Arab.
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Kita semua tahu betapa ilmu itu sangat berharga tetapi untuk memperolehinya tidaklah begitu susah kerana ilmu ada di mana-mana, terserah kepada kita, mahu atau tidak untuk menuntutnya. Tetapi perlulah kita ingat bahawa orang yang memiliki ilmu dan menjadikannya sebagai harta adalah sangat beruntung kerana ilmu itu adalah cahaya dan harta yang tidak akan hilang dan habis, lain halnya dengan harta dan wang ringgit akan berkurang dan habis jika digunakan. Demikianlah kedudukan ilmu dalam kehidupan manusia.
Sebenarnya jika ada kemahuan di situ ada jalan. Jika kita mahu ilmu, banyak cara boleh dilakukan untuk mencapainya, misalnya dengan amalan membaca, perkara ini diperkukuhkan lagi dengan turunnya wahyu pertama yang diterima oleh Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam semasa di Gua Hira' sebagaimana dalam Surah Al 'Alaq ayat 1-5 tafsirnya :
"Wahai Muhammad bacalah dengan nama Tuhanmu yang menciptakan sekalian makhluk, Dia menciptakan manusia dari sebuku darah beku, bacalah dan Tuhanmu yang Maha Pemurah, yang mengajar manusia melalui pena dan tulisan, dia mengajarkan manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya".
Berdasarkan ayat tersebut menunjukkan betapa membaca merupakan faktor yang penting dalam menimba ilmu pengetahuan kerana dengan membaca, pengetahuan akan bertambah dan minda akan berkembang. Kemudahan ke arah itu ternyata begitu luas, lebih-lebih lagi pada zaman ini banyak bahan-bahan bacaan boleh diperolehi dengan mudah dan cepat, terserah kepada kita untuk memilih bahan-bahan yang hendak dibaca. Pembaca yang bijak setentunya akan memilih bahan-bahan bacaan yang bermanfaat dan berfaedah seperti bahan-bahan berbentuk ilmiah, yang mengandungi info dan maklumat, pengajaran, sejarah, etika dan sebagainya.
Ahli Jumaat yang dirahmati Allah,
Membaca merupakan salah satu aktiviti yang sangat baik bagi mengisi masa lapang. Mengisi masa yang kosong dengan membaca bukanlah suatu perkara yang sia-sia tetapi suatu langkah yang bijak yang menguntungkan diri sendiri, misalnya bagi pelajar-pelajar semasa cuti sekolah, janganlah keseluruhannya untuk berehat panjang tetapi isikanlah dengan membaca kerana faedahnya amat besar jika mahu mencapai kejayaan. Bagi kemudahan orang ramai, kerajaan telah pun menyediakan perpustakaan-perpustakaan sama ada di Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, di sekolah-sekolah, di jabatan-jabatan kerajaan dan juga di masjid-masjid.
Oleh itu, ibu bapa perlulah memberikan kesedaran dan galakkan kepada anak-anak mereka supaya minat membaca dari sejak kecil lagi seperti membaca al-Qur'an, membaca kisah-kisah para nabi dan sahabat, kisah-kisah yang mengandungi pengajaran dan tauladan yang elok untuk dicontohi, bahan-bahan yang mengandungi sumber maklumat dan sebagainya. Sebenarnya bahan bacaan boleh mempengaruhi pemikiran dan jiwa anak-anak, maka adalah menjadi tugas para ibu bapa untuk memastikan anak-anak mendapat bahan yang baik dan bermutu, yang mengandungi nasihat dan cerita-cerita yang baik. Selain daripada itu, ibu bapa juga seharusnya menjadi 'role model' dengan menunjukkan sikap minat membaca kepada anak-anak mereka kerana dengan cara yang demikian akan menimbulkan rasa minat membaca yang mendalam pada jiwa anak-anak.
Muslimin yang dirahmati Allah,
Marilah sama-sama kita kembali kepada seruan Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dengan memperteguhkan iman dan memperkukuhkan jati diri sebagai Muslim sejati. Satu-satunya cara untuk membina dan membentuk identiti ialah dengan memperbanyakkan ilmu. Orang yang kaya dengan ilmu akan mampu menangkis unsur-unsur yang negatif.
Oleh itu, marilah kita meneruskan dan mempertingkatkan budaya membaca dari semasa ke semasa. Perlu diingat, satu-satunya jalan untuk mendapatkan ilmu yang berguna dan membina ialah dengan banyak membaca dari sumber yang benar dan sahih. Mudah-mudahan dengan kekuatan ilmu pengetahuan, dapat mencipta kecemerlangan dan memartabatkan umat Islam ke mercu kejayaan. Amin Ya Rabbalalamin.
Firman Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala dalam Surah Al Mujaadilah ayat 11 tafsirnya :
"Allah meninggikan darjat orang-orang yang beriman di antara kamu dan orang-orang yang diberi ilmu pengetahuan agama dari kalangan kamu beberapa darjat. Dan ingatlah Allah Maha Mendalam Pengetahuan-Nya tentang apa yang kamu lakukan".
Sumber: KHEU Negara Brunei Darussalam
Zikrul Maut
Jum'at, 06 Februari 2009 , 07:29:00
Zikrul Maut
Oleh : Uti Konsen.U.M.
“Perbanyaklah kalian mengingat mati, sebab seorang hamba yang banyak mengingat mati, maka Allah akan menghidupkan hatinya, dan Allah akan meringankan baginya, sakitnya kematian “ (HR. Dailami).
“ZIKRUL MAUT merupakan salah satu upaya menghidupkan hati. Tanpa zikrul maut, hati mempunyai kecenderungan menjadi keras, membatu, lalu mati karena dipenuhi oleh kerak-kerak kemaksiatan. Zikrul maut , ia adalah “ilmu“ yang mampu menerangi hati, serta mengingatkan bahwa aktivitas keduniaan kita sebenarnya fana. Hal yang kita kerjakan di dunia ini, tidak lain adalah aktivitas dari ‘menabur benih‘ untuk kelak menuainya di akhirat.” (Buku Zikrul Maut oleh Aa Gym).
Satu saat Rasulullah SAW sampai di satu majelis. Ada seseorang yang memuji sahabatnya si Fulan. Rasul SAW bertanya, “Bagaimanakah dia itu mengingat mati?“ Mereka menjawab, “Kami hampir tidak pernah mendengarnya mengingat-ingat mati“. Lalu Nabi SAW bersabda “Sahabat kalian tidak layak untuk dipuji“.
Ibnu Umar RA berkata, “Saya pernah menemui Rasulullah SAW, yang tengah dikelilingi sekelompok orang. Seseorang bertanya, “Ya Rasulullah, siapakah orang yang paling mulia dan paling bijak “ Beliau SAW menjawab, “Orang yang paling banyak mengingat dan paling tekun melakukan persiapan untuk akhirat. Mereka itulah orang yang bijak yang memperoleh kemuliaan dunia dan keagungan akhirat”.
Dilain waktu, Aisyah RA bertanya, “Ya Rasulullah, adakah seseorang yang bisa berkumpul dengan para syuhada?“ Nabi Mulia SAW itu menjawab, “Ada, yaitu orang yang mengingat mati dua puluh kali dalam sehari semalam“ (Al Hadis). Berbagai sikap orang-orang saleh zaman dahulu untuk mengingat mati (Zikrul Maut). Maymun bin Mahran misalnya, menggali kuburan dalam rumahnya. Setiap malam ia masuk kuburan ini dan membaca Quran di situ. Setelah keluar ia berkata kepada dirinya , “Hai Maymun, engkau telah kembali ke dunia, maka perbuatlah amal saleh.”
Ustman bin Affan RA sering berdiri seorang diri diatas kuburan sambil menangis. Lalu ada yang bertanya, “Kenapa, ketika ingat surga dan neraka engkau tidak menangis, tetapi ketika ingat kuburan engkau menangis“. Ustman menjawab, “Aku pernah mendengar Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Kuburan merupakan salah satu tempat tinggal Akhirat yang pertama. Jika selamat darinya, maka setelahnya akan lebih mudah darinya. Tetapi jika tidak selamat darinya, maka setelahnya akan lebih parah dan pedih darinya.”
Syaikh bin ‘Anan, beliau berziarah ke makam-makam setiap hari Jumat, baik yang dia kenal atau tidak. Ketika melihat suatu makam, dia selalu menangis karena teringat berbagai dosa dan kesalahan yang telah dilakukannya. Khalifah Umar bin Abdul Aziz RA. biasanya mengumpulkan para fukaha setiap malam untuk mengingatkan kematian dan dahsyatnya hari akhirat.
Abu Darda RA, sering menghadiri pemakaman dan menziarahi kubur. Beliau memberi nasehat kepada para muridnya. “ Obat keterikatanmu dengan dunia adalah kematian“. Nasehatnya yang lain, “ Jika engkau mengunjungi rumah sakit, bayangkanlah dirimu berada di tempat tidur tersebut dan ingatlah bahwa suatu saat nanti kau akan berbaring dan tidak pernah bangun kembali. Ketika kau menghadiri pemakaman, bayangkanlah dirimu berada di dalam peti mati. Ingatlah, niscaya datang suatu waktu ketika pemakaman itu digali untukmu. Ketika kau berziarah ke kubur, bayangkanlah itu adalah nisanmu. Ketahuilah makammu akan menjadi tempat peristirahatan terakhir jasadmu.” (Buku Jejak Langkah Mengenal Allah oleh Asfa Davy Bya)
Dengan menjenguk orang sakit dan yang meninggal dunia, juga bisa Zikrul Maut. Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Jenguklah orang sakit dan iringilah jenazah, maka sesungguhnya hal itu akan mengingatkanmu pada akhirat“. Dalam hadis lain Rasulullah SAW menerangkan, “ Bahwa barang siapa yang menyaksikan jenazah hingga ia menshalatkannya, maka baginya adalah satu qirath, dan barang siapa yang menyaksikannya hingga menguburkannya maka baginya adalah dua qirath“. Seorang sahabat bertanya, “ pakah yang dimaksud dengan dua qirath?“ Beliau menjawab, “ eperti dua bukit yang besar “ (HR.Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Turmuzi dan Ibnu Majah).
Diantara hikmah Zikrul Maut , Insya Allah akan mendorong kita untuk banyak beramal saleh baik saleh ritual maupun saleh sosial. Pertama, istiqamah membaca Quran. Sebab Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Bacalah Al Quran karena ia akan membawakan syafa’at bagi para pembacanya pada Hari Kiamat “ (HR.Muslim). Orang yang hidupnya gemar membaca Al Quran, lidahnya akan tertuntun mengucapkan kalimat “Laa ilaaha illallah“ ketika sakratul maut. Kedua, memotivasi untuk terus berbakti kepada kedua orang tua kendati mereka sudah wafat. Sebab Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Sungguh amal orang yang hidup selalu diperlihatkan kepada keluarga dan teman-temannya yang sudah berada di alam kubur. Bila amal yang dilakukan baik, keluarga yang berada di alam kubur langsung memuji kepada Allah dan merasa bahagia. Bila amal yang dilakukan buruk, keluarga yang berada di alam kubur langsung berkata, ‘Ya Allah, janganlah Engkau mencabut nyawa saudara dan kerabatku yang masih berada di dunia, hingga lebih dahulu Engkau memberikan ampunan kepada mereka“.
Patut kita renungkan. Dari hari ke hari, hitungan umur kita memang bertambah. Namun, sebetulnya, jatah hidup kita di dunia ini semakin berkurang. Kita hanya punya sisa umur. Mudah-mudahan, dengan zikrul maut (mengingat mati), kita bisa menyikapi detik demi detik dari sisa umur kita dengan benar, yaitu mengisinya dengan aktivitas ibadah dan perbuatan utama yang didasari oleh niat yang benar. Sebab kata Rasulullah SAW, “Seorang mukmin, saat menjelang kematiannya, akan didatangi oleh malaikat sambil menyampaikan dan memperlihatkan kepadanya apa yang bakal dialaminya, setelah kematian. Ketika itu, tidak ada yang lebih disenanginya kecuali bertemu dengan Tuhan (mati). Berbeda halnya dengan orang kafir yang juga diperlihatkan kepada apa yang bakal dihadapinya, dan ketika itu tidak ada sesuatu yang lebih dibencinya daripada bertemu dengan Tuhan.“ (HR.Imam Ahmad).
Zikrul Maut
Oleh : Uti Konsen.U.M.
“Perbanyaklah kalian mengingat mati, sebab seorang hamba yang banyak mengingat mati, maka Allah akan menghidupkan hatinya, dan Allah akan meringankan baginya, sakitnya kematian “ (HR. Dailami).
“ZIKRUL MAUT merupakan salah satu upaya menghidupkan hati. Tanpa zikrul maut, hati mempunyai kecenderungan menjadi keras, membatu, lalu mati karena dipenuhi oleh kerak-kerak kemaksiatan. Zikrul maut , ia adalah “ilmu“ yang mampu menerangi hati, serta mengingatkan bahwa aktivitas keduniaan kita sebenarnya fana. Hal yang kita kerjakan di dunia ini, tidak lain adalah aktivitas dari ‘menabur benih‘ untuk kelak menuainya di akhirat.” (Buku Zikrul Maut oleh Aa Gym).
Satu saat Rasulullah SAW sampai di satu majelis. Ada seseorang yang memuji sahabatnya si Fulan. Rasul SAW bertanya, “Bagaimanakah dia itu mengingat mati?“ Mereka menjawab, “Kami hampir tidak pernah mendengarnya mengingat-ingat mati“. Lalu Nabi SAW bersabda “Sahabat kalian tidak layak untuk dipuji“.
Ibnu Umar RA berkata, “Saya pernah menemui Rasulullah SAW, yang tengah dikelilingi sekelompok orang. Seseorang bertanya, “Ya Rasulullah, siapakah orang yang paling mulia dan paling bijak “ Beliau SAW menjawab, “Orang yang paling banyak mengingat dan paling tekun melakukan persiapan untuk akhirat. Mereka itulah orang yang bijak yang memperoleh kemuliaan dunia dan keagungan akhirat”.
Dilain waktu, Aisyah RA bertanya, “Ya Rasulullah, adakah seseorang yang bisa berkumpul dengan para syuhada?“ Nabi Mulia SAW itu menjawab, “Ada, yaitu orang yang mengingat mati dua puluh kali dalam sehari semalam“ (Al Hadis). Berbagai sikap orang-orang saleh zaman dahulu untuk mengingat mati (Zikrul Maut). Maymun bin Mahran misalnya, menggali kuburan dalam rumahnya. Setiap malam ia masuk kuburan ini dan membaca Quran di situ. Setelah keluar ia berkata kepada dirinya , “Hai Maymun, engkau telah kembali ke dunia, maka perbuatlah amal saleh.”
Ustman bin Affan RA sering berdiri seorang diri diatas kuburan sambil menangis. Lalu ada yang bertanya, “Kenapa, ketika ingat surga dan neraka engkau tidak menangis, tetapi ketika ingat kuburan engkau menangis“. Ustman menjawab, “Aku pernah mendengar Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Kuburan merupakan salah satu tempat tinggal Akhirat yang pertama. Jika selamat darinya, maka setelahnya akan lebih mudah darinya. Tetapi jika tidak selamat darinya, maka setelahnya akan lebih parah dan pedih darinya.”
Syaikh bin ‘Anan, beliau berziarah ke makam-makam setiap hari Jumat, baik yang dia kenal atau tidak. Ketika melihat suatu makam, dia selalu menangis karena teringat berbagai dosa dan kesalahan yang telah dilakukannya. Khalifah Umar bin Abdul Aziz RA. biasanya mengumpulkan para fukaha setiap malam untuk mengingatkan kematian dan dahsyatnya hari akhirat.
Abu Darda RA, sering menghadiri pemakaman dan menziarahi kubur. Beliau memberi nasehat kepada para muridnya. “ Obat keterikatanmu dengan dunia adalah kematian“. Nasehatnya yang lain, “ Jika engkau mengunjungi rumah sakit, bayangkanlah dirimu berada di tempat tidur tersebut dan ingatlah bahwa suatu saat nanti kau akan berbaring dan tidak pernah bangun kembali. Ketika kau menghadiri pemakaman, bayangkanlah dirimu berada di dalam peti mati. Ingatlah, niscaya datang suatu waktu ketika pemakaman itu digali untukmu. Ketika kau berziarah ke kubur, bayangkanlah itu adalah nisanmu. Ketahuilah makammu akan menjadi tempat peristirahatan terakhir jasadmu.” (Buku Jejak Langkah Mengenal Allah oleh Asfa Davy Bya)
Dengan menjenguk orang sakit dan yang meninggal dunia, juga bisa Zikrul Maut. Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Jenguklah orang sakit dan iringilah jenazah, maka sesungguhnya hal itu akan mengingatkanmu pada akhirat“. Dalam hadis lain Rasulullah SAW menerangkan, “ Bahwa barang siapa yang menyaksikan jenazah hingga ia menshalatkannya, maka baginya adalah satu qirath, dan barang siapa yang menyaksikannya hingga menguburkannya maka baginya adalah dua qirath“. Seorang sahabat bertanya, “ pakah yang dimaksud dengan dua qirath?“ Beliau menjawab, “ eperti dua bukit yang besar “ (HR.Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Turmuzi dan Ibnu Majah).
Diantara hikmah Zikrul Maut , Insya Allah akan mendorong kita untuk banyak beramal saleh baik saleh ritual maupun saleh sosial. Pertama, istiqamah membaca Quran. Sebab Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Bacalah Al Quran karena ia akan membawakan syafa’at bagi para pembacanya pada Hari Kiamat “ (HR.Muslim). Orang yang hidupnya gemar membaca Al Quran, lidahnya akan tertuntun mengucapkan kalimat “Laa ilaaha illallah“ ketika sakratul maut. Kedua, memotivasi untuk terus berbakti kepada kedua orang tua kendati mereka sudah wafat. Sebab Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Sungguh amal orang yang hidup selalu diperlihatkan kepada keluarga dan teman-temannya yang sudah berada di alam kubur. Bila amal yang dilakukan baik, keluarga yang berada di alam kubur langsung memuji kepada Allah dan merasa bahagia. Bila amal yang dilakukan buruk, keluarga yang berada di alam kubur langsung berkata, ‘Ya Allah, janganlah Engkau mencabut nyawa saudara dan kerabatku yang masih berada di dunia, hingga lebih dahulu Engkau memberikan ampunan kepada mereka“.
Patut kita renungkan. Dari hari ke hari, hitungan umur kita memang bertambah. Namun, sebetulnya, jatah hidup kita di dunia ini semakin berkurang. Kita hanya punya sisa umur. Mudah-mudahan, dengan zikrul maut (mengingat mati), kita bisa menyikapi detik demi detik dari sisa umur kita dengan benar, yaitu mengisinya dengan aktivitas ibadah dan perbuatan utama yang didasari oleh niat yang benar. Sebab kata Rasulullah SAW, “Seorang mukmin, saat menjelang kematiannya, akan didatangi oleh malaikat sambil menyampaikan dan memperlihatkan kepadanya apa yang bakal dialaminya, setelah kematian. Ketika itu, tidak ada yang lebih disenanginya kecuali bertemu dengan Tuhan (mati). Berbeda halnya dengan orang kafir yang juga diperlihatkan kepada apa yang bakal dihadapinya, dan ketika itu tidak ada sesuatu yang lebih dibencinya daripada bertemu dengan Tuhan.“ (HR.Imam Ahmad).
Wallahualam. **
Sumber: Pontianak Post Online
Sumber: Pontianak Post Online
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Israel Fights Islam to The Last American
Mohamed Khodr | Freelance Writer
Prejudice and demonization has been the "white man's burden" and justification for colonialism and enslavement of "colored" man throughout history. It began with the Greeks and Romans, followed by the hostility toward Jews, then Islam, until the miraculous irony of the post-Holocaust era where the newly found partnership of the "Judeo-Christian" world became the defenders of freedom against the "evil empire" of Communism and the establishment of the Western Zionist colony of Israel. That was followed by the newly created "evil du jour - Islam" in 1990 after Communism's fall in order to serve and maintain the military-industrial-media complex of America's elite.
It is no coincidence that Bernard Lewis, America's Islamophobic spokesperson, wrote his article "Roots of Muslim Rage" in 1990 immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Sept., Atlantic Monthly). Samuel Huntington, Jewish American, followed in 1993 with his infamous "The Clash of Civilizations" (Foreign Affairs), although Huntington obviously took the title from Basil Matthews' 1926 book "Young Islam on Trek: A Study in the Clash of Civilizations." Matthews, a missionary, saw a massive opportunity for Christian conversion among Muslims after the Ottoman Empire's collapse. He wrote: "They [Muslims] have discovered that the possessors of such power - the rulers over nine tenths of the habitable earth and six out of every seven Muslims on the surface - are the races of Western Christendom."
European Christian literature is replete with derogatory and insulting characterizations of Islam and it's Prophet (pbuh). Their argument runs like this: Christianity, founded by God himself, could not tolerate or accept faiths espoused by mere mortals. Thus, superimposed on the "white man's burden" of civilizing the world, Christianity brought a religious zeal to save the world and exterminate the obstinate "infidels." Neither the faiths preceding it, such as Judaism, nor a faith following it denying Christ's divinity is acceptable to the white Western mind. It was Christianity, not Islam, which invented the trigger phrases of: Infidel - Holy War - Fundamentalism. And it was Israel that first introduced terrorism in the form of car bombing and airplane hijacking into the Middle East.
A combination of Holocaust guilt and sympathy, and the birth of the "strong" Western rich Jewish lobbyist, founded Israel for European immigrants via the genocide and "ethnic cleansing" of the "other, the colored, the infidel," the invisible second victims of the Holocaust. Ironically, Israel was founded due to Christianity's "us vs. them" holocaust, and now thanks to Israel, the "them du jour" are Muslims. From its founding, Israel's leaders such as David Ben Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres identified "Islam" as the true enemy of Israel, and now by extension to Israel's colony - the United States.
With the entry of the naive, isolated, gullible U.S. government into Mideast politics after World War II, Israel cleverly formulated a strategy to win "America's money, weapons, vetoes, and blind support" through the only educational and opinion molding medium the West understands: the media, with its film power of Images and Words.
America's politics became hostage to Israel, Jewish political activism and campaign donations, and a media and Hollywood powerhouse all designed to wield the "carrot and stick." While the rest of America was self-centered on "me", Israel's influence around Washington D.C. became a belt encircling the power centers of government much akin to the physiologic blood brain barrier of the brain that filters harmful compounds and allows entry of only pro-Israeli messages. Hence, the creation of America's split personality and erratic foreign policy that is often embarrassing, humiliating, stupid, irrational, and dangerous, to America's long term interest in the world; America's national interest logically lies with 56 Muslim nations, a fifth of the world's market population with 60% of the world's oil reserves, YET America's cowardly, greedy, short-sighted pandering to one nation - Israel - may ultimately lead to America's definitive war and American deaths within the Muslim world.
Given America's impotence toward Israel, as clearly articulated by Bush's silence and Powell's "Blame Arafat for Israel's 53-year murder and occupation of Palestine, for Sharon's military madness, and for forcing us to look cowardly," what have Arab leaders done to solve the Palestinian Diaspora and regain world respect for Arabs? In a word: NOTHING. In fact, American impotence is only superseded by Arab impotence, dishonesty, inter-Arab conflict, undemocratic and inhumane self-survival policies, wasted time, lives, money, and resources, all while living a hypocritical image of true Islam.
For 53 years the Arab and Muslim world did not, and could not, develop one single strategy to counteract Israel's hegemony of America and Europe. How shameful it is to hear U.S. officials say that Arab leaders say one thing in private while denouncing Israel in public. Islam has been shredded in the Western media as a faith of violence, terrorism, and intolerance. Yet not one leader has stood up to the American-Israeli hegemony with faith, courage, and the trust of his people.
America is a capitalistic society that responds to money and power regardless of politics. Israel has the financial and political power to wield its influence via the Congress and the Media. Both are money dependent. Recently, it was reported that thousands of Saudi Arabian princes, alone, have between $500 billion and one trillion dollars in American banks and government bonds. That's just one family. Imagine if the Arab and Muslim world would adopt a two-pronged strategy: one politico-financial, the other cultural.
Imagine if Muslim money and resources were wielded as political power via American banks and financial institutions, stocks in major companies including advertising firms, stocks in media corporations even beginning with local markets, stocks in Hollywood production companies, supporting and strengthening Arab and Muslim political action committees with a presence in every state to lobby for Arab/Muslim causes, establishing Islamic institutes and centers in universities, scholarships for Arab/Muslim students in Communication/Media/Film studies, hiring or developing professional public relations firms on behalf of Islam and the Muslim victims in Palestine, India, Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan, China, Burma, Philippines and so on. The Business of America is Business, yet Arabs act as if that's none of their Business until they are forced to meet and whine about the "injustice" to Arabs and Muslims and how great Islam was instead of how great Islam is and will always be.
Secondly, the need to develop a strategy to reach the American people at the grassroots media and cultural level. Americans are not Islam's enemy. They are a kind, generous, open-minded people who seek to live in peace and are thirsty to for others to reach out to them and inform them of their world and culture. Currently, even American Muslims are silent, intimidated, fearful and ignorant regarding political activism. Education and training for them is needed urgently. Today, Muslim schools and mosques serve Muslims, but not Islam.
For their part, the 56 Muslim nations need to develop a unified organization for the sole purpose of informing Americans and Europeans on the truth of Islam via media, film, and cultural events in museums, colleges, and film. There is not one single entity in the U.S. that performs this function with any professionalism and effectiveness. A coordinated effort, even state-by-state, that brings Muslims together with pride, joy, and trust among themselves will alter the landscape of the West. Americans and Europeans are converting to Islam despite Muslims, not because of them.
A short-term strategy of pressuring the U.S. that its interests are in jeopardy in the Muslim world will bring the peace process back on track. America has been looking to invest its interests and energy policies beyond the Middle East such as in the Caspian Sea, so the timeframe to influence American policy is short. If Americans can learn to love the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese, and accept Russians and Chinese as strategic friends, surely Muslim lands can do the same given that the only wedge between Muslims and the Christian West is Israel.
The first strategy is to make clear that no attack on Iraq is acceptable, and that the Arab League will resolve the issue of the weapons inspectors. Second, suspend the Arab League Peace Plan and recall Arab and Muslim ambassadors from the U.S. and England until Sharon withdraws immediately from all Palestinian Authority areas. Third, insist on a U.N.-sponsored International Conference on the Palestinian-Israeli issue and on defining "terrorism." America needs the 56 Muslim nations more than Muslims need them.
Will the Arabs ever manifest such courage and spine? It's hard to believe. If they don't, however, then surely their political survival and U.S. interests will suffer in the long term for one simple reason: neither the U.S., nor the Arab/Muslim world, nor the United Nations have the courage to stand up to Israel and say enough is enough.
Source and Courtesy: Jihadunspun
Prejudice and demonization has been the "white man's burden" and justification for colonialism and enslavement of "colored" man throughout history. It began with the Greeks and Romans, followed by the hostility toward Jews, then Islam, until the miraculous irony of the post-Holocaust era where the newly found partnership of the "Judeo-Christian" world became the defenders of freedom against the "evil empire" of Communism and the establishment of the Western Zionist colony of Israel. That was followed by the newly created "evil du jour - Islam" in 1990 after Communism's fall in order to serve and maintain the military-industrial-media complex of America's elite.
It is no coincidence that Bernard Lewis, America's Islamophobic spokesperson, wrote his article "Roots of Muslim Rage" in 1990 immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Sept., Atlantic Monthly). Samuel Huntington, Jewish American, followed in 1993 with his infamous "The Clash of Civilizations" (Foreign Affairs), although Huntington obviously took the title from Basil Matthews' 1926 book "Young Islam on Trek: A Study in the Clash of Civilizations." Matthews, a missionary, saw a massive opportunity for Christian conversion among Muslims after the Ottoman Empire's collapse. He wrote: "They [Muslims] have discovered that the possessors of such power - the rulers over nine tenths of the habitable earth and six out of every seven Muslims on the surface - are the races of Western Christendom."
European Christian literature is replete with derogatory and insulting characterizations of Islam and it's Prophet (pbuh). Their argument runs like this: Christianity, founded by God himself, could not tolerate or accept faiths espoused by mere mortals. Thus, superimposed on the "white man's burden" of civilizing the world, Christianity brought a religious zeal to save the world and exterminate the obstinate "infidels." Neither the faiths preceding it, such as Judaism, nor a faith following it denying Christ's divinity is acceptable to the white Western mind. It was Christianity, not Islam, which invented the trigger phrases of: Infidel - Holy War - Fundamentalism. And it was Israel that first introduced terrorism in the form of car bombing and airplane hijacking into the Middle East.
A combination of Holocaust guilt and sympathy, and the birth of the "strong" Western rich Jewish lobbyist, founded Israel for European immigrants via the genocide and "ethnic cleansing" of the "other, the colored, the infidel," the invisible second victims of the Holocaust. Ironically, Israel was founded due to Christianity's "us vs. them" holocaust, and now thanks to Israel, the "them du jour" are Muslims. From its founding, Israel's leaders such as David Ben Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres identified "Islam" as the true enemy of Israel, and now by extension to Israel's colony - the United States.
With the entry of the naive, isolated, gullible U.S. government into Mideast politics after World War II, Israel cleverly formulated a strategy to win "America's money, weapons, vetoes, and blind support" through the only educational and opinion molding medium the West understands: the media, with its film power of Images and Words.
America's politics became hostage to Israel, Jewish political activism and campaign donations, and a media and Hollywood powerhouse all designed to wield the "carrot and stick." While the rest of America was self-centered on "me", Israel's influence around Washington D.C. became a belt encircling the power centers of government much akin to the physiologic blood brain barrier of the brain that filters harmful compounds and allows entry of only pro-Israeli messages. Hence, the creation of America's split personality and erratic foreign policy that is often embarrassing, humiliating, stupid, irrational, and dangerous, to America's long term interest in the world; America's national interest logically lies with 56 Muslim nations, a fifth of the world's market population with 60% of the world's oil reserves, YET America's cowardly, greedy, short-sighted pandering to one nation - Israel - may ultimately lead to America's definitive war and American deaths within the Muslim world.
Given America's impotence toward Israel, as clearly articulated by Bush's silence and Powell's "Blame Arafat for Israel's 53-year murder and occupation of Palestine, for Sharon's military madness, and for forcing us to look cowardly," what have Arab leaders done to solve the Palestinian Diaspora and regain world respect for Arabs? In a word: NOTHING. In fact, American impotence is only superseded by Arab impotence, dishonesty, inter-Arab conflict, undemocratic and inhumane self-survival policies, wasted time, lives, money, and resources, all while living a hypocritical image of true Islam.
For 53 years the Arab and Muslim world did not, and could not, develop one single strategy to counteract Israel's hegemony of America and Europe. How shameful it is to hear U.S. officials say that Arab leaders say one thing in private while denouncing Israel in public. Islam has been shredded in the Western media as a faith of violence, terrorism, and intolerance. Yet not one leader has stood up to the American-Israeli hegemony with faith, courage, and the trust of his people.
America is a capitalistic society that responds to money and power regardless of politics. Israel has the financial and political power to wield its influence via the Congress and the Media. Both are money dependent. Recently, it was reported that thousands of Saudi Arabian princes, alone, have between $500 billion and one trillion dollars in American banks and government bonds. That's just one family. Imagine if the Arab and Muslim world would adopt a two-pronged strategy: one politico-financial, the other cultural.
Imagine if Muslim money and resources were wielded as political power via American banks and financial institutions, stocks in major companies including advertising firms, stocks in media corporations even beginning with local markets, stocks in Hollywood production companies, supporting and strengthening Arab and Muslim political action committees with a presence in every state to lobby for Arab/Muslim causes, establishing Islamic institutes and centers in universities, scholarships for Arab/Muslim students in Communication/Media/Film studies, hiring or developing professional public relations firms on behalf of Islam and the Muslim victims in Palestine, India, Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan, China, Burma, Philippines and so on. The Business of America is Business, yet Arabs act as if that's none of their Business until they are forced to meet and whine about the "injustice" to Arabs and Muslims and how great Islam was instead of how great Islam is and will always be.
Secondly, the need to develop a strategy to reach the American people at the grassroots media and cultural level. Americans are not Islam's enemy. They are a kind, generous, open-minded people who seek to live in peace and are thirsty to for others to reach out to them and inform them of their world and culture. Currently, even American Muslims are silent, intimidated, fearful and ignorant regarding political activism. Education and training for them is needed urgently. Today, Muslim schools and mosques serve Muslims, but not Islam.
For their part, the 56 Muslim nations need to develop a unified organization for the sole purpose of informing Americans and Europeans on the truth of Islam via media, film, and cultural events in museums, colleges, and film. There is not one single entity in the U.S. that performs this function with any professionalism and effectiveness. A coordinated effort, even state-by-state, that brings Muslims together with pride, joy, and trust among themselves will alter the landscape of the West. Americans and Europeans are converting to Islam despite Muslims, not because of them.
A short-term strategy of pressuring the U.S. that its interests are in jeopardy in the Muslim world will bring the peace process back on track. America has been looking to invest its interests and energy policies beyond the Middle East such as in the Caspian Sea, so the timeframe to influence American policy is short. If Americans can learn to love the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese, and accept Russians and Chinese as strategic friends, surely Muslim lands can do the same given that the only wedge between Muslims and the Christian West is Israel.
The first strategy is to make clear that no attack on Iraq is acceptable, and that the Arab League will resolve the issue of the weapons inspectors. Second, suspend the Arab League Peace Plan and recall Arab and Muslim ambassadors from the U.S. and England until Sharon withdraws immediately from all Palestinian Authority areas. Third, insist on a U.N.-sponsored International Conference on the Palestinian-Israeli issue and on defining "terrorism." America needs the 56 Muslim nations more than Muslims need them.
Will the Arabs ever manifest such courage and spine? It's hard to believe. If they don't, however, then surely their political survival and U.S. interests will suffer in the long term for one simple reason: neither the U.S., nor the Arab/Muslim world, nor the United Nations have the courage to stand up to Israel and say enough is enough.
Source and Courtesy: Jihadunspun
Friday, February 6, 2009
An Anthropology of Death: To Be a Tree
To Be a Tree
by
LINDA “ilham” BARTO on 17 January, 2009 00:15:00
MY sister died this week. She had a lovely, Christian funeral, but it was stained with things I hate –embalming, a casket, a cement vault, and a cold cemetery. Until I became a Muslim, I was not sure why I absolutely despised the standard burial rituals. It’s because those things add up to an unnatural way for the body to continue. The human body, as with all living bodies of creation, was designed to return to the earth in a beautiful continuation of energy. An Islamic burial respects the natural process of decay and emphasizes the “dust to dust” aspect that is often heard in funeral speech but seldom taken as a directive.
I can’t stand to think of my sister’s body, robbed of its blood and filled with formaldehyde, locked in a metal box, deep in the cold vault, without the comfort of the earth’s embrace. In a natural burial, the body of the deceased is washed and shrouded. An autopsy is performed only if necessary, and embalming is not done unless, for some reason, the body cannot be buried right away or cannot be preserved with dry ice or cold storage. Although not everyone will agree with me, I think that it is a final act of charity for a deceased person to have willed that his or her organs be donated for the sake of others. Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings upon him) said that these three things continue to benefit a person after death: charity that continues to help others, knowledge from which people continue benefit, and a righteous child who continues to pray. Certainly donating an organ to improve or continue the life of another is a form of enduring charity.
In a natural burial, the body is returned to the earth either without a casket or in a biodegradable coffin. Such a coffin may be made of wood, paper, and/or woven fiber and contains nothing toxic or synthetic. All materials are environmentally friendly. You can see a “Natural Coffin Gallery” on www.naturalburialcompany.com.
Most cemeteries require vaults with all the artificial accompaniments, but there is a growing movement for natural burials, also called “green burials” because they contribute to the sustaining of earth’s green beauty. Dr. Billy Campbell, founder of Memorial Ecosystems, explained, “What we’re doing is basically land conservation. By setting aside woods for natural burials, we preserve it from development. At the same time, I think we put death in its rightful place, as part of the cycle of life. Our burials honor the idea of dust to dust.”
There are several natural burial sites now available in the USA and Canada. The first in the world was Ramsey Creek Preserve near the mountains in South Carolina. It began in 1998 with thirty-three acres that included natural woods and shoals, streams, and a variety of wild plants and animals. In 2006, the wildlife preserve acquired protection of an additional thirty-eight acres.
In such ecosystems, bodies are returned to the earth in a dignified and respectful manner. No elaborate monuments or other grave markers are allowed, but a simple, natural stone may be engraved and placed in a graceful style to blend with the landscape. Native plants cloak the gravesite as life continues as it was intended.
I plan to grow up to be a tree! If you would like to find a green cemetery near you, research on www.forestofmemories.org under the “Find a Green Cemetery” option. I hope that, insh’Allah, someday there will be an entire Muslim forest in North America.
Originally Published as "To Be a Tree"
Source: Daily Muslims
Posted by Dr. A.H.Awang Mois
by
LINDA “ilham” BARTO on 17 January, 2009 00:15:00
MY sister died this week. She had a lovely, Christian funeral, but it was stained with things I hate –embalming, a casket, a cement vault, and a cold cemetery. Until I became a Muslim, I was not sure why I absolutely despised the standard burial rituals. It’s because those things add up to an unnatural way for the body to continue. The human body, as with all living bodies of creation, was designed to return to the earth in a beautiful continuation of energy. An Islamic burial respects the natural process of decay and emphasizes the “dust to dust” aspect that is often heard in funeral speech but seldom taken as a directive.
I can’t stand to think of my sister’s body, robbed of its blood and filled with formaldehyde, locked in a metal box, deep in the cold vault, without the comfort of the earth’s embrace. In a natural burial, the body of the deceased is washed and shrouded. An autopsy is performed only if necessary, and embalming is not done unless, for some reason, the body cannot be buried right away or cannot be preserved with dry ice or cold storage. Although not everyone will agree with me, I think that it is a final act of charity for a deceased person to have willed that his or her organs be donated for the sake of others. Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings upon him) said that these three things continue to benefit a person after death: charity that continues to help others, knowledge from which people continue benefit, and a righteous child who continues to pray. Certainly donating an organ to improve or continue the life of another is a form of enduring charity.
In a natural burial, the body is returned to the earth either without a casket or in a biodegradable coffin. Such a coffin may be made of wood, paper, and/or woven fiber and contains nothing toxic or synthetic. All materials are environmentally friendly. You can see a “Natural Coffin Gallery” on www.naturalburialcompany.com.
Most cemeteries require vaults with all the artificial accompaniments, but there is a growing movement for natural burials, also called “green burials” because they contribute to the sustaining of earth’s green beauty. Dr. Billy Campbell, founder of Memorial Ecosystems, explained, “What we’re doing is basically land conservation. By setting aside woods for natural burials, we preserve it from development. At the same time, I think we put death in its rightful place, as part of the cycle of life. Our burials honor the idea of dust to dust.”
There are several natural burial sites now available in the USA and Canada. The first in the world was Ramsey Creek Preserve near the mountains in South Carolina. It began in 1998 with thirty-three acres that included natural woods and shoals, streams, and a variety of wild plants and animals. In 2006, the wildlife preserve acquired protection of an additional thirty-eight acres.
In such ecosystems, bodies are returned to the earth in a dignified and respectful manner. No elaborate monuments or other grave markers are allowed, but a simple, natural stone may be engraved and placed in a graceful style to blend with the landscape. Native plants cloak the gravesite as life continues as it was intended.
I plan to grow up to be a tree! If you would like to find a green cemetery near you, research on www.forestofmemories.org under the “Find a Green Cemetery” option. I hope that, insh’Allah, someday there will be an entire Muslim forest in North America.
Originally Published as "To Be a Tree"
Source: Daily Muslims
Posted by Dr. A.H.Awang Mois
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Israeli Hatred For Palestine Arabs Knows No Limits: With American Military Aid Israeli Troops Even Shoot and Kill Animals in Gaza Zoo
Israeli Troops Shoot and Kill Animals in Gaza Zoo
By Ashraf Helmi and Megan Hirons
The Gaza Zoo reeks of death. But zookeeper Emad Jameel Qasim doesn't appear to react to the stench as he walks around the animals' enclosures.
A month ago, it was attracting families - he says the zoo drew up to 1,000 visitors each day. He points at the foot-long hole in the camel in one of the enclosures.
"This camel was pregnant, a missile went into her back," he tells us. "Look, look at her face. She was in pain when she died."
Around every corner, inside almost every cage are dead animals, who have been lying in their cages since the Israeli incursion.
Qasim doesn't understand why they chose to destroy his zoo. And it's difficult to disagree with him. Most of them have been shot at point blank range.
"The first thing the Israelis did was shoot at the lions - the animals ran out of their cage and into the office building. Actually they hid there."
The two lions are back in their enclosure. The female is pregnant, and lies heavily on the ground, occasionally swishing her tail. Qasim stands unusually close to them, but they don't seem bothered by his presence.
As he takes us around, he is obviously appalled at the state of the animals. The few animals that have survived appear weak and disturbed.
"The foxes ate each other because we couldn't get to them in time. We had many here." There are carcasses everywhere and the last surviving fox is quivering in the corner.
The zoo opened in late 2005, with money from local and international NGOs. There were 40 types of animals, a children's library, a playground and cultural centre housed at the facility.
Inside the main building, soldiers defaced the walls, ripped out one of the toilets and removed all of the hard drives from the office computers. We asked him why they targeted the zoo. He laughs. "I don't know. You have to go and ask the Israelis. This is a place where people come to relax and enjoy themselves. It's not a place of politics."
Israel has accused Hamas of firing rockets from civilian areas. Qasim reacts angrily when we raise the subject.
"Let me answer that with a question. We are under attack. There was not a single person in this zoo. Just the animals. We all fled before they came. What purpose does it serve to walk around shooting animals and destroying the place?"
Inside one cage lie three dead monkeys and another two in the cage beside them. Two more escaped and have yet to return. He points to a clay pot. "They tried to hide", he says of a mother and baby half-tucked inside.
Qasim says that his main two priorities at the moment are rebuilding the zoo and taking the Israeli army to court. For the first, he says he will need close to $200,000 to return the zoo to its former state - and he wants the Israelis to cover the costs. "They have to pay me for all this damage."
We ask him why it's so important for Gaza to have a zoo. "During the past four years it was the most popular place for kids. They came from all over the Gaza Strip. There was nowhere else for people to go."
- Ashraf Helmi and Megan Hirons are both photographers.
(Originally published in Gulf News)
Source: The Palestine Chronicle
By Ashraf Helmi and Megan Hirons
The Gaza Zoo reeks of death. But zookeeper Emad Jameel Qasim doesn't appear to react to the stench as he walks around the animals' enclosures.
A month ago, it was attracting families - he says the zoo drew up to 1,000 visitors each day. He points at the foot-long hole in the camel in one of the enclosures.
"This camel was pregnant, a missile went into her back," he tells us. "Look, look at her face. She was in pain when she died."
Around every corner, inside almost every cage are dead animals, who have been lying in their cages since the Israeli incursion.
Qasim doesn't understand why they chose to destroy his zoo. And it's difficult to disagree with him. Most of them have been shot at point blank range.
"The first thing the Israelis did was shoot at the lions - the animals ran out of their cage and into the office building. Actually they hid there."
The two lions are back in their enclosure. The female is pregnant, and lies heavily on the ground, occasionally swishing her tail. Qasim stands unusually close to them, but they don't seem bothered by his presence.
As he takes us around, he is obviously appalled at the state of the animals. The few animals that have survived appear weak and disturbed.
"The foxes ate each other because we couldn't get to them in time. We had many here." There are carcasses everywhere and the last surviving fox is quivering in the corner.
The zoo opened in late 2005, with money from local and international NGOs. There were 40 types of animals, a children's library, a playground and cultural centre housed at the facility.
Inside the main building, soldiers defaced the walls, ripped out one of the toilets and removed all of the hard drives from the office computers. We asked him why they targeted the zoo. He laughs. "I don't know. You have to go and ask the Israelis. This is a place where people come to relax and enjoy themselves. It's not a place of politics."
Israel has accused Hamas of firing rockets from civilian areas. Qasim reacts angrily when we raise the subject.
"Let me answer that with a question. We are under attack. There was not a single person in this zoo. Just the animals. We all fled before they came. What purpose does it serve to walk around shooting animals and destroying the place?"
Inside one cage lie three dead monkeys and another two in the cage beside them. Two more escaped and have yet to return. He points to a clay pot. "They tried to hide", he says of a mother and baby half-tucked inside.
Qasim says that his main two priorities at the moment are rebuilding the zoo and taking the Israeli army to court. For the first, he says he will need close to $200,000 to return the zoo to its former state - and he wants the Israelis to cover the costs. "They have to pay me for all this damage."
We ask him why it's so important for Gaza to have a zoo. "During the past four years it was the most popular place for kids. They came from all over the Gaza Strip. There was nowhere else for people to go."
- Ashraf Helmi and Megan Hirons are both photographers.
(Originally published in Gulf News)
Source: The Palestine Chronicle
Religious Obligation for Muslims: Defeating The Enemies Of Islam With Knowledge
Defeating The Enemies Of Islam With Knowledge
29-01-2009
Ignorant hearts ever ask, why Allah tries the Islamic ummah with wars, treacheries, starvations, persecutions and slaughterings at the hands of the kuffar? Why are these tribulations never-ending?
We always question, but we already know the answers and the conditions in order to get through those heavy trials. The previous Muslims had already fulfilled the conditions and they were successful, but we, who are more modern are neglectful and still seeking for answers.
Whereas Allah has already promised in His commandment which means:
“O ye who believe! If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly.” (Qur’an 47:7)
When will the help from Allah come? In the past, because of the excessive afflictions suffered by the Sahabahs alongside Rasulullah SAW, they pressured Rasulullah with a question: "O Rasulullah, are you not pleading for help for us? Are you not praying for us?" The blessed Prophet SAW who at that time was lying down, got up with his face reddened due to anger and said: "Know that verily the earlier people preceding you, some of them were buried alive, some had their bodies sawed from the top of the heads until they were cut into halves and there were those whose bodies were combed with sharp iron combs until they cut through their flesh and caused it to be separated from their bones, all those did not shake off their faith."
“By Allah, Allah will surely make this religion triumph until it spreads from Sana’a reaching to Hadhramaut and mankind at that time does not fear anything except Allah surpassing the sheep's fear for the wolf. But you are too haste (in asking for victory)” (Hadith riwayah Imam Al-Bukhari)
The anguish of the Islamic fighters all over the world following the bloodsheds and intrusions on Palestine should not lessen their fighting spirits to remain istiqomah in defending the religion of Allah from the evil scheming of the enemies, and much less to despair from Allah’s mercy due to being infected by the disease of being too attached to the ‘dunya’ and the fear of death.
The call to boycott American goods surely produced a very hot polemic that ignited opinions between “the supportive” and “the unhelpful” towards the call. Those who just lay back and deafen their ears, or those who merely sweet talk in protest without any further and true actions could be clearly seen through this tragedy.
It was actually a form of trial for the iman so that Allah would purify the ummah and select from amongst the ranks the chosen ones to be the fighters in His path and those who are excluded from the ranks, sit in fear, worry about losing the thrones, wealth and lives. Whereas, the akhira is far better and more everlasting, evidently this world has drugged the souls of mankind a lot.
Nevertheless, apart from the men who are ignorant, negligent and choose to sell the akhira for a cheap price, there certainly exists a group who are saved by Allah from the fitnah of the world. They are always raised for an important role for the sake of defending Allah’s religion.
They do not have to be in the open battle field, facing the guns, bombs and rockets, in fact they can follow the footsteps of the Mujahideen through their expertise in knowledge and technology for the sake of Islam’s future.
They understand the advice from the Qur’an commanding the Islamic ummah to be vigilant all the time, as wars will always exist whether in the open or silent way, not because the ummah is inciting the fire but it is the enemies who are always inflaming the ill feelings which could never be extinguished.
Allah says which means:
“Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you Turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fire and will abide therein.” (Qur’an 2:217)
With the more sophisticated power of the kafir’s weaponry, the strategies and plan of the Islamic ummah must be arranged wisely and not in a hurry, in line with the hadith of Rasulullah SAW which reminded his ummah not to be hurried and impatient in their struggles. A long term plan that involves Muslim scientists and intellectuals along with the umara (leaders) and the entire ummah must be laid down.
The role of the umara, as Islamic leaders, should involve providing visions that are far ahead and plans that are accurate so that the ummah are able to stand at par with the Jews and Christians who have been more advanced so far.
Has there been any nuclear expert comparable to the American and Jewish scientists? What new technologies and discoveries have been explored by the Muslim generations? Are the national, political and economical stability becoming the main agenda for the leaders of different political outlooks?
How far have been the efforts to produce Muslim tycoons on an international level and to train educators, scientists and intellectuals in order to receive the transmission of knowledge from every window of the world as provisions to prepare for the future generations who are competent in every field of knowledge and on a par with other advanced nations.
It is so sad, historical facts listed 180 Jews who had won the Nobel prizes in a period of 105 years and only three Muslims had so far won it, in the ratio of 14 million Jews to 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world.
Then, how about the role of the ulama in encountering the waves of the Jewish and Christian revival? The ulamas must be more flexible and ready to open dialogues with people of other religions and faiths in order to present them true information about Islam.
The efforts to convey authentic Islam through a modern da’wah strategy must be made as priority. The slogan of ‘return to Islam’ should become a brand that could be sold in the world markets. Not only for the Islamic ummah but also for the others who still do not know about the beauty of Islam.
Don’t be so engrossed in prohibiting things and issuing fatwas that cause tensions within the religious community and ummah, as though being hostile and wanting to dominate using the power of the majority.
Didn’t Rasulullah SAW send his ulama ambassadors abroad to establish diplomatic relations and do da’wah to them? The humanitarian spirits must be emphasized more than the racial spirits and being blindly fanatic to religious belief. Islam does not in any way allow its ummah to enforce aqeedah on the other communities.
It should have been the role of the Muslim intellectuals to approach the orientalists who are studying Islam by way of muzakarah, having dialogues and discussions about Islamic facts with a spirit of peace, not hatred.
In the 20th century, the attitude of the orientalists varied, if before they were working for the benefits of imperialism and used the result of their studies as weapons to invade and destroy the Islamic ummah. Today, a lot of them behave openly, sincerely and independently in agreement with the diminishing imperialist power. If the ulamas do not prepare high quality books, as well as academic works for the purpose of answering the negative arguments about Islam, it’s impossible for these orientalists to find the truth and hidayah in Islam.
Examples of those who are famous are; Rene Guenon (Abdul Wahid Yahya), Martin Lings, Titus Burchhardt and Leopold Weiss (Mohammad Asad), Murad Hoffman and many others who are yet to say the shahadah.
The strength of the ulama's knowledge must be taken advantage of for the da’wah transmission by means of direct involvements in the da’wah arena, molding a da’wah struggle that has an authoritative bearing, conveying al-Quran and hadith in a beautiful way, not intimidating, much less oppressive.
Sometimes the mentioning of the words haram is more audible, making the ummah phobic and leave their religion, whereas the haram is less compared to the halal in our religion. In the end, ignorance is widespread in the generations that rejected religion, they consider Islam as an inherited religion for administering the matter of death, birth and celebration of its big days only but not capable of answering worldly problems.
Due to the negligence of the ulama and dai’e, a dangerous phenomena was born in the midst of the ummah, the birth of two Islamic generations. First, those who entirely let go of the religious ties and second, the traditional and intolerant camp who makes others feel religious issues as a burden to the extent of forgetting the true struggle.
If the kafir had already reached the moon and done research on the outer space war technology, the narrow-minded Muslims are still quarelling and at odds with each other about whose madzhab is the best in matter of ablutions.
The fanaticism to madzhab becomes the root cause of the disunity amongst the ummah, it is responsible for the backwardness of the Islamic ummah who are unable to compete through technology, economy and the strength of the kafir’s weaponry.
Whereas Rasulullah SAW had never asked his ummah to hold onto one madzhab only, did not the madzhab appear only after the death of Rasulullah SAW and nothing is higher in value than the validity of al-Quran and the hadith of Rasulullah SAW? Did not Imam al-Syafie forbid his followers to become blind followers and order them to prioritize the Book of Allah and Sunnah of Rasul more than his judgements.
The next role of the ulama and dai’e is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the umara to resolve the problems of the ummah. The attitude of the ulama towards the umara must be in accordance with the commandment of al-Quran and the hadith of Rasulullah SAW which means:
“I bequeath to you dutiful devotion [taqwa] to Allah, and paying heed and obedience [to your leader], even if he happens to be an Abyssinian slave” (Hadith riwayah Abu Daud and Tirmizi)
Amongst the weakness of the Islamic ummah is the removal of the feeling of love and mercy between the ulama and umara. How would the future of the ummah be if the umara let go of the religious ties in leading a state? And at the same time the ulama are distancing themselves from leading a nation and let errors happen until the religion, society and countries are harmed.
Wouldn’t doom occur if the duty of "amar makruf nahi mungkar" not done? The roles of the ulama alongside the umara is to give judgements, as well as issue fatwas in the spirit of ijtihad for the sake of the ummah’s success.
The ulama and umara should sit together to plan strategies to prepare a future generation that would fight for the religious missions. The absence of it would stifle the life of the ummah. Invasions into the ummah happen everywhere due to backwardness, poverty, ignorance and narrow-mindedness in thinking. However, it should be remembered that the main factor for the cause of Islam’s destruction is the ignorance of the ummah towards their religion.
Religion becomes the strongest defense in winning a struggle because it is an important foundation and the greatest motivator in fighting oppressions. Without religion, nobody is willing to die in defending Islam.
At times they are never scared of death, in fact they are even hoping to die shaheed in the path of Allah. They see the price of world as cheap and therefore they choose paradise which is eternal, to be with their God.
The return to Islam has become a slogan which is commonly shouted out load, how far it would succeed depends on the roles of the ulama and umara as well as the attitude of the ummah which we hoped is willing to change. Is the revival of Islam able to be realized by the generation who look upon the West, with a capitalist soul and an appetite for liberalism?
Rasulullah SAW had already prophesized this subject more than 1400 years ago and no words were uttered by the blessed Prophet except pure truth:
“You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah's Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words) "those before you"? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?” (Hadith riwayah Muslim)
Submitted by a Mujahid
Source: TheUnjustMedia.com
29-01-2009
Ignorant hearts ever ask, why Allah tries the Islamic ummah with wars, treacheries, starvations, persecutions and slaughterings at the hands of the kuffar? Why are these tribulations never-ending?
We always question, but we already know the answers and the conditions in order to get through those heavy trials. The previous Muslims had already fulfilled the conditions and they were successful, but we, who are more modern are neglectful and still seeking for answers.
Whereas Allah has already promised in His commandment which means:
“O ye who believe! If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly.” (Qur’an 47:7)
When will the help from Allah come? In the past, because of the excessive afflictions suffered by the Sahabahs alongside Rasulullah SAW, they pressured Rasulullah with a question: "O Rasulullah, are you not pleading for help for us? Are you not praying for us?" The blessed Prophet SAW who at that time was lying down, got up with his face reddened due to anger and said: "Know that verily the earlier people preceding you, some of them were buried alive, some had their bodies sawed from the top of the heads until they were cut into halves and there were those whose bodies were combed with sharp iron combs until they cut through their flesh and caused it to be separated from their bones, all those did not shake off their faith."
“By Allah, Allah will surely make this religion triumph until it spreads from Sana’a reaching to Hadhramaut and mankind at that time does not fear anything except Allah surpassing the sheep's fear for the wolf. But you are too haste (in asking for victory)” (Hadith riwayah Imam Al-Bukhari)
The anguish of the Islamic fighters all over the world following the bloodsheds and intrusions on Palestine should not lessen their fighting spirits to remain istiqomah in defending the religion of Allah from the evil scheming of the enemies, and much less to despair from Allah’s mercy due to being infected by the disease of being too attached to the ‘dunya’ and the fear of death.
The call to boycott American goods surely produced a very hot polemic that ignited opinions between “the supportive” and “the unhelpful” towards the call. Those who just lay back and deafen their ears, or those who merely sweet talk in protest without any further and true actions could be clearly seen through this tragedy.
It was actually a form of trial for the iman so that Allah would purify the ummah and select from amongst the ranks the chosen ones to be the fighters in His path and those who are excluded from the ranks, sit in fear, worry about losing the thrones, wealth and lives. Whereas, the akhira is far better and more everlasting, evidently this world has drugged the souls of mankind a lot.
Nevertheless, apart from the men who are ignorant, negligent and choose to sell the akhira for a cheap price, there certainly exists a group who are saved by Allah from the fitnah of the world. They are always raised for an important role for the sake of defending Allah’s religion.
They do not have to be in the open battle field, facing the guns, bombs and rockets, in fact they can follow the footsteps of the Mujahideen through their expertise in knowledge and technology for the sake of Islam’s future.
They understand the advice from the Qur’an commanding the Islamic ummah to be vigilant all the time, as wars will always exist whether in the open or silent way, not because the ummah is inciting the fire but it is the enemies who are always inflaming the ill feelings which could never be extinguished.
Allah says which means:
“Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you Turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fire and will abide therein.” (Qur’an 2:217)
With the more sophisticated power of the kafir’s weaponry, the strategies and plan of the Islamic ummah must be arranged wisely and not in a hurry, in line with the hadith of Rasulullah SAW which reminded his ummah not to be hurried and impatient in their struggles. A long term plan that involves Muslim scientists and intellectuals along with the umara (leaders) and the entire ummah must be laid down.
The role of the umara, as Islamic leaders, should involve providing visions that are far ahead and plans that are accurate so that the ummah are able to stand at par with the Jews and Christians who have been more advanced so far.
Has there been any nuclear expert comparable to the American and Jewish scientists? What new technologies and discoveries have been explored by the Muslim generations? Are the national, political and economical stability becoming the main agenda for the leaders of different political outlooks?
How far have been the efforts to produce Muslim tycoons on an international level and to train educators, scientists and intellectuals in order to receive the transmission of knowledge from every window of the world as provisions to prepare for the future generations who are competent in every field of knowledge and on a par with other advanced nations.
It is so sad, historical facts listed 180 Jews who had won the Nobel prizes in a period of 105 years and only three Muslims had so far won it, in the ratio of 14 million Jews to 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world.
Then, how about the role of the ulama in encountering the waves of the Jewish and Christian revival? The ulamas must be more flexible and ready to open dialogues with people of other religions and faiths in order to present them true information about Islam.
The efforts to convey authentic Islam through a modern da’wah strategy must be made as priority. The slogan of ‘return to Islam’ should become a brand that could be sold in the world markets. Not only for the Islamic ummah but also for the others who still do not know about the beauty of Islam.
Don’t be so engrossed in prohibiting things and issuing fatwas that cause tensions within the religious community and ummah, as though being hostile and wanting to dominate using the power of the majority.
Didn’t Rasulullah SAW send his ulama ambassadors abroad to establish diplomatic relations and do da’wah to them? The humanitarian spirits must be emphasized more than the racial spirits and being blindly fanatic to religious belief. Islam does not in any way allow its ummah to enforce aqeedah on the other communities.
It should have been the role of the Muslim intellectuals to approach the orientalists who are studying Islam by way of muzakarah, having dialogues and discussions about Islamic facts with a spirit of peace, not hatred.
In the 20th century, the attitude of the orientalists varied, if before they were working for the benefits of imperialism and used the result of their studies as weapons to invade and destroy the Islamic ummah. Today, a lot of them behave openly, sincerely and independently in agreement with the diminishing imperialist power. If the ulamas do not prepare high quality books, as well as academic works for the purpose of answering the negative arguments about Islam, it’s impossible for these orientalists to find the truth and hidayah in Islam.
Examples of those who are famous are; Rene Guenon (Abdul Wahid Yahya), Martin Lings, Titus Burchhardt and Leopold Weiss (Mohammad Asad), Murad Hoffman and many others who are yet to say the shahadah.
The strength of the ulama's knowledge must be taken advantage of for the da’wah transmission by means of direct involvements in the da’wah arena, molding a da’wah struggle that has an authoritative bearing, conveying al-Quran and hadith in a beautiful way, not intimidating, much less oppressive.
Sometimes the mentioning of the words haram is more audible, making the ummah phobic and leave their religion, whereas the haram is less compared to the halal in our religion. In the end, ignorance is widespread in the generations that rejected religion, they consider Islam as an inherited religion for administering the matter of death, birth and celebration of its big days only but not capable of answering worldly problems.
Due to the negligence of the ulama and dai’e, a dangerous phenomena was born in the midst of the ummah, the birth of two Islamic generations. First, those who entirely let go of the religious ties and second, the traditional and intolerant camp who makes others feel religious issues as a burden to the extent of forgetting the true struggle.
If the kafir had already reached the moon and done research on the outer space war technology, the narrow-minded Muslims are still quarelling and at odds with each other about whose madzhab is the best in matter of ablutions.
The fanaticism to madzhab becomes the root cause of the disunity amongst the ummah, it is responsible for the backwardness of the Islamic ummah who are unable to compete through technology, economy and the strength of the kafir’s weaponry.
Whereas Rasulullah SAW had never asked his ummah to hold onto one madzhab only, did not the madzhab appear only after the death of Rasulullah SAW and nothing is higher in value than the validity of al-Quran and the hadith of Rasulullah SAW? Did not Imam al-Syafie forbid his followers to become blind followers and order them to prioritize the Book of Allah and Sunnah of Rasul more than his judgements.
The next role of the ulama and dai’e is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the umara to resolve the problems of the ummah. The attitude of the ulama towards the umara must be in accordance with the commandment of al-Quran and the hadith of Rasulullah SAW which means:
“I bequeath to you dutiful devotion [taqwa] to Allah, and paying heed and obedience [to your leader], even if he happens to be an Abyssinian slave” (Hadith riwayah Abu Daud and Tirmizi)
Amongst the weakness of the Islamic ummah is the removal of the feeling of love and mercy between the ulama and umara. How would the future of the ummah be if the umara let go of the religious ties in leading a state? And at the same time the ulama are distancing themselves from leading a nation and let errors happen until the religion, society and countries are harmed.
Wouldn’t doom occur if the duty of "amar makruf nahi mungkar" not done? The roles of the ulama alongside the umara is to give judgements, as well as issue fatwas in the spirit of ijtihad for the sake of the ummah’s success.
The ulama and umara should sit together to plan strategies to prepare a future generation that would fight for the religious missions. The absence of it would stifle the life of the ummah. Invasions into the ummah happen everywhere due to backwardness, poverty, ignorance and narrow-mindedness in thinking. However, it should be remembered that the main factor for the cause of Islam’s destruction is the ignorance of the ummah towards their religion.
Religion becomes the strongest defense in winning a struggle because it is an important foundation and the greatest motivator in fighting oppressions. Without religion, nobody is willing to die in defending Islam.
At times they are never scared of death, in fact they are even hoping to die shaheed in the path of Allah. They see the price of world as cheap and therefore they choose paradise which is eternal, to be with their God.
The return to Islam has become a slogan which is commonly shouted out load, how far it would succeed depends on the roles of the ulama and umara as well as the attitude of the ummah which we hoped is willing to change. Is the revival of Islam able to be realized by the generation who look upon the West, with a capitalist soul and an appetite for liberalism?
Rasulullah SAW had already prophesized this subject more than 1400 years ago and no words were uttered by the blessed Prophet except pure truth:
“You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah's Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words) "those before you"? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?” (Hadith riwayah Muslim)
Submitted by a Mujahid
Source: TheUnjustMedia.com
Sunday, February 1, 2009
While Arab Leaders Remain Silent Turkey's PM Erdoğan wins praise at home, in Gaza
PM Erdoğan wins praise at home, in Gaza
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received a hero's welcome yesterday upon his return to İstanbul from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos after his public spat with Israeli President Shimon Peres over Israel's Gaza offensive.
Erdoğan angrily left a debate at the WEF in Switzerland on Thursday after telling Peres, "You killed people." Erdoğan and Peres raised their voices and traded accusations.
Approximately 5,000 people gathered at the İstanbul Atatürk Airport around 2 a.m. on Friday to greet Erdoğan when he returned from the gathering of business and political leaders, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting “Turkey is proud of you.” Other banners said “Delegate of the oppressed” and “Let the world see a true prime minister.”
Turkish TV stations broadcast the prime minister’s arrival and the crowd waiting for him. CNN Türk said extra buses were added to routes so more people could turn out to welcome him.
“Our people would have expected the same reaction from any Turkish prime minister,” Erdoğan said at a press conference at the airport on Friday morning after speaking to the crowd.
The Turkish public continued its passionate support of Erdoğan following Friday prayers in İstanbul. Prime Minister Erdoğan was hailed with slogans of praise by thousands of people who were in and around the Büyük Piyalepaşa Mosque. The crowd waited for the prime minister to complete his prayers at noon and when Erdoğan came out of the mosque, they shouted “Turkey is proud of you.”
Erdoğan also won praise from Gazans. In the Gazan refugee camp of Jebaliya, Turkish flags now decorate the ruins of a local mosque that was destroyed during Israel’s war against Gaza’s Hamas government.
A preacher told worshippers at an outdoor service on Friday that Erdoğan had “raised the head of the Islamic nation.” Jalal Bin Yousef al-Sharifi called on other Muslim leaders to do the same.
Later on Friday, a smaller crowd of about 1,500 people applauded Erdoğan as he inaugurated a subway station in İstanbul. They also chanted “Turkey is proud of you.”
Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s offensive in Gaza over the past month, and with a raised voice and pointed finger questioned what Erdoğan would do if rockets were fired at İstanbul every night.
“When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill,” Erdoğan, visibly angry, responded as he sat next to Peres in the debate, which also included United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
At a press conference in Davos following Erdoğan’s walkout and again in İstanbul, Erdoğan said Turkey’s reproaches were not against the Israeli people or Jews but against the Israeli administration.
Palestinians wave Turkish flags during a rally in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. Turkish flags decorate the ruins of a local mosque that was destroyed during Israel’s war against Gaza’s Hamas government.
“There has been a feeling among Arabs and those in the Middle East that someone needs to speak out in this way against Israel. Erdoğan did this,” Fuat Keyman, an international relations professor at Koç University, said in comments on NTV.
Turkey harshly criticized Israel over its Gaza offensive in which Israeli forces killed more than 1,300 Palestinians. Israel lost 11 soldiers and three civilians.
Erdoğan’s stance shocked Israel and has been interpreted by some as an attempt to increase his support ahead of local elections in March with an electorate deeply sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, some in the opposition in Turkey hailed Erdoğan for his stance while others were critical of him. Felicity Party (SP) leader Numan Kurtulmuş said Erdoğan had improved Turkey’s standing with his stance in Davos. He added that if Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) adopts this stance in its diplomatic approach as well, the SP will support the government “to the end.”
On the other hand, former ambassador and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen accused Erdoğan of being a Hamas spokesman. On a live NTV appearance yesterday Öymen added that Erdoğan harmed Turkey’s image because he defended an organization that has chosen violence as a method. Öymen further said Turkey had lost its chance to be a regional mediator for peace.
Deniz Bölükbaşı, a former ambassador and a deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said, “Heroism isn’t achieved through leaving that stage but by taking Peres off of the stage.”
31 January 2009, Saturday
Source: TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received a hero's welcome yesterday upon his return to İstanbul from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos after his public spat with Israeli President Shimon Peres over Israel's Gaza offensive.
Erdoğan angrily left a debate at the WEF in Switzerland on Thursday after telling Peres, "You killed people." Erdoğan and Peres raised their voices and traded accusations.
Approximately 5,000 people gathered at the İstanbul Atatürk Airport around 2 a.m. on Friday to greet Erdoğan when he returned from the gathering of business and political leaders, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting “Turkey is proud of you.” Other banners said “Delegate of the oppressed” and “Let the world see a true prime minister.”
Turkish TV stations broadcast the prime minister’s arrival and the crowd waiting for him. CNN Türk said extra buses were added to routes so more people could turn out to welcome him.
“Our people would have expected the same reaction from any Turkish prime minister,” Erdoğan said at a press conference at the airport on Friday morning after speaking to the crowd.
The Turkish public continued its passionate support of Erdoğan following Friday prayers in İstanbul. Prime Minister Erdoğan was hailed with slogans of praise by thousands of people who were in and around the Büyük Piyalepaşa Mosque. The crowd waited for the prime minister to complete his prayers at noon and when Erdoğan came out of the mosque, they shouted “Turkey is proud of you.”
Erdoğan also won praise from Gazans. In the Gazan refugee camp of Jebaliya, Turkish flags now decorate the ruins of a local mosque that was destroyed during Israel’s war against Gaza’s Hamas government.
A preacher told worshippers at an outdoor service on Friday that Erdoğan had “raised the head of the Islamic nation.” Jalal Bin Yousef al-Sharifi called on other Muslim leaders to do the same.
Later on Friday, a smaller crowd of about 1,500 people applauded Erdoğan as he inaugurated a subway station in İstanbul. They also chanted “Turkey is proud of you.”
Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s offensive in Gaza over the past month, and with a raised voice and pointed finger questioned what Erdoğan would do if rockets were fired at İstanbul every night.
“When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill,” Erdoğan, visibly angry, responded as he sat next to Peres in the debate, which also included United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
At a press conference in Davos following Erdoğan’s walkout and again in İstanbul, Erdoğan said Turkey’s reproaches were not against the Israeli people or Jews but against the Israeli administration.
Palestinians wave Turkish flags during a rally in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. Turkish flags decorate the ruins of a local mosque that was destroyed during Israel’s war against Gaza’s Hamas government.
“There has been a feeling among Arabs and those in the Middle East that someone needs to speak out in this way against Israel. Erdoğan did this,” Fuat Keyman, an international relations professor at Koç University, said in comments on NTV.
Turkey harshly criticized Israel over its Gaza offensive in which Israeli forces killed more than 1,300 Palestinians. Israel lost 11 soldiers and three civilians.
Erdoğan’s stance shocked Israel and has been interpreted by some as an attempt to increase his support ahead of local elections in March with an electorate deeply sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, some in the opposition in Turkey hailed Erdoğan for his stance while others were critical of him. Felicity Party (SP) leader Numan Kurtulmuş said Erdoğan had improved Turkey’s standing with his stance in Davos. He added that if Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) adopts this stance in its diplomatic approach as well, the SP will support the government “to the end.”
On the other hand, former ambassador and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen accused Erdoğan of being a Hamas spokesman. On a live NTV appearance yesterday Öymen added that Erdoğan harmed Turkey’s image because he defended an organization that has chosen violence as a method. Öymen further said Turkey had lost its chance to be a regional mediator for peace.
Deniz Bölükbaşı, a former ambassador and a deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said, “Heroism isn’t achieved through leaving that stage but by taking Peres off of the stage.”
31 January 2009, Saturday
Source: TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
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