Farewell parties

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Alhamdulillah, we managed to organise two farewell parties today to ensure that I can most of the sisters, if not all of them, before I leave the UK. Thank to all the aunties in the Cambridge community who put their time, effort and money in providing us with delicious food for the parties. Thanks to all the sisters who came, helped in preparing and cleaning and who kindly gave me gifts. I really, really have had some great time today, but regret that I couldn't spend more time with each of the sister.

There are also sisters who came all the way from London for this party. May ALLAH reward all the sisters who participated and helped in this cause. Really, really appreciate them all.

I will miss all of them as they have been a part of my life in Cambridge for more than 3 years. It was a bit of a hactic day today but alhamdulillah, everything went well and the food is way more than enough that all the sisters later packed some home for their lunches and dinners for the next 1-2 days.

Also, there are some non-muslim friends who came and wish me good luck. They are some special friends of mine. One of them is among my first Jewish friend who is mashaALLAH very pious and modest person. Really pray that ALLAH will guide her.

Can't believe it's my farewell already. InshaALLAH I'll come back again. If not, may ALLAH meet us once again in the Paradise, amin.

Wassalam.

Conversion

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

In less than 2 weeks, two friends finally took the shahadah and chose the path of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) towards ALLAH. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, ALLAHUakbar. I know them for quite a while and they have been consistently following the practice of Islam and joining ISOC activities. Both of them wanted Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad to be the witness of their conversion and had the blessing of Friday to come into this blessed religion, the way of life that ALLAH says in the Qur'an:

Surely the religion with ALLAH is Islam...

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah Ali Imran (Chapter 3, The Family of Imran), verse 19.

The first sister took the shahadah at Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad's house with the presence of her mum. I feel so good to know that her mum actually blesses her decision even she is not inclined to Islam, yet. InshaALLAH, one day she will receive guidance from ALLAH with the prayer of her daughter. With this, the community of reverts in Cambridge is getting bigger. The good news is that, there is at least one conversion every year took place in Cambridge. This year we have two and hopefully more in the future. And these new sisters were Christians before this.

Talking about Christianity, yesterday I went to a dialogue between Christian and Muslim. I came because I really want to ask a Christian scholar the concept of Trinity because I honestly am very confused about it and have tried to ask friends to explain it to me, but I am still very confused. After the explanation by this Syrian Christian, I became more confused because during the explanation, he said that this doctrine is not written in the Bible or the text of the Apostles of Jesus but it's a product of the Christian Theologians (a few centuries later?). And during the explanation, he kept attacking Islamic concept which has no relevance to the concept of Trinity, such as the concept of eternity of the words of ALLAH (which is not something crucial to the creed of the muslims, the important concept is tawhid - oneness of God). Anyway, the more he explained, the more I'm confused and I can understand why more and more Christian friends either choose to be less practising or become muslims. This paragraph by no way to talk down Christianity, it might be just my incapability to understand the concept of Trinity and out of ignorance of Christianity that I said so.

Another concept of original sins and salvation on the Day of Judgement by just believing in the crucifixion of Prophet Jesus also doesn't seem appealing for me. A new born baby is so pure and sinless, how can the merciful God set sins on the baby before even he/she can survive by him/herself? How can sins be a kind of inheritance from our forefather? If salvation is guaranteed to all who believe in the sacrifice of Prophet Jesus on the cross, why are the Christians taught to ask for repentance, more so during the services in churches? Everyone should be responsible for their own actions. We earn our own rewards and sins, no one else can be accountable for other's action.

Anyway, I have more doubts about these few concepts in Christianity after attending the talk. I pray that ALLAH will guide me to the straight path, as well as all those sincere people who only wish for good for themselves and others.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

p/s: sincere apology if there is anyone felt offended with this post, I have no intention to insult any followers of certain doctrines, it's just that I couldn't accept it after openly research and discuss about it.

Departure

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

No, not yet but soon inshaALLAH. I hate departure, I hate leaving people and I feel worse if people leave me. I feel more painful if someone leaves me but less if I am leaving others. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I feel an emptiness if some I love and care of left me. Maybe it's because when I am leaving, there are more challenges and problems for me to face and think of on my journey and arriving at a new place. Anyway, I know I will soon face another great departure in my life.

I think we can divide departure in my life into two types. The first one is death. That's when my mum left us 8 years ago. That is among the worst time of my life. I can still vividly remember the moment she slipped away from us on the bed at the cancer unit. That is still affecting me everytime I thought about it and soon I know that another departure will come when my grandma is going to leave us soon. She is now in the hospital. She didn't wake up since Friday but her heart rate, blood pressure and respiration are all normal. The doctor said she will not live long and I am gutted that I won't be able to see her now. She is very old and has been through a very tough life. This is what makes her strong and she manages to endure the pain and illness for these many years. For her to depart from this world in a peaceful and painless manner, I think it is the best for her. No one is particularly sad at home because it is really a good way for her to go. I hope that in her heart she believes in one God and attains salvation in the hereafter.

The second type of departure is leaving a place forever or move to live in a different place. This happens to me twice. First was when I moved from my hometown to pursue my first degree in another town. I had to get a plane to travel there. I didn't feel sad at all but just exciting. It's only the first night at the hostel that I finally cried by myself missing home. After that, there were just so many things happened that I didn't have the time to think anything else. My second time was when I left Malaysia to do my PhD here in Cambridge. It was sad when I know that I am going to leave the people that I love. Tears bursted out not out of sadness but fear that I won't be able to see them again. I didn't feel sad when I arrived here because of so many problems and difficulties that I have to face here when I have arrived. My friends sent me off at the Senai airport and I travelled alone to Kuala Lumpur and to London Heathrow. Upon my arrival at Heathrow airport, a sister whom I have never met before picked me up to her house, gave me some useful culterly and sent me off to a bus stop at Guildford and caught a coach to Cambridge. Here, two brothers picked me up from the bus station and sent me to New Hall.

I know soon I will be facing another one. I don't know how am I going to face this one. I keep telling myself that it's just another departure and inshaALLAH I'll come back to see my friends again here in the future. But that doesn't help to make me feel any better. Inevitably I will feel sad for losing people that I love but I think there is a lesson to learn. A friend gave me this message:

When God takes something from your grasp, He is not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

What I need to do is to look forward for things that are coming, for there is God's Grace there. Of course, I will not forget the good memories of those who I have left. Friendships and sisterhood is something that I treasures that most. There is no way that I will want to break the ties but I know that to keep the ties as tight as I am here will not be possible when I have left. People always say friendship is forever, it's true in some sense but the intensity will never be the same forever. Another lesson that I have learnt from all these departures are that if we are talking about forever, there will never be a 'forever' for the matters of this World and with humans. The only eternity is ALLAH. Probably, the lesson to draw from departures is that we come to the conviction that ALLAH is the only one that will stay forever, be there for us forever and will never leave us forever. No matter how much we love someone or other loves us, they can't stay with us forever, if not mobility at least death. ALLAH in the first place has not been given life and of course HE will not die, so HE is the only being that will stay forever and ultimately the closest to us. Hence, the ultimate love for a human is to ALLAH, if one is to attain true happiness.

Oh ALLAH, The Eternal, fix my heart, my love and myself to YOU so that I won't be sad on every departure in my life again, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

The sit-in is over

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

After six days, the sit-in is finally over without any demand concretely met. I don't know to be happy or upset with the end of this issue, but I am certainly happy that none of the sisters that I know fall into those last 30ish of students who had to be "chucked" out of the faculty. 

I don't know who plotted the plan to break this sit-in and I don't know if they are clever or cunning in this plot. For many days, the university has been trying to get the students out. Last night, there was a CUSU (Cambridge University Students' Union) Council meeting to debate among many issues two motions relating to the sit-in (one for and one against). Although it's only some council members and the Presidents and External Officer of each college's JCR (Junior Common Room) and MCR (Middle Common Room) could vote, everyone can speak at the council. So, a big group of the people in the sit-in went out to attend the council meeting to support the motion which starts at 7.15pm. 

At around 7pm, the Registrar of the university issued a letter to them saying that those who trying to go in after leaving the building will be charged as trespassers. So, those who have left the building to attend the meeting, could not go in after that and the door to the building was locked and guarded by the university security. Around 10pm, when they came back after loosing the battle at the meeting, they could not go back to the sit-in, so some of them remain outside the door in the cold. This morning, at around 11am, all of them had to leave the building. More of the story can be found here. 

I personally supported the demands but I do not support the means. Hence, ISOC sent a letter to the Vice Chancellor stating our demands and sent press release to the university's newsletters. We also successfully passed a motion at the meeting last night for CUSU to acknowledge the humanitarian crisis in the region and support any student who want to raise awareness and money to help the situation.

Muslims should be peace-loving bunch of people. We should not disrupt others in the means we use to try to achieve our goal. Islam doesn't teach us that end justifies the means. There are so many other legal channels to get our voice heard. Probably less loud than this but at least we are not taking the rights of anyone away because the sit-in has created inconvenience to the students who use the lecture halls for classes. They have to move to small lecture halls and sat on the floor or stood at the door to listen to the lectures. The fact is that, after a few days of the sit-in, the Gaza issue is not the spotlight but the sit-in. People from sympathising the situation in Gaza as a result of the awareness raised through the sit-in, into hating to want to know more about it now. I don't know how much good the sit-in has done to the issue in Gaza, but it certainly has join in at least 18 other universities in the UK to occupy their universities to make sure that their demands are met. From the poll run by the university, from 2273 voters, less than 50% of the students believe that the university should grant demands 1, 2 and 4 but more than 50% of the students agree with demands 3, 5 & 6, and especially with disinvestment of arm trades. 

Anyway, we hope that our letter to the Vice Chancellor will receive a positive feedback and alhamdulillah this sit-in doesn't create a single noise that the stereotype extremist muslims are among those that created the chaos, even though it is a peaceful sit-in with some disruptions to the normal life of the students and staff of the Law Faculty. There were a handful of them in the sit-in but most of them went to the council meeting, hence they were not among those that had been taken out by the university this morning. 

Image is important because that's how dawah is made through examples and behaviours of the muslims. What I can learn from this is that only praiseworthy action will produce praiseworthy results; if we don't want people to continue occupy other people, we must not first be the occupier; never fight an injustice with another injustice; repel evils with good; do not do what you desire not from other to do to you.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Civil Disobedience

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Can we say that the sit-in in Cambridge is a form of Civil Disobedience?

I have learnt today from a sister that civil disobedience comes with the voluntary submission to the arrest and punishment by the authority, see here. Such is the nobility of a civil disobedience. But if the students demands that the University should not punish them for being disobedient to the authority, the sit-in has lost its nobility.

As students of this University, we signed the Matriculation Registration Form which reads:

"I promise to observe the Statutes and Ordinances of the University as far as they concern me, and to pay due respect and obedience to the Chancellor and other officers of the University"

Hence, the University's General Regulations No. 3 reads:

"No member of the University shall intentionally occupy or use any property of the University or of any College except as may be expressly or by implication authorized by the University or College authorities concerned."

For a student to break a contract after a signature has been put in, automatically, s/he will face the disciplinary procedure. For a muslim to break a covenant, it is as if s/he lower oneself to the status of a hypocrite because the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:"There are three signs of a htpocrite: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is trusted, he betrayed his trust." (Agreed upon).

I do not mean to accuse anyone of being a hypocrite, I just despise the act of breaking a promise. Fair enough, some of them may have forgotten that they have signed the contract with the university on their first day because of the excitement in getting into the university. But, often we forget about all these regulations and rules, we do not try to understand them and find ways to achieve our goals through legal channels by manipulating the regulations so that it favours our side. We lose our intellect and coolness in handling the current situation because of our incompetence in reading, understanding and manipulating these regulation and working our way up the bureaucratic ladder to dialogue with the authority in a diplomatic way.

If we failed in achieving our goal by following the regulations or correct interpretation of civil disobedience, we still can walk away with dignity and inshaALLAH the effort that we put in will gain pleasure and blessing from ALLAH.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Cambridge Sit-in

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Some 100 students of Cambridge University have staged a sit-in or they call it Occupation at the Law Faculty to imitate what other universities across the UK have been doing. Initially the muslims bunch of us are going to join but after a few thoughts and discussions, we decided that this should not be in our name. The sit-in is to demand the university to act on the crisis in Gaza. See here for more information. 

There are a few reasons for us not to join in. Besides the political reasons which I do not wish to publish here, I think fundamentally, as muslims, we should always strive to follow the footstep of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in everything that we decide to do or if we want to do it in the name to Islam. Simply because we are hijabis, like it or not, whenever we go out and do something, people will recognise us firstly as muslims (even if we are doing it individually, not in the name of ISOC), especially when we are in a non-muslim country and muslims are always under the spot light in these recent years. It is already a damaging publicity for some muslims to act in a radical way to demand immediate solution like suicide bombing. We for sure do not want to use this sit-in to demand a shortcut and short-term solution to the crisis. Yes, if this sit-in is successful and the demands are made by the university, it is a good news but is that an example that we want others to learn from us? Does end justify the means?

There is no shortcut in this life and all shortcuts will lead to disaster at the end. Everyone wants to have an easy life, get what they want as quick and as effortless as possible. Yes, we should not waste our time and resources to achieve certain goals, yet, we are not told to do so by radical and extreme means. Muslims are moderate bunch of people. Has the Qur'an not taught us to be the people of the middle way?

"Then We gave the Book for an inheritance to those whom We chosen from among Our servants; but of them is he who makes his soul to suffer a loss, and of them is he who takes a middle course, and of them is he who is foremost in deeds of goodness by ALLAH's permission; this is the great excellence." 

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah al-Fatir (Chapter 35, The Originator) verse 32

Has the Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us to act like extremists? When he (saw) and the earliest group of muslims were tortured, killed, persecuted, boycotted, harmed, oppressed until an extend that the Companions (ra) asked the Prophet Muhammad (saw) when will the help of ALLAH come, ALLAH replied:

"Or do you think that you would enter the Garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them and they were shaken violently, so that the Messenger and those who believed with him said: When will the help of ALLAH come? Now surely the help of ALLAH is near!"

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah al-Baqarah (Chapter 2, The Cow) verse 214

There had never been any extreme or radical action taken by the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Instead, everything was dealt with patience (sabr) because clearly ALLAH is with those who are patient. Shortcut is only taken by those who have no patient. If a shortcut means breaking the rules or creating discomfort or harm to others, that is clearly out of the fold of Islam. So, how can you demand something good by doing something bad? 

"Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord; establish regular prayers; spend out of (the gifts), We have bestowed for their sustenance, secretly and openly; and turn off evil with good; for such there is the final attainment of the (Eternal) Home."

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah ar-Rad (Chapter 13, The Thunder) verse 22

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us to repel evils with good actions. Never fight an injustice with another injustice. When a blind Jewish lady cursed and humiliated the Prophet (saw) every morning on the street where the Prophet (saw) passed by daily, did he shout at her? No, instead, he gave her a date to eat. After years of tortured and finally the muslims conquered Makkah, did the Prophet (saw) took any revenge by killing or oppressing the non-muslims who used to do the same to the muslims? No, instead, he wanted good for them, pardoned them and preached them to be good, to follow the teaching of ALLAH.

Muslims don't take extreme actions even in extreme situations because under extreme circumstances, what matter is our patience and reliance on ALLAH. We plot, we pray and we act according to what ALLAH pleases and allows us to do. Whatever the outcomes from our actions done sincerely for the sake of ALLAH and on the path of ALLAH, we have to accept them with gratitude. If we measure the success by the yard stick of the Dunya, we will never be successful because the yard stick of the Akhirah is much more weighty than the Dunya's. 

In the time of crisis, let's pray for the best and act the way our beloved (saw) would act. And ALLAH alone is the One that will give us the rewards that we deserve.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Gaza and Iman

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Sorry for not been blogging for a long time. I have been writing my thesis although it's not finish yet it will inshaALLAH come to an end soon, please keep make dua for me.

In the mean time, I have been also following the devastating and heart-breaking disaster in Gaza. What is happening there is the fault of all humanity. No one side only is taking the blame, nor a few parties of people or nations but it is the error done by all humanity in the 20th and 21st centuries. For the countries involved in the WW1 and WW2, for US, UN and British to "give" the Jews a piece of Palestinians land, for the continuing support of many countries all over the world to the US, not having the courage to speak out their stance and opposition to the US and Israel, fear of the economic and military power of the US, for the disunited arab countries and muslim countries, for the weak iman of the muslims all over the world, today we have this grave humanitarian crisis happening in the holy land of three biggest Abrahamic faiths in the world.

Iman is faith, to believe in at least a God. Since there is only one God under the Abrahamic tradition, there cannot be my one God and your one God, but all that we are worshipping is that the one and only the God. The simplest form of iman or faith as clearly said in the Quran consists of three principles:-

1. To believe in the God (which basically means belief in one God)
2. To believe in the Day of Judgement
3. To do righteous deeds

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

~ The Holy Quran, Surah al-Baqarah (The Chapter of The Cow), verse 62

This simply just means that a human who has faith should only do good deeds (e.g., helping the poor and needy, uphold justice, be merciful, make peace, etc.) because what we do will be asked and judged on the Day of Judgement by the one and only - the God. If this doesn't make sense for you, we shall explain it from the reverse angle? If you believe in a God, a God who has the power over everything, who created the humans and the universe, who is the most merciful and most just, who created also the Day of Judgement to reward those who have done righteous deeds and punish those who have oppressed others and themselves, then, there is nothing to earn the mercy of the God and avoid the wrath of the God on the Day of Judgement except by doing the deeds that the God has prescribed for the humans, which basically are righteous deeds that will do good for oneself and the whole of humanity.

Come back to the crisis in Gaza, I just want to ask everyone (whatever your believe is), look into your heart and ask yourself, is what happening now something right? If you have even an ounce of mercy in your flesh and blood, will you not call for a ceasefire now? How many more sacred lives are we going to take? Knock the door of your faith, of your iman (for my muslim brothers and sisters), what will the God ask us on the Day of Judgement about what is happening now?

Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) told us that, "Whoever of you sees an evil, he must change it by his hand. If he cannot, then he must change it by his tongue, and if he cannot, then he must change it by his heart - and that is the weakest manifestation of faith" (Hadith collected by Imam Muslim). Are we not in the weakest state of iman now for not being able even to voice our discontent and disagreement or even to stop the wrong that is happening now?

Aren't upholding justice, peace and mercy; and forbidding injustice, oppression and killing, righteous deeds in the eyes of the God? Isn't this the teaching that we have learnt about iman? So where is your iman, my dear brothers and sisters? How will ALLAH help us if we don't even have that bit of iman in our heart? How will ALLAH answer our prayers if we don't even try to increase our faith?

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

An Iraqi wedding

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

I went to Birmingham for an Iraqi wedding this time. I didn't know what to expect because I've never been to any Arab wedding before and this time, I am asked to be the official photographer for the bride's family. Of course there is no payment charged because I am not a skilled and professional photographer, not even a part-time photographer, not even a single photography lesson or course. I was very involved on the day, not just taking photos, but also helping.

My friend basically wanted a female muslim who can help take picture on her wedding because it is a segregated wedding. The bride and all the women in the segregated-women-only hall didn't wear hijab and they wore very beautiful dresses. The bride and bridemaids wore proper English-styled wedding dresses. The groom and male family wore ties and suits and top hats. They were in the men hall.

This couple basically have done their nikkah 2 years ago but according to the Arab tradition, that is what they call engagement, wedding is after this kind of walimah. They are legally husband and wife according to Shari'ah but can't live together according to the tradition. They also have yet registered in the UK law. So, this wedding was really well-planned and run smoothly. The groom is an Algerian.

We went to the function hall at 12pm to set up the halls, one for men and one for women. The bride went straight to the make-up room and stayed there. At 3pm, guests started to come and food was served at 4.30pm. At 6pm, when the bride was ready, she came in with the bridemaids to meet the female guests. She is mashaALLAH very beautiful. She sat on a stage and everyone came up to greet her. Later, arab wedding songs were played and they started dancing. There was this one Egyptian wedding song that stuck in my head until today - 'arisna, 'arisna; 'arustuh, 'arustuh - which means our groom, our groom, his bride, his bride.

At 8pm, all the ladies put on their hijab and jilbab except the bride and the groom's family, to welcome the groom entering the women hall. By then, many guests have gone and only close families and friends left. They took photos and went up the stage for cake-cutting. Then, the bride were dressed by the bridemaids with a few pieces of cloth to cover her so that she could get into the groom's car without letting other men notice her outfit and make-up. They then went straight to a hotel.

By the time we got back home, it was midnight and we were all hungry. The bride too had to ask her brother to buy her dinner at the hotel before we went home. Alhamdulillah, everything went so well and halal because these 2 families are very practising and well-known among the arab muslim community in Birmingham.

I thought my job is just there but the next morning, we went to the hotel to take out-door photos for the couple. It was a lovely day and the garden at the hotel was massive and beautiful. In the evening, they went to their new flat. The husband was so romantic that he asked his sister to decorate the flat with rose petals to welcome her to the new home. There is this tradition for the newly wedded couple to drink milk and eat dates. The next day, they went to Morocco for honeymoon.

May ALLAH bless their marriage with happiness until they enter the Paradise with their offsprings. Amin.

Wassalam.

Paris

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Yes, I went to Paris last week for a conference but didn't have the time to blog, sorry. Alhamdulillah, everything went well. A sister in London whom I met only twice helped me to contact a French sister who kindly let me stay at her house for FREE for my whole time there. May ALLAH reward them all. Another French sister brought me around Paris and organised a dinner with a group of sisters, mashaALLAH, they are all so nice. I met a group of Malaysians too there. The best part was that I get to enjoy halal French & Italian cuisine which I didn't get while I was in Greece. On my way back on Eurostar, I also get to have halal meal! Can't believe how much the muslims have done in the non-muslim world. 

On my way back to Cambridge, I stayed a night in London and my friend brought me around London. This was the first time I have ever walked around London doing sight-seeing like a tourist who has never been to London. Unfortunately, it was just a short visit and we encountered a parade, apparently to celebrate 'Gay Day'. While getting on the train to go back to Cambridge, I met a group of Cambridge sisters who went shopping in London, alhamdulillah, I have some companies on my journey home.

Seriously, without all these great sisters' help, I would have spending a lot of money for this trip. Their assistance includes:

1. A London sister suggested a French sister who is her housemate to help me regarding accommodation in Paris and in searching the conference location.

2. The French sister found me a sister who is willing to accommodate me for my whole stay in Paris. (And this sister just got married 2 days before I arrived!)

3. 3 sisters in London let me stay at their house the day before my departure to Paris and the day after my arrival in London so that I can get a cheap Eurostar return ticket. 

4. A French sister brought me around Paris, showed me how to use the underground (Metro), organised a dinner with a lot of sisters, and basically be there whenever I needed anything or had any questions about Paris.

5. Another French sister who brought be around Paris to get what I want and sent me to the train station on my last day.

6. 3 Cambridge sisters who were on their way back to Cambridge helped me with my bags and accompanied me home.

Alhamdulillahi rabbil'alamin, that's all that I can say and may ALLAH reward them all.

Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah

I'm a muslim

And there's nothing else I wanna be...

(Alhamdulillah - Dawud Wharnsby Ali)

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Cambridge Mosque is moving

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

The presence mosque in Cambridge, the one and only tiny little mosque in Cambridge which can accommodate no more than 700 congregations now has found a new site on the same street to build a bigger and purposely-built mosque for more than 1000 congregations. Every Friday, if the men came late, they will have to pray on the street. The new mosque inshaALLAH will provide more and comfortable space for the muslims in Cambridge to pray. MashaALLAH Cambridge has more than 4000 muslims including the students. There are more than 5 places in Cambridge that hold Friday prayer weekly to accommodate everyone. Alhamdulillah, the muslims here try their best to make sure that they observe their prayers here even though the facilities aren't as good as in some muslim countries.

The Muslim Academic Trust led by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad has successfully gathered money from generous donors and bought a piece of land on Mill Road to build the new mosque, alhamdulillah. However, the development of this new site must first get the support from the local residents. This is how good the system in UK but the weakness is that it will take longer to get approved. So, we had this meeting with the residents of Romsey today.

The residential area is occupied mostly by non-muslims. Building a mosque for some is like building a muslim area or maybe terrorists centre sort of thing for those non-muslims who have been poisoned by the irresponsible media. It was expected to have questions from them about the 'threat' of building a mosque. After a clear presentation by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad chaired by the Chair of Romsey Action, the Q & A session started with the problem of traffic and parking. Mill Road is already a very congested street and with lots of parking problems. However, Shaykh Abdal Hakim managed to dissolve this by assuring that it will only happen once a week during Friday lunch time. Other than that, there will be no problem. Other problems like the garden and other facilities at the site were debated at the meeting but they are not real issue.

Then, there was this old man kept on bringing up the racist issue and got booed by the audience (they are mostly non-muslims), shouting 'Shame' when he said about the muslims are immigrants. Shaykh Abdal Hakim said that he is an indigenous of Cambridge. Later, more non-muslims gave their support for the project including the need of diversity, inter-faith and inclusive. Alhamdulillah, we gain the backing of many of the residents. There are only parking and congestion issue left to discuss. More information about the project is here. It would be great if you can help this project by giving donation as instructed on the page. Email me if you want the bank details for online transfer.

This is how supportive the non-muslims to the muslims in a non-muslim country. I wonder how will muslims give their support to charitable works of non-muslims in a muslim country?

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

English wedding

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Summer is full of wedding, alhamdulillah. Yet another great sister has fulfilled half of her deen last Sunday. She is half Turkish and half Welsh married to a Gujerati Indian, so the wedding for the female side was very English. Set in an old building (actually a conference centre built upon old building) with big nice garden during this summer time, it was perfect for the big day. She dressed in white dress with white laces and white hijab while the groom dressed in dark grey suit. They matched each other perfectly. This wedding was blessed by the presence of Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad with speech, poem, dua and burdah. I like the poem made by the shaykh especially when he said that "A Mohsin who lost in the Sahara" (check out their names in the picture above). 

After the brief ceremony with speech by the bride's father, the shaykh and Qur'an recitation by the groom's best friend; we had a light refreshment followed by photography session. Some took the opportunity to wonder around the massive yet serene garden while the kids played on the grass. We had a Mediterranean dinner with the hosts and the wedding ended with a speech by the fathers, friends and the couples. They then headed off to a hotel in a decorated car. They are now in Spain for honeymoon before they come back for the walimah (groom's side).

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the walimah next Sunday cause I have to go to a trip organised by the CAMMP (Cambridge Malaysian Muslim Postgraduates). I pray that their marriage will last forever.

Next month, it's the turn of an Iraqi sister. So, stay tune for an Arab-styled wedding.

Wassalam.

FATIN

Materialism vs. Spirituality

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

I went to the last ISOC circle for this term before May Week. ISOC invited a UK well known islamic scholar who is also one of the teachers in Sunnipath that answers fiqh questions - Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari. The talk as the title of this post was specially picked by himself as a reminder for us. Between the extreme of materialism and spirituality, he advised us to take the middle-path as many sound scholars will tell us to do so.

One point that I really like about his talk is that when we said about different madhhab and groups of muslims, can we really say that others are wrong and we are right, others are munafiq and kafir? He said, ultimately, all the muslims, in any group, strive to please ALLAH and believe that their way is the best way to reach the destination. No matter how a person stands and pray (salah), it is not important, the important thing is that the person prays 5 times a day. Rather than criticising those who pray differently from us (different ways of putting the hands, saying 'bismillah' or not in Fatihah, etc.), it is better for us to concentrate our effort on those who don't pray.

Come back to the theme of the talk. He gave 3 really good examples of how we see the dunya and the akhirah. He used water, a car and a toilet to describe the dunya.

1. Water
To reach our destination (to ALLAH), where a boat is the only means, we must travel by water. The boat is the heart while the water is the dunya and our destination is ALLAH and akhirah. To get there safely, we must go through the water and make sure that the water that enter the boat doesn't exceed the limit hence sunk the boat. We can possess worldly stuff but do not let the heart loves them, even if we love some of them, do not let them take over our hearts. Like it or not, we must get across the dunya to reach akhirah, so row safely by not letting the water fills the boat until it sinks.

2. A car
Nowadays car is a common means of transport. To reach a destination, we drive. When we are driving, our focus is on the road that will bring us to the destination. While driving, we may also do other stuff like thinking, talking, eating, listening, etc. In this world, we are constantly driving, non-stop to reach the akhirah. We focus on akhirah but at the same time we are allowed to do other worldly stuff if we wished but make sure that we don't loose the focus. If we loose our focus, we will perish in a car accident.

3. A toilet
He said this is an extreme example. A toilet is a must in a house, like it or not. If we see the toilet as the dunya, we know that it is necessary to go into it at least once a day - only when we need it. We don't obsess with the toilet, we don't think about it all day long, our hearts are not attached to it. Yes, that's should be our attitude towards the dunya. It is necessary to reach akhirah but we don't feel attach to it cause that is not our final aim.

Having said all about these, of course there is no way that a muslim should seclude him/herself into the jungle, wearing the same 2 pieces of cloth and meditating all day long. It is also not right to be materialistic that only wealth is the most important thing in life thus making wealth/money an idol that a muslim worships. Always, always come back to the middle way because clearly ALLAH said in the Qur'an that the muslims are the middle-way nation.

Hope you benefit from his talk too. May ALLAH help us to reach our destination to HIM safely.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Generosity needs courage

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

This is a really refreshing talk to listen and reflect on:



If you have the 21 minutes, do try to listen to it.

Wassalam.

A heart

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that: "Surely there is in the body a small piece of flesh; if it is good, the whole body is good, and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted, and that is surely the heart."

~ Imam Bukhari

A good heart is like a good fire alarm. A very high quality fire alarm can detect smoke and heat before a fire starts. A better one can even connect straight to some devices to put off the fire or alert the fire station. However, it doesn't mean that a fire alarm once is installed will be working like it intended to be. You need to make sure that it is put in a correct way, test it consistently, maintain it, clean the sensor after a while, put in the right place, don't dirty it, damage it, cover it, etc. It's not easy but the reward is very high. You save yourself, your property and your family & friends from fire if you have a good fire alarm. With a good fire alarm doesn't mean that you cannot cook in your house or lit a scent stick. A really good one will be programmed in a way that certain amount of smoke and heat should not be a case of fire. This needs hard work and good engineering (education).

The heart is the central of a human soul. Without it, a human has no soul. Dirty heart makes a person acts inhumanely, or worse to say, like an animal. Human can be achieve a rank higher than the angel and also a rank lower than the animal. Pure and clean heart is a measure to tell us what is right and wrong. It is sometime the instinct some people called when you think it is the right or wrong thing to do. A clean heart can easily weight out the wrong path. Many scholars believe that a clean heart is the central of learning because knowledge will only reside in a clean heart. That's why when we say we memorise something, we say we learn something by-heart. Imam Shafi'i said that

“I complained to Wakee` (his teacher) about my bad memory, and he taught me that I should keep away from sin. He said that knowledge of ALLAH is light, and the light of ALLAH is not given to the sinner (whose heart is filthy).”

How to maintain and take care of the heart? These are a few tips:

1. Avoid unnecessary talk or speech that will hurt others.

On the authority of Anas, the Prophet (saw) said: "The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is not put right until his tongue is put right."

~ Al-Musnad

On the authority of Ibn Umar: "Do not talk excessively without remembering Allah, because such excessive talk without the mention of Allah causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest from Allah is a person with a hard heart."

~At-Tirmidhi

2. Avoid unrestrained glance.

It has been related that the Prophet (saw) once said words to the effect: "The glance is a poisoned arrow of shaytan. Whoever lowers his gaze for ALLAH, HE will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day that he meets HIM."

~ At-Tabarani

3. Avoid sinning and haram food. What we eat will certainly be part of our flesh and of course a heart is our flesh. If we eat halal and healthy food it can strengthen our memories. So, if we eat filthy and haram food, we are making the heart ill and lost its ability to make good judgement.

The food of the heart is remembrance of ALLAH. So, take care of that small piece of flesh in our body.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Al-Fatihah...

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Every soul shall taste of death, and you shall only be paid fully your reward on the resurrection day; then whoever is removed far away from the fire and is made to enter the garden he indeed has attained the object; and the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities.

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah Ali Imran (Chapter 3, Family of Imran) verse 185

This is what ALLAH has promised and today after the Friday prayer, a jenazah prayer was performend at 3.30pm at the mosque for this Syrian brother who is also the manager of a halal grocery just opposite my house - Spice Gate. It was announced at the jumaah that it will be prayed at 2.45pm but postponed to 3.30pm. May ALLAH have mercy on him, forgive all his sins and place him with the righteous people in the Paradise.

I have never seen in my real life how hard strong young men wept and cried over a death. Today I witnessed it and from no feeling of grief, I can hardly hold my tears. Most of the ladies have already been crying for quite a while when watching the body being put into a private ambulance to be sent off for burial. The crowd of brothers surrounding the ambulance at the mosque entrance have red eyes and watery eye-lids. They were hugging and comforting each other. There was a young brother in his early 20s standing alone quite far from the ambulance (about 2 houses away from the mosque entrance), his eyes were looking at the ambulance while tears dropping and he has to use his palm to cover his mouth from shouting.

Such a scene proved that the disease is such a respectable and much loved man. Moreover, the fact that many people were still at the mosque waiting to pray that jenazah prayer even though it was postponed, shows how much people like to bid farewell to him. Some even said that it is a sign of a righteous person if he or she passed away on Friday.

Today, at the khutbah, the khatib reminded us that charity should be done as soon as possible because we won't know if we will live another day to consume the money that we have saved or to give it out for another charity.

May we all die in Islam and given the privilege to reside in ALLAH's Paradise. Amin.

Ya Dhaljalali wal ikram, amitna ala dinnil islam.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Farewell to Shaykh Abdul Razzaq Balhawan

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

It is really sad for us today. It reminds me a lot of Rihla's final hours in Madinah. After finishing the teaching part, Shaykh Abdul Razzaq brought some refreshment for us as a gift for good. He has diabetes so he didn't have a lot but he never stopped offering us more juice and sweets. Fortunately we have prepared a set of pen & pencil engraved with his name on them as a gift for good to him. He refused to accept it and kept saying 'laa hawla wa laa quwata illa billahi' until Umm Hassan insisted that he finally took it and said that we have made him feel so shy. MashaALLAH, a very down to earth teacher.

His willingness to teach us is something that is not easy to get. Not that he is stingy in sharing knowledge but it is that he is too good that so many people are waiting for him to teach them. Some of his students follow him wherever he goes to read in front of him so that they may finish the Qur'an and receive a degree (ijazah) from him. The more students around him, the less each student will get to read from the Qur'an. Alhamdulillah, he kindly opened a class specially for the sisters. Though it's no more than 1 and a half hour daily, it is enough for us to read more than 2 pages a day including some lessons of the rules of tajwid. Of course, he gave full time for the brothers. Usually for a great teacher like him, those who want to learn from such a teacher will have to wait at the mosque. After the teacher finish leading Fajr prayer, then, the teaching begins. Usually from a crowd of brothers, each of them only manage to read 1 page a day. That's why I said that we are quite lucky, alhamdulillah.

If the mosque is willing, he will be invited to Cambridge again in Ramadhan. Before that, he will be judging the Qur'an recitation in Malaysia (but I won't be there). He said that he doesn't really like people singing the Qur'an because one will loose the tajwid rules, change the harakah, etc. thus change the meaning of the Qur'an which is completely haram as ALLAH asks us to read the Qur'an with 'tartil' (Surah al-Muazzammil, verse 7). It is fard al-ain to read the Qur'an according to rules (whether the person knows the rules or not). According to a hadith, it is recommended to read the Qur'an according to the rules and in our nature tone, or in another words not purposely beautifying the recitation with singing tone.

Anyway, I really am looking forward for his next visit to Cambridge, if I am still here. He said, for the next meeting, he will give us examinations. That give us about 4 months to practice.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Juzu' Amma

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Alhamdulillahi rabbilalamin, we managed to finish reading Juzu' Amma with Shaykh Abdur Razaq yesterday and now we moved to Juzu' Tabarak. He said after we have done nearly a month of tajwid lesson, most of us have avoided major error or 'lahn jaly' which includes the changes of harakah, tashkil and letters that may change the meaning of the Qur'an thus making it basically haram. However, we have not yet perfected our recitation so inevitably we sometimes still make minor errors or 'lahn khofy' which includes the little mistakes in makhroj and sifat that do not change the letters and meaning. For example when we read Surah al-Fatihah, the last verse, we say 'wa ladhdhoolin'. When making the stopping of 'dhod', there are 7 characteristics that we must pay attention and give right to or it will become an error in recitation. To say the sukun of 'dhod', one should not make whispering, no qalqalah, no stressing, instead it is a soft letter with the characteristic of lengthening, thick and take a bit of time to make sukun. However, if we can't make it a perfect 'dhod', as long as we don't change 'dhod' to 'zho' or 'da', that's is still acceptable.

Making 'lahn khofy' in reciting al-Fatihah in salah will not nullify one's salah but if making 'lahn jaly' and change the meaning completely, then it may result in one's salah not being accepted, according to the Shaykh. ALLAHU'alam. For example to say 'yaumi-ddin'. If the 'dal' is recited with whispering thus making it into 'ta', you literally change the meaning of 'Day of Judgement' into 'Day of the Fig'. Funny? But many people make this mistake. And another example is when saying 'Iyyaka na'budu wa...'. Some people tend to do 'duu', change from 1 harakah into 2 harakah because they think that the next 'wau' for 'wa' makes 'du' into 'duu'. Also in 'sirat', changing 'sod' into 'sin'. These are not right. May ALLAH help us in our recitation and accept our deeds.

This Tuesday will be our last lesson before Shaykh Abdur Razaq has to go back to Syria again. We feel quite sad today to realise the end of the course. Before we can say anything, the Shaykh said that he will miss us when he goes back. I nearly got into tear for what he said. Indeed he is such a sincere, pious, humble, giving and knowledgeable person. I, who used to be a teacher, can understand how this feeling is like. The last time he came was in Ramadhan and I studied with him and this time when he came, he asked of all his students who attended the classes back then. Who will not be touched by that? And now he will be leaving soon and he will most probably come back again in next Ramadhan if he lives long and the mosque here invites him again. He will not ask for payment but just travel expenses and accommodation, which basically is in the mosque. Such a simple and sincere person. I don't know if I will still be in Cambridge when he comes again but surely what he has taught us will, inshaALLAH, earn reward from ALLAH and I will try my best to embody his teaching and teach them in the future if possible. For sure, he has been given ijazah for tajwid and can be traced back directly to the the Prophet Muhammad (saw) through a chain of learnt scholars, but what he has taught me is way beyond tajwid and still is what the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has taught us.

May ALLAH preserve him, raise his rank among the righteous people and grant him Paradise. Amin.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Tell your family before you convert

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

This news from Malaysia really got me writing. Our controversial PM of Malaysia asked all those who want to convert to make sure that their families are informed and then they can convert and register as a muslim! If this is the case, I am afraid that he will scare more people away from making this noble act. Not that it should be hidden from your family when you have converted, it is that your heart is ready to submit to ALLAH but you need time to think how to talk to your family. Considering to convert already has taken a lot of brain power to think and reflect, now you want them to also take up the pain to think of how to tell their families without getting chased out and cursed (if unfortunate)?

I understand that it is good to have the consent from the family because I think that is fairer to them but not many people can do that. For sure I can't and didn't. Conversion is not something that we can control (probably because he has not been through this process so he proposed this). Today I said that my heart really wants to submit to the All-Mighty One and Only None Other God - ALLAH, and want to follow the examples of the Messenger of God (saw), but wait! I have to stop that submission first and let my family know first before I can truly claim that I am a muslim. Is that what a conversion like? For sure, it is not true for me.

By imposing this regulation to have consent from the family before registration as a new muslim, it will only put off people from telling the authority. People just are not going to trouble themselves for a piece of consent letter from their family if they are not ready to tell them. Without the acknowledgment of the islamic authority (like a certificate), if the person passed away, it creates worse scenario than before this regulation because there is literally no black and white (only a shahadah taken in an old surau, let's say with two poor men as witnesses). There is simply no solid evidence of the conversion yet those friends who have been teaching this new convert know how much submission to ALLAH this person is and of course they would want his/her funeral done in the islamic way as well as any other dispute of will and wealth.

If you impose a regulation without any research or consultation from proper experts (I mean real expert, at least the mufti), you are only creating troubles. This is my PM who didn't do enough consultation with the proper experts in his coalition (the worse is consulted the wrong people) before naming the candidates for the pass election and caused terrible defeat. Read this piece of news.

Oh ALLAH, please save us from this mess and make all those who want to submit to YOU carry out their submission easily.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Interest

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Now I have realised that my main interest is not in Physics education but Islamic education and contemporary politics. Looking at the time I have spent lately, I can divide it into time for my phd study, islamic study, reading political news & blogs and eat & sleep. And most of my time is for islamic study and following-up political movement, especially my country. This is very worrying me because I meant to do my phd at this time! I hope I will get back on track of my study soon. If my posting gets really not that frequent, pray that I am doing my phd than other stuff.

By the time, Indeed men are in lost, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds and enjoin the Truth and patience.

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah al-'Asr (Chapter 103, The Time) verses 1-3

A song by Dawud Wharnsby Ali - Another Day:

Wassalam.

Fitna - Part III

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Finally a muslim scholar responded to the Fitna documentary by showing how the producer is so naive about Arabic language. When quoting the verses in the documentary, the producer also quoted the recitation of the verses in Arabic. For those who can understand the Arabic language, it is clear that some phrases were not translated and shown in the documentary which of course changed the real meaning of the verses from peaceful to violence. Watch these video and you will understand why there is no need to be angry toward ignorant people.





ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.