A very interesting and beautiful video about hijab for woman, the protection of beauty. I am wearing hijab to remind myself how beautiful I am^^....I hope more women wear hijab....InsyaAllah
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea
Don Baker is the Director of the Centre for Korean Research in the Institute for Asian Research at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He received a Ph.D. in Korean history from the University of Washington in 1983. His dissertation was a study of the Confucian confrontation with Catholicism in eighteenth-century Korea. Don Baker’s research has recently focused on Korea’s cultural history. Among his publications are articles on Korean medicine, on worship of the Healing Buddha in Korean Buddhism, on the folk dance-drama, and on religion and the rise of civil society. He is currently working on a broad overview of Korean spirituality to be published by the University of Hawaii Press.
Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea
Korea occupies a peninsula jutting out of northeast China toward Japan. This is not a neighborhood known for a strong Muslim presence. Japan has few Muslims. Nor are there many Muslims in Russia’s Far East, which lies just to the northwest of the Korean peninsula. China has many more Muslims than either Japan or Russia’s eastern provinces, but Chinese Muslims are concentrated in either the far west or the southwest, thousands of miles from Korea. With few Muslim neighbors, traditional Korea developed a religious landscape that was dominated by Buddhist temples, Confucian study halls, and shrines for Korea’s own folk religion. That landscape has become more crowded over the last century with the addition of thousands of Christian churches. There would appear to be no room left for that other major world religion, Islam. Nevertheless, scattered among those thousands of churches, shrines, and temples, a careful observer might notice a few mosques. Furthermore, those mosques will be crowded during a typical Friday worship service. Islam appears to be gaining a toehold on the Korean peninsula.
Not only are there practicing Muslims living in Korea today, the history of Korean contact with Muslims and with Islam goes back hundreds of years. The Islamic world first became aware of Korea’s existence via China’s Tang dynasty (617-907). Korea, in turn, first encountered Islam during its own Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), when a few Central Asian Muslims moved into the peninsula. However, there was no ethnically Korean community of Muslims until after the Korean War (1950-1953). Though Korean sources from the Silla dynasty, which ended in 936, say nothing about Islam, Muslims or Arabs, there are references to Korea in some early world geographies by Muslim scholars. According to a study by Hee-Soo Lee, a Korean scholar of the history of Muslim-Korean relations, the first such reference appears in Ibn Khurdadbih’s
General Survey of Roads and Kingdoms, which was first published in the mid-9th century.1 Altogether, Lee has identified eleven different Muslim geographers from the 9th through the 13th century who noted the existence of a land to the east of China that they referred to as Silla. These works typically called Silla an island rather than a peninsula, which suggests that no Muslims had actually visited Korea. Instead, word of Silla’s existence probably reached the Muslim world through Arab and Central Asian merchants who had engaged in trade with Tang China and may have met Koreans there.
The Tang dynasty was one of the more cosmopolitan periods in Chinese history. There were tens of thousands of foreign traders living in China at that time, including Koreans, Central Asian Muslims, and even Arabs. It is probable that some Koreans met some Muslims in China. Even if the Koreans, who were concentrated along China’s northern coast, and Arabs, who were concentrated in the Guangdong area in the south, did not meet, they probably heard of each other’s existence. Korean diplomats, and the merchants who accompanied them, probably saw other Muslims in the Tang capital of Chang’an, since people from Central Asia traveled there to present tribute to the Tang emperor, as did Koreans. There was a large enough Muslim community staying in Chang’an under the Tang to justify the construction of a mosque in the 8th century. Koreans may have traded with those Muslims, since some Persian and even Roman artifacts that had traveled the Silk Road have been excavated from Silla tombs.
History records at least one specific instance of Muslim-Korean contact during the Tang a century before the first Muslim work mentioned Korea. However, it is unlikely that the Turkish and Arab armies who defeated Tang troops in Central Asia in 751 were aware that the general leading those Tang armies, General Gao Xianzhi (d. 755), was actually a native of Korea whose birth name was Go Seonji. Nevertheless, that first confirmed encounter of a Korean with Muslims had historic consequences. The defeat of Gao Xianzhi’s army by the advancing Muslim forces on the banks of the Talas River near Samarkand ensured that Chinese influence would fade away in that part of the world, and Buddhism would be replaced by Islam as the dominant religion in Central Asia.
Despite a lack of direct knowledge of Korea, early Arab accounts of Korea paint a very attractive picture (perhaps the few Koreans they met bragged about their homeland!). They describe it as richly endowed with gold and enjoying a very pleasant climate. A couple of 9th and 10th century Arab sources translated by Lee even claim that some Muslims had wandered over to Korea and found it such a nice place to live that they did not ever want to leave. If those reports are true, those Muslims must have blended into Korean society very quickly, because there is no mention of them in Korean sources from that time.
Muslims and the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392)
The first Korean accounts of contacts with Muslims come from the Goryeo dynasty, which followed Silla. The official history of the Goryeo dynasty, compiled in the 15th century but based on older documents, reports that in the 11th century Arab traders sailed into Korean harbors on several occasions to engage in trade. The Muslim merchants offered rare ingredients needed in Chinese medicine prescriptions, some of which they had picked up in Southeast Asia on their way. In return, they received gold and cloth from the king of Goryeo. Such direct maritime trade began to fade at the end of the 11th century, though Koreans may have continued to trade with Arabs through Song China (960-1279) middlemen for sometime afterwards. When Song China was defeated by Mongols, and the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) seized control over all of China and, as part of the broader Mongol empire, opened up land links across Eurasia, Korean interaction with Muslims revived, though now it was by land rather than by sea.
The Mongols employed many Arabs, Persians, and Central Asian Muslims, especially Turks and Uighurs, to help them run their empire. Some of those non-Mongols served in the Mongol army. Others served in administrative posts. Though Korea remained under nominal Korean rule during the Mongol era (the Wang family, which ruled Goryeo, stayed on the throne), it was conquered by the Mongols a couple of decades before the Mongols completed the conquest of Song China. After Goryeo surrendered, some of those conquering troops, including Central Asian Muslim elements, stayed in Korea to ensure Korea did not resume its resistance to Mongol rule. The Mongols also regularly dispatched officials to Korea to relay its instructions to Goryeo and make sure those instructions were heeded. Some of those officials were Muslims, and some of them stayed in Korea and were given official positions in the Mongol-controlled Goryeo government. There were also some Muslim merchants who moved to Korea and opened up shops in Goryeo’s capital.
Some claim to find proof of the prominence of Muslim merchants in Goryeo in a popular song from 13th century Korea that has survived to the present day. That song, “The Turkish Bakery” may have been written for a stage performance created for the amusement of King Chungnyeol (r.1274-1308), who apparently enjoyed bawdy songs and plays. The first stanza of that song, reads:
I go to the Turkish shop, buy a bun,
An old Turk grasps me by the hand.
If this story is spread abroad,
Daroreo geodireo, You alone are to blame, little actor!
Deoreo dungsyeong darireodireo darireodireo taroreogeodireo taroreo
I will go, yes go to his bed;
Wi wi daroreo geodireo daroreo,
A narrow place, sultry and dark.
According to Peter Lee, the nonsense syllables, which also appear as refrains in the remaining stanzas, were intended to sound erotic. The remaining three stanzas tell of similar erotic liaisons with a monk, a dragon, and an innkeeper.2 Taken together, they tell us what sorts of relationships residents of Goryeo’s capital city considered exotic and exciting. Though the dragon was clearly not real, there must have been rumors of actual womanizing innkeepers, monks, and Turkish shopkeepers to make that song so popular in Goryeo elite circles. However, even without that song as evidence, we can be sure that there were Muslim merchants in Goryeo Korea because Hee-Soo Lee has located several references to them in the official history of the Goryeo dynasty.
It is not always easy to tell if Goryeo documents are referring to a Muslim or simply to someone from Central Asia. For example, the term translated as “Turk” in that song about the Turkish bakery is “huihui.” The term “huihui” came to be synonymous with Muslims in East Asia later. However, it may not have been used exclusively for Muslims in the 13th century, when that song was written. “Huihui” at that time referred to Central Asian Muslims as well as to Uighurs, a Turkish-speaking community that lives in what is now China’s Far West and did not fully convert as a community to Islam until possibly as late as the 15th century. At the time that song was composed, a few Uighurs were Muslims but others were Buddhists and still others Christians. Therefore, in the 13th century, when someone was called a “huihui,” that meant that he or she was a Turk from Central Asia but not necessarily a Muslim. It is likely that most of the Turks in Korea during the Mongol era were Uighurs. The Mongols relied heavily on Uighurs to help them run their vast empire because of Uighur literacy and Uighur experience in managing extended trading networks. At least two of those “huihui” settled down in Korea permanently and became the progenitors of two Korean clans.
One of those Central Asian immigrants to Korea originally came to Korea as an aide to a Mongol princess who had been sent to marry King Chungnyeol. Goryeo documents say that his original name was Samga but, after he decided to make Korea his permanent home, the king bestowed on him the Korean name of Jang Sunnyong. Jang married a Korean and became the founding ancestor of the Deoksu Jang clan.3 His clan produced many high officials and respected Confucian scholars over the centuries. Twenty-five generations later, around 30,000 Koreans look back to Jang Sunnyong as the grandfather of their clan. They are aware that he was not a native of Korea. Many believe that he was an Arab Muslim. However, there is no evidence of Islamic influence on Deoksu Jang family traditions. The same is true of the descendants of another Central Asian who settled down in Korea. A Central Asian (probably a Uighur) named Seol Son fled to Korea when the Red Turban rebellion erupted near the end of the Mongol’s Yuan dynasty. He, too, married a Korean, originating a lineage called the Gyeongju Seol that claims at least 2,000 members in Korea today but shows no special signs of Muslim influence.
To find evidence of Muslim influence on Goryeo Korea, we have to look to alcohol. Though Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol, Arab Muslims developed the technology of distillation, which they used to produce medicinal ingredients. Korea, probably following a Chinese example, used that imported technology to distill the popular Korean drink known as soju (“burnt liquor”). Even though it has been over 700 years since Koreans started making and drinking soju, it still has the taint of being foreign in origin. Since it is “foreign” liquor, soju is not supposed to be offered to ancestors during ancestor memorial rituals. The more traditional fermented rice wine is offered instead. However, even though the ancestors do not want any soju, their living descendants make it one of those more popular alcoholic beverages in Korea today.
We can also see Muslim influence in the official calendars of the late Goryeo period. After they gained control of China, the Mongols invited Arab astronomers to Beijing to correct mistakes that had crept into Chinese calculations of the movements of the sun, the moon, the five visible planets, and the stars. Those Muslim scientists brought with them the latest astronomical instruments as well as mathematical tools for predicting heavenly movements based on what those instruments revealed. The Korean government then sent their own astronomers to Beijing to learn from those Muslims. Even though there was nothing particularly religious about the calendar those Muslim scientists produced for East Asia, it became known unofficially as the Muslim Calendar. The government in both China and Korea continued to use Muslim calendrical techniques until the 16th century, when Christian missionaries from Europe brought even more advanced instruments and calculating techniques to China. Neither the creation of soju nor the adoption of Arab calendrical techniques required the presence of actual Muslims on Korean soil. However, records from the first decades of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), that which followed Goryeo, assure us that at least some of the Central Asians who had moved to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty were Muslims. In 1427 King Sejong decreed that the “huihui” who had been receiving stipends from the Korean government since the previous dynasty, and who had maintained a distinctive culture with their own styles of clothing and headgear and who even had their own “ritual hall,” were no longer to be treated any differently from than any other Korean. They also had appeared before the king every year as a group to honor him with their distinctive rituals.
However, this reminder of Mongol rule, and the special place Central Asia and Muslims had in the Mongol empire, must have bothered King Sejong. Their stipends were terminated and they were ordered to dress like everybody else, as well as perform the same rituals as everyone else.The ritual hall referred to in this Joseon dynasty document is probably a mosque, though no descriptions of the hall survive to confirm that conjecture. There is also a reference in Joseon records to a “huihui” religious leader being allowed to settle in Korea in 1407. Combined with the fact that by the 15th century most Uighurs had become Muslims, it is likely that there was an actual Muslim presence in Korea in the 14th century and into the 15th. Nevertheless, the Muslim community must have been too small to resist the royal command to assimilate. There are no further references to Muslims on Korean soil for the rest of that long dynasty.
Korea and Muslims from the 15th Century
Not only are there no records of Muslims in Korea from 1427 through 1910, there was not as much Muslim, Arab, or Central Asian influence on Korea during the Joseon dynasty as there was during the Goryeo. Korean potters in the first century of the Joseon dynasty began using a glaze on their pottery with a shade of blue that is sometimes called “Muslim blue,” but there is no evidence that Muslim potters introduced that glaze to Koreans. Koreans acquired it from the Chinese. Some have also argued for Uighur influence on the 15th invention of Han’geul, the ingenious Korean alphabet. Koreans were familiar with the Uighur writing system. Mongols had borrowed the Uighur phonetic writing system when they first felt the need to have written records, before they asked a Tibetan lama to devise a better script for them. Koreans would have encountered the Uighur script when they were part of the Mongol empire. That phonetic script may have been one of the stimuli that awoke Koreans to the benefits of an alphabet and inspired them to invent Han’geul early in the next dynasty. However, there is no resemblance between the Uighur script and Han’geul, so any Muslim influence on the Korean alphabet is slight.
The Joseon dynasty is often labeled a “hermit kingdom” because of its lack of contact with the outside world. That label is somewhat of an exaggeration. Joseon Korea maintained regular contact with China and Japan. However, Korea was isolated from much of the rest of the world, and that includes the Muslim world. Unlike the Goryeo dynasty, the Joseon dynasty did not welcome Arab merchants into its ports and did not welcome Central Asians immigrants to Korea. The history of Korean contact with Muslims comes to a halt in 1427 and does not revive until the 20th century. Korea began welcoming Muslims again in the 20th century, after Korea lost control of its own borders. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Japan and then several Western powers including the United States, pressured the Joseon dynasty to open its borders to more foreign merchants and diplomats. Japanese, American, French, British and even Chinese diplomats and merchants began pouring through those gates they had pried open, changing the balance of power on the peninsula so dramatically that Korea lost control over its own affairs. By 1910, the Joseon dynasty was history, and the Korean peninsula was a colony of Japan. Japan was a trading empire, so it was not as wary of foreigners on its territory as Joseon Korea had been. In the 1920s the Japanese colonial authorities welcomed a couple of hundred Muslims of Central Asian Turkish ethnicity who had fled the Communist revolution in Russia. Those refugees settled down in cities across the peninsula and opened tailor shops and other small businesses.
They did not proselytize among the Korean population but instead stayed to themselves outside of business hours. However, they wanted a place to get together and pray as a Muslim community, so they pooled their resources and purchased a building in Seoul. The first floor of that building was a community center for cultural events. The second floor had a prayer room as well as classrooms for their children. That building was officially opened in 1934 and was the closest thing to a mosque Korea had had since 1427. It did not last very long. Korea’s Turkish Muslims left Korea for Turkey after Japanese rule collapsed in 1945 and the subsequent rising tide of Korean nationalism made them feel uncomfortable on the peninsula.
Though the Muslims in Korea during the colonial period were more concerned with survival than with proselytizing, they inspired at least one Korean to adopt their religion. Park Jaeseong, who worked in a Muslim-owned clothing store, is the first Korean we know of who converted to Islam while in Korea, though there may have been others during the colonial period we do not know about.4 There were also a few Koreans living in Manchuria during the 1930s who were impressed by the Muslims they met there and converted to Islam. However, they did not return to Korea until after liberation in 1945. Because the number of Korean converts was so small, and most of them were not in Korea, there was no real Korean Muslim community until later, after the Korean War. Until 1955, we can talk about Muslims in Korea, but we cannot talk about a Korean Muslim community.
The Birth of a Korean Muslim Community
A true Korean Muslim community finally appeared in the 1950s, thanks to the influence of Turkish troops who stayed in South Korea after the Korean war as part of the United Nations forces stationed there to protect South Korea from another North Korean attack like that of June 25, 1950, which led to a three-year civil war. Though those Turkish soldiers did not come to Korea to covert Koreans to Islam, they did not turn away Koreans who came to join them in their prayers. Some of the Koreans who had become Muslims while they lived in Manchuria talked to the imam for those Turkish forces and in 1955 he agreed to help them form a Korea Muslim Society. Soon, Koreans had a tent set aside for them to meet and pray. Within one year after the Korean Muslim Society was formed, it had over 200 members. The leaders were Umar Kim Jin-kyu and Muhammad Yoon Doo-young, both of whom had become Muslims when they were living in Manchuria. In 1959 Umar Kim, along with Sabri Suh Jung-kil, visited Mecca, becoming the first Koreans to perform the Hajj.5
The small Korean community grew in the 1960s and 1970s, fueled partially by conversions among the Korean construction workers who went to the Middle East to work on construction projects. The Korea Muslim Society grew large enough to change its name to the Korea Muslim Federation in 1967. Still, there were no more than 3,000 Korean Muslims during the 1960s. They met in a makeshift prayer hall in downtown Seoul. Then President Park Chung-hee, anxious to build friendships with Middle Eastern countries, offered to provide land for a real mosque. Muslim governments responded by offering in turn to provide the funds necessary to build that mosque. In 1976 the Korean Central Mosque opened up the hill from the bars and clothing stores patronized by American soldiers in Itaewon, a district in Seoul.
The Korean Central Mosque is an impressive structure that looks like a piece of the Middle East transported to Korea. There is nothing Korean about its appearance. It has the minarets one would expect to see on a mosque in the Islamic world, as well as Arabic calligraphy engraved on stone near its entrance. Nevertheless, once it rose above the houses and shops in Itaewon, it began attracting more Koreans. Within one year after that mosque opened, the number of Korean Muslims rose from 3,000 to 15,000. That number continued to rise over the next decade or so. By 1990 there were 35,000 Korean Muslims in Korea. The mosque in Seoul was joined by a mosque in Korea’s second largest city Busan as well as one in the provincial capital of Jeonju.
Seoul and another in the city of Anyang, also near Seoul, giving Korea a total of 5 mosques by 1990. Three more have been built since then.
Then the nature of Islam in Korea began to change. The total number of Muslims rose dramatically over the 1990s, but the number of Korean Muslims stayed almost the same. A labor shortage in Korea’s rapidly growing economy led to an influx of foreign workers, many of them from Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Before the Korean economy took a sharp dip in 1997, the Muslim community in Korea grew to around 150,000. However, only 35,000 of those Muslims had been born in Korea and spoke Korean as their native language. The rest were workers, plus a few diplomats, students, or businessmen, who had recently come to Korea but did not intend to spend the rest of their lives there.
Some of those immigrant workers have married Korean women, as did some of their predecessors during the Goryeo dynasty, and made Korea their home. Many others have left, either because the Korean economy had slowed down so much that it no longer had any need for their labor or because they had grown frustrated by the lack of opportunities for upward mobility in a Korea that does not easily accept foreigners as full members of its society. The latest estimate for the number of Muslims in Korea is around 100,000, of which 35,000 to 40,000 are Koreans.
The Difficulties Facing Islam in Korea
Why has it been so difficult to attract Koreans to mosques? Koreans have clearly become more interested in organized religion over the last few decades. Since 1960 the number of Christians in Korea has grown from 1.1 million to more than 14 million. Buddhism has grown as well, from a couple of million adherents in 1960s to well over ten million today. Yet the Muslim community has at most only 40,000 ethnically Korean adherents.
One reason Islam had not made more headway in Korea is that it is seen as a religion for foreigners, rather than a religion for Koreans. Even though all the officers in the Korean Muslim Federation are Koreans, if a Korean drops by a mosque he will see mostly non-Koreans there. When I visited the Seoul Central Mosque on a mid-week afternoon in December 2005, the only Korean I saw was a secretary. The rest of the people there were from Turkey or South Asia. Koreans go to a hall of worship not just to worship but also to become part of a community centered on that worship hall. Korea has been a monoethnic society for centuries, so most Koreans are not accustomed to joining a community dominated by people who do not look like them or speak their language. Though Islam grew rapidly in Korea in its early years when most of the Muslims were Koreans, growth in the number of Korean-born Muslims has stalled ever since the mosques began filling up with non-Korean believers.
Another obstacle comes from the strict demands Islam makes on its believers, which can sometimes clash with Korean social norms. Many observers, Korean and non-Korean alike, have noted that, because Korean society is so ethnically and culturally homogenous and is also very group-oriented, it exerts strong peer pressure on its members to fit in rather than act differently from those around them. This causes problems for Muslims, who are supposed to stop what they are doing and pray five times a day even though they may be at school or work and surrounded by Christians and Buddhists. Muslims also have restrictions on what they can eat and drink. They cannot eat pork, for example, a rule extremely hard to observe in a country where pork dishes are plentiful.
Ramadan, with its month-long daytime fast, is particularly difficult, since eating in Korea is a communal activity and classmates or fellow-workers will ask a Muslim colleague to join them for lunch. Drinking alcohol is also a communal activity that officemates often indulge in on a regular basis. However, most Korean Christians also refrain from alcohol, so that ban alone would not have proved an insurmountable barrier to conversions to Islam. A stronger barrier is the requirement that Muslims go to a mosque for congregational prayer early in the afternoon on Fridays. Korean companies and schools tend to follow a Monday-through-Friday work schedule and often will not understand a Korean Muslim’s need to work less than a full day on Fridays.
A final barrier to widespread acceptance of Islam by Koreans is the very nature of that religion and its religious practices. Koreans are accustomed to statues or paintings in their worship halls. Muslims have no such images in their mosques. Koreans, especially those who attend the Pentecostal services that are so popular in their country, are also used to noisy and even emotional religious services. Muslim prayers are much more austere. Furthermore, Koreans traditionally have been polytheists. Christianity has managed to overcome the traditional Korean unease with monotheism, but even Christianity preaches three persons in one God. The God of Islam is one and one only. Moreover, the God of Islam, unlike Jesus Christ, can never be depicted with a statue or a painting.
Does Islam have a future in Korea? Yes, if that question means whether Islam has established a permanent presence on the peninsula. However, if that question is asking if Islam will soon become a significant religious force in Korea, challenging the dominance of Buddhism and Christianity, the answer is probably no. Christianity succeeded in Korea by adapting to Korean ways. A Korean Christian church is unlike most Christian churches in the rest of the world. There is a Korean approach to worship and church organization that draws Koreans to Korean churches even when they live overseas and have to drive past non-Korean churches in order to reach a church in which they will feel more comfortable.
Islam, on the other hand, has resisted Koreanization. Perhaps because the number of foreign-born Muslims outnumbered the Korean-born only a few decades after the first Korean Islamic community was established, Islam in Korea still has the look and feel of an imported religion. A mosque in Korea does not look very Korean, inside or out. Moreover, Muslim worship services do not resemble any of the traditional Korean modes of worship. This non-Korean appearance of Muslim ritual and worship, and the reluctance of Islam to bend its ethical and ritual demands to local customs, may be the primary reason why Islam will remain a minority religion on the Korean peninsula.
Endnotes
- Hee-soo Lee, The Advent of Islam in Korea (Istanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), 1997), pp.40-53.
- Peter Lee, ed., A History of Korean Literature (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 104-05.
- Koreans name their clans after the place where the clan progenitor lived. Jang settled down in the town of Deoksu in central Korea.
- Lee, The Advent of Islam in Korea, p. 199.
- Korean Muslims take Muslim personal names, which they use along with their original Korean names. For example, the current head of the Korea Muslim Federation is Abdul Razig Sohn Joo Young.
Arising Islam in Korea
This is the video about Islam in Korea, I have listened to Hak Ap Du's speech last week from Islamic Center Daejeon. I hope Allah SWT will give these great people rahmah and strength in spreading this beautiful religion, and for me also to learn more.....
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Beating Procrastination Series: Keeping a Daily Relationship with the Quran
It’s interesting how people normally procrastinate to do good deeds or beneficial actions, but would rarely procrastinate when it come to bad deeds or useless tasks! It reminds me of what Imam Zaid Shakir said in our recent interview with him, he said clearly ”procrastination is from shaytaan”.
I want us to tackle a growing problem amongst many Muslims today: It’s the procrastination from reading/reciting the Quran on a daily basis. We call it procrastination, but in some cases, it can be called complete abandonment (may Allah protect us).Excuses, Excuses…
Normally, what makes people procrastinate from reading the Quran daily revolves around the following six excuses:
- Lack of time: “I don’t have time! I’m too busy!”
- Enough Quran in Salah: “I read Quran in my Salah everyday…”
- Mental blocks: “I like to be in a certain mental/spiritual state to read the Quran – I rarely get those ‘states’ every day”
- Guilt: “I haven’t touched the Quran in ages, I feel so bad, don’t think I can read it now, maybe when I go to Hajj or in Ramadan”
- Inability to read: “I don’t know how to read the Quran”
- Lack of Understanding: “I can read the Quran but I don’t understand it, so for me, there’s no point reading it”
Seriousness of Abandoning the Quran
Firstly, I want to highlight the seriousness of not keeping a close relationship with the Quran. Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) says in the Quran: “And the Messenger will say: O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur’an (neither listened to it, nor acted on its laws and teachings)”. (Quran, Surah Al-Furqan, Chapter #25, Verse #30).
Imagine the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about me and you on day of Judgement for deserting the Quran? And why shouldn’t he complain when he (Peace and blessings be upon him) left behind the best of Books, the eternal miracle, the words of Allah between our hands, and we simply put it on a shelf to collect dust!
Imam ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah [rahimahullah] summarized the type of abandonment of the Quran:
- By not listening to its recitation or giving attention to it.
- By not acting by it and abiding by what it has prescribed of halal or haram, even if the one who does so still believes in it or recites it. This means it is not sufficient to believe in it and recite it, but then to then abandon acting by it.
- By not ruling by it or taking it as judge in all matters of religion
- By not reflecting upon its meanings, understanding them and knowing what Allah [the One who spoke it] desires from the one who recites it.
- By not using it as a cure and a healing for all of the diseases and ailments of the heart, such that one seeks the cure for his/her illness in other than the Quran.
I’m not trying to freak you out, but I just want to make it clear that not reciting/reading the Quran regularly is not a ‘small’ thing; you definitely want to stay in touch with the Quran regularly. Allah says in the Quran: “And we send down from the Qur’an that which is a healing and a Mercy to those who believe [in Islamic Monotheism and act on it], and it increases the Zalimoon [polytheists and wrong-doers] nothing but loss.” [Quran, Al-Isra, Chapter# 17, Verse# 82].
Imagine, every time you open and read this book, mercy and healing comes down to you. That’s mercy and healing for all your social problems, psychological issues, emotional ups and downs, etc. How can it not be a mercy and healing, when it’s Allah’s beautiful timeless words that He says brings tranquility to the heart?
I once heard a story narrated of a Muslim man who had psychological problems. He went to see a lot of doctors in his country and couldn’t find a solution to his issues. He travelled to the US and visited a top Christian doctor. After hearing his problems, the doctor quietly walked to a shelf, picked up a book and told him: “You Muslims have this and you have psychological problems?!” The book he held was the Quran.
Tackling the Excuses
1. “Lack of time” – I’m sure you have 10 minutes!
2. “Enough Quran in Salah” – Alhamdulillah, it’s good that you’re reading Quran in your salah every day, but unless you’re Hafidh of Quran, the large majority of what you recite in Salah is the last 5 pages of the Quran. Correct? Exactly, reading the Quran outside the salah allows you to explore the other beautiful and miraculous 595 pages and truly build the Quran into your life. You need time with Quran where you can just sit down to read and reflect on the ayah.
3. “Mental blocks” – Get into the habit of reading the Quran daily and your ‘special mental state’ will come.
4. “Guilt” – This is one of the most famous tricks of Shaytan. Shaytan will whisper to you that you’re too sinful to even come close to the Quran, there’s no point now after so long, and you can only make repentance during Hajj. My simple advice is to fight those whisperings of Shaytan; now that you know those thoughts come from Shaytan, don’t listen under any circumstance. Use that guilt you feel for abandoning the Qur’an to drive you into taking action and making a change. It’s really as simple as picking up the Quran and reading it. Insha’Allah you’ll soon fall in love with the Quran.
5. “Inability to read” – Join a Quran class or find a Quran teacher.
6. “Lack of Understanding” – Join a Quran class, find a Quran teacher, start learning Arabic, and/or have a translation next to you.
Three Practical Tips
So here are the practical tips to get you into the habit of reading the Quran on a daily basis.
- Set a daily allocated time, not more than 10 minutes, to read the Quran. I say not more than 10 minutes because if you over do it (especially in the first few days), you won’t come back reading the Quran again. It’s a psychological quirk, don’t ask me! Just simply set a daily 10 minutes a day, whether it’s before/after Fajr, or during your commute, or before you sleep.
- Make it a habit: You know brushing your teeth in the morning is a habit? Good, use that same concept with the Quran. It’s part of your morning routine or evening routine or some form of a habit that you consistently do and you would feel incomplete and unhappy if you have not done it.
- Sign up to a Quran class: This depends on your level. If you can’t read the Quran, join a class that teaches you how to read. If you can read the Quran, but don’t understand its meanings, start learning Arabic. If you can read the Quran, and can understand it, start memorizing. Whatever it is, make sure you attend a learning circle related to the Quran. Subhan Allah, the Quran is an endless sea of knowledge that one does not tire to explore, so start your journey today.
BONUS TIP: HOW TO FINISH THE QURAN IN 30 DAYS OR LESS!
I want to share with you a very simple practical tip that will help you read the Quran every 30 days insha’Allah.
I’m assuming here that you’re reading the Quran in Arabic and not the translation. There are roughly 600 pages in the Quran, so if you divide 600 pages by 30 days in a month, you get 20 pages to complete in a day, or roughly one Juz’ (1/30th of the Quran). 20 pages per day may sound a lot, but what if you divide it by the 5 daily prayers? You’ll only have to read 4 pages before/after every salah. So, if you can read only 4 pages of Quran after every salah, you can complete reciting the entire Quran in 30 days! Moreover, reading a page of the Quran with recitation and pronunciation can take up to 3 minutes, so 3 minutes x 4 pages = 12 minutes. It’s not a lot, honestly!
Now, if you can manage, imagine the way your life would change if you could supplement this with reading the translation so you understanding the meaning, message, and lessons.
My Parting Thoughts
I’ll be honest with you, the Quran is like a silent teacher that guides you and teaches you. The more you devote yourself to it, the more it’ll unlock its treasures for you and you’ll grow and come to understand things in ways you never thought before. People pay thousands for coaches, personal advisors, etc…but you have the Speech of Allah (AzzawaJall) right between your hands to guide you.
Will you embark upon the journey of the Quran, a journey of constant recitation, learning, and acting upon the Quran? insha’Allah..
Friday, August 12, 2011
Prophet Muhammad (sws) and the Christians of his time
Ismail Acar
Ismail Acar
The Fountain Magazine
Meeting with the Monk Bahira
The Prophet’s first meeting with a Christian occurred when he, as a young boy aged between nine or twelve, joined his uncle’s merchant caravan for a trip to Syria.(1) The Christian whom the Prophet Muhammad encountered was the monk, Bahira,(2) who was living in Bostra, a Roman colonial city.(3) Monk Bahira was known for his belief that a prophet was soon to appear among the Arabs. Bahira had studied old manuscripts, where he had learned of the coming of a final prophet, and he was convinced that this prophet would appear in his own lifetime. He was particularly interested in the Arab merchants who visited Syria, to see if his conviction would come true.
Bahira’s attention was struck in particular by a caravan from Makka, which to his amazement, was shaded by a cloud that hovered closely above them. The cloud moved as the caravan moved, and did not go any further when they stopped; it was as if it were providing shade for a person or people in the group. When he also noticed that a tree lowered its branches over the caravan to provide further shade, he immediately realized that this caravan must contain an extraordinary person or persons. He invited all of the individuals in the caravan to a meal at his place, but none of their faces revealed the capacity of the expected Prophet. He inquired if there was anyone who had not joined the meal; the answer he received was that Muhammad had been left behind to watch the caravan. He was keen to see Muhammad; and when he actually saw him he realized that he carried all the signs that the awaited Prophet was to have, as described in his books.(4) He told Muhammad’s uncle to take him back to Makka as soon as possible in order to guard him against potential enemies.(5)
Waraqa ibn Nawfal
Prophet Muhammad also had some encounters with one of the known Arab Christians in Makka, Waraqa ibn Nawfal. Waraqa was a respected man of his time and a well-known Christian scholar. When the Prophet received his first Qur’anic revelation on Mount Hira, it had a great impact on him. Following this unusual experience, he went home, feeling ill. His wife Khadija took the Prophet to Waraqa and told him about the revelation.(7) After listening to Prophet Muhammad, Waraqa said that it was Gabriel, the Angel of Revelation, who had come to him, just as he had come to Moses, and he added, “I wish I were young.”(8)
Waraqa was an open-minded man; he converted from paganism to Christianity and also understood the features of the revelation that had been given to Muhammad. He sincerely supported Muhammad as a Christian believer when he understood that he was the awaited prophet, after Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them. Waraqa encouraged Muhammad to continue his call, without any doubt that God would protect him. This is a fine example of cooperation between a well-known Christian scholar and the would-be Prophet.
The Abyssinian King (Negus) and the First Immigrants
When the Messenger of God began to declare his message openly, the Makkan pagans started to severely oppose him and the new Muslims, making many problems for them. Several Muslims died, with even more being humiliated and alienated. The Prophet realized that Makka was becoming a difficult place for Muslims to live in. He had his uncle as his protector; but there were many Muslims who had no protection from the aggressions of the Makkan pagans. He decided to send some of them to Abyssinia, especially those who had no effective protection; Abyssinia at the time was ruled by a Christian ruler. The Prophet told the group that King (Negus) of Abyssinia was a Christian, so they would be safe there.(9) It is likely that Prophet Muhammad had some knowledge that the King was a peaceful and lenient ruler.
At the outset, eleven Muslims immigrated to Abyssinia. Later, they were joined by about 83 adult Muslims, women and men.(10) Abyssinia was the Prophet’s choice; he felt that Christians were closer to Muslims than the Makkan pagans. When the first Muslim guests arrived there, they met with the King. Ja’far, as leader of the immigrants, gave the Prophet’s letter to the King, which read: “I have sent my cousin Ja’far to you, accompanied by a small number of Muslims; if he comes to you, receive them in hospitality . . .” The King welcomed them and promised to protect them from their enemies. In the royal presence a question was put to them: “What do you say concerning Jesus?” The spokesman for the group replied, “concerning Jesus we can only say what our Prophet has taught us: Jesus is the servant and messenger of God, the spirit and word of God, whom God entrusted to the Virgin Mary.” When the King Negus heard this testimony, he picked up a twig from the ground and said, “I swear, the difference between what we believe about Jesus, the Son of Mary, and what you have said is not greater than the width of this twig.”(11)
When the Makkans heard that the Muslims had begun to live within the Christian community peacefully, they sent a delegation of learn-ed people to the King to persuade him to deport the Muslims from Abyssinia. There was a debate in front of the King between the Muslims and the Makkan delegation about what and how the Muslims believed. After the end of the debate, the King rejected the requests of the Makkans along with their gifts.(12) This was the first helping hand for the young but frail Muslim community from a Christian ruler.
The Delegation of Najran Christians
No doubt the most important interaction between the Christians and the Prophet was the visit of the Najran delegation to Madina. Makka and Madina had a very small Christian population (Waraqa ibn Nawfal was one of them). The majority of Christian residents lived in Najran. The Prophet’s first important encounter with Christian clergies was in the 9th year of Hijra (AD 631), one or two years before his death.
Prophet Muhammad had been sending official letters to different countries and their rulers, inviting them to Islam. Among these were two different invitations that had been sent to Najran with Khaled ibn al-Walid and Ali ibn Abi Talib.(13) At that time the Najran Christians had a highly organized religious life. Before Islam, foreign teachers had even visited the town, such as the Italian priest Gregentius, which had deepened their religious knowledge.(14) Few of the Najran Christians converted to Islam; the majority of them did not change their religion after these invitations. Prophet Muhammad sent a representative to them, Mughira ibn Shu’ba, who was sent to explain the invitations and the religion of Islam. After discussions with Mughira, the Christians of Najran decided to send a group of people to visit the Prophet. The delegation was made up of about 60 well-educated Christians: A bishop, his 45 scholars, and 15 men. Their intention was to learn the nature of the revelations Prophet Muhammad was receiving.(15)
When the Najran delegation reached Madina, they debated with the Prophet in an investigatory dialogue for two or three days in the mosque (Masjid) of Madina. Prophet Muhammad allowed them to pray in the mosque (Masjid al-Nabawi) where the Muslims prayed. The whole incident was the first occurrence of peaceful dialogue between Christians and Muslims; it was the first time that Christians prayed in a mosque.(16)
Conclusion
As Muhammad Hamidullah states “of all the religions, the Prophet found Christianity the most sympathetic, although with certain serious reservations.”(20) Accepting differences to be “as they are” was the first step in establishing peaceful relations between the Christians and Prophet Muhammad some fourteen hundred years ago.
It is apparent that Christians and Muslims believe in and pray to the same God, the Creator of the universe. Both Muslims and Christians ask for help and forgiveness from the same God. Both of them declare the importance of “peace”; so, it is only natural to expect that the followers of the two traditions would be able to establish peace together all around the world.
Footnotes
1 Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, Allen & Unwin, U.K., 1983, p. 29.
2 In some sources the name of the monk is mentioned “Sergius.” See: Mustafa Fayda, “Bahira” TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul 1991, IV, 486.
3 Under Alexander Severus (222-235) Bostra became a Roman colony. See: S. Vailhé, “Bostra,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
4 For details P.S: Ibn Hisham, Abd al-Malik, al-Sirat al Nabaviyyah, Egypt 1955, I, 180-183.
5 M. Lings, Muhammad, p. 29-30.
6 Mustafa Fayda, “Bahira” TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul 1991; Daniel, Islam and the West, p.101,105,109.
7 Ibn Hisham, I, 236-238.
8 Al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Isma’il, Sahih al-Bukhari, Dar al-Fikr, (Arabic-English Edition), I, 2-3
9 Ibn Hisham, I, 217-221.
10 Ibn Hisham, I, 221-230
11 R. Marston Speight, God Is One: The Way of Islam (New York: Friendship Press, 1989), pp. 1-2.
12 Ibn Hisham, I, 233-238
13 Name of a valley in North Yemen, where there was a Christian population inhabiting the highest range in the Arabian Peninsula at that time.
14 Hamidullah, Muhammad Rasulullah, p. 103.
15 Ibn Hisham, I, 575.
16 Ibn Hisham, I, 575-577.
17 http://www.dehai.org/archives/dehai_news_archive/ oct02/0640.html, (12/11/2004)
18 Jizyah: A tax paid by non-Muslims living in a Muslim state. Since the non-Muslims are exempt from military service and taxes imposed on Muslims, they must pay this tax in compensation. It guarantees them security and protection. If the state cannot protect those who paid jizyah, then the amount they paid is returned to them.
19 Ahmet Bostanci, Hz Peygamber’in Gayri Muslimlerle Iliskileri, Ragbet Yayinlari, Istanbul 2001, p. 60, 167 \
20 Hamidullah, Muhammad Rasulullah, p. 76.
21 David Tracy, “Practical Theology in the Situation of Global Pluralism,” in (ed.) L. Mudge -J. Poling, The Promise of Practical Theology, Fortress Press 1983, p. 140.
http://www.fountainmagazine.com/article.php?ARTICLEID=700
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Pasport - Jawapos 8 Agustus 2011
oleh Rhenald Kasali
Setiap saat mulai perkuliahan, saya selalu bertanya kepada mahasiswa berapa orang yang sudah memiliki pasport. Tidak mengherankan, ternyata hanya sekitar 5% yang mengangkat tangan. Ketika ditanya berapa yang sudah pernah naik pesawat, jawabannya melonjak tajam. Hampir 90% mahasiswa saya sudah pernah melihat awan dari atas. Ini berarti mayoritas anak-anak kita hanyalah pelancong lokal.
Maka, berbeda dengan kebanyakan dosen yang memberi tugas kertas berupa PR dan paper, di kelas-kelas yang saya asuh saya memulainya dengan memberi tugas mengurus pasport. Setiap mahasiswa harus memiliki "surat ijin memasuki dunia global.". Tanpa pasport manusia akan kesepian, cupet, terkurung dalam kesempitan, menjadi pemimpin yang steril. Dua minggu kemudian, mahasiswa sudah bisa berbangga karena punya pasport.
Setelah itu mereka bertanya lagi, untuk apa pasport ini? Saya katakan, pergilah keluar negeri yang tak berbahasa Melayu. Tidak boleh ke Malaysia, Singapura, Timor Leste atau Brunei Darussalam. Pergilah sejauh yang mampu dan bisa dijangkau.
"Uang untuk beli tiketnya bagaimana, pak?"
Saya katakan saya tidak tahu. Dalam hidup ini, setahu saya hanya orang bodohlah yang selalu memulai pertanyaan hidup, apalagi memulai misi kehidupan dan tujuannya dari uang. Dan begitu seorang pemula bertanya uangnya dari mana, maka ia akan terbelenggu oleh constraint. Dan hampir pasti jawabannya hanyalah tidak ada uang, tidak bisa, dan tidak mungkin.
Pertanyaan seperti itu tak hanya ada di kepala mahasiswa, melainkan juga para dosen steril yang kurang jalan-jalan. Bagi mereka yang tak pernah melihat dunia, luar negeri terasa jauh, mahal, mewah, menembus batas kewajaran dan buang-buang uang. Maka tak heran banyak dosen yang takut sekolah ke luar negeri sehingga memilih kuliah di almamaternya sendiri. Padahal dunia yang terbuka bisa membukakan sejuta kesempatan untuk maju. Anda bisa mendapatkan sesuatu yang yang terbayangkan, pengetahuan, teknologi, kedewasaan, dan wisdom.
Namun beruntunglah, pertanyaan seperti itu tak pernah ada di kepala para pelancong, dan diantaranya adalah mahasiswa yang dikenal sebagai kelompok backpackers. Mereka adalah pemburu tiket dan penginapan super murah, menggendong ransel butut dan bersandal jepit, yang kalau kehabisan uang bekerja di warung sebagai pencuci piring. Perilaku melancong mereka sebenarnya tak ada bedanya dengan remaja-remaja Minang, Banjar, atau Bugis, yang merantau ke Pulau Jawa berbekal seadanya.Ini berarti tak banyak orang yang paham bahwa bepergian keluar negeri sudah tak semenyeramkan, sejauh, bahkan semewah di masa lalu.Seorang mahasiswa asal daerah yang saya dorong pergi jauh, sekarang malah rajin bepergian. Ia bergabung ke dalam kelompok PKI (Pedagang Kaki Lima Internasional) yang tugasnya memetakan pameran-pameran besar yang dikoordinasi pemerintah. Disana mereka membuka lapak, mengambil resiko, menjajakan aneka barang kerajinan, dan pulangnya mereka jalan-jalan, ikut kursus, dan membawa dolar. Saat diwisuda, ia menghampiri saya dengan menunjukkan pasportnya yang tertera stempel imigrasi dari 35 negara. Selain kaya teori, matanya tajam mengendus peluang dan rasa percaya tinggi. Saat teman-temannya yang lulus cum-laude masih mencari kerja, ia sudah menjadi eksekutif di sebuah perusahaan besar di luar negeri.
The Next Convergence
Dalam bukunya yang berjudul The Next Convergence, penerima hadiah Nobel ekonomi Michael Spence mengatakan, dunia tengah memasuki Abad Ke tiga dari Revolusi Industri. dan sejak tahun 1950, rata-rata pendapatan penduduk dunia telah meningkat dua puluh kali lipat. Maka kendati penduduk miskin masih banyak, adalah hal yang biasa kalau kita menemukan perempuan miskin-lulusan SD dari sebuah dusun di Madura bolak-balik Surabaya-Hongkong.
Tetapi kita juga biasa menemukan mahasiswa yang hanya sibuk demo dan tak pernah keluar negeri sekalipun. Jangankan ke luar negeri, tahu harga tiket pesawat saja tidak, apalagi memiliki pasport.Maka bagi saya, penting bagi para pendidik untuk membawa anak-anak didiknya melihat dunia. Berbekal lima ratus ribu rupiah, anak-anak SD dari Pontianak dapat diajak menumpang bis melewati perbatasan Entekong memasuki Kuching. Dalam jarak tempuh sembilan jam mereka sudah mendapatkan pelajaran PPKN yang sangat penting, yaitu pupusnya kebangsaan karena kita kurang urus daerah perbatasan. Rumah-rumah kumuh, jalan berlubang, pedagang kecil yang tak diurus Pemda, dan infrastruktur yang buruk ada di bagian sini. Sedangkan hal sebaliknya ada di sisi seberang. Anak-anak yang melihat dunia akan terbuka matanya dan memakai nuraninya saat memimpin bangsa di masa depan. Di universitas Indonesia, setiap mahasiswa saya diwajibkan memiliki pasport dan melihat minimal satu negara.
Dulu saya sendiri yang menjadi gembala sekaligus guide nya. Kami menembus Chiangmay dan menyaksikan penduduk miskin di Thailand dan Vietnam bertarung melawan arus globalisasi. Namun belakangan saya berubah pikiran, kalau diantar oleh dosennya, kapan memiliki keberanian dan inisiatif? Maka perjalanan penuh pertanyaan pun mereka jalani. Saat anak-anak Indonesia ketakutan tak bisa berbahasa Inggris, anak-anak Korea dan Jepang yang huruf tulisannya jauh lebih rumit dan pronounciation-nya sulit dimengerti menjelajahi dunia tanpa rasa takut. Uniknya, anak-anak didik saya yang sudah punya pasport itu 99% akhirnya dapat pergi keluar negeri. Sekali lagi, jangan tanya darimana uangnya. Mereka memutar otak untuk mendapatkan tiket, menabung, mencari losmen-losmen murah, menghubungi sponsor dan mengedarkan kotak sumbangan. Tentu saja, kalau kurang sedikit ya ditomboki dosennya sendiri.
Namun harap dimaklumi, anak-anak didik saya yang wajahnya ndeso sekalipun kini dipasportnya tertera satu dua cap imigrasi luar negeri. Apakah mereka anak-anak orang kaya yang orangtuanya mampu membelikan mereka tiket? Tentu tidak. Di UI, sebagian mahasiswa kami adalah anak PNS, bahkan tidak jarang mereka anak petani dan nelayan. Tetapi mereka tak mau kalah dengan TKW yang meski tak sepandai mereka, kini sudah pandai berbahasa asing.
Anak-anak yang ditugaskan ke luar negeri secara mandiri ternyata memiliki daya inovasi dan inisiatif yang tumbuh. Rasa percaya diri mereka bangkit. Sekembalinya dari luar negeri mereka membawa segudang pengalaman, cerita, gambar dan foto yang ternyata sangat membentuk visi mereka.
Saya pikir ada baiknya para guru mulai membiasakan anak didiknya memiliki pasport. Pasport adalah tiket untuk melihat dunia, dan berawal dari pasport pulalah seorang santri dari Jawa Timur menjadi pengusaha di luar negeri. Di Italy saya bertemu Dewi Francesca, perempuan asal Bali yang memiliki kafe yang indah di Rocca di Papa. Dan karena pasport pulalah, Yohannes Surya mendapat bea siswa di Amerika Serikat. Ayo, jangan kalah dengan Gayus Tambunan atau Nazaruddin yang baru punya pasport dari uang negara.
Rhenald Kasali
Guru Besar Universitas Indonesia
Monday, August 8, 2011
Beautiful friends.....^^
In this age my judgemental character is still very strong. I can judge people just by seeing them for the first them, sometimes lead to mistakes. But I still haven't found the method to cure it yet, till one night I thought that I may have a change of heart. We had occasional ifthar with lots of food and laugh. I spend many times with those people but just realize how precious they are actually in my life.
I have work, financial, family problems like luggages that I have to carry around. Sometimes I think I bring too much luggages, that if I analyze much coming from people around me. Yes, people affect me, I thought not, but they do. And if I see again, it all comes from worry, worry if I can't stand on my feet, if I may fail one day because others did. People are trapped in this circle, dangerous loop cause we forget of God Almighty. We forget if everything comes fom God, we work very hard and forget to give the decision to God. It's never our job, rite?! We're destined to strive, to pray, but the final decision is up to God. That's why I was unhappy, I didn't put the highest trust in God. I became afraid of what life might bring, and I forgot the art of living this life. Alhamdulillah Allah SWT showed it to me once again of how blessed I am. I have a great life in foreign land surrounded by great people, enough food and laughter, also play and service. As I know my friends better, I can see how beautiful they are. We all have problems that Allah SWT said also come with solutions, and It really depends on me to fight and finish it.....whether I want to accept it hard or easy.....Allah always gives us choices, and we need to open this heart and see it. Heart is a key to good life."And whosoever believeth in God, He guideth his heart. And God is knower of all things." -the Holy Quran (64:11)
"Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest." -the Holy Quran (13:28)
"If only, when our disaster came on them, they had been humble! But their hearts were hardened and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them! -the Holy Quran (6:43)
"And We reveal of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy for believers."
-the Holy Quran (17:82)
Subhanallah, in this holy month I hope I can purify my heart and become the person loved by Allah SWT, because that's why I live for, InsyaAllah....
Friday, August 5, 2011
If you love someone so so much?
Maybe some of us've been in this situation before, and this funny talk from Brother Khalid Yasin may encourage young people to rethink before act upon an unappropriate love....Hope we're all helped by Allah SWT ^^
If the Prophet (PBUH) Came To Visit
If prophet Muhammad visited you, Just for a day or two,
If he came unexpectedly, I wonder what you would do,
Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room, to such an honoured guest,
And all the food you'd served him, You're glad to have him there,
That serving him in your home, Is joy beyond compare.
BUT.. When you saw him coming, Would you meet him at the door,
With your arms outstretched in welcome, To your visitor?
Or.. would you have to change your clothes, Before you let him in?
Or hide some magazines and put, The Qur'an where they have been?
Would you still watch x-rated movies, on your TV set?
Or would you rush to switch it off, Before he gets upset?
Would you turn off the radio, And hope he hadn't heard?
And wish you hadn't utter, That last loud, hasty word?
Would you hide your worldly music, And instead take Hadith book out?Could you let him walk right in, or would you rush about?
And I wonder.. If the Prophet spent, A day or two days with you,
Would you go right on doing, Everything you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue, As it does from day to day?
Would your family conversation, Keep up its usual pace?
And would you find it hard each meal, To say a table grace?
Would you keep up each and every prayer, Would you put on a frown?
Would you always jump up early, For prayer at dawn?
Would you sing the song you always sing, And read the books you always read?
And let him know the things on what your mind and spirit fed?
Would you take the Prophet with you, Everywhere you plan to go,
Or, would you change the plans, Just for a day or so?
Would you be glad to have him meet, Your very closest friends?
Or, would you hope they stay away, until his visit ends?
Would you be glad to have him stay, Forever on and on?
Or, would you sigh a great relief, When he last was gone?
It might be interesting to know, The things that you would do,
If the prophet Muhammad, in person, Came to spend some time with you.
Source: anonymus
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