The Planner - The Victorious

Bismillah.

From the Quran, Al-Anfal-30: "They were planning, and Allah was planning, and Allah is the best planner."

Sometimes we mortals delusionally think we are so smart. We plan and plot thinking we have the upper hand on things, thinking other people are not as smart as we are.  

I for one will admit I am stupid. Of course on my own I am stupid, but with Allah I cannot be so stupid. We have Al-Wakeel to handle things for us because we are weaklings. We believe in Him, hasbunallah wa nikmal wakeel.

Alhamdulillah we are naive enough to not want to rely on our own limited intelligence because surely we have no sakti (magical powers).

Alhamdulillah we are innocent enough to not want to depend on our own capabilities because He holds us by the forelock. Hence, we know not when we gonna fall sick or when He is gonna make us weak.

C'est la vie.

Such is life.

A couple of lines from the Fajr prayers as practiced by the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam:

"O Allah, I leave my wish to you, as I am weak in my say and weak in my actions..."

therefore he salallah alaihi wasalam also prayed:

wan nasro 'alal 'aqdaa'i

"and [grant me] victory over the enemies."

They might have been laughing at our stupidity for months, but surely the day will come when they will be defeated with Your help, O Allah Al-Wakeel.

Certainly we have no weapons except du'a because our simple minds don't know much except:

Ad du'a silahul mukmin

Bi iznillah

The Planner will make us victorious.

We gotta have faith :)

Habib Ali Zainal Abidin al-Hamid on Al-Bir

Bismillah.



Habib Ali Zainal Abidin al-Hamid resumed his majlis ta'lim at Masjid Muadz bin Jabal last Friday after having returned from hajj. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. Though I was not able to be present, here's what I learned from watching a recording of his tausiyah as published at:

http://www.darulmurtadza.com/

He expounded the meanings of a verse from Al-Imran as shown above. In relation to the ayat "You shall never attain Al-Bir..." he said there're four meanings to Al-Bir as defined by ahlul tafsir. Al-Bir may mean heaven, obedience, piety or virtues. These meanings are not contradictory. In fact, it is complementary. The goal is certainly to attain heaven but we won't get there unless we are obedient, pious and do good deeds. We won't attain Al-Bir until we give away that which we love. Allah is well aware of what we give away. He will match up to that which we give away and reward us appropriately. A quality deed will be compensated with a quality reward. He knows what kind of sacrifices we make.

People give away their property, food, clothes, etc. And the majority of us would give away clothes that are of poor quality, unwanted or unused - clothes that we ourselves wouldn't want to wear.  

Habib Ali mentioned several sahabah who upon hearing this ayah from the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam hastened to give away from what they love. 

Saidina Talhah came to see the Prophet and said "I am the richest among the Ansar. Of all the things I own, I love my garden the most. I wish to give it away for a good cause and I leave it to you." The Prophet accepted and acknowledged the offering but he decided to give the garden to Talhah's family. Habib Ali said, it's better for the family to receive the donation so that they won't feel slighted if Talhah were to give it to others so that they too have a share of his properties.  

Saidina Zaid ibn Harithah had a horse named Sabal. It was his best and most loved one. He too offered Sabal for the deen but Prophet decided to let Usamah (Zaid's son) have the horse. Zaid didn't like the idea and asked the Prophet about his rationale. Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam said "your intention of wanting to give it away for charity has been counted/accepted by Allah. It does not matter to whom it goes." 

Another sahabi Abu Dhar owned a number of camels. Of all which he possessed, he loved the one and only male camel he had. When a guest came looking for a camel to slaughter, he asked that person to pick any one of the camels but the guest chose a thin one. Abu Dhar asked the guest about his choice and the man said: "I saw one which I would have loved to take but I knew you needed it." Abu Dhar insisted the man took the male camel saying: "I would need it more when I'm in the grave."

Habib Ali said, this was the akhlak of the sahabah who were quick to respond to the ayah. They were prompt in responding to anything good they heard from the Prophet. To them, there's no such thing as doing it afterwards, later or tomorrow. They did not procrastinate.

The Prophet once had two siwak with him when he was approached by a friend who requested for one. One of the siwak was straight and nice and the other one was a bit crooked. The Prophet gave away that which was straight to the person who asked from him.

In summary, there're two lessons from Surah Al Imran verse 92. We should train ourselves to give away from what we love and that we should not be stingy. Concluding his tafsir lesson, Habib Ali said, those who would end up being near the heavens, are those who give away easily for charity.

_______________________

Allahu a'lam.

May Allah grant us tawfiq to practice what we've heard about attaining Al-Bir. May Allah forgive and cover our shortcomings. Ameen.

Time flies

Bismillah.

Heh..heh..pronounce it correctly - time flies; fried rice and not 'flied lies'. Hope the tongue is not crooked so we are able to say things as they really are.

It's 25th of November. Feel like it was only a week ago since my rambling on 25th October. 25th December will be here, before we know it, InshaAllah.

Yes time flies. My niece is sitting for her final exams. Soon she will be leaving school for good and go to college. Please kindly pray for her so that she'll pass with flying colors not just for the sake of getting all As, or to grow up and be a high-flyer, but to gain beneficial knowledge so that she would be a useful person for her family, the religion and society. Bi-iznillah.

Miss H.E. this is a lil shout out to you. I pray you'll get to study abroad as you have been dreaming. Ich liebe dich :)

Time flies, indeed. I remember the day when I received an offer to study abroad on merits Alhamdulillah. We are encouraged to travel far to seek knowledge. Come to think of it we are far behind compared to the solehin of the past who not only traveled far to seek knowledge but they had also traveled far to spread knowledge - knowledge of the deen. If it was not for them, you and I might be stuck in darkness, our souls would be empty, we would be deprived of a true sense of purpose, no raison d'etre. We might end up being one of those who make mischief, who cause harm to other people and have no qualms whatsoever. Na'uzubillah min zalik.

Anyways, here's wishing you a pleasant and productive week ahead. Productive according to Merriam Webster means: doing or achieving a lot; working hard and getting good results :)

Rabbana atina fid dunya hasanah wa fil akhirati hasanah.

Speak like you mean it | Happy Holidays

Bismillah.

"Eat like you mean it" is the tagline of one international burger franchise. I thought it's funny that people need to be reminded to really mean what they do, including a no-brainer act like eating. But I suppose it's a good reminder especially for people who might have lost their taste for life or to an extreme, lost their soul, so that they need to be reminded of the meaning of things.

"Mean" is a heavyweight word. It's meant to carry or assign a weight to something. People sometimes ask: "Do you really mean it?" Oftentimes, people either say, "I really mean it" or "I am sorry, I didn't mean it." When people say so, they are actually trying to declare the real truth behind the words uttered or actions taken, which is really unnecessary if everyone means well in words and actions. "Mean" is consequently connected to one's intention or niyyah. I mean what I write, everytime, God willing.

Alhamdulillah Allah gives most of us the capacity to write and speak what we mean and have positive niyyah behind it. That's a great blessing if you care to think about it. That's a great blessing which you would recognize if you had met people who seem to be deprived of such capacity. Simple things like speaking truthfully and having your words as your bond, these are great bounties indeed. Things you would not want to trade off with anything, not some exotic holidays etcetera. 

I noticed an interesting phrase on a burger box of that international fast food franchise - "You're about to be very happy." LOL That's a cool assurance to give to someone. Imagine, if you were to receive an envelope or a gift box that says: "You're about to very happy" and the giver really mean it. How cool is that? By the way, I was really happy I had that delicious burger.

But to be happy, one need not depend on other people's assurance. Or should I say, should not. It's very easy to be happy of one's own accord. You can start enumerating the reasons you are happy.

I am happy to be speaking my mind this moment.

I am happy I am not stuck in a negative circumstances.

I am happy I have a clear conscience.

I am happy thinking about holiday plans. (InshaAllah)

I am happy it's year end.

I know it's not even December yet. But I wish you all happy times ahead. Holiday like you mean it :)

  

Go on, press on!

Bismillah.

I wanna laugh.
Yes, "words can't bring me down" sings Christina Aguilera.
This is posting number 170.
My first self-help book was 'The Magic of Thinking Big.'
Been thinking big 'bout targets.
Am pressing on for 200 posts. God willing.
Small or big is relative.
Just a sentence a day, that's all it takes.
He is watching.
Verily He knows everything.
About people who have been trying to break me.
Who fooled me.
Heh heh....thank you.
Nothing can bring me down without His permission.
Am pressing on, can't you see?

"What a beautiful Lord, you don't have to wait for the doors of the place of worship to open. You don't have to ring a bell to wake up the Lord. You just mention Him, He is there."

Oh yeah, Allahu mai'e
Allah is with me.
So, am telling ma-self, go on, press on!
So, don't you bring me down, today!
:)

Quote credit: Sis N

Waking up in KL

KL - Friday, 22 Nov 2013
7.10 am

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum.

Good morning from Kuala Lumpur especially to my friends whom Allah have destined to wake up in another country, on another continent. I am specifically thinking of a friend in South Africa who is sweet and thoughtful. It puts a smile on my face to have received the first Jumaah Mubarrak greeting from as far away as Cape Town :)

It's Allah who makes our hearts warm towards one another. Thank you! And Alhamdulillah for all the beautiful people in our lives. And surely we seek refuge in Allah from people who not only have evil intentions towards us but are continually scheming to harm us for whatever reasons. Na'uzubillah min zalik.

*****

We should be grateful that we can wake up in a city which is free of haze, unaffected by any kinds of natural disasters. Waking up to a decent breakfast. In my case it is toast, eggs and homemade spread prepared by my dearest mom, Alhamdulillah. 

Alhamdulillah we must mention His bounties. Alhamdulillah we are able to be thankful for His bounties, no matter how small. Well, small or big is subjective in relation to our nafs. Everything good is from Him.

Let's ponder on this verse from Surah An Najm 53:43:

"And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and cry." 

So come to think of it, it does not matter, either way, laugh or cry because it is all from Him. Let's consider the Giver, the Doer, surely He loves us anyway, surely He loves us regardless and He has chosen us to be ummah of His beloved Prophet salallahalaihi wasalam. 

Wish you a fruitful and blissful Friday :)

Habib Umar bin Hafiz will be in Malaysia from 6 to 8 December 2013

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. The bringer of hope, cure, and light, Habib Umar bin Hafidz is coming to Malaysia again! Ya Hu! 

Correct me if I am wrong, the last time he was here was April 2012, but tormented hearts and thirsty souls feel like it was too many moons ago.

You may have heard about his upcoming visit from someone somewhere. I was informed by one akhi who loves the habaib and majlis zikr, mashaAllah, a respectful messenger of good news he is.

Am delighted.

Habib Umar bin Hafiz will be at these venues InshaAllah:

6 Dec 2013: 
9pm @ Masjid Muadz bin Jabal, Setiawangsa, KL
7 Dec 2013: 
5.30pm @ National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, KL

8 Dec 2013: 
10.30am @ Masjid al-Irshad, Subang, KL
5.30pm @ Pahang State Mosque, Kuantan

10 Dec 2013:
8am @ Yayasan Restu, Shah Alam

Here's a story about the venerable Habib Umar which I have borrowed, adapted and translated from an Indonesian brother, Sya'roni as-Samfuriy, as related by Habib Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Kaf to brother Sya'roni who wrote the story in his blog in November 2012 (15 Muharram 1434 Hijri). That's almost exactly a year ago, subhanallah.

http://biografiulamahabaib.blogspot.com/2012/11/kisah-kemuliaan-akhlak-al-habib-umar.html

****

It was in mid-April 1994, it was winter in Tarim, Hadramaut. We [a group of Indonesian students] were not used to the cold weather. Habib Umar spoiled us by providing expensive thick duvet/quilt for each one of us.

As usual, after Asar prayers, we headed for Tarim for classes (raudhah) and mawlid in that city. When the majlis was over we came back to Aidid town where Habib Umar lives. We usually finished very late into the night. At that time the habib had only one car so everybody would try to get a seat in his Nissan Patrol. Twenty people would cramp onto the vehicle. But that night we were the unlucky three who didn't make it. We didn't have any other choice but to walk to Habib Umar's house which was 5km away.

When we finally arrived at his residence, we saw our friends being given the new thick duvet. Again we were unlucky. There was not enough duvet for everyone, for three of us. We didn't get any because according to Habib Umar the shop didn't have any more stocks, not until the next day.

Just before we retired to our room empty-handed, Habib Umar asked us to wait. We saw him entering his house which was adjacent to our accommodation. He then came back to hand us with 3 large quilts and 2 small ones which were all worn-out. We accepted it gladly nonetheless.

As we were getting ready for bed, we heard cries from Habib Umar's house. A baby whom we thought must be sick was crying non-stop. It was the Habib's child who didn't stop crying right until dawn. 

At Subuh we headed for prayers and nahu lesson at Masjid Aidid, which was located right in front of Habib Umar's house. Habib Umar himself gave us the nahu lesson. When the class was over we returned to our hostel. That's when we crossed paths with Habib Salim, Habib Umar's son who was then 6 years old. We took the opportunity to ask Habib Salim about the baby. He matter-of-factly informed us that the baby wasn't sick. "He must have been cold because we all slept without any blankets last night," said Habib Salim.

On hearing that, we rushed to our hostel with tears in our eyes. We quickly grabbed the worn-out quilts. We gave them back to Habib Umar. When we saw him, he was smiling unassumingly, he took them and let us have the brand new duvet which had just arrived from the store.

We returned to our hostel crying thinking how generous and kind-hearted Habib Umar was. In my heart, I whispered: "O Allah, in this time and age there exists a person with such a beautiful heart. Thank you, Allah, for letting me meet with such a person in this life of mine."

*****
MashaAllah, tabarakallah. May Allah grant us the opportunity to sit in Habib Umar's majlis again, soon, InshaAllah. And may we benefit from his words of advice and wisdom.

p/s 

I earnestly pray with the barakah of habaib whom we admire and love, Allah would protect me and my family from fitnah, musibah, and bala'. Ameen

*****

Habib Umar's programs in Singapore:
12 Dec:
Maghrib & Ratib Al-Attas @ Masjid Ba'alawi
13 Dec:
Subuh @ Masjid al-Abdul Razak
Jum'ah Prayers @ Masjid Sultan
Maghrib @ Masjid Sultan  
14 Dec:
Subuh @ Masjid al-Abdul Razak