It is the time of the month again when the pay check comes in and the bills and all expenses have to be settled. Each month my heart sink when I do the calculations. My mom always tells me that bringing up children nowadays are expensive and difficult, unlike the olden days...
I don't know how true she is. I don't know if she simply couldn't remember how difficult it was for her to bring me up and how expensive I was or whether things are getting harder and harder as the Capitalist system puts more pressure on parents and children alike. I try to visualize the lives of people in the past, in previous eras and decades. It must have been difficult living during the time of Prophet Yusuf a.s. when the fear of parents are that your children maybe eaten by wolves, it must have been difficult living during world war 2 in Britain where children were separated from their parents to live away from the cities. It must have been difficult to live during the times of the Japanese invasion in Malaya.
I don't think there was ever a time when raising children was easy or when life was easy. It must have been difficult for our first man and woman, Adam and Hawa having to deal with the envy of Qabil over Habil that lead to the first murder in the history of mankind.
This is the promise of Iblis and his clan when Allah SWT cursed him. Iblis held vengence for Adam and the children of Adam until the end of the days...
قَالَ أَنظِرۡنِىٓ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ يُبۡعَثُونَ (١٤) قَالَ إِنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُنظَرِينَ (١٥) قَالَ فَبِمَآ أَغۡوَيۡتَنِى لَأَقۡعُدَنَّ لَهُمۡ صِرَٲطَكَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ (١٦ثُمَّ لَأَتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ وَعَنۡ أَيۡمَـٰنِہِمۡ وَعَن شَمَآٮِٕلِهِمۡۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ شَـٰكِرِينَ (١٧) قَالَ ٱخۡرُجۡ مِنۡہَا مَذۡءُومً۬ا مَّدۡحُورً۬اۖ لَّمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنۡہُمۡ لَأَمۡلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكُمۡ أَجۡمَعِينَ (١٨)
Surah Al A'raf: 14 - 18
(13) He said, “Then give me respite until a day when all will be resurrected. (14) He (Allah) said, “You are granted respite’’. (15) He said, “Now that You have led me astray, I will certainly sit for them (in ambush) on Your straight path. (16) Then I will come upon them from their front side and from their behind, and from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them grateful. (17) He (Allah) said, “Get out of here, condemned, rejected. Indeed, whosoever will follow you from among them, I will fill Hell with all of you together. (18)
So, that is the promise of Iblis and his only purpose in life. Him and his clan are constantly devising ways and means to fulfill that goal and they can see us from where we do not see them.
Furthermore, the current system being implemented all over the world is based on the man-made Capitalist system, a secular system that prioritizes freedom, benefit, profit and life's pleasures above everything else. Even as individual Muslims we struggle to reconcile our Islamic values with the values promoted by the secular beliefs e.g. allowing our children to have boyfriends versus free-mixing is not allowed in Islam, letting them watch TV versus surah Al Asr where we should not be wasting time, providing a secure home for our family versus loan with interest (riba) is not allowed. Everything we see, everything we do within this current system is in contradictory to our belief. Sometimes we feel like it is so hard to be a good Muslim but we try anyway, to be the best that we can even thought we know that within the current system, we can never be the best that we truly want to be.
So, I guess this is the greatest challenge of bringing up children today, bringing them up within a secular system, a secular society and struggling to teach them Islam...
May Allah SWT make it easy for all parents and may Allah SWT bring the Khilafah soon. Ameen.
Friday 27 April 2012
Friday 13 April 2012
When the truth will become a reality
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/13/the_real_criminals_in_the_tarek_mehanna_case/
Sometimes I sit and ponder about the world and how the reality, the way we live, the things that matter or seem to matter, the way things are, the system that is being implemented, everything seem so different from what it ought to be.
As a Muslim, how do we reconcile the fact that what is said and mentioned in the Qur'an seem so distant and far away from what is being implemented in the real world? For example, the Qur'an tells us that Riba (interest) is haram and yet, the whole economic system is based upon Riba, the banking system, housing and car loans, savings, shares...even if we do not directly deal with Riba but the economic policies, international trading, buying and selling of government bonds, everything is wrapped in an economic system that is built upon interest.
When it says in the Qur'an that 4:141 "Allah will never grant the disbelievers to triumph over the believers"... one start to wonder about the condition of the world today where the US seem to have domination over the world, where the Muslim ummah are the underdogs being oppressed and persecuted all over the world in Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. One may start to wonder what has gone wrong?
However, reading the recent case of Tarek Mahenna, an American citizen, a Muslim who was sentenced to 17 years in prison simply because he refused to become an informer for the FBI...reading his speech, his statement and when he said
"In your eyes, I’m a terrorist, and it’s perfectly reasonable that I be standing here in an orange jumpsuit. But one day, America will change and people will recognize this day for what it is. They will look at how hundreds of thousands of Muslims were killed and maimed by the US military in foreign countries, yet somehow I’m the one going to prison for “conspiring to kill and maim” in those countries – because I support the Mujahidin defending those people. They will look back on how the government spent millions of dollars to imprison me as a ”terrorist,” yet if we were to somehow bring Abeer al-Janabi back to life in the moment she was being gang-raped by your soldiers, to put her on that witness stand and ask her who the “terrorists” are, she sure wouldn’t be pointing at me."
His speech...his statement...made me realize that this is a man who sees the world as it truly is. How the reality today is nothing compared to the reality of what is right and what is wrong. Just because the world is what it is...does not make it right. it doesn't change the fact that interest (riba) is haram or that Allah will not make the believers triumphant.
The world we see today is like a mirage of water on a hot sunny day in the desert. it will disappear as soon as you reach towards it. History has proven to us that there has always been oppressors and time of oppression which will be replaced by time of security. We are currently being ruled by oppressors similar to the time of Ad, Thamud, Firaun and Quraysh. Those who lived during those times must have felt the way we felt...but as history has proven to us that times change and the political situation of the world is ever changing.
Things are changing the the people are changing...
Tarek Mahenna is an inspiration to many people, a man who sees the world truly as it is and is not afraid to stand up for the truth. One day...the truth will be reality.
Sometimes I sit and ponder about the world and how the reality, the way we live, the things that matter or seem to matter, the way things are, the system that is being implemented, everything seem so different from what it ought to be.
As a Muslim, how do we reconcile the fact that what is said and mentioned in the Qur'an seem so distant and far away from what is being implemented in the real world? For example, the Qur'an tells us that Riba (interest) is haram and yet, the whole economic system is based upon Riba, the banking system, housing and car loans, savings, shares...even if we do not directly deal with Riba but the economic policies, international trading, buying and selling of government bonds, everything is wrapped in an economic system that is built upon interest.
When it says in the Qur'an that 4:141 "Allah will never grant the disbelievers to triumph over the believers"... one start to wonder about the condition of the world today where the US seem to have domination over the world, where the Muslim ummah are the underdogs being oppressed and persecuted all over the world in Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. One may start to wonder what has gone wrong?
However, reading the recent case of Tarek Mahenna, an American citizen, a Muslim who was sentenced to 17 years in prison simply because he refused to become an informer for the FBI...reading his speech, his statement and when he said
"In your eyes, I’m a terrorist, and it’s perfectly reasonable that I be standing here in an orange jumpsuit. But one day, America will change and people will recognize this day for what it is. They will look at how hundreds of thousands of Muslims were killed and maimed by the US military in foreign countries, yet somehow I’m the one going to prison for “conspiring to kill and maim” in those countries – because I support the Mujahidin defending those people. They will look back on how the government spent millions of dollars to imprison me as a ”terrorist,” yet if we were to somehow bring Abeer al-Janabi back to life in the moment she was being gang-raped by your soldiers, to put her on that witness stand and ask her who the “terrorists” are, she sure wouldn’t be pointing at me."
His speech...his statement...made me realize that this is a man who sees the world as it truly is. How the reality today is nothing compared to the reality of what is right and what is wrong. Just because the world is what it is...does not make it right. it doesn't change the fact that interest (riba) is haram or that Allah will not make the believers triumphant.
The world we see today is like a mirage of water on a hot sunny day in the desert. it will disappear as soon as you reach towards it. History has proven to us that there has always been oppressors and time of oppression which will be replaced by time of security. We are currently being ruled by oppressors similar to the time of Ad, Thamud, Firaun and Quraysh. Those who lived during those times must have felt the way we felt...but as history has proven to us that times change and the political situation of the world is ever changing.
Things are changing the the people are changing...
Tarek Mahenna is an inspiration to many people, a man who sees the world truly as it is and is not afraid to stand up for the truth. One day...the truth will be reality.
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Trip to Kota Marudu Sabah
Alhamdulillah I am happy to say that another one of my dreams came true.
Finally, after all these years...I set foot in Sabah. I actually flew across the South China Sea and landed at Kota Kinabalu. I was there for three days involved in a health screening programme, part of the Dean's PURE Rus (Population Urban Rural Epidemiology) research project.
The flight was two and a half hours. I was so nervous but glad to be next to a good friend who just kept chatting to me and kept my mind occupied. I hate flying! My ears kept 'popping' during the landing. Just a tip: if you travel by air, make sure you bring a boiled sweet or a strawed drink to sip every now and then during the landing. This will help maintain the pressure balance in your ears.
We reached Kota Kinabalu and I was so amazed to see the new airport and how modern it looked. We had a van waiting for us and took us to the city centre. We stopped for a while at the handcraft market and had lunch at one of the mamak restaurant. We then made our way to Kota Marudu which is about 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu.
It was a two way single lane road surrounded mostly by jungle, rubber plantation and villages. We occasionally came across a big town with new development houses and a shopping mall. The road ahead kept winding. I understood now what happened to my cousin and his wife who passed away from an accident whilst driving in Sabah. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun). The roads were pretty dangerous and I wouldn't recommend any tourist to drive in Sabah.
We reached Kota Marudu which is a small town and we checked into the Marudu Inn hotel. It was a basic simple hotel but it was clean and comfortable. We were completely exhausted by then and was glad to have a rest.
The next day, we woke up early and prepared ourselves for a big day ahead. We went to the Community Hall where our health screening was set up. My role was to take blood, check blood pressure and give consultation to patients who had abnormal readings. It was enjoyable meeting people from Sabah. It is a nice feeling to get to know many different people, find out their background and to learn something from them.
We finished early and Dato' invited us to go on a trip to the Tip of Borneo. So, after lunch and prayers we went by van towards Kudat. We stopped along the way to look at honey stalls, Gong making village and we even visited a 'long house'. We were able to enter the long house, which was purpose built as a guest house and you can rent a room for RM55.00 a night.
Finally we reached the tip of Borneo and what I saw in front of me was simply the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen in my whole entire life. the South China Sea spread right in front of me as far as the eye could see, clear blue water, green trees, white sandy beach. It was like a scene from 'Pirates of the Carribean' and it was clean. It is important to keep the place clean and to preserve the natural environment.
It was a very hot day with minimal wind so, we bought some ice-cream and sat in the hut. Dato' then took us for some 'makan-makan' and we sat inside the restaurant next to the beach watching the beautiful sunset. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were so exhausted.
The next day, the same health screening programme and after lunch, it was time to go back to Kota Kinabalu. We stopped by Tanjung Aru Beach to have dinner. Tanjung Aru was very different from the Tip of Borneo; it was busy with people, music and restaurants. It was a hang out place for families during the weekends. However, the beach was still beautiful and clean. Children were swimming in the clear calm waters with gentle waves.
We had coconut drinks with barbecued fish, prawns and cuttlefish. There were so much food shared between the nine of us. We chatted about everything and anything. I felt so grateful to Allah SWT for the blessings He gave but a part of me felt sad for those who have not been given such opportunities.
Everybody wants to enjoy the simple things in life, sitting by the beach having a good meal with friends and yet, there are people starving or displaced by war. I thought about the people I know who didn't have the opportunity to study, to further their education despite having the intelligence and the ability. I felt sad but I believe that Allah S.W.T knows best and He gives to whom He wills and takes from whom He wills. Whatever he gives to us is a test, it is not a reward because this life is only a test and the reward is in the hereafter. Whatever he takes away from us is a test, it is not a punishment because the punishment is in the hereafter. Everything that we have in this life is a test for us, will we value the things that Allah S.W.T give to us and use it for good deeds. Our health, wealth, intelligence, abilities... or will we use it to hurt or harm others, to perform bad deeds.
Our flight took off at 8pm and I was happy to be on my way home...to see my little ones again.
Finally, after all these years...I set foot in Sabah. I actually flew across the South China Sea and landed at Kota Kinabalu. I was there for three days involved in a health screening programme, part of the Dean's PURE Rus (Population Urban Rural Epidemiology) research project.
The flight was two and a half hours. I was so nervous but glad to be next to a good friend who just kept chatting to me and kept my mind occupied. I hate flying! My ears kept 'popping' during the landing. Just a tip: if you travel by air, make sure you bring a boiled sweet or a strawed drink to sip every now and then during the landing. This will help maintain the pressure balance in your ears.
We reached Kota Kinabalu and I was so amazed to see the new airport and how modern it looked. We had a van waiting for us and took us to the city centre. We stopped for a while at the handcraft market and had lunch at one of the mamak restaurant. We then made our way to Kota Marudu which is about 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu.
It was a two way single lane road surrounded mostly by jungle, rubber plantation and villages. We occasionally came across a big town with new development houses and a shopping mall. The road ahead kept winding. I understood now what happened to my cousin and his wife who passed away from an accident whilst driving in Sabah. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun). The roads were pretty dangerous and I wouldn't recommend any tourist to drive in Sabah.
We reached Kota Marudu which is a small town and we checked into the Marudu Inn hotel. It was a basic simple hotel but it was clean and comfortable. We were completely exhausted by then and was glad to have a rest.
The next day, we woke up early and prepared ourselves for a big day ahead. We went to the Community Hall where our health screening was set up. My role was to take blood, check blood pressure and give consultation to patients who had abnormal readings. It was enjoyable meeting people from Sabah. It is a nice feeling to get to know many different people, find out their background and to learn something from them.
We finished early and Dato' invited us to go on a trip to the Tip of Borneo. So, after lunch and prayers we went by van towards Kudat. We stopped along the way to look at honey stalls, Gong making village and we even visited a 'long house'. We were able to enter the long house, which was purpose built as a guest house and you can rent a room for RM55.00 a night.
 |
| Tip of Borneo |
Finally we reached the tip of Borneo and what I saw in front of me was simply the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen in my whole entire life. the South China Sea spread right in front of me as far as the eye could see, clear blue water, green trees, white sandy beach. It was like a scene from 'Pirates of the Carribean' and it was clean. It is important to keep the place clean and to preserve the natural environment.
It was a very hot day with minimal wind so, we bought some ice-cream and sat in the hut. Dato' then took us for some 'makan-makan' and we sat inside the restaurant next to the beach watching the beautiful sunset. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were so exhausted.
 |
| Sunset at Tip of Borneo |
The next day, the same health screening programme and after lunch, it was time to go back to Kota Kinabalu. We stopped by Tanjung Aru Beach to have dinner. Tanjung Aru was very different from the Tip of Borneo; it was busy with people, music and restaurants. It was a hang out place for families during the weekends. However, the beach was still beautiful and clean. Children were swimming in the clear calm waters with gentle waves.
We had coconut drinks with barbecued fish, prawns and cuttlefish. There were so much food shared between the nine of us. We chatted about everything and anything. I felt so grateful to Allah SWT for the blessings He gave but a part of me felt sad for those who have not been given such opportunities.
Everybody wants to enjoy the simple things in life, sitting by the beach having a good meal with friends and yet, there are people starving or displaced by war. I thought about the people I know who didn't have the opportunity to study, to further their education despite having the intelligence and the ability. I felt sad but I believe that Allah S.W.T knows best and He gives to whom He wills and takes from whom He wills. Whatever he gives to us is a test, it is not a reward because this life is only a test and the reward is in the hereafter. Whatever he takes away from us is a test, it is not a punishment because the punishment is in the hereafter. Everything that we have in this life is a test for us, will we value the things that Allah S.W.T give to us and use it for good deeds. Our health, wealth, intelligence, abilities... or will we use it to hurt or harm others, to perform bad deeds.
Our flight took off at 8pm and I was happy to be on my way home...to see my little ones again.
Surah Az Zukhruf
Were it not that all people would become of a single creed (i.e. disbelief), We would have caused, for those who disbelieve in Rahman, roofs of their houses to be made of silver, and the stairs as well, on which they would climb, (33) And doors of their homes, and the coaches on which they would recline, (34) And (would have made some of these things) of gold-ornaments. And all this is nothing but an enjoyment of the worldly life. And the Hereafter, with your Lord, is (destined) for the God-fearing. 8 (35)
Words of contemplation (1)
I'm sitting here in McD @ Ampang Park observing the people around me. It is incredible to think that every single person here or in the world has a whole life story to tell. The things that they have gone through and experienced to make them who they are.
I'm thinking about how much a person has achieved in their life and how much they could potentially achieve. Everyone has their potential and the capability to reach whatever heights and limits they dream of achieving and yet, often the thing that stops us from achieving what we want is none other than ourselves.
Often our growth and development are stagnated by our own fears. Often we are traumatized by 'voices' in our own heads preventing us from reaching our goals. I'm not talking about hearing voices like an auditory hallucination, a symptom of psychosis but rather, our own voice... that voice in our head that tells us to refrain, that causes doubt...
How many times have we stopped ourselves from telling someone we love them, a friend, a spouse, our kids, our parents out of fear of rejection? We fear to expose ourselves to the possibility of being turned down and getting hurt.
How often have we stopped ourselves from pursuing our dreams in education, career, ambition out of fear of failure? We fear the possibility of not achieving the dream and in the end, we give up before we even try...
How often have we stopped ourselves from making a change in our lives, to leave an unbearable situation such as an unhappy marriage or an unsatisfactory job out of fear of making the wrong decision? We fear the unknown, the possibility of crossing to the other side and ending up in a worse situation. So, we persevere even though we can't tolerate the workload or the stressful environment.
How often have we refrained from taking that step to repent to Allah SWT because we fear that maybe we do not deserve His forgiveness? We are too afraid to pray to Him and ask for His Mercy out of our own guilt when Allah SWT says
I'm thinking about how much a person has achieved in their life and how much they could potentially achieve. Everyone has their potential and the capability to reach whatever heights and limits they dream of achieving and yet, often the thing that stops us from achieving what we want is none other than ourselves.
Often our growth and development are stagnated by our own fears. Often we are traumatized by 'voices' in our own heads preventing us from reaching our goals. I'm not talking about hearing voices like an auditory hallucination, a symptom of psychosis but rather, our own voice... that voice in our head that tells us to refrain, that causes doubt...
How many times have we stopped ourselves from telling someone we love them, a friend, a spouse, our kids, our parents out of fear of rejection? We fear to expose ourselves to the possibility of being turned down and getting hurt.
How often have we stopped ourselves from pursuing our dreams in education, career, ambition out of fear of failure? We fear the possibility of not achieving the dream and in the end, we give up before we even try...
How often have we stopped ourselves from making a change in our lives, to leave an unbearable situation such as an unhappy marriage or an unsatisfactory job out of fear of making the wrong decision? We fear the unknown, the possibility of crossing to the other side and ending up in a worse situation. So, we persevere even though we can't tolerate the workload or the stressful environment.
How often have we refrained from taking that step to repent to Allah SWT because we fear that maybe we do not deserve His forgiveness? We are too afraid to pray to Him and ask for His Mercy out of our own guilt when Allah SWT says
"And whoever
does evil, or wrongs his own soul, but afterwards seeks Allah’s
forgiveness, will find Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate."
(Qur’an 4:110)
Often we fail to even realize that the one who disappoints us, the one who prevents us from achieving our dreams, the one that stands in the way of our goals, the one who shatters all hope is none other than ourselves.
So, here I am sitting here thinking about things, about life, about people as I normally do, I think about how amazing we are as human beings, how we are simply a speck of dust in this vast universe and yet, how complicated we are inside, physically, psychologically and emotionally.
إِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُ ۥۤ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيۡـًٔا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ ۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ (٨٢) فَسُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِۦ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ
His practice, when He intends to do something, is no more than He says, “Be”, and it comes to be. (82) So,
pure (from every fault) is the One in whose hand is the dominion of all
things. And towards Him you are to be returned. (83) Surah Yasin
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