stitch.honeystar.

2010-02-21T23:58:00.002+08:00

Allah (God)

Is God dead?

"Creation of God, the pattern on which He has made mankind; there is no change in the work of God. That is the standard religion, but most among mankind do not understand."

Holy Qur'an (30:30)

They claim that "God" is dead. They should have said that "gods" are dead. The confusion arises when false "gods" are identified as GOD.

An atheist astronaut once gleefully joked that he went high above in the space but could not see the god. So, here is the confusion: the poor soul did not know that God is not a "body" to be seen or found in a "place". His joke just confirmed the belief of those who have emphasized from the very beginning that God could not have been seen.

Belief in a God is as much natural as any natural instinct can be. This eternal truth has been explained in the verse of the Holy Qur'an mentioned above.

An atheist asked Imam Jafar al Sadiq (a.s.) how could he convince him about the existence of God. Coming to know that the man had gone several times on sea voyages, the Imam asked him, "Have you ever been caught in a fierce storm in the middle of nowhere, your rudder gone, your sails torn away, trying desperately to keep your boat afloat." The answer was "Yes". Then the Imam asked, "And sometimes, perhaps, even that leaking boat went down leaving you exhausted and helpless on the mercy of raging waves?" The answer was again "Yes". Then the Imam asked: "Was not there, in all that black despair, a faint glimmer of hope in your heart that some unnamed and unknown power could still save you." When he agreed, Imam said: "That power is God."
That atheist was intelligent. He knew the truth when he saw it. Today's atheist give that place to "Nature". The only snag is that poor "Nature" is senseless and lifeless. How a senseless and lifeless idea (because nature is no more than an abstract idea) could create an universe of such magnitude with such a systematic perfection, uniting millions and millions of galaxies in a well-knit system? How could nature give life and sense to creatures when itself has none?

Unity of God

"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the External, Absolute; He be getteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him." Holy Qur'an (112)

This short surah of the Holy Qur'an is the most significant of all writings dealing with the oneness of God. As Allamah Abdallah Yusuf Ali has commented in his tradition of the Holy Book, the nature of God has been indicated here in a few words, such as we can understand. He writes: Here we are specially taught to avoid the pitfalls into which man and nations have fallen at various times in trying to understand God.

"The first thing we have to note is that His nature is so sublime, so far beyond our limited conceptions, that the best way in which we can realize Him is to feel that He is a personality. "He", and not a mere abstract conception of philosophy. Secondly, He is the One and Only God, the Only One to Whom worship is due, all other things or beings that we can think of are His creatures and in no way comparable to Him. Thirdly, He is Eternal, without beginning or end; Absolute, not limited by time or place or circumstances, the reality before which falls other things or places are mere shadows or reflections.

Fourthly, we must not think of Him as having a son or a father, for that would be to import qualities into our conception of Him. Fifthly, He is not like any other person or thing that we know or can imagine; His qualities and nature are unique."

In fact this short surah is a declaration of war against all ideas of paganism and anthropomorphism. Men from the beginning have had a tendency to imagine God in their own image. Some thought of Him as having body like animals or human-beings. Others thought that He was incarnated in the forces of nature like rain, lightening, mountain and river. Still others thought that He was a father and had a child or children. But this surah warns us against this tendency to conceive God after our own pattern.

Can "Nature" replace God?

"Nature designed this"; "Nature adapted that." These are the phrases frequently seen nowadays in the text-books and articles.

What is this "Nature", anyway? It is nothing but an abstract idea formed in the human brain after careful study of the behavior of the things. It may be found (if it is "found" at all) within the things; it has no independent existence. And, in any case, there is no record of any conference of the "natures" of various things, held to decide how to co-ordinate their functions. Flowers never conferred with the bees to seek the bees' co-operation in their pollination, offering them, in exchange, their nectar. But we know that bees could not live a single day without flowers; and thousands of flowers would long have been extinct but for the bees.

More puzzling are those phenomena which can not be explained by "nature's planning". When Moses fled from Pharaoh, the Red Sea parted, allowing him and his followers to cross to the promised land. Scientists nowadays try to explain it by natural causes; an earthquake must have made the water shift at that time. All right. But why did that supposed earthquake occur at a time when Moses and his followers desperately wanted to cross the Sea, and why it remained parted till Pharaoh entered into it? And why the movement of water was reversed at that very moment when the enemy of God with his people was in the midst of the Sea? Was it all a coincidence?

And was it a coincidence which prompted a spider to weave its cobweb at the mouth of the cave in which the Holy Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) was hiding from the pagans of Mecca who wanted to murder him? And more than that, was it also a coincidence which brought a pair of pigeons to build their nest at the mouth of that very cave at thick of night and lay the eggs before mornings? It was that cobweb and nest with eggs which led the blood-thirsty enemies to believe that Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) could not be in that cave, otherwise the cobweb would have been destroyed and the nest and the eggs broken!

Can that speed and timing of the pigeons and spider be explained by "natural causes"?

TO BE CONTINUED...

2010-01-21T15:37:00.002+08:00

Hanisah....

At the moment..
She's emotional..
Gets angry then regrets..
Is lousy..

That sums it all up..... Big time.

Doushite?

2009-11-12T16:55:00.002+08:00

Jbntpepofgpsbsfouj

2009-11-09T16:23:00.004+08:00

Bqblbi tfcfobsozb nbumbnbu ijevqlv ej evojb zboh tfnfoubsb joj?

Bqblbi zboh lv nbiv ebsj ijevqlv?

Bqblbi zboh ibsvt lv mblvlbo?

Tjbqblbi blv?

2009-11-09T16:19:00.005+08:00

Beblbi blv tfcfobsozb ej lbmbohbo psboh zboh cfsjnbo?

2009-11-09T16:04:00.003+08:00

Tuhanku, ampunkanlah segala dosaku.
Tuhanku, maafkanlah kejahilan hambaMu.

Ku sering melanggar laranganMu, dalam sedar ataupun tidak.
Ku sering meninggalkan suruhanMu, walau sedar aku milikMu.

Bilakah diri ini 'kan kembali kepada fitrah sebenar.
Pagi ku ingat, petang ku alpa; begitulah silih berganti.

Oh Tuhanku, Kau pimpinlah diri ini yang mendamba cintaMu.
Aku lemah, aku jahil, tanpa pimpinan dariMu.

Ku sering berjanji depanMu, sering jua ku memungkiri.
Pernah menangis keranaMu, kemudian ketawa semula.

Kau Pengasih, Kau Penyayang, Kau Pengampun kepada hamba-hambaMu.
Selangkahku kepadaMu, seribu langkah Kau padaku.

Tuhan, diri ini tidak layak ke SyurgaMu.
Tapi tidak pula aku sanggup ke NerakaMu.

Ku takut kepadaMu, ku harap jua padaMu.
Moga ku 'kan selamat, dunia akhirat.
Seperti Rasul dan sahabat...

Damba CintaMu oleh Raihan

2009-10-02T11:36:00.002+08:00

i had an awkward dream last night.

like any other dream, it felt very real. but after thinking 'bout it, of course there were things that didn't make sense, as it was a dream.

but out of nowhere, i actually dreamt of them; 1 of mother's best friends & her husband. she was also the Al-Quran Guru of my siblings & i.

& i was sent by mother to deliver a letter to her.
in the dream, it was as though we lived in different towns — which was why mother sent me over.
hence i had to travel, & after arriving, i stayed in town for a few days. i still hadn't delivered the letter yet. (don't bother asking why; it was in a dream) or had i? i don't recall which.

eventually, i ran into the husband of mother's friend to whom the letter was to be delivered.
he asked what i was doing there; i frankly told him the reason.
& then i don't remember what happened.

& instead, i recall a different scene, where i'm with mother & aunts & uncles. with a different atmosphere too.
it seemed like a completely different dream. but i'm not certain if it was.

but then, i only recall the 'conclusion' of the dream about mother's friend & her husband:-

quite suddenly, before/after i delivered the letter, but before i left town, i received news — news that...
this was only a dream okayy?mother's friend had passed away.

or was it both of them together?

i'm not sure if i had this doubt in the dream itself, or when i was awake.
i'm all confused.
i'm only human.

God knows best.

it's not like i'm filled with worry, or despair, or anxiety.
but it's just unusual that i dreamt about them; of all people.
it's really uncalled for.

or is it?
surely, God knows best.

insha-Allah; it remains as nothing more than 1 of my dreams. (:

2009-10-01T22:52:00.007+08:00

i was trying to get some content knowledge, before i proceeded with my essay plan on
the Qn: Discuss the value of silence.
as i typed "value of silence" into Yahoo search engine, the suggestion for "value of silence in islam" came out. curious, i clicked on it.

the 2nd link of the results caught my eye, & it led me to an article, which i quote:

Silence: the Mark of a Believer
Monday, 26 January 2009 18:36 Nadir Amirali

"He who speaks more commits more errors. He who commits more errors becomes shameless. He who is shameless will have less fear of Allah. He whose fear of Allah is less, his heart dies. He whose heart dies enters the fire. He who knows that his speech is also a part of his action speaks less except where he has some purpose." — Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
There are numerous authentic traditions attributed to the Holy Household of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them) on the importance of silence. In fact, silence was one of the very characteristic qualities of the companions of the Prophets and Imams as well as the Prophets and Imams themselves. It is one of the many important qualities one must acquire in his quest for the Divine. It is a sign of many virtues such as a strong intellect (Aql) and wisdom. Therefore, we should strive to make silence one of the defining qualities of our personality.

What is so good about silence that the Ahlul Bayt stressed its importance to the faithful? It must be more than a mere absence of noise. One might notice among friends that silence is avoided, even feared. So much so, in fact, that when there is a gap of silence during a conversation, someone will say something nonsensical just to escape the unbearable void of awkwardness. Still, what's the big deal about silence?

Silence cultivates one's spirituality and feeling of nearness to Allah. The more we adopt the practice of silence in our lives, the more beautiful we will find it to be. Let us elaborate on some of its benefits.

Tranquility
First and foremost, tranquility. Every morning, if one allocates even a quarter of an hour to the practice of silence before going to work or school, he will face the challenges of the day ahead in a positive manner. If one lets the silence permeate into every single part of his body, the feelings of anxiety and stress will disappear. Similarly, after a hard day's work, or just ten minutes before prayer time, if one devotes a few minutes to silence, he will find it easier to concentrate during his worship. He will feel closer to Allah.

Reflection
Simply put, shut your mouth and open your mind. Wherever you go, whatever you do, don't say a word. Just observe what you're doing and what others are doing. Observe everything. Don't judge, just watch quietly and absorb everything around you. Eventually, if you do this for long enough, you will find yourself organizing and sifting through all those thoughts in your head. You will discard the rubbish, and you will save the jewels. You will think about your experiences and the experiences of others, and you will extract valuable lessons that will help you in life. You will begin to see Allah's beauty in every single thing, be it your fingers on the keyboard or the waves in the sea. You begin – there is no other way to put this – to understand.

Wisdom
Imam Ali says that the wiser man is, the less he will speak. Think about this for a second. Wisdom will come about as you reflect on the nature of everything. You'll adopt silence because it's the smart thing to do: silence guards secrets, silence controls the tongue, silence gets rid of nonsense (in your head as well as in your speech), silence sharpens the wit, and silence increases the value of your words. Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said that one who knows the value of his speech will also know the value of silence. In fact, if one adopts silence, he will value his speech and therefore guard it like he guards his wealth.

Intellect
Finally, silence strengthens one's Aql. The carnal self (the Nafs) thrives on foolishness. It feeds on impulsive and thoughtless actions, and therefore, speech. Realize, as our holy Imam says, that your speech is a part of your action. If you think before you act, you will think before you speak. If you think before you speak, you will stop saying foolish things accidentally. You will stop unintentionally revealing your secrets (and the secrets of others). Furthermore, silence gives one control over his emotions, especially anger. It is said that anger is a type of madness. Subdue that anger with silence, and you will put an end to a great many detrimental things in your life.

Some Ways To Adopt Silence In Your Life
I offer these tips as I have found them to help me out a lot:
1) Ten minutes before beginning your prayer, sit on the prayer mat and just be silent whilst fixing your eyes on one spot.
2) Before you say anything, plan exactly what you're going to say.
3) Be quiet during "discussions" devoid of knowledge and facts. Also, if you see a discussion heading towards an argument, be silent.
4) If you don't know, say you don't know.
5) If you're getting angry, be silent. If someone else is getting angry at you, be silent. Imam Khomeini mentioned this piece of advice to his daughter and son in-law.
Insha-Allah (God willing), if we decide to adopt the way of silence, we will find ourselves tearing one more veil that separates us from our Creator. And surely He knows best.

unsurprisingly, it gives me quite a realisation, though i can't say it's something i completely knew nothing of.

i'm glad to have come across this article, though unintentionally.

i'm glad to have come across that article!
it's hard to implement though, innit? hmm.. ._.

2009-09-29T13:45:00.013+08:00

Ya Allah Ya Tuhanku...

Aku bersyukur kepadaMu Ya Allah... — aku bersyukur ia sekadar suatu mimpi.. Namun ia telah memberikan diriku, walaupun sedikit, penggambaran akan keadaan diriku yang sebenar...

Ya Allah, aku akui akan segala dosaku.. Aku memohon kepadaMu, Ya Allah.. Ampunilah segala dosaku selama hidupku, yang terdahulu, yang terkemudian, di dalam sedar mahupun tidak.. Ampunilah segala kelemahanku, kekuranganku, keburukanku, kesilapanku..kelalaianku, kejahilanku, segala keangkuhanku dan amalanku yang tidak layak dengan kebesaranMu, selama hidupku, Ya Allah.. Sesungguhnya, Engkaulah Yang Maha Pengampun, dan sesungguhnya, tiada yang mampu memberi keampunan kecuali Engkau, Ya Allah.. Maka aku memohon kepadaMu, ampunilah daku, Ya Tuhanku...

Aku memohon kepadaMu, Ya Rabbi.. Peliharalah daku.. Dekatkanlah diriku kepadaMu... Berilah aku rahmat dari sisiMu, Ya Allah.. Sesungguhnya, Engkaulah Dzat Yang Maha Pemberi...

Segala puji bagiMu, Ya Allah.. Subhanallah wabihamdih...

Ya Allah.. Dengan perkenanMu, Ya Allah, aku memohon kepadaMu.. Panjangkanlah umurku, dengan perkenanMu, agar aku dapat beribadat kepadaMu dengan lebih lama lagi, Ya Allah.. Sesungguhnya, Engkaulah Yang Maha Kuasa.. Yang Maha Agung...
Engkau Maha Kaya..
Ya Allah, panjangkanlah umurku, agar aku dapat menebus dosa-dosaku, Ya Allah.. Agar aku dapat memenuhi janjiku kepadaMu sebagai seorang hambaMu, Ya Allah.. Agar aku dapat mencapai kejayaan di dunia.. sebelum aku mencapai kejayaan di akhirat nanti..

Ya Allah, kuatkanlah imanku selama aku hidup di dunia yang sementara ini, Ya Allah.. Sesungguhnya, aku tiada daya, keupayaan juga kekuatan kecuali dariMu, Ya Allah Yang Maha Kuasa.. Maka kuatkanlah imanku, Ya Allah... Aku berdoa kepadaMu, agar aku sentiasa berada di dalam iman dan dalam Islam, dan aku berdoa agar aku akan mati dalam beriman, Ya Allah.. Perkenankanlah doaku ini, Ya Allah.. Peliharalah daku..

Wahai Tuhanku, perbaikilah untukku agamaku, yang menjadi pedoman hidupku.. Dan perbaikilah untukku duniaku, yang padanya aku beroleh kehidupan.. Dan perbaikilah akhiratku, yang padanya tempat kembaliku.. Dan jadikanlah hidup ini tempat bertambah-tambahnya segala kebaikan bagiku.. Dan jadikanlah mati itu bagiku sebagai tempat beristirehat daripada segala kejahatan...

Ya Allah, perkenankanlah segala doaku ini, Ya Tuhanku..

Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin...

Bismillahirrahmaniraahim..
Allahumma anta rabbi,
laa ilaaha illaa anta khalaqtani wa anaa ‘abduka,
wa anaa ‘alaa ‘ah dika wa wa’dika mastatha’tu;
A’udzubika min syarrimaa shona’tu abuu ulaka bini’matika ‘alayya wa abuu ubidzanbi,
faghfirli fa innahu laa yaghfirudz dzunuuba illaa anta.
Amin..

Ertinya:
Dengan Nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Mengasihani..
Ya Allah, Engkaulah Tuhanku, tiada Tuhan melainkan Engkau yang telah menjadikan aku, dan aku adalah hambaMu,
dan aku tetap di atas menyempurnakan janji terhadapMu sekuasaku;
Aku berlindung denganMu daripada segala keburukan yang ku lakukan, aku akui akan segala nikmat yang datang dariMu, dan aku akui akan segala dosaku, maka ampunilah daku,
sesungguhnya tiada yang mampu mengampuni segala dosa melainkan Engkau.
Perkenanlah..

Demikian adalah penghulu istighfar,
doa yang sangat baik diamalkan sesudah solat Subuh dan sesudah solat Maghrib.
Fadilatnya Penghulu Istighfar:
Barangsiapa yang membacanya pada waktu siang dengan penuh keyakinan lalu dia mati sebelum petang, maka ia termasuk ahli syurga. Dan siapa yang membacanya pada waktu malam dengan penuh keyakinan lalu dia mati sebelum pagi, maka ia termasuk ahli syurga. (HR Bukhari)
Oleh itu, amalkanlah..