Min Qolbi

Assalamualaikum wrt,

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alhamdulillah, eventhough the weather today was quite cold and most of us were exhausted, we managed again to perform tarawikh prayers today. Syukur lillah, setakat ini... sejak kita memulakan solat tarawikh di bilik ini, tak pernah sekali pun tertinggal. Harapnya dapat istiqamah.

This week was my second class of Philosophy. Frankly, most of the time I have no idea why we are even studying it. Hm, mungkin ada hikmah di sebaliknya. There was one part while we were discussing about Greek philosophers and there came up the term 'contemplation'. While my groupmates and the teacher were discussing what on earth 'contemplation' is - reclusing oneself and reflecting or thinking deeply and really, I have absolutely no idea what the Greek philosophers were thinking about while contemplating - I remembered that the Prophet pbuh once also often contemplated. And he contemplated about the society he lived in. How during the jahiliyah times, there were all sorts of misdoings and chaos around him and there came a time where he could not stand it any longer. It was then that he received his first revelation as a messenger of Allah. With one very important verb, iqra'! or read!..

But contemplation does not stop there, of course. Being a dai'e, contemplating is also one of the qualities we must have. Yes, mixing around with people is also important, for without mixing around or making new friends, how can one possibly enrich ukhuwwah? And without ukhuwwah, how can a dai'e fulfil his responsibilities of dakwah?

'Uzlah, or contemplating is one of the qualities a dai'e must have. But unlike the Greek philosophers who sit around 'thinking deeply' for hours and hours, a dai'e contemplates to bring himself closer to Allah. It is a way to communicate with Him, be it a prayer or performing namaz, or zikir or just telling Him about everything that you are feeling. As I have heard from an ustaz before, without establishing a strong relationship with Allah, how can you possibly let others see the beauty of Islam? If you are faced with challenges and difficulties while inviting people to the path of Islam (and undeniably, it is never-ending), how can you hold steadfast, how can you istiqamah without the strength that Allah grants you? Thus, our iman and our faith must also be stronghold in order to always continue to tsabat on this path.

Ibnu Taimiyyah once said, "Ada keharusan bagi hamba untuk melakukan 'uzlah
agar dapat beribadah kepada Allah, berdzikir kepadaNya, membaca ayat-ayat-Nya,
melakukan muhasabah terhadap dirinya, berdoa kepada-Nya, meminta ampunan-Nya,
menjauhi tindakan-tindakan yang jelek, dan lain sebagainya.

'Uzlah is also one of many ways to istighfar and reflect on the past mistakes which we have done and learn from them. To ask forgiveness from Allah and promise never to repeat them again... To return to Him...

And lastly, always remember that...
"Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest." (13:28)

*Meluahkan ketidakpuasan hati belajar Philosophy..*

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Assalamualaikum wrt,

Sudah lama rasanya tak update kat sini. Beberapa hari dah berlalu sejak tiba di Nizhny. Ketibaan di airport seperti mengimbau semula kenangan masa mula2 tiba di Moscow setahun lalu; all the laughter, happy being among friends and the uncertainty of what's to come. Alhamdulillah, I'm quite settled down already and insyaAllah, the challenge will start any time now.

It is a truth universally acknowledged (mcm pembukaan buku cerita pula, hehe) that every man in this world has not but one purpose; and that is to find happiness. What differs a man from another is how they strive to find happiness, which way they choose to find an inner happiness within themselves. Kadangkala, kita berjumpa dgn sekumpulan org yg menganggap kebahagiaan dapat dicapai dengan kemewahan; owning millions of money, expensive cars and big houses. They spend their lives planning on how to gain wealth and worrying about how to keep them safe and make sure the money keeps on coming.

And there is another group of people who think fame can bring them happiness. And then, they try different ways to become famous, auditioning for Akademi Fantasia or Malaysian Idol, making new discoveries to win a Nobel Prize or any other award... in hopes that when they win, they will become famous and happy.

And there is another group of people who believe that when they have the combination of both wealth and fame, they have reached the top of the world.

But, amidst fame and wealth... amidst all the pleasure and happiness the world can offer us... we must always keep in mind that:

"Sesungguhnya kehidupan di dunia itu hanyalah permainan dan senda gurau..."
(47:36)

And when they have achieved all the riches of the world, they start to think of how they can achieve more, how they can gain more money or get more awards... And some regret becoming famous and rich because their lives are changed and they cannot live their own normal lives anymore. In the end, they lose the real meaning of happiness and end up becoming slaves to the money and wealth that they were worshiping besides Allah.

And in the end we are faced with the same question from the very beginning, how can you really find happiness? But before I answer that question, I would like to ask one more question... What are we composed of?

Sudah semestinya kita menjawab, diri ini mempunyai jasad dan roh. Jasad secara fizikalnya dan juga roh, yang kedua-duanya menghasilkan kehidupan; diri kita seperti yang sekarang ini.

And what are we made of? What is our body made of? Our body is made of clay, soil, earth. And since the body is made of earth, in order to nourish it, we need nutrients that come from the earth, plants and animals that eat plants, water from lakes and rivers that comes down from the skies and air. So in order to nourish the body, we eat and drink from the land around us.

And what of our roh? How do we nourish it? How do we make our roh, "happy" so to speak? And where does our roh come from?

"Kemudian apabila telah Aku sempurnakan kejadiannya dan Aku tiupkan roh ciptaanKu kepadanya; maka tunduklah kamu dengan bersujud kepadanya"
(38:72)

Setelah Allah menjadikan jasad Nabi Adam a.s., Dia meniupkan roh yang diciptakan ke dalam jasadnya. Dan di situlah jawapan kita. Roh kita ini datangnya daripada Allah, Allahlah yang telah menjadikan roh kita. And to nourish the roh is to achieve happiness. Hmm, macam mana pula? Seperti juga yang dikatakan sebelumnya, diri kita ini terdiri daripada jasad dan roh. Jasad itu akan sentiasa bertukar-tukar sepanjang hidup kita, sama ada kita akan menjadi lebih tua, lebih kuat atau lebih muda... tetapi kalau roh, roh akan tetap begitu sahaja. Roh adalah roh; pada akhirnya roh akan di tempatkan di syurga atau neraka.

If we take our body, for example. we nourish it with elements in which it is originated from... and the same goes for our roh, we nourish it with the same element from which our roh originated from... Allah. By sustaining a connection with Him. But how do we exactly connect with Him, you ask?

By doing what He asks us to do... praying, fasting, zikir - everything that will bring us closer to Him.. Have you ever wondered whenever you have done all 5 prayers in a day, you feel fulfilled? This is because...

"Aku tidak menciptakan jin dan manusia melainkan agar mereka beribadah kepadaKu"
(51:56)

We feel fulfilled and satisfied because we are fulfilling our purpose of life, that is to worship Him. Every single act of worship that we do, instantaneously, we feed our roh, we nourish it.. making it more alive. Even if our body is weak or ill, when our roh is happy and alive, we will be happy. =)

Something I read from a friend of mine. Well, I edited it just a little bit.

Truly in the heart there is a sadness that cannot be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it there is an emptiness that can not be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him. And if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness.
-Ibn AlQayyim