Ada apa pada usia jika ia tidak mengingatkan kita kepada kematian

28 Mac. Apa yang special pasal tarikh ni? Aku try google tarikh ni. Tak nampak apa pun yang special. Takde plak Google ada buat doodle ke apa ke untuk mark anything special pasal tarikh ni. Indeed, it is not that special. Satu benda yang aku tahu pasal 28 Mac ni ialah birthday aku, and some other of my friends too. Dan hari ni ialah 28 Mac 2013. Selamat hari jadi untuk diri aku, and again, some of my friends too. Dan hari ni akan berlalu seperti berlalunya hari semalam, kelmarin dan hari-hari sebelumnya. Seperti mana aku pernah melalui 28 Mac 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 dan 2012. Tarikh ini akan berlalu seperti dulu. Selama aku hidup, tarikh ini telah berlalu selama 20 kali dan inshaAllah dalam masa kurang daripada 22 jam lagi, ia akan berlalu buat kali ke 21. Dan inshaAllah, jika dipanjangkan usia, aku akan melihat tarikh ini berlalu beberapa kali lagi dalam hidup aku.

Well, my point is aku dah melalui tarikh yang sama for 21 years. 21 years. Dah berapa banyak duit dah yang aku dah habiskan sampai hari ni. Dah berapa banyak cc oksigen dah aku gunakan untuk bernafas. Dah berapa banyak air dah aku teguk. Dah berapa banyak pakaian dah yang aku tukar ganti. Dah berapa banyak tempat dah aku pergi. Dah berapa banyak dah nikmat tuhan yang aku dapat sehinggalah aku mencapai usia ini.

Dan marilah kita melihat kata-kata nabi Allah, Sulaiman a.s sebagaimana direkod dalam alQuran
"Ini ialah limpah kurnia tuhanku, untuk mengujiku adakah aku bersyukur atau aku tidak mengenangkan nikmat pemberianNya"

Dan melihat nikmat Allah yang begitu banyak ni, aku terfikir. Berapa kali pulak aku bersyukur atas semua nikmat ni? Dah berapa banyak solat yang aku betul-betul kusyuk? Dah berapa banyak orang yang aku dakwah kepada Islam? Dah berapa banyak orang yang aku tarbiyyah? Apa usaha aku nak membalas nikmat Allah?


Lihat pula pada firman Allah
"Maka yang mana satu di antara nikmat-nikmat tuhanmu yang hendak kamu dustakan?"

Moga usia yang bakal berlalu ini sehinggalah aku dipanggil bertemu Allah menjadi saham aku untuk masuk ke syurgaNya. Alhamdulillah. Allah telah menghadirkan beberapa insan dalam hidup aku yang mendoakan aku agar aku menjadi insan yang berguna untuk ummah. Juga mereka yang mengingatkan aku agar tidak berhenti daripada beramal. Jazakumullah khairan jazak aku ucapkan kepada semua. Moga Allah memberkati usia kita. Amin

21 years. That's old.

Kesedaran yang menggerakkan. InshaAllah. After this, no more excuse;no more whining, no more hold-on. InshaAllah. I have once said, "Jangan hanya sibuk menghantar orang ke pintu syurga dan kita pula berpatah balik ke neraka. Berpimpinlah tangan sehingga ke dalamnya. Berpimpinlah."  And I am gonna say it one more time. And this time, I really really mean it. O Allah, purify my intention. Ameen. 

"Jangan hanya sibuk menghantar orang ke pintu syurga dan kita pula berpatah balik ke neraka. Berpimpinlah tangan sehingga ke dalamnya. Berpimpinlah."

Why hesitate?

What were the words of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he was resting under a tree after being abused physically and mentally by the people of Taif?

"O God, unto Thee that I complain of my weaknesses, of my helplessness, of my lowliness before me. O Most Merciful of the merciful, Thou are the lord of the weak. And Thou are my Lord. Into whose hand will Thou entrust me? Unto some far-off stranger who will ill-treat me? Or unto a foe Thou hast empowered against me? I care not, so Thou be no wrath of me. But Thy favoring help-that were for me the broader way and the wider scope! I take refuge in the Light of Thy Countenance whereby all darkness are illuminated and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest Thou make descend Thine anger upon me, or lest Thy wrath beset me. Yes it is Thine to reproach until Thou are well pleased. There is no power and no might except through Thee."

Excerpt from Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings

Now, those were the words of a person who were most blessed by Allah swt when his intention was to bring back people to the right path. The path that is blessed by Allah. Think, for whom was he (pbuh) working for? Allah swt. To whom he (pbuh) was bringing his people to? Allah swt. To whom did he asked helped from when people abused him? Allah swt. Who gave him (pbuh) the hard time? Allah swt!

Let take a step back and imagined that someone hit your face and told you to be patient. Someone stole your car and told you that not everything you owned will be your forever. Would you be angry with that person? Of course you would. You would not even think to ask his or her help. Well, it does not work that way when it comes to the relationship between you and Allah. It is true that He bestowed upon us all the calamity, tests, tribulations, illness, weakness, etc etc. But it is also true that he bestowed upon us his guidance, blessings, love, wealth, health, food, our fingers, our parents, our wife or husband. His blessings are far more than enough to offset all the calamities that we have.

Now, imagine that somebody asked you $1000 and he will give you $10000. But, that $1000 that he asked for is the money you earned after your hard-time dealing with your customer. Well, all the economic professor that I learned with would tell me that it is completely reasonable to give up that $1000 and take the $10000. Actually you don't need a professor to tell you that. Even an random guy sitting next to you in a bus, who will not even gain a cent from your money, will tell you to give up that $1000 and take the $10000 offered to you.

Wait, how about if we increase the leverage? How about if someone you know you can trust ask you $100 that he once gave you and he will return you $1000000000 in return? Heck, he would allow you to add as many zeros as possible. Just give him that $100. Of course you will give him your $100. Even if he actually beats you down and snatches that $100 roughly from your pocket. You would not feel that it is unfair.

Then

...Allah guides whom he wills to a straight path. (24:46)

I have read the news about the conversion, or rather reversion of an ex-member of Geert Wilders's right-wing anti-Islam Freedom Party. He was a member of a fierce enemy of Islam. And yet, today, he announced his reversion into Islam. As irony as it is, I remember that sometimes in the past, there was a guy who, just like him, announced his reversion into Islam publicly. He was a fierce enemy of Islam too. He had his own reasons of course. He believed that Islam was the reason why his people become separated. The place he lived was no longer the same. And he thought that forcing people to leave Islam would make everything return back to normal. So, he tortured the muslims. He asked the people of his clan to abandon Islam. He was very eager to do anything to unite his people back. Up to the point that he was willing to kill. Oh, back then, killing was not as easy as it seems nowadays. He would certainly be punished by his community for blood is the only price of bloodshed. And verily, Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path. When he was on his way to kill the Messenger (PBUH), he was told that his own sister had already embraced Islam too. And I guess, by now, all of us have pretty much know who am I talking about. He is our very own second caliph, Umar al-Khattab ra.

The history has proven that numerous people have embraced Islam even after being a fierce enemy of muslims. The likes of Umar r.a, Khalid al-Walid ra and Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahal are some of them. Khalid r.a was one of the notable figures of the musyrikin who went out for the Battle of Uhud. He led the musyrikin to ambush the muslims while some of them were busy celebrating their 'victory'. This sudden attack caused the death of many muslims in the battle. Consequently, the muslim army was forced to retreat back to Madinah. Other than Khalid, Ikrimah r.a was also a notable figure of Mecca. He was the son of Abu Jahal, a notorious enemy of Messenger (PBUH). And he only embraced Islam after the conquest of Mecca.

I, personally, admire Ikrimah r.a. He was a very fierce fighter before he embraced Islam. He cut the hand of one of the two youths who targeted Abu Jahal during the Battle of Uhud. During the Battle of the Ditch, with  a great bravery, he managed to cross the ditch eventhough he was chased out again by the arrows shot by the muslims. During the conquest of Mecca, he also attempted to fight the army of Khalid al Walid with some thirty people of Mecca. He was defeated but he managed to escaped. When he was about to leave Mecca once and for all, he was asked to embrace islam through the captain of the boat he about to board. While he was hesitating -since he has been running for Islam his whole life- his wife came to him telling that the Prophet (PBUH) has already promised him protection. And in his journey back to Mecca, he embraced Islam.
In the words of Martin Lings in his book, Muhammad: His Life Based on The Earliest Source
"Then, Ikrimah spoke of the money he had spent and the battles he had fought to bar men from following the truth, and he said that he would henceforth spend the double of it and fight with double effort in the way of God; and he kept his promise."
And he died a very wonderful death in the battle against Byzantine. And I wont be telling that story here. You can find it yourselves if you want.

Now, how can we relate ourselves to these people?
In the not too distant past, we might be the ones who live  for the sake of our own nafs. We lived as the slaves of the norm. We followed whatever norm dictated by the people around us. At the age of 7, we entered elementary school. And thus begin our journey of academic life. We entered high school and sat for PMR and SPM. Then we continued with our tertiary education, seeking for the degree that seems to be important for our survival in the future. We stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning, burning the midnight oil so that we can be listed in DL. And what did we tell people when they asked us to join the congregational prayers at the mosque? What excuses did we give to ourselves for missing the fajr prayer? Or did we even bother to give excuses? And how did we push our friends off when they start to talk about usrah and stuffs?
In the not too distant past too, while we lived in the boarding school, we might live the life of the tyrants. We oppressed the seemingly weaklings among us. We asked our juniors to wash our clothes, clean our dorms and buy our food. We beat them up just because they entered our class through the back door. Or even worse, we scolded them because they did not say salam to us when they met us. Oh, just how irony was it.
In the not too distant past, we might just the bad guys who do all sort of bad things. We might be missing our prayers and we were not even concern of it. And verily, Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.
Now, here we are, guided by Allah to the only deen in His sight. Dont we want to be the likes of Umar, Khalid and Ikrimah too?

"Manusia itu seperti logam, terpilihnya mereka waktu jahiliyah, terpilih juga mereka semasa Islam, sekiranya mereka faham" Err, I did try to find the english translation, but I just cant find it. Lol.

Post-exam ranting

Capitalism at its best. Being charged for overdraft; no transaction took place. Well, though I sort of can rationalize the fee after finishing my banking class today, I still feel that charging me that much is still irrational. Sigh. Post exam pms.

99 mangsa

Kebetulankah apabila si fulan yang mebunuh seratus orang itu matinya hanya sejengkal lebih dekat dengan tempat dituju berbanding dengan tempat yang ditinggalkannya itu?

Saya kira kebanyakan antara kita telah biasa dengan kisah seorang lelaki yang telah membunuh sembilan puluh sembilan orang mangsanya. Dan kemudiannya, dia mencari seorang pendeta, dan bertanya adakah dia akan diampunkan sekiranya dia bertaubat. Tidak dapat menerima perkataan tidak, dia membunuh pendita tersebut. Dan kemudinnya dia mencari pula seorang alim dan bertanya soalan yang sama. Dia disuruh meninggalkan tempat itu dan mencari tempat yang mana penduduknya menyembah Allah. Dan itulah yang dilakukannya. Namun, di pertengahan jalan, nyawanya ditarik oleh Allah swt. Turunlah dua malaikat yang berebut untuk membawa lelaki tersebut samada ke syurga mahupun neraka. Lantas Allah menurunkan malaikat untuk menjadi pengadil antara kedua malaikat tersebut. Keputusan dibuat berdasarkan jarak lelaki tersebut daripada tempat kematiannnya daripada tempat yang ingin dituju serta tempat yang ditinggalkannya. Keputusannya memihak kepada malaikat yang membawa kerahmatan, dan lelaki tersebut dijemput oleh malaikat kerahmatan. 

Ya, saya kira kita dah biasa mendengar kisah ini. Ini sebenarnya adalah kisah yang diceritakan oleh Rasulullah saw dan diriwayatkan oleh imam Bukhari dan imam Muslim dan disahihkan oleh imam Nawawi dalam kitab Riyadus Saleehin. Jujurnya, sebelum saya membaca sendiri hadis ini, saya tidak menjangka yang ia adalah sebuah hadis. Namun, itulah hidayah yang dicampakkan oleh Allah kedalam hati saya ketika mana hati saya dijentik untuk membaca sendiri Riyadus Saleehin milik kawan saya. Bagi saya hadis ini amat menarik dan sangat relevan dengan kehidupan kita sebagai manusia yang banyak melakukan dosa. Ya, kita pendosa. Namun, kita ingin menjadi seperti lelaki ini, pendosa yang bertaubat dan taubatnya diterima Allah. 

Ada dua perkara yang ingin saya tanyakan di sini. 

1. Mengapa Allah menghantar 3 malaikat di mana satu daripadanya menjadi hakim di ntara mereka untuk menetukan kemanakah berakhirnya lelaki tersebut. Allah, dengan segala kekuasaanya, boleh menghantar malaikat rahmat sahaja untuk menjemput lelaki tersebut.

2. Kebetulankah apabila lelaki tersebut mati, mengikut satu riwayat, hanya sejengkal lebih dekat ke tempat yang baik berbanding tempat yang ditinggalkannya? Bagaimana sekiranya dia lambat sedikit? adakah pengakhirannya ialah di neraka?

Untuk menjawab soalan kedua, di dalam satu riwayat sahih, Allah telah memerintahkan kepada tanah tempat asalnya untuk menjauh dan tanah yang ditujunya untuk mendekat. Ya, saudara-saudara sekalian. Itulah jua jawapan untuk soalan yang pertama. Agar kita dapat mengambil ibrah daripadanya. Bukan kebetulan lelaki itu matinya lebih dekat dengan tempat yang ditujunya. Tetapi, Allah dengan kekuasannya, menjadikan keputusan itu memihak kepada lelaki tersebut. Agar kita tahu, yang segala keputusan bukanlah pada tangan kita. Lelaki tersebut mungkin matinya lebih dekat dengan tempat yang ditinggalkannya. Menjadikan perjalanannya sebuah kegagalan. Malah ketika matinya, malaikat seksaan sendiri mempersoalkan yang lelaki tersebut belum melakukan kebaikan pun. Akan tetapi, Allah memperlihatkan kita bahawa kita hanya perlu berbuat apa yang kita mampu dalam ruang lingkup kita yang terbatas. Dan selebihnya Allah yang akan tentukan. 

Maka, di sini juga saya ingin kongsikan dua recording yang membasahkan hati yang kering ini, dengan izin Allah. Semoga ianya bermanfaat untuk kita semua, dunia dan akhirat. 

Ouh, dan kita tak pernah tahu dimanakah had keupayaan kita untuk mencari redhaNya ^-^

So, here is the long awaited weekend. The weekend after a long week of exams, projects and quizzes. Sitting around doing nothing is exactly the thing in my mind right now. However, knowing that free time is exactly the enemy of us, muslims, I try to do something else that I deem beneficial. However, most of my free time tonight was spent scrolling down facebook, reading stuffs that people posted. It seems to be clearer to me than ever before that my newsfeed is actually flooded by beneficial links and statuses of my friends. Keep it up people. You guys are awesome!