The Reader

On containers,,

In adab,the proper things must be at their rightful places..and in marketing,the rights cookies must be displayed in their suitable jars/containers..

On some food stuff,we need the advice of food technologist to select the right containrs.Or even chemists on some dangerous liquids or powders.

Takwil al-jahilun 3.0

Begitu pentingnya kita berilmu...dan kerja belajar ini kita mesti teruskan sehingga akhir hayat.Untuk beriman,kita perlu ilmu-tanpa ilmu kita tidak dapat membezakan yang bathil dan dengan yang haq,insyaAllah.

On friendship..

It will take years to know who your real friends are...My friend has just retired from civil service in JKR.I called him a week ago and told him in a few months time,he will know who are his actual friends;many will leave him because he is not in position of power over their projects.This is what I categorised as 'contract friends'-friendship for business only.

In my case,I experienced two times-the first when I resigned from JKR as Assistant Director(1984) and the second when I resigned from TDM Berhad as CEO(1989).Now, I know who are my real friends when I am doing business on my own.

Let me qoute from Paulo Coelho from his book Manuscript Found in Accra:

Frienship is like a river,it flows around rocks,adapts itself to valleys and mountains,occasionally turns into a pool until the hollow in the ground is full and it can continue on its way.Just as the river never forget that its goal is the sea,so friendship never forgets that its  only reason for existing is to love other people.

At my age,I am very selective who I want to make friends and be their friends.Bad experience taught  me to be more careful with friends than with strangers.Yes indeed,friendship is like a river-it keeps flowing all the time...

Interview: Shaik Abdal Hakim Murad

Let me share this interview with my readers.Here is the link.It is a long article but worth every second reading it.. Here is the last few paragraphs:-

And where do you place yourself in all of it?

I’m simply an academic of Cambridge and I try my best to be involved in various projects on the local as well as the international level but it would surprise me that many Muslims in the UK have ever heard of me. I guess they know my brother a lot better since he’s a famous sports journalist.

Quite a modest answer, considering your standing among the international ulama. Your position might even surprise certain people since you’re an English convert who places himself within the Sufi tradition. Yet you’re not the first highly respected scholar I spoke to whose teachers have been Sufis so, by now, I came to the conclusion that Sufism isn’t at all such a ‘marginalized’ aspect of Islam as people often claim.

That’s true. If you look at the Ottoman Empire, for example, nobody ever was ‘against’ Sufism. This concept of Islam being anti-Sufi is there because of Saudi puritanism. But that’s a very recent evolution. And even Saudi Arabia is full of Sufis.

If you have not seen the saint, you have not seen the sunna.

But it's above all important to remember that it’s not so much about Sufism itself. Sufism is just a name. The ultimate proof of the religion is the saints. They are the miraculous expressions of divine love. As such, the saint in Islam is the one who shows you the greatness of the prophet because his life meticulously conforms to the last detail of the sunna out of total love and surrender. The self is gone and only the prophetic form remains. The dignity, the ancient wisdom, the selflessness, the love for others… you see it in the prophet and you see it in the saint.

So the saints remind us that religion is about consciousness and remembrance now and in every moment. They remind us that it’s about constantly being in God.

When you see them, you discover what love is really all about. Our culture sings about love endlessly because it actually doesn’t have any of it. It became the basis of our society but it’s a kind of coitus interruptus: the slogan of ‘love is all you need’ is everywhere on the covers of magazines, in music and soap-opera’s but it’s not really there. People need it, they have the yearning, but nothing is giving it to them so they're sort of endlessly trying new things.

A saint is beyond that sort of narrow minded egocentrism and shows us what real divine love is about.

Could I conclude then that the true spiritual authorities in Islam, according to you, are in fact the saints?

Like I often say: “If you have not seen the saint, you have not seen the sunna.”

 

 

 

Islamic Philosophy

Let me share this great masterpiece with my fellow readers who have not attended the lectures by the learned scholar and comtemporary Muslim thinker-Islamic Philosophy - An Introduction by Syed Mohd Naquib Al-Attas by

Learning takes time..

We need time to learn ....and we have put in some efforts.

Below is the photo of my sketching six months ago:

..and now is my sketching..

Comparing the two sketches,I think the latter one has improved quite a bit.

Lessons learnt:

1.I am not good at sketching but I decided to start and learn about it anyway.

2.I did more than 100 sketckes over the last six months(every other day) and discovered a few ways to handle and choose my stylus,choosing the right colours and composing.

3.Treat every sketch as a work in progress and keep trying to dobetter than the previous one.

Learning something new made my life more interesting....Here is a link to my collection of my sketches at tumblr.

Related articles

Father & Son Sketching

Sketching Is the Best Choice 99% of the Time

always learning...

What is hidden..

What is hidden is hidden until you find it or it comes to you..

These boats were hidden for the those who travel by the car on the bridge because they are just under the bridge.To the passers by who walk or cycle to this location,they can see the boats but they could not see the intricate and delicate wood carving unless they come near.

However,only those with knowledge of the subject matter will know and appreciate its beauty!

All these are hijabs or the veils that hide things or truths from us.

Similarly if you are looking for someone.He or she may be right under your nose, but your ego or prejudice hide him or her away.Sometimes, a fake one has captured your whole attention preventing you from seeing the real one.Similarly,if you are looking for the truth.

From my personal experience,something was hidden from me for about ten years because Allah wanted to keep that for my needs on rainy days..and when the time has arrived, two strangers met one  another,and a few months later they got married.C'est la vie..

Live the moment?

‘Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.’ ~Thich Nhat Hanh

It is very easy to make the above statement,any statement for that matter.It is more difficult if we have our personal problems that drag us every where we go...We have a few baggages from the past and we still worry the outcomes of the future.

As I grow older,I am also worried about my health but I am enjoying the best while I am still healthy.And that is what I undertood by living the actual moment.

If you have the above atttitude as most of us do,may I suggest you read this free ebook-7 Ways to Live Your Life to the Max.It is a free eBook in pdf file~250pages but it contains a lot of wisdom for everyone.If you have the time to read only one book before the end of this year,please read this one-highly recommended.

As muslims,our very existence is to perform our ubudiyyah to Allah and seek His pleasures -peace only enters my heart when I surrender to the  Wills of Allah and obey His commands.

Instagram photos: Just a teapot

Just an ordinary stainless teapot...What made me took photo of it was when I saw refelction of the tray and the ceiling on it.Lesson:Beware of your surroundings...people can see you differently from what  you really are because the effects of those near you!

So,keep away from bad surrounding and bad company..

How to differ?

Let me share with you a very good article which I took from Nasiha.When I was small,I remember listening to my late father explaining religous issues to his students and his peers.This is way back in the 60's...More than half a century had gone by  and I see and hear more and more differences among my muslim community in their religous beliefs and practices.Holier than thou attitude persists and the splits among fellow muslims and muslimahs become more and wider with different political affiliations.May Allah guide us to the truth and keep all of us united...

How to Differ

'The problem with Muslims is that they cannot agree on anything.' We have heard this statement countless times in communities across the Muslim world. This is untrue. Our dilemma is that we do not know how to disagree.

There is a certain spirit of mercy and tolerance that must prevail when Muslims differ. That can only happen when a person begins to understand that the Shariah, which touches all of human activity, is miraculously flexible.

Yet the message that Islam is a comprehensive way of life will be empty if we fail to agree on the mentality that one must come to the Shariah with, and to recognise that understanding is a human quality which can naturally result in varied opinions and conclusions.

We need to have a new attitude and fresh way of thinking about the world of differing. In this direction, it is hoped that we can agree on the following 'heart-set':

1. Whosoever accepts true Tawhid, Allah's Oneness, expressed in the Quran and the Sunnah, is a brother or a sister to every Muslim and must be loved and accorded loyalty and support based on the integrity of that commitment.

2. The principal Muslim references are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger. Their interpretation must be based on the principles of the Arabic Language, without contriving meanings.

3. Blind or absolute loyalty to one person or a particular juristic School is not befitting of any Muslim. The Shariah recognises the wisdom of following juristic authorities; learn the basis of their judgements and approach them with an open mind for guidance or correction - even if they differ with one's own bias or juristic affiliation.

4. All that has been reported to us from preceding generations (in harmony with the Book and Sunnah of the Prophet) is accepted with awareness of the context involved. Insult, accusation, and innuendo regarding people of the past are beneath the dignity of a Muslim. (See Quran 2: 134)

Let our position towards fiqhi differences regarding the details of the Shariah go only this far: 'Our opinion is correct, but liable to misjudgements; differing opinions are misjudgements, but plausibly correct.'

Compiled From:
Islam: The Way of Revival,"Understanding Juristic Differences" -Ahmad Zaki Hammad, pp. 209-218