Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
"In the Name of Allah": Any Significance?
My First Ramadhan
Thus, when I read the story of new reverts to Islam telling their first ramadhan experience, I really envy them because they were fasting based on their effort to please their new founding Creator whereas I was fasting just for the sake of following what my family did that time.
My only hope is from now onward , I will go through the month of ramadhan with full knowledge of its blessing and by the end of ramadhan , I will come out of it as a fully "recharged" muslim..InsyaAllah..
My First Ramadan
By Khalid Paschalis | |||||||||||||||||||
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From Islamonline.net |
Saturday, August 22, 2009
5 ways to make this Ramadhan Extraordinary!
Director General, Al-Kauthar Institute
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
My dear friends and students,
Welcome to our long-lost friend: Ramadan. How we have missed the days of self-restraint and the nights of mercy and delight! After eleven months of sinning, we now have the opportunity to avail ourselves of a month of mercy and forgiveness. For those whose duas have not been answered, the month of answered duas has arrived. For those who have drifted away from the soothing night prayer, or who have never achieved it, the month of the blessed taraweeh has arrived. Welcome to our Lord’s mercy: the month of Ramadan. No doubt each and every one of us approaches Ramadan with a special excitement. Alas for many of us, however: the excitement is met with fear and dread instead.
Will this Ramadan be like the previous ones where I failed to truly take full advantage and mend my ways?
Will this Ramadan only demonstrate to me how far away from Allah I truly am?
Will it be yet another month that passes by without my taking full advantage of it?
If you are feeling this way, know that you are not alone. Many of us feel this way and do not know how to tackle it. As a result, the fear and dread are enough for us to avoid setting new goals and higher aspirations for this month. As a result, we find ourselves at the end of the month in the situation of having failed to benefit from this opportunity and languishing in sorrow at the thought that we will never improve.
I too used to get these whispers and thoughts in my mind. However, I overcame these thoughts with the help of Allah. Here are five things that I have done to tackle these "Ramadan blues". Let me share them with you; perhaps the suggestions may benefit you, and help you to overlook the past and focus on the future.
1. Good thoughts about Allah:
I remind myself that my Lord is most Generous and Kind. He loves me sincerely. The proof is that even when I disobey Him He still provides for me. That is why He is giving me yet another Ramadan: yet another opportunity to get closer to Him again. He loves to forgive, and His best friends are those who seek His forgiveness the most. He has brought me to another Ramadan so that I can have yet another chance at Laylatul Qadr, and yet another chance to make my duas accepted at the time of iftar, and yet another chance to do Hajj with Rasul-Allah (sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) by doing umrah in this month. He has brought me to Ramadan to sooth the sorrows in my heart with His remembrance, and for me to be reminded of the nights in my grave by the solitude of i’tikaaf: by seeing how it feels to be alone with Him in the mosque. He wants me to lighten the load on my mind, so that is why He has given me the month of the Qur’an: so that I can relive the amazing Word of my Rabb (Lord and Master). The salaf (pious predecessors) would beg Allah for another opportunity for Ramadan, so how fortunate I am that He has given me this chance once again. How fortunate I am that He has given me the chance to know when this month is, so that I can take advantage of it. How fortunate I am that He has given me the yearning in my heart to meet my Lord in this month - and I know that the one who loves to meet His Lord, Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala also loves to meet him
2. Forget the past and focus on the future:
I remind myself that past deeds are just that: a matter of the past. I live for the future, not the past. The past will be forgiven insha’Allah if I can mend the future. My concern should be the next deed that I do, because Allah loves to forgive; so I can have every confidence that He will forgive the past because I have nothing but regret for my past sins. The most important consideration for me is what sort of amends I make now. I remind myself of what Imam Ibnul-Qayyim (rahimahu-Allah) said in his Nooniyyah:
By Allah I am not afraid of my past sins,
For indeed they are upon the path of repentance and forgiveness;
Rather my real concern is that [in the next deed] this heart
Might cease to act upon revelation and upon the noble Qur’an.
3. Evaluate previous attempts in order to plan a strategy to make it work this time:
I remember that it is illogical to think that my future chances of success are a reflection of my failures in the past. My past inabilities only show me what to do better this time so that I can increase my chances this time around. So if I tried to pray taraweeh every night but failed, I should look back at what happened in order to learn lessons from those failures. Was it that the Imam’s recitation was not good? If so, then let me try to find a mosque to go to whose Imam recites better. If I failed to complete reciting the whole Qur’an last year, let me look at why that was the case and how I can change it. Can I put up reminders to read the Qur’an, or shall I buy a few more copies of the Qur’an and put them in more convenient places, such as one in my car, another in my briefcase and another on my table, so that I have a mushaf always on hand? If I missed getting up for fajr last Ramadan, why did it happen and how can I change it? Perhaps I should buy more alarm clocks, so let me go to the store right now. Perhaps I should SMS my friends to start a fajr prayer-calling group so that each day one of us is responsible for waking the others up. Perhaps I should make my suhur my heaviest meal so that my body feels hungry at suhur-time and so I get up more easily.
4. Reward, challenge and penalise myself:
I can plan and prepare to reward myself if I finish this Ramadan satisfactorily. So I tell myself that if I can make myself pray all my prayers at the earliest time this Ramadan and recite the Qur’an five times this month, then I will buy myself a new laptop; if I can recite it ten times then I will go away with my family for a holiday, or some other significant reward that I know I would definitely like to treat myself with. I warn myself that if I fail to at least recite the Qur’an five times in this month, then I will donate a thousand dollars to charity. I remind myself that even Allah’s Messenger sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to give worldly rewards to those who excelled in battle: e.g. half the war-booty from the raids to the Muslim knights who had taken part in the raid; he (saw) would consider it a great sin upon the one who fails to join the obligatory battle. In the same spirit of reward, challenge and penalty, I would do this for my children and my wife as well by helping them with a reward if they do something extraordinary this month, and a penalty if they did not even do the minimum extra level. In this way I can give them an added incentive to do good in this limited time of Ramadan. I remind myself that ultimately we must do it for Allah and never for a physical prize, but associating an emotional desire with an action and fear of a punishment at the non-performance of it will cause that action to be foremost in the subconscious part of my mind. I remind myself that the worst thing about not making this Ramadan special is going to be something worse than the penalty I have stipulated. It will be the disappointment of a Ramadan wasted, and the risk of Allah’s wrath.
5. Create peer-pressure and responsibility:
I remind myself that if I make my friends and family aware of some of my goals, then they might help me. So I share some of my goals with them, ensuring that I am doing it to engage their help in performing it, not in a spirit of boasting. I hope that this will give me added support and encouragement to ensure that they help me in achieving the good things I have set out to do. If they do not help, at the very least they should not mind when I excuse myself from their service or company in order to spend some time on working towards my goal.
I hope that some or all of these things will help you to look upon this Ramadan with a fresh outlook. Make lots of dua to Allah that this Ramadan will be special for you, for your family, and for the Ummah of our beloved sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. I am interested in hearing from you if you have other things that you do to focus positively at the advent of another Ramadan.
Jazaakumullahulkhair and my duas for you and your family for a fantastic and blessed Ramadan, insha’Allah;
wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
Tawfique Chowdhury
Director General
AlKauthar Institute and Mercy Mission World
Taken from one of my favourite Blogs ..ProductiveMuslim.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
Marhaban Ya Ramadhan
"eh..eh.. cantiknya...lukisan tentang apa ni?"
"Tentang Ramadhan...Bulan Puasa..."
Alhamdulillah, anak sekecil Jia telah memahami dan diberi pendedahan tentang ramadhan oleh guru tadikanya dan nampak bersemangat untuk sama-sama meraikan bulan yg mulia ini...
Ramadhan merupakan "Month of Mercy and Forgiveness", untuk itu marilah kita sama-sama merebut peluang yang dikurniakan Allah SWT dalam bulan ramadhan tahun ini sepenuhnya.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Perginya Tak Kembali... Ustaz Asri Rabbani
"Dari Allah kita datang, kepada Allah kita kembali"..
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Ramadhan Tanpa Bonda
Hampir 18 tahun aku merantau keluar dari kampung halaman mencari rezeki dari KL ke Johor, Johor ke Sabah, balik ke Semenanjung dan menetap sekejap di Negeri Sembilan, akhirnya bekerja di Kuala Lumpur dan membeli rumah serta menetap di Rawang, Selangor.
Pada bulan November 2007, aku meletakkan jawatan sebagai Senior Manager disebuah syarikat dan mengambil keputusan untuk balik ke Terengganu. Ku tinggalkan segala kehebatan Kuala Lumpur, ku tinggalkan kawan-kawan, ku tinggalkan jiran-jiran yang telah ku kenali lebih dari 10 tahun, ku tinggalkan rumah yang telah ku ubahsuai dan ku tinggalkan pangkat dan kerja yang selesa untuk kembali ke Terengganu...demi seorang Bonda. Ku tinggalkan segala-galanya itu supaya dapat ku berjumpa ibuku sekurang-kurangnya sekali seminggu.
Alhamdulillah, Allah SWT telah berikan aku kesempatan selama 6 bulan untuk aku meluangkan masa bersama-sama bonda...duduk dikerusi di halaman rumahnya dan melihat pandangan orang lalu lalang sambil melayan bicara dengan Bonda. Banyak yang dibicarakannya dan selalunya berkisah mengenai anak-anaknya termasuklah aku.
Setiap kali berbicara dengan Bonda, aku cuba sedaya upaya untuk tidak menyakiti hatinya, cuba melayan bicara hatinya sebaik mungkin. Aku cuba praktikkan firman ALLAH SWT dalam Surah
Al-Israa' Ayat 23-24 yang bermaksud,
Setiap masa kelapangan, aku akan menjenguk bonda dan kadang-kadang aku datang semasa bekerja bersama rakan sekerja. Masih ku ingat kata-kata rakanku itu selepas berjumpa Bonda, " Mak demo mace muko demo...nampok sihat lagi dio". Rupa-rupanya dalam kelihatan sihat itu Bonda mengidap penyakit kencing manis kronik yang hanya dikesan sebulan selepas itu. 2 jari kaki kanannya terpaksa dipotong dan seterusnya penyakit tersebut menjadi 'asbab' kepulangannya ke Rahmatullah dalam bulan Syawal yang lalu.
Semasa menyambut Ramadhan sebelum pemergiannya, Bonda dalam keadaan yang amat lemah menyebabkan dia tidak dapat berpuasa. Sepanjang ramadhan tersebut, aku sentiasa menziarahinya hampir setiap hari untuk melihat keadaannya dan menatap wajahnya. Aku lakukan ini kerana pernah teringat kata-kata seorang ustaz ,
Ramadhan datang lagi tahun ini dan seperti biasa ianya akan disambut dengan kegembiraan bagi orang-orang yang mencari rahmat dan redha Allah. Bulan dimana diturunkan Alquran sebagai petunjuk dan menjadi pembeza antara yang hak dan yang batil sepertimana firman Allah yang bermaksud,
Sural Al-Baqarah Ayat 185.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Setelah Sebelas Bulan Menghilang Diri
Membawa Bersama Rahmat Ilahi
Lailatul Qadar Yang Perlu Di Cari..
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Untuk Mengumpul Semula Insani
Mengisi Masjid dan Surau Di Sana Sini
Mungkin Untuk Seminggu Yang Awali..
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Untuk Mengingatkan Manusia Sekali Lagi
Bahawa Kita Punya Saudara Di Sana Sini
Yang Perutnya Jarang2 Berisi..
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Memimpin Manusia Menginsafi Diri
Memberi Latihan Jati Diri
Untuk Sebelas Bulan Selepas Ini..
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Genap Sebulan Diakan Pergi
Yang Mungkin Penghabisan Kali
Bagi Kita Yang DiJemput Ilahi..
Ramadhan Datang Lagi
Apa Lagi Yang Kita Tunggui
Ayuh Istiqamahkan Diri
Semoga Ramadhan Kali Ini
Our Best Ramadhan Di sisi ILahi..
Thursday, August 6, 2009
When Allah Gives Hidayah......The Story of Babri Masjid Demolisher
It was he who gave training to four thousands of people under him, on how to carry the demolition. On seeing the majestic minarets of the mosque come down Captain Prasad was overjoyed and shouted the "Ram! Ram!" This happened seven years ago.
On Dec. 6 ,1999 the same Shive Prasad was seeking forgiveness from Allah for his cruel act seven years back. This 6 Dec.1999 he was fasting (non-obligatory) and regretting for the act with tears and was seeking forgiveness from Allah in his prayers. Yes ! Shive Prasad has embraced Islam. He has changed his name to Mohammed Mustafa. One will be moved to learn how he embraced Islam.
This change in Shive Prasad's heart was published by Malayalam News (7.12.99) issued by "Arab News Publications" in Saudi Arabia. Shive Prasad's father Trigal Ramanathan was chief among the heads of Sangh Parivar. His whole family was actively involved in demolishing the Babri Masjid.
Soon after the demolition of the mosque, Shive prasad felt a depression in his heart. He had no peace of mind. He felt that he had committed a great sin. In 1997 he went to Sharjah in order to seek employment. But even at work his mind was restless.
On Dec. 4, 1998 as he was walking along the streets of Sharjah, he happened to hear a speech before Friday prayer held in a mosque which was in Hindi. When he heard the speech, which he felt was something different. He wanted to listen the complete speech. That message about Allah created a revolution in his rest less mind. He continued to listen to such speeches thereafter. The revolution in his heart was completed.
All praise be to Allah ! Allah has shown him the right path. He has forfeited the ignorance and chosen the righteous path. When Shive Prasad embraced Islam he was driven out by his family members who were strong RSS activists. He is praying to God that his family members should also choose the righteous path as he did. Shive Prasad says that among those who led the demolition on the spot were Ashok Singhal and Advani. On the day of demolition the police and CRPF connived with the leaders of BJP, Bajrang Dal and RSS. Both these law enforcing agencies greatly helped in the demolition.
He recalls that on that day Ashok Singhal dressed himself in military uniform and gave orders. He also recalls, soon after the demolition of the mosque they entered the muslim areas in the Faisabad and shouted "Jai Shriram". Now, Shive Prasad is receiving continuous threatenings from RSS, BJP and Bajrang Dal. Sangh Parivar has threatened to kill if he returns to India. But Mohammed Mustafa (Shive Prasad) says firmly that he will never turn away from Islam - the righteous path even if death comes his way.
Having learnt 17 Surahs in the Holy Qur'an, he is anxious to complete learning the whole of the Holy Qur'an. His ambition is to become a true Islamic preacher and and bring ignorant people to light. If Allah wishes, his ambition will be fulfilled and the very same hands which demolished the Babri Masjid will built up again.
source : http://www.usislam.org
-SubhanALLAH...May Allah SWT fulfill Brother Mohammed Mustafa's ambitions and guide him and us with His Hidayah all the time...
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