On Sincerity

A reflection on my deeds if it is attached with sincerity.

Allah’s Messenger SAW said: “A person who does something for the sake of show and reputation is like a person who fills up his purse with pebbles and goes to the market to buy something. But when he offers them to the seller, the seller throws them in hsi face. Thus’ there is no benefit to him from his purse except for people’s saying that his purse is full but he cannot buy anything. Similarly, a person who does something for the sake of show and reputation gets nothing but praise from the people but no reward in the next.”

‘Adi ibn Hatim (RAA) reported Allah’s messenger SAW as saying, “On the Day of Resurrection, groups of people will be led toward the Garden until they hear its humming, smell its fragrance, see its palaces and whatever Allah has prepared for its inhabitants. Then a call will be made to turn them away from it, since they have no portion in it. They will then turn away with regret and longing for it, like other groups of people before and after them, They will say, “Our Lord, If you had admitted us to the Fire before showing us what we have seen of the reward you have prepared for your friends, it would have been easier for us.” Then Allah Most High will say, “That is what I intended for you. In privacy you were arrogant towards Me, but when you were among people you were humble towards them, showing off your good deeds, the opposite of what you gave Me in your hearts. You gave people and not to Me. You showed veneration towards people but not to Me, your renunciation was for people but not for Me. Therefore today I am making you taste my grievous punishment and withholding from you my abundant reward”. (Thabrani, Abu Nai’m and Baihaqi).

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Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) has related: "Three persons from the tribe of Bani Israel got together and started out on a journey. On the way, clouds gathered above them and it started to pour with rain and so they sought shelter in a nearby cave.

Suddenly, a large boulder slipped and blocked the entrance to the cave, trapping the three inside and transforming the day into a dark night for them. They had no other alternative except to turn to Allahn (SWT) for help.

"Let us use our sincere deeds as a means to obtain deliverance from this predicament," suggested one of them. All the others agreed with the suggestion.

One of them said, "O' Lord! You are aware that I have an extremely attractive cousin and that I was infatuated and obsessed with her. One day, finding her alone, I took hold of her and wanted to satisfy my carnal desires, when she spoke out to me saying: O' My cousin! Fear Allah (SWT) and do not harm my chastity. Hearing this, I crushed my lustful tendencies and decided against the evil act. O' Lord! If that deed of mine had been out of absolute sincerity and only for the purpose of acquiring Your pleasure, deliver us from grief and perdition."

Suddenly they witnessed that the huge boulder had moved away a little, faintly brightening up the interior of the cave.

The second person spoke out, "O' Lord! You know that I had a father and a mother, so old that their bodies had bent over due to their excessive age, and that I used to tend to them regularly. One night, having brought them their food, I observed that both of them were asleep. I passed the entire night near them, the food in hand, without waking them up for fear of disturbing them. O' Lord! If this deed of mine had been only for the sake of Your pleasure and happiness, open up a way for us and grant us salvation."

As he completed his speech, the group noticed that the boulder had moved aside a little more.

The third person supplicated, "O' Knower of every hidden and manifest! You know Yourself that I had a worker who used to work for me. When his term had reached its termination, I handed over to him his wages, but he was not pleased and desired more and, in a state of dissatisfaction and displeasure, he went away. I used his wage to purchase a goat, which I looked after separately and very soon I had a flock in my possession. After a period of time, the worker again approached me for his wage and I pointed towards the flock of sheep. Initially, he thought I was ridiculing him, but later, realizing my seriousness, took the entire flock and left. O' Lord! If this act had been prompted by sincerity and had only been for Your pleasure, deliver us from this quandary."

At this point the entire boulder moved aside from the mouth of the cave and all three emerged from it, joyous and ecstatic, and continued their journey.

The Brain and The Heart

Intellect (brain) one day said to the heart:
'I am a guide to those who have gone astray

Though bound to earth I reach the heaven above
I am destined in the world to show the way

I am the interpreter of the book of life
I am an attribute of divine display

You only a drop of blood
I am the envy of ruby's ray'

'This is all true', replied the heart
'But look at me, be as it may
You look at life's trauma and drama
I see through life's white and grey

You deal with outer manifestations
And I am aware of the inner fray

Knowledge is to you, intuition to me
You seek God, I show you how to pray

Limit of wisdom is restless doubting
I am cure for the malady of dismay

You are a lantern to illuminate a spot
I am a lamp to illuminate a path

You deal with time and space
I deal with Judgement Day

To what lofty place do I belong?
I am the pedestal of God Almighty, I say'

Aql aur Dil (Intellect and Heart) by Mohammad Iqbal

Ushering in Ramadhan

The Time of the Year is just around the corner and I am ushering it in.

I feel that my Ramadhan in Perth is much meaningful, much sweeter and impact me more than when I spend Ramadhan back home. Perhaps the culture there that always associate the coming of Ramadhan with the coming of Eid. Hence, the whole focus is directed towards Eid leaving the true meaning of Ramadhan unsavoured.

“There is a door to heaven called Al-Rayyan through which only fasting people are admitted. It will be asked; where are the fasting people? They stand up. No one is admitted through that door except them. When they have entered, the door will be closed and no one else can get through it.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).



The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah].

I thank Allah for letting me "see" and "feel" this Ramadhan again. I thank Allah for guiding me from last the Ramadhan to this Ramadhan of His path of mercy. I pledge that this Ramadhan is going to be better than my last one. I pray for Him to let me learn the true meaning of gratitude.

"When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them):I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way." (Q 2:188).

After all, what is there in Eid for me. I no longer feel the sweetness of Eid ever since dad went to meet his Creator.

Pintaku Yang Tidak Pernah Cukup

I am too feeble.

I need God for everything, from the smallest to the biggest of favour. Sometimes I feel that I have been asking too much from Him. I am too weak to do anything without His guidance.

Aku telah banyak kali berdoa dan banyak kali juga Allah telah mengurniakannya. Tetapi sebagai manusia kita tak pernah cukup dan akan sentiasa meminta. Meminta dengan Allah tidak seperti meminta dengan manusia. Allah bertambah kasih dengan hambanya yang kerap kali meminta dengan-Nya. Semakin banyak meminta semakin dikasihiNya. Meminta dengan Allah tanda kerdilnya manusia, tanda kecilnya hamba terhadap Pencipta. Meminta dengan manusia punya had. Semakin diminta semakin dibencinya.

Allah tak pernah kurang dan tidak akan lebih. Darjatnya tidak akan berkurang andai semua makhluk ciptaanNya sejak kejadian Adam a.s. menjadi kufur and berpaling terhadapNya. Darjatnya juga tidak akan bertambah andai semua makhluk ciptaanNya menjadi seperti malaikat yang dijadikan semata-mata untuk beribadat kepadaNya. Itu Allah. Tidak memerlukan hambanya untuk mentaatiNya. Taat hamba itu tidak menambah darjatNya tetapi meningkatkan darjat hamba itu sendiri.

Semakin hari aku merasakan yang aku semakin meminta kepadaNya. Bukan tidak puas dengan nikmat. Bukan tidak bersyukur dengan kurniaan. Hati selalu kepingin sesuatu dan aku tidak punya tempat untuk berpaling kecuali kepadaNya.

Books are where my heart lies

I wish I can read all the books in the world. I wish I have all the time in the world to read to my heart's content. Books make me wander to the strange world I was brought into reading it.

I am an avid reader and also and avid book collector. I hope one day I can have a whole room as my official library of all the books that I have read. I enjoy just my looking at my collections. With age, I find that the material that I read became more 'serious' and 'mature'. I started to delve into Islamic history and biographies. My books are non-fiction and very rarely I read fiction.

Now my time is limited. Most of my books I finish in the train or bus to and from work. Some books you could not resist to finish it just to know what happen in the end. Why do we read? I think it is more than filling your free time. We read to comprehend others. We read to feel what the other end is trying to convey to us. We read to understand what happen in the past to learn for the future. I feel empty if I don't read.

It so happen that I bought books more than I could read them. And I still find myself bying more books before I could finish reading the one on the shelf. Some books are not meant to be read page by page, they are meant as references.

My favourite Malay novelist : Shahnon Ahmad
My favourite English novelist : Frank McCourt

Suasana Hati

Hari ini hati ini masih tidak tenteram. Aku tak punya tempat lain untuk meluahkan perasaan ini kecuali di sini. Dan aku tidak fikir aku boleh meluahkannya kepada sesiapa. Aku pun tak fikir sesiapa perlu tahu apa yang ada dalam hati ini. Mungkin aku keliru antara yang haq dan yang batil. Dan aku juga mungkin keliru tatkala aku meminta kepada Tuhan yang aku fikirkan benar yang mungkin menjadi batil di kala ini.



Dah banyak kali aku berzikir untuk mendamaikan hati ini, namum hati terus merusuh. Entah berapa kali aku telah berdoa untuk menenangkan hati ini. Syaitan terus bermain di hati dan di perasaan ini. Andai aku boleh putar semula masa, mungkin aku akan berikan diri ini kesempatan sekali lagi untuk meluahkannya. Adakala kita meminta namun tidak dikurniakan Tuhan dan adakala kurniaan datang tanpa permintaan. Aku percaya yang Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang kita tidak.

Tatkala ini, hati ini terlalu rapuh yang mungkin rebah menyembah bumi kalau tidak kena keadaan. Aku cuba meyakinkan hati ini bahawa apa yang terjadi adalah terbaik dari Tuhan.



Ya Allah. Pegang hati ini kuat-kuat sebagaiman Engkau pegang hati ibu Nabi Musa a.s. ketika bertemu semua dengan anaknya.

Chapter 71

We sent Noah to his People (with the Command): "Do thou warn thy People before there comes to them a grievous Penalty."

He said: "O my People! I am to you a Warner, clear and open.

That ye should worship God, fear Him and obey me.

"So He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a stated Term: for when the Term given by God is accomplished, it cannot be put forward: if ye only knew."

He said: "O my Lord! I have called to my People night and day."

"But my call only increases (their) flight (from the Right)."



"And every time I have called to them, that Thou mightest forgive them, they have (only) thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments, grown obstinate, and given themselves up to arrogance.

"So I have called to them aloud;

"Further I have spoken to them in public and secretly in private,

"Saying, 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving;

"'He will send rain to you in abundance;

"'Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).

"'What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for kindness and long-suffering in God,

"'Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?

"'See ye not how God has created the seven heavens one above another,

"'And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?

"'And God has produced you from the earth growing (gradually),

"'And in the End He will return you into the (earth), and raise you forth (again at the Resurrection)?

"'And God has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),

"'That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads.'"

Noah said: "O my Lord! They have disobeyed me, but they follow (men) whose wealth and children give them no increase but only Loss.

"And they have devised a tremendous Plot.

"And they have said (to each other), 'Abandon not your gods: Abandon neither Wadd nor Suwa', neither Yaguth nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr';-

"They have already misled many; and grant Thou no increase to the wrong- doers but in straying (from their mark)."

Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found- in lieu of God- none to help them.

And Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single one on earth!

"For, if Thou dost leave (any of) them, they will but mislead Thy devotees, and they will breed none but wicked ungrateful ones.

"O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!"