Fighting a Winning Battle

For some the idea – hajis -- that Muslims could unite together into one unified Islamic State under the banner of a Khilafah is a distant pipe dream. But for us establishing the Khilafah is not a pipe dream. It is within the realm of qaba qawsayn, wait for that good time which is not so far.

To all Brothers & Sisters of Islam,

Firstly, we must all realize – tahaqquq -- that Allah (s.w.t) is not in any need of us. With Him lies all knowledge and power over all things. If we, the Muslims, embark on the mission to re-establish His deen in this world, we are indeed fighting a sure-win battle, for Allah (swt) will surely re-establish His deen on earth whether or not we contribute to the process. Hence, by taking part in this process, we are actually helping ourselves, and not helping Allah (s.w.t), for Allah only has to command "Be" and it is! -- kun faya koon. Hence, do not let shaytaan's whispers – waswas -- cast doubts in your hearts as to whether the caliphate is a practical reality, and let us place all our trust in Allah (s.w.t) and join in this process for which we already know the end result is victory to Islam. May Allah (s.w.t) reward us for our contributions and efforts.

Secondly, it might be of concern – himmah -- to some brothers & sisters as to how we can find a person who strictly leads an Islamic way of life and has the caliber to lead the entire Ummah in this time and age. Now, let's recall that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was sent to the tribe of Quraish, and he (s.a.w) was sent during the period of Jahiliyah -- ignorance. Most of the Quraishi were known to be corrupt evil-doers, and no one at that time could have imagined that the Messenger of Allah, the chosen one, would emerge from this sort of tribe. Eventually, he (s.a.w) managed to establish Islam to the perfect state by the will of Allah (s.w.t). Similarly, today, we find it unimaginable to find a truly righteous person who will be capable of leading the entire Ummah politically, socially, economically, militarily, etc. Hence, once again, we must place all our trust in Allah (s.w.t) to provide us such a rightly guided Imam -- Imam Al-Mahdi, and knowing that He is the All Mighty; we will find that chosen person as long as He wills. And judging from the authentic Hadith found in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibnu Hambal which ends as ".... afterwards, there will be Khilafah according to the ways of Prophethood...." So, let us pray to Allah (s.w.t) to reward us with that rightly-guided Imam.

And Allah (s.w.t) knows best.

JazakalLah
Brotherhood of Believers

How to increase our investment in Paradise?

gambaq ehsan kalamjauhari seqadar hiasan semata
We have only one concern: the Hereafter. We are all fear for Hell and all love for Paradise and its pleasures and joys -- trees, rivers, maidens and servants, and all that is there.

Al-Khalil ar-Rahman and the Father of the Prophets, Ibrahim (as) asked our Prophet Muhammad (saw) on the Night of the Journey to convey his greetings to his Ummah and to tell them the way in which they could increase their share of the trees of Paradise. The Prophet (saw) said: “I met Ibrahim… and he said, ‘O Muhammad, tell your Ummah that Paradise is a land whose soil is good and its water is sweet. It is an empty plain, which will be planted with SubhanalLah, al-HamdulilLah, and AlLahu Akbar.’”

The trees – shajarah -- and all that is there in Paradise are the fruits – thamarat -- of good actions. The Prophet (saw) said: ‘Paradise has no trees, plant them there.’ He was asked: ‘How to plant trees there?’ He replied: ‘By saying the glory (tasbih) of God, by telling His praises (tahmid), by hallowing His names (tamjid) and by exalting His majesty (takbir).’

That is, if we say, ‘Glory to God’ we plant one tree in Paradise; therefore, the tree in Paradise is the effect and result of our tasbih. As the excellences of glorification appear here in the form of the sound and words of this kalimah, they appear there in the form of trees.

And what is true of tasbih, is true of tahmid and true of others -- tamjid and takbir. Whatever is in Paradise is the fruit of good actions: the blessings of God that take the form of good words and right deeds, the same shall appear in the form of pleasure and joy in the Hereafter.

‘They are your libas and ye are their libas’

During the fast eating and drinking, after the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night, is prohibited until night.

In the beginning cohabitation between man and wife was not allowed for those who observed fast, whether night or day, but the future second Caliph (ra) and some other Companions confessed to the Holy Prophet (saw) that they had transgressed this prohibition.

“Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves; if You do not forgive us, and have mercy on us we shall be doomed.” [7:the Heights:23]

Through this verse [2:187] cohabitation between man and wife during the night was made lawful.

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَآئِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ عَلِمَ اللّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ فَالآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ الصِّيَامَ إِلَى الَّليْلِ وَلاَ تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّهِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“Permitted to ye, on the night of the fasts, to go in unto your women. They are your garments and ye are their garments.

Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves -- acted unfaithfully to yourselves & deceiving yourselves in this respect; so He hath turned in mercy toward you and forgave you and relieved your burden.

So now hold intercourse with them and seek that which Allah hath ordained for you, and eat and drink until the white thread becometh distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn, then strictly observe the fast till nightfall and touch them not, but be at your devotions in the mosques. Those are the limits imposed by Allah, so approach them not.

Thus doth Allah make clear His communications for mankind that they may guard against evil, learn self-restraint.”

[2:the Cow:187]

Man's actions must follow certain patterns, starting with the gross, and gradually ascending to the subtlest of the subtle. There were very few truly obedient devotees of God who observed every command of Allah (swt), but the merciful Lord also takes into consideration the wishes of the "not so careful Muslims" – alhamdulilLah!

“Praise be to God who has revealed this truth to us; we would not have got it had He not shown it to us. Verily, the messengers of our Lord have come down with truth.” [7:the Heights:43]

‘O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere turning.’

The oft-forgiving Lord (swt) invites us to turn to Him with sincere repentance so that He may bestow His grace on us and forgive our sins.

The Holy Prophet (saw) said: "A sincere repentant never sins again as the milk drawn from the breast never can go back to its source."

Imam Ali (kwj) said: "A sincere repentant (i) is ashamed of his past sins, (ii) takes up the duties overlooked and fulfils them, (iii) makes good the willfully ignored conditions of a trust managed by him, (iv) forgives those who provoke him, (v) does not demand repayment of loans from those who are in financial distress, (vi) makes firm determination not to sin ever again, (vii) surrenders his self to the adoration, devotion and service of Allah when it had swelled to the point of exploding due to inordinate consumption of worldly pleasures, transgression and disobedience."

Sincere repentance implies giving up and discontinuing of evil in thought and action with a firm determination not to repeat it ever again. If it is done then Allah (swt) will efface our past sins and admit us to the eternal land of bliss and happiness, Sa’adah.

So, we can expect this kind of Sa’adah to happen on the 27th night’s, Lailatul Qadr:

Our Light will run forward before us and on our right hands, while we say, “Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things.”

Our greeting will be: "Good news for you this day! Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein ye are immortal. This is indeed the highest Achievement!"

We shall say: "Praise be to Allah, who hath revealed this truth to us; we would not have got it had He not shown it to us. Verily, the messengers of our Lord have come down with truth."

And we shall hear the cry: "Behold! The Garden before you! Ye have been made its inheritors, for your deeds of righteousness."

Now, we have made our object clear, so let us draw back upon the reins, try and see what is behind the curtains.

927 Lailatul Qadr

Ummul Mu’minin A'ishah (ra) bertanya, "Apa pendapat kamu Ya Rasulullah jika aku berjumpa dengan malam Qadr?

Mengikut pengalaman – halan wa dhawqan, affective experience – waliwibowo, bahawa mengetahui akan malam Qadr itu merupakan ‘aqibat dari mendengar sesuatu – ilmul yaqin -- dan kemudian melihatnya – ainul yaqin. Dan menjumpainya pada diri sendiri – haqqul yaqin -- pula merupakan syarat untuk mendapat pahalanya.

Maka kita perlu mengetahui bahawa pada malam Qadr itu akan ada cahaya – Annur -- yang kuat dibuka kepada orang yang menunggunya. Dan kemudian orang yang menQiyamkan Lailanya akan mendapat Sa’adahnya.

Teruskan berQiyamullail sapertimana yang selalu diamalkan pada 10 terakhir bulan Ramadan terutama pada malam-malam ganjilnya – tumpukan pada 27.

“dan,” A’ishah (ra) terus bertanya, “apa yang hendak aku ucapkan?” Maka jawab baginda (saw), “Katakanlah : Ya Allah, sesungguhnya Engkau adalah Tuhan yang memberi kemaafan, Engkau mencintai kemaafan, maka maafkanlah aku."

Kefahaman dan amalan berdasarkan i’tibarat ‘ilmiyyah ada di website al-ahkam yang ditajukkan dengan pertanyaan: Apakah Lailatul Qadar bersifat khusus atau umum?

If you like you may mutala’ah it but bear this in mind: those ideal considerations -- i’tibarat ‘ilmiyyah -- may satisfy those scholars for whom the world exists in the realm of idea, and may account for the subsistence of ideal beings. But the world exists out there, kharij --- so understand.