Covid 19 - Islamic Perspective on lessons to be learned from this pandemic.

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Absolutely sorry for the long absence from updating this blog. Reason being that I had been unwell due to complications from my Diabetes and Hypertension ailments for quite some time.

Nevertheless, I am back and Insya Allah, will do my best to post new articles here that might be of benefit to you, dear readers.

We are all living in these End Times where the world has been facing the Coronavirus @ Covid-19 pandemic and more than a 100K lives have been lost. 

As a result of this pandemic, countries around the world have placed Movement Control Orders (MCO) on their population in an attempt to break off the contamination chain between those who tested positive and reduce the number of people getting infected.

If one is to take a look at our Ministry of Health which has come out with the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures to curtail the spreading of the Coronavirus, you'd see that the measures being proposed are just what we Muslims have been enjoined to carry out in our daily lives.

We take wudhu' @ ablution at least 5 times a day before we perform our solat @ prayers. 

Islam requires us to purify ourselves before performing our compulsory solats 5 times a day. We have to be clean, not only hygienically but also make sure that we are wearing clothing free of impurities. 

It is important for every Muslim, male or female to wash oneself after relieving ourselves whether when we have passed out urine or passed motion. We are required to thoroughly cleanse our genitals and our anal areas with water, soap and dry up properly with either toilet paper or a clean towel.

Listen to what is taught in the video above and realize that as Muslims, we are to be absolutely clean and be pure from filth when we stand in worship before Allah. After taking our ablution, we have to maintain that ablution by making sure that we have not nullified that state of ablution by sure that none of the listed matters has not taken place.

So, all these measures that we take in performing and maintaining our state of cleanliness after having taken our wudhu' @ ablution are in reality so important to keep ourselves clean at all times. 

Just take a look at what the Medical Doctors advice us in order to break the cycle of contamination from the Covid-19 virus.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Clean your hands often. Use soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Maintain a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
• Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Cover your nose and mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Stay home if you feel unwell.
• If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention. Call in advance.
• Follow the directions of your local health authority.
• Avoiding unneeded visits to medical facilities allows healthcare systems to operate more effectively, therefore protecting you and others.

As a practicing Muslim, we are constantly taking ablution and maintaining that state of cleanliness in order to be able to perform our solats and other acts of ibadah @ worship.

Islam already prohibits us from freely touching or coming into physical contact with those who are not our mahram. Our faith emphasises the importance of not being careless when it comes to matters concerning hygiene and spiritual, emotional as well as physical wellbeing. 

This is the beauty and advantage of following Islamic teachings revealed to us Mankind as our Complete Way of Life. Those who learn in depth about what Islam asks of us and teaches us as to how we should be, will realize that if we strive to be a true and proper Muslim, we will achieve all that we aspire to be and to receive. Insya Allah.

Ramadhan ~ Holy Month of Healing and sacrifice!

To those of you who are yet to become a Muslim in the true sense of the word, do know that you are missing out a great deal from getting the fringe benefits that come with the acts of fasting from before dawn to the setting of the sun heralding the breaking of one's fast!


Fasting is wajib @ compulsory upon those of us who are Muslims @ Believers and able to do so physically, mentally and spiritually. It is pointless for one to fast if you are not a Mukmin @ a Believer. 


I have a friend @ Chew Hoong Ling, who is a Buddhist and aiming to be an MCA candidate in the coming 13th Malaysian General Elections. She claims to be fasting together with Muslims in this holy month of Ramadan. 


Generally speaking, its her choice and no one can stop her but religious wise, there are no rewards for her fasting according to our Islamic faith but only experiencing hunger and thirst apart from the obvious health benefits that the act of absolute fasting can give! 


That is to actually go without even a single drop of water or food and abstaining from committing all kinds of acts that will render one's Islamic fast null and void!



I don't know for whom Hoong Ling fasts? If it is for some other deity then her fast has no merits in Ramadhan. Hers would be just a fast like any other.


We fast for the sake of Allah the Almighty and Him Alone. 




We say our intentions to fast : "Nawaitu saum maghdin an ada' ii fardhan shahri ramadhana hazihi Lillahi Ta'ala!" meaning 'I intend to fast tomorrow fulfilling the compulsory fast of Ramadhan this year for the sake of Allahu Ta'ala!' 

Fasting has its many benefits for us Muslims. It is decreed in Surah Al Baqarah, Chapter 2 Verse 183 in the Blessed Qur'an:

Transliteration

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanookutiba AAalaykumu assiyamu kamakutiba AAala allatheena min qablikum laAAallakumtattaqoon

Sahih International

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous -

Fasting gives us a chance to experience hunger and thirst. Get to know how it must be for those who are poor and have nothing to eat or drink?


People who are suffering from drought and calamities such as those going through hell in Sudan, Somalia and other troubled countries.

People suffering ethnic cleansing now like those in Burma ~ the Muslim Rohingya's who are having their homes torched, wives and daughters raped, tortured and butchered by the Buddhists in the Rakhine area and wholly supported by the Burmese government forces.

Their children are killed and torched by the so called peace loving Buddhists of Burma! Don't believe me? Here open your eyes wide and witness the atrocities!

What kind of justice is the UN talking about?


America won't bother coming to save these people because there's no oil for them here in that forsaken country!


They'd be over there in a jiffy if there was some thing that they could benefit for their trouble but no its just about a million Muslims! Collateral damage?


Obama won't care!


Neither would Romney or any other bugger who comes into power at the White House!


In the meantime, the world's so called rich Arab countries would just twiddle away their time fingering their tasbih and looking the other way!


They have better things to do than to care for the Rohingya's. Looks like we will soon see the disappearance of a people from the face of this earth because NO ONE CARES!


Ramadhan.


Some of us fast for we wish to submit to the decree of Allah. Others like the Rohingya have no choice but to go without food and drinks as a result of becoming persona non grata in their own country!


We who are living well here in Malaysia know not what others are going through all these while because we are living here in our land of plenty yet there are those amongst us who fail to count our blessings!


So, Ramadhan comes along to remind us to reflect and to repent. Cherish what we have before its all taken away either by external forces or by our own neglect and failure to take care of our own rights and those of our fellow Muslims and citizens of Malaysia.


Start realizing that Ramadhan is not just a month of fasting but also the month where we seek Allah's Forgiveness and Mercy.


Add value to our acts of worship by going about it in a sincere manner as possible and refrain from trying to make a media circus out of it like many aspiring politicians out there today are doing in this country.


Who are these great pretenders?


Why? You can see their banners festooned at every major traffic junction and by the roadsides.


As best as you can, avoid voting these parasites into power!


Meanwhile, have a blessed Ramadhan.


Insya Allah.


As far as the Rohingya's are concerned, it is all up to the ones wielding power. If they don't do something about the genocide taking place over there in Burma, the blood of the dying Rohingya's will be on their hands!

The Message of Muhammad ~ Full Movie

This is one movie that will show you how Islam was spread by the Blessed Final Messenger of Allah, God Almighty to all the people of the Middle East and also to the Emperors and Kings who lived during his time.

I ask that you share this movie with all those whom you care for and wish to see get a better life both here in this world and in the next!

All my best wishes to you!

May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon us all.

Ameen.

The Message - The Movie about Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam.

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Dear brothers and sisters.

May today be a blessed Friday for you. I pray that your life will be one which is productive and that you get to enjoy the remaining moments of your life's time frame with your beloved ones in peace and harmony.

To those of you who have yet to learn about the life of The Last and Greatest Messenger of Allah, God Almighty, then I invite you to come watch this full length movie about Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam.

Bismillahirrahmannirrahim. In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

Learning about Allah, Our Lord Most Supreme!

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.

In learning about Islam, the most important thing that we have to know is about Almighty Allah.

Allah, God Almighty has chosen to share information about Himself to us through His revelations to us Mankind through various scriptures culminating in His Final Testament to all Mankind in the Holy Al-Qur'an Al Kareem.

The Holy Qur'an's meanings and translations are available online in one of the websites here.

With the advent of scientific advancements in the field of technology and multimedia, we are now able to access and upload our own contributions to the repository of information into the internet and add our understandings and findings to the worldwide web of data and media in a way that was not possible before.

Let me start this subject by broaching on to the matter of learning about Allah.

Allah the Almighty.

As Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is our Supreme Lord and Creator, knowledge about our God is the most important, most relevant information above all other sciences.

For us who are humans, it is preposterous that we would want to focus so much on things that are immaterial to our existence such as wasting our precious remaining life's here on Earth discussing about:

• who's going to be the Prime Minister after Abdullah Badawi?,
  
• who is going to be the next President of the United States of America, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?,
  
• who is going to be the next Akademi Fantasia winner?,
  
• who is going to be the next American Idol?, and so on and so forth, that we do not spend that much time as to learning about
  
• Who is our Creator?

I can go out into our society today with my video camera and shoot a series of interviews asking every Ahmad, Ah Seng or Samy as to, "Who is our Creator?" and get a thousand and one fumbling, mumbling, cock a doodle stories from them, without getting satisfactory answers from most of them.

This is the reality of 'Life in the Last Ages'.

This is the age where a thousand and four hundred over years has passed since the passing away of the Final and Greatest Messenger of Allah, God Almighty after culminating in the end of the sending of more than 124,000 prophets and messengers of Allah to the entire Mankind over the ages.

Today, there are many who do not actually know why they have been created here on Earth in the first place?

Why we are born as human beings and not as a cat or a bird or even as any other creature that one can think of?

There are many out there who devote and dedicate their life's to the study of insects, plants, animals, ocean dwelling creatures, the Earth, the stars, the Sun, Universe, etcetera but not many are attracted or inclined to learn about Allah?

There are lots of Malaysian Muslims out there today who are more interested in learning how to sing and go attend vocal classes but not many of them are bothered to spend some time in learning about their Creator?

Hundreds of thousands of university and college students pore over their textbooks and lecture notes day in day out in their quest to pass and earn a diploma, degree or masters in this and that but not that many are interested to stop for a while and ponder about the truth of their God Most Supreme, Most High?

Malaysians discuss, debate and argue over the most trivial of things here in the net and get all fired up about the fate of pigs in Selangor and Melaka but not that many are concerned about discovering the facts about Allah the Almighty Who has given them this life so to speak in the first place?

There are billions of egoistic, arrogant human beings out there today who so pompously dare to deny Allah as their God and Creator out of their extreme self adulating state of minds in thinking that 'There is No God'!

These blinkered minds beguile themselves into thinking that they just came into being, just like that!

Presto! Zam Zam Ala Kazam! Voila! Here we are! Yippee! Rock on baby! Yeah Dog! What's up bro?

Little do these clouded minds realize that nothing comes into being just like that!

It's unbecoming for those clueless ones amongst Mankind to waste their precious remaining lifetimes here on Earth pondering as to this and that but do not spend their time in learning or studying about Allah, True God Almighty!

I do not claim to be anything but confess to being just one of HIS Creations, who aspires to learn all that I can from the True Supreme Lord and Master who created us all through the opportunities of learning and studying about HIM who holds my soul in HIS HANDS!

Allah Exists!
To start discussing about Allah, first we have to believe that There is a God!

How can we even start to explore about the endless fields of such a discussion if we can't come to agree on the very basic of faith in a Supreme Being if His very existence is not established in the first place?

So, how do we get anyone to come agree with us that he or she says is just not there?

God knows as to the countless number of folks denying Allah that I as a Caller to Islam have come across in my efforts in the field of Dakwah al Islamiyah since He decided to enlighten me with my realization that this is my forte, my chosen field of activity for as long as I am able to?

Let me try and open up our hearts and minds to agree that there are certain aspects of circumstances in each and every person's life that either make or break their convictions as to accepting or denying the very existence of Allah?

Before the coming of the 5 Noble Messengers of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala such as the Holy Prophets starting with Nuh Alaihis Salam @ Noah (peace be upon him), Ibrahim Alaihis Salam @ Abraham (peace be upon him), Musa Alaihis Salam @ Moses (peace be upon him), Isa Alaihis Salam @ Jesus the Messiah, Son of Mary (peace be upon him) and Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam @ Muhammad , Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), there were already many philosophers and scholars who affirmed the existence of the Supreme Lord using their intellect and observations in various ways.

Among such ways were 4 major reasonings affirming the existence of God.

1. Metaphysics : Reasoning using the Faculty of Thought.

According to the faculty of reasoning by way of thought, looking at the bountiful universe that encompasses all that is before us, the Earth, the Moon, the various planets in the Solar System, the Sun, millions or billions of stars up there in the skies above us and the multitudes of teeming life that is all around us, all these could not have come into being by themselves?

The scholars and philosophers of the past realized that mankind aren't capable of coming into being from out of the blue and that for all our capabilities of 'altering and manipulating' the essence of all that is before us, we can't ever come to possess the power of giving life or creating a living, breathing being on our own will save for what the Creator consents to?

We can't even create a single hair of our nostrils what more talk about creating anything at all?

Mankind ourselves are not perfect. We have our plus and minuses but it is all just a passing phase in our temporal life's.

From nothing, we are conceived in our mother's womb and develop with the Will of the Almighty into becoming an embryo, then morph into a foetus, mature into a baby and get delivered into this world as an infant, helpless and totally dependent on our parents or guardians for our sustenance, etcetera?

We acknowledge that creating even a half of a mosquito's wing is beyond our capabilities and that each and everything is a creation of Allah, God Most Powerful, Most Capable.

Even this world as we know it is constantly changing and evolving to the Will of our Lord and as a result of our carelessness in failing to live up to our responsibilities that God Almighty has entrusted upon us?

As this world is also one of His Creation, it's characteristics is temporary and is by His Will, not made to be perfect.

Only He is Most Perfect, free from flaws.

Creation is meant to be temporary pending His Decree that each and every phase of His Creation comes to live out it's purpose and return to it's ultimate destiny that is forewritten according to His Plans.

There are various schools of thought as to the Creation but nothing compares to what Allah the Almighty Himself has revealed to us in the Holy Qur'an.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in His Infinite Wisdom chose to create us Mankind as His Vicegerents here on Earth for a purpose.

His purpose in creating us and then giving us the Faculty of Reason is so that we will use our God given reason and intellect to learn and discover about Him and come to worship Him with our acquired knowledge.

He sent down His scriptures and 124,000 over prophets and the 5 Noble Messengers through the Passage of Time so that we learn of His Existence.

Let's take a look at Surah Al Insan Chapter 76 Verses 1 to 3. Holy Qur'an Al Kareem.
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1. Hal ata AAala al-insani heenun mina alddahri lam yakun shay-an mathkooran

1. Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?

2. Inna khalaqna al-insana min nutfatin amshajin nabtaleehi fajaAAalnahu sameeAAan baseeran

2. Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.

3. Inna hadaynahu alssabeela imma shakiran wa-imma kafooran

3. We showed him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will).

**********************************************************

There are many who mistake Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to be an uncaring God but fail to realize that Allah the Most Merciful leaves it to us to study and learn about Him and decide on our own free will as to whether we be amongst His grateful servants or choose to suffer the consequences of Denying Him as our Lord?

We owe our existence to God and it is clearly an act of treason of those who after coming to acquire knowledge about Him still choose to go worship or pay homage to another creation either out of their own will, ignorance or misunderstandings as to who is their True God Almighty?

More to follow. Insya Allah.

Questions about Islam from Fatt Monk to MAHAGURU58.

Hello Mahaguru58,

I'm already a regular visitor of your Mahaguru58 blog. I read it like newspaper everyday, and your content is always up to date and very interesting.

Hurray for Pakatan Rakyat!!! Keep it up!!

I must salute you for your initiative to start this new blog with regards to the education and more importantly the perception of Islam.

I find that the main stream media has failed to not only explain and educate Islam in a open way to the Non-Muslims but also a big portion of the Muslim community as well.

I really hope your blog will reach out to more people in Malaysia and have everyone understand Islam better.

I'm a Non-Muslim Malaysian working overseas for many years and have had the opportunity to meet Muslims from many different countries.

I have to say, that the perception of Islam I got before leaving Malaysia and after meeting all these foreign Muslim people is very different.

So, I'd like to post some questions here and hope that you can help with clarifying it.

1.When someone embraced Islam but after sometime, decided to quit, is this allowed by Islam?

From my foreign Muslim friend, this is not a problem.

Islam is a free religion, and if a person stops believing in Islam, they have the right to quit.
There's no point forcing someone to believe in Islam.

However, I have the perception that in Malaysia, when someone try to quit from Islam, they are put into a rehabilitation center to try and "bring her back to the right path"?

• For e.g the Revathi issue? Can you please clarify on this?

2.If a person is born into a Muslim family, does the person have the choice of quitting Islam and join another religion?
3. If a person embraced Islam, why is it that in Malaysia you are forced to change to a Muslim name?

From what I understand from my foreign Muslim friend, there's no such enforcement in Islam.

4. Is it true that a Muslim can marry only another Muslim person?

What I understand from my foreign Muslim friend is that any Non Muslim can marry a
Muslim (It doesn't matter whether it is a male or a female.)

But the Muslim person must explain the benefits of Islam to his or her spouse. Of course, over time the spouse will hopefully be converted to Islam.

5.However, is it true that it is the right of the person to choose whatever religion he or she wants even though they are married to a Muslim person?

These are few of the different views I have between the perception of Islam in Malaysia and Muslims from different countries.

Thanks in advance for clarifying this. Some of the questions might be due to my wrong perceptions.

Please clarify and correct me.

If you think this is not too sensitive, can you please post this on your blogs to benefit others?

Fatt Monk.

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First and foremost, I'd like to thank you sir for emailing me these questions.

I have been getting some ribbing from Sister Aliya that I have been preaching and that would soon bore people to death as there are too many sites online doing just that!

Anyway, if I were to wait for questions to be posed to me first before I write anything in response, I might just end up dropping dead before unloading here all that I have acquired and learned about Islam in my lifetime?

We can never tell, can we?

Life is so unpredictable that out of the blue, before we realize it, our time is up and there's just no delaying our departure by even a split micro second?

So, forgive me for being preachy but that's exactly what I have and am destined to do?

Well, here are my answers to the first of Fatt Monk's questions. I will answer them one by one, per dedicated article, Insya Allah.

1.When someone embraced Islam but after sometime, decided to quit, is this allowed by Islam?

Dear Brothers & Sisters reading this,

Islam is the culmination of the complete revelations of Allah the Almighty, our Lord and Creator who has been sending to us Mankind more than 124,000 Prophets and Messengers over Time starting with the creation of Adam Alaihis Salam, our Father who was also a Prophet right until the very last and Final Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam ( May peace be upon him).

The Declaration of Faith in Islam constitutes denying any other forms of imagined deity or deities save for attesting that Allah is the Only God worthy of worship and declaring that Muhammad is the (Final) Messenger of Allah.

A person who after being a Disbeliever @ Kaffir, decides to embrace Islam without being forced or compelled to in the first place and after studying the basic principles of the faith or after years and years of in depth studies about Allah, His Prophets, The Do's & Don'ts in Islam decides with a clear, rational knowledgeable state of mind and in full awareness embraces Islam and accepts Allah the Almighty as his or her Lord and testifies to Muhammad being Allah's Messenger is deemed to have entered into a Covenant with Allah and is forbidden to break such a bond.

I stated before a full house crowd of Malaysians from all walks of life, ethnicity and creed at the DAP organized 'After Lina Joy Forum' at the Hotel Armada in Petaling Jaya last year that 'Islam is not like a country club membership which one enters and leaves as one pleases?'

The moment that you declare that you willfully and rationally accept No other God but Allah the Most Supreme as your Lord, you are forever obliged to not break your bond with Him, God Almighty!

You do not acknowledge Allah as your God and then make an about turn and walk out on Him!

This is Allah, God Almighty we are talking about?

Not a fellow human being or any other creature that Man is known to have betrayed and abused the trust or friendship over and over again through the Sands of Time?

The punishment for such an act of 'Apostasy' is very severe.

We are talking about the maximum penalty that an apostate from Islam has to face as the ultimate consequences of his or her crime of denying Allah as his or her Lord.

You can read about the details for such a punishment here in the Wikipedia.

I have scanned the particular Hadith (Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW) with regard to the case where he states that the blood of a Muslim (male and female) who has testified that 'There is no other God but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger' cannot be shed except in 3 cases:

1. Where the Muslim has killed someone willfully (not as an act of self defence but as an act of intentional homicide out of rage, spite, hatred, enmity, etc.)
   
2. A married Muslim (male or female) who has committed adultery @ illegal sexual intercourse with one who is not his or her married partner.
3. The one (Muslim) who turns renegade from Islam (apostates) and leaves the group of Muslims ( the Ummah) by innovating acts of heresy, innovations and other unlawful new things into the Islamic religion.
   

Please click on to the scan here and read it in a larger view. Do take note that there is a typographical error in the translation above with regard to the 1st clause : 1. Life for life ( in cases of 'international' murders without right - which should read ' intentional'.

To answer the question as to whether someone who has come to embrace Islam and declared or testified that There is No Other God but Allah and declared Muhammad as to being the (Final) Messenger of Allah is allowed to leave the faith of Islam, the answer is NO.

The Islamic authority is to first advice the said apostate and help to show him or her as to the errors of his or her way and to guide the said apostate back to the Truth of Islam 3 times as in the act of holding the apostate in official custody and after 3 failed attempts to put the apostate to death.

This is not my ruling or any other humanbeing but the decree of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Himself as the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam never issued forth any rule or command until he gets the revelation from Almighty Allah through the intermediary of the Archangel Jibreel Alaihis Salam @ Gabriel (peace be upon him).

So to all would be Muslims, my advice to you is to fully understand that when you come and make a covenant with Allah to take Him as your Lord and accept Muhammad as His Messenger, you do not have a choice to break such a covenant and expect to get away just like that?

The repercussions of turning yourself away from your Lord is not something simple.

Islam is not a faith to be played around with?

It is the birthright of those who can see the virtues of being a Muslim and gain Allah's Mercy and Protection but it does not take any affront to His Majesty as something forgivable.

You either enter into Islam wholeheartedly or stay out of it as a Disbeliever?

The Choice is yours. Hope that answers your question, brother.

* I will write about the Revathi case in the next article.

May the Guidance of Allah be upon us all. Ameen.

I will answer the next question in the following article.

Insya Allah @ God Willing.

La ila ha illall Laah - None is to be worshipped but Allah!

Assalamualaikum. I pray that you are in the best of faith and health. Insya Allah.

As promised, this is the continuation of my explanation about the first part of attesting towards not worshipping anything else but Allah.

The Declaration of Faith that is required of a Muslim, male or female is to testify clearly without an iota of doubt that they solemnly believe and know that 'There is no other deity worthy of worship but Allah the Almighty'.

This declaration is called the bedrock of belief in Islam. 'La ila ha ill lall Laah!'

Anyone who says the above attestation with full knowledge and sincerity becomes a Muslim, a Believer of Allah and is considered as a Mukmin, a Faithful Servant of Allah.

Those whom I have interviewed and asked as to how many Gods they believe in and have replied that they believe in only 'one God' are at times surprised to learn that they are already considered as 'half a Muslim'?

Critics might argue that such a consideration is wrong for they believe in something else other than Allah and thus can't be considered as so?

Well, for a Da'ee like me, it is a matter of perception.

Sure, we can argue from daybreak till the cows come home and still fail to come to an understanding about such an opinion but to me as a Caller to Islam, I look at it with a certain angle of positivity!

Why?

Easy! The person has already conceded that 'There is only ONE GOD!'

Now comes the matter of defining who is that One God whom we Muslims come to worship?

We must then carefully guide the person or persons into coming to learn about THE ONE GOD we Muslims submit to and point out the differences in what they had misunderstood as to be the true God?

Tact and wisdom must be used by the Caller to Islam in exposing the truth about the false god or gods that they have been taught to worship all these while.

The Caller to Islam must help them discover True Almighty Allah, who has created them, us and all that there is in the Universe or universes that we have yet to come to discover?

It's all a matter of perception, strength of Iman and correct manner and methods of carrying out instructional Dakwah al Islamiyah in the manner that draws people to Islam instead of making them run for the nearest exits?

As a Muslim, we are expected to be amongst those whom Rasul Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam asks us to deliver from him even an 'ayah' to those who have yet to learn about Allah and Islam?

It's not easy, I understand but then again what is easy?

We are born from our mother's wombs, helpless and at the mercy of those who are our parents and in lieu of them being around to care and nurture us, our guardians?

Life is not meant to be easy. Just look at all that is around us.

There is a constant series of struggles for each and every living being, creature, insect, plant, even the unseen microscopic germs and bacteria that are in the zillions and trillions of numbers even in ourselves what more within us, all around us and throughout the entire Creation?

Mind boggling?

Well, that is the truth of Life and those who have a fair sense of knowledge and understanding will consider and contemplate on all that I am sharing and saying here!

To those of us who have spent our life in learning about all these, such knowledge is useless if we keep it to ourselves and just mind our own business!

The reality is that nothing will change for us if we choose to be so self centred and stingy in sharing or disseminating our acquired knowledge about all that we have come to know and understand as we move through our remaining seconds, minutes, hours and days of our life?

The first to enter into the burning Hellfire as to what I have come to learn are those who are knowledgeable but chose to keep their 'ilm @ knowledge to themselves and died without passing on all that they have learned to others.

So, let's take a look into the meaning of 'La ila ha ill lall Laah'.

Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an Surah Adh Dhariyat Chapter 51 Verse 56:





56. Wama khalaqtu aljinna waal-insa illa liyaAAbudooni

56. And I (Allah) created not the Jinns and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).

And in Surah An Nahl Chapter 16 Verse 36 of the Holy Al Qur'an Al Kareem Allah says:

36. Walaqad baAAathna fee kulli ommatin rasoolan ani oAAbudoo Allaha waijtaniboo alttaghoota faminhum man hada Allahu waminhum man haqqat AAalayhi alddalalatu faseeroo fee al-ardi faonthuroo kayfa kana AAaqibatu almukaththibeena

36. For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle, (with the Command), "Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities i.e. do not worship Taghut besides Allah)". Then of them were some whom Allah guided, and some whose straying away from Allah was justified (out of their own volition @ choice). So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth of Islam)?

Explanation:

Through the years since our Father, the Blessed Prophet Adam Alaihis Salam who was created by Allah in the best of forms not evolved as the latter day smart alecs would have us believe, the Truth of Islam has already been delivered to Mankind by way of the teachings of the 124,000 over Prophets and Messengers that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has appointed and sent to us but as we all know, some listened to the Prophets and were saved from Ignorance but there were also many who succumbed to their own ego's and refused to submit to worshipping Allah?

In the verse above, Allah clearly tells us that He sent to every Ummah @ Community amongst Mankind a Caller to Him and Islam asking them to Worship Him Alone!

Yet as we all know Mankind can also be very stubborn and obstinate, refusing to listen or submit to the Truth of Allah and the Teachings of Islam.

What can we do?

Can we just mind our own business and let the people of today go to waste?

Youngsters living a life full of challenges and social diseases today despite the tremendous advancements that Mankind has made and achieved today still end up getting lost, hurt, abused and victimized by the devilish ones amongst us in society.

This takes place all over the world, even in Arabia and the Middle East, the lands of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah?

'La ila ha ill lall Laah' is lost upon the lost ones of modern human society whose only creed is to enjoy and rock on towards a certain doom in this modern yet uncaring self centred world!

Only when they are wasted away and starting to realize the deep shit that they have fallen in and drowning in self pity and sorrow will they want to muster a feeble cry out for HELP!!!

By that time, sometimes it will be a case of too late! The damage would have been done! Emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally!

Kaput! A basket case meant to be shoved aside and wait for things to just take place on their own?

Life can be hard for them. As the saying goes, ' You shall reap what you sow?'

For most young people, reasoning such as this is wasted on them because they are in a state of delusional euphoria of thinking and dreaming that everything is beautiful and at that stage of their life's they are untouchable?

So to those of us who have been through our own years of ignorance ( Age of Jahiliyyah), we ought to try and help out those who are being overcome by the waves of social calamities and hedonism that is being sponsored by the government's apathy towards such root causes of our society's ascending problems and the general ' I don't give a shit' attitudes of the masses what more of those who are working in the religious departments and agencies whose mindset is an '8 to 5 punch in punch out' mindset?

As long as they get their pay at the end of the month, they are contented to just while away their working hours talking politics or discussing the latest 'Akademi Fantasia' contestants?

Da'ee's and Muslim activists ought to reach out to the struggling lost youths of today and try save them before they end up as among the statistics of those who have given birth to the growing number of illegitimate children amongst the Malaysian general public?

Bring them to understand that they have Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to depend on and help teach them about Islam in the real sense.

Islam is simple and is actually quite easy to understand and apply in our daily life's.

The problem starts when Muslims waste away their life's arguing about this and that and forget to feed their souls with the Mercy and Energy of Iman towards Allah Ar Rahman Al Kareem?

Let's take a look at Surah Al An'am. Chapter 6 Verses 151 to 153 in the Holy Qur'an:












151. Qul taAAalaw atlu ma harrama rabbukum AAalaykum alla tushrikoo bihi shay-an wabialwalidayni ihsanan wala taqtuloo awladakum min imlaqin nahnu narzuqukum wa-iyyahum wala taqraboo alfawahisha ma thahara minha wama batana wala taqtuloo alnnafsa allatee harrama Allahu illa bialhaqqi thalikum wassakum bihi laAAallakum taAAqiloona

151. Say O Muhammad SAW: "Come, I will recite what God has (really) prohibited you from?:

• Join not anything as equal with Him; (La ila ha ill lall Laah!)
  
• Be good and dutiful to your parents;
  
• Do not kill your children because of your poverty; Allah provides sustenance for you and for them;-
  
• Do not come near Al-Fawahish @ major sins, illegal sexual intercourse, adultery, drug abuse, alcoholism, etc). Whether committed openly or in secret;
  
• Do not kill anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause (according to Islamic Law)
  
• This does He command you, that you may learn wisdom.

152. Wala taqraboo mala alyateemi illa biallatee hiya ahsanu hatta yablugha ashuddahu waawfoo alkayla waalmeezana bialqisti la nukallifu nafsan illa wusAAaha wa-itha qultum faiAAdiloo walaw kana tha qurba wabiAAahdi Allahi awfoo thalikum wassakum bihi laAAallakum tathakkaroona

152. And come not near to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he or she attain the age of full strength;

• give measure and weight with (full) justice;- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear;-
  
• whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and
  
• fulfil the covenant of God: thus doth He command you, that ye may remember.

153. Waanna hatha siratee mustaqeeman faittabiAAoohu wala tattabiAAoo alssubula fatafarraqa bikum AAan sabeelihi thalikum wassakum bihi laAAallakum tattaqoona

153. Verily, this is My way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous.

~~~

Any Muslim worth his or her name who has the means to acquire Islamic knowledge and has the means to teach others about it must waste no time in spreading the Message of Islam.

Work towards learning about Allah and then go teach others so that they too might come to learn and appreciate Islam for what it really is and not what the Islamophobes fear it to be?

Will continue later.

Peace.

Meaning of 'La ilaha ill lall Laah'.

This is the Arabic script or calligraphy that is the Kalimah At Taiyibbah or Kalimah Shahadah.

It reads 'La ila ha ill lall Laah ; Muhammad dar Rasulullah'.

This is the Declaration of Faith in Almighty Allah, God Most Merciful, Most Powerful who is The Lord above all of His Creation and attesting that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

The Kalimah Shahadah is in two parts. The first part is called 'Awwalul Kalimah' @ First part of the Declaration of Faith.

'La ila ha ill lall Laah' means 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah!'.

As a creation of Allah, we are obliged to show our gratitude to our Maker who is Allah the Almighty God.

Any Ahmad, Ah Seng or Samy can be taught to say ' La ila ha ill lall Laah' but it takes a Mukmin @ a Believer to understand the significance of such a declaration?

I can even go and teach anyone to utter the above phrase but it would mean nothing if the person I taught the Awwalul Kalima to just says it without knowing the meaning and attestations behind the very statement that might mean either Paradise or Hellfire to him or her?

All of us know that There is Only One God and logically speaking it would be preposterous for Allah to have a partner as many other faiths would have you believe?

In the Holy Qur'an Surah Muhammad Verse 19, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala lays down His Decree as :






19. FaiAAlam annahu la ilaha illa Allahu waistaghfir lithanbika walilmu/mineena waalmu/minati waAllahu yaAAlamu mutaqallabakum wamathwakum

19. Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes.

Now, we have to understand that Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam spent 13 long years in Makkah Al Mukarramah just to bring his fellow Arabs there to come to understand that 'There is only One God!'

13 years dear brothers and sisters! Not 13 minutes; not 13 hours or 13 days?

13 long years that our Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam spent in his struggles to bring about the Qureisyi Arabs who were Kaffirs to testify and understand that they were wrong in worshipping the 360 idols that had been set up around the Holy Ka'abah instead of following the true faith of Islam that all the earlier prophets and messengers of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala had taught Mankind since the descent of our Father Saiyidina Adam Alaihis Salam from Jannatul Firdaus, the Highest Heaven of Allah Almighty God to Earth.

I will follow up with more explanations about the topic later. Insya Allah.

Islamic Central - Your online centre to learn about Islam.

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

It means ' May Peace be upon you with the Mercy and Blessings of Allah!'.

This is the universal greetings of us who are Muslims upon meeting or exchanging communications with one another whether by direct contact, through the email, phone call or messaging systems?

Okay, now that we have cleared that initial greeting which all Muslims starting with Our Father, the Blessed Prophet Adam Alaihis Salam ( may peace be upon him) used to greet his wife, Our Mother Saiyidatina Hawwa Radhiallahu Anha ( may Allah be pleased with her).

Let us start with the basics of Islamic knowledge.

If someone were to ask us as to what is the meaning of the word or term of 'Islam'?

Islam means 'peace' in the Arabic word.

I for one have come up with an in depth acronym of the word I.S.L.A.M. to stand for ' International System of Living for All Mankind'.

Why do I say that?

Well, Islam is as I have come to learn and understand about it to be the only international system of living suitable to be put to practice by practically each and every human being on Earth!

The faith of Islam is not man made. This system of living has been revealed to us by none other than Almighty Allah Himself.

It is up to us to learn more about our faith and to help others who want to know about it to come to understand clearly as to it's principles.

Let me now move on to sharing with you the foundation of Islam which is based upon acknowledging Allah Almighty to be the One True God and Creator of us all.

This acknowledgment is known as 'Tauhid' or 'Islamic Monotheism'.

'Mono' means one or single. Theism is the belief in one or more deities.

Islam is based upon the firm belief that there is only one God and He is Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

After confirming the understanding above to be the basis of each and every Muslim, male and female in attesting that bedrock of faith in Allah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem, we now move on to the Pillars of Islam.

The Final and Greatest Messenger of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, Muhammad ibni Abdullah, the Glorious Seal of the Prophets and Mercy of Allah to all Mankind stated that Islam is based on 5 deeds or actions.

1. Whomsoever wishes to be a Muslim, he or she needs to Testify without the slightest doubt in his or her heart the following Declaration of Faith or Kalimah Shahadah:
   "Ash har doo Allah ila ha ill lall Laah! Wa ash har doo anna Muhammad dar Rasulullah!" meaning ' I declare (testify) that 'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!'.
2. To perform the 5 daily prayers in congregation if possible, dutifully and perfectly sincerely. A Muslim, male and female who has attained puberty and is of sound mind, knowledgeable and understands the reasons and significance of each prayer movement is obliged to carry out the compulsory prayers without fail from the moment he or she becomes aware of one's responsibilities towards Allah?
3. To fast during the month of Ramadan from before the fajr prayers until the sunset prayers with the intention to abstain from food and drinks plus every other act that will nullify or invalidates the fast.
   
4. To pay the Zakat if one has the means to do so? The Zakat is a mandatory act of charity. When a Muslim comes to own at least 85 grams of gold or it's equivalent value in cash for a period of a year, then he or she is obliged to pay a Zakat worth 2.5% of the value of such gold or cash to the Baitulmal or appointed Amils ( Tithes Collector).
5. To go perform the Hajj or Pilgrimage to the Holy Ka'abah @ House of Allah in Makkah al Mukarramah and Ziarah to Madinah Al Munawwarah if one can afford to at least once in one's lifetime?
   

The Muslim is also obliged to believe in the following 6 Pillars of Iman @ Faith.

1. To believe in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. (in His Existence, His Oneness in His Attributes, His deserving to be worshipped, supplicated to and His Right to legislate).
2. To believe in His Malaikats @ Angels (Special Beings created from Light for obeying and carrying out Allah's Orders and Will).
3. To believe in His Books @ Holy Scriptures (the Taurat @ Torah sent to Musa Alaihis Salam, the Injeel @ Gospel of Eesa Alaihis Salam, the Zabur @ Psalms of Daud Alaihis Salam and the Holy Al Qur'an Al Kareem which was revealed to Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam which abrogates all the earlier revelations and is the Final and Complete Guidance of Allah to all Mankind).
4. To believe in His Messengers ( the first being the Prophet Nuh @ Noah Alaihis Salam, the second being the Prophet Ibrahim @ Abraham Alaihis Salam, the third being Prophet Musa @ Moses Alaihis Salam, fourth being the Prophet Eesa @ Jesus Alaihis Salam and the Greatest and Final Messenger of Allah, Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam).
5. To believe in the Yaum al Qiyamat @ The Last Day ( The Day of Resurrection for the reckoning of all Mankind according to their deeds and their appropriate rewards or punishment!).
6. To believe in the Qada' and Qadr' ( Divine Preordainment) that all that happens whether good or bad is by Almighty Allah's Divine Decree.

This is my first article explaining the bedrock of Islamic Belief and the 5 main Pillars of Islam and the 6 Pillars of Faith that every Muslim worth his or her name must know and put to practice sincerely if he or she wants to be a Muslim?

Insya Allah, I will add videos to this article to help you understand better these most basic important aspects of any true Muslim's faith in Allah and Amals that he or she must carry out as a true Muslim?

Till we meet again, here's wishing you the best in Iman and Amals.

Wabillahi Taufik Wal Hidayah.

Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.