Friends ,
Surah Al Hujarat presumably was revealed around 1st or 2nd year post Hijrah ,a short surah dealing mainly with etiquette and good mannerism to be expected in the presence of the messenger of Allah :
"And know that the messenger of Allah is amongst you .If he were to obey you in much of the government ,ye would surely be in trouble ,but Allah hath endeared the faith to you and hath beautified it in your hearts and made disbelief and lewdness and rebellion hateful unto your .Such are they who are the rightly guided .[7] It is a bounty and a grace from Allah ,and Allah is Knower ,Wise .[8]"
That was some 1450 years ago .Now what do we Muslims have ?The Quran ,Hadiths and "descendents" of the Prophet ,the ulama' ,and what kind of nonsensical behavior are we showing towards them ?People who control the press and media ,people in government ,shallow minded unschooled pea brained politicians , 'progressive feminists [ eg Marinaapakahnamadiadah; Sisters in and out of Islam ; try reading Farish Noor's Other Malaysia]. All are having a field day " screwing up " the ulama' left ,right and centre .Of course some of the ulama' themselves lend themselves to such behavior .An Ulama likewise has no business '' rounding up all the jinns in Bangi into buses and sending them over the Penang Bridge ".Time is short ,they should be spending all their limited energy and time to think , write ,cajole and motivate this 'sickly ummah of our time' to greater height .No time for 'jinns and jembalangs'.There are already enough jinns from amongst humans .Some of these midget politicians think that ulama' grow on trees ,not so ,especially on Malaysian rubber trees !The sacking and rape of ISTAC's Prof Naguib's some 3 years ago was a blatant example of the meaning of lewdness and stupidity alluded to by Allah in ayat 7 in Surah Al Hujarat .Allahualam .
Dr Nik Howk
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Not So Pearls & Gem :Nik Isahak
" Life[and for that matter death]is a mind game ."
Appears crazy .But in life we have a finite way of choosing ,within a broad leeway of limitation ,how we would like to 'colour' it .Black ,white ,gray even red or purple !
That to most people is acceptable .In death ,even a mind game !This chap is crazy !
At the moment of death or precisely at the brink of death ,when measured in finite time ,may be short , but is it really ?From the Muslim perspective ,all of will meet Mr Izra'il at that moment in time .We are encouraged to 'doa' thruout our life to have a 'peaceful' moment of death :husnul khatimah .Not suul khatimah .What precisely would determine whether we go upward meaning 'husnul' or have a downward spiral as in 'suul'?Allahualam !This has to do with how we lead our lives as preamble to that 'brink' in time at the precise moment before we exit this earthly life go thru the exit door thru to Alam Baka' for another millenium or so !What would determine our state of mind at that point in time to choose the proverbial 'cup of milk' rather than 'wine' when offered by that foxy Mr Iblis at a time when neither wealth or any number of childrens [ or wives ] we have can help us .That is the mind game .
We have to prepare our minds with ILM for that . Back to Ilmu ,Ilmu , Ilmu and Ilmu .But ilm alone is not enough .John esposito has got a lot of ilm about Islam ,so are all the orientalists !With hidayah from Allah ,with ilm we proceed to iman and amal .
That was why Allah started His revelation to Muhammad[ pbhuh] with "IQRA...! .
Appears crazy .But in life we have a finite way of choosing ,within a broad leeway of limitation ,how we would like to 'colour' it .Black ,white ,gray even red or purple !
That to most people is acceptable .In death ,even a mind game !This chap is crazy !
At the moment of death or precisely at the brink of death ,when measured in finite time ,may be short , but is it really ?From the Muslim perspective ,all of will meet Mr Izra'il at that moment in time .We are encouraged to 'doa' thruout our life to have a 'peaceful' moment of death :husnul khatimah .Not suul khatimah .What precisely would determine whether we go upward meaning 'husnul' or have a downward spiral as in 'suul'?Allahualam !This has to do with how we lead our lives as preamble to that 'brink' in time at the precise moment before we exit this earthly life go thru the exit door thru to Alam Baka' for another millenium or so !What would determine our state of mind at that point in time to choose the proverbial 'cup of milk' rather than 'wine' when offered by that foxy Mr Iblis at a time when neither wealth or any number of childrens [ or wives ] we have can help us .That is the mind game .
We have to prepare our minds with ILM for that . Back to Ilmu ,Ilmu , Ilmu and Ilmu .But ilm alone is not enough .John esposito has got a lot of ilm about Islam ,so are all the orientalists !With hidayah from Allah ,with ilm we proceed to iman and amal .
That was why Allah started His revelation to Muhammad[ pbhuh] with "IQRA...! .
Allahualam !
Pearls & Gem:George Bernard Shaw
" We do not stop playing because we grow old,we grow old because we stop playing ."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Some More Random Thots on Death
A colleague just this week was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the pancreas .Medium survival 6 months .With state of the art chemo and radiotherapy,if you are very lucky 1 year .
In the doctors rest room a small group of us were discussing the merit and demerit of 'saying goodbye' to this earthly life the 'fast way'[massive heart attack,mva,plane crash etc etc ]against the 'slow way'[incurable cancers,leukemias,debilitating strokes,chronic heart or lung failures etc etc],since in the same week we have al most gone bonkers discussing Dr M. We could not make any sense of Dr M's recent resignation from his AMNU this same week.....age and the thought of death itself must have hit that old man ! .
On the point of death itself,from my perspective, any superficial discussion generally devoid of divine revealed injunction, would be a sheer waste of time and function.Very naive,rather secular discussion devoid of depth just like the 'war games' they used to enact in the Pentagon before the rape and devastation of Iraq.Without the 'spiritual'content any discussion on death,or rather moment of death,tend to be shallow,for no one can predict at that precise moment of death,the one involve can be in a different 'plane'altogether and that precise short moment could well be a protracted affair for the individual concerned.Only God knows.That precise moment when you face Izra'il ,Mr Death himself,on his turf.You and him would be in the world of your own ,oblivious of the surrounding.
Needless to say as cardiologists in a hospital setting,we 'presided'over most hospital deaths be it during office hours or in the wee hours of the morning.A thankless job,imagine yourself being called at 3 am just to see and maybe 'bring to life'an 80 year old man dying of terminal cancer in Bed 211,who suddenly went blue and noticed by the night nurse to be not moving .Cardiac arrest.The usual euphemism :Code Blue .Either you are there Ist or the anaesthetist on call or the resident MO.I have 'presided' over more than several thousands such calls in my 30 years or so of hospital practice.When you drive home to capture any decent sleep remaining and see your spouse snoring away like crazy you cannot help but feel honoured and priveledged to have been there when even the closest family members of the newly departed were just probably be making their way to the hospital.
It was 3am,you were there and you damn sure Izra'il was also there.You are not paid for the service rendered whatever the time[as all Code Blue are dire emergencies]but what the heck, you are in the priveldge territory and presence of Mr Death himself,Izra'il !. That is an honour and esteem.
I usually say a few prayers for the departed and also for my own salvation .Despite the several thousand times ,during my lonely drive home I cannot help but felt eerie about that kind of encounter :"The next one could well be me feeling". It is time like these that make myself think of my very own mortality 10, 20 times a day , everyday ! And that is a priveledge and a blessed life, if I have got the right hadith correctly that I used to read somewhere!.... was it from Abdul Qadir Jilani's 'Sublime Revelation' ? Maybe from Imam Ghazali's most beautiful long discourse on 'Remembrance of Death and The Afterlife', translated magnificently by T J Winter ? Must be from one of these two or maybe Hamka......
The one million dollar question? How many able to say the 'syahadah' at that moment in time .From my experience,very very very few!I can recall only 2 individuals in my whole quantum of experience.One lady of late 60's,a dear patient of mine 15 years back,mother of my friend,Zul, a self made millionaire thru forwarding business,died as a complication of angioplasty when at that time stent was not invented yet and the resident cardiac surgeons could not help because despite popular believe, they are 'slow animals'.It take a couple of hours to prepare a healthy cardiac patient for surgery.It take only a few minutes for a moribund old heart patient to die.Of course in a court of law ,the judge and lawyers will always appear very clever."I put it to you Dr Nik that you have not exercised due care blah blah blah ".No shade of gray in their superficial world,just simple yes and no! F...k these bastards!If life at that precise moment can be very simple.3 am ,4am ,5 am in the wee hours of the morning ,you struggling with dear life and Izra'il looking over your shoulders ,all the time .All the time!
Well back to this fine lady . She was saying the syahadahs all the way . Very rare breed .Another chap was an old man from Kampong Melayu Subang . Can still remember his name .Javanese chap. Toppan Rusdie . Always very polite.Always come to my outpatient clinic followed by his dutiful son .One day came in with bad intractable angina .Required urgent coronary angiogram but no son and father conferred ,No Angiogram ! No invasive procedure ,we have no fund !Had a massive myocardial infart shortly after that .[Later I discovered this old man had 'many many' acres of land near Subang Airport ].He was destined to meet Izra'il then .Shahadah till the last .
I said only 2 but actually nearly 3 .
I was doing CCU round one bright Sunday morning when I saw an SYT probably in her early 20's,Irish ? Australian ? sitting anxiously outside .One corner of the open bedded CCU then was shrouded and I knew some active resuscitation was going on behind the screen .Someone groaning " Allah ,Allah ,Allah ...".My senior cardiologist colleague was there 'presiding' over the Code Blue .Patient survived .Tun Datu Mustaffa died a week later in Sabah.From then on I make a point not to prejudge a man's destiny with his Maker from his 'apparent' lifestyle and 'colourings'.Only Allah Knows .
In the doctors rest room a small group of us were discussing the merit and demerit of 'saying goodbye' to this earthly life the 'fast way'[massive heart attack,mva,plane crash etc etc ]against the 'slow way'[incurable cancers,leukemias,debilitating strokes,chronic heart or lung failures etc etc],since in the same week we have al most gone bonkers discussing Dr M. We could not make any sense of Dr M's recent resignation from his AMNU this same week.....age and the thought of death itself must have hit that old man ! .
On the point of death itself,from my perspective, any superficial discussion generally devoid of divine revealed injunction, would be a sheer waste of time and function.Very naive,rather secular discussion devoid of depth just like the 'war games' they used to enact in the Pentagon before the rape and devastation of Iraq.Without the 'spiritual'content any discussion on death,or rather moment of death,tend to be shallow,for no one can predict at that precise moment of death,the one involve can be in a different 'plane'altogether and that precise short moment could well be a protracted affair for the individual concerned.Only God knows.That precise moment when you face Izra'il ,Mr Death himself,on his turf.You and him would be in the world of your own ,oblivious of the surrounding.
Needless to say as cardiologists in a hospital setting,we 'presided'over most hospital deaths be it during office hours or in the wee hours of the morning.A thankless job,imagine yourself being called at 3 am just to see and maybe 'bring to life'an 80 year old man dying of terminal cancer in Bed 211,who suddenly went blue and noticed by the night nurse to be not moving .Cardiac arrest.The usual euphemism :Code Blue .Either you are there Ist or the anaesthetist on call or the resident MO.I have 'presided' over more than several thousands such calls in my 30 years or so of hospital practice.When you drive home to capture any decent sleep remaining and see your spouse snoring away like crazy you cannot help but feel honoured and priveledged to have been there when even the closest family members of the newly departed were just probably be making their way to the hospital.
It was 3am,you were there and you damn sure Izra'il was also there.You are not paid for the service rendered whatever the time[as all Code Blue are dire emergencies]but what the heck, you are in the priveldge territory and presence of Mr Death himself,Izra'il !. That is an honour and esteem.
I usually say a few prayers for the departed and also for my own salvation .Despite the several thousand times ,during my lonely drive home I cannot help but felt eerie about that kind of encounter :"The next one could well be me feeling". It is time like these that make myself think of my very own mortality 10, 20 times a day , everyday ! And that is a priveledge and a blessed life, if I have got the right hadith correctly that I used to read somewhere!.... was it from Abdul Qadir Jilani's 'Sublime Revelation' ? Maybe from Imam Ghazali's most beautiful long discourse on 'Remembrance of Death and The Afterlife', translated magnificently by T J Winter ? Must be from one of these two or maybe Hamka......
The one million dollar question? How many able to say the 'syahadah' at that moment in time .From my experience,very very very few!I can recall only 2 individuals in my whole quantum of experience.One lady of late 60's,a dear patient of mine 15 years back,mother of my friend,Zul, a self made millionaire thru forwarding business,died as a complication of angioplasty when at that time stent was not invented yet and the resident cardiac surgeons could not help because despite popular believe, they are 'slow animals'.It take a couple of hours to prepare a healthy cardiac patient for surgery.It take only a few minutes for a moribund old heart patient to die.Of course in a court of law ,the judge and lawyers will always appear very clever."I put it to you Dr Nik that you have not exercised due care blah blah blah ".No shade of gray in their superficial world,just simple yes and no! F...k these bastards!If life at that precise moment can be very simple.3 am ,4am ,5 am in the wee hours of the morning ,you struggling with dear life and Izra'il looking over your shoulders ,all the time .All the time!
Well back to this fine lady . She was saying the syahadahs all the way . Very rare breed .Another chap was an old man from Kampong Melayu Subang . Can still remember his name .Javanese chap. Toppan Rusdie . Always very polite.Always come to my outpatient clinic followed by his dutiful son .One day came in with bad intractable angina .Required urgent coronary angiogram but no son and father conferred ,No Angiogram ! No invasive procedure ,we have no fund !Had a massive myocardial infart shortly after that .[Later I discovered this old man had 'many many' acres of land near Subang Airport ].He was destined to meet Izra'il then .Shahadah till the last .
I said only 2 but actually nearly 3 .
I was doing CCU round one bright Sunday morning when I saw an SYT probably in her early 20's,Irish ? Australian ? sitting anxiously outside .One corner of the open bedded CCU then was shrouded and I knew some active resuscitation was going on behind the screen .Someone groaning " Allah ,Allah ,Allah ...".My senior cardiologist colleague was there 'presiding' over the Code Blue .Patient survived .Tun Datu Mustaffa died a week later in Sabah.From then on I make a point not to prejudge a man's destiny with his Maker from his 'apparent' lifestyle and 'colourings'.Only Allah Knows .
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sheikh Ab-dal Kadir al Jilani's take on death
"Make a frequent practice of remembering death and what lies beyond it,that narrow bridge [siratul mustakim ] and what lies beyond.Remember the hereafter with its bliss and torment."
............excerpt from Utterances of Sheikh Ab-dal Kadir al Jilani ,sufi saint.Writings of this great sufi saint available in the English language ,translated by the late Muchtar Holland :
Utterances
The Signs of the Unseen
Sublime Revelations
............excerpt from Utterances of Sheikh Ab-dal Kadir al Jilani ,sufi saint.Writings of this great sufi saint available in the English language ,translated by the late Muchtar Holland :
Utterances
The Signs of the Unseen
Sublime Revelations
Sunday, May 18, 2008
FW: [jublintan65] Not So Pearl & Gem:Random Thots on Deat
Friends ,
Yesterday , while busy going through my morning clinic list ,I received a call from a clinic staff of Dr Shuiab ,a classmate ,Family Physician practising in Kampong Bharu : He died early morning ,in University Hospital ,presumably from heart failure following a massive heart attack .
My work involve me to think about 'man's fragility and mortality' all the time from from morning till evening even in the seemingly 'fit and healthy individuals passing my door just for a simple annual examination' ,call in a paranoia or whatever ,but after 30 over years in 'the business' , just like any hard nosed top gun entrepreneur ,you have to develop a 'bottom line' approach to your patients ,your clients :ie what is the chance of this individual being seen around end of this year , next 5 years ,will he make it to his 60th birthday etc etc on the basis of limited statistical clinical data I have just from the 'cardiological and endovascular viewpoint I have .Taking away the other variables of a fatal motor vehicle accidents ,latent cancer ,suicides etc etc of course .
A hardnose clinical assessment all the time ,never discussed or divulge unless to the very few ,who really ask .In my experience ,in the ones who really need to know amongst my patients ,very few really want to know and ask .
Still a classmate's demise even at 56 hit me like a speeding car crashing on a brick wall .Time's up .Think of you own mortality .Average lifespan of Malaysian males ,74 ,75 ? .Mashaallah 'we' are heading there already !What if I am diagnosed with a terminal lung cancer tomorrow ?Like another colleague the other day walking in the clinic with just vague weight loss and abdominal discomfort and found on CT scan to have terminal 'pancreatic ca' . Or TS Nazamuddin ,a former occasional patient years back who went to LA for his wife's medical check up but instead brought back in a cold coffin 2 months later ,of 'metastatic lung ca' .And another friend ,Nik Aziz formerly of Petronas ,fighting for his life ,in Selayang Hospital also of lung cancer . And that 35 year dog trainer in Cardiac ward with a heart as big as a' football' with idiopathic dilated congestive cardiomyopathy with only a left ventricular function of 15 % .He asked me gingerly yesterday whether he can get back to his favourite badminton game next month .I was not sure whether he can survive walking to the 'loo' on his own safely even while in the hospital ,preoccupied in my own thought about possible litigation if the unwanted cardiac arrest actually do happen in such compromising circumstances .Knowing that this chap on good statistical basis will improve to go back to his dogs and more than 99 .9 % sure he does not want me to tell him what is in store for him in the next 6 months , 1 year of 5 years .
That is the burden and realm of the cardiologists !
And yet still Dr Shuiab's sudden death hit me like a brick .But is death really sudden ?Is death really sudden ? Sudden to us but as soon as you are born ,your 'date' has already well been cast in iron ! You cannot change that even a second !The scenarios of your death can somewhat be a variable :Death by drowning , plane crash , MVA's , sudden death of a brain haemorrhage , fatal heart attack ,chronic brain or heart failure , kidney failures ,cancers and so on and so forth .Some may appear sudden some insidious , but all to the family members and individual involved seemingly 'untimely ' .
In some it may appear as a 'relief' ie in people with chronic debilitating diseases , in situation of prolong dementia , death is a relief to both patients and care givers especially the long suffering spouses .I know this because my elder brother died last year after 10 years of dementia .After the initial period of grief when we look back that was a relief for everyone around him .
What about those young chaps in Palestine who have decided that there will be more meaning in the deaths than to carry on living meaningless lives under a perceived ' repressive Israeli regime supported by and equally belligerent West ' .All avenues in the last 60 years leading to nowhere except more denials and more repression .Death to them is just like walking 'from a room feeling like a hot furnace thru a door into an air-coditioned heaven ' .
Some random thots on Death ,I must get on with the clinic ,Shan my Clinic assistant frowned at me to indicate some of patients are already making 'animal'noise outside there for the long delay ! More structured thots on death later, if you guys can bear this 'depressive mood ' of mine ! Still Dr Shuiab's death hits me like a brick wall !
Dr Nik Howk
Yesterday , while busy going through my morning clinic list ,I received a call from a clinic staff of Dr Shuiab ,a classmate ,Family Physician practising in Kampong Bharu : He died early morning ,in University Hospital ,presumably from heart failure following a massive heart attack .
My work involve me to think about 'man's fragility and mortality' all the time from from morning till evening even in the seemingly 'fit and healthy individuals passing my door just for a simple annual examination' ,call in a paranoia or whatever ,but after 30 over years in 'the business' , just like any hard nosed top gun entrepreneur ,you have to develop a 'bottom line' approach to your patients ,your clients :ie what is the chance of this individual being seen around end of this year , next 5 years ,will he make it to his 60th birthday etc etc on the basis of limited statistical clinical data I have just from the 'cardiological and endovascular viewpoint I have .Taking away the other variables of a fatal motor vehicle accidents ,latent cancer ,suicides etc etc of course .
A hardnose clinical assessment all the time ,never discussed or divulge unless to the very few ,who really ask .In my experience ,in the ones who really need to know amongst my patients ,very few really want to know and ask .
Still a classmate's demise even at 56 hit me like a speeding car crashing on a brick wall .Time's up .Think of you own mortality .Average lifespan of Malaysian males ,74 ,75 ? .Mashaallah 'we' are heading there already !What if I am diagnosed with a terminal lung cancer tomorrow ?Like another colleague the other day walking in the clinic with just vague weight loss and abdominal discomfort and found on CT scan to have terminal 'pancreatic ca' . Or TS Nazamuddin ,a former occasional patient years back who went to LA for his wife's medical check up but instead brought back in a cold coffin 2 months later ,of 'metastatic lung ca' .And another friend ,Nik Aziz formerly of Petronas ,fighting for his life ,in Selayang Hospital also of lung cancer . And that 35 year dog trainer in Cardiac ward with a heart as big as a' football' with idiopathic dilated congestive cardiomyopathy with only a left ventricular function of 15 % .He asked me gingerly yesterday whether he can get back to his favourite badminton game next month .I was not sure whether he can survive walking to the 'loo' on his own safely even while in the hospital ,preoccupied in my own thought about possible litigation if the unwanted cardiac arrest actually do happen in such compromising circumstances .Knowing that this chap on good statistical basis will improve to go back to his dogs and more than 99 .9 % sure he does not want me to tell him what is in store for him in the next 6 months , 1 year of 5 years .
That is the burden and realm of the cardiologists !
And yet still Dr Shuiab's sudden death hit me like a brick .But is death really sudden ?Is death really sudden ? Sudden to us but as soon as you are born ,your 'date' has already well been cast in iron ! You cannot change that even a second !The scenarios of your death can somewhat be a variable :Death by drowning , plane crash , MVA's , sudden death of a brain haemorrhage , fatal heart attack ,chronic brain or heart failure , kidney failures ,cancers and so on and so forth .Some may appear sudden some insidious , but all to the family members and individual involved seemingly 'untimely ' .
In some it may appear as a 'relief' ie in people with chronic debilitating diseases , in situation of prolong dementia , death is a relief to both patients and care givers especially the long suffering spouses .I know this because my elder brother died last year after 10 years of dementia .After the initial period of grief when we look back that was a relief for everyone around him .
What about those young chaps in Palestine who have decided that there will be more meaning in the deaths than to carry on living meaningless lives under a perceived ' repressive Israeli regime supported by and equally belligerent West ' .All avenues in the last 60 years leading to nowhere except more denials and more repression .Death to them is just like walking 'from a room feeling like a hot furnace thru a door into an air-coditioned heaven ' .
Some random thots on Death ,I must get on with the clinic ,Shan my Clinic assistant frowned at me to indicate some of patients are already making 'animal'noise outside there for the long delay ! More structured thots on death later, if you guys can bear this 'depressive mood ' of mine ! Still Dr Shuiab's death hits me like a brick wall !
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Az Zumar [ Letter 39 : Verses 70 ,71 ]
Friends ,
Surah Az Zumar ends with the Doomsday scenario of hell and heaven and verse 70 and 71 are very definitive ,and send a chill in my bones :
'And each soul is paid in full for what it did .And He is best aware of what they do .[70] And those who disbelieve are driven unto hell in troops till when they reach it and the gates thereof are opened ,and the warders thereof say unto them : Come there not unto you messengers of your own ,reciting unto you the revelations of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this your Day ? They say : Yea ,verily .But the word of doom for disbelievers is full filled .[71] '
The finality of the moment ! Sealed and delivered .We have to accept that currently most of us are in a state of varying level of 'disbelief' ,even from among the very best of us because faith in essence is always in a dynamic state of flux , like the AC current.The onus is on us to prepare ourselves for that 'Day when neither wealth nor any number of children' could vouch for us .Have a good ,productive week ahead ! The average clever and wise Muslim enjoys life to the full for the moment but also lives in 2 world , the present and Alam Akhirat .He is a child of the moment ,seizing life to the brim , but always mindful that he could be called to his Lord just before the next breath ! An exhilarating way certainly to live life ! That would be a safe bet if you are a betting man !
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Az Zumar ends with the Doomsday scenario of hell and heaven and verse 70 and 71 are very definitive ,and send a chill in my bones :
'And each soul is paid in full for what it did .And He is best aware of what they do .[70] And those who disbelieve are driven unto hell in troops till when they reach it and the gates thereof are opened ,and the warders thereof say unto them : Come there not unto you messengers of your own ,reciting unto you the revelations of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this your Day ? They say : Yea ,verily .But the word of doom for disbelievers is full filled .[71] '
The finality of the moment ! Sealed and delivered .We have to accept that currently most of us are in a state of varying level of 'disbelief' ,even from among the very best of us because faith in essence is always in a dynamic state of flux , like the AC current.The onus is on us to prepare ourselves for that 'Day when neither wealth nor any number of children' could vouch for us .Have a good ,productive week ahead ! The average clever and wise Muslim enjoys life to the full for the moment but also lives in 2 world , the present and Alam Akhirat .He is a child of the moment ,seizing life to the brim , but always mindful that he could be called to his Lord just before the next breath ! An exhilarating way certainly to live life ! That would be a safe bet if you are a betting man !
Dr Nik Howk
FW: [jublintan65] Pearl and Gem : A Day in the Life of a Ritual Muslim
Friends ,
Since someone famous[ by now a world famous blogger] brought up the subject of 'ritual Muslim' recently with the conjecture that it is alright to 'wine , dine and be merry' and thus the label 'ritual muslim', a contemporary man of the world ,all knowing,all sensing but still essentially MUSLIM.Let us examine a typical schematic day in the life of what a real'ritual muslim' go through .He usually wakes up at the break of dawn or before . His Ist doa of the day on sitting up in bed would be :' Praise be to the Lord who has given me back my life after my death .........' . .The Azan from the mosque,if he lives near one ,is his 'hotel' wake up call .Usually goes to do mosque for the Ist congregational prayer of the day or does Subuh with his family ,waking up the still sleepy wife and children.More often than not the wife and children will grumble but wake up all the same .Typical household !
'In the name of Allah ,the Beneficient,the Merciful ,[1] Praise be to Allah ,Lord of the Worlds [2]The Beneficient ,the Merciful [2]Owner of the day of Judgement ,[4]Thee alone we worship ,Thee alone we ask for help .[5]Show us the straight path ,[6]The path of those whom Thou ha s favoured .Not the path of those who go astray .[7] '
Who are those that 'Thou has favoured ' and 'those that go astray ' you may ask ?Most experts and ulamak in tafseer thought the favoured ones are the early Jews , recalcitrant followers of Isaac ,Jacob ,David ,Solomon and a string of prophets following them .They were the 'favoured ones' and the present day descendents still think so as the rest of the world are just ' monkeys ' .'Those who go astray' , ulamak in tafseer mostly held the view these are the 'lost sheeps' following St Paul's 1 in 3 and 3 in 1.They wandered away form the basic teaching of Jesus who carried down the Message brought down from Abraham .What about the rest ? Also' lost sheeps' I suppose .
We go back to the 'ritual Muslim' .After Subuh he went off to the marketplace .As labourer trying to earn his daily morsel of rezeki .As office worker ,manager , boss ,doctor ,engineer ,teacher ,housewife ,leader of commerce ,politician ,maybe even Prime Minister .Bearing the burden and mission statement of Surah Al Fatihah .Come Zohor ,Asar ,Magrib and finally Isyak ,he is again reminded of his mission statement to just remain 'on the straight path ' ,veering neither to the left nor to the right and most importantly not to go ' astray ' .When the time come for him to retire at night ,in the privacy of his bed he read the following short Surahs :
'Say : I seek refuge in the Lord of Mankind ,[1]The King of mankind ,[2]The God of mankind ,[3]From the evil of the Sneaking Whisperer ,[4]Who whispered in the hearts of man ,[5] of Jinn and of mankind.[6]' .................Surah An Nas {Letter 114 ]
'Say : I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak[1]From the evil of that He created ,[2]From the evil of the darkness which it is intense ,[3]And from the evil of malignant witchcraft .[4]And from the evil of the envier when he envieth .[5] '..SurahAl Falak
'Say :He is Allah ,the One ! [1]Allah the eternally Besought of all [2]He begeteth not nor was begotten[3] And there is none comparable to Him [4]
Surah Al Ikhlas [ Letter 112]
Then the ritual Muslim takes his final Shahadah for the day :' There is no god but Allah ,and Muhammad is His messenger ' .With that finality he goes to sleep knowing that yet again his soul will return to the lap of his Maker , like any other thousand nights before ,and with the positive hope that if his maker so decide to not let his soul back to him in the coming morning ,that at least he will be counted amongst ' the blessed souls' of the 'sadikins , the syuhadas and the shahabats' . Positive hopes .Not as bad as you might have been told , this 'animal' called 'ritual Muslim '
Unfortunately people like Raja Petra ,members of SIS [ I would rather call them SOS ] and even some SYT's writing for NST ,Malay Mail etc etc have their own 'liberal' definition of the personality embodying the man known as 'Ritual Muslim ' .By their liberal definition ,everything goes .Mashaallah !
Dr Nik Howk
Since someone famous[ by now a world famous blogger] brought up the subject of 'ritual Muslim' recently with the conjecture that it is alright to 'wine , dine and be merry' and thus the label 'ritual muslim', a contemporary man of the world ,all knowing,all sensing but still essentially MUSLIM.Let us examine a typical schematic day in the life of what a real'ritual muslim' go through .He usually wakes up at the break of dawn or before . His Ist doa of the day on sitting up in bed would be :' Praise be to the Lord who has given me back my life after my death .........' . .The Azan from the mosque,if he lives near one ,is his 'hotel' wake up call .Usually goes to do mosque for the Ist congregational prayer of the day or does Subuh with his family ,waking up the still sleepy wife and children.More often than not the wife and children will grumble but wake up all the same .Typical household !
'In the name of Allah ,the Beneficient,the Merciful ,[1] Praise be to Allah ,Lord of the Worlds [2]The Beneficient ,the Merciful [2]Owner of the day of Judgement ,[4]Thee alone we worship ,Thee alone we ask for help .[5]Show us the straight path ,[6]The path of those whom Thou ha s favoured .Not the path of those who go astray .[7] '
Who are those that 'Thou has favoured ' and 'those that go astray ' you may ask ?Most experts and ulamak in tafseer thought the favoured ones are the early Jews , recalcitrant followers of Isaac ,Jacob ,David ,Solomon and a string of prophets following them .They were the 'favoured ones' and the present day descendents still think so as the rest of the world are just ' monkeys ' .'Those who go astray' , ulamak in tafseer mostly held the view these are the 'lost sheeps' following St Paul's 1 in 3 and 3 in 1.They wandered away form the basic teaching of Jesus who carried down the Message brought down from Abraham .What about the rest ? Also' lost sheeps' I suppose .
We go back to the 'ritual Muslim' .After Subuh he went off to the marketplace .As labourer trying to earn his daily morsel of rezeki .As office worker ,manager , boss ,doctor ,engineer ,teacher ,housewife ,leader of commerce ,politician ,maybe even Prime Minister .Bearing the burden and mission statement of Surah Al Fatihah .Come Zohor ,Asar ,Magrib and finally Isyak ,he is again reminded of his mission statement to just remain 'on the straight path ' ,veering neither to the left nor to the right and most importantly not to go ' astray ' .When the time come for him to retire at night ,in the privacy of his bed he read the following short Surahs :
'Say : I seek refuge in the Lord of Mankind ,[1]The King of mankind ,[2]The God of mankind ,[3]From the evil of the Sneaking Whisperer ,[4]Who whispered in the hearts of man ,[5] of Jinn and of mankind.[6]' .................Surah An Nas {Letter 114 ]
'Say : I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak[1]From the evil of that He created ,[2]From the evil of the darkness which it is intense ,[3]And from the evil of malignant witchcraft .[4]And from the evil of the envier when he envieth .[5] '..SurahAl Falak
'Say :He is Allah ,the One ! [1]Allah the eternally Besought of all [2]He begeteth not nor was begotten[3] And there is none comparable to Him [4]
Surah Al Ikhlas [ Letter 112]
Then the ritual Muslim takes his final Shahadah for the day :' There is no god but Allah ,and Muhammad is His messenger ' .With that finality he goes to sleep knowing that yet again his soul will return to the lap of his Maker , like any other thousand nights before ,and with the positive hope that if his maker so decide to not let his soul back to him in the coming morning ,that at least he will be counted amongst ' the blessed souls' of the 'sadikins , the syuhadas and the shahabats' . Positive hopes .Not as bad as you might have been told , this 'animal' called 'ritual Muslim '
Unfortunately people like Raja Petra ,members of SIS [ I would rather call them SOS ] and even some SYT's writing for NST ,Malay Mail etc etc have their own 'liberal' definition of the personality embodying the man known as 'Ritual Muslim ' .By their liberal definition ,everything goes .Mashaallah !
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Luqman [ letter 30 :Verses 16 to 20, 33 to 34 ]
Ru,Shasha,Jo & Nina,
Surah Luqman is one of the most beautiful Surah in the Quran .Beautiful in the sense that is it relatively quite short ie just 30 ayats,not so difficult for you young people to go through,and the meanings are quite crystal clear ! You guys modern day children are spoil to the hilt ! Also beautiful from Papa's viewpoint because it deals with subjects most modern parents ,even Papa ,find difficult to discuss with their offsprings :parental-offspring devotion ,humility,piety ,knowledge ,and wisdom .As Papa has told Nadzru just recently in this time and age when everything has been codified [ was surprised to see the roof of our small house in Google Earth the other day ! ] , do not take the view that since everything is there[ in the bloody internet ] you guys know everything !,Information is not knowledge and a collection of knowledge is far from wisdom .
'O my dear son ! though it be but the weight of a grain of mustard-seed ,and though it be in a rock ,or in the heavens ,or in the earth ,Allah will bring it forth .Lo! Allah is Subtile ,Aware .[16] O my dear son ! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquities ,and persevere whatever may befall thee .Lo ! that is of the steadfast heart of things .[17] Turn thy cheek in scorn toward folk ,nor walk with perkness in the land . Lo ! Allah loveth not braggart boaster .[18] Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice .Lo ! the harshest of all voice is the voice of the ass .[19] See ye not how Allah hath made serviceable unto you whatever is in the earth and hath loaded you with the favours both without and within ? Yet of mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah ,without knowledge or guidance or a scripture giving light .[20] '
The Surah ends with two beautiful Ayats with cogent meanings which we parents know in our heart of heart ,at the end of time we will not be there for you and similarly you for us .We sail different ships .Each individual answers for his own !
'O Mankind ! Keep your duty to your Lord and fear a Day when the parent will not be able to avail the child in aught ,nor the child to availSurah Luqman is one of the most beautiful Surah in the Quran .Beautiful in the sense that is it relatively quite short ie just 30 ayats,not so difficult for you young people to go through,and the meanings are quite crystal clear ! You guys modern day children are spoil to the hilt ! Also beautiful from Papa's viewpoint because it deals with subjects most modern parents ,even Papa ,find difficult to discuss with their offsprings :parental-offspring devotion ,humility,piety ,knowledge ,and wisdom .As Papa has told Nadzru just recently in this time and age when everything has been codified [ was surprised to see the roof of our small house in Google Earth the other day ! ] , do not take the view that since everything is there[ in the bloody internet ] you guys know everything !,Information is not knowledge and a collection of knowledge is far from wisdom .
'O my dear son ! though it be but the weight of a grain of mustard-seed ,and though it be in a rock ,or in the heavens ,or in the earth ,Allah will bring it forth .Lo! Allah is Subtile ,Aware .[16] O my dear son ! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquities ,and persevere whatever may befall thee .Lo ! that is of the steadfast heart of things .[17] Turn thy cheek in scorn toward folk ,nor walk with perkness in the land . Lo ! Allah loveth not braggart boaster .[18] Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice .Lo ! the harshest of all voice is the voice of the ass .[19] See ye not how Allah hath made serviceable unto you whatever is in the earth and hath loaded you with the favours both without and within ? Yet of mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah ,without knowledge or guidance or a scripture giving light .[20] '
The Surah ends with two beautiful Ayats with cogent meanings which we parents know in our heart of heart ,at the end of time we will not be there for you and similarly you for us .We sail different ships .Each individual answers for his own !
the parent .Lo ! Allah's promise is the very truth .Let not the life of the World beguile you ,nor let the deceiver beguile you ,in regard to Allah .[33] Lo ! Allah with Him is the knowledge of the Hour .He sendeth down the rain ,and knoweth that which is in the wombs .No soul knoweth what it will earn tomorrow ,and no soul knoweth in what land it will die .Allah is knower , Aware .[34]Papa has given you guys education as wings to fly .I want you guys to soar .But always be guided by the Quran and Sunnah ! Then and only then insyaallah we may find each other on the same divide .Insyaallah !
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Shuara [ Letter 26 :Verses 86 to 89 ]
Friends ,
Surah Al Shuara ,one of the longer Surah in the Quran containing altogether 227 verses ,in the main recollect the epic stories around Moses and Abraham. Abraham 's father a corporate guy of that time ,chief idol maker in a society not much probably different from that of Bali , Indonesia now ,where prayers and offerings form a major part of their lives .If one care to ask one of those prettily dressed ladies of Bali why she is doing this and that and spending a significant sum of their meagre income on flowers for the gods the answer will be simple :Our fathers and forefathers and their forefathers used to do this .
Abraham's devotion and love to his errant father is exemplified in the following verses .To me this also reflects a tragedy in our lives :there will come a time when we will be separated from our loved ones on the basis of our Din and aqidah ,
'And forgive my father .Lo ! he is of those who err [86].And Abase me not on the day when they are raised ,[87] The day when wealth and sons avail not [any man] [88]. Save him who bringeth unto Allah a whole heart [89].'
The key phrase here I think is 'Save him who bringeth unto Allah his whole heart ' .The question we need to ask ourselves is :Are we already there or are we just like that prettily clad Balinese ladies happily going through life bathe in ignorance and complacence .
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Al Shuara ,one of the longer Surah in the Quran containing altogether 227 verses ,in the main recollect the epic stories around Moses and Abraham. Abraham 's father a corporate guy of that time ,chief idol maker in a society not much probably different from that of Bali , Indonesia now ,where prayers and offerings form a major part of their lives .If one care to ask one of those prettily dressed ladies of Bali why she is doing this and that and spending a significant sum of their meagre income on flowers for the gods the answer will be simple :Our fathers and forefathers and their forefathers used to do this .
Abraham's devotion and love to his errant father is exemplified in the following verses .To me this also reflects a tragedy in our lives :there will come a time when we will be separated from our loved ones on the basis of our Din and aqidah ,
'And forgive my father .Lo ! he is of those who err [86].And Abase me not on the day when they are raised ,[87] The day when wealth and sons avail not [any man] [88]. Save him who bringeth unto Allah a whole heart [89].'
The key phrase here I think is 'Save him who bringeth unto Allah his whole heart ' .The question we need to ask ourselves is :Are we already there or are we just like that prettily clad Balinese ladies happily going through life bathe in ignorance and complacence .
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Nur [Letter 24 : Verses 35 ,36 ,40 ]
Friends ,
Surah Al Nur in the main deals with the important subject of man's relationship within his inner family ,wife or wives and servants within his inner household .Women's modesty and mode of dressing . The Surah opens up on the all important issues of innuedoes and slander of sexual in nature .Hudud for 'zina' to the uninitiated Western mind would appear horrendous but categorically where do you find 4 pairs of 'eyes' belonging to people of high repute before a suspect could ever be sentenced . The borders and rules are there but in spirit Islam respect privacy and at the end of the day you cannot run anywhere because 'Allah is All Seeing' . No use for slander and dissension .
To me Surah Al Nur is full of beautiful expressions and allegory and for people whose language is Arabic , this must be a beautiful Surah rich with beautiful expressions , even in old English one can sense that :
'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth .The similitude of this light is as a niche wherein is a lamp .The lampis in a glass .The glass is as it were a Shining Star . [This lamp is] kindled from a blessed tree ,an olive neither of the East or the West ,where oil would almost glow forth [of itself] though no fire touch it .Light upon Light .Allah guideth upon this light who He will .And Allah setteth forth for mankind similitudes ,for Allah is knower of all things .[35] [This lamp is found] in the houses which Allah hath allowed to be exalted and that His name shall be remembered therein .Therein do offer praise to Him at morn and evening .[36] '
Mashaallah , subhanaallah how beautiful it can be ! And move on to Verse 40 for comparision :
'Or in the darkness on a vast abysmal sea .There covered him a wave ,above which is a wave above which is a cloud .Layer upon layer of darkness .When he holdeth out his hand he scarsely can see it . And he for whom Allah hath not appointed light ,for him therein no light .[40] '
Reminded me of my very own frantic feeling several years back when I was separated by swift underwater current while night scuba diving out in the open sea off Tioman , Terenggannu .' ....darkness on a vast abysmal sea .Waves upon waves never ending above which dark star-less cloud . Layer and layer of darkness'
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Al Nur in the main deals with the important subject of man's relationship within his inner family ,wife or wives and servants within his inner household .Women's modesty and mode of dressing . The Surah opens up on the all important issues of innuedoes and slander of sexual in nature .Hudud for 'zina' to the uninitiated Western mind would appear horrendous but categorically where do you find 4 pairs of 'eyes' belonging to people of high repute before a suspect could ever be sentenced . The borders and rules are there but in spirit Islam respect privacy and at the end of the day you cannot run anywhere because 'Allah is All Seeing' . No use for slander and dissension .
To me Surah Al Nur is full of beautiful expressions and allegory and for people whose language is Arabic , this must be a beautiful Surah rich with beautiful expressions , even in old English one can sense that :
'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth .The similitude of this light is as a niche wherein is a lamp .The lampis in a glass .The glass is as it were a Shining Star . [This lamp is] kindled from a blessed tree ,an olive neither of the East or the West ,where oil would almost glow forth [of itself] though no fire touch it .Light upon Light .Allah guideth upon this light who He will .And Allah setteth forth for mankind similitudes ,for Allah is knower of all things .[35] [This lamp is found] in the houses which Allah hath allowed to be exalted and that His name shall be remembered therein .Therein do offer praise to Him at morn and evening .[36] '
Mashaallah , subhanaallah how beautiful it can be ! And move on to Verse 40 for comparision :
'Or in the darkness on a vast abysmal sea .There covered him a wave ,above which is a wave above which is a cloud .Layer upon layer of darkness .When he holdeth out his hand he scarsely can see it . And he for whom Allah hath not appointed light ,for him therein no light .[40] '
Reminded me of my very own frantic feeling several years back when I was separated by swift underwater current while night scuba diving out in the open sea off Tioman , Terenggannu .' ....darkness on a vast abysmal sea .Waves upon waves never ending above which dark star-less cloud . Layer and layer of darkness'
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Anbiya [ Letter 21 : Verse 30 ]
Friends ,
Science cannot be a tool to validate Islam . How can it be when our knowledge and collective wisdom of the Universe before us are anologous to feeble attempt of 'ants nibbling at only the very edges of a vast ocean of knowledge ' .At best we are just blind men looking at the proverbial elephant at different angles .But alas , at least through science we can be sure we are no longer looking into the anal orifice of the massive creature and saying YES !THIS IS THE ELEPHANT .Some cocky individuals still do though .Armed with superior intelligence beyond mere mortals like the rest of us ,Carl Sagan ,Stephan Hawkings et al could still not separate the tree from the branches !
Poor souls ! Knowledge ,superior as ever , without Wisdom oftentimes lead man to nowhere .
Was just going thru Surah Al Anbiya just now and came across this nugget :
'Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were one piece , then We parted them , and We made every living thingof water ? Will they not believe .[30]'
The Big Bang Theory which is universally accepted theory by mostly all theoretical and space physicists dealing with the cosmos ,on the birth of our universe in essense says ' the universe started as a very small ,minute but finite point [ point of singularity in quantum physics term..] which 'exploded' many million years ago giving birth to subsequently the stars the planets in the millions of galaxies .
Our universe is an ever expanding entity '.
90 percent of all living entities , mammals like us , reptiles , insects etcetc ,are H2O , water .Enough food for thought this Friday morning .
Dr Nik Howk
PS: Islam validates Knowledge .Assamualaikum .
March 27th 2008
Science cannot be a tool to validate Islam . How can it be when our knowledge and collective wisdom of the Universe before us are anologous to feeble attempt of 'ants nibbling at only the very edges of a vast ocean of knowledge ' .At best we are just blind men looking at the proverbial elephant at different angles .But alas , at least through science we can be sure we are no longer looking into the anal orifice of the massive creature and saying YES !THIS IS THE ELEPHANT .Some cocky individuals still do though .Armed with superior intelligence beyond mere mortals like the rest of us ,Carl Sagan ,Stephan Hawkings et al could still not separate the tree from the branches !
Poor souls ! Knowledge ,superior as ever , without Wisdom oftentimes lead man to nowhere .
Was just going thru Surah Al Anbiya just now and came across this nugget :
'Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were one piece , then We parted them , and We made every living thingof water ? Will they not believe .[30]'
The Big Bang Theory which is universally accepted theory by mostly all theoretical and space physicists dealing with the cosmos ,on the birth of our universe in essense says ' the universe started as a very small ,minute but finite point [ point of singularity in quantum physics term..] which 'exploded' many million years ago giving birth to subsequently the stars the planets in the millions of galaxies .
Our universe is an ever expanding entity '.
90 percent of all living entities , mammals like us , reptiles , insects etcetc ,are H2O , water .Enough food for thought this Friday morning .
Dr Nik Howk
PS: Islam validates Knowledge .Assamualaikum .
March 27th 2008
Pete ,
If you are a student of Islam you will be in a better position than most of us born of Muslim parentage partly because you will start like a 'white sheet of cloth' devoid of the excess baggage of the 'assumption' that we already 'know all that is to know about Islam ' so common amongst those of us given Islam on a silver platter .For New Converts like you steeped in childhood ' sunday school biblical tradition' perhaps of all the Surahs in the Quran , Surah Mariam will certainly bring back memories of your happy times on sundays long past .
Indeed Christians and Muslim share many things in common but because of human shortcomings and lack of wisdom and knowledge amongst people of both traditions we have this ongoing Crusade going on long after the bones of Salahuddin Al Ayyubbi and the likes of Richard The Lion Hearted et al had perished with the sand of time .
Just let us ponder at the beauty , compassion and mercy of God's word from Surah Mariam from verses [27] to [35] as in the Quran from [ http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/ ] :
'Then she brought him to her own folk , carrying him .They said : O Mary ! Thou has come with an amazing thing [27]. O sister of Aaron ! Thy father was not a wicked man nor thy mother a harlot [28].Then she pointed to him.They saith : How can we talk to one who is in a cradle , a young boy ? [29] .He spoke : Lo ! I am the slave of Allah .He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet ,[30] and hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be , and had enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive ,[31] And [had made me] dutiful toward her who bore me , and hath not made me arrogant , unblest [32] .Peace on me the day I was born , and the day I die , and the day I shall be raised alive ! [33] Such was Jesus ,son of Mary :[this is ] a statement of truth concerning which they doubt [34] .It befitteth not [ the Majesty of ] Allah that he should take upon himself a son . Glory be to Him ! When he decreed a thing , He saith it only : Be [Kun ] , and it is [ Fayakun] . [35] .'
If you are a student of Islam you will be in a better position than most of us born of Muslim parentage partly because you will start like a 'white sheet of cloth' devoid of the excess baggage of the 'assumption' that we already 'know all that is to know about Islam ' so common amongst those of us given Islam on a silver platter .For New Converts like you steeped in childhood ' sunday school biblical tradition' perhaps of all the Surahs in the Quran , Surah Mariam will certainly bring back memories of your happy times on sundays long past .
Indeed Christians and Muslim share many things in common but because of human shortcomings and lack of wisdom and knowledge amongst people of both traditions we have this ongoing Crusade going on long after the bones of Salahuddin Al Ayyubbi and the likes of Richard The Lion Hearted et al had perished with the sand of time .
Just let us ponder at the beauty , compassion and mercy of God's word from Surah Mariam from verses [27] to [35] as in the Quran from [ http://www.quranexplorer.com
'Then she brought him to her own folk , carrying him .They said : O Mary ! Thou has come with an amazing thing [27]. O sister of Aaron ! Thy father was not a wicked man nor thy mother a harlot [28].Then she pointed to him.They saith : How can we talk to one who is in a cradle , a young boy ? [29] .He spoke : Lo ! I am the slave of Allah .He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet ,[30] and hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be , and had enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive ,[31] And [had made me] dutiful toward her who bore me , and hath not made me arrogant , unblest [32] .Peace on me the day I was born , and the day I die , and the day I shall be raised alive ! [33] Such was Jesus ,son of Mary :[this is ] a statement of truth concerning which they doubt [34] .It befitteth not [ the Majesty of ] Allah that he should take upon himself a son . Glory be to Him ! When he decreed a thing , He saith it only : Be [Kun ] , and it is [ Fayakun] . [35] .'
A group of early Muslims during theearly days of Islam in Mecca ,took refuge from persecution back home in Mecca to neutral Abbysinia then under a 'Christian' king .A member of the group recited Surah Mariam infront of the king . His heart melted as this was the missing link that his heart had been searching for ,for years .The Muslims were given permission to live there . The king finally embraced the 'new Islam ' . He was already a Muslim anyway . Adam , Eve , Noah , Abraham , Isaac , Jacob ,Zachariah , David , Solomon , Jesus , Ismael , ....they were all Muslims .Mohamed was just the last of the missing link !
Dr Nik Howk
March 24th 2008
Dr Nik Howk
March 24th 2008
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Shuara [ Letter 26 :Verses 86 to 89 ]
Friends ,
Surah Al Shuara ,one of the longer Surah in the Quran
containing altogether 227 verses ,in the main recollect the epic
stories around Moses and Abraham. Abraham 's father a corporate guy of
that time ,chief idol maker in a society not much probably different
from that of Bali , Indonesia now ,where prayers and offerings form a
major part of their lives .
If one care to ask one of those prettily
dressed ladies of Bali why she is doing this and that and spending a
significant sum of their meagre income on flowers for the gods the
answer will be simple :Our fathers and forefathers and their
forefathers used to do this .
Abraham's devotion and love to his errant father is
exemplified in the following verses .To me this also reflects a
tragedy in our lives :there will come a time when we will be separated
from our loved ones on the basis of our Din and aqidah ,
'And forgive my father .Lo ! he is of those who err [86].And Abase me
not on the day when they are raised ,[87] The day when wealth and sons
avail not [any man] [88]. Save him who bringeth unto Allah a whole
heart [89].'
The key phrase here I think is 'Save him who bringeth unto
Allah his whole heart ' .The question we need to ask ourselves is :Are
we already there or are we just like that prettily clad Balinese
ladies happily going through life bathe in ignorance and complacence .
Dr Nik Howk
February 15th 2008
Surah Al Shuara ,one of the longer Surah in the Quran
containing altogether 227 verses ,in the main recollect the epic
stories around Moses and Abraham. Abraham 's father a corporate guy of
that time ,chief idol maker in a society not much probably different
from that of Bali , Indonesia now ,where prayers and offerings form a
major part of their lives .
If one care to ask one of those prettily
dressed ladies of Bali why she is doing this and that and spending a
significant sum of their meagre income on flowers for the gods the
answer will be simple :Our fathers and forefathers and their
forefathers used to do this .
Abraham's devotion and love to his errant father is
exemplified in the following verses .To me this also reflects a
tragedy in our lives :there will come a time when we will be separated
from our loved ones on the basis of our Din and aqidah ,
'And forgive my father .Lo ! he is of those who err [86].And Abase me
not on the day when they are raised ,[87] The day when wealth and sons
avail not [any man] [88]. Save him who bringeth unto Allah a whole
heart [89].'
The key phrase here I think is 'Save him who bringeth unto
Allah his whole heart ' .The question we need to ask ourselves is :Are
we already there or are we just like that prettily clad Balinese
ladies happily going through life bathe in ignorance and complacence .
Dr Nik Howk
February 15th 2008
http://www.quranexplorer.com/
Friends ,
Read http://quranexplorer.com/ .Little by little . Everyday
of the year .Insyallah I can assure you life would not be the same
again .While we are in mid Ramadhan ,get a copy of Khuram Murad's
translation of" Khutabat Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi " under the new
title of" Let Us Be Muslim " .I bought mine in Merlbourne .You could
probably get it here in KL at Kinokunya KLCC . Mawdudi was a resurgent
Islamic scholar in Punjab in the early 40's and in the book he
addressed mainly the peasant farmers in Punjab at that time
Repartration but his message is nonetheless universal and timeless
more so in this era of Islamophobia and Muslim bashing as evidenced
so much in this post 911 era .
Reading his book is like walking up a
gentle hill and at the end chapter you fall down from a cliff just
very suddenly .Hamid Karzai ,Bush and Blair et al would probably
arrange for a 'decent accident ' for scholars like Mawdudi .
You will be empowered .
You may wonder what empowerment
may do to you .It is a 'dirty' word mostly used by feminists and the
corporate guys .Here it means total freedom except from The One And
Only . In Kelantanese lingo it is termed Gedebe !
The Kelantanese
always have specific terms for everything . Angina which is chest
pain due to ischaemic heart in Kelantan is called 'sekok ' .I have not
come across a more precise term for this ailment in any other
Malaysian dialects .
Dr Nik Howk
30th January 2008
Read http://quranexplorer.com/ .Little by little . Everyday
of the year .Insyallah I can assure you life would not be the same
again .While we are in mid Ramadhan ,get a copy of Khuram Murad's
translation of" Khutabat Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi " under the new
title of" Let Us Be Muslim " .I bought mine in Merlbourne .You could
probably get it here in KL at Kinokunya KLCC . Mawdudi was a resurgent
Islamic scholar in Punjab in the early 40's and in the book he
addressed mainly the peasant farmers in Punjab at that time
Repartration but his message is nonetheless universal and timeless
more so in this era of Islamophobia and Muslim bashing as evidenced
so much in this post 911 era .
Reading his book is like walking up a
gentle hill and at the end chapter you fall down from a cliff just
very suddenly .Hamid Karzai ,Bush and Blair et al would probably
arrange for a 'decent accident ' for scholars like Mawdudi .
You will be empowered .
You may wonder what empowerment
may do to you .It is a 'dirty' word mostly used by feminists and the
corporate guys .Here it means total freedom except from The One And
Only . In Kelantanese lingo it is termed Gedebe !
The Kelantanese
always have specific terms for everything . Angina which is chest
pain due to ischaemic heart in Kelantan is called 'sekok ' .I have not
come across a more precise term for this ailment in any other
Malaysian dialects .
Dr Nik Howk
30th January 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Rad [ Letter 13 , Verse 11 ]
Friends ,
This often repeated Verse 11 from Surah Al Rad sounds and mean differently in the context as it was always mention in the past .This classical English translation by Prickhall ,seem to imply a deeper meaning than the usual '' Tuhan tak akan tukar nasib orang Melayu jika kita orang Melayu sendiri tidak tukar nasib sendiri '' which normally imply an economic change of behaviour . From 'malas' jadi 'rajin' from tidakapa jadi kiasu :
'...Lo ! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they [ first ]change that which is in the heart , and if Allah willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it , nor have they a defender beside him [11] . '
Verse 11 from this Prickhall translation to me has a deeper meaning .''Kalau system sekolah2 dan universiti2 hang ikut system al kafirun ,system perundangan dan system perbankan , system pemikiran hang pun mengikut cara Yahudi yang Aku laknat, jangan hang harap Aku sebagai Boss Besar universe ini tukar hang punya nasib . Merempatlah kau dan cucu cicit kau dibawah telunjuk depa '' .
Perhaps when Saladin Al Ayyubi from Syria trounce the combined might of the Crusaders ,or when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror crossed the turbulent Bhosphorous Strait to beat the well entrenched Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople ,their '' hearts '' were made of steel by their faith in Islam .
Kita sekarang nak tukar gomen yang dok 'mengarut' berdecade decade' pun takut ,pasal takut susah nak ""cari makan" .
That is my understanding . Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
This often repeated Verse 11 from Surah Al Rad sounds and mean differently in the context as it was always mention in the past .This classical English translation by Prickhall ,seem to imply a deeper meaning than the usual '' Tuhan tak akan tukar nasib orang Melayu jika kita orang Melayu sendiri tidak tukar nasib sendiri '' which normally imply an economic change of behaviour . From 'malas' jadi 'rajin' from tidakapa jadi kiasu :
'...Lo ! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they [ first ]change that which is in the heart , and if Allah willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it , nor have they a defender beside him [11] . '
Verse 11 from this Prickhall translation to me has a deeper meaning .''Kalau system sekolah2 dan universiti2 hang ikut system al kafirun ,system perundangan dan system perbankan , system pemikiran hang pun mengikut cara Yahudi yang Aku laknat, jangan hang harap Aku sebagai Boss Besar universe ini tukar hang punya nasib . Merempatlah kau dan cucu cicit kau dibawah telunjuk depa '' .
Perhaps when Saladin Al Ayyubi from Syria trounce the combined might of the Crusaders ,or when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror crossed the turbulent Bhosphorous Strait to beat the well entrenched Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople ,their '' hearts '' were made of steel by their faith in Islam .
Kita sekarang nak tukar gomen yang dok 'mengarut' berdecade decade' pun takut ,pasal takut susah nak ""cari makan" .
That is my understanding . Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Yusuf{Joseph} ,Letter 12 , Ayat 1 to 111
Friends ,
Unlike other Surahs where the names [ for example Al Baqarah or Hud ] mostly were just mentioned in passing and were not the main theme of the Surah ,Surah Yusuf is mainly about Prophet Yusuf ibnu Yaacub [ Jacob ] ibnu Ishak [ Isaac ] ibnu Ibrahim [ Abraham ] .Great grand son of Prophet Ibrahim ,from the" Israeli" branch of the patriach Abraham .
Of the total 111 Ayats ,102 were about Yusuf , the 12th son of Yaacub , who through fate and sibling hate and jeolousy was catapulted from the heart of a god forsaken "Israeli Kampung" in Canaan into high society Egypt in the court of one of Phaorah's dignitary .
Surah Yusuf contain the epic parables of inter sibling rivalry and jeolousies ,stoic hope and prayer of an aging father ,divine gift of exceptional talent [ dream reader]and fine physical attributes ,Zuleika's unrequited love and lust ,deceit ,high soceity women's frustration ,lust and sexual exploits[ toy boys and all and also reminded me of present day Datins ,datin Seri and Puan Sri's high tea where rich bored women meet regularly while their much endowed husbands and captains of industry were busy with someone else ] .
Social injustice and trump up charges [ sound like we are in familiar territory ] which lead Yusuf to land up in jail .Innocence , honesty ,honour and the sweet "revenge" of forgiveness and benovelence lead to high matters of state administration [ Treasurer for Pharoah ] .Yusuf's story ended with a show of humility in exaltation ,, fine and deep filial love ,and the beauty of Piety and Truth .
101 Ayats on Yusuf and the last 10 a reminder to Muhammad [pbuh] to be steadfast in his monumental mission and struggle to change the mind set and landscape of jahiliah towards Piety and Truth .
Dr Nik Howk
Unlike other Surahs where the names [ for example Al Baqarah or Hud ] mostly were just mentioned in passing and were not the main theme of the Surah ,Surah Yusuf is mainly about Prophet Yusuf ibnu Yaacub [ Jacob ] ibnu Ishak [ Isaac ] ibnu Ibrahim [ Abraham ] .Great grand son of Prophet Ibrahim ,from the" Israeli" branch of the patriach Abraham .
Of the total 111 Ayats ,102 were about Yusuf , the 12th son of Yaacub , who through fate and sibling hate and jeolousy was catapulted from the heart of a god forsaken "Israeli Kampung" in Canaan into high society Egypt in the court of one of Phaorah's dignitary .
Surah Yusuf contain the epic parables of inter sibling rivalry and jeolousies ,stoic hope and prayer of an aging father ,divine gift of exceptional talent [ dream reader]and fine physical attributes ,Zuleika's unrequited love and lust ,deceit ,high soceity women's frustration ,lust and sexual exploits[ toy boys and all and also reminded me of present day Datins ,datin Seri and Puan Sri's high tea where rich bored women meet regularly while their much endowed husbands and captains of industry were busy with someone else ] .
Social injustice and trump up charges [ sound like we are in familiar territory ] which lead Yusuf to land up in jail .Innocence , honesty ,honour and the sweet "revenge" of forgiveness and benovelence lead to high matters of state administration [ Treasurer for Pharoah ] .Yusuf's story ended with a show of humility in exaltation ,, fine and deep filial love ,and the beauty of Piety and Truth .
101 Ayats on Yusuf and the last 10 a reminder to Muhammad [pbuh] to be steadfast in his monumental mission and struggle to change the mind set and landscape of jahiliah towards Piety and Truth .
Pearls and Gem from Surah Hud [ Letter 11 . Verses 119 to 123 ]
Friends ,
Surah Hud , in the main ,consists of biblical epics of cycles and cycles of human's abhorrence of doing and following the universal message of Islam from Noah ,Lot ,Abraham ,Shuiab ,Salih ,Isa and right down to present day followers of Muhammad .Allah ended Surah Hud in no uncertain term of what is in store for this abhorrence :
"........Verily I shall fill hell with jinn and mankind together [119].And all that We relate unto thee of the story of messengers is in order that hereby We may make firm thy heart .And therein hath come unto thee the Truth and an exhortation and a reminder for believers [120]. And say unto those who believe not :Act according to your power . Lo ! We [too] are acting[121] .And Allah is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth , and unto Him the whole matter will be returned .So worship Him and put thy trust in Him . Lo ! thy Lord is not unaware of what ye[mortals] do [123] ."
Some of us who are very bright, politically powerful ,rich and famous, can go around thinking that money and power can buy freedom escape the right judgement , in our human court ,royal or unroyal commissions ,or hoard public fund or hoodwink the public ,but at the end of Time ,"......verily He shall fill hell with jinn and mankind together " .
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Hud , in the main ,consists of biblical epics of cycles and cycles of human's abhorrence of doing and following the universal message of Islam from Noah ,Lot ,Abraham ,Shuiab ,Salih ,Isa and right down to present day followers of Muhammad .Allah ended Surah Hud in no uncertain term of what is in store for this abhorrence :
"........Verily I shall fill hell with jinn and mankind together [119].And all that We relate unto thee of the story of messengers is in order that hereby We may make firm thy heart .And therein hath come unto thee the Truth and an exhortation and a reminder for believers [120]. And say unto those who believe not :Act according to your power . Lo ! We [too] are acting[121] .And Allah is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth , and unto Him the whole matter will be returned .So worship Him and put thy trust in Him . Lo ! thy Lord is not unaware of what ye[mortals] do [123] ."
Some of us who are very bright, politically powerful ,rich and famous, can go around thinking that money and power can buy freedom escape the right judgement , in our human court ,royal or unroyal commissions ,or hoard public fund or hoodwink the public ,but at the end of Time ,"......verily He shall fill hell with jinn and mankind together " .
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Hud [ Letter 11 , Verses 74 to 78]
Friends ,
Interestingly while some Ayats in the Quran have hidden 'meanings' requiring tafsir reading etc etc [ Ayat2 muthashabihah , correct me if I am wrong Aad ] , a great majority are self explanatory as the following in Surah Hud :
"And when the awe departed from Abraham ,and the glad news reached him , he pleaded with Us on behalf of the folk of Lot [74] .Lo ! Abraham was mild , imploring , penitent [75] .{It was said } O Abraham ! Forsake this ! Thy Lord's commandment hath gone forth , and Lo! there cometh unto them a doom which cannot be repelled[76] .And when our messengers came upon Lot , he was distressed and knew not how to protect them. He said :This is a distressful day[77] .And his people came running unto him , running towards him--and before they used to commit abominations---He said :O my people ! Here are my daughters ! They are purer for you . Beware of Allah , and degrade me not in [ the presence of ] my guests .Is there not amongst you any upright men ?[78] " http://www.quranexplorer.com/
Implicit from the above Ayats in the Torah ,Bible , and the Quran was that Abraham and Lot were contemporaries . A group of messengers gave Abraham and his 1st wife Sarah a visit to tell the good news about their impending 'gift' ie the coming of Ishak at such a late late age for both of them .Before bidding farewell this group told Abraham they were visiting Lot as well as lesbianism and homosexuality were rampant and out of control amongst his people. Even his wife was at it . As you can see Lot's distress was really monumental as his people were even lustful towards his "clean shavened and well dressed visitors" . The rest was history !
These wonderful" biblical "stories in the Quran ,visit and revisited , keep me awake and every time you read and reread them ,you get a new perspective . Masha allah !!
Dr Nik Howk
Interestingly while some Ayats in the Quran have hidden 'meanings' requiring tafsir reading etc etc [ Ayat2 muthashabihah , correct me if I am wrong Aad ] , a great majority are self explanatory as the following in Surah Hud :
"And when the awe departed from Abraham ,and the glad news reached him , he pleaded with Us on behalf of the folk of Lot [74] .Lo ! Abraham was mild , imploring , penitent [75] .{It was said } O Abraham ! Forsake this ! Thy Lord's commandment hath gone forth , and Lo! there cometh unto them a doom which cannot be repelled[76] .And when our messengers came upon Lot , he was distressed and knew not how to protect them. He said :This is a distressful day[77] .And his people came running unto him , running towards him--and before they used to commit abominations---He said :O my people ! Here are my daughters ! They are purer for you . Beware of Allah , and degrade me not in [ the presence of ] my guests .Is there not amongst you any upright men ?[78] " http://www.quranexplorer.com/
Implicit from the above Ayats in the Torah ,Bible , and the Quran was that Abraham and Lot were contemporaries . A group of messengers gave Abraham and his 1st wife Sarah a visit to tell the good news about their impending 'gift' ie the coming of Ishak at such a late late age for both of them .Before bidding farewell this group told Abraham they were visiting Lot as well as lesbianism and homosexuality were rampant and out of control amongst his people. Even his wife was at it . As you can see Lot's distress was really monumental as his people were even lustful towards his "clean shavened and well dressed visitors" . The rest was history !
These wonderful" biblical "stories in the Quran ,visit and revisited , keep me awake and every time you read and reread them ,you get a new perspective . Masha allah !!
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Yunus ,[ Letter 10 Verse 15]
Friends ,
'' And when Our revelations are recited unto them , they who look not for the meeting with Us say : Bring a lecture other than this , or change it . Say [ O Muhammad ] : It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which is inspired in me . lo ! if i disobey my Lord I fear the retribution of an awful Day [15] "
In the current context the above ayat is self explanatory .We have turn into ''nations''of apologists rather than use the quran as our strenght and pillar .Hamid Karzai ,Mubarak ,etc etc etc and etc .
And 1.5 billion apologetic souls across the globe ,
Dr Nik Howk
'' And when Our revelations are recited unto them , they who look not for the meeting with Us say : Bring a lecture other than this , or change it . Say [ O Muhammad ] : It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which is inspired in me . lo ! if i disobey my Lord I fear the retribution of an awful Day [15] "
In the current context the above ayat is self explanatory .We have turn into ''nations''of apologists rather than use the quran as our strenght and pillar .Hamid Karzai ,Mubarak ,etc etc etc and etc .
And 1.5 billion apologetic souls across the globe ,
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and gem from Surah Al Anfaal [ letter 8 , Verses 67 , 68]
Friends ,
"It is not for any prophet to have captives untilhe hath made slaughter in the land . Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth [for you] the Hereafter , and Allah is Mighty and Wise [67] . Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which has gone before ,an awful doom had come upon you on account of what you took [68]."
Very interesting ayats indeed the above. I would consider a 'watershed' ayat exposing that the Prophet is not above making humanly wrong political and 'strategically deficient ' decisions !
The scenario was just post Badr , the Ist war waged by the alkafiroons of Mecca on the Muslims in Medina at the fringe of Medina .The alkafiroons were repulsed and suffered defeat.Many were held captive.One was the prophet's uncle ,Abbas himself , Ali's brother as well and Abu Bakar's relatives , and mostly kins and relatives from Mecca .War of "ex relatives' mainly .
Abu Bakar ,Ali and other counseled the Prophet to take a lenient view and send words to Mecca for payments to be made for release of prisoners of war .This was the popular view .Omar Al Khatab took a different perspective of things even though his relatives were also involved .Burn them down or outright slaughter ,forget about enlarging the post war booty .This was the minority view and the Prophet concurred with the majority .A decision was made .Prisoner exchange happened .
The next day when Omar Al Khatab visited the Prophet and Abu Bakar at their tents he found both of them in tears . Jibrail had visited Prophet Muhammad the night earlier and imparted to him the above ayats .
As if to 'emphasised' the wrong decision made ,Allah gave the alkafiruoons of Mecca emphatic victory at Uhud not many months after Badr when the Muslims suffered heavy losses in casualty .The meccans fresh from the prisoner exchange with 'cash option' had new vigour and allowed to regroup and came back with vengeance .
Of course if one were an orientalist and read the above ayat as a "stand alone" ayat , without the context of Badr [ the Ist war staged by people out to annihilate you at the budding stage before the perceived 'disease' become 'cancerous'] ,one could use this as a cannon to say that Islam was and is barbaric .But we have history to judge us : Jews , Christianity and Islam flourished in 500 years of Muslim Spain to be followed by blood letting of historic proportion during the Spanish Inquisition .
Look at senior and junior Bush Iraq for that matter .Present day Israel. Bosnia .Chechnya .........The list goes on .}
This principle of human fallibility with respect to ''technical'' decisions can also be seen just before the Badr warfare .The Muslims were trying to stop the alkafiroons before the fringe of Medina .They reach a certain spot when the Prophet decided to be the right spot to make camp and wait for the enemy there .One young chap experienced in desert warfare asked the prophet whether his decision was divinely inspired' or was it strategy .The Prophet answered it was his very own thinking and strategy .The young man pointed out the decision was flawed as a "wadi" was situated not very far ahead and strategywise it would be better to be waiting for the enemy beyond the wadi .The Prophet agreed and broke camp .
Here in raising the issue the bright and brave young man is differentiating Muhammad the man from Muhammad the Prophet .
Muhammad the Prophet was and will always be the most perfect man ever on earth ,but as this example exemplified ,he was not the most perfect general .Or camel driver or scientist or medical practitioner for that matter !
Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
"It is not for any prophet to have captives untilhe hath made slaughter in the land . Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth [for you] the Hereafter , and Allah is Mighty and Wise [67] . Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which has gone before ,an awful doom had come upon you on account of what you took [68]."
Very interesting ayats indeed the above. I would consider a 'watershed' ayat exposing that the Prophet is not above making humanly wrong political and 'strategically deficient ' decisions !
The scenario was just post Badr , the Ist war waged by the alkafiroons of Mecca on the Muslims in Medina at the fringe of Medina .The alkafiroons were repulsed and suffered defeat.Many were held captive.One was the prophet's uncle ,Abbas himself , Ali's brother as well and Abu Bakar's relatives , and mostly kins and relatives from Mecca .War of "ex relatives' mainly .
Abu Bakar ,Ali and other counseled the Prophet to take a lenient view and send words to Mecca for payments to be made for release of prisoners of war .This was the popular view .Omar Al Khatab took a different perspective of things even though his relatives were also involved .Burn them down or outright slaughter ,forget about enlarging the post war booty .This was the minority view and the Prophet concurred with the majority .A decision was made .Prisoner exchange happened .
The next day when Omar Al Khatab visited the Prophet and Abu Bakar at their tents he found both of them in tears . Jibrail had visited Prophet Muhammad the night earlier and imparted to him the above ayats .
As if to 'emphasised' the wrong decision made ,Allah gave the alkafiruoons of Mecca emphatic victory at Uhud not many months after Badr when the Muslims suffered heavy losses in casualty .The meccans fresh from the prisoner exchange with 'cash option' had new vigour and allowed to regroup and came back with vengeance .
Of course if one were an orientalist and read the above ayat as a "stand alone" ayat , without the context of Badr [ the Ist war staged by people out to annihilate you at the budding stage before the perceived 'disease' become 'cancerous'] ,one could use this as a cannon to say that Islam was and is barbaric .But we have history to judge us : Jews , Christianity and Islam flourished in 500 years of Muslim Spain to be followed by blood letting of historic proportion during the Spanish Inquisition .
Look at senior and junior Bush Iraq for that matter .Present day Israel. Bosnia .Chechnya .........The list goes on .}
This principle of human fallibility with respect to ''technical'' decisions can also be seen just before the Badr warfare .The Muslims were trying to stop the alkafiroons before the fringe of Medina .They reach a certain spot when the Prophet decided to be the right spot to make camp and wait for the enemy there .One young chap experienced in desert warfare asked the prophet whether his decision was divinely inspired' or was it strategy .The Prophet answered it was his very own thinking and strategy .The young man pointed out the decision was flawed as a "wadi" was situated not very far ahead and strategywise it would be better to be waiting for the enemy beyond the wadi .The Prophet agreed and broke camp .
Here in raising the issue the bright and brave young man is differentiating Muhammad the man from Muhammad the Prophet .
Muhammad the Prophet was and will always be the most perfect man ever on earth ,but as this example exemplified ,he was not the most perfect general .Or camel driver or scientist or medical practitioner for that matter !
Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Al Maida [ Letter 5 , Verses 72 , 73 , 75 ]
Pete ,
The Good Lord went on further to say ,in Surah Al Maida Verses 72 , 73 , 75 the following :
" They surely disbelieve who say : Lo ! Allah is the Messiah , son of Mary .The Messiah [himself] said: O Children of Israel ,worship Allah ,my Lord and your lord . Lo ! whoso ascribeth partners unto Him , for Allah hath forbidden paradise.His abode is the Fire .For evil doers there will be no helpers .[72] They surely disbelieve who say : Lo ! Allah is the third of three , when there is no God save the One God . If they desist not from so saying , a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. [73]
The Messiah ,son of Mary,was no other than a messenger ,messengers [ the like of whom] had passed away before him .And his mother was a saintly woman . And they both eat earthly food.See how We make the revtions clear for them , and how they turned away [75] "
Paul et al certainly have a heavy burden on their shoulders ! " Mereka bukan sahaja sesat tetapi menyesatkan "
Dr Nik
PS : A more 'emotional' rendition of the quran for people who are familiar with biblical stories and history would be the Surah Mariam
.A group of Muslims during the early Mekkan days ,to escape the persecution from their jahiliah brethrens in Mecca migrated to the then Christian Abbysinia.Upon presentation to the Christian King there one of them recite the whole Surah Mariam [ a relatively short Surah ] to the royal congregation . The King afforded them protection and soon after that embraced Islam .Earlier bibles and gospels , like Bible of St Barnabas alluded to the coming of 'The Chosen One ,ie 'The Mustapha ' but these were 'secreted' away .It is said and i am not sure whether this is true the original copy in Aramaic language still exist in the inner sanctum of the papal library in The Vatican and forbidden forever for examination by mere mortals except the Pope himself .Exceprt copies however are sold everywhere . I have got a copy myself but reading is very very dry .In term of dryness though cannot beat our very own Prof Syed Naguib's "Prolegomina To the Metaphysics of Islam " .An instant double dose sleeping pill .I have been stuck at chapter 4 for the last 5 years .Contemporary Muslim scholars of his calbre are rare ,home grown much rarer still but small brained local politicians ,like Sanusi Junid ,thinks these people grow on rubber tress , was thrown out of ISTAC [ Islamic Thought and civilisation] for not thinking small like them .
The Good Lord went on further to say ,in Surah Al Maida Verses 72 , 73 , 75 the following :
" They surely disbelieve who say : Lo ! Allah is the Messiah , son of Mary .The Messiah [himself] said: O Children of Israel ,worship Allah ,my Lord and your lord . Lo ! whoso ascribeth partners unto Him , for Allah hath forbidden paradise.His abode is the Fire .For evil doers there will be no helpers .[72] They surely disbelieve who say : Lo ! Allah is the third of three , when there is no God save the One God . If they desist not from so saying , a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. [73]
The Messiah ,son of Mary,was no other than a messenger ,messengers [ the like of whom] had passed away before him .And his mother was a saintly woman . And they both eat earthly food.See how We make the revtions clear for them , and how they turned away [75] "
Paul et al certainly have a heavy burden on their shoulders ! " Mereka bukan sahaja sesat tetapi menyesatkan "
Dr Nik
PS : A more 'emotional' rendition of the quran for people who are familiar with biblical stories and history would be the Surah Mariam
.A group of Muslims during the early Mekkan days ,to escape the persecution from their jahiliah brethrens in Mecca migrated to the then Christian Abbysinia.Upon presentation to the Christian King there one of them recite the whole Surah Mariam [ a relatively short Surah ] to the royal congregation . The King afforded them protection and soon after that embraced Islam .Earlier bibles and gospels , like Bible of St Barnabas alluded to the coming of 'The Chosen One ,ie 'The Mustapha ' but these were 'secreted' away .It is said and i am not sure whether this is true the original copy in Aramaic language still exist in the inner sanctum of the papal library in The Vatican and forbidden forever for examination by mere mortals except the Pope himself .Exceprt copies however are sold everywhere . I have got a copy myself but reading is very very dry .In term of dryness though cannot beat our very own Prof Syed Naguib's "Prolegomina To the Metaphysics of Islam " .An instant double dose sleeping pill .I have been stuck at chapter 4 for the last 5 years .Contemporary Muslim scholars of his calbre are rare ,home grown much rarer still but small brained local politicians ,like Sanusi Junid ,thinks these people grow on rubber tress , was thrown out of ISTAC [ Islamic Thought and civilisation] for not thinking small like them .
Trinity; Pearls and Gem from Surah An Nisa [ Letter 4 Verse 171 ]
Friends ,
It is interesting that the concept of 'Three in one and One in three' came some approximately 50 years after the death of Jesus [pbuh].Expounded by Saul of Tarsus ,a half Hebrew half Roman, who initially was very much against the very teaching of Jesus . He had a name change after his conversion to paul, and now known Paul the Apostle
Paul 'hijacked' Jesus's teaching and introduced the concept of TRINITY ,[which to this day found the Christians in knots trying to defend] ,to court the Romans , the one and only Superpower of that era ,just like the Americans of present day era .
Some 100 years after Jesus'demise,James was leading the 'Church of Jerusalem'and was teaching very much of Jesus'message: The Unity of God,similar message revealed from Prophet Abraham, through to Isaac, Yaacub, Mosses, and penultimately Jesus. However , Paul was a man in a hurry and had other design. When the Church of Jerusalem became fragmented due to Byzantine pressure,Paul introduced the nebulous concept of 'TRINITY', which somehow find support 250 years alter from Emperor Constantin....the Greek mythology and belief were more familiar with many 'godheads' and three seemed an easy compromise!
Emperor Constantin the Great ,then headquartered in Constantinople ,just across the Bhosphorus near present day Istanbul, got excited and adopt the new teaching as the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire .In the art of Nation building ,it is practical that one has a credo and the Roman emperor ,having already lost one half of his empire to the 'newly emerging nations in the west' adopted Christianity as the new rallying call to unify under one banner.
The Romans who inherit their 'religion' from the Greeks , used to have many godheads and "three" seemed quite a practical number at that time.Constantin himself , privately remained a pagan up to his last breath .Allah was cognizance of this historical perspective and in Ayat 171 of Surah An Nisa ,had this to say ,
"O People of the Scripture ! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah , Jesus son of Mary , was only a messenger of Allah , and His word which He conveyed unto Mary and a spirit from Him .So believe in Allah and His messengers , and say not " Three--Cease !{it is } better for you !--Allah is only one God. Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son..His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth . And Allah is sufficient as Defender ." [171]
That remains the fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity to this day and until Doomsday .
Of course there is this new movement amongst 'modernist' Islamic thinkers, liberal and so-called progressive Islamists, that at the highest level ' all religions are the same .These shameless, spineless apologists are doing to Islam what St Paul did to Christianity some 14 centuries ago ."Depa nak jual quran for a fistful of American dollars" !
Our universe contain a thousand billions of galaxies,a billion billion stars. The distance from one extreme edge of 'light' to the other extreme edge of 'light'[ie the 'diameter' of the universe] is a billion billion light years. One light year is 4 kilometres with 15 zeros behind.Times that with another 18 zeros and you get 4 kilometres with 35 zeros: That is the diameter of our universe. And this is an expanding universe at 300,000 kilometres per second. Tomorrow our universe would have expanded by another 240,000,000,000 kilometres!
But If one were to put this universe on Allah's Arash[The Tremendous Throne], it would be impossible to find the universe,..like searching for a pin in a haystack!
That is the immensity of the Lord of the universe, our Maker, that we pray and pin our hope to. How can we mere mortals on this tiny,tiny planet called earth, in a minute corner in space within this super vast universe ever ascribe partners to Him!
'Far is it removed from His transcendent Majesty that He should have a son' !
Subhanallah, Alhamdullillah, Allahuakbar!
Dr Nik Howk
It is interesting that the concept of 'Three in one and One in three' came some approximately 50 years after the death of Jesus [pbuh].Expounded by Saul of Tarsus ,a half Hebrew half Roman, who initially was very much against the very teaching of Jesus . He had a name change after his conversion to paul, and now known Paul the Apostle
Paul 'hijacked' Jesus's teaching and introduced the concept of TRINITY ,[which to this day found the Christians in knots trying to defend] ,to court the Romans , the one and only Superpower of that era ,just like the Americans of present day era .
Some 100 years after Jesus'demise,James was leading the 'Church of Jerusalem'and was teaching very much of Jesus'message: The Unity of God,similar message revealed from Prophet Abraham, through to Isaac, Yaacub, Mosses, and penultimately Jesus. However , Paul was a man in a hurry and had other design. When the Church of Jerusalem became fragmented due to Byzantine pressure,Paul introduced the nebulous concept of 'TRINITY', which somehow find support 250 years alter from Emperor Constantin....the Greek mythology and belief were more familiar with many 'godheads' and three seemed an easy compromise!
Emperor Constantin the Great ,then headquartered in Constantinople ,just across the Bhosphorus near present day Istanbul, got excited and adopt the new teaching as the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire .In the art of Nation building ,it is practical that one has a credo and the Roman emperor ,having already lost one half of his empire to the 'newly emerging nations in the west' adopted Christianity as the new rallying call to unify under one banner.
The Romans who inherit their 'religion' from the Greeks , used to have many godheads and "three" seemed quite a practical number at that time.Constantin himself , privately remained a pagan up to his last breath .Allah was cognizance of this historical perspective and in Ayat 171 of Surah An Nisa ,had this to say ,
"O People of the Scripture ! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah , Jesus son of Mary , was only a messenger of Allah , and His word which He conveyed unto Mary and a spirit from Him .So believe in Allah and His messengers , and say not " Three--Cease !{it is } better for you !--Allah is only one God. Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son..His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth . And Allah is sufficient as Defender ." [171]
That remains the fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity to this day and until Doomsday .
Of course there is this new movement amongst 'modernist' Islamic thinkers, liberal and so-called progressive Islamists, that at the highest level ' all religions are the same .These shameless, spineless apologists are doing to Islam what St Paul did to Christianity some 14 centuries ago ."Depa nak jual quran for a fistful of American dollars" !
Our universe contain a thousand billions of galaxies,a billion billion stars. The distance from one extreme edge of 'light' to the other extreme edge of 'light'[ie the 'diameter' of the universe] is a billion billion light years. One light year is 4 kilometres with 15 zeros behind.Times that with another 18 zeros and you get 4 kilometres with 35 zeros: That is the diameter of our universe. And this is an expanding universe at 300,000 kilometres per second. Tomorrow our universe would have expanded by another 240,000,000,000 kilometres!
But If one were to put this universe on Allah's Arash[The Tremendous Throne], it would be impossible to find the universe,..like searching for a pin in a haystack!
That is the immensity of the Lord of the universe, our Maker, that we pray and pin our hope to. How can we mere mortals on this tiny,tiny planet called earth, in a minute corner in space within this super vast universe ever ascribe partners to Him!
'Far is it removed from His transcendent Majesty that He should have a son' !
Subhanallah, Alhamdullillah, Allahuakbar!
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Maida [Letter 5 , Verses 51 , 55 , 57 ]
Friends ,
The early Medinan period of nation building was inundated by many episodes of backstabbing from 'enemies within' such as Abdullah bin Ubai et al [munafikun] and enemies 'without' ie people ' who got their Scriptures earlier' and in Surah Al Maida there are many verses that alluded to this ,
''O ye who believe , take not Jews and Christians for friends . They are friend of one another .He among you who take them for friends is [one]of them . Lo ! Allah guideth not the wrongdoing folks ''.[51]
''Your friends can only be Allahand His messenger and those who believe ,who establish worship and pay the poor due and bow down[ in prayer ] ''.[55]
''O ye who believe ! Choose not for friend such of those who receive the Scripture before you , and the disbelievers , as make a jest and sport of your religion . But keep your duty to Allah if ye are true believer .''[57]
From Abdullah bin Ubai's period to the 1st seige of Baghdad by Huluga khan, taking advantage of a schism and dichotomy of ways between a syiah grand vizier and a sunni sultan , and to the present 2nd seige of Baghdad by 'Belukar' khan ,the meaning and ramifications of these divine warning holds true up to The End of Time . ''Yang hang dok gatal dok pangkak si Marimutu et al year in and year out tu apasal pulak !! ''.That seem relavent with february 2008 coming up very fast .
Dr Nik Howk
PS : Disregard the last 'warning ' .Tu' seloro 'sikit2 sahaja .Pasal dah naik marah juga I bila tengok 'people dak naik tonchang .Whatever it is , pangkah lah WISELY ! Some'' creditable opposition'' in parliement would not harm your 'cari makan' prospect .Tak kan lah depa teruk sangat . Seteruk teruk depa pun takkan lah depa lebih teruk pada Marimutu et al ?
The early Medinan period of nation building was inundated by many episodes of backstabbing from 'enemies within' such as Abdullah bin Ubai et al [munafikun] and enemies 'without' ie people ' who got their Scriptures earlier' and in Surah Al Maida there are many verses that alluded to this ,
''O ye who believe , take not Jews and Christians for friends . They are friend of one another .He among you who take them for friends is [one]of them . Lo ! Allah guideth not the wrongdoing folks ''.[51]
''Your friends can only be Allahand His messenger and those who believe ,who establish worship and pay the poor due and bow down[ in prayer ] ''.[55]
''O ye who believe ! Choose not for friend such of those who receive the Scripture before you , and the disbelievers , as make a jest and sport of your religion . But keep your duty to Allah if ye are true believer .''[57]
From Abdullah bin Ubai's period to the 1st seige of Baghdad by Huluga khan, taking advantage of a schism and dichotomy of ways between a syiah grand vizier and a sunni sultan , and to the present 2nd seige of Baghdad by 'Belukar' khan ,the meaning and ramifications of these divine warning holds true up to The End of Time . ''Yang hang dok gatal dok pangkak si Marimutu et al year in and year out tu apasal pulak !! ''.That seem relavent with february 2008 coming up very fast .
Dr Nik Howk
PS : Disregard the last 'warning ' .Tu' seloro 'sikit2 sahaja .Pasal dah naik marah juga I bila tengok 'people dak naik tonchang .Whatever it is , pangkah lah WISELY ! Some'' creditable opposition'' in parliement would not harm your 'cari makan' prospect .Tak kan lah depa teruk sangat . Seteruk teruk depa pun takkan lah depa lebih teruk pada Marimutu et al ?
Pearls and gem from Surah An Nisa [ Letter 4 , Verse 2 , 3 , 129 ]
Friends ,
Suroh An Nisa deals a lot about women , war widows , family , and orphans .In fact the much celebrated Ayat from this Surah ,Ayat 2 was really in the context of an advisory to individuals who took it among themselves the responsibility of bringing up orphans [Badr , Uhud etc etc during the initial stabilisation of the Islamic foundation contributing to this state of affair ,
"Give unto orphans their wealth. Exchange not the good for the bad nor absorb their wealth into your own wealth. Lo ! that would be a great sin .[ 2] And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans , marry of the women ,who seem good to you , two or three or four , and if you fear you cannot do justice [ to so many then one [ only ] or [ the captives ] that your right hands possess . Thus it is likely that ye will not do justice [ 3 ] "
The key words here are " fair and justice " .Modern women put it down as ' equality' .Prof Hamka in his erudite treatment of this ayat put it down to 'equitable' treatment rather than 'equal' .In term of material share a the first family of 10 people would need bigger housing and bigger allowance than the new addition , the "syt" . Kalau yang nomor satu ada NAZA MPV , the new addition syt probably can make do with a Perodua Kancil. This to Prof Hamka is 'equitable .Kalau the 1st family of 10 live in a bungalow ,the new syt probably will equitably be housed in a terrace house .From the perspective of love and passion Prof Hamka did not think men as human beings can be equal ,not even equitable .Even Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] admittedly loved Khatijah most , and amongst the 9 living wives he had , Siti Aishah was his favourite . This is human to be unequal in love and passion even for prophets and lest we get into prolonged academic and emotional arguments over this issue let us examine Ayat 129 of the same surah ,
"Ye will not be able to deal equally between [ your ] wives however much ye wish [ to do so ]. But turn not altogether away [from one ] , leaving her in suspense . If ye do good and keep from evil ,Lo ! Allah is ever forgiving .[129] ".
That is our Lord's mercy .Try to give equal treatment ,equitable share etc etc but at the end of the day Allah already know however much you try , '' you will not be able to deal with your wives equally '' .This is a double edge meaning , the feminists as in SIS will insist ayat 129 dealt a death blow to polygamy .
A more wise interpretation would see it as our Lord's mercy towards men in general . Incidentally the prerequisite to being active in SIS is that one remain single ![ what a waste !] Bukan orang lelaki sebarang pilih kahwin dengan a widow of war with that many young mouths to feed .Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
Suroh An Nisa deals a lot about women , war widows , family , and orphans .In fact the much celebrated Ayat from this Surah ,Ayat 2 was really in the context of an advisory to individuals who took it among themselves the responsibility of bringing up orphans [Badr , Uhud etc etc during the initial stabilisation of the Islamic foundation contributing to this state of affair ,
"Give unto orphans their wealth. Exchange not the good for the bad nor absorb their wealth into your own wealth. Lo ! that would be a great sin .[ 2] And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans , marry of the women ,who seem good to you , two or three or four , and if you fear you cannot do justice [ to so many then one [ only ] or [ the captives ] that your right hands possess . Thus it is likely that ye will not do justice [ 3 ] "
The key words here are " fair and justice " .Modern women put it down as ' equality' .Prof Hamka in his erudite treatment of this ayat put it down to 'equitable' treatment rather than 'equal' .In term of material share a the first family of 10 people would need bigger housing and bigger allowance than the new addition , the "syt" . Kalau yang nomor satu ada NAZA MPV , the new addition syt probably can make do with a Perodua Kancil. This to Prof Hamka is 'equitable .Kalau the 1st family of 10 live in a bungalow ,the new syt probably will equitably be housed in a terrace house .From the perspective of love and passion Prof Hamka did not think men as human beings can be equal ,not even equitable .Even Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] admittedly loved Khatijah most , and amongst the 9 living wives he had , Siti Aishah was his favourite . This is human to be unequal in love and passion even for prophets and lest we get into prolonged academic and emotional arguments over this issue let us examine Ayat 129 of the same surah ,
"Ye will not be able to deal equally between [ your ] wives however much ye wish [ to do so ]. But turn not altogether away [from one ] , leaving her in suspense . If ye do good and keep from evil ,Lo ! Allah is ever forgiving .[129] ".
That is our Lord's mercy .Try to give equal treatment ,equitable share etc etc but at the end of the day Allah already know however much you try , '' you will not be able to deal with your wives equally '' .This is a double edge meaning , the feminists as in SIS will insist ayat 129 dealt a death blow to polygamy .
A more wise interpretation would see it as our Lord's mercy towards men in general . Incidentally the prerequisite to being active in SIS is that one remain single ![ what a waste !] Bukan orang lelaki sebarang pilih kahwin dengan a widow of war with that many young mouths to feed .Allah hualam !
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and gem from Surah Al Emran [ letter 3 , Ayat 180 ]
Friends ,
The beauty of traveling light is well expounded in this ayat 180 of Surah Al Emran ,if the meaning is just taken from the ayat as a 'stand alone' context .There are other meanings of course as the proceeding ayats seem to allude to giving one's wealth toward s jihad [ a dirty contemporary word ! ] :
" And let not those who hoard up that which Allah bestowed upon them of His bounty think that it is better for them . That which they hoard will be their collar on the Day of Resurrection. . Allah's is the heritage of the heavens and the earth , and Allah is informed of what ye do ."
The economics of the 'haves' spending in the way of Allah i'e paying fair and good salaries to their employees , zakats , helping the poor and destitutes, etc etc certainly have a positive cascading effect on flow of 'money ' and no amount of man invented new capitalism can beat that .Instead we have the very rich getting richer and the poor poorer ,compounded further by on by the system of 'riba' .Even present day 'islamic' banking is not yet quite islamic enough , at least from the perspective of Malaysian 'Islamic banks' and institutions .The bankers would retort back that ," well we have to start somewhere ,it is certainly not 100 % halal and islamic but it is more islamic than before ' .The purist s in some of us of course would answer back to the banker and say that " would he mind being served a beriani meal with 99 % mutton and just 1 % pork !? "
But corporate issues aside , I could still count yesterday as a very special day for me .Was sitting quietly in my clinic doing my work when came this" young exuberant lady of 60 who seemed worried about her high BP arising as a side effect from her anti cancer medications .She has well treated breast cancer several years back but now has multiple metastases to the liver .Her days are numbered .[ So are we since if our lives are just dependent on some finite number of 'breaths ' , our days are really numbered ! ].Of course in situitions like this I could never resist 'doctoring' my interview to the" realm of the unseen " and she succumbed to my persuasion by telling her life [ albeit short term ] plan .The conversation went on like this :
"Doc ,if you have 10 millions what would you do if you are in the same position as me ? "
Well ,what have you done ? I do not have 10 millions ,if I have I do not think we may be having a conversation today .
"Well Doc ,I have going round to my home state giving money to this madrasahs and that madrasahs ,improving and rebuilding some when the previous owners allow me so ,that is main activity now but I also give some to anak yatim institution but less .I feel giving to madrasah would be a more permanent thing to do and I would continue to reap the benefit when i am not here ."
That sounds beautiful to me but I think our kampongs and pedalaman already are "over madrasahed " .In Pulau Meranti for instance we have 2 madrasahs where locals hardly use and even one masjid turned into a pusat sumber .As far as i know there is no "sumber" about it .Only goats going up and down the masjid. If you read the quran , in almost all the long and medium length surahs and there are 114 of them , almost always Allah talk about the poor and the anak yatim ,never about giving your money so that you" own" some of the bricks .I think Puan ,this owning some of the 'bricks ' is really overstated .Your millions would in my opinion serve you well if you channel them to the 'living' . I may be wrong , and you need to recheck with your learned ustaz 1st .Just my gut feeling from reading the quran .!
Masyaallah , it is encounters like this that enriches my life .I consider myself very priveledged to be given a 'peep' into people's inner lives .
Dr Nik Howk
The beauty of traveling light is well expounded in this ayat 180 of Surah Al Emran ,if the meaning is just taken from the ayat as a 'stand alone' context .There are other meanings of course as the proceeding ayats seem to allude to giving one's wealth toward s jihad [ a dirty contemporary word ! ] :
" And let not those who hoard up that which Allah bestowed upon them of His bounty think that it is better for them . That which they hoard will be their collar on the Day of Resurrection. . Allah's is the heritage of the heavens and the earth , and Allah is informed of what ye do ."
The economics of the 'haves' spending in the way of Allah i'e paying fair and good salaries to their employees , zakats , helping the poor and destitutes, etc etc certainly have a positive cascading effect on flow of 'money ' and no amount of man invented new capitalism can beat that .Instead we have the very rich getting richer and the poor poorer ,compounded further by on by the system of 'riba' .Even present day 'islamic' banking is not yet quite islamic enough , at least from the perspective of Malaysian 'Islamic banks' and institutions .The bankers would retort back that ," well we have to start somewhere ,it is certainly not 100 % halal and islamic but it is more islamic than before ' .The purist s in some of us of course would answer back to the banker and say that " would he mind being served a beriani meal with 99 % mutton and just 1 % pork !? "
But corporate issues aside , I could still count yesterday as a very special day for me .Was sitting quietly in my clinic doing my work when came this" young exuberant lady of 60 who seemed worried about her high BP arising as a side effect from her anti cancer medications .She has well treated breast cancer several years back but now has multiple metastases to the liver .Her days are numbered .[ So are we since if our lives are just dependent on some finite number of 'breaths ' , our days are really numbered ! ].Of course in situitions like this I could never resist 'doctoring' my interview to the" realm of the unseen " and she succumbed to my persuasion by telling her life [ albeit short term ] plan .The conversation went on like this :
"Doc ,if you have 10 millions what would you do if you are in the same position as me ? "
Well ,what have you done ? I do not have 10 millions ,if I have I do not think we may be having a conversation today .
"Well Doc ,I have going round to my home state giving money to this madrasahs and that madrasahs ,improving and rebuilding some when the previous owners allow me so ,that is main activity now but I also give some to anak yatim institution but less .I feel giving to madrasah would be a more permanent thing to do and I would continue to reap the benefit when i am not here ."
That sounds beautiful to me but I think our kampongs and pedalaman already are "over madrasahed " .In Pulau Meranti for instance we have 2 madrasahs where locals hardly use and even one masjid turned into a pusat sumber .As far as i know there is no "sumber" about it .Only goats going up and down the masjid. If you read the quran , in almost all the long and medium length surahs and there are 114 of them , almost always Allah talk about the poor and the anak yatim ,never about giving your money so that you" own" some of the bricks .I think Puan ,this owning some of the 'bricks ' is really overstated .Your millions would in my opinion serve you well if you channel them to the 'living' . I may be wrong , and you need to recheck with your learned ustaz 1st .Just my gut feeling from reading the quran .!
Masyaallah , it is encounters like this that enriches my life .I consider myself very priveledged to be given a 'peep' into people's inner lives .
Dr Nik Howk
11 Jan 2008 - Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Baqarah [letter 2 Verse 30 ]
Friends ,
Consider this conversation several hundred 'millineum' years ago when time was not even there :
"And when thy Lord said unto the angels ; Lo ! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth , they said:Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood,While we hymm Thy praise and sanctify Thee ? He said :Surely I know that which ye know not [30]"
Last night I met a Dato Dr Abdul Razak bin Kechik at a "watering hole" near the old Subang Airport , one of those big mamak nasi kandar place .A diminutive man in his early 60's .Spent 30 over years in Kelantan as a medical officer and retired as the state medical pengarah there .This is the type of chap that make me feel small and insignificant .He is a giant in humanity and indeed a viceroy in his own simplicity .
Has been doing missionary work over the last 35 years amongst the orang aslis all over Malaysia on his meagre government stipend and 'collections' from friends here and there .When I asked why he did so his reply was :" why not . There is a total vacuum there ,the Anglicans , the catholics and what have you are having a field day" .I met him to repay him some money as my annual contribution , a meagre sum and even then I forgot to in 2006 zakat assessment and this good doctor advance that for me to pay to Majlis Agama Islam Perlis .
He did collection for them and given a fraction for which he uses for his missionary work .He even forgot for a year that he had used his own money to pay my zakat . Mashaallah , ada lagi malaikat di dunia ini !.There are many people like Dr Razak working as ' viceroy in the earth '' but only Allah '' know which ye know not " .
Meeting such ' giants' make me feel 'naked' and small ! You give me a cocky Tan Sri or a Datuk who seem to forget that outside their titles they are just feeble humans like the rest of us ,I know how to put them in their place [ 'ask such questions as how is that little chap doing these days for example '] but not guys like Dato Dr Razak. He is a giant amongst men !
Dr Nik Howk
Consider this conversation several hundred 'millineum' years ago when time was not even there :
"And when thy Lord said unto the angels ; Lo ! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth , they said:Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood,While we hymm Thy praise and sanctify Thee ? He said :Surely I know that which ye know not [30]"
Last night I met a Dato Dr Abdul Razak bin Kechik at a "watering hole" near the old Subang Airport , one of those big mamak nasi kandar place .A diminutive man in his early 60's .Spent 30 over years in Kelantan as a medical officer and retired as the state medical pengarah there .This is the type of chap that make me feel small and insignificant .He is a giant in humanity and indeed a viceroy in his own simplicity .
Has been doing missionary work over the last 35 years amongst the orang aslis all over Malaysia on his meagre government stipend and 'collections' from friends here and there .When I asked why he did so his reply was :" why not . There is a total vacuum there ,the Anglicans , the catholics and what have you are having a field day" .I met him to repay him some money as my annual contribution , a meagre sum and even then I forgot to in 2006 zakat assessment and this good doctor advance that for me to pay to Majlis Agama Islam Perlis .
He did collection for them and given a fraction for which he uses for his missionary work .He even forgot for a year that he had used his own money to pay my zakat . Mashaallah , ada lagi malaikat di dunia ini !.There are many people like Dr Razak working as ' viceroy in the earth '' but only Allah '' know which ye know not " .
Meeting such ' giants' make me feel 'naked' and small ! You give me a cocky Tan Sri or a Datuk who seem to forget that outside their titles they are just feeble humans like the rest of us ,I know how to put them in their place [ 'ask such questions as how is that little chap doing these days for example '] but not guys like Dato Dr Razak. He is a giant amongst men !
Dr Nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Maoun [ Small kindness ] ...Letter 107 Verse 1 to 7
Friends ,
Since tomorrow is Maal Hijrah I think it is appropriate for me to herald the day with a small Surah which we all recited with impunity during our younger 'mengaji' days without an atom of understanding .Even as late as 2 years back my comphrehension of this small Surah was rather 'hijacked' by an Ustaz teaching in one of our local surau during one of those so called post maghrib teaching sessions
"Have you seen him who denies our religion ?[1]It is he who harshly repels the orphan[2]And does not urge others to feed the needy[3]Woe to those who pray[4]but are heedless of their prayers[5] Who put on a show of piety[6] ,but refuse to give even the smallest help to others [7]
We were then on the rudiments of ablutions and concentration and focus in prayer .I think now the ustaz used this surah ,specifically ayat 3 and4 and 5 inappropriately.The 'big ' picture view is most of our problems now stem from the fact that from the personal level , the 'glocal' level [ to paraphrase that guy of Altantuya fame] and the global level ,we present day muslims are quite 'heedless' of our prayers .Otherwise today,on the day when president Bush et al just begin his Middle eastern tour with arrogant disdain we in the muslim world would not have to wait on like beggars waiting for pittance and mussels to fall down from the President's High table .When we pray, even for years ,we are heedless of the true meaning of our prayers ,We recited the shahadah some 9 times a day ,zikr several thousand or million times a year but our hearts remained hollow and unmoved by countless miseries ,hunger ,unfairness within our neighbourhood ,within nations and within our brotherhood .Brother muslims elsewhere continued to be slaughtered worse than lowly animals ,poverty and hunger rampant within our midst while we continue to discuss the impropriety of doing our ablutions this way and that way !
I believe it is Surah like the above that had empowered the early muslims to dominate almost three quarter of the known world in our "early "years , morally ,physically and intellectually.Can then we be angry with Allah with our present state of affair? .Beggars waiting for crumbs and mussels falling down from the President's High table.
Dr Nik Howk. 9 Jan 2008
Since tomorrow is Maal Hijrah I think it is appropriate for me to herald the day with a small Surah which we all recited with impunity during our younger 'mengaji' days without an atom of understanding .Even as late as 2 years back my comphrehension of this small Surah was rather 'hijacked' by an Ustaz teaching in one of our local surau during one of those so called post maghrib teaching sessions
"Have you seen him who denies our religion ?[1]It is he who harshly repels the orphan[2]And does not urge others to feed the needy[3]Woe to those who pray[4]but are heedless of their prayers[5] Who put on a show of piety[6] ,but refuse to give even the smallest help to others [7]
We were then on the rudiments of ablutions and concentration and focus in prayer .I think now the ustaz used this surah ,specifically ayat 3 and4 and 5 inappropriately.The 'big ' picture view is most of our problems now stem from the fact that from the personal level , the 'glocal' level [ to paraphrase that guy of Altantuya fame] and the global level ,we present day muslims are quite 'heedless' of our prayers .Otherwise today,on the day when president Bush et al just begin his Middle eastern tour with arrogant disdain we in the muslim world would not have to wait on like beggars waiting for pittance and mussels to fall down from the President's High table .When we pray, even for years ,we are heedless of the true meaning of our prayers ,We recited the shahadah some 9 times a day ,zikr several thousand or million times a year but our hearts remained hollow and unmoved by countless miseries ,hunger ,unfairness within our neighbourhood ,within nations and within our brotherhood .Brother muslims elsewhere continued to be slaughtered worse than lowly animals ,poverty and hunger rampant within our midst while we continue to discuss the impropriety of doing our ablutions this way and that way !
I believe it is Surah like the above that had empowered the early muslims to dominate almost three quarter of the known world in our "early "years , morally ,physically and intellectually.Can then we be angry with Allah with our present state of affair? .Beggars waiting for crumbs and mussels falling down from the President's High table.
Dr Nik Howk. 9 Jan 2008
Pearls and Gem from Surah Al Takathur [ Letter 102 verses 1 to 7 ]
Friends ,
Surah Al Takathur ,like most surahs from Juz 30 ,is wholesomely self explanatory , revealed during the Mekkan era ,
" Rivalry for worldly gain distracts you , until you visit the graves [1] Indeed you shall know! [2] Again , you shall certainly come to know [3] Indeed , were you to have certain knowledge [4] You shall certainly see the fire of Hell [5] Yes , you will it with your eyes [6] Then on that day , you shall be questioned about your joys and comfort [7]
Totally self explanatory indeed ! But still I find Syed Qutb's insight of the surah very haunting and bites deep into the psyche even a decade after reading it :
" You drunken confused lot ! You take delight and indulge in rivalry for wealth , children and the pleasures of this life from which you are sure to depart ! You are absorbed with what you have ,unaware of what comes afterwards ! You will leave the object of this rivalry , and what you seek pride in and go to a narrow hole in the ground wherein there is no rivalry or pride ! Wake up and look around! For indeed " rivalry for worldly gain distracts you until you visit your graves "
Shortly after finishing his tafseer of Juz 30 , while in Gamel Nasser's prison , he was hanged for high treason . But guys like him live forever!
Dr Nik Howk
PS :
To the Bedoiun people and even 'corporate' arabs of 14th century Arabia ,and I suspect even now ,having a lot of children especially male children around them is a status symbol of power and wealth .To the point that one is not known by one's name but rather called fondly as in your case as your eldest son's father [ Ahmad Ramli become Abuya Rafik ] .
Having many children also mean inherrently" berani enough" and able enough to have as many wives[ or gundek ] as legally allowed. Berani there is not in the present sense but more in the economic sense .We now have all been figuratively 'castrated' .
In the Quran as well you get to come across several time this phrase '' wealth ,wives and children as fitnah subsequently to you'' .Wives wealth and children ' when you have abundance of them are certainly status symbols of that time and even now but when not properly managed and 'educated' in the proper' adab' would be a burden for you even when you are alive as well as as when you already 6 feet underground .For example a chap who get easily 20 million rm kick back from a PLUS highway project may due to his new found wealth got entangled with a swinging swt ,able to send all his young underage kids to English public schools ,and dampen his 1st wife anger with a lot of money who subsequently get back to him by finding her own toy boy etc etc .
A good scenario for future headache while still alive and unaccountability for all their actions when dead ,especially the Oxbridge educated offsprings who perhaps do not even know how to "mengucap" let alone pray . .
Wealth , position ,power and children all are potential ''fitnah '' to you in that small hole of yours in the ground ,if you do not handle them with proper 'adab' when you are alive !
Kalau semua orang faham ini tidak adalah politik wang dalam UMNO sekarang. Nice to be rich , famous and powerful but remember there is also a lot of grace as well in being poor and powerless.
A case of excess baggage vs travelling light .Allah is fair .Allahualam .
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Al Takathur ,like most surahs from Juz 30 ,is wholesomely self explanatory , revealed during the Mekkan era ,
" Rivalry for worldly gain distracts you , until you visit the graves [1] Indeed you shall know! [2] Again , you shall certainly come to know [3] Indeed , were you to have certain knowledge [4] You shall certainly see the fire of Hell [5] Yes , you will it with your eyes [6] Then on that day , you shall be questioned about your joys and comfort [7]
Totally self explanatory indeed ! But still I find Syed Qutb's insight of the surah very haunting and bites deep into the psyche even a decade after reading it :
" You drunken confused lot ! You take delight and indulge in rivalry for wealth , children and the pleasures of this life from which you are sure to depart ! You are absorbed with what you have ,unaware of what comes afterwards ! You will leave the object of this rivalry , and what you seek pride in and go to a narrow hole in the ground wherein there is no rivalry or pride ! Wake up and look around! For indeed " rivalry for worldly gain distracts you until you visit your graves "
Shortly after finishing his tafseer of Juz 30 , while in Gamel Nasser's prison , he was hanged for high treason . But guys like him live forever!
Dr Nik Howk
PS :
To the Bedoiun people and even 'corporate' arabs of 14th century Arabia ,and I suspect even now ,having a lot of children especially male children around them is a status symbol of power and wealth .To the point that one is not known by one's name but rather called fondly as in your case as your eldest son's father [ Ahmad Ramli become Abuya Rafik ] .
Having many children also mean inherrently" berani enough" and able enough to have as many wives[ or gundek ] as legally allowed. Berani there is not in the present sense but more in the economic sense .We now have all been figuratively 'castrated' .
In the Quran as well you get to come across several time this phrase '' wealth ,wives and children as fitnah subsequently to you'' .Wives wealth and children ' when you have abundance of them are certainly status symbols of that time and even now but when not properly managed and 'educated' in the proper' adab' would be a burden for you even when you are alive as well as as when you already 6 feet underground .For example a chap who get easily 20 million rm kick back from a PLUS highway project may due to his new found wealth got entangled with a swinging swt ,able to send all his young underage kids to English public schools ,and dampen his 1st wife anger with a lot of money who subsequently get back to him by finding her own toy boy etc etc .
A good scenario for future headache while still alive and unaccountability for all their actions when dead ,especially the Oxbridge educated offsprings who perhaps do not even know how to "mengucap" let alone pray . .
Wealth , position ,power and children all are potential ''fitnah '' to you in that small hole of yours in the ground ,if you do not handle them with proper 'adab' when you are alive !
Kalau semua orang faham ini tidak adalah politik wang dalam UMNO sekarang. Nice to be rich , famous and powerful but remember there is also a lot of grace as well in being poor and powerless.
A case of excess baggage vs travelling light .Allah is fair .Allahualam .
Dr Nik Howk
Surah Al Jumua [ Letter 62 : Verse 5 ]
| show details 21/12/2007 |
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Prof Wan ,
I trace your favourite Imam Ghazali's often quoted remark about most socalled intellectuals who ,so learned but lost their way , ' like keldais carryings loads of books ' to this ayat from Surah Al Jumua :
" The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law Of Mosses , yet apply it not , is as the likeness of the ass carrying books . Wretched is the likeness of folk who deny the revelations of Allah . And Allah guided not wrongdoing folk [ 5 ]
Of course Allah here was not at all interested in the people of Moses , who by that time was a lost cause , as the ayat was addressed to Prophet Muhammad .I believe this is another of those ayat that is 'pukul anak sindir menantu ' .The newcomers to the scene were Prophet Muhammad followers , the "menantus" .
On a different note how does Prof Naguib take to his recent moral victory in the court against Sanusi Junid et al ?Even though it was not an outright victory the fact that UIA is willing to settle out of court and pay cost points to that way.Both of them should read this ayat [ especially the latter ] and sit back and reminiese over it .
In these years and age of Muslim bashing ISTAC of the past under Prof Naguib's leadership and scholarship could have serve as the bridge and answer to the continous ideological onslought from the kufr West and East .
I wonder with the likes of Muhhamad Al Ahmadi et al and the new generations of people at ISTAC ,whether they have the clout and respectability to be up to it ? What was up against Prof Naguib I think is his age and this fallacy in Malaysia that once you are beyond 65 ,you are gone . In politics and business yes but in philosophy you will get better and better . And also when Pak Lah gave IKIM to Syed Ali that 'politically ' from the top viewpoint is already a tradeoff .Politics is about tradeoff .
I hope Prof and you will just consider this as just a minor setback .In the dustbin of time when all of us including Sanusi and all other political and intellectual midgets are all long gone and become inconsequential dust , future generations still get palpitations in their heart when they read writings from Mawdudi ,Ghazali Al Ghazali et al .You guys live forever ! Carry on your good work !
Dr Nik Howk
I trace your favourite Imam Ghazali's often quoted remark about most socalled intellectuals who ,so learned but lost their way , ' like keldais carryings loads of books ' to this ayat from Surah Al Jumua :
" The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law Of Mosses , yet apply it not , is as the likeness of the ass carrying books . Wretched is the likeness of folk who deny the revelations of Allah . And Allah guided not wrongdoing folk [ 5 ]
Of course Allah here was not at all interested in the people of Moses , who by that time was a lost cause , as the ayat was addressed to Prophet Muhammad .I believe this is another of those ayat that is 'pukul anak sindir menantu ' .The newcomers to the scene were Prophet Muhammad followers , the "menantus" .
On a different note how does Prof Naguib take to his recent moral victory in the court against Sanusi Junid et al ?Even though it was not an outright victory the fact that UIA is willing to settle out of court and pay cost points to that way.Both of them should read this ayat [ especially the latter ] and sit back and reminiese over it .
In these years and age of Muslim bashing ISTAC of the past under Prof Naguib's leadership and scholarship could have serve as the bridge and answer to the continous ideological onslought from the kufr West and East .
I wonder with the likes of Muhhamad Al Ahmadi et al and the new generations of people at ISTAC ,whether they have the clout and respectability to be up to it ? What was up against Prof Naguib I think is his age and this fallacy in Malaysia that once you are beyond 65 ,you are gone . In politics and business yes but in philosophy you will get better and better . And also when Pak Lah gave IKIM to Syed Ali that 'politically ' from the top viewpoint is already a tradeoff .Politics is about tradeoff .
I hope Prof and you will just consider this as just a minor setback .In the dustbin of time when all of us including Sanusi and all other political and intellectual midgets are all long gone and become inconsequential dust , future generations still get palpitations in their heart when they read writings from Mawdudi ,Ghazali Al Ghazali et al .You guys live forever ! Carry on your good work !
Pearls and Gem from from Surah Abasa { letter 80 Verses 40 to 42 ]
Friends ,
Consider this conversation in corporate Arabia , in a coffee house , some 1400 years back :
A : Dato , Who is this chap I heard going around in the market place saying that he is the new 'Ibrahim' ? Havent we got enough of this nonsense already ?Anyway what is his background ? Has he gone to Harvard or Oxbridge ? Must be one of the son of that Hashemite oil trader ?
B : No lah Tan Sri , from what I heard he did not even know how to read .This chap did not even go to school even though his root is not bad.Somehow his 'servicing' must be good otherwise how can one explain that that rich widow ,apakahnama diadah, falls head over heels in love with him .The message he is spreading amongst the workers and ignorant fellas ,in my estimation Tan Sri could be damaging for business . Any way we could coerce the Home Minister to apply the ISA on him ,Tan Sri ?Already a few of my workers has gone AWOL !
A : ISA is not advisable yet lah Dato .Try to use the soft soft approach Ist lah .Past the word around that this is a mad fellow and try to discredit him some way or other .If this does not work ,only then we use the big stick ...
" And other faces on that Day with dust upon them [40] Veiled in darkness [41] These are the disbelievers , the wicked [42]
How succinct the above conversation .Could be even contemporary .Is he from Harvard or Oxbridge ? No lah Tan Sri ,just from an unknown pondok somewhere in Kelantan .....apakahnamadiadah...Nik Aziz something...and then somehow this chap go and polish somewhere in India .Giving us a lot of problem though !.That took place some 40 years back in a coffee house somewhere in downtown KL.
Dr nik Howk
Consider this conversation in corporate Arabia , in a coffee house , some 1400 years back :
A : Dato , Who is this chap I heard going around in the market place saying that he is the new 'Ibrahim' ? Havent we got enough of this nonsense already ?Anyway what is his background ? Has he gone to Harvard or Oxbridge ? Must be one of the son of that Hashemite oil trader ?
B : No lah Tan Sri , from what I heard he did not even know how to read .This chap did not even go to school even though his root is not bad.Somehow his 'servicing' must be good otherwise how can one explain that that rich widow ,apakahnama diadah, falls head over heels in love with him .The message he is spreading amongst the workers and ignorant fellas ,in my estimation Tan Sri could be damaging for business . Any way we could coerce the Home Minister to apply the ISA on him ,Tan Sri ?Already a few of my workers has gone AWOL !
A : ISA is not advisable yet lah Dato .Try to use the soft soft approach Ist lah .Past the word around that this is a mad fellow and try to discredit him some way or other .If this does not work ,only then we use the big stick ...
" And other faces on that Day with dust upon them [40] Veiled in darkness [41] These are the disbelievers , the wicked [42]
How succinct the above conversation .Could be even contemporary .Is he from Harvard or Oxbridge ? No lah Tan Sri ,just from an unknown pondok somewhere in Kelantan .....apakahnamadiadah...Nik Aziz something...and then somehow this chap go and polish somewhere in India .Giving us a lot of problem though !.That took place some 40 years back in a coffee house somewhere in downtown KL.
Dr nik Howk
Pearls and Gem from Surah A Waqia [Letter 56 Verses 4-10 ]
Friends ,
Was just ' lepaking ' thru Surah Al Waqia after going thru the innuedos and 'perli' style of Surah Al Rahman . Al Waqia interestingly described 3 classes of people .
I have hurriedly gone thru Al Waqia before many2 times and somehow due to' preconceived biase ' always comphrehend that there are only 2 classes of people in heaven but yes truly are there 3 classes ,macam panggong wayang juga : The priveledged or the reserved class , the first class , and the third class .Reminded me of my childhood days in KB in the early 60's .
Panggong Rani cinema near Lorong Tua [ pronounce not as 'tua' in old but tua with a nasal twang ,compatible with it being the 3rd rate infamous red light district right smack in KB apart from the world famous Biarizt Park fringing the present day Palm Manor , the present Tengku Razaleight Hamzah's father's palatial house ]. Reserve class only for Royalties and the gliterati of KB though none of these priveledged creatures would be seen alive or dead anywhere near Rani Cinema by virtue of proximity to lorong Tua .
Lido and Odean are the only respectable place to be seen for these people .Lido and Odean were several scales beyond my small pocket.At 10 cent per day of pocket money that would be 3 weeks of going hungry just to get into cattle class at Odean ,the happening place to be seen those days !
Rani's 1st class at RM was $ 1.00 per show and the cattle class at just 40 cents .I would have to save 4 days of school pocket money to get to see John Wyne and occasionally the buxom Marilyn Monroe in cattle class .In the cattle class one has to share the seat with some permanent residence like pijats and cockroaches but at 40 cents young juveniles like me could saviour weeks and weeks of Marilyn Monroe so what the heck .It was heaven !
" When the earth is shaken with a shock [ 4 ] And the hills are ground to powder [5 ] So that they become scattered dust ,[ 6 ] and ye will be three kinds [ 7 ] First those on the right hand, what of those on the right hand ? [ 8 ] And then those on the left hand , what of those on the left hand ? [9 ] And the foremost in the race , the foremost in the race [ 10 ]
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha ! Tomorrow around Isyak our time coinciding with zohor wukuf time in Mecca there is no veil between the abdals and the Master .Best time ever in the whole year for doa's and all that jazz .Make full use of that short time window .Wassalam
Dr Nik Isahak Wan AbdullahWas just ' lepaking ' thru Surah Al Waqia after going thru the innuedos and 'perli' style of Surah Al Rahman . Al Waqia interestingly described 3 classes of people .
I have hurriedly gone thru Al Waqia before many2 times and somehow due to' preconceived biase ' always comphrehend that there are only 2 classes of people in heaven but yes truly are there 3 classes ,macam panggong wayang juga : The priveledged or the reserved class , the first class , and the third class .Reminded me of my childhood days in KB in the early 60's .
Panggong Rani cinema near Lorong Tua [ pronounce not as 'tua' in old but tua with a nasal twang ,compatible with it being the 3rd rate infamous red light district right smack in KB apart from the world famous Biarizt Park fringing the present day Palm Manor , the present Tengku Razaleight Hamzah's father's palatial house ]. Reserve class only for Royalties and the gliterati of KB though none of these priveledged creatures would be seen alive or dead anywhere near Rani Cinema by virtue of proximity to lorong Tua .
Lido and Odean are the only respectable place to be seen for these people .Lido and Odean were several scales beyond my small pocket.At 10 cent per day of pocket money that would be 3 weeks of going hungry just to get into cattle class at Odean ,the happening place to be seen those days !
Rani's 1st class at RM was $ 1.00 per show and the cattle class at just 40 cents .I would have to save 4 days of school pocket money to get to see John Wyne and occasionally the buxom Marilyn Monroe in cattle class .In the cattle class one has to share the seat with some permanent residence like pijats and cockroaches but at 40 cents young juveniles like me could saviour weeks and weeks of Marilyn Monroe so what the heck .It was heaven !
" When the earth is shaken with a shock [ 4 ] And the hills are ground to powder [5 ] So that they become scattered dust ,[ 6 ] and ye will be three kinds [ 7 ] First those on the right hand, what of those on the right hand ? [ 8 ] And then those on the left hand , what of those on the left hand ? [9 ] And the foremost in the race , the foremost in the race [ 10 ]
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha ! Tomorrow around Isyak our time coinciding with zohor wukuf time in Mecca there is no veil between the abdals and the Master .Best time ever in the whole year for doa's and all that jazz .Make full use of that short time window .Wassalam
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