only majnun knows laila........

Friends, Dato and Tansri,

Everyone think they know Laila, but actually only Majnun knows Laila.

I count one of my current 'tok guru', Shaykh Muhammad al Ninowy as one of those 'majnuns' who knows his 'Laila'.
In this age of  the ubiquitous 'Maggi Mee and instant noodle'; 'instant experts and instant gurus';  'google scholars and google ulama';....I am always extra careful with whom  I am to follow.

I always only look for  a 'majnun' to be my 'tok guru'. A chap who is quite 'mad' with his ugama and vocation.

The late Tok Guru Nik Aziz  was one of them. The late Prof Hamka was my 1st ' majnun'.
I read his voluminous Tafsir al Azhar 2 times over at age 34.
Shaykh Ninowy is one of my current ones.
In the background , standing tall, al Ghazali, the biggest  and best 'majnun' , the world has ever known.

Put yourself in the position of Abu Hamid al Ghazali., just some 350 years after Nabi.

You have just been nominated by Nizam Shah, the all powerful Governor, to be head of  theology department at Nizamiah University in downtown Baghdad at the relative young age of 20 plus, akin to being head of school of theology at Harvard in current time.

You  can out-debate all and sundry on matters of ugama as well as philosophy, from far and near.

...And if you live long enough, you will come to know that some famous Christian luminaries like St Thomas Aquinas for example [ 1225- died 1274 ], have been lurking in the 'background', some 200 years later, cheery picking your lifetime work, to pick up some pearls and gem, from your discourses, etc etc and etc.

Out of the blue, you  just decide to give up your post, to taste 'experiential Islam, on the whims that your knowledge of the faith at that time is just hollow and carries no weight [ try google.. al Ghazali's existential crisis ]. Not helped by having a tassawuf -inclined younger brother, harping on your 'hollowness' , on a daily basis, always in the background.

' dear brother, you may a big time , big town full prof in theology, but you have not taste  real iman yet, despite your apparent stature and position, etc etc and etc...Abu Hamid! Your life is a big fraud and charade!.....'

With this realization, you relegated yourself to being a lowly janitor for 8 years at the world famous Umayyad Mosque in Damascus! All the time listening to the post magrib discourses in the mosque of upstarts and ustazs discussing your ideas and teaching!...and quoting you wrongly for that.

You are almost persuaded to barge in and correct them but that would end your camouflage in the mosque........

If this is not 'majnun' enought,what is !?

I am still stuck at his  short threatise, a TJ Winter's excellent translation of 'Kitab dhikr al Mawt wa-ma ba'dahu',  ' Remembrance of DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE'.

I 'wrongly' started with his last thesis of the IHYA and I am still stuck at it some 20 years later, when a friend gave it as an umrah  gift in Makkah some 20 years back.  

Another 'majnun',  Prof TJ Winter of Cambridge, started his great translation work of al Ghazali's opus magnum into excellent English.

I started at the wrong end and found myself still mesmerized by this monumental work of al Ghazali.

Let us listen to Shaykh Ninowy's  new perspective on the issues of 'Signs of the Last Days'.
This 'majnun' stresses rather on the 'things that we can change and are movable' rather than ' the immovables'........ 

Dr Nik
[  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh1XxhVKuno  ]

Two Different Worlds....'never shall they meet'

It all started when that self proclaimed secular humanist, Zukariapakahnamadiadah wrote a piece in the Malay Mail recently on the 'fatwa' of Dato' Mufti of Pahang, or was it something else, some thing on 'imam muda'....I have forgotten the actual article, but imam,ulama and muftis are Zukari's favourite punching bags, and for a 'cari makan' fellow, I must admit , he does write fairly well, His english at least, though I do not seem to have the time and patience for people like him. On matters touching on the ' Ugama ', he  writes rubbish  and without wisdom most time at least from my from my perspective.

This dato friend of mine sends an email to rub me in between the ribs......
and OOUCH !..my ribs are fairly sensitive and tender these last 10 days of the Ramadan.

..............................................................................

From: dhm@chrishichens.uk
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2016 1:51 PM
To: Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah
Subject: Sorry seems to be the hardest word — Azru

This article is NOT from your hated Zukari.   It is from another Malay Muslim journalist. The clarity and precision (and a sense of irony) of the prose reveals that he is reasonably well educated.

Would you "rubbish bin" him as well?

Selamat berpuasa.

https://shar.es/1l

..................................................................

On 27 Jun 2016 17:10, "Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah" <drnikisahak@hotmail.com> wrote:

this fasting month when we are hungry and thirsty, good breeding  ground for malay muslim apologists, i can see that......
i tend to spend better time with my qu'an and getting my friends understand the qur'an better dato.
have you read the qur'an lately dato or it is also below you?

....................................................................


 From: dhm@chrishichens.uk

Sent: Monday, June 27, 2016 10:39 PM
To: Nik Isahak Abdullah
Subject: Re: Sorry seems to be the hardest word — Azru

When one cannot answer the question, one changes the subject. Sigh. Would that be possible in Med school exams, Doc?

...............................................................

On 28 Jun 2016 08:23, "Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah" <drnikisahak@hotmail.com> wrote:

we are both beyond med  and business school exam dato
we are both in what the brits call, our 'last inning'

when do you last read the qur'an, if i may ask you?
when do you last pray earnestly?
where are you going after this ?
what are you here for?

FORGET about the likes of azru and zukari, they are young punks still wet in between the ears.
ahh! how wonderful! the arrogance and exuberance of youth.

where are you going after this dato? if i may ask again
you think you wil be fairly safe and comfortable in that 6' by 3' hole in the ground?

   or perhaps you think it is academic because you will just be dust and bones! 

...........................................................................

from dha@chrishichens.uk

You are right, doc. We are beyond university lectures, research, Term papers, tutorials, debates, exams and viva voce. We are now in real life, in the Age of Enlightenment. No longer in the Dark Ages.

We are persuaded to think on the basis of reason and evidence: To be good, kind, honest, charitable, and work in solidarity with our fellow human beings.

If God is Merciful and Compassionate, l have no fear of death. I do not, and cannot, live in terror of Hell. I have, l think, lived an honest and decent life. I fear no religious bureaucracy on earth. We all have eyes to read, an 'akal to think. 

Life should be lived to the full, in appreciation, in doing good, in reading, and educating others to think, to be curious, to do good in human solidarity.

I think life should be lived well,
In kindness, not in fear of Hell.
It would be sad and a great error,
To opt for management by Terror.

....................................................................................

On 28 Jun 2016 12:25, "Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah" <drnikisahak@hotmail.com> wrote:

dato,

omg! you sound like the late christopher hichens himself to me just now...

   the mantra of the secular humanist par excellence, who does things only and only for goodness sake; god is outside the equation; who does not believe in a tomorrow after today. 
pompous arrogance of the first kind! God, in one part of al baqarah calls you guys , 'deaf, dumb and blind '.

a pity we cannot visit and ask hichens how he personally 'is' doing now.

one sufi luminary, hasan al basri, long dead by then,however was asked, in a 'dream' by his equally illustrious sufi friend, and his answer echoed what al ghazali had said in 'real' time':

''my friend, in my position now, you can forget about the lenghty philosophical intellectual discourses and existential discussions we had had before. the levels and levels of worship.

    what seems to count is that lowly, lonely two or four or 6 rakaats that one does..in the wee hours of the morn! ''
       

but of course dato you are very much a worldly man who only 'sees the elephant  in the room' in front of you.

the 'unseen', is alas, not there.....

.........................................................................

29/ 6/ 2016 :

from today both the good dato and myself, we have reached a gentleman's aggreement:
i stop sending him 'naughty little bits about the qur'an', and he stop 'ribbing' me with articles about 'how bad we muslims are'.
a 'hudaibiyah treaty' of sort. 
the truce may last 3 days perhaps!

Taqwa......Shaykh Haitham al Hadad

My good friend, Nadzru Azhari,from Ranhill Worley, recently elevates me to the status of a ' moral policeman'. I know he was just pulling my leg but coming from him, an Arabist par excellence, even if he meant it just by 10 %, I take it as a compliment. Thank you Nadzru.
He is a keen reader of minds


Talking of  'policeman' pushed me  some 40, 42 years back to Cik Gu Muzzafar Desmond Tate, our Malayan studies teacher cum career master at the Malay College.


"Nik, what do you want to be after Malay College? "
"Sir, I want to be like James Bond double 'O' seven with a license to kill....a spy",  with all the 'works' thrown in, the sultry Greek 'goddess' Ursula Undress, dripping wet coming out from the Jamaican ocean in her bikini, fresh in my mind.......
"You can't...Malaysia do not have that kind of spy service!"
" Sir, in that case, just let me be a policeman".


No!  I was not thinking of  the Tun Haniff type. I was thinking of  those wonderful time I had with Sherlock Holmes. The 'cerebral' , intellectual 'policeman'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsFAGo6i4gY&feature=relmfu

From the perspective of mechanism we are back to Imam Hasan Al Basri's triad of :
SOLAT
ZIKIR
RECITATION OF THE QURAN,
from amongst others.




Related articles in the blog :
1 http://drnikisahak.blogspot.com/2011/09/f-dying-death-and-life-after-death.html 
2 http://drnikisahak.blogspot.com/2010/10/all-we-ask.html
3 http://drnikisahak.blogspot.com/2012/04/happiness-revisited.html
4 Mufti Menk on Taqwa, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhvGaQR5HqU&feature=related

The Lives of Man....Hamza Yusuf Hanson

Hamza Yusuf Hanson, a Muslim revert at 17, received his early Islamic education mainly from a 'one to one encounter' with a Shaykh in Mauritania [' pondok style'], then later  in Morocco and Egypt,  and is currently the founding dean of Zaytuna Institute in USA.


Here he gave a 'dry' 2 hour lecture to his students on 'The Lives of Man', mainly derived from a  book of a classical scholar, Shaykh Al Haddad, with some anecdotal addition from his [ Hamza's ] own experience and acute observation and present day reading.


Fairly 'dry'  academic stuff but nonetheless quite illuminating.
Hamza Yusuf is certainly not a 'fountain of knowledge' per se but  it is rare in the Western world to find a guy who knows Arabic very well, steeped in early  Judea- Christian tradition, embracing Islam wholly and able to speak excellently to an English speaking audience.
They can be counted with fingers of one hand !
May Allah bless him with a long life to spread the universal good message of Islam...................


part 1 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1Cyj7gt9k&feature=youtu.be

[very profound esp his discussion at 1.04- 1.10 on the spirit of syariah, touching on the spirit of hudud]

part 2 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiXRHpATKoQ&feature=related

[ 0.15 , 0.16- 0.20 {death and dying in religious traditions }, 0.20 { spiritual death }, 0.29, 0.34 { on boredom and excitement about life, an arena of ecstasy, emotional death } , 0.35, 0.38  { submission as the radical cure to 'imprisonment'} , 0.54 { seeing prophets in dreams } and 0.58 { marthydom }  ]

Khutbah : ilm, ilm ilm and Ilm

For Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's Khutbah, click here

For Shaykh Ninowy's Khutbah, click here


It is back to ilm, ilm, ilm, and ilm.
'If you know HIM, you will find your way to HIM'


With true wisdom and ilm steeped from 'revealed knowledge',
....A physicist can see the handiwork of HIM in the CERN particles and photons;a cosmologist can discern order in the string theory; a biologist would not be so proud as to say evolution does not need God to give some semblance of order; an agnostic would stoop down and 'sujud' and 'taubat' for his intense ignorance and false pride;...and kings and presidents and prime ministers would pace the streets at night to look for the homeless and the destitute [ ...and not be too worried whether they have that latest fleet of Benzes and Bently Turbo in the garage, penthouses in Belgravia and 'state of the art,150-feet designer yatch' docked in Monaco, or enough ill gotten cash well stashed away in some Swiss banks somewhere ! ].



....but for us mere mortals, here are some real 'pearls and gem' more worthy to remember, comprehend and live by, than those 'superfluous' symbols of power and position...Some very powerful supplications for our everyday use and 'act' as our constant companions. From a scientific perspective,I believe it provide an instant humoral cerebral cascade, which when practised on a continued basis, provides like a permanent 'halo' at the individual level, which somehow works positively and 'can make one feels better' and act better. How this 'cascade' connect with the 'people of the higher plane' and subsequently to Him and back to the individual like a continuos 'magic beam from outer space' is beyond us. But that happens and it works wonders.

My late mother, who had almost zero formal schooling, towards the later stage in her life was always in constant dua, even before embarking on small things, like a drive to the supermarket or stepping out of the house etc and etc. I used to comment to her with some degree of smug filial condescension on her 'over dua' and 'over-wirid'. Now in my late fifties, I have 'gravitated' to the same level, perhaps even more, to the point of an 'addiction'. I could not imagine now doing anything substantive without a 'dua', to the point when some element of risk is involved, especially risk involving a third party, even added a big dose of formal 'prayer' or two. And IT WORKS ! IT WORKS !

There you are , DUA for all seasons. Allah has provided an avenue for us to dua, so DO IT ! And if you want something to happen or not to happen so badly, add to those dua, a big dose of formal 'hajat' prayer......even on a weekly or even daily basis if you have to !


A'u zubikalimatillah hittam mati min Sharhima Kholak
[ I take refuge in the kalimah of Allah against the evils {of creatures} He created]


وَقَالَ ٱرۡڪَبُواْ فِيہَا بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ مَجۡر۪ٮٰهَا وَمُرۡسَٮٰهَآ‌ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَغَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (٤١)
Bismillah himajreha wa mursaha inna Rabbi la Ghafur ru Rahim.
{Hud , 11 : 41 }
[ In the name of Allah be its course and its mooring. Lo! my Lord is Forgiving,
Merciful.]..Prophet Nuh alaihisalam on the eve of 'The Big Flood'.


La ila ha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minazzalimeen
(Al-Anbiya 21 : 87)
And Yunus, when he went away in wrath, so he thought that We
would not straiten him, so he called out among afflictions:
[ There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee; surely I am of those who
make themselves to suffer loss.].


Hasbunallah wa ni'mal wakeel
(Al Imran , 3 : 173)
Dua Prophet Ibrahim alaihisalam
Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered
against you, therefore fear them, but this increased their faith,
and they said:
[Allah is sufficient for us, and He is Al Wakeel { best disposer of affairs }]

Hasbiyallahu, la ilaha illa, huwa alaihi tawakkaltu, wa huwa Rabb al- arshal -azhiim
{ Al Taubah , 9 : 129 }
[ Allah is sufficient for me, I have placed my trust in Him, He is the Lord of the Magestic Throne. ]

Rabbana zholamna amfusina wa il lam taghfir lana wa tarhamna lanaku nan naminal khasireen
{ Al Araf , 7 : 23 }, Dua Prophet Adam alaihisalam
[ Our Lord ! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have
not mercy on us, we shall certainly be losers ].
Iblees, his 'partner in crime', and on an earlier occasion refused to 'prostrate' to Allah's new creation when asked,on the other hand was unrepentant. No dua , no repentance.
That in essense is the fine line that divides the believer from the non believer.
NO Dua, No Repentance !


...and of course my most favourite ayat cum doa from the last ayat in Al Baqarah, which according to Jibril alaihisalam has special significance. Hadith soheh has it that it was revealed to Prophet during his mikraj.
We are indeed tested by Allah all the time, in our life, in our daily work and occupation, in our illness...it is incumbent on us to doa that He 'not lay on us a burden' as 'He didst on those before us'...those monuments of men...Prophet Mosses, Ibrahim, Isa, and Muhammad et al, for we are frail specimens, frail in faith and resoluteness.
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَا‌ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡہَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡ‌ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَا‌ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرً۬ا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُ ۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَا‌ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ‌ۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآ‌ۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَٮٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٨٦)
[ Al Baqarah , 2 : 286 ]
Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope. For it (is only) that which it hath earned, and against it (only) that which it hath deserved. Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or miss the mark! Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as thou didst lay on those before us! Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear! Pardon us, absolve us and have mercy on us, Thou, our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk.

I never leave home or do anything substantive without this 'ayat', for I believe we are all being 'watched' and 'tested' and we do not know when the chips would be too heavy for us to handle.


Biodata :
Shaykh Ninowy
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

Khutbah Series : Humility

Imam Zaid Shakir on HUMILITY
click here
حَسۡبِىَ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ‌ۖ عَلَيۡهِ تَوَڪَّلۡتُ‌ۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱلۡعَظِيمِ (١٢٩)


Allah sufficeth me. There is no God save Him. In Him have I put my trust, and He is Lord of the Tremendous Throne.
Al Tawbah , 9 : 129

Related blog on Imam Zaid Shakir,
Can We talk about God ?
click here

Khutabah Series : Ustaz Azhar Idrus.

Some years back I was driving down to Kuala Teganung one night to catch the early morning Berjaya boat to Redang Island to do a spot of snorkelling and scuba diving. Stopped by at Masjid Paka to do my Magrib. Ustaz Azhar Idrus was there giving a ceramah. His ceramah is typically 'hilarious' at time, that is his style but the message he imparts are serious. This ceramah below is typical of his usual stlye. NO HOLD BARRED, with jokes thrown in between. Up north we speak 'French'. Ustaz Azhar delivers his ceramah in 'German'. Enjoy him
[ disregard the caption in the utube..this ceramah has very little to do with tahlil and whatever position you take on the issue of tahlil, it is a 'ranting' issue, and is of no consequence to me ]

By the way, Redang Island is Teganung's best jewel in the crown, and Teganung is blessed with many jewels dotting it's coast!

Khutabah Series : TGNA on 'Padang Mahsyar'

I was looking around the utube for a good' khutbah' for tomorrow's Jumaat and I stumbled across this local gem from Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz.
Nonetheless his lecture was in 'French'....but it is a gem no doubt, does not matter whichever political persuasion you come from.

Please throw away your 'political' affiliation just for 30 odd minutes and listen to the message expounded by this old man through his exquisite understanding of the Quran, hadith and Prophet's seerah, on the important issue of ' Padang Mahsyar'.
TGNA's simplistic approach in his lectures, with precise meaningful examples relevant to his 'audience', has no equal.




TG Nik Aziz Part 2: Click Here

TG Nik Aziz Part 3 : Click Here

TG Nik Aziz Part 4 : Click Here

TG Nik Aziz Part 5 : Click Here

TG Nik Aziz Part 6 : Click Here

TG Nik Aziz Part 7 : Click Here


Related Article :

TGNA in Conversation

Khutabah Series : Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick.....Slavery, Islam,and Keys to The Garden

Bio of Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick
Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is a historian, social activist and religious leader of African and Native American descent. He has travelled to over 58 countries doing research and delivering lectures to various communities. His qualification in Islamic Studies comes from a BA from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia and his history background is shaped by an MA and PhD from the History Department of the University of Toronto, Canada.

" There will be a time in the future when my Ummah would read the Qur'an in perfect melodious tone but their reading would not get beyond their throat"







Unto Allah (belongeth) whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; and whether ye make known what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will bring you to account for it. He will forgive whom He will and He will punish whom He will. Allah is Able to do all things. (284) The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) believers. Each one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We make no distinction between any of His messengers - and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying. (285) Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope. For it (is only) that which it hath earned, and against it (only) that which it hath deserved. Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or miss the mark! Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as thou didst lay on those before us! Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear! Pardon us, absolve us and have mercy on us, Thou, our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk. (286)
Al Baqarah , 2 : 284-286

Khutubah : ' Audacity of Hope'

Khutubah Series: Audacity of Hope....Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick


Bio of Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick
Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is a historian, social activist and religious leader of African and Native American descent. He has travelled to over 58 countries doing research and delivering lectures to various communities. His qualification in Islamic Studies comes from a BA from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia and his history background is shaped by an MA and PhD from the History Department of the University of Toronto, Canada.





"This earth belongs to Allah and He will give it to whom He pleases amongst His slaves and worshippers and He reserves the best rewards ultimately to those who have taqwa"
Al Qur'an



In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
When Allah's succour and the triumph cometh
And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops,
Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him.
Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy.
Surah An Nasr , 110 : 1-3



Related topics:

HERE

HERE

Khutabah Series: The Way Forward...TJ Winter

TJ Winter, Prof in Divinity , Oxford U.Translator of Imam Ghazali's treatise 'Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife' and his other works.

Timothy John "Tim" Winter (born 1960), also known as Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, is a British Muslim researcher, writer, columnist and teacher - widely known as one of the world's leading Islamic scholars. His profile and work have attracted significant media coverage both in the Muslim World and the West. Conversant in both traditional Islamic scholarship and Western thought and civilization, Winter has made contributions in the following areas: Muslim-Christian relations, Islamic ethics, Sufism, Islamic theology, Hadith studies, orthodox Muslim responses to extremism, sexuality in Islam, Islam and gender, Islam and the West, British Islam, religious life in Ottoman Turkey, and the Scriptural Reasoning project.








"And when they came in before Joseph, he took his parents unto him, and said: Come into Egypt safe, if Allah will! (99) And he placed his parents on the dais and they fell down before him prostrate, and he said: O my father! This is the interpretation of my dream of old. My Lord hath made it true, and He hath shown me kindness, since He took me out of the prison and hath brought you from the desert after Satan had made strife between me and my brethren. Lo! my Lord is tender unto whom He will. He is the Knower, the Wise. (100) O my Lord! Thou hast given me (something) of sovereignty and hast taught me (something) of the interpretation of events - Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protecting Friend in the world and the Hereafter. Make me to die submissive (unto Thee), and join me to the righteous. (101) This is of the tidings of the Unseen which We inspire in thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they fixed their plan and they were scheming. (102) And though thou try much, most men will not believe. (103) Thou askest them no fee for it. It is naught else than a reminder unto the peoples. (104) How many a portent is there in the heavens and the earth which they pass by with face averted! (105) And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners (unto Him). (106) Deem they themselves secure from the coming on them of a pall of Allah's punishment, or the coming of the Hour suddenly while they are unaware? (107) Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever followeth me - Glory be to Allah! - and I am not of the idolaters. (108) We sent not before thee (any messengers) save men whom We inspired from among the folk of the townships - Have they not travelled in the land and seen the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? And verily the abode of the Hereafter, for those who ward off (evil), is best. Have ye then no sense? - (109) Till, when the messengers despaired and thought that they were denied, then came unto them Our help, and whom We would was saved. And Our wrath cannot be warded from the guilty. (110) In their history verily there is a lesson for men of understanding. It is no invented story but a confirmation of the existing (Scripture) and a detailed explanation of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for folk who believe."

epic story of Prophet Joseph from.
Surah Yusuf, 12 : 99-111
Translation of The Noble Quran by Marmaduke Pickthal

TJ Winter is right, Muslims do have a narrative of PEACE to the rest of the world. PEACE that is not clouded by falsehood, ideology and petty egoism.
'they attribute partners (unto Him)'....In this 21st century, 'our partners' are no longer the 'tok pekong' under the big tree or 'idols in the temples'.'Partners' here are our egos, intellect,all the false isms and ideology.

Khutabah Series...Shaykh Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CONDITION.
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Bio of Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick
Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is a historian, social activist and religious leader of African and Native American descent. He has travelled to over 58 countries doing research and delivering lectures to various communities. His qualification in Islamic Studies comes from a BA from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia and his history background is shaped by an MA and PhD from the History Department of the University of Toronto, Canada.






Tomorrow 15th November is Wukuf time at Arafah. For us Malaysians, it correspond to 6 PM, Monday evening. Wukuf is the time when 'all seven heavens open up, when no veils exist between the slaves and their Lord, the best time in the entire year for Dua and prayer'. Do make full use of this small but finite time window of several hours that transcends into our margrib time as well.
Do not underrate this 'Open Sky Policy' which occurs only once a year!
Huwallahualam.

Khutabah Series...Shaykh Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick

Bio of Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick
Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is a historian, social activist and religious leader of African and Native American descent. He has travelled to over 58 countries doing research and delivering lectures to various communities. His qualification in Islamic Studies comes from a BA from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia and his history background is shaped by an MA and PhD from the History Department of the University of Toronto, Canada.






"...Say I believe in Allah and then be UPRIGHT ."
Pearls & Gem from Prophet Muhammad [ pbuh ]