Anak Kecil Main Api
Terbakar Hatinya Yang Sepi
Airmata Darah Bercampur Keringat
Bumi Dipijak Milik Orang

Nenek Moyang Kaya Raya
Tergadai Seluruh Harta Benda
Akibat Sengketa Sesamalah Kita
Cinta Lenyap Di Arus Zaman

Indahnya Bumi Kita Ini
Warisan Berkurun Lamanya
Hasil Mengalir Ke Tangan Yang Lain
Pribumi Merintih Sendiri

Masa Depan Sungguh Kelam
Kan Lenyap Peristiwa Semalam
Tertutuplah Hati Terkunci Mati
Maruah Peribadi Dah Hilang

Kini Kita Cuma Tinggal Kuasa
Yang Akan Menentukan Bangsa
Bersatulah Hati Bersama Berbakti
Pulih Kembali Harga Diri

Kita Sudah Tiada Masa
Majulah Dengan Gagah Perkasa
Jangan Lalai Teruskan Usaha
Melayu Kan Gagah Di Nusantara

Hello.

I was at Annur Mosque a few weeks back for friday prayers when my old tutor passed me a paper with a prayer printed on it. It is in english and was found on the corpse of an American soldier who was killed during the American War of Independence in 1782. It might not be a prayer of a Muslim but it is still an invokation to God nevertheless. My tutor said that the prayer suits me very well(hence him giving it to me) and I think it really did. God bless you Uncle Rahim.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, That I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for- but everything I had hoped for,
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among all men, most richly blessed.

:)

RULE #1 - People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

#2 - Tag 4 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. Do you have secrets?- yeah
2. Would you fall in love with a girl younger than you?- why not?
3. Do you enjoy going to school?- yes
4. What would you do with a billion dollars?- spend a bit on my family, girlfriend, friends and acquiantance. and donate the rest to Palestine.
5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?- no.
6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?- loved by someone.
7. List out your 5 favourite songs:- anything that sounds nice heh.
8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?- just shut up and smile:) hehehe
9. Is there anything that has made you extremely happy?- almost everything made me happy.
10. What makes you angry?- unpleasant stuff.
11. How would you see yourself in 10 years time?- an econs teacher and a part time columnist
12. Who is currently the most important people to you?- family, girlfriend and friends.
13. What is the most important thing in life right now?- education
14. how many kids you want?- 2
15. What is your favourite colour?- blue
16. Would you give all in a relationship?- yes definitely
17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?- go through a secret selection criteria.hehe
18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing the someone has done?- forgive yes, forget? ermmm...i'll rather make it a lesson.
19. What do you want to tell the someone you like?- I love you Siti Mariam!
20. 4 people I have tagged:-i cant remember sia....hehe..sorry...

chao!

Ahlan Ya Ramadhan

Welcome.

I know i came in a bit late but its not very late right?

want to wish all my muslim brothers and sisters, salam ramadhan.

may this ramadhan be a better than the previous ones.

May all of us be constantly blessed by Allah.

" O Believers, fasting has been made obligatory upon you as it has been made obligatory upon those who came before you so that you all may atttain piety." Al Baqarah: 183.

:)

I may not be a true traditionalist. But i have a penchant for thoughtful and meaningful words. Especially if it explains the behaviour of man. Be any race you want, but the character of man is the same. Lies, deceit, slander and the drama of life; in shakespeare's words, "All the world's a stage." I found this poem in malay, Tak seindah wajah, which means "More than it meets the eye." So here goes:

Kusangka aur di pinggir tebing
Kiranya tebu di pinggir bibir
Kusangka jujur pancaran batin
Rupanya palsu penghias zahir

Kukira hati jiwa nurani
Suci seindah wajah terbayang
Kukira puji seikhlas budi
Kulupa lidah tidak bertulang

Di manis gula semut binasa
Kail berduri bersalut umpan
Di manis kata insan terlena
Kerana budi hamba terkorban

Inikah dia lakunan hidup
Di pentas dunia insan berpura
Tipu dan daya pencapai maksud
Budi dan harta merangkum noda.


How true:(

I received a very polite comment from a kind reader of my blog. He/She commented that Karen Armstrong's view of the hijab totallly opposes with the Quran. So in my post today i will try to the best of my ability, from what i have found out from my references of the Quran, to address the comment. I have to qualify that i am NOT a trained theologist nor am i a religious scholar. I'm here to just give my views, and if any of my views are inconsistent with any of the readers' views, feel free to comment. I don't wish to instigate any argument, but a debate in an intellectual fashion would be greatly appreciated.

First, let us consider Armstrong's viewpoint of the hijab:

"We should pause to consider the question of the hijab, and the Muslim institution of the veil. It is often seen in the West as a symbol of male oppression, but in the Qur'an it was simply a piece of protocol that applied only to the Prophet's wives."

In this statement, there is a slight misapprehension toward the wearing of hijab. According to Armstrong, the hijab is 'simply a piece of protocol that applied only to the Prophet's wives.' While that is partly true, its is written in the Quran:

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss. " An-nur: 31.

From this verse, it is clearly stated that the believing women should guard their modesty by dressing decently by "drawing veils over their bosoms". The term believing women, logically, should also encompass the prophet's wives and his family members. Hence, saying that the veil is only a protocol that applies to the wives of the prophet is, in my opinion, a misconception.

In the chapter of Al-Ahzab Allah emphasised again:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons: that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful." Al-Ahzab:33

From these verses itself, my opinion is inclined that the wearing of the hijab do not only apply to the prophet's wives, but also to the believing women i.e. muslimah. My take is probably, Armstrong might have her own interpretation of the verses. Allahua'lam.

Regarding isolation, Armstrong opposes the view of seclusion saying that 'Muslim women are required, like men, to dress modestly, but women were not told to veil themselves from view, nor to seclude themselves from men in a separate part of the house.' There is some truth in this assertion. While she did not specify the relationship of the 'men' to the muslimah, there are certain boundaries that has been set, which allow the muslimah to not seclude herself from certain male counterparts whom she have relation with. This is explained in the verse as quoted above,

"they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex." An-nur:31.

Hence, while it is uncontestable that a muslimah should not reveal her aurat to a male whom she do not have relations with i.e. non-muhrims, there are some cases where seclusion in the household from men is unjustifiable. Allahua'lam.

I hope that from the references above to support my viewpoints managed to address the quotes in my previous post. Suppose, if there are any further interpretations, please by all means post it up as a comment. May we benefit from such intellectual debates and given the gift of true knowledge from Allah, Insya'allah.

Thank You for reading.

Salam.

I found myself trying to read almost every book that interests me. Bras Basah complex is the ish. It's the heaven of books and its way cheaper than any bookstore I have went to. I have a few books on my reading list already.

The first that I really want to get my hands on is 'Hikayat Abdullah'. I was ecstatic when i found the book in Bishan library only to know that it's not for loan. All i got is the introduction which discusses the main theme of the book. It discusses almost everything about the Malay society, in a logical and even stingingly criticising the malay culture at that time. What's more embarrasing is the matters addressed by Munshi Abdullah almost a decade and a half ago still bugs the malay society to this day.I'm trying to find the english version since i had trouble comprehending the classic malay prose used by Munshi Abdullah. I wasn't a sastera student. So that should be forgivable:).

The second book would be 'People of the book' written by Geraldine Brooks. It is discusses the issue of the three Abrahamaic faiths i.e. Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The term 'ahlil kitab' have always puzzled me and i really hope that this books explains if not all, a part of my doubts.

And lastly would be 'Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths' by Karen Armstrong. Somehow, this city is the central of the three monotheistic faiths. So much similarities yet so much conflicts. I'd really love to know Karen Armstrong's perspective on this.

Currently I'm reading 'The Siege of Mecca' by Yaroslav Trofimov. It recounts the historic uprising in the heart of the Islamic civilisation. More than that, it exposed the inefficiencies, worms, warts and all of the dark side of Saud's kingdom. A history book with hints of political discussions.

Before i end off, i got this from my sisters blog,

" We should pause to consider the question of the hijab, and the Muslim institution of the veil. It is often seen in the West as a symbol of male oppression, but in the Qur'an it was simply a piece of protocol that applied only to the Prophet's wives. Muslim women are required, like men, to dress modestly, but women were not told to veil themselves from view, nor to seclude themselves from men in a separate part of the house. These were later developments and did not become widespread in the Islamic empire until three or four generations after the death of Muhammad. It appears that the custom of veiling and secluding women came into the Muslim world from Persia and Byzantium, where women had long been treated in this way.In fact the veil or curtain was not designed to degrade Muhammad's wives but was a symbol of their superior status. After Muhammad's death, his wives became very powerful people: they were respected authorities on religious matters and were frequently consulted about Muhammad's practice (sunnah) or opinions. Aisha became extremely political and in 656 led a revolution against Ali, the Fourth Caliph. It seems that later other women became jealous of the status of Muhammad's wifes and demanded that they should be allowed to wear the veil too. Islamic culture was strongly egalitarian and it seemed incongruous that the Prophet's wives should be distinguished and honoured in this way. Thus many of the Muslim women who first took the veil saw it as a symbol of power and influence, not as a badge of male oppression. Certainly when the wives of the crusaders saw the respect in which Muslim women were held, they took to wearing the veil in hope of teaching their own menfolk to treat them better."

Karen Armstrong: "Muhammad: A biography of the Prophet"

Thats all folks.