Assalamualaikum Ya Mukminin Wal Mukminat! May the Peace and Guidance of Allah be upon the Rest! Ameen.
I wish to share with you as to a permanent Reminder of Allah SWT to us in the Surah above.
This Surah Al Asr begins with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala’s Swearing by Time that Mankind is always in a state of loss except those who believe in (Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, and recommend one another to the Truth.
The example is adjoining those whom we come to know to perform good deeds ( Al-Ma’aruf) which Allah SWT extols us to and try our very best to abstain from committing evil deeds ( Al-Munkar) which Allah SWT has forbidden us!
Allah SWT then tells us to advice one another to be patient (as best as we can) for whatever hardships, sufferings, personal dilemnas, harm and injuries that befalls us which we may encounter when we are trying our best to follow His Way and during our efforts to promote the spreading of Dakwah Fisabilillah and when we set out in Jihad to defend our Faith of Islam!
Things are surely not the same anymore as in the times of Rasul Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam but the main context of the situations and the Prophecies of the Greatest and Final Messenger of God, Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam has surely come into being and to this day we see before us all that is happening showing absolute proof and truth of what he told Mankind, a thousand four hundred over years ago!
Today, in the newspapers, we read of those who portrayed themselves as being the righteous ones all these while be exposed to be totally opposite to the image they camouflaged themselves with!
Today, we see tyrants who caused and still do so much damage, harm, mayhem and destruction to millions and billions of mankind be exposed as to who they really are and eventually they do get dethroned and dismissed from their positions!
Some of them are dealt with in a manner that befits them right here on Earth whilst some of them sort of escape earthly retributions but will face the Judgement of Allah SWT in the Hereafter! No doubts about that.
The thing is we who are still alive need to realise that each and everyone of us are getting older by each passing second and from being a baby to a child then turning into a teenager then young adult eventually being adults and finally be amongst the elderly ready to be returned to the Sender and Our Creator!
This is the reality of Time! Surah Al ‘Asr. Chapter 103. Verses 1 to 3. Three short verses that encompass our entire life’s reality and that if delved into it’s context and contents will show us an Ocean of Hardhitting True Blue Reality of the Existence and Destiny of Mankind in total!
It’s not easy to remain good! No sirree! The minute you try to be good, there will come your faultfinders and in chorus they will cut you down as the example of the crabs in a bucket! They will pull down the one that tries to escape from the heap at the bottom! 😛
Even though each of us are born free from Sin no matter what some faiths claim to be or delusioning themselves to be reincarnations of this and that, the Hakikat is that each infant is born pure and devoid of anything but imbued with the Fitrah of being good!
Even someone as devilish as Adolf Hitler surely must have looked cute as a baby and would have made his mother so proud to see his chubby cheeks and gooey smile when he was a cute, cuddly infant! Every baby on Earth born normally will sure look cute and so beautiful!
Free from sin except when after puberty and by upbringing or the choice of company we keep , we turn into either saints or vile devils in human form! Na uzu billah! Naturally , each and every baby born here on Earth is free from Sin! Lillahi Ta’ala! This is true throughout the entire human race and various tribes of mankind all over the planet!
It is our parents and our guardians who are instrumental in laying the foundation to our personalities when we are small and we learn and believe in what we are taught and get programmed to be!
It is our parents or guardians who raise us up to be either Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, whatsoever.
As a child, we are not held accountable for our mistakes and free from any legal repercussions until we reach the age of puberty and if we are normal and know good or bad (not mentally retarded and sane) we are then liable to be accorded sins or blessings for each of our actions.
This is the reality in Islam. I will quote an authentic hadith about the matter of sin here :
Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib (Radhiallah hu anhu) :
The Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam said:
There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded:
a sleeper till he awakes,
a boy or girl till he or she reaches puberty,
and a lunatic till he comes to reason.
So, in short, Islam teaches us to appreciate Time. We can deduce this to mean we must not take time for granted and we must do what we can within our lifetime to enjoin good and forbid evil!
We are not sinproof thus we are commanded to stick to our Solat and be in the company of those who enjoin good and fight against evil. Just theory and no practical doesn’t cut it!
By practicing our faith, we get protection from our lusts and our nafs. Our egos get subdued and our mannerisms will evolve accordingly. When we mix with good mannered people, naturally we too will act as them. We will watch what we say and do so as not to offend anyone.
This is the rationale behind Prophet Muhammad’s hadith : “Befriend the one who sells perfumes. Even if you do not buy from him, the fragrance will stick upon you. Stay away from the one with the bellows (meaning an ironsmith) The smoke and grime will come upon you!”
This is a parable. Not to be taken literally! The Prophet was being eloquent in his speech. He is not saying that you should avoid the local blacksmith in actual reality! 🙂
When we go mix with good people, we in turn will develop good mannerisms. When we go mix with the riff raffs, then we too will turn to being as them. Coarse in manners and language.
I am sure you know what I mean. Do not take your life for granted!
Appreciate and show your care to those who merit it in your life while you are still alive!
No point in showing an act of compassion when you go kiss the forehead of the corpse of your spouse when he or she is no more!
No point in you showing that you cared for someone after their soul has been taken away and they are alive no more!
That’s hypocrisy of the highest level! We need to be sincere. Ikhlas wa lillahi ta’ala!
We need to show that so and so is important to us now, while we and them are still alive .
Do not skimp on your feelings! Neither must we be stingy with our finances with them.
Buy them gifts, presents, etc if you can afford to. Treat our spouses to good dinners, luncheons, high teas, etc. to show them how much we love them.
Cursed is he who keeps a tight fisted purse! To what is he holding it back for?
My wife always tell me ! Live as best as we can ; while we can!
I am totally blessed to have her! May Allah SWT bless her with good Iman, best of health and make things work for me so I can give her whatever He Wills for my Rezeki! Ameen!
The thing is , being a Program Consultant involves dealing with human egos and office redtape which unfortunately is very deeply ingrained in the government institutions that I have to approach for the Hanyu Study Programs which I am proposing! Sheesh!
Talk about facing the Ego Firewall! Cronyism exists everywhere and it is deep set!
It’s very much alive, well and always rearing it’s ugly head wherever we go!
Hmmm…May Allah SWT make them realise that their date of expiry is coming up very soon!
Hehehehe…anyway..life goes on! Back to my topic!
Car pe dium! Seize the day so says that Latin parable!
If you still have parents, show them that you love them (within the confines of decency) !
Incest is an abomination that destroys families and wreaks havoc in society!
I wrote about it before and sadly this disease is still spreading voraciously in the midst of the Malaysian Malay Muslim families!
JAKIM is now sort of toothless, clueless and powerless to do the very thing they are supposed to do in the first place!
They should carry out practical, down to earth, right to the people kind of Dakwah!
As it is , all these fellas with impressive sounding qualifications are just sort of giving ‘lip service’ to the matter of upholding the very tenets of Islam!
All we see is pure rhetoric!
Empty talks and forums that focus more on the glamour that these socalled Alims and Ulamaks sitting so smugly up there on the various stages and platforms of the uneffective ‘Forum Perdana’s ‘ that at times seems like ‘Comedy Central’ that is held in New York!
At times , the Ustazah’s who speak from the Forum seems flirty and enticing with her over femininely mannerisms as if wanting to show that she’s the epitome of the image of the Most Perfect Muslimah in the land! I believe you can guess who I am talking about?
The women in Islam are supposed to speak in a firm non enticing tone when speaking to those who are not their mahram!
After all, you are the key to your family’s wellbeing and your actions will determine the family’s destination!
Cursed be those who have a sickness in their hearts and be an object of fitnah whilst speaking in the name of Allah!
Wallahu alam as to what their objectives are in behaving so?
Then we have the smart alec type who pulls a oneliner every now and then in his speech as if on cue , trying to get the audience crack up with laughter!
I am not saying that humor must not be used in Dakwah but just that all these Forum Perdana’s are a bloody waste of time, effort and precious resources!
Dakwah is supposed to be an effort where the Alims and the Ulamaks go into the midst of society and speak to the people directly.
See what’s taking place in the people’s life’s!
It is a matter of sincerely seeing to the needs and the wants of the average people!
There are many Muslims out there today who are ignorant about the faith.
They do not even know how to practice the religion. Go ask any of those fellows hanging out at the malls, here and there?
Chances are that they will just sort of fumble and mumble their answers if you were to ask them about the Principles of Faith and Iman in Islam!
I am not saying that each and everyone of them will be so but the reality is that there are many ignorant ones out there!
Some , do not even know how to perform the Solat! What more of reciting the Qur’an?
Haven’t you come across Malay Muslims with pierced tongues, pierced noses, males wearing earrings, females and males amongst them having tattoos on their bodies which is Haram in Islam, the ladies wearing those jeans that expose part of their backside and show their G strings as they go about shamelessly in the shopping malls and public spaces here in Malaysia?
Even the Arabs come here and take off their jilbabs, and sport ‘aurat exposing wear’ because according to some of them whom I asked why they do so? ‘It’s okay in Malaysia!’
Sometimes we see our Arab brothers dressed in shorts exposing above their knees (the area of modesty for a male muslim is from the navel to the kneecaps)!
Funny thing is sometimes you see these men carry tasbih’s @ prayer beads and sort of flick those beads about as if they are performing the dhikr as they roam the malls and shopping centres in those shorts! 😛
Is it a brand new thingy to do when in Malaysia? Must be! Malaysia Boleh!
Go to KLCC, Times Square, Mid Valley, 1 Utama, and you’ll see exactly what I mean!
It’s okay in Malaysia! I even heard that these people change out of their ‘abayas’ on the airplane as it nears KLIA!
When they leave Malaysia, those abayas return onto their selfs as the plane reaches the Middle East!
Do they think that Allah SWT can’t see what they do? Tch tch tch !
Who the hell are they kidding? Such is the attitudes of Muslims nowadays!
Theatrical performers par excellence! A growing majority of them worldwide! No joke!
But this is another growing phenomenon everywhere from Asia to the Americas!
At times we hear of jokes and funny stories of how those who sport a nice beard or goatee, wears the skull cap and comes across as being very holy and learned being asked to be the Imam at the surau’s and the masjids.
After much ,’ No, please ..you be the Imam…No, No , you be the Imam, since you look oh so nice and learned, please, please, it’s okay, do be the Imam…’ and the reluctant bloke has no options but give in to the congregation’s request and with a heavy heart takes his place at the very front of the saff’s @ rows of the Muslims standing in prayer!
So with a shivering start of the takbir ..’Allahu Akbar!’ ..our ‘Imam’ will begin with the Al Fatihah..then whatever short surah that comes to his mind and after the ruqu’ @ bowing then proceeds to rise again with ‘Sami Allahu liman hamidah’ then another takbir of ‘Allahu Akbar’ proceeds to prostrate and do the sujud!
This is no joke…actual cases have taken place! You can share with us your stories! 😀
The jama’ah wait patiently for the ‘Imam’ to call out the takbir and proceed with the prayers …but only silence greets them!
There are many reports of the ‘reluctant Imam’ vanishing !!!
After a lengthy period of realising, something’s gone wrong , only then will someone dare raise their head from sujud and upon seeing that the ‘Imam’ had bolted out of the surau or masjid , will he go over and take the place of the ‘Imam’ and continue with the prayers!
Hmmmm… this is not a fib or an attempt to ridicule anyone but I have read about this happening all over the globe!
Thus , JAKIM and all the other State Religious Departments need to come down from their ‘high horses’ @ plush luxuriously decorated and equipped offices and really do what they have been appointed and entrusted to do that is to teach the people , the Muslims , what they do not know and to go about it in a more compassionate, really caring manner.
Do not put up ‘walls’ between the Alim and the Ummah!
We often hear the very sad cases of ‘Alims’ who at times turn into ‘Zalims!’
My wife refers to this tragedy in a very practical quip : ‘From A to Z!’ 😛
At times she too comes up with these gems of expressions! May Allah SWT bless her ! 🙂
This is the reality! If we go do a census as to the number of Islamic religious officers nationwide, I gather that the number would run into the thousands!
Just imagine, all that manpower being wasted by those officers just warming their plush seats in those ‘Jabatan Agama’s ‘ and being relegated to the ‘punch in and punch out’ crowd!
Have you ever seen any JAKIM officers go to the KLCC areas and approach and advice those young couples from not doing all those nonsense that takes place in that ‘hotspot’?
Have you ever witnessed any ‘religious officer’ approach anyone who is doing wrong and with ‘wisdom’ and ‘commonsense’ give guidance to that ignorant one with pure love, compassion and genuine goodwill of Islam?
Last we heard was a religious department ‘officer’ asking a woman caught for ‘khalwat’ to perform oral sex on him!
What a bloody abuse of power and position!!!
May that culprit be punished as severely as the local ‘watered down’ laws of this country has to offer! I just don’t know what else is gonna take place in this Bolehland!
Well, that’s what I think!
Those officers in all the Religious Departments must practice what they preach and not be hypocrites in office!
Allah SWT will definitely take them to task in the Hereafter for abusing and shirking their duties!
But then again! Remember the ‘Zouk Discotheque’ fiasco?
The hue and cry of so many who had vested interests of those Malays caught by JAWI?
Jaslina Hashim’s case!
JAWI got barbequed and it’s officers grilled by the ministers and those in high office whose ‘daughters’ were caught in that raid!
Yes, talk about do as I say and don’t do as I do thingy!
Well, this is our Bolehland!
The land where if you are ‘connected’ with a very strong ‘cable’ you can get away with even murder in this nation where connections override everything!
‘Bisa di atur!’ I leave it to you to expound on it.
Okay….back to the topic of ‘incest’ here in Bolehland!
An ever growing scourge of ‘Forbidden Love’! Love of the wrong kind!
Being fed by an overdose of hedonism and ‘tidak apa attitude’ by the masses!
Fed daily by all kinds of excesses and copying of the worst from the West! TV and the Cinema is full of it!
Mat Rempit, Bohsia, ‘Touch & Go Girls , you name it, Malaysia has it!
The local Malays are excellent in aping all that is bad and disgusting from the latest ‘trend’s from the Western cultures!
At the same time, there are those amongst us who go overboard in trying to ‘out Arab’ the Arabs!
Small innocent babies are forcibly dressed with the ‘tudung labuh’ type of jilbabs by dads who at times have been caught committing the very despicable acts of incests every now and then!
Damn! These are the idiots who give the other righteous Muslims a bad name! Ya Allah ! Spare us from such demons at large ! Ameen!
We also have a growing number of those males who want to be females!
And vice versa we have the females wanting to be males! Pengkids! Ya Rabbi!!!
Yes! It’s coming closer to the Big Day! Yaum al Qiyamat!
It’s not that hard to practice Islam as it should! Just stick to the basics and be sincere!
Appropriate shows of care, love and compassion will turn our lifes as a family and as a society to be one that is bearable and appreciatable!
Go into the midst of society today and what do you see?
Miserable, unsmiling faces, all rushing away from each other due to the rising levels of violent, horrible crimes that has turned our people into uncaring, ever fearful, members of a population left to fend for themselves by a screwed up government professing one thing and practicing another! The newspapers are full of it.
Get back to the basics. Get back to reclaiming our rights to live as decent human beings and let’s practice the faith of Islam as it should and must be.
Appreciate whatever remaining time we have in our timeframe.
God knows that Death could come to us just at any next second ! ‘Kullu nafsin iza iqatul maut!’
This is the reality that those 3 short verses expound in that Surah!
Surah Al ‘Asr Chapter 103, Al-Qur’an Al Kareem, The Last Testament and Guide for Mankind from our God Almighty, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala!
Allah SWT loves us and cares for us. He has given us our Faculties of Reason to let us choose whether we want to go to Hell or to Heaven!
Do not look for just faults in others when we too are not sinproof! If you are a Muslim, return to our Fitrah and start practicing our Faith if you haven’t done so! Do not wait until it’s too late!
The Angel of Death, Saiyidina Izrael Alaihis Salam visits us 70 times a day!
This is what I learned from my Tasawwuf Masters. A day comprises of 24 hours.
Figure out how many times he @ The Malaikatul Maut checks us out and observes us as to what we are doing?
Lucky for us that he is ‘ghaib’ @ unseen to us for if we can see him with our mortal eyes, damn! We would be scared stiff to do anymore nonsense or as we please!
Hence, the ‘Hikmah’ of Allah SWT shielding our mortal sight from seeing the Spiritual World! Life as we know would not be as we know it to be !
Some people however get a kick or thrill of the search for ghosts and spirits and we have our own ‘paranormal’ Seekers group! 😛 To each their own…hehehehe.. Leave them be ! Humans have always been curious! So investigate all you want!
We are spiritual beings. Each of us have a living spirit @ our Ru’uh that keeps us alive and our heart still beating.
Once Izrael Alaihis Salam takes our Ruuh away, we turn into a mayyit! A dead corpse!
All earthly trappings, Gucci apparel, Armani fine clothings ,etcetera will serve the dead no more!
Those of you who remember the group ‘Orkes Al Suraya’ will surely recall the # 1 hit of all time as far as the Nusantara region is concerned for remembering Death @ Maut in the song @ ” Selimut Putih”.
That song is a very good reminder of what’s in store for us.
The lyrics go like this :
Bila Izrael datang memanggil
Jasad terbujur di pembaringan
Bila Izrael datang memanggil Jasad terbujur di pembaringan
Seluruh tubuh akan menggigil
Terkujur badan nan kedinginan
Seluruh tubuh akan menggigil
Terkujur badan nan kedinginan
****
Tak ada lagi guna harta
Kawan karib sanak saudara
Tak ada lagi guna harta
Kawan karib sanak saudara
Jikalah ada amal didunia
Itulah hanya pembela kita
Jikalah ada amal didunia
Itulah hanya pembela kita
****
Janganlah mahu disanjung sanjung
Engkau digelar manusia agung
Janganlah mahu disanjung sanjung
Engkau digelar manusia agung
Sadarlah diri tahu di untung
Sebelum masa keranda di usung
Sadarlah diri tahu di untung
Sebelum masa keranda di usung
****
Datang masanya insaf lah diri
Selimut putih pembalut badan
Datang masanya insaflah diri
Selimut putih pembalut badan
Tinggal semua yang dikasihi
Berbakti lah hidup sepanjang zaman
Tinggal semua yang dikasihi
Berbakti lah hidup sepanjang zaman
Chorus :-
Bila Izrael datang memanggil Jasad terbujur di pembaringan Bila Izrael datang memanggil
Jasad terbujur di pembaringan
Seluruh tubuh akan menggigil Terkujur badan nan kedinginan Seluruh tubuh akan menggigil Terkujur badan nan kedinginan
End.
So ends the song that never fails to bring me to tears and shiver me cold to my bones in realising my mountains of sins and triggers me to keep asking for Forgiveness from Ar Rahman!
Those of you who understand Malay, listen to it and reflect deeply as to it’s meanings!
Insya Allah, you will see the light of its true meanings and what it asks us to do.
Back to my topic :
Decomposition will take place and if not interred into the bowels of the earth, the corpse will emit the foulest stench ever smelt by us and even the most beautiful, the most handsome, the stud or the smashing diva will turn into a horrible looking, foul smelling, rotting mass of putrifying flesh that none will want to come near !
I don’t want to scare you any further! Hehehehehe…just know that our time here on Earth is temporary and that if we live our life’s here right according to what our Creator has asked of us, we will be alright in the Life Hereafter!
Allah SWT loves those of us who repent and want to start anew! As long as we are sincere and want to correct what we have been doing wrong, be assured that Ar Rahman is for real and He knows who we are, in and out!
Live as best as you can and be among those whom Allah SWT favors! You have no other chance but right now, whilst you are still alive!
May Allah SWT guide us all and keep us in His List of those whom He accepts!
More Stories
Vivek @ Vivekanandhan, 59, [1961-2021]. Tamil Iconic Comedy Actor has died of a heart attack.
Serangan Anti-Asia semakin menular di Amerika Syarikat! Warga Malaysia harus sedar diri!
Selamat Pengantin Baru Anak Saudara Kami, Nur Fatin Nabila & Helmy Adnan!