The Allah Issue 101 – a feeble analysis

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

I dont usually comment or write about ‘controversial’ issues apart from Gaza but I am pulled to write a “brief” note on the issue. I love continuous prose but I will make an exception here as I struggle to put my thoughts together. Bismillah.

1. The Issue
2. Some background
3. Views from other people/organisations
4. My view on the word ‘Allah’ and this issue
5. What could be the reality behind the issue
6. What could have happened leading up to this ; With Husnudzhon
7. What could have happened leading up to this ; with Sudzhon (opposite of Husnuzhon)
8. My Reflections

1. The Issue

In short the Catholic Church in Malaysia appealed for the second time to the Court to lift the ban on the usage of the word ‘Allah’ in their Malay-Language Bible. This faced strong opposition from the Muslims in Malaysia. That’s the rough gist but you can refer here for more info yeah? > http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/SE+Asia/Story/STIStory_333219.html

2. Some background

a. Since before the pre-Islamic era, ‘Allah’ had been used by the polytheist Meccans as one of their idols. While ‘Allah’ had referred to God, these polytheist had ascribed partners to ‘Allah’ i.e. ‘Allah’ has sons and daugthers of jinn origins called al-ʻUzzá, Manāt and al-Lāt. When Islam through the prophet arrived, the polytheists were called to worship ‘Allah’. Who is this ‘Allah’? It is written the Quran as ;

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
1. Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
3. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
4. And there is none like unto Him.
~ Surah 112: Al-Ikhlas (The Unity, Sincerity, Oneness Of God)

As described by Professor Syed Naquib Al-Attas in his work , ” Islamic Philosophy – An Introduction ” ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/7794899/Islamic-Philosophy-An-Introduction-by-Syed-Mohd-Naquib-AlAttas ),

“The nature of God as revealed in Islam is derived from Revelation. We do not mean by Revelation the sudden visions great poets and artists claim for themselves; nor the apostolic inspiration of the writers of sacred scripture; nor the illuminative intuition of the sages and people of discernment.We mean by it the speech of God concerning Himself, His creation, the relation between them, and the way to salvation communicated to His chosen Prophet and Messenger, not by sound or letter, yet comprising all that He has represented in
words, then conveyed by the Prophet to mankind in a linguistic form new in nature yet comprehensible, without confusion with the Prophet’s own subjectivity and cognitive
imagination.”

- The arrival of Islam gave new dimensions to Arabic words. This includes “Allah” as explicitly redefined by the Quran as above. And you would be in awe of the fact that the Prophet’s father was Abdullah , translated as Servant of Allah and was named such in the pre-Islamic days. When Islam came and Muhammad was made the final prophet, all fitted perfectly, Muhammad ibn Abdullah , Muhammad , the son of Abdullah ( Servant of Allah, the one and only God without any partners ); Not Muhammad ibn Uzza/Lat. Allah forbids!

Even though ‘Allah’ has been redefined as such with the advent of Islam, Arabic Christians of today still use the word “Allah” since its in their language but has ascribed affixes to it (parallel to how they ascribed partners to Him ) such as, Allāh al-ʼab (الله الأب) meaning God the father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the son, and Allāh al-rūḥ al-quds (الله الروح القدس) meaning God the Holy Spirit (See God in Christianity for the Christian concept of God). You can find this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah.

b. The Indonesian Bible uses the word ” Allah “, in its unchanged form and it has been there since decades.

c. The word ” Allah” does not appear in all bibles across the world regardless of religions. In fact, the European Christians shun the word.

3. Views from other people/organisations

My Tauhid teacher says he doesnt mind but what he is against is the abuse of the word that can be used in converting desperate and uneducated Muslims.

My Islamic Worldview teacher says no.

A non Muslim wrote extensively about the issue and said no. http://takemon.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/allah-what-in-gods-name-have-the-courts-done/

A daughter of a well known politician in Malaysia says “Yes, we should not be Muslims who are not confident. “

A prominent western Muslim organisation says yes.

PAS, a forefront Islamic political party says yes.

4. My view on the word ‘Allah’ and this issue

‘God’ is a common noun while ‘Allah’ or ‘Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the son’ is not .Both are proper and specific nouns. Both words have a conception and specific meaning to them.
In fact, the word ‘Allah’ is so specific in Islam that, we Muslims, do not even translate it into our own language. In all Quran translations , the word ‘Allah’ remains.

The word ” Allah ” is not a Malay or Bahasa Indonesia word for that matter; its Arabic. The word for God in Malay is “Tuhan”. Christians may argue that their God is a specific noun as well, not like “Tuhan” which is a common noun. The point is how can you claim a foreign word for your language which is furnished with concrete qualities? Even the native Arab Christians change the word’s form and in a way, relinquish their right on “Allah” with attaching suffixes to the word , what right do non-Muslim Malays and Indonesians have? Will it not be more logical to use the words from the ancient scriptures such as ʼĔlāhā in Biblical Aramaic ( the language Jesus peace-be-upon-him used) and ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ʼAlâhâ or ʼĀlōho in Syriac ?

Ok, say that they really need to use a proper noun for God in Arabic. ‘Al-Ilah’ ( The God ) will be more accurate, not Allah s.w.t.

Even though no one asked , my answer is ,”No, Christians cannot use the word “Allah”. “

By principle, its a “no” for me. By principle, the principle should be enough.
But I still wish to go on to the repercussions that this ruling will have once permitted.

So once this ruling takes effect, the bibles will contain the word “Allah”. Its usage would be so widely use that the textbooks will need to be rewritten, local dramas will be littered with the usage of “Allah” by Christians, choir songs which will inevitably contain Christianity’s essences will be in Malay and will contain the word ‘Allah’ is numerous songs such as “Gloria” and “Eziekil saw the wheel”. The after-effects will be enormous and logical.
But who are the audiences exposed to such a culture?

It would be the easliy influenced Muslim youths who are prone to follow their nafs which Islam prohibits but Christianity allows. Coupled with uneducated or under privelleged parents , unstable political leadership and lack of unity of Muslim leadership; its a disaster, just waiting to happen. It is not that every Muslim is not confident , they are not just as privileged as some of the elite to have received proper upbringing. Looking at the bigger picture of the average Muslims in Malaysia : not doing well in academic and rife with social ills. On top of this , coupled with a threat to erode their faith and conception of Allah s.w.t which is central to a Muslim’s life. Really, it does not look very bright .

There are other speculations to this issue which I heard and had contemplated about.

5. What could be the reality behind the issue

One of the most popular speculation is the fact that this issue reflects a strategy of the Catholic Church to confuse Muslims and convert them to Catholics.

The other was purely political, to ‘test’ the current prime minister with his conception of 1Malaysia, just new in his term of office.

Another political explanation describes the non Muslim-Malay political party to further swing non Muslim-Malay votes in their way and usurp the UMNO dominance in Malaysia.

Yet another could be that UMNO uses this as a distraction from public scrutiny of their current leadership performance in governance.

I don’t know what is the reality myself.
But I cant help but think that, if there were not Bahasa Indonesia translation Bibles in Malaysia in the first place, which uses the word ( and should not ) “Allah” to refer to God , would all of this madness have happened?

Where or how such bibles have surfaced?

6. What could have happened leading up to this ; With Husnudzhon

“Allah” was absorbed into the dominantly Muslim environment till “Allah” became a common noun in Bahasa Indonesia. And thus, such bibles.

The past Christian scholars in Indonesia were oblivious and unintentionally translated “God” into “Allah”, not “Tuhan” or “Al-Ilah” or “ʼĔlāhā ” or “ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ʼAlâhâ” or “ʼĀlōho”.

But I would expect better from scholars, regardless of what sciences they are in. Would they have not consulted the Pope about this or have a panel to approve of the translation? I dont know.

7. What could have happened leading up to this ; with Sudzhon (opposite of Husnuzhon)

The same scholars knew and deliberately used “Allah” in their bibles. As mentioned before, how could they not research into every word used in translating the Bible in a 88% Muslim-dominated region?
If it was intended, it was certainly an effective strategy and now, we are seeing their fruits of labour, conquering a highly esteemed ‘Islamic’ country, attacking their tauhid and leaving them helpless and disunited.

And I also wondered about what the Indonesian Muslims were doing when the Bible was translated into Bahasa Indonesia and carried the word ” Allah ” to refer to God?
Were they like what Syed Naquib Al-Attas mentioned in his response , ” They (the Muslims in Indonesia) seem not to bother about this”? You can read his response here : http://blogs.iium.edu.my/jaiz/2010/01/07/issue-of-khalimah-allah-simple-but-meaningful-answer-by-prof-syed-muhammad-naquib-al-attas/

I dont know.

8. My Reflections

Regardless, this has been a learning journey for me, to think and reflect quite intensively. It was also timely, as if to test my understanding of what I have learnt recently in my new Tauhid and Islamic Worldview classes. To quote my classmate, I merely copy and paste from my teachers and readings.

My mom’s ustad mentioned that ” Since the Muslims do not want to use the word ” Allah ” anymore, the Christians are now using it”.

So it all really boils down to knowledge, useful knowledge.

When 9/11 occurred , most people thought that it was the end for Islam; people would shun it ( some governments in the world are anyway). But MasyaAllah, truly, Allah knows best what He has ordained for the ummah; the rate of conversion to Islam rose rather dramatically as people wanted to know more about Islam.

I am hoping that the same hikmah is currently sitting in the shadows, waiting for the right time to step into the light of His Truth. Perhaps, Muslims and Muslim Organisations will step up their efforts in educating Muslims & daawah& islah and more non-Muslims around the world will be interested to know the difference in conception of God between Islam and Christianity. Perhaps, this is the will of Allah s.w.t as a mercy to Muslims. Perhaps, this is the will of Allah s.w.t. to impart His Taufeek and Hidayah.

Wallahualam

Ya Allah, I strive to present the truth and nothing more in this post; forgive me and show me the right way for any fitnah I have made in this post.
Astargfirullahala’zim

Wassalam

p.s. I have nothing against Christians or Catholics. I believe there are as much sincere Christians and Catholics who are in search of The Truth. If you happen to be a Christian or Catholic wanting to verify what constitutes a Holy Book, you can refer to this link http://www.slideshare.net/zhulkeflee/qur-ancriteria2006scribdamnded-presentation?type=powerpoint .
Granted, it is kind of biased but its an eye opener to us Muslims as well

 

New Blog coming up!

Just wanna say , alhamdulillah, the blog is taking shape nicely
I am quite excited about this but I think its just due to the custom header Allah swt has allowed me to form -_-”

 

New Blog

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

Knowledge is an amanah and in the hereafter, one would be asked about what he/she does with that knowledge.

InsyaAllah, I will be opening a new blog soon ; this idea came about with my readings of papers, books, lectures I have heard, lessons which I have been attending and from my different usrahs’ sessions and random lectures. All this knowledge never fail to inspire me and strengthen my weak and pendulum-like iman. The nikmat of iman is truly something each and everyone is created for to enjoy.

I realised of late, more and more of my less inclined cousins and acquaintances are on my Facebook list. If Allah allows, I hope my humble sharings will expose them to the indescribable nikmat of Islam and leave them wanting to learn more about Allah subanallah taala.

Hopefully, the blog will also include reviews and takeaways from the loveliest books Allah has allowed be to read, learnt from and inspire this weak self, as well as documents/papers which I have collected over the past years for sharing.

Being my lazy , hedonistic self, I have put off creating the blog for a week now, so please make doa that I can get the blog up and running soon, amidst my other huge amanah as well. If this is the best for me and the knowledge which I intend to share.

Wallahualam

 

Finding a Husband

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

Its headlines like these which never fail to attract unwarranted attention and all sorts of speculations which both bemuse and exasperate me.

But I begin this post with a heavy heart, shaken from a lesson I attended 4 hours ago. The lesson is a series of my Islamic Worldview course I have been attending for the past one month. The lesson was the most draining yet thus far, and culminated to a headache during the lesson’s last lap.

Bro Halim mentioned that this age is the age of fitnah for Islam and the ummah, and he predicted that the next phase is the phase of nifaq, the phase of hipocrisy. He narrated the story of his encounter with a hypocrite, who proclaim the shahadah but not Muslim or something along the lines; it brought me to my memories of my attendance at a conference two months back – a local Muslimah academic suggested that we Muslims, need to find,within Islam elements that can be compatible with the international rights law, laws which are man-made. I am not saying that she is a hypocrite , but as I extrapolate, these are the people of prestige in the society which influence policies and opinions of generations to come and confuse them as they go along in their un-Islamic worldview. And comes with it, confusion in knowledge, election of false leaders, twist of reality amongst our uneducated ummah, strangled at the bottleneck by secularism.

The more I learn, the more scared I become in anticipation of the world that my children will grow up to be in. The more fearful of the amanah of the knowledge I have acquired , and want to enquire. How do I go about applying these knowledge within the scope of my influence in my activists circle? I dont know at the moment.May Allah s.w.t guide me to the right path.

As bro Halim went on, I realise that finding the right husband is going to be key in sailing through a storm of life uncertainties. I fear I dont have enough knowledge to rightfully guide my young to be future khalifahs of this earth. I fear of my various weaknesses not leading my children to the right path, much less mould them into the turbines that spin around the axis of daawah.

Will I find this right man?
Wallahualam

 

Dua

Dua

Apakah itu dua?
Apakah bisa kita melihat dua?
Pernahkah angka dua itu memenuhi ruang indra kita?

La, tidak pernah.

Namun, jaring pemandangan terus menerus menangkap yang dua
Dua bebola mata
Dua buah pokok
Dua ekor merpati putih berterbangan di langit indah
Ah, banyak lagi yang datangnya berdua…

Alhamdulillahirabbilalamin

A’lam
Apakah itu disebut sebagai a’lam?
Sang Bumi?
Sang Bumi dan Sang Langit?
Sang Bumi , Sang Langit dan segala yang terkandung di dalamnya?
Atau, Sang Angkasa yang begitu luas sekali hingga tidak bisa digambarkan manusia kerdil?

La, tidak sama sekali.

A’lam mendukung maksud
Yang Dicipta
Oleh Sang Pencipta ; Allah Subahanallahtaala yang mencipta ciptaan-cipataanNya berdua

Dan segala sesuatu Kami ciptakan berpasang-pasangan supaya kamu mengingat kebesaran Allah. [Adz Dzaariyaat: 49 ]

Dan kamu lihat bumi ini kering, kemudian apabila telah kami turunkan air (hujan)di … berbagai jenis pasangan tetumbuhan yang indah” – [Al Hajj : 5]

Dua itu, bagiku membawa maksud;

Sang Pencipta , yang Dicipta
Yang Kekal , yang fana

Mengapakah manusia sentiasa kulihat berlumba lumba dalam alam yang fana, semakin jauh dari garis permulaan
Bukankah kita akan kembali kepada tempat permulaan kita yaitu Allah subanallahutaala?
Bukankah begitu?

اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ

Wallahualam

 

Granny memorises Quran at 82!

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

An Interview with Umm Saalih:

A Grandmother Who Completed Memorizing the Qur’an at Eighty-Two Years Old

As Read by Dr. Saleh as Saleh

Al-Hamdulillaah (All-Praise is due to Allah), the One Who said (what means): “And in truth We have made the Qur’aan easy to remember; but is there any that remembers?” Surah 54: 32

Many all over the world memorize the Qur’aan, and it is not strange to see the youth memorizing the Noble Qur’aan and an early age. Al-Hamdulillaah, the One who made the Qur’aan easy for remembrance, had made it easy for Umm Saalih age 82. In an interview with Umm Saalih, she was asked the following questions:

Q1: “What was the reason that drove you to memorize the Qur’aan after so many years?”

She said, “I always hoped to memorize the Qur’aan from the time I was young. My father always used to invoke Allaah for me to become one of the memorizers of the Qur’aan, like himself and like the elder brothers of my family who memorized it. So I memorized in the beginning about three parts and then after I completed the age of thirteen, I got married and became busy with the household and the children. After I had seven children, my husband died. They (the children) were all young so I took the time to raise them and educate them, and then after they grew up and got married, I had more time for myself. Therefore, the first thing I directed myself to focus upon was the Qur’aan.

Q2: “Tell us about your journey with the Noble Qur’aan.”

She said, “My younger daughter was going to high school and she was the closest of my children to me and the most beloved, because she stayed with me after her older sisters got married and got busy with their lives, and because she was a quiet girl, upright, loving, and good. In addition, she was interested in learning the Noble Qur’aan, and her teachers encouraged her.

Furthermore, she was very enthusiastic and always told me of many women who were driven by this great motivation to memorize the Qur’aan, and this is where I started.”

Q3: “Tell me about your way of memorization.”

She said, “We assigned ten verses (meaning her and her daughter who was going to high school). So each day after Asr, we used to sit together. She reads and I repeat after her three times. Then she explains the meaning to me, and after a while, she repeats that three times. On the next morning, she repeats them to me before she goes to school.

She recorded also the recitations of Ash Shaykh al Husary, Rahimuhullaah, repeating each verse three times and thus I continued to listen most of the time. Therefore, the next day we would go to the next ten verses if my memorization was good. Otherwise, we would postpone taking additional verses until the day after. Moreover, we assigned the day of Friday to review the memorizations of the entire week. And this was the journey from the beginning.”

Then she said, “Over four years and a half, I memorized twelve juz” according to the way I described to you. Then this young daughter got married. When her husband knew of our task concerning the memorization, he rented a house close to me, close to my house, so that he could allow the continuation of the memorization. In addition, he, May Allah reward him used to encourage us and sometimes sit with us listening, explaining and teaching.

Then after three years of her marriage, my daughter got busy with the children and the household and our schedule was interrupted, but that did not make her give up. To the contrary, she sensed that my eagerness for the memorization was still established so she looked for a special good teacher to continue the journey under her supervision. So, I completed the memorization by the success of Allaah and my daughter is still working to finish the memorization of the Glorious Qur’aan. She has a little left, In Shaa Allaah Ta’aala.

Q4: “This motivation of yours, did it have an effect on other women around you?”

She said, “It really had a good strong effect. My daughters and stepdaughters were all encouraged and worked on learning and teaching the Qur’aan to their children and learning it themselves.

Q5: “After finishing the Noble Qur’aan, don’t you think about working on memorizing hadith?”

She said, “Now I have memorized ninety hadith and In Shaa Allaah I will continue the journey. I depend, in my memorization, upon the tapes and upon the Qur’aan radio station. At the end of each week, my daughter comes and checks for me the memorization of three hadith, and I am trying now to memorize more.

Q6: “Over this period of memorization of the Qur’aan, did your life change? Was it affected in one way or another?”

She said, “Yes, I went through a major change and I tried always, all praise is due to Allaah, to obey Allaah before I started the memorization. However, after I started the task of memorization, I began to feel a self-comfort, a great self-comfort and all worries began to move away from me. I even reached the stage of freeing myself from all these excessive worries concerning fearing for the children and their affairs, and my morale was boosted.

I had a noble objective to work for and this is a great Ni’mah (Favor) from Allaah . upon me, since we know that some women, when they get old and they do not have a husband, and their children got married, may be destroyed by the empty time, thoughts, worries, and so forth. But, AlHamdulillaah, I didn’t go through this and I made myself busy with a great task and a great objective.

Q7: “Didn’t you think at one point, to join one of the circles focusing on teaching the Noble Qur’aan?”

The answer was, “Yes, some of the women suggested this to me, but I am a woman who got used to staying at home, and I don’t like to go out everyday, and Al Hamdulillaah, my daughter sufficed me from all difficulty and I was so happy while I was learning from her. My daughter had set an example in goodness and righteousness which we rarely find in our days.

She started this task and journey with me while she was an adolescent and this is a critical age many people complain of. She used to pressure herself so that she could have spare time to teach me, and she used to teach me with kindness and wisdom. Her husband was a good help to her and he exerted a lot of effort. I ask Allaah . to give them success and to bring their children up on uprightness.”

Q8: “What do you say to a woman of your age who wishes to learn and memorize the Qur’aan yet she is worried about it and feeling unable to?”

She said, “I say to her there their shall be no despair with the firm, sincere and truthful determination. Begin with sincerity, firm determination and dependence on Allaah at each time. And remember that at this age you should have the time for yourself. However, do not use your time to only go out or to sleep and so forth. Rather, busy yourself with righteous work.

Q9: “Now what would you say to a woman who is still young? What would you advise her?”

She, may Allaah preserve her, said: “Preserve Allaah and He will preserve you. Make use of the favor of Allaah bestowed upon you from health and ways and means of comfort. Use that to memorize the Book of Allaah. This is the light which enlivens your heart, your life and your grave after you die.

And if you have a mother then exert the effort to teach her, and there is no better favor upon a mother than one of her righteous children aiding her to be close to Allaah.”

Presented on the 1st of Muharram 1426, Feb 10th 2005. Originally published in Ad-Da’wah Magazine, no.1552, 17th of Rabee’ Al-Awwal 1417,corresponding to Aug 1, 1996

 

Posting my all time favourite :)

Ku Pinangkau dengan AlQuran

Kupinang engkau dengan Al Quran
Kokoh suci ikatan cinta
Kutambatkan penuh marhamah
Arungi bersama samudra dunia

Jika terhempas di lautan duka
Tegar dan sabarlah tawakal pada-Nya
Jika berlayar di sukacita
Ingatlah tuk selalu syukur padaNya

Hadapi gelombang ujian
Sabarlah tegal tawakal
Arungi samudra kehidupan
Ingatlah syukur pada-Nya

Amin for me and all muslimins and muslimahs out there

 

Nikah as an Ibadah

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

I found this nice article from a site and thought I will post it here so that the knowlegde about Nikah is more widespread

Nikah (marriage) is a great Ibaadah in Islam. It is a social obligation, an act which is highly admired by Allah SWT and a Sunnah of the Blessed Prophet sal Allahu alahi wasalam.

But, Subhan Allah, in this western cultured society, we have no idea what marriage is. We have no idea how to live with one’s spouse, how to treat one’s spouse, how to respect one’s spouse, or, in short, how to be a spouse according to Islamic Shariah. Marriage in the western world is quite meaningless. People marry, but within a few years, we’ll see that the couple has split up for one reason or another. Today, there is no limit to the affairs between men and women, which weakens the marriage bond. In the modern age, western civilization has beset many problems. One of the major ones being divorce. This is due to lack of understanding and lack of knowledge of what marriage exactly is, especially according to Islam.

A good example would be the recent news story of the TV show, which is now off-air, called “Who wants to marry a millionaire?” Why did the women come on the show? Was it to seek kind, loving, caring men, who will love and cherish them for the rest of their lives? Or was it because they had the chance to become millionaires themselves? The answer is obvious–it was the money. Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wasalam, himself, said the fitna of his Ummah will be wealth. And the men–why would they come on TV to look for someone to marry? Most likely, to gain popularity, or maybe even because they were desperate. So, what does the western society tell us about marriage? It simply teaches us that the union of a man and woman through marriage is no big deal. One can easily go into it and easily come out of it, if one desires.

On the contrary, marriage in Islam means more that just false promises that one could break this bond anytime one pleases without serious thought and consideration. Rasoolullah SAW, regarding divorce, stated that it is the most hated act of all lawful things in the sight of Allah.

Marriage is a life-long commitment and partnership. It is a natural and inevitable relationship filled with mutual love, respect, and benefit. Marriage is a beautiful institution, which makes the solitary lives of two people a partnership in the Garden of Jannah. It provides solace and comfort to two people in the hearts of each other. It stabilizes society and guarantees well-being for the community. It is an Ibaadah, a type of worship. The sweet moments a husband and wife share are more rewarding than Nafl Ibaadah. It is an Ibaadah that can lead one to Jannah, where a pious couple will be happy companions for eternity. What a blessing from Allah, Most Compassionate!

Unfortunately, because of our short-mindedness, stubbornness, pride, and ignorance in the UN-Islamic influential society that we live in, some marriages turn out to be a disaster filled with bitterness, enmity, sorrow, and regret, which is also mostly due to lack of knowledge of a successful Islamic marriage. What we must understand is the individual duties, responsibilities, and roles of the Muslim husband and the Muslim wife.

The first point which should be made is that, in Islam, the man and the woman are of equal human status. No one, whether male of female, is superior to another, except in piety. Allah does not favor a man over a woman or a white over a black, but He favors those who are righteous and obedient (to Him).

‘Men and women who have surrendered (to Allah),
believing men and believing women,
obedient men and obedient women,
truthful men and truthful women,
enduring men and enduring women,
humble men and humble women,
men and women who give in charity,
men who fast and women who fast,
men and women who remember Allah in abundance–
for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.’ (33:35)

When Allah created Adam alayhis-salaam, he was given all the pleasures of Jannah (Paradise), but Allah sensed an emptiness inside His new creation. To fill that emptiness, Allah created, as a companion for Adam AS, Hawwaa (Eve) alayhas-salaam, whereby, he then found complete happiness and fulfillment. Muhammad SAW was reported to have said that women are the twin-halves of men. When a man and woman have joined through marriage, they are complete. Allah describes the importance and significance of men and women to each other in the Holy Qur’an.

‘They (women) are your garments and you (men) are their garments.’ (2:187)

Without clothing (garments), a body is meaningless. One’s clothing is one’s modesty, one’s protection, one’s security, one’s respect, one’s comfort, one’s reputation even. Likewise, clothing is meaningless without a body. The two must go together. If apart, their is little reason for their existence. This parable that Allah uses, defines how a husband and wife relate to each other. Just as one takes much care a protection for their most expensive garments, the spouses, who are each other’s garments, should do the same. The only way they could do this is to understand that, though they are of equal status, each has different duties, responsibilities, and roles as Muslim husband and Muslim wife.

Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wa salam was a perfect model and a perfect example to all people in every aspect of life, including marriage. He loved all his wives dearly and treated them all equally. He knew what made happiness in marriage. He loved feeling welcomed by them and appreciated the fact that they respected him and would never go against them. He also appreciated that they did so many things to please him and he knew he could trust them not to let him down, in any way, while he was absent. The mere sight of them made him happy.

The messenger of Allah sal Allahu alahi wa salam was an example to all men on how to treat their wives and he always encouraged his followers to treat them kindly and lovingly: ‘A good Muslim husband should treat his wife in the best possible manner.’ The Qur’an states:

‘Live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it maybe you dislike a thing in which Allah has meant for your own good.’ (4:19)

In regard to treating women kindly, Rasoolullah SAW also said: ‘Fear Allah with regard to women because you have taken them in the trust of Allah and made their private parts lawful with the word of Allah.’

In Islam, the husband has no right to treat the women cruelly and unfairly. The husband should never regard his wife as a servant, but as a partner in life. The wife was regarded by Rasoolullah sal Allahu alahi wa salam as the best safeguard for the husband against sin. And he SAW brought a complete change in the status and position of women. The ideal of wifehood was declared to be love and affection and not subordination and inferiority.

Muhammad SAW taught that no matter how provoked a man may feel, he shall never slap his wife on the face. He discouraged this by saying: ‘The best of you is he who is best to his wife.’ He further said: ‘Never hit your wife like the hitting of your slave.’ In other words, never beat them in a way as to injure her. In some extreme cases, though, mild hitting is allowed, but even in the Qur’an, Allah says that preliminary steps should be taken before automatically looking to hitting her, which are admonishment (warning) or separation from the bed.

Our Blessed Prophet sal Allahu alahi wa salam also taught that it was wrong for a husband to speak abusively to her or rudely neglect her whilst out in public. The husband should also not be too strict on his wife in order to change her. Upon this, Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wa salam said: ‘Admonish (criticize) women with good, for they have been created from the upper ribs and the most crooked thing about the rib is its upper part. If you try to straighten it, it will break. If you leave it, it will remain crooked, so give advise to women accordingly.’

A man should also not be suspicious of his wife on false grounds, for this is sin on his part and he shall not accuse her without proof. This will take him to a level of almost being regarded as a kufr. But the husband should regard his wife as a safeguard against immorality and as a consolation and comfort in times of distress.

A husband and wife are to be the best of companions. They should be each others support and comfort, “a shoulder to lean on.” There was an occasion, where the Non-Muslims of Makkah would not allow the Muslims to perform Hajj. Sacrificing the animal is a part of the holy pilgrimage. So, Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wa salam told his followers that they would have to sacrifice the animals in the jungle, but the followers did not agree and did not obey. He asked them a couple more times, and still they thought it was not allowed to do that, so they didn’t obey. In distress, Muhammad SAW went back to his wife and narrated the story to his wife, who advised him to go out, shave his head, sacrifice an animal, and his followers would do the same. He did just that and the followers, upon seeing the Prophet sal Allahu alahi wa salam doing what he had commanded them to do, finally obey him, with much regret of course. (May Allah forgive me if I’ve got the story wrong in any way.) This is an example of the love and respect of the special relationship of a husband and wife.

Another important duty of the husband is to provide his wife with finance from his wages, so that she could successfully run the household. The Prophet sal Allahu alahi wa salam said: ‘You shall give her food when you take your food and you shall clothe her when you clothe yourself,’ meaning he should take care of his wife as well as he takes care of himself, without neglecting her. Aysha RA narrated that Hind, wife of Abu Sufyan, complained to Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wa salam: ‘Abu Sufyan is a miserly person. He does not give adequate maintenance for me and my children, but I take from his wealth without his knowledge. Is this sin on my part?’ Allah’s messenger SAW replied: ‘Take from his property the usual amount that would suffice you and your children.’

A wife is to be loved, cherished, treated with kindness, cared for, and protected. She is not a toy or plaything for the enjoyment of the man. She is a spiritual and moral being like himself. Therefore, the husband should build a moral and spiritual relationship with his wife. This will help in establishing family units that knit together with ties of love and affection and will finally lead to the growth and development of a civilized life in communities all over the earth, but in accomplishing this, the cooperation of the wife is also essential, which leads us to the duties, responsibilities and role of the wife in a successful marriage.

The husband has been granted the God-given right as the ‘head’ of the family, the organizer, the supervisor of the social unit of marriage, as all social units need a ‘head.’

‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given one more strength than the other and because they support them from their means. Therefore, the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in the husband’s absence what Allah would have them guard.’ (4:34)

So, the righteous woman, according to Allah, is one who is obedient to her husband. Rasoolullah SAW said to his companions: ‘Shall I tell you about the best treasure a man can have? It is the virtuous wife who always pleases him whenever he looks at her, who obeys him when he orders her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.’ But if a wife is rebellious and cannot accept this situation, the marriage will, undoubtedly, be unsuccessful.

A righteous woman, who is fearful of Allah will have the naturalness of being a pleasing wife instilled in her. She will know that pleasing her husband is pleasing Allah and bring displeasure to her husband is bringing displeasure to Allah. Rasoolullah SAW said: ‘When a man calls his wife for his need, let her come to him, though she may be cooking.’ He SAW also said: ‘Whenever a man calls his wife for his need and she refuses and he passes the night in an angry mood, the angels curse her until she gets up at dawn.’

The responsibilities of women, as regards to men, is described in the Qur’an and Sunnah according to feminine nature. If a woman’s nature is alive and she wishes to live her life as do the pious, she will not find any difficulty of strangeness in abiding by the laws of Qur’an, Sunnah, and Islamic Shariah.

The Qur’an states: ‘Therefore the women are devoutly obedient (to their husbands).’ It is only natural for the husband, who is entrusted with the maintenance of the wife from her family, to expect obedience from her. The men are the benefactors. Muhammad SAW warned: ‘Be not ungrateful to your benefactors.’ The husband is like the ruler of a country. If the citizens do not respectfully obey him, then, no matter what he does, he will be unsuccessful in running the country. The home is the basic unit of the larger organization. It is only when the smaller units are in order that the larger unit will function smoothly. Therefore, it is essential for the home to be in an atmosphere of obedience and conformance along with love and affection. Rasoolullah sal Allahu alahi wa salam said: ‘There is nothing better than marriage between partners who love each other.’ So, the wife should feel happy to serve and please and obey her husband, even at the cost of her own comfort. For example, if the husband does not like her to go to certain people’s houses, she should not go without his permission. For, this will cause him to be displeased and will put tensions between the two. Regarding this, Rasoolulah SAW said: ‘No woman shall keep optional fast except with the permission of her husband.’

Woman is man’s garment. Just as the garment is closest to man, the woman is closest to the man. In marriage, there are no secrets between the husband and the wife. This is the close companionship between the two, where no other relationship contains such closeness. The man is most reluctant in sharing his secrets with anyone, except his wife. The close relationship the husband has with his wife enables him to trust her with his confidentialities as well as to guard them safely. And it is the duty of the wife to not carelessly reveal her husband’s secrets and confident feelings and emotions to anyone so long as she is alive. The Qur’an states that if a woman holds a grudge against her husband, it would still be unlawful for her to reveal his secrets.

Addressing women, Allah says in the Qur’an: ‘Stay in your homes.’ (33:33), meaning that the woman’s duties should be related to and around the home. In modern times, the woman has become an external showcase for a broader audience, where in Islam, a woman has an important internal duty of caring for her home, her family, and her children. Some may refer to this as being a “housewife,” which, in today’s society, holds no respect. Now, what would be more respectable–cooking at a restaurant for hundreds of strangers or cooking for one’s family and children? The wife and mother are the role models for the success of the future generations. They have the power to make a home or break a home. With this much power, is it fair to say that the “housewife” is useless in society? She is like the head of state, devoting herself to making her home an ideal one. She has the major responsibilities of housekeeping, taking care of everyone else’s needs before her own, management of all affairs, and most importantly, raising the children as devout, pious, righteous Muslims, which, today, in this western-influenced society is difficult.

Muhammad sal Allahu alahi wa salam was once asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who is best of all women?’ He replied: ‘One who makes her husband happy when he sees her, who obeys her when he asks her for something, and who does not to anything against his will in regard to either herself or his wealth.’ He SAW also said: ‘If the wife performs her 5 daily prayers, restrains herself from adultery, and obeys her husband, she will enter Paradise through whichever of its doors as she wishes.’ On the other hand, the Prophet SAW also said to a group of laughing and cheering women: ‘O assembly of women! You should give as much as you can in sadaqa (charity) for, I have seen that there are more women in the Hellfire than men.’ When inquired as to why, the Prophet sal Allahu alahi wa salam said: ‘ You grumble and curse often and you are ungrateful to your husbands!’

So, the wife should try to please her husband in whichever way she can, according to Islam, and should not be unwilling or undesiring in obeying him and serving him through much love and careness for him. This is the secret of a successful married life as well as the means of pleasing Allah and attaining Paradise.

What is intended in making women obedient to their husbands is to cultivate in them the type of temperament and character that will make them the true partners to their husbands. An obedient wife wins the heart of her husband, therefore, gaining the upper hand. Hers is the highest place at home and in the eyes of her husband. On the other hand, a disobedient wife who quarrels with her husband and is ungrateful and unloving to him, will spend her life filled with bitterness and a rock-hard heart, not to mention the displeasure of her Lord.

As for men, Islam aims to cultivate fair-mindedness, love, and kindness on all occasions. Being the maintainer of the house, the man should not abuse his right in a displeasing and UN-Islamic manner. If he makes this sinful mistake, he should know that he will have to meet his Lord and answer for his deeds. Rasoolullah SAW said: ‘The man is ruler over his wife and children and is answerable to Allah for the conduct of their affairs. The woman is the ruler over the house of her husband and children and is answerable for the conduct of her affairs.’

May Allah give all believing men and women, married or looking to marry, the towfeeq to be the ideal Muslim husband and the ideal Muslim wife with His Divine help and guidance. May He bless all present and future marriages with love, happiness, peace, and success. Ameen. Alhumdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.

 

Astargfirullah…

Ya Allah

Sesungguhnya diriku ini akan terus berjuang dalam jalanMu

Terimalah amalanku yang lepas ini sebagai tanda kasih dariKu

Ya Allah

Jagalah amalanku

Agar suci dari sisa sisa riak

Agar bersih dari kotoran ujub

Agar putih dari kehitaman bangga diri

Agar mulia dari kehinaan mendambakan pujian Sang Manusia

Agar jernih dari kekeruhan hati yang tidak mahu tunduk dan mengingatiMu dan berdoa kepadaMu

Ya Rab

Andainya Kau tidak menerima segala amalanku dan amal daawahku

Maka tegurlah hamba yang hina ini dengan cara terbaik bagiku

Agar diri yang daif ini sedar

Agar amalanku dapat diterimah

Agar tanda kasihku sempurna, memutik KegembiraanMu, KesayanganMu

Ya Allah

Lindungilah kami dari fitnah dunia dan kebanjiran nafsu

Kuatkan kami dengan cinta ukhwah yang bersemai di hati

Tanamkan lah iman yang kukuh dalam diri kami

Agar kami bisa menuai di hari akhiratMu dengan izinMu

Agar cinta kami terhadapMu bisa bersemi dengan rahmatMu

~Inna solati wa nusuku wa mah yaya wa mamati, lillahirrabilalamin

 

Malay Culture

Bismillahirrahmanirahim

I am re-posting something a brother wrote

The constantly recurring question on the impossibility of assimilation between Malay culture and Islamic principles is indeed perplexing. This is not merely due to the in-depth content that the debate has produced; however to the contrary, it is indeed vastly due to the lack of knowledge and research from both “warring parties” that have caused such a superficial and tiring debate.

A recent article published on Berita Harian: “Orang Melayu Keliru” on the Eidul Fitri certainly seems to prove this point. The main argument by the writer was the encroachment of the Malay cultural celebration that has seemingly “colluded” the spirit of Eidul Fitri which according to the author is an entirely Islamic affair. As such, the author seems to draw a line distinguishing the Malay cultural and Islamic matters.

One wonders if the author ever studied usul fiqh prior to asserting such a conclusion. Any novice or student of usul fiqh would have understood that cultural practice or “uruf” is amongst the factors in developing Islamic legislation and practices.

Furthermore, Yusuf Qardawi distinctly mentions that the “basic asl refers to the permissible of all things” in one of his important work “al Haram wal Halal fil Islam”.

According to al Qaradawi: “The first asl, or principle, established by Islam is that the things which Allah has created and the benefits derived from them are essentially for man’s use, and hence are permissible. Nothing is haram except what is prohibited by a sound and explicit nas from the Law-Giver, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. If the nas is not sound, as for example in the case of a weak hadith, or if it is not explicit in stating the prohibition, the original principle of permissibility applies.”

He carries on to add: “I would like to emphasize here that the principle of natural permissibility is not only limited to things and objects but also includes all human actions and behaviour not related to acts of worship, which may be termed living habits or day-to-day affairs. Here again, the principle is that these are allowed without restriction, with the exception of a small number of things which are definitely prohibited by the Law-Giver, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, Who says: …He (Allah) has explained to you what He has made haram for you…. (6:119) including both objects and actions.”

Therefore, it is quite clear that cultural practices are not only permissible but crucial in the development of the Islamic legislation.

Malay cultural societies

Another issue that arise out of this debate is the inability of student or advocacy groups that supports the development or preservation of Malay culture to see things from an Islamic point of view or to allow anything Islamic into their initiatives or program. Many would claim that being a Malay cultural group would hence have agendas that are not similar to a Muslim organisation.

The excuses typically given seems to suggest that advocates of Malay culture are not able to analyse deep enough of the already existing developmental values in the Malay cultural heritage. Values towards betterment on prosperity of the individual and the collective groups or community (which by the way are agendas crucial in Islam) are as a matter of fact literally littered within Malay literature!

In most cases also, cultural advocates seems to narrow down Malay culture to a very few applications such as drama (which is really a Western expression), “dikir barat” and “tarian”.

As a result, Malay cultural expressions in the form of “pantun”, “sajak”, “syair” and “penulisan” which in the past were expressions of a call to action towards personal and communal development seems to be absent in the agenda of cultural advocates. This is sad since essentially, these are form of expressions that are rich of da’wah motivations.

Even the rich Malay literature contains important material of discussions revolving around values and principles. The classic legend on Hang Tuah killing Hang Jebat is a typical example. Learning or discussion that could be derive from it includes important question on “Right and Wrong”, loyalty and betrayal. The satires of Pak Pandir are also an expression that aims to point out the maladies faced by some portions of the Malays.

Moving forward

Malay cultural groups need to be less superficial and begin to see things from a more in-depth point of view. In doing so, they will begin to see that the Malay culture has indeed many commonalities with Islamic values and principles. Hence, this will incubate plenty more collaborations that would be able to serve as “vehicles” towards personal and communal betterment.

Wallahua’lam