Goodbye Ramadhan and Salam Idul-Fitri

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡڪُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِڪُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ

Surah Al Baqarah, 183

Translation:

O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting)[] is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqûn. Al-Quran- 2,183

The above is the ayat that prescribe to Muslim the obligation of fasting. It consist of 3 portion or parts.

One is "O you who believe!", it is a call to the Mukmin amongst us, because only a Believer will put it upon himself to fast. There is a distinction between a Muslim and a Mukmin. A muslim (those who are Islam) is a person that follows the five pillars of Islam, that is the professing the syahadah, performing the solah, paying the zakat (alms giving), saum (fasting) in Ramadhan and perfroming the hajj.

Whereas, a Mukmin (those who Believe) is a person that commits to the six article of Faith (Iman), that are, believe in the One God that is Allah, His Angels (Malaikat), His Prophets (Rasul), His Scriptures (Kitab), the Day of Judgement (Akhirat) and also Divine Destiny whether the good or the bad.

A mukmin will always be a muslim, whereas a muslim might not be a mukmin. This is can be clearly inferred from the surah Al Hujraat, verse 14:

The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islâm),' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allâh and His Messenger (SAW), He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds. Verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

The second portion is "Observing As Saum is presribed for you", it is thought by some ulama' that the word كُتِبَ (Kutiba - literally means written on) have greater weight than just merely wajib, which means obligatory. And that the words kutiba and saum are repeated twice, puts a greater emphasis on the obligation. And later verses in Surah Al Baqarah, verse 184 to 187 describes some of the do's and don'ts of As -Saum.

Here I will list a few of the more well known;

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah the Exalted and Majestic said: `Every act of the son of Adam is for him, except As-Siyam (the fasting) which is (exclusively) for Me, and I will reward him for it.' Fasting is a shield. When anyone of you is observing fast, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor should he raise his voice; and if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him, he should say: `I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is, the breath of one observing Saum is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk. The one who fasts, experiences two joys: he feels pleasure when he breaks the fast. He is joyful by virtue of his fast when he meets his Rubb.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In a narration by Al-Bukhari, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah says: `(The person observing Saum) has abstained from food and drink, and sexual pleasures for My sake; fasting is for Me, and I will bestow its reward. Every good deed has ten times its reward'.''

In a narration by Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The reward of every (good) deed of a person is multiplied from ten to seven hundred times. Allah (SWT) says: `The reward of observing Saum is different from the reward of other good deeds; Saum is for Me, and I Alone will give its reward. The person observing Saum abstains from food and drink only for My sake.' The fasting person has two joyous occasions, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time of meeting his Rubb. Surely, the breath of one observing Saum is better smelling to Allah than the fragrance of musk.''


But to my mind the most important part of As Saum is the objective of saum which is put in the last portion.


The third portion of the ayat is "that you may become Al-Muttaqûn", the word لَعَلَّكُمۡ is here translated as "may", it can also be translated as "in hope". In hope of what? that you become Al-Muttaqun. The word muttaqun comes from the word taqwa which comes from the word waqayya (to protect). It is to protect oneself from the punishment of Allah. How can one achieve this? It is as simple as following all of His instructions. It is the concept of sami'na wa athoq na (we hear and we obey). It is a concept of being concious of Allah in all our daily dealings.

The thing with taqwa is that there is no standard measurement for taqwa. Though Sayidina Ali bin Abi Talib (RA) says there is four signs of taqwa, that is "fearing Allah, adhering to His commandments, being content with what He provides with and getting ready for the Day of Judgement".


If we used what Sayidina Ali (RA) mentioned as our standard measurement, than which one have we fulfill after going through a month of Ramadhan?

With that, Salam Idul-Fitri

Nothing Much to Talk About..

I wanted to elaborate something on the Bar Council Forum, but I just couldn't put my thoughts properly. But basically, I can surmise it in several points.

1) Bar Council erred in picking up the forum title. Should use less 'sensitive' titles. My suggestion would be, "The legal implication and issues on Non-Muslim when their spouse converted to Islam".

2) The protesters are shallow and narrow minded idiots. But what is worse, they forces their shallowness, narrowness and idiocy upon others.

3) The police should have control the crowds.

Should Muslim envisioned an Islamic State?

I have been taught that a Muslim should always strives to create an Islamic State. A state where the rules and laws laid down by Allah through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are being enacted. And since young, I've always believed that being a Muslim it is my duty to ensure that the creation of an Islamic State is achieved. I used to believe that if we enact and implement the Syariah (along with Hudud), we will create an Islamic State, a State that is peaceful and at harmony with itself following the guidance of Allah and all problems will be solved.

But as I grew older, I realised that my naivety and simplistic idea in solving the woes of the community is laughable at best. I have forgotten that it took the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), 23 years of teaching, preaching and guiding to achieve an Islamic State, and from that period, nearly half it was not really successful in changing the people of Mecca.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), migrated from Mecca to Madinah, with the understanding that Islam will not flourish in an environment of unjust, fear, subjugation and tyranny. That was the main reason the Prophet (pbuh) migrated to Madinah. Madinah was a more peaceful and tolerant city, with more open minded society compared with Mecca. The Prophet were able to preach Islam in a safe and secure environment, while at the same time inquisitive minds were able to questions the Prophet (pbuh) himself on any ambiguities.

What does this have anything to do with an Islamic State?

Everything. For an Islamic State to be created, we first have to create a society that is open minded and inquisitive, a society that is peaceful, safe and secure, a society that is just and fair. These are the ingredients that will make Islam flourish. More important than rules, regulations, laws and forms in Islam are that of the self and the people. Should Muslim be able to espouse the Islamic principles of peace, justice, understanding and knowledge with oneself and society, the first step towards an Islamic State have already been taken.



Pic: Mosque in Bourke, NSW, Australia (picture taken from Wiki)