Saturday 31 October 2009

Motivasi Dakwah-Galway version



Konsep ‘Dakwah’(mengajak atau menyeru manusia kepada Allah) mungkin telah disalah ertikan oleh segelintir masyarakat Galway. Mereka menganggap dakwah hanya layak untuk ustaz, orang baik dan golongan yang terlibat dengan usrah saja. Namun, ketahuilah bahawa dakwah adalah untuk semua orang. Dakwah itu satu KEWAJIPAN kepada kita termasuk anda yang sedang membaca artikel ini. Ya, anda!=)

Allah berfirman yang bermaksud,

“Serulah (manusia) kepada jalan Tuhan-mu dengan hikmah dan pelajaran yang baik dan bantahlah mereka dengan cara yang baik. Sesungguhnya Tuhanmu Dialah yang lebih mengetahui tentang siapa yang tersesat dari jalan-Nya dan Dialah yang lebih mengetahui orang-orang yang mendapat petunjuk.” (An-Nahl:125)

Kita memikul amanah sebagai hamba dan khalifah di bumi Allah. Tetapi Allah tidak sekali-kali membebankan kita dengan sesuatu yang tidak mampu kita lakukan. Allah ciptakan manusia dengan fitrahnya yang cintakan kebaikan. Lihat saja masyarakat Galway yang terkenal dengan sifat murah hati. Kutipan derma kepada Palestine yang dilaksanakan melalui ‘online banking’ mendapat sambutan yang sangat memberangsangkan. Kita juga ada ‘Open House Raya’ bagi mengeratkan silaturrahim, merancang program-program bermanfaat seperti ‘Galway Excursion’dan macam-macam lagi! Ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa kita senang untuk melakukan kebaikan. Tak merasa terbeban pun malah ikhlas dalam melaksanakan perkara-perkara yang Allah suka! InsyaAllah.

Setiap orang juga mempunyai potensi luar biasa dalam dirinya yang boleh dimanfaatkan untuk Islam. Orang-orang yang hebat berkata-kata, gunakanlah potensi itu untuk mengajak orang kepada Allah. Bagi yang mahir melukis komik atau bersuara merdu, berikanlah peringatan melalui kartun dan hiburan yang mendekatkan orang kepada Allah. Bagi sesiapa yang pandai menulis, gunalah wadah (medium) itu dengan sebaiknya. Dan untuk sesiapa yang rasa dirinya tiada potensi (mesti ada punya, cuma mungkin belum diasah lagi), dalami ilmu-ilmu Allah dan gilap potensi-potensi anda. Alangkah rugi jika potensi ini disia-siakan begitu saja! Percayalah, tidak akan rugi sedikitpun seorang yang bergelar daei. Malah, merekalah orang-orang yang beruntung. Ilmu-ilmu yang disampaikan akan berterusan menjadi amal walaupun setelah meninggal dunia.

Daripada Abi Hurairah (ra), katanya: Telah bersabda Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam): Apabila mati seorang hamba (manusia) maka terputuslah segala amalannya kecuali 3 perkara: sadakah jariah, ilmu yang bermanfaat dan anak yang salih yang mendoakannya.(HR Muslim)

Akhir kata, jadikan Rasulullah saw sebagai qudwah hasanah dalam menggapai misi menjadi seorang Daei Professional! =) Rasulullah saw bersabda, “Demi Allah! Andainya mereka meletakkan matahari di tangan kananku dan bulan di tangan kiriku supaya aku tinggalkan pekerjaan ini, tidak akan aku lepaskan. Sampailah agama ini menang dan berkembang atau aku yang binasa kerananya.”


Wallahualam..

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Dapatkan Bidadari Edisi Special!


Kenalkah anda dengan Umar Al-Khattab? Saya pasti ramai yang mengenali Umar malah turut mengagumi peribadi beliau. Tapi ada apa dengan Umar sebenarnya? Jom ikuti kisah Umar!=)

Rasulullah saw sering menceritakan mengenai perjalanannya Mikraj menghadap Allah kepada para sahabat serta perihal syurga yang dijanjikan Allah buat para sahabat. Dikisahkan, sewaktu Rasulullah saw dimikrajkan menghadap Allah swt, Baginda diperlihatkan taman-taman syurga oleh malaikat Jibril. Pada waktu itu, Rasulullah saw melihat sekumpulan bidadari yang sedang berborak bersama. Tetapi, ada seorang bidadari yang begitu berbeza dari yang lain. Bidadari itu menyendiri dan nampak sangat pemalu.

Maka Rasulullah saw bertanya kepada Jibril, “Wahai Jibril! Bidadari siapakah itu?” Malaikat Jibril menjawab, “Bidadari itu diperuntukkan bagi sahabatmu, Umar ra. Pernah suatu hari dia membayangkan syurga yang engkau ceritakan keindahannya. Dia menginginkan untuknya seorang bidadari yang berbeza dari bidadari yang lain. Bidadari yang diinginkannya itu berkulit hitam manis, dahinya tinggi, bahagian atas matanya berwarna merah dan bahagian bawah matanya berwarna biru serta memiliki sifat yang sangat pemalu. Oleh sebab sahabatmu sentiasa mengikut perintah Allah swt, maka saat itu jugalah Allah swt menjadikan seorang bidadari untuknya, sesuai dengan apa yang dikehendakinya.”

SubhanAllah! Begitu hebat seorang yang bergelar Umar Al-Khattab sehingga dijadikan bidadari special untuknya! Bahkan syaitan juga sangat takut dengan Umar. Apabila adanya Umar disitu, syaitan akan lari ketakutan. Berbeza sungguh dengan kita. Barangkali lebih disenangi oleh syaitan, nauzubillah!

Siapa sebenarnya Umar yang hingga dijanjikan Allah bidadari bermata indah itu? Umar Al-Khattab merupakan salah seorang dari sahabat Rasulullah saw. Semenjak beliau memeluk Islam, kaum muslimin seolah mendapat kekuatan yang luar biasa. Selari dengan doa Rasulullah saw,
“Ya Allah, muliakanlah Islam dengan masuknya salah seorang dari dua Umar (Umar bin Khattab atau Amr bin Hisyam/Abu Jahal)”.

Sejak saat itulah kaum muslimin berani untuk solat dan tawaf di Kaabah secara terang-terangan. Dakwah yang dulunya secara sembunyi-sembunyi bertukar menjadi secara terang-terangan. Oleh sebab itu, Umar digelar Al-Farouq, pembeza antara haq dan batil. Umar adalah seorang yang warak, sangat teliti dan hati-hati terhadap dosa sehingga yang sekecil-kecilnya. Bahkan sangat takut kalau termasuk dalam golongan munafik. Seringkali beliau menangis semasa membaca atau mendengar ayat-ayat Al-Quran. Sangat menakjubkan interaksi Umar dengan Al-Quran!

Beliau mempelajari surah Al-Baqarah selama 10 tahun dan kemudian melapor kepada Rasulullah saw,
“Wahai Rasulullah, apakah kehidupanku sudah mencerminkan surah Al-Baqarah? Jikalau belum, aku tidak akan meneruskan ke surah berikutnya.” Rasulullah menjawab, “Sudah...!”

Maka Umar akan mempelajari surah-surah berikutnya sehingga surah-surah tersebut menjadi akhlak beliau. Sangat hebat dan mantap peribadi Umar. Benarlah, peribadi yang hebat akan mendapat hadiah yang hebat dari Allah! Jom kita belajar dari Umar!

~Dipetik dan diolah dari buku New Quantum Tarbiyah oleh Solikhin Abu Izzudin

Wednesday 21 October 2009

..by the will of Allah

I really wish the world would be more peaceful..

I want to be healthy..

I want to be a good muslim..

I want to be successful in my career..

I want happiness in my life..

I want everything to be perfect..

and the wish-list goes on and on etc etc..there are so many "wants" in my life, i bet u have loads of them too. It's natural for human to feel a desire for something and wish something done as we wouldn't be satisfied with what we already had/have, don't u agree with me? I admit it myself.

Anyway, the point here is that those "wants" will only be possible ..by the will of Allah. So instead of merely saying that I want to be this and that, do say InsyaAllah (by the will of Allah) at the end of it. Accepting that every single thing happen on this Earth is by His will eventually will make us realise that we as human being doesn't have any power upon what will happen next in our lives even we've plan it beforehand (but it doesn't mean that u don't have to work hard to get something).

Good Muslims will always rely on Allah and have strong faith. He'll give what's best for us InsyaAllah! That's the beauty of InsyaAllah really. Do read more on the beauty of InsyaAllah here (I found it while searching for Maher Zain's videoclips)

And do read thru the lyrics of this great song by a new nasyeed singer, really soothing!
(credit to Awakening Records)



InsyaAllah by Maher Zain

Everytime you feel like you cannot go on
You feel so lost then that you're so alone

All you see is night and darkness all around
You feel so helpless, you can't see which way to go
Don't despair and never loose hope
Cause Allah is always by your side

Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah you'll find your way
Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah you'll find your way

Everytime you can make one more mistake
You feel you can't repent and that it's way too late
You're so confused, wrong decisions you have made
Haunt your mind and your heart is full of shame

Don't despair and never loose hope
Cause Allah is always by your side

Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah you'll find your way
Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah you'll find your way

Turn to Allah, He's never far away
Put your trust in Him
Raise your hands and pray

Ooo Ya Allah
Guide my steps don't let me go astray
You're the only one that showed me the way,
Showed me the way (3x)

Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah we'll find the way
Insya Allah (2x)
Insya Allah we'll find the way

are we just born as a muslim?


today i was asked again about Islam by an atheis. i felt so useless. I think this is my 4th time having an argument with her. i mean it's not easy to explain about islam when that person does not believe in the existence of God. if that person is a christian, i might be able to give concrete arguments to show that islam is the true religion. but apparently she's not.

i still remember when i first came to ireland, she was the first to ask me about hijab. so, i started telling her that this is an identity of us as muslims, this is one of the ways for us to please God and it is to protect ourselves from men. we cover our body except for our faces and hands as not to attract men as mentioned in surah An-Nur verse 31:
"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity, and not to display their charms [in public] beyond what may [decently] be apparent thereof; [37] hence, let them draw their head-coverings over their bosoms. [38] And let them not display [more of] their charms to any but their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers, or their sons, or their husbands’ Sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their womenfolk, or those whom they rightfully possess, or such male attendants as are beyond all sexual desire, [39] or children that are as yet unaware of women’s nakedness; and let them not swing their legs [in walking] so as to draw attention to their hidden charms [40] And [always], O you believers - all of you - turn unto God in repentance, so that you might attain to a happy state!"

obviously i didnt mention about the quran's verse because that will only make things complicated!i just put it as a reference for u who read this entry. :D anyway, guess what was her response to me?"why would a religion do such a thing. what i see is islam actually oppressing the women. women should wear sexy clothes to attract men as that is what human beings are made for. i really think wearing a hijab is ridiculous regardless of what u want to say. i'm sorry but i just think it is ridiculous." her respond really made me upset. i felt bad for not being able to back up Islam.

then, our second argument was on why cant i have a boyfriend and have sex before marriage?huhu..this was tough. so, i answered her,"in islam we should not be in a relationship with the opposite sex until we got married. being in a relationship could leads to bad things such as we have the person whom we love in our mind and hearts most of the time.thus, we tend to forget God easily. Plus, u might end up having sex before marriage and results in abortion which is unethical and u'r no longer a virgin." she replied, "having sex is the exciting part of being a teenager. i think u'r wasting ur life.life is boring without sex and people will only get married when they already have kids.my parents got married when they're 40years old when they have me as their daughter." errkkk,i was speechless. didnt know what to say after that.

the 3rd one was a bit sensitive for me and had struck my heart deeply. while i was reading my email on donations for palestine, i asked her whom does she support, palestine or israel?i didnt know why i was quite convinced she would say palestine but it happened that she was on the israel side.oh my God, i hate to debate with her on islam!!!and she started to give her reasons and condemned the palestinians for being so selfish."the jews didnt have any land for them. so, british countries bought jerusalam and gave them to the jews. at that time, the palestine was under mustafa kamal.i really salute mustafa kamal. i mean, he was a really good president.he was the one who wanted to promote peace in palestine and stopped the fight of the syiah.for ur information, the fight between israel and palestine started when everyone fights to get gaza. gaza is a very startegic place where the jews can see the whole palestine from gaza and the palestinians are able to see the jews if they are in gaza.so, gaza is wanted by both parties. the palestinians threat the jews to move out from gaza because gaza belongs to the palestinians. but the jews took gaza because they were afraid of their safety in palestine and the islamic countries surrounding them from jerusalem. and HAMAS took over palestine and started a war with the jews. personally, i think the jews only want peace but HAMAS keep on fighting with the jews. HAMAS are the terrorist." we had a debate on this for an hour and ended up with me not being able to give strong arguments because little do i know about the palestinians. i am not even aware of my brothers and sisters in palestine. because of this, i promised myself to read on palestine and israel in more detail.insyaAllah!!u too have to read so that all of us are aware on this!

as for today, she came to me and said, "are u a muslim because u were born as muslim?why dont u do a research and compare other religions first before u decide to become a muslim?how do u know that Islam is the true religion? what if u were born as christian would u find out about islam? so i answered, "well, i used to be a muslim because my parents are muslims but not anymore. i am a muslim because i believe in Islam. i think, it depends on ur destiny whether u would become a muslim or not even if u were not born as muslim." again she said," i just think u have to search on other religions first before u decide to choose islam.u know, when i was a kid, i wanted to be like everyone who believes in God. but i came to a conclusion that all religions are the same. so, that's why i choose to become an atheis"

i think i should stop now.the moral of the story is, i need to do LOTSA reading on islam. if i really am a muslim not because i was born as one, i should be able to answer all her questions. but i couldnt. so, i have tonnes of work to do now!! personally, being a muslim in western countries really challenges my faith!!May Allah grant her the right path and always keep us in this path.aminn!!!
"Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower."(Ali-Imran:8)

wallahualam..

Friday 16 October 2009

Wahai Pemuda~


saya sedih..sedih dengan diri sendiri yang tidak mampu membawa hamba-hamba Allah ke jalan yang lurus. dosa terang-terang kat depan mata, namun diri tetap takut untuk memberi peringatan. takut akan pandangan manusia kah? bukankah hanya pandangan Allah yang penting?sedih!!(T_T)

sungguh lemah imanku kerana hanya mampu membenci dengan hati tanpa berani bersuara!
"Barangsiapa yang melihat kemungkaran dari kalangan kamu, hendaklah ia mencegahnya dengan tangannya, jika ia tidak mampu maka (cegahlah) dengan lidahnya (perkataan), jika ia tidak mampu (juga), maka (cegahlah) dengan hatinya(membenci), demikian itulah selemah-lemah iman" [HR Muslim]

kata-kata yang tidak terlafaz..."wahai sahabat-sahabat yang kukasihi, jagalah pergaulan kamu dengan lelaki. berpakaianlah sebagaimana dituntut oleh Islam dan usahlah bercakap benda-benda yang lagho. bukankah hidup di sini hanyalah sementara sahaja?" Ya Allah, mengapa begitu sukar untuk nasihat-nasihat sebegitu keluar dari mulut ini?[geram dengan diri sendiri]

bila nak berubah?masa dah makin singkat. kematian pun sedang mengejar. bila lagi kalau bukan SEKARANG????bangunlah wahai Daei!
Ya Allah, ampunkanlah dosa hambamu ini..berilah aku kekuatan, kesabaran dan ketabahan untuk menjadi salah seorang PENOLONG AGAMAMU!
ayuh para mujahid!

Tuesday 13 October 2009

positive affirmations!

I've enjoyed watching this video. With it's catchy title of 'I love living life. I am happy' and a charismatic real-life actor Nick Vujinic really inspired me the most. Do watch it and take time to ponder.




Even we do have to aim high and achieve more, we should be grateful for what Allah has created for us is priceless and if you make a list out of it you can't really imagine how long it will be. Every single thing on Earth is created by Him and has benefits us as human beings.

Hence, let's cherish on what we already had and going to have in the future as life would be more meaningful that way. For instance, I am perfectly normal physically and mentally, having a loving family that will always care for me, having a circle of friends that I know I can depend on them whether it's rain or shine; those are the things that we always take for granted.

So now, do constantly make as many as possible of positive affirmations (either you write it down or think of it in your mind) and act according to it and insyaAllah you'll find much easier to comprehend them in your life. I'm making mine now, here are some of them:
Alhamdulillah..I am thankful for what I have! ;-)

I want to be a successful muslim insyaAllah!

I will never give up!

I want to finish this life strong!
and last but not least...

I LOVE LIVING LIFE! I AM HAPPY! ~smile~

take 5!



i really like number 5 i dunno why. perhaps because i have 5 siblings and both my parents have 5 too. plus, currently i'm having 5 little 'children' (4 nieces+ 1 nephew). and even my name has similar rhyme to it. alrite let's get to the real point; the symbolic of number 5!

Haven't realised that number 5 has a meaningful account in our daily life? See for yourself.

~We as muslims have to pray 5 times a day (Subh, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isya')

~We as muslims also have to follow the 5 pillars of Islam (ash-shahada'/the witness, solah/formal prayer, zakat/tithe for the poor, sawm/fasting during Ramadhan, hajj/pilgrimage to Mecca)

And the best thing we can ponder is to use 5 before 5:

"Take advantage of 5 opportunities before 5 other things (that end the opportunity); your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your haste, and your life before your death." -Prophet Muhammad SAW (pbuh)

That's all i can say about 5. pardon me for this entry containing lots of fives! so high5!

Saturday 3 October 2009

Bila nasi menjadi bubur

salam wbt..

baru sekejap tadi saya terbaca satu artikel dalam ukhwah.com yang bertajuk tabahlah hati, kuatkan jiwa. si penulis mungkin sedang mengalami saat-saat sukar dalam hidupnya dan menulis untuk naikkan semangat diri. moga Allah permudahkan urusannya.amin. saya sebenarnya sangat tertarik dengan kenyataannya yang berbunyi "Bila nasi telah menjadi bubur, maka aku harus mencari ayam, cakueh, kacang peas, kicap, salad, bawang goreng dan sambal agar bubur ayam special tetap dapat kunikmati." nak tergelak pun ada bila baca. sungguh positif orangnya kan! apabila musibah menimpa, langsung tidak mengeluh. malah cuba memotivasikan diri dan melihat musibah itu dari perspektif yang berbeza. begitu tegar iman dan keyakinannya pada Allah. nak jadi macam dia jugak!berbaik sangka pada Allah dalam setiap perkara!=)

perkataan ujian ni dah sinonim sangat-sangat kot dalam hidup seorang pelajar. setiap masa pun ada exam terutama sekali untuk pelajar-pelajar perubatan. oh exam!!tapi dengan ada exam la baru kita rajin nak bukak buku. baru ada rasa tujah untuk tak tidur dalam kelas..betul tak?(tersengguk tu biase la..proses menahan diri dari tidur..hehe)dan melalui exam la dapat nilai tahap pemahaman kita tentang sesuatu. benda yang same apply dalam hidup kita. hidup ini Allah cakap memang confirm akan ada ujian.

"Yang menjadikan mati dan hidup, supaya Dia menguji kamu, siapa di antara kamu yang lebih baik amalnya. Dan Dia Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Pengampun," (Al-Mulk:2)

"Dan sesungguhnya Kami benar-benar akan menguji kamu agar Kami mengetahui orang-orang yang berjihad dan bersabar di antara kamu, dan agar Kami menyatakan (baik buruknya) hal ehwalmu."(Muhammad:31)

See, Allah bukan saja-saja nak bagi ujian kat kita. Allah tengah nilai kita!jugak untuk upgrade our level of iman. Sungguh, Allah tahu apa yang terbaik buat hamba-hambaNya kerana Allah itu Sang Maha Mengetahui!
"Dan pada sisi Allah-lah kunci-kunci semua yang ghaib; tidak ada yang mengetahuinya kecuali Dia sendiri, dan Dia mengetahui apa yang di daratan dan di lautan, dan tiada sehelai daun pun yang gugur melainkan Dia mengetahuinya (pula), dan tidak jatuh sebutir biji-pun dalam kegelapan bumi, dan tidak sesuatu yang basah atau yang kering, melainkan tertulis dalam kitab yang nyata (Lauh Mahfudz)"(Al-An'aam:59)

Mungkin jika kita sentiasa ingatkan diri akan hidup yang sementara ini, ujian pun jadi lagi ringan dan pahala pun bertambah-tambah. alangkah seronok begitu!always look on the bright side of things! "...Kamu tidak tinggal (di bumi) melainkan sebentar saja, kalau kamu sesungguhnya mengetahui."(Al-Mukminun:114) ayuh! bertahanlah. teruskan melangkah ke hadapan!"kerana sesungguhnya sesudah kesusahan itu ada kemudahan,sesungguhnya sesudah kesusahan itu ada kemudahan."(Alam Nasyrah:5-6)

wallahualam
~catarina

Friday 2 October 2009

RM%n£y *M@tt£r$~

Life without money would probably make us suffer as the current world demands us to pay everything starting from the smallest things like going to the loo to the biggest things like paying for school fees. So it's all about money (even they're just papers and metals). But do realise that there are certain things where money cant afford to buy; even the richest guy on earth cant simply buy all those values. What are those priceless things? Let's figure out...



1) Money can buy house but not home




2) Money can buy bed but not sleep





3) Money can buy clock but not time





4) Money can buy book but not knowledge




5) Money can buy food but not appetite





6) Money can buy blood but not life




7) Money can buy medicine but not health





8) Money can buy insurance but not safety



So, what’s your comment about money??
.......do drop some down there


p/s: For those who believe they have all or any of the bolded words, do be grateful to Him for what you have is incomparable to anything else in this world.
Let's say Alhamdulillah! Praise be to Allah! ~smile~