Invitation to Understanding Islam: Part 10

RECITING THE QURAN

 

Is learning to recite The Qur’an very difficult?

How should I approach the activity of reciting The Qur’an?

How do I know whether my approach is correct?

What is the purpose of reciting The Qur’an?

What is the benefit of reciting The Qur’an?

What obstacle will I face when I begin to recite The Qur’an?

What should I do to overcome this obstacle?

What should I do when I face difficulty in understanding the verses that I read?

What should I do after I have recited The Qur’an?

What should I do to strengthen my bond with The Qur’an?

Fluency in recitation

Learning to recite The Arabic Qur’an is a lot easier compared to mastering Arabic.

Many acquire reasonable fluency in reciting it over a period of one to three months.

Correct recitation is just one part of the Believer’s relationship with The Qur’an.

Right approach

Equally important is having the right approach to receive the full measure of blessings from one’s recitations.

One must approach The Qur’an with the deep faith that is the Word of Allah The Merciful.

The Qur’an is Allah’s gift to our plea to Him to guide us to The Straight Path.

The best way to develop this deep faith is by reciting The Noble Qur’an.

This is mentioned in The Qur’an itself: “The true believers’ faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations.” [8:2]

Three questions

Ask yourself these three questions to find out whether your faith is becoming stronger:

Am I longing to recite The Qur’an?

Am I working hard to understand it?

Am I becoming more committed to obeying its message?

To receive guidance

The aims of your recitation should be to receive guidance from Allah The Merciful and to please Him.

Recite it with a desire to know The Truth.

You should ask “What does The Qur’an say about…?” instead of “What verses in The Qur’an support my views?”

Recite The Qur’an to listen to Allah’s words and not the echoes of you own thoughts.

Be grateful

There is great benefit in reciting The Qur’an with a deep sense of gratitude to Allah.

You would not have found the guidance of The Qur’an had it not been for Allah’s Mercy.

The more grateful you are to Allah, the greater will be His blessings on you.

“If you are grateful, I will bestow abundance upon you.” [QS, 14:7]

Seek refuge in Allah

When you embark on reciting The Qur’an, be on guard against Satan who will “wait in ambush” [QS, 7:16-17] to distract you from receiving the great riches of The Qur’an.

Satan will forever seek to make you postpone and eventually forget your longing to recite The Qur’an.

Your best defense is to “seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected.” [QS, 16:98]

Reflect on the verses

The Qur’an calls on the Believers to reflect on the verses they recite.

Accept with humility that your failures to understand fully the verses is due to your own shortcomings.

Pray to The Almighty to give you better understanding as this can be achieved only through His Mercy.

Seek the assistance of mufassir to clarify your doubts.

Obey what you recite

Be committed to obey the commands of The Almighty found in the verses you recite.

Faltering in one’s efforts to obey due to one’s weaknesses is different from having no intention or not making any effort to obey.

The Qur’an condemns those who ignore or turn away from its message as disbelievers who are doomed to burn in Hell.

Strengthen your bond with The Qur’an

It is only by Allah’s Mercy that you can strengthen your bond with The Qur’an.

In Allah alone you should trust, and towards Him alone you should turn for everything.

You have been promised great rewards in this life and in the Hereafter for reciting, understanding and following The Qur’an

 

By Dr Y Mansoor Marican, Ph. D

~ Life is ... ~ (Part 1)

~ “Nobody knows who I really am.

I never felt this empty before;

But if I am in need, so wanna come along.

Who’s gonna comfort me and keep me strong?

We are rowing the boat of fate.

We see people coming and they can’t escape;

But if we ever get lost on our way,

The waves will guide you to another day.” ~

 

Alhamdulillah, with the Guidance and Blessing from Allah, I am still alive, healthy and capable to do what a human should do; creating a good life in this world, and in the Hereafter. I hope you all are still breathing and active.  

 

My fellow readers,

            I am a student, so you are. We are trying to learn new things, from the early childhood to the old, unfit years of aging. Teachers, from the nursery care to the tertiary education, give us hopes, ambitions, dreams and even words of wisdom. Moreover, our first teachers are our lovely parents, mould the basic skills of living; act, eat, talk and walk. We should be thankful to them, not just during special occasions, like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day; but every day and every time.

            “And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years - give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.”[QS, 31: 14]

  

It’s not just knowledge we are looking for. It’s all about who we are, where we are going, to who we talk with. It’s ingrained in our own life, indirectly affects your future life.

You can’t simply become a doctor without supervised practices and certified education background. An engineer can’t simply create a building without knowing the materials and cost. An economist can’t simply wins a financial debate without using statistical data. A worker Even a salesman needs the skill to persuade and convince customers to buy a product. So, what’s your aim? A respected employee, or just an average Joe?

 

            Well, a life is still a life. It can’t be replaced nor changed. It’s a one-way ticket to the afterlife. That’s why we need help. Help from people, family and friends, to solve our daily dilemma. However, one shall not forget to seek aid from Him, The Giver of All-thing. Allah is The Well-Knowing of everything, both in the Earth and the Sky, evident and hidden ones.
 

Keep believing in Him. Praying 5 times a day is the basic requirement. Alas, how many of the Muslims nowadays have done this since they reach puberty, and never miss even once? Humans are designed to keep busy with daily chores and works.  Keep in mind, the more ibadah and good deeds you are doing, the closer you are to Him.

 

            In the end, we are same; humans. Nothing differs to each other, apart from our own iman. Thus, I call all Muslims to retrace our steps and repent to Him. We are recognised as the best creature made by Him. It’s up to us to decide which side we live as. The good or the bad? You choose.

“Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould).  Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.Except those who believe (in Islam) and do righteous deeds. Then they shall have a reward without end (Paradise).” [QS, 95: 4-6]

 

Peace.

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Credits to:-

1)       Main Source - “The Holy Quran” by Allah, The Most Merciful God

2)      Song - ‘Life is Like A Boat’

3)      Person – My parents

4)      Person- A beggar on an unknown street

 

D.E.A.T.H

               Death. It is a just a word, isn’t it? The question is: how many people are fully prepared for it? Are you having the guts to face it?

              I am not trying to scare you and make you afraid of it, but I want to state my point of view about it.

             It is a process of life. That’s a fact. Everyone, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, king or citizen, will soon, dies. Even the most powerful and influential person in the world, dies.

                When I looked films, movies, and dramas, I always seen one, or more than one, died. That’s a common scene. One movie made me feeling sick. There is a lot of blood ooze out, corpse laying everywhere, screaming witnesses. The westerners think that they can make death as a joke. For me, they didn’t deserve the award they got. Lots of methods they use to replicate ‘how-to-die’ manuals. CGIs. Thank to technology, all imaginations from the directors become realities. That includes this film. Falling down from a high building, accidents, being hit by logs, vehicles, explosions, fires, glass, and laser. Did I mention choking foods and acid? Yup, humans can ‘created’ death, but none of them can be compared to the power of The Giver of Death. Allah created us, and to Him we will return. The film may indicate the ability of human to act and create something beyond norm circumstance. For me, it’s just a proof that the film reckons and makes the viewers believe that ‘we can escape from death’. We cannot cheat death. It is surely happened to each and every of us. Where? When? How? Allah knows better.

                     Again, tech tools implement the capability of humans nowadays to ‘create’ death. When I visited a cafe, I saw several teenagers playing computer games. According to them, these games are connected to other computers via LAN connection. Online gaming. I saw weapons, equipments and armoury that being use by the virtual characters. First-player shooting (FPS) games and Role-playing (RPG) games. Next, a gamer sitting beside me screaming sadly: “Shoot, I’m down”. Curiously, I watch the status on screen. “You’re dead”. Curiosity kills the cat, remember? Luckily, I’m not a cat. I’m a human, same as you.  This scene makes me have a thought:  game always ended by a death. Am I right? Either the main character or the badass dies, gamers enjoy it. Respawning. That’s a term to define death in a gaming world. Even if ‘you’ die, you can still press the CONTINUE icon and replay the game. Yay! Keep playing the game until you have satisfied yourself. Until the calling of the death come besides you, there’s nothing to do. No more repentance can be done. It can’t be delayed. No more second chance.

                     As long as you keep track on what you do and how did you spend your daily activities, there is no need to worry. We have own our ‘life-tracking bookkeepers’; the right side and the left side, haven’t we? I am just a merely normal human, a spectator. I am a watcher, from televisions to published presses, remember?

In the Holy Quran, Allah has given us a fact:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۖ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ 

Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.

                                                                        ( 185:3, سورة آل عمران) 

May Allah bless us and give us signs before it’s too late.

Peace.
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Credits to:-

1)      Main Source - “The Holy Quran” by Allah, The Compassionate God

2)      Movie - ‘Final Destination 4’

3)      Game - ‘Counter-Strike v.10’

4)      Game – ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’

5)      My friend who played the game

Invitation to Understanding Islam: Part 9

TOO LATE FOR TEARS

Death knocked on a bedroom door. “Who is there?” the sleeping one cried. “I’m Angel Izrael, let me inside.” At once, the man began to shiver as one sweating in deadly fever. He shouted to his wife, “Don’t let the Angel take my life.” “O Angel of Death, I’m not ready yet. My family, on me depend, give me a chance to go back and mend.” The Angel knocked again. “O man, it’s your soul that I require, I come not with my own desire.” Bewildered, the man began to cry: “O Angel, I’m so afraid to die.” “Let me remain here as your slave, don’t send me to the grave.” “Let me in, O man”, the Angel said. “Open the door, get up from your bed, you can’t stop me from coming in, Angels can go through objects, thick and thin.” The man held a gun in his right hand, ready to defy the Angel’s stand. “I’ll point my gun towards your head. You dare come in – I’ll shoot you dead.”  By now the Angel was in the room, saying, “O man, prepare for your doom, foolish man – Angels never die, put down your gun and do not sigh. Why are you afraid – Tell me O man – to die according to Allah’s plan?” “O Angel. I bow my head in shame, I had no time to remember Allah’s name. From dawn till dusk, I made my wealth, not even caring for my spiritual health. Allah’s commands I never obeyed, nor five times a day I ever prayed. A Ramadan came and a Ramadan went, But no time had I to repent. The Hajj was already obligatory upon me, but I would not part with my money. All charities I did ignore, taking usury more and more. Sometimes I sipped my favorite wine, with flirting woman I sat to dine. O Angel I appeal to you, spare my life for a year or two. The laws of The Qur’an, I will obey, I’ll begin Salat – this very day. My Fast and Hajj I will complete, and keep away from self-conceit. I will refrain from usury and give all my wealth to charity Wine and unlawful woman, I will detest, Allah’s oneness I will attest.” “We Angels do what Allah demands, we cannot go against His commands.  Death is ordained for everyone – father, mother, daughter and son. I’m afraid, this moment is your last, now be reminded of your past.  I do understand your fears but it is now too late for tears. You lived in this world, two score or more, Your parents you did not obey, hungry beggars, you turned away. Your two ill-mannered, female offspring, in nightclubs, for livelihood they sing. Instead of making more Muslims, you made your children non-Muslims. You ignored the Adhan (Call to prayer) nor did you recite The Holy Qur’an. Breaking promises all your life, backbiting friends and causing strife. From hoarded goods, great profits you made, and your poor workers – you underpaid. Horses and cards were your leisure, money-making was your pleasure. You ate and ate and grew more fat, with the very sick, you never sat. A little donation, you never gave that could a little baby save. You thought you’re cleaver and strong, but O man, you’ve done enough wrong. Paradise for you? I cannot tell, the disbeliever will dwell in hell. There is no time for you to repent, I’ll take your soul for which I am sent.” By Dr Y Mansoor Marican, Ph. D