Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)
Recently I have applied for a position in al-Rajhi bank. They got back to me saying that the position was unavailable and they asked me if I were interested to apply for Graduate Management Trainee Program. I see that I have got nothing to lose, I proceed with the application. There were 2500++ applicants but they(al-Rajhi bank) were only looking for 2-3 candidates and I was the one who were successful through my CV but not through my interview. After being unsuccessful with my application, I am always posed with questions like why don't you go on and apply to HSBC Amanah / CIMB Islamic and etc?
Before I answer those questions, I would like to explain why I chose Islamic banks to be the place for my career. I may not be the best muslim (role model muslim), and I am not the most knowledgeable in Islamic banking but I would love to contribute my best work to Islam. Some feel that they can contribute to Islam with their IT knowledge, some with their science knowledge but as for myself, I feel that I can contribute to Islam with my knowledge and effort in Islamic banking.
The reason why I chose al-Rajhi bank as my first choice is because from my personal understanding, it is the most shari'ah compliant bank. It means that, al-Rajhi bank will do its best to follow the principles of Islam benevolently. What is the difference between HSBC Amanah and al-Rajhi? Firstly, HSBC Amanah is an Islamic window for shari'ah compliant products. The name signifies HSBC, which we all know is not an Islamic bank. Even though HSBC and HSBC Amanah are different (one is Islamic/shari'ah compliant and the other is conventional banking) , from my perception the Islamic bank of HSBC Amanah are giving advertising freely the name HSBC (a bank which deals with great amount of interest). This means that Islamic bank is wearing a jersey of the prohibited product.
I'll explain this in another way. We know that there are such products which are halal beer (beer which doesn't have alcohol). Lets just say that Hieneken produces both halal and a non halal beer, would you buy such halal beer? Personally, I would not because even though it is halal, it is also promoting the non halal beer! The same way my perception towards HSBC Amanah. I wouldn't want to be working with a bank which also promotes the products that are prohibited in my religion. It is against my personal principals to be working in such banks. Unless HSBC Amanah changes its name to something that doesn't promote the name HSBC, I see no reason why I should not apply for it.
The position that I initially applied for was in risk management. Someone told me that there is no such role for entry level or junior level for risk management. I was mentioned that I had to get myself in the treasury or other department to qualify myself in risk management. Is this true? If this is indeed true, in my opinion going through other departments will be a waste of time. I believe that entry/junior level would be beneficial as the entry/junior will be trained to become a specialist in handling risk and as we know we are always facing with risk which is an important aspect of banking hence will be beneficial to the banks. The junior will always be assisted/supervised by a senior because that is what each other is for. Rather than the junior needs to seek experience through other departments which consumes a lot of time and is ridiculous. If this is indeed true, the system here is not systematic at all!
I have no grudges of not being successful in my application and I hope that al-Rajhi bank will be beneficial to Islam. I believe that Allah has other plans for me as He is the Greatest Planner of all. Allah knows best!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Sunday, 30 January 2011
The essentiality of Islamic credit cards
Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)
Credit card is being used commonly in this point in time. As we know credit card originates from the conventional banking which allows one to use money in advance and pay it by installments from time to time with additional interest charges. So the first question will be that does Islamic credit cards exists? How does it exist without charging interest?
Technology and human intelectual have allowed us to use these credit cards avoiding the usage of interest. In Malaysia it is based on Bay al inah principle. I have mentioned earlier in one of my entries that Bay al inah is only commonly used in Malaysia and not in other Islamic countries. I have explained a little on Bay al inah in my previous entry.
So the things that were haram is being elevated and becomes halal. From my perspective is that, Islamic banking shouldn't always be associated with technical terms just to justify that it is halal. Islamic banking should always be associated with good morality, caringness and especially fear towards the Creator for any misconduct. One of the reason that Allah has prohibited interest/usuury is because it will lead to oppression as I have mentioned earlier in my other entry. If one were to calculate for example £1 is borrowed at 5%1000 years, the new total would be £1,546,318,920,731,950,000,000. Look at the big difference! Logically no one would make a loan for 1000 years but a person would apply for a loan for thousands or millions of £ in a shorter time length. So I don't think it is it fair to be paying and earning interest because one will have a problem of paying the loan and the person who earns the interest will receive money based on time. This is the kind of oppression that I am focusing on which is the rich will always/easy become rich and the poor will remain poor.
So, is Islamic credit card in line with the values of Islam as it is certainly has nothing to do with interest? I will be focusing more on the values and morality rather than the technicality of the credit card. It is obvious that risk management is important especially in banks as it involves or deals with huge sum of money everyday. Therefore, banks will only approve credit cards to those who are 'reliable'. 'Reliable' in this sense would mean those who can afford. People who can afford to pay their credit cards will reduce the risk of banks not getting paid for their services, meaning banks are assured payment every month. So, what happens to those who can't afford? Here, one can see that there is a difference between those who are rich and those who are less capable financially. Those who are financially capable would feel easy to get/earn/use more money as they have more privileged, whereelse the less capable are blocked to use these credit cards. In my opinion, this is a kind of oppression, whereby the rich is given the privilage/advantage when actually the poor are in need of the money. One could identify here that the wealth distribution is not being observed in a proper manner. When wealth distribution is not properly observed, it will cause an economical imbalance. It will also cause differences in status between the rich and poor which is not in line with Islamic values.
I have spoken to some who have knowledge on Islamic banking concerning this issue and their reply to me is that there are other forms of financial instruments or facility for the poor to use. These other financial instruments or facility will require one to start a business or equity financing which is totally different from credit card as it is not an 'easy loan'. Hence, the less capable is being segregated from using credit cards.
These credit rating are causing oppression towards the poor because of them being less capable financially. If one were to refer the history when John Calvin, a pastor who broke from the Roman Catholic Church because of the usage of usury/interest. His interpretation of the bible on usury/interest was that, it was 'ok' to charge interest towards the rich but not to the poor as there will be no oppression to the poor. What he did not realise was that it will cause an economical imbalance and segregation between the rich and the poor which also is a kind of oppression. Consequently, my opinion is that even if Islamic credit card is technically halal, morally it is no difference with John Calvin's understanding of oppression.
Usury in bible : "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as and usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury." (Exodus 22:25)
Technology have changed our lives and personally I don't see the need for Islamic credit cards. We now have debit cards which is convenient to use and it deducts straight from the account. Some banks have also allowed overdrafts which means, one could use a certain amount even if one did not have the money in the account. The banks will only charge an adminstration fee after a certain amount of time which is not usury/interest because the amount is fixed. Therefore, from my personal point of view, Islamic credit card is not an essential financial instrument as seeing it in the term of Islamic values.
Credit card is being used commonly in this point in time. As we know credit card originates from the conventional banking which allows one to use money in advance and pay it by installments from time to time with additional interest charges. So the first question will be that does Islamic credit cards exists? How does it exist without charging interest?
Technology and human intelectual have allowed us to use these credit cards avoiding the usage of interest. In Malaysia it is based on Bay al inah principle. I have mentioned earlier in one of my entries that Bay al inah is only commonly used in Malaysia and not in other Islamic countries. I have explained a little on Bay al inah in my previous entry.
So the things that were haram is being elevated and becomes halal. From my perspective is that, Islamic banking shouldn't always be associated with technical terms just to justify that it is halal. Islamic banking should always be associated with good morality, caringness and especially fear towards the Creator for any misconduct. One of the reason that Allah has prohibited interest/usuury is because it will lead to oppression as I have mentioned earlier in my other entry. If one were to calculate for example £1 is borrowed at 5%1000 years, the new total would be £1,546,318,920,731,950,000,000. Look at the big difference! Logically no one would make a loan for 1000 years but a person would apply for a loan for thousands or millions of £ in a shorter time length. So I don't think it is it fair to be paying and earning interest because one will have a problem of paying the loan and the person who earns the interest will receive money based on time. This is the kind of oppression that I am focusing on which is the rich will always/easy become rich and the poor will remain poor.
So, is Islamic credit card in line with the values of Islam as it is certainly has nothing to do with interest? I will be focusing more on the values and morality rather than the technicality of the credit card. It is obvious that risk management is important especially in banks as it involves or deals with huge sum of money everyday. Therefore, banks will only approve credit cards to those who are 'reliable'. 'Reliable' in this sense would mean those who can afford. People who can afford to pay their credit cards will reduce the risk of banks not getting paid for their services, meaning banks are assured payment every month. So, what happens to those who can't afford? Here, one can see that there is a difference between those who are rich and those who are less capable financially. Those who are financially capable would feel easy to get/earn/use more money as they have more privileged, whereelse the less capable are blocked to use these credit cards. In my opinion, this is a kind of oppression, whereby the rich is given the privilage/advantage when actually the poor are in need of the money. One could identify here that the wealth distribution is not being observed in a proper manner. When wealth distribution is not properly observed, it will cause an economical imbalance. It will also cause differences in status between the rich and poor which is not in line with Islamic values.
I have spoken to some who have knowledge on Islamic banking concerning this issue and their reply to me is that there are other forms of financial instruments or facility for the poor to use. These other financial instruments or facility will require one to start a business or equity financing which is totally different from credit card as it is not an 'easy loan'. Hence, the less capable is being segregated from using credit cards.
These credit rating are causing oppression towards the poor because of them being less capable financially. If one were to refer the history when John Calvin, a pastor who broke from the Roman Catholic Church because of the usage of usury/interest. His interpretation of the bible on usury/interest was that, it was 'ok' to charge interest towards the rich but not to the poor as there will be no oppression to the poor. What he did not realise was that it will cause an economical imbalance and segregation between the rich and the poor which also is a kind of oppression. Consequently, my opinion is that even if Islamic credit card is technically halal, morally it is no difference with John Calvin's understanding of oppression.
Usury in bible : "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as and usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury." (Exodus 22:25)
Technology have changed our lives and personally I don't see the need for Islamic credit cards. We now have debit cards which is convenient to use and it deducts straight from the account. Some banks have also allowed overdrafts which means, one could use a certain amount even if one did not have the money in the account. The banks will only charge an adminstration fee after a certain amount of time which is not usury/interest because the amount is fixed. Therefore, from my personal point of view, Islamic credit card is not an essential financial instrument as seeing it in the term of Islamic values.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Did I really have a happy new year?
Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)
It is already 2011 and I can see from my joint account that there are many who celebrate the new year and a lot of new resolutions for the new year. As of course, I was also one who celebrates new year and making new 'resolutions', but as time passes by I do not really understand what is the celebration about.
From my personal observation, it is to celebrate the completion cycle of time, and the coming cycle of new time. Time is the circulation of the earth, moon and sun. I include the moon because in my opinion it is part of earth. Anyway as I've said earlier, time is the circulation of the earth, moon and sun, so do we celebrate the completion of the cycle? What is so special of the completed cycle? How are we so sure that the next cycle will be complete to make the next resolution?
In the perspective of a muslim, it feels as if we're like pagans celebrating upon the sun and moon. From my personal opinion, the reason Allah created the sun and moon so that time can be easily assigned. Why is it important for time to be assigned? So that it could be filled with actions/assignments/things to do. Time is a measuring tool, it is used to measure the time of prayers, the time to break our fast, time to go for appointments/meetings and etc.
I think it is clear that time is a measuring tool, I am going to give an example, which is unconventional somehow relates to measuring tool. For example, a measuring cup is used to be filled with things(i.e flour) to bake a cake. After baking the cake, one celebrate(enjoy/taking pleasure) by eating the cake. One do not celebrate on the measuring cup itself. We don't really celebrate on the things we have done during the cycle. It is common to see a person says "thanks 2010 for the good and bad experience". We're giving credit(thanks) wrongly. Should we give thanks to time or giving thanks to the giver/creator of time?
In my opinion, the completion cycle of the earth, moon and sun is not necessarily important. The important cycle is the cycle of ones life. Referring to the example of baking the cake, let us celebrate eating a sweet delicious cake at the end. So let us celebrate our actions in the hereafter after our life cycle ends.
"By the Time(1), Indeed all of mankind is in a state of loss (2), except those have iman, Conduct righteous actions, call each other to the Truth, And call each other to having patience.(3)" (Surah al-asr verse 1-3)
"Our Lord! We have now seen and heard , so send us back; we will do good - we do indeed (now) have firm faith!" (Surah as sajada verse 12)
But their pleas will be answered with only: "Did We not grant you a life long enough for him who would reflect to reflect (and so take heed)? And there came to you the warner (too); therefore taste now (the punishment), for the unjust have no helper" (Surah al Faatir verse 37)
"Nay, but you give preference to the life of this world (16), while the Hereafter is better and more lasting(17)" (Surah al A'laa verse 16-17)
"O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is true, so let not this present life deceive you, nor let the great fraudster deceive you about Allah!" (Surah al Faatir verse 5)
"And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He caused them to forget their souls. It is these that are the evil-does" (Surah al Hashr verse 19)
It is already 2011 and I can see from my joint account that there are many who celebrate the new year and a lot of new resolutions for the new year. As of course, I was also one who celebrates new year and making new 'resolutions', but as time passes by I do not really understand what is the celebration about.
From my personal observation, it is to celebrate the completion cycle of time, and the coming cycle of new time. Time is the circulation of the earth, moon and sun. I include the moon because in my opinion it is part of earth. Anyway as I've said earlier, time is the circulation of the earth, moon and sun, so do we celebrate the completion of the cycle? What is so special of the completed cycle? How are we so sure that the next cycle will be complete to make the next resolution?
In the perspective of a muslim, it feels as if we're like pagans celebrating upon the sun and moon. From my personal opinion, the reason Allah created the sun and moon so that time can be easily assigned. Why is it important for time to be assigned? So that it could be filled with actions/assignments/things to do. Time is a measuring tool, it is used to measure the time of prayers, the time to break our fast, time to go for appointments/meetings and etc.
I think it is clear that time is a measuring tool, I am going to give an example, which is unconventional somehow relates to measuring tool. For example, a measuring cup is used to be filled with things(i.e flour) to bake a cake. After baking the cake, one celebrate(enjoy/taking pleasure) by eating the cake. One do not celebrate on the measuring cup itself. We don't really celebrate on the things we have done during the cycle. It is common to see a person says "thanks 2010 for the good and bad experience". We're giving credit(thanks) wrongly. Should we give thanks to time or giving thanks to the giver/creator of time?
In my opinion, the completion cycle of the earth, moon and sun is not necessarily important. The important cycle is the cycle of ones life. Referring to the example of baking the cake, let us celebrate eating a sweet delicious cake at the end. So let us celebrate our actions in the hereafter after our life cycle ends.
"By the Time(1), Indeed all of mankind is in a state of loss (2), except those have iman, Conduct righteous actions, call each other to the Truth, And call each other to having patience.(3)" (Surah al-asr verse 1-3)
"Our Lord! We have now seen and heard , so send us back; we will do good - we do indeed (now) have firm faith!" (Surah as sajada verse 12)
But their pleas will be answered with only: "Did We not grant you a life long enough for him who would reflect to reflect (and so take heed)? And there came to you the warner (too); therefore taste now (the punishment), for the unjust have no helper" (Surah al Faatir verse 37)
"Nay, but you give preference to the life of this world (16), while the Hereafter is better and more lasting(17)" (Surah al A'laa verse 16-17)
"O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is true, so let not this present life deceive you, nor let the great fraudster deceive you about Allah!" (Surah al Faatir verse 5)
"And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He caused them to forget their souls. It is these that are the evil-does" (Surah al Hashr verse 19)
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Filling up the psychological gap
Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)
The revelation began with the words, "Read in the name of your Lord Who created" (surah al-Alaq verse1) and ended with the verse "... Today I have completed your religion for you and have bestowed upon you My Bounty in full measure, and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion ..."(Surah al-mai'dah verse 3) Hence it shows how important knowledge is in the religion, in life in this world and the hereafter.
To undertake reading in science for example without reference to religion will neither benefit humanity nor lead it to the comprehensive knowledge necessary for building and maintaining civilised society. I didn't read a lot in the past and when I read, the material usually doesn't have to do anything with religion. This kind of knowledge will lead to those who know only the outer aspects of worldly life, but who, in regard to the afterlife are very negligent in reference to this ayat in the Qur'an "Do they not reflect on themselves? Allah created the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them in Truth and for an appointed term. Yet many people deny that they will meet their Lord." (Surah al-Rum verse 8)
"Then, We revealed the Book to you, (O Muhammad) with Truth, confirming what ever of the Book was revealed before, and protecting and guarding over it. Judge, then, in the affairs of men in accordance with the Law that Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires in disregard of the Truth which has come to you. To each of you have We prescribed a law and a way. And had Allah so willed , He would surely have made you one single community; instead, (He gave each of you a Law and a way of life) in order to test you by what He gave you. Vie then, with one another in good works. Unto Allah is the return of all of you; and He will then make you understand the truth concerning the matters on which you disagreed" (Surah al-Mai'dah verse 48). "The All-Merciful taught the Qur'an, created humanity, and taught its expression..." (Surah ar-Rahman verse 1-4)
In this entry I would like to associate knowledge with psychology. It is very common to see that we always try to fill a psychological gap when facing difficulties or after accomplish something by saying something like "I am the only thing that is obstructing my achievement" or "the reason why this thing is a success is because I made it so!" In response to this Allah has revealed in His Glorious Holy Qur'an "Nay but humanity transgresses all bounds when it looks upon itself as self-sufficient". (Surah al-Alaq verse 7)
We normally think that we have total control in our accomplishments within the environment when it is actually Allah's doing. When we try to fill our mind with this kind of psychological gap of being self-sufficient, "Those who turn from remembering Me shall live lives of misery; We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection,". (Surah Ta Ha verse 124)
We usually try our utmost to succeed sometimes at the expense of defying the laws of the world/universe. This will then cause imbalance and will abuse environment and physical of ones body which in a way will live lives in misery. If one were to remember Him (Allah) , one were to be cautious of boundaries created by Him and will go beyond one's limitation on certain actions.
Going slightly off topic, my friend always mentions that some muslims do not eat pork because of the prohibition in the Qur'an but ignores the prohibition of intoxication/alcohol. Pork may be substitute with other halal meat, but there is no substitute in getting 'high'. This in my opinion is a problem with the mind of needing to satisfy it psychologically. Needing a substance to be 'happy' when actually there is already much joy created in this world and these are the people who cannot live by the Law of this world. It is so easy to find happiness and be happy without these substances which are also used at times to enhance performance/capabilities to achieve success/happiness.
An example in the Qur'an mentions the prohibitions on intoxication "Believers! Intoxicants, games of chance, idolaltrous sacrifices at altars, and divining arrows are all abominations, the handiwork of Satan. So turn wholly away from it that you may attain to true success." (Surah al-Mai'dah verse 90).
Just to add on a little, " Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) observed, Whoever fornicates is not a believer so long as he commits it and no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it" (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
Hence the abuse of ones body will be avoided and it will be easier to attain success through the help of Allah.
This is just an opinion of mine that if one could not live the laws and boundaries of this world, one would not be able to live the laws and boundaries of the jannah(paradise) where people who are obedient and those who is a believer will be in jannah. A wise man once said to me "A muslim should be a prisoner in this world so that he may attain the leisure of the hereafter. If you choose to have leisure in this world, do not expect to achieve the leisure of the hereafter. Choose one and I hope you will choose the right one."
The revelation began with the words, "Read in the name of your Lord Who created" (surah al-Alaq verse1) and ended with the verse "... Today I have completed your religion for you and have bestowed upon you My Bounty in full measure, and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion ..."(Surah al-mai'dah verse 3) Hence it shows how important knowledge is in the religion, in life in this world and the hereafter.
To undertake reading in science for example without reference to religion will neither benefit humanity nor lead it to the comprehensive knowledge necessary for building and maintaining civilised society. I didn't read a lot in the past and when I read, the material usually doesn't have to do anything with religion. This kind of knowledge will lead to those who know only the outer aspects of worldly life, but who, in regard to the afterlife are very negligent in reference to this ayat in the Qur'an "Do they not reflect on themselves? Allah created the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them in Truth and for an appointed term. Yet many people deny that they will meet their Lord." (Surah al-Rum verse 8)
"Then, We revealed the Book to you, (O Muhammad) with Truth, confirming what ever of the Book was revealed before, and protecting and guarding over it. Judge, then, in the affairs of men in accordance with the Law that Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires in disregard of the Truth which has come to you. To each of you have We prescribed a law and a way. And had Allah so willed , He would surely have made you one single community; instead, (He gave each of you a Law and a way of life) in order to test you by what He gave you. Vie then, with one another in good works. Unto Allah is the return of all of you; and He will then make you understand the truth concerning the matters on which you disagreed" (Surah al-Mai'dah verse 48). "The All-Merciful taught the Qur'an, created humanity, and taught its expression..." (Surah ar-Rahman verse 1-4)
In this entry I would like to associate knowledge with psychology. It is very common to see that we always try to fill a psychological gap when facing difficulties or after accomplish something by saying something like "I am the only thing that is obstructing my achievement" or "the reason why this thing is a success is because I made it so!" In response to this Allah has revealed in His Glorious Holy Qur'an "Nay but humanity transgresses all bounds when it looks upon itself as self-sufficient". (Surah al-Alaq verse 7)
We normally think that we have total control in our accomplishments within the environment when it is actually Allah's doing. When we try to fill our mind with this kind of psychological gap of being self-sufficient, "Those who turn from remembering Me shall live lives of misery; We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection,". (Surah Ta Ha verse 124)
We usually try our utmost to succeed sometimes at the expense of defying the laws of the world/universe. This will then cause imbalance and will abuse environment and physical of ones body which in a way will live lives in misery. If one were to remember Him (Allah) , one were to be cautious of boundaries created by Him and will go beyond one's limitation on certain actions.
Going slightly off topic, my friend always mentions that some muslims do not eat pork because of the prohibition in the Qur'an but ignores the prohibition of intoxication/alcohol. Pork may be substitute with other halal meat, but there is no substitute in getting 'high'. This in my opinion is a problem with the mind of needing to satisfy it psychologically. Needing a substance to be 'happy' when actually there is already much joy created in this world and these are the people who cannot live by the Law of this world. It is so easy to find happiness and be happy without these substances which are also used at times to enhance performance/capabilities to achieve success/happiness.
An example in the Qur'an mentions the prohibitions on intoxication "Believers! Intoxicants, games of chance, idolaltrous sacrifices at altars, and divining arrows are all abominations, the handiwork of Satan. So turn wholly away from it that you may attain to true success." (Surah al-Mai'dah verse 90).
Just to add on a little, " Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) observed, Whoever fornicates is not a believer so long as he commits it and no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it" (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
Hence the abuse of ones body will be avoided and it will be easier to attain success through the help of Allah.
This is just an opinion of mine that if one could not live the laws and boundaries of this world, one would not be able to live the laws and boundaries of the jannah(paradise) where people who are obedient and those who is a believer will be in jannah. A wise man once said to me "A muslim should be a prisoner in this world so that he may attain the leisure of the hereafter. If you choose to have leisure in this world, do not expect to achieve the leisure of the hereafter. Choose one and I hope you will choose the right one."
Friday, 24 December 2010
Is it really christmas?
Bismillahirohmaneerohim (In the name of Allah the Most compassionate, the Most Merciful)
We have reach this time of the year where christians generally celebrate christmas which is the birth of christ. Is it being mentioned anywhere that Jesus(Isa) was born on the 25th of December? I have read about this somewhere and I've tried to look it up in the bible about the birth of christ but had no much luck about the specific date. Why does it interest me as a muslim? It is because we muslims consider Jesus/Isa alaihisalam as a prophet of Allah so I was really curious about the birth of prophet Isa alaihisalam and to understand the religion which celebrates the birth of the great man prophet Isa alaihisalam. Let me first clarify that I am not a scholar of the bible nor am I a sheikh/Imam.
Even though I have read this somewhere, I had to look it up myself. It was this particular verse that was mentioned which was Luke chapter 2 verse 8-12 which says: "(8)And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (9)An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (10)But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." (11)Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (12)This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Reading these verses in a glance, you would not see anything much. But in verse 8 which says "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night" caused curiousity of the conditions during the birth. I googled the weather conditions of Bethlehem which is the place of birth according to the bible. The weather conditions of Bethlehem would be freezing cold at night and it is not a custom for the shepherds to watch over their flocks at night particularly during from November till March.
Hence, after reading and a bit of researching in the bible, I have yet to understand why is it celebrated on the 25th of December. Though I might be wrong for I am not really knowledgeable of the bible, this is just a personal research I did. If I am wrong, please forgive me and my humble opinions as I am not trying to cause any disruption on anyone or any religion.
These are some verses on the birth of Jesus/Isa alaihisalam in the Qur'an.
"(O Muhammad) recite in the Book of the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east; (17) and drew a curtain , screening herself from people where upon we sent to her Our spirit and he appeared to her as a well-shaped man, (18) Mary exclaimed: "I surely take refuge from you with the Most Compassionate Lord, if you are at all God-fearing." (19) He said: "I am just a message-bearer of your Lord, I have come to grant you a most pure boy." (20) Mary said : "How can a boy be born to me when no man has even touched me, nor have I been unchaste?" (21) The angel said: "Thus shall it be. Your Lord says: 'It is easy for Me; and We shall do so in order to make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us. This has been decreed.'" " (surah Maryam verse 16-21)
In my humble opinion, it is not right to assign something(in this case the birthday) to the great man and prophet which does not actually belong to him.
We have reach this time of the year where christians generally celebrate christmas which is the birth of christ. Is it being mentioned anywhere that Jesus(Isa) was born on the 25th of December? I have read about this somewhere and I've tried to look it up in the bible about the birth of christ but had no much luck about the specific date. Why does it interest me as a muslim? It is because we muslims consider Jesus/Isa alaihisalam as a prophet of Allah so I was really curious about the birth of prophet Isa alaihisalam and to understand the religion which celebrates the birth of the great man prophet Isa alaihisalam. Let me first clarify that I am not a scholar of the bible nor am I a sheikh/Imam.
Even though I have read this somewhere, I had to look it up myself. It was this particular verse that was mentioned which was Luke chapter 2 verse 8-12 which says: "(8)And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (9)An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (10)But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." (11)Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (12)This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Reading these verses in a glance, you would not see anything much. But in verse 8 which says "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night" caused curiousity of the conditions during the birth. I googled the weather conditions of Bethlehem which is the place of birth according to the bible. The weather conditions of Bethlehem would be freezing cold at night and it is not a custom for the shepherds to watch over their flocks at night particularly during from November till March.
Hence, after reading and a bit of researching in the bible, I have yet to understand why is it celebrated on the 25th of December. Though I might be wrong for I am not really knowledgeable of the bible, this is just a personal research I did. If I am wrong, please forgive me and my humble opinions as I am not trying to cause any disruption on anyone or any religion.
These are some verses on the birth of Jesus/Isa alaihisalam in the Qur'an.
"(O Muhammad) recite in the Book of the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east; (17) and drew a curtain , screening herself from people where upon we sent to her Our spirit and he appeared to her as a well-shaped man, (18) Mary exclaimed: "I surely take refuge from you with the Most Compassionate Lord, if you are at all God-fearing." (19) He said: "I am just a message-bearer of your Lord, I have come to grant you a most pure boy." (20) Mary said : "How can a boy be born to me when no man has even touched me, nor have I been unchaste?" (21) The angel said: "Thus shall it be. Your Lord says: 'It is easy for Me; and We shall do so in order to make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us. This has been decreed.'" " (surah Maryam verse 16-21)
In my humble opinion, it is not right to assign something(in this case the birthday) to the great man and prophet which does not actually belong to him.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
The intention of this blog
Bismillahirohmanirohim (In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate)
In this entry, I'll be expressing from a slightly personal experience. Those who are close to me will understand that in the past 2 weeks, I have been apologising about some Islamic statuses that me and my wife made now and then. I apologised about it because some have misunderstood it and take it that we are a show off. To be honest, I'm not a pious person but I'm trying my outmost to be insha'Allah. I do not mean to be a show off "pious" person because I know there are tons of ustaz, sheikhs and imams out there who are waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy better than myself. Similarly like I've mentioned in one of my previous entries, there is no point to be the richest person on the planet because one day, there will be another person who will be richer. Therefore we could only do our best in certain things and appreciate what is given to us by Allah. The reason why I took 2 weeks to write this is because I do not want to write unnecessary stuff with my emotions. I needed to review it and think about it thoroughly with my mind rather with my heart.
Everything that I have written here is of my opinion from reading and researching from books written by scholars. I myself am not a scholar, ustaz, sheikh, or an imam and I have clearly stated in my previous entries. Whatever I have written is not even and does not qualify as a fatwa. Never anywhere have I written that me and my wife are hollier than others. We wrote and update our statuses because we are not that perfect muslims, we did a lot of mistakes in the past or even in the present and as a result we want to remind ourselves and others at the same time. Personally I don't update the facebook status that much as it is a joint account with my wife, but whatever I've learned, I teach it to my wife and then she updates the status whenever she wants to. But somehow we are often taken as a "show off" because of our islamic statuses.
Examples of statuses that was being looked at as a "show off":-
"Alhamdulillah, this morning we woke up feeling so thankful that Allah has chosen us as one of his Ummah that is leading towards the right path!" There are many ummah before us and Islam, and we are glad to be the ummah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwassalam which is leading towards the right path. The ummah before us was also leading to the right path in their time, i.e the ummah of Prophet Musa (Moses). We are glad to be the ummah of Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwassalam because even though we are the last ummah, we would be the first ummah to be entered into jannah (paradise), and we were merely expressing ourselves to be lucky to be in this ummah. If we do not believe that this ummah is in the right path, then there is no reason to believe in Islam. Never it was meant that we are the only one who are on the right path.
"It feels so good waking up at the calm of Subuh whilst everyone else is still asleep. The hectic worldly life becomes wayyy easier when we have worshipped him! Here's to our morning family jog! :)" If I'm not mistaken this status was updated during ramadhan. The Prophet salallahualaihiwassalam said, "Every night there is a special time during which whatever a muslim asks Allah subhanawata'ala of any good relating to this life or the hereafter, it will be granted to him; and this moment comes every night." Even though the status mentioned "subuh" it was because during the summer our night time is very short therefore it was very close to subuh/fajr. We are merely echoing/agreeing the saying of our Prophet salallahualaihiwasalam and we do not intend to imply that we are the only ones who wakes up for subuh/fajr. It is understood that every muslims should/obligatory wake up for fajr. The main point was, it is really true that there is a special time every night and during this special time it is very calm.
It would be really weird to justify every single statuses made.
Personally after taking my Masters in Islamic banking, I am more inclined to do researches on Islam and all these researches is written in my blog. Therefore if one looks through my blogs, one could see that entries like siwak or toothbrush (gold or fiat money), the recent controversial jerseys, another argument on islamic banks, in reference on "why is islamic home financing is haram?", reforming Islam, having doubts?, the importance of holy books and law shari'ah fiqh? The superiority of Islamic Jurisprudence & Law are all researches from my studies. My opinion of those who labels me a "show off" are of course against my blog(researches) and hence, they are also against my studies in Islam. Even though saying that, this is just my personal opinion as I cannot read their minds as I'm just another human being therefore only Allah knows best! As I've mentioned I am just another human being and I am also trapped into making assumptions but I do not intend to make it my final conclusion, therefore it is an open assumption and forgive me if I have assumed wrongly.
The last thing is, I've only written good things on Islam what it teaches us to do. All my opinions that I gave are mostly on the consequence of not following the teachings of Islam. I could take criticism if one were to criticise the content of an entry, for example:- what you have written is not really what the teachings of Islam meant, but to criticise my blog as a general does not justifies anything. I would be glad if there was a difference of opinion concerning the topics of my blog, so that there could be a discussion. I have written time and time again that if I have done any wrong in my writting, please correct me and yet most choose not to. I do not write or promote pornography, drugs or violence and yet my blog is being criticise unjustifiedly. The point of me writing all of my entries on a blog is so that one could read it willingly. If it is not of interest, then time was wasted reading this blog.
Hadith : Bukhari and Muslim
The Messenger of Allah salallahualaihiwasalam said: " Beware of suspicion, for suspicion (may be based on) the most untrue information; and do not spy upon one another and do not try to bare each other's hidden failings."
"O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah: For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful." (surah al-hujuraat verse 12)
I do not know how to avoid from being suspicion in this case. In my opinion, no matter how sincere I write this blog, there will be some that sees it differently.
"Behold, ye received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah." (surah al-noor verse 15)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah : "Beware of backbiting, for backbiting is more serious than adultery. A man may commit adultery, and drink, and then repent, and Allah will forgive him. But, the backbiter will not be forgiven by Allah until his companion forgives him." [Suyuti, Al-Jami` as-Saghir, 1/174, #2919, from Ibn Abid-Dunya, and Abush-Shaykh, Al-Tawbikh.]
I remind myself firstly that I should avoid doing such things and I advise others who have something against my blog, please confront me rather than asking others what is meant on my blog. Confront me so that backbiting may be avoided because I fear for you and backbiting is a serious matter in the sight of Allah. It doesn't make sense if I make a gadget and you ask the manual from a different person. I pray to Allah that I do not wish to be the one who backbites. Lastly, I would like to apologise to everyone that I may have backbite and for all my wrong doings.
In this entry, I'll be expressing from a slightly personal experience. Those who are close to me will understand that in the past 2 weeks, I have been apologising about some Islamic statuses that me and my wife made now and then. I apologised about it because some have misunderstood it and take it that we are a show off. To be honest, I'm not a pious person but I'm trying my outmost to be insha'Allah. I do not mean to be a show off "pious" person because I know there are tons of ustaz, sheikhs and imams out there who are waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy better than myself. Similarly like I've mentioned in one of my previous entries, there is no point to be the richest person on the planet because one day, there will be another person who will be richer. Therefore we could only do our best in certain things and appreciate what is given to us by Allah. The reason why I took 2 weeks to write this is because I do not want to write unnecessary stuff with my emotions. I needed to review it and think about it thoroughly with my mind rather with my heart.
Everything that I have written here is of my opinion from reading and researching from books written by scholars. I myself am not a scholar, ustaz, sheikh, or an imam and I have clearly stated in my previous entries. Whatever I have written is not even and does not qualify as a fatwa. Never anywhere have I written that me and my wife are hollier than others. We wrote and update our statuses because we are not that perfect muslims, we did a lot of mistakes in the past or even in the present and as a result we want to remind ourselves and others at the same time. Personally I don't update the facebook status that much as it is a joint account with my wife, but whatever I've learned, I teach it to my wife and then she updates the status whenever she wants to. But somehow we are often taken as a "show off" because of our islamic statuses.
Examples of statuses that was being looked at as a "show off":-
"Alhamdulillah, this morning we woke up feeling so thankful that Allah has chosen us as one of his Ummah that is leading towards the right path!" There are many ummah before us and Islam, and we are glad to be the ummah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwassalam which is leading towards the right path. The ummah before us was also leading to the right path in their time, i.e the ummah of Prophet Musa (Moses). We are glad to be the ummah of Prophet Muhammad salallahualaihiwassalam because even though we are the last ummah, we would be the first ummah to be entered into jannah (paradise), and we were merely expressing ourselves to be lucky to be in this ummah. If we do not believe that this ummah is in the right path, then there is no reason to believe in Islam. Never it was meant that we are the only one who are on the right path.
"It feels so good waking up at the calm of Subuh whilst everyone else is still asleep. The hectic worldly life becomes wayyy easier when we have worshipped him! Here's to our morning family jog! :)" If I'm not mistaken this status was updated during ramadhan. The Prophet salallahualaihiwassalam said, "Every night there is a special time during which whatever a muslim asks Allah subhanawata'ala of any good relating to this life or the hereafter, it will be granted to him; and this moment comes every night." Even though the status mentioned "subuh" it was because during the summer our night time is very short therefore it was very close to subuh/fajr. We are merely echoing/agreeing the saying of our Prophet salallahualaihiwasalam and we do not intend to imply that we are the only ones who wakes up for subuh/fajr. It is understood that every muslims should/obligatory wake up for fajr. The main point was, it is really true that there is a special time every night and during this special time it is very calm.
It would be really weird to justify every single statuses made.
Personally after taking my Masters in Islamic banking, I am more inclined to do researches on Islam and all these researches is written in my blog. Therefore if one looks through my blogs, one could see that entries like siwak or toothbrush (gold or fiat money), the recent controversial jerseys, another argument on islamic banks, in reference on "why is islamic home financing is haram?", reforming Islam, having doubts?, the importance of holy books and law shari'ah fiqh? The superiority of Islamic Jurisprudence & Law are all researches from my studies. My opinion of those who labels me a "show off" are of course against my blog(researches) and hence, they are also against my studies in Islam. Even though saying that, this is just my personal opinion as I cannot read their minds as I'm just another human being therefore only Allah knows best! As I've mentioned I am just another human being and I am also trapped into making assumptions but I do not intend to make it my final conclusion, therefore it is an open assumption and forgive me if I have assumed wrongly.
The last thing is, I've only written good things on Islam what it teaches us to do. All my opinions that I gave are mostly on the consequence of not following the teachings of Islam. I could take criticism if one were to criticise the content of an entry, for example:- what you have written is not really what the teachings of Islam meant, but to criticise my blog as a general does not justifies anything. I would be glad if there was a difference of opinion concerning the topics of my blog, so that there could be a discussion. I have written time and time again that if I have done any wrong in my writting, please correct me and yet most choose not to. I do not write or promote pornography, drugs or violence and yet my blog is being criticise unjustifiedly. The point of me writing all of my entries on a blog is so that one could read it willingly. If it is not of interest, then time was wasted reading this blog.
Hadith : Bukhari and Muslim
The Messenger of Allah salallahualaihiwasalam said: " Beware of suspicion, for suspicion (may be based on) the most untrue information; and do not spy upon one another and do not try to bare each other's hidden failings."
"O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah: For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful." (surah al-hujuraat verse 12)
I do not know how to avoid from being suspicion in this case. In my opinion, no matter how sincere I write this blog, there will be some that sees it differently.
"Behold, ye received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah." (surah al-noor verse 15)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah : "Beware of backbiting, for backbiting is more serious than adultery. A man may commit adultery, and drink, and then repent, and Allah will forgive him. But, the backbiter will not be forgiven by Allah until his companion forgives him." [Suyuti, Al-Jami` as-Saghir, 1/174, #2919, from Ibn Abid-Dunya, and Abush-Shaykh, Al-Tawbikh.]
I remind myself firstly that I should avoid doing such things and I advise others who have something against my blog, please confront me rather than asking others what is meant on my blog. Confront me so that backbiting may be avoided because I fear for you and backbiting is a serious matter in the sight of Allah. It doesn't make sense if I make a gadget and you ask the manual from a different person. I pray to Allah that I do not wish to be the one who backbites. Lastly, I would like to apologise to everyone that I may have backbite and for all my wrong doings.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
What makes us proud?
Bismillahirohmanirohim (in the name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate)
I've read some interesting stuff on this "proud" observation from Ibn Hazm. He went to a person and asked "Why are you proud?" That person replied, " I am nobody's slave!". Then Ibn Hazm pointed out that most of the people are not slaves but they are not proud or boastful compared to that particular person. This "proud" is considered as a "false pride". It is a trick being applied into the human mind. In my opinion of today's context of "false pride" is that we are made to feel proud of owning certain things where else it is those certain things who are proud to own us.
Most of us today own certain items just for the sake of the "brand" and not because of its capabilities. For example, Macbook is considered desirable to most of us even though most of us only use it for casual use. Why not use the pc or laptop? It is understandable if a person really needs the technology available in the mac book owns a Macbook because its technology is not available in any ordinary laptop. But why own a Mac if the technology is rarely being used? This is what it is meant by "false pride". We feel "happy/excited/proud" of owning such things but in reality it is our mind being played by tricks.
A person who likes to own these "brands" will usually not be satisfied or happy. There will be a time when that person will not feel the item/material is special anymore due to others owning the same item. There will also be a time when there is a new/better item and it will cause that person to be dissatisfied or unhappy. These feeling of dissatisfied/unhappy will then recur up to a point that it becomes a mental illness and will be a chain reaction towards one's life and others. This will become an unachieveable satisfaction and will only rely on materials/items for temporary happiness. Therefore it is important that we recognised that Allah is the only One who can make us feel happy and it is better for us to strive to enter paradise and not strive for worldy things.
When a person owns an expensive thing/brand, jealousy is the nature that would normally come from some of those who cannot afford it. Hence, the need to get a fast solution to own those things. This is when some will be tempted to do undesirable things like stealing and etc. So, it is important not only for the person who is a "show off" to be moderate but also for the best of the community.
We should try and change our mentality or perception to be satisfied even without the "best" of wordly things, then it will be easy for us to be happy with our lives growing a healthier community. Let this be a reminder to myself and others not to be arrogant and boastful.
Surah Luqman verse 18: "Do not turn your face away from people, nor tread haughtily upon earth. Allah does not love the arrogant and the vainglorious." (19) "Be moderate in your stride and lower your voice. Verily the most disgusting of all voices is the braying of the donkey."
Surah al-nisa verse 36: "Serve Allah and ascribe no pratner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin, to orphans, and to the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin and to the neighbour who is a stranger, and to the companion by your side, and to the wayfarer, and to those whom your right hand possess. Allah does not love the arrogant and boastful"
In my opinion, these verses of arrogant/vainglorious/boastful are interconnected with the community around one. It is obvious that one can act arrogant and boastful only when others are around and the reminder of these verses are to do good towards people around you no matter of one's status/rank.
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