Saturday, March 29, 2014

Strategy in giving dakwah

I am writing mainly to those people who do dakwah out there.

I have outmost respect for them and I make doa that their efforts are rewarded by Allah azzawajal.
I seriously wanted to be a da'i one day, insyaallah. At the moment my dakwah is confined to my family members and close friends...And whatever I write in my blog.

There are several things that I think must be emphasis when giving dakwah:-

1. We give dakwah, hidayah comes from Allah. What this means is that we only give dakwah. The result of our dakwah is not for us to determine. It is the sole discretion of Allah. It is never a KPI for the one who gives dakwah on how many people that has been transformed into being mukminun. It is not an outcome based. It is the strategy that you adopted when giving dakwah and reaching it to as many people as possible. Follow Rasulullah, in the manner that he gave dakwah in terms of  convincing people that this Islam is for the good of oneself. Allah is not being affected by people not wanting Islam. People need Allah, and Allah does not need people. Sirah Rasulullah, when his very close uncle (guardian) did not join Islam even after many dakwah from Rasulullah.

2. Making doa. If a person makes a doa, and Allah granted that doa, then well and good. But, when doa is not granted, people think that Allah is being unfair. Actually people making dakwah have to emphasis that doa that is not granted  can be the best thing that can happen to you. By you getting what you wanted can spoil you in the coming future. What Allah gave is the best for you. Only in our limited knowledge that we think it is bad for us.

3. Kafir should NOT be treated in a bad way. This is what Rasulullah did. Do good deeds even to the kafirs. Show to them that Islam is the religion of love. Only confront them when they want to go to war with us. If they do good to us, never ever do bad things to them. If they oppress Islam, then will only we react.
 
4. When giving dakwah, do not start with all the don't in Islam. Start with giving all the good and awesome stuff in Islam. Always remind them of the Greatness of Allah and all the wonderful things that Allah has granted to us in this world. Remind them of Rasulullah's positive attitude towards life, with a lot of smile, love and compassion.

5. Always have sabr in the work of Allah. Rasulullah gave dakwah for 23 years. The first 13 years, there was only a handful of people who embrace Islam. But these few people's iman is so very strong because they know with all their heart that Islam is good for them. They believe in Allah, the akhirat, the Quran and Rasul so much that they gave their life for this course.

Masyaallah. If all the da'i can instill these 5 things, I sincerely believe that a lot more people will see Islam as truely wonderful and realise that they wanted to be a Muslim.

Man United and Moyes season 2013/14......

Manchester United season as compared to the past 10 seasons is considered a DISASTER.

The key word in the above statement is "compared to". Because MU has been in the top 2 season for the past 10 years.

After 32 games, they are at 7th place and this is a LOW position considering their outstanding record under Sir Alex Ferguson.

They are still in the European Champions League quarter-finals. A win against the current ECL champions League Bayern Munich looks very unlikely.

The did reach the semi final of the League Cup, losing on penalties to Sunderland (at Old Trafford). They lost in the 3rd round of the FA Cup to Swansea (at Old Trafford). They lost 6 games at home to Liverpool (0-3), Manchester City (0-3), Spurs (1-2), Everton (0-1),
Newcastle (0-1) and West Brom (1-2).

The best position they can achieve is 5th place. They have to climb above Everton & Spurs which is not easy.

Besides the Bayern games, the away game at Everton is very crutial, so are the remaining 6 games of the season.

Anyway, with Moyes' past track record, I do not know whether he still will be MU manager come next season.

But one thing for sure, MU fans have not got this feeling of LOW for a long time. MU fans have long been pampered with trophies and finishing in the top 2, let alone in 7th place.

3-0 defeats to bitter rivals Liverpool and Man City also means that MU fans have lost the bragging rights to their rivals.

Tribute to the late Mr Lawrence How, who is the founder of Man United Supporters Club (Malaysia). He is a truely MU supporter having to run MUSCM on his own initiative, mainly through his passion of Man United. He used to call me "Duxbury", knowing well that Mike Duxbury is one of my favourite MU player of all time. Mike Duxbury is a utility player who can play in any outfield position and he never complaint to the gaffer. A true professional who has 400 over appearances for MU. 

Thank you Man United for all the entertainment that you have given me. I will support MU whatever is their position...

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Relation between missing MH370 with Surah At- Takathur

Just connecting the missing MH370 with Surah At-Takathur.

I want to share with people about this really awesome surah. At-Takathur
It is about Plentifulness (wanting more)

Allah reminds us that we (human beings) are all deeply immensed in plentifulness. We want to collect as many things as possible in this world before we eventually die.

Human Plentifulness covers 4 things:-
1. We want as much as we can
2. We want more than others
3. We want to tell to people that I have more than you
4. This "wanting more" is in EVERYONE; be it an individual or large organisation, or even a 6 year-old child.

We will not stop accumulating whatever we want, until we realise that we are going to die.. then we will stop. To test this statement, let us take the current situation of the loss of MH370.

Let us take the perpective from 1) a concerned individual 2) a top media company 3) kindergarten boy.

The concerned individual wants to know as much news and facts as possible on what really happen to the missing aircraft. He definitely wants to know more than other people, at least know the very latest than others. He craves to tell other people that he has more information than others. He will broadcast it in whatever media that he make available. (WhattsAp, Facebook, Twitter etc)

Same goes to this large media company. They will deploy as many resources as possible to cover this SENSATIONAL story.


Let us take the perspective of a 6-year old boy.
1. He wants the latest toy in the store
2. He will compare with his friends, and wants more than what his friends have
3. After achieving this, he will tell his friends of this latest toy, boasting that he has the BEST beating others and feeling good about it.

People call this "Healthy Competition". Yes, very healthy, but without iman, healthy competition becomes an obssession and will allude you from remembering Allah.

Anyway, just ponder, all of us wants more than what we really need.

Just observe animals, they hunt when they are hungry. Us humans, we want more than what we need. We "hunt" ALL the time, whether we need it or not.

More house, more cars, more credit cards, more wife, more information and more of almost everything. The only thing(s) that we need less is trouble and body fat.

Friends, do not be deceived by all this world things. Remember that all this wanting more, we will eventually leave behind when we die.

Have iman, do good deeds, remind people of the truth, and if they become angry with you, remind them to be patient. (Surah Al-Asr). Surah Al-Asr comes IMMEDIATELY after surah At-Takathur.

In Quran, surahs come in pairs. Surah At-Takathur is paired with Surah Al-Asr.
Surah At-Takathur says that we (human beings) are ALL deeply immensed in plentifulness. Surah Al-Asr then reiterates that we (human beings) are ALL in a state of LOSS.
Exception being those who perform ALL 4 things: Have iman, do good deeds, remind people of the truth, and remind them to be patient.

I make doa that Allah gives us ALL guidance to His Deen (path).. Amin

Back to the missing airplane, if we can turn this event and be closer to Allah, masyaallah we are NOT among the people who are in the state of LOSS. We are the exception rather than the rule.

   

Friday, March 14, 2014

The missing MH370

The Malaysia Airline flight MH370 went missing early Saturday morning 8th Mar 2014.

I have one relative onboard that plane. Her name is Suhaili Mustafa. She is my brother-in-law's (Lokman Mustafa) youngest sister. My sister Salina Mustaffa married Lokman Mustafa in 2006.

I was very sad to hear the news. What more, when that day, my sister came with her sons Hafiz, Raihan and Zarif Mustafa.

Anyway, as expected, there were many theories and views given by experts and ordinary people. They want to give their opinion. Above all, they wanted to truth.

The next day 9th Mar 2014, I already made my conclusion.

The plane went MISSING. Only Allah knows where the plane is.

This thing happened for a reason. Allah is reminding us all to come back to HIM. He is the GREATEST.

Okay, the search and rescue effort will continue. But DO NOT EVER leave the Allah factor.

I did not follow whatever theory people write or explain in the printed and electronic media. I saved a lot of time in not dwelling with all the conversation. I already leave it to Allah.

What happen in this world has a reason to it. Just learn the lesson from this incident.

Lessons learnt:-
1. There are many things that is in our control, BUT THERE ARE MANY THINGS BEYOND OUR CONTROL
2. Technology most of the time can help, BUT NOT EVERY TIME
3. Never forget the Allah factor. We will meet him one day, whether we like it or not. Allah is reminding us to come back to HIM

Surah AlBaqarah:3
"Those who believe in Ghaib and perform solat, and those whom we give rizk, they give back"

We must believe in the ghaib (devine). Then we must perform solat and we must give to the needy.
I pray to Allah to protect the people in MH370. My tag-line "If you have Allah, you have everything"
After the incident, I believe in the ghaib, I perform more sunnah solat & I infaq (give charity) where ever there is opportunity.

Leave it to Allah.. and we do our part as the slave in worship and doing good deeds.. Everything will be OK.. and NEVER forget the Allah factor  

Taking Certificate in Asset Management

I took an exam which enables me to be a Professional status on 7th Mar 2014.

The examination qualifies me to apply being a Member of Institute of Asset Management in UK giving the title (MIAM)

I am already a professional Electrical Engineer in Institute of Engineers Malaysia (MIEM)

I am also a qualified Associate Asean Engineer registered with Asean Federation of Engineers Organisation (AAE)

Hopefully, after this exam, I will qualify to be MIAM.

These are professional bodies that recognises my qualification within my Engineering career.

I also hold an MBA from Ohio University in Athens.

All these does not gurantee you to become a good Muslim. It is the level of taqwa that is important in the eyes of Allah azzawajal.

Please, I am not writing this to brag that I am a highly qualified person. My message is that:-
with ALL the professional recognitions, it is your heart that matters.
your relationship with Allah & your relationship with other Allah creations is the one that counts.

My trip to Mekkah Mukarramah

My journey in the Holy land continues when I travel from Madinah to Mekkah Mukarramah to perform my umrah.

I put on my ihram when I was still at the hotel in Madinah.

The journey to Mekkah from Madinah is OK, except for some delay in the transportation when we arrived at Jeddah airport.

Al Haram is half the size of what it was before. There was a massive construction works and the 2nd & 3rd floor, where people can perform tawaf is now closed. We can only do tawaf on the ground floor. There were many people performing the tawaf.

I made a point doing tawaf everyday when I was in Mekkah from 3 to 8 February 2014. Although there were many people, but alhamdulillah tawaf was completed within 40 minutes.

I read the Quran whenever I was in AlHaram mosque. I also read the tafseer so that I understand the surah that I read. I attempted to finish the whole Quran during my umrah journey, but I did not manage to do so. But continue to read Quran after I came back, that I did.

Mekkah is now in a process of a "facelift". Alharam is going to be 3 times bigger than what it used to be. Many small hotels have been demolished to make way for a bigger/taller and more high class hotels.

Whatever it is, Mekkah is blessed as the Holy City and Allah will protect Mekkah till the end of time.

Eldest daughter enters NZ University in Auckland

I have not written for some time due to my busy schedule in the whole month of February 2014.
I cannot recall a busier month that I encountered before this month.

My eldest daughter got offer from 1 university from Australia and 1 university from New Zealand. To respond to the university, I have to pay the full annual fee before the university can fully accept her.

To get a loan for such a huge sum is one challenge I have to encounter. Then to get the student visa, is another challenge, as the Visa application centre is in Singapore and not in my country, Malaysia.

My eldest daughter got the offer on 13th Feb. I took 1 week to raise her tuition fees, post it to New Zealand and they officially responded on the 20th Feb. Then I have to fill in the visa application form which has almost 50 questions that the candidate must fill in.

They include questions on the university, the financial backing, the health of the candidate, the countries that they have been recently and many more.

The completed application has to be couriered to Singapore, including the application's passport and other necessary documents. Not forgetting the visa application charges and the fees to pay
for the return courier. The application process takes between 1 to 2 weeks, depending on many factors.

I sent the application on 21 of Feb, but class in NZ starts on 3 Mar 2014. The immigration officer in Singapore called on the 3 Mar saying that the application is ready, but because they issue on the date the the candidate has to register, the immigration officer needs a consent from the University in NZ to say that the U accepts late registration candidates.

Because of 5 hour time difference, I called the NZ university on the 4th Mar, to issue a letter to NZ Immigration in Singapore to say that the university accepts late registration students. Apparently, the university is very strict on registration and did not accept late registration. The university told me to register my daughter for the next semester in September.

I was devastated. Apparently I asked my sister in NZ to appeal, giving all the available reasons. After the University Dean had a meeting on 5th Mar, they agree to accept my daughter to register on the 10 Mar 2014(1 week late)

I already sent my wife to Singapore on the 5th Mar to standby at the NZ Visa Centre.

On the 5th Feb, the said University sent an email to NZ Immigration in Singapore. NZ immigration then released the visa and there was my wife waiting for the passport outside the office in Singapore.

My wife flew back to KL on that same day and the next morning 6th Mar, we all sent my eldest daughter to NZ.

What an experience!

All the while, I pray to Allah that Allah make easy for me in all my daily activities. There is no one to help you in many circumstances accept Allah.

True enough, if you have Allah, you have everything. Come back to Allah & He will make it easy for you..