‘Convey, even if only one verse…’

********************** In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. ************************ Reflection *********************** The Declining Day (Al-'Asr) 1. By the declining day, 2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss, 3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance. ***************************** RECENTLY a friend who had resided a few years in a European country returned home and one day we met and talked about life over a cup of coffee. *************** One subject he mentioned that I thought worth to be discussed in this column was how lucky we are as Muslims. A knowledgeable Muslim knows his direction in life whereas many non Muslims especially those at old age seem lost; they keep to themselves and are busy mostly on worldly activities such as shopping and traveling around the globe. ******************* Consider this scenario: A knowledgeable and practicing veteran Muslim (for example a pensioner) frequents the ‘masjid’; the masjid has been his central point of activities. He prays five times a day there; he longs to die while praising his Lord or doing good deeds especially in the ‘masjid’. ******************* If he has extra money, he wishes to perform hajj and ‘umrah’ (small hajj); never mind if it would be the second, fifth or tenth trip. Some even long to die in Makkah, hopping their bodies would be blessed in the funeral prayers the Haram Masjid and buried in the Ma’ala cemetery. ******************** “A pious Muslim, what’s more during old age, longs to meet his Lord. He knows the direction he is heading for but in Europe I found old folks at a lost,” said the friend. “To kill time they carry out all sorts of activities such as shopping and getting involved in social gatherings.” ****************** If a person has no type of mental bounds then he is apt to adopt free ways to acquire whatever his goals and ambitions are, and to fulfill his desires by all possible means no matter fair or unfair. ****************** But the person who has some good knowledge about the reality of life, his attitude about life, and its goals and ambitions will be different and so will be the ways of fulfilling his desires. He will found himself bound to adopt only the fair and legal ways. ******************** I thanks this friend who had conveyed to me how lucky we are being Muslims. We should be thankfull (Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah) and proud being Muslims. Being a Muslim and having His ‘hidayah’ (God’s guidance) is the biggest gift we have attained and we must thank the Lord. ******************** In this column I would like to pass some messages to readers in accordance to a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him - s.a.w.). ********************* The Prophet s.a.w. ordained all his companions and, thus, every Muslim who possesses some knowledge -- even as little as one verse -- to disseminate what they know to others: He said, "Convey (what you learn from me) even if only one verse…" (Related by Bukhari) ******************** Regarding the conveying of knowledge, I must admit that I am not good at words and am also no ‘ustaz’ (religious teacher). My knowledge is very limited and I depend a lot on others for views. ********************* In this column I would like to quote writings from readers who had give encouragement so that I could continue slogging on on my work so that others would perhaps benefited from them. ******************** Dr Safiah Osman wrote: Dear Saudara (Brother) LanH. Thank you for your equally precious gift of ‘Travelog Wartawan Islam’ (Dr Safiah had sent me her book entitled ‘Let Us Remember Allah for the Gift of Love in Our Hearts’). **************** I am so glad that you liked my book and thank you for that brief write up in your column. Also, thank you for the write-up about my first book (Let Us Remember Allah for the Wonder of His Creation), complete with a coloured photograph of the cover. I showed it to a friend and she did not know I wanted it back and so I have nothing to remind myself about what you wrote. ******************* My husband passed away in Oct last year after a long illness. He underwent surgery for a massive brain tumour, made good recovery, but slipped into a coma for more than a month. Allah SWT freed him from a lot of pain and suffering. ***************** I am so very glad that you are continuing to write. After all the headlines I would read your article. I like your articles in particular about how your mother raised her children (Love you mother, mother and mother…). I know there will be bountiful rewards for you for taking care of her. ************** My third book will not be a coffee table books but just a compilation of short stories, heart-warming and inspirational, with Islamic values and teachings subtly embedded in them. I will edit what friends and accqaintances have written. Thus far I have written about 10 stories, the longest entitled "Portrait of My Mother". I would really be grateful if you would contribute a few articles. Would you like to read a few that I had written? Salam, Safiah Osman ***************** Siti Salwah Arshad from Myqisah.blogspot.com wrote: Take Time.....Give it a Thought - Recently I came across a poem in your column that seemed familiar that brought me down memory lane during my high school days in the late 70's. ***************** During those days, I often copied inspiring English poems and excerpts from books and newspapers and paste it onto the front cover of my notebooks. Eventhough I did not understand some of the words in the poem, it did inspired me especially during my stressfull, weary days. ****************** This is the the poem titled Take time that LanH (the article writer) found in a phamplet at the Melaka hospital recently that though not new to me have made me realised that it is time to slow down and make time for all these beautiful things before it is too late. *************** We tend to rush in doing things madly these days that we forgot that there are many other things that we should make time before our time is up. As Muslims we have to balance our daily activities so that we achieve our target; that is Jannatul Firdaus in the hereafter. **************** Thank you LanH for bringing foward this inspirational poem. ********** Take time...... ************** Take time to think.... It is the source of power *************** Take time to play...It is secret of perpetual youth *************** Take time to read... It is the fountain of wisdom ****************** Take time to pray..... It is the greatest power on earth ************** Take time to love and beloved..... It s God given priviledge ****************** Take time to be friendly.... It is the road to happiness ******************* Take time to laugh.... It is the music of the soul ***************** Take time to give... It is short a day to be selfish ****************** Take time to work.... It is the price of success ******************* Take time to do charity..... It is the key to heaven *************** She also commented on my other article (The Durian Lesson) ************** When I was young; when I could finish off two or three durian fruits in one go, at that time my wallet was thin, my purchasing power was not strong enough so I had to be satisfied by having a small portion of the fruit. **************** But sad to say when I grew older and my wallet became fatter and fatter each day, I could not each much of the fruit as I had now developed diabetes, have high blood pressure and my cholesterol level is too high. ******************* Question: So how can I accept this with an open heart, not blaming Allah for the misfortune that had befallen to me? ******************* Answer: If you wish to buy a basket or two of durians, please do so. But as you could not consume it what about donating all the fruits (except one for you to sample) to those who can eat them, for example to pupils of tahfiz school or to a group of children in your neighbourhood; they would gladly finish them off in a few minutes. **************** The lesson learnt: If you give something that you really love, Allah will reward you even more in the Hereafter. The reward even comes after you give ‘sedekah’ to those people in need or appreciate it especiallly when you see their smiling faces and words of gratitudes such as Alhamdulillah, Syukran or Thank you. You'll notice the reward is actually the feeling of satisfaction deep in your heart.