Thursday, April 27, 2017

Jesus: A 'refreshed mind' after reading 'The 100...'

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.

BUKU TERBUKA UNTUK JUALAN
4. Tajuk: Di Dalam Lembah Kehidupan
Penulis: Prof Dr Hamka 
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3. Tajuk: Keadilan Ilahi
Penulis: Prof Dr Hamka 
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Muka surat: 123 (Harga asal dibeli RM13)
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2. Tajuk: Rahsia Madinah (Jejak Rasul 2)-----------(XXXXXXXXX  MAAF, SUDAH DIJUAL)
Penulis: Khalil Ibrahim Mulla Khothir 
Penerbit: Al-Hidayah Publishers
Muka surat: 218 (Harga tertulis di buku RM14)
Hanya RM10 (termasuk belanja hantaran pos biasa)
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1. Tajuk: Rahsia Mekah (Jejak Rasul 1)-------------(XXXXXXXXXXXX MAAF, SUDAH DIJUAL)
Penulis: 'Atiq bin Ghaits Al-Biladi
Penerbit: Al-Hidayah Publishers
Muka surat: 300 (Harga tertulis di buku RM15)
Hanya RM10 (termasuk belanja hantaran pos biasa)
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IN the calendar, Isra' and Mi'raj is marked on Monday, April 24th. Regarding Isra' and Mi'raj', in the Qur'an, Allah SWT says: “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).” - Al-Israa': 1

Subhanallah, how time flies...we are now observing Isra' (Israk) and Mi'raj (Mikraj) at the end of the month of Rajab; in a month time (after the month of Shaaban) it would be Ramadan (the fasting month) then it would be 'Hari Raya Aidilfitri'.

Isra' and Mi'raj was the miraculous night journey of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (peace be upon him) from Makkah to al-Quds (Jerusalem) and from there he ascended to the upper heavens and Sidratul-Muntaha. This journey is believed to have taken place just over a year before Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. migrated from Makkah to Madinah, on the 27th of Rajab. 

In welcoming the month of Rajab, Shaaban and Ramadan, it is advisable for Muslims to increase their good deeds to get closer to Allah SWT. Ramadan is the month when good deeds will be rewarded multi-fold by Allah SWT. In it is ‘Lailatul Qadr’ (the Night of Destiny) where one would be rewarded for his/her deeds for that night better than a 1,000 months. 

Isra' and Mi'raj was a 'mukjizat' (miracle) blessed by Allah SWT to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.. Allah SWT acknowledged so in the Qur'an in Surah Al-Israa': 1 with the meaning as mentioned above. 

Allah SWT, The Almighty, The Most Powerful on everything and matters in the universe could do anything as He wish including taking Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. for a journey from Makkah to al-Quds and then to the upper heavens in a short span of time, that is not even a night.

It was Allah SWT that made the journey possible. Allah is The Creator of time and space. It is His wish to do anything including time. In Ayahs 80-81 Surah Yasin, Allah SWT says: “Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth Able to create the like of them? Aye, that He is! for He is the All-Wise Creator. But His command, when He intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: Be! And it is.”

Allah SWT The Most Powerful can  do whatever He wishes including those which contradict the law of nature such as Isra' and Mi'raj and turn the huge fire which was to burn Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) a.s. cold and the Prophet was saved from it and how He made seven youth sleep in a cave for more than 300 years as mentioned in Surah Al-Kahfi. As for Prophet Isa a.s. (Jesus) he was created without a father. Prophet Adam a.s. too has no father as he was the first human being...

Allah SWT bestowed prophets with miracles...who were the prophets? In The Light of Revelation (Islamic Outreach-ABIM) it was noted: "From the beginning of mankind God sent Exemplers or Prophets to convey His revelation and to invite all mankind to the path of  true peace and obedience to one true God. This is Islam. This message was conveyed to all nations and tribes in this world throughout successive generations through more than 124,000 Prophets - all inviting mankind to the same path. The line of prophets were from Adam a.s. to Muhammad s.a.w.; and in between them among others were Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Daud (David), Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus).

"However all the earlier messages or revelations from God were distorted by later generations. As a result pure Revelation from God was polluted with myths, superstition, idol worshiping and irrational philosophical ideologies. The religion of God was lost in the confusion of religions. Human history is a chronicle of man's drift between light and darkness, but God out of His abundant Love for mankind has not forsaken us. When mankind was in the depth of Dark Ages, God sent the final Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him - pbuh) to guide humanity. The revelation to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) represents the ultimate and permanent source of guidance for mankind." 

If Muhammad s.a.w. had been given 'mukjizat' (one of them is the ever-lasting al-Qur'an), Jesus too had been bestowed with miracles. Among others he could raise the dead and cured the sick, with the blessing of his Lord (Allah SWT).

Nowadays after entering the 'pensioner world', I tried to catch up with my reading and one book that caught my eyes was 'The 100 - A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History' by Michael H Hart. Previously I did not put my heart when reading it even though the author ranked Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Number 1 on his list, but this time I tried to be focused.

Second in his list was British scientist, Isaac Newton and third was Jesus Christ. Reading Hart's account on Jesus strengthened my 'iman' (faith) that Jesus was 'only a man'.  In his intro, Hart wrote: "The impact of Jesus on human history is so obvious and so enormous that few people would question his placement near the top of this list." Subhanallah, Hart in naming Jesus as one of most influential persons in history, was actually acknowledging that Jesus was a human being.

About Christianity, Hart noted: "Christianity, unlike Islam, was not founded by a single person but by two people -- Jesus and St Paul -- and the principal credit for its development must be therefore be apportioned between those two figures.

"Jesus formulated the basic ethical ideas of Christianity, as well as its basic spiritual outlook and its main ideas concerning human conduct. Christian theology, however was shaped principally by the work of St Paul. Jesus presented a spiritual message, Paul added to that the worship of Christ.

"Furthermore, St Paul was the author of a considerable portion of the New Testament, and was the main proselytizing force for Christianity during the first century. Jesus was fairly young when he died..........For these reasons, some people even contend that it is Paul, rather than Jesus, who should be ready be considered the founder of Christianity..."

Regarding the practices of Christians, Hart wrote: "However, it does not seem reasonable to consider Jesus responsible for all the things which Christian churches or individual Christians later did in his name, particularly since he would obviously disapprove of many of those things..."

Regarding Prophet Isa (Jesus) pbuh, the book ‘Light of Revelation’ notes: “Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was as human as any man. He ate, slept, fought the Romans, worshiped God, wept and cried to God for assistance and salvation! If we read the Bible with an open heart, we can find in not less then 60 verses, statements as clear as daylight, that God is one and that Jesus is a human being and a prophet. He was never worshiped as God by his Disciples. The mission of Prophet Jesus was the same as all the 124,000 prophets sent to mankind.

Jesus said of his and our God: “And Jesus answered him. The FIRST of all commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord OUR GOD is ONE Lord.” (Mark 12:29).

Sincerely ponder over the above verse and Isaiah 43:10 (below) and ask whether there is any place for the belief in Trinity. God says: “Besides Me there is NO OTHER GOD; there NEVER WAS and NEVER WILL BE.” That God is Allah SWT, the Most Merciful to all of us, Muslims and non-Muslims!

Steadfast and be firmed with the surah of ‘The Unity’ of the Qur'an with its translation; In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful..Say; He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten.

And there is none comparable unto Him

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