The State Of Ummah Today

In The Name Of Allah, The Most Compassionate And The Most Merciful

I feel so blessed today. It’s the end of my stay at the camp and I’ll be returning to my unit tomorrow. I wish I could stay longer but Allah has indicated a dateline. Nevertheless, I’m drawing closer to my ORD date. All praise be to Allah!

It’s also the start of my Arabic class! Exciting? Definitely. There were so many things I learnt during the class. Not only did we learn Arabic and a bit of rules and regulations in the Quran, he imparted other ilmu which made me realise how lucky I am and how grateful I should be to Him.

Before I went to class, I was joking with my mum:

Me: I’m going for Arabic lessons.
Mum: Whoaa, ok good, when you get home, you can teach me.

Me: Can, insyaAllah, if you pay me $65 per month (the monthly course fee I had to pay). If you want to use my book, also can, $50.
Mum: Hahaha.

But what my teacher told us made me re-think what I said to her.

Sheykh, ustaz and etc are names. The ilmu is not mine but it’s meant to be shared with everyone.

When everyone was asking questions, I was just freaking scared. I think it’s not in the Asian, particularly Singapore, culture to be vocal in school. Maybe I was just scared? I do not know.

When you do not know, you ask. When you engage in a convo with an ustaz, you will get the barakah ilmu. That’s the adab for seeking knowledge. When I was in school, I was the first one to come and the last one to leave. That’s coz I got something from the teacher and the rest didn’t get… coz they left!

I’m desperately trying to kick this “shy shy wanna ask questions” attitude. May Allah guide me in doing so. Amin.

I was feeling great after the lesson when something else got me thinking. It’s that comment from a friend of mine 2 days ago during lunch.

Brainfreeze!

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.

Salam everyone =)

What a super sunday it has been! My first PERGAS lesson for this year started and already I am looking forward to mastering the subjects. There’s Fiqh, Tajwid (my fav) and Sirah (also my fav). 2009 is gonna be a hell of a journey for me. Talk about PERGAS, it’s only the first day but I’ve picked up ilmu… priceless ilmu.

Knowledge

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.

Stages to Knowledge

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (rahimahullaah) – said:

“There are six stages to knowledge:
Firstly: Asking questions in a good manner.
Secondly: Remaining quiet and listening attentively.
Thirdly: Understanding well.
Fourthly: Memorising.
Fifthly: Teaching.
Sixthly- and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits.”

Source: LutonMuslims.com.uk; Pearls of Wisdom

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“Fourthly: Memorising.”

This is amazing. I’ve always thought to myself,”Hmm, whatever I’ve read, I think I should understand it well and memorize so that the knowledge I’ve gained won’t be lost”. And I’m right!

So the next time I read a book, I’m gonna re-read the book so that it stays in the skull and not outside.

Sixthly- and it is its fruit: Acting upon the knowledge and keeping to its limits.”

Knowledge isn’t power but, Knowledge with action is power. I got that from one of my Ustaz. He’s damn right. When you don’t do anything with your knowledge, you rot. God, I should cultivate these habits fast!

My First PERGAS Lesson

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.

I had my PERGAS lesson early this morning and I had to walk in circles to find the gate. Thank God I stumbled upon a friendly Pakcik who happened to be in the same class as me! The best part was, his 2 sons enrolled in as well. The not-so-good part was, I got to know one of them are partially blind. He’s dependant on his walking stick and a guide.