The Obligation of Salah (Prayer)

Bismillâh, wa-l-hamdulillâh, wa-s-salâtu wa-s-salâmu `alâ rasûlillâh

The Salâh (prayer) is the most important bodily deed in Islam. It is a pillar of Islâm. It is so important that instead of sending down Jibrîl to tell the Prophet (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) of the obligation, Allâh took the Prophet up to Himself to inform him of the obligation.

During the Mi`râj, Allâh originally ordered 50 daily prayers, but after the Prophet Mûsâ (whom Rasûlullâh met in heaven) told Rasûlullâh (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) to bargain with Allâh with the reason that Rasûlullâh's followers would not be able to handle it, it was reduced to 40. Mûsâ again told Rasûlullâh to go back and bargain. Rasûlullâh did so, and it was reduced to 30. This kept going on, from 30 to 20 to 10, then to 5. When Rasûlullâh returned to Mûsâ with the command of five daily prayers, Mûsâ still insisted that Rasûlullâh return to Allâh to bargain again. However, out of his shyness, Rasûlullâh refused this time. And so the number of prayers remained at five.

Unfortunately however, many Muslims today are too lazy to pray even five times a day! Some are so lazy, they don't pray at all!

If these people knew the rewards of Salâh, they would quit everything just to make sure that they would have enough time to pray.

Allâh says in the Qur'ân:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ. أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ.الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
"And they who carefully maintain their prayers - They are those [who are] the inheritors. Who shall inherit the Firdaus (Paradise). They shall dwell therein forever." (TMQ al-Mu'minûn 23:9-11)

In Surah al-Mâ`ûn, Allâh condemns those who are careless with their prayers:

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ
"So woe to those who pray [But] who are heedless of their prayer - Those who make show [of their deeds]" (TMQ al-Mâ`ûn 107:4-6)

Abu Hurayrah (radiyallâhu `anhu) narrated that Rasûlullâh (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) said [to his companions], "Do you think if there was a river at the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day…[that] any dirt would remain upon him? They (those who were with him) said, "No dirt would remain upon him. He (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "That is how it is with the five daily prayers, through them Allâh washes away the sins." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Note that the sins washed away by the prayer are only the minor sins.

Salât is our chance to directly communicate with our Creator five times a day. So why do many Muslims still not grab this opportunity?

Indeed, the one who is careless in his prayer is careless in other matters of religion. Whereas the one who is strict with his prayers is strict with other matters of religion.

It is also known that the man who hears the mu'adhdhin call the Adhân must respond to the mu'adhdhin by attending the congregational prayer. And why shouldn't we? The mu'adhdhin is calling us to success; do we not want success? Also, we get 27 times more reward praying in congregation than praying alone.

We should also be keen in performing the Sunnah prayers as they will make up for the defeciencies in our obligatory prayer. This is important, considering that the prayer is the first thing we will be asked about on the Day of Judgement, as stated by the following hadîth:

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (radiyallâhu `anhu) said: I heard the Messenger of Allâh (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) say: “The first deed for which a person will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayer. If it is good then he will have prospered and succeeded, but if it is bad then he will be doomed and have lost. If anything is lacking from his obligatory prayers, the Lord will say, ‘Look and see whether My slave did any voluntary prayers, and make up the shortfall in his obligatory prayers from that.’ Then all his deeds will be dealt with likewise.” (Narrated by al-Nasâ’i & al-Tirmidhi)

And Allâh Knows Best

The Basics of Islam

Bismillâh, wa-l-hamdulillâh, wa-s-salâtu wa-s-salâmu `alâ rasûlillâh

What is Islam?

Islam comes crom the Arabic word silm (not salâm, which means peace) which means sumbission.
Islam is to submit, accept and obey the teachings of Allâh which he revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam). A Muslim is one who submits to the true teachings of Allâh.

The Five Pillars of Islam

Islam is built upon five pillars:

1. Shahâdah (Testification). A Muslim must believe with the heart and declare with the tongue that there is no one deserving of worship except Allâh, and that Muhammad (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) is His Final Messenger.
2. Salah (Prayer). A Muslim must pray five times a day: Fajr (dawn), Zuhr (early afternoon), `Asr (late afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and `Ishâ' (night)
3. Zakâh (Alms). A Muslims is required to pay 2.5% of his/her wealth per year.
4. Sawm (Fasting). A Muslim is required to fast the whole of the month of Ramadân.
5. Hajj (Pilgrimage). A Muslim is required to perform pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in his/her lifetime.

The Six Pillars of Îmân (Faith)

Îmân (faith) has six pillars:

1. Belief in Allâh. We must believe in Allâh's Oneness & Uniqueness, His Existence, His Lordship, His Divine & Sublime Names & Attributes, His Perfection and His Sole Right to be worshipped.

2. Belief in His Angels. We must believe that Allâh created angels, who are honoured servants made from light. They do not disobey Allâh; they only do what He commands them to do. Only Allâh knows how many angels there are, but to indicate their great number, there is a hadîth that states that every day 70,000 angels visit al-Bayt al-Ma'mûr and leave, never returning to it again, another group coming after them.

We must know ten individual angels:
1. Jibrîl. He is the chief on the angels and is responsible for conveying the wahy (revelation) from Allâh to His Prophets.
2. Mîkâl (or Mîkâ'îl). He is responsible for rain and vegetation.
3. Isrâfîl. He is responsible for blowing the Trumpet, first to destroy everything except what Allâh wills, then the second time to signify the period of resurrection and judgement.
4. Malak al-Mawt. He is the angel of death. Every human will have his soul taken out of his body by this angel when his time comes to die.
5. & 6. Munkar & Nakîr. They are responsible for questioning the dead in their graves.
7. Ridwân. He is the main gatekeeper of Paradise
8. Mâlik. He is the chief gatekeeper of Hell
9. & 10. The two angels who record one's good and bad deeds, described as Raqîb (observer) & `Atîd (ready to record). The Qur'ân also describes them as Kirâman Kâtibîn (noble & recording).

3. Belief in His Books. We must believe in the Divine Books that Allâh sent down to His
Messengers.

We must know four particular Books:
1. Tawrât (Torah), which was revealed to Prophet Mûsâ (`alayhi-s-salâm)
2. Zabûr (Psalms), which was revealed to Prophet Dâwûd (`alayhi-s-salâm)
3. Injîl (Gospel), which was revealed to Prophet `Îsâ (`alayhi-s-salâm)
4. Qur'ân, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam)

However, our belief in these Books does not mean we follow the teachings of these books. The only Divine Book we are allowed to follow is the Qur'ân.

We must also believe that ALL of the Books sent down before us do not exist in their true, original forms today; they have either been lost or corrupted by the people as time went by. Examples of corrupted books are the Tawrât and Injîl.

4. Belief in His Messengers. We must believe that Allâh sent Prophets and Messengers to to he people and jinn of nations before us to guide them to the path of the Truth, and that they have told the truth about everything they have conveyed from Allâh. We must also believe that Muhammad (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam) was His Final Messenger and was sent to the worlds.

We must know 25 particular Prophets, all of whom are mentioned in the Qur'ân: Âdam, Idrîs, Nûh, Hûd, Sâlih, Lût, Ibrahîm, Ismâ`îl, Ishâq, Ya`qûb, Yûsuf, Shu`ayb, Mûsâ, Hârûn, Dâwûd, Sulaymân, Ayyûb, Dhû l-Kifl, Yûnus, Ilyâs, al-Yasa`, Zakariyyâ, Yahyâ, `Îsâ and Muhammad (`alayhimu-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm).

5. Belief in the Last Day. We must believe in the Day of Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, the day in which, as described by the Prophet himself (sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam), "The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters): (1) about his life - how he spent it; (2) about his youth - how he took care of it; (3) about his wealth - how he earned it; (4) and where he spent it (5) and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired." (Narrated by at-Tirmidhî and others)

On this Day, every single person will be brought back to life, judged, have his/her good and bad deeds weighed up against each other, walk on the sirât and enter either Paradise or Hellfire.

6. Belief in Predestination/Divine Decree/Divine Will. We must believe that Allâh decreed for everything to happen. Whatever Allâh decreed to happen occurs and whatever Allâh does not decree to happen does not occur. Nothing happens except that Allâh knows it was going to happen and knew about it eternally.
So the question might be asked: Do we have free will? Why will Allâh punish us because of something he decreed for us to do anyway?

The answer is that Allâh does not hold us responsible for creating the act, for Allâh is the Creator of all acts. Rather, he holds us responsible for choosing the act. One proof of this is that a person who cannot choose is not held responsible, such as someone asleep, insane, a child, forced, unremembering, or someone who makes an honest mistake. The legal responsibility of such people is lifted because they lack full voluntary choice.

Another proof is that Nimrûd sinned for choosing to burn Ibrâhîm (`alayhi-s-salâm) even though Ibrâhîm did not burn; and that Ibrâhîm (`alayhi-s-salâm) became the Close Friend of Allâh for choosing to sacrifice his son out of obedience to Allâh, even though his knife did not cut and his son was not sacrificed. All of this shows that the servant is held responsible for his choice.

Also, we do not have any access to Allâh's Decree. So when we choose to do acts, we do so on the basis of a desire within ourselves, not because we know Allah's Decree, and as a result we are held responsible for our choices even though they correspond with Allâh's Decree.

Wallâhu A`lam wa Ahkam

Brotherhood in Islam

Bismillâh, wal-hamdulillâh, was-salâtu was-salâmu `alâ rasûlillâh

When we talk about brotherhood in Islam, we must first know what the term brotherhood means.

According to the dictionary, brotherhood is a bond or link between a group of people based on a common interest, such as a game.

However, according to Islam, brotherhood is defined as a bond between a group of people according to Islam.

Allâh says in  Âyah 9 of Sûrah al-Hujurât that "The believers are nothing else than brothers."

Therefore, we should consider how close we are to others on the basis of Islam. We should not consider one person closer to us than another person because he likes soccer better, or because he likes playing World of Warcraft. They way we look at and judge another person should be based on Islam.

We should also not break the bonds of brotherhood abd frienship with our fellow Muslims. Indeed, brotherhood that comes as a result of Islam is closer, stronger and more worthy to be kept & strengthened that the brotherhood that comes out of a blood relationship, as demonstrated by the Sahâbah, may Allâh be pleased with them all.

And Allâh knows best.

Jual beli dengan Allah swt

   Assalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh, pada kesempatan kali ini pengajian di isi oleh ustadz Cecep solehudin beliau pada kali ini membahas tentang makna hidup dimulai dari mereview diri kita kembali untuk melihat lebih jelas apa arti kehidupan ini agar kita bisa menempatkan diri kita sesuai dengan alur yang telah Allah ciptakan. Kehidupan ini dibaratkan jual beli, sebagaimana namanya, setiap transaksi jual beli pasti ingin mendapatkan keuntungan meskipun adakalanya kita dihadapkan pada keadaan yang membuat kita disebut rugi. Tetapi pada transaksi jual beli dengan Allah swt, kita pasti akan dihadapkan pada satu hal, yaitu keuntungan keuntungan yang melimpah, hal ini mempunyai arti bahwa ketika Allah swt menawarkan jual beli yang dapat menyelamatkan kita dari siksa api neraka, begitu juga ketika Allah swt menawarkan amalan amalan yang pahalanya sangat besar diantaranya :
1. Barang siapa yang melakukan sholat sunnah 2 rakaat sebelum sholat subuh maka pahalanya lebih baik dari dunia dan seisinya.
2. Barang siapa yang setiap harinya melaksanakan sholat dhuha maka Allah akan mencukupkan rezekinya hingga sore hari.
3. Barang siapa yang rutin membaca surat al waqiah setiap malam maka Allah tidak akan membuatnya miskin.
4. Ada juga kalimat jual beli yang ditawarkan Allah yang apabila sering diucapkan pahalanya lebih berat dari langit dan bumi, kalimat tersebut yaitu subhanallah walhamdulillah walailahailallahu allahuakbar. Memang kalimat ini singkat dan terlihat sepele, tetapi kenyataannya sangatlah sulit diucapkan hingga menjadikannya terbiasa dalam stiap desah nafas kita atau paling tidak membacanya setelah sholat dan sebelum tidur.

5. Memaafkan. bila kita mau memaafkan saudara kita apapun yang telah dia perbuat kepada kita maka Allah janjikan akan dibangunkan sebuah istana yang begitu indah yang terbuat dari emas dan permata. memang sangatlah mudah untuk bicara soal maaf memafkan tetapi dalam kenyataan sangatlah susah apalagi kepada orang yang telah menyakiti kita. Karena saat terjadi kesalah pahaman, yang terbayang dibenak kita pada saat itu adalah kebencian, kesalahan dan semua kejelekan kejelekan. Bila hal ini terjadi berlarut larut, lalu bagaimana kita akan mendapatkan tawaran dari Allah swt, bila hati kita masih terkontaminasi oleh penyakit hati.

Rasulullah bersabda barang siapa yang setiap kali sebelum tidur selalu mengosongkan pikiran pikiran negatif dan memaafkan semua kesalahan kesalahan orang orang disekitarnya serta tidak menyimpan dendam sama sekali maka dia sudah dipastikan menjadi ahli surga.

6. Ikhlas, merupakan sesuatu hal yang mudah di ucapkan tetapi ternyata susah untuk diimplementasikan. Padahal ikhlas adalah salah satu kunci diterimanya semua amal ibadah kita, karena bila kita beribadah tidak ikhlas karena Allah maka akan sia sia lah semua amalan ibadahnya. Suatu contoh saat kita berangkat ke pengajian bila di niati bukan karena Allah maka sia sialah semua amalan ibadah, tetapi bila kita ikhlas maka kita akan mendapat Ghasiyah humurrohmah : rahmat Allah yang melimpah, juga para malaikat akan membangga banggakan kita karena melihat para sekumpulan manusia yang berkumpul untuk mempelajari ilmu Allah.

wallahualam bishowab.

Youth Lecture: 30/09/2011

Bismillâh, wal-hamdulillâh

On Friday night, a youth lecture was held. The talk was given by Br. Bilal Merhi.

Let us start of with two âyât (verses) from the Book of Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى), the Qur'ân:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

"And thus We have made you a wasat (middle) nation to be witnesses over mankind, and (for) the Messenger to be a witness over you." [TMQ al-Baqarah 2:143]

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

"You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind." [TMQ Âli `Imrân 3:110]

Now you might ask, is there a contradiction between these two âyât? One of them says that we are the (wasat) middle nation, whilst the other says we are the best nation.

To answer that question, we have to turn to another âyah of the Qur'ân -- an âyah which we recite a minimum of 17 times a day.

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

"...The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace , not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians)." [TMQ al-Fâtihah 1:7]


Among the reasons as to why the Jews earned Allâh's Anger is because Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى) granted them a lot of knowledge, but they failed to turn that knowledge into action; the Jews abandoned practising the religion properly. Here is a brief story explaining this: During the time of the Prophet, a man came to a Jewish rabbi and asked him, "What do you think about this man Muhammad?" The rabbi replied, "By Allâh! We know for sure that this man is the Messenger of God." The man asked, "Then why do you not follow him?" The rabbi replied, "I will fight him until he dies or I die."

Among the reasons as to why the Christians lost their way is because they acted but without knowledge. The Christians want to seek the true knowledge, but are unable to find it because they did not seek it from its proper resources.This is why they were led astray.They prayed [and still pray] not according to the way Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى) ordered them to pray.

The Jews and the Christians were [and still are] at two extremely opposite ends of the table. However, the Muslims are in the middle, as the âyah in al-Baqarah states, because we have the knowledge and we act on it too. Indeed, the path of the believers is knowledge of the truth and abiding by it. And when we follow this path, we become the best of nations, as quoted in the âyah in Sûrah Âli `Imrân. This clears up the confusion between these two âyât.

Sayyid Qutb (رحمه الله) once said that the Muslims were also the middle nation geographically. That way, the Muslims can be witnesses over the rest of mankind due to their location on the world map, being able to see everything around them.

Also, when we follow the path of having the  knowledge of the truth and abiding by it, we follow the path of the Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم).

Speaking of the Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم), most of them were aged between 8-25. However, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) treated them like grown-ups. This was to set them up as the future leaders. And this is how today's youth should be treated. Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders.

We should also look to the example of the Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم); we should take them as our role models instead of these singers and actors that we see today are constantly involved in scandals and sin. After all, the Sahâbah were our (the youth's) age, so it is more possible for us (the youth) to follow their example than the example of these singers and actors, who are mostly aged 25+.

It is attributed as being said by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that the Day of Judgement will not come until people say to a person 'How cool is he!' and that person won't have an atom's weight of faith.

Let's look at an example of two Sahâbah: `Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd & Mus`ab bin `Umayr (رضي الله عنهما).

Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd


Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd (رضي الله عنه) became a Muslim at a very young age. A famous story of him in his youth was when the Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم) gathered, talking about the fact that the Quraysh had not yet heard the Qur'ân being recited openly yet. To this, Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd said, "I shall recite it for them." "We are afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a tribe who would protect him from their evil." "Let me," Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd insisted, "Allâh shall protect me and keep me away from their evil."

He then went out to the Ka`bah, where the Quraysh were. Abdullâh (رضي الله عنه) began to recite Sûrah ar-Rahmân.The Quraysh, after relising that Abdullâh was reciting "what Muhammad brought", they started beating him up. Abdullâh continued reciting. When he finished, he was covered with blood.

When Abdullâh bin Mas`ûd (رضي الله عنه) returned to the Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم) covered with blood and welts, they said to him, "this is what we feared for you, O Abdullâh. Abdullâh replied, "By Allâh, the enemies of Allâh are more uncomfortable than I am at this moment. If you wish, I shall return tomorrow and do the same." The Sahâbah replied ,"You have done enough. You have made them hear what they dislike."

This is real courage. These are the people we should look up to as role models.

Mus`ab bin `Umayr


Mus`ab bin `Umayr (رضي الله عنه) was the Justin Bieber of his time. He was the talk of the town. He was the person everyone wanted to be like. He was rich, handsome and did not have to work. Wherever he went, a line of women would always be following him.

As soon as he met up with the Messenger of Allâh (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he fell in love with him because of his personality. This caused him to become a Muslim.

When Mus`ab's mother heard of his becoming a Muslim, she locked him up in his room, chained him up and threw away all of his belongings. She gave him the choice to choose either her or the Messenger of Allâh (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He chose the Messenger of Allâh.

Mus`ab (رضي الله عنه) eventually escaped, wearing only ragged clothes he found off the street. But he didn't care about the Dunyâ anymore. He only cared cared about Islâm and the Âkhirah. He went on to become one of the great companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

During the Battle of Uhud, Mus`ab (رضي الله عنه) was chosen to carry the flag to keep the Muslims together. When the Muslims started running towards Madînah believing they had won, the enemy attacked from behind. As some tried to target the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), Mus`ab screamed, trying to get attention to himself.

An enemy soldier came and chopped off Mus`ab's right arm. The flag fell, so he picked it up with his left hand. The soldier chopped it off, so Mus`ab hugged it with his upper arms and chest. He was then struck the fatal blow to his chest.

When Mus`ab (رضي الله عنه) was to be buried, he only had a short piece of cloth to cover his body; if his head was covered, his feet would show, and if his feet were covered, his head would show. Such was the condition of a person who once was the jewel of the town.

These are only two examples of the young Sahâbah (رضي الله عنهم) of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم); there are many more. We should look up to these brave, courageous, sincere people [who were mostly aged 8-25] as role models, not the scandal-plagued, drug-affected musicians and movie stars of today.

Wallâhu A`lam wa Ahkam

Keutamaan Surat Al Fajr

Alhamdulillah kegiatan proses belajar dan mengajar di forum jumat berjalan seperti sedia kala setelah beberapa waktu terfokus pada acara silaturahmi setelah hari raya idul fitri. Jadwal  pada pertemuan kali ini seperti biasa untuk anak anak kelas Iqro di bimbing oleh brother Ismail dan remaja laki laki dibimbing oleh brother Arban, sedang dari remaja perempuan dibimbing oleh ustadzah Errien, sedang Bapak bapak kali ini di pimpin oleh Ustadz Zaenal dan ibu ibu di bimbing oleh ustadz Ardhi.

Pada pertemuan kali ini ustadz Zaenal membahas tentang keutamaan surat Al fajr.Ramadhan baru saja meninggalkan kita, apa hikmah yang dapat kita peroleh dariramadhan kemaren, apakah kita sudah khatam al quran? apakah sampai sekarang kita masih rutin shalat malam? apakah kita masih melaksanakan ibadah ibadah yang biasa kita lakukan pada bulan ramadhan? pertanyaan pertanyyan itu mari kita tujukan kepada diri kita masing masing, apakah kita tetap konsisten dalam beribadah meskipun ramadhan telah berlalu. Pertanyaan ini mengingatkan kita agar kita selalu menjaga agar konsistensi iman kita tetap terjaga dan tidak berkurang bahkan kembali merosot seiring berlalunya ramadhan. karena sesungguhnya kebahagiaan dan kemuliaan seorang muslim adalah ketika dia bisa menjaga iman dari segala bentuk godaan duniawi yang semu dan bersifat sementara ini. Maka daripada itu mari kita terus memohon ampunan dan berdoa kepada Allah swt agar kita ditetapkan iman dan dijauhkan dari segala bentuk godaan ataupun ancaman dari segala pihak yang bisa menjadikan iman kita luntur bahkan berpaling kepada Allah swt. Karena memang hanya kepada DIA lah tempat memohon ampunan dan hanya kepada DIA lah meminta pertolongan, bukan yang lain, karena sehebat apapun kita, sepandai apapun kita, atau bahkan sekuat apapun kita, kita sebagai manusia tidak berdaya dan tidak ada apa apanya dibanding kekuatan Allah swt. Hal ini tercantum pada surat Al fajr, surat ini membuktikan bahwa sekuat apapun sebuah kaum seperti halnya kaum Aad, kaum Tsamud,Kaum Fir'aun dan kaum kaum lainnya yang memusuhi agama Allah, bila Allah berkehendak sesuatu pada kaum tersebut, maka suatu hal yang sangat mudah bagiNYA untuk membinasakan kaum tersebut. Jadi kita sebagai kaum muslimin janganlah merasa berkecil hati atau minder yang karena saat ini banyak sekali kaum yang sengaja memusuhi islam dan menjelek jelekan islam, bahkan ingin menghancurkan islam, karena sesuai janji Allah pertolongan itu pasti datang, islam akan tegak kembali didunia ini. Kita sebagai umat muslim harus yakin bahwa pertolongan Allah swt akan datang dan membebaskan umat muslim ini dari segala fitnah yang terjadi saat ini yang mengakibatkan terpuruknya umat islam dan hanya dijadikan sebagai kambing hitam atas segala peristiwa buruk yang terjadi. Oleh karena itu belajar dari surat Al fajr tersebut mari kita petik hikmahnya bahwa saat ini kaum muslimin sedang diuji imannya, kandungan surat tersebut juga merupakan pemberitahuan dari Allah swt melalui sumpahnya bahwa setiap segala sesuatu yang memusuhi agama Allah atau memusuhi islam maka akan berakibat seperti kaum kaum yang telah dibinasakan oleh Allah, sekarang tinggal kita sebagai kaum muslimin bagaimana menjaga ketetapan iman kita agar terhindar dari azab dan dan tetap menegakkan agama Allah dimuka bumi ini, semoga Allah memasukkan kita diantara golongan orang orang yang beriman, amin.

Youth Lecture: 8/7/11 - Some of the Punishments of Hellfire

Bismillâh wal-hamdulillâh

On Friday night we learnt about some of the punishments of Hellfire, for indeed, the punishments of the Fire are many.

If you asked anyone on the street, they would definitely say that they wouldn't want to enter the Hellfire. However, it is those same people who are paving their way to the Fire. It is these same people who are sinning, whilst at the same time thinking that they will enter Paradise despite their actions.

So, how do we avoid becoming one of these?

Well, the first and foremost criteria for saving yourself from the punishment of the Fire is to have the correct Îmân (belief) and `Aqîdah (creed). Without these, we are destined to feel the wrath of Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى).

Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى)says in the Qur'ân:

إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَلَاسِلَ وَأَغْلَالًا وَسَعِيرًا

Verily, We have prepared for the disbelievers iron chains, iron collars, and a blazing Fire. [TMQ ad-Dahr 76:4]

The Messenger of Allâh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "The person who will have the least punishment among the people of Hell on the Day of Resurrection will be a man under the arch of whose feet will be placed a smouldering ember, and his brains will boil because of it." [Narrated by al-Bukhâri 8/567]

This is the smallest of punishments in Hellfire. No one would even want this! So what about a punishment greater than this?!

For example, Allâh says in the Qur'ân:

إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا  ۚوَإِن يَسْتَغِيثُوا يُغَاثُوا بِمَاءٍ كَالْمُهْلِ يَشْوِي الْوُجُوهَ  ۚبِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَاءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا

"Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose walls will surround them. And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like murky oil, which scalds [their] faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place." [TMQ al-Kahf 18:29]

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا  ۖحَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءُوهَا فُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِ رَبِّكُمْ وَيُنذِرُونَكُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَا  ۚقَالُوا بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِنْ حَقَّتْ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ

And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, till, when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison at the arrival of the prisoners). And its keepers will say, "Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, reciting to you the Verses of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of this Day of yours?" They will say: "Yes, but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!" [TMQ az-Zumar 39:71]

.وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ  ۖوَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
.إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ
تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظ  ۖكُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ

And for those who disbelieve in their Lord (Allâh) is the torment of Hell, and worst indeed is that destination.
When they are cast therein, they will hear the (terrible) drawing in of its breath as it blazes forth. It almost bursts up with fury.
Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: "Did no warner come to you?" [TMQ al-Mulk 67:6-8]

Here, the warner is Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). However, since he is no longer with us today, this means that we are the warners; we must convey the message of Islâm to humanity, for indeed, this religion was sent down for all of humanity.

We should ponder about the punishment of the fire as it causes us to fear Allâh (سبحانه وتعالى) and draw us closer to Allâh.

Allâh says in the Qur'ân:

يَوْمَ يَغْشَاهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِن فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِن تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيَقُولُ ذُوقُوا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

On the Day the punishment will cover them from above them and from below their feet and it is said, "Taste [the result of] what you used to do." [TMQ al-`Ankabût 29:55]

We must be careful of our actions, because everything, whether large or small, shall have a consequence to it.

Allâh also says in the Qur'ân:

.إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ

.يَوْمَ يُسْحَبُونَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ ذُوقُوا مَسَّ سَقَرَ

Verily, the Mujrimun (polytheists, disbelievers, sinners, criminals, etc.) are in error (in this world) and will burn (in the Hell-fire in the Hereafter).
The Day they will be dragged in the Fire on their faces (it will be said to them): "Taste you the touch of Hell!" [TMQ al-Qamar 54:47-48]

To make things worse, the dwellers of Hellfire will wear clothes of Fire.

Allâh also says:

.وَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِينَ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّقَرَّنِينَ فِي الْأَصْفَادِ

.سَرَابِيلُهُم مِّن قَطِرَانٍ وَتَغْشَىٰ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ

And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in shackles,
Their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered by the Fire. [TMQ Ibrâhîm 14:49-50]

The punishment of the Fire will be continuous. It is everlasting.

Allâh says about another punishment of Hellfire:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُم بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ  ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا

Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. [TMQ an-Nisâ' 4:56]

The above are only but some of the punishments of the Fire. Indeed, there are many more mentioned in other parts of the Qur'ân and in the hadîth. In fact, there is a whole book in Sahîh Muslim that describes the Day of Judgement, Paradise & Hell.

Belief in the Afterlife is part of our `Aqîdah & Îmân; in fact, it is one of the pillars of Îmân! Therefore, we must study this topic alongside other topics, as it helps increase Îmân, Taqwâ and Khushû` in Salâh.

Wallâhu A`lam wa Ahkam (By Ibnu Âdam)

Youth Lecture: 10/06/2011

Bismillah wal-hamdulillah

On Friday night, we were lectured on three topics: definition of tafsir & hadith, the levels of hadith, and bringing oneself to account.

Tafsir is the explanation of the meaning of the Qur'an. Scholars of tafsir are called 'mufassirin'. Some famous mufassirin were Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Jalalayn, Imam Qurtubi, Imam at-Tabari and Imam al-Baghawi.

However, Hadith are the sayings and actions of the Prophet. Scholars of Hadith are called 'mutahaddithin'. Some examples of mutahaddithin are Imam al-Bukhari, Imam Muslim & Imam Abu Dawud.

The second topic we were lectured on was on the levels and classification hadith. There are many classifications of hadith, depending what aspect of the hadith you are talking about; there are five aspects. We learnt about the classifications in two of these aspects.

The first aspect was according to the number of reporters involved in each stage of the isnad (chain).

The first classification is 'mutawatir' (consecutive). This kind of hadith is reported by such a large number of people that they cannot be expected to agree upon a lie, all of them together.

There are two kinds of mutawatir hadiths. The first one is mutawatir by wording. It is a hadith which is narrated by such a large number of narrators to make it reach the status of mutawatir, in a manner that all the narrators have reported it with the exact same words.
The second one is mutawatir by wording. This means that a hadith which is narrated by such a large number of narrators to make it reach the status of mutawatir, however, the wording is different among the narrators. However, all these hadiths agree on the same concept.

The second one is 'ahad' (isolated). This is a hadith which is narrated by people whose number does not reach that of the mutawatir.

It is further classified into:
Mash-hur (famous): hadith reported by three or more reporters but is not mutawatir.
Aziz (rare, strong): at any stage in the isnad, only two reporters are found to narrate the hadith.
Gharib (strange): At some stage of the Isnad, only one reporter is found relating it.

The second aspect of hadiths was relating to the reliability of the narrators. There are four classifications.

1. Sahih (authentic): a strong hadith in which all the narrators in the isnad (chain of narrators) are reliable.
2. Hasan (good): the hadith is acceptable to be acted upon, however, not to the extent of sahih.
3. Da`if (weak): a hadith that is weakened due to a charecteristic of one or more of the narrators that can make him unreliable, such as telling lies or having bad memory.
4. Mawdu` (fabricated): these are hadiths which are made up, and are the most unreliable hadiths.

The third topic we were lectured on was bringing oneself to account, a topic which already has been discussed before and can be seen here.

Wallahu A`lam wa Ahkam

Kajian Al quran Surat Al Maidah ayat 67

Alhamdulillah pengajian umum rutin yang diadakan setiap minggu pertama di awal bulan kali ini mengundang ustadz Kholidin yakub. Seperti biasa untuk anak anak kelas iqro di bimbing oleh ibu Rosdiana sedang anak laki laki kelas Al qur'an dibimbing oleh ustadz Ali abdullah.
Pengajian umum kali ini membahas tentang surat Al Maidah ayat 67 yang berbunyi : 
۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ ۖ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ 

Arti [QS. 5:67] : 
67. Hai Rasul, sampaikanlah apa yang diturunkan kepadamu dari Tuhanmu. Dan jika tidak kamu kerjakan (apa yang diperintahkan itu, berarti) kamu tidak menyampaikan amanat-Nya. Allah memelihara kamu dari (gangguan) manusia. Sesungguhnya Allah tidak memberi petunjuk kepada orang-orang yang kafir. 

Ayat ini merupakan sebuah bukti bahwa Nabi Muhammad diperintahkan oleh Allah swt untuk menyampaikan wahyu (Al qur'an) yang turun ke dunia ini untuk seluruh makhluk dibumi ini kecuali orang orang yang menolak kebenaran. Al quran merupakan wahyu Allah yang hanya berjumlah 6666 ayat yang dapat mencakup seluruh aspek kehidupan umat manusia, dan kita mesti yakin tanpa ragu sedikitpun. Karena pada rukun iman, seseorang akan menjadi lengkap imannya bila ia juga mengimani kitab Allah swt yaitu Al quranul karim. Seseorang bisa menjadi islam dengan dia mendeklarasikan bahwa " ashhadualla illaha illallah" aku bersaksi tiada Tuhan selain Allah, dan harus diteruskan " wa ashaduanna muhammad rasulullah " dan aku bersaksi bahwa Nabi Muhammad utusan Allah. Karena bila tidak diteruskan, syaitan pun berucap demikian, hanya bersaksi bahwa tiada tuhan selain Allah, tetapi tidak mengakui bahwa Muhammad utusan Allah. Karena syetan atau iblis menganggap dirinya lebih mulia karena diciptakan dari api sedang manusia diciptakan dari tanah. 
Bermula dari sinilah sifat cemburu atau iri hati itu muncul, makanya kalau diantara dari kita masih mempunyai sifat cemburu atau iri hati itu sifat yang berasal dari syetan. Semoga kita tidak termasuk golongan dari manusia yang memelihara sifat sifat iri hati dan dengki. Dari ayat diatas menunjukkan bahwa Rasulullah saw diutus oleh Allah swt untuk meng interpretasikan seluruh ayat ayat Allah swt yang berjumlah 6666 ayat yang memang fleksible dan  berlaku kapanpun dimanapun sampai nanti yaumul kiyamah nanti.

Kajian Al qur’an Surat Al A’la (yang paling tinggi)

Pada pertemuan kali ini untuk anak anak kelas iqro masih dibimbing oleh ibu Rosdiana dan ibu Siti, pendidikan untuk anak seusia ini lebih di tekankan untuk bisa baca dan tulis huruf-huruf hijaiyah. Alhamdulillah seiring berjalannya waktu, anak seusia mereka semakin besar minat untuk belajar, dengan seiring semakin bertambahnya jumlah murid murid yang bergabung.

Untuk kelas Bapak bapak kajian kali ini membahas tentang Al Qu’ran surat Al A’la yang di bimbing oleh Ustadz Zainal. Menurut riwayat, Rasulullah saw sangat suka sekali membaca surat ini ketika sholat jumat dan ketika sholat Idul Fitri dan Idul Adha, karena menurut beliau ada dua keutamaan ketika membaca surat ini yaitu :
1. ayat ke enam yang berbunyi:

سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنْسَى
:
“Kami akan membacakan (Al Quran) kepadamu (Muhammad) maka kamu tidak akan lupa.” [QS. 87:6]

Yang mempunyai makna bahwa Allah swt menjamin Nabi Muhammad saw ilmu/ wahyu yang tidak akan pernah lenyap atau hilang dari diri Nabi, kecuali satu hal yaitu terjadi pada saat penetapan Lailatul qadar yang manakala pada saat itu terjadi keributan antar umat, maka Allah mencabut ilmu itu sehingga Nabi lupa ingatan atas penetapan waktu Lailatul Qadar, kemudian beliau berdo’a kepada Allah swt untuk diberikan petunjuk tentang Lailatul Qadar, dan akhirnya dengan izin Allah, Nabi menganjurkan kepada seluruh umat islam agar menyambut malam Lailatul Qadar di 10 malam terakhir bulan Ramadhan terutama pada malam ganjil. Wallahualam bishowab.

2. ayat ke delapan yang berbunyi :

وَنُيَسِّرُكَ لِلْيُسْرَى

”dan kami akan memberi kamu taufik ke jalan yang mudah” ,
[QS. 87:8]

Ayat diatas mempuyai makna bahwa islam merupakan jalan menuju kebahagiaan dunia dan akhirat. Sebagaimana yang telah terjadi pada masa Rasulullah saw dengan berjalannya system hukum islam yang menaungi, maka disini ada dua macam kebahagiaan bagi kaum muslimin yaitu yang pertama bahwasannya system ini melindungi dan mensejahterakan seluruh umat manusia. Sedang yang kedua, dengan berjalannya system hukum islam berarti kita telah merujuk pada sebuah ayat di Al quran yang berbunyi :


أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا
وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ
فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُصِيبَهُمْ بِبَعْضِ
ذُنُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ لَفَاسِقُونَ

Arti [QS. 5:49] :
49. dan hendaklah kamu memutuskan perkara di antara mereka menurut apa yang diturunkan Allah, dan janganlah kamu mengikuti hawa nafsu mereka. Dan berhati-hatilah kamu terhadap mereka, supaya mereka tidak memalingkan kamu dari sebahagian apa yang telah diturunkan Allah kepadamu. Jika mereka berpaling (dari hukum yang telah diturunkan Allah), maka ketahuilah bahwa sesungguhnya Allah menghendaki akan menimpakan mushibah kepada mereka disebabkan sebahagian dosa-dosa mereka. Dan sesungguhnya kebanyakan manusia adalah orang-orang yang fasik.