Friday, February 29, 2008

Muhammad..What did Muhammad say?

By Yusuf Estes, Former Christian Preacher

While others are clamoring over what to do when someone draws a cartoon or a picture of one of the prophets of Almighty God, (peace be upon them all), we decided it was time to show the "Real Picture of Mohammed" - everything we could find from A to Z. The results were far too many to list all of them. Volumes and encyclopedias and even libraries have been dedicated to presenting the picture of this great man.

Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught many important principles and morals, and even set forth rules for combat setting the precedent and still exceeding the rules of war set forth by the Geneva Convention.

Consider the following:All innocent life was sacred and as such none could be harmed, except those who were engaged against them in active combat.

Saving one life was as if one had saved the entire world, while taking an innocent life was as if one had taken the lives of the entire world.There was to be no genocide of any tribes even up until some had committed genocide against some Muslims. He offered mutual protection and forgiveness to the all even after certain ones broke their covenants with him many times. He did not allow them to be attacked until it was clearly proven they were traitors during time of war and tried to bring down the prophet, peace be upon him, and the Muslims at any cost. Retaliation was only to those Jews who had turned traitor and not others.

Slaves were common in those days for all nations and tribes. It was Islam that encouraged freeing of the slaves and the great reward from Allah for those who did so. Prophet, peace be upon him, gave the example of this by freeing slaves and encouraging all of his followers to do the same. Examples include his own servant (who was actually considered like a son to him) Zaid ibn Al Haritha and Bilal the slave who was bought by Abu Bakr only for the purpose of freeing him.

While there were many attempts of assassination made on Muhammad, peace be upon him, (most famous was the night that Ali took his place in bed while he and Abu Bakr escaped to Madinah), he did not allow his companions to slaughter any of those who had been involved in these attempts. Proof for this is when they entered Makkah triumphantly and his first words were to command his followers not to harm such and such tribes and so and so families. This was one of the most famous of his acts of forgiveness and humbleness.

Military combat was forbidden for the first thirteen years of prophet hood. The desert Arabs did not need anyone to tell them how to fight or do combat. They were experts in this area and held feuds amongst tribes that lasted for decades. It was not until the proper method of warfare was instituted by Allah in the Quran, with proper rights and limitations according His Commandments, that any retaliation or combat was sanctioned. Orders from Allah made it clear who was to be attacked, how and when and to what extent fighting could take place.

Destruction of infrastructures is absolutely forbidden except when it is ordained by Allah in certain instances and then only according to His Commands.

Cursing and invoking evil actually came to the prophet, peace be upon him, from his enemies, while he would be praying for their guidance. Classic example is that of his journey to At-Taif where the leaders would not even hear him out nor offer so much as the normal courtesy called for and instead they set the children of the street against him, throwing rocks and stones at him until his body was bleeding so much, blood filled his sandals. He was offered revenge by the angel Gabriel, if he would give the command, Allah would cause the surrounding mountains to fall down upon them destroying them all. Instead of cursing them or asking for their destruction, he prayed for them to be guided to worship their Lord alone, without any partners.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, claimed every person who is born is born in a state of ISLAM (submission to God on His Terms in Peace), as a Muslim (MU-Islam means; "one who does ISLAM" i.e.; submits to God's Will and obeys His Commandments). He further stated, God has created each person in the image that is His according to His plan, and their spirit is His. Then as they grow older they begin to distort their faith according to the influence of the prevailing society and their own prejudices.

Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught his followers to believe in the God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, peace be upon them all, and to believe in them as true prophets, messengers and servants of Almighty Allah. He insisted on ranking all the prophets up at the highest level without any distinction between them, and ordered his followers to say the words, "Peace be upon him" after mentioning their names.

He also taught the Torah (Old Testament), Zabur (Psalms) and Enjil (Gospel or New Testament) were originally from the very same source as the Quran, from Allah to the angel Gabriel. He asked the Jews to judge according to their own Book, and they tried to cover up some of it to hide the correct judgment, knowing he, peace be upon him, could not read.

He prophesied, predicted and foretold of events to come and they happened just as he had said they would. He mentioned so many things that people of his time could not have known, yet we have seen the evidences manifest over and over throughout the centuries in science, medicine, biology, embryology, psychology, metrology, geology and many other disciplines and even space travel and wireless communications, all of which we take for granted today. He even predicted something from the past that would come true in the future, and it has..The Quran states pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea while chasing after Moses and Allah said He would preserve Pharaoh as a sign for the future. Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his book, "Bible, Quran and Science" makes it clear this has happened and the very person of Pharaoh has been discovered in Egypt and is now on display for all to see.This event took place thousands of years before Muhammad, peace be upon him, and it came true in the last few decades, many centuries after his death.Muhammad, peace be upon him, or his followers never at any time claimed that he was a son of God or the God-incarnate or a man with divinity – but he always was and is even today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God. He insisted people praise Almighty God, alone and not to celebrate him or his companions in any way. While most people do not hesitate to raise to divinity and even make 'gods' out of other individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in legend.

Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad, peace be upon him, accomplished.Uniting mankind together for the purpose of worshipping the One God of Adam and all the other prophets, peace be upon them all, was his main motivating cause and his striving was for the sole purpose having everyone to understand and follow the codes of moral excellence set forth by Allah in His Revelations.

Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him, have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, followers, but the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.

Muhammad, peace be upon him, claimed to be a servant, messenger and prophet of the Almighty God; the same God of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon and of Jesus, the Christ, son of Mary (peace be upon them all). He claimed he was receiving revelation from Almighty God (Allah) through the Arch Angel Gabriel, calling it the Recitation (Quran).He ordered people to believe in God as One, without partners, and to follow the Commandments of Almighty God to the best of their abilities.He forbade himself and his followers from evil practices and filthy habits, showing them the proper ways to eat, drink, use the toilet and proper behavior in all relationships. This he claimed was all from Allah.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

What expert says..?

18 weeks pregnant...this is how the baby looks like now!



Babies don't make any sound because their trachea is filled with fluid rather than air


I am today, 18 weeks pregnant...Let's look into my fetal development facts...

Your baby is now nearly 5.5 inches/ 13 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs approximately 5 ounces/ 140 grams. Her skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, which will harden later. A protective substance called myelin slowly begins to wrap around the spinal cord.
With the help of a special stethoscope, you can now hear your baby's heartbeat. There's almost nothing more comforting or exciting than hearing your baby's heartbeat galloping along. On days when you're worried about how your pregnancy is progressing, hearing the heartbeat lets you know that your baby's developing and growing. For times when boredom strikes and you feel as if you'll be pregnant forever, it can be a pleasant reminder of what will come at the end of 40 weeks of waiting.

You may be gaining weight rapidly at this point, even if you're not eating much. Experts say that the amount of weight you put on during pregnancy is dictated primarily by your genes, so don't necessarily blame yourself if the weight's accumulating faster than you'd like. Your baby's movements are felt as a gentle, fluttering sensation at first, but get stronger and more obvious as time passes. Some babies kick vigorously and often, others are quieter. And many seem most active at night!




Thursday, February 21, 2008

The Unforgettable Moment


The honourable guests.....

This performance was the hottest!The Yamani students receive a big applause for it


Performance by Saudi Arabia students.Normally at their wedding ceremony, they will dance and sing this song




Performance by Somalia students

The Yamani students performed.






The food served..



Cute Arab girl:)

Datuk Ali Rustam officiated the ceremony



I really thought he has forgotten my birthday..I went to sleep earlier like usual-10.30 at night. By the time, he was still watching tv.I really thought he must have forgotten that my birthday is on 19th February....

When I woke up for my Subuh prayer, he's still sleeping.Besides me was my handphone which I left downstairs last night.I looked into the
handphone to check any important messages.Normally, he will put it beside me when there were calls or messages(instead of waking me up from my sound sleep)...

I looked into inbox messages, there were 4 new messages.I knew, they must be birthday wishes from family and my close members.I woke him up, asking him what date is today(hoping will he will be the first one wishing me happy birthday).He said "it's 19", then continue his sleep.

Frustrated, I opened up the messages.Reviewing back our sweet "coupling" days, he will be the first one who wished me happy birthday....

When I looked into the first message,......................................................................................... the first one came from him!!! hehehehhe...spontaneous, come my big smiling face:) he never forget my birthday!Preoccupied, I read his lovely message, and he, woke up,turned to me, and smile...... :):)

We went for Arabic cultural night at MMU. He's the one who bought the ticket.I knew, I cannot separate him from world of Arab.He's so stick into it.Even his friends, food, and even subjects that he is teaching are all in Arabic. Nevertheless, it was an entertained performance by the international students. And I am happy to always be by the side of my husband:) all the time...

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Valentine's Day


14th February ..We know how peoples' expression today..I am called upon to write on a more serious article that I think as a Muslim, voicing it out and spreading to all my Muslim friends is my responsibility...Please do read carefully and make some evaluations on how much we care of our short life.

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that groups of his ummah would follow the enemies of Allaah in some of their rituals and customs, as it says in the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him), who narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard’s hole, you would follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else?!”

In recent years, a new phenomenon has spread among the Muslim youth – males and females alike – which does not bode well. This is manifested in their imitation of the Christians in their celebration of the Valentine’s Day, which has led the scholars and daa’iyahs to explain the rulings of sharee’ah concerning that, out of sincerity towards Allaah, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk, so that Muslims may have a clear understanding of this issue and so that they will not fall into that which will undermine the belief (‘aqeedah) with which Allaah has blessed them.

The story of the Festival of Love (Valentine’s Day)
The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of “spiritual love”.
There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom.
The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival. One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.

Among the most important symbols of this holiday:
1 – Expressing joy and happiness on this occasion, as on their other major festivals.

2 – Exchanging red roses, which are an expression of love, the “spiritual love” of the pagans or the “love” of the Christians. Hence it is known to them as the Feast of Lovers.

3 – The sending of greetings cards. On some of these cards are pictures of “Cupid”, who appears as a child with two wings, carrying a bow and arrows. This was the god of love of the pagan Romans – exalted be Allaah far above their fabrications and their association of others with Him.

4 – Exchange of words of love and desire in the greetings cards which they send to one another, in verse, prose and short phrases. Some of the cards contain comical pictures and funny words, and they often contain the phrase “be my Valentine”. This represents the Christian concept of this festival after it was taken from the pagan concept.

5 – In many western countries, parties are held during the day and in the evening, where there is mixing of men and women, and dancing. Many of them send gifts such as roses and boxes of chocolates to their wives, friends and those whom they love.

Do we, Muslims really want to imitate this culture?We do have our own way of managing life as what has been stated in our Holy Quran and Hadith.Indeed..both of them are perfect teacher to us!

Therefore, we should not accept congratulations on Valentine’s Day, because it is not a holiday or an Eid for the Muslims. If the Muslim is congratulated on this occasion, he should not return the congratulations.

It is not permissible to celebrate such innovated festivals, because this is a newly-invented innovation (bid’ah) which has no basis in sharee’ah. So it is included in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) which is not part of it, will have it rejected” – i.e., it will be thrown back upon the one who innovated it.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Kampungku !!












waaa...Gong Xi Fa Chai to all my Chinese frens:) As the Chinese New Year fall on Thursday & Friday, the total holiday for us are 4 days.Cool rite?:) So my hubby and I went home again to celebrate the so called "long holiday if we just stay at Melaka".We made an early move to avoid traffic jam and luckily...we are not trapped in the long traffic jam on our way back to Kedah....Kampung scenery is very calm and relieving....That's where I play, jump and sing with frens with our bicycles..but 4 days holiday at Kedah was very short..We have to rushed back early to Melaka as I have class early on Monday morning.Nevertheless, this time, we cannot runaway from the traffic jam...Ohooo 14 hours from Kedah to Melaka....Just imagine how bad the traffic on highway..It normally takes about 8 hours to travel from Kedah to Melaka..However, Im glad I have the chance to feel the beauty of my village and feel the fresh and warm breathe ...

Monday, February 4, 2008

27@Royal Adelphi























Another friend of mine getting married. Wow..!! As for now, 3 of accounting students from our batch are married. Kinah started the breaking ice session followed by me and last week was Faisha's wedding..Kinah's wedding was known as a very fantabulous ceremony, nevertheless I don't get the chance to go there. But during that time, I was busy preparing for my wedding ceremony. So, this time, I won't let the chance pass again.

The wedding reception was conducted at Royal Adelphi Hotel, Seremban. Faisha and Dr. Aswad are really sweet couple. They look nice with the green apple dress. Luckily, all of us get the chance to sit together and guess what? gosipping lah!Here're some pics that were taken during the reception.
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