Isu Bunuh Diri: Tolong Saya!

Assalamualaikum wbt.

“Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Jauhilah kebanyakan dari sangkaan (supaya kamu tidak menyangka sangkaan yang dilarang) kerana sesungguhnya sebahagian dari sangkaan itu adalah dosa; dan janganlah kamu mengintip mencari-cari kesalahan orang; dan janganlah setengah kamu mengumpat antara satu sama lain. Adakah seseorang dari kamu suka memakan daging saudaranya yang telah mati? maka sudah tentu kamu jijik kepadanya. (Oleh itu, patuhilah larangan-larangan yang tersebut) dan bertaqwalah kamu kepada Allah; sesungguhnya Allah Penerima taubat, lagi Maha Mengasihani."  

Surah al-Hujurat (49: 12)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Berita Ibnu Hanaffi: Ahad, 27 Mac 2011

 

1. Baru-baru ini, kita sekali lagi dihidangkan dengan cerita sensasi tentang cubaan bunuh diri seorang gadis remaja di KB Mall, Kelantan. Khabarnya, gadis tersebut cuma cedera ringan alhamdulillah. Kali ini, Allah memberi peluang pengajaran bukan sahaja kepada yang melihat, tetapi juga kepada gadis itu insya Allah untuk insaf dan berubah.

2. Saya yakin semua orang sudah maklum akan tegahan keras oleh Islam terhadap sebarang usaha membunuh diri. Jadi, saya akan cuba sentuh secara ringkas tentang pengharaman ini. Pun begitu, saya akan lebih tumpukan kepada isu yang lebih besar dan lebih penting, iaitu bagaimana sepatutnya kita umat Islam mendepani hal-hal sebegini berdasarkan sedikit penelitian dan pendapat peribadi saya. 

Salah satu rakaman babak cemas cubaan membunuh diri:

3. Allah dengan jelas menyebut di dalam Surah An-Nisa' (4:29) maksudnya: ".... Dan janganlah kamu membunuh dirimu. Sungguh, Allah Maha Penyayang kepadamu."

4. Larangan ini dikuatkan lagi dengan banyak sumber Al-Quran dan hadis yang lain. Antaranya ialah melalui hadis riwayat Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu 'anhu, katanya:  

"Rasulullah SAW bersabda: Barang siapa yang bunuh diri dengan benda tajam, maka benda tajam itu akan dipegangnya untuk menikam perutnya di neraka Jahanam. Hal itu akan berlangsung terus selamanya. Barang siapa yang minum racun sampai mati, maka ia akan meminumnya perlahan-lahan di neraka Jahanam selama-lamanya. Barang siapa yang menjatuhkan diri dari gunung untuk membunuh diri, maka ia akan jatuh di neraka Jahanam selama-lamanya." (Sahih Muslim No. 158)

Saya yakin bahawa tidak perlu lagi penerangan lanjut. Semuanya cukup jelas. Bunuh diri DITEGAH dalam Islam.

5. Sekarang, fokus yang lebih berat ialah bagaimana kita mengambil pengajaran daripada hal ini. Suka saya mulakan dengan meminjam satu peribahasa Melayu yang berbunyi:

Kuman di seberang laut nampak, gajah di depan mata pun tak nampak.

Cukup pedas kata-kata pujangga Melayu. Teknik ironi yang digunakan berkesan dan jelas. Sedangkan sekecil-kecil mikroorganisma, jauh pulak tu, boleh nampak, bagaimana pula gajah yang punyalah besar, di depan mata pulak tu, tapi tak boleh nampak. Bunyinya aneh, tetapi ia berlaku.

6. Mesej yang ingin saya sampaikan sebenarnya sangat mudah. Saya agak terkilan dengan sikap kita menuding jari, mencerca dan menghina gadis yang cuba membunuh diri itu. Bukannya ingin menyokong perbuatannya cuba mengambil nyawa sendiri, bukan pula meminta masyarakat menerima perbuatan yang salah itu, tetapi saya fikir, kita telah membuat perkiraan yang salah.

7. Susah untuk mengolah kerana saya sendiri pun tidak maklum apa punca sebenar usaha bunuh diri itu. Cuma, saya tidak bersetuju dengan keluhan orang seperti, "Alah, gagal SPM pun nak bunuh diri ke? Bodoh betullah!" Dan banyak lagi keluhan yang lebih kurang serupa.

8. Tanyalah siapa pun, semuanya pasti mengaku bahawa hidup ini cukup kompleks. Saya yakin, gadis ini mempunyai banyak masalah dan emosinya tidak stabil. Kalaupun mungkin (walaupun saya ragu-ragu akan kebarangkaliannya) hanya ada BETUL-BETUL SATU sahaja sebab dia membunuh diri, kita perlu pula melihat bagaimana tahap ilmu agamanya, sekaligus kekuatan aqidahnya.

9. Ibaratnya, kalau seguni garam dicurah di atas tangan tidak mengapa, tetapi jika tangan itu luka, ditabur secubit garam pun akan meraung!

10. Apabila saya meminta kita memahami situasi gadis itu, bukannya saya menyeru kita mengiktiraf tindakannya. Memahami dan mengiktiraf adalah dua perkara yang jelas berbeza.

11. Kenapa kita perlu memahami? Berikut huraian saya. Saya khuatir, terkadang, kita terlalu angkuh dan yakin bahawa jika kita berada di tempat gadis itu dan mengalami tekanan yang sama, kita PASTI tidak akan bunuh diri. Berhati-hatilah! Pada saya, itu bisikan syaitan!

12. Saya minta kita cuba ambil contoh yang pernah berlaku kepada diri sendiri, barulah lebih terang untuk kita fahami. Contohnya, saya yakin kita pernah berjumpa dengan manusia yang ketika miskin, sangat marahkan orang yang kaya kerana kedekut, sehinggalah suatu hari dia menjadi kaya lantas menjadi lebih kedekut dan bakhil daripada yang telah sedia bakhil dan kedekut. Begitu juga orang yang marahkan ahli politik, tetapi apabila dia masuk politik, dia lebih teruk daripada orang yang dulunya dibenci olehnya.

13. Hujahnya cukup mudah. Yang salah tetap salah. Tetapi jangan kita terlalu yakin dengan diri kita sehingga kita sanggup menghina orang membuta tuli dan dalam masa yang sama hidup penuh angkuh dan bongkak (seolah-olah kita terjamin bebas daripada kesilapan). Tahukah kita iblis dahulunya antara makhluk Allah yang paling banyak ilmu dan ahli ibadah yang setia? Hanya sebab bongkak dan angkuhlah (enggan tunduk hormat kepada Nabi Adam a.s), iblis dimurkai oleh Allah, dikeluarkan daripada syurga, dan akan dihumban oleh Allah SWT ke dalam neraka Jahanam pada hari akhirat kelak. Maka masih mahukah kita angkuh dan bongkak? Nauzubillahi minzalik.

14. Pada pendapat saya, jika kita orang berilmu, begini cara kita mendepaninya. Pertama, kita sama-samalah berdoa agar kita dijauhkan daripada perkara sedemikian (niat membunuh diri). Setiap kali dan setiap hari kita solat, sama ada kita sedar atau tidak, kita meminta hidayah daripada Allah SWT melalui Surah Al-Fatihah, ayat ke-6, maksudnya: "Tunjukkanlah kami ke jalan yang lurus." Doa ialah permintaan kita daripada Allah. Kalau kita sudah ada, buat apa nak pinta betul tak? Dengan kata lain, disyariatkan kita memintanya  (hidayah) sebagai bukti dan pengakuan bahawa kita belum memilikinya, ini kita mesti faham! Maka itulah sebabnya kita perlu menghayati bacaan solat kita dan sentiasa meminta daripada Allah, agar kita tidak membuta tuli yakin, lantas menjadi angkuh dan bongkak seperti syaitan dan iblis.

15. Saya tidak bercakap kosong. Ini buktinya. Dalam hadis yang ke-24 daripada Himpunan Hadis 40 Imam An-Nawawi, Rasulullah SAW bersabda maksudnya (petikan): "..........Wahai hamba-Ku, kalian semua adalah sesat, kecuali siapa yang Aku beri hidayah. Maka mintalah hidayah kepada-Ku, nescaya Aku akan memberikan kepada kalian hidayah....." (Hadis Sahih, Riwayat Imam Muslim)

16. Selepas itu, eloklah pula jika berdoa supaya Allah mengampuni si gadis yang lemah ini, dan semoga Allah menunjukinya jalan yang betul. Jika tidak, dengan sikap berang, angkuh dan membuta tuli kita, saya amat yakin tekanan daripada orang sekeliling akan terus memaksa gadis ini ke arah yang lebih teruk, dan saya pasti dia akan cuba membunuh diri lagi. Jika itu berlaku, adakah puas hati kita? Bayangkan suatu hari kita buat kesilapan, memang kita perlu ditegur. Tetapi fitrahnya, kita perlukan orang sekeliling untuk memberi semangat dan motivasi untuk berubah dan kuatkan semangat menjadi lebih baik.

17. Anda semua sedar tak apa penghujung kepada ayat dalam Surah An-Nisa' di atas? Cuba baca sekali lagi. Dalam pada Allah menegah kita bunuh diri, Allah yakinkan kita di penghujung ayat bahawa dia Maha Penyayang. Tidak menitiskah air mata bila kita fikirkan kasih sayang yang Allah tunjukkan ini? Allah mahu kita melawan kebatilan dan kejahatan, dengan meyakini akan rahmat dan kasih sayang yang Dia ada. Jika begitu, susah benarkah kita mengasihi dan membantu insan lain  yang perlukan pertolongan untuk berubah? Fikir-fikirkanlah, dan mulai hari ini, banyakkanlah berdoa. Doa untuk menyelamatkan kita dan doa kepada orang-orang di sekitar kita.

18.  Akhir sekali, saya mahu kita semua membuka mata dan melihat isu membunuh diri ini lebih daripada sekadar apa yang berlaku di KB Mall. Terlebih dahulu, sila teliti maksud ayat berikut:

"... dan janganlah kamu jatuhkan (diri sendiri) ke dalam kebinasaan dengan tangan sendiri..."

Surah Al-Baqarah (2:195)

19. Membunuh diri meletakkan kita ke arah kebinasaan. Sama ada kita sedar ataupun tidak, ada juga perkara yang membunuh kita secara perlahan dan dalam jangka masa yang panjang. Contohnya, merokok. Perbuatan ini juga membinasakan dan memudaratkan. Saya minta maaf kepada yang merokok, tetapi anda perlu fikirkan baik-baik, perbuatan ini telah terbukti mendatangkan mudarat dan penyakit, maka melakukannya mendekatkan kita ke arah membinasakan diri sendiri. Ringkasnya, dalam pada mungkin kita mengutuk orang yang cuba membunuh diri, adakah kita sedar takut-takut kita pun sedang cuba membunuh diri dengan membakar tembakau?

 

20. Sekali lagi, saya faham keadaan perokok walaupun mungkin tidak sepenuhnya (sukar mengelak ketagihan). Seperti huraian saya di atas, kita (termasuk saya) tidak boleh angkuh dan bongkak walaupun saya tidak merokok alhamdulillah. Malah saya berdoa agar saya dijauhkan daripadanya dan juga semoga yang merokok berusaha meninggalkannya. Sebab itu saya cuba memahami. Saya juga ada ahli keluarga yang pernah merokok dan kini alhamdulillah langsung 'kebal' daripada melakukannya lagi dan saya ambil pengajaran yang besar daripada perkara ini. Apa pengajarannya?

21. Pengajaran pertama ialah perbuatan yang tidak baik memang sukar untuk ditinggalkan tetapi itu bukan alasan untuk tidak berusaha kerana telah terbukti ada yang berjaya. Kedua, saya selaku ahli keluarga sudah melihat bagaimana kasih sayang dan sokongan ahli keluarga berjaya akhirnya membantu individu meninggalkan perbuatan seperti merokok ini. Sekaligus, saya sendiri telah melalui kisah hidup sebenar tentang pentingnya doa, sokongan dan sifat positif walaupun dalam berhadapan dengan perkara yang tidak baik.

22. Sebagai penutup, suka saya mengajak kita semua untuk melindungi diri daripada terkesan dengan persekitaran fitnah dalam dunia politik tanah air sekarang. Saya sendiri merasa malu dengan apa yang berlaku, lebih-lebih lagi apabila difikirkan bahawa semua ini berlaku oleh dan dalam masyarakat Islam sendiri. Masya Allah, jauhnya kita daripada Islam.

23. Saya juga sangat bersyukur kerana dikurniakan peluang untuk belajar banyak perkara daripada seorang hamba Allah yang merupakan jurulatih debat Bahasa Melayu sewaktu di MCKK dulu. Sekarang pun alhamdulillah, beliau masih banyak memberi tunjuk ajar dan motivasi, doa saya semoga beliau sentiasa di dalam rahmat Allah dalam setiap perbuatannya. Kehadirannyalah yang banyak mematangkan saya tentang politik dan membuka mata tentang bagaimana sebenarnya realiti dalam percaturan politik Malaysia sekarang.

Video berikut ialah persembahan ringkas ketika dijemput dalam Majlis Makan Malam bersama delegasi persidangan  anjuran IMU. Suka saya akui bahawa banyak keyakinan yang datang untuk berucap di khalayak ramai sehinggalah kepada persembahan seperti gurindam, saya pelajari melalui jurulatih saya ini, yang banyak menekankan tentang pentingnya berusaha menjadi yang terbaik insya Allah. Semoga kalian  semua terhibur.

Sekian sahaja buat masa ini. Insya Allah akan menyusul semula tidak lama selepas ini. Moga Allah berkati kita semua sekeluarga. Wallahu a'lam wassalamualalaikum wbt.

P/S: Saya baru sahaja membuka ruangan (page) baru untuk blog ini iaitu Freebies (pautan di sudut belah kanan di atas). Melaluinya, saya bercadang untuk berkongsi hasil seni dan poster yang saya hasilkan dengan cara memberikan pautan untuk memuat turun di ruangan tersebut (Freebies). Insya Allah, akan ditambah dari masa ke masa.

Ini yang pertama. Selamat berkongsi!:

Muat turun di sini

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Sharing: Adapted from MSOC's blog

Assalamualaikum wbt

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Alhamdulillah, we have just completed our first Senior Junior Night 2011 and the following are few things you can download which we have shared from a talk on Satans we had that night.

The first one below this poster are the slides used by the presenter and the one that follows is a book he referred to for his presentation.

May Allah bless us all and warmest regards from the committee to all of you brothers and sisters out there!

Wassalam ;-)

The Poster of Senior Junior Night 2011

Download here (ppsx)

Download here (pdf)

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Marriage

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

“The cure for love is marriage and the cure for marriage is love.”

The above in a way suggests that love can be a (social) disease, or lead to disease, whereby as every disease has its cure, marriage is the cure for love disease. Or in the sense that it can lead to disease, then marriage is the tool to avoid one from catching the disease.

Though the above beautiful phrase may not be of Islamic origin, it is in line with one of the well-known hadiths by Prophet SAW that says, “O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry, because it helps lower his gaze and guard his modesty, and whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power.” (Sahih Bukhari)

The latter part of the phrase suggests that in marriage, shortcomings may exist, but love is the cure to deal with them and love maintains the pure marriage institution. 

I began my article as such to kill two birds with one stone. As simple as it is, we already cover how through marriage, love is appropriately channeled, and how marriage will be safe and long-lasting with the presence of love.

Let me continue by quoting another fantastic verse of Al-Quran that eloquently describes the relationship between a man or a woman with their spouses.

In Surah Al-Baqarah, (2:187), Allah explains this relationship when He says, “…They are your garments and you are their garments...”

The eloquence of Allah’s words is so unparalleled that it creates wonders and reverence deep from the bottom of our heart. According to one Islamic scholar, the above verse perfectly pictures the following:

Clothing (garments) to one another

1. That the husband to his wife and the wife to her husband is like clothing to one another in the sense that they are the closest non-self entity to each other, meaning immediately above our skin is the clothes that we wear, and that is how we should be to our spouse, very close and even the closest. 

2. Secondly, as clothes warm us, a spouse should be one whom can warm his partner’s heart. He or she is one that provides happiness and calmness and also provides shoulder to cry on, in time of distress and in time of need.

3. Clothes that we wear beautify us and make us look better. So the same way, a husband and wife when together, they beautify each other, they carry the good names and pride of their loved ones and because of this, they are always better to be together, like two hearts that romantically become one.

I am touched when those points were brought up and sprung into my mind. Partly because it demonstrates how wonderful a life would be through marriage, and more importantly because I then again realize how incredibly accurate and genius Allah is when He describes something. Surely, there are many more lessons we can learn from this verse alone, and may through that, our faith in Him grows tremendously stronger insya Allah.

However, let me briefly point out here that while we look up upon marriage institution especially in close relation to the Eastern cultures we live with here in Malaysia, many of those coming from the Western world see quite the opposite.

Marriage to a certain extent is regarded as a burden and worse, a discouraged phenomenon in their culture. This can be attributed to their overly free social behavior that allows unlimited free mixing (or even sex) among unmarried people.

As one English-originated phrase clearly puts it; Marriage is a three-ring circus. First, engagement ring, then marriage ring, and after marriage, it is suffeRING! 

Not to forget, marriage is somehow also seen as a wrong decision someone made in his or her life as if men and women can never get well together through marriage, but through ‘free and retractable’ social contract instead! Another one sounds like this, “When a man marries a women, they become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one!”

Fortunately, Islam has aptly provided guidelines on the role of both husband and wife, which by right teach women to become a good wife and mother, and men to become a good husband and father. It is through these teachings and examples set by beloved Prophet SAW that we won’t have to face the problem of becoming which one. A woman is granted by Allah to have a soft caring and loving heart as a mother and a man is given some capability to become a leader and take responsibility in taking care of the women and his family.

Allah explicitly explains this in Surah An-Nisa’, (4:34), whereby He mentioned in the Quran that men should maintain women. 

Let me end this article by inviting all of us to reflect on this analogy. Marriage is like a ship, in which the husband is the captain and the wife is the chief commander of the ship. The world around them is the ocean of love. Sometimes this ocean is cool and calm, but sometimes it can become hostile and unfavorable as well. So both husband and wife should handle their ship absolutely well, attain a mutual understanding and tolerance, so that they can save the ship, which is their marriage despite the unpredictable conditions that the ocean (real life) may present.

Lastly, we have to bear in mind, that it is better to spend more time on efforts to become a good husband or wife, rather than only outwardly looking for the right spouse without inwardly correct ourselves first. As Mahatma Gandhi once uttered, you are the change you want to see in this world. And so please trust in Allah’s divine promise, that a good and pious man is for a good and pious woman, and it works the same way the other way around.

“Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity….” 

Surah An-Nur, (24:26)

Wallahua’lam wassalamualaikum

Download the magazine here

P/S: You can also visit msocsite.blogspot.com and there are many other free downloadable stuffs for you there. ;-)

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Superwomen

Assalamualaikum wbt.

This article features in the As-Shifa' Magazine in Global Section

I was having a short break with some colleagues after a Dikir Barat practice for IMU’s beloved Registrar’s retirement when something caught my attention.

It was this free daily tabloid, The Sun (Monday, March 7, 2011) which featured some very short articles in a section called Health Briefs.

Here’s the exact excerpt from there:

RICH TASTE FOR SMOKING: Millions of women in developing countries risk disease and early death in the coming decades as their rising economic and political status leads them to smoke more, researchers said. An analysis in 74 countries found that men are 5 times more likely to smoke than women in countries with lower rates of female empowerment such as in China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda.

Read the last sentence very carefully. Put it in another way, what it says is that in countries where women are strongly empowered like in politics and leadership, they smoke as much as men do, 5 times more likely than in other countries, to be exact.

This fact just struck my mind and it reminded me back of one article on Feminist Revolution I wrote on my blog at amirulasyrafhanaffi.blogspot.com (about the harmful implications of women’s struggle for their so-called liberation). Clearly, it paved the road to further prove on the subject of women empowerment I elaborated in the writing, thus inspired me to write on this article entitled Superwomen.

Anyone who ardently studied history will start to realize how the perception and treatment towards women changed over the ages, from a total suppression and absolute disregard upon women, to the equality of women and men, and to the fight for liberation of women in the modern world, which is what and where we are now.

Surprisingly, with regard to status of women, it is only Islam alone that until today remains with its stance about women the way it was since it first appeared and introduced by beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW nearly 15 hundred years ago.

“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”

Surah Al-Hijr, (15:9)

Consequently, in the past, Islam was greatly championed by especially women because through the teaching of Islam, women tasted their rights they could hardly find in any civilizations including that of Rome and Greek.

I’d like to mention one very famous book by John Gray about the uniqueness of men and women whose title reads, ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.’ I’ve not completed reading the book but honestly, after only reading the very early part of it, I fell in love with the way the narration is done.

However, that is beside the point. I would like to take your attention to the word Venus now. I am not speaking of conspiracy here but rather an opinion to reflect upon. Venus is actually a name of the morning star, which in Latin is translated as Lucifer. Lucifer, just in case you do not know, refers to the Satans!

So here’s my interpretation. You may disagree as you wish but what matters now is the elaboration I will make later on. By saying that women are from Venus, it is not merely a random choice so that it seems like a symbolic phrase representing difference in origin or characteristics of men and women, but to me, it is more than that, that is, women are likened to Satan or Lucifer!

Elaboration: In the past, there were a meeting held by some Christians and they were discussing on a topic, ‘Does women have a soul?’

Just like us, they all knew about the story of Adam and Eve, and how they both were deceived by Satan until they were sent down to live on earth. It was through this story that women were regarded as evil, devilish, satanic and possessed no soul, hence why they were not treated just like another living human being!

It was this belief that partly, if not totally, became a significant reference on how they perceived women in the past. And it was also because of this again, when Islam came, it totally got away with all this false beliefs and held women high up in both values and pride.

The circumstance is nevertheless not the same now. Our enemies will never give up. As they already lost the battle when Islam protected women instead of manipulating them, they now turn the table and accuse Islam of becoming too strict, demanding and illiberal towards women. They induce provocation amongst women that Islam condones gender bias and look up upon men more than women, and is therefore unjust to women.

These days, we can see how many women fell into this trap and struggle hard to prove Islam wrong and therefore compete with men. They lose their understanding and identity as women, but they never care, because all they aspire is to show to the whole world that women are better than men. I’d recommend you to read more on Feminist Revolution I have written and also make some extra reading if you wish to understand this better.

Let me just end this article by putting forward an important advice to especially women, that Allah never looks up upon mankind because they are men, or they are women. Instead, He looks up upon those whom are most pious amongst us. The Feminist Revolution is a real threat and is a plan by our enemies so that we tread on a misguided path. I shall close with one hadith for us to ponder that Prophet SAW once said (with regard to threat and deception upon women), 

“The last people to follow dajjal would be women.. (and a man would have to return home and tie down his wife, sister and daughter to protect them from being seduced by Dajjal).” 

Wallahua’lam wassalamualaikum.

Download the magazine here

P/S: You can also visit msocsite.blogspot.com and there are many other free downloadable stuffs for you there. ;-)

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Tomorrow The World Ends (Besok Kiamat)

Assalamualaikum wbt

I am waiting to share 2 more exclusive posts I authored, one on marriage, the other on Superwomen, both will be uploaded to this blog, when our magazine (MSOC's As-Shifa') is ready. Both articles feature in this magazine. So please stay tuned, I will also share the magazine, in pdf format here soon ;-)

Meanwhile, here's a short reflection on the Japan's most powerful earthquake and the tsunami that it caused.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

1. In one excerpt of an article from Yahoo! News (here), it says that, "The quake also shifted the earth's axis by 6.5 inches, shortened the day by 1.6 microseconds, and sank Japan downward by about 2 feet."

2. Read the bold red. The explanation given to explain this is that the quake causes our earth to spin faster. Perhaps it's also worthy to note that the same thing happened (shortened day) due to the 8.8 earthquake in Chile last year and the 2004's quake in Sumatra (and possibly many others).

3. In relation to this, I'd like to quote one hadith by Prophet Muhammad SAW, "The Last Day will not be established until... earthquake will increase in number, time will pass quickly." (Bukhari)

Compare the findings of the current affairs of our world to the prophecy made at the time when I believe the people didn't even know that our earth actually spins. And so what comes to your mind?

4. There's no need to create fear and tell the whole world that the End of Time is coming, and that is absolutely not what I intend to do.

5. Instead, there are at least 2 things to ponder. First, on how true the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah SAW. Second, so that we wake up from our sound sleep, stop thinking about the worldly indulgence alone for at least a moment, and think not merely of the coming of the Last Hour (whose date and day is unknown) but also the coming of our death; which is uncertain (we do not know when) yet is very certain too (it will surely come to everyone.

6. Watch the following video and shower our cheeks with some warm reflecting tears.

7. My prayers to Allah so that we always remind ourselves, that life is temporary. We don't look for mankind's blessings, but only seek Allah's love and blessings. 

8. To close my bedtime story for tonight, I present to you this very heart-penetrating verse from the Holy Quran when Allah says, "If Allah helps you, none can overcome you: if He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? In Allah then, let the believers put their trust."

Surah Ali-Imran, (3:160)

"Return to Allah, go back to Quran and Sunnah."

Wallahua'lam wassalamualaikum wbt.

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Valentine's Day Vs Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Part 2)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

"Now has come to you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that you should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and merciful. But if they turn away, say, "Allah suffices me: there is no god but He: on Him is my trust, He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!"

Surah At-Taubah, (9:128-129)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

This is a continuation of the previous article on Valentine's Day. As we are in the month of Rabi'ul awwal, so it is the month of Prophet Muhammad's birthday SAW. The following will be about him insya Allah.

 

1. I'd like to share this wonderful website that features stories of our beloved Prophet SAW in a very interactive and creative way which I thought maybe you want to go visit and have a look. Below is a snap shot of the website mentioned and to visit, please click here.

(Jazakallah Bro Kareem for sharing this) ;-)

2. Before I move on, let us read some of the comments people made about our beloved Prophet SAW.

"He was the only man in history who was supremely successfull on both the religious and secular level."

-Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of The Most Influential Persons in History-

"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher."

-Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, page 4-

"By a fortune absolutely unique to history, Mohammed is a threefold founder of a nation, of an empire, and of a religion."

-Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith in "Mohammed and Mohammedanism 1946- 

3. In this short post, it is important to mention, that we praise Allah for His great bounties and His power over all mankind that He created the best of men, our Prophet Muhammad SAW. While we admire Prophet Muhammad SAW, he himself has told us to always place our dependance upon Allah alone and worship none other but Him. He told us that he is only a messenger and because of that, we always have to live with his messages that Allah is one and only, even after the Prophet is no longer around us.

4. Lastly, let me provide some descriptions about Prophet Muhammad SAW as referred from a book by Ali Akbar entitled Israel and The Prophecies of Al-Quran.

a) It was said of him that he is more modest than a virgin behind a curtain.

b) When asked to curse comeone he replied, "I have not been sent to curse, but as a mercy to mankind."

c) He was very fond of children; he would stop them in the streets and pat their little heads.

d) He would say that he was more like Adam than other men, while in morals and disposition he resembled his father, Abraham.

e) He was the most faithful protector of those protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence: those who came in contact with him loved him; those who described him would say, "I have never seen his like." He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he said.

5. Several physical descriptions below:

a) His height was neither too tall nor too short.

b) His complexion was white, without being wheat-colored or too white but the color was pure white, free from any mixture of yellow, red or any other color.

c) His hair was curly and did not hang straight down; yet it was not bushy.

d) His face was neither long nor circular, but slightly rounded. The eyes of him were large and open, deep and dark, with a tint of redness. His nose sloped downward in just proportion and his teeth were a little interspaced and shining. His lips were beautiful and fascinating. His cheeks were not soft, but firm.

e) His face was more handsome than that of others; he who described his face always compared it with the full moon.

6. IMPORTANT: The above descriptions are quoted from authenticated books of Hadiths such as Sahih of Bukhari and Sahih of Muslim. I have to strictly mention here that Islamic scholars have made it clear that we are prohibited from depicting the image of Prophet Muhammad SAW as in pictures or drawings. So, the above descriptions may at most, make us feel closer to our beloved Prophet that we know him better and we love him more for that matter insya Allah.

With little knowledge that I know, at least one useful importance of these descriptions is that when people claim to see Prophet Muhammad SAW in their dreams, there is reference to rely on and everyone knows that the satans can not disguise themselves as Prophet Muhammad SAW.

 

Through some reading, with His permission, I also found out that the biggest fear for this prohibition of images of Prophet Muhammad SAW is that people may go for idolatry- which is needless to say, a form of syirk, big sin in Islam. That is why again, we admire Prophet Muhammad SAW, we love him and we pray for him for his unparalled love towards us, for his sacrifice and struggle bringing the message of Islam and countless many other but we do not worship him like the Christians do towards Jesus AS, whom they regard as the son of God. May Allah protect us from syirk insya Allah.

7. Let us end by praying to Allah may He bless our beloved Prophet SAW and grant him the best place in Paradise insya Allah.

Wallahua'lam wassalamualaikum wbt.

"Allah and His Angels send blessings on the Prophet: O you that believe! Send your blessings on him, and salute him with all respect."

Surah Al-Ahzab, (33:56)

Read more "Valentine's Day Vs Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Part 2)"

Question on Valentine's Day: A response

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

This post is an answer to one response I collected towards my article about Valentine's Day in the immediate previous post. (if you haven't read it, you may do so here)

Before I continue, let me point out here that it is important before we discuss about anything, we seek His protection and seek knowledge and try to avoid wrong justification which is made merely based upon what we think and we feel, instead of being based on sufficient reference and research.

It is also important to note that in any discussion, it is not to find whom to blame or who is wrong but to reach a valid academic concession that insya Allah will satisfy those who appreciate a true culture of knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, one has to be open-minded and be sincere at looking for truth.

As one cute saying goes, "Our mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work unless it is open." ;-)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

1. It is a responsibility of the author to address as many people as possible when he writes an article. I listed down three reasons (though certainly there are more) for the prohibition of Valentine's Day to Muslims and the third one is basically about the fact that it predisposes to intimate relationship (otherwise known as sex) between unmarried couples- this seems incomplete (not addressing all) because it means this third reason is only directed to the unmarried couples.

2. So the question that arises here is very straight forward; How about the married couples? They are married so of course they can celebrate Valentine's Day with their spouse and in Islam, they are allowed for intimate relationship because well, they are married!

3. First, it is true about the intimate relationship but a big NO NO for celebrating Valentine's Day.

4. Why? I'd like to present an analogy to explain the above better. Say, if today our subject of discussion is whether we can climb up one's coconut tree and steal their coconuts. Then I write an article saying that no, that is forbidden and I list out three reasons as well.

5. First, no because it is sinful to take away someone's property (in this case coconuts) without their permission. Second, because when it happens, it triggers a fight between those involved and therefore badly affects their neighbourhood relationship. Third, because it is dangerous if you climb up a tree and may be caught stealing on the spot.

6. Let's look at the third reason and create this argument. What about a person who is expert at climbing trees? It should no longer be dangerous because well, he's an expert!

7. Try to compare and I hope by then you understand what I mean. Valentine's Day is not primarily prohibited because it leads to sex outside marriage (because you can always argue that married couples can have sex though) but stronger basis of prohibition are already pointed out as reason number 1 and 2, so no matter who we are, whether we are married or not, we Muslims should not  celebrate Valentine's Day.

8. Similarly, even if you are an expert and won't fall when you climb up a tree, that has not nullified the fact that stealing coconuts is sinful in the first place.

9. Let me further break it down for you so please read carefully. First, it does not sound possible or sensible to allow only the married to celebrate Valentine's Day because the point of the matter is that, how do you check only married couple celebrate it? I mean, there should be no Valentine's Day at all. Because if there is, there will be celebration. And when there's celebration, there's special offer of cheaper night over in hotels for example, and do you think they care if you are married or you aren't?

10. Cutting this short, Valentine's Day exists because there are non-Muslims whom are living peacefully with us and they celebrate it. We as Muslims are tolerant but it is a shame if we always find excuses to do what others do, especially when the doings are not Islamic.


11. We have to open our mind that again Islam allows love to be spread but through appropriate manners. What about making a surprise during spouse's birthday or during your anniversary instead of during Valentine's Day? Better still, how about loving him or her each day and doing so with an intention to please Allah. And how about praying to Allah that you'll be with your spouse one day in the Paradise eternally? 


12. Let me just add this last piece of thought. In an extension to what we have actually discussed above, it is not entirely true to say that married couples are not predisposed to illegal sexual relationship. Why? Because when a man marries a woman, he marries that woman, not all women.


13. What that means is that even married couples can betray their partners and go for those they are not married with. Point being is that again, there are always loopholes for people to commit sins because we have to remember, we have to deal with many unseen enemies in this world and they are the outcast satans. Only those with knowledge and ability to see the unseen (as in sins and satan's whisper) will survive steadfastly with  faith in Allah insya Allah.

14. Having said the above, I hope I have at least covered or answered 2 things;


a) that Valentine's Day is prohibited to all Muslims, married and unmarried individuals alike
b) my previous article is not directed to one particular group but all Muslims in general

Wallahua'lam. Wassalamualaikum w.b.t

Read more "Question on Valentine's Day: A response"

Valentine's Day Vs Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Part 1)

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good)."

Surah Ali 'Imran, (3:85)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

Introduction

Every year, February 14 marks another awaited day especially by couples around the world to celebrate love, though ironically many of them are not married- which brings a question as to whether unmarried love brings with it responsibility in the form of legal agreement to play roles attributed to each other (as husband and wife and later as father and mother). Therefore, love without marriage is always like a game or a trial and error method in search for a true life partner and most of the time there's no love involved at all, no not love seriously- so please go back and learn your English again, without marriage, it deserves a better word- LUST!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

1. Insya Allah, as the title goes, I will elaborate on both Valentine's Day and Maulidur Rasul (The Birthday of Prophet Muhammad SAW) as the former takes place on February 14 every year and the latter co-incidentally occurs the day after it this year, on February 15.

2. I am not to compare between both but it's here to note that this time around, there will be a series of articles whereby in correct sequence, will be about Valentine's Day first and Prophet's Birthday in another article. This is therefore put under part one.

3. Valentine's Day is otherwise known as The Festival of Love and is claimed to be a day when people around the world celebrate and appreciate love. It's usual that during this day, people will buy presents and exchange it with their beloved ones, and it may not be necessarily practised by 2 lovers, because some people exchange gifts with their friends instead, as a symbol of friendship love, so-called another form of love.

4. And interestingly, it's not a surprise to hear that JAKIM, The Malaysian Islamic Development Department has now launched an Anti-Valentine's Day campaign, not to forget many circulating articles, flyers etc. that can be found either printed, or more abundant of course in the electronic world, all of which are against this somewhat not uncommon festival in Malaysia..

5. Why does Islam forbid us to celebrate Valentine's Day in the first place? Insya Allah, I will divide my answer into three parts in response to that question- which you can find below. 

First, because by history, this celebration is against our principle in Islam and only ignorance permits many misleading practices contained within the festival. Secondly, it is forbidden because it is not the way Islam teaches us to live. Thirdly, because the essence of celebrating Valentine's Day is entirely destructive to the society.

6. Before I continue, it is essential to make a point here that Islam is a religion that always promotes love and good relationship with not only God but also mankind. A very often used phrase is hablun minallah wa hablun minan nas, Arabic words for relationship with God and relationship with mankind. The difference is that in Islam we don't need one special day to love because we can love and be loved all year round. Also, Islam admonishes us to channel our love in an appropriate means, such as through marriage and not through random pick or lottery as committed in the past during Valentine's Day.

Rasulullah once narrated that, "None of you truly believes (in Allah and His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Historical records suggest that this festival is against Islam by principle and by practices.

7. Now, the problem with Valentine's Day begins right through the origin itself. There are several versions with regard to its origin of course, but none of those has anything to do with Islamic origin, nor Islamic source whatsoever. This means that Valentine's day (which from now onwards will be denoted as V-Day for simplicity's sake) is a construct of men's weak mind, and therefore it has a high tendency to be influenced by the evil whisper of the Satan whom never gives up to lead us astray.

"(Iblis) said: Then, by Your Power, I will put them all in the wrong." Surah Sod, (38:82)

8. History has recorded that the V-Day was celebrated by the Pagan Romans in honor of their goddess of women and marriage, Februata Juno and Roman god of nature, called Pan. Please take note that pagan in this context refers to polytheism (many gods), and not without religion. And they honored these gods by allowing men to randomly choose their girl partners whom placed their names in an urn before the names were drawn by men. They then became sexual partners for either a day, a year or even forever.

9. Clearly, this is an act of syirk because you create a partner to Allah by honoring other gods. We know full well that syirk is a sin that will not be forgiven and Allah will hurl those who commit syirk to Hell fire. Also, it is an act of adultery (zina) because there is sex outside marriage. Hence by principle and by practice, V-Day is certainly against Islam and therefore should be avoided.

10. Let me also mention here that the word Valentine is actually to commemorate a Christian saint (whose name was Valentine) who was claimed to be murdered by the Roman emperor by the name Claudius, for conducting secret marriages between soldiers. What has death of a Christian saint to do with us Muslims? 

11. Also, there was a practice of smearing their bodies with blood of sacrificial goats and dogs which they believed will improve fertility. Any modern and scientific explanation nowadays will deny that, and what's left there is to take it as a practice of religious ritual which is undoubtedly therefore an act of syirk.

Valentine's Day is not our way.

"Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with you unless you follow their form of religion. Say: The Guidance of Allah is the (only) Guidance." Surah Al-Baqarah, (2:120)

12. The above is a warning and reminder from Allah. He knows exactly why should we not follow them. He has full knowledge of their agenda and His orders are ones that protect us. Even our Prophet Muhammad SAW firmly expressed his concern about this when he said that those who copy what others do in their religion, they are actually a part of them (in their religion). Should we bow to their religion, we automatically deny Allah's oneness and because of that, it is the Hell fire that awaits us, nauzubillahi min zalik.

13. The V-Day is not our way, as simple as that. So, let's abandon it now, even if many of our friends don't. Remember, we don't do things because many people do it, but we do it because it is the right (and permissible) thing to do. We have our own way and Islam teaches us all about them.

"Were you to follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead you away from the way of Allah. They follow nothing but conjecture; they do nothing but lie." Surah Al-An'am, (6: 116)

14. Allah explicitly reminds us in the above verse not to follow the majority only because it is majority. We are given thoughts and wisdom so we must use them to see the truth. We are weak, so we need guidance. A divine guidance surely does not come from mankind. We can't live with conjecture alone. Our way of life is one that is in line with our primordial nature (fitrah) and the only religion or way of life that in its entirety suits the norm of a life of mankind is no other but Islam. Why? Because Islam comes from Allah, and it's Him whom creates us and our fitrah.

The bigger picture and essence of Valentine's Day.

15. In the Western world, people long for this day as much as they long for free sex. It (the day) is like a switch that triggers a strong desire to commit such practice that is humiliating and embarrassing not only in Islam, but also in Eastern culture in general, which highly appreciates someone's dignity and pride especially women.

16. The essence of this festival is that you can do what ever you want with someone that you love, even if you don't marry her. As though love permits everything. It promotes the destruction of our society in many ways because ultimately, it encourages the act of intimacy between unmarried couples.

17. For one thing, it increases divorce. I am not kidding. If you want facts, here I present them to you. And please be aware that these facts are not taken from Islamic authorities (though of course they have facts too), but just so that you can already rule out bias, the following facts are taken from several researches conducted overseas by independent bodies and parties.

18. A study from the University of Denver, found that couples who lived together before marrying reported lower marriage satisfaction. It further exposed that there is evidence about the fact that cohabiting is associated with lower marital quality and higher divorce potential. Surprisingly, it also confirms that people cohabit because they want to test their relationship, so without marriage, they can easily 'let go' if they are not satisfied with their partner (through sexual relationship). The study finally concludes that cohabiting is the biggest problem in relationship.

19. In addition to that, let us ponder on the following report by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development whereby it says, "Cohabitation, once rare, is now the norm: The researchers found that more than half (54 %) of all first marriages between 1990 and 1994 began with unmarried cohabitation. They estimate that a majority of young men and women of marriageable age today will spend some time in a cohabiting relationship. ... Cohabiting relationships are less stable than marriage and that instability is increasing, the study found."

20. From Islamic perspective, what the above transpires is simple; that if you love someone, then go for marriage. The longer you stay in an outside marriage relationship, you either will fall into cohabiting, or you risk an unstable relationship, be it before or after marriage. 

21. If I put it in a more casual way, I'd say who are you to stop your girlfriend or boyfriend from falling in love and go to another person when you have no proof at all (through marriage) that he or she is yours? Is this not a common sense? 

22. Let us not dwell on another issue that follows this, namely baby dumping, for instance as it is now crystal clear that the impact of treating love in a wrong way by blindly celebrating V-Day is huge and it creates vicious cycle. How do we define love when innocent babies are being cruelly murdered anyway? No, stop giving excuses. What's the big deal if we don't have the V-Day, can you tell?

Conclusion

23. Therefore, I hereby would like to invite all of us to go back to Islam and be careful with the world around us. We always follow things blindly, become excited to copy the so-called latest social trend, and live a deviated life, sometimes without us knowing. So now because we already know, we shall grasp the knowledge fully and pray a lot to Him, Allah the Almighty God so that He leads us to the right path insya Allah.

"And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge, for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." Surah Al-Isra', (17:36)

May Allah bless us all insya Allah. Wallahu'aklam.

Wassalamualaikum wbt.

(Part 2)

Read more "Valentine's Day Vs Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Part 1)"

The Heart

"Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have guided us, but grant mercy from Your own Presence; for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure." (3:8-9)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

1. Some time ago, I posted on my Facebook wall this meaningful phrase that says, "The sign of kafir (unbeliever) is that he is lost in horizons. The sign of Mu'min (believer) is that horizons are lost in him."

2. From the book which I took the phrase, there is no direct interpretation nor explanation about it, but considering the whole context of the writing in the book, I have full conviction that it has much relation with what I am going to elaborate in this article.

3. In medicine, heart refers to one of the vital organs and it functions to pump blood to all parts of the body. However I do not intend to talk about this physical heart, but about the other heart which Al-Quran refers to as Qalb, Fu'ad or Sodr.

4. Let us recall one well-known hadith about heart that says,"Beware. There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that (the flesh ) is the heart." As narrated by An-Numan bin Basyir from Sahih Bukhari.

5. Previously, in my articles about dajjal and feminist revolution, I have stressed on the importance of looking for light (guidance) from Allah as only with it that we can see with another eyes, that belong to our heart. Malay people put it as mata hati, which means the eyes (vision) of the heart.

6. One simple example of the exclusive advantage to see with heart is demonstrated in one of the hadiths by Rasulullah SAW which describes that dajjal has the word kafr (unbelievers) on his forehead which, as stated in the hadith, even the illiterates can read (so long that he is a muslim) while the unbelievers can't. 

7. What it suggests is that people with faith and knowledge can see what others can not see, because they live their life with Al-Quran, which explains everything inside. "And We have sent down to you the Book explaining all things, a Guide, a Mercy and Glad Tidings to Muslims." (An-Nahl, 16:89)

8.   If someone is super extremely nice, we call them angels. But do we know that mankind are created by Allah as the best of creations? Yes, by status, we (mankind) are even more superior than the angels, moulded by Allah in best form. Allah confirms this in Surah At-Tin (95:4), "And We have indeed created man in the best of mould."

9. In sequence to that however, in verse number 5, Allah poses to us with something opposite when He says, "Then do We abase him (to be) the lowest of the low," which in fact, not only makes us lower than the angels, but also indicates that the beast are even better. We are now at the bottom, the worst.

10. But there is exception, which Allah describes in the later verse number 6 that reads, "Except such as believe and do righteous deeds: for they shall have a reward unfailing."

11.  Having mentioned the above, we shall now understand that only with intellect that comes from a pure heart, we will be led to a path that is in accordance with Al-Quran. And it is this pure and guided heart that controls us to be inclined to the righteousness instead of sins. 

12. We have to understand that Allah grants us choices and free will when He gives us wisdom or the aql. Animals, like us, do have brain too, but they don't have the aql or wisdom, so they only do what they are created to do. They eat, they breed, and they sleep, amongst other things, which are also what we do, but we can always choose not to, and therefore find ways not to, because Allah gives us the wisdom.

13. It is with this wisdom as an advantage that Allah gives to us that makes us the best creation to be His vicegerent on earth. He clearly said this in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:30), "Behold, our Lord said to the angels: I will create a vicegerent on earth."
 

14. The conversation that follows between Allah and the angels in the same surah proves to us that with Allah's permission, and because Allah teaches Adam (and us), we mankind know what even the angels don't know. Ultimately, it indicates Allah's absolute power over everything. In a way, why don't we thank Him for such a great status that He gives to us?

15. My intention for this article is so that we know how Islam is a way of life that suits us in all aspects, and only by following what Islam teaches us, we preserve our norm and primordial nature (fitrah), and therefore prosper in life now and in the Hereafter.
 

16. Automatically, going against Islam is going against ourselves (primordial nature) which leads us to nothing but disaster. Disobeying Allah adds more disease into the heart and eventually, invites His Wrath and punishment in Hell fire, may Allah protect us from that.

17. "In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: and grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves)." Surah Al-Baqarah, (2:10)

18. I'd like to end this article with 3 powerful prayers that hopefully insya Allah will help us prosper in what ever things we do in life and so that He helps keep our hearts strong to be faithful towards Him, even if we have to die to protect our faith and dependance we put upon Him insya Allah. My prayers that they benefit us all. Ameen~

19. The first 2 can be found in the Quran as follows (translation):

  

a) O my Rabb! Expand me my breast. Ease my task for me, and remove the impediment from my speech, so they may understand what I say. (20:25-28)

b) O my Rabb! Bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous, grant me honorable mention on the tongue of the truth among the latest (generations), make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss." (26:83-84)

c) O Allah! The Turner of the hearts, keep our hearts firm on Your deen. (Sahih Muslim)

Ya Muqallibal Qulub, tsabbit qalbi  'alaa diinik

 20. The third du'a (prayer) above is of special importance to me, as it strongly reminds myself that no matter who we are or how much knowledge we have in Islam, no one can ever escape from misguidance except with the permission of Allah. So, I recommend we read this prayer everytime after solah (solat) insya Allah.

21. May Allah bless us all, He knows best, no doubt, absolutely ;-)

P/S: Was thinking to write about 'The Heart' because I just finished my CVS. Next is Respiratory System. Here I come Sem. three! =P

Wassalam ;-)

Read more "The Heart"