Young Muslims Project

KL Palestine Film Festival 2012 (KLPFF 2012)

2012-01-16T09:57:00.002+08:00

Salam,

Below is a message from the Chairman Viva Palestina Malaysia to us all.

Wassalam,

YMP

Dear friends

Salams, Blessings & Peace be upon you.

Re: KL Palestine Film Festival 2012 (KLPFF 2012)

The films screened will showcase many of the humanitarian issues besetting Palestine and doubles as a major VPM fund raising initiative for our Viva Palestina 6 Life Line to Gaza.

My eternal gratitude to all who have embraced the Palestinian cause and sincerely hope all our individual and corporate funders, well wishers and symphatisers would continue to support us and donate generously to VPM projects in Gaza. RM 1 Million has thus far been disbursed to educational, medical, micro-financing & women’s projects in Gaza.

May all of your sincere and altruistic deeds be bountifully blessed by the All-Mighty.

Dato’ Dr. Musa Mohd Nordin

Chairman Viva Palestina Malaysia

Misconceptions in Islam Amongst Muslims: Featuring Bro. Shakirit

2012-01-12T00:06:00.000+08:00

Salam Everyone!

We as the youth today are often bombarded with situations, images, and questions from various people about Islam. Most times we ourselves get confused with what is true in Islam.

Is the beard compulsory?

What is it about dogs?

Do I have to dress a certain way to be a Muslim?

Come and find out the answers to these questions and more in our discussion on the misconceptions that we as Muslims often have about our own religion, with our special guest Brother Shah Kirit!

Bro. Shah is one of the leading and most popular speakers on Comparative Religion and on Islam for non-Muslims in Malaysia today. He has given many talks and lectures across the country and was a big fan of YMP when we first started in 2007. Alhamdulillah, now he's back! His friendly, sincere, unassuming and always-humble way befits his main purpose in life – to explain Islam to anyone in the most direct and simple way possible, hence making clear Islam’s great message of peace and hopefully making a difference to Peace & Harmony throughout the nation and the world.

When: Saturday- 2-4pm
Where: 40, Lorong 16/6C, Seksyen 16, Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur

InshaAllah, see you there!!

2012 New Year Message From YMP

2012-01-05T15:36:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum everyone,

We pray everyone is in good health and Iman. Its 2012, hopefully won't be the end of the world. All is in the Hands of Allah. But what is in our hands is the opportunity to do more awesome good for this year.

Alhamdulillah, 2011 has been a wonderful year for YMP. All the five departments under the YMP Management have done well.

The Intellectual Discourse (ID) team had some really amazing lectures courtesy of our growing relationship with Mercy Mission Alhamdulillah. We are not sure on the total accurate turn out of our lectures, but we estimate it could be in the thousands for 2011 alone. We are also grateful for the opportunity to introduce Imam Suhaib Webb to the Malaysian public. He's now quite a celebrity in his own right with regular TV and radio shows. MashaAllah.

2011 has also seen fantastic development of our Community Service Initiative (CSI) team’s activities - soup kitchen has been very consistent. Kudos to all the dedicated team members. Aunty Munira (PERTIWI) and gang work tirelessly, sincerely, and unpretentiously fighting to give out food to the needy.

Same consistency goes out to the members of TKEP. They've built quite a name for themselves, forming a friendship with the Liverpool FC (they're still in contact with each other). TKEP is now developing a program to encourage college students to create TKEP-esque societies and 'adopt' other children welfare homes.

This year has also seen ABBA forging ahead against all odds to educate the youngsters against baby dumping while extending the reach of existing welfare agencies namely Orphan Care and Talian Nur. Setting up a booth in the big National Youth Day '11 has to be the highlight for the members.

The small but very relevant Open Circles team pulled off a successful Ramadhan-long event. They're keeping it real for a lot of the young members and should definitely be more active this year. Their crucial role cannot be emphasized more.

It's been a bit quiet for the Fun Activities team, but InshaAllah with more support and encouragement, they'll come out bigger and better for this new year inshaAllah.

The Communications and Publications team have been able to accommodate the posters for every event, revived this blog with continuous updates which includes the updates on events, guest writers, Faith Fridays, Editor’s posts etc. They even created a new Facebook page to accommodate the ever growing virtual friends of YMP and are now in the midst of getting the blog makeover of the YMP website.

Being in YMP over these years, we cannot express enough how happy we are to see how YMP has developed. Every year, we see new faces, we feel new energy flowing through the group, pushing us forward. We also have the members who have stayed on over the years keeping it steady.

To the Core Members,

Let's take a moment and reflect back on how far we've gone. Think hard on our success, but more importantly on our mistakes. Let's take the steps to correct our wrongs with Allah, with each other, to the public and to ourselves. Then, we need to consolidate and plan to move forward, better and more effective. InshaAllah.

We pray that we continue to be relevant and useful to the cause. May Allah bless us and accepts all our deeds.

Happy New Year to all!

Young Muslims Project

January 2012

What Makes Islam And Quran So Inspirational To People?

2011-12-24T11:45:00.000+08:00

Salam everyone,

This is another article written by Hijab al Faisal. She is working at Quranreading.com as a Web Content Writer teaching Quran to students living in the USA, Canada,and the UK. According to Hijab, Quran Reading is the largest Online Quran Academy, where they have taught more than 5000 kids and parents to Read Quran online with Tajweed.

Masha Allah!

Please visit their website for more details. :)

In the West, we find a huge majority of people who have a very distorted and diminished image of Islam, thanks to the expertise of popular (but rogue) media. The fact of the matter is that the masses do not find time and have enough interest to investigate into the truth and the reality of issues by themselves. Ultimately they become a victim to the disinformation disseminated by media.

In fact, not only particular to the West but also anywhere in the world, if you can manipulate popular media to your motives, you can get a lot of people to believe whatever is being fed to them, at least in the beginning.

Thankfully, not everyone is going to believe what they are told to accept as true. There are many people who are driven to expose the truth behind the scenes by what they see in the media. This is more common after the 9/11 atrocity which caused more than 3000 lives to perish.

Though almost all of influential Western media did their best to churn the story and hold Islam and Muslims the culprit of this painful event, which in itself is against the true teachings of Islam, but on their way to plan this, they undermined the influence of individual decisive power. Much to their dismay, this went against all their ill-intentioned plan.

And the result? Instead of hating Islam and Muslims, a significant number of Westerners (particularly the Americans) started to convert to Islam. Now, the reality is that Islam has turned into the most popular religion of the world, with largest number of people turning to it, particularly from the Western world.

The fact of the matter is that truth cannot be forsaken; it will reveal itself, sooner or later.

There are definitely more facets to this mass conversion of people from West to Islam, but discussed below are some of pretty simple but important points that can help a person understand the causes behind this phenomenon.

Islam is the truest of religions that Allah Almighty, the Mighty Creator of the whole universe, declares mandatory for anyone who wants his/her way to guidance. Look what Quran, the religious Scripture of Islam, says about it:

Aal-e-Imran [3:19] the Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His will): nor did the People of the Book dissent there from except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.

It is a religion that teaches about peace, harmony, and coherence among humans, while focusing on finding common grounds with other religions in the process to guide them about the ultimate truth and reality about Allah Almighty, prophets, and this life, etc. The following verse is just one example of Quran teaching in this regard:

Ash-Shura [42:13] The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah--that which We have sent by inspiration to thee--and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. Allah chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him).

The true concept of Islam lies in utter submission to the might of Allah (SWT), and one who does so, becomes owner of a character that inspires others rather than repelling them, and this is what exactly serves to be the biggest motivation of people in converting to Islam.

May Allah Almighty lead every soul truly searching for Quran Education and Islam guidance, much to His liking and countless benefits of the person.

Lounging With Muslim Belal

2011-12-19T17:26:00.000+08:00

YMP Proudly Presents:

LOUNGING WITH MUSLIM BELAL

This Thursday, 22nd December 2011,

At the Annexe Gallery, Central Market,

From 8.00pm to 11.00pm

Join us for a night of a flurry sounds of rhythm and beat, made solely with the power of words. Join us for a night of spoken word and poetry.

Muslim Belal, “The Street Muaddhin”, grew up in south London with his Jamaican mother and spent his youth mixed up in gang culture. He reverted to Islam in 2002! The former rapper has spent the past year touring the country delivering his story “From The Streets 2 Islam” In a unique poetic style, which will leave you inspired and amazed.

Check out the following Youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAgepDlB3P8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i95zGnLP4Es
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzW3GRbUd2w
**Entry by RM 10 donation**

Don't miss it! :)

Young Muslims Project at TEDx MMU!

2011-12-09T22:41:00.000+08:00

Salam! Alhamdulillah we are happy to announce that our member and Head of our Community Service Initiative wing, Zuhri Yuhyi, will be speaking tomorrow at TEDx MMU! Zuhri will be speaking about the volunteer work and charity initiatives Young Muslims Project is involved in.

We are so proud of Zuhri and can't wait to share a video of his speech. We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Allah (swt) for the blessings He has given us for being able to get to this place.

If you don't know what TED is click here.

http://www.tedxmmu.com/event/speakers/

Faith Fridays - The 40 Hadith by Imam al Nawawi by Ammar Al Shukry [VIDEO]

2011-12-08T22:36:00.001+08:00

Salam everyone.

Have you ever wondered the effort it takes to memorise Qur'an or hadith and to quote it like it's at the tip of the tongue? There are techniques of course to memorisation but a lot of hard work goes into it.

Ever wonder how easy it is for us to remember the lyrics to our favourite song?

Ammar Al Shukry is a poet who uses poetry as a means to memorise and express his faith. In the video below he memorises Imam al-Nawawi's 40 hadith and condenses it into a poem, thereby making it easier for all of us to learn and memorise inshaAllah.

If you haven't heard any of his poetry before please check out his website, his Facebook page and his YouTube channel (and make sure you watch his poem on Jannah!). Ammar and Boona Mohammad also run a regular online open mic poetry contest called Lyrical Art where people from around the word submit poems and perform them in front of an audience that listens in (through Skype and audio streaming). You can find out more by joining Ammar's mailing list on his website.

For those of you who are interested Boona Mohammad will be in KL as part of Mercy Mission's Family Festival Conference that will be held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre on the 24th and 25th of December. Find out more here.

Gotong-Royong at Titian Kaseh!

2011-12-07T23:39:00.000+08:00

Salam everyone.

For some time now Young Muslims Project has been teaching English to children at an orphanage in Kuala Lumpur by the name of Rumah Titian Kaseh. This weekend a group of dedicated volunteers are going over to clean their premises.

Let's spruce up their home and make it clean and beautiful for the new year (Gregorian or Hijri calendar, your pick!)

Please see our Facebook event page for more details or if you're not on Facebook contact Gaelle Linard at 016 679 2483 or email her at gaelle [dot] linard [at] gmail.com.

The Beauty of Jannah by Dr Reda Bedeir [VIDEO]

2011-12-03T19:00:00.001+08:00

Young Muslims Project recently hosted Dr Reda Bedeir for a talk on Jannah. Below is a recording.

Faith Fridays - Fasting on Ashura by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

2011-12-01T19:04:00.000+08:00

Salam everyone!

We've been missing for a few weeks and we ask for your forgiveness.

Muharram is upon us. Happy New Year! I'm sure we've heard of the day of Ashura and that it is recommended to fast.

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet came to Medina and saw the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura. He asked them about that. They replied, "This is a good day, the day on which Allah rescued Bani Israel from their enemy. So, Moses fasted this day." The Prophet said, "We have more claim over Moses than you." So, the Prophet fasted on that day and ordered (the Muslims) to fast (on that day). [Bukhari]

Listen to Shaykh Waleed Basyouni as he explains the fast of Ashura and why the companion Ibn 'Abbas wouldn't miss it even if he was travelling (he would not fast when he traveled during Ramadhan and would make the fast later, but Ashura to him was different).

The Beauty of Jannah by Dr Reda Bedeir

2011-11-28T10:23:00.002+08:00

Jannah! Waterfalls! Rivers of milk and Honey! Palaces of Gold! The possibility of seeing the Face of Allah!

Ever wondered what lies on the other side if we've been good in this world! What our reward from Allah, the most Merciful will be inshAllah! Are the 72 virgins a myth or a reality? Ever though about a Return on Investment for your good deeds! Find out the everlasting return in our talk by Dr Reda Bedeir, visiting from freezing Canada. Dr Reda is a personal development Life Coach, Marriage Officer and a Community Counselor!

More about Dr Reda here.

**Please note the venue is only tentative. We will notify you should it change.**

Facebook page here.

Reflections on last weekend’s Open Circle event with Wardina Safiyyah

2011-11-24T12:45:00.001+08:00

By Jane

Last Sunday YMP hosted a sisters-only Open Circle entitled "Falling in Love Again with Islam". Here are some (brilliant brilliant) thoughts by someone who attended.

Life seemed surreal last Sunday. Like many at the event, I hadn’t even contemplated the existence of such a welcoming and intellectual group of sisters gathering for the purpose of self betterment. It was lovely and I, for one, was deeply touched by everything—from Kak Wardina’s advice and insights all the way to the chocolate chip cookies that probably loaded me with oxytocin, since I was especially excited to meet and mingle with every single person—which isn’t typical of this introverted self .

There seemed to be two recurring themes in that day’s discussion, one of which was hardships—getting through them. There wasn’t a person in the room that I didn’t seem to admire, especially among those who joined the discussion. I admire the sisters who are struggling to don the hijab and keep it on. I admire the sisters who are struggling to make it in male dominated professions and environments. I admire the sisters who are struggling to do anything because they have established that it would please Allah swt. I admire anyone who is struggling for (cliché alert) the sake of Allah. We should all admire these people.

It has become a cliché, unfortunately, to say we’re doing something for the sake of Allah. Why this is so is probably a whole other discussion, but that’s the reality. Nevertheless, life—abstracted from all details—is for the sake of Allah swt. We’re aware that the Qur’an tells us that “we were not created except to worship Allah” and that “life is a test to see which of you are best in deeds.” Thus, what we Muslims were given is essentially a perspective, which, once lost, results in the meaninglessness of life’s details, i.e. how we dress, where we work, who we’re associated with, who hates our cooking (in my case), etc.

If all of life is an endeavor to please God, then we Muslims have the advantage of being able to make life’s calculus a lot less complicated. For, all of life’s events—the hard times, easy times, fun times—can be divorced from its details and categorized into whether or not it has brought us closer to God.

I used to be the type of person that would constantly ask God why “He would do this to me” when something that I didn’t like happened. But, in the Muslim’s perspective, the event itself—its details, whether we liked it or not—is irrelevant, or at least should be. What is relevant to Allah is our reaction to what happened. Thus, we may go through something as devastating as losing everything we have ever worked for or committing a sin we can never forget; nevertheless, if this occurrence brought us closer to Allah by way of our reactions (of increasing conversation with Him through du'a, returning to the Quran, increasing in patience, changing our lifestyle for His sake, etc.), then this particular event, however devastating, was a blessing, despite it being a hardship. If, on the other hand, it had made one insulting, apathetic, less sensitive to sinning, doubtful of Allah—then this occurrence was clearly a punishment, regardless of whether it was a compliment, insult, wedding, or divorce. But even so, the mercy of Allah never escapes us; for when we realize that something is bringing us away from Allah, that realization itself can turn the whole wretched thing into a blessing if it pushes us back in the right direction.

The point is, for a Muslim, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ incidents are defined relative to whether it brought us closer to or away from Allah. One may be trying to wear the hijab for the sake of Allah and finds this immensely difficult. However, putting life in perspective, all one’s struggles for His sake are actually the very currency that “buys” His closeness, which is all a Muslim is endeavoring to do in life. It is the struggle, and constancy despite it, that brings us closer to Allah. Thus, these sisters who are struggling to keep the hijab on or dress more modestly are likely closer to Allah because of the struggle, compared to other sisters, like me, who started wearing it to please someone else.

It is needless to say that Sister Wardina is an inspiration. She is the perfect example of turning all we have and all we have done into currency that Allah accepts. Despite the fact that she’s done some things in her teen years that she isn’t proud of (haven’t we all?), those sins now serve as a blessing because she has used them to increase her closeness to Allah by reminding herself and advising others to stay away from the life she once lived. At the time she decided to make a change of path, it was the reality of her life that she possessed a good amount of popularity. Instead letting that popularity lure her back to square one, she turned it into currency that Allah accepts by using it to influence others to turn to Allah swt. This inspiring lady has shown us that we can squeeze everything out of our lives—all the good and bad, the past and present—and use them as tools to please Allah. At the end of the day, as she says, Allah’s pleasure is the only food that nourishes the soul.

Confidence, the second recurring theme in the open circle, seems to be a signature ‘women’s’ topic; “you just need to be more confident in yourself,” we tell each other. While this is true, confidence (even faking it) has never been my forte. It’s safe to say that every person suffers from the lack of confidence from time to time. I used to read self-help books to figure out what on earth was wrong with me; why couldn’t I just be confident? Not being on the right path didn’t help either, for I started to question why I was doing anything in the first place. Without Allah as one’s overall anchor, there is no strong reason for persisting in anything.

The wonderful reality is that we Muslims have an obvious place to put our confidence: Allah swt. All we need to do is establish the knowledge that something pleases Him and then go about doing it. Yet, that sounds so much easier said than done that it seems rather patronizing. I agree.

I’ve worn the hijab since I was very young, but admittedly it was not for Allah’s sake until much later when I had established that this piece of cloth covering my head actually pleases God. When my father requested me to wear the hijab, my rationale was “if this piece of thing on my head would make my father happy with me, then what’s the big deal of wearing it?” In other words, it was important to my self-esteem that my father was happy with me, so I didn’t even question the philosophy behind the hijab—I didn’t care about the details. It’s like wanting my whole life to get into a certain institution; if the admissions department told me to stand on one foot, I’d do it! I wouldn’t really go into the philosophy behind standing on one foot and how it relates to proving my worthiness.

The point is, once we have established that we are dependent on someone being pleased with our actions, then the details of those actions become quite irrelevant. This goes back to confidence. If it matters to our self-esteem to please Allah in all aspects of our lives, then the particular prescriptions (i.e. cover this or that, slaughter a certain animal on this day, fast on these days) should be less relevant than the fact that they do indeed please Him. Confidence only fails to show up when our self-esteem is at the mercy of other people. Kak Wardina said something to this effect: “you’d be doing yourself a favour by worshipping Allah because if you don’t, you’d worship other things like money, men, fashion, etc.” If my self-esteem does depend on these other things, then my lack of confidence shouldn’t surprise me.

All this does not mean to say that we shouldn’t study the meaning behind what Allah has prescribed, obviously not. However, it does make it mentally easier for us to motivate ourselves in day-to-day life, because few people have the time to remember the Islamic rationalization of doing this or that—for example, all the reasons that hijab benefits society rather than hinders its progression. I don’t know about you, but in the middle of being insulted or criticized for being covered, I cannot make myself recall all the details of why it’s a good thing to wear the hijab. In day to day life, we need to be able to say “I’ve already established it’s for Allah’s sake” and move on with our agenda.

In conclusion, while struggling is universal, being Muslim gives us the advantage of perspective; that perspective is that all occurrences, whether desired or undesired by us, can be used as a means to come closer to Allah—the purpose of this project of living. That’s the advantage of recognizing Allah as the anchor to our self esteem and motivations—to everything we decide to do. And perhaps, that’s what worship really means—that the source of our self-esteem is Allah swt; that we care that He’s pleased with us. Kak Wardina also reminded us that “our problems are tailor made for us,” so we are not, despite what we may think, burdened with more than we can bear. It is important to keep within perspective the larger goal of day-to-day life, which is to use all the things that happen—the struggles, good times, annoying times—as currency to attain Allah’s closeness, as Sister Wardina is trying to do. In the end, nothing else matters, nothing else counts.

I remembered this Hadith while I was at the event, so I’ll end these ramblings with it:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and that does not apply for anyone except the believer. If something good happens to him he gives thanks, and that is good for him; if something bad happens to him he bears it with patience, and that is good for him.” [Sahih Muslim, 2999]

YMP Paintball!!!

2011-11-22T09:41:00.000+08:00

Salam All,

Please join us to shoot each other just for fun! :)

Bring your friends, neighbour, colleagues and acquaintances!

Call the number below to confirm your attendance.

Falling In Love Again - [A Sister's Only Event]

2011-11-15T23:32:00.000+08:00

Understanding Qur’an As An Instrument Of Guidance Than An Instrument Of Swearing

2011-11-08T15:19:00.002+08:00

Salam everyone,

This is another article written by Hijab al Faisal. She is working at Quranreading.com as a Web Content Writer teaching Quran to students living in the USA, Canada,and the UK. According to Hijab, Quran Reading is the largest Online Quran Academy, where they have taught more than 5000 kids and parents to Read Quran online with Tajweed.

Masha Allah!

Please visit their website for more details. :)

(Note: YMP is not in anyway related to any of our the guest author's organization. We only publish the articles submitted to us once it has been approved by our Co-Editors. If you are interested to write on our blog, please submit your draft to adam.alhabshi@gmail.com and shazeea@gmail.com)

The Holy Quran, the final word of Allah, still preserved in its original condition, without traces of a mistake, not even a full stop, serves to be the absolute guidance, not only for Muslims, but for any human being who desires to escape the darkness of negligence and illiteracy

Yunus [10:57]. O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i.e. the Qur'an, enjoining all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that (disease of ignorance, doubt, hypocrisy and differences,) Which is in your breasts, - a guidance and a mercy (explaining lawful and unlawful things) for the believers.

This verse not only confirms the fact that Qur’an is the best piece of advice Allah the Almighty ever awarded to human beings, but also points to the fact that Quran does not serve any particular group of people, but instead serves all of the humanity. The usage of the “O mankind” makes this fact very much clear.

Swearing – A Not So Good Societal Norm

A study of history reveals the fact that in every society, there seems to surge some not-so-good societal norms, which pose more harm than good. Swearing is one of them. It is considered to be an oath, mostly in the form of a factual statement or as a promise, usually calling upon an authority much higher in status than the parties involved (usually God), in order to bear witness in favour of the oath maker. In other words, swearing in its usual form, is considered as taking an oath or making a solemn vow.

Islamic Perspective Of Swearing

It is very unfortunate for the Muslim ummah (community) that they resort to the Qur'an not as a source of guidance and knowledge, but only for swearing and taking oaths in its name. Many Muslims are also found swearing in the names of other humans like their fathers, mothers, brothers, and other love ones. This is absolutely wrong practice, which should be abstained from.

For a Muslim taking oath in the name of something other than Allah the Almighty is strictly discouraged. It is quite a serious matter bearing serious consequences. Given below are certain considerations, which need to be followed whwn taking oaths:

Swearing Is Allowed Only In Name Of Allah

Firstly, Muslims should avoid swearing, but if someone has to do so under certain circumstance, they should swear only in the name of Allah and none other. Consider the following hadith in this regard:

Narrated Ibn 'Umar radi Allahu anhu: Allah's Apostle met 'Umar bin Al-Khattab while the latter was going with a group of camel-riders, and he was swearing by his father. The Prophet said, "Lo! Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers, so whoever has to take an oath, he should swear by Allah or keep quiet." (Sahih Bukharee,Volume 8, Book 78, Number 641)

Fulfillment Of The Oath

As mentioned earlier, oaths should be taken seriously and once taken, should be fulfilled.

Narrated Al-Bara: The Prophet ordered us to help others to fulfill the oaths. (Sahih Bukharee,Volume 8, Book 78, Number 648)

This means it is a matter so serious that Allah’s Apostle Muhammad (PBUH) insisted others to help a person fulfill his oath.

Allah’s Mercy In This Regard

Allah the Almighty, the most Merciful and Generous, vows to forgive those who swear unintentionally, accidently, or without true intent The Qur'an teaches in this regard:

Allâh will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths, but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have earned. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Forbearing. (Al-Baqarah 2:225)

Conclusion

As described earlier, Allah bestowed humanity with the gift of Qur'an as a source of guidance and learning rather than a source of swearing. Therefore, we should be focused towards Qur'an learning rather than resorting to it for other purposes. May Allah the Almighty empower us to implement true teachings of Qur'an in our lives.

Faith Fridays - Your 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah by Imam Khalid Latif [VIDEO]

2011-10-28T14:04:00.000+08:00

Every Friday we hope to bring you a khutbah or short lecture in English that we feel may be of benefit to you. Think of it as a weekly khutbah from a different perspective. All you need to do is spend 30 minutes (or less) a week to learn something new.

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

Remember that Ramadhan feeling? That feeling you got everyday knowing that you were striving for Allah's sake and nothing else? And then remember when Ramadhan ended and you felt sad and you wondered if you could keep up all the things you were doing?

And of course it's hard. But Allah knows the human heart better than we do and then He gives us the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

"The days are better than anything else for us," Imam Khalid Latif explains. He explains how we should make a commitment to strive to go for Hajj but also that for those of us who remain behind the only thing stopping us from reaching a higher state of God consciousness (taqwa) is ourselves.

These days are better than all other days in the year, including the days in Ramadhan. There are even opinions that they are better than the last ten nights of Ramadhan (you know, the ones where you make sure you go to the mosque and try to get up early for Qiyam?) and yet in most years they just pass us by.

So spend some time to listen to Imam Khalid and let him motivate you from your core to reap the benefits of this short period that has come before us.

Imam Khalid Latif is the Imam of the New York University Islamic Centre and the New York Police Department (!). He is the first imam (Muslim chaplain) at New York University and was also the first imam at Princeton University. He can be found on twitter @KLatif

Lounging With Peter Gould - Friday 14th October 2011- 8pm @ Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Jalan Hang Kasturi, Kuala Lumpur

2011-10-10T16:46:00.000+08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

YMP Presents:

WoW!!! This is too cool to be missed. Seriously.

Do You Have ADD - by Vivy Yusof

2011-10-10T09:17:00.001+08:00

Salam all,

Were you there at KGPA earlier last week for the ADD (Akhirah Deficit Disorder) talk by Imam Suhaib Webb? We hope you were there because Masha Allah, it was awesome as usual.

One of our committees stumbled upon this post that was written about the talk. Alhamdulillah, the author has allowed us to re-post her thoughts here. Hope you enjoy it.

[P/S: her website is www.proudduck.com]

Do you have ADD?

I just cannot sleep before I blog about tonight. I’m so excited, I feel bad if I don’t share this with you guys. It’s a pretty lengthy post, so just take whatever you guys can la k.

I just came home from a talk by Imam Suhaib Webb.

He is like THE BEST speaker ever and whenever there’s a talk by him, the hall is always full. True enough, I had to sit on the floor tonight.

And some of the guys actually had to sit on stage because even the floor space was full! But it was cool, cos I had such a good view of him and I listened better.

So the topic tonight was DO YOU HAVE A.D.D.?

ADD would normally mean Attention Deficit Disorder, but tonight it was “Do you have Akhirat Deficit Disorder?”

And for most of us who went tonight, the answer is a big fat yes. Everything that matters now is usually the worldly stuff and the hereafter is like “we’ll cross the bridge when we get there” kind of thing. Everyone’s chasing for the ease in the world, but what about the ease in the hereafter? We hear these things all the time and it’s not like we don’t know, but it’s important to be reminded a lot.

Imam Suhaib starts off by saying that when he was in KL, he saw a lot of Sweet Charity posters and advertisements everywhere. Almost everywhere he went he was reminded of Sweet Charity and how they have a concert coming up here. So he acknowledges the point of advertisement and how it’s just the nature of human beings to forget. Then he related that to akhirat and life hereafter. How we always forget about the akhirat because we don’t see advertisements of it everywhere. If there was a “Hell is Hot” sign on every streetlight on the street, we’d all be amazing Muslims.

But actually, there IS advertisement of akhirat! He says that on every page of the Quran, the word hereafter is mentioned. Every single page of the Quran will remind us of the hereafter, so if only we read it, we’d remember akhirat all the time and not have “ADD”.

He reminded us the this world we live in, this dunia, is all a means, but should not be an objective. Our objective in life as a Muslim is to go to heaven, that is the only pure objective. And this worldly things surrounding us is a means to achieve our objective. Someone who has a lot of means, like money or fame, but doesn’t use it to achieve the objective is not a successful person.

I whispered to Asma’ who was beside me and pointed to her gorgeoussss Loubotin shoes. (We took off our shoes while sitting on the floor cos it got uncomfortable)

“Dude, remember, those are just means, not objective”

“Shut up and listen to the talk.”

So to be successful in life and not have ADD, one needs to know their direction in life. For one to have that, one needs NIAT. Niat is your direction, niat will let you focus on what you want to do. So have a good niat in everything you do, and everything will make sense and your life will be more meaningful.

He added that as Muslims, we should be inspirations to others. We should be creative and be proactive. Even our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. had non-Muslim “fans” and one wrote poems about him during his time. He inspired even his enemies and we should be inspired by this. As Muslims, we should not breed insecurity or fear to live or be so restrictive. He gave the example of a dog. Yes, Muslims can’t touch wet dogs etc, but in Egypt he said, they build water troughs for dogs! They used charity money to care for these dogs by giving them a place to drink water, because dogs are Allah’s creations too and they would feel responsible and answerable to God if these dogs died of thirst! See how creative they were??

Then he said something that really made me want to cry.

He said this.

In the Quran, there’s a lot of “We” in God’s words. We will protect you, We will comfort you. And that just goes to show how strong this intimacy between Muslims and God is. It’s like saying “We got your back, dude.” Like if we struggle in life, trying to uphold what’s right, trying our best to stay away from gossip, trying our best to cover ourselves, trying hard to pray 5 times a day, trying hard to memorise the Quran, trying hard to balance work and family, trying hard to stay away from the destructive pleasures in life. If we struggle in the dunia for Allah, Allah’s got our backs in the hereafter. He, of all things, knows what we go through in order to become better humans and He acknowledges all we do, even if no one else cares. If there are ever times we find it hard to do what’s right, don’t worry, Allah’s got our backs. If not now, He’ll reward us in the hereafter.

I was holding back tears, I don’t know why! And Ice Queen Asma’ also looked down. Ajjie was whatever la. She was nodding the whole time concentrating like mad.

It’s just so beautiful; Islam. It only asks you to do good things, but sometimes it’s hard. When no one else knows how we feel, we just have to know Allah’s there every step of our way. Allah cares. He’s got our backs. So all He asks in return is for us to care for Him too and live in the way of Islam. Why do we expect Allah to be there for us if we’re not there for Him?

It’s simple and it’s only humans who make it hard. I have to constantly remind myself everyday and really try to overcome my struggle, especially in the case of covering my aurat. Insyaallah, I won’t take that long.

So to summarise, he says the best thing to overcome ADD is the Quran and sunnah.

Where to start?

1) Baby steps – never stop learning everyday. Read the Quran’s meaning, learn the sunnah. Don’t read the Quran just as how it is revealed to you. Be proactive, he said. Actually find out the meaning and read it as if you’re walking along with the ayat.

2) Surround yourself with good friends - seriously, once your niat is right, suddenly good friends will just surround you! Suddenly you’ll find good people around you who come out of nowhere. My mom was right all along. CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS. Don’t waste your time with friends who take you further away from good deeds.

3) Attend educational talks and discussions – feed that brain, don’t be arrogant thinking we know it all. To keep myself updated, I “liked” theYMP Facebook fanpage or go to alkauthar.org website.

4) Be good to your parents – Imam Suhaib said that he had so much trouble memorising the Quran. When he went to his teacher, the teacher asked “How do you treat your mother?” Imam Suhaib’s mom is a non-Muslim and so Imam Suhaib wasn’t that close to her. So the teacher called him a fool. And Imam Suhaib started being nice to his mother, treated her nicely, helped her with housework. His mother was pleased with him and slowly, he started seeing that he could memorise the Quran, page by page. So never underestimate the power of mommy and daddy.

5) Be good to people in general. Respect people, be helpful, be kind, be beneficial to others.

Whatever we do, always have the hereafter in mind. Chase all the goodness we can find in this world, make something out of ourselves right now, have a career, get rich, be ambitious! But never neglect that book in the corner and the meaning it carries. Don’t be deceived by the ease and pleasure of this world, because they’re all temporary.

We all want a good ending in the end, so whenever it gets hard, just keep our eyes on the prize; Jannah.

Ok, baby steps now. Bismillah.

Faith Fridays - Danger by Amir Sulaiman [VIDEO]

2011-10-06T20:24:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

In anticipation of next week's event, Lounging with Peter Gould, that's going to be about artistic expression and Islam we're doing something unorthodox today.

Meet Amir Sulaiman, a Def Jam poet and a servant of Allah. Amir began writing poetry at the age of 12 and his poems always exude raw emotion. In "Danger" he talks about some of the injustices that the Muslim community faces and how we should respond.

You can find him at AmirSulaiman.com or his YouTube page.

I am not angry; I am anger.

I am not dangerous; I am danger.

I am abominable stress, eliotic, relentless.

I'm a breath of vengeance.

I'm a death sentence.

I'm forsaking repentance,

to the beast in his hench men.

Armed forces and policemen

that survived off of oils and prisons until there cup runneth over with lost souls.

That wear over-sized caps like blind-folds

Shiny necklaces like lassoes

Draggin’ them into black-holes

And I may have to holla out to Fidel Castro

To get my other brothers outta Guantanimo

And the innocence on death row?

It’s probably in the same proportion to criminals in black robes

That smack gavels

That crack domes

That smack gavels

That smash homes

Justice is somewhere between reading sad poems and 40 oz of gasoline crashing through windows

It is between plans and action

It is between writing letters to congressmen and clocking the captain

It is between raising legal defense funds and putting a gun to the bailiff and taking the judge captive

It is between prayer and fasting

Between burning and blasting

Freedom is between the mind and the soul

Between the lock and the load

Between the zeal of the young and the patience of the old

Freedom is between a finger and the trigger

It is between the page and the pen

It is between the grenade and the pin

Between righteous and keeping one in the chamber

So what can they do with a cat with a heart like Turner

A mind like Douglass

A mouth like Malcolm

And a voice like Chris?!

That is why I am not dangerous; I am danger

I am not angry, I am anger

I am abominable, stress, Eliotic relentless

I’m a death sentence

For the beast and his henchmen

Politicians and big businessmen

I’m a teenage Palestinian

Opening fire at an Israeli checkpoint, point blank, check-mate, now what?!

I’m a rape victim with a gun cocked to his cock, cock BANG! Bangkok! Now what?!

I am sitting Bull with Colonel Custard’s scalp in my hands

I am Sincay with a slave trader’s blood on my hands

I am Jonathan Jackson and a gun to my man

I am David with a slingshot and a rock

And if David lived today, he’d have a Molotov cocktail and a Glock

So down with Goliath, I say down with Goliath

But we must learn, know, write, read

We must kick, bite, yell, scream

We must pray, fast, live, dream, fight, kill and die free!

Faith Fridays - Faith and the Cubicle by Imam Suhaib Webb [VIDEO]

2011-09-30T10:54:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

One of our favourite imams is back in town. That's right, Imam Suhaib Webb is gracing YMP with his awesomeness and will talking about whether we have ADD. Not "attention deficit disorder" but "akhirat deficit disorder"! RSVP here.

In preparation for next week's talk we bring to you a recent sermon of his where he expertly advises us on how to live our Islam and how to let it shine through everything that we do.

Enjoy.

Guess who's back in town?

2011-09-29T10:35:00.001+08:00

Faith Fridays - Fajr Reminders with Sheikh Bilal Ismail [VIDEO]

2011-09-22T19:46:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

Salam.

If you haven't already heard YMP will be hosting an event with Sheikh Bilal Ismail this Friday 23r September entitled "How to be a Good Buddy?". As such this week's video will be introducing Sheikh Bilal.

This two part video was taken at Al Kauthar's Knowledge Hive 2010 in Kuala Lumpur (which I heard was really good). In it Sheikh Bilal validates the feeling that we have sometimes that being a Muslim is tough. Sometimes our ritual worship, prayers, Ramadhan, saving money and going for Hajj, are really difficult.

But Allah says "For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease", surah ash-Sharh verses 5-6. It is surely impossible for us to imagine life without our daily prayers, without fasting, without Qur'an, without Islam.

And in the difficulty of waking up to pray fajr, in the difficulty of foregoing food, drink and all our desires, in the difficulty of striving to worship Allah there is beauty and joy. Joy when we accomplish what we set out to do beauty in the knowing that there is unity in this ummah because we all proclaim there is no God but Allah. And of course, ultimately and most important of all there is tranquility in knowing that we seek only to please Allah.

This is one of the best reminders I have ever received.

Tips For Becoming More Active In Mosques

2011-09-19T10:47:00.023+08:00

Salam everyone,

Masha Allah!

Please visit their website for more details. :)

For a Muslim society, the mosque serves as a founding stone. It is also a place where Muslims gather to offer prayers in congregation and meet other Muslim brothers to share problems and find solutions for each other. It serves as a center for knowledge, wisdom and remembrance of Allah. It also serves as a place from which Muslims raise their voices to acknowledge and prove their belief in the Oneness of Allah Almighty.

The Importance of Mosques in Islam

Although mosques are specifically made to worship Allah and read the Holy Quran, they also serve as a center point for gathering all Muslims and encouraging them to socialize. Praying in congregation with other Muslim brothers is therefore considered a social activity that enables Muslims to get to know their Muslim brothers.

It is for this reason that becoming active in mosques is important for all Muslims. They should not only use the mosque as a place to worship Allah, but should also use it as a center for education, training, learning and other activities. Some tips to become more active in the mosque are given below.

Tips for Becoming Active in the Mosque

If you are a Muslim and have the desire to be active in the mosque, you may be able to find numerous ways to play your part. It is the responsibility of Muslims to ensure that the mosque is not only treated as a place to worship Allah, but it is also used as the center for education, learning and discussions on various aspects.

1. Be Socially Active:

Muslim mosques are a center for all kinds of social activities. This is evident from the fact that the Prophet (PBUH) used Masjid-e-Nabwi not only for worshipping Allah, but also as a place for all kinds of Muslim activities. Deputations that came from other places were also received at Masjid-e-Nabwi. Therefore, Muslim mosques should be increasingly used as the hub for cultural, political and social activities. Therefore, it is your duty to be socially active in the mosque. You can do so by simply encouraging people to stay a little longer after the evening prayers and discuss matters. You may also use this opportunity to share any Islamic knowledge with your Muslim brothers during the gathering.

Teach Quran:

You may also use the mosque to teach Quranic teachings to Muslim children. Quran learning in the mosque will create the habit of visiting mosque regularly in young Muslims. After teaching the holy book to these children, you may also encourage them to participate in all kinds of work required by the mosque. This will imply the importance of mosques in the hearts of these individuals from a very young age.

Donate Regularly:

Another important way to be active in the mosque is by donating regularly in the mosque. The mosque is the place where so many Muslims belonging to different backgrounds meet and worship Allah in congregation. Therefore, it is your duty to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the mosque. Therefore, donate for the mosque, even if it is a small amount. Additionally, donating to mosques also increases the love of Allah in the hearts of donors.

Moreover, when Muslims gather in mosques on a daily basis, they can identify the needy people and can therefore help them in their hour of need.

Keep the Mosque Clean:

Since a mosque is the center for worshipping Allah, it is essential to keep it clean and tidy. If you want to gain rewards, you should help in the cleaning of the mosque. According to a narration, the Prophet (PBUH) persisted Muslims to pray on the grave of an individual who helped clean the mosque.

Additionally, it is also important that parents inculcate Quran teachings in the children. Parents may also register children to online Quran schools for that purpose.

Conclusion

Most of the times, people ignore such teachings of Islam. However, it is important that all Muslims understand the importance of Islam. Only then can they become active in the mosques.

www.quranreading.com

Faith Fridays - Give Back to Allah by Imam Siraj Wahhaj [VIDEO]

2011-09-15T19:42:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

It's very easy to say "alhamdulillah" but part of praising Allah is being grateful for what we have and part of being grateful of what we have involves moving beyond acknowledgement into using what we have been bestowed for Allah and in His cause.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who always packs a mean punch when he talks, reminds us about being thankful for what we have and about giving it back to Allah.

Feed the Poor, Feed the Soul

2011-09-11T16:45:00.001+08:00

by Azeem Ambalam

Azeem is a regular volunteer at YMP's Soup Kitchen. We operate every Wednesday and Sunday night. This article was originally published here.

I first found out about PERTIWI Soup Kitchen thru my neighbor Jenna whom I tagged along with on a rainy Sunday night last April. To be honest I was just curious but largely still uninterested but for some reason I just went along. All I knew about soup kitchens were long lines of the poor queuing up for watery soup at dinghy premises in the dodgier parts of town.

I was right about the lines though, but there wasn’t a dinghy kitchen or any soup at all. We load up a vending truck with pre-packed food supplied by a caterer before heading out to our recipients at a few locations close to the city centre. From then on it is a matter of preparing drinks on site, crowd control and distributing the food to the homeless.

It is quite a reality check when I realized there are just plenty of the homeless and the hardcore poor living in the same city as me. I always knew poverty existed in KL but not to the extent in which I have seen in the past year. I always looked but I never saw.

We have all sorts of people who come to get a meal from us, and we try our best to serve everyone who joins the line. As a rule of thumb we do not judge our recipients, only they know and Allah knows what went wrong along the way. Whatever mistakes they might have made with their lives or whatever misfortune that has befallen them does not extinguish the fact that they are human beings in need of help.

Initially I volunteered every now and then, never regularly. After Ramadan last year I decided I should do this more often and roped in a few like-minded friends, Alhamdulillah we are all regular volunteers now. One thing about soup kitchen we can all agree upon is that aside from the disadvantaged people we are out to help, it is a very rewarding and fulfilling experience for us volunteers as well.

Along the way we have all cultivated close friendships and we are a closely knit group from diverse backgrounds and age groups. Our youngest regular is 18 (he claims to be 19 though!) and the oldest is… (Let’s not go there!). We have volunteers hailing from Kampung Kerinchi all the way to Manchester.

We have along the way discovered the joy of giving and new friendships. Our most treasured gift yet is finding joy in doing something good and looking forward to it every week. I am pretty sure I am not alone in saying this; soup kitchen has now become the highlight of my week. It’s not a chore to score points with the Almighty anymore; it is just pure pleasure serving and being with likeminded people (we’re a very lively bunch too!).

I can go on and on till the cows come home, but my words will never do justice to what my eyes see. If for any reason this article has piqued your (yes YOU!!) interest come and join us one of these days and see for yourself what we are really up to. It’s a great chance to meet some really cool people and see a side of KL most of us choose not to see.

KL is not all about skyscrapers, shopping malls, fine dining and posh cars jetting thru elevated expressways. There are people out there living beneath the shadows in the margins of society, our fellow human beings. They are amongst the most vulnerable members of our society, how can we expect compassion unto ourselves when we fail to show it to others?

Faith Fridays - Purify Your Soul by Perfecting Modesty by Sh. Omar Suleiman [VIDEO]

2011-09-08T23:36:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

This week we're talking about modesty (hayaa'). While traditionally this term has been applied to how we dress in reality we should have modesty in everything that we do. But how do we do that without understanding what hayaa' is in the first place?

This video was taken at the the ICNA Conference (Islamic Circle of North America) at a special session for the youth. Listen to what Sheikh Omar Suleiman has to say about hayaa' and how important it is that we check our intentions ALL THE TIME!

The Rights Of A Spouse In Islam

2011-09-06T10:46:00.000+08:00

Salam everyone,

This is an article written by Hijab al Faisal. She is working at Quranreading.com as a Web Content Writer teaching Quran to students living in the USA, Canada,and the UK. According to Hijab, Quran Reading is the largest Online Quran Academy, where they have taught more than 5000 kids and parents to Read Quran online with Tajweed.

Masha Allah!

Please visit their website for more details. :)

Islam considers marriage a sacred union of two beings.

In Islam, marriage is a gift of Allah to enable its servants to lead a happy and contented life. The basic purpose of getting married in Islam is to attain happiness and love in this world. However, for this relationship as well, Islam defines some rights, obligations and duties for Muslims.

The Prophet (PBUH) says,

“The best Muslim is the one who is best to his family.”

And the Prophet (PBUH) also says,

“… and the most blessed joy in life is a good, righteous wife.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)

For a husband, it is his duty to treat his wife well. All husbands are required to show kindness, honor and patience towards their wives. Allah says in the Holy Quran,

“…consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing wherein Allah has placed much good.” (An-Nisa’: 19)

For a wife, it is essential to understand that men possess a degree over them. Allah says in the Quran,

“And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them. Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (Al-Baqaraqh: 228)

However, it is essential to note that men have higher obligations towards their wives. They are the trustees, guardians and protectors of their wives. Allah has made them in charge and has laid the duty to provide for the basic rights of women on men.

The Rights of the Wife

According to Islam, the wife has many rights over her husband. The Prophet (PBUH) has guided the men to show kindness towards women. it is also the duty of husbands to take the responsibility of the maintenance of his wife and his family. It is essential that men take on this duty happily, without condescendence. Allah says in the Quran,

“Let him who has abundance spend of his abundance, and he whose provision is measured, let him spend of that which Allah has given him. Allah asks naught of any soul save that which He has given it. Allah will vouchsafe, after hardship, ease.‏” (At-Talaq: 7)

Maintenance of a wife typically includes providing her with lodging, clothing and food. Also, the man should make sure that the residence provides privacy and comfort to the wife. It is also the duty of the husband to respect the feelings of the wife and to not inflict harm, pain and suffering on her. Men also do not have the right to curb the freedom of their wives.

The Rights of the Husband

The basic obligation of the wife towards her husband is to facilitate the success of the relationship. This means that it is the duty of the wife to make sure that her husband is comfortable and happy with her. The wife should try not to hurt the feelings of her husband or offend him. The wife should also not cheat on her husband, must not grant the right of intimacy to anyone else or accept gifts without his approval.

Conclusion

All these rights can be easily studied through Quran education. Muslim men and women should both understand their rights and obligations as stated by Islam and Quran and follow them in order to have a successful relationship.

http://www.quranreading.com/

Faith Fridays - Parting Farewell Advice of Ramadan by Nouman Ali Khan [VIDEO]

2011-09-01T23:17:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

Ramadhan has left us and while we celebrate the victory of fasting and abstaining for a whole month there is a bittersweet feeling that lingers. The question "What next?" also plays a part because we all know that it shouldn't just stop after 29/30 days.

In this week's video Nouman Ali Khan looks back at the Qur'anic verses on Ramadhan and points out that this month is the training ground that is suppose to prepare us for the rest of our lives. He then links taqwa, Qur'anic guidance and the key to making du'a and having it being answered by Allah.

May Allah accept our deeds during Ramadhan, and forgive us for our laziness and things that we could have done better. Let this month be a springboard from which all our future actions will emanate from.

Random Facts about Prayers - Part 7

2011-08-29T09:13:00.001+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

This is a simple series on some interesting facts on our obligatory prayers. For all of the articles in this series please click here.

Fact 11: The Five Levels Of Prayers

I got this piece of information from the MPF Summer Camp I attended which was facilitated by Moez Massoud back in 2003.

These levels are actually arranged by scholars to gauge where they ranked in their prayers in terms of khusyu’ (concentration).

Before I begin, I need to explain about the exterior and interior part of a prayer which is relevant to this post.

The Exterior Part indicates the preparation taken before one is about to make his prayer such as the taking of proper wudhu’, the wearing of proper clothes that covers the aurat (which includes the sister in ensuring that all of their hair is covered and not have strands of hair out beside her face with a disoriented head scarf), the place of prayer (a place which is clean and not obstructing people) etc.

The Interior Part indicates the taking care of the recitation that we make in our prayer, the proper structure of our body when we stand, ruku’, sujud, make our tahiyyat etc. These two hadith would be good to understand how the Prophet’s body was when he prayed.

1. Narrated Rifa`a bin Rafi` Az-Zuraqi: Prophet rose (from bowing) and stood straight till all the vertebrae of his spinal column came to a natural position. [Bukhari].

2. Narrated Muhammad bin `Amr bin `Ata': I was sitting with some of the companions of Allah's Apostle and we were discussing about the way of praying of the Prophet. Abu Humaid As-Sa`idi said, "I remember the prayer of Allah's Apostle better than any one of you. I saw him raising both his hands up to the level of the shoulders on saying the takbir; and on bowing he placed his hands on both knees and bent his back straight, then he stood up straight from bowing till all the vertebrate took their normal positions. In prostrations, he placed both his hands on the ground with the forearms away from the ground and away from his body, and his toes were facing the Qibla. On sitting In the second rak`a he sat on his left foot and propped up the right one; and in the last rak`a he pushed his left foot forward and kept the other foot propped up and sat over the buttocks." [Bukhari].

THE FIRST LEVEL:

The first level of prayer is when someone does not take care of his exterior and interior part of his prayer. This person will be punished for his prayer.

Na’uzubillah - We seek Allah’s Protection from being in this level.

THE SECOND LEVEL:

The second level is when someone takes care just a little bit of his exterior and interior prayers. Jaga sikit-sikit. This person’s prayer is accepted but he will still be punished.

Na’uzubillah - We seek Allah’s Protection from being in this level.

THE THIRD LEVEL:

The third level is when someone takes proper care of his exterior part and the moment he starts to pray, every single thought other than Allah comes to his mind. He starts to think if he had locked his door, where he left his keys, how he should make a decision for this or for that etc. The interior part is just not there.

However, he knows that he must be khusyu’ so he tries to focus his attention to his prayer. He lowers his gaze and tries to focus at his prayer mat. This last for a good 30 seconds, and BAM! he realizes that the Kaabah on his prayer mat looks a bit funny and not proportionate, the prayer mat’s colour seems faded, he forgot to cut his toe nails etc. This cycle goes on and on and on until he completes his prayers.

In other words, he takes care of his exterior part and does his best to care for his interior part but fails miserably.

Most of us are in this level. I know I am for sure!

But fear not. The scholars have concluded that for this type of prayers, WE GET DOUBLE THE REWARD!

The first reward is because we pray for Allah and take proper care of our exterior part and (tries to take proper care of) our interior part as well. The second reward is for the jihad (the strive to succeed) against Shaitan who comes and whisper all sorts of nonsense to distract us.

Not bad eh?

But remember the key word here. We must do our best to stay focus and not just let our mind wonder away in prayer. We don’t want to fall back into the second level now do we?

THE FOURTH LEVEL:

The fourth level is when someone cares for his exterior and interior part of his prayer. This person obtains khusyu’ in his prayer. This person is regarded as Habibur Rahman (One who is loved by Allah)!!! The companions of the Prophet were in this level.

Once a companion had an arrow stuck in his calf and it was too painfull to pull it out. So he asked his friends to wait for him to start praying and then to pull the arrow out. While he was praying, his friends pulled the arrow out. After prayer, he said he didn't even feel the arrow being pulled out. Masha Allah!.Another companion asked his grandchildren to start making noise when he prayed because then he would not even hear them then...

Look at how these companions attained khusyu' when they prayed. =)

If we are already in the third level, we should strive to be better and climb into the fourth level.

Let us set it as our own personal mission when we pray that we get to be in this level Insha Allah.

THE FIFTH LEVEL:

The fifth level is when that person starts to pray, it is as though he takes his heart out and just give it to Allah.

No more worldly matters for this man. It’s a highway to heaven for him.

This is the Prophet’s level of prayer.

THE BEST OF THE BEST.

If you by any chance or sheer hardwork manage to reach this level, please contact me for I have a lot to learn from you!

So all the best in achieving the highest level of prayer!

Random Facts about Prayers - Part 6

2011-08-28T09:07:00.000+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

This is a simple series on some interesting facts on our obligatory prayers. For all of the articles in this series please click here.

Fact 9: The Three Recitations in Ruku’ and Sujud

I learned in my sprirtual class that there is a hadith reported by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet mentioned if you read subhana rabbial azimi (in ruku’) and subhana rabbial a’la (in sujud) once, one-third of your body is forbidden to enter Jahannam.

Therefore, reciting it three times would free your whole body from entering Jahannam (Hellfire).

So do not rush in "employing" these magnificent bodyguards the next time you pray.

Read it slowly and take your time to do so. Discover its meaning and also pray and hope that it will be our shield from entering Jahannam.

In this era, we will certainly need all the firewall and anti-Jahannam software/hardware we can get!

Fact 10: Wiping The Face After Prayer

Technically, our prayer ends when we give the final salam in our prayer after reading the tahiyyat recitation. That salam is meant to symbolize that we have ended our ihram and are now allowed to do the things that are forbidden in prayers when we take our takbiiratul ihram.

Most of the Malaysian would then wipe their face. I thought about this and I asked a learned man about it.

He told me that it is the sunnah that the Prophet used to wipe his face after giving salam to wipe away the dust and sand on his forehead.

Although we now would pray on a prayer mat and not on the floor where not much dust would be on our forehead after our prayers, it is still good to adopt the sunnah to wipe our face just as how the Prophet did.

Random Facts about Prayers - Part 5

2011-08-27T20:59:00.002+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

This is a simple series on some interesting facts on our obligatory prayers. For all of the articles in this series please click here.

Fact 8: Tahiyyat/Tashahud

This is the recitation of tahiyyat/tashahud that is common to Malaysians as we are taught this in school.

“All compliments, blessed words, prayers, pure words are due to Allah. Peace be on you, O Prophet, and also the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be on us and on the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (in another narration: ... is His slave and messenger).”

I was once told that the tahiyyat that we read in our prayers is actually the beginning of a three party conversation.

This conversation took place during the Isra’ and Mi’raj of the Prophet.

When the Prophet was brought to the Highest Heaven to meet Allah, he greeted Allah SWT by saying:

“All compliments, blessed words, prayers, pure words are due to Allah.”

To which, Allah SWT replied:

"Peace be on you, O Prophet, and also the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”

To which, Jibril A.S. commented:

“Peace be on us and on the righteous slaves of Allah.”

Some narrations suggest that the Prophet SAW himself said the third statement.

We should always be aware that this is the introduction conversation between our Prophet SAW and our Lord. It is also repeated by us in each prayer to remind us that the order for prayer was given to the Prophet during Isra’ Mi’raj

This also teaches us the adab of the Prophet SAW when he greeted Allah SWT by praising Him with the best of praises. It was a greeting of unity between a servant and his Master.

So, remember that this isn’t just another tahiyyat when you pray but is a historic and blessed conversation between the Prophet SAW and Allah SWT.

It is the beginning of the authority for us to pray 5 times daily.

Shouldn't we at least recite it with some intimate feeling???

God knows best.

Faith Fridays - The Social Justice of Umar ibn al-Khattab by Alyas Karmani [VIDEO]

2011-08-25T19:48:00.000+08:00

If you have any suggestions on a video that we should share please send us an email via "Write for Us".

This weekend YMP will be hosting Paying it Forward as part of our Ramadhan Chit Chat Series. Check out the event here. As such this week's video will focus on the charity work and social justice.

Alyas Karmani is a social justice activist in the UK that has been involved in anti-racism work since his early teens. He has previously worked in universities and governments with regards to social policy covering a wide range of issues - mental health, housing, HIV/AIDS, religion and religious discrimination. He is a regular khateed at mosques in the UK and has shared the stage with Tawfique Chowdhury and Khalid Yasin.

In this video he explains a little about Amir al-Mu'minin Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) whose reign was the first time social policy was put into place and how this has evolved into welfare that we see today. He ends with a beautiful story of Caliph Umar and his wife and how they attended to the health and well being of a poor family in their city.

Random Facts about Prayers - Part 4

2011-08-24T16:02:00.000+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

This is a simple series on some interesting facts on our obligatory prayers. For all of the articles in this series please click here.

Tonight is the 25th night. If tonight is Lailatul Qadr and you put into practice our tip for today it could be the equivalent of asking for forgiveness for your parents for 1000 months.

Fact 8: Seeking Forgiveness For Your Parents

I have mentioned in Fact 7 that there are many recitations that we can memorise to add more spice to our prayer. There’s a lot to pick from. I would suggest that you take those which are the shortest and most familiar to you. Practice it before thinking of adding any other. Better to be steadfast than to just do things in one go and forget about it later on.

One of the shortest extra recitation for ruku’ is Allahumaghfirli (O Allah, please forgive me) and for sujud is Rabbighfirli (My Lord, please forgive me). Maybe I could suggest you to start with these two first. It adds an extra objective to our prayers i.e. to seek Allah’s forgiveness.

As a scholar once mentioned, always seek for Allah’s forgiveness because we will never be perfect and will always have shortcomings. If you think that you don’t have any reason to seek for His forgiveness, then you have to seek forgiveness from Allah for actually having such arrogant thoughts.

As we seek for Allah’s forgiveness, my teacher further added that the Prophet SAW encouraged us to include our parents whenever we seek Allah’s forgiveness for ourselves. This means, after Allahumaghfirli in your ruku’ and Rabbighfirli in your sujud, say "wali walidaiya" (and also my two parents).

Start this practice now.

Even if your parents are still alive and MORE SO if they have passed away.

Never ever ever ever forget to seek forgiveness for them.

Practicing this little addition in your prayer will ensure that in one day, you would have asked for their forgiveness numerous times. Don’t wait to seek forgiveness for your parents when you are making your dua after prayers or whenever you remember to do so. Chances are, you’d forget about it. Furthermore, the number of times you do so in a dua would still be less than if you do it for every ruku’ and sujud that you make in your prayer.

Start doing it now and remind your siblings to do so too. Then, when you have children, remind your children to do so for you as well. And the cycle will continue on and on and on.

This simple extra recitation could be the reason we barely miss being placed in the Hellfire…

God knows best.

Random Facts about Prayers - Part 3

2011-08-23T17:44:00.003+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

This is a simple series on some interesting facts on our obligatory prayers. For all of the articles in this series please click here.

Fact 5: Synchronization

There are numerous hadith in Sahih Muslim that state that the Prophet mentioned that when we utter "amin" after surah Alfatihah in a jama’ah prayer and when the Imam says: "Allah listens to him who praises Him." and we reply: "O Allah, our Lord for Thee is the praise” (rabbana walakal hamd), if what we say synchronises with the angels in the heaven, our past sins will be forgiven.

How cool is that?

Fact 6: I’tidal

Narrated Rifa`a bin Rafi` Az-Zuraqi: One day we were praying behind the Prophet. When he raised his head from bowing, he said, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah." A man behind him said, "Rabbana wa laka l-hamdu, hamdan kathiran taiyiban mubarakan fihi" (O our Lord! All the praises are for You, many good and blessed praises) or (Our Lord, and to You be all Praise, so much pure praise, inherently blessed). When the Prophet completed the prayer, he asked, "Who has said these words?" The man replied, "I." The Prophet said, "I saw over thirty angels competing to write it first." [Bukhari].

There is also this story which is weak in its authenticity but it’s good to know.

A learned man once told me that in the beginning, every action of the prayer, we say Allahu Akbar. We say Allahu Akbar when we start our prayer, when we make ruku’, I’tidal, sujud, etc.

However, one incident happened that changed the call for i’tidal (to stand after ruku’).

One morning, S. Abu Bakr was late for subuh prayers at the Masjid. As he was rushing, he was stalled by an old lady walking in front of him. Not wanting to disrespect her, he did not overtake her. Just as they reached the junction to the masjid, the lady continued walking. Apparently she was Jewish and was only walking along the way.

As S. Abu Bakr rushed towards the saf, he realized that the Prophet was doing his ruku’. This means that if he joins, he would be able to get the raka’at. He was so happy that he could get the raka’at with the Prophet that he sincerely said, “Alhamdulillah”.

Little did he know that his alhamdulillah was so sincere that Allah sent Jibril AS to inform the Prophet that when he gets up, he should not say Allahu Akbar but to say Sami Allahu Liman Hamidah (Allah listens to the one who praises Him).

Fact 7: The Many Recitations From Many Different Hadith

In school, we are taught the basic recitations of zikirs during ruku’, i’tidal, to sit between the two sujuds and the sujud itself. If we are to remain with our subhanallah wa bihamdih x 3 for ruku’, we’d be done in less than a minute. But we should know that The Prophet SAW actually recites many different recitations for these actions. Lenthy ones as well. That is why, he can make EACH ruku’, i’tidal, to sit between the two sujuds and the sujud for more than half an hour when he prays alone at night.

So take time to read more about the different recitations of the Prophet so that we can enjoy our prayer even more. I found this website which gives a pretty good choice of recitations.

Leaking from the Eyes

2011-08-22T22:41:00.000+08:00

by Syed Adam Alhabshi

Tonight is the 23rd night. Who will be waking up when the rest of the world is asleep to call upon their Lord? Here's a tip on how to make effective and meaningful dua.

The Prophet SAW taught Aishah RA this dua to be recited in the Night of Power:

اللْهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ

O Allah, You are Pardoning,

تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ

And You love to Pardon,

فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

So, pardon me…

I guess because this dua is very common in Malaysia as it is recited at the break of every 4 raka’ah of terawih prayers, most of us seem to have memorised it. So Insha Allah, most of us can recite it during the last ten nights when we are searching for the Night of Power.

Here is my advise on how you read this dua. It works for me and I hope that it will for you.

When you recite the above dua, break it up with a pause of 5 seconds. The dua consist of 3 parts. When you read the first part, pause for 5 seconds. Then the second part, and pause for another 2 seconds. If you have time, like when you are reciting it alone at night when everyone is asleep and it is just between you and Allah, then break it up for as long as your heart desire.

My trick is this. When I break up the first part and pause, I start to think in my head that Allah is most Great. Let your mind wonder along the Greatness of Allah in every single idea that pops into your head.

In the second part, think about how He loves to forgive His servants. There’s so many verses in the Quran reaffirming this fact. Ponder upon it…

And lastly in the last part, think about all of the sins that you have committed (either in the open or hidden). Touch upon all of the bad and negative acts that we committed. Feel in your heart how ungrateful you have really been to Him.

You should try to make a date with Allah in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep… wake up and pray tahajjud, sit down, read this dua and try the above. Sometimes, if the feeling is just right, you would cry like a baby. I’m serious… your eyes would leak as though your head is like a full water tank.

Another tip...

Never stop these tears from coming. You will feel so much better afterwards. Seriously better.

But don't go sitting and wailing like a banshee.

Have style. Menangislah dengan bergaya.

That's why I suggest you to do it when everyone is asleep. Although it is not something wrong to cry in asking for your Creator's forgiveness, but naturally, you'd get embarrased if you mother or father or spouse or friend were to stumble upon you crying like a baby. Huhu.