Ramadhan Kareem.

To all my muslim brothers and sisters
be they known or unknown to me,
I bid them a wonderful and fruitful Ramadhan Kareem.

May Allah's blessings be upon your holy rituals
and may our paths be the one that will lead us
to Jannah in the Hereafter.
Ameen.

CoTu - Lord of Ramadan

A gentle reminder :
Stop the song 'I Who Have Nothing'
before playing this video.

Will I Meet Ramadhan?

‘Will I Meet Ramadhan?’
Ramadhan is a Divine gift to Mankind. The Qur’an was revealed in this holy month. The Muslim community exemplified the spirit of an excellent lifestyle as people indulge in lots of community work and exercised increased acts of devotion. Allah (s.w.t) created this window of opportunity for His creation to renew their faith and seek the mystical blessings of the Night of Destiny.

Essentially, Ramadhan is the focal point in a Muslims’ life based on the Prophets’ practice of perpetual preparation for and reflection on Ramadhan.

The lecture will encompass the intrinsic meaning of Ramadhan, its benefits & importance for Mankind, the spiritual significance, fasting as a form of ‘jihad’, contemplation, community service, societal values, relationship management & acts of devotion.

The speaker will introduce how we can better appreciate this gift, celebrate the accomplishment and instill the lessons learnt beyond Ramadhan till Destiny decides that we meet again.

Our esteemed speaker will categorically discuss these issues and beyond. This is the platform to engage interactively and learn as we endeavour to realize the treasures that behold in Ramadhan.


Profile of Speaker:
Associate Professor Karim Douglas Crow
Karim Douglas Crow is Associate Professor at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he is a researcher & teaches on Contemporary Islam.

Born and raised in Beirut of Lebanese+American parentage, professor Crow took his university education in Beirut and Cairo, and his Doctorate from the Institute of Studies Islamic at McGill University.

During 1980–1992 he taught Islamic Studies and Arabic Language & Literature at: Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, The University of Virginia, and the University of Maryland.

In 1999 & 2000–2005 he served as Professor of Islamic Thought teaching philosophy, theology and intellectual traditions at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC) in Kuala Lumpur.

He has published articles and book chapters on Islamic metaphysics, contemporary Islamic intellectual & spiritual currents, Islamic peace studies, and values & ethics; and an edited volume Facing One Qiblah: Legal and Doctrinal Aspects of Sunni and Shi‘a Muslims (Singapore, Pustaka Nasional, 2005).

He has conducted research for many years on Islamic understandings of intelligence+reason, and his textual study of tradition history ‘When God Created Wisdom’: Islamic ‘Aql Creation Narratives is under consideration by Brill Publishers.

Now he is working on an historical survey of Islam and Rationality, and a monograph on the life and thought of imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (d.148 H /765 CE).

Dr. Crow is an Advisor for several non-governmental programs and institutions treating Islamic peace issues in the Arab world and Indonesia.

For Enquiries,
please call tel. no. 6-3488344 ext. 33, 35, 40).
Admission is Free.
No Registration is required.

Address:
Darul Arqam Singapore
32, Onan Road, The Galaxy,
Singapore 424484

The Red Full Moon.

It was the 23rd day of Ramadhan yesterday. I had to leave my office early due to my not feeling well. I have been sneezing ... my nose is like a tap of chendol ... my bones ache ... my ears ache too.

Now when my ears ache ... that is a sign that Fever is catching up on me. I left the office at 7.30am. That's the second time I left early ... well .. it's not early since I can leave at 7am after my midnight shift. I usually stayed and monitored the next flight before I leave for home but for the two days .... I left it in the hands of my competent staff.

Took the bus home and strolled to my block.
I was thinking ... thinking ...

The Night of Power and I felt weak ... hah! What a contradiction. But the night was cold and I felt cold at that time (It was already 8.05am) ... maybe it was the night of Qadr after all!

I looked around me ... hmmm ... it was not warm ... I do not see any stars .... but hey I can see the full moon and it was RED!
I told myself ...
yah a red full moon ... so what?? Makes no diff, man!
( note: I speak that way to myself only!)

It suddenly dawned into me that it was already 8am ....
what stars? what moon? It should be the sun. But the sun was not bright and it looked small ....

I took out my O2 and snapped these pictures ...

If you enlarge the photo, you will see the red moon.

After four shots ... the shy sun smiled brightly. What makes the bright sun blushed?

IT WAS THE HAZE!

The PSI reading for that morning was above 100 ... not healthy for an old man like me ... hehehe

I have been having these headaches and sneezes during these periods of thick haze. The worst was when I was sneezing and slurping during the Terawih prayers at the void deck. The guy next to me felt uncomfortable. There was this Pakcik who stucked out his head to take glances at me.

So being a responsible Muslim, reluctantly, I left after 8 rakaats of Terawih. I do not want to be the cause of the congregation to get infected with whatever I was having. So I left.

I returned the next day though (last Saturday) and the Pakcik salaamed at me (it's salam not slam) ... hehehe .... This time I have my hanky with me. The day before, I had nothing.

Being Saturday, the Terawih is only 8 rakaats followed by a guest speaker. Oh yes ... the Terawih and Isya' prayers were lead by an imam from Al-Azhar again, Sheikh Al-Hafiz Mahmood Aziz. This guy recited not from the Juzu' Amma and it was excellent! Subhanallah ... how I envied his knowledge.

Ustaz Suhaimi Mustar was the guest speaker. He was the ustaz who taught me fiqh at PERGAS and he is now attached to MUIS. His sermon was about Lailatul Qadr and it's significance.

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*** Fast Forward ***

Today, alhamdulillah ... I feel better. The pep talk that my fiancee gave me last night is working well. I felt motivated and look forward to getting married as soon as possible.

Or was it because we will be meeting later at 3pm???
Yeah ... told her that I have some extra cash and we could do some shopping. I will be breaking fast at her place and we will perform Terawih at her neighbour's which is lead by my future dad-in-law
Al-Imam As-Sanghafoori Al-Fadhil As-Sheikh Damri Basri Al-Haj.

I love my fiancee and her family.

May Allah bless them and provide them with continued Iman, prolonged live, the best of health, abundance of wealth and taqwa.

Ameen Ameen Ya Rabbal 'Aalameen.

Friday the 13th.

I was reading the newspaper and realised that today is the 20th day of Ramadhan here but in the Middle East, it's already the 21st day of Ramadhan.

But it's Friday the 13th!

So .... what do you think? Will you get bad luck or your rightful rewards!

hmmmm ..... hmmmmm .....

Note:
We are muslims ... are'nt we all?

Assalaamu 'Alaikum.

The 17th Day Of Ramadhaan.

I've just reached home from my Terawih prayers. Today is a special day and I can feel it. It's the day the Quran was revealed to the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad S.A.W through the angel Jibril A.S.

I prayed with the residents of Simei at the void deck of block 117.

To mark this special day, the organiser had invited AlHafiz Sheikh Saad Ramadhaan to be the imam of the Terawih prayer. It was an honour felt to be a ma'mum to this imam who frequents Masjid Ba'alwi at Bukit Timah.

The imam is from Cairo, Al-Azhar and has lead prayers in Masjidil Haraam. We did the minimum 8 rakaats for the Terawih followed by the 3 Witr prayers. Subhanallah, the atmosphere was splendid. It was calming and soothing to hear the imam recite the Quran in the prayer. I believe that everyone would rather he recited the longer surahs instead of from the Juzu' Amma and they will not mind at all. How I wish I can be like him. Ameen. Insya' Allah.

Next came the sermon. The invited speaker was Ustaz Ghouse Khan Surattee, the imam of Masjid Al-Firdaus. I've been to his many sermons especially those about Sufism or Tareeqah in Masjid Khadijah. I like him. His speech always opens up my mind and today's topic was about the Miracles of the Quran in conjunction with the day of the revelation of the Quran.

Ustaz Ghouse talked about how the Orientalists like to calculate exact dates of when an event took place. They had even known when the Veda, the Hindu scripture was written i.e. 5000BC.

But when it comes to the Quran, they were dumbfounded. Why? It is because the Quran talks about events that took place during Muhammad's time (The Present).

The Quran relates stories before The Prophet's time. It talked about events of the Past. It talks about events before the Creation of the Universe.

Not only about past events but the Quran talks about events of the Future. It talks about what happens when you die. It talks about the Hereafter (Akhirat).

So how are they going to date when the Quran was written? Impossible!

Had they known about Lauh Mahfuz (The Guarded Board) where the Quran was kept prior to being revealed to the Prophet Muahammad S.A.W. they would have known that their effort would be fruitless. Allahu a'lam!

There are many who tried to prove that the Quran is not perfect. They did not succeed. The Quran is the word of Allah and whatever that is said in the Quran is the truth. When the truth is said, nothing can change it! The Quran is the same as always.

Ustaz Ghouse pointed out that of all the enemies of Islam, there were only 2 persons that had the opportunity to proof the Quran wrong. They were Abu Lahab and his wife.

The Quran spoke of both husband and wife and how they will burn in Hell via surah Al-Masad.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

[1] Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! perish he!

[2] No profit to him from all his wealth, and all his gains!

[3] Burnt soon will he be in a Fire of blazing Flame!

[4] His wife shall carry the (crackling) wood; As fuel!

[5] A twisted rope of palm-leaf fibre round her (own) neck!

This surah was revealed when both Abu Lahab and his wife were alive! They heard repeated recitations of this surah by their own ears. They can proof that the Quran is not right about them. How? By converting to Islam!

Yes, if they had converted to Islam, they would not have to burn in Hell and by doing so prove the Quran as erroneous. They have a choice of to be a Muslim or burn in Hell as a non-believer of Islam. Their minds and hearts were fixed. The Quran states the truth because Allah's knowledge is unlimited. Allah knew that their minds and hearts will not change, hence relates the story of Abu Lahab and his wife in surah Al-Masad. Allahu Akbar!

The event ended with Sheikh Saad Ramadhaan seated in front performing his solo Qasidah.

Subhanallah! What a performance.

That's all I can blog at the moment. I had a terrible day earlier but the Terawih rewarded me with a better spirit.

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalamiin.

Wassallam.

Gulf Air Ramadan Special Offer.

I received this through my office email and would like to share with all of you. It is a great offer.

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Dear Colleagues

Ramadan Kareem

Gulf Air has come up with a special, limited time promotion to select destinations at unbelievable prices as a 'gift-of-giving' to the people of Bahrain and Muscat on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan.

This is a great opportunity for your relatives, friends and other contacts, who may want to meet with their relatives and friends or might be planning for a short vacation either to shop or just relax.

Therefore, spread the message and let everyone know about this irresistible offer.

Remember; the offer is open until 8 October only.

The fares mentioned are excluding fees, taxes and surcharges
Other details of the promotion are;
· Travel must be completed before 19 October.
· Tickets must be bought at least three days before the date of onward journey.
· Passengers have to book and pay at once.
· No refunds or change of date permitted.
· Child/Infant discount not permitted
· Normal baggage allowance applies
· Valid only on GF operated flights
· Frequent Flyer Programme members will not earn miles in this offer.

Ramadhan Kareem.

To all my muslim brothers and sisters be they known or unknown to me, I bid them a wonderful and fruitful Ramadhan Kareem. May Allah's blessings be upon your holy rituals and may our paths be the one that will lead us to Jannah in the Hereafter. Ameen.