




To Unravel and Share Our Greatest Struggle in This Age of Nihilism
Nama Shaykh Umar Ibrahim Vadillo mulai dikenal luas di dunia internasional pada awal 1990an. Ini dimulai ketika ia, sebagai pemuda berusia 28 tahun, mencetak kembali koin Dinar emas dan Dirham perak di Granada, Spanyol, pada 1992. Tindakan ini ia lakukan sebagai konsekuensi dari terbitnya Fatwa Haramnya Uang Kertas sebagai Alat Tukar yang ia terbitkan setahun sebelumnya, 1991. Fatwa itu sendiri ia terbitkan sesudah beberapa tahun mempelajari secara mendalam persoalan muamalat dan riba dalam syariat Islam.
Sekitar sepuluh tahun kemudian, krisis moneter sejenis kembali terjadi, kali ini di jantungnya sendiri yaitu di AS dan Eropa. Dimulai pada akhir 2008, dengan persoalan gagal bayar pada kredit perumahan di AS, yang diikuti dengan kebangkrutan beberapa perusahaan finansial, seperti Lehman Brothers, dunia terus dibayangi bencana keuangan global. Sampai lewat pertengahan 2010 krisis keuangan di Eropa, dengan pusatnya di Yunani dan mulai menular ke Spanyol dan Portugal, membuka mata dunia akan kebenaran segala yang disampaikan oleh Shaykh Abdalqadir sejak dua tiga dekade lalu. Pengenalan kembali Dinar dan Dirham pun semakin luas diterima.
Selain Dinar dan Dirham yang kini mulai diterapkan di mana-mana Shaykh Umar menghadirkan sejumlah pengetahuan kepada kita melalui berbagai karya tulisnya, baik berupa buku, risalah, artikel, maupun naskah pidato. Dua buku yang ia tulis pada awal 1990an adalah The End of Economics (1991), kemudian The Return of Islamic Gold Dinar (1996), dua judul buku yang merefleksikan perjalanan perjuangannya. Pada tahun 2003 sebuah bukunya yang lain, setebal hampir 1000 halaman, The Esoteric Deviation in Islam, diterbitkan. Buku ini membedah penyakit yang diderita oleh sebagian kaum muslimin sendiri, yang dalam kurun lebih dari 150 tahun belakangan ini, mengambil jalan yang keliru, yakni mengasimilasikan Islam kedalam kapitalisme.
Menjelang akhir 2006 Shaykh Umar kembali mengeluarkan sebuah fatwa penting, Fatwa on Banking and the Use of Interest Received on Bank Deposits (Fatwa tentang Perbankan dan Penggunaan Bunga Deposito). Ini adalah sebuah dokumen fatwa setebal 66 halaman ia tulis dengan cukup komprehensif. Fatwa ini memberikan panduan yang jelas atas kebingungan umat Islam dalam kenyataan sehari-hari yang masih tidak lepas dari urusan dengan sistem riba, yakni sistem perbankan. Terakhir, sebagai bagian dari yang ia lakukan di Kelantan, pertengahan 2010, Shaykh Umar kembali menulis sebuah fatwa, yakni tentang zakat, berjudul Fatwa on the Payment of Zakat: Using Dinar and Dirham the Issue of Ayn and Dayn in Zakat.
Note: May Allah bless her with the sweetness of iman, perfection of ihsan and reward of islam in this world and next....As a norm, RISEAP invited several participants from various member organizations to attend Islamic course held at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Among the participants who took part in our last course was Sis Chuang, Jung, better known as Lo’ Lo’, a Muslimah from Republic of China. She is a rare convert Muslimah from Taiwan to join the course.
During a one-month course, held in October, Sis Lo’ Lo’ , 24, a graduate of Arabic language from National Chengchi University, Taipei, came to Malaysia with full commitment to learn more about Islamic teachings especially Qur’an reading, daily prayer, fasting and Haj. She also interested in animal slaughtering as prescribed by Islam. She was an outstanding participant with self-confidence, cheerful and of course studious. She is interested to learn more on Al Qur’an and hadith.
It is interesting to note here that while she was a third year student at the university, Sis Lo’ Lo’ took the time to attend a one-year Arabic language course in Syria, when asked why, she said that was the way to pick up Arabic language faster and more effectively when you learned from the native speakers. After a year in Syria, she returned to Taiwan to continue her final year and of course she did well with excellent result in examination. Her achievement stunned her classmates.
When asked what made her to become a Muslimah, Sis Chuang Jung said that while in Syria mingling around with Muslim friends she was always curious to see how Muslims observed their religious rites especially the daily prayer at mosque and the way they believe in One God. She was impressed by the way Muslims pray to their God. To her, such practices are very simple and felt that something in her mind guided her towards the right path and to believe in One God. Then she started reading about Islam and discussed the matters with friends. To her, Muslim friends and Islamic literatures were the source of inspiration for her to believe in Oneness of God. With the Grace of Allah (swt) and her powerful mind, she made a decision to embrace Islam and declared herself a Muslimah. She was confused and excited at the beginning of her life as a Muslimah, but soon she can cope with the new situation and found peace at last.
Back home, she explained the matters to her parents who are non-Muslims with respect and love. Her parents accepted her explanations and respected her right in choosing her own religious belief and the way of life. They live together as a happy family in Taipei, Taiwan.
Being a Muslmah, she continues to study and conduct a research on Islam particularly on the Unity of God (Tawhid), Hadith, Fiqh, Qur’an reading and history of Islam. She promised to attend RISEAP course again in the future, if invited, Insha Allah.