Saturday, July 18, 2009

Loving Our Rasul


O you who love the Messenger of Allah (Allah bles him and give him peace)!

Time has isolated us, tribulations have spread amongst us, the charlatans have spoken, and many people have preoccupied themselves with that which relieves neither hunger nor thirst. We have lost the warmth of the love of the Messenger of Allah (asws), the warmth that those who love him feel, and which those who yearn for him desperately seek, and in the beauty of which the most knowledgeable ones in Allah lose themselves.

The reality of this love is absent, whilst claims to it are many, and the way of the Companions and the model of their love have been reduced to mere stories and legends. So let us renew our covenant with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) , and bear the banner of love to the most sincere and lasting love, and the most enduring and faithful reverence, and the brightest and most resplendent light, and the Beloved and Chosen One of Allah.’


– Shaykh Muhammad b. Yahya al-Ninowy

Friday, July 3, 2009

Shining Sun


Beyond the pure misty cloud,
I saw a shining sun of reality
: The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.

-Rumi

Monday, January 5, 2009

Adam Lim, Muhammad Tan and Marlina Wong



Meeting old friend Haji Muhmmad Tan
(ex-major of Malaysian Army) travelling
all the way 200 km from Malacca
at Macma HQ for dakwah work
in 2008, Kuala Lumpur.

Keep up the pure fighting spirits !

Haji Ridha Lua and Dato' Haji Anuar Tan



Haji Ridha Lua (UTM Graduate) Architect for Kelantan
Chinese Muslim Centre in Kota Bahru, Kelantan meeting
with State Branch Chairman
Dato' Haji Anuar Tan, also an State Assemblyman
for Kota Lama (Kota Bahru)
and Kelantan Executive Councillor for 2 terms.

One Half Nesting In A Pearl: My Journey

One half from the east
one half from the west.
One half made of water and earth.
one half made of heart and soul.
one half staying at the shores.
And one half nesting in a pearl.
-(Rumi)

Part 1 :

I am born in the East. The dragon seeds wisdom carried by my father. Journey across the south china sea from Quang Dong province in 1920s. Civil wars. British still occupied Hong Kong and establish opium trade. To destablish the Qing empire and weaken chinese rebels and corrupt the officials. Communist movement just launched by Mao and Zhou. Dr.Sun Yatsen raising funds to establish a new republic. Same as my grandpa generation who read Tao Te Ching, I Ching, Three Kingdoms, Water Margins, Zhugeliang and Genghis Khan, Analects and Mencius, Huai Nanzi, Chuang Tzu, Lipo, Tufu and Lu Xun.

My family great surname of Zhou were shared by Han Suyin another novelist whose life struggle stradle east and west. She also migrated to Malaya then, worked as teacher, doctor and met our elders Haji Mustapha Ma and Hajjah Aliyah Ma, the childen of Haji Ibrahim Ma. Diplomat and consul of China in British Malaya before independent. Here is another great epic diaspora story to be written. Her original name was Zhou Guanghu. Her mother was Flemish and father chinese belgian educated. Hansuyin great works/novels are:

The Mountain Is Young, Mortal Flowers, A Many Splendoured Things

Destination Chungking, Zhou Enlai: First Son, The Rain Is our Drink

Fleur De Soleil, Winter Love, Cast But One Shadow, Birdless Summer

Crippled Tree, My House Had Two Doors, Wind In The Tower (Mao) etc

My mum father was also born in Quangzhou. Studied chinese medicine, went to Taiwan and later came down to Singapore and Malaysia. But he died early due to exhaustion and cancer. Ex-Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew was also coming from my dad home province. Only he studied in english school, go to London and became a lawyer, politician and the rest is history.

We have not reached the saga of West yet. This seeker manage to fight, struggle and partake the independence of Malaysia in 31 August 1957 just for about 9 months. His grandpa and dad thought hard deep and long, taking account of our nationhood future decided to send this eldest son to national malay language school instead of chinese or english medium school for the other 9 sisters and brothers. It from here the spiritual journey to seek truth, light, wisdom and new faith begin. It culminates in the pilgrimage to the ancient sacred house of mecca and illuminated prophetic city of madina in 2004. Some of my siblings do reach/touched by the west. Eldest sister married to a US citizen of Hawaii. Another sister with MA degree married and emigrated to Auckland, NZ. Five of them became Christians. One became a neo-Rumi, wandering disciple of Chuang Tzi, a stranger poet and half baked philosopher !

Part 2 :

Almost 40 years later, a daughter managed to travel furthest to west. She finished the Baccalaurettte in malaysia and stole into Manchester University to became a doctor of all trades. Half east, half west, half chinese and half rebel of post-hafiz era. Another daughter travelled south to Australia to earn another tiger stripe of medical degree ! The young dragons and tigers are roaring. Another prodigal son already targeting the Marco Polo adventures : Ukraine, Russia or UK. But one of our faqir companion already in Nantes, France pursuing his Ph.D in articial intellingence. Nope, not spywares or secret services training. May be planting a deep cover, precious seed of sufic pearl and jasmine tea tree to be harvested later. Now the misty terrains of Li Po and Tu Fu began to suffer from winter snows. Our master Miyazaki in Japan already closed his zen retreat until next March 2009.

to be continued..part 3 : Journey India

Separation or Gatheredness

  • One shaykh said the flood in the time of Nuh was one of water and in our times it is the flood of separation between each other.

  • Make it a jihad to battle against the forces that conspire to keep you separate, to isolate, and these forces are pervasive, recognize this and however difficult.

  • Eat together, travel together, talk, TALK!, read poetry to each other, laugh, cry, pray together remember Allah with enthusiasm together. Share your pain and your joy with each other while you can.

  • Drink in your differences! When your red flag goes up with the stranger you've met, give it some time, some patience, don't tune out or walk out, see who he is.

  • Give and take from each other and be with each other. Listen to your wives and your children, just listen to them!

  • This is medicine, insha'Allah.

Haruka Kimura Abdul Wasei





Photo 1: Muhmmad Noburo Satoh .

Photo 2 : Jamila Takahashi

(Brief Note in English)

Photo 3 :

Abdul Wasei Haruka Kimura embraced Islam in 10 July 1997 after impressed and open up

by the light and beauty of Islam while working as an engineer in Saudi Arabia then. He subsequently pursued Islamic Knowledge in University of Madinah in the Prophetic Illuminated City and thereafter married a Malaysian charming wife and setlled in Kuala Lumpur to do dakwah works etc.


MENGENDALIKAN kelas pengajian al-Quran kepada ahli Perhimpunan Muslimah KL-Jepun pada setiap pagi Sabtu minggu keempat adalah rutin kepada Abdul Wasei Haruka Kimura, 51, sejak 22 Mac 2003.

Malah anak kelahiran kota Tokyo, Jepun ini juga adalah wakil Persatuan Muslim Jepun di Malaysia sejak 1995.

Kebetulan pada hari kunjungan penulis ke kelas kendalian beliau minggu lalu merupakan kelas akhir pengajian Hadis 40- An-Nawawi sebelum menyambung pengajian Hadis 200 dan Kaedah Tajwid. Kelas kendalian Abdul Wasei sebelum ini iaitu pada Oktober 2006 berjaya menamatkan pengajian kelas al-Quran 30 juzuk secara bertajwid.

Kata Abdul Wasei lagi, penglibatan beliau dengan aktiviti Badan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) bermula selepas membuat kajian tentang orang Jepun yang memeluk Islam di Malaysia pada 1995 hingga 1996. Hasilnya beliau mendapati seramai 188 orang Jepun yang beragama Islam di Malaysia.

Bersyukur

“Saya cuba menghantar surat kepada mereka yang mempunyai alamat. Boleh dikatakan sepuluh peratus daripadanya yang respons. Kami cuba untuk mengadakan satu perjumpaan tetapi sayangnya, ada yang tinggal berjauhan dan ini menyukarkan hasrat saya itu.

“Semenjak dari itu hinggalah sekarang, saya aktif dan sentiasa memberi sokongan dalam apa juga aktiviti seperti program latihan, program ukhuwah, pengislaman mahupun perkahwinan. Saya gembira apabila dapat menyumbang sesuatu ke jalan Allah.

“Sebenarnya saya amat bersyukur dengan ilmu yang diperoleh kerana tanpa keizinan-Nya, sudah tentu saya tidak sampai ke sini. Inilah masanya untuk saya memberi kembali apa yang telah saya peroleh sebelum ini,” cerita Abdul Wasei selepas tamat kelas beliau, tengah hari itu.

Berkongsi kenangan manis terutamanya apabila berjaya membantu sesama umat Islam, akui Abdul Wasei kejayaan menghasilkan sebuah buku asas agama Islam untuk kanak-kanak benar-benar menyentuh hatinya dan amat menggembirakan.

“Kos percetakan di Jepun agak mahal berbanding di Malaysia apatah lagi, jumlah yang hendak dicetak itu kecil. Ini memandangkan penerbitan buku-buku agama Islam di Jepun amat terhad.

“Menyedari kesukaran tersebut, saya bersama dengan seorang rakan kongsi telah mengusahakan buku pertama kami. Alhamdulillah, usaha kami berjaya sungguhpun kami terpisah oleh jarak yang jauh.

“Kini dengan kecanggihan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi serta penggunaan internet menyebabkan dunia menjadi semakin kecil dan Jepun menjadi semakin dekat. Inilah sumbangan kecil saya kepada umat Islam di Jepun,” kata pengurus sebuah syarikat yang membekalkan bahan mentah dan alat ganti kepada sebuah kilang besi terkemuka di Malaysia.

Bercerita kisah yang membawa kepada pengislaman serta berkongsi pengalaman yang membawanya ke Madinah untuk mendalami agama Islam, terang Abdul Wasei, beliau mengucap syahadah pada 10 Julai 1977. Pada masa itu beliau bekerja sebagai Jurutera Sistem Komputer di Jepun.

“Saya terbaca iklan tentang kelas pengajian bahasa Arab. Saya tertarik untuk mengikuti kelas malam tersebut dan berkemungkinan inilah titik permulaan pendedahannya kepada agama Islam. Semakin lama mengikuti kelas itu, saya ingin tahu lebih mendalam di sebalik agama itu.

“Saya mengambil keputusan berhenti kerja walaupun pada masa itu sudah lebih lima tahun berkhidmat. Selama dua tahun saya mengikuti pengajian bahasa Arab di Universiti Islam Madinah dan kemudiannya menyambut pengajian di Fakulti Dakwah dan Usuluddin selama empat tahun. Selama enam tahun pengajian, Abdul Wasei berpeluang menunaikan haji sebanyak dua kali.