Helping Others

As important as it is to focus on our personal acts of worship such as Prayers and Reciting Qur’an, we should also put some serious effort in Ramadhan to help others in need – this in itself is a means of success Hereafter, which is basically the goal of fasting in the first place.

And we don’t have to look very far at all – yes, there is turmoil and chaos amongst our brothers and sisters across the globe;

but the reality is, there are many among us in our own backyard, who are in difficulty and are in need of help – from amongst our own friends, neighbours, or even our own family. There is always someone in financial debt, someone is in need to feed the family, someone in need of shelter from domestic oppression, someone in need of moral support, someone lost and in need of guidance from their own recklessness, someone downed at the hospital waiting for warm company to cheer them up, etc..

But because we have perhaps been too focused on our own achievements, too narrowed by our own drama, or perhaps even a little too selfish, we fail to work out solutions for our own society.

Which begs the question: if we can’t clean up our own closets, how can we clean up the mess halfway across the globe?

Let’s put our act together and reach out – in whatever way you can. Allah has blessed all of us with different talents, skills, characteristics and abilities – so let’s assess ourselves and utilize our strengths play our part in the big picture: the betterment of the ummah.

Your deeds of kindness might seem small, but they can go a long way.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:

مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَمَنْ سَتَرَ مُسْلِمًا سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَاللَّهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَوْنِ أَخِيهِ

“He who relieves the suffering of a brother out of the grief/difficulties of this world, Allah would alleviate his difficulties from the difficulties of the Day of Resurrection,

and he who alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter,

and he who conceals (the faults) of a (fellow) Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter.

Allah will Aid  a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother”

(Narrated by Muslim)

"‏ لاَ تَحْقِرَنَّ مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ شَيْئًا وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ بِوَجْهٍ طَلْقٍ ‏"‏

“Do not belittle or consider any act of goodness as being insignificant, even if it is (as simple as) meeting your brother with a cheerful face” (Narrated by Muslim)

May Allah make us amongst the Righteous believers whom He described in Surah Al-Insan…

وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ﴿٨﴾

“And they give food in spite of love for it, (providing it) for the poor, the orphan, and the captive,

 إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّـهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا ﴿٩﴾

[Saying], "We feed you only seeking the Pleasure of Allah . We wish not from you reward or gratitude.

 إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِنْ رَبِّنَا يَوْمًا عَبُوسًا قَمْطَرِيرًا ﴿١٠﴾

“Indeed, we fear from our Lord a Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme dislikeness to it)”

 فَوَقَاهُمُ اللَّـهُ شَرَّ ذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَلَقَّاهُمْ نَضْرَةً وَسُرُورًا ﴿١١﴾

So Allah will protect them from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness

 وَجَزَاهُمْ بِمَا صَبَرُوا جَنَّةً وَحَرِيرًا ﴿١٢﴾

And their recompense shall be Paradise, and silken garments, because of their patience.

(Surah Al-Insan : 8 – 12)

إِنَّ هَٰذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُمْ مَشْكُورًا ﴿٢٢﴾

(And it will be said to them): "Verily, this is a reward for you, and your endeavour has been appreciated and accepted."

Remember Badr

SubhanAllah, the difficult situation of Gaza this Ramadhan should remind us of a similar “difficult” incident that happened in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam), also in the month of Ramadhan, 2^nd year after the Hijrah – an incident that, if we were to witness at the time, would seem like a ‘hopeless’ situation – in an attempt of total annihilation of the Muslims and the complete inhibition of the “threat of Islam”, an army of 1,000+ Quraysh disbelievers, armed to the teeth, would go to war against a mere 313 group of ill-equipped and undertrained Muslims.

Yet Allah had sent His Divine Help upon the believers, and the tide of victory turned to favour The Prophet and his companions in a decisive victory – This was the Battle of Badr; “Yawm ul-Furqan” – the Day of Distinction (between Truth and Falsehood).  

When the companion Abu Hurairah first became Muslim, the first war he participated was the Battle of Mu’tah (7^th year AH) – where the Muslims were fighting a huge Roman army – and Abu Hurairah, feeling fearful, narrated:

“When the enemy’s army approached (during the battle of Mu’tah) we saw what none of us could imagine in numbers and arms. My eyes quivered.”

Thabit bin Aqram told me: “Abu Hurairah, it seems that you are staring at a huge army?”

I said: “Yes”

He said: “You were not with us at Badr. We did not win due to our numbers”

It really begs the question – Today, we are one fifth of the world, over one billion Muslims, we are no small number. Yet we cannot step up against the clear open oppression of this small “nation”?

Why are our brothers and sisters being oppressed, why are we being bullied left, right and centre – despite our numbers are so plenty?

Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) foretold that this would happen and would inform us of the root cause :

يوشك الأمم أن تداعى عليكم، كما تداعى الأكلة إلى قصعتها

“The nations will summon each other to attack you, just like people would enthusiastically invite others to share their food.”

A man asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at the time?”

The Prophet replied,

 بل أنتم يومئذٍ كثير،ولكنكم غثاء كغثاء السيل. ولينزعن الله من صدور عدوكم المهابة منكم، وليقذفن الله في قلوبكم الوهن

“No – in fact, you will be MANY at that time.

But your (mere numbers) will be like the froth and scum (the foam of the sea) that’s carried off by a wave (of water).

And Allah will remove from your enemies’ hearts, all the fear they have of you, and will Cast into your hearts al-Wahn (weakness).”

A questioner asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is meant by this ‘weakness’?”

The Prophet said:

حب الدنيا و كراهية الموت

“Love of this world (the dunya), and a hatred for death”

(Narrated by Abu Dawud, Ahmad, classified as “sahih” by Al-Albani)

Our defeat isn’t caused by our numbers, our technology, our weapons, our skills or our training. The true cause of our collective defeat as an ummah is because of our weakness in faith. A faith so weak that we no longer forward to meeting Allah and His Rewards, we are attached to this dunya which does not last.

It is this same weak faith that makes us lack the guts to stand up against oppression, because of the fear of media backlash, because of how standing up for justice means we might jeopardize the food on our plate, never mind the consequences on the Day of Judgment. The same weakness of faith that makes us stingy in spending our money for the Cause of Allah.

This should be a reminder for us to strengthen our faith and our taqwa, to muster the courage to uphold the good and forbid the evil, even if it means taking a risk. Perhaps one day when Allah grants us the power and ability to do so, we might make the Change the World needs. But for now, let’s play our part in whatever way we can, and if we cannot help directly, pray for them, and increase in our Taqwa – May Allah strengthen this ummah through us, one day.. amin.

The Prophet said, "Whoever loves the meeting with Allah, Allah too, loves the meeting with him; and whoever hates the meeting with Allah, Allah too, hates the meeting with him." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

Understanding Qur'aan

Alhamdulillah, many amongst us have ramped up our recitation of the Qur’an this Ramadhan. But more importantly is for us to also invest our time and effort to understand, ponder and act upon the Qur’an.

Let’s ask ourselves a very serious honest question : do we really think that the Qur’an – the Divine Message that Inspired the corrupt pagan society of Quraysh, to become the Great Nation of monotheism in the pages of history that would defeat the armies of Persia and Rome – would change a nation merely by reciting and reading without understanding a single word?
Do we really think that the Qur’an – the Message that would reform an idol-worshipping, alcohol addicted, stingy adulterer to eventually become amongst the ranks of the Companions of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam): a believer with the highest of moral standards and an exemplary individual for the rest of history – would change a person by just reciting words one doesn’t understand?

Consider this: We can read Spanish and Dutch – because they’re the virtually the same letters and characters as the English language. But really, is it logically possible to read a Spanish motivational book and be motivated, when we don’t understand anything from it?

While yes, it is true, out of the Mercy and Bounty of Allah, we are granted rewards for the mere recitation of the Qur’aan (even if we don’t understand it), as the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:

"‏ مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا لاَ أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ وَلَكِنْ أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلاَمٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ ‏"‏
“Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward.
I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter."
(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi, graded hasan)

But really, what we need is to focus on how we can bring about a long term benefit ourselves and others from the Divine Guidance of the message of the Qur’an. The Prophet said:
 
خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه
“the best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it” (Narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Allah says:
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا
“And We send down of the Qur’aan that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, but it increases the Zaalimoon (polytheists, wrongdoers and oppressors) in nothing but loss” (Surah al-Isra’ 17:82)

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer said in his commentary on this verse:
Here Allaah tells us about His Book, which He revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and which is the Qur’aan which “Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise” [Fussilat 42:41- interpretation of the meaning], that it is “a healing and a mercy to those who believe” – i.e., it takes away the diseases in the heart such as doubt, hypocrisy, shirk, deviation and misguidance; the Qur’aan heals all of that.

And it is also a mercy which brings about faith, wisdom and the pursuit of and desire for goodness. This is only for those who believe in it and follow it; for such it will be a healing and a mercy.

But as for the disbeliever and those who wrong themselves thereby, their hearing the Qur’aan only makes them further away (from truth) and increases them in disbelief. The problem comes from the disbeliever, not from the Qur’aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur’aan) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand)” [Fussilat 41:44]

May Allah make us amongst those who understand, ponder, act upon, and spread the message of Qur’aan – ameen.

Fasting and Taqwa

Alhamdulillah, all Praises and Thanks to Allah, as we tread these blessed days and nights of Ramadhan, we should remind ourselves again on the whole objectives and goals of fasting, to stay focused and keep our eyes on the prize before we reach the finishing line on our well-deserved ‘Eid-ul Fitr.

There are those who say that fasting is for empathizing with the poor and the less fortunate; there are those who say that it is to build a sense of gratitude to God; there are those who say that it is a spiritual training to endure some ‘pain’ for the sake of God; etc.

Yes, these things are good - But the objectives and goals of fasting are a lot more comprehensive than all those combined. Allah says in the Qur’an:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ - ١٨٣
“O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it has been prescribed to the people before you (i.e. the people of the Book), so that you may attain Taqwa” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183)

The entire goal of fasting is to achieve Taqwa– But what does it mean to have taqwa and how is that achieved through fasting?

One of the companions of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) by the name Ubayy ibn Ka’ab was onced asked, “What is taqwa?”. Ubayy replied by asking him, “Have you ever walked on a path/road that has thorns on it? What did you do (i.e. how did you go about it)?”. The questioner said, "I rolled up my sleeves and I struggled (to avoid stepping on those thorns)”.
Ubay ibn Ka’ab said, “That is taqwa”.

Taqwa is the consciousness to live our lives in such a way that we deliberately avoid what is disliked by Allah, fearing the consequences of “stepping on those thorns” or performing acts which transgress the limits and boundaries set by Allah.

But to take it a step further, taqwa isn’t simply about avoiding the Haram, or avoiding Allah’s Displeasure; taqwa is also about inculcating the consciousness to perform good deeds to seek His Pleasure.

It is an attitude and mindset driven by the consciousness of iman and the belief that one will surely return to Allah and will have to be accountable for every single one of our deeds – big, small, open or hidden:

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ - ٢٨١
“And have Taqwa (fear) a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:281)

A consciousness to have genuine fear of the terrible punishment from the All-Just (العدل); yet at the same time, a consciousness to have a yearning and hopefulness of a great reward from the Most Merciful (الرحمن, الرحيم), All-Generous (االجواد, الكريم), the All-Rich and free from any Needs (الغني), King and Possessor of the Heavens and the Earth (المالك).

Beyond that, Taqwa is also a consciousness driven by one’s Love of Allah, one’s thankfulness to Him and one’s genuine mercy and compassion of His slaves.
This is the quality that differentiates a person from true belief and hypocrisy; the one driver that allows one to make the right choice, even in the absence of others, even without ‘enforcement’ or ‘penalties’. The driver that makes one truly sincere in his actions, and in constantly improving oneself to become a better person.


So when Allah prescribes fasting for us, “لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ” (So that you may attain Taqwa), it is implying here that fasting is to achieve a holistic spiritual development to develop our consciousness in Allah. So what’s interesting for us to note is the significance of Allah singling out fasting as a great driver for spiritual development, some of which we may already be aware :

1. Feeling of hunger and pain for the sake of Allah – this directly builds taqwa: how often do we endure a little bit of hardship for the sake of Allah? Compare that to the level of hardship and effort we go through for our worldly matters – our jobs, our education, our businesses, our children, our achievements. Isn’t it more worthwhile to put in that little bit of hardship of His Reward?

2. Build shukr (thankfulness) and Generosity – to realize the difficulty of those less fortunate than us; while ‘empathizing with the poor’ is a rather strong term (because technically you’re not really empathizing when you know you have that banquet feast awaiting you in iftar).
Rather, this realization should also build a sense of generosity inside of us. And that is why in Ramadhan there is always a tendency to give out more charity on top of our obligatory zakat; in fact the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam), he himself was described as “the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when (the angel) Gabriel met him” (Hadith narrated by ibn Abbas in Sahih Al-Bukhari).

3. Restraint from the Haram (prohibitions) – in fasting, you would restrain yourselves from what is normally halal (food and drink, intercourse with the spouse, etc) – so how silly would it be to do what is already haram anyway, regardless of whether you are fasting or not? Thus in that sense, committing sins during fasting is almost a form of hypocrisy, which should make us more conscious of our deeds.

4. Keeping your deeds secret – no one knows if you’re really fasting. You could always sink your teeth in a chocolate bar when no one’s watching, or when the parents or ‘authorities’ are out of sight. There’s nothing to restrain your actions except the consciousness of God, and this should be a reminder to us, that if Allah knows every morsel of food you secretly swallowed, then every other deed – whether it be in our words or actions – is even more Known to Him, the All-Seer, All-Hearer and All-Knowing.

5. Less vain talk, less gossip – lunch times, water cooler hangouts: the most ripe scenarios to gossip, backbite, slander, and waste our good deeds away as we oppress others with our speech. No more this month.

6. No “hot dates” – the universal method of "picking up" non-mahrams of the opposite gender (“let’s go out for a coffee”, “I’ll buy you dinner”, “lunch is on me”, etc) also becomes conveniently halted. Alhamdulillah

7. More time for the sake of Allah – You might not realize it, but eating and drinking takes up a lot of our time – precious time which can be much better utilized in good deeds and strengthening our taqwa.
It’s interesting to note that some scholars such as Imam An-Nawawi used to survive on the bare minimum food, as they savoured every minute of their lives for benefitting themselves and others around them; eating is considered wasting time, because in eating, you incur loss of productivity from – preparing the food, eating the food, increased toilet time, and increased sleeping time.
And that is perhaps also why the Prophet said, “'The human does not fill any container that is worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat what will support his back. If this is not possible, then a third for food, a third for drink, and third for his breath." (Narrated by At-Tirmidzi and ibn Majah, graded sahih).

And these are just some of the many wisdoms behind how fasting develops our taqwa.

So this Ramadhan, let’s focus on deeds that can build our taqwa. Let’s not just have a ‘capitalistic’ “KPI-driven” quantitative approach to our good deeds – recite superfast Qur’an, or conduct super fast 20-rakaah taraweeh – how can this ever develop our taqwa?
When you recite, recite with tadabbur, with understanding, with genuine sincerity of wanting to understand the words of Allah. When you pray, pray with the consciousness that perhaps this may be your last prayer, and that this is your private time with Allah, Lord of the Universe. When you deal good with others, deal with them with the consciousness, that you want to earn the love of Allah, as our good akhlaq is something pleasing to Allah.

We want to develop ourselves spiritually in such a way that, after Ramadhan, our souls and hearts are ready to defeat the whisperings and temptations of Shaytan when they are released from their imprisonment after Ramadhan.

May Allah grant us a blessed Ramadhan, and may He make us amongst the Muttaqun (people of Taqwa), and may He grant us steadfastness to strive for the best Ramadhan of our lives that He is Pleased with. Amin

Mencari Kemanisan Dalam Solat

Allah berfirman:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ ﴿٢٨﴾

“orang-orang yang beriman dan hati mereka manjadi tenteram dengan mengingat Allah. Ketahuilah, hanya dengan mengingati (dzikr) Allah-lah hati menjadi tenteram.” (Surah ar-Ra’d 13:28)

إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّـهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي ﴿١٤﴾

“Sesungguhnya Aku ini adalah Allah, tidak ada Tuhan (yang hak) selain Aku, maka sembahlah Aku dan dirikanlah solat untuk Peringatan (dzikr) kepadaKu” (Surah Ta-Ha 20:14)

… adakah hati kita menjadi tenteram apabila mengingati Allah? Sudahkah kita merasai kemanisan dalam ibadah?

Rasulullah (ﷺ) bersabda:

"‏ حُبِّبَ إِلَىَّ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا النِّسَاءُ وَالطِّيبُ وَجُعِلَ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلاَةِ ‏"‏

“Perempuan (isteri-isteriku) dan wangi-wangian adalah yang paling aku sukai dalam perkara-perkara dunia, tetapi penyejuk hatiku adalah solat”

(Sunan An-Nasa’i, hasan)

"‏ يَا بِلاَلُ أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ أَرِحْنَا بِهَا ‏"

“Wahai Bilal! Berilah iqamat untuk solat; tenangkan kami dengannya” - give us comfort by it.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, disahihkan oleh Al-Albani)

Bagaimana dapat kita jadikan solat sebagai ketenangan? Kemanisan?

Ibn Sireen (rahimahullah) berkata:

جاهدت نفسي اربعين سنة , حتى أرتاح في الصلاة

“Aku telah berjihad dengan diriku (hawa nafsuku) sendiri selamat 40 tahun – sehinggalah solat menjadi ketenangan bagiku”

1) Meninggalkan Dosa / Taubat

Kata imam ash-Shafi’ee (rahimahullah)

شَكَوْتُ إلَى وَكِيعٍ سُوءَ حِفْظِي – Aku telah mengadu kepada Wakee’ tentang keburukan hafazanku;

فَأرْشَدَنِي إلَى تَرْكِ المعَاصي – kemudian dia menyarankan aku untuk meninggalkan dosa;

وَأخْبَرَنِي بأَنَّ العِلْمَ نُورٌ – dan mengkhabarkan kepadaku bahawa ilmu itulah nur (cahaya);

ونورُ الله لا يهدى لعاصي – dan cahaya Allah tidak akan memberi hidayah kepada seseorang yang (sering) melakukan dosa;

Rasulullah bersabda,

“Apabila seorang mukmin melakukan dosa, satu tompok hitam akan timbul atas hatinya. Apabila dia bertaubat dan meninggalkan perlakuan dosa itu, dan meminta ampun kepada Allah, hatinya akan menjadi bersih semula.

Tetapi apabila dosa itu sentiasa meningkat, (bintik-bintik hitam) itu bertambah lagi. Inilah “raan” yang disebutkan oleh Allah dalam Kitab-Nya –

كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿١٤﴾

“Sekali-kali tidak! Bahkan mata hati mereka telah diselaputi kekotoran (‘raan’ - dosa), dengan sebab (amalan keburukan) yang mereka kerjakan.” (Surah Mutaffiffeen 83:14)

(Riwayat Ahmad dan At-Tirmidzi yang menilainya sahih)

Lebih banyak amalan-amalan dosa kita, lebih sukar hati kita untuk menerima nur

أَلاَ وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ‏.‏ أَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ

“Ketahuilah! Pada setiap tubuh ada segumpal darah; apabila ianya baik, maka baiklah seluruh tubuh tersebut

dan apabila rosak maka rusaklah tubuh tersebut.

Ketahuilah, ia adalah hati".

(Riwayat Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

2) Memahami Ayat-ayat yang dibaca

"‏ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ ‏"

“Berdoalah kepada Allah dengan perasaan yakin bahawa ia akan dijawab (dimakbulkan), dan ketahuilah, bahawa Allah tidak akan menjawab doa daripada hati yang lalai (cuai)”

(Sunan At-Tirmidzi, dinilai hasan lighayrihi oleh Al-Albani)

3) Meninggalkan Perkara yang melalaikan (!!)

Hati kita dicipta untuk Cinta kepada Allah; cinta kepada Mengingati-Nya – apabila hati kita diisi dengan Cinta kepada perkara-perkara lain di dunya, maka akan lemah lah cinta kita kepada Allah.

Hati kita tidak akan kosong à Apabila tiada ruang untuk cinta kepada Allah, maka di situ lah kita tidak merasakan kemanisan dalam ibadah kita – solat, dzikir, doa.

Petua:

من ترك شيئاً لله عوضه الله خيراً منه

“Barangsiapa yang meninggalkan sesuatu demi Allah, maka Allah akan menggantikannya dengan sesuatu yang lebih baik daripadanya”

(Musnad Ahmad)

4) Memburu Pahala Allah

·         Fadhilat amal

·         “attitude” & sikap kita..?

5) Meningkatkan kualiti solat kita

Fokus – peningkatan konsisten à“Amalan yang paling dicintai Allah adalah yang paling konsisten/berterusan, sekalipun ia kecil” (HR Al-Bukhari)

·         Solat awal – Perkata yang paling dicintai Allah (Rw Al-Bukhari)

·         Solat berjemaah – 27 kali ganda pahala (Rw Al-Bukhari)

·         Mengikuti sunnah Rasulullah

·         Solat sunnat

·         Panjangkan solat

·         HAFAL QUR’AN

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلاَتُهُ فَإِنْ صَلَحَتْ

 فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ

 Sesungguhnya, perkara  yang pertama kali dihisab bagi seseorang hamba pada hari kiamat dari amal-amalnya ialah solatnya, jikalau solatnya itu adalah baik maka dia termasuk dalam orang yang bahagia lagi beruntung dan jikalau amal solatnya rosak maka dia termasuk orang yang rugi dan tidak beruntung.

(Riwayat Imam al-Tirmidzi dalam Sunannya, Kitab al-Sholaah, no: 378, sahih)

إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّـهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ ﴿٤٥﴾

“..Sesungguhnya solat itu mencegah dari perbuatan yang keji dan mungkar; dan sesungguhnya mengingati Allah adalah lebih besar (faedahnya dan kesannya); dan (ingatlah) Allah mengetahui akan apa yang kamu kerjakan.”

(Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45)

6) Dzikr

“Mahukah aku khabarkan kepada kalian amalan terbaik, yang paling suci disisi Raja-mu, yang tertinggi dalam darajat, dan lebih baik untukmu daripada membelanjakan emas dan perak (di Jalan Allah), dan bertemu musuh kalian dan membunuh mereka? (Ketahuilah) – dengan dzikr (Peringatan) kepada Allah Ta’ala”

(Riwayat At-Tirmidzi – “hasan”, Muwata imam Malik, http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/48/8)

Semoga Allah mengurniakan kepada kita semua kemanisan dalam ibadah kepada-Nya