Amar Razali

As-salamu'alaikum,

Peace and Blessings be Upon you!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The blessed days of Eid ul-Adha are here! I pray that Allah accept your Hajj (if any), your prayers & du'a, and your Udhiya & Qurbani. I pray that our Lord, the Most High, blesses mankind with peace and tranquility on these holy days of Eid.

I wish you and your loved ones an Eid Mubarak!

Salaam from Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.

The person wants to know "why they can’t just have sex with whom ever they want and party when ever they want, drink etc., do what ever they want in life  since were all going to heaven anyways?"

As-salaam 'alaykum Warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

On behalf of AlKauthar Institute I would like to request for a small favor. AlKauthar Institute is based out of UK and is planning on branching out to this part of the world, though they also have locations in India and Australia; considering the sizeable amount of Muslim foreigners and expats whom are committed to the deen especially on the manhaj as-salaaf as-saalih - and of course to foremost benefit the locals and also the non-Muslims (to beef up the da'wah effort). They plan on organizing a weekend seminar in KL towards the end of the year, inshaAllah bi idhnillah.

Aiwa, having said that, I am requesting for a few minutes of your time to fill out the attached survey, BM & English versions available, take your pick =); and also pass them out to your mailing lists, co-workers, friends, families, etc. And then, have the surveys forwarded/emailed back to me (amar.razali@gmail.com) or to Bro. Abd-Allah Abdul Karim (ablimalizi@yahoo.co.uk).

I hope this isn't too much. We would like do our research and fact-finding part for some number crunching and analysis/statistics so we can present it to the UK folks. Any insights/inputs/feedback from your side would be greatly appreciated.

Jazaakumullaahu khayran katheera

As-salaam 'alaykum

Download the forms here:

1. AlKauthar Institute Survey Form.doc (English)

2. AlKauthar Institute Kaji Selidik.doc (Bahasa Melayu)

As-salaam 'alaykum,

A friend of mine told me that this morning a friend of her just lost her beloved father because of cardiac arrest. His father was driving to send his daughter to school and was so close to arrive at destination.

Inna lillahi wainna ilahi rajiuun. Truly to Allah we belong, and truly to Him shall we return.

Although I don't know the person or his daughters, my heart and prayers go with them. May Allah grant their father with the highest paradise, make the questioning easy for him and make things easy on him and his families. Please be patient, and may Allah make things easy for them.

Amar Razali
Sepang, Selangor

Oleh: Almarhum Razali Ismail

Aku tahu rezekiku tak mungkin diambil orang lain,
Kerananya hatiku tenang.

Aku tahu amal-amalku tak mungkin dilakukan oleh orang lain,
Maka aku sibukkan diriku dengan bekerja dan beramal.

Aku tahu Allah selalu melihatku,
Kerananya aku malu bila Allah melihatku melakukan maksiat.

Aku tahu, kematian menantiku,
Makanya, aku siapkan bekal untuk berjumpa dengan Rabb-ku

Pres. Obama delivered a speech on U.S.-Muslim relations from Cairo University. The President called for renewed Middle East peace talks as well as an agenda for economic and social development in the region.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When you smile to your brother's face, it is charity."

This is an authentic hadith. It is related in Sunan al-Tirmidhi and al-Tirmidhi declared it to be good. It is also related in Saheeh Ibn Hibban and Musnad al-Bazzar.

Think about this situation: A man called his friend on the phone thousands of miles away. He said: "So I can be sure of your feelings, I want you to give me smile." And his friend really did smile – a genuine smile from the heart – and the effects of his smile could be heard in his voice while he spoke to his friend overseas. This made the man happy – that someone would smile upon a suggestion, though the other person could not even see him.

There is great wisdom in the Prophet's words (peace be upon him): "When you smile to your brother's face is charity."

And indeed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) followed this advice in his everyday life, so much so that 'Abd Allah b. al-Harith said: "I have never seen anyone more in the habit of smiling than Allah's Messenger." [Sunan al-Tirmidhi]

Even on the day he died, while lying in his sickbed, he did not neglect to smile. While Abu Bakr was getting the people lined up for prayer, the Prophet managed to stand up and move aside the curtain of his room. He smiled at them, a bright laughing smile. [Saheeh al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim]

The prophet (peace be upon him) saw a smile as a gift of joy – an emotional gift, not a material one – a gift whose substance is received by the heart. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "your brother's face" he (peace be upon him) was not implying that smiling is only prescribed upon meeting someone. This advice applies to every occasion where a smile can bring cheer, lighten the mood, or reduce the stress that people are feeling.

Jarir b. 'Abd Allah said: "Since the time I accepted Islam, the Prophet (peace be upon him) never once failed to notice me. Whenever he saw me, he would smile at me." [Saheeh al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim]

To continue reading, visit the IslamToday web site. This is an excerpt from Shaykh Salmaan Al 'Oudah's article.

*This is my phone number in Malaysia: 013.3998837*

May 30 2009

8am to 9am - Safely arrived at KLIA with other Vandy comrads (Baba, Azlan, Nazirah, Maryam, Ashwaq, Nik). There was no health screening, and we went straight to the custom clearance and baggage claim area. Alhamdulillah, everything went smooth without any problem. Mama and Arif were waiting for me outside the arrival hall. I told mama that I am going to follow En. Najib who is the MARA officer from Washington DC, to Allahyarham Nublan's burial at Sungai Buloh. Mama allowed me to do so, and I followed En. Najib and En. Khaizan (who is also MARA Officer but based in KL) to the MAS Cargo, which is not far away from KLIA to claim the Allahyarham Nublan's coffin.

9am to 12pm - Met with several officers (Kak Jah, Kak Mah from MARA), (Kak Mit from KPT) and Allahyarham Nublan's family members. There were a lot of processes that need to be done before we buried the body, but Alhamdulillah, all of us were so patient, and went those procedures with so much perseverance. Then around 11am, we went straight to Kampung Matang Pagar at Sungai Buloh. The body was brought to the local masjid, and the funeral prayer was held by the Muslim community there.

1pm to 2pm - The body was brought to the nearest Muslim cemetery. I couldn't recall the name but it was about 15 minutes driving from the masjid. The process went very smooth, alhamdulillah. A lot of people came to give a hand. The weather was decent hot. I managed to meet with Allahyarham Nublan's father, and gave my consolation. May Allah grant his with the highest paradise, make the questioning easy for him and make things easy on him and his families.

I set a goal for myself to finish reading these 3 books during the summer (May - August).

1. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria
I followed Fareed Zakaria GPS Show on CNN quite for a few times and he recommended to read his new book. I already read a few pages of it and enjoyed it so far. Fareed Zakaria describes "the rise of the rest" - the political and economic ascendance of countries such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Kenya. 

2. Covering Islam by Edward W. Said
I bought this book for VU Muslim Book Club. I enjoyed reading Edward Said's works so much. I was first being introduced by his work from the Arab World course taught by Ustadh Bushra. No one studying the relations between the West and the decolonizing world can ignore Edward Said's work. From the Iranian hostage crisis through the Gulf War and the World Trade Center attacks, America has been haunted by a specter called "Islam." I think this book should be a very interesting.

3. The Other 90% by Robert K. Cooper
Dr. Jordan introduced the author's name during his Engineering Management class. Drawing from the latest research in neuroscience, performance psychology and work psychology, Dr. Cooper shows how to find and use the 90% of our capacity and brainpower. 

I really hope that when I get a full time job, I can still spare some times to read books.

"A boy who read is a boy who lead" - Almarhum Razali Ismail

On the city's western border
Reared against the sky
Proudly stands our Alma Mater
As the years roll by.
Forward ever be thy watchword,
Conquer and Prevail.
Hail to thee our Alma Mater,
Vanderbilt, All Hail!