Since happiness seems to be the most constant reason of why some people do things especially in this western country where hedonism is part of the culture, I’d like to share a series of my own personal writing and from other writers as well from Islamic belief point of view of what happiness really means. In this first part, I’d like to share what Justin Trueman found about happiness in having money in her book entitled Detox Your Finances – The Ultimate Book of Money Matters for Women.

Norhasnida Zawawi

University of Nottingham

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Part 1-Money doesn’t make you happy

In fact, some people who suddenly come into money-either because of a lottery win or inherintance- do lose their entire fortune quickly. Some US studies conducted by anti-gambling religious groups highlight the number of people going bankrupt or turning to drink and drugs after a lottery win. In one example, a Florida widow, who had won $5 million in the US lottery in 1984, lost all her money, her mansion and cars within 3 years. Worse, she also owed the taxman $500,000. Eventually, she was arrested for trying to hire a contract killer to murder her daughter-in-law, whom she blamed for her lottery misfortune.

Brickman, Coates and Janoff-Bulman at the University of California-Reagents conducted a study into both lottery winners and people who had suffered a physical injury, then monitored their level of happiness. They found that immediately after the event, the lottery winners were happier and the injured were unhappy, but after 8 weeks or less both groups returned to the level of happiness they had before the event.

So, finding yourself with stacks of cash won’t necessarily cheer you up…

Justin Trueman in Detox Your Finances – The Ultimate Book of Money Matters for Women

I am sure many of us are familiar with the name of Abu Ad-Darda’ as this sahabah has narrated quite a number of hadeeths from the Prophet (PBUH). For those of you who are interested to know more about him, keep on reading :)

1. How he became a muslim

Abu ad-Darda’ was a close friend of Abdullah bin Rawahah. Does this name ring a bell to you? If not, Abdullah bin Rawahah was the 3rd ‘amir’ appointed by the prophet SAW to lead the muslim army in the battle of Mu’tah after Zaid Bin Harithah and Ja’far bin Abi Tholib and all the 3 leaders were granted syaheed in this battle. May Allah reward all of them with the highest of Jannah, amin.

So, back to Abu ad-Darda’.

Every morning, before Abu ad-Darda‘ goes to work, he would worship his favorite idol that is kept in the best part of his house. He would anoint it with his best perfume and cover the idol with a beautiful silk. He would then leave his house and head towards his shop that he owns.

One day, Abdullah bin Rawahah, who just came back from the Battle of Badr stopped by at Abu Ad-Darda’s house. Since Abu Ad-Darda’ was working, Abdullah asked Ummu Ad-Darda’s permission to enter the house, to which Ummu Ad-Darda‘ granted and after that, she went about busying herself with her household chores and looking after her children.

Quietly, Abdullah went to the room where Abu Ad-Darda’ kept his favorite idol and smashed it into pieces while saying: “Isn’t everything batil which is worshipped besides Allah?” (SubhanAllah, what a brave guy! May Allah make us all courageous as Abdullah bin Rawahah). He then left the house.

When Abu Ad-Darda’ returned home, he was surprised to see his wife weeping loudly and looking absolutely terrified.

What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

Your brother Abdullah ibn Rawahah visited us in your absence and did with your idols what you see.

Abu-ad Dardaa looked at the broken idol and was horrified. He was consumed with anger and determined to take revenge. Before long however his anger subsided and thoughts of avenging the idol disappeared. Instead he reflected on what had happened and said to himself: “If there was any good in this idol, he would have defended himself against any injury.”

He then went straight to Abdullah and together they went to the Prophet, peace be on him. There he announced his acceptance of Islam. He was the last person in his district to become a Muslim.

2. His life after he became a Muslim

From that time onwards, Abu-ad Darda devoted himself completely to Islam. Belief in God and His Prophet animated every fibre of his being. He deeply regretted every moment he had spent as a mushrik and the opportunities he had lost to do good. He realised how much his friends had learnt about fasting in the preceding two or three years, how much of the Qur’an they had memorised and the opportunities they had to devote themselves to God and His Prophet. He made up his mind to expend every effort, day and night to try to make up for what he had missed.

Ibadah occupied his days and his nights. His search for knowledge was restless. Much time he spent memorising the words of the Qur’an and trying to understand the profundity of its message. When he saw that business and trade disturbed the sweetness of his ibadah and kept him away from the circles of knowledge, he reduced his involvement without hesitation or regret. Someone asked him why he did this and he replied:

“I was a merchant before my pledge to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. When I became a Muslim, I wanted to combine trade (tijarah) and worship (ibadah) but I did not achieve what I desired. So I abandoned trade and inclined towards ibadah.

“By Him in whose hand is the soul of Abu-d Dardaa, what I want to have is a shop near the door of the masjid so that I would not miss any Salaat with the congregation. Then I shall sell and buy and make a modest profit every day.”

“However, I am not saying,” said Abu-d Darda to his questioner, “that Allah the Great and Majestic is He has prohibited trade, but I want to be among those whom neither trade nor selling distracts form the remembrance of God.

To be continued...(InsyaAllah on Thursday, so stay tuned!)

Source:

1. 65 Gambaran kehidupan sahabat, by Dr Abdul Rahman Ra’fat al-Basha. Terbitan Pustaka Salam

2. http://alislaah2.tripod.com/caliphs/id12.html (the english version)

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Musim peperiksaan berkunjung lagi menyapa yang terjaga menantinya, juga yang terlena terleka. Semoga kita semua dirahmati Allah dan dipermudahkanNya menghadapinya penuh persediaan, penuh pergantungan kepada Allah, Tuhan penentu segala urusan.

Ikhwah dan Akhawat,

Pengharapan kita kepada Allah menuntut kita menabur usaha sedaya mungkin beserta tawakkal sepenuhnya seperti firmanNya dalam Surah Al-Insyirah, “وَإِلَى رَبِّكَ فَارْغَبْ”, yang bermaksud, “Dan kepada Tuhanmu maka kau letakkan pengharapan.”

Sehingga mereka yang menginginkan kecemerlangan sanggup mengekang mata di waktu malam mengulang kaji pelajaran sedangkan orang lain tidur lena. Berpenat lelah demi meraih apa yang dicita-citakan kerana mengingatkan pesan Baginda, “إن الله يحب إذا عمل أحدكم عملا أن يتقنه”, yang bermaksud, “Sesungguhnya Allah menyukai apabila seseorang itu beramal ia menekuni amalanya itu.”

Bersama itu, semoga insyaAllah kita harapkan pergantungan kita kepada yang Maha Penentu tidak pernah putus kerana Dia lah yang kita sembah dan kita pohon segala sesuatu seperti firmanNya dalam Surah Al-Fatihah, “إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ”, yang kita gemakan setiap hari di hadapanNya.

Penyerahan kita kepada Allah adalah meyakini Dia lah sebaik-baik yang merancang dan ketetapanNya pasti yang terbaik untuk diri kita.

…وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا

“…dan Dia telah menciptakan segala sesuatu dan menentukannya dengan ketentuan yang sempurna.” (Surah Al-Furqan: 2)

Ibnu ‘Ataillah pernah berpesan,

سوابق الهمم لا تخرق اسوار الاقدار

“Himmah yang menggebu tidak dapat menerobos takdir (yang telah ditentukanNya)”

Lantas mengingatkan supaya menanam iman yang tinggi dan bermujahadah berterusan, bukan sebaliknya dilamun angan-angan yang menipu dan mengundang bisikan Syaitan yang melekakan.

Ikhwah dan akhawat yang dirahmati,

Menjadi cita-cita setiap daripada kita untuk beroleh yang terbaik dalam mendaki menara gading, berjaya memperoleh segulung ijazah yang membanggakan ibubapa yang tersayang. Tiada siapa yang mahu gagal, tiada siapa yang mahu terkandas. Itulah harapan agung setiap daripada kita.

Namun begitu, pastinya apa yang akan berlaku adalah tertakluk kepada iradah Ilahi mengatasi segalanya. Dia lah yang telah menetapkan perancangan sejak azali lagi. Maka sewajarnya kita membulatkan keimanan kita kepada apa jua ketetapanNya. Boleh jadi indah, boleh jadi menghampakan, tetapi segalanya pasti terbaik untuk diri kita. Apa yang lebih penting adalah berusaha sebaik mungkin dan berserah…kemudiannya bersyukur dan bersabar atas ketentuanNya.

Sekali lagi Ibnu Ataillah meninggalkan pesan,

يكفى من الجزاء لك على العمل ان كان له قابلا

“Cukuplah untuk anda sebagai balasan Allah atas amalan itu , jika Allah menerimanya”

Sesungguhnya kamu tidak akan disoal mengenai iradah Allah, tetapi hanya amalan dan usaha kamu yang akan berada di atas timbangan nanti. Kita juga sentiasa berdoa kepadaNya agar dianugerahkan kejayaan di dunia dan terutamanya di akhirat.

Ikhwah yang disayangi, Akhawat yang dihormati,

ارادتك التجريد مع اقامة الله اياك فى الاسباب من الشهوة الخفية

“Keinginan untuk tajrid, padahal Allah menempatkan kamu pada asbab (sebab musabab) adalah termasuk dalam syahwat yang tersembunyi”

Begitulah peringatan yang cukup bermakna Ibnu Ataillah. Syeikh Said Hawa mengulas:

“Seseorang yang meletakkan meletakkan kakinya di jalan menuju kepada Allah azza wajalla, pada kebiasaannya akan timbul pada dirinya sendiri sejenis keinginan iaitu keinginan untuk meninggalkan sebab musabab atau meninggalkan amalan duniawi yang sedang diceburinya.”

Berhati-hati dengan sang nafsu memperdaya kita untuk berlengah dan mengabaikan tanggung jawab berusaha. Niat yang ikhlas tidak akan membunuh akal untuk berfikir dan tubuh untuk berusaha. Sedangkan angan-anganlah yang membuat kita bermalasan.

Sedarilah posisi kamu, dan beramallah berdasarkannya…

Gelaran dai dan khalifah menuntut satu tanggungjawab yang besar. Dai adalah manusia biasa yang memerlukan kekuatan sepuluh kali ganda manusia di luar sana. Tanggung jawab kepada diri, keluarga dan masyarakat, juga tanggung jawab belajar dan berkerjaya memerlukan pengendalian masa dan tenaga yang seimbang dan pertimbangan yang matang.

Kehilangan dai atas sebab kurangnya memahami prioriti, atau kelalaian dalam tarbiyyah membantutkan jalan yang penuh tribulasi. Amal jamai dalam memperdanakan arus dakwah senantiasa memahami kerumitan berhadapan konflik ini dalam memastikan para dai terus tsabat. Dakwah bukan terbatas memikirkan keperluan rijal-rijalnya pada hari ini, tetapi juga melihat jauh rencana masa depan untuk medan-medan dakwah selepas belajar.

Keimanan kita kepada marhalah dakwah mengajar kita prioriti dalam tarbiyyah diri. Oleh itu, para dai perlu memahami kelalaian dalam tarbiyah juga mengambil berat kelalaian dalam tanggung jawab sebagai pelajar. Tidak wajar apabila salah satunya menjadi fitnah kepada yang lain.

Uzlah yang seketika ini perlu digunakan untuk membuktikan dakwah ini mampu melahirkan dai yang cemerlang. Kita bermohon agar tidak dilunturkan nikmat Iman dan tarbiyyah sepanjang kerisauan melangkah ke alam seterusnya dalam kerjaya.

Ikhwah dan Akhawat,

Ingatlah, jaulah kita masih jauh destinasinya. Langkah hari ini adalah muntalaq, berbekallah dengan sebaik mungkin. Semoga kita menjadi modal kejayaan ummah apabila kita beroleh kecemerlangan.

“Andainya generasi hari ini merupakan aset bekalan kepada tuan, maka generasi akan datang adalah merupakan hasil semaian tuan” (Imam As-Syahid Hasan Al-Banna)

Kepada Allah kita pohonkan agar merahmati para rijal yang berjuang saban hari memikirkan masalah umat akhir zaman, membuka hati-hati manusia agar berlindung di bawah naungan Ilahi bagi menempatkan kita sebagai keluarga besar di Syurga.

Selamat menghadapi musim peperiksaan nanti. Bitaufiq wa Najah.

Dr. Ismail Ibrahim
Maktab Pra-Siswazah
Majlis Syura Muslimun

Please kindly spread the word about this online kuliyyah =)

Assalamualaikum ikhwah akhawat yang dihormati,

Sempena bulan Muharram yang mulia ini, dengan sukacitanya MSM Media akan memulakan:

Kuliyyah Online
Majlis Syura Muslimun UK & Eire

Thursday, 7th January 2010

8.30pm (UK & EIRE time)

Topic:

“Anas bin Malik”

(Companion of The Prophet s.a.w.)

Speaker:

Ustaz Mazrul

Language:

Malay

Format:

Talk: 45 minutes

Q&A : 15 minutes

Who can listen/join the discussion?

Anyone from anywhere in the world.

Please observe good ethics and advice from moderators.
How to Listen:

Live Broadcast via:   Paltalk

Download Paltak at www.paltalk. com

Invitations will be sent out 15 mins before.

To join, pls send a request (including your PALTALK ID) to:

Moderator : msmkuliyyah

Dont miss out!

Verse of the week

"Wahai Tuhan kami! Terimalah drpd kami (amal kami); sessungguhnya Engkaulah yg Maha Mendengar lagi Maha Mengetahui. Wahai Tuhan kami, jadikanlah kami berdua orang2 Islam (yg berserah diri) kpd-Mu. dan jadikanlah drpd keturunan kami umat Islam (yg berserah diri) kpd-Mu dan tunjukkanlah kpd kami syariat dan cara2 ibadah kami dan terimalah taubat kami. Sessungguhnya Engkaulah Maha penerima taubat lagi Maha Mengasihani"
(Surah Al-Baqarah: 127-128)

Fun in The Sun (sisters only)

MSM Kargo - shipping to Malaysia

click for larger image

List of books reviewed in “Book review”

1. Toriqud Dakwah : Jalan Dakwah
Penulis: Mustafa Masyhur

2. Bekalan di sepanjang dakwah
Penulis: Mustafa Masyhur

3. Fiqh Dakwah dalam al-Quran
Penulis : Muhammad Haniff Hassan

4. Title: Madina to Jerusalem- Encounters with the Byzantine Empire
Penulis: Ismail Adam Patel

"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)" (Al-Alaq: 1)

 

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