THE THREE ATTRIBUTES

Assalaamualaikum to everybody who come by this Blog of mine. Here, in this space I let my reasoning, my searching, my questions, my findings roam around. So for anybody who is looking for authoritative works on Islam, this is NOT THE PLACE to refer to. I dont profess to be a learned person, let alone an authorithy of any kind. I am just a person in searching, and I question even the commonly held true practice of Islamic learning. However, let it be made clear here that I am a Muslim who held fast to the fundamental of Islam, ie; There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger and I have respect for the authoritative works of early Muslim scholars. Those who feel that I have something to contribute or question to share are very welcome to browse these pages and leave comments. I also welcome counter arguments backed by logical reasonings and facts. However those who wish to use vulgar language and cheap pranks in alternative to intellectual reasoning, please be known that you are not welcome here.

Here I would like to put forward the question as to why out of 99 attributes of Allah s.w.t, only 3 He chooses for us to repeat daily at regular intervals. Those attributes are as shown below;

• Allahu Akbar ( Allah is Great)
• Bismillaah ir Rahman ir Rahim (In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful)

These are repeated in daily solat; 20x of Basmalah (4 times each solat), and Allaahu Akbar = 11 in Subuh, 21 in Zuhur, asar and isyak, 16 in maghrib = 90X in daily solat.

Apart from that, Basmalah is said at every start of good activity and Allaahu Akbar at every occurence of significance. When we see something that awe us we say Allaahu Akbar. When we are enchanted with something we say Allaahu Akbar. We say Allaahu Akbar when we see the great forces of nature at work, seeing beautiful creations such as rare butterflies or beautiful horses. As we say these we give attention to The Most High.

Why are these attributes so important for us to keep reminding ourselves? Those who have lost the significance of these are to be symphatised with, their mouth wet with zikr but the essence of it does not seep in beyond the speech and citation. We are supposed to say these with full consciousness and not just chantings like a mantra.

When we get up in the morning the first thing we do is Subuh Solat. We start each day by saying ALLAAHU AKBAR... Before anything, any mundane works, any task, any job, we proclaim Allah is Great. Before we face the world, people, works, bosses, Tuankus, our family, we declare that Allah is Great. We set our mind at the start of the day that Allah is Great; nothing worthy of awe, fear, intimidation, utmost loyalty but Him. Allah is the Greatest, nothing else matter but Him and our devotion to Him. These we say every day but how much impact does have on our lives?

Immediately after that we proclaim the 2 other attributes of Him; Beneficent, Merciful. We remind ourselves 20 times daily that whatever we do, whatever the outcome of our labour, whatever went wrong or right in our daily chores, Allah is Beneficent and He is Merciful. We say this CONCIOUSLY and not just a chanting to be counted in numbers. We remind ourselve that Allah gives and Allah have mercy on His creations. But how much does it motivate us to do good, how much effect does it has on us upon facing calamities and trial of life?

Saying these daily consciously should have tremendous effect on how we live our life, on our balance in life?

How does the ritual reflect on our countenance? Are our faces perpetual clowns in ugly grimace or in perpetual sadness if these are said in full consciousness 20 times daily at intervals? What about those that perform all the daily solat plus other sunat solats but these words have no effect on his countenance nor his soul and he goes about daily as grumpy individuals seeing threats at ever corner, suspicous of all people not in his group, his family always suffering from the lashes he gives out with that organ Allah give for speech. Are they really reciting the Basmalah or not?

It is really hard to convince myself that these people really feel what they recited daily and put beneficent and merciful attitude in their daily life...

Similiarly those who say every now and then that Allah is Great but kow tow to every evil deed their bosses asked of them, political bosses or bosses at work. Similiarly chickening out of every job needing courage and persistence but daily chanting Allah is Great is making a mockery of Allah. Also those given the amanah to uphold Justice, failing to act in justice when the catch is big enough to jeopardise his 'periok nasi' but acting like a big tiger upon small pawns is also mocking the Allaahu Akbar.

It is time to realise and come back to the basic of the Teachings. The Teachings are actually simple but we make it complicated. The rituals are simple and heart touching but we make it a ritual of habit with some esoteric aim rather than the simple practice that it is, customised to help us in daily life. No wonder we gain little from the the ibadah required of us...

LESSONS OF AL ALAQ

It was with great surprise and concern that I came to know some Muslim expect a god that we can have speech communication like we do with our councillor, headmaster or tutor; a supreme being that is there to give DIRECT guide on our everyday problem, mundane or otherwise.

This is an alien god; not a Muslim God; Allah The Most High. Others have such gods; god of rain to call upon for rain, god of the mountain, god of the sky, god of love, god of fertility and a host of gods for various functions. They pray to the images of the gods, with objects in front to represent such god in prayer. They have special ceremonies to communicate with such gods. In some such ceremony a disciple got into a trance and imbued with god’s speech to give answers to the human problem.

These are alien to the concept of God in Islam. God, Allah The Most High is here, within and without, not bounded by Space and Time and nothing whatsoever like Him. He describes Himself as thus (al Ikhlas);

112.001-004 YUSUF ALI Translation:
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.

This is a most important concept... There is NONE LIKE UNTO HIM. This surah according to a Hadith is 1/3 of the whole Qur'an. The concept of God is crystal clear here; The One and Only; perfect UNITY. As-Somad; Eternal, Absolute.. . In other Translation... The Self-Sufficient Master Whom all creatures need). No beginning, no Ending.. And in conclusion; None Like Unto Him.... Anything, any attributes of the makhluq is Not Him...

The serchings of Prophet Ibrahim a.s for God is most illustrative. At first Ibrahim look at the stars and see how high they are, how they adorn and light the sky with their soft lights, how majestic the stars are and thought this is God. Then when the full moon came and the stars dissappeared, he think back... how can a god be overcome by another??... So the stars cannot be god. So he then turn to the moon as the newfound god; the great moon with cool light that shine across the landscape. However when the sun came, the moon recede and overcame by the sun's powerful light that trees and plants bloom towards. The world came alive with the sun.. This must be the God thinked Ibrahim.. But when night came and the sun recede, he thought again... how can a God goes to sleep and leave the world godless??.. How can a god be overcome by night or by anything??... After all these phases only he came to realisation that God cannot be amongs these creations. A God cannot be overcome by others, a God must be there All the time, everywhere, needed by all but not needing any.. He came to discover ALLAH.

Perhaps we can look at Al Alaq (096; ayats 01-14/19; PickthallTranslation) to understand the relation between Him and His creations;

001: Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,
002: Createth man from a clot ,
003: Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous
004: Who teacheth by the pen
005: Teacheth man that which he knew not.
006: Nay, but verily man is rebellious
007: That he thinketh himself independent!
008: Lo! unto thy Lord is the return
009: Hast thou seen him who dissuadeth
010: A slave when he prayeth?
011: Hast thou seen if he relieth on the guidance (of Allah)
012: Or enjoineth piety?
013: Hast thou seen if he denieth (Allah's guidance) and is froward?
014: Is he then unaware that Allah seeth?

Another ayat in the Qur’an says;
031_018 (LUQMAN)YUSUFALI: "And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth; for Allah loveth not any arrogant boaster.

This is the God of Islam; Allah.... None Unto Like Him.
He is the Creator... create man from a clot of blood. Prophet Muhammad, the desert man was reciting this verse to the Arabs of the desert on the origin of man without microscope and all the modern gadgets.. In fact the true translation from old Arabic (from the writing of Maurice Buccaile) was 'The Clot that Clung'... this is in-thing micro biology.. It describe the fertilised egg thatg clung to the uterus wall..

This is teaches man by the Pen (Qalam). Qalam is not just the Sheaffer, Parker or Pilot pen that we use. Qalam is the wittings of Allah in the landscape of His creations... the world around us, the happenings, the creatures, the creations, the thought process, hence all process from which we learn new things....Teaches man that which he knew not...

The Allah says.. man is rebellious and thinks himself as independant.. Hit smack on us .... Bulls Eye.. Then Allah says..Is he unaware that Allah seeth?

The basic essence of God is that we needed Him for everything and He has no need of us. However he bade us say 20 times daily in prayer... Say in the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. He also advocate saying the Basmalah to start on anything... as a reminder of the 2 attributes of Allah... Beneficent, Merciful.

Allah is also the al Jabbar (Yang Maha Kuasa), the al Qahar (Yang Maha Perkasa) but we are not enjoined to say Bismillaahil Jabbar il Qahhar everyday as the Basmalah. Think about it...

BAHASA KETUHANAN

Saya rasa terpanggil untuk menulis tentang perkara ini kerana selalu mendengar perkataan-perkataan berkaitan sifat Ketuhanan digunakan di dalam bahasa seharian dengan konteks yang salah sehingga terasa seriau di dalam diri. Antara bahasa keharian yang disalahgunakan untuk merujuk kepada Sifat Ketuhanan ialah 'Allah memahami'... `Allah Mengerti'

Contohnya adalah lagu popular 'Pada Syurga di Wajah Mu' oleh Nash

Kan ku tahan apa hukuman
Di hati hanya berdoa
Biar aku cium tangan mu
Sekali lagi bersama
Bukan sekali jalan berduri
Hanya tuhan yang pasti
Mengerti…

Ini adalah satu contoh penggunaan bahasa seharian yang merujuk kepada Ketuhanan dan melahirkan makna yang pincang. Amat tidak kena sekali bila kita menyatakan bahawa 'Allah Mengerti' atau "Allah memahami'. Perkataan yang betul untuk merujuk kepada keTuhanan ialah Allah Mengetahui. Mengetahui memberi maksud Ilmu yang Penuh sedangkan memahami membawa konotasi bahawa ilmu berkenaan belum sempurna sehingga perlu di interpolasi oleh rasa untuk menghampiri maksud mengetahui.

Apabila kita menyebut memahami atau mengerti, ia membawa maksud bahawa kita mempunyai pemahaman terhadap hakikat sebenar sesuatu ilmu itu (bermaksud tidak sama dengan PENGETAHUAN penuh). Ini adalah stesyen makhluq kerana Ilmu itu hanya ada pada Allah s.w.t sahaja sedangkan kita makhluq hanya mempunyai cebisan pemahaman terhadap ilmu berkenaan. Apabila kita sebut Allah memahami maka pincanglah maksudnya kerana Allah s.w.t adalah PEMILIK PENUH terhadap Ilmu berkenaan. Di TanganNya adalah ILMU YANG PENUH tanpa cacat cela atau kekurangan sekumitpun. Oleh itu mana mungkin Allah s.w.t memahami kerana ini menjejaskan martabat Ketuhanan yang mempunyai Ilmu dan Kudrat Penuh.

Selain dari itu ada kecenderungan artis-artis mengucapkan 'terima kasih kepada Allah' yang telah memenangkan artis berkenaan dalam pertandingan. Ini adalah juga satu kepincangan bahasa bila merujuk kepada Allah s.w.t; Zat yang Maha Besar lagi Berkuasa Penuh di atas semua makhluq dan kejadian. Terima Kasih hanya layak ditujukan kepada makhluq sahaja. Bahasa yang betul untuk merujuk kepada Allah s,w,t adalah SYUKUR.. Syukur membawa maksud kita menerima dengan penuh rendah hati terhadap pemberian dari Allah s.w.t dan pemberian tersebut tidak mengurangkan sedikit pun kekayaan dan khazanah Allah s.w.t

Oleh itu berhati hatilah kita bila menyebut sesuatu yang merujuk kepada Sifat-sifat Allah s.w.t kerana perkataan kita mungkin tidak sesuai dengan Sifat-sifat Allah yang Maha Sempurna... Wallaahuaklam...

AL FATIHAH

We pray 5 times a day. During that time we recite al Fatihah 17 times. We recite the Surah during Solat then break in between the prayer times. We also recite the Surah at numerous functions and a prelude to many ibadahs. Before we recite the Qur’an we recite the Surah first. The reading preludes religious activities and daily affairs.

WHY? What’s the significance? What is the training here that we are undergoing? Have we put much thought in it and just follow `like our fore-fathers do?’ In many instances Allah s.w.t condemns this act of following without knowledge. As Muslims we are taught to think, learn and follow the Path of Learning. So whatever we inherited in form of culture, religion or values, we have to rethink and discover the value and purpose behind it.

So what is al Fatihah? We know that it is the `Ummul Kitab’; the Mother of The Kitab (Quran). What is a mother? What is its significance?.....
A mother gives birth and therefore starts a new life. A mother gives love to the children, prepares and starts them on the right path. A mother provides shelter, succor and base for them.

….Let us think of the al Fatihah in this light; the starting point daily life, the turning of the ignition key before the engine start. Let us ponder at the verses of al-Fatihah;

(1).. `Segala Puji bagi Allah, Tuhan seluruh alam’ – All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe.

..... This verse introduces us to Allah s.w.t, God of The Universe; physically and intrinsically. He is the supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Chief Administrator, the Provider, The Judge, The Punisher, The Overseer, The One Who Resides over All, The One and Only True God.

….. All praise be to Him. None is worthy of praise but Him. None is worthy of our devotion and subjugation but Him. To Him alone must all object of purpose be directed to……
(This verse remind us of our station in Life, who we are, who is our superior and to whom should be our Object of our Focus in everyday Life)

(2).. `Yang Maha Pengasih, Maha Penyayang’ – The Beneficent, The Merciful.

…. This verse explains the two attributes of Allah s.w.t for which we are to always be conscious of; Beneficent and Merciful. This starts our day with Hope and expectation of the good things to come. We are reminded to feel the Bounty and Mercy of Allah s.w.t. No matter how bad the preceding day had been for us, we are to always hope, pray, expect for Allah’s Bounty and Mercy. This should heal our heart had it gone septic in the course of daily trials. Saying it at 5 milestone daily should emphasis it and clean the wound daily before it becomes to hard to heal.(This second verse emphasis Allah’s Bounty and Mercy to His creations and set us in a proper frame of mind for daily affairs)

(3).. `Pemilik Hari Pembalasan’ – Master of the Day of Judgment.

..... After acknowledging the gracious attributes of God, we are reminded that there is a Day of Judgment and He will be there to judge us on our deeds. Here we are reminded not to take the gracious attributes of God lightly as if there are no responsibilities attached. Within the Beneficent and Merciful attributes of God, we are take responsibilities to make good use of these attributes and not to indulge in acts forbidden by Him.
(After acknowledging Allah’s Bounty and Mercy, we are reminded of the accountability of our actions)

(4).. `Hanya engkaulah kami sembah dan kepada engkaulah kami memohon pertolongan’ – Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.

..... Knowing that accountability is heavy and that we could be mislead from His Path, we seek Allah’s Help. We reaffirm our SOLE object of worship and seek His help in everything…
(After acknowledging our accountability we affirm Him as our Sole object of worship and seek His Help)

(5).. `Tunjukkilah kami Jalan Yang Lurus’ – Show us The Straight Path.

..... After affirming Him as our sole object of worship and seeking His Help, we define the help as showing us The Straight path. We WANT to be shown the Right Path. We want to be among those in the good book of God. We want to be always in His Path. We remind ourselves at 5 milestones daily of our Goal, i.e; to be on The Right Path. Thus we besiege Him to point us the way…
(Our constant prayer to God is to show us the Right Path)

(6).. `Jalan orang-orang yang engkau telah berikan Nikmat padanya dan bukan jalan mereka yang di murkai dan mereka yang sesat’ – The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

..... To end the Surah, we beseech God to show us the path of those God has favoured and seek His Help to deter us from the path of those that has earn His Anger and those who has gone astray. This is our objective in this Life; to tread the Straight Path; meaning the path of those that has earned God’s favor. We also reminded ourselves at 5 milestones daily to keep away from the Path of those that earned God’s anger and those that has gone astray.

(We beseech God to show us the path of righteousness that would earn God’s favor and keep us away from the path that would earn His Wrath)