Prayer of the Oppressed- translated by Hamza Yusuf Hanson

I bought the book for a dear friend’s birthday present and forgot to get one for myself. After borrowing and reading it, I’m glad I got it. The book is not available in Malaysia, so I had to get it shipped from the US.

This prayer was written by Imam Muhammad b. Nasir al-Dar’i. Hamza Yusuf has translated and introduced it to the world. The prayer is widely recited in Morocco, where Imam Muhammad is from, but its miracles resulting from the prayer is widespread. Hamza Yusuf has also accounted for a miracle which happened when he recited the prayer.

"If a man is slain unjustly, his heir shall be entitled to satisfaction. But let him not carry his vengeance to excess, for his victim is sure to be assisted and avenged." Qur'an, 17:33

"Limit your hostility toward your enemy, for one day he may become your beloved."- Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

The book discusses the following:

The Cycle of Oppression:

Oppression is largely driven by power and wealth. Then there is hate and resentment. Hate comes from the oppressor who justifies his actions, and the oppressed who feels helpless and powerless; builds resentment which continues the cycle of oppression.

3 options available to the oppressor and oppressed to end the cycle:

1) Oppressor uses the defense mechanism which is denial

2) Oppressor stops committing the wrong

3) Individuals restraining him from his tyranny and liberating him with compassion

The Nature of the Tyrant

The Quran describes the tyrant as "deft, dumb and blind" which refers to the spiritual essence of the tyrant. Tyrants surround themselves with sycophants because they cannot bear to hear the truth. The more his power increases, the less he tolerates dissent.

As human beings, it is only through others that we can truly see ourselves, hear ourselves and speak to ourselves. Self-obsession does not allow a tyrant to reflect on himself.

This lack of vision afflicts the oppressor's heart.

"It is not the eyes that go blind, but the hearts within the breasts that go blind." Qur'an (22:46)

The tyrant is a sociopath, an individual who functions in society with a concern for his own gratification, even if it is gained through the pain of others. He does not feel their pain, as he believes they (the oppressed) do not exist as conscious creatures.

Only calamity which will bring the tyrant to his knees, lays him low, and humbles him, causing him to self-reflect the reality of his inner self. In gaining self knowledge we are able to gain remorse, and through remorse, we are granted entry into the kingdom of heaven.

Other Excerpts:

"In these troubled times, rife with oppression, many Muslims have been praying for God's victory over their enemies, and those prayers seem to go unanswered. What many do not grasp, however, is that the One called upon is merciful, and so He will not grant to those He loves a victory over their enemies if in that material victory is their spiritual defeat."

"What is true of any man is true of all men; the only difference is in the degree to which it is true."

"God's privation is itself a gift, for He withholds not from want but from wisdom"

"If one lives in light, one does not obsess about the shadows."

"Herein lies the irony of ironies: from Him, to Him, and for Him is the stuff of our souls, and until we realise that fully in our entire being, the world will continue to brutalise us. Its gruesome nature will continue to overwhelm and confound us until we see it for what it is: a shadow, present only because of the absence of His light in our hearts."

Breaking the Cycle (most important to all of us):

1) The oppressed must acknowledge that rulers often times reflect the people they rule.

2) Self-purification. When we become a people of introspection and judge ourselves before we quickly judge those over us, only then will we be able to transform our condition.

3) If we are to help others, we cannot wish them ill. In recognizing that the oppressor also needs help, we can see him as a trial from God, and not as an independent agent acting independently of God's Will. Cursing, hating or wishing ill is the anti-thesis of the prophetic guidance, which calls for mercy. Mercy does not mean resistance or to suffer in silence. Mercy is the understanding that an enemy may verily turn into a friend.

4) Forgiveness. We cannot expect God to forgive us when we are unwilling to forgive others. In forgiving others, we are implicitly recognizing that they are reflections of ourselves. It does not mean that we forego justice or retribution (which we should pursue), but by looking at our own wrongs, we begin to be less judgmental.

These are just some of the many things discussed in the book but I took a few of them for sharing. I would personally recommend you read this book and share it with your family and friends who are either oppressed or an oppressor.

If you have an oppressing trait as I do, we can use this to work on improving ourselves.

Hope this benefits you as much as it did me :-)

The Measure of Love

I received a question from a visitor to explain the differences between Islam and the religion Bahai’. The visitor’s friend had converted from Islam to Bahai’.

Note: I am not a learned on both subject matters, but I can only attempt to highlight what I’ve learned or understood from my personal investigation so far. I hope this would not create conflict between Muslims and Bahais, but seek to understand one another better.

With the issue of conversion out of Islam i.e. apostacy, I believe we need to understand the issues the individual faced, counsel and discuss with them on an intellectual platform. Most times, people leave because they confuse culture with religion, or misguided Muslim fundamentalism as the true Islam.

Similarities
The Concept of God
Muslims believes in the concept of Tauhid or the Unity of God.

Baha’is also believe in 1 God.

Peace
Islam is a religion of peace.

Many of the Baha’ism teachings were borrowed from Islam. Hence, Baha’ism do not preach to its believers to hate Islam. The Bab believes that he is the 26th prophet after Muhammad, but clarifies that he is not propagating the religion of Islam.

Differences
Concept of God
Muslims pray to Allah swt, which is not the same God as other religions. (Christians pray to Prophet Jesus, Hindus have a few Gods. etc). Islam’s concept of God is very comprehensive from the 99 Names describing His characteristics and atttributes.

Although Baha’is believes in 1 God, they believe the God of Christians, Judaism, Buddhists and Hindus are the same. The do not have a comprehensive concept of God, and His attributes. They do not even have a name for God.

The Concept of Man
Islam clearly states man’s roles and responsibilities as a child, student, male, woman, husband, wife, community leader, etc. Man was not born in sin as stated in the Christian concept of original sin. If man accepts Islam man is not automatically headed for Heaven, but man must conquer his carnal desires and do what is pleasing to Allah.

Baha’ism has 7 general fundamental rules for man.

Prayer
The concept of prayer in Islam is more to help Muslims remember Allah at all times. These prayers are revealed prayers. Muslims have a structured method for praying, frequency, and for all occasions such as travelling, eating, weddings, newborns, calamities, etc.
For solat (prayer), Muslims are united in 1 language i.e. Arabic. This means Muslims recite official daily prayers in Arabic. However, the dua after prayer can be done in respective languages in the Muslims heart.

Baha’ism has also a collection of revealed prayer for several occasions. They do not have a unified language for prayer.

Personal thought: Some born Muslims find that Islam is taxing because you need to perform many acts or devotional worship, or always on your best behavior.

This is how I perceive being a Muslim:

Illustration 1: Imagine if you were an employee. In order for you to excel in your job and get that promotion, you need to work hard. You need to meet your targets by following all the work processes, working long hours and even weekends. Some even go 2-step further to do ANYTHING PLEASING for the boss, in the hopes of getting a favor/promotion. (Note: I am not condoning the act of excessive brown nosing but merely a comparative analysis)

WHY CAN’T WE WORK HARD FOR ALLAH?

Illustration 2: Imagine if you were a student. You would do your homework for hours. You would practice piano lessons for hours.You would play paintball or futsal for hours to be the best, in hopes of getting straight As, to be the best in the piano recital, and to be representing Malaysia at international competitions.

WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO GET As in ALLAH’s BOOKS?
WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO PLAY MUSIC PLEASING TO ALLAH?
WOULD YOU WANT TO REPRESENT ALLAH AT ALL COMPETITIONS?

One of the things I think about is, if I die tomorrow, what have I done to get to know Allah or to please Him?

Jordan Richter and Me

I went to my first live documentary screening at Central Market. It really opened my eyes. I was really moved by what I saw. The screening was attended by Malaysians of all races as well as foreign tourists and expats.

Documentary title: Wayward Son: Jordan Richter

Producer/Director: Mustafa Davies

http://www.pop-fashion-wholesale.com/page.html?id=20

Google Jordan Richter and Mustafa Davies.

Briefly: Jordan Richter was a promising teenage skateboarder in '90s. He rose to fame quickly; won competitions and awarded many endorsements.

However, at the height of his early career, he found Islam and became a Muslim at 16 years old. Unfortunately, he befriended Muslims who had a very narrow understanding of Islam. They advised him that photographs and skateboarding were haram. Not wanting to displease Allah, Jordan Richter gave up his passion of skating for Islam.

15 years later, he discovered that skateboarding and photography is permissible. He is now skateboarding and entering competitions again.

The documentary focused on his pain growing up with drug-abusive parents, and his challenges of becoming a Muslim in America.

This is what I learned from the documentary from Jordan's experience:

• when he converted, the Muslim community were proud to be associated with a new believer i.e. muallaf
• the Muslim community taught him ritual and cultural practices confused for Islam
• most of them did not bother to guide him post conversion. he had to guide himself
• he felt very lonely as a Muslim; having lost his friends when he was Jewish, and now that he's a Muslim, he has not gained many true Muslim friends
• thinking that skateboarding was haram and inpermissible, the discontinued his passion for what he thought would please Allah, and found other permissible means to survive but surviving on little income

What moved me:

• even though he gave up his passion, he was never angry at Allah. He never left Islam and just soldiered on
• even though he was lonely without companionship, he soldiered on. He did not desert his faith
• that many new believers face a possibility of losing their family and friends, and yet the majority of the existing Muslim community are not as accepting or indifferent to their situation
• many existing Muslims do not realize that reverts/converts are just like young children. they are learning step by step. The average insensitive and unlearned Muslims expect reverts/converts to don Muslim-Muslimah dress immediately, to know how to perform prayer, to understand the adab at a mosque, etc. IMMEDIATELY. Rightfully, new reverts/converts need to have a solid understanding of Islam (aqidah) to strengthen their faith (iman) & behavior (akhlak) before proceeding to the ritualistic aspect of Islam.
• For example, if a revert/convert used to enjoy alcoholic beverages, they are not required to abstain immediately. They are expected to reduce their consumption gradually until they no longer crave the beverage. It's just like smoking or emotional eating.
• the majority of existing Muslims tend to be very judgmental towards new believers i.e. always looking for faults
• Muslims in general tend to only assist or do charity for MUSLIMS only. Yet, they forget that Islam encourages you to help others inclusive of non-Muslims. I do agree that I do observe this. Muslims do not like to help non-Muslims in the city, what more at rural areas. I cannot explain why this is so.

Having a friend who is already beginning to embrace Islam, I feel moved, and I feel I can foresee her challenges. Alhamdulillah, my family has agreed to unofficially adopt her.

I cannot bear if she has to experience the same things as Jordan Richter, or any other new Muslim for that matter.

She needs a support group more than ever.

May Allah make things easy for us.

Thanks Jordan. No, thank you Allah for leading me to the documentary and giving me the realization.

The Power of Kindness

Some of my friends are positive and sprouting these lovely anecdotes. It helps me immensely especially when I am faced with the challenges in life. Yes, I used to be as chirpy and bouncy. My friends used to call me the ''bouncing ball'' or "chirpy". At one point, I think I became disillusioned. I really want to find that me that I know. I just do not know where she is.

The last 3 months have been really challenging. The trailer accident was a huge wake up call among many. I believe Allah is giving me many warnings. Small bells and big bells.

Death is certain.

Just because I am not on death row, or terminally ill in a hospital, doesn't guarantee I will live longer than the ones mentioned earlier. I could easily have crashed into that trailer, or slip and fall and get a brain hemorrhage. The trailer accident did wake me up. I hyperventilate when my car is behind, next to or overtaking any large vehicles. The repeated nightmares has made me re-evaluate what is important in my life. Even though I have, there is still a lot of pain.

Yes, I have forgiven but there is still pain.

I know slowly by showing kindness to others will heal me.

Naziah asked me to read the book, the Power of Kindness by Pierro Ferrucci.

Thank you everyone who has shown me kindness.

I am ever grateful to Allah for bestowing kindness upon me.

I hope I will be able to deliver on my promise as well! :-)

The Gold Dinar, No Longer a Concept, Now a Reality

Back in my university days, I was always in awe of the concept of using a medium of transaction where the value used for payment equals the goods and services being paid for.

For example, today, if I wanted to buy an iPhone, I would pay in RM 2000 cash. However, the ''cash'' or ''fiat money'' or paper money's actual value, does not amount to RM 2000.

It was during my studies that I wanted to be a part of re-establishing gold and minerals as currency, which was used for centuries before the fiat currency was introduced and before Richard Nixon release the greenback from being tagged to gold.

In any case, Allah ordained that I was to be reunited with a dear friend who is involved in implementing the dinar and dirham in Malaysia. Currently, Kelantan is implementing the system.

In my enthusiasm, I have met with my friend who is an Engineering lecturer at UIAM, and asked her many questions on how the implementation and procedures were carried out, especially in terms of banking and it's involvement with the Malaysian Central Bank.

I will post my notes from the discussion in a following post. For now, please read articles on this in the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465623070689934.html

Malaysian Insider:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/kelantan-launches-gold-dinar/

The Obedient Wives Club

This is the latest hot issue apart from Bersih. I was asked to comment since I have friends who are keen on Islam, and Muslim friends who get barraded with questions from curious non-Muslims.

Watch and listen to a discussion between OWC, Sisters In Islam and Islamic Renaissance Front:

http://www.bfm.my/evening-edition-obedient-wives-club-6-july-2011.html?jn50aa7170=4#jotnav50aa7170f4f30f53fe51fed70717d1d6

My 2 cents:

1) Divorce is not the product of 1 party.

2) To reduce the divorce rates, we must look at the fundamental issues and resolve them. Some may be:

a) monetary

b) both parties become too career oriented

c) long-distance relationships due to offshoring and outsourcing causes strain

d) marrying young without mental, emotional, physical, financial and spiritual maturity

e) infidelity

f) others

I feel that OWC is dangerously misrepresenting Islam and the role of women. Dr Azlina from OWC admitted that marriage solely legitimizes sex and well, the discussion was focused on sex.

Marriage is about building a healthy family institution. Sex is just a means, but not the end. The family institution is the starting point to building good Islamic individuals, who will then create a good Islamic community.

When the focus is sex, it cheapens the family unit and the concept of society.

There should be a more comprehensive discussion on this by learned individuals to correct the gross misconception among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. If not corrected, the repercussions would be grave. Misunderstanding creates confusion. Confusion create error in action. Erroneous actions cause breakdowns in faith, families, etc.

Kissing Buddha: A Closer Look Into Cambodia

Let's just say I almost missed my flight.

I wrongly dated my calendar and thought that the trip to Cambodia was on 15th July when it was actually on 8th July. Thanks to my wonderful friends in Bintulu who understands my absent mindedness. They called me on 7th July!

Cambodia is a pleasant surprise.

Upon arrival at Siem Riep International Airport and meeting the Customs officials, our first impression is that the people at the airport are not as friendly as the ones we meet in Thailand, Brunei, Borneo or Indonesia. Hoping to be corrected, we, all 7 of us soon met our tuk tuk driver Mr Kram. Thankfully, he greeted us with a huge smile.

I noticed that many vehicles in Siem Riep are powered by motorcycles. You see motorcycles attached to wagons, motorcycles attached to contraptions where it transforms into a truck, van, car, etc.

The population in general appear youthful since most of them cycle. You can see a mother cycling with her baby strapped on her chest, while her 2 kids are pillion riders.

We stayed at Temple Villa, where the rates are 2 stars, but the quality is 4 stars. Truly! 3-single beds, AC, fan, TV, DVD player, personal bathroom, a minibar with replenishable water bottles, free WiFi, free internet cafe, towels, toothbrushes and soap, for USD 23/night is a steal. Eating at the Villa was cheaper than at eateries since the rates are for stay-in customers. The location is at the heart of Siem Riep, which makes it accessible to eateries and shopping areas.

The Khmer massages are USD 3/hour. That's RM 9 per hour. We went crazy!

The Cambodian population generally comprise of Khmer folk, Chinese and Vietnamese. It was once a historical power house, but the civil war started by Pol Pot, and the succeeding corruption has caused the population to be generally poor. This observation may be unjust since my benchmark is Malaysia. Perhaps, in the Khmer criteria, they may be working class. I need to do more research on this.

What to Do and See
1) We toured most of the interesting Wat(s) (temples) including the infamous Angkor Wat and where Angelina Jolie filmed the Tomb Raider. The entrance fees to see the wats within 3 days is USD 40. I had my history lesson and understood more on Hinduism and Buddhism.

2) We visited Tonle Sap (Fresh Water River). We chartered a small boat in the range of maybe USD 10 for 7 people. Don't worry, it has life jackets. The tour took easily 2 hours +. We saw the floating village, where the Khmer and Vietnamese folk build their houses on rafts attached to a motorboat. They literally bathe, answer nature's call, fish, and do domestic work in the river. There was a floating church, mosque, orphanage, school, shop, restaurant and a sports court. The floating mosque was a donation from an organization in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Most of the establishment of schools were funded on donations, but the run-and-maintain costs are borne by the local administration. It was really heart-wrenching seeing how large families crowd in a small boat house; eating, sleeping and cooking in 1 area. Some of them were extremely impoverished. The boat that they were paddling in was old and leaking, that the young children as old as 5 or younger can be seen scooping water out of the boat (sampan). A few of my friends donated money to those whom we feel needed it. We did not care that some of our friends insisted that we not subsidize laziness. In my personal opinion, these people are from a war torn-corrupted country. The government and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) presence is practically nil. They stay on rivers dependant on the river source. A few days before we came there was a draught and the river was dry. How can these people who have nothing make a living? How can they who hardly have clean water, electricity, and basic facilities make ends meet? What if their only source of income i.e. the river was dry? My heart bled for them. I can live without a few USD. I can opt to not eat out, or go to a movie. I can survive. The Khmer folk need it more.

3) Cultural Village
We paid USD 11 per pax (on weekends) and USD 6 (weekdays) to enter a Mini Cambodia Village. There is a museum, judgement tunnel as per Buddhism, and cultural performances for traditional Khmer weddings, fiance selection, and etc. I took a liking to the some of the male-female dances. Very different but respectful. Okla, plus I thought one of the male dancer was uber cute.

4) Silk Farm
There is no entrance fees. We learned how Cambodian Silk is made. From the type of tree they used to feed the silk worms (all types of mulberry), the worm life cycle (apparently worms are created just to mate, and then they die), how fine and raw silk are made, how to differentiate between hand made silk and machine made, etc. Very interesting. Now I understand why it is so expensive. It's so manual!

5) Local delicacies
The Khmer food is somewhat familiar to Malaysian tastebuds but different. Muslims can opt for vegetarian dishes or dishes with seafood. I advise to eat the local dishes and not try something familiar like Western food. You might be disappointed.

5) Shopping
You can go to the Night Market (pasar malam) and the Old Market. Prices are inflated and must be haggled to at least 50%. Remember, these prices are for tourists. You can buy their traditional dresses, shirts, pants, handmade handbags, paintings, coffee flavored rice wine i.e. tuak (i kid you not!), local coffee, local beer (Angkor beer was so popular among my non-Muslim friends), silk, and etc. If you know how to haggle, you can get dirt cheap stuff compared to Malaysia. Dirt cheap. Call me up if you need bargaining tips.

6) War Museum
You can check out the destruction left by Pol Pot.

7) Visit orhpanages.
There are so many orphanages.

8) Visit your local church and mosque.

What I Learned
1) Clean and accessible water is still scarce in Cambodia (not to mention electricity)
We only drank bottled water there.

2) Khmer uses sitting toilets and water to clean themselves in the restrooms. However, if you are not careful, some ''public'' toilets may use recycled water. I had a terrible experience cleaning myself at a restaurant. The toilet was clean, but when I felt my hands were oily, I realized they may have recycled the water from the dish cleaning. If you were thinking it, yes, I did scream!

3) Muslims are referred to as Cham. The earliest Muslims in Cambodia originated from Champa, Vietnam. Due to unawareness, Khmer folk call everyone wearing a headscarf Cham. Yeah, I was Miss Cham! They think Chams speak the same language globally. Initially, I disagreed with them. When I sat to think about it, I realized, maybe when Muslims greet each other, we have a universal language: assalamualaikum, salaam a'laik, and salaam. Most of us can speak a little Arabic. I feel proud to be Muslim!

4) The number of hotel presence outnumber the number of schools, and hospitals.
During Pol Pot's reign, he ordered the killing of intellectuals: teachers, writers, historians, academicians, doctors, lawyers, etc. Children who wanted to learn had to be smuggled into temples.

5) There are so many orphanages!
I have yet to determine why there are so many considering it has been at least 20 years since Pol Pot's rule ended. Perhaps it was due to the landmines, or human trafficking.

6) There are 2 prices everywhere you eat or everywhere you shop (except at standard marts): 1 price for Khmer, 1 price for tourists. If you want to invite your tour guide and tuk tuk driver to eat with you, just allow them to eat separately. You can treat them by increasing their tip to compensate for the lunch and dinner.

7) When you go to the floating village, make sure you buy books, stationeries, and dry food from Malaysia to donate to either mosque, church or orphan schools. You don't want the hassle of bargaining in a foreign country.

8) Khmer folk are industrious. Our tour guide went to school until 5th grade or something. Then he worked at hotels, saved money to learn English, and Spanish so he can become a tour guide. Wow, how many of us bother remembering what they LEARNED in SCHOOL?

9) Cambodia was saddled by civil wars that they INVITED the French to colonize them. They are also very proud to share this information with tourists. I guess, you must be fed up with all the in-fighting of your people that you'd rather have a foreigner colonize you. I guess better the French than the Dutch. Hehehe pun intended (referring to history here).

10) Remember how people always say don't buy from the children or people who stalk you at the tourists sites? I say BUY FROM THEM. Why?
a) Much cheaper
b) You are really helping the hard core poor
c) Though you can't buy from all, buy what you want, and at least you are helping some
d) They sell post cards, hats, shirts, books, food and drinks much cheaper than the night and old market. I did my survey. For schizzle.

11) Gas prices at the pump stations in Cambodia are roughly USD 1.70 per gallon and follows the market rate. I can't imagine how the poor survive and get around since they need gas.

12) Many tourists fund an entire tuk tuk or the like to assist Khmer in making a living. They show their gratitude by posting the poster of the donator on their tuk tuk etc.

Cambodia has taught me to be grateful of the basic necessities, my civil liberties, my country, my family and friends. Malaysia is not perfect and has many room for improvement, but we are better off than many countries. I still want to fair elections, refining civil rights and policies, and etc, but it doesn't make me less of a Malaysian or a Muslim.

Be the Change You Want to See In the World

PS> Well, I didn't kiss Buddha. I made sure Buddha kissed me in a picture! :p