Just to answer you on last Saturday’s cycling plan — I didn’t went to any of the options. I decided to rest at home and plan for my cycling club’s monthly plan. Came out with a good one, tonight I shall discuss it with other committee members.
I haven’t tell you that I currently learn Tajweed, that is to learn the correct way to read the holy book Al-Quran. Apparently, the test will be held tonight, and I have to admit, I cannot recall anything at all of what I have learnt.
This is not good. Not good at all.
Comparing the situation to the various paper tests/exams I had gone through in my life, this is not the one that I can just flip through the note for 5 minutes and will be likely to pass (the exam). Though I do possess religious school background, I cannot recall any moment when we (or at least, myself) has been thought on ‘Idghams’, ‘Madds’, or the ‘Izhars’. All I remember was we were thought to memorize the verses, one after another. I know at one point of my life, everything in Juz Amma were in my head, then few verses from Chapter 2: Al-Baqara, not even able to finish it, the ustaz made us change to start from the back, from Chapter 77: Al-Mursalat, then ‘upwards’. I managed to ‘install’ that, and another 1 and a half surah that were Al-Insan and Al-Jiin.
Of course this is the case back in my school days, at age 13-15. I was one of the slowest ‘installer’ in my class, that made me always be the one that receive various types of punishment, and pushed back as a non-popular.
From that moment, I had always dislike the first hour at school. I know that I will end up being the ‘target’ if things didn’t go right, and I couldn’t do much as I cannot read the Quran as fluent as others.
My desk mate back then, Muhammad Abdul Rahman was one of the best the school can have. He was fluent, sharp and always be on top of the list. He helped me, and that boosted my hafazan performance, for a while before the class was reshuffled.
Back then, I questioned what the school was trying to do. We were told to memorize the holy book, but what’s the point to memorize something that you do not understand? I didn’t dare to ask any of the ustaz, I didn’t think that they will answer me properly, because all they will say (I thought) was just “It rewards you with a lot of ‘pahala’,” which I found too shallow to accept.
That question was left unanswered for many years, ’till I have even forgotten that I once did ask about it.
Only when I was 20++ years old, the question popped again, and this time I found way to answer it.
From the moment after a long religious talk with Yoshi, a Jew I met in Washington D.C during SIFE Business Internship Innitiative program, I found that I know very less of my own religion when it comes to what Al-Quran really say about certain issue. I couldn’t quote any verse to support my point (compared to Yoshi that was able to quote verseby verse of his book), what more to understand Judaism/Christianity of what said in their book.
Mind you that even with that lack of knowledge, we (Yoshi and I) agreed that both religion came from the same god, and we also agreed that there is not even a single reason why the preachers of Islam and Judaism should hate each other. In fact, we should learn to understand, and make peace to every mankind.
That discussion left me wonder, and slowly develop a new personal interest-to read the translation of the Quran. It’s not that I never done it prior to the case, but the case has strengthen my eagerness to understand my own religion direct from the book, and not merely from what said by man.
Until today, the interest continues, but I am still unable to read Quran fluently, correctly. That’s why I decided to learn, but until this moment, I see no light, nor the end of the tunnel.
As I am writing this, I think I will need to take more drastic approach. I am thinking about the free class at Heritage Row. Maybe that can be my fast help.
For now, I have learn a lot of things, the way Allah says it. Though I normally do my reading alone, I do refer to those with deeper knowledge on the book. Just to ensure that I am kept on the right line. Don’t plan to become any kind of ‘Ayah Pin’ yet.
One verse that I always love. That answers my question on why Prophet Muhammad s.a.w never force people of different beliefs to preach Islam-it is because in the eyes of Allah, all beliefs are accepted, as long as the preachers hold tight to the teaching, as all beliefs always promote towards goodness, from Chapter 2: Al-Baqarah, verse 62 that says:
“Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] – those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness – will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.”
Of course there are religions that didn’t refer Allah as the Almighty, but if we take the part when Allah acknowledge those that do righteousness, that is the proof that Allah is kind to all human and He never discredit them with what they had done.
And in Chapter 61: As-Saf verse 9 it was said:
“It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate others with Allah dislike it.”
Here, it is clear that Allah want the Muslim themselves, those that claim to preach the Quran, to fully perform as what asked by Him, and by doing that, will set a good example to preachers of other religion. Only by doing that, the preacher and the religion will gain its respectable position by others, though some will remain their dislike-ness to Islam.
Allah ask us, the preachers to PROVE to the world that we are worth to be called ‘the best of mankind’ as said in Chapter 3: Ali Imran verse 110:
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.”
Islam is so beautiful, its just the preachers need to understand it the way Allah want them to believe, and perform according to it.
It is time for us to look around, to our Muslim brothers and sisters, to our friends of Christian, Hindu, Buddha, Judah, Sikh, Jain and many others, to hold tight to their religion. To do our best according to what has been thought, and to make sure the world will be in direction of peace, where everybody understands and respect each others’ beliefs, just because that is what all religion always talk about.
The world is far from the end, it is time to make up something before it has gone too far towards it.
TG
