Milestones

Two kinds of Muslims...continuation

Assalamualaikum wbt again... due to request... part two is back.. this time i have to refer to the book again coz it's actually pretty rusty in my head. Classes just started too.. but that's no excuse for not gaining Islamic knowledge for the sake of Allah swt.. after all it is Allah swt that inspires these knowledge in our hearts.

"...So fear Allah. For it is God that teaches you...." Al Baqarah : 282

This is the translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali... the arabic word is taqwa... but it is translated here as fear. Which is not very accurate but it does suit the context mentioned. Taqwa is more like a strong faith in Allah... which will result in fear and love.. and etc. We should love Allah for obvious reasons, there is no one whom we should love greater than Allah.. not even our mother, father, or newly weded wife, or husband. The sahabahs during Prophet Muhammad pbuh time would be willing leave every single person who wages war against Prophet Muhammad's pbuh da'wa (preaching). The only true relatives they have are the ones who share the same faith as them. Islam, unlike Judaism, is not hereditary. You can't pass down Islam to your kids just because you are muslims. It does not work like that. If you believe and work righteous deeds, then you are a Muslim. And that is the only relationship that matters in the eyes of Allah. And we should also fear Allah for the harsh punishments that awaits those who continue to sin and had not made time to repent before his death .

The second ayat "For it is God that teaches you"... Yes, it is Allah that teaches us. Not our teachers in schools. Not our lecturers. But Allah. They just act as mediums. Let's say we are all going for the same lecture. All students go in class at the same time, without any prior knowledge about the subject.  They all sit in the same lecture theatre, same lecturer, the same air cond, the same sort of chair. But after the lecture, some may leave the lecture with crystal clear understanding. Some may not understand at all. Some may half understand but there are things that need clarification. So who teaches them these knowledge really? It is Allah. Allah inspires understanding in our hearts. Sometimes we may try really hard to understand a certain chapter, but we still can't. Yet our friend who is reading the same book beside us can explain it to us clearly. Sometimes we may have done a sin and Allah may punish us by not giving us understanding in some things. Or it may just be one of His trials. But we must always put in effort to try. We cannot just have trust in Allah swt without effort. Islam does not work like that. Allah will not change the state of a person if they do not first change themselves. If we do not go for lectures at all, Allah swt will most probably not give us any understanding.

Oh dear.. i was suppose to talk about Part Two.. but looks like this entry in long enough. I like to keep my entries short and concise. So I'll continue in my next entry....

Wassalam.

posted by RR @ 6:40 PM