The Not-So-Real Asatizah At Work

"Kenapa ustazah tak tunjuk saya rumah kosong ni dari awal?" 
I kept my silence to his question.

Ustaz was upset that the empty house, with rubbish strewn all around, is the dwelling place of many unseen beings.
"Mari masuk sini, ustazah. 
Saya tunjuk mana tempat dia duduk."

The sun had settle down.
It was already dark, so I did not go beyond the front door with a big basin of salt in my hands.

"Tina pengsan lagi."
Tina's mother came to tell the condition of her frequent fainting daughter.
She lugged along another big bundle of salt.

After Ustaz did his work at the common big dumping bin placed not far from the entry into the house,
"Ada lagi satu rumah kosong sebelah dengan dapur."

Hearing that, he looked at the reduced salt supply and said, let the father do the same thing to that house.

******

I had told Ustaz many times, I am no ustazah.
Just a family friend who sees and shows support when another family being tested.
I feel out of place to be called ustazah, but he insisted calling me so.

******

I had, on many occasions, watching Tina being 'ruqyah' by Ustaz.
Although Al-Qur'an is in his heart, I was needed to check on his recitation.
He recited not from quotes of verses from the Qur'an, but the whole Surah, even if it is the 286 verses of the Al-Baqarah at one go.

His speed?
Faster than movement of my eyes to check the prints on the Qur'an.

******

Yasin used to be my daily Surah before I proceed to continue my reading during my free days.
Ustaz told me to continue Yasin with the first page of the next chapter, As-Saffaat.
When I asked him why, he said, just do as I told you.
If you ask again, I'll add more to your reading.
I stopped there and then.

****** 

I was supposed to follow Tina's family travelling northwards, back to their hometown, on the third week of December.
Ustaz wants Tina to lead a normal life once again.
She will pinpoint places where she often saw during her 'ruqyah' session.

Since my daughter was in Singapore and there were many weddings, I went downwards instead.

****** 

In Penang, Ustaz needed someone to check on his recitation.

Ustaz is not a real Ustaz.
I just called him so, as he has, and is imparting knowledge to me.
Whoever I get his or her knowledge from, they are my Teachers.
For that, I am forever grateful.
Al-Faatihah to these people after my prayers.

He did not attend any formal education institution, as I was told.
It is just that, he feels compelled to assist others in need.
He has been doing so for the past 60 years, just like his ancestors from Hadramaut, in Yemen.
It is in his blood.
He often check on Tina whenever he passed by Johor Bahru on his way to Singapore.

****** 

As he put it, others looked down on him, upon knowing of his educational background.
He was advised to be extra careful with his recitation and tajwid.
He said, about 5 or 6 'hafiz' who had studied in 'pondok' in Kedah was invited to witness what this Arab will be doing and reciting.

When the 'ruqyah' session started, these 'hafiz' took him lightly, because of his educational background, compared to them.
He is just another outsider trying to outwit Tina's family and those around him.

But when he continuously reciting one Surah after another at lightning speed, people began to come forward, volunteering to be scanned too...

Few days after he returned to Batu Pahat, I called him.
He was still without voice.
Too many 'ruqyahing' those in Penang.                                                

The Haj - We Are No Judges

Sukisno aka Novi, a hajj pilgrim from Bojonegoro, East Java walked out from a rest room at the King Abdul Aziz Airport, Jeddah to perform hajj on Sunday night.
Sukisno, a beauty salon business person, admitted his transvestite status and planned to learn Islam totally after the hajj. (Antara/Prasetyo Utomo)

Source: The Jakarta Post - October 24, 2011 

******   

Before the scheduled date when I was to follow S back to her hometown in Lampung, Indonesia, she called to say she had to return home immediately. 
Her father had passed away in Mecca. 
So, her mother returned home at a much earlier date.
Neither her husband nor her children tagged along. 

S had planned for me to meet her village teacher when her parents will be from their Haj last year. 

****** 

The first time I met S, was at Masjid Raya not far from Batam Centre. 
I was seeing my friend for the last time before she and her husband perform their Haj, in 2006. 
S was sending off her father-in-law. 

S was initially sceptical about Singaporeans. 
Based on what she heard and read, Singaporeans are all about abc - abusive, being bossy, and cheaters.
What's more, her niece who had been working in Singapore for four years as a maid is yet to return home. 
S believed the girl was abused, tortured, and her salary was never paid.

It was only after I brought S around, she was taken for an initial shock seeing Indonesian maids with latest  handphones and fast texting fingers.
They gathered together, chatting their working hours away, while waiting for children at play.

We then went to hotspot City Plaza.
Many were dolled-up, many wore revealing clothing with jewellery.

S realised, these maids are not up to innocently nothing when many were accompanied by their male Bangladeshi friends.
After several trips to Singapore, and S get to know of married maids having relationship with not only foreign workers, but multiple Singaporean partners who support them, providing them cash, topping-up their phonecards, S realised her wrong perception of Singaporeans.

From then on, we became closer.

******

It was after two years of knowing S that she disclosed her father's predicament.

Her father had been the backbone of his family since he was able to carry loads.
The eldest in his family, responsibility was loaded on his both shoulders before he could understand the meaning of problem.
What's more problem solving.
Since her father became a man before he was even a boy, as a small built farmer, workloads he carried on his shoulder were usually more than any ordinary men able to handle.

Both S's parents were from the same village.
Her mother's parents married off their daughter (S's mother) to the man.
They knew their daughter will be in good hand, having a hardworking husband.

Too hardworking S's father was, until his body gave away.
He became a very old man in his 30s, and had lost all ability to work.
No energy left in his body.
He could not even sit down without being assisted, what's more to stand up.
Doctors just advised him to rest at home.
But as a farmer, there were 1001 things to be done.
They turned to traditional healer, who inserted susuk or charm needle, to support her father's body, for his health and mobility.

****** 

About 30 years on, the old man was advised to remove the foreign object before he reached the Holy Land.

On one hand, S knew it is religiously wrong to have susuk implanted in one's body.
But on the other, it is used for medicinal purpose, nothing to do for vanity.

I brought this matter to my eldest sister.
The susuk reminded her of a Singaporean female who had the object inserted into her knees, for health reason, after her long stay in hospital.

******      ******      ******

The susuk was not removed when the father left for Haj to complete the last pillar of his faith.
He had worked too hard to make a decent living.
Now, before his death, this ultimate goal needs a scoring too.
He wanted to step the spiritual path, the spiritual journey to reach HIM.
The journey that had been taken by just mere physical creatures who are all owned by THE ONE beyond the material world.

He wanted to see the Ka'abah.
Ka'abah is very inviting.
The very inviting Baitullah invites all sincere guests.
Its OWNER Selects HIS guests.
The father wanted to be one of them. 

Baitullah is gravititional.
It has Its own unique pulling force.
That ALLAH's Possession was always in his mind, forever appearing in front of his eyes.

The father wanted to perform tawaf.
He wanted to be part of the whirling scene, like the obedient orbiting planets, never straying away from the designated path, before The CREATOR call off the day.

The father wanted to be present during wukuf, the world's greatest spiritual assembly.
Never mind the susuk inside him.
He wanted to be truthful to himself.
He wanted to lay bare his heart and soul for HIM to see.
HE Who Creates, Knows what's inside HIS mere creation.
The old man brought with him plentiful requests...

After performing their Haj, few days before the scheduled flight home, S's mother was doing her last minute shopping for souvenirs when news reached her that her husband had passed away in his sujud position while praying.

A new chapter in one of GOD's creation had opened.
His journey continues...       

Not Just 'Imam Muda', But Eternal Leader

"Imam Muda" or Young Leader, a Malaysian television series with 10 young men between 19 and 27 entered the show.
Another reality show thrusts for viewers.

For a simple reason that these young men are not hopefuls of 'Akademi Fantasia', 'Malaysian Idol', 'Mari Berdansa'... and many more reality show that I am not possible to keep track,
not the reality fit for soul food,
these young men had voluntarily opted the responsibility to place heavy baggages on their shoulders, had their private lives 'intruded into',
'out of pity', I do not follow the reality show from day one on Astro Oasis 106 when “Imam Muda” first aired last year, which the participants were only Malaysians.   

'Imam Muda', said to be a hit Islamic reality show, yes, I heard about it, but honestly I did not follow.
One reality show after another.
A copycat nation?
Hopefully, not us at all.
To keep up with trend, now we need a reality show to choose a highly religious leader who should be seen fit and worthy to lead the society?

The end result, according to Izelan Basar, station manager for the Malaysian satellite television station which produces the show, they wanted to do the best they could to attract youths to be closer to the religion.

But the further end result is what I feared then, as we have no see-through 'kasyaf' eyes, able to penetrate the unknown.

These young men, with long future years ahead, are thrown into the limelight.

They can plan their future, but they cannot predict them.

We can point straight to Qada' and Qadar, fated that things should happen when it's 'not according to plan'.
We can be the best planner of the best, but in the end, it is up to HIM to execute or abort it.

People tend to remember the 'once only' mistake than the positive doings we do all our lives.

Many people are less forgiving, lesser than HE who creates us.

People and prints tend to harp over the black tiny dot of ones doing, over, and over, and over again.

I had read and observed many cases, befell to those well known in this region, when once only mistake done, all goodness will go into the drain.

Even when things done are not mistake, but not according to norm or culture, the masses are too easy with accusation, even fault not those well known, but masses themselves, for having 'half full half empty' understanding.

But when I heard "Assalaamu'alaikum, saya Mujahid, berasal dari Woodlands, Singapura... Memecah suatu tradisi, meneruskan perjalanan suatu kehidupan..." on tv in a house I visited few Wednesday nights ago, that was the turning point for Me to know more about the reality show.
I would have not recognised him, if not for the resemblence of his father's feature.

As was My previous sharing, when too many Muslims from Pakistan married among their own relatives, wrong perception of Islamic teaching was reflected.

I submitted myself to become a victim of wrong perception too.
When too many local reality show, 'Mentor', 'Raja Lawak', 'Maharaja Lawak'... were served on platters to us, to Me then , 'Imam Muda' was on such category too.
How wrong was I then.

Credit should be given to Tuan Asmawi Tuan Umar.
He made his presentation to Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) for the 'Imam Muda' reality program.
But it was turned down, as RTM already had its reality show.
The same proposal was made to TV9 but it already had 'Akademi Al-Qur'an'.
Although he was under great pressure to bring forth his idea to realisation, but he still has great confidence in HIM.

He will be helped if he wants to help others to HIS path.
He brought forward his working paper to Astro, but the Malay panel was sceptical, not interested in his idea, since Astro already has had its AF and RL.

He then seek permission to see their superior, who came all the way from India.
The response was "Good!", knowing imam's duty and responsibility is more than a priest.

“Imam Muda”, a Malaysian Islamic reality show first aired in 2010.
It is to create a new generation of young and credible ' imams', training them towards depicting a true picture on the essence and responsibility of being true leaders. 

“This is not like other programs that have no religious values,” said the show’s chief judge and 'imam' at the National Mosque, Al-Fadhil Dato' Hasan Mahmud Al-Hafiz, a former prayer leader at Malaysia’s national mosque.  
“We have no shouting or jumping. We provide spiritual food. We’re not looking for a singer or a fashion model.”

This formula works in 21st century Malaysia.
Other reality TV have crowned chefs, designers, hair stylists, models, singers, but religious leaders?
Malaysia Boleh.
Unlike other reality show, showing their best at runway walk-offs and challenging among themselves at quickfire cooking challenges, these young men, they have no jumping, prancing around or shouting.

They enrich the spirit.
They performed 'fadhu kifayah', dia yang buat, kita tak payah, attended to corpses at morgue that had gone unclaimed for weeks and burying them, joined police crackdown on "Mat Rempit", teenage motorcyclists and counselled unmarried pregnant mothers-to-be.
This journey is documented in the program, dealing with a highly important institution amidst the crumbling society of I have full right of what I want to do, not what I need to do in this progressive nations.

When imam of the past used to be always someone ancient-schooled with old-fashioned thinking and refused to understand the youngs, Astro Oasis is steering towards a new generation of young, credible, and progressive leaders.
They are unearthing and training new versatile imams, giving information to the society on the importance of versatility towards the right path.
We are witnessing the process of finding true essence in the modern and progressive imam. 

"Imam Muda" is the most-watched program ever on Astro Oasis, an Islamic-themed cable channel.
Even the programme creators were thrilled by its success in achieving their goal of bringing young generation closer to their faith, with aim to find leaders who will connect with youths, keeping faith close to their heart amidst nowadays generation immersed in fun-filled pop culture.

Astro Oasis had already paved the way for ten 'Imam Muda' last year, and GOD Willing, another ten for this year.

These talented good young men, from the beginning, it is made clear of their intention is not for fame, not for money, not for showing of how good they are.

It's truly amazing with the idea of using reality tv to search for today's young people to become tomorrow's religious leader.
This bizzarre marriage between religion and pop culture is working miracle, sparked a new level of interest for believers, and took the world by storm.
The reality show proved that the amount of potentially good program is enormous.

The show is midway, (tonight too, if I am not mistaken. I had not really sit down to specially watch the program, just snippets here and there) through its 10-week stint.
It's producers are looking for pious but progressive Muslims who can prove that religion remains relevant to Malaysian youths despite the pop culture and other negative influences.

The show has become the Islamic-themed channel’s most-watched program ever.
It debuted to great popularity in Malaysia, and the programme has gained global attentions.  
'Imam Muda' was shown to 3.7 million viewers worldwide, surpassing 'Akademi Al-Qur'an' viewers, many times more.
Even its Facebook site has surpassed its 370, 000 fans and is still growing.

******

I had worked with Mujahid's mother, and I had worked under his father.

Mujahid had been my kindergarten student, and so was his few siblings.

Once, some time last year, on Friday visiting My ex-colleagues, before An-Nur underwent total renovation, I heard a very familiar voice reciting verses from The Holy Qur'an.

I was listening attentively to the familiar voice when My friend said,  

"Your son lah, Mujahid."

I was surprised because he was in secular school.

But like father like son, "kemana tumpahnya kuah, kalau bukan kenasi."

I had made known to his father that I would prefer children to get real exposure of the truly mixed Singapore races.

Never mind the father's a UIA graduate, and any other university for that matter, and it's ok I obtain my master from u-never-study education centre.

No doubt Mujahid's parents are both theologically inclined, but I would prefer Mujahid to be sent to secular school, given his active and outgoing nature.

No doubt the father was My principal, but I had often voiced out My views despite opposing his.

I had to let him weigh rationally a piece of My mind as I had always look upon the late Ustaz Taha Suhaimi.

Born on a Thursday, July 27, 1916.

Although his father, Sheikh Muhammad Fadhlallah as-Suhaimi, had helped to establish Kulliyah Al-'Attas in Johor Bahru and founded Madrasah Al-Ma'arif in Ipoh Lane in 1936, yet the young Taha Suhaimi received his early education at the Raffles Institution.

He later spent eight years studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

Since he went to Al-Azhar to sincerely seek knowledge, and not certification, he returned to Singapore to become a lecturer at the Ngee Ann College.

He was also the first president of the Syari'ah Court.

After his father, Sheikh Muhammad Fadhlallah as-Suhaimi's demise in August 16, 1964, at 78 years of age, Ustaz Taha took charge of Madrasah Al-Ma'arif. 
 It was first built in Tanjung Katong before resited at wakaf land in Ipoh Lane in 1939 by Shaikh Omar Bamadhaj.

An all-girls' Islamic school, it is one of six full-time Islamic madrasahs for primary, secondary and pre-university levels students in Singapore.

With futuristic vision the school master was empowered with, I remember looking at old pictures of the 70s of Madrasah AlMa'arif, with Chinese teachers.
They had even enrolled Chinese staff for the future generation.

Its school curriculum has always emphasis the balance of theology studies and secular subjects from the Singapore Ministry of Education, a more well-rounded and wholesome education.

In 1971, Al-Ma'arif had its students sat for the first GCE 'O' and 'A' Level as private candidates, more than twenty years earlier before the madrasah curriculum was revamped by MUIS, the Singapore Islamic Council, to include the curriculum from the Ministry of Education.

Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah has since moved to Lorong 39, Geylang.

Ustaz Taha As-Suhaimi had authored 'Biography of Sheikh Muhammad Bin 'Abdullah As-Suhaimi' (his grandfather), 'Commentary of the Surah Yasin' Hajj and 'Umrah', 'Proofs Concerning the Validity of the Qur'an', 'The Book of Fasting, 'The Book of Fiqh', The Science of  Tawhid', 'The True Meaning of Heresy', 'Qadha' and Qadar,  all in Malay.

Some of his English writings are 'Has the Bible Been Altered?' and 'Muhammad Foretold in the Earlier Scriptures'.  

He passed away on Tuesday, June 8, 1999. 

May we benefit from knowing him.
Al-Faatihah.

The Misunderstood Cultural, Nothing Religious Inbreeding

Inbreeding Among Muslims In The UK Is A Sizeable Problem 
nuryn 

Opening Up Discussion Of Problem Of Inbreeding
Inbreeding within the Muslim community in the UK and its tragic consequences have recently been aired openly. Within the community itself, where marrying within the family is part of tradition, the problem of inbreeding tends merely to be accepted as par for the course. For others, silence on the issue of inbreeding is the result of political correctness and fear of being branded racist. A talk on inbreeding within Islamic communities by geneticist Steve Jones prompted airing of the issue in the British press. Warning that inbreeding in Islamic communities was threatening the health of generations of children, Steve Jones, said, “We should be concerned as there can be a lot of hidden genetic damage and children are much more likely to get two copies of a damaged gene”.
Size And Impact Of The Problem
Although inbreeding is a huge problem within the Islamic community, inbreeding is not a koranic teaching. The problem is more cultural than religious, even though there could be confusion within the minds of the community.
The vast majority of Muslims in the UK are from Pakistan. It is said that about half of British Pakistani Muslims marry a first cousin and that such Muslim inbreeding are 13 times more likely than the general population to produce children with genetic disorders. About 10% of children from first-cousin marriages either dies in infancy or develops a serious life-threatening disability. And although 3% of children born in the UK are British Pakistanis, they make up 33% of the 15,000 to 20,000 children born each year with genetic defects. The defects range from blindness or deafness, to physical deformities, to all kinds of organ damage, including brain damage, which can cause death or chronic degenerative illnesses.
It is not just the hospitals that have to cope with the medical problems that these children face. The education system, too, has to try to cater for those with learning difficulties. Then there are the families themselves, who have to cope with the impaired children, or have to face the trauma of the loss of children. On top of that, physically unaffected children are more likely than the general population to carry the defective gene and pass it on to subsequent generations.
Attitude Of Muslim Community To The Problem
The issue of inbreeding is one that is discussed to some extent on Muslim websites. Explaining the popularity of marriages between cousins, one British-Pakistani netizen wrote, “A main reason why this corrupt practice is still followed in Britain is because the family wants to keep their property, land, jewellery and money in the family. The lack of education in families, along with Pakistani village culture, encourages these incestuous marriages”.
This lack of education is evident in the responses that some charity and health-sector workers encounter. They are told by many parents that the children’s disability is due to an “act of God” or the “will of Allah”. Zed Ali, manager of Project BME (Black Minority Ethnics), and herself of Asian and British background,  says that some parents think that if their children die, they will become angels in heaven.
Effort To Educate The Muslim Community
A Muslim doctor in Birmingham, Mohamed Walji, has discussed the devastating effect of cousin-marriages with the imam at his local mosque. The imam has since given lectures about this topic. According to Mohamed Walji, there has been a reduction in the number of cousin-marriages.
Think About It
If there are hard data on the size of the problem of inbreeding and its devastating effects, should it be politically incorrect to discuss the problem? Would it be more correct to discuss the issue of inbreeding and find constructive ways of tackling the problem? Many people in the Muslim community in the UK are educated, and by website comments are concerned about the effects of inbreeding. Could they, or should they, like Mohamed Walji, be leading the way in trying to stem the problem? Could religious leaders also play a part?

Source: A Big Message - Monday, June 6, 2011

****** 

Hay Festival 2011: Professor Risks Political Storm Over Muslim 'Inbreeding’

Prof Steve Jones, one of Britain’s most eminent scientists, has warned that the level of inbreeding among the nation’s Muslims is endangering the health of future generations.

Professor Steve Jones gives The John Maddox Lecture at the Hay Festival  

Photo: CLARA MOLDEN 

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones Religious Affairs Correspondent

The geneticist said that it was common in the Islamic world for men to marry their nieces and cousins.

He said that Bradford has a particular problem and warned that it could affect the health of children born into these marriages.

Prof Jones, who lectures at University College London, is likely to find himself at the centre of controversy in the wake of the comments.

Similar remarks made by Phil Woolas, a Labour environment minister, in 2008 resulted in calls for him to be sacked from the government.

Prof Jones, who writes for the Telegraph’s science pages, told an audience at the Hay Festival: “There may be some evidence that cousins marrying one another can be harmful.

“It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually closer than marrying your cousin.
“We should be concerned about that as there can be a lot of hidden genetic damage. Children are much more likely to get two copies of a damaged gene.”
He added: “Bradford is very inbred. There is a huge amount of cousins marrying each other there.” Research in Bradford has found that babies born to Pakistani women are twice as likely to die in their first year as babies born to white mothers, with genetic problems linked to inbreeding identified as a “significant” cause.
Studies have found that within the city, more than 70 per cent of marriages are between relations, with more than half involving first cousins.
Separate studies have found that while British Pakistanis make up three per cent of all births, they account for one in three British children born with genetic illnesses. Prof Jones also said that incest was more common than is often realised in every part of society, adding that it had been particular prevalent among royalty and suggested it is still ­continuing.
“Royal families are the human equivalent of fruit flies because they do all the sexual experiments you can think of and there are some examples of inbreeding.
“Royalty did it to keep the heritage within the family line.
“Inbreeding doesn’t apply particularly to our own royal family, but there is some.”
He explained that Prince Charles and Diana could both be traced back to Edward I, with Prince Charles being able to do this through 3,000 “lines” – overlapping connections between people in his family tree – and his former wife being able to do it through 4,000, making the Princess of Wales “from stronger aristocratic heritage” than her husband.
“Their parents had much ancestry in common,” he said.
“We are all more incestuous than we realise.
“In Northern Ireland lots of people share the same surname which suggests a high level of inbreeding.
“There’s a lot of surname diversity in London but if you look at the Outer Herbrides there are rather fewer surnames in relation to the number of people.”

Source: Telegraph - May 29, 2011