~Believe it or not~

*PRAAANGGG!!*

Mum comes to the crime scene running..

"Ok who broke this mug?"

A: Err.. the cat did it. I was just sitting here reading... "

"Hmm.. Ok I believe you, but I will still punish you for it."

A: D=

---

There are about 1.6 billion Muslims around the world presently (Wiki P. ed ia, 2011). That's a huge number innit? But how many among them are muslims?

...what, you can't see the difference?
I repeat: How many among these Muslims are muslims?


Got it? It's just capitalisation, but in English, one is a proper noun and the other is a common noun. Proper nouns symbolises names of objects, but a common noun is a class of entities where same entities share the same characteristics or definition.

You can always call a cow Wolf, but no matter what it is still a cow.
Look at this book below:


what genre would you call it? (ignore the fact that I mispelled a certain writer's last name. I was rushing, and first try on GIMP is not easy when you're unfamiliar with photoshop =_='')
No matter what the name on the book is, you can't call it a book on classical literature. It doesn't have all the boring winding old English written which needs deciphering to understand, but it has panels and drawings, so it's a comic book.

Likewise, someone claiming to be Muslim does not necessarily mean that he's a muslim.

Muslim-ity is not a genetical inheritance, nor an attribute granted to you through verbal affirmation or engraved in your identity cards.

A Muslim is a muslim if (and only if) he submits to Allah and follow the teachings of the Messenger as his way of life, and bearing witness that Islam is the true Religion. Enforce Good and Forbade Evil, do what Allah commands and leaves what He forbids.

"Eh, aku nampak je camni. Aku Islam je. Aku percaya je Tuhan. Tak semayang pon takpe, asal hati baik sudah.."

We might hear something like this though.. =__='''

Let's go back to the sketch earlier on this post. Can you see what is wrong with the whole incident?
I bet even a 5-year-old can answer that. If Mum really does believe in A, then she shouldn't have punished him right?
Wrong? Unless she wanted to no matter what, which we should then call Child Abuse..


Ok that's not the issue here.

The point is that if we do believe in something or someone, we should reflect it with our actions. There's no point in just saying "I believe you/him/her/it/them/that" if our actions do not tally with what we said..

..if you can't agree to this then you might want to knock your head against the wall or something. It's common sense.
Isn't that right? =P

That is why there's a hadeeth (which often comes up during prayer times on TV3 in Malaysia before.. don't know if it is still there) that the difference between a muslim and a kaafir is Solat, since it is one of the main pillars which defines a muslim.



And what about Iman? What defines a Mu'min?
The Prophet (SAW) answered Jibril (AS) in the famous hadeeth narrated by Umar (the second of forty by Imam An-Nawawi), that Iman is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Holy Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement and the Divine Decree.


So let's muhasabah ourselves, are we really worth being called Mu'mins?

To believe in Allah.
but are we still disobeying His commands as if He is not watching us?

To believe in the Angels.
but are we still doing what Allah forbades as if our words and actions are not recorded by the Raqib, Atid, and Katibin angels?

To believe in the Holy Books.
but how often do we read the latest and untampered version and actually following its guidance?

To believe in the Messengers.
but are we following or mocking his Sunnah?

To believe in the Day of Judgement.
but are we still performing sinful acts to others as if we won't be Judged for every single dzarrah of it?

To believe in the Divine Decree.
but when something seemingly bad and terrible happens to us do we accept it willingly or unwillingly as something that has been decreed to us by Allah?




You say you believe?

Then prove it.


TT__TT

---

"Ahh! Allah tahulah apa yang dalam hati aku. Tak perlulah nak tunjuk, ko jaga hal ko je ok?"

Yeah. But Allah knows your heart even more than you do. I'm just worried that He doesn't agree with you.
Me? I am minding my business. My faith is not complete if I don't want for my brother what I want for myself, and since I want Jannah, I want you to get it too. :)

---

Wallahu'alam...

~Of a greenhouse gas..~

Hehe, in this post let's go into physics/chemistry ;) .. NO! Don't go away you Arts & Humanities Major (or History *cough*), just keep reading on it won't be that bad. =D
Although be warned that there are quite a number of references to Chemical Engineering here and there (but of course, explanations are given).
Let's call it tadabbur Chemical Engineering eh? :D

What would you answer when I ask you: what are the three states of matter?

Three? Well yeah of course: solid, liquid and gas.

Some of you guyz who has extra scientific knowledge (or maybe a wiki addict) might also answer Four; including plasma. No not blood plasma (atau plasma darah in Malay), I mean: "Plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized." (Wiki P. ed ia, 2011).

Ok I don't want to go into plasma, that is not the main point of this post.

But do you know there's another "phase" of matter? Call it the 2.5th state of matter if you want (although technically it's not). At this phase, a matter is neither a liquid nor a gas, there's no specific distinction between the phases. Or in thermodynamic terms (ok you Arts major can skip this if you want ;D) the enthalpy of evaporation ΔH_vap equals zero.
When a fluid reaches this phase, it is called a "Supercritical Fluid".

So what's so great about this supercritical fluid? Let's look at carbon dioxide. In its supercritical state, it has many useful purposes. Since it is neither a gas nor a liquid it can effuse (i.e. individual molecules going through holes without collision with other molecules; or in simple terms, menembusi. You know how balloons left alone will shrink even when it has no visible holes? That's effusion) like a gas AND has solvent abilities of liquids.

This highly dissolving attribute of supercritical carbon dioxide is very useful in the extraction of chemical components, such as caffeine from coffee and even dry cleaning (which uses chemicals as solvents). It is also used in removing toxic residues, soot and odours of fire. In other words, it is used as a "cleaning" agent and what's more, it has very low impact on the environment (almost 100% non-toxic). So by becoming a supercritical fluid this common gas becomes a valuable and useful commodity.

So... what's my point in bringing up this... fluid, supercritical thingy thing. Chill, mestilah ada point dia =P

Actually what I said above relates quite closely with life and us, human beings as khalifah on this earth.

Our life is just like carbon dioxide (yeah, sorry for the analogy but I am a Chem Engineer see?). If we are released into the atmosphere, being allowed to roam freely in the environment without any restrictions, we will only be pollutants on this earth. We will only gather up in the atmosphere, increasing the temperature of the earth, causing forest fires; basically destroying the earth, making it a living hell. We might even mix with clouds, form carbonic acid and drop down as acid rain, killing trees, fish and deforming structures. In other words we will only kill and cause destruction on this earth.



"Dan (ingatlah) ketika Tuhanmu berfirman kepada para malaikat, "Aku hendak menjadikan khalifah di bumi." Mereka berkata "Apakah Engkau hendak menjadikan orang yang merosak dan menumpahkan darah di sana, sedangkan kami tasbih memuji-Mu dan menyucikan nama-Mu?" Dia berfirmanm "Sesungguhnya Aku mengetahui apa yang tidak kamu ketahui"
(Al Baqarah: 30)

Believe it or not, that is the nature of human being if they are left freely.
But then what are we supposed to do with our life? That carbon dioxide. Are we just pollutants? Well, as polluting carbon dioxide can be, it can become a form which is very useful.

We must be supercritical fluids.

Instead of just being free in gas phase, we should be controlled as supercritical fluids, then we can become the cleaning agents of this earth, removing impurities and nasty odours; purifying this earth. (which kinda coincides with one of our jobs as khalifahs kan?)

But do you know what causes substance in their gas phase to change into supercritical fluids?

The answer is Extreme Pressure.

(Below is a special warning to a certain person I know of who reads this blog)

Warning: Numbers below!

Trivia: The critical point of carbon dioxide (i.e. the point at which if the temperature and pressure go above that point, the substance will become a supercritical fluid) is 7.38 MPa (Mega Pascals) at 31.1°C. That is about 73 times the pressure the atmosphere is exerting on us.

(Ok, dah habis nombor)

So what does it mean? What makes us supercritical fluids? Challenges.
If we take challenges that we face on this earth as forces, then after taking a lot of it naturally our pressure level increases, and we'll get closer and closer to being a supercritical fluid.

This pretty much sums up the role of challenges in our life: shape us into better people to suit our job on this earth as the khalifah of Allah.

...

So is that it?

Well not really, that's just the whole concept, but there are other things that we need to do in order to prepare our lives to be pressurised into useful fluids.

(the following is explained in the form of Chemical Engineering [again.], but please bear with me k? =P)

The first step is to have a direction/purpose for our lives. If the carbon dioxide is meant as waste, then it will be waste. But if you direct it into proper pipings you can control and manage it better.
So what's the purpose of our lives? Refer to the first two lines of verse (2:30) given above, and (51:56) below:

"Aku tidak menciptakan jin dan manusia MELAINKAN agar mereka BERIBADAH kepadaKu."
(Az-Dzariyat: 56)

What's next? The gas needs to be channelled and stored in a proper containment; a pressure vessel (a container handling substance of high pressure. Aerosol cans are examples).
In other words, we need a confinement, the rules of Allah, the walls/barriers that is Syariah.

The walls however needs to be very strong and thick to withstand the high pressure that would be exerted on it, welded with one another properly and strongly or else the container will explode (heee explosions. now that's Chem Eng ;D) causing even more damage to the surrounding and to yourself. The walls should also be complete, without any holes. Allowing holes of course can release some of the pressure in your container, giving freedom to some of your carbon dioxide, but that would only lower down your value (since the amount of pressure you accumulate is what brings you closer to supercritical point), and at very high pressures, it could propagate into a crack and failure of the whole container. So always make maintenance to your walls everytime an external factor tries to damage it. ^^

Now you have your container, you are in Islam, you want to claim to be in Iman. Now as more carbon dioxide gets into the container, pressure will accumulate, and Allah will also provide additional sources to exert more pressure. Isn't this what Allah promised us?

"Apakah manusia mengira bahawa mereka akan dibiarkan hanya dengan mengatakan, 'Kami telah beriman,' dan mereka tidak diUJI?"
(Al-Ankabuut: 2)

Allah will not just let you be, He will test you with challenges and increasing your pressure value.

However the rules of thermodynamics (this is a simple one. believe me) state that increasing pressure will also increase temperature proportionately.
We are but mere humans, with challenges comes Stress. Our temperature will increase with pressure, and at high temperatures, wall materials start to get weak. It's Sunnatullah.
This is when you will need coolants to reduce the temperature of your pressure vessel. So what is it that will cool us down? Do'a, zikrullah, ibadah, patience.

".. Ingatlah, hanya dengan zikrullah (mengingati Allah) hati menjadi tenteram."
(Ar-Ra'd: 28)

Reading the Qur'an also helps, since Allah often reminds us in the Qur'an with verses such as this one below so that we will be calm and cool:

"Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang berkata, 'Tuhan kami adalah Allah' kemudian mereka meneguhkan pendirian mereka, maka malaikat-malaikat akan turun kepada mereka (dengan berkata), 'Janganlah kamu berasa takut dan janganlah kamu bersedih hati; dan bergembiralah kamu dengan (memperoleh) syurga yang telah dijanjikan kepadamu.' "
(Fussilat: 30)

Masha Allah =)
Tak cukup best ke?

And as time goes by, inshaAllah we'll become successful cleaning agents of this world.

Akhir kata: Life teaches us a lot doesn't it? Whatever we face are lessons to us. Ponder around life and our surroundings and they can provide lessons and become reminders to us. =)

Jom kita berusaha untuk menjadi khalifah di muka bumi Allah ini inshaAllah!!

~Left but lives on~

Salaam 'alaikum..

It's been a long time since I've last written..
So much to do, so much to learn, so much yet to do, but have I done enough? Have I make full use of my time? Without ever learning, I repeat the same mistake again and again. If not because Allah (SWT) the Almighty had been the Most Merciful to me, He might have taken away that particular ni'mat away from me long ago, that ni'mat called TIME.

وَٱلْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ﴿٢

By TIME! Indeed Man is in a state of LOSS!!

Wake up me!! Can't you see that verse is directed to you??! ><''

Anyway, last week was Teachers' Day in Malaysia. My special tributes to all my teachers, (although it's a bit late, I apologise for that..) and especially to my first and best teacher ever: My Parents. If it's not for them, I won't be who I am today. I am eternally grateful for all my teachers who had been patiently passing down their knowledge to me =) you guyz are the best!

But in this post, I'd like to highlight a certain teacher of mine whom I've been holding in a special place in my heart. Someone who has taught my class for most of my childhood years, teaching the wonderful subject of Islamic Studies, and whom left us quite suddenly near the end of my schooling years..

I was browsing through my collection of pictures and found an old photo of her and memories started to stream back into my mind. She had been my teacher for as far back as I can remember (ok maybe a tad bit later), she taught us a lot about Solat, she taught us a lot about the Seerah of the Prophet (SAW), about 'Aqidah, the Most Beautiful Names of Allah (SWT), and much much more. But truthfully speaking, when I think back I've never given her the level of appreciation that she deserved, and I was astonished that it affected me so much when she left 8 years ago, crossing the barzakh separating this world and the next. Only then I realised how much contribution she had made in my life, teaching me the most valuable knowledge of all, the knowledge of Islam.



But dear (Allahyarham) teacher Wan Zarinah, even when you have left, your amal lives on. For every time I practice what you taught, you get your share in it. Every time I read Surah Al-Fajr, I'd remember the first time I learned about its tafseer from you. I can't imagine how much you've obtained even when you are no longer in this world.

And now I want to follow your footsteps. I want to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (SAW). I want to pass down beneficial knowledge to others, become a Da'ie of Allah, sowing the magnificent teachings of Islam and the Prophet. I want to contribute for the Ummah, towards the rise of Islam in the future, all for the sake of Allah's Love.. Ya Allah please guide me.. I don't want to be among the people in the state of Loss.

Ya Rasulullah, I want to follow your footsteps to da'wah. I want to meet you and the Sahabahs in Jannah someday (inshaAllah), to thank you for spreading the words of Islam till it has reached me today.

But with my current state, it is impossible.

O Allah, guide me..
please give me the strength to stay steadfast..

Ya Allah, bless my teachers in this world and the hereafter..
Give my parents the best in this world and the hereafter..

Amiin.