Friday, April 17, 2009

Blog Issue

At LU last night, we were discussing the 3 Marhalah (peringkat) in Dakwah. Usually when it comes to core topics such as these, we will invite a penceramah jemputan.

Having had about 3 other previous sessions before, we were oredi getting comfortable with the speaker, he even remembered all our names by heart -- all eight of us. Ha ha. So u cant actually just face down when he asks a question coz he'll just say ur name and u have to answer whether u want to or not. Ha ha :P

So the 3 marhalah of dakwah are Ta'arif, Takwin and Tanfiz. Ill not go into that just yet. I think its a very heavy topic so Ill write about it in another specific post. It wouldnt be fair to combine it with this one, coz Id like to discuss and express my opinion about some of the points mentioned last night.

Dakwah.. what exactly is it? Some ppl think that dakwah is ceramah sana sini, thats the typical mindset of our community. But doing ceramah about this and that isnt the real meaning of dakwah, it is only a method. So what is dakwah?

Dakwah in its most simplest form is anything that invites people to do good.

But, in order to define dakwah more specifically, there must be an object, a goal, methods of achieving that goal and the objectives of the goal. So to put it together..

Dakwah is to summon fellow humans to turn to Allah with hikmah and by example in order to emancipate people from taghut to worship Allah instead. So that they will be free of the darkness of jahiliyyah and come into the light of Iman.

In Malay it is
"Menyeru manusia (object) kepada Allah (goal) dengan berhikmah dan contoh tauladan (methods) bagi memindahkan manusia daripada taghut kepada beriman kepada Allah, supaya manusia bebas daripada kegelapan jahiliyyah kepada cahaya keimanan (objectives)"

There are a lot more explanations about Dakwah, which of course I will go into later.

Something that I wasnt comfortable with the discussion yesterday was about blogging. The discussion was about our level of commitment towards dakwah. How committed are we really, and how do we rate it. Some examples of famous athletes that can be related with this were..

1. Tiger Woods: being one of the best golfers in the world -- he is known by all. When we say golf, ppl will automatically connect his name with it. It become synonymous.

2. David Beckham/Christiano Ronaldo: Famous footballers. Ppl either are totally devoted to them or seriously despise them. Either way, they are still well known around the world.

So the question was.. How many times do u think they practice each day? How many hours do they spend their time perfecting their swing or free kick technique. They sleep dreaming of how to improve their performance, their problems relate to everything about golf and football. They spend most of their time just thinking about it. You can see their dedication in everything they do. Their commitment shines from their faces.

So what about us? How is our dedication and commitment towards dakwah? We should use any means possible for this cause -- including blogs.
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Yes, this is something to think deeply about. A somewhat muhasabah tuk diri sendiri. But when we suddenly went into the issue of blogs, it became something totally different.

There was an example of how to use our blogs -- an example of a blog that was famously known for its strong tarbiyah method was mentioned (Im not mentioning names, but Sakinah knows :P) and was said that this blog is a very good example how a blog of a da'ie should be. It should be filled with everything ilmiah which will be good to the readers. It was mentioned that we shouldnt be talking about the problems we face, personal experience, how me feel, so on and so forth. We should use our blogs for dakwah, dakwah and more dakwah.

I dont exactly agree or totally disagree with this opinion. Yes, it is true that we should use any means possible to sebarkan dakwah. But we should go back to the definition of it - Dakwah is to summon humans to turn to Allah with hikmah and by example.

So it doesnt mean that by expressing how we feel, what we gro thru and the different experiences of our lives is not considered as dakwah. We are still just young muslim girls who go thru the same hardships of studying, the difficulties with relationships and mood swings. We are still but humans with lots of weaknesses and we need lots of improvements. The only difference is how we deal with these life experiences. This is our real reason for blogging. We want to share how we deal with problems so that ppl can take advantage and learn from them.

So I dont see any reason why we shouldnt write about ourselves in our own blogs. I am not against blogs that are very ilmiah like that was mentioned. It is good to go to such blogs for tazkirah now and then. But those blogs are very impersonal. They dont convey who that person is and how they really are in real life. Which is why I disagreed with the choice of the perfect blog -- bcoz I know who that person is and how he really is. Sometimes I think it's hypocritical.

I want people to know me when they read my blog, not someone who is so hard to get to know. We are who we are, and we are what we write. Some ppl are better saying things out loud. Some ppl are better expressing things in writing -- like me.

Like I used to mention before, my personal blog is for me to vent, to express and to say what I think without fear of being judged. Its my personal space, so I dont see why we have to follow what other ppl say when we dont agree with them. They think it is wrong, and they express it to us. But remember, it is our own choice to choose what to do and how to respond.

p/s: this is exactly why I have 2 different blogs. A personal and public one. One is for me to be me -- the crazy and silly girl I am when I want to be. The other for serious discussions on dakwah or anything ilmiah (although I havent started yet :P). Its much much easier that way. No fitnah-fitnah or misinteprations.

Wallahu'alam =)

Any opinions anyone?

Thursday, April 09, 2009

My Climb

Assalamualaikum, Hi everyone.

I didnt have anything to do yesterday. Ok, scratch that -- I do have things to do, but I wasnt in the mood, so I decided to do this. Its actually a very very brief compilation of my life till where I am today. I couldnt find some pictures I wanted, but nevermind. Please enjoy =)



We have to always reminds ourselves that Allah Taala does not reward us for our results. He rewards us for the effort we put into to achieve something. So what that guy dpt soalan bocor. So what the lecturers gave that class free marks. So what you arent like others who can quickly understand what the teacher is saying. So what?

No matter how hard ur journey is, remember.. the harder it gets, the more pahala Allah wants to grant you. So my brothers and sisters, never give up. You will get there in the end.

Monday, April 06, 2009

ABJZ Permas Jaya

Assalamualaikum wrt wbt

After the Officiation of Kempen ABJZ (Anda Bijak Jauhi Zina) Peringkat Negeri Johor at Pusat Islam Iskandar last month, it was the starting point for the campaign throughout Johor.

This campaign, with the cooperation of Jabatan Agama Johor, Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Johor and Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia was officiated by the Pengarah JAJ during this grand event.

The biggest issue involving the youth and our younger generation today is moral. How do we expect our youth to be the future leaders if their moral is corrupt and their akhlak is shadowed by maksiat. Most of the time, they are just jahil and ignorant. So this campaign is an effort to make them aware of the dangers and effects of zina or things that lead to zina. May our effort be blessed by Allah and leaves a mark to those who go thru it.

After the launching, our first programme was on the 27th of March at Sek Men Permas Jaya. With nearly 200 students in attendence, it was somewhat an experimental programme -- bcoz it was the first. From that, we modified the module to make it suit the mindset of the youngsters better. Here are a few pictures of the programme.

*For more information on the programme or interest for the programme to be done at ur location, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Look into My Eyes



Look into My Eyes - Outlandish

Look into my eyes
Tell me what you see
You don't see a damn thing
'cause you can't relate to me
You're blinded by our differences
My life makes no sense to you
I'm the persecuted one
You're the red, white and blue

Each day you wake in tranquility
No fears to cross your eyes
Each day I wake in gratitude
Thanking God He let me rise
You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I'll survive another day
Your biggest fear is getting a ticket
As you cruise your Cadillac
My fear is that the tank that has just left
Will turn around and come back

Do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me...

Ooohh, let's not cry tonight
I promise you one day it's through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters

See I've known terror for quite some time
57 years so cruel
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It's the checkpoint on my way to school
Terror is the robbery of my land
And the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father
The bullet in my baby brother
The bulldozers and the tanks
The gases and the guns
The bombs that fall outside my door
All due to your funds
You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of my enemies
I'm terrorized in my own land
But am I the Terrorist

Do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me...

Ooohh, let's not cry tonight, I promise you one day it's through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,

America, do you realize that the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day
So if I won't be here tomorrow
It's written in my fate
May the future bring a brighter day
The end of our wait

(pause)

Ooohh, let's not cry tonight, I promise you one day it's through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,

Ohh let's not cry tonight I promise you one day is through
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
Ooh shine a light for every Soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!

A first of many

Assalamualaikum wrt wbt

Hello everybody, welcome2 to my old blog. Ok, maybe some explanation is required. This blog was my 1st ever blog -- the one I started way in 2004. I kinda left it unattended for a few years, hopped bloghosts and came back to blogspot in the end.

So this used to be my old blog. If you notice the entries, they are old news. Some which are from 3-4 years back. I deleted the more personal entries bcoz this blog will now be my public blog for public discussions.

To access my personal blog, please contact me personally bcoz I only allow ppl I know to access it.

Harapnya semua dapat menjaga tuturkata dan bahasa dalam blog ni. Semoga ianya bermanfaat buat kita semua.

Akhir kata, Salam Ukhuwwah *wink*
Amirah

p/s: my entiries will mostlikely be in English most of the time, but I will try to alternate from time to time.