Monday, December 24, 2012

Ahad...

Mendengar lagu-lagu Native Deen yang sungguh bermakna.. Mendengar lagunya tentang Bilal dan aku menangis hiba.. Terasa aura kerinduannya pada sang kekasih.. Terasa aura saat lafaz Ahad bergema..


 

Lyrics: (Credit to MrZebraPants)

See I was born enslaved 
These men they bought and sold me.
They found me well behaved 
Their reason would control me
This creed, this land, this stone
They had become my master 
But doubt lived in my soul
Because they could not answer 
But then one day I heard About a pious man
Who spoke amazing words
I'll meet him when I can 
It all makes sense to me now 
I feel my soul revived
I have the true faith inside
There is only one god

Chorus:
Ahad x4
One God x4
Ahad x8
One God x8

And now they're dragging me
Into the scorching heat 
Endlessly lashing me 
They wanna see me beat 
They place these boulders on me 
They try to crush my spirit 
But they dont really know me
I stay so strong I bear it
They hope and pray Im weak, nah
My blood is African
I found the truth I seek 
I wont go back again 
Unshakable belief I endure this suffering
My heart will always be with One word that flows within

Chorus

Allah Humma Salay Ala Sayedina
Allah Humma As'habiheen Ajma'in
Allah Humma Salay Ala Rasoolillah
Allah Humma As'habiheen Ajma'in
Allah Hu Akbar x4

His voice was true again
My voice is strongest now 
With freedom I ascend 
Atop this sacred house 
I am the chosen one 
To call this land to prayer
My mothers native tongue 
God knows that Im sincere 
My voice will rise the masses 
Bring light upon their face 
So know, under the darkest ashes 
There lies a glowing blaze 
There is only one God 
Lets reignite the flames 
This message in my heart 
This word my every vein

Chrous

One God x4

SubhanAllah..

[Chorus]
Subhannallah, (Glory be to God)
Alhamdilillah, (Praise be to God)
Lailllaha illallahu Akbar (There is only one God the most great)

At times I feel that the sun is hidden by a hazy sky
And the lights around me hide the moon at night
I know that you are closer than the veins that keep me living
Cause all around me I feel your mercy

[Chorus]

Every now and then we need, just a little time to breath
To appreciate the trees, the swaying leaves as they wave to me
Now I need your guiding light, guide me like the stars at night
Guide through the storms of life, guide me till the day I die

[Chorus]

Now I'm caught inside a sea of flashing lights
A storm that blinds us all from wrong and right
And the trials of life seem like the mountains high
But His light above it all, is worth the climb

[Chorus]

Oh Allah, my lord supreme, how easily you speak to me
Be it the sun's evening glare, or the sweetness of the summer's air
And only you know how this inspires me
And for the rest of my days, true to you all always be.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Kurma...

Aku taajub membaca kisah itu. Mendengarnya berkali-kali, cuma kali ini aku terbaca matan arabnya pula..

Hari itu perang Badar yang menyejarah itu menyingkap roh-roh jihad para sahabat..

Sang rasul mengobarkan semangat sahabatnya..

قوموا إلى جنة عرضها السموات والأرض
 
Qumu ila jannatin 'ardhuha-samawatu wal-ardh!

Bangkitlah menuju syurga yang luasnya seluas langit dan bumi!

Aduh! Sahabat bukan seperti kita! Mereka saat mendengar istilah syurga sahaja sudah meremang bulu roma, magical word buat mereka!

Lantas Umair Ibn Al Human mengungkapkan bakh, bakh..yang merupakan ungkapan takjub terhadap kebaikan dan pahala..

Dia membuang kurma yang sedang dikunyahnya..

لإن أنا حييت حتى آكل تمراتي هذه إنها لحياة طويلة

La-in ana hayyitu hatta akula tamarati hadzihi innaha lahayatun thowilah..

Jika saya hidup sampai selesai memakan kurma ini, oh betapa lamanya hidup (menanti syuga)..

Berangkatlah sahabat itu ke medan jihad dan gugur di medan Badar..

Begitulah kisah yang terakam dalam hadis riwayat Muslim dalam Riyadhus Salihin, Kitab Al Jihad, hadith no 1314...

Taajub bukan? Makan kurma je kot.. Sekejap je .. Tapi sahabat memang bukan seperti kita! Makan kurma yang sekejap itu pun dirasakan telah jauh dari syurga.. Aduhai! Rasa tertampar-tampar diri ini dengan peribadi sahabat..

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Role model...

Doktor? Entah berapa kali fitnah terhadap dakwah ini muncul disebabkan oleh doktor bukan? Doktor sibuk. Usrah doktor tak muntij. Jangan kahwin dengan doktor. Bla..bla..bla..

Ya, kita perlu mencari role model terbaik bukan? Ya, Dr D. Kak D adalah salah seorang ukhti yang sangat saya kagumi di atas jalan dakwah ini. 

Kak Aisyah menulis tentangnya dengan sangat indah. Kisahnya adalah inspirasi buat kita yang bergelar doktor. Tidak mungkin ada yang lebih memahami profesyen kita melainkan seorang doktor juga. 

Namun Kak D berjaya membuktikan semua fitnah yang disebut terhadap doktor adalah salah. 

Malah dia membuktikan pada kita tiada alasan untuk seorang doktor tidak bergerak di atas jalan ini. 

Dia berjaya dalam serba serbi kehidupannya dan hanya Allah yang mengetahui mujahadahnya. Saya sangat mengkaguminya..sangat mengkagumi kefahamannya terhadap jalan dakwah dan tarbiah ini..

A person, who are able to shine your way

Monday, December 10, 2012

Buku pilihan...

Mutarabbi saya yang masih muda meniti alam persekolahan bertanyakan buku-buku yang boleh dibaca semasa cuti ini. Andai mahu menjawabnya, saya sendiri yang perlu membaca terlebih dahulu pastinya.. Di sebalik buku-buku fikrah yang perlu dihadami, saya juga baru menyudahi beberapa buku yang bercorak pengalaman.

Nota Hari Seorang Lelaki - Ustaz Pahrol Juoi
Pertamanya buku tulisan Ustaz Pahrol Juoi bertajuk Nota Hati Seorang Lelaki. Keberadaan saya dua minggu lepas di wad nefrologi (wad pesakit yang menghidap masalah buah pinggang) ternyata membuat buku ini dekat dengan saya. Saya melihat seorang ibu yang menghidap strok tergagap-gagap mengungkapkan, "aaanakk maaa raaah..aaanak terukkk ..tak booleeh haaraap".  Dan kemudiannya dia menangis. Andai perlu melihat drama anak derhaka berulang-ulang, silalah ke wad nefrologi.. Huhu.. Bicara Ustaz Pahrol dalam mengisahkan perihal ibu bapa benar-benar saya insafi. Banyakkkkkkkk sangat kelemahan saya sebagai anak. No one knows me better after Allah except my parents and my siblings.

Banyak kisah di dalam buku tersebut yang menyentuh hati saya antaranya kisah ayah yang sering meminta wang dari anaknya namun punya hikmah besar dalam hidup si anak, kisah ibu yang sentiasa memberi - bukan bimbang andai tiada anak yang mendoakan selepas dia meninggal tetapi bimbang tiada yang mendoakan si anak selepas ketiadaannya, kisah anak kucing, kisah anak yang bosan mendengar celoteh ibunya namun menjadi sesuatu yang dirinduinya selepas ketiadaan ibunya..

Bacalah! Benar-benar buku yang baik...

Noorah - Ummu Hani
Buku kedua yang menyentuh hati saya adalah Noorah tulisan Ummu Hani. Ya, kisah benar seorang wanita yang begitu dicintai Allah. Ujian hidup yang dilaluinya bukan biasa-biasa. Pengislamannya adalah titik perubahan hidupnya. Alam kanak-kanaknya penuh dugaan. Ayahnya baran, ibunya pula pernah nyaris membunuh diri, kemudiaannya perjalanan hidupnya menghuni rumah kebajikan dan sering melarikan diri. Dia pernah tinggal di 21 buah pusat kebajikan! Pengislamannya sendiri penuh liku. Cinta pandang pertama dengan seorang lelaki Muslim yang kemudiaanya membawa derita yang berpanjangan. Dia keguguran kandungan pertamanya lantaran ubat tradisional yang diberi suami. Kemudiaanya balang gas api di tandas bocor akibat kecuaian suami dan kawan-kawan suaminya sering datang berkunjung ke rumah yang menyebabkan kandungan keduanya meninggal akibat keracunan gas. Dia memperolehi 3 cahaya mata dari perkahwinan pertama.

Kemudiannya saat melahirkan Saleha, di mana dia dibedah tanpa diberi ubat pelali. Menjerit hati kecil saya saat membaca catatan itu kerana saya juga pernah merasai sakitnya pembedahan. Penceraian hidupnya, kisah suami pertama yang melarikan ketiga-tiga anaknya membuat hati benar-benar hiba. 4 tahun dia mencari anaknya. Saat bertemu Muhammad, salah seorang anaknya kembali, si anak menceritakan pada pihak berkuasa bahawa dia menderanya lantaran momokan seorang ayah. Allah! Kemudiannya perkahwinan kedua dan penceraian lantaran suami kedua tak mampu menerima kehadiran anak-anak dari suami pertama.

Kemudian perjalanan didiagnosis menghidap kanser payudara. Dua saudara terdekatnya pengsan melihat kesan pembedahan yang dilaluinya. Seterusnya kembaranya melalui luka-luka kemoterapi dan radioterapi. Seorang anaknya menghidap dyslexia, seorang lagi adalah autisme. Islam menyatukan dirinya semula dengan ibunya yang menghidap masalah psikiatri.

Tidak hairan Allah menganugerahinya mimpi bertemu Rasulullah SAW, perjalanan ke Gaza (baru seusai pembedahan membuang payudara), dan juga menjadi jemputanNya menunaikan haji (ditaja) di atas semua kesabarannya. Perjalanannya memberi saya inspirasi untuk melalui kehidupan ini..

‘Saat dia mula mengenal Islam, kisah silam yang suram hanya tinggal sejarah, walaupun ujian datang dengan seribu wajah’ -petikan muka depan NOORAH -

Membaca kisah Noorah umpama mentadabbur Surah Yusuf seperti yang ditadabbur oleh Brother Nouman Ali Khan - Khutba - Grief and sadness - Lessons from Surah Yusuf.

Catatan hati seorang istri - Asma Nadia
 
Buku popular dari Indonesia ini juga membuatkan air mata berlinangan jua. Perempuan saya kira dicipta dengan seribu satu rona perasaan. Memang banyak sekali lurah kehidupan yang perlu diharungi mereka. Saat membaca permasalahan, konflik yang diutarakan di dalam buku ini, jawapan saya mudah. Perempuan perlu disibukkan dengan dakwah, tarbiah dan hal lainnya dari memikirkan diri mereka sendiri. Hatinya akan sentiasa memikirkan yang bukan-bukan andai tiada kesibukan dalam kamus hidupnya. Benar pesan ustaz yang berusia 72 tahun Ahad lepas semasa Seminar Belaian Kasih Keluarga Dakwah. Saat itu ustaz menempelak ikhwah yang berpoligami. Ujarnya, tunjukkan kepada kita qiyadah yang memilih poligami. Tiada kerana agenda besar dalam hidup mereka adalah dakwah dan tarbiah. Wanita juga saya kira perlu begitu. Dia perlu sibuk dan terus sibuk. 

Diari Musafir, Jangan Berhenti 'Berlari' - Dr Zaharuddin
 
Best sangat buku ini! Rasa nak ambil ijazah kedua dalam bidang Islam selepas ini. Buku yang sedikit sebanyak mengenalkan saya pada dunia luar. Buku yang menempelak saya dalam perihal peranan saya sebagai seorang pelajar suatu ketika dahulu. Buku yang sangat menginspirasi. Ustaz membayar denda RM 53 000 buat isterinya kerana menamatkan kontrak pekerjaan isteri lebih awal agar dapat menumpukan sepenuhnya pada tarbiah anak-anak. Allah! Terlalu banyak perkongsian ustaz. Saya juga tersilap menilai perihal perkahwinan nikah misyar sebelum ini. Alhamdulillah, dikristalkan semula pemikiran tersebut melalui buku ini..

Sangat-sangat perlu golongan yang cemerlang mewarisi ilmu agama. Sudah-sudahlah kita menghantar pelajar tercorot mewarisi agama ini! 

Saya rasa nak fokus betul-betul untuk 5 tahun ini untuk mengukuhkan kewangan. Lepas itu nak ambil ijazah kedua dalam bidang islam. Perubatan? Entahlah.. Huhu...banyaknya cita-cita! Tapi baca buku ini memang memberikan motivasi yang sangat hebat. Berkobar-kobar..

Kesimpulan saya, banyak rupanya buku-buku tulisan di Malaysia ini yang super best juga.. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Tempias..

Gambar penuh makna, As-Syahid Ahmad Al-Ja'bary membawa As-Syahid Syeikh Ahmad Yasin.

Syahid membawa syahid.

Saat menatap gambar ini teringatkan sesuatu...

Dan engkau sangka mereka sedar, padahal mereka tidur; dan Kami balik-balikkan mereka dalam tidurnya ke sebelah kanan dan ke sebelah kiri; sedang anjing mereka menghulurkan dua kaki depannya dekat pintu gua; jika engkau melihat mereka, tentulah engkau akan berpaling melarikan diri dari mereka, dan tentulah engkau akan merasa sepenuh-penuh gerun takut kepada mereka. (Surah AlKahfi: 18)

Pernah baca Surah Kahfi? Banyak sangat kisah yang ada dalam itu. Semuanya adalah kisah yang amat berat. Antaranya berkenaan perihal dakwah, perjuangan menyelematkan iman, kisah roh, kisah seorang pemimpin dunia yang hebat dan banyak lagi.

Pernah tak terfikir, kenapa dalam kisah-kisah yang begitu berat itu, tiba-tiba Allah menyebutkan perihal anjing di dalam ayat yang ke 18? Apa yang ada kat itu anjing sampai Allah rakamkan dalam Quran? Boleh je Allah tidurkan pemuda-pemuda itu sahaja, biarkan sahaja anjing itu mati jadi tengkorak dan tidak perlu pun nak dirakamkan di didalam AlQuran. Tapi kenapa anjing itu juga diberikan kelebihan disebut di dalam Quran sama seperti yang dialami oleh pemuda-pemuda Kahfi tersebut? Lepas itu kita ini semua membaca ayat Quran berkenaan anjing ini dan semua orang akan membacanya sehingga hari kiamat. Wah, hebat kan anjing itu? Apa yang menjadikannya hebat?

Allah mengurniakan anjing ini rahmat. Apa sebabnya? Ini adalah kerana anjing tersebut memperolehi saham lantaran kerana bersama dengan orang-orang yang soleh.

Hebat kan? Betapa pentingnya untuk bersama dengan mereka yang  boleh memberikan kita juga tempias dan sahamnya..

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Bukan kebetulan...

Hari ini hembusan tarbiah itu saya rasai lagi saat menziarahi seorang ukhti. Jujur kami tidak mengenali ukhti tersebut sebelum ini, namun dakwah dan tarbiah telah menyatukan kami sebelum pertemuan itu terjadi. Syukur pada Allah yang merezekikan masa untuk menziarahi ukhti tersebut. Sebenarnya kami menerima perkhabaran bahawa akak kepada ukhi tersebut meninggal kerana kanser lewat marsum maya. Dan ukhti ini belajar di luar negara. Ikhwah dan akhawat kita telah mengumpul duit membelikan tiket buat ukhti berkenaan supaya dapat pulang. 

Perjalanannya jauh. Ukhti tersebut tinggal di perdalaman kampung. Dan hujan turun dengan sangat lebatnya menemani perjalanan kami ke sana. Kami ada berfikir untuk pulang memandangkan banjir-banjir kecil yang terpaksa kami harungi sepanjang perjalanan. Namun Allah terus menguatkan hati ini. Di ketika yang lain, kami berhenti di satu tempat bertanyakan alamat pada seorang Cina. Dan pakcik Cina ini sanggup menelefon orang lain untuk membantu kami. 

Kami juga berhenti di beberapa rumah bertanyakan alamat ukhti berkenaan. Dan akhirnya Allah mentakdirkan pertemuan itu. Siapakah ukhti tersebut? 

Akak ukhti tersebut adalah pesakit saya yang saya ceritakan dalam entri 23 tahun. Dunia terlalu kecil. Malah saya mampu menyebut nama akak ukhti tersebut kerana ingatan yang mendalam terhadap akaknya. Pertemuan saya dengan akaknya cuma sekali, namun kami menangis bersama. Akak ukhti tersebut meninggal dalam keberkatan malam Jumaat. Saya merasakan dzuq yang amat saat menziarahi keluarga tersebut. Saya percaya Allah telah membersihkan akak ukhti tersebut sebersihnya.. 

Jadilah solat asar sebentar tadi penuh rona perasaan di dalamnya. Kehangatan tarbiah itu saya rasai, benarlah perjalanan hidup kita bukan kebetulan! 

Allah yang mentakdirkan saya yang tidak menjaga periphery untuk bertemu dengan akaknya. Malah Allah yang mentakdirkan pertemuan hari ini juga. Dalam keluasan bumi Johor ini, saya kira dengan logik akal, pertemuan itu mungkin 0.0000000000001% barangkali. Tapi Allah takdirkan pertemuan itu. Mengapa? Cukuplah untuk kita tahu ada hikmah di sebalik semuanya. 

Bak kata Assyahid Syed Qutb dalam muqaddimah fi zilalil Quran, "Hikmah itu adalah suatu hikmat ghaib yang amat mendalam dan mungkin tidak ternampak kepada pandangan manusia yang singkat".

Friday, November 16, 2012

Decision...

This is one of my favorite lecture.. And i took one of big decision in my life purely after listening to this lecture.. May Allah bless us all..

Salam alaikum wr wb

I wanna start by making a request in the spirit of the subject that we are dealing with.

At the end of my speech some of you might feel obligated... even out of a sense of what you've been doing already to applaud.

I don't think I'll benefit much from your applaud even though I appreciate the gesture but I think I'll appreciate more if you just make du'a for me & my family.

So that would be a favor that you would do for me and up for all of the noble scholars that are here that have presented... and if you've benefited from them then absolutely make du'a for them and also make du'a for their families.

I have very little to add to what's already been said in regards to this awesome subject but I do want to divide my conversation with you into two parts.

The first of them is something about my personal life something that has to do with du'a that I wanna share with you and it's not really as out of a spirit of boasting or you know exposing... but really I think it's something that many of you probably can relate to and maybe find even encouragement in and that I wanna share with you, my favorite du'a in the Qur'an.

Insha'Allahu ta'ala... and those are the only two things that I wanna do with you guys today.  I was about almost 20 yrs of age and I "absolutely" "head over heels" fell in love...

I went into a masjid in Ramadan. And I heard a remarkable scholar explain the Qur'an I had not read the Qur'an except in translation before that day and I heard him speak about the Qur'an in the form of almost a conversation.

And you know the Qur'an is Allah azzawajal speaking to us directly. And it felt like that for me for the first time. And he was doing this every night of Ramadan for about 4 hours every night to go through the entire Qur'an in this fashion.

And I attended this entire series with him because I was hooked completely, I was mesmerized by this Book. I was completely 'overwhelmed' that I didn't have any clue..no idea..what this Book was, that was always there and I always thought I have read something from it or some translation or something.

I have an idea what it says, I guess I know what it has to say. But when I heard what it "really" had to say for the first time. I felt that there's like this person in... there's this Book that I love so much and I have no relationship with it.

And of course the barriers were many including the knowledge of it but of course even the language. I had no idea what the Arabic language was. Not a clue!

The only thing that I could do at that time you know what it was? It's to make du'a :)

So I just asked Allah something very simple. I didn't even know how to ask it in Arabic or anything. I didn't know any duas by heart.

So I just asked Allah: "O Allah! I love Your Book". "I just love Your Book". And I'd love nothing more but to learn it and to teach it! Just make it easy for me to learn it. And make it easy for me to teach it. Because I love Your Book

That's all I asked And I swear to you by Allah! I am a terrible student of anything, "terrible" I mean specially languages I am absolutely horrendous.

I was not a good student in college. I used to hate studying. You know if anybody If I ever had sleep problems the easiest way for me to catch some sleep was to open up a text book 10 seconds later...

I'll have 12-13 hours of solid sleep Because... nothing will knock me out like studying But this teacher who was presenting the Qur'an also happened to be teaching an Arabic class.

And when I attended his class, Wallahi! it was like knots opening up. I couldn't stop studying. I couldn't put the books down. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was doing like conjugations in my sleep. Going through grammar in my sleep. I was studying it in the train. I was doing it at work, at school, all the time!

I just became obsessed with it. And wallahi! what people around me found so difficult, Allah made it so easy for me. And I knew something had just happened. Allah has given me a gift in response to my du'a. And wallahi! I tell you... to this day, if I try to study anything else I have a hard time. But when I study Qur'an... I can spend hours & hours and hours... and it's easy for me.

Walhamdulillah! It's a gift of Allah to me. But this is something that I have personally experienced in terms of the "power of du'a". Just the power of du'a.

SubhanAllah! I don't mean to say this as a means of boasting but look I have... Walhamdulillah! I have taught Arabic courses all over the country. Maybe...close to now 15 thousand students. SubhanAllah! And not any of them have benefited anything except from the gift that Allah has given. And if they're able to continue that that entire benefit starts from one du'a. As far as I am concerned.

SubhanAllah! (Glory be to Allah). So that was a little bit about my personal story .But what I wanna really share with you is my favorite du'a in the Qur'an. And I think it's a very relevant du'a for pretty much all of us here in the audience.

And to set the stage for this du'a. I'm sure that some of you have heard me talk about this du'a before but I personally don't care. I'm gonna repeat it. Because (Qur'an verses)=> remind... reminder has benefit. So I hope to benefit myself & all of you with this reminder.

There's a powerful expression in the Qur'an. It's captured in two words. Those two words are "Qurrata A'ayun" The "Coolness of the Eyes".

A simple translation will yield=>coolness of the eyes. And it's mentioned in a number of occassions and it's also found in a Hadith of the messenger s.a.w.

Before I tell you how it's used in the sacred text, I want to tell you how the ancient Arabs used to use this figure of speech this expression. It's really a figure of speech.

So we can't really understand it literally. It means something more. In the Arab idiom, there were two expressions, without getting too technical with you guys.

There's the "eyes becoming cool" and the "eyes becoming warm". That's the first thing I would like you to know. The Arabs had two figures of speech. The eyes becoming cool & the eyes becoming warm. When somebody is shedding tears of sorrow. They're suffering the worst kind of fate. They're in deep depression & sadness and calamity. Then when you would look at them, the Arab would say at least that his eyes have become warm.

One of the worst curses you can curse upon someone in the Arabic language in ancient Arabic
"may Allah make his eyes warm" means...may he suffer the worst kinds of sorrows in his life. The exact opposite is what? The eyes becoming cool.

For your sorrows... for your sadness... for your pains to be removed completely and for you to feel peace and tranquility and joy like nothing else.

And I'll give you a simple example of coolness & warmth of the eyes before I continue. Imagine you're at the airport.. right. And there are two pairs. There's a pair of a mother & a son and another mother & another son. But this mother is saying farewell to her son, he's flying off somewhere. And the other mother is greeting her son, who flew-in from somewhere. And both of the mothers are crying. But one of them... her eyes are cool. And the other mother's... the eyes are warm. One is shedding tears of joy as she sees her son after many years.  She is crying too... but these are eyes becoming cool. But the other is letting go of her son. These are what? The eyes becoming warm. You understand the difference. Right?

A few pieces of context before I go further. The poet in Arabia says that the eyes of my tribe will remain warm. And he's actually an assassin also. Ya! poets are assassins...

It's kind of an Arab thing I guess but. So he's waiting on a sand dune, waiting to kill the tribe leader that has offended his tribe. And he makes poetry in the meantime. I guess he gotta lot of time. So he says: "my tribe's eyes will remain warm...untill my dagger isn't warm with his blood. In other words, when I kill this guy, then my tribe's eyes will become cool.

The rage, the frustration, the humiliation they feel will only disappear upon this guy's death. That's what I'm here to do to cool the eyes of my tribe. You understand?

So it's a means of relieving frustration and anger and ill-feelings. That's how the... in which context it's used. But then there's a final context that I wanna share with you in Arabic literature, where this expression is found. It's very beautiful actually. The Arabs used to travel in the desert and there is sandstorm. And in a sandstorm the Arab used to wrap his face up. Because obviously your face is being pounded with sand. Now the camel on which he is riding. Allah created the camel in a magnificent fashion. The eyelids of the camel actually trap sand and drop them. It doesn't even have to blink. It's got a screen in front of his eyes that captures sand and drops it. We don't have that... you know that "screen system" in our eyes. But the camel does. But now the rider, he can't afford to cover his eyes... can he? Because if he covers his eyes... what's the problem? He doesn't know where he's going.  So he has to keep his eyes exposed and so finally he finds a cave, he finds some refuge and he says interestingly: "my eyes have finally become [what]... cool".

In other words, in literature we find the precedent of the "eyes becoming cool" equated with --
finding refuge from a storm. Now I have set the stage for you for what this expression stands for but I still haven't told you my favorite du'a. Though I recited it in the beginning. This is at the conclusion of the 25th surah of the Qur'an, Allah azzawajal says [translation]:

HE tells us to say "Those who say -- 'Our Master, our Lord,gift us, grant us,  [you know in Qur'an we find *atinaa*], give us, to give a grand gift, gift us, an unexpected gift, a beautiful gift. This is a gift you are asking ALLAH to give you. This prepositional phrase is brought earlier, especially for us. We are asking for a special favor to ALLAH. And what is this favor that we are asking Allah azzawajal?

'Grant us from our spouses, and [not just our children],  [which is 'Aulad] future generations of us'. In other words, you are not even asking for your  immediate children. But your lineage from you know, for future generations to come, grant us from all of them -- coolness of eyes' make our eyes cool by means of our spouses and by means of our children.

And I say this is my favorite du'a for a reason. One, I am married and I do have children and a spouse. But two... all of us... all of us have to appreciate the power of this du'a, because of the crisis of the world today. The world's fundamental institution of family is under attack.

Most of the people here, even Muslims are not immune from this problem. In many of our homes, the storm that I said when you find coolness of the eyes, you find refuge from the storm. This storm is not "outside" the house. The storm is "inside" the house!

And you have to get away from home to get away from the yelling, and the screaming, and the name-calling, and the insults, and the depression, and the sadness, and the friction between husband and wife, and parent and children.

Our homes are broken. Brother is not talking to brother. Parents are not talking to children. How many of all the Shuyukh I can bet you..I can... I can... almost guarantee you..All of the speakers that have come to this conference. Some mother... some father... some husband... some wife... has come up to them and said:

'I have got this problem'
'I can't talk to my kid'
'he yells at me'
'we can't talk'
'he's doing these things that...
I don't know how to stop'
'my husband'... 'my wife'...

SubhanAllah! This is a crisis inside the home. And what better du'a to ask. The exact opposite you know the family has become a place of sorrow, of depression, of sadness, of anger, of rage. People feel like they wanna escape it  and here ALLAH tells us to ask so perfectly! So eloquently! That the home should become the place of refuge. It's like the outside world is a storm. And you suffer on the outside and your refuge... your safehaven... is those doors in your home. It's your spouse... it's your children.

When you see them your worries disappear. But for most of us when you see them your worries begin! It's the exact opposite. But I want to give you a further appreciation of just this remarkable beautiful phrase and how it's used in the Qur'an. Just I wanna explain this feeling to you that Allah wants us to have with our families.  There's some more elaboration of those feelings.

You know some of the most, the strongest emotions that exist in, that exist in human existence, The strongest emotions that I can think of is the emotion a mother feels for her child.  It is the strongest bond.  Many of you in the audience are married. And when you are first married you are obsessed with the husband, you are obsessed with the wife.

'you are so awesome!'
'no you are awesome!'
'how perfect Allah makes the pairs'
'I can't believe you are my husband'

You are like all weird in the beginning, yeah! People look at you funny, you know... the guy has got a goofy smile on his face, all the time you know. And the husband's name is mentioned and she gets shy. Ten years go by, the husband's name is mentioned [uhhh],  right... but anyway before that happens when you have your first child.  The husbands will realize this. You are talking to your wife about something, the baby is in the other room. You know the husband doesn't even have the ears for this one, the baby just does a little [ehhh]. That's it... that's all it does. And guess what happens to the mother. That conversation is over.He was in the middle of telling her how his day went and it was a really important meeting and... what.. where did you go! what happened! spider-sense goes berserk and you go in the other room and you pick up the child. Nothing comes between [who?] Mother and child. Nothing! Nothing comes between them. It is the strongest bond.

Now I am talking to the mothers in the audience for a second. Can you imagine the state of Musa's (a.s.) mother's heart?  She puts her baby in the water. You can't even leave your child outside in the hall. You start calling your husband, 'where is he?' 'where is he?' 'have you seen him' , 'where is he at?' You can't stop. You are 30 min late picking your child up from school. What happens to you, you know. I know, because I have been late picking up my kids from school before. So I know what my wife goes through. You didn't make it to the airport in time..Right...

You haven't seen your kids. You know even mothers in the home, when they can't see the child.

'Where did you go?' 'Abdul Karim' 'Abdul Karim' 'Where are you?'

'I am in the bathroom mom relax!' 'I'm here'

But there's this desperation. Can you imagine her feelings, she's putting her child in what is apparently certain death. Because what's behind is even more graphic. So she's in this desperate situation. Does she know what happened to the child? She doesn't. Can you imagine not knowing what's happening to your child? After they are... you know that they are in a dangerous situation. Can you even imagine this? SubhanAllah!

And on the other hand. I want to give you 2 women scenarios. On the other hand... and I'll promise I'll try to finish within five minutes.  There's another women who is in a story. In the same story. She's married to a really bad guy. What's his name? Oh yeah, Fir'awn (Pharaoh).  And you know some times women are in a difficult domestic situation. And usually in a society like ours, you can call the domestic hotline, you can call the cops if there's abuse.

Now we don't know if there's physical abuse, but the Qur'an certainly indicates psychological abuse. So much so, that she has to ask for rescue, right.  She's in this terrible marriage and she can't even call the cops. Why not? Because he (fir'awn) owns the cops. She can't complain to the government. Because he is the government. She has got nowhere to turn. So the only place she can turn to is who? Allah!

She is in the middle of this storm and she can't find a refuge. But when this baby washes up
you know what she says? Now think about this... She picks up the child and she says...

'he will be the coolness of my eyes for me' (read: Surah AlQasas)
'he will be my refuge from the storm'
'he will be my only source of joy because.. I am in the middle of sadness'

She's with this child...this childless women...is with this child now and...all of a sudden all her problems disappear . That's her first reaction to this child. SubhanAllah! And on a separate note she said...I won't discuss with you. She separated herself from fir'awn even in that

'he will be the coolness of my eye for me and even for you'

Even to fir'awn.  But she didn't say 'for us', 'coz she doesn't even associate herself with him. SubhanAllah! radhiAllahu anha (may Allah be pleased with her)

Now, one more thing...One last thing...Just about this coolness of the eyes. And why this du'a is so beautiful, and powerful, and eloquent.

You know when a mother has lost her child which in this case she has, and she is re-united with her child, can you imagine the feeling of a mother whose child was lost  and then she was re-united with it. Can you imagine the tears of happiness? Can you imagine that emotion?

Now understand how ALLAH describes that emotion. ALLAH tells his favor to Musa a.s. HE says...[translation] So WE returned you to your mother so her eyes could become cool, so her eyes...ALLAH is describing the most amazing joy! The most amazing relief! The most indescribable feeling in the heart of a mother! And what expression does HE use? 'The coolness of the eyes', to depict that powerfully.

And so we ask ALLAH, 'Give us from our spouses, and our children...coolness of eyes'. Thats what we ask ALLAH. When somebody said I wanna get married, go further, not just get married ....'I wanna get married to a spouse that will...cool my eyes.' 'That I will be the coolness of their eyes and they will be the coolness of mine.'

And ALLAH azzawajal took the du'a further and then we understand, why talk about future generations. And I'll conclude with this: 'And make us leaders over those who are cautious, conscious, fearful, pious, righteous, those who are fearful before ALLAH. And you know what makes you realize, It makes you realize your relationships right now are not just about you. You are setting a precedent in your family, for generations to come.

So when you are not acting as good husbands, and good wives and good parents, and good children, what are your future generations gonna be doing and who is gonna be answerable for that negative trend that was started by you.

Who is gonna be answerable for that? So it's an intelligent du'a that we should find coolness of the eyes not only in our immediate family, but the future generations should be people  that are righteous too. Because when we are raised on Judgement Day, we are imam (leader) over the entire family, whether they were messed up or not. So we better ask for the kinds of people, if they are underneath us (in lineage),  not those who are dragging us down on Judgement Day.

But those who are elevating us. And we beg ALLAH that HE give all of us. those kinds of families. So the biggest favor that you can do to me and the scholars here because none of us are immune from this. This du'a is something you and I ...Everyone... every Muslim.. And this is even something that non-muslims need today. They have no peace in their families. So I beg all of you sincerely, that we all make this sincere du'a to ALLAH, yes I know the time is up- 0 minutes... aah 0 minutes really nice.

Rabbana Hablana min azwaajina wadhurriy-yatina, qurrata 'ayioni wa-jalna lil-muttaqeena Imaama ...

I sincerely pray that ALLAH azzawajal gives all of us and makes from our spouses, and our children those that are the coolness of our eyes and that HE makes us an imam, a leader over those that are pious & righteous.

May ALLAH forgive all of our shortcomings accept all of our du'a, and make the means
of our forgiveness easy upon us.

This is at the end of Suratul Furqan (25:74)
Make Du'a for me too brothers & sisters!