Dear Allah, please take care of our Masjids...

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

Alhamdulillah. Such a blessed day. Another chance of grabbing bounty in the night better than a thousand nights. But Allah, I can't lie. A couple of current issues tore my heart and I broke down. The wipe out of Rohignya people from the tanah berdarah called Burma/Mnyamar (and my mind can't resist from asking, apa khabar, Palestina, Syria?) and the shooting at my beloved masjid.

Every time I come back from NIU, I always feel an urge to pay the masjid a visit. It was suffice for me to just come and sit there even for a while doing apa yang patut. It gives me such a serene feeling better than being alone in a jungle, meditating on a boulder with the tranquilizing sound of waterfalls and birds chirping. It's almost addictive. The masjid has always been been good to me. It's the best masjid ever. It always has something to offer even when I come at the most random times. It was my madrasah when I was out of school exactly last year. It's the heart of the community. It's our Al-Azhar. It's the provides knowledge and scholarly discussions for the pre-schools and up to the retired ones. It keeps out faith intact with the help of Allah and the people who sweat blood to keep this masjid alive. I've bonded with sisters from different ethnicity and backgrounds like never before from last year's Ramadhan.

It's just a matter of state of mind 

I was at the masjid (alhamdulillah alhamdulillah alhamdulillah. How I missed it!) in the evening on August 11, excited about the tafsir class on Suratul Mulk, with my girlfriend, Ummi and some other sisters. Along tagged along also! mistakenly assuming it was open for everybody. So, when we found out that they made a circle of discussion in the ladies' section of musollah, he retreated to the men's area, minding how own sweet thang. Along lost his slippers..someone might have taken then by mistake. At 4pm, we and the poor shoeless along, then went to the bazaar next door done at MEC. Sayang sgt ummi for buying me a perfume with bunga melur scent as a gift. Thank you Ummi.  

At night, we did our jemaah prayers at home. After taraweeh, we did a pillow talk, reflecting on the Surahtul Mulk.

Some of the highlights that I'd like to share is, the concept of "Ahsanu 'amala" - good deeds. Simple, no? There's more to it...

(He) who created death and life to test you (as to) which of you is best in deed and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving 

Maut/death is a test upon the living ones while hayat/life is a test of which becomes the provision that the dead carry with them. Sister Fariha said she once had a 90 year old grandma who could no longer, walk, eat and move as normal. She was literally bedridden for nine or so years. She could talk but just barely utter out the words, one by one. The people surrounding her felt the deepest sympathy for their dearest grandma who used to be so juvenile and proactive. There was always somebody, brothers, sisters and relatives to keep an eye on the grandma. The grandma, she would always try to put on a smiley face whenever she was accompanied. With all her might, she whispered "This is a test for me who's facing death...but it's also a test for you who's facing life". Subhanallah. Such powerful words of reminders. As long as there's life, there's hope. But there's nothing is more certain in life than death.

 So enjoin goodness and repel the odds. "Why do I have to face this?" That's the only reason Allah created me! Everyone is tested at all times. Every second of our lifetime. Regardless of who we are, where we are from, whatever mood we're in, we're being tested. always. In making the tests to be in our favors, the conversion of worldly life trials to ibadah, is just a matter of state of mind. It is just a state of mind. It's is just a matter of state of mind. and heart. 

With His mercy, ahasanu 'amala, is made sooo easy and sooo practical because it is about the conduct of goodness that we perform. Its essence is reduced to our state of mind and the purity of the heart. I know Allah's testing me. It's temporary. I'll just be patient. Do it for Allah. I'm following the sunnah. Bismillah. and I'm talking about it as though it's a new discovery. Subhanallah. Time and again, insan is as insan does. Selalu terlupa. 

So much after being reminded about trials, today, I was shocked to learn that the local MCC Mosque at Morton Grove, which is just 5 minutes away from home was attacked with a couple shots of air rifle bullets at the outside wall, at night when people did their taraweeh prayer. 

After the shooting at Sikh temple that took away six lives, the masjid at Joplin was burned down to ashes. Last night, my beloved masjid was attacked.

Death is Certain...but Mujahadah is a Must

"6,000 women raped, 20,000 people killed, 25,000 houses burned, and 100,000 in concentration camps. Either they return to death in Burma, or wait for death in open sea."

The the current statistic. For the Rohingya people, death shall taste sweet for you because Allah is putting an end to your sorrow and misery. There are only two options for the oppressed ones. Menang atau syahid. As for the living ones, life appears to be all  the more imprisoning. The death poll reflects our incompetency and effort (or is it our ignorance?). When I take one step forward, in the blink of an eye, I feel as though I'm two steps behind. I can't keep up with the pace. As my energy goes towards concerning the hate crime in another state or country, before I knew it, the same crime happens just within a kilometer or two radius off of my neighborhood. There's a lot more work to be done.

Remember, the individuals who choose to do what they do, do not outnumber the community's efforts. Or in Rohingya's case, the Burmese government doesn't exceed the number, power, capability of the informed societies throughout the world who stand up for the truth. And ultimately, Allah's qudrat. May we be protected from the place in which the moments spent there has no taste of life nor end to death.

Ya Allah ya Rabbal 'alamin..anthing and everything good comes from You and only You. We are feeble and weak. So, bestow upon us a portion of Your qudrat, strength and assistance so we could assist the oppressed and the oppressors. Please do not test us, the living ones and the dying ones more than we can handle and ya Allah, please forgive us for our insufficient diligence in standing up for the truth and the lives of our brothers and sisters of faith. 

Allahumma innaka 'affuwwun karim, tuhibbul 'afwa, f'afuanna~