A Noisy Singaporean

2:129

Read this surah a month ago, yet its impact on me is profound.Its nabi ibrahim's and ismail's doa to allah. Their request and prayer to Allah is firstly to remain ever faithful to their lord and to surrender themselves completely to him, secondly to given the rites on how to purify themselves through hajj, so that they can perfect their rituals for their Lord. Their aim is to seek.forgiveness for their past deeds.They also seeked their Lord to send to them a prophet from the Arab meccans, who will one day read Allah's words for them to use and to gleam knowledge from and to cleanse themselves from any rituals and practices which deviates from Allah's teachings. This do'a was granted by Allah, who sent our beloved prophet who fufilled all.the wishes of Haj, prayers to all mankind as it was taught to nabi ibtahim. In line with this ayat, the holy prophet said that I was the one who was being refferred to in nabi ibrahim's doa and I was the good news whom nabi isa (jesus christ) and I was also the vision as seen in my mother's dream (hadits al-baghawi)

Are Muslims not allowed to take Jews and Christians as their friends?

CNN Article on what a certain American Muslim believes of Surah Maeida ayat (5:51) on Muslims not being allowed to take Jews and Christians as Friends.  

(click the above to see full CNN article)

Below is a reply from a famous ulama in Trinidad Shaykh Imam Hussein. This is his reply to ayat (5:51) delivered in a lecture. May it be of use to you and all our Jewish and Christian friends, neighbours, colleagues whom we cherish as much as our Muslim brothers and sisters.

"O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another and whoever of you allies himself with them becomes, verily, one of them; behold, God does not guide people who are unjust. (Quran 5:51)"

There are several renderings for this verse, some interpret the part “your allies” as “friends and protectors”:

“O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.”

In reality, both renderings are problematic as they fail to translate correctly the message of the Qur’an as revealed in Arabic. When analysing the Qur’an, we do not just take one verse about a subject in order to derive from it understanding. We must analyse the message in its entirety. 

So, is Surah 5 of the Qur’an referring to all Jews and all Christians? Is it referring to these Jews and Christians too?:

Of the people of Moses there is a section who guide and do justice in the light of truth. (Quran 7:159)

Verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds-shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve. (Quran 2:62)

Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (For the right): They rehearse the Signs of God all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous. (Quran 3:113-114)

And there are, certainly, among the People of the Book, those who believe in God, in the revelation to you, and in the revelation to them, bowing in humility to God. They will not sell the Signs of God for a miserable gain! For them is a reward with their Lord, and God is swift in account. (Quran 3:199)

These 4 sections from the Qur’an (2:62, 3:113-114, 3:199, 7:159) all speak of Jews, Christians and indeed people of other faiths in a very good light. Add to that the fact that a Muslim man can marry a Jewish lady, or a Christian Lady. 

To interpret therefore, surah 5:51 of the Qur’an, to mean that we as Muslims cannot befriend all Jews and all Christians, in the light of the evidences presented, is incorrect. The ayah, when analysed in Arabic, tells us that there is a specific category of Jews and Christians with whom friendly ties and alliances, is strictly forbidden – and this is where a great miracle of the Qur’an is prevalent.

When analysed in Arabic, ayah 5:51 of the Quran qualifies and outlines the category from amongst the Jews and Christians with whom it has been made Haraam for Muslims to form alliances – and they are “such Jews and Such Christians who are allies of one another”.

Throughout history, the Jews and the Christians have been at loggerheads, especially during the era of Qur’anic revelation. The Jews accused Hazrat Mary of being unchaste (nauzabullah) and the Christians accused the Jews of killing Jesus (upon him be peace) himself. 

The hatred between the Jews and the Christians was so prevalent, that upon the Christian conquest of Muslim Spain, the Christians issued a decree (Alhambra decree) demanding the expulsion of Jews from Christian territories. 

For the Qur’an therefore, to predict a time where the Jews and Christians would form alliances is truly remarkable. The Christian-Zionist and Jewish-Zionist movements are a recent phenomena, and we as Muslims are forbidden to form alliances with such Jews and Such Christians.

The Qur’an sums it up in the following verse:

God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against you because of [your] faith, and drive you forth from your homelands, or aid [others] in driving you forth: and as for those [from among you] who turn towards them in friendship; it is they, they who are truly wrongdoers! (Quran 60:9)

We as Muslims can never be friends with, for example, Israel. we are one ummah. 

However, we can befriend those who do not oppress the Muslims:

As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity: for, verily, God loves those who act equitably. (Quran 60:8)

Ok, so allow me (Kamal) to conclude: 

1) Understanding Arabic is important for us to truly understand the subtle nuances in grammar, syntax and the use of the language to really understand its message and who actually is being referred to in the nouns as expounded in the Quran.

2) Understanding the Quran in its entirety and not take any verse out of context.
We need to firmly grasp the meaning, context, period of time the ayah was delivered to our prophet, pre-existing Arabian's socio-poltico, cultural makeup from 670AD onwards till the last date of the divine revelations as revealed to our prophet, and juxtaposing all of that to our own awareness of our faith, 'ilm' that we have and not jump to literal conclusions. Or to believe in any one ustaz or ustazah (taqsub), but to search for the truth for only the truth will set all of us free.

3) In the tradition of interpretation of the Quran, verses are interlinked and has to be cross-referenced to check upon for its consistencies. If 5:51 is polar opposite to other ayahs (2:62, 3:113-114, 3:199, 7:159) and even more ayahs that speak well of the people of the book (Jews and Christians), how can we logically accept the literal translation? The truth then is embedded in the Arabic syntax and through the millenia, great ulamas have given very good interpretation of this ayah and they all stress upon peaceful coexistence and the responsibility of Muslim rulers to their non Muslim subjects.

4) Last and not least, we are the 'khairatti ummati" and divinely protected and sent to this earth to do good and to be a shining example to others. In the tradition of our blessed prophet, we need to carry out this duty religiously and consciously. Unlike those who hijacked our faith to serve their political ends and choose a path of not only self destruction but tarnishing the image of our ummah, I do hope they find their peace. For me and many others like me, thinking, behaving responsibly and looking at the future optimistically for my family and deepening my understanding of Islam and Arabic is a lifelong quest. Allow me to end with one of my favourite ayah in the Quran (2:285-286). I read this every morning during subh with faiz and our kids as our supplications;

غُفۡرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (٢٨٥) لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡہَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرً۬ا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُ ۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَٮٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٨٦)

Allah burdens no soul save to its capacity;
standing to its account is what it has earned,
and against its account is what it has earned.
Our Lord, take us not to task
if we forget, or make mistake.
Our Lord, burden us not with a load
such as You did lay upon those before us.
Our Lord, lay us not with a burden
beyond what we have the strength to bear.
And pardon us, and forgive us,
and have mercy on us.
You are our Protector;
Help us against the people who stand against Faith.  Ameen!

14th July - A Wish

"How do you get a present for someone who has mostly everything?", said my brother-in-law. He was of course referring to his predicament in trying to get me a gift for my 37th birthday.

 

The day started as it has always had, with God's blessing I woke. My first reaction is of of curse to be grateful that I have past 36 and into 37. Some people were not as lucky. As fate had it, they may have passed away. I too would had died long ago, when I narrowly avoided death in a road accident when I was 9 years old. (I will recount that story in another blog).

Woke up, washed, bathed, ablution and I woke Fir and Faiz. Later I sat to pray witr, read my favourite surah. On that day I was at Al Baqoroh (5:10), read Juz Amma, tried memorising Al-Ghashiyah (The Overwhelming Event, The Pall) and together after waking up dada we prayed and read our supplications aloud.

My prayers as usual are simple. To thank the Lord for giving me all  things, endowments and stewardship over my family over the years. For giving me good times and bad times. All syukr to Allah for he is the compassionate and to him I will return one day.

Then it was the gifts. They came in a plenty. Fir and Dada gave me beautiful handwritten cards. I bluetacked them on my office cabinet. A maroon, leaf motif Raoul shirt from Faiz and a call from my mother wishing me a happy birthday and a small prayer from her to me for Allah to strengthen my iman, will and to get baraqah in all the things I do. Dad called later from his cab. A simple wish but meaningful nonetheless. Later Bi and Siraj called to wish me a great day ahead and reminded me of the many beautiful gifts in my life. I cannot disagree more. The feeling of being important enough to someone to have called so early in the morning was very special to me. I had a good breakfast. Actually its the same breakfast I have been having. *LOL* but I enjoyed it to the last dollop (4 egg whites, 5 slices of wholemeal Gardenia bread + Arabica Coffee with Skim Milk and 2 spoons of Nestum and Oats + Fybogel).

Stomach filled and spirits high, I left home with  a sleeping Rayn in the backseat. While driving him to mum house and heading towards school later, my spirits lifted and with a happy heart I looked forward to the entire day.

While driving some thoughts came to my mind. "I have been truly blessed in every way possible.Many of my dreams have been fulfilled. In fact I am close to running out of dreams. I have been given a great life and the journey that was behind me has been  full of pleasant surprises. Who would have  thought a boy growing up from a one room flat in Kallang with Hokkien speaking and expletives abusing neighbours, a child who is often sickly, a child whose parents are  financially disadvantaged  would one day be in a position to impact even more people to become better persons that they thought they could?. Actually it was not a case of despite of my background, it was really inspite of it, that it gave me a kind of hunger in wanting to excel."

I remembered going to houses where  mum washed the clothes of our neighbours just to earn extra income. I remembered looking at all the wonderful toys that the children of my mum's employers had, it wasnt envy that coursed through me, it was more of; I can get those things one day, I just know it.

This hunger tempered my will. And with my madrasah background, the teachings I received from my ustaz and ustazahs in Radin Mas Religious School, and my parents who reminded me often to doa to Allah, I overcame my limitations and found a goal in wanting to do well in school. Whatever toys I did not have, I would invent it. I remembered inventing monopoly from drawing block paper so that me and my sister can play. 

My role models in my school days were really my seniors in Gan Eng Seng Sec whom I looked up to, till this day. Also Saifuddin, Perry Lim, Hanafiah from RJC were icons that I modelled myself after. There were more, but these chaps give me a good run. For whatever I lacked, they had in abundance. For whatever of my shortcomings, these guys were superman. It was with careful observation that I picked up some skills, short cuts, study tips from them. Most of them are doing very well now, but personally all that somehow do not matter anymore. 

I have come to a certain realisation long ago that I can never be like them, but I am happy with what I have.

By God's grace I have been given an extraordinary life. I have seen things, observed people, witnessed tragedies, celebrated weddings, got married, received my three precious gems from their mummy's wombs, married my best friend, teaching history (my passion), am at peace with my family and friends and most importantly my spiritual compass is locked in one direction - towards God.

At 37 I had tried to live a life according to the ways of our blessed prophet. I am able to read the Quran well. My Arabic is improving. I am happier 37 than I was 36 and this is mainly because of two reasons. One is faith. I have seeked and prayed harder this year and he has responded. Secondly in one word - Anderson Secondary School.

In Anderson I found my peace. I found my beat and this lifted my spirits. Like what Shakespeare said in Henry IV of Falstaff 'A certain jauntiness in the man's stride I see', I am happy coming to school every day. Its really funny, but I really put in as much time, effort and energy as I did in Swiss, but in Anderson I simply get much much more in return. Either it is the students that I worked with or the sense of collegiality in the staff room, I enjoyed every bit of it. While driving to school that morning, I never expected anything out of the ordinary would happen but I was proven wrong.

As usual my day was packed. It was social studies lesson. Nothing was amissed when the lesson ended and the bell rang for recess, instead of leaving the AVT my students from 4/4 and 4/5 did not leave. At this point I was pretty oblivious as I was happily omni dazzling on my mac book. Then, something caught my attention when someone pulled a table right in front of me. 

The rest of the class did not leave or proceed to the canteen, and some were waiting for some action to take place. Then it occurred to me that they had planned and gotten a birthday cake for me. Thanks to the digital age, by birthday was easily accessible from facebook. 

Everything happened in a whizz from that point onwards, very quickly and as usual my initial reactions were never my best. A chocolate cake appeared, candles were lit, people surrounded me and I was told to make a speech. I fumbled it big time. For starters I said I was 38, instead of 37, what a joke!. The rest of the speech was not my best  when I was told to make a wish, i said that I need more time  to think about it and would post it on my blog. So below you will see my wish. But I sounded awful that day. I was incoherent and putrid at best. I would have disappointed many. The problem is, I have to really think and I need time to say something meaningful. Anyway I fumbled but the entire occasion left a lasting impression on me.

Over my twelve years of teaching, I never had a cake which was brought in by my students on my birthday. This was a first. I remembered when I was the form teacher in RJC, I would sneak off during my free periods and get ice cream cakes at Swensen's in Holland Village. I would celebrate my birthday with my form class. This time around, having the students planned, paying with their own money was truly special, almost reverential to me. I was ecstatic. We took lots of pictures, ate the beautiful cake (chocolate mousse my special favourite!) and the entire recess was spent wit 4/4, 4/5 and even 4/2 came to join me and the rest. Many skipped recess just to spend time with me.I would never forget this gesture for as long as I lived.

Ok so here is my wish. Its not really a wish but here it goes

The journey of life is a long arduous and treacherous one. It is unfair, cruel and like what Hobbes said 'short and brutish'. To navigate the meanders and the ravines you must be well prepared. To many people they assumed doing well is the O levels is what I wished for . Somehow the idea that if they'd do well in the subject it will reflect well, or at least professionally on me. How far from the truth that is? Firstly I wish that they will do extremely well in all the subjects that they are sitting and secondly doing well in the O levels is not for me, but rather it is a first step in a long journey that allows you to soar even higher. You need to be groomed in both physically and mentally. The place to get this is at the next level, in the JCs and here I mean. you need to get a place where you will meet peers of your equals, peers who can push you further and stretch you to the point that you truly transform. It was said that it takes another diamond to cut one diamond. That is true for people too. It takes a herd of lions to make one into a lion. Andersonians I feel can unlock their potential when they are in an environment of high ability, high achieving people. They are adaptive enough to be able to blend in and from afar look and adjust their outlook and take actions to improve themselves.From there there will move on to even greater valleys and mountains and hopefully along the way help other travellers in this journey of life.

Yes. We know that. We want that. Question is how? My Answer is Discipline, buckle down, get rid of the noise, don't give up, think that you can make it, maximise every minute from now on, do not listen to criticisms, do not remember past mistakes, get rid of the boyfriend or girlfriends, stay up late, mug and press on. Soldier on. You will get there. You know you can. If its a question of willingness, hang around with people who are keener in studying. If its a question of ability get the help of your teachers. There is no time to be shy.

So to Ajeeta, Chen Chen, Bao Zhen, Salomone, Elsye, Eunike, Fenny, Xiaoshi, Haiys, Izyan, Pei Xuan, Jefferson, Tamaryn, Yanning, Christine, Vishnu, Li Yuan, Benjamin, Kavin, Pei Shi,Vivian, Adlyn, Faatihah, Syafiqah, Nuramira,Afiqah,Azira,Jia Chin, Prashan, R Arvind, R Arvindren, Rayner, Shi Maolei, Bryan Soh, Stephanie, Xue Jie, Eddie tan, Zhi Xin, Beatrice, Vivegan, Shenya, Ting Hui, Edmund, Gladys, Hazel, Angie, Blodwen, Cara, Guo Wei, Regina, Zi Jian, Dai Li, Daphne, Geraldine, Gabriella, Xiu Hui, Gabriel, Jian Shen, Indumathi, Janice, Ji Ran, Yao Hong, Kenneth Yip, Yeow Peng, Ya Hui, Joe Wei, Lucas, Ma ia, Hilmi A, Hilmi N, Syafiq, Su Hui, Yin Shern, Joseph, Ting Jun, Sean, Su Xian, Jerrica, Syafinah, Gwendy, Yong Jia, Shi Hui, Clint, Jiemin, Shihui, Li Wei, Shi Yu, Alston, Jun Wei, Aravin, Caecilia, Si Ying, David Chew, Yu Ling, Sarah, Jia Wen, Deveraj, Frederick, Grace, Hosanna, Jinghui, Irina, Joshua, Joyce, Julia Png, Hui Shan, Bo Cheng, Kun Yan, Yi QIng, Kan Heng, Cheng ing, Kia XIn, Michelle , Livy, Eugene, Syaswan, Zulilmi, Nadzirah, Jiaxin, Farah, Pauline, Phyllis, Yixuan, Bee Leng, BoYao, Jo Ann, Cherlyn, Ryofred, Florence, Teck Chye, Meng Ling, Adeline Yap, Amos, Cheryl Lim, Jun Ying, Yong Xiang, Kiu Yan, Jerald, Teng Hong, Amelia Koh, Yi Ting, Lam Hui Min, Abaraham, Lin Kai, Harris, Yannan, Min Jun, Adeline Liew, Cassandra, Lydia, Kelicia, Sheryl Low, Tian Hui, Alvin, Imran, Matiin, Shafeeq, Zafrullah, Nazri, Naomi.. Jia Hui, Palwinder, Zeyu, rachel, Fan Xiang, Min yi, Yan Jun, Ying Jie, Olivia, Zi Yun, Michelle, Yee Ru, Min Ying, Hong Teng, Guanqiao, Yuelin, Adam, Tian Cheng, Kimberly, Carolyn, Kai Ting, Dexter, Lionel, Eric, Basil, Ian, Johnathan, Lavanya, Jinghua, Leonard, Clara, Zuhri, Haliff, Wei Jun, Ashraf, Aisyah, Rathi, Reihan, Rumizah, Xian Fu, Sherlin, Jefferson, Aisyah Rozali, Stella ANg, Tara, Qi Yu and Eileen Yeo togetehr with students from 4/1 and 5/1 that I dont have the privilege of getting to know, I sincerely wish that you ALL will be able to to meet your personal expectations on what you want to get out of your Anderson experience.

I wish you every success in the O's and in life. Its been a pleasure getting along this far but we still have to finish the job properly. I hope to be able to celebrate with each and everyone of you next year.

As I said to you then in the AVT when we were eating chocolate cake, once we part ways you lose a teacher but you get a friend. Till then I will do all that I can to make sure you complete what you have set out to do and in the process, make a difference to yourselves. Then only can you stand shoulder to shoulder with people who are far superior from you in terms of intellect and other natural endowments.

There is a line in the bible that says "that when the banquet is laid but nobody comes" but when you truly become the best that you can, then life itself becomes the  banquet, showing you a world full of possibilities, a world of light and beauty . A world that you can partake and a world that you contribute and bring joy to.

You will get there.

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