Comelnya!
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Economic War & the Dates of the Jews of Banu Nadhir
It was a hectic day... presentation in morning, then Jumu'ah prayer - luckily I can still grab few words from the Khutbah - something about Ihsan - well, got to practice it in my life anyway... then first time being selected as a celebrity (what? I still can't believe it - still they told it to the audience - young imam! hehehe... should be helping others to get married, poor he's still single!)
Then it was already dinner time. Telur goreng again! Wahh... after Isyak just rush to get my energy back - coffee kiosk near library - what else, still need to attend two-hours history class!
Well, just came from Seerah class. The sadness of Uhud, al-Rajik and Bi'r al-Ma'unah, and now the treachery Jews of Banu Nadhir... Yeah, the Jews settled in Yathrib (Madinah) before the Arabs. 70 CE - among the years that the Jews would remember in their heart, the year Titus Flavius Vespasanius (40-81 CE), emperor of the Romans conquered Palestine. His treatment of the vanquished Jews was infamously brutal. His most notorious act was to have the Great Temple of Jerusalem destroyed (it's only remainder today, the only piece of the temple to survive Titus' wrath, is the famous 'Wailing Wall', - the most holy place to followers of the Jewish faith).
So... some of those life-loving Jews fled from their homeland - far away from the Romans brutality... Qainuqa', Nadhir and Quraizhah settled in Yathrib.
The Arabs of Yathrib were Aus and Khazraj, both are branches of Khuzaah tribe, originating from Yemen. Came later to Yathrib. The two tribes had been fighting each other (thanks to the help of the so-called Jews allies), with Qainuqa-Khazraj alliance, and the other two-Aus alliance (well, that's what happened during the cold war... the bombs were downloaded in the pawn-countries - Vietnam, Afghanistan, Congo... and the kings were saved!)
Notes: When Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. arrived in Madinah, all agreed to enter the alliance-pact with the Muslims...
Back to the topic. Well, the Jews of Banu Nadhir were departed from Madinah. There are two versions of the story, one is narrated by Ibn Ishaq (famous, frequently quoted by historians - but the chains are weak) another is narrated by Ibn Syihab al-Zuhri (not-so-famous, but good chains). Difference: Cause of the Evacuation.
Well, according to the first version, the Prophet s.a.w. went to Banu Nadhir to collect blood money, after 'Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri r.a. (the only person saved from Bi'r al-Ma'unah massacre - after Uhud) mistakenly killed two Jews whom the Prophet had gave assurance upon their life... (well, the person just got back from a massacre, didn't know that those two were under Prophet's protection). Since the Jews promised to enter the alliance, so its time to fulfill the obligation... (hahaha... a good advise to myself - walk your talk!)
However, those Jews planned to kill the Prophet by throwing a _ stone (err... batu pengisar), still a wise among them advised them not to do, because a prophet is a prophet. Surely Allah protects him. Jibrail conveyed the news of the conspiracy to the Prophet, the Prophet went back to Madinah...
Second version, after Badr, the Quraysh of Mecca commanded the Jews of Banu Nadhir to attack the Prophet s.a.w., and black-mailed them (sure, what else would you expect from the so-coward people). Poor the Jews plotted to kill Prophet by making a so-called Inter-faith dialogue, with only three person allowed to discuss from each side... the plot failed, now it was not Jibrail who conveyed the plot, but a Jew woman who told it to her Muslim brother...
The aftermath was the same, the Jews broken their promise (in other words: betrayed their own nation!), the Muslims sieged the settlement, and the famous story of cutting down the dates of Banu Nadhir came in. The Jews had always live in fortress, and Banu Nadhir had the advantage of palm dates as natural barrier, in addition to their stronghold. The Prophet instructed the Muslims to cut down the trees, while the Jews - complained that the Prophet is destructive in nature (while forgetting their betrayals), the revelations came down, with permission from Allah for the Muslims to cut the trees.
The hypocrites + Quraizhah + Ghatfan didn't come to help, as promised by Ibn Salul... The Jews surrendered. The Prophet gave them 10 days to evacuate their homes, they were allowed to take with them all but weapons... funny to hear, but most of them disbanded their own houses - carrying the doors, windows and roof together!!!
The elites seek shelter in Khaybar, and the others went to Syam...
Well, the story is recorded in surah al-Hasyr (exile, banishment), one of those few that I managed to memorized (actually we were forced to memorize the last section of the surah during secondary-school).
During the class, I couldn't stop from imaging myself as an economist, devising strategies to weaken the enemies by attacking their economy... as if economy is the palm trees that provide strong defence to the enemies... but, cutting trees is easier than attacking the economy, I guess...
Then it was already dinner time. Telur goreng again! Wahh... after Isyak just rush to get my energy back - coffee kiosk near library - what else, still need to attend two-hours history class!
Well, just came from Seerah class. The sadness of Uhud, al-Rajik and Bi'r al-Ma'unah, and now the treachery Jews of Banu Nadhir... Yeah, the Jews settled in Yathrib (Madinah) before the Arabs. 70 CE - among the years that the Jews would remember in their heart, the year Titus Flavius Vespasanius (40-81 CE), emperor of the Romans conquered Palestine. His treatment of the vanquished Jews was infamously brutal. His most notorious act was to have the Great Temple of Jerusalem destroyed (it's only remainder today, the only piece of the temple to survive Titus' wrath, is the famous 'Wailing Wall', - the most holy place to followers of the Jewish faith).
So... some of those life-loving Jews fled from their homeland - far away from the Romans brutality... Qainuqa', Nadhir and Quraizhah settled in Yathrib.
The Arabs of Yathrib were Aus and Khazraj, both are branches of Khuzaah tribe, originating from Yemen. Came later to Yathrib. The two tribes had been fighting each other (thanks to the help of the so-called Jews allies), with Qainuqa-Khazraj alliance, and the other two-Aus alliance (well, that's what happened during the cold war... the bombs were downloaded in the pawn-countries - Vietnam, Afghanistan, Congo... and the kings were saved!)
Notes: When Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. arrived in Madinah, all agreed to enter the alliance-pact with the Muslims...
Back to the topic. Well, the Jews of Banu Nadhir were departed from Madinah. There are two versions of the story, one is narrated by Ibn Ishaq (famous, frequently quoted by historians - but the chains are weak) another is narrated by Ibn Syihab al-Zuhri (not-so-famous, but good chains). Difference: Cause of the Evacuation.
Well, according to the first version, the Prophet s.a.w. went to Banu Nadhir to collect blood money, after 'Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri r.a. (the only person saved from Bi'r al-Ma'unah massacre - after Uhud) mistakenly killed two Jews whom the Prophet had gave assurance upon their life... (well, the person just got back from a massacre, didn't know that those two were under Prophet's protection). Since the Jews promised to enter the alliance, so its time to fulfill the obligation... (hahaha... a good advise to myself - walk your talk!)
However, those Jews planned to kill the Prophet by throwing a _ stone (err... batu pengisar), still a wise among them advised them not to do, because a prophet is a prophet. Surely Allah protects him. Jibrail conveyed the news of the conspiracy to the Prophet, the Prophet went back to Madinah...
Second version, after Badr, the Quraysh of Mecca commanded the Jews of Banu Nadhir to attack the Prophet s.a.w., and black-mailed them (sure, what else would you expect from the so-coward people). Poor the Jews plotted to kill Prophet by making a so-called Inter-faith dialogue, with only three person allowed to discuss from each side... the plot failed, now it was not Jibrail who conveyed the plot, but a Jew woman who told it to her Muslim brother...
The aftermath was the same, the Jews broken their promise (in other words: betrayed their own nation!), the Muslims sieged the settlement, and the famous story of cutting down the dates of Banu Nadhir came in. The Jews had always live in fortress, and Banu Nadhir had the advantage of palm dates as natural barrier, in addition to their stronghold. The Prophet instructed the Muslims to cut down the trees, while the Jews - complained that the Prophet is destructive in nature (while forgetting their betrayals), the revelations came down, with permission from Allah for the Muslims to cut the trees.
The hypocrites + Quraizhah + Ghatfan didn't come to help, as promised by Ibn Salul... The Jews surrendered. The Prophet gave them 10 days to evacuate their homes, they were allowed to take with them all but weapons... funny to hear, but most of them disbanded their own houses - carrying the doors, windows and roof together!!!
The elites seek shelter in Khaybar, and the others went to Syam...
Well, the story is recorded in surah al-Hasyr (exile, banishment), one of those few that I managed to memorized (actually we were forced to memorize the last section of the surah during secondary-school).
During the class, I couldn't stop from imaging myself as an economist, devising strategies to weaken the enemies by attacking their economy... as if economy is the palm trees that provide strong defence to the enemies... but, cutting trees is easier than attacking the economy, I guess...
Friday, July 29, 2005
Education - most powerful weapon against Poverty?!
Malas betul nak seterika baju nih... tapi dah hari Jumaat, kena la melawa sikit. Masuk office je terus kena kerja keras. Pukul 10 tadi ada talk, jadi kita yang jadi organizer kena la sibuk. Tak sempat nak hadiri meeting research group jam 9.15 pagi kat IIiBF. Sorilah Bro. Dzul, hopefully supplementary articles tu memadai to replace my inability to be there with you.
10.30 pagi - presentation bermula. Presenter: Dr. Anjum Siddiqui dari Ontario University, Canada. Tajuk: Macroeconomic Returns on Education in South Asia (eh, what the heck South Asia got to do with me!!!) Lama jugaklah fikir camana nak provide connection between the topic and my interest. Apa pun, dah boss suruh jadi organizer, masuk je lah... hopefully dalam presentation nanti I'll found the reason to actually be there rather than just doing my job! (for the sake of knowledge la kononya... something that Muslim students are lacking nowadays).
Jeng...jeng... Dr. Siddiqui managed to link me within his world of education returns... memang touching, especially pasal education in South Asia. Pakistan. India. The worst!!! Dengan highest %GDP yang dibelanjakan untuk military, highest rate of poverty and lowest %GDP contributed to education. Pakistan - the so-called Islamic Republic - la tu (7% for military and 1.8% for education). Anyway, Dr. Siddiqui ni memang nampak bersungguh-sungguh nak baiki keadaan di sana. He believed that to fight poverty, you have to attack the whole fronts: education, health, corruption-free government governance... and education should come first. Dari kajiannya, Malaysia adalah negara yang paling tinggi %GDP dibelanjakan untuk education (8% - hehehe... proud to be Malaysian Muslim!) Satu lagi, dia boleh menyanyi dan dah pernah hasilkan album khas untuk ibundanya, bertajuk Yaad (Urdu: Memory). Dia jemput sesiapa yang interested to join him in his study, or saja nak berkenalan or nak ambik jadi external supervisor.
12.00 tgh - talk habis. Lunch dengan staff kat restoran Arab dekat fakulti... minggu ni lambat jugak la nampaknya nak hadir ke masjid. Melepas la nak baca al-Kahfi :((
10.30 pagi - presentation bermula. Presenter: Dr. Anjum Siddiqui dari Ontario University, Canada. Tajuk: Macroeconomic Returns on Education in South Asia (eh, what the heck South Asia got to do with me!!!) Lama jugaklah fikir camana nak provide connection between the topic and my interest. Apa pun, dah boss suruh jadi organizer, masuk je lah... hopefully dalam presentation nanti I'll found the reason to actually be there rather than just doing my job! (for the sake of knowledge la kononya... something that Muslim students are lacking nowadays).
Jeng...jeng... Dr. Siddiqui managed to link me within his world of education returns... memang touching, especially pasal education in South Asia. Pakistan. India. The worst!!! Dengan highest %GDP yang dibelanjakan untuk military, highest rate of poverty and lowest %GDP contributed to education. Pakistan - the so-called Islamic Republic - la tu (7% for military and 1.8% for education). Anyway, Dr. Siddiqui ni memang nampak bersungguh-sungguh nak baiki keadaan di sana. He believed that to fight poverty, you have to attack the whole fronts: education, health, corruption-free government governance... and education should come first. Dari kajiannya, Malaysia adalah negara yang paling tinggi %GDP dibelanjakan untuk education (8% - hehehe... proud to be Malaysian Muslim!) Satu lagi, dia boleh menyanyi dan dah pernah hasilkan album khas untuk ibundanya, bertajuk Yaad (Urdu: Memory). Dia jemput sesiapa yang interested to join him in his study, or saja nak berkenalan or nak ambik jadi external supervisor.
12.00 tgh - talk habis. Lunch dengan staff kat restoran Arab dekat fakulti... minggu ni lambat jugak la nampaknya nak hadir ke masjid. Melepas la nak baca al-Kahfi :((
Jadi budak baik...
Jumaat.
Still banyak kerja, tak dapat nak laksanakan sunnah yang dituntut sepenuhnya. Entah apa yang berlaku semalam, walaupun tertidur awal, still liat nak bangun awal menghadap Ilahi... alhamdulillah, still manage to go to the masjid. Pagi tadi, Ustaz Arif tidak lead solat, instead Mustafa dari Saudi yang jadi imam, baca potongan dari surah Ibrahim pada rakaat pertama, dan potongan dari surah al-Tahrim pada rakaat kedua... mungkin sengaja tidak mahu membaca surah al-Sajdah dan al-Insan seperti kebiasaan. Lagipun, bukanlah satu kewajipan untuk membaca al-Sajdah dan al-Insan pada setiap subuh Jumaat, seperti yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Buhariy:
Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a. katanya: Nabi s.a.w. pernah membaca pada solat subuh hari Jumaat Alif Lam Mim Tanzil al-Sajdah dan Hal Ata 'ala al-Insan (al-Sajdah dan al-Insan). [Kitab al-Jumu'ah, Bab bacaan pada solat Subuh hari Jumaat, hadith no. 891]
Panjang pulak syarahan Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaniy... well, secara ringkas, Ibn Hajar berpendapat perbuatan tersebut adalah sesuatu yang dituntut (bukan wajib!) berdasarkan lafaz-lafaz dari riwayat lain yang menunjukkan bahawa Nabi s.a.w. sering atau selalu buat (banyak kali!) Sesuatu yang menarik, kalam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid, bahawa perbuatan ini sepatutnya ditinggalkan sekali sekala agar orang ramai tidak keliru dan menyangka seolah-olah perbuatan tersebut adalah wajib!!!
Ada dua isu menarik yang ditimbulkan oleh Ibn Hajar. Pertama, beliau tidak jumpa riwayat yang jelas menunjukkan Nabi s.a.w. sujud (sebab dalam surah al-Sajdah ayat 15 adalah ayat sajdah) kecuali riwayat Ibn Abi Daud dan al-Tabrani, namun kedua-duanya tidak sahih.
Isu kedua, hikmah dibaca al-Sajdah bukanlah sebab hendak sujud, seperti yang dikatakan oleh sebahagian 'ulama Kufah dan Basrah, sehingga ada di kalangan mereka yang berpendapat apa-apa surah pun boleh asalkan ada ayat sajdah, bahkan ada yang kata baca satu ayat sajdah pun dah okey kalau waktu tak mengizinkan... Semua alasan hikmah ini ditolak oleh Ibn Hajar, beliau telah quote dari Ibn Dihyah - berpendapat kedua-dua surah ini dibaca Nabi s.a.w. sebab isi kandungannya, yang menyentuh isu kejadian Adam dan keadaan pada hari Qiyamah, kerana kedua-duanya berlaku pada hari Jumaat...
Well, pendapat ni memang ada rasionalnya... memang menginsafkan jika kita sering diingatkan perkara yang sama, teringat akan nasib kita pada hari Qiyamah kelak, so... hari Jumaat kiranya memang nak kena jadi sehabis baik laa!!!
Still banyak kerja, tak dapat nak laksanakan sunnah yang dituntut sepenuhnya. Entah apa yang berlaku semalam, walaupun tertidur awal, still liat nak bangun awal menghadap Ilahi... alhamdulillah, still manage to go to the masjid. Pagi tadi, Ustaz Arif tidak lead solat, instead Mustafa dari Saudi yang jadi imam, baca potongan dari surah Ibrahim pada rakaat pertama, dan potongan dari surah al-Tahrim pada rakaat kedua... mungkin sengaja tidak mahu membaca surah al-Sajdah dan al-Insan seperti kebiasaan. Lagipun, bukanlah satu kewajipan untuk membaca al-Sajdah dan al-Insan pada setiap subuh Jumaat, seperti yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Buhariy:
Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a. katanya: Nabi s.a.w. pernah membaca pada solat subuh hari Jumaat Alif Lam Mim Tanzil al-Sajdah dan Hal Ata 'ala al-Insan (al-Sajdah dan al-Insan). [Kitab al-Jumu'ah, Bab bacaan pada solat Subuh hari Jumaat, hadith no. 891]
Panjang pulak syarahan Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaniy... well, secara ringkas, Ibn Hajar berpendapat perbuatan tersebut adalah sesuatu yang dituntut (bukan wajib!) berdasarkan lafaz-lafaz dari riwayat lain yang menunjukkan bahawa Nabi s.a.w. sering atau selalu buat (banyak kali!) Sesuatu yang menarik, kalam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid, bahawa perbuatan ini sepatutnya ditinggalkan sekali sekala agar orang ramai tidak keliru dan menyangka seolah-olah perbuatan tersebut adalah wajib!!!
Ada dua isu menarik yang ditimbulkan oleh Ibn Hajar. Pertama, beliau tidak jumpa riwayat yang jelas menunjukkan Nabi s.a.w. sujud (sebab dalam surah al-Sajdah ayat 15 adalah ayat sajdah) kecuali riwayat Ibn Abi Daud dan al-Tabrani, namun kedua-duanya tidak sahih.
Isu kedua, hikmah dibaca al-Sajdah bukanlah sebab hendak sujud, seperti yang dikatakan oleh sebahagian 'ulama Kufah dan Basrah, sehingga ada di kalangan mereka yang berpendapat apa-apa surah pun boleh asalkan ada ayat sajdah, bahkan ada yang kata baca satu ayat sajdah pun dah okey kalau waktu tak mengizinkan... Semua alasan hikmah ini ditolak oleh Ibn Hajar, beliau telah quote dari Ibn Dihyah - berpendapat kedua-dua surah ini dibaca Nabi s.a.w. sebab isi kandungannya, yang menyentuh isu kejadian Adam dan keadaan pada hari Qiyamah, kerana kedua-duanya berlaku pada hari Jumaat...
Well, pendapat ni memang ada rasionalnya... memang menginsafkan jika kita sering diingatkan perkara yang sama, teringat akan nasib kita pada hari Qiyamah kelak, so... hari Jumaat kiranya memang nak kena jadi sehabis baik laa!!!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Keindahan zaman kanak-kanak...
Satu perkara mengenai kanak-kanak yang sangat menarik, ialah mereka sentiasa bersemangat untuk meneroka perkara baru dalam hidup mereka. Cuba kita korek kembali kenangan sewaktu kecil, betapa bersemangat kita pada hari pertama untuk memulakan persekolahan, detik pertama naik basikal, pertama berdiri di hadapan perhimpunan untuk berucap... kesemuanya kita lakukan dengan penuh bersemangat...
Masih teringat akan nenda tercinta, suka benar melancong. Kali pertama dia ingin membawa diriku melancong ke Langkawi, seharian aku tak dapat bayangkan keseronokan untuk bercuti di sana... semalaman jua lah dia terpaksa temankan cucunya yang tidak dapat melelapkan mata.
Begitu juga sewaktu zaman persekolahan (sekolah rendah laa... sekolah menengah dah dewasa!) boleh dikatakan setiap perkara yang kita lakukan, kita akan buat sehabis baik...
Setelah meningkat dewasa, rasanya semangat untuk melakukan sesuatu semakin hambar... kita masing-masing sudah tidak ada keinginan untuk mencuba perkara baru... jika ada pun kerana terpaksa. Maka jarang orang dewasa dapat menghasilkan sesuatu yang telah diusahakan sebaik mungkin.
Jika dulu, time kecik-kecik, rasa tak sabar nak jadi orang dewasa, sebab nampak kebebasan yang mereka kecapi begitu indah... namun, sekarang rasa macam teringin benar untuk kembali ke zaman dulu, di mana ada perkara baru yang kita ingin ketahui atau lakukan... kehidupan yang bersih dari dosa yang menggelapkan hati.
Anyway, life must go on. Hopefully semangat ke'kanak-kanak'an akan sentiasa mempengaruhi perspektif diri dalam menilai sesuatu...
Masih teringat akan nenda tercinta, suka benar melancong. Kali pertama dia ingin membawa diriku melancong ke Langkawi, seharian aku tak dapat bayangkan keseronokan untuk bercuti di sana... semalaman jua lah dia terpaksa temankan cucunya yang tidak dapat melelapkan mata.
Begitu juga sewaktu zaman persekolahan (sekolah rendah laa... sekolah menengah dah dewasa!) boleh dikatakan setiap perkara yang kita lakukan, kita akan buat sehabis baik...
Setelah meningkat dewasa, rasanya semangat untuk melakukan sesuatu semakin hambar... kita masing-masing sudah tidak ada keinginan untuk mencuba perkara baru... jika ada pun kerana terpaksa. Maka jarang orang dewasa dapat menghasilkan sesuatu yang telah diusahakan sebaik mungkin.
Jika dulu, time kecik-kecik, rasa tak sabar nak jadi orang dewasa, sebab nampak kebebasan yang mereka kecapi begitu indah... namun, sekarang rasa macam teringin benar untuk kembali ke zaman dulu, di mana ada perkara baru yang kita ingin ketahui atau lakukan... kehidupan yang bersih dari dosa yang menggelapkan hati.
Anyway, life must go on. Hopefully semangat ke'kanak-kanak'an akan sentiasa mempengaruhi perspektif diri dalam menilai sesuatu...
Kembara Bermula
Kehidupan di dunia adalah satu pengembaraan yang mesti ditempuhi oleh setiap insan... Pengembaraan yang penuh dengan ujian dan cabaran. Akhirnya, setiap hasil usaha kita akan dinilai oleh Allah S.W.T. di akhirat... Maka aku memilih untuk meneruskan pengembaraan yang telah 24 tahun ku lalui, semoga Allah memberi kekuatan padaku, kerana tiada daya dan tiada kekuatan melainkan dengan Allah Yang Maha Tinggi, Yang Maha Agung...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
