secret behind trials

He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action. He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving.
[QS al-Mulk 2]

This worldly realm is the field of testing, the abode of service. It is not the place of pleasure, reward, and requital. Considering, then, that it is the abode of service and place of worship, sicknesses and misfortunes—as long as they do not affect belief and are patiently endured—conform fully to service and worship, and even strengthen it. Since they make each hour's worship equivalent to that of a day, one should offer thanks instead of complaining.
[Bediuzzaman Said Nursi]

We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth, life, and fruits. But give good news to the steadfast. Those who, when disaster strikes them, say: "We belong to Allah, and to Him we will return." Those are the people who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord; they are the ones who are guided.
[QS al-Baqara 155-157]

:: our on-going test ::

renungkan bencana

there are hidden meanings to be reflected on in the disaster reports frequently covered by newspapers and TV.

some of the reports people frequently run across on TVs and in newspapers are of disasters. people may meet disaster at any time. a powerful earthquake may happen, a fire may start or flooding may occur. someone who sees these reports remembers that Allah has power over all things, that He can raze a city to the ground if He so wills. thinking of these, one sees that there is no one but Allah with whom one can take refuge and from whom one can ask help. even the strongest buildings and cities equipped with the most advanced technology cannot stand against the power of Allah; they too can perish all of a sudden.

all these scenes are for men to think about and take lessons from.

someone who hears about or reads these disaster reports also reflects that Allah has sent a disaster against this city for a purpose. in the Qur'an, Allah relates that He consigns the disobedient nations to penalty so that they might take heed or be repaid for their deeds. hence, if a given community practises values with which Allah would be displeased, Allah may have punished them for that reason. or, it may be that Allah is testing these people with some hardships in the world.

thinking about these possibilities, the believer fears that all these may also befall him, and asks forgiveness of Allah for his own conduct.

no person and no nation can prevent any disaster from occurring unless Allah so wills. it makes no difference whether it is the most wealthy and powerful country in the world or a place that ordinarily would be thought to be at little risk because of its geographical location. Allah says that no nation can prevent a disaster that will befall them:

Do the people of the cities feel secure against Our violent force coming down on them in the night while they are asleep?
Or do the people of the cities feel secure against Our violent force coming down on them in the day while they are playing games?
Do they feel secure against Allah's devising? No one feels secure against Allah's devising except for those who are lost.
Is it not clear to those who have inherited the earth after these people that, if We wanted to, We could strike them for their wrong actions, sealing up their hearts so that they cannot hear?
[QS al-A'raf: 97-100]

an earthquake lasting a few seconds is enough to destroy a whole city. those who think that these scenes are 'works of nature' are mistaken. this is because nature, an incredibly ill-defined entity, just as all other beings, under the command of Allah.

the greatest miracle in the world history

So Christ ... will appear a second time ... to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. [Hebrews 9:28]

"Men of Galilee," they (the angels) said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." [Acts 1:9,11]

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. [Matthew 24:14]

=0=

Doomsday will not take place until Jesus son of Mary (pbuh) comes as a fair ruler and a just imam.
[Sunan Ibn Majah]

He (Jesus) is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about it. But follow me. This is a straight path.
[QS az-Zukhruf:61]

Ibn Juzayy says that the first meaning of this verse is that Jesus is a sign or precondition of the Last Hour. We can confidently say that this verse indicates his return at the End Times, because he lived six centuries before the Qur'an's revelation. Therefore we cannot consider his first life as a sign of the Day of Judgment. The verse says that Jesus will return toward the end of time or, in other words, during the last period of time before the Day of Judgment. In that context, his return is a sign of the Hour's imminent arrival. [God knows best.]
By the expression "Have no doubt about it. But follow me," which continues the verse; the great scholars of Islam interpret this pronoun as referring to Jesus, an opinion that they base on other Qur'anic verses and hadiths. In his commentary, Elmalili Muhammad Hamdi Yazir writes that: "No doubt he [Jesus] is a sign of the Hour, one that declares that the Hour will come, that the dead will be resurrected and stand up, because the miracle of Jesus' second coming and his miracle of resurrecting the dead, together with his revelation that the dead will rise, prove that the Day of Judgment is real. According to the hadiths, his arrival is a sign of the Last Day."

:: time of Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) second coming ::

come, let us prepare together for the coming return of Jesus.
let us wait together for this glad tiding and the greatest miracle in the world history.

terapi spiritual 'tuk si calon mayit

seumur hidup, kita menyaksikan bahwa apa yang disebut sebagai "liang lahat" adalah selalu untuk orang lain. namun, pernahkah terlintas dalam benak kita...

:: bahwa suatu saat nanti, liang lahat itu adalah sepasti-pastinya untuk diri kita sendiri?

:: apakah yang akan terjadi pada jasad—tubuh yang tiada henti kita rawat semasa di dunia dan telah habis masa pakainya—kelak di liang lahat?

:: apakah pula yang akan dipertanggungjawabkan oleh jiwa—amal baik atau burukkah yang dibawa—kebahagiaan abadi atau kekalnya siksa yang diterima?

:: inginkah, atau mungkin lebih tepatnya, sanggupkah, jiwa yang tercabik dosa ini mengalami hal yang luar biasa spektakular: bertemu dengan Dzat Maha Mulia—Pencipta langit dan bumi beserta isinya—Pemilik hidup dan mati tiap-tiap yang bernyawa?

tidak ada salahnya bila kita berduka [selama masih dalam batas keridhaan Illahi] atas kepergian seseorang menghadap Sang Khalik, namun sungguh lebih tepat lagi bila kita justru menangisi diri sendiri, sambil merenung tentang dahsyatnya peristiwa pencabutan nyawa, tentang siksa teramat pedih akibat perbuatan-perbuatan buruk selama di dunia...

:: H i k m a h   K e m a t i a n ::



dan tiadalah kehidupan dunia ini, selain senda gurau belaka.
dan sungguh kampung akhirat itu lebih baik bagi orang-orang yang bertakwa.
maka tidakkah kamu memahaminya?
[QS al-An'aam 32]

can you be happy without religion?

John Lennon: The world he imagined —one without religion— did not bring a happy end, neither to him nor to his followers.

people who do not live by the religion cannot be happy, in the true sense of the word, for in order to be happy, first of all one's conscience needs to be at ease. in other words, nothing should cause them distress or confusion, or make them feel remorse. ease of conscience can be attained only by living by the religion. your conscience, which is under Allah's control, always commands you to believe in Allah, to fulfill the religion's requirements, and to adhere to the Qur'an's values. for that reason, irreligious person, one who has struggled against this command of his or her conscience throughout his or her life, cannot be truly happy. Allah reveals that people can attain ease of heart and true peace only by having faith in Him:

Those who believe and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah. Only in the remembrance of Allah can the heart find peace. [QS ar-Ra'd 28]

scientists of faith

Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Considered the greatest scientist who ever lived, Newton was both a mathematician and a physicist. His greatest contribution to science was his discovery of the law of universal gravitation. He added the concept of mass to the relation between force and acceleration; introduced the law of action and reaction, and put forward the thesis that a moving object will continue moving in straight line at a constant speed unless acted on by a force. Newton's laws of motion remained applicable for four centuries, from simplest engineering calculations to the most complex technological projects. Newton's contributions were not limited to gravity, but also extended to the fields of mechanics and optics. Discovering the seven colors of light, Newton thus laid the ground for a new discipline, namely optics.

In addition to his groundbreaking discoveries, Newton wrote critical essays refuting atheism and defending Creation. He supported the idea that "creation is the only scientific explanation". Newton believed that the mechanic universe, a gigantic clock working non-stop, in his analogy, could only be the work of an all-powerful and all-wise Creator.

Behind Newton's discoveries, which changed the course of the world, was his desire to come closer to God. Newton investigated the objects of God's creation to know Him better. To this end, he devoted himself to studies with great energy. Newton communicated the reason underlying his zeal for scientific endeavor with the following words, in his famous work Principia Mathematica:

...He (God) is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, His duration reaches from eternity to eternity; His presence from infinity to infinity; He governs all things, and knows all things that are or can be done... He endures forever, and is everywhere present; and, by existing always and everywhere, He constitutes duration and space... We know Him only by His most wise and excellent contrivances of things... [W]e reverence and adore Him as His servants...


Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Kepler, the founder of modern astronomy, discovered the elliptical movement of the planets, established a formula for relating a planet's orbital period to its mean distance from the sun, and completed astronomical tables that allow calculations of planetary positions for any time in the past or future.

As a scientist, Kepler also believed that the universe was created by a Creator. When he was asked why he practiced science, he said "I had the intention of becoming a theologian... but now I see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy, for 'heavens declare the glory of God'."


Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Pasteur is one of the greatest figures in the history of science and medicine, chiefly because of his establishment of the germ theory of disease, and his strong opposition to the theory of evolution. He was the first to explain the organic basis and control of fermentation, and as his research led him further and further into bacteriology, he isolated a number of disease-producing organisms, and developed vaccines to combat them - notably the dreaded diseases of rabies, diphtheria, anthrax, and others - as well as the processes of pasteurization and sterilization.

Pasteur, who was a firm believer in God, was the object of fierce opposition because of his resistance to Darwin's theory of evolution. He was a defender of the compatibility of science and religion, which he would often emphasize in his writings. As he put it:

Little science takes you away from God, but more of it takes you to Him.


Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein, who is one of the most important scientists of the last century, was known for his faith in God. He did not hesitate to defend that science could not exist without religion. As he put it:

I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith. The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame.

nanti kita pasti mengalami ini, lho!

Dan datanglah sakaratulmaut dengan sebenar-benarnya. Itulah yang kamu selalu lari daripadanya.

Dan ditiuplah sangkakala. Itulah hari terlaksananya ancaman.

Dan datanglah tiap-tiap diri, bersama dengan dia seorang malaikat penggiring dan seorang malaikat penyaksi.

Sesungguhnya kamu berada dalam keadaan lalai dari (hal) ini, maka Kami singkapkan dari padamu tutup (yang menutupi) matamu, maka penglihatanmu pada hari itu amat tajam.

Dan yang menyertai dia berkata: "Inilah (catatan amalnya) yang tersedia pada sisiku."

Allah berfirman: "Lemparkanlah olehmu berdua ke dalam neraka semua orang yang sangat ingkar dan keras kepala,

yang sangat enggan melakukan kebajikan, melanggar batas lagi ragu-ragu,

yang menyembah sembahan yang lain beserta Allah, maka lemparkanlah dia ke dalam siksaan yang sangat."

Yang menyertai dia*) berkata (pula): "Ya Tuhan kami, aku tidak menyesatkannya tetapi dialah yang berada dalam kesesatan yang jauh."

Allah berfirman: "Janganlah kamu bertengkar di hadapan-Ku, padahal sesungguhnya Aku dahulu telah memberikan ancaman kepadamu."

Keputusan di sisi-Ku tidak dapat diubah dan Aku sekali-kali tidak menganiaya hamba-hamba-Ku.

(Dan ingatlah akan) hari (yang pada hari itu) Kami bertanya kepada Jahannam: "Apakah kamu sudah penuh?" Dia menjawab: "Masih adakah tambahan?"

Dan didekatkanlah surga itu kepada orang-orang yang bertakwa pada tempat yang tiada jauh (dari mereka).

Inilah yang dijanjikan kepadamu, (yaitu) kepada setiap hamba yang selalu kembali (kepada Allah) lagi memelihara (semua peraturan-peraturan-Nya).

(Yaitu) orang yang takut kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Pemurah sedang Dia tidak kelihatan (olehnya) dan dia datang dengan hati yang bertaubat,

masukilah surga itu dengan aman, itulah hari kekekalan.

[QS Qaaf 19-34]


*) Yang dimaksud dengan Yang menyertai dia ialah syaitan yang menyesatkan di dunia ini.