Celebrating the birth of the Prophet (Mawlid)

For as long as I remember, my family doesn't celebrate the Mawlid though it was and still probably is a big thing in the Muslim community in Singapore. My family follow the school of thought that the Mawlid is an innovation and the Prophet s.a.w. strictly forbid innovation.

But as you know there are always two school of thoughts and each school of thoughts have their points and leading scholars on this. As I grow older (and perhaps a bit more tolerant of differences), I think I can see the points of both sides. I am no scholar but as with all Muslims, I need to be able to understand and be comfortable with my own stand on it.

So, these are my thoughts:
1. The intention to remember the Prophet s.a.w. and therefore, his teachings and Sunnah is good.
2. If the celebration of the mawlid encompass only these reminders and remembrances, then I am comfortable in participating in them.
3. There should not be excesses in praising the Prophet s.a.w. to the extend of almost deifying him as there has been in some cases.

However, if it is our intention to remember the Prophet s.a.w. and to increase our love for him, then we should be doing it daily. We should be familiarising ourselves with his stories and the stories of his family and companions throughout the year. We should familiarise ourselves with his sayings and actions. We should strive to follow those sayings and actions; take inspiration and derive lessons from his history. It should not be left to only one day or one month of the year only.

That is my thought, may Allah forgive me if I'm wrong. Wallahu a'lam.

End of 2011.

2011 will end in a few hours and I think it is time to stop and take stock of what has taken place in my life and around me. A steady job, good colleagues and good friends are some of the blessings of this past year. Definitely my family has been the greatest blessing that God has given me.

This year has been a year of travel. From my yearly Singapore trips to the monthly trips to London and more, I've clocked more air miles and miles in the car than ever in my life. I am grateful to God for the companions He has given me on my travels. From Amy, Yiota and Alexia on my Cyprus trip to Huda, Samia, Shereen, Sumayia and Shahidah on my Birmingham trip, alhamdulillah, they have enriched my experiences. May God bless all of them for their companionship.

This year is also a year of being grateful - grateful for the little things like not being in debt, being relatively healthy, being in good company who always remind one another. Also grateful for - not being in Japan or New Zealand during the tsunami/earthquake, not being in Somalia/Horn of Africa for the famine, not being in Greece and other EU countries in grips of Sovereign crisis, not being in London during the riots, and so much more!

Oh Allah, may the new year bring my family, my friends and me closer to You. May next year bring us closer to one another as well. May next year also allow us enough to contribute enough to the wellbeing of our communities. May we be better people next year than we are this year. Ameen.

Is racial identity important?

Recently in Singapore, there is a big issue when the Minister of Environment, a Malay, remarked that Malay should be taught as a foreign language. On reading the various news and commentaries, I was unsurprised that I didn't really feel strongly about it other than the fact that I think it is unfair to the Malays. Seriously, it didn't affect me personally.

Several weeks before that, I met a Malay Singaporean who was studying in Cambridge and she asked me something to the point of whether I feel Malay? That is the question, isn't it? Do I think myself as Malay and therefore makes it part of my identity? Is then racial identity important?

If you ask me what my race is, I would say I'm Malay (and half Chinese), but that's because it is a fact that my father is a Malay. However, do I identify with Malays? Possibly not. I can probably say that neither my brother nor sister would identify themselves with Malays.

Perhaps that's because of our upbringing. Before going to the University, I had very few Malay friends. We grew up rarely mixing with the Malay kids in our neighbourhood, spending most times with friends from school. Given I went to CHIJ (a Catholic school) and then to Nanyang Junior College (a mainly Chinese dominated school), I grew up with a mixture of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian kids. At home, we spoke mainly English amongst the siblings and with our father. This was instituted by our father to improve our English. Culturally, my father did not and still does not practise much of the Malay traditions. We grew up mainly with Muslim values without the cultural baggage. For example, my parents did not do "kenduri doa selamat" which in the Malay tradition is a gathering where you invite people to pray for the dead and then feed them. But even then, I lost faith in the Muslim community as I saw them to be very inward looking, caring more for the form than the substance.

After going to the University, I rediscovered Islam. The friendships that I formed within the Muslim Society in university are mostly with Malays but the friendships were based on being Muslim brothers and sisters and not so much based on being Malay. However, as I grew up and started working and went on to explore the world, there are three great old friends who remained and none of them are Malays. I'm not sure whether they see me as my race but I seriously don't see them in a racial light.

As I look back now, I realise that race is not an issue for me. My family and friends are made up of a mix of different races and I feel belong to them. What I feel is I'm a Singaporean and I'm a Muslim. A Malay, a Chinese, an Indian, or any other race, or bi-racial, it does not matter as to who you are deep inside. What matters is the values you hold; that you should get to know people for who they are, not for what they are.

I think to reach a racial harmony in Singapore, the racial barrier and constant harping on racial identity need to be cast aside. We need to be racially blind if ever we want to reach true meritocracy. I think a race is an accident of birth...God's way to make things more colourful for us but nothing to impede our understanding of each other. This is especially true as we have more mix marriages. Like that of my brother's marriage. If he has children, they will be a quarter Chinese, a quarter Malay, and half Burmese. My sister's children are almost half Chinese, a quarter Malay and a quarter Indian (probably some Arabic blood as well). Are they expected to think of themselves in terms of a single race? Is it fair for them?

Therefore, no, I don't think a racial identity is important.

Hajj and the Prophet s.a.w. Part 2

The Hajj begins yesterday, the 7th day of the last month in the Islamic calender. Muslims around the world would have finish their tawaf and sa'i, i.e. running between the hills of Safa and Marwa. One of the practice after the completion of the tawaf, they would offer a two raka'ah prayer. This reminds me of the times when the Prophet did his prayers at the Ka'aba and the leaders of the Quraish would taunt him. There was once they actually heaped rubbish on him. And yet over a thousand years later, Muslims are able to pray in peace within this sacred precint.

Today, they are on their way to Mina. While today there are buses and other vehicles taking the pilgrims from Mecca to Mina, the pilgrims in centuries past would have walked or ridden to Mina and onto 'Arafat tomorrow.

3. The Hijra

The whole effort to journey from Mecca to Mina to Arafat and then Mudzalifah back to Mina reminds me of the efforts of the early Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. in the two Hijra (migration).

The first Hijra saw the persecuted Muslims, amongst them the Prophet's daughter and her husband, seeking shelter in Abasinia (modern day Ethopia). The journey must have been difficult for them, especially since it was mostly done in secret, and so too staying in foreign land with different culture, fearing that they would be forced to go back to the persecution of the Quraish. It showed their devotion to Allah and the Prophet, putting their faith first before familial ties and comfort of home and the familiar.

If the first Hijra was difficult, the second was even harder. Not in terms of distance/journey but in terms of emotions and the straights the emigrants were in. The second Hijra was so significant that the Muslim calender is set based on it (officially based on the day of the Prophet's Hijra). The second Hijra was basically a cutting of all ties from their family and kinsmen; they were outcasts, most without much else other than the clothes on their backs, all for the sake of Allah. There was to be no return, not until much later.

4. 'Arafat

Pilgrims will stay the afternoon in 'Arafat; the place where the Prophet s.a.w. gave his last sermon. The place in which the following revelation was sent down:

This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me! This day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favour unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion.

The day of 'Arafat is also a day of contemplation, of prayer and recitation of the Qur'an. This day harkens back to the practice of the Prophet and the companions to spend the last ten days of Ramadhan in i'tikaf (retreat). Like in i'tikaf, this is a day to commune with Allah, that even with other people around. A day to remind the pilgrims of the day of judgement, of meeting Allah.

The Prophet s.a.w. and Hajj, Part 1.

When we think of the Prophet s.a.w. and Hajj, we immediately think of the farewell Hajj - the one and only time in which the Prophet s.a.w. performed Hajj. However, from the speech he gave on the day at Mount 'Arafat, it was the pinnacle of his message - the full stop/exclamation mark to the whole "sentence". Just as much as the Prophet succeeded in bringing back the Hajj in line with its original purpose and tradition as laid by the Prophet Abraham a.s., so too had the Prophet succeeded in bringing the Arabs of his time and the later Muslims (till today) back to the pure religion of Abraham- that of submission to Allah s.b.t.

Therefore, the Hajj can also be seen as the embodiment of the message of Islam. I think just as Hajj is symbolically linked to Abraham, Hagar, and Ismail, so too, the Hajj is linked to the struggles, trials and tribulation, and triumphs of Prophet s.a.w. and his companions. May Allah guide me; while I've not been on Hajj, I think if I were to go on Hajj, it is the lives of the Prophet and his companions that I would relate best to within the experience.

In this post, I will try to draw parallels between some of the elements of Hajj and the elements within the life of the Prophet s.a.w. and the early Muslims.

1. Submission to Allah

Labayk Allahuma Labayk Labayk. La shareeka laka Labayk. Innal hamda wannimata laka wal mulk. La shareeka Lak
(Here I am at your service, oh Lord, here I am - here I am. No partner do you have. Here I am. Truly, the praise and the favor are yours, and the dominion. No partner do you have.)

Those are the words that marked the beginning of a person's Hajj (or Umrah). The first and foremost element in the statement is that of Tauhid - of acknowledging there is None other than Allah, the Only One worthy of praise and to Whom belongs the Dominion. That is the message that the Prophet dedicated twenty-three years (a full third) of his life spreading. The first martyr of Islam was a woman, Summayyah, who was tortured by the Meccans to renounce Islam but died, holding on strongly to her faith. That's why in Islam, we call these martyrs "Shaheed" which basically means "a witness". Their sacrifice of their lives is a testimony to their faith in the message of Tauhid.

The second element is that of service. As the person enters Hajj, he enters into Allah's service. Yet, a Muslim should always be at Allah's service for we are His 'abd. The early Muslims showed par excellence the level of dedicated service that could possibly be rendered to Allah. Abu Bakr r.a., the first Caliph, used to be a rich man before Islam. During the early years of Islam, he used to ransom the Muslim slaves from their Masters and set them free. One famous slave to be saved by Abu Bakr was Bilal r.a. Later on, during the war with the Meccans, when the Prophet asked for contributions to the war effort, Abu Bakr gave all of his earthly possessions.

Till today, Dar Al-Arqam is a well known name - the House of Arqam is always used in relation to studies and learning. It was rooted in history when Islam was still at its infancy. The companion Arqam r.a. opened his house (near the foot of Safa - http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/saudi_daarul_arqam.html ) to the Prophet to teach the early companions in secret. His house was where the companions gathered to learn more about Islam and to memorise the verses of the Quran that were being revealed. His service at this crucial time in the history of Islam should not be forgotten.

Numerous other companions of the Prophet s.a.w. and many more Muslims over the centuries too have been at the service of Allah and as Muslims, we too should remember that like those before us, we should be at the service of Allah and therefore should always stand ready in awareness of Him. As such, the Hajj brings this point home through the utterance of the words above.

2. Brotherhood

One of the unique elements of Hajj is that of the universal brotherhood. As millions flock to Mecca, standing shoulder to shoulder, moving as one body in the tawaf (circumbulation) around the Ka'aba, gathering all together in Arafat, there can be no better picture of the Brotherhood of Islam in this day and age.

But as we actually struggle to actualise the unity of the Ummah outside of the Hajj, what better example can there be than in example of the Prophet s.a.w. and his companions. The bond of brotherhood/Islamic community was fostered above and beyond tribal allegiance in the establishment of the first Muslim community in Madinah. In Madinah, the Prophet in his wisdom, paired the emigrants from Mecca who had broken their own tribal relations with the pagan Meccans with the people of Madinah. These pairings were not mere lip service. The emigrants were for the most part without material possessions and in need of help adjusting to a new environment and culture. The pairings helped aided their transition into the new Muslim community, to the point the people of Madinah became known as the Ansars, i.e. the helpers. The feeling of brotherhood was such to an extend where some of the Ansars offered part of their wealth with the emigrants. This was the case of `Abd al Rahman ibn `Awf (emigrant) and Sa'd ibn al Rabi`(Ansar). That didn't mean that the emigrants took advantage of such feelings and leech off the Ansars. In fact, many of them found their feet again and grew prosperous as traders and farmers.

Amongst the Ansar themselves, one of the reasons for their welcoming the Prophet and the other emigrants were that the rivalry between the two major clans of Madinah, the Aws and the Khasraj, had escalated to an extend that there had been civil war. Embracing Islam and welcoming the Prophet into their community had the benefit of uniting the two rival clans into a single community. In fact, it was during the pilgrimage seasons that the first and second Bai'at (pledge of allegiance) of 'Aqabah (near Mina) were concluded. The first Bai'at of 'Aqabah occured as follows:

When six men from the Khasraj who came for one of the pilgrimage seasons embraced Islam, they delivered its message to their people. And so the next pilgrimage, twelve men, both from Khasraj and Aws, made their pledge to the Prophet at 'Aqabah known as the First 'Aqabah.

In the words of one of them: "We pledged our allegiance to the Messenger of God on the night of the First 'Aqabah, that we would associate nothing with God, that we would neither steal, not commit fornication, nor slay our offspring' nor utter slanders; and that we would not disobey him in that which was right. And he said to us: 'If ye fulfil this pledge, then Paradise is yours; and if ye commit one of these sins and then receive punishment for it in this world, that shall serve as expiation. And if ye conceal it until the Day of the Resurrection, then it is for God to punish or forgive, even as He will.' " (from Martin Lings, Muhammad: His life based on earliest sources)

A year later, Islam had spread to much of the people of Aws and Khasraj, thanks to the effort of the Prophet's emmisary, Mus'ab. The Second 'Aqabah then saw seventy-three men and two women making a pledge to protect the Prophet as they protect their own families. The binding ties of Islam not only stopped the civil war but transformed them to the status of "Ansars." such that the Prophet's love for them was made manifest later on after the siege of Ta'if. In this instance,

Then the Prophet went to them, and, having given praise and thanks to God, he addressed them: "Men of the Helpers, word hath come to me that ye are deeply moved against me in your souls. Did I not find you erring, and God guided you, poor and God enriched you, enemies each of the other and God reconciled your hearts?" "Yea indeed," they answered. "God and His Messenger are most bountiful and most gracious." "Will ye not retort against me?" he said. "How should we retort?" they asked, in some perplexity. "If ye wished," he answered, "ye might say unto me, and say truthfully, and be believed: 'Thou didst come unto us discredited, and we credited thee, forlorn and we helped thee, an outcast and we took thee in, destitute and we comforted thee.' 0 Helpers, are ye stirred in your souls about the things of this world whereby I have reconciled men's hearts that they may submit unto God, when you yourselves I have entrusted unto your Islam? Are ye not well content, 0 Helpers, that the people take with them their sheep and their camels, and that ye take with you the Messenger of God unto your homes? If all men but the Helpers went one way, and the Helpers another, I would go the way of the Helpers. God have Mercy upon the Helpers. and on their sons and on their sons' sons." They wept until their beards were wet with their tears. and with one voice they said: "We are well content with the Messenger of God as our portion and our lot." (Martin Lings, Muhammad: His life based on earliest sources)

Taking the example of the Aws and Khasraj, we need to put aside
our differences and rivalry to truly unite as helpers of Islam. Shoulder
to shoulder in tawaf, in prayer and in working together in the service of
Allah.