Meme Tag : Islam Inspires

I'd be remiss if I do not apologise to fellow blogger, the lovely Aezack Haida for my lateness in answering this tag.

Truth be told, I'd wanted to answer it as soon as I possibly could, but I was sidetracked with other 'projects', real life or otherwise. And I was stumped to discover that my draft copy for this meme was overridden by related materials that I had slowly collated. Bummer! All the work gone down the drain.....

Yet, a promise is a promise and further delay will only worsen the situation. It has been more than a month since Aezack tagged me for her answers on April 24th.

Thus in return, without further ado, here are my answers.

Before we do just that however, let's go to the preliminaries:

Rules:

1) Answer the following questions.

2) Post on your blog with link to who tagged you.

3) Tag a minimum of three other bloggers and include links to their blog in your tag. Make sure to let them know you’ve tagged them too.

Meme Questions:

1) What Qur’anic verse do you find most inspiring and why? What does it mean to you personally?



From Surah Ar-Rad (Chapter 13), Verse 11.

That is the first Surah that pops in my head.

"For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah. Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls). But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect."

My focus would of course be on the famous part of this Surah : “Verily! Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves.”

The Malay equivalent is : "Sesungguhnya Allah tidak akan mengubah keadaan sesuatu kaum sehingga mereka mengubah keadaan yang ada pada diri mereka sendiri."

While this Ayah revolves on people (part of community, society, nation, etc) as opposed to an individual, I'm constantly reminded of this verse as it gives me a sense of perspective - a sobering one at that - on our ability to change if we put our minds and hearts to it.

It assures me that, despite the esoteric concept of predestination (qada and qadar), we are given some leeway to improve ourselves and change our stations in life. As asserted in this commentary :

Thus there are two sides to Allah's commandments: those that are certain to happen and those that are not certain. The angels only save man from those accidents which are not certain to occur. It goes without saying that such a protection in fact does not relieve man of his duties and freedom of choice. The destinies of individuals and nations are always in their own hands.

Instead of falling into the rut of idleness, ordinary people like myself are able to take control, to a certain extent, of our destinies through change and determination.

Personally, I take comfort in knowing that change is imminent insofar as I am strong-willed enough to follow through with it. In a way, this verse is an inspiration for me to effect relevant changes in my life and be a better person and God's servant in the process.


2) What Hadith (Qudsi or Sunnah of the Prophet salallahi alaihi was salam) do you find most inspiring and why?

As narrated by Muslim : Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), relates that the Holy Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him), said, "One who covers up the failings of somebody in this world will have his shortcomings covered up by Allah on the Day of Judgement". (sourced from here).

This particular saying rings true even in our Malay tradition through sayings such as Menconteng arang di muka and Membuka bekung di dada, analogies used to guard against sullying another person's reputation through the disclosure of his or her faults.

At times, in the fit of anger, we might carelessly divulge delicious, disgraceful tidbits about a person to other people without thinking clearly of its consequences. Or, out of envy, we spread incriminating facts about another so as to rain on his or her parade.

This Hadith serves as a strong reminder for me to act and speak responsibly because I duly believe that what goes around comes around.


3) Other than the Prophet himself salalahi alahi wa salaam - what Muslim man do you find most inspiring and why?

Thanks to the inspiring movie on the birth of Islam entitled The Message that I'd watched as a teenager, I'm drawn to the character depicting Khalid ibn al-Walid whose conversion story (or reversion) to Islam is both compelling and moving. After entertaining doubts about his own religious beliefs following the Holy Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) first pilgrimage to Mecca, he experienced an epiphany that Islam is indeed the true faith and set out for Medina to convert.

Khalid ibn al-Walid, one of Prophet Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.) Sahaba (prominent companions), was instrumental in defeating both the Roman Byzantine and Persian Empires which paved the way for the spread of Islam. He earned the name 'Sword of Allah' from the Prophet himself after he won the Battle of Mu'tah.

Despite having fought in over one hundred battles, Khalid ibn al-Walid passed away in his own bed where he was quoted saying :

I fought in so many battles seeking martyrdom that there is no place in my body but have a stabbing mark by a spear, a sword or a dagger, and yet here I am, dying on my bed like an old camel dies. May the eyes of the cowards never sleep.

I admire Khalid al-Walid for his tenacity, courage and strength in defending Islam at all cause. He remained steadfast to the cause of spreading Islam even after Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab removed him from his post as the army commander.

He remains to this day, one of the greatest generals in history and one of the formidable heroes in Islam. It's not that he struck fear in his enemies that I find most awe-inspiring, it is his unstinting loyalty to Islam which he had embraced with all of his heart.


4) Who is the most inspiring Muslim woman to you and why?

The wife of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), Khadijah bint Khuwaylid for obvious reasons:

(a) She's the first person to convert to Islam.
(b) She remained loyal and supportive towards her husband, the Holy Prophet Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.) mission in spreading Islam.

I distinctly remember the story where she calmed and consoled our Prophet (p.b.u.h.) after his first Koranic Revelation through the angel Gabriel inside the cave of Mount Hira. She is his pillar of strength and her death which took place during the Year of Sorrow or roughly 619 AD, caused Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) much unhappiness that in turn led to his emigration (Hijra) to Medina.

The late Khajidah's influence and importance in our Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) life is indisputable as it is poignant.


5) What CONTEMPORARY (i.e., living) Muslim do you find most inspiring and why?

I was browsing the Internet in search for relevant materials for this meme tag and I am deeply moved by the works of one Mr. Idris Tawfiq who is a Muslim revert and a former Roman Catholic priest. His reversion story (which can be found here struck a chord within me, as it keeps me grounded over my own 'jihad' (struggles) as a born-Muslim. Thankfully, it puts things into perspective for me.

Excerpts of said article :

“One day I headed to the biggest Mosque in London, to hear more about this religion. Getting into London Central Mosque, there was Yusuf Islam, the former pop singer, sitting in a circle talking to some people about Islam. After a while, I found myself asking him ‘What do you actually do to become a Muslim?’

“He answered that a Muslim should believe in one God, pray five times a day and fast during Ramadan. I interrupted him saying that I believed all this and had even fasted during Ramadan. So he asked, ‘What are you waiting for? What is holding you back?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t intend to convert.’

“At that moment the call to prayer was made and everyone got ready and stood in lines to pray. I sat at the back, and I cried and cried. Then I said to myself, ‘Who am I trying to fool?’

When a person like Mr. Idris Tawfiq devotes the remainder of his life to spread the word of Islam and to refute the misconceptions about our religion, it behooves me to do my part - however big or small - in defending and explaining Islam in whichever means possible.


6) How has Islam inspired you in your daily life?

Alhamdulillah, I'm forever grateful to be born a Muslim. Coming from a family background with its own dose of liberalism and materialism, I must say the greater jihad for me, would be to overcome those weaknesses and shed the excesses that are associated with such a way of life.

The Islam that I know inspires me to better myself in every aspect of my life. It teaches me about humility, self-forgiveness, patience, self-improvement, unconditional love and of course, faith.

There are some significant goalposts to hit in the future, God willing, and I have faith that through constant prayers and reflections, I will attain them one day.

I won't be tagging anyone else, instead I leave you with this inspiring Sunnah :

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 79 :
Narrated by Abu Musa:
The Prophet said, "The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance. (And) another portion of it was hard and held the rain water and Allah benefited the people with it and they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and for irrigation of the land for cultivation. (And) a portion of it was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth vegetation (then that land gave no benefits). The first is the example of the person who comprehends Allah's religion and gets benefit (from the knowledge) which Allah has revealed through me (the Prophets and learns and then teaches others. The last example is that of a person who does not care for it and does not take Allah's guidance revealed through me (He is like that barren land.)"