19.3.08

Salam Maulidul Rasul!

As we mark the birthday of Nabi Muhammad (SAW), it is a good time to reflect on the exemplary life of this remarkable human being.

Understandably, in this age it is very difficult to follow the example of our beloved Rasulullah. We live in a world of more-is-better -- more food, more wealth, more money, etc. Our egos stand in the way of our reaching out to God and to His creation. We allow ourselves to judge others too easily, but cannot accept anyone else's judgment of us. We have become self-centered, not God-centered.

In the life and teachings of the Prophet, there are many examples for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, concerning how to love God Almighty, and about the benefits to be gained by filling our hearts and lives with that love.

These are seven of the Prophet's teachings to which we as Muslims must personally aspire and pledge to follow:

1. "Whoever believes in God and in the Last Day should say what is good or keep silent; and one should also be generous to his/her neighbours and guests." (adapted from Imam Muslim's narration)

2. "Always look to those who are less fortunate than you; do not look up to those who are more fortunate... in order that you not take lightly God's bounties upon you." (adapted from the narrations of Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

3. "Give gifts to one another, as this will enhance your love for one another." (adapted from the narration of Imam Al-Boukhary)

4. "God has no mercy on people who show no mercy to others." (adapted from the narrations of Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

5. God's Messenger used to pray: "O God, I seek your protection from anxiety, sorrow, weakness, laziness, cowardice, stinginess, the burden of debts, and being oppressed by others." (as narrated by Imam Al-Boukhary and Imam Muslim)

6. "The worst thing for a person to fill is the stomach. A few mouthfuls are sufficient for anyone to survive. If a person insists on filling the stomach, then one should fill a third of it with food, another third with water, and leave one third empty for easy breathing." (adapted from the narration by Imam Tirmizi)

7. "Live in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller." (as narrated by Imam Al-Boukhary)


11 comments:

ZABS said...

Salam Mior,
Thank you for the reminder, especiallly the no. 6. Jika ia di amalkan, InsyaAllah, tentu semua penyakit telah dapat dielakkan, dan tidaklah agaknya terlebih kolestrol, gula, garam, lemak, iodine dan macam2 lagi di dalam badan kita ini. Wallahua'lam.

Neeza Shahril said...

I like to read and get to know these. Thank you for sharing Pak Mior :).

In Saudi, many put a very high respect towards our Rasul but very few really abide by his teachings. For example, they like to waste food. Just imagine, 1 person meal can be eaten by 4 normal malay adult. The rice is so much. In fact, they never finished them. They knew it very well. Still, they put so much rice.

If I went for groceries, the Saudis (usually) bought so much. 2 trolleys full and I could see, they bought things unnecessarily. I hope they meant to donate the food to unfortunate since they are also many poor people here too...

anom said...

Salam Maulidur Rasul to you and family too..

Thanks for the reminders

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Mior
Selamat Menyambut Maulidur Rasul.
My mom never fails to cook special dishes on this day. She had been doing this since we were young.

Mior Azhar said...

Salam Pak Zabs,
Me too. The number six is the most telling for me...
Salam Maulid Nabi

Mior Azhar said...

Neeza,
I've heard about the perangai of Saudis... and we thought orang Melayu are bad..
Just three nights ago, an Iranian community organised some concert and all to celebrate their New Year at my workplace. Tetiba jer my workplace was swarmed with thousands of Iranian from all ages and fashions. Apparently the new year was not really Islamic (and the Islamic government has been trying to stop some of the unIslamic ritual often associated with the celebration). But being at the celebration, you would have thought you are in New Orleans' Mardi Gras instead, except everything is in Farsi. And we Malays always thought we celebrate Hari Raya excessively. And don't get me started on how the Iranian ladies are dressing up? Mak aiiih!

Mior Azhar said...

Anom,
Thanks, your dad call two nights ago. Informing (and inviting us sekali la) about the May 24 thingy.
I would really like to come but tak boleh janji la. I just start kerja and all...susah kot nak dpt cuti. But am going to try jugaklah

Mior Azhar said...

Salam Fauziah,
That's neat. I guess we should make such a day extra special. Otherwise everybody will plonk themselves in front of the TV or walk aimlessly at the mall.

tokasid said...

Salam Pak Mior:

Alhamdulillah. Thanks for the 7 hadith you gave us. All are very important.

It is very unfortunate that we Muslims read and learn about sunnah Rasulullah s.a.w. but rarely practiced these sunnah(me included in this category).

In Saudi(and elsewhere) we see the rich spending lavishly(and membazir) because we never really think about our Muslim brothers and sisters who are suffering else where like in Sudan,Palestine,Mindanao,Russia and Patani.

In a sense we are actually detached from our Muslim brothers. He have become so Assobiyah/nationalistic that we think what happen in other parts of the world is not our problem.
We have become seggregated in our believes. We have labelled ourselves according to Mazhabs,race,nationalities and etc.

They only way to be together again is to follow the Quran and sunnah as it should be done.As how it was done by Rasullulah s.a.w, his sahabat, the tabien, the tabiet-tabien and the salafussoleh.

And to follow the sunnah is a daily thing not a once a year celebration.

cakapaje said...

Salam Pak Mior,

This was a timely reminder, thank you :)

Mior Azhar said...

Salam Doc.
You got it right sir - sunnah Rasul is to be practiced on a daily basis and not to be celebrated once a year.

Shah,
My pleasure... sama2 kita ingat mengingati. Amin