Project 365

And a sign for them (of Our power) is that We carried their ancestors in a laden ship (Prophet Nuh’s ship) and We created for them from the likes of it that which they ride. And if We should will, We could drown them; then no one responding to a cry would there be for them, nor would they be saved. Except as a mercy from Us and provision for a time.

Dan suatu tanda (kebesaran Allah yang besar) bagi mereka adalah bahwa Kami angkut nenek moyang mereka dalam bahtera (kapal) yang penuh muatan dan Kami ciptakan untuk mereka yang akan mereka kendarai seperti bahtera itu. Dan jika Kami menghendaki niscaya Kami tenggelamkan mereka, maka tiadalah bagi mereka penolong dan tidak pula mereka diselamatkan. Tetapi (Kami selamatkan mereka) karena rahmat yang besar dari Kami dan untuk memberikan kesenangan hidup sampai kepada suatu ketika. (Al-Qur’an 36:41-44)

During today’s Qur’an study, our discussion came to the heart of the Qur’an, surah Yaasin. I learned many things today (as usual) but one thing that came across was those particular verses. I was told that Prophet Nuh (or Noah) was like Prophet Adam “the second” (i.e. Nabi Adam kedua). We’re all the offspring of Prophet Nuh. As can be read from those verses above, the people of Nuh was saved with his ship and Allah SWT showed them mercy and saved them (although they all could be drown and died). The flood happened not just in the area where they lived, it happened in the whole world, subhanallah. Imagine if Allah SWT did not save them, would there be still us?

That’s why we need to be thankful for each and everything we achieved and received. Allah is The Most Merciful. So never hesitate to seek mercy from Allah SWT.

O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

Hai orang-orang yang beriman, janganlah sekumpulan orang laki-laki merendahkan kumpulan yang lain, boleh jadi yang ditertawakan itu lebih baik dari mereka. Dan jangan pula sekumpulan perempuan merendahkan kumpulan lainnya, boleh jadi yang direndahkan itu lebih baik. Dan janganlah suka mencela dirimu sendiri dan jangan memanggil dengan gelaran yang mengandung ejekan. Seburuk-buruk panggilan adalah (panggilan) yang buruk sesudah iman dan barangsiapa yang tidak bertobat, maka mereka itulah orang-orang yang zalim.

Al-Qur’an 49:11

(One of my favorite verses in the Qur’an. No offence here, but I do think Arab people need to read this verse and carry it out in real life! Rather than viewing Asians lower than them and treating them with no respect.)

And when We decreed for Sulaiman’s death, nothing indicated to the jinn his death except a creature of the earth eating his staff. But when he fell, it became clear to the jinn that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment.

Maka tatkala Kami telah menetapkan kematian Sulaiman, tidak ada yang menunjukkan kepada mereka kematiannya itu kecuali rayap yang memakan tongkatnya. Maka tatkala ia telah tersungkur, tahulah jin itu bahwa kalau sekiranya mereka mengetahui yang ghaib tentulah mereka tidak akan tetap dalam siksa yang menghinakan.

— Al-Qur’an 34:14

This is rather an interesting verse from the Qur’an about the Prophet Sulaiman AS — which I missed out. Just like his wonder life and all his greatness that Allah SWT blessed him for, his death too was a rather unique one. While Prophet Sulaiman stood leaning on his cane / staff and praying, his soul left him. He did not fall and was in the same position until the termites ate away his cane. Nobody, including the humans and jinn, knew that he had died a long time ago.

One important thing to be mentioned about this verse is that: only Allah SWT had the knowledge of the unseen (including future). Jinn knew nothing at all. Therefore, we shouldn’t rely on them. They might be able to hear some “gossips” from the sky and deliver them to dukun (witch), but we never know that the information that is given is true.

Wallahu a’lam. 

And We had certainly given Luqman wisdom [and said], “Be grateful to Allah .” And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] – then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.

Dan sesungguhnya telah Kami berikan hikmat kepada Luqman, yaitu: “Bersyukurlah kepada Allah. Dan barangsiapa yang bersyukur (kepada Allah), maka sesungguhnya ia bersyukur untuk dirinya sendiri; dan barangsiapa yang tidak bersyukur, maka sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kaya lagi Maha Terpuji”. (Al-Qur’an 31:12)

I came across this verse during our weekly Qur’an session. Allah SWT asks us to be grateful to Him. If we do, then we’re grateful for the benefit of ourselves. If we’re grateful, we’ll most like not hurt or take advantage of others. Take for example our politicians who are never satisfied with the money that they get. The result is definitely corruption. If they’re grateful, things would turn out differently.

And now, I have to keep on reminding myself that I need to be grateful for every single thing I have. Creating this Project 365 is my way to be thankful, so that I can look back at my life at some point in time and realize how lucky I am that I can ever reach this point that is beyond my expectation! Hope I can keep on doing this project, Amin.

I fell in love with this song when the first time I heard it. This is a song by Maher Zain, who has a beautiful voice and has a great Islamic song collection! Do listen to it 🙂 It creates peace in my heart.

After having to abandon Couchsurfing for more than half a year due to my busy schedule, I decided to take part in this super awesome community again — helping travelers and meeting new like-minded people. Today, I met with Ivan, a Russian guy who was in Eindhoven for a business trip. I was contacted by him few days before and I was honored to be his first Couchsurfing friend, as he just joined the website not so long time ago. I took him to the Boekencafe, which was my favorite cafe in Eindhoven, for a cup of delicious hot chocolate. We were there for about an hour; talking about Russia and our life in general. One thing that surprised me was that, he didn’t drink alcohol!! (knowing that Russians really looooved their vodka and beer!) We only talked about an hour and it was a pity that we couldn’t talk longer. I think he was a good and charming boy. In the picture, this was me and him in the cafe.

After meeting Ivan, I went straight to teh Rita’s house. As usual, we had a weekly pengajian (Qur’an recitation and study) with our religious leader whom we refer as Pak Haji. Every week I learnt so many things; and for today, I was struck by this verse of the Qur’an (Al Ankabut 64):

And the life of this world is nothing but diversion and play. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.

Dan tiadalah kehidupan dunia ini melainkan senda gurau dan main-main. Dan sesungguhnya akhirat itulah yang sebenarnya kehidupan, kalau mereka mengetahui.

This verse is such a good reminder for me. It made me shivered when I read it. Ya Allah, please keep me reminded and guide me to the right path… Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

Another verse that we discussed was from surah Ar-Rum: 2-3:

The Romans have been defeated in the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome.

Telah dikalahkan bangsa Romawi, di negeri yang terdekat dan mereka sesudah dikalahkan itu akan menang.

The Romans (Byzantine Empire) were defeated by the Persians at the time when this verse was sent down. And the Qur’an had predicted that they would win the war from the Persians in few years time (which happened during the years of Abu Bakar As-Siddiq). Subhanallah, this is one of the miracles of the Qur’an.

From this verse, Pak Haji also pointed out that recently Harun Yahya discovered that the words “fi adnaa” in Arabic which is translated by many as “in the nearest land” actually had a literal meaning of “in the lowest land”. What’s the lowest land, you may wonder… Well, the lowest land in the world is the Dead Sea (395 meters below sea level) which was the place where the Romans were defeated by the Persians. During that time, NOBODY knew that the Dead Sea was the lowest region on earth! Yet, the Qur’an had been able to reveal this at that time! Oh, my heart is beating right now. Even as I’m writing this post.

Wallahu A’lam (Allah knows best).