The Beauty Of Adhaan... And A Cabby Uncle

AZ and I were in a cab just two weeks back; we were heading home from the East. A few minutes into the drive, the Adhaan for the Azhar prayer in my phone came on.

To our very pleasant surprise, the Chinese Cabby Uncle (We, all of us here in fact, grew up calling cab drivers mature enough, 'Uncle' - out of respect. Of course, if they are younger looking, I always make it a point to switch to 'Sir' mode.) asked us if this was from the radio.

AZ explained that it was from the phone alarm. To this, The Cabby Uncle asked if the radio stations played it. He sounded really interested and very eager to know. AZ and I both then shared that the Adhaan can be heard on the Malay station, Warna 94.2 here. We explained that it was the call to Islamic prayer and that it can be heard five times in a day. He said he knew that very well and then asked us to tell him the exact times at which they will be played.

As AZ read out the timings, the Uncle actually jotted them down on a piece of paper at a traffic junction. He later shared with us something that made us smile from ear to ear.

Whenever he hears the Adhaan, he said he felt a calmness in his mind. A 'totally at peace kind of feeling', he added.

"Is it a song?" he asked. I explained. That the Adhaan is a call to prayer, which is in turn a call to success.

He said the Community Centres in his neighbourhood used to organise sessions to hold competitions for children to recite in this 'language'. We told him this is Arabic - the language of the Quran, and that the children must have been in a Quran recitation competition. "You know, I will spend all the time there while they recited. It was so beautiful to hear. The tone and way it is read" - this gist was what he tried to convey in his words.

AZ asked him what his religion was. He must have said he's a free thinker, if I remember. But what I remember vividly was his love for the language of our Holy Quran and of course, the Adhaan.

AZ told him he could attend sharing sessions in the mosques and other associations we know of, if he wanted to learn more about Islam. He nodded, smiling.

As we alighted at our home, we reminded him to tune in - in time for the Maghrib Adhaan, to which the Uncle said, 'Definitely!'.

What every line in the Adhaan means

Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar ash-hadu al-lââ ilâha illa-llâh ash-hadu al-lââ ilâha illa-llâh ash-hadu anna muhammadan rasûlu-llâh ash-hadu anna muhammadan rasûlu-llâh hayya ‘ala-s-salâh hayya ‘ala-s-salâh hayya ‘ala-l-falâh hayya ‘ala-l-falâh Allâhu akbar, Allâhu akbar lââ ilâha illa-llâh

God is Supreme! God is Supreme! God is Supreme! God is Supreme! I witness that there is no god but God I witness that there is no god but God I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God Come to the prayer. Come to the prayer. Come to success. Come to success. God is Supreme! God is Supreme! There is no god but God

For the Fajr prayer, (the morning prayer), the following words are added just after hayya ‘ala-s-salâh.

as-salâtu khayrum min an-nowm a s-salâtu khayrum min an-nowm	Prayer is better than sleep Prayer is better than sleep

Source: Internet

Masha-Allah.

Salaam Maal Hijrah

Source: Internet

We have just ushered the new Islamic year on 25 October 2014.

Personally, I hope that this would be a time of reflection, on my walk towards Allah in the year just passed and what I could improve on, in the year that has arrived, In-Shaa-Allah.

There are so many aspects that I need to improve on. So many. My Quran recitation is the first on the list. And there are specific duas and elements that I have been wanting to memorise; and never got to doing it.

AZ has been sharing with me that the level of peace and happiness that we attain depends on our niyah (intention) towards what we hope to achieve. He has been constantly reminding me that we should be looking beyond this world, and work sincerely towards the Hereafter.

And this is not easy. And it will never be, I think. I pray that Allah (S.W.T) makes all our journey towards HIM easy, In-Shaa-Allah.

In A New Space

Source: Internet

I have just started on a new role in my organisation. With so much technicalities involved in the way that this organisation operates, I am considered to be on new employment.

This means I have had to resign from my previous job and hired as a new entrant in the new role in a different team.

It sure has been a comfort zone; the team, the work, the job scope that I have been doing for a good meaningful seven years, Alhamdhulilah. But it was this very comfort level on my job that made me move – move on to take on different challenges.

In fact, I had long wanted to join this new team; Allah (S.W.T) has only made it possible for me now. I believe I was in a better position to secure this job at this stage, after the years of experience and knowledge in the organsiation. We, mankind, just make plans, ultimately, HIS plans for us are always greater and sweeter. SubhanAllah.

But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.

(Verse 8:30, Surah Al-'Anfāl)

The other sweetener in this new role is that I had decided to take steps to even find out if there was an opportunity in the first place, in the month of Ramadan this year. HE made the path easy, and by the time we were celebrating Eid-Ul-Adha, I had already accepted the offer. And started work two days after Eid-Ul-Adha. Alhamdhulilah.

Many have asked me why I decided to take on this role – which is likely to be time-consuming, with more assignments, projects and responsibilities. My reasons lie with the target group that we will be working with in this team. I will have a bigger opportunity, In-Shaa-Allah, to serve the community that I have always wanted to more directly – our Ummah.

AZ has given me his support, as always, and this matters most to me.

I hope Allah (S.W.T) gives me strength to find this new role more meaningful than what I have moved on from; while it is going to be hard work, I see them as doors to earn more rewards for the Hereafter, In-Shaa-Allah.