the wisdom of abu haneefah.

There was once a man who was an enemy to Islam. He had three famous questions that no person could answer. No Islamic scholar in Baghdad could answer his three questions…
Thus he made fun of Islam in public. He constantly ridiculed Islam and the Muslims.

One day a small boy, who's age was 10, came along and heard the man yelling and screaming at Muslims in the street.

He was challenging people openly to answer the three questions.
The boy stood quietly and watched. He then decided that he would challenge the man.
He walked up and told the man,
“I will accept your challenge!”
The man laughed at the boy and ridiculed the Muslims even more by saying,
“A ten year old boy challenges me. Is this all you people have to offer!”

But the boy patiently reiterated his stance. He would challenge the man, and with ALLAH's help and guidance, he would put this to an end.

The man finally accepted.
The entire city gathered around a small “hill” where open addresses were usually made.
The man climbed to the top, and in a loud voice asked his first question.

1 “What is your ALLAH doing right now?”
The small boy thought for a little while and then told the man to climb down the hill and to allow him to go up in order to address the question.
The man says “What? You want me to come down?”
The boy says, “Yes. I need to reply, right?”
The man made his way down and the small boy, age 10, with his little feet made his way up.
This small child's reply was,
“Oh ALLAH Almighty! You be my witness in front of all these people. You have just willed that a Kafir be brought down to a low level, and that a Muslim be brought to a high level!”

The crowd cheered and screamed
“Takbir”….”Allah-h­u-akbar!!!”

The man was humiliated, but he boldly asked his second question…
2 “What existed before your ALLAH?”
The small child thought and thought.
Then he asked the man to count backwards.
“Count from 10 backwards.”
The man counted…
“10, 9 ,8 , 7 , 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,0”
The boy asked, “What comes before 0?”
The man: “I don't know…nothing.”
The boy: “Exactly. Nothing was before ALLAH, for He is eternal and absolute.”

The crowd cheered again….
“Takbir!”….”Allah-hu-akba­r!!!”

The man, now completely frustrated, asked his final question.
3 “In which direction is your Allah facing?”
The boy thought and thought.
He then asked for a candle. A candle was brought to him. The blessed child handed it to the man and asked him to light it.
The man did so and remarked,
“What is this supposed to prove?”
The young boy asked,
“In which direction is light from the candle going?”
The man responded,
“It is going in all directions.”
The boy: “You have answered Your own question. ALLAH's light (noor) goes in all directions. He is everywhere. There is no where that He cannot be found.

The crowd cheered again….
“Takbir!”….”Allah-­hu-akbar!!”

The man was so impressed and so moved by the boy's knowledge and spirituality, that he embraced Islam and became a student of the young boy.
So ended the debate.

Who was the young boy?
The young boy was one of our leaders and one of the greatest scholars, Imam Abu Hanîfa (May Allah bless him). AMEEN.

— Maulana Ahmed Ali, Published by Al-Mahadul Islami WEST YORKSHIRE.

au revoir abqari | aisyah writes

*Au revoir; Goodbye.

Jam digital menunjukkan pukul 3.00 pagi. Asrar masih tidak dapat tidur. Perlahan-lahan, dia mencapai telefon bimbit Nokia 3310nya. Dibelek-beleknya handphone murah itu.

Sudah 10 tahun Asrar memilikinya. Bukan tidak mampu untuk membeli telefon bimbit yang lebih canggih, cuma baginya telefon bimbit tersebut menyimpan terlalu banyak memori.

Memori yang mengajar erti hidup.
Memori yang mematangkan, mendewasakan.
Memori manis dan pahit, suka dan duka.

Terlalu banyak.

Namun, telefon bimbit itu juga menjadi saksi.
Saksi himpunan SMS yang melaghakan.
Saksi panggilan-panggilan yang melalaikan.
Saksi dosa-dosa yang dilakukan.

Jiwanya resah, hatinya sebak. Bait-bait ayat naqibah usrahnya, kak Safurrah, siang tadi tiba-tiba bersuara membisik,

"Bayangkan di padang mahsyar nanti, Allah display semula perbuatan kita di dunia. Perbuatan yang kita fikir tiada yang melihat. Kita malu kalau ada orang tahu. Kita malu kalau orang nampak.

"All those 'activities' we've been committing with our non-mahrams. Those SMSes that got us smiling alone. Those late night calls that got us missing our tahajjuds. Kita lupa Allah nampak. He sees each and every. Akhirat nanti, mungkin aib kita dibuka. Kelak malu kita akhowatku sayang, malu tak terkata. Dikatakan sampai jatuh daging-daging muka menahan malu. Istighfar. Katakan Astaghfirullah hal Aziim"

Asrar mengetap bibir. Tangannya digenggam. Sudah hampir 5 tahun dia bercouple dengan Abqari. Abqari yang banyak mengajarnya erti dakwah. Abqari yang banyak menceritakan kepadanya kisah-kisah anbiya'. Abqari yang selalu dipuji oleh muallim muallimah serta rakan-rakannya di SMK(A) Al-Azhar suatu ketika dahulu.

Walaubagaimanapun, Abqari itu jugalah yang telah membuat dirinya leka. Abqari itu jugalah yang selalu hadir dalam mimpinya. Abqari itu juga yang selalu membuat panggilan setiap malam mendengar ceritanya. Nama Abqari itu jugalah yang sentiasa memenuhi inbox Asrar dengan mesej-mesej 'kejut subuh' dan 'mutiara hikmah' yang mengasyikkan.

Mulanya Asrar fikir,
"Apa salahnya, bukan benda buruk pun. We ain't do no harm, we ain't commit no crime. Kita saling mengingati kepada Allah what?". Namun ayat-ayat kak Safurrah siang tadi bagai mengocak semula persepsinya, ibarat menyoal semula pendiriannya.

"Kalau bukan benda buruk, kenapa bercouple diam-diam?"

"Kalau bukan benda buruk, kenapa malu andai ibu bapa tahu?"

"Kalau bukan benda buruk, kenapa hati tidak tenang?"

"Kau bukan buta hukum Asrar, kau bukan tak faham Islam. Kau dan Abqari antara top student sekolah agama dulu. Kalau kau tak malu dengan Allah, kau tak malu ke dengan diri sendiri?"

Jari jemari Asrar menekan-nekan keypad membuka folder 'sent items'. Asrar meneliti semula SMS yang baru sahaja dikirimkan kepada Abqari sejam yang lalu. Ego remajanya membisik, "Ahh drama lah kau Asrar, takkan kau nak nangis kot? Crying is so kidsplay. You know better, Chillex beb". Tangannya digenggam dengan lebih erat. Allahurabbi. Butiran manik jernih gugur membasahi pipinya, mematahkan egonya.

Abqari merupakan seorang yang sangat baik. Pengerusi Lajnah Kebajikan dan Akademik. Soleh. InshaAllah boleh menjadi imam yang baik kepada keluarganya kelak. Meninggalkan Abqari setelah 5 tahun merupakan suatu pengorbanan yang besar. Suatu jihad yang sukar. Tetapi Asrar yakin dengan tindakannya. Hatinya berat. Namun beratnya hati Asrar meninggalkan Abqari, berat lagi azab Allah.

Asrar memejamkan matanya yang basah. Dirinya terduduk di birai katil. Seluruh badannya terasa lemah sekali bagai pesakit Anaemia yang kekurangan kuantiti hemoglobin. Tangannya perlahan-lahan diangkat, lalu Asrar berdoa,

"Ya Allah, sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Penyayang. Engkau masih sayangkan diriku. Engkau masih sayangkan dirinya. Engkau telah memberi terlalu banyak peluang untuk kami bertaubat, namun kami asyik terleka dek nafsu, terbuai dek cinta picisan sedangkan cintaMu lebih agung. You give, give, give, and forgive, while we get, get, get, and forget.

Ya Allah, kami tidak sanggup ditayangkan dosa kami ini di padang mahsyar kelak. Kami Malu ya Rabbi. Kami Malu. Ampunilah kami berdua. We ask for nothing more but Your mercy. Aamiin ya Allah. Aamiin ya Rabbal 'Alamiin"

Asrar mengesat air matanya dengan lengan cardigan lalu bingkas bangun menuju ke bilik air untuk mengambil wudhu'. Dia ingin melakukan solat sunat taubat. Jauh di sudut hatinya, dia masih menyayangi Abqari. Walaubagaimanapun, Asrar tidak mahu gagal menguruskan fitrahnya. Kalau hidayah sudah mengetuk pintu hati, buat apa tutup pintu? Asrar membulatkan tekadnya meneruskan hijrah ini. Cintanya kepada Allah selayaknya lebih eksklusif. Asrar enggan membiarkan dirinya mencintai makhluk tuhan lebih dari Zat yang menciptakan makhluk itu sendiri. You can't compliment a present more than you compliment the one giving the present in the first place, kan?

Namun lebih utama, Asrar enggan syirik cinta. Nope, never.