What Happened in Spain?

I was reading a research paper on ‘The Implication of Globalization on Arabic Language’ for my final assessment when I found a paragraph written about the Islamic Empire in al-Andalusia (now Spain) during its fall down. I felt an utter urge to share this with my Muslim brothers and sisters here.

The paragraph wrote about what happened when the Spanish Crusade had managed to overthrow the Muslims Caliph, they were deciding what to do with the millions of Muslims left. They (the Crusaders) decided to impose a forced conversion to Catholicism as well as destroying anything that relates to Islam. Knowing that that would happen, the Muslims only had two choices; leave Spain or pretending to be like the Catholic but keep the faith inside (Watt, 1965, p. 182).

The crusaders actions were full of hatred; honestly, I didn’t understand the reasons why they did all these besides they were envious and lustful for the power of ruling Spain. They banned the Muslims’ dress, prayers, fasting, pilgrimage to Makkah, and paying the zakat. The Muslims were also prohibited to speak or write in Arabic, and the penalties were severe;

• 30 days in prisons in chains for the first offense
• Double the sentence above for the second offense
• A hundred lashes and four years in the galley (boat or ship, to work as slaves, rowing them)
• Women and youths under 17 years old were imprisoned for four years.

(Thomson, 1989, p. 295)

The Muslims at that time were even unaffordable to utter ‘Allah’ in front of their young children, being afraid that the children would get the whole family in danger if they said the word at public upon hearing it. As time passed by, the knowledge of Islam was torn away from their mind and heart, what was left was the ‘syahadah’ being affirmed silently in heart without understanding the true meaning and obligation of it (Thomson, 1989, p. 285).

What happened to the Muslims back then was the biggest mourning by the Muslims’ world, it was unacceptable for what had been done to our brethren. It was totally the other way around when Islam captured Spain.

Tariq bin Ziyad was leading the Muslims navy from Morocco when they reached the Gibraltar Strait (did you guys ever wonder where the Gibraltar word came from? [Jabal (Gibral) Tariq] (tar)?], and marched the cleansing of Andalusia (the Land of the thieves, now known as Spain) from the barbaric gothic armies, saving the people from enslavement and suppression.

Besides bringing in the technologies, knowledge, civilisation and development, what more important is , Islam had never ever forced anyone in their region of caliphate to embrace Islam, instead, not only the Christians, but also the Jews were let to live in harmony and peacefully from any danger. Even more, in Toledo the three religions, Islam, Christian, and Jew were working together to translate the old transcript to Arabic before translating it to Spanish and other languages (an Islamic History in Europe, BBC 4).

In addition, Islam had also brought in the knowledge of medicine with its scholars, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), agricultural, philosophies, and some others. The most profound technology brought into Andalusia was architecture that was not only adopted by others in Spain, but also by one of the biggest cathedrals in the United Kingdom (When the Moors ruled in Europe). The magnificent build of the Cordova Mosque Pillars were adopted until today by many parts of the worlds for its beauty and its uniqueness.

Islam does not necessarily bring all the technologies, but surely Islam had never ‘murdered’ any culture is has come in to contact, it had either improvised it for the betterment, or provide assistance in living the right ways. Either or, Islam does not permit such separation of the believers of faith from their religions.

A LESSON for us, Muslims.

Reference

[video] An Islamic History of Europe, BBC 4, UK
[video] When Moors ruled in Europe, not known
Thomson, A. (1989). Blood on the cross: Islam in Spain in the light of Christian Persecution through the ages. London: Ta-Ha.
Watt, W. M. (1965). A history of Islamic Spain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

The Capture of Egypt

When Egypt was captured by the Muslims in Umar al-Khattab r.a era, there were 1 million Roman Soldiers in control of the nation. The Muslims who were led by ‘Amr ibn al-‘As were only 8 000 in sum, but 12 000 in strength.

The story went back to after Baitul Maqdis was won by the Muslims. ‘Amr ibn al-‘As who led his troops was moving towards Egypt with the intention of capturing Egypt when he sent his subordinate to ask for permission from the Caliph, Umar r.a. In addition, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As himself was among of those who were intelligent at his time, so when Umar r.a. sent his messenger for the answer, he refused to accept to see him (and kept refusing the messenger) until they crossed over the border of Egypt. And the messenger was called for the answer by Umar r.a;

“If you have entered the border of Egypt, continue but if you’re still far, return to Madinah.”

The plan to capture Egypt was now on but he was still insufficient of soldiers, so he sent his messenger to ask for assistance from the caliph. When Umar asked how many of them paying the Jizyah (which means how many of the enemies are fighting, because only those who can fight have to pay jizyah if they are captured, nevertheless, it’s also to determine the size of the armies), he told Umar that they were 1 million of them.

Umar r.a. then gathered the Muslims in Madinah (most of them had gone spreading Islam towards east and had reached India at the time) and sent them to ‘Amr ibn al-‘As. He told ‘Amr that there were 8 000 of them being sent, but when ‘Amr counted them, there were only 4 000 of them. So, ‘Amr asked Umar where were the other 4 000? Umar answered;

“among these people, there are four people of whom their strengths are equal to 1 000 men, they are Muhammad ibn Maslamah, Zubair ibn Awwam, Ubadah ibn Samit, and al-Miqdad ibn Aswad.”

That’s why they were only 8 000 men in sum, but 12 000 in strength! As they were entering Egypt, the people of Egypt were very happy as they were giving them the freedom from the Romans and many embraced Islam. The Muslims had captured Egypt in only three months when they gained total control of Alexandria!

Refreshed and extracted from Dr. Tariq Swaidan’s lecture on The future of Our Religion

Dress Code

In sociolinguistic, we learn that a person would resort to speak, dress, and behave etc like a group of people of which he or she wanted to feel the self-belonging. One may come from a different part of the country to a place; for a certain purpose he or she has in mind, thus in assuring that the purpose is fulfilled it is very important that he or she makes themselves accepted by people around them. The same goes to when a teenager wanted to be like a certain figure; he or she would dress up, speak, and behave like the person he or she tries to imitate, a personality or a group.

The key here is; changing one’s preference (in dressing, speaking, behaving, manners, tones of voice, etc) to other so he or she is accepted. Such finding made by the sociolinguists was never a new thing to Islam, as our prophet has recorded it first. Hence, the finding above approves what has the prophet said;

Whoever imitates a people, they are among them [recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud].

The question that some may want to ponder upon here is where would the du’aat be in such claims? Should we dress like the others (the people we call for Islam) or how? Calling the people to Allah’s path in the present era needs us to be ‘in-line’ so that the term ‘exclusivity’ would not appear in the perception of the people whom we are calling. However, it should not be misunderstood that we should dress as the way others dress. We need not to wear baggy clothes, or sag jeans, or whatever just to call people for Islam and Allah.

Be moderate in what we wear and wear what is permitted by Islam that is by making sure that it covers our “aurat”. The du’aat are the ambassadors of Allah, we represent what have we understood from its teaching, despite the fact that we should wear our best; it does not necessarily mean we have to overspend on our clothing. We also learn that in Islam, moderation is the best, it’s not the path-in-between or the middle-way, rather it’s not being extreme or taking it too lightly.

As much as we want to follow the sunnah of the prophet (PBUH) in ibadah, we would also want to follow his guidance in our attitude and manners (akhlaq). Moreover, experiencing the difficult target to be approached does not need us to give up our principles for if it goes against Allah’s will, and then everything would go wrong. Al-akh or a dai’e ilAllah is the example set on others to follow, in Islam we call it qudwah hasanah as Rasulullah SAW had said, the best among you, is the best in his attitude and manners.

p/s: not all imitation of people is bad, imitating the pious, the scholars, sabiquunal awwalun, and the prophet could never be a bad thing aye?!~

Love if You May

“No matter how much you would love somebody, there would be a boundary to it, for the greatest boundless love is only for Allah. Deny this at your will, but you would never live the life you have now if it is not for His love and mercy.”

I wrote the saying above for a brother in Islam, but come to think of it, it is inevitably true. You may say that you would swim sea of fire for them, or hike the highest mountain on the earth so you may prove your love (in an odd way I reckon), but bear this fact with you, there is a boundary to it. Even when the choice is ours, the boundary is predetermined. This is something crucial needed to be understood.

The predetermined boundary to our love; be it brotherly or to our parents, maybe to the wife one has, or to the children they have brought up, is DEATH. Spend if you may, decades of your life with your loved ones, but they will leave you when the time comes as Allah has made His fate unto all of His servants. He mentioned this in the Holy Quran;

Never did We destroy an ummah that had not a term decreed and assigned beforehand. Neither can a people anticipate its term, nor delay it. [NQ:15:5]

I instantly recall a moment when Archangel Gabriel (Jibreel a.s) came down to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with words from Allah (referred to as the al-hadith al-qudsi as it was not compiled in the same book of Quran) saying; ‘love anyone ye may, but forget not for they will die’. How this very much explains the argument I put above, that love for human is limited. Unless when you love Allah for He is eternity, when the sky falls, and the earth shakes and crumble, everything will die even the angel of death will have to take his very own life, but Allah will perish not.

Loving Allah has no boundaries and limitless, for when we love Him a step forward, He has come forward a thousand steps closer to us. If we come to him walking, He would run coming to us (as mentioned in hadith, to show how He would be dearly to His servants’ love). Up to the stage when He wants to give His light and assistance unto the people of faith (of whom have made efforts to follow His ruling) nobody could stop Him, and when He would turn the world upside down, nobody would dare to stop Him.

What Allah out of his Mercy doth bestow on mankind there is none can withhold: what He doth withhold, there is none can grant, apart from Him: and He is the Exalted in Power, full of Wisdom. [NQ:35:2]

Loving Allah will save us from the hellfire for when we love Him, His path would be the path we choose to follow, yet, to love human being for the sake of Allah is an ibadah, doing as He says. Nevertheless, there are still boundaries, as such there is no halal relationship between the opposite sex before marriage. Thus, beware of loving our loved ones too much for Allah has forbidden us to do so up to the stage where we have come to ignore His call;

Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight - are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious. [NQ:9:24]

Numbering the Zero

Try to add zero to another zero, what will you get? Correct! A zero. Try to add millions of zero, what will you get? Still, a definite zero. A definite zero without a value. This is what a renowned Muslim scholar from the past, Syakib Arsalan had been trying to explain when the Muslim scholars all over the globe sent him a letter, which regard to returning the caliphate to its state. He said; “what is the use of gathering the weaklings? What is the use of adding up the zeros?”

The reality

The fact is, at that time, all Muslims were drown by the influence of the British Colonials to overthrow the caliph from his place just because he was a Turkish, with the propaganda that if the caliph was to be established, it should be the Arabs to hold the position, not the Turkish! While in Turkey itself, the propaganda by the Zionists and the backstabbers had also contributed to the banishment of the last caliph Sultan Abdul Hamid II. By the time the Muslims had realized it, it was too late.

It is still fresh in my mind, the words of our beloved last caliph, Sultan Abdul Hamid II when Theodore Herzl came up to him to buy the Palestinians land with a tremendous amount of money, he said; “I am not going to give one inch of Palestine to the Jews as Palestine is not mine give, but it belongs to the Ummah, and Ummah have shed blood to defend this land, but if one day the Islamic State falls apart, then you can have Palestine for free, but as long as I am alive, I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land. I will not allow any carving up while I am alive!”

Until the end of his life, he is still fighting not for himself, but for the ummah. And we shall mark the day when the caliphate fell as the darkest day in the Islamic History.

The work

Even when the Abbasiyyah’s Caliphate had been attacked by Hulagu Khan, and the Muslim world in chaos, the work to rebuild this ummah had started since then. Ibn Taimiyyah had started rebuilding the individuals after almost 1 000 000 Muslims had been massacred by the 10 000 Tartar armies in Baghdad. Why did he make the effort and struggle to build the individuals while he could actually do more than that?

Simple! Let’s look at this analogy. If one wishes to build a tower, what should he first do? He should learn about the space, the area, the site, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the specific area. He then, must identify what are the materials essential to build a tower. Before proceeding to building the tower, he must build a very strong base. Why is this necessary? Because without a strong foundation or base, it will never be able to hold the weight of the tower thus, would actually cause the tower to fall down, and then only he can build the tower on it.

The same with this ummah. We are very far behind from the previous ummah who had preceded us in civilisation, technologies, knowledge etc. Therefore, we must identify the weaknesses and the strength of this ummah. We are fallen apart, we are not united, we are separated by barriers created by the colonials, what we are proud of is our own race and nation, despite the irony that Islam has made us brethrens with the tie of faith, the tie of iman! Our strength is that when we understand the true message of Islam, and we then unite again as an ummah, we are strong! Therefore we are now set to build the foundation.

Who are the foundations? We are! The Muslims are, the individuals who are called Muslims and wanted to learn about Islam. It is very important to build the individuals, not to create individuality, but to produce the individuals who can work for his ummah, not merely his desire. Because, there is no use in having an Islamic state if the ummah is weak to protect and defend it.

This is what Syakib Arsalan tried to tell us, the modern Muslim Ummah, the end-of-time ummah! We may have 1.8 billion Muslims, but if we add them up, we gather them up, they are no more than a definite zero! Due to the fact that Islam is very far away from their life, that Islam is no more than a ritual to them, that their iman or faith is like a submarine of which always submerges and only resurfaces during Syawal, Dzulhijjah, or even Friday Prayer. All these can simple be defeated because we are weak inside out.

Comparison

I wish to compare the present ummah with the first ummah established in Makkah and Madinah by our beloved prophet Muhammad (PBUH) despite of the fact that it is universally known these two can never reach equality in comparison. They are very much better than us.

Imagine, they had suffered days in hunger, and yet they are still strong, and they can still fight for the sake of Allah, compared to us, even when the hunger is only for an hour or two, we are barely able to survive it. Shame on us, who called ourselves Muslims!

Compare, they are more than willing to put their materials and belongings (even lives!) at stake, while us, would be counting fingers to take a dollar or two out from out pocket! Shame on us the end-of-time Muslims!

To them, what is the most worthy of protection and honours was their faith, which they can never trade it with something else, except to Allah. While us, what are our precious? Our house, money, car, and all the sorts of stuffs that will never remain with us forever! Shame on us Muslims!

Verily, we can never reach them for equality in iman, they were what Allah has said in the Quran as the best ummah, the cream of the cream, they lived for the sake of Allah, they also died for the sake of Allah, their deeds and ‘amal, were all for Him, alone. If I would to make anymore comparisons, none of them will win them, we are far behind.

What Maududi said

Abul ‘Ala al-Maududi said that being a Muslim is not what is presented by our names, or clothing, because what is the use of having those if our lives are no different than the non-Muslims? even worse, some of us are very bad in behaviour compared to the non-Muslims! Even if we pray, what different would it make if we still commit sins? Islam is not merely saying the syahadah, but to understand it, living it, and implementing it. Islam is not presented by simply names, and clothing, but also our way of life, as Islam is not same with other religion, Islam is not simply ritual, but it is the way of life, of which Allah has written what is allowed and what is not.

Living the life as prescribed by al-Quran and as-Sunnah has never stopped us from living a luxurious life, or earning wealth, but there are ways in living it. We are taught to be moderate and share what we have with the poor as what we earn includes their share; therefore we are to purify it by giving out zakat. Islam is a complete and holistic religion, therefore we are to accept the deen as a whole not refusing some and accepting the parts where we like most. Islam teach us to be the real human.

In fact, we ought to be grateful to Allah and being a Muslim because our way of life is set by and sent down by the Almighty Allah, and is not interrupted by the human hands, or even their limited minds.

The efforts

The struggle, the effort in returning the righteous place for the Muslims and returning Islam its dignity, is nevertheless only by building up the individuals, individuals who understand Islam thoroughly, and then work for the creation of a Baitul Muslim (the Muslims Families) of which the understanding of Islam and its teaching are practiced and implemented. Thus, creating the Muslims community of which reminding each other of what is right and what is wrong, of the al-Haq and separate it from al-Bathil. All these people will then govern the state by the ruling of Allah and Islam. Hence, from there, creating a Muslim state or country whereby all the citizens abide to the rule of Islam. And then, the caliphate can be restored to its honour. Thus, Islam then, can lead the world again, under its umbrella (Asy-Syahid Imam Hassan al-Banna).

All Muslims are obliged to re-learn Islam and practice it, because Islam is not the deen of utterance, the proof of faith is by confessing it by heart, utter it by the tongue, and practice it with deeds. There are more about Islam than what we know today. There are more about our history we need to reread, so we could learn lessons from them, not merely as morals and values but also as reinforcement to bring back what is ours. We will be really surprise to know that we don’t know much about our deen. The deen of which we are very proud of. We are now returned to the phase where the prophet Muhammad had started, and we shall continue his effort to rise up Islam to the the top.

Again and Again

bismillahi walhamdulillah...

have we ever counted all the good things that have been given to us? even if we made the attempt of counting all the ni`mah that Allah has given us, believe me, we can't, simply because it's countless. yes, in the other word, we owe Allah a lot. but have we ever thought about it? have we ever reminded ourselves that we have lived this life merely because Allah allows us to? instead, we tend to forget, we act as if we govern our own life, that we are not the creation of the Almighty Lord, Allah. how could we? even the breath we inhale is from Allah, how could we actually deny His existence in our daily life? subhanAllah (from any weaknesses).

And if you should count the favours of Allah, you could not enumerate them. indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful [NQ:16:18]

And He gave you from all you asked Him. and if you should count the favour of Allah, you could not enumerate them. indeed mankind is most unjust and ungrateful. [NQ:14:34]

today, i have had an experience for an afternoon with brother Mehmet, him and i had our lunch somewhere at lane cove. he has indeed reminded me of how much Allah has made me favours, which are uncountable even if i would to write all of it. subhanAllah. i am counting myself in front of Him. i am reminding myself now, as much as i am reminding you readers. Allah is the All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Listening, for every word we whisper, also we think of, even before we take it out as saying, Allah has learned it and noted it earlier. He knows of our intentions. astaghfirullah...

this is one big favour Allah has done for us, where He has given us a turning point to shift our paradigm, making a 180 degree change for a better person, how could we forget? for all these time, maybe we have been living as a mere human, knowing the fact that we are Allah's servants but act not as we are. and there is this one moment in our life He had given His light of Hidayah unto us, we are awaken from this deep sleep of ignorance starting to learn about our environment that has been dirtied by fake and false philosophy of life. we learn about the Ghazwul Fikr that has been set upon us, we learn also about our glorious history where Islam had once taken 2/3 of the world under its protection, thus govern it for a better world. hence, world at that moment witnessed the best era of humankind, unlike today.

not to be forgotten how lucky we are, when Allah has given us a shelter to live under, clothes to wear, foods to eat. yet, we are still ungrateful for what we have now. we with our lustful desire want more than what we have had been given by Allah the Almighty Lord. who are we to be ungrateful? have we ever thought of our Muslim brothers who have been fighting for their own rights of living? they have been fighting against missiles and bombs with JUST stones, even al-Qassam is a rocket, what is there to be compared between a rocket and a missile? they have been fighting for foods, so they could replace the hunger. what do we do to help them? we call ourselves brothers and sisters in Islam, but what do we actually do to help them? even to boycott PEPSIco and Coca Cola would be a burden on us, since we have a big thirst for it.

we Muslims admit that this world is temporary, yet i find it very ackward that we are so easily tempted with what Gucci, or Dolce and Gabbana, or maybe Banana Republic have to offer. and in the end of the day, we call ourselves the humble servants of Allah, how all these contradict our words. owh, we have forgotten how action speaks louder than words, thus forgetting that Allah judges us from our doings, judges us for what we have put as efforts to get closer to Him and become a better servant. let us be reminded that we are not judged for the looks we have, the ancestry we are attached to, or for the wealth we own, but we are judged by our hearts and our deeds. by our hearts and deeds, we know that it is by executing all the commandments provided in the Qur'an and teaching of Islam, also the Sunnah of our dearest Prophet Muhammad SAW.

above all, it is us, bear in mind, those of you (including me) who claim to shoulder the syu'ur of Allah SWT, who work for Him in spreading His words in Quran, in teaching people of what Prophet Muhammad SAW has brought in Islam are to be responsible for this. for whatever we say, we think, and we do, we have to make sure that it all go along together, words with actions, not simply saying this and that, this is wrong, this is right, but our actions lead us wrongly. may Allah SWT forgive us for our mistakes.

we as the ones claiming ourselves as Ansharullah must be the best people for those who work for Allah are the ones whom others can take as role models, we are indirectly being observed as we witness that Allah is the only Almighty Lord to be worshipped and that Muhammad is His messenger. we have been given by Allah another chance whereby He has taken us out from Dzulumaat and transfer us into Noor, are we not grateful for that? for that we want to share it with other people in this world, therefore we are the benchmark. if we call people to Allah's path, but we act against it, people will not only go away from you but they will also insult this religion, insult our prophets, insult Allah.

this is the big favour that Allah has also lies upon us, to spread His words. nobody else in this world is given this reponsibility but human. not even the mountains nor the birds, none other than us. we have to have our 'izzah upon it, for we are the best people. we have owed Allah a lot, and this is now the time to repay for what Allah has done for us, to work for Him for his religion.

And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord, then he turns away from them? indeed We, from the criminals, will take retribution [NQ:32:22]

o Allah, from our sins we repent, so forgive us, and accept our repentance. it is only to You we seek refuge, so forgive our sins that we have committed, forgive our parents' sins and shower them with Your blessings as how they have brought us up. make us this life a better life for us, make us a better person out of this short life. o Allah, guide our path in front of us to Your path, don't let us go astray for we are forgetful creatures. may all of our deeds go along together with our sayings, our niaats, our faith upon you. we ask You no other than Your blessing, for if it is not Your blessing, how could we enter Your Jannah. Ameen ya Rabbal Alameen.

let us remember the favours Allah has given us.

the authors

Ahmad Arif Hussin was born in Kuala Lumpur on February 1986. His early education was in Kelana Jaya before entering secondary level at SMK Seri Permata and MRSM Kuala Kubu Bharu. He is currently doing his degree in Medicine at Monash University, Clayton Campus Australia. Before leaving for overseas, he did his preparation at International Education Centre UiTM. His interests are in Literature, Psychology, Islamic History, English, and Mathematics/Physics. He has had experience in representing MRSM KKB in English and Malay debate, acting as director for the annual Winter Trip for 2008, and is now the member of the Academic and Welfare Bureau ISMA Australia (Victoria Branch).

Mohd Azmir Mohd Razli was born on September 1987 in Kota Bharu Kelantan. He had his early education in Seremban Negeri Sembilan before continuing his secondary learning at SMA Rembau (formerly known as SMRA Rembau) and Maahad Ahmadi Gemencheh, Negeri Sembilan. He also had done his preparation programme in Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia, Kolej Bahasa-Bahasa Antarabangsa before pursuing his degree in B.Ed TESOL at Macquarie University (currently in 3rd Year). His major interests are behavioural psychology, photography, Islamic literature, motivation, education and Islamic history. He has had experience in acting as Editor in Chief for his secondary school and college’s bulletins, representing Maahad Ahmadi in English speech and debate, as well as Malay public speech.

Hanan binti Othman was born on the 1st of April in Liverpool, England. She had her early education in Liverpool, England followed by Bandar Baru Bangi from standard three onwards before continuing her secondary learning in Kuala Selangor Sains Secondary School (KUSESS). She then did a one year preparation course with the Monash University Foundation Year (MUFY) at Sunway College before persuing her degree at Monash University, Clayton Campus, Australia. With a major in Geosciences, she is currently working as a geoscientist with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd. Her main interests are in education, motivation, mathematics, atmospheric science, and of course, rocks. She holds a black belt in Taekwondo and loves outdoor activities. Back in Australia, she was the website PIC for the Academic and Welfare Bureau ISMA Australia (Victoria Branch). She also has experiences in representing KUSESS in english debate, public speaking and scrabble.

about

Bismillahi walhamdulillah,

The blog has started as an aspiration from a brother, wanting for articles (of which are beneficial) to be written in English. Both of us are aware that he himself could do this; instead he has asked us to do it. After consulting and discussing with us personally, both of us (the writers) have agreed to his request and then discussed among us, how we could make this possible.

At first, the request is to write a book, unfortunately that is quite too abrupt and both of us cannot make it. Then, there comes the blog idea where we would write and post what we have to share in our minds with you guys. Even at the discussion level, it is not an easy task to do, as we have to decide what, how to write, and even the name of the blog.

Hence, in the name of Allah, here it is; ‘Ordinary People Extraordinary Minds’, we would do our best to write what comes from our heart and knowledge we have learned so it may serve you readers best. We seek guidance from Allah, may He be with us in doing this task, and is counted as the bits and pieces of da’wah efforts.

JazakumUllahu khayran katsiira~

Warm regards,

emir.abu.khalil
ahmad.arif.hussin