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Ulamas Divided Over The Celebrating Of Mother’s Day, But Stresses Importance Of The Mother In The Quran and Sunnah

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

First of all, it goes without saying that every committed Muslim is supposed to pay his parents, especially his mother, due respect. One should try to show dutifulness to one’s parents, even if they happened to be non-Muslims, let alone being Muslims. What Islam goes against is to imitate non-Muslims by marking a special occasion such as celebrating the Mother’s Day in a way that shows that mothers do not deserve due respect and care save on this very day. If we are going to make the whole year a Mother’s Day, then Islam welcomes celebrating the occasion with open arms.

Indeed, Muslim scholars have maintained various opinions regarding the issue. Here below we will attempt to furnish you with Juristic views as regard this issue:

First of all, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:

Dutifulness to parents, especially the mother, and treating them kindly is an act of worship enjoined in both the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Being dutiful to parents is not confined to a specific time. It is an obligation that should be observed every time, as all people commonly know.

Yet, the Mother’s Day, as it’s known nowadays is a Western habit. The Westerners specified a day and called it the Mother’s Day. On that day sons and daughters show gratefulness to their mothers and offer them presents. It has become part of important feasts in the West, whereas we Muslims have no other festivals except the Lesser and the Greater Bairams. Any other celebrations are deemed mere occasions or anniversaries; and this is applied to the Mother’s Day.

The Mother’s Day implies paying more attention and exerting more effort in expressing gratitude to mothers. So there is nothing wrong in that.

However, there are two reservations worth mentioning; first, considering the Mother’s Day a feast; second, confining the task of showing dutifulness to mothers to that specific day, giving implication that throughout the whole year, just only one day is for showing love to parents. If such two anomalous points are addressed, then there is nothing wrong in considering the Mother’s Day a chance to give more care to mothers.

Thus, we may take the Mother’s Day as a chance to lay more emphasis on our duty towards our mothers, as Islam enjoins us, because dutifulness to parents is a genuine Islamic teaching. But Muslims, in doing that, should never deviate from the Islamic teachings, they should do things in Islamic manners, not in Western manners. Hence, they would not be imitating the non-Islamic habits of the West.

Hence, viewed in juristic perspective, we can say that celebrating the Mother’s day is controversial among the contemporary scholars. While a group of them consider it haram (unlawful) as a kind of blind imitation of the Western non-Islamic habits, which have no benefit for Muslims, another group see it halal(lawful) on condition that showing gratitude and dutifulness to parents should not be confined to that day only.

Moreover, the well-known erudite scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi states:

The Arabs tend to blindly follow the Western in their celebration of the Mother’s Day, without trying to understand the wisdom behind inventing such an occasion.

When the European found that children do not deal properly towards their parents nor give them their due right, they resorted to specifying an annual occasion for children to remedy the situation. But in Islam, mothers are to be given due respect and love every time, not only one day a year. For example, when one goes out, he kisses one’s mother’s hand seeking her pleasure and blessing.

A Muslim must not allow any gap between him and his mother, he must offer her presents every time. This indicates that Muslims can dispense with such an occasion, the Mother’s Day. Unlike the case in the West, where it’s a vogue for some children to show indifference to their mothers’ feelings, and, what’s more, it is so common to see some parents being dragged to infirmaries (as their kids have no time for them), dutifulness to parents in Islam, alongside with worshipping Allah, is a sacred duty.

In this concern, Almighty Allah says: (And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favor wherewith Thou hast favored me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Thee).) (Al-Ahqaf 46:15)

Reflecting on the aforementioned Qur’anic verse, we find it stressing both parents’ right, but reviewing the following verses we find them paying special care to the mother and tackling the hardships she suffers in pregnancy, fosterage and rearing children.

In this verse, Almighty Allah informs man of the debt he owes his mother since he was a fetus, passing by the process of childbirth, infancy, childhood until he comes of age. A child normally forgets the hardship which his mother underwent during pregnancy. Hence Almighty Allah draws his attention to such hardships, laying emphasis on her great status in Islam.

Finally, Dr. `Abdul Fattah `Ashoor, professor of Qur’an Exegisis at Al-Azhar University, concludes,

Holding celebrations in honoring others and commemorating anniversaries are neither feasts nor Islamic. But one may seize any chance to express gratitude to those who deserve it. This is how we should consider the Mother’s Day. The mother has a special place in the Islamic culture, and all other civilized cultures. So it is something good to do anything to please her and show gratefulness to her.

So dedicating a day to showing good feelings towards parents, especially the mother, is by no means blameworthy as it does not contradict the Islamic teachings, nor can it be merely considered a form of joining the Western vogue of making celebrations. Conversely, it is a kind of devotion to Allah’s orders that we should be dutiful to our parents.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Source: www.onislam.net

May 8, 2016
By-Election The Latest Stop In Political Journey, Says Chee

Eight months after contesting his first election in 14 years last September, Dr Chee Soon Juan, 53, finds himself contesting his second.

While some political pundits had suggested that the Bukit Batok by-election was effectively last chance saloon for Dr Chee and as good an opportunity as it gets for him to enter Parliament, the man himself disagrees — opting to see the latest contest as simply one stop in the ongoing political process.

“It’s like an MRT station. You come to one stop, it doesn’t end there. You go on. I don’t think it’s ever an end goal in that sense. I’ve always seen it as a journey and not just for me personally — for the party, for the country as well,” said Dr Chee, who has parked himself at the MRT station many mornings and evenings leading up to the Bukit Batok by-election this Saturday, cycled and walked with his team around the Single-Member Constituency, and shaken hands with numerous patrons of the coffee shops there.

Political analysts have weighed in on what is at stake this time for Dr Chee, who first entered politics in 1992. They said that the by-election offered Dr Chee the best shot at winning a parliamentary seat in his colourful political career so far — due to factors such as the by-election effect and the ignominy of former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament David Ong’s resignation over an alleged extramarital affair.

Any result lower than 35 per cent would raise questions on his electability, an analyst said.

In response, Dr Chee pointed to the lack of a democratic system and media freedom here.

“Let’s put that in context and then we can start talking about electability … We don’t analyse the system first. Before you do that, let’s not start throwing words like you would in a democratic system,” Dr Chee told TODAY in an interview last Saturday.

When reminded of how opposition parties have made breakthroughs in the current system, Dr Chee called for “even-handed” media coverage and said his team would just have to continue to appeal to voters.

The tentative and sometimes tetchy relationship between the SDP and the mainstream media came to the fore in the past week as several speakers at its rallies criticised a front-page headline used by Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao after an interview with him, which the newspaper later corrected online.

SDP central executive committee member Dr Paul Tambyah also disagreed that this by-election spells the best opportunity for Dr Chee to get elected. Many in the opposition believe Bukit Batok SMC was carved out of Jurong Group Representation Constituency in the 2015 General Election because it was a PAP stronghold, said Dr Tambyah.

Other challenges include what Dr Tambyah called attempts by the ruling party to smear the SDP and Dr Chee, and distortion of statements they made.

Dr Tambyah — who was part of the SDP Holland-Bukit Timah team with Dr Chee and two others that won 33.4 per cent of the vote last September — also took a longer-term view of the SDP’s efforts to get into Parliament.

“We hope that by running a clean and fair campaign and focusing on the issues, we have moved the cause of democracy forward so hopefully Dr Chee will be in Parliament, if not this time, perhaps in the next GE,” he said.

Dr Chee said the response from Bukit Batok residents has been encouraging.

He has come to know many residents, who are beginning to feel “very comfortable with us around”. But he said: “How can you tell until the final poll comes around (on) Saturday?”

TODAY tagged along twice when Dr Chee was at Bukit Batok MRT Station and once as he walked around several coffee shops. Some commuters resolutely kept their earphones plugged in and refused to be distracted from their journey home, some politely smiled and accepted the brochures he gave out. Others stopped for a chat, wished him well and requested photos and autographs. One man stuffed a S$50 note into his hands.

The SDP is trying a more nuanced and gradated approach in reaching out to voters this time around and has covered all the residential blocks in Bukit Batok, said Dr Chee, who has pledged to be a full-time MP.

“For example, you come across a pro-PAP supporter or Residents’ Committee supporter, you say thank you and if they don’t want to support you, they don’t want to support you,” he said. “For those people who say, ‘I’d like to meet Dr Chee’, (my activists) will let me know and I’ll go visit them.”

Whatever the outcome on May 7, Dr Chee said he will keep at his cause. “Life is a journey. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And change takes persistence, takes perseverance, but we’ll get there,” he said.

Source: TODAY Online

May 7, 2016
Diabetes: The Rice You Eat Is Worse Than Sugary Drinks

The health authorities have identified one of their top concerns as they wage war on diabetes: white rice. It is even more potent than sweet soda drinks in causing the disease.

Sharing his battle plan to reduce the risk of diabetes, Health Promotion Board chief executive Zee Yoong Kang said that obesity and sugary drinks are the major causes of the condition in the West.

But Asians are more predisposed to diabetes than Caucasians, so people do not have to be obese to be at risk. Starchy white rice can overload their bodies with blood sugar and heighten their risk of diabetes.

Mr Zee is armed with data. A meta- analysis of four major studies, involving more than 350,000 people followed for four to 20 years, by the Harvard School of Public Health – published in the British Medical Journal – threw up some sobering findings.

One, it showed each plate of white rice eaten in a day – on a regular basis – raises the risk of diabetes by 11 per cent in the overall population.

Two, it showed that while Asians, like the Chinese, had four servings a day of cooked rice, Americans and Australians ate just five a week.

But Mr Zee does not plan to ask Singaporeans to stop eating rice, a popular feature of meals here. What he would like is to see more people turn to healthier varieties.

Long grain white rice is also better than short grain when it comes to how it spikes blood sugar – a rise in sugar levels causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, and frequent spikes can lead to diabetes.

He would also like people to try adding 20 per cent of brown rice to their white rice. This amount is enough to reduce their risk of diabetes by 16 per cent.”There is no need to fully replace what they now eat. Just increase the quantity of whole grain and brown rice.”

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said last month that this disease is already costing the country more than $1 billion a year. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in Singapore.

Dr Stanley Liew, a diabetes expert at Raffles Hospital, advised people to eat less rice. He added that most junk food and sodas are just as bad and should be discouraged.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 6, 2016
SQ Girl Shows Why SIA Is The Only Way To Fly

*Updated: The kind lady is none other than Kren Choong Shi Qi !

Through a 12 hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt, I made a friend. ?

Draga is a 92 year old lady who grew up in Slovenia and moved to Australia with her husband in the 70’s. Ever since her husband passed on 5 years ago, she makes an annual pilgrimage to Slovenia to hang out with her sister for a couple of months.

Traveling alone at that age can be tough and while she is helped by the ground staff armed with a wheelchair, her entire ride on the plane can be quite challenging.

Unable to figure out any technology, she sits there without any movies or entertainment to pass time. Even to the point of being unable to turn on the light when she needed it desperately to inject insulin into herself or to prick her finger when checking her glucose level.

I befriended her when she needed help with unlocking the tray as the clip was a little stuck. Saw her rummaging through her bag to figure out the glucose count machine in the dark and that reminded me of a time when my late grandfather asked me to sit down on a bench with a strange old uncle at K-Mart who was about to inject his stomach with insulin.

With Draga, she reached a point in the flight where I noticed her visibly shaking. Concerned, I asked if she was alright. She mentioned that she had accidentally shot too much insulin and because of that, her blood sugar had dropped to a level where it could get dangerous.

Trying to give her as much diabetes-appropriate food to slowly bring up her sugar levels, a Singapore Airlines stewardess, Karen Choong, came by telling us to switch off the overhead lights and instead use the lights located by the tv screen. When I explained that we were trying to get Draga’s sugar levels up, Karen suggested eating an apple. Draga could not bite into the hard apple and I was touched when Karen excused herself to grab a pair of gloves and a knife to cut the apple into bite sized pieces.

On her knees in her SQ kebaya, she patiently assisted Draga even wanting to feed Draga. Draga shyly declined and was appreciative of Karen’s kind gesture.

Draga was happy that at least the crew cared for her well being. Caught by surprise by Karen’s care and concern for her, she felt embarrassed as she did not want to be seen as a liability to the crew. They had other passengers to care for and Draga didn’t want to take up any more of their time, especially Karen’s.

Knowing that I was helping Draga too, Karen came by my seat to tell me quietly that if I noticed Draga’s health deteriorating, please call for her immediately. She took note of our seats and I assumed it was to alert her to rush over if our call button lighted up.

Flying with other airlines in the past, I’m not so sure if other crews would have gone to such lengths to ensure the comfort of their passengers.

Karen did not have to do what she did. Yet, she took it upon herself to monitor Draga once in a while to see if there was anything else she could provide to make Draga’s flight experience a better one.

If anyone could share and tag Karen Choong who is seen in this picture, I would appreciate it. She has acted out of such kindness without expecting anything in return. She, at least, deserves to read about how her actions have affected Draga’s life and mine too. ??

Thank you

Source: Shazy Tan

May 6, 2016
Kidney Patient Robbed Of Last $50 In Sembawang
All the kidney patient wanted was a drink from the vending machine.

She ended up getting into a fight for her handbag that contained the last $50 she had for the week to feed her two sick sons.

The robber was too strong and made off with her bag after a short but violent struggle.

She was left with a sprained arm and an anxious wait of several days for her salary to come in so she could put food on the table for her family.

Madam Jurina Johari, 42, has been a kidney patient for 25 years.

The part-time assistant pharmacist was on her way home from work when she felt thirsty.

She stopped to buy a drink at a vending machine at Block 512, Wellington Circle in Sembawang at around midnight on April 24. She was retrieving the can when she felt a violent tug.

Speaking to The New Paper last Thursday from her one-room rental flat, the mother of two sons, aged 21 and 22, said: “I was flung around. I managed to only catch a glimpse of the robber.”

She said she suspected the robber was a man in his 20s.

Madam Jurina said: “I held on to it (bag) as tightly as I could because the money in my bag was all I had. I didn’t want to let it go.”

A male passer-by, who was walking home with his mother, also gave chase, but he was too late as well.

Madam Jurina made a police report the next day and wrote to TNP to highlight the incident.

She said: “I was trembling. Everything happened in less than a minute.”

Madam Jurina, who is in the process of finalising her divorce from her husband of nearly three years, also lives with her mother, 60, who is diabetic and has heart problems.

Choking back tears, Madam Jurina said: “When I lost the money, I felt like I failed as a mother to put food on the table for my children.”

STRUGGLE

Madam Jurina has been struggling with chronic kidney disease since she was 17 – she had her right kidney removed eight years later.

Her older son, Mr Muhammad Shafiee Junadi, who is waiting to enlist into national service, was diagnosed with mild chronic kidney disease when he was an infant.

He has been a part-time mover after graduating from the Institute of Technical Education two years ago.

Said Madam Jurina: “He gets sick easily, so I was worried that he took on such a labour-intensive job.

“But he assured me the daily pay will allow him to support himself, so I’m just glad.”

She added that Mr Shafiee would at times complain of aches and pain near his left kidney, but the family cannot afford to seek treatment at the hospital.

“Medication for the four of us can amount to more than $1,000 a month.

“So we visit the doctor only when one of us is really sick. Otherwise, we just try to bear the pain,” said Madam Jurina.

“After I was robbed, Shafiee gave me $50 and told me to buy groceries. So I cooked one dish, reheated it for two to three days before cooking again.”

She said the money lasted her till she received her salary on April 28.

Madam Jurina’s younger son, Mr Muhammad Shahirul Junadi, was diagnosed with autism when he was one.

He attends the Goodwill, Rehabilitation and Occupational Workshop at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) from 10am to 4pm on weekdays.

The workshop provides vocational training and sheltered employment for adults aged 16 and above with cerebral palsy and other associated disability conditions.

When Madam Jurina called out to Mr Shahirul, he responded with a bright smile before lunging into her arms.

Planting a kiss on Mr Shahirul’s forehead, Madam Jurina said: “I couldn’t work full-time because there must always be someone to take care of him. So when my mother is sick, I have to take some time off work to help.”

SOCIAL AID

The family has also been receiving monthly food rations such as rice, biscuits and tinned food from the Lee Foundation through CPAS.

A Ministry of Social and Family Development spokesman said Madam Jurina’s mother, Madam Saminam, was provided with ComCare’s cash assistance, as well as support for water and electrical bills, from November 2015 to January 2016.

Representatives from the Sembawang grassroots group told TNP they are looking at how they can provide further assistance to Madam Jurina and her family.

Still traumatised by the incident, Madam Jurina raised her concerns about the groups of men seen drinking and hanging out at her void deck every weekend.

TNP spoke to 10 neighbours, who shared the same concern.

One of them, Madam Sheela Singh, 65, who goes on regular walks around the neighbourhood with her wheelchair-bound husband, said she has seen the group of men get rowdy at times.

“They will sit in groups of seven to eight people and drink. Especially on weekends, they can be quite noisy and usually leave the place in a mess,” said the retiree.

Another neighbour, Mr Norjohan Buniran, 43, a security guard, added that the problem has not improved since he moved in six years ago.

He said: “I have daughters, so I’m very worried about their safety. That’s why I don’t allow my children to play at the void deck.”

Madam Jurina said she is now more careful when she walks home at night after work.

“Even the idea of going to the shop at night scares me. I hope this incident will be a lesson to not only myself, but other residents as well to be more vigilant,” she added.

A police spokesman said investigations are ongoing.

“Medication for the four of us can amount to more than $1,000 a month. So we only visit the doctor when one of us is really sick. Otherwise, we just try to bear the pain.”

“When I lost the money, I felt like I failed as a mother to put food on the table for my children.”

– Madam Jurina Johari
Dos and don’ts

The Singapore Police Force website listed some measures residents can take to avoid falling victim to snatch thieves.

DOS:

Be alert and attentive to your surroundings.

If you suspect you are being followed, remain calm and go to a more crowded area or call the police.

Clutch your handbag tightly under your arm. Have the strap slung across your body, especially when moving around in crowded places such as shopping centres and wet markets.

When walking along the streets, carry your handbag on the side that is away from moving traffic.

When returning home alone or late at night, arrange for someone to escort you.

Carry a shrill alarm to scare off culprits or to attract the attention of others.

DON’TS:

Take shortcuts through dark alleys or secluded areas.

Wear excessive jewellery or carry large sums of cash.
Source: www.tnp.sg
May 6, 2016