Tag: mosques

Perhaps you didn’t know, you made them Martyrs and almost guaranteed them paradise

Appreciate that you made the effort to find out the timing of our noon prayer.

Appreciate that you learnt more about our religion to know that Fridays are the days the men go to the Mosques for their congregational prayers.

But I guess there were some things you, rather unfortunately, didn’t get to learn.

Perhaps you didn’t know that what you did made them Martyrs.

And how you have single-handedly raised the statuses of our brothers and sisters in the eyes of their beloved Creator with your actions. And how, through your actions, they will be raised as the most righteous and pious of Muslims.

Perhaps you didn’t know that doing what you did, at the time and place you chose, it actually meant that the last words that escaped their lips were probably words of remembrance and praise of Allah. Which is a noble end many Muslims could only dream of.

And perhaps you didn’t know, but what you did would almost guarantee them paradise.

Appreciate that you showed the world how Muslims welcome, with open arms, even people like yourself into our Mosques, which is our second home.

Appreciate you for showing that our mosques have no locks or gates, and are unguarded because everyone and anyone is welcome to be with us.

Appreciate you for allowing the world to see the powerful image of a man you injured, lying on back on the stretcher with his index finger raised high, as a declaration of his faith and complete trust in Allah.

Appreciate how you brought the Churches and communities together to stand with us Muslims.

Appreciate that you made countless New Zealanders come out of their homes to visit the mosques nearest to them with flowers and beautiful messages of peace and love.

You have broken many many hearts and you have made the world weep. You have left a huge void.

But what you also have done have brought us closer together. And it has strengthened our faith and resolve.

In the coming weeks, more people will turn up in the Mosques, a place you hate so much, fortified by the strength in their faith, and inspired by their fallen brothers and sisters.

In the coming weeks, more non Muslims will turn up at the gates of mosques with fresh flowers and beautifully handwritten notes. They may not have known where the mosques in their area was. But now, they do. All because of you.

You may have achieved your aim of intended destruction, but I guess you failed to incite hatred, fear and despair in all of us.

And while I understand that it may have been your objective, I hate to say that after all of that elaborate planning, and the perverse and wretched efforts on your part, you still failed to drive a divide among the the Muslims and non-Muslims in the world.

For that, I can’t say that I’m sorry.

Beautifully written by a Chinese revert sister. (It is written to the killer).

Source: The Radiant Muslim

March 19, 2019
Texas Muslims Are Turning Mosques Into Shelters To Help Harvey Victims

As devastating flooding from Harvey continues around the Houston area on Tuesday, the city’s Muslim community is stepping up: turning mosques into 24-hour shelters and bringing in diapers, water and food from their own homes.

M.J. Khan, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston — an organization that represents 21 Islamic centers in the area — said in a phone call on Tuesday that four of ISGH’s member mosques are now open as round-the-clock shelters.

“This is an obligation, a religious obligation to help others,” Khan said. “When you give, you don’t give only to your own family. … You give to anybody who needs help.”

Residents evacuating their homes near the Addicks Reservoir as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rose Tuesday, Aug. 29, in Houston.

Source: David J. Phillip/AP

Khan explained that with Harvey bearing down on Friday, the ISGH had the idea to offer mosques as shelters to anyone who needed refuge. The problem, he explained, was that many of the roads weren’t passable.

Luckily, Khan said, “we have a pretty good networking and communication system.” With just a few phone calls, volunteers showing up to local mosques with bottled water, sleeping bags and supplies.

As of Tuesday, Khan said, four mosques were operating as fully equipped shelters, staffed and stocked by local volunteers. In fact, there were so many volunteers from Houston’s Muslim community that Khan began sending them to help in city shelters and at Houston’s convention center.

Houstonians of all stripes have come to stay in the mosques, Khan said: “mostly families,” some with young children or elderly relatives. In one of the mosques, classrooms that are normally part of a school were turned into private rooms for families.

People walk to a Harris County Sheriff air boat while escaping a flooded neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 29 in Houston.

Source: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

In addition to the immediate relief that the shelters are providing, Khan said aid in the form of money and supplies has been coming in from Islamic organizations all over the U.S.

“We have truckloads of supplies coming,” Khan said. He added that the ISGH had put together a list of 50 doctors from the Muslim community who were willing to be on call and offered it to the city of Houston.

With even more Harvey-related flooding expected in the Houston area over the coming hours and days, Khan had a message for the rest of the country: “We appreciate your sentiment and goodwill, and especially your prayers.”

And for anyone in Houston who might be in need of help? “We have mosques all over the greater Houston area,” he said. “If you have no place to go, go to your neighborhood mosque.”

Source: https://mic.com

August 30, 2017
The Reason / Rationale For The Low Volume For The Call To Prayers (Azan) At Mosques In Singapore

What is the reason / rationale for the low volume for the call to prayers (azan) at mosques in Singapore?

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Apa yang diceritakan di sini adalah sekadar self-reflection (muhasabah diri sebagai Muslim):-

DISEBALIK PERLAHANNYA LAUNGAN AZAN

Bila ada petisyen minta azan diperlahankan di masjid-masjid kerana mengganggu penduduk setempat MP muslims di Singapura sangat marah. Maka, PM Singapura masa tu Lee Kuan Yew telah membuat tinjauan di masjid-masjid di Singapura pada waktu solat fardhu untuk melihat sendiri bilangan jemaah yg hadir….

Ditanyanya apakah rasional dilaungkan azan? Maka MP Muslims menjawab “supaya kaum muslimin dtg bersolat di masjid”…. Jika azan sepatutnya mendapat respon 500 muslim di kawasan itu kenapa hanya 2 baris (2 saf – lebih kurang 30 org) yang hadir setiap kali solat fardhu. Dan keadaan ini sama sepanjang 2 bulan tinjauannya. Maka katanya lagi -permintaan siapakah yang wajar dipertimbangkan…? Majoriti penduduk yg merasakan azan bising dan mengganggu atau cuma 30 org yang menyahut seruan azan itu? MP muslims terkedu….

Kita marah hak kita dirampas, tapi apa tanggungjawab kita menjaga hak itu? Bila keputusan dibuat berdasarkan majoriti kita sebagai orang Islam berasa amat marah dan kononnya tersinggung…. Dimana kekuatan kita???? Kita marah orang hina agama kita tapi adakah kita memuliakannya???? Marilah sama-sama kita muhasabah diri buat kita di dunia ini bagi muslimin-muslimin sekalian. Di mana kesungguhan untuk solat berjemaah di masjid…. Berbaloikah kita terlampau mengejar kesenangan hidup di dunia yang sementara tanpa sedar maruah agama tergadai…

Jom kita jadi muslim terpilih yang Allah sebut dalam al-Quran sebagai kuntum khairun ummah… Jom kita ubah diri sebelum membawa perubahan kepada yang lain… Buat renungan kita…

Source: Nasihat Ustaz

August 15, 2017
Jemaah Singapura Gembira Dapat Beribadah Dengan Lebih Selesa Di 3 Masjid Kampung

Bermula bulan ini, para jemaah yang berkunjung ke tiga masjid kampung dapat menikmati pengalaman beribadah yang lebih selesa.

Ini setelah Masjid Tasek Utara, Jamek Queenstown dan Hussein Sulaiman selesai menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan.

BERITAMediacorp menjengah ke tiga masjid tersebut dan mendapatkan pandangan para jemaah tentang kemudahan dan prasarana baru yang disediakan.

Ruang solat yang diubah suai lengkap dengan penghawa dingin. Kawasan dalaman masjid yang lebih terang dengan tambahan lampu dan kipas angin, serta kawasan luar masjid yang lebih rapi, dan juga papan tanda nama masjid yang lebih besar.

Itulah antara perubahan yang dilalui Masjid Tasek Utara, yang boleh menampung 200 jemaah, selepas enam bulan ia ditutup bagi menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan secara besar-besaran.

Kali terakhir masjid yang berusia 110 tahun itu menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan adalah pada 2008 kepada kemudahan tandasnya.

Seorang jemaah masjid, Ahmad Mokhtar Mohd Shafi, berkata: “Alhamdulillah saya cukup bangga, saya rasa mengalir air mata sebab saya tak dapat bandingkan waktu dahulu. Alhamdulillah, orang yang datang sini tidak dapat menyangka tengok masjid ini banyak perubahan.”

Seorang lagi jemaah, Saifulbahri Rasno, berkata: “Tempat ruang solatnya begitu selesa sekali, begitu baik. Dan saya rasa sebagai seorang jemaah, Alhamdulillah dapat menunaikan solat Jumaat di sini dengan begitu selesa sekali.”

Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam Dr Yaacob Ibrahim dan Mufti Dr Fatris Bakaram menyertai para jemaah untuk menunaikan solat Jumaat pertama selepas masjid tersebut dinaik taraf.

Menulis dalam Facebook beliau Dr Yaacob berkata dengan kerja-kerja peningkatan selamat dijalankan, para penduduk dan pekerja di sekitar Farrer Park dan Serangoon dapat beribadah dengan lebih selesa.

Dr Yaacob turut berkongsi rasa gembiranya bahawa dua lagi masjid lama dan kecil, Jamek Queenstown dan Hussein Sulaiman juga selesai menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan.

Masjid Jamek Queenstown. (Gambar-gambar: Nity Farhana)

Masjid Jamek Queenstown yang dibina pada 1964 menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan pada tempat mengambil wudhu serta ruang solat utama yang dilengkapi dengan penghawa dingin.

Manakala Masjid Hussein Sulaiman yang berusia 115 tahun pula melalui kerja-kerja peningkatan kepada ruang solat utama, rupa bentuk masjid juga bumbung masjid.

Namun sepanjang ia dipertingkat, kedua-dua masjid kekal beroperasi seperti biasa.

Kos keseluruhan kerja-kerja peningkatan kepada ketiga-tiga masjid melebihi S$977,000, sebahagian besarnya dibiaya Dana Pembinaan Masjid dan Mendaki (MBMF).

Ketiga-tiga masjid itu merupakan antara sembilan masjid lama dan kecil yang terdapat di Singapura.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

March 30, 2017
Terrorist Attack On Mosque – Canadian Prime Minister Courageous, Should Be Emulated By Other Leaders

Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, called the shootings on the Quebec mosque as a terrorist attack on Muslims. There have been many attacks on innocent and defenceless Muslims around the world but this is the first time that a PM of a country has actually publicly condemned the acts as acts of terror.

It takes a lot of courage for a leader to do this because of the potential political backlash from the majority of their countries.

But the Canadian PM was brave. What he has done is show that Muslims also suffer from terrorist attacks.

Unlike Donald Trump who has chosen the easiest and misguided ways to combat crime and terrorism simply by isolating the US and marginalising minority and migrant communities, Justin Trudeau has taken the enlightened, inclusive route.

The rest of the world should learn this lesson from Trudeau.

Amirul

Reader Contribution

January 31, 2017