The Land of the Prophets - The Lowest Point on earth

THE VICTORY OF BYZANTIUM

Surah Rum 30:1-4
Alif, Lam, Mim.
The Romans have been defeated in the lowest land, but after their defeat they will be victorious within three to nine years.
The affair is Allah's from beginning to end.
On that day, the believers will rejoice. (Qur'an, 30:1-4)

These verses were revealed around 620, almost 7 years after the Persians had severely defeated Christian Byzantium in 613-14. In fact, Byzantium had suffered such heavy losses that it seemed impossible for it even to survive, let alone be victorious again. Following their defeat of the Byzantines at Antioch in 613, the Persians seized control of Damascus, Cilicia, Tarsus, Armenia, and Jerusalem. The loss of Jerusalem in 614 was particularly traumatic for the Byzantines, for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed and the Persians seized the "True Cross," the symbol of Christianity. The emperor of Byzantinne at the time is Emperor Heraclius. He scrambled to regain strength and money to defend what was left. Gold, silver and bronze of statues are melted down to fund for the army. Many governors had revolted against Heraclius, and Byzantium was on the point of collapse. Mesopotamia, Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, which had earlier belonged to Byzantium, were invaded by the Persians.

Everyone was expecting Byzantium to be destroyed. But during this time, the first verses of Surat ar-Rum were revealed, announcing that Byzantium would triumph in 3 to 9 years. This predicted victory seemed so impossible that the Arab polytheists thought it would never come true.

In 622, Heraclius gained a number of victories over the Persians and conquered Armenia.177 In December 627, the two empires fought a decisive battle at Nineveh, some 50 kilometres east of the Tigris river, near Baghdad. This time too, the Byzantine army defeated the Persians. A few months later, the Persians had to sue for peace with Byzantium, which obliged them to return the territories they had taken from it.

The Byzantine victory was completed when Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persian ruler Khosrow II in 630, recaptured Jerusalem, and regained the "True Cross" for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.179 In the end, "the victory of the Romans" proclaimed by Allah in the Qur'an miraculously came true within the verses' stated "three to nine years" time frame.

An interesting geographical fact that could not have been known by anyone at that time: that the Romans had been defeated in the lowest region of Earth. This Arabic expression adna al-Ard is interpreted as "a nearby place" in many translations. However, this is not the literal meaning, but rather a figurative interpretation. The word adna, derived from the word dani (low), means “the lowest”. The word ard means “the world.” Therefore, adna al-ard means "the lowest place on Earth." The Dead Sea, one of the regions in which the Byzantines were defeated in 613-14, is the lowest region on Earth.

The Byzantines and the Persians actually fought at the Dead Sea basin, which is situated at the intersection point of the lands belonging to Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. At 399 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the "lowest" place on Earth's surface.


Also the day the the Romans won was the day that the Muslims won the Battle of Badr. The battle that is the pivot point for the Muslims onwards. And that is why in Surah Rum, Allah says the believers will rejoice. Not for the victory of the Romans but for their victory which was really against all odds.

Sadaqallahul Adzim
Indeed Allah has said the truth.


Do you know that Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. When we were in Jordan, most places are cold below 10 but after passing Mount Nebo and driving towards the Dead Sea, the temperature increases to 20+. The salinity at 31 which is 9 times the ocean. Is it the high salinity? the low level it is at?

Anyway just some info, dead sea is also losing its water. the river that goes into Dead Sea is drying up. Some naturally, some are diverted to farms and residential. Not to mention, Jordan is also facing water problem in general.

They are thinking of bringing pipleline of water from the Red sea into teh Dead Sea. from red to Dead. Would that affect the salinity and mineral contents it used to have? All the time they get freshwater from the river.

What impact would it give to the surrounding area if there is no Dead Sea. Tourism will be affected for sure. Weather also maybe, perhaps pulling the temperature of Jordan and Occupied Palestine lower.

Allah knows best.

The Land of the Prophets - Prophet Lut and the Dead Sea

Then we have the Dead Sea where it is believed this is where Allah's curses landed on those who transgressed and also what we know that those people committed the grave sins of homosexuality.





I remembered when I was 11 years old, I found a set of Encyclopedia for Children. In it has a picture of the Dead Sea and its amazing salt contain that make people unable to sink. I knew I must be at this place. I didn't get in the water though because my interest dwindle at this cursed place. I went there though and did taste the bitter, salty water and tested the miracle mud as people call it on my hand.

I was disappointed when I got there. It was littered everywhere. I mean for a site that is world famous, should this not be the basic thing to do? Especially for a country whose main income is tourism. It is perplexing to me.Of course there is the paid area. I suppose its cleaner there. They have toilet and towel facilities for you to wash yourself after splashing in the super salty water.

But the free area, it can sure be cleaner. Tanjung Mas Muo fare better. Having said that, you can't float unaided at the waters of Tanjung Mas Muo though.

The picture above, is at the southern part of the Dead sea area. No people here. And the view is spectacular.

Thinking back, when I read the Encyclopedia, I have always wondered about this Dead Sea. Can't believe I get to see it myself.

The Wise and the Patient.

Since we move to this house, i sent haziq to the masjid nearby for his quran. Alhamdulilah he enjoys his class even though none of the sheiks speak english and he doesnt speak much arabic either. But well, he'll pick up here and there i suppose.

When he first had his exam with this blue eyed sheikh, he told me he couldnt even look at the sheikh. The exam was one to one and face to face. And the sheikh would look at him above his glasses with deep piercing blue eyes. Eyes so blue that you can swim in it.

Haziq further describe this exam sheikh as someone who looks so wise. You can see wisdom in his eyes in his face in his smile and in his question. Even when he singles out haziq and ask him, "hal anta tafham?"( do you understand). It is as if only wisdom springs from his speech. The fact that he speaks arabic fusha (standard arabic) makes his speech beautiful. Masya Allah!

This sheikh we always refer as The wise sheikh.

And there is another one. He is the mudir of the centre. The kahuna. Haziq describes him as a very patient man. Haziq also said his feet is like those who is firm. He has firm and steadfast feet. How do you know this Haziq. I don't know, i just feel so.

Well perhaps the sheikh is.

He is the firm and patient sheikh - based on his feet.

As long as they are good description. Otherwise better to keep it to yourself.

I ask allah that the sheikhs are even better than what we think of them. And may their good characters rub on their students.

Having said that, we are not taksub to any of Allah's creation. Allow me to share this clip. The sheikh being address is Sheikh Uthaymeen rahimullah

Promising the Little One

Yesterday haziq promised Jack that he will play football this morning. I heard this promise and I saw how excited jack was at this thought.

Qadr Allah lover, myself and haziq went out last night to visit a sick friend and came back a bit late. Haziq was already feeling tired because he is not feeling so well and he just put on braces (yeah he has robot teeth now). Fajr now is also at 3 plus in the morning. He woke up groggy and went back to sleep.

Jack, despite waking up for fajr and sleeping back and would wake up a little later on other days, woke up before 7. He then tried to wake his abang up without much success. I went to his room and saw him leaning over Haziq desperately waking him up.

I asked what he was doing and he replied abang promised me that he will play football with me today. I explained to Jack that abang came home late last night so he is a bit tired.

Then Jack cried quietly and hugged me.

Oh Jack.

I distracted him with little conversation.

Later I quietly woke Haziq up ad when he did open his eyes, I reminded him of his promise to Jack. He woke up quickly. You should see Jack's face when he saw his abang.

They are playing ball outside as I type.

May they become the comfort of their eyes to each other as well as mine.

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It is important that when you make a promise, to fulfill it. Do not even offer them sweet just to distract their attention but in actual fact you will not give him anything. This is lying and on top of that you are teaching your child how to lie also.

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “My mother called me one day when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting in our house. She said, ‘Come here, and I will give you (something).’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘What do you want to give him?’ She said, ‘I will give him a date.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘If you had not given him something, you would have been lying.’”

Not that Haziq intended not to play with jack though. 

Takutlah

And the scariest thing of all, writing and inviting people to do good, but yet i myself don't do any of that. Ya Rabb

as Saff 61: 2-3

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ

كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do?
Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.

Takutlah.

Haziq's Virgin Ride

My lover has been having his mid-life crisis and is into MTB riding.Which I do encourage because truthfully I would do it myself.



I have been persuading my lover to take Haziq along. Especially on the easier rides. He has an extra bike. Extra helmet. Extra tight pants.

After months of persuading, and only when the days are getting hotter, lover finally agreed to take Haziq today. It's easy on the road ride.

Haziq looked like an excited child this morning. I told him, don't fall.

He came back and told me he had a fall. His knees were bleeding and his left wrist was in pain. Qadr Allah.

All the uncles were teasing lover that how will justify to me that cycling would be good for Haziq seeing that he fell on his first ride. Heh heh none of my men need to justify to me after a small fall like this.

Fall? Ride again young man.

We don't baby our men sissies.

Cewah!

Taubat Sambal Belacan

Haziq was watching me slicing up chillies and putting it into my sardin cap ayam sandwich. Ooohh this green chillies are fiery, Haziq. Surely my tongue will be on fire. Yum yum i digged in.

Why do you do that? He asked. You know its hot, yet again and again you eat them. Oh i don't know. Chilly is attractively delicious. It makes bland food, fiery. And delicious food even better. And the thrill is when the tongue actually starts burning. Eating a bland chilly, is like eating grass.

Now Haziq, have you heard of taubah nasuha? This is what my ustazah said back in school and somehow, i can always remember it. Taubah nasuha against taubah sambal belacan.

She said, make taubah. But don't make taubah sambal belacan. Dah pedas makan sambal, taubat tak nak makan lagi. But soon after that, you cant just resist the fiery sin of sambal belacan. And there you go again and again and you know it. You repent but cant resist when its in font of you.

Having said that, if this happen to you, just like many of us, do not despair, continue to make tawbah for Allah loves the one who continuously repent and lets make the next repentance a taubah nasuha.

Surah tahrim 66:8

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise) the Day that Allah will not disgrace the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and those who believe with him, their Light will run forward before them and with (their Records Books of deeds) in their right hands they will say: "Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us [and do not put it off till we cross over the Sirat (a slippery bridge over the Hell) safely] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able to do all things."

The Land of the Prophets - We can See Philistine

As we go up north to Madaba, there is this place called Ayn Musa which hosts a spring of water. Supposedly to be one of the places where Prophet Musa alaihi salam strike the rock and water gushes out for the twelve tribes. There is another site that is said to be also where the Ayn is - which is in Petra and I didn't go. *Bangs head*

Allah knows best and it doesn't really matter where.

Al Baqarah 2: 60

And (remember) when Mûsa (Moses) asked for water for his people, We said: "Strike the stone with your stick." Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. Each (group of) people knew its own place for water. "Eat and drink of that which Allâh has provided and do not act corruptly, making mischief on the earth."

I was told, on better days there is more water here. The water source is now being walled up to maintain the place. When we came, there were a few bedoin women who were fetching the water at the spring.

In Madaba, there is Mount Nebo. The Christians took this mountain as their holy place because they believed Prophet Musa alaihi salam was buried here.

This is the memorial of Prophet Musa alaihi salam in Mount Nebo. But that is not his grave. It is just a memorial. They never did find his grave. This was not the reason I came here though.

From a hadith concerning the moment Prophet Musa alaihi salam death.

Abu Hurayrah (ra) reports that the Prophet (saw) said, "The Angel of death was sent to Musa. When he came to Musa, Musa punched him on the eye. The Angel returned to Allah and said, "You sent me to a servant who does not want to die". Allah ordered the Angel, 'Return to him and tell him to put his hand on the back of an ox and for every hair that will come under it, he will be granted one year of life'. Musa asked, "O Lord! What will happen after that"? Allah replied, 'Then death'. Musa decided, let it be now'.
Musa then requested Allah to let him die close to the Sacred Land (near Masjid Al-Aqsa) so much so that he would be at a distance of a stone's throw form it". Abu Hurayrah (ra) added, the Prophet (saw) then said, "If I were there, I would show you his grave below the red sand hill on the side of the road". (Bukhari)

Where is the red hill? Allah knows best.

Mount Nebo thus become one of the sites for the Christian pilgrimage. I didn't know before that there is Pilgrimage in the Christian believe. And their sites are, if I am not mistaken. Jurusalem, Jericho,  Jordan river where Prophet Isa alaihi salam was baptised by John the Baptist (As the Christian's believe) and Mount Nebo. John the Baptist is Prophet Yahya alaihi salam.

Just something that I have been pondering because someone told me that the Christians pilgrimage is to the V@tican. Since Jesus alaihi salam was born and was raised in this area and this is the area where Christianity originates, how is it that the V@tican became their holy place? A study in history perhaps.


Mount Nebo is about 46km to Jurusalem and 30km to Jericho. And on good weather you could actually see these places. The sheer feeling of being so near gave me hope. I pray for true Muslim leaders in these areas.

The Land of the Prophets - Wadi Musa

As you already know, Jordan and the Shams (Including Syria and Philistine) are the blessed lands of the Prophets as narrated to us in the Quran and the sunnah. Of course, the other lands surrounding it - Egypt, Iraq, Saudi and Yemen.

We were traveling from the south and passed through the Petra area. Before arriving onto Petra, you will pass through Wadi Musa first. A village where many of the modern day Bedouins settled now. It was said, this is the valley that Prophet Moses passed as he had to roam with his people.




The southern area of Jordan going up north and bordering to Philistine are vast land of mountainous dessert. Now, it is still arid and dusty but here and there olives and figs lined up at the foot of the mountain.

You can just imagine Prophet Musa alaihi salam and Prohet Harun leading his people throughout the mountain after the holy land was forbidden for the Bani Israel; them for forty years after they refused to obey Prophet Musa's command to enter the land of Batul Muqaddis and fight the transgressors in there.

Al Maidah 5: 20-26
And (remember) when Mûsa (Moses) said to his people: "O my people! Remember the Favour of Allâh to you, when He made Prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinn, in the past)." "O my people! Enter the holy land (Palestine) which Allâh has assigned to you, and turn not back (in flight) for then you will be returned as losers."  They said: "O Mûsa (Moses)! In it (this holy land) are a people of great strength, and we shall never enter it, till they leave it; when they leave, then we will enter."  Two men of those who feared (Allâh and) on whom Allâh had bestowed His Grace (they were یوشع وکالب yusha and Kâlab) said: "Assault them through the gate, for when you are in, victory will be yours, and put your trust in Allâh if you are believers indeed."  They said: "O Mûsa (Moses)! We shall never enter it as long as they are there. So go you and your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here."  He [Mûsa (Moses)] said: "O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother, so separate us from the people who are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious and disobedient to Allâh)!"  (Allâh) said: "Therefore it (this holy land) is forbidden to them for forty years; in distraction they will wander through the land. So be not sorrowful over the people who are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious and disobedient to Allâh)." 

They refused to obey even though they were saved from their centuries of being oppressed. Despite seeing so many miracles that prophet Musa alaihi salam including the split of the sea, along the way of this migration, they still demand for a physical God.. Even though they are under punishment, Allah still allow them to have the companionship of their Prophets and Allah provided them food from heaven - Manna and Salwa and shades of clouds when the sun scorched upon them.

In Petra, is is said that Prophet Haroon alaihi salam was buried on one of the mountains there. They build a mosque there but I did not go.

Among the landscape of the vast dessert

A Jar of Cookies for Sya

Sya had a camp out at her school backyard this week. Throughout last week she was thinking of baking some cookies to ring to her camp out. But I was err lazy. And also the cookies recipe I had in the Magnolia Bakery recipe book was complicated and the ingredients were beyond me and I have run out of interest in this anyway.

But you know what, I noticed Sya has improved so much in many things. Not up to par yet (especially her messy room) but what I look for is effort and improvement that follow suit. Result is up to Allah. And we must acknowledge that people are different. Not everyone can be scorer and can find maths easy or or or. 

Regardless, effort is what I want to see. And this is what I am struggling with Sya. Alhamdulillah she seem to be coming out of her blur cocoon and is more aware of what she needs to do and what is expected and what it means to give good work.

Her hifz has also leapt and is beginning to retain her memory without me having to strain my vocal chord so much.

Don't expect a noble prize just yet but I am more than grateful to Allah, because it has been stressed for many years with her. And now Jack. Another story.

So I thought why not I surprise her with some cookies for her camp out today. I am lazy yes. But I will make an exception when I am happy and appreciative. 

It's my first time. Baking cookies that is. He he

So yeah a jar of cookies for Sya with lots of love and messy kitchen and happy other people in the house.

May Allah make her righteous and among those who is ikhlas and ihsan.

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I sent the cookie jar picture to lover to tell him that I am sending this to Sya but the cookies was tak cantik and kembang-kembang. He replied nampak sedapnya yum yum. That evening he came back home. I think he was looking for the same jar with the red lid. But he couldn't find it because I have already send it to Sya. He was so shocked because there were no more cookies and started babbling and I err sort of let him.

I was surprised he didn't see the cookies in the clear tupperware. He said I must buy more ingredient and I must make more. I told him I am lazy to make more. Then he said I have to go to Magnolia Bakery and get their cookies then but that is cheating because it is not the same one. And insisted and insisted I must make some more. Then suddenly he saw the cookies on the table right in front of him. Isk isk isk kekasih ni, takkanlah saya tak tinggalkan BANYAK untuk awak dan anak-anak. Meroyan cari batu belah batu bertangkup pulak nanti.

 Rasa dia sedaplah jugak. tak lah over the top. But I like the burnt one most. I believe the burnt one has low sugar count sebab dia pahit. LOL