Book Review

Haziq was asked to make a book review of any topic he wishes. This is what he wrote


Book Review

Title: The Holy Qur’aan

Author: Allah, the Lord of the Worlds

Genre: Comprehensive, covers every aspect thinkable

Why should we read it?
There are many benefits as to why. It is the book of which the words have been preservedfor more than 1,400 years, unedited. It is complete and perfect, and is a miracle both linguistically and intellectually. There are neither contradictions nor doubts in it. Its content include, but not limited to, how to greet people by giving the greeting of peace, stories of the great people of the past including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, the equality of woman, miracles of science, the demarcation of what is right and wrong, the limited world now and the never ending hereafter. It tells you how to worship the true Lord of the Worlds as He wants to be worshipped, without which human will be inventing their own ways to worship God or create their own God which always turns up to be a mere creation. It is the only book that can be read over and over again and each time with a refresh profound understanding. It gives contentment, peace, humility, love, fear and awe to His might. A universal book that can apply to all time periods and it has the solution for all of mankind’s problems - depression, discrimination, and inequality, political, financial, social, and moral. This is the book that gives guidance to mankind and in its pages contains the true salvation in this world and in the world after. Also, the Quran isn’t just a book, it is God’s speech, a discourse, in its original form, and should be treated likewise.




I pray that whoever reads it would be guided to pick the Quran and read the Great Book for themselves and may Allah guide them.



This is another book review he wrote.


Book Review

Title: October Sky

Author: Homer H. Hickam

Genre: Memoir

Why should we read it?
It is a book that can relate to teenagers or anyone that has experienced teenagehood very well. It is the story about a group of teenage boys living in a mining town, Coalwood, West Virginia in the 1950-60s, who against all odds from a rocket group and make rockets, the highest reaching 5 miles into the sky. It is a great read and very inspirational, and can be a good boost of morale or spirit anytime.

Jack Getting Wiser

JackJack sometimes would get in his reflecting moment and think about deeper things. I really should be recording his words but alas I forgot.

Jack told Sya the other day, "You know if you trace back everyone's parents' parents and their parents and their parents, we all go back to Adam. We are all really brother and sisters. All of us. Everyone of us in the world."

Wow! He gets overwhelmed by this idea. That's really alot of brothers and sisters.

Jack is not into world problems. To him the world is a happy world and having brothers and sisters is a beautiful thing.

He is just happy that he has so many brother and sister.

But this big family are fighting just about everywhere in the globe.

____________________

If you do read my past posts about him, he usually cries easily about things. Lately he has been crying each time he reads the last four verses of suratul Fajr. He heard my little talk to some teenagers the other day about these verses.

Really, I think sometimes I underestimate some children. They do and are ableto understand. perhaps it is their fitrah in them. I wrote about the surah HERE.

I ask Allah to give me patience and wisdom to nurture my children. And they become among those who are righteous.

Sod Lam Kha

I just finished my arabic exam. By the end of the two hour exam, my neck became stiff, out of stress looking down on the paper. There were two short essays of which one of them I err memorised beforehand (because I target it will come out and it did). But I am not saying it will be good though. Another one was an impromptu one about the kaabah. Insya Allah khayr.

So in the spirit of learning arabic, not that I am good at it, but I thought of sharing. One definitely cannot learn arabic using the transliteration. One must know how to read arabic from the font itself. Only after that, the words will jump at you if you look at it with contemplation and reflection. And that is just by tracing a word to word arabic word in quran without actually learning arabic formally.

For example if one transliterates the word 'ilm. You cannot tell that the word 'ulamak, 'alam, 'ulum, mu'alim are the derivatives of the word 'ilm. But you can sort of tell when you read it in arabic.

علم علماء عالم علوم معلم

Most arabic words are derived from a three letter word. For example 'ilm (علم) is the three letter word and from it other derivatives can be made as the examples above.
Can you spot the similarities?

Most of the times the meaning are similar. However any change of tashkil or harakat or baris can sometimes make the meaning difference. And that is why it is important to recite the quran correctly and to not make mistake in the harakat.

عالم can be read as 'alam or 'aim. The former meaning world and the latter meaning the one who knows.

I use to wonder how do the arabs understand or even read their paper without harakat. But slowly I am beginning to get the feeling of it. You have to know the word and also the context of the word in the sentence. Knowing grammar of arabic helps you to know the harakat of the letters also and is really important in understanding the meaning of the quran.

Anyway, today I just want to bring you the word soleh. صلح

The word صلح is usually translated as righteous. Or in malay just plain soleh/ salih.
The root word (صلح) actually carries the meaning of rectification, and being worthy or suitable, etc.

If you notice in one of the morning adzkar,

ياحـي يا قـيـوم، بـرحمـتك
استـغـيث، اصلـح لي شَ ـانـي ِ
كلـه، ولا تكلـني الى نفـسي طـرفة عـين

Ya hayyu Ya Qayyum birahmatik astaghis, Aslih li shakni kullahu wa la takilni ila nafsi torfata ain.
O You Who is Everliving and Sustains and Protects everything, I seek assistance through the means of your mercy, rectify for me all my affairs and do not leave me to myself,even for the blink of an eye.

The word aslih أصلح is translated as Rectify.


Then we have the word amilus solihat عَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ

solihat is صالحات

this is derived from the word صلح

وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ - amilus solihat is translated as good deeds.


Why Allah calls it solihat – because the deeds make them proper and good. The deeds are to correct and rectify the person. It makes them good and rectify the world affair and akhirat.

What it also means is doing deed that will rectify you so that you become among the solihin (صاليحين). The soleh people (solihin is the plural for soleh) are the people who did deeds that rectified them and they become those who are rectified or those who are worthy because they are rectified.

Becomes worthy for what? Rectified and only then will be يصلح suitable/ worthy/ fit to be among Ar Rahman in His Jannah.

Jannah is only for the one who are rectified and had taqwa and did deeds that rectified them and made them worthy.

Jannah is only for the righteous people who had taqwa and did righteous deeds.

Jannah are for the صاليحين who had taqwa and did عَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ. They become يصلح for jannah with the mercy of Allah

May we be among them.