Haven't I appreciate enough?

"Demi Masa... Sesungguhnya manusia berada dalam kerugian... kecuali mereka yang beriman, beramal soleh, dan berpesan-pesan pada yang haq, dan berpesan-pesan pada kesabaran"
-Al-Asr, Al-Furqan

For one to appreciate happiness, he is to experience sadness.

For one to appreciate time, she is to suffer from the LACK OF IT.

Haven't i complained about my murdered social life?
Haven't i complained about my never ending 'to-do' list?

As i've told you, i feel guilty complaining. I shant. Coz i chose this.

So i keep mum.

But my physical being is screaming. Unending cough. Headaches. 3 hours of sleep... daily.

And so i ask, am i fair?

And so i wonder, isnt this enough?

And so i say, let's see how long i can last.

A dear brother commented "How do you define social life? Havent you consider appreciating the life that is protecting and ensuring you to become a good Muslimah?"

InsyaAllah bro... insyaAllah...
As easy as breathing, i forgot the ni'mah of the air bestowed upon us.

Another assignment handed in.

Discuss the term "Fathu" and its application in the context of Islamic territorial expansion in the time of Khulafa Rasyidin.

The initial reaction when I read the term 'fathu', an immediate thought turns to its literal definition which means 'the opening', and consequently, relates my attention to the opening of Mecca during 8h. From the linguistic point of view, the word 'fathu' comes from a sound root; fa-ta-ha, which means to open, to introduce, to conquer or to grant victory or success (Hans Wehr).

However, the Qur’an and Sunnah’s definition of ‘Fathu’ suggest different connotation and historical context. As mentioned by ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud and other companions, "You consider the conquering of Makkah to be the al-Fath (the victory), while to us, al-Fath, is the treaty conducted at the al-Hudaibiyyah”"(Ibn Katsir). Indeed, most mufassirun defined the surah al-Fathu as the surah of Victory.

This article aims to understand the term fathu by observing the context in which surah al-fath was revealed and briefly extracting the descriptions of fathu as characterized in surah al-Fath. Hopefully, the article also aims to examine the application of the described fathu in the context of Islamic territorial expansion in the time of Khulafa Rasyidin.

Surah al-Fath was revealed to Rasulullah s.a.w while he was on his way back to Medina from the trip to Mecca during the 6th year of Hijrah. In the surah, Allah complimented Rasulullah’s act of avoiding the battle with Mecca and resolving the situation with peaceful treaty. Allah also complimented upon those 1400 Muslims who pledged their allegiance towards the ad-deen during the Bai'atul Ridhwan. A promise of sakeenah, calmness and tranquility was blessed unto the pledged ones, and upon them, He rewarded them with a near victory.

The concept of victory as described in the Qur'an is not of the opening or expanding a territory to create a state or a nation for Islam, as per my initial perception on the opening of Mecca. Rather, it is the opening of the Tauhidic state of mind and soul that is more rewarded, and the conviction of da'wah and the determination to fight to spread the beauty of the Message.

The focus of expanding the Islamic territory during the period of the rightly-guided caliphates turned to the two great empires; the Roman and Persian. During the time of Khalifah Umar, the area of conquests is said to have spread over 22.5 hundred thousand square miles. The Muslim victories over these super powers were attributed to their bravery which was encouraged by faith. Despite the established power of the empires, it cannot be matched against the principles of governance that the Qur’an and the Prophetic examples taught to the Muslims.

However, the trend of territorial expansion purely based on tauhidic objective begun to decline as the period of the first half of the Khulafa’ Rasyidin ended. As more conquests took place, more wealth and worldly comfort began to infiltrate the community’s lifestyle. As a result of this, the tauhidic characteristic in military spirit as described in the Qur’an decreased. Territorial power strongly emerged and hence, opening doors to old tribal rivalries and feuds.

The territorial expansion is not merely about opening the cities to the Islamic jurisdiction, but also the opening of the hearts towards the one-ness of Allah. In fact, this Tauhidic mission is the ultimate motivation and power that accompanies the Muslims during the expeditions and battles during the initial territorial expansion during Abu Bakr and Umar’s reign. Sadly, this motivation lessens as the motivation for worldly power and wealth took place towards the end of the period of Khulafa Rasyidin.

Allah a'lam.

Do we need an Islamic state like the self-confessed Kelantan?
With all due respect to individual opinions... i believe, what we need is the fathul qalb wal fikr.
We dun need a physical Islamic state.

We need to cultivate the Islamic state of mind, heart and soul.
Naturally, the Islamic state WILL exist everywhere.

humaira...
havent i appreciate enuff?
Never....