Invitation to Understanding Islam Why can't I pray my way? Muslims are required to pray 5 times a day at fixed times. During these prayers, they recite Verses from The Noble Qur'an which is in Arabic. The prayer positions include standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting. After embracing Islam, I was wondering why do I have to pray in this way. I liked the idea of stopping our daily activities 5 times to communicate to Allah The Permanent Who sustains everything. But I kept fighting the need to recite rote lines in Arabic during prayer. It is not my native language and therefore reciting in that language doesn't seem like it is from my heart. The sitting position during prayer can be quite uncomfortable to someone who is not used to this way of praying. Why would Allah want me to be so frustrated and be in difficulty when I'm trying to communicate with Him? Wouldn't it be better for me to get into a relaxed position and really speak from my heart? ISLAMIC OUTREACH-ABIM 3402 Jalan Ampang Hilir 2 55000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fel:î?42569822 Fax: î?42574500 www.islamicoutreach.com.my
Razumjeti Islam ZAŠTO NE MOGU MOLITI NA SVOJ NAČIN? Muslimani trebaju moliti pet puta dnevno u određeno vrijeme. Za to vrijeme, oni recitiraju stihove iz Plemenitog Kur'ana koji je na Arapskom. Položaji za molitvu su stojeći, naklonjeni, ničice i sjedeći. Kad sam prihvatio Islam, pitao sam se zašto moram moliti na taj način? Sviđala mi se ideja pet puta prekinuti dnevne aktivnosti da komuniciram sa Allahom Nepromjenljivim Koji sve podržava. Ali sam se protivio recitiranju redaka na Arapskom pri molitvi. To nije moj rodni jezik i zato mi se činilo da recitiranje na tom jeziku ne izgleda kao da je iz mog srca. Sjedeći položaj tijekom molitve može biti prilično neugodan nekome tko nije naviknuo na taj način moljenja. Zašto bi me Allah htio tako frustriranog i u problemima dok pokušavam komunicirati s Njim? Ne bi li bilo bolje da se opustim i stvarno govorim iz srca? ---------ISLAMIC OUTREACH-ABIM 3402 Jalan Ampang Hilir 2 55000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fel:+603-42569822 Fax: +603-42574500 www.islamicoutreach.com.my ----------
We are all slaves of The Creator We always fight the idea of being a slave to anyone because of our ego. We never want to be lower to anyone or anything. The truth is we are all slaves. i/e don't have a choice to be anything else. The only thing we choose is WHO do we serve? Slaves of our ego Most of us serve our egos {nafs}.* Regardless of what we achieve (degree, senior position, high income), our nafs will constantly demand more. Like a vicious slave master, our nafs will continue to press us to do or become this or that. We think we are free. We think we serve no one. The truth is we are slaves to our egos until we choose to serve Allah instead. Nafs as test Our nafs can be a blessing or a curse. It is our test. It can distance us from Allah or deliver us to Him. It depends on what we choose. If we remain trapped as slaves to the demands of our ego, then it will eventually lead to misery and unhappiness. Every thought and action of ours will either strengthen our ego or tear it down. Continuously chasing dreams, fulfilling urges and satisfying desires strengthen the ego.
Worshipping, fasting and disciplining the urges tame and diminish the ego. If we learn to tame the ego, then it will become our ticket to our true freedom and happiness that will place us in the right path to the journey to Allah The Merciful. Now I know that praying my way is serving the ego Of course, Allah wants us to open our heart to Him. Worshipping Allah from the heart should be as natural as breathing air. But that is different from the required daily prayers. If we only prayed when we liked to pray and in a manner that we preferred, then we are still serving our ego. Serving Allah The Merciful By requiring us to pray in a certain manner five times a day Allah has given us the formula for taming the ego. Our convenience and comfort should not be the consideration in our daily prayers. Obeying totally and unconditionally The Command of Allah The Merciful should be our only consideration. With compliments: BAITULMAL (Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan)
MI SMO SVI ROBOVI STVORITELJA Zbog svojega ega mi se uvijek borimo protiv ideje da budemo ikome robovi Nikad ne želimo biti niži od ičega i ikoga. Istina je da smo svi mi robovi. Mi nemamo izbora biti išta drugo. Jedino što odabiremo jest kome ćemo služiti? ROBOVI SVOJEGA EGA Večina nas služi svojem egu {nafs}. Bez obzira koliko postigli (akademski stupanj, viši položaj, veliki dohodak), naš nafs će uvijek tražiti više. Poput zlog robovlasnika, naš će nas nafs nastaviti gurati da činimo ili postanemo ovo ili ono. Mi mislimo da smo slobodni. Mi mislimo da nikome ne služimo. Istina je da smo robovi našem egu dok umjesto toga ne izaberemo služiti Allahu. NAFS KAO KUŠNJA Naš nafs može biti blagoslov ili prokletstvo. To je naš test. Može nas udaljiti od Allaha, ili nas izručiti Njemu. Ovisi što odaberemo. Ako ostanemo uhvaćeni kao robovi zahtjevima našeg ega, tada će nas konačno dovesti bijedi i nesreći. Svaka će naša misao ili akcija ojačati naš ego, ili će ga srušiti.
Neprekidno hvatanje snova, udovoljavanje porivima i zadovoljavanje želja, jačaju ego. Molitva, post i suzdržavanje od poriva svladavaju i umanjuju ego. Ako naučimo svladavati ego, tada će on biti naša ulaznica u istinsku slobodu i sreću što će nas staviti na pravu stazu na putovanju do Allaha Milostivog. Ja sada znam da je moljenje na moj način služenje egu. Naravno, Allah hoće da otvorimo srce Njemu. Štovanje Allaha iz srca trebalo bi biti prirodno poput disanja zraka. Ali to se razlikuje od traženih dnevnih molitava. Ako molimo samo kad mi želimo moliti i kako mi želimo moliti, tada mi još uvijek služimo našem egu.
SLUŽENJE ALLAHU MILOSTIVOM Tražeći nas da molimo na određeni način pet puta dnevno, Allah nam je dao formulu za ukročivanje ega. Naša udobnost i prijatnost ne bi trebale imati utjecaja na naše dnevne molitve. POTPUNA I BEZUVJETNA POKORNOST Zapovjed Allaha Milostivog jedina treba biti uzeta u obzir.
---------With compliments: BAITULMAL (Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan) ----------
Tough luck nafs! Of course our nafs will be displeased when we ignore it and obey Allah instead. It will complain and say to us, "Why must I pray this way? I don't want to pray!" Our answer to the ego should be, "Well, guess what, you are not the boss. Allah is my master and I serve Allah. Making you happy is not my goal in life. Serving you will make me miserable. Serving Allah is my true purpose and joy. The daily prayers are to make sure that you nafs) and I always remember my true goal!" Our nafs will never be pleased regardless of how desperately we serve its needs. Yet Allah is pleased with every effort, Imagine the results if we gave Allah the attention and slavehood that we give to our ego everyday. Jihad is the struggle to control our nafs. Now I know why jihad or the struggle against the enemy within is the most difficult and noble battle. Welcome to the way of Allah that shows the way to tame your ego. Adapted from the text of Sister Sharifah Davis by Dr Y Mansoor Marican, Ph. D
NAFSE, IMAŠ PEH! Naravno, naš će nafs biti razočaran kad ga ignoriramo i povinujemo se Allahu umjesto njemu. Pobunit će se i reći nam: "Zašto moram tako moliti? Ja neću moliti!" Naš odgovor egu treba biti: !Pa, znaš, ti nisi šef. Allah je moj učitelj i ja služim Allahu. Moj životni cilj nije da tebe činim sretnim. Služenje tebi bi me učinilo jadnim. Moj pravi smisao i sreća je služiti Allahu. Svakodnevne molitve će osigurati da ćemo ti nafs, i ja, uvijek znati moj pravi cilj!" Naš nafs nikad neće biti zadovoljan, bez obzira koliko gorljivo mi služimo njegove potrebe. A Allah je zadovoljan svakim trudom. Zamislite kakvo bi postignuće bilo da Allahu dajemo pažnju i robovanje koje svakodnevno poklanjamo našem egu. Džihad je borba da kontroliramo naš nafs. Sada znam zašto je džihad ili borba protiv svog unutarnjeg neprijatelja najteža i najuzvišenija bitka. Dobrodošli na put Allaha koji pokazuje kako ukrotiti ego.
Preuzeto iz teksta Sestre Sharifah Davis by Dr Y Mansoor Marican, Ph. D