Sunday, April 3, 2016

STAROBA

Assalamu Alaikum,

Today I entered the den of lions and praise be to Allah when I left they were as friendly as kittens. When Bro Ali Karim, my schoolmate not only from MCKK but even from primary school in KL, said to me would I like to deliver a Talk at a STAROBA gathering in conjunction with the launching of my maiden book “The Foams of the Waves of the Sea – The Case for an Islamic Monetary System’ I gladly accepted and did not baulked. http://realmoney.com.my/2016/02/27/book-launch-the-foams-of-the-waves-of-the-sea/

However I would be lying if I said I had no apprehensions whatsoever for STAR or Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman is the nemesis for MCKK in rugby and many things. Even today they are always there to snatch away glory from MCKK at the last gasp of football matches or whatever. As if their sole purpose in life is to deny celebrations for MCKK and  Mcobs. I said to Ali I do however have sentiments for STAR and STAROBA as my late eldest brother was a STAROB.

So there I was at this Surau in Setapak with my friend cum “body guard” Ustaz Asman, A PhD Thesis Student on the evil of Fractional Reserve Banking. Ustaz Asman was hounded by lecturers in a certain university faculty for even suggesting there is evil in Fractional Reserve Banking but that’s another story. This Shariah Graduate from Baghdad University holds an MBA from our Management Science University and is a stalwart supporter of my cause.

What is my cause? Explaining to the ummah how we are what we are today. The Foams of the Waves of the Sea as predicted by a famous Hadith narrated by Thauban r.a. Allow me to quote from my previous post’s entitled Belum http://zahidsay.blogspot.my/2014/07/belum.html (posted on July 26 2014)

“I am just an ordinary citizen of this world. If ever there is a legacy I wish to leave to the Muslim ummah when I part this world, is to urge my Muslim brothers and sisters to study and contemplate the historical events that brought them to where they are today. As predicted by our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, we are plentiful, like foams of waves in the ocean, but weak.

We are nation states instead of under one Muslim Caliphate. We hold no strength in terms of technology nor inventions relying almost in total on everyone else. God gave some of us untold wealth but we allow others to manipulate us, to control and defuse the potential use of our wealth to defend ourselves.

We are impeccable Muslims in rituals but abject failures in the implementation of the Quran. I have exhorted before and I exhort again, we have to begin by recognizing ourselves. Recognising first of all that our problems begun with the fall of our last caliphate, and the ensuing colonization of our lands. Where the colonialists destroyed our souls and sapped our strength by the secularization of our religion.

The strength of our religion in days gone by was when our religion was wholesome or syumul, especially when our leaders were masters of both world, our citizens were nearly masters of both worlds and our education produces children who will be masters of both worlds. We had amongst others Ibn Senna (Avicenna) as Master of Medicine, and AlJabr the Founder of Algebra to name  a few. In other words masters of Quran and Sunnah, as well as masters of worldly knowledge.

The Quran and Sunnah was our lives and our law, and we always begin our scientific research by first researching the verses of the Quran. The colonials ripped out Quran and Sunnah from our lives, replaced Quranic laws with their man made laws, and imposed their godless subjects in our education system, imposed riba in our economy and perpetuate an economic system that makes them perpetually enriched by our support of their system.

Allah and His Rasul declared war on the practitioners of riba; we embraced riba as an article of faith in our lives. We began to look to the west for everything and we need not invent anything for there are always others to do it for us. When we placed such a high regard for another civilization in our lives, little by little our self confidence is destroyed.

We also embraced a system of electing our leaders which ensures there is constant disputes at national levels, which distracts our minds from working on Muslim unity at international level, which is crucial for our defence against like what is happening in Gaza. We made deals with the devil to ensure we win over local national rivals, and in so doing sell away our Deen.

We are now in the 21st century clueless about the source, origin and cause of our present weaknesses. We watch the holocaust over Gaza with total impotence.

If there is anything we can begin to do to change things is to ensure we choose as our next batch of leaders, people who understand this heritage. People who understood what our recent history has done to us.

People who are masters of both worlds or at least offer themselves with a political structure that ensure as a group they are masters of both worlds i.e masters of Quran and Sunnah, and masters of worldly knowledge. We cannot be led by Scholars alone, nor can we be led by Worldly people alone, who places no value on the advice of scholars.

We must be led by a grouping of Islamic Professionals, who are at all times guided by Scholars.

Where can we find this group? That is our common task and challenge at hand.”

As I left STAROBA today, it rekindled a fiery hope I once held for the likes of MCOBA, STAROBA and similar. To rise to the occasion in moments of need, to answer the call of a nation in distress.

Do we rise as the lions we are trained to be or meekly retire to the bosom of our disattachment as pussy cats?

This morning  I entered a den of lions; I have a dream, a dream of dens of lions rising and answering the call of our nation in distress.

Zahid
MCKK Class of 72