Tagged by Kak D
Rules:
1) Answer the following questions
2) Post on your blog with link to who tagged you
3) Tag a minimum of three other bloggers and include links to their blog in your tag. Make sure to let them know you’ve tagged them too.
Meme Questions:
1) What Qur’anic verse do you find most inspiring and why? What does it mean to you personally?
The first verse that comes to my mind is verse 256, Surah Al-Baqarahلَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡہَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ
"On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear; it gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns"
Time and time again, whenever I faced some obstacle, I found solace in reading this ayah, knowing that I am only tested with what I am capable of handling.
Every time I felt I was ill-equipped for a particular position, I read this ayat to find the strength to give it my best try - be it when I was 19 and asked to be the Vice President of Islamic Student Council in my college, or when I was in my early twenties and asked to lead the Muslimah in my vicinity, or later in my mid twenties and asked to be the Penghulunita for my fellow DPA attendees. I felt reluctant to fill important positions because somehow I've always fared better as a follower than being in top leadership position. This verse propelled me to give my best because it is Allah's promise that I would never be burdened beyond my limited capability...
So every time I felt weak and helpless- like when I had to leave Huzaifah in Malaysia and came to Japan 11 days after I gave birth, or when I had my miscarriage earlier this year - this verse comforted me like no other.
2) What Hadith (Qudsi or Sunnah of the Prophet salallahi alaihi was salam) do you find most inspiring and why?
Okay, I found this to be a little bit difficult, because nothing hit me immediately like the answer to question no 1. But after giving it some thought - among the hadiths that I found inspiring is the one on giving salam;
Abu Hurairah (ra) related that Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wassalam said, "Let the one who is on a vehicle give salam to the one walking, let the one who is walking give salam to the one sitting, let those who are small in number (or alone) give salam to those who are in a larger group, and let the younger one give salam to the elderly"
Here in Japan (or in the UK for that matters) drivers slow down or wait patiently for pedestrians to cross the road at traffic lights and zebra crossing - the one who is on a vehicle give salam to the one walking. Sadly, in Malaysia - pedestrians often get honked at for crossing the road a little bit slowly, as if they are in the wrong if they try to cross the road when there is a car passing by (with the bonus of "oi butakah?" yelled out the window by the driver/passenger of the car)
There are priority seats for elderly, disabled, pregnant ladies and people with small kids on buses and trains - so that the one who is more able of walking can give salam to those who deserve the seat more. There are also priority queues in certain governmental offices - especially for the elderly - perhaps so that the younger one can give salam to the elderly.
So the hadith is not only about showering each other with greetings of peace as a sign of love, but also a lesson on giving priorities and good manners...
3) Other than the Prophet himself salalahi alahi wa salaam - what Muslim man do you find most inspiring and why?
I checked Kak D's and Nadia's (the one who tagged Kak D) answers and they both chose a companion of Rasulullah for this. I guess I will go along with them, and one sahabah that I found most inspiring is Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl.
Why?
a. He proved that sometimes it doesn't matter who your parents are - you and your parents are not necessarily of the same kind. Abu Jahl was a staunch opponent of Rasulullah, Ikrimah became a staunch companion of Rasulullah. When Ikrimah approached Makkah to say his syahadah, Rasulullah advised his companions; "Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl shall come to you as a believer and a refugee. Do not insult his father. Insulting the dead causes grief to the living and does not reach the dead."
b. He always gave his all - as a non-believer he was instrumental in obstructing the spread of Islam, but as a Muslim, he spent twice as much and fought twice as much too in Allah's way. Ikrimah, despite Khalid ibn Al-Walid's advice against it, penetrated deep into the ranks of the Byzantine in the Battle of Yarmouk. "You have fought with Rasulullah earlier. Leave me now to atone for what I have done in the past. I fought Rasulullah on many occasions, shall I now flee from the Byzantines? This shall never be!" Under Ikrimah's leadership (without the leadership of Khalid), this daring Muslim attack paved the way for a decisive victory
c. He was a selfless friend. At the crucial time in the Battle of Yarmouk, there were three warriors lying on the battleground, one of them Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl. Someone offered him some drink, but upon noticing Suhail bin Amar lying next to him and looking, he asked the war aide to pass the water to Suhail first since Suhail might need it more than him. When Suhail was offered the drink, he noticed Haris bin Hisham lying next to him and looking at the water, so he declined the drink and asked for it to be offered to Haris first since Haris might need it more than him. When the drink was offered to Haris, Haris asked for it to be offered to Ikrimah since Ikrimah might need it more than him. All of them refused to drink before the other, insisting that their friend might be more in need of the water - until in the end all of them became shahid before taking a single sip.
(update)
d. Because I am a sucker for 180 degrees changes - and Ikrimah was a great Fighter against Islam who turned into a greater Fighter for Islam. Too often people are quick to judge another - "oh, he is a terrible person, he is so rough, no manners blah blah blah", never stopping to think for a moment that we never really know the inner hidden qualities of a person, and we never know the extent of Allah's mercifulness... Who knows if the so-called terrible person might change into a religious, gentle and generous being the next day?
4) Who is the most inspiring Muslim woman to you and why?
Sharing the sentiment with Kak D and Nadia, for all the reasons that they had already stated in their respective blogs, I agree that Saidatina Khadijah is the most inspiring Muslimah. Thus, I'll take this question as "Other than Saidatina Khadijah - who is the most inspiring Muslimah to you and why? "
There are so many prominent figures to choose from - Saidatina Aisyah, Saidatina Fatimah, Rabiatul Adawiyah, Zainab al-Ghazali.... but I'll go with someone close to me - my Mak.
Mak gave her best in attending to both her late mother and mother-in-law.
Mak gives her best for her siblings even when it is not reciprocal.
Mak gives her best for her kids even when we broke her heart time and time again, and even when we know she gives more selflessly and generously than our own biological mother.
Mak gave her best to the rakyat when she was a civil servant - never afraid of any political master, not even when she was demoted of sort.
Mak is still giving her best to the society by voluntary works.
Mak gives her best to Allah by giving her all
5) What CONTEMPORARY (i.e., living) Muslim do you find most inspiring and why?
Well, it's hard to name just one person since I get inspired by lots of different people with lots of different things for lots of different reasons.
A new Muslim revert is inspiring - the courage to change, the risk they take, the willingness to study and adapt to a new way of life. A practising Muslim in a non-Muslim country is inspiring.
Any Muslim - reverts or otherwise - who could inspire others to turn to Allah is inspiring too.
Muslim scholars and thinkers like Harun Yahya aka Adnan Oktar and Dr Zakir Naik is inspiring, so are Muslim musicians the likes of Dawud Wharnsby , Sami Yusuf and Zain Bikha.
A stay-at-home mother who homeschools her children is inspiring, but so is a working mother who is successful in raising up good children by conventional means.
Since I get inspired by so many people for so many different reasons - if you are a Muslim and you ask me this question in person, I might answer "you" and I'll find some reasons to substantiate it too...
Being a born Muslim, raised in a practising Muslim family, and now married to an Imam of a mosque in a non-Muslim country - I have to admit that while I may not be a good Muslim, Islam inspires me in so many ways. Islam is about love and compassion, faith and trust, good manners, hope, strive for excellence, care for the environment, world peace, etc, etc, etc...
7) If you could do anything at all to inspire others through Islam, how would you do it?
The truth is I wanted to answer "by being good at what I am" - but then I am very ordinary - average student, average officer, average wife, average mother, average daughter, average sister... But one thing I know is that I intend to get involved with some charity/voluntary organisations, and I hope it could provide me a way to inspire others through Islam, insya Allah...
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Tag 3 persons? This tag has gotten me thinking long and hard, so this might not be the best time to pass it over to the super-busy-with-her-PhD Rad - but Rad, I don't mind waiting until after July to read your take on this, hehehe. Anyway, I hereby tag:
1. Mrs Jemain - an ex-schoolmate
2. Zarin - another ex-schoolmate
3. Theta - an articulate blogger
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