Bismillah...
Another long weekend with few things to do. I was thinking the other day, why hadn't I booked any ticket to travel somewhere during this period. It's quite unusual for me to not notice an opportunity to go for a long holiday with just a few days leave from work. Perhaps Allah spared me from the hassle and stress of cancelled bookings so I can focus on responsibilities hahaha
I'm trying my best to fill my time with beneficial things these days although of course I'm screaming inside waiting for the day when I can do outdoor activities freely again. But this is still bearable although I've always been an outdoor junkie. To me travels, activities and also writing is a way for me to recharge and recalibrate. It's an important part of my life but I never see it as a life purpose. Rather those are the things I do to find balance between what I can offer to the world and what I 'earn' from this world.
I have some friends who confided that they are quite reluctant to start with beneficial things such as working out, Al-Quran classes etc. because they are afraid that they won't be able to commit and end up stopping midway. I think I started my routine somewhere during MCO phase 3, when the number of cases started to come down and my workflow started becoming more stable. Every day, I manage to allocate an hour in the morning to check on any medical updates on Covid19 except during holidays LOL. And since I don't have ward rounds these days, I'll spare about 2 hours for online CME for pharmacists. If I don't have enough time to finish the session in one go, I will find time to finish it the next day. And as for Al-Quran recitations and tadabbur, I'm trying my best to make sure I read the Al-Quran every day without fail and I aim to finish a minimum of two tadabbur videos or online talks every week. And I've been steadfastly going for my runs too. I can say I'm a moderately disciplined person, not too hard on myself but I always ensure that life is orderly. So far so good hahaha
I'm not sure if I can stick to these routines because life is ever evolving. To me the most important thing is to start doing. If you could keep on doing all the valuable and constructive activities come what may, then that is very good! But if you stop, that is not at all that bad. At least you did spend some time for good stuffs while you were able. Or perhaps, one day you'll go back again to doing them when the circumstances is more convenient for you. Well, honestly, I'd slowed down in gaining Islamic knowledge for the past few years myself. There were times when I even signed up for a free Islamic Studies diploma and stopped midway! And now that I'm able to go back again, it is somewhat refreshing. Okay, I think this 4 paragraphs rambling is going to be habit now haha so here's the book review~
While watching the videos I always have with me the Al-Quran and also this English translation book. Every IIUM student used to have this black cover English translation of the Al-Quran for our Islamic input classes and the language was poetic that I found it quite hard to decipher. But for this translation by M.A.S Abdel Haleem , the language is simpler and more fluid which you can see in one of the picture below. I read reviews about this translation and this is realized after many years of meticulous hard work.
This is the table of content. I actually missed that Introduction part of the book and just read it last week although I've been using this book since earlier this year. This is a very concise introduction but, to me, it touches all the important aspects needed to understand the Al-Quran. I read the stylistic features twice; I always find this very hard to comprehend even when listening to talks. The historical account of how the Al-Quran was compiled and the initiatives taken to preserve the Al-Quran by the khulafa al-rasyidin has always fascinated me. The third caliph Uthman r.a ordered that copies of Al-Quran be distributed to different parts of the Muslim world during his rule and we saw one of it when we were in Uzbekistan!!!!
Below is an example of the translation. This is surah Al-Fatihah. As you can see, below the translations there are footnotes that further explain certain verses. Having this book while watching the tadabbur videos works very well for me. Since I watch the recorded ones and not the live session, I get to rewind the points that I didn't pay attention to and also pause the video so I can read further in this translation book. I think this active learning is much much better than just listening. I stopped listening to Islamic podcast during my commute to work because I keep on wishing I could write down what the sheikh is saying hahaha so I only listen to TedTalks podcast these days.
I actually just finished with Juz 7. Quite slow there but I think it's okay to not rush as long as I grasp the input properly. The guest speaker for that session was Dr Nazir Khan from Canada, He summarized on the objectives of Juz 1 to 7 which I will post, inshaAllah, in the future. But what I want to share here is what he said at the end of his discussion that the journey to Allah, to seeking the truth does not only call for spiritual growth but also for moral and intellectual growth.
My friends and I recently are quite obsessive about studying the history of the Islamic world; from the Prophet's pbuh time to the khulafa al-rasyidin and then to the rest of Islamic empires. Having also visited some of the Islamic historical sites made it even evident to us that all these greats names in Islam, who are not only known for being pious and righteous servants of Allah but are also known as excellent people in their respective fields were, during their lifetime, motivated by none other than iman (faith) and taqwa (fear of God). If we truly understand our amanah as the vicegerent of Allah then perhaps we won't take the many roles that have been bestowed upon us lightly.......
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