Laying the little pebbles in the foundations of a strong building

Bismillah

1.       Striving for perfection

We can strive, as the numerous sanctions from Quran and Sunnah asking us to forth and fastabiqul khairat, and to improve every single day and such, though we can never attain the perfection of the angels or Ar-Rasul, we should never stop trying to emulate the best role model for mankind, with guidance from the best guidance of the Quran, the Divine Word. To that end, it was a start, but I found it to be of the most benefit to put in the car radio Ust Hayei's mp3 tafseer cd, bought almost a year ago but hardly used, and I could feel the understanding of the Ayah streaming into the soul and knocking on my hardened heart. It's still a bit of work to feel the fear in Allah's Words, but it is my doa that this is eventually the state of mind.

2.       "Senang, Tenang dan Menang"

Was just trying to think through the essential steps to live life, and in its practical form I think it's best described by the X(enang) words. Perhaps, this also means we should be living in Penang.

Senang is to have the most optimal resources of life, that is in terms of family relations, monetary and resources. My own experience teaches me that prior to Primaya, things were in such flux that there is no looking beyond a short horizon of getting to the next paycheck, and being on guard to the next blowup of some sort. A peaceful abode is of critical importance, and that can only be achieved through obtaining sufficient material resources. This should be conunterbalanced by the fact that this is merely a bridge and not the overriding purpose. Ust Hayei's exposition of the ayat in Al-Baqarah 2:254 espousing infaq of resources given by Allah out of His mercy is referred.

Tenang – is to obtain As Sakinah – where AsSakinah of muttmaienul qulub is the greatest prize one should be striving for. And the Sakinah that the Umrah visit has endeared upon us is to be prolonged as long as could be. So, familial events should be maximized as much to remind of this wonderful God's gift upon us.

Menang – is where the display of leadership is not the means of self-glorification, but as an aspiration to an unwavering focus of righting the gaps from standards defined by the lofty standards defined in Islam. A return to sincerity, a return to maqasid as-syariah is important.

And hence is how I define how I view a tagline not unlike that of a Mesra card.

3.       Da'wah is an essential element of Menang

What are our key priorities? I propose looking here: http://www.zaharuddin.net/content/view/50/95/

Economics has proven that with limited resources, at this holds true even at a personal level, prioritization should be done to maximize the effects of ibadah. I copy-paste some of the more pertinent ones from the link above:

KEFAHAMAN KEUTAMAAN DALAM BIDANG AMAL 

1)           Keutamaan amal istiqamah dari amal yang terputus-putus.

2)           Keutamaan amal yang menyeluruh manfaatnya dari amal yang hanya terhad manfaatnya individu.

Ertinya : Adakah kamu ingin aku sebutkan apakah amalan yang terlbeih baik dari darjat solat (sunat seorang diri) dan puasa dan sedeqah? , itulah usaha pemurnian kefahaman Islam dalam ahli keluarga& sahabat handai, sesungguhnya kerosakan kefahaman mereka adalah pencukur .. Nabi SAW menjelaskan kemudian : Ia adalah pencukur agama(kiranya tidak diperbaiki) . [18]

3)           Keutamaan amal yang lama kesannya dari amal yang pendek kesannya.

Sabda Nabi : إذا مات ابن آدم انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث ... Ertinya : Pabila mati anak Adam, terputus semua amalannya kecuali 3 perkara.. [19] 

4)           Keutamaan bangkit dan beramal untuk kebaikan masyarakat dari duduk diam ( ketika musim fitnah dan cabaran) .

Ertinya : "Serulah kepada kebaikan dan laranglah dari kemungkaran …dan sesungguhnya akan datang satu masa kelak, mereka yang bersabar (dalam menghadapi fitnah) seperti pemegang bara-bara api, manakala mereka yang bekerja (untuk Islam) di ketika saat itu mendapat ganjran 50 kali ganda pahala amal seseorang . Sahabat bertanya : Adakah ganjarannya lebih dari  50 ganda seperti amalan sesama mereka atau berbanding kami? , berkata Nabi : Bahkan , lebih 50 kali dari amalan kamu" [20]

5)           Keutamaan pemurnian amalan hati dan amalan anggota.   

Ertinya : "Allah tidak melihat kepada tubuh kamu dan rupa kamu ( dalam hisab amal) , tetapi dilihat dan ditelitinya hati kamu"  [21]

Ertinya : " Ketahuilah, di dalam jasad ada seketul daging, bila elok eloklah seluruh jasad, jika rosak, rosaklah seluruh jasad, ketahuilah ianya adalah HATI" [22]  

6)           Keutamaan memahami keutamaan sesuatu amalan berubah menurut suasana dan keperluan. 

There is a need to master this art of prioritisation.

4.       Street smart AND book smart

Street smart: Allows to convince the general Joe Public, and there is now a whole bunh of individualistic peoples out there that makes customization of messages practically impossible. This knowledge enables us to right the wrongs and to exercise leadership in the middle of society. This will also eliminate stupid and crass acts of charitably giving RM53 to people like Samsudin. We must do good, but we must Never be stupid.

Book smart: allows is to identify truth, amidst competing dogma and rationality.

5.       Concerns are greater than resources – and a crisis-mode paradigm is necessary. If I only knew what I cold be responsible for, for sure, I'd be losing sleep, not able to enjoy Liverpool's matches. There needs to be a paradigm shift!