For those of you who are wondering what its like to be a Mentor. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:
This toolkit is open to all/public. Do feel free to invite all your friends and relatives for this enriching workshop. Registration is free and its easy to do. Just RSVP directly via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/toolkit2012 Seats are limited so don’t wait!
Presenting our HIGHLIGHT LECTURE for the workshop: Essentials of Mentoring!
This toolkit is open to all/public. Do feel free to invite all your friends and relatives for this enriching workshop. Registration is free and its easy to do. Just RSVP directly via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/toolkit2012. Seats are limited so don’t wait!
You may register for the workshop via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/toolkit2012
Register fast, seats are limited due to space constraints.
You may register for the workshop via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/toolkit2012
Register fast, seats are limited due to space constraints.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
Dear Muslim brothers and sisters,
We pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala grants you and your loved ones pardon (‘afuw) and health (‘aafiah), ameen.
On this upcoming New Year’s Day, the APEX Mentoring Programme is organizing a special treat for Muslims in Singapore: a workshop entitled
“WE BELIEVE: Making Time & Inspiring Action”.
With that, we present to you:
The following are the event details:
Topic: WE BELIEVE: Making Time & Inspiring Action
Date: Saturday, 07 January 2011
Time: 9 am to 1 pm
Venue: Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah MPR 3 Level 5, 273 Braddell Road
As seats are limited, do RSVP for the workshop by 1 January 2012 (Sunday), via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/toolkit2012
We look forward to meeting you for the above event. Do feel free to invite your friends and relatives for the workshop by directing them to this website. InshaAllah, we will derive much benefit and wisdom from the talks held.
We pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala keeps you and your loved ones in His continued Grace, Blessings and Guidance, ameen.
Shukran. Wassalaam.
Muhd Fursham bin Mohd Zubir
APEX Mentoring Programme
Email: apexmentors@gmail.com
Website: apexmentors.wordpress.com
Facebook: facebook.com/apexmentors
YouTube: youtube.com/user/apexmentors
Sister Nisha Rafiq from APEX Wak Tanjong recently appeared in The Straits Times. Marha-marha! =)
Click the above image to read regarding what led her to join Apex and her narration of her experience as an Apex Mentor.
Sister Nisha is currently pursuing a life sciences major at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on an Agency for Science, Technology and Research scholarship. She will be graduating next year and will be going on to do her postgraduate studies at King’s College in London, inshaAllah!
May you continue to be an inspiration to the ummah, Sister Nisha. Ameen! =)
Sister Nurhannah from APEX Arabiah appeared in The Straits Times today. Check out an extract of the article below! =)
Muis hands out postgraduate awards
SHE learnt about the problems faced by single mothers in the Malay-Muslim community when she did her final-year undergraduate thesis at the National University of Singapore (NUS). And that piqued Ms Nurhannah Irwan’s interest in studying the issues faced by women during divorce.
She will be heading to Britian to do that, after receiving a postgraduate scholarship from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) yesterday.
The 23-year old was one of the three recipients of the Muis Postgraduate Scholarship this year.
…
Ms Nurhannah, who graduated with second-upper class honours in sociology this year, said she chose to do her master’s degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, because the school has specialisations in Islamic societies in the Middle East and African regions.
“During my stint in Muis, I hope to tap the organization’s network and do research on the pressing issues faced by women in the Malay-Muslim community,” she said.
Sister Nurhannah, may you have a safe and blessed learning journey, and may Allah s.w.t. grant you ease on the path of seeking knowledge for His Sake. Ameen!
(Picture from Wardah Books)
Written and prepared by Brother Hamdan of APEX Wak Tanjong.
Bismillahi walHamdu liLlah waSolatu wasSalaamu ‘ala Rasulillah wa aalihi wa sohbihi ajma’in, the following is a summary of the tazkirah during the Iftar. All good is from Allah, all shortcomings are from the self. This is the photo of one of the two books I referred to. It has a good chapter solely on Taqwa.
Bismillahi walHamdu liLlah waSolatu wasSalaamu ‘ala Rasulillah wa aalihi wa sohbihi wa man waalah
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Aalamin, all Praises to Allah the Lord of the Universes, all Praises to Him, we thank Him for the ni’mah/blessing of Islam, Iman, Sihah/health, Al-Qur’an and the sunnah of our beloved Messenger peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. AlhamduliLah, Who has made obligatory for us the Fast of Ramadhan out of His Deep Concern and Love for His servants, just so that He can forgive us, bless us more and bring us closer to His Presence! A month in which He uplift our spiritual states and then He opens the door of Divine Wisdom and frees His servants from Hellfire. A month in which the Prophet s.a.w. said, “It is a month of Patience and the reward for Patience is Heaven.” [HR Ibn Khuzaimah, Baihaqi from Salman al-Faris], Jibril a.s. “Whomever meets Ramadhan and is not forgiven of his/her sins may he be made far (from the grace of Allah) by Allah” and Jibril said ‘Amin’ and the Prophet s.a.w. said ‘Amin’ [Sahih, Thabrani, Ibn Hibban and others]
We should thank Allah and praise Him for this blessed month and we should enliven its days and night with acts of obedience, rejoicing and showing great joy. Allah says, Say: “In the bounty of Allah. And in His Mercy,- in that let them rejoice”: that is better than the (wealth) they hoard. 10:58.
Thus the believer is should feel great joy for the Guidance, the blessings of Allah namely, the Qur’an, the fast of Ramadhan in which there are numerous bounties and benefits. But sadly people show greater joy not in spiritual blessings but in fitnah i.e. their wealth and children, which are a test or trial/fitnah from Allah. He tests us on how we conduct ourselves with them, And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward.(8:28)
[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving (67:2)
In this month, we find a great opportunity to draw closer to Allah with various praiseworthy acts and it is related in a hadith that an obligatory act is given the reward of seventy obligatory acts while a nafilah (non-obligatory) act done in Ramadan is given the reward of an obligatory act.[HR Ibn Khuzaimah, Baihaqi from Salman al-Farisi] It is interesting that the verse that comes directly after the verse on the Fast of Ramadhan (2:183-185) mentions about Divine Proximity or Allah’s Closeness to us (without ‘where’),
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. 2:186
Allah reminds and tells us here that He is Near, He has to tell us this as He knows, our sins and heedlessness has veiled us from awareness/consciousness of His Presence and Proximity. Therefore He wants us to draw near to Him, to seek only Him in our good deeds, to seek His Pleasure and make it our intention in all that we do in this month of Ramadhan.
It is interesting that the Shayateen, the devils, are shackled in this month, the word ‘Shaythana’ (according to Sh. Hamza Yusuf in one of his lectures) means to make distant/far (from Allah, His Grace etc.). Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi said that the Shaytan are the attributes of distance (from Allah). Their influences if followed cause one to be far from Allah and His Rahmah, to put it simply they are the cause of us being ‘distant’ from Allah as their master Iblis had caused our Father Adam to be expelled from Jannah from Allah’s Presence. “Shaytan flows in the son of Adam as blood flows, so blocks his canals by hunger and thirst,”. Thus in Ramadhan the month in which they are shackled, we find relative ease to do good deeds like reciting the Qur’an, this is as their influences are curtailed and the Gates of Closeness to Allah is wide open as alluded by the above verse. Hence this is a golden opportunity to draw closer to Allah.
But then why do we still sin in this month. Well that is because the evil commanding self/soul has not been subdued and purified. And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful. (12:53)
And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it, And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, He has succeeded who purifies it, And he has failed who instills it [with corruption]. 91:7-10
From verse 2:183 we know that the intention of prescribing fasting in Ramadhan is to develop taqwa. Taqwa according to scholars of Tasawwuf means ‘to guard’ some say it simply means ‘to fear’. It is therefore, to guard the Presence of Allah, the fact that He is all-Aware and Omni-Present, Ever watchful of us. Guarding that fact in our heart so that we do not transgress is not easy. It has to become a reality rather than mere fact for us. We must purify our hearts until we develop deeper consciousness of His Presence. “Worship Allah as if you see Him”. We are created to worship Him. And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me (51:56).
So how is taqwa cultivated? One begins by bringing Allah to remembrance as much as possible so that one will not be assailed by whisperings/insinuations of the devil. Divine Remembrance helps us to protect the purity of our fast, we are better protected from falling into that which will spoil our fast. Allah ta’ala says in a hadith qudsi that “Laa ilaha illaLlah is my fortress, whoever enters it is protected.” Allah ta’ala says, Indeed, those who fear Allah – when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight. (7:201)
O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance (33:41)
The Prophet s.a.w. said, “The Parable of one who Remembers Allah and one who doesn’t is like the living and the dead,[HR Bukhari & Muslim] and like the green tree among the withered ones.” [Abu Nu’aim]
People who remember Allah very little are usually hypocrites,
The Hypocrites – they think they are over-reaching Allah, but He will over-reach them: When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance; (4:142)
The above verses and ahadith are sufficient to demonstrate the greatness of Divine Remembrance.
Brothers and sisters, this Ramadhan might be our last, as death is certain and uncertain, it’ll certainly come but when it comes is uncertain. By keeping in remembrance of this fact, we will be better muslims, inshaAllah we will develop taqwa.
For those with taqwa, they are the most noble in the sight of Allah as He says in His Book “Inna akramakum ‘indaAllahi atqaakum.” Developing taqwa is a command from Allah, He commands us to that which will bring us immense good in this life and the hereafter for He exalted is He loves us. With taqwa we shall gain victory, eternal bliss and His Love. It is a will from Him, “And We have instructed those who were given the Scripture before you and yourselves to fear Allah .” 4:131
Also with taqwa we gain His ‘Withness’ ,
And fear Allah and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.(2:194)
The one who has taqwa will be taught al-‘ilmuladunni (knowledge direct from Divine Presence). And fear Allah . And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things. 2:282 This includes the knowledge taught to the servant of Allah al-Khidr a.s. in Suratul Kahfi.
Also He will grant you higher guidance or criterion to judge when you encounter a problem, removal of your bad deeds and pardon from your sins. O you who have believed, if you fear Allah , He will grant you a criterion and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allah is the possessor of great bounty. (2:29)
And Allah will save those who feared Him by their attainment; no evil will touch them, nor will they grieve. 39:61
And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him (65:2-3)
and for those who fear Allah, He will make their path easy. (65:4)
Let us not waste any opportunity to do good deeds, amal saalih in this blessed month, no matter how small the deed is we shouldn’t leave it. Remember the often told hadith of the prostitute/sinful man who took a shoe-full of water from a well to give to a thirsty dog and had her/his sins forgiven for that small deed to an animal?
It is also related that after Imam al-Ghazali had returned to Allah, a man met him in a dream and asked him, “What has Allah done to you?”
“He forgave me,” answered Imam Ghazali.
“What deed earned you that forgiveness?” asked the man.
“One day, whilst I was writing, a fly landed on my pen and drank from its ink. I did not disturb it and let it drink to satiety.”
Know that indeed, a “small” good deed that is in reality great is always deemed insignificant or of no worth by the nafs/evil commanding self. While deeds that are deemed great by it often earn little reward due to the sincerity of the doer, the deed itself or the presence of onlookers.
Wa biLlahit-Taufiq wal Hidayah.
Al-Faqir ilaLlah Muhammad Hamdan Bin Rahmat
Ace PSLE Examinations (APEX) aims to help out Primary 6 madrasah students in Singapore in preparation for their final-year examinations.
Besides tutoring, APEX also provides mentoring services. We aim to develop students holistically and to be successful.
In addition, we hope APEX can be a platform where members can interact and be reminded of the roles we can play in developing society.
If you would like to join us as an APEX Mentor, do download this form and email it to: apexmentors [at] gmail.com
We will get back to you to as soon as possible to complete the registration process, insha'Allah. =)
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
"My intention is to learn and to teach
and to remember and to remind
and to give benefit and to gain benefit
and to give profit and to gain profit
and to encourage to hold fast to
The Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger
and to call to guidance and to direct towards the good
and to seek for the Countenance of Allah, His Pleasure, His Closeness and His Rewards
Glorified and Exalted is He"
