The newly formed Republican Party is to field popular footballer Ali Ashfaq (Dhagandey) as their presidential candidate, Ahmed ADK Nashid has told journalists today.

“We are going to have a famous candidate who will not need much campaigning. We know Dhagandey can beat Gayoom easily, especially after the SAFF Games his popularity is higher than anybody in Maldives,” Nashid said.

Asked if the Republican Party received any funding from Qasim Ibrahim, Nashid denied the rumours. “We don’t need Qasim to form this party. We need Qasim only after the party is formed. I spent only money from the money I saved by charging high prices from all poor and unfortunate patients who went for treatment at ADK. After paying some percentage to Ahmed Abdullah as bribe from ADK revenue I was able to save something. Why do you think we charged so high prices for CT scans?” Nashid asked while sitting on a Villa Group launch in the harbour of Dhaal Kuda Huvadhoo.

Asked if Republican Party can beat Yameen, Nashid said “Yameen? Who is Yameen? Oh! Raagondi Raajaa? Even Reeko Ibrahim Manik can beat Raagondi Raajaa in the election.”

Asked by reporters of Bakhabaru if the Republican Party has any plans of having Kuda Sappe (DO Sappe) as their candidate, Nashid said “DO Sappe is my friend and partner in Horizon Fisheries. He is a loyalist of Qasim Ibrahim. But he is simply not as famous as Dhagandey.”

Dhangadey for President

Dhagandey for President

Photo credit: Mode

Introducing an amazing Islamic English song album by Hamza robertson: “Something About Life”.

Download the album or single tracks

Buy the Audio CD

Нашид исполняет Мишари Рошид Лигьфаси

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I’m surprised and not surprised that I don’t have much to reflect on today.  More than the day before, I felt like yesterday was another non-Ramadan normal day.  I did work on my Qur’an notes, I read much more of Realities of Submission, I obviously wrote a lot of blog posts but I still feel the spirit is a bit lost for me in these days.  I can’t wait for it to return. 

Another trip to Al Manal Mall didn’t do much to lift my spirits because I tried the new denim djellaba, but it felt uncomfortable in the heat.  It’s a lighter denim so I thought it would be fine, but it is a bit heavy for the still summer weather we have here.  Plus, the tailor made the sleeves wide instead of narrow fitting so it looks a bit ridiculous.  We are going to bring it back to him to have him make it the sleeves smaller and then I’ll hang it up until November when the weather begins to cool and the heavier fabric will be better.

I feel quite confused about music in Islam.  Yesterday, I read in Realities of Submission that a hadith says that all musical instruments are banned.  Then, on Ramadan Reminders with Sheik Yusef Estes last night, he breifly discussed music, which only left me more confused.  He basically said buying CD’s for the sake of memorizing the music had no value, and such time should be spent in memorizing the Qur’an instead.  I think that’s reasonable.  He said that if you are in an elevator or store where music is being played, that is something you can’t help and you did not intend to hear.  Also reasonable.  Then he said, music has its place at ceremonies such as weddings, but in that case it should not be played in excess and should be nashid.  I didn’t exactly know what nashid was, so I had to look that up.  Basically, it’s Islamically-oriented music (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasheed).  Reading the rest of that explanation it seems like there is debate about music in Islam.  Some say it’s not allowed at all, some say as long as it’s nashid and simple instruments are used or a capella, it’s okay.  Music is now so prevalent in so many cultures, including Morocco and other Muslim countries, and not all of it is nashid.  The number of video channels on the satellite is almost overwhelming.  Name any television show or movie where music is not present.  Yet, there are great artists like Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens) and Sami Yusef whereby we can enjoy great nashid music, but I still question if it’s “allowed”. 

I guess it’s topics like this that remind me that even though I’ve been Muslim for over two years now, I still have so much to learn,  ponder, and decide for myself.  Luckily, I caught on to a good resource for additional learning last night where I can focus my efforts for the next couple of days.  Forty Hadith is a collection of just that many hadiths by Imam Nawawi.

The collection has been known, accepted and appreciated by Muslim scholars for the last seven centuries.

Its significance lay in the fact that these selected forty hadiths comprise the main essential and fundamental concepts of Islam which, in turn, construct the minimum level of required revealed knowledge for every single Muslim. Since having good knowledge of the various fundamental aspects of the religion is key to a Muslim’s practice and application of Islam, this web site attempts to provide simple and practical commentaries to the collection of Imam Nawawi’s Forty Hadith.

Various principles are contained in these hadiths, such as belief, Muslim ethics and fiqh. As such, it is very important to have a good understanding of these hadiths based on scholarly interpretations. In addition, these commentaries also try to offer discussions on related contemporary issues pertaining to certain concepts mentioned in these hadiths.

Breaking Fast

I almost took a picture of our iftar last night because I managed to present it on as many matching plates as we had and I thought it looked pretty special even though the meal was like many we’ve eaten before it.  Hommos made it to the table this time (one of my better batches I must add) which was a nice change.  I also made some Moroccan Cafe au Lait for that warm-liquid-in-the-belly-after-a-day-of-fasting feeling.

I’m sure this coffee drink has another name that I’m just not familiar with.  I’ve never been a fan of coffee despite a 5-year stint at Dunkin’ Donuts, but every  now and then with a lot of cream, sugar, and some kind of infused flavor or syrup shots I’ll enjoy a cup.  My poor mother has been trying to get me to become an addict for years, but I’ll take my brown liquid caffeine fix in a cold red can over a cup of joe anyday.  That is, until I tasted this cafe au lait at my mother-in-law’s house.  It’s simple to make and can be extraordinary with just a pinch of an ecclectic spice mix.  

I can’t even attempt to figure out all that goes into the mix, but I do recognize a few things very easily:

• Cinnamon (from bark)
• Star Anise
• Ginger
• White Peppercorns
• Sesame Seeds
• Cardamom
• Fennel Seed

There’s some dried orange thing in there as well as a few other large dried somethings, all adding to the unique and intense flavor of the blend.  Very, very little is needed in the coffee, and for 10 DH you get a rather large supply (enough to fill a jelly jar) ground on site if you so wish.  Or, you can just ask for the blended coffee spice in the shop and they might have some already ground up.  It will still be quite fresh and was probably only ground a day or two before you found it. 

To make the coffee, heat 1/2 liter of milk in a small sauce pan and add two heaped tablespoons of instant coffee and three sugar bricks.  Start with a few pinches, maybe 1/4 teaspoon of the spice and let it warm slowly.  Be careful not to bring it to a full boil or scorch the milk.  Test it for sugar and spice and add more if desired.  When hot, pour into mugs and serve with some nice croissants or m’semem. 

Also…

I’m working on an article about the hijab, but there’s so much I want to say about it I’m taking my time with it.  I’m also finally getting to the Al Manal Mall article and Best Bites review of Brador Pizza Restaurant, so insha’Allah, I will post them soon!

Ini adalah catatan mengenai Talib Al Habib, seorang penyanyi nasyid yang terkenal di UK. Kali pertama aku mendengar lagi Talib Al Habib adalah di laman web imeem. Pada masa itu aku sedang melayan lagu-lagu rock kapak tetapi entah macam mana boleh tergerak hati untuk mendengar lagi kalimaatan yang sangat menyentuh hati nurani. Tersentak dengan keindahan lagu nasyed selain dari nasyid kumpulan Raihan, aku pun membuat sedikit carian di internet mengenai Kalimataan dan penyanyinya Talib Al Habib.

Talib al-Habib (picture from Google)

Talib Al-Habib lahir di London pada tahun 1976 dan dibesarkan di Manchester, sebelum berpindah ke Afrika Selatan dengan keluarganya dan tinggal di sana selama  sepuluh tahun. Di disinilah beliau mulai mendapat bimbingan rohani mengikut ajaran islam yang sebenar. Beliau kemudiannya kembali ke England pada awal 2002.

Gaya inshad beliau yang unik, berasal daripada 10 tahun pengalaman bergiat bersama Manchester Boy’s Choir, di mana beliau menerima latihan teknik dan vokal.

Talib Al Habib mulai menyusun puisi dan lagu-lagu nasyid sejak berusia enam belas tahun lagi. Pada awal tahun 2004, beliau terdorong untuk menerbitkan sebuah kompilasi lagu-lagu nasyid dalam bahasa Inggeris yang bertajuk ”Songs of Innocence’.  Album ini banyak mencerminkan  perjalanan dan pengalaman peribadi beliau dalam dimensi Islam. Talib Al Habib juga merupakan seorang penulis buku. Beliau telah menghasilkan tiga buah buku  berciri Islam yang membincangkan soal kerohanian dan etika.

Talib juga merupakan seorang pelajar ilmu sains Islam selama beberapa tahun. Beliau mempelajari ilmu berkenaan dengan cara tradisional seperti berguru dengan ulamak dan juga melalui pendekatan lebih kontemporari. Talib Al Habib berharap satu hari nanti, beliau mampu meneruskan pelajaran di The classical centres of learning.

Thalib Al-Habib adalah takhallus (nama pena beliau) yang bererti, ‘pencari yang dicintai’. Pada masa ini, Talib tinggal di West Midlands, di mana dia bertugas sebagai seorang Doktor khusus dalam bidang Psychiatry. Talib Al-Habib sudah mendrirkan rumah tangga dan mempunyai dua orang anak perempuan.

Menurut Talib Al Habib, kalimaatan diilhamkan daripada Hadith Sahih Al Bukhari yang menjadi penutup kepada karya agung beliau iaitu ‘Sahih Al Bukhari’. Terjemahan hadith yang di maksudkan adalah seperti berikut:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, “(There are) two words which are dear to the Beneficent (Allah) and very light (easy) for the tongue (to say), but very heavy in weight in the balance. They are: ‘Subhan Allah wa-bi hamdihi’ and ‘Subhan Allah Al-’Azim.”

Keterangan lanjut daripada Talib Al Habib sendiri mengenai kalimataan boleh didapati di sini.

Album pertama beliau berjudul ‘Song Of Innocent‘ memuatkan lagu-lagu seperti Salat al-Badriyya, Allahu, Beloved Nabi, Together, Gift of Life, dan Ya Habibi Sayyidi. Album kedua dan terkini berjudul Rahma, memuatkan 8 buah lagu seperti Light of the Dawn, Rahma – the Hadith of Mercy, Tasbih – the Seedlings of Paradise, Tauhid – the Unity of Allah,Knowledge is Light, Iman – the Articles of Faith, Hilya – the Description of Rasulullah, dan yang paling saya minat Kalimatan – the Seal of al-Bukhari.

Lagu-lagu Talib Al Habib ada banyak didapati di internet. Imeem mempunyai koleksi haram yang terbanyak, disamping laman web forum yang menawarkan download mp3 lagu-lagu beliau. Yang pelik nya, mereka-mereka yang meng-download itu siap cakap Alhamdulillah lagi. Salah asuhan agaknya…

So anyway, kepada mereka yang tidak pernah mendengar nasyid ini, berikut disiarkan videoklip kalimaatan, ihsan dari youtube.

Sumber:

1. nuralhabib.com
2. wahabs.com
3. youtube