A much handsome pic of Dawud Wharnsby Ali [edited]Merging the Celtic/folk styles of his upbringing with sounds and embellishments of the Middle and Far East, his 1996 CD "A Whisper Of Peace” was followed by a string of internationally recognized recordings including, "Road To Madinah” (1999), "Sunshine, Dust and The Messenger” (2001) and "The Prophet's Hands” (2002) - all released through the US based label Sound Vision. Wharnsby's unique lyrical style, warm voice and knack for penning catchy melodies yield a rich reception from his listeners world-wide, who in many cases do not even speak English as their first language.
Several of Wharnsby's latest recordings feature collaborations with the likes of UK based artist, producer and peace activist Yusuf Islam (formerly CAT STEVENS) South African songwriter Zain Bhikha, Canadian percussion ensemble The Fletcher Valve Drummers, and award winning producer/songwriter Zuriani (KEB'MO', BRENDA RUSSELL, MELISSA MANCHESTER). His newest CD, “Vacuous Waxing” brings together a unique mix of featured artists, including Canadian songwriter Bill Kocher, UK bass legend Danny Thompson (PENTANGLE, NICK DRAKE, EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, DONOVAN, RICHARD THOMPSON, ERIC CLAPTON), Canadian icon Stephen Fearing (BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS, SARAH McLACHLAN) and world renown sitar master Irshad Khan.
SOURCE:http://www.wharnsby.com/Biography/
Oh yeah...I pick one song that I think is beautifully written and strongly conveyed the message of Islam,through brother dawud's talent.Here you go;The Veil by Bro Dawud Wharnsby Ali..
They say, "Oh, poor girl, you're so beautiful you know
It's a shame that you cover up your beauty so.
"She just smiles and graciously responds reassuringly,
"This beauty that I have is just one simple part of me.
This body that I have, no stranger has the right to see.
These long clothes, this shawl I wear, ensure my modesty
Faith is more essential than fashion, wouldn't you agree?
This hijab,This mark of piety,
Is an act of faith, a symbol,For all the world to see.
A simple cloth, to protect her dignity.
So lift the veil from your heart to see the heart of purity.
They tell her, "Girl, don't you know this is the West and you are free?
You don't need to be opressed, ashamed of your femininity.
"She just shakes her head and she speaks so assuredly,
"See the bill-boards and the magazines that line the check-out isles,
with their phony painted faces and their air-brushed smiles?
Well their sheer clothes and low cut gowns are really not for me.
You call it freedom, I call it anarchy."
This hijab,This mark of piety,
Is an act of faith, a symbol,For all the world to see.
A simple cloth, to protect her dignity
So lift the veil from your heart to see the heart of purity
Lift the veil from your heart and seek the heart of purity.
-David G.Myers,professor of psychology at Hope College,Holland,Michigan,USA
Hurmm..How would u answer the questions raised by this professor??
According to the World Values Survey,one of the largest studies of human values ever conducted,a growing numb of people in many countries are thinking about "the meaning and the purpose of life".
So where can you find the reliable answers to these important questions??
1.Where did we come from?
2.What is the purpose of life?
3.What does the future hold?
I'm not gud in writing serious piece of entry coz i am much preferred a light and easy one.And asalnya takdela expect people wud come to visit my blog except for people who are close to me and knew my attitude camne..but uhhh..wutodo...kantoi..so sy akan berusaha!(a hint to someone ekceli)
So hari ni,saya akan buat something beyond my norm sket, ie di luar tabi'eku..kuikui!I'm gonna make a review on a Christian's magazine,THE WATCHTOWER.Tadaaaa..so this is the magz.Huh,dah hancur dapat kat cik intan. Untuk link ke websitenya pulak,boleh klik sini.
This is the magazine that John gave me when I tried to promote him to attend IAW's activities.The purpose of the magazine is to honor Jehovah God,the supreme ruler of the universe,and shows the significance of the world events in the light of Bible prophecies.It promotes faith in Jesus Christ,who died so that "we" might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling as King's of God's Kingdom..hohoho..and furthermore,it comforts people with the good news that God's Kingdom ,which is a real government in heaven,will soon bring an end to all wickedness and transform the Earth into a paradise...and guess wut,this magazine has been published by Jehovah's witnesses ie Christian punye olang,continuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical..huuu,orang Islam camne??Kita kena kerja lagi kuat dari diorang k??Frankly speaking,I'm really impressed dengan usaha diorg nk "mentarbiyah" dan menarik orang untuk memahami ajaran Bible.Dalam magazine kecik ni,banyakla jugak dia cerita tentang gerakerja diorag untuk menyampaikan ajaran Christianity kepada masyarakat..
In 1999,a new building program was born.Kingdom Hall Construction Groups began to be formed throughout Mexico,which consist of about 8 volunteers both men and women working full time without charge.Each volunteer works 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday as well as Saturday.And the day starts at 7am with a discussion of Bible text,after the breakfast is served..ahaaa,diorang pun ada usrah and tadabbur kitab jugak tau!and I think their efforts nak bina places of worship and semangat kerjasama diorg ni are very impressive!!Kagum2~Semangat seperti inilah yang kita perlukan to unite all the Muslims across the globe and kembalikan Islam ke haknya..
I was also attracted to some articles in the magazine which questions about our purpose of life,and then provide evidence of what God has said in Bible about this.Saya juga agree with them that we are not mechanical machines,and we should have a clearly defined purpose in life..
The mag further clarifies that the Bible teaches that mankind is a direct creation of God.We are not the product of uncaring,mindless evolution..[NOTE:Darwinism theory should and must be refuted!!!visit Harun Yahya's website for further info on this theory]It also teaches that Jehovah God had a specific purpose for man and woman when He created them.
Genesis 1:28. "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it,and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the Earth"
Ecclesiastes 12:13. "The conclusion of the matter,everything have been heard,is:Fear the true God and keep his commandments.For this is the whole obligation of man".
Micah 6:8. "What is Jehovah asking back to from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and be modest in walking with your God?"
Matthew 22:37-39. "You must love your Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and your whole mind.This is the greatest and first commandment.The second,like it,is this,'You must love your neighbour as yourself."
See?Banyak benda yang kita boleh belajar from diorang to understand them..
I try to compare the Bible teachings with al Quran teachings,the commandments given direct from Allah SWT or Jehovah,(as called by Christians) to prophet Muhamad SAW PBUH.CHRISTIANS and Muslims have one striking thing in common: they are both “people of the book”. And they both have an obligation to spread the Word—to get those Holy Books into the hands and hearts of as many people as they can. (The Jews, the third people of the book, do not feel quite the same obligation.) But for Muslim we believe that Allah gives His promise that Islam is the only true religion on Earth and the contents of the al Quran will not be change until the day of resurrection unlike the Bible and Taurat,which their authenticities are not guaranteed.
"and if you are in doubt concerning that which We reveal to Our slave(Muhammad),then produce a surah of the like of it.And call your witness besides Allah if you are truthful.And if you do it not-and you can never do it-then gurad yourselves against the fire prepared for disbelievers ,whose fuel is of men and stones."(2:23-24)
and yeah,if we tadabbur the Quran,our purpose of life is mentioned via these 2 verses..
"and when your Lord says to the angels:I am about to place a viceroy on the Earth,they said:will you in it one who will do harm in it and will shed blood,while we ,we hymn Your praise and sanctify You?He said:Surely I know that which you know not."(2:30)
Quoted from Sahih Al Bukhari:
Narrated Anas Radiallahuanh:The Prophet SAW said,"Whoever possesses the following 3(qualities) will have the sweetness(delight) of faith:
1.The one whom Allah SWT and His Messenger(Muhammad SAW) become dearer than anything else
2.Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake
3.Who hates to revert to atheism(disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire."
These two religions both promote peace and good deeds,but there should be only one religion that is true and syumul for everybody.Fikir-fikir,dan renung-renungkan..and,what else should I say??...I love Prophet Jesus tooo...but it's because I'm a MUSLIM..
Narrated Muawiyah RA in a khutbah(religious talk):I heard Messenger SAW said ,"If Allah wants to do good to a person,He makes him comprehend the religion(the understanding of the Quran and the Sunna(legal ways of the Prophet SAW)."
So,let's not be afraid to learn what the Christians are thinking..instead of turning yourself away from them(some people are afraid that they might get influence,some are afraid because they are not able to answer things about religion effectively) ,why not befriend and mingle with them,and share what u know about Islam with them.U have lots of things to share,ain't u??But take note,do more of sharing rather than preaching..these two are different ways of making dakwah to people.
Rujukan:
1.Sahih Al Bukhari
2.Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall(2004),The Meaning Of The Glorious Al Quran.
3.The Watchtower Annoucing Jehovah's Kingdom,Vol 129,No 3.
PS:Ana lupa la Harvard Referencing camne,lol..rembat ajela eh
Sekarang orang dok sibuk pasal SPM,BIASISWA after SPM,ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING,and EASTER HOLS!
wehehhe..especially to my bro,Junaidee aka Mat D yang baru lepas ambil result SPM '07,congrats dik!As expected,you surpass my SPM result..but I don't think it's appropriate/necessary to compare our results,lebih2 lg bila mengingatkan saya tido time semua paper SPM except AddMaths.I know,I know...I'm very t senonoh before this,kuikui..and you are such a good boy(and manja!and t matured!lalala~).Saya bersyukur awak t mewarisi gene saya sgt,lol =P
To Adik Hafiz,Saidin,Kamarul and Farisham..congrats u guys!!(hurmmm,sume laki..budak2 gurls camne agaknya?).Especially Farisham,I'm so proud of u dik..alhamdulillah,t sangka dapat best student Kelantan.Mantap!Saya plak yang excited lebih2 bila dengar result korang,hehe..Bersemangat saya nk balik Malaysia and congratulate u guys depan2..selamat maju jaya dalam meneruskan perjalanan hidup korang yang masih panjang.and do pursue ur dreams with passion..DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLE MAKE DECISIONS FOR U.LET U DECIDE IT FOR URSELF SO THAT U WON'T HAVE ANY REGRET LATER ON...
Pasal biasiswa etc..saya menyarankan rakan2/adik2 untuk ziarah website yg baru dilancarkan a few days yg lepas ini..make full use of it yea?:http://education.iluvislam.com/news.php.Thanks to ImKoyube and d gangs!Credit to Aqilah Hodori and Akmal Amri too as Education Officers utk website iluvislam..bravo!!
Ermmm..pasal AGM pulak,I attended Nottingham Malaysian Society je,coz untuk Nottingham Islamic Society's AGM,clash ngan kelas gamelan plak...frust jugak,but gamelan's class is my routine every Thursday evening,so it's in my schedule of life already.Kalo dah masuk dalam schedule,tu maknanya ia merupakan satu perjanjian.and kalo dah berjanji tu,maksudnya kena ditepati..(tapi kalau x datang kelas tu camne plak?hehe..astaghfirullah intan..bawak bertaubat).
Pasal AGM ni,intan sangat geram and hot jugakla dengan a few people ni.Some yg datang,they did suggest superb ideas for future improvement for the society,but what I don't like is how they address their queries and suggestions.So not professional at all!!Sifat kesopanan dan kesusilaan serta tolak ansur entahla dicampakkan ke mana...sigh~Patutla t ramai yang berani nak run for the positions.And wut made me more geram is because they did comparisons,besar2kan benda yg remeh,and keep whining and condemning people.Expecting the former committee to be perfect,haiyoo...that's impossible la..But if u look on the bright side,since the Q & A questions are so tough and harsh,people really pk thoroughly to ensure that they choose the right person to run the comittees..alhamdulillah,that's the gud pointla...Overall,the AGM seemed to be sangat scary..but somehow interesting!Coz u can see people arguing each other giving interesting comments and valid reasons sampai my kepala pun naik pening and sakit..haha!Oh,how dramatic~
I was informed that there are people who nominated me as General Secretary for ISOC.alhamdulillah I was honored when people put trust on me.At first rasa 50-50,berat kepada nk tolak,sbb saya mmg takde perasaan pun nk pegang any jawatan dalam Badan Umum memandangkan thn depan dah last year.Alasan:saya dah pegang beberapa jawatan dalam organisasi yang lain and nak kalau boleh nk lebih fokus on my study.Pastu,I talk to this one fren,dia kata saya perlu run untuk jawatan tu sbb ISOC t cukup tenaga kerja and ia penting untuk pembangunan individu..waaaa,dia psiko intan jap!T pasal rasa bersalah...But ade sorg kawan lagi cakap,"Ko mampu x?And do u want this position??"Huhhh..takleh duduk diam memikirkan halni.But alhamdulillah,Allah helped me again..langit yang mendung Dia cerahkan.I have refute/reject the position because I don't want to run it atas sebab mengikut kehendak kawan2.No,I won't do that anymore...Keterpaksaan hanya akan mengundang sengsara yang akhirnya bernanah dihati,and infect other areas as well..I'm not trying to be selfish,but I guess I can't help it..I want to do things passionately..and betulkan niat kerana Allah SWT,bukannya sbb kesian kat ISOC,kemahuan kawan or etc..Niat yang salah,hanya akan menyukarkan lagi keadaan..
o don't need positions in order to do work.I'm a kind of person who wud rather do things voluntarily without having associated with any position,or having engage with deadlines etc...I will find work,and do it in my own way..in the way that I think I can contribute most to society..insyaAllah..mungkin ini cara terbaik yang saya dapat fikirkan so far untuk mengelakkan gejala futur..anda bagaimana??hehe.. So,for those people who have put high hope and trust for me before this,thank you so much for ur confidence and faith in me.However,there are other things that are better suits me..u may advise or influence me,but saya dah tanak pisang berbuah dua kali...let me do things dengan keinginan yang datang dari deep down inside my heart,so that I can be more focus and give my fullest energy in everything I do..Doakan..
Mobile Phone vs. Quran
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Quran like we treat our mobile phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it as we travelled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
This is something to make you go ...hmm...where is my Quran?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our mobile phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Quran being "disconnected or unavailable" !
Makes you stop & think ,"where are my priorities?"
