Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Read

We celebrated Raya in my hometown up north.  My grandfather's house is no longer there, and in its place is my  Maksu's beautiful home.  I miss my grandfather.  He instilled in me the understanding of the oneness of God, of heaven and hell.  He told me stories of the prophets, of angels and Iblis.  He taught me how to pray, how to fast and how to recite the Qur'an.  He had imparted to me "ilmu yang menfaat" (knowledge that is beneficial).

Upon return, I continued my reading of the meaning of the Qur'an.  Remembering my grandfather's voice and remembering listening to him as a little girl, I think of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him, when the Qur'an was revealed to him that very first time.   The very first Revelation were the five verses from Surah Al Alaq (the Clot) or also called Surah Al-iqra' (Read), recited by the Angel of Revelation to the Prophet.


96:1Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created -
Iqra' bismi rabbikallazee khalaq
96:2Created man, out of a clot
Khalaqal-insana min a'laq
96:3Read - for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful -
Iqra' warabbukal-akram
96:4Who has taught (man) the use of the pen,-
Allazee a'llama bilqalam
96:5Taught man that which he knew not.
A'llamal-insana ma lamyaqlam

18 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Salam Aisyah,
    Your grandpa must have been a knowledgable man and two of you are very lucky to have each other.. To read what you have written on him somehow gave me a feeling of a great loss...
    Thank you for sharing the 5 ayaah of Al Alaq.

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  3. Waalaikumusalam Wan Sharif. Thank you. I do miss my grandfather so. Nowadays, everything good that I do, I think of the rewards my grandfather gets. He invested in "anak yang beriman dan beramal soleh". Reminds me to do the same. May Allah forgive all his sins and place him with the solihins.

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  4. Better still with the Muqorrobin.. InsyaAllah

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  5. so touching kak aisyah.. oh my.. i love all your posts.. give me such a calm feeling.. i really need this, now.. peace..

    btw, how are you? lama tak dengar from kak lisa.. i don't know if you know this.. i am inviting u and kak fair datang rumah on 10 10 2010.. ada birthday party for aidan.. kak fair bgtau tak?? :)i am looking forward to see you, and please, make yourself available on that day, yek?? plss.. plss.. pretty pls..

    meoww.. meoww.. (nada manja mode.. ) kekeke.. :P

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  6. I loved the way you described the memory of your grandfather. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  7. Aslmkm.
    SELAMAT HARI RAYA.
    I lost both my maternal & paternal grandfathers when I was still a toddler ... so I kind of visualizing myself in ur place. :)

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  8. My mother's father died the December before my parents met the next April, but I grew up hearing so many stories of his wisdom and how he challenged his children to question and to think for themselves. I like to believe that some of that critical thinking made its way into my generation.

    Our grandparents are the seeds of who we are....

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  9. Dear Sara, thank you. InsyaaAllah Kak Aishah sampai.

    Hola Cuban, thank you. I am thankful I had my grandfather.

    Waalaikumusalam G, lambat sikit kita beraya no :)

    Hi Jeanne, and we are seeds of our grandchildren. I hope I am good and could provide them with good foundation.

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  10. salam aishah, tq for dropping by. what a lovely place you have here! and i love your reminiscences, for you made me think of my arwah tok ayah as well..

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  11. from one generation to the next, this is the true movement of life.
    pretty photo. looks like a beautiful place.

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  12. Waalaikumusalam Kama, thank you and thank you for visiting.

    Hola Ed Pilolla, that was in Chicago, just outside of Shedd Aquarium, last December. My children were there, I was not.

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  13. Hi Kotastar, I enjoyed reading this posting.
    Best regards, stay young, Lee.

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  14. Dear Aishah,

    I have nothing to comment, I see you are happy to read the Koran. Carry on, it is good for you.My best wishes to your father.

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  15. Aishah
    I owe you a return visit.
    If Quran is your favourite reading go on with it. I quote very little of it in my blog because I am not competent enough.

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  16. Hi Uncle Lee, this is Aishah and not Kotastar! :)

    Dear Uncle Sani, it is nice to receive your visit. Bapak is alhamdulillah, always wanting to visit you. Please do dropby again Uncle Sani.

    Thank you Al-Manar. I am sharing my reading hoping to gain better understanding. I am a learner, not a teacher. Hope to see you again and to hear your thoughts.

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  17. hello aishah! i loved the way you described your grandfather and the relationship you had with him.

    you are very lucky. i never met either of my grandfathers. both passed away before i was even born. so, reading your post gave me both a happy (for you) and sad (for me) feeling.

    i really like the look and feel of your blog. keep up the really good work!

    by the way, thanks for commenting on my blog and for the follow. i'm now following you as well. more power!

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