Ihsan (Best or Righteous Conduct)

In the name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful

'To Allah belongs whatever is in the east and in the west: and whereever you turn, there is the countenanace of Allah. Behold! Allah is Infinite, All knowing.' (2:115)

The third aspect of the concept of Tauhid (attestaion to the Oneness of Allah) after Iman (faith or conviction) and Islam (practical submission and obedience to Allah), is Ihsan.

What is the meaning of Ihsan?

Ihsan in Arabic means: "best conduct, performance of good deeds, righteousness, excellence", etc and basically it pertains to the quality of our attesting to the Onesness of Allah. If Iman serves to strengthen one's conviction, and Islam guides one's practices in life, then Ihsan completes the attestion to the Oneness of Allah.

What is righteousness or best conduct?
Responding to this question, the Prophet Muhammad saw said:
"Ihsan(righteousness or best conduct) - it is that you serve (and worship) Allah as though you are seeing Him, while you see Him not yet truly He sees you". (hadith reported by Muslim)

From this statement, we may understand that the worth or merit of our striving to attest to the Oneness of Allah is in the attitude of doing it - 'as though you are seeing Him'. Although we may have developed a strong faith and are doing the correct practices, ultimately, merit lies deeper than this. Fuller understanding perhaps can be found in another statement of our Prophet Muhammad saw:
"Action is but by intention, and every man shall have but that which he intended..." (hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

Sincerity the crucial criteria
Standard of righteousness in Islam is an absolute one i.e. it must be according to that which is acceptable to Allah. And in the Holy Quran, Allah swt says: ".... they were not enjoined aught but that they should worship Allah sincerely in their faith in Him alone, turning away frm all that is false." (98:5)

From this we must understand that we should never fall prey to conceit nor forget the actual reason for our striving to do good i.e. as an act of attesting to the Oneness of Allah; serving and worshipping only Him. To be sincere means to negate alll other considerations except that it is for Allah alone. This consciousness must accompany all our striving for it to be deservedly categorised as true attestation. Therefore with Ihsan, a Muslim is to always regard himself solely the servant of Allah, always conscious that Allah sees and knows all things both secret and apparent. It is because of this consideration that he patiently perserveres, neither expecting human recognition nor for the purpose of pandering to his vanity and falling prey to the desire to exalth himself. It acts as a genuine act of serving his Creator; to be steadfast whether in public or in private, hoping only for the acceptance of Allah swt, the Lord of the Universe unto whom we shall be made to return.

(Excerpts from Beginners' Manual on Islam by my ustaz Zhulkeflee Hj Ismal)

Examine your heart

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Islam emphasizes on intention. Intentions are from the heart. Whether your intentions are good or bad, sincere or ostentious, all depends on the condition of the heart.It is mentioned:

On the Day of Judgment no one is safe save the one who returns to God with a pure heart.

'Surely in the breasts of humanity is a lump of flesh, if sound then the whole body is sound, and if corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Is it not the heart?(Prophet Muhammad saw)'

'Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God. (Jesus a.s)'

(Excerpts from'Purification of the heart' by Hamza Yusuf)

Almost universally, religious traditions have stressed the importance of the condition of the heart. In the Muslim scripture, the Day of Judgment is described as a day in which neither wealth nor children shall be of any benefit(to anyone), except one who comes to God with a sound heart (Quran, 26:88-89). The sound heart is understood to be free of character defects and spiritual blemishes. This 'heart' is actually the spiritual heart and not the physical organ per se, although in Islamic tradition the spiritual heart is centered in the physical. One of the extraordinary aspects of themodern era is that we are discovering aspects about the heart unknown in previous times, although there were remarkable insights in ancient traditions. For instance, according to traditional Chinese medicine, the heart houses what is known as shen, which is spirit. The Chinese characters for thinking , thought, love, the intention to listen, and virtue all contain the ideogram for the heart.

This book which I'm currently reading exposes all kinds of diseases that the heart will develop and what kind of treatment which the scholar recommends in the form of poetic composition. It is a very good book and I'm definitely recommending to all. Well, we might all think that we have a good and sound and sincere heart, but when you read it, you will know what I meant. For Muslims who does really have a sound and sincere heart, alhamdulillah, take the information in the book as reminders.

As for me, tremendous training is undergoing right now, so I'm not fit to give any good advice to anyone. Insya allah, i'll share with you what i've read from there.

Alhamdulillah. Allahu akbar!

What does a Muslim believe in

I do not know what shall I call this: an emblem, artistic calligraphy?But anyway, I took this picture at a neighbourhood mosque. When I was working in my ex company, this mosque was still under construction. But nevertheless, I managed to 'check' that mosque out. It's a nice, cool and quiet place to do some reading. If you are lucky, you get some cool breeze too if it's not too sunny. I like that mosque very much. Again, memories flashed back to my mind.

Every Muslim will know that picture is the word; name of God: ALLAH

A Muslim's 5 pillars of Islam:

1.The declaration of faith:I bear witness that there is no god except Allah and Prophet Muhammad saw is the Messenger of Allah

2. 5 daily prayers.(required diet and nutritions for our soul)

3. Ramadan (fasting)

4. Zakat (purification of wealth)

5. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)

Our tenets of faith: 1. Belief in Allah 2. Belief in Angels 3. Belief in Prophets 4. Belief in His books. 5. Belief in Predestination (Qada and Qadr) 6. Belief in the Last Day

It is that easy. May Allah swt guides us on the straight path and not be blinded by the world. amin

Post Chinese New Year updates

While it was a long weekend break for the non-chineses, my husband and I was busying ourselves visiting our friends and relatives over the 4 days of CNY.


Ever since the day Allah opened up my breast to Islam, i've always tried to wear long sleeves and a cap every time I go out with my parents. Last year's CNY, I wore a bandana to my relatives house and they were already looking at me with weird expressions. This year, with the full hijab on my head, I can imagine more weird expressions on their faces. I might consider covering my 'aurat' in a different manner if my mum puts a request to me about this hijab thing but since she didn't, I decided to be in the way i've always been. Well, it might be quite hard on her, having to answer all the questions from my relatives about my 'strange','malayu' attire. Hope that God gives her an easy way out of all that. amin.

We tried to squeeze in both sides of our relatives in the 1st day. And we also arranged to visit some of our Chinese Muslim friends. Well basically, what the Chineses do during CNY is that we exchange mandarin oranges and some good words (prosperity, health, wealth etc). Thereafter, we just sit down, eat, drink and catch up with each other. One of our Chinese Muslim friend bought 'bak kwa'. (Not bbq pork but bbq chicken) And it's halal.(meat that is slaughtered according to islamic laws) This is the one thing that i missed alot. Heehee. And I helped myself(non-stop) to the bbq bak kwa, ignoring the pleads of my good nafs. :)

It was pretty tiring, having to run so many places in a day. All that pineapple tarts, cashew nuts and cookies, peanut cookies also made me tired.

But the consolation is, that I do not have to get stressed up over with not being able to find a place to pray because I have my husband to 'save' me. We can easily tell my mum that we have other houses to visit and we also can pray before committing ourselves to another visit.

Alhamdulillah.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Today is Chinese New Year's eve (Chu Xi Wan). And it has been a tradition for most families, to gather at the dinner table for a reunion dinner.

For daughters and sons who had been away for a loong loongg time, this night will be the night where they reunite with their family. And usually, reunion dinners would involve generations and generations of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren...

Steamboat would usually be served.And during the CNY period, the shelves of most supermarkets would be packed with cans and cans of abalone,mushrooms, sea asparagus, limpets and packets of sea cucumber.

This year, my reunion dinner is going to be different because, for the first time, i am going back home with my husband. During my singlehood and i was still living with my parents, reunion dinner wasn't exciting. And my mum would serve steamboat from afternoon to dinner time. Well, the only thing i'm looking forward to was the ABALONE. Yummy...
When my grandparents were around, things were more happening. All my father's siblings, together with their families will be gathered at my grandparents place. After they left this 'dunya', it's just me, my bro and my parents.

This year, we have an additional member in the family. With him, it's much more easier to break away from my family for prayers. I remember vividly, that I had to find places to pray if i'm not near any mosque. And even if i'm near to one, i have to find excuses to go out and pray. And no hijabs were allowed during Chinese New Year.

Everything will be different.

Anyway, i would like to wish all of the Chinese and the Chinese Muslims bloggers out there:

A Happy and Healthy Lunar New Year!

Alhamdulillah.