However this year, when I thought I was more motivated than ever, I actually did nothing. I've not done nothing for many years, so obviously this fact disturbs me. I chose to spend a joyous Eid with family (in SG) over spending a peaceful and spiritual Ramadhan in Riyadh, and I'm paying a heavy price for it. Without support from the environment, my Husband's gentle reminders and good friends to go tarawih with, I'm quite lost, and hopeless this Ramadhan.
So why blog. I am actually frantic about my inactivity this Ramadhan, which includes poor performance of Ibadah. I'm trying to catch up these last 10 days of Ramadhan, but who am I to fool? Allah is all Hearing-All Knowing. But HE is also merciful, HE must have heard me saying countless times how badly I have done this Ramadhan, and have watched me doing nothing about it. HE heard, and so HE gave me an idea.
So I decided to impart a small knowledge that may be useful to some people. I'd like to share with non-arabic speaking muslims on how to use simple Islamic phrases at the right places.
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Most common mistakes people make with Arabic phrases...
The most common mistake people make is with the phrases 'Alhamdulillah, Subha-Allah, Masha-Allah'
Arabic English
Shukran : Thank you
Shukran means Thank you, but it is not to be used to Thank Allah after a sentence. You cannot say, "I passed my exams, Shukran!" It is not even grammatically right to use Shukran in this manner because it will just mean "I passed my exams, Thank you!" For Thanking Allah, the best way is to say, ALHAMDULILLAH which means, "Praise Be to Allah!"
You can say Alhamdulillah in many cases, e.g :
When someone commented on your well-being
"Alhamdulillah, It's all from Allah.."
When you finish eating
"Alhamdulillah, that was delicious..."
(There is a lot to thank Allah for, so technically, you can use this daily and constantly...!)
'Abdallah b. Amr reported God's messenger saying that "Praise be to God" (Al-Hamdu Lillah) is the beginning of thanksgiving, for the man who does not praise God has not thanked Him." 3But if you wish to say thanks to a fellow muslim, it is better to say "Jazakallahu Khair" (May Allah reward you for the Good), and if you heard this phrase being said to you, you can say "Wa iya kum" (And to you too)
What about "Masha-Allah"
I've heard this phrase being used in the most absolutely wrong places.
"I saw an accident, Masha-Allah!"
"That muslim is behaving badly, Masha-Allah!"
If you think these sentences are right, then you SO have to read on. Literally means "Whatever Allah (God) wills" However, Masha-Allah is normally used on occasions where there is surprise or in praise of Allah's gifts. For example you can say it...
When you see a beautiful baby
"Mashaallah, What a lovely baby!".
When your sister gets accepted into University
"Mashaallah, That is great news! Congratulations!"
When you realise that your friend is now a politician
"Mashaallah, I can't believe you became a politician!"
When to use Subhana-Allah then? Let's first understand its meanings. Subhanallah means Glory be to Allah. This phrase is often used when praising God or exclaiming awe at His attributes, bounties, or creation. It can also be used as a phrase of exclamation (ie. "Wow!").
You can use this phrase...
When you see a bird hatching from its egg
"Subhanallah, Look at the miracle"
When you hear an amazing story from the Quran
"Subhanallah, you mean the baby can talk?"
That's all I have for now. If you have any questions, or would like to find out if you are using the phrases correctly, do leave a msg on my comment box. May it be useful to whoever reads it, spreads it, and uses the phrases in the correct form, so that we may become better muslims for remembering to praise the Almighty for all that He has bestowed on us. Ameen.
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/01/07/alhamdulillah-a-linguistic-miracle-of-the-quran/
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.JAK.html
http://www.islamic-dictionary.com/index.php?word=mashallah
http://islam.about.com/od/glossary/g/subhanallah.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/scarves/sayings.html
Story from the Quran
http://www.islamfortoday.com/galvan03.htm
May your ramadhan be a lot better than mine....
7 comments:
I use to make the same mistake with "Masya-Allah" too. Now I have learnt to say "Astaghfirullah" or "Na'uzubillah" instead (for the bad situations)
kalau let's say, there was a scary experience, for example, natural catastrophe like earthquake or tsunami... and one is awed by the revelations of such occurance, apa nak guna? or when one is afraid?
nazrah leopolis :
kalau scary experience macam natural calamity, or in awe of strange occurances.. boleh utter shahadah je. "La Illaha Illallah, Muhammadar Rasullullah" (renewal of faith),
Salam, i hope u dont mind me adding your blogs to the ones that i follow. Been reading yours for a while and like your jottings....
Never knew of 'wa iya kum when replying to jazakillah...thanks for sharing.May Allah rewards you with the best of rewards.
Sometimes I heard people say sumthing like 'barakallah....(and sumthing else,tak tau) to our jazakillah..is that appropriate?
salam nor, thanks for visiting :) for reply of Jazakallahu khairan, you can say
1. Barakallah feekum (May allah's blessings be upon you (plural) )
2. Wa iyaa kum (and to you(plural) too)
3. wa iyaa ki (and to you too ('ki=female 'you') )
4. wa iyaa ka (and to you too ('ka'=male 'you')
you can use any of the above, but its easier to use 2,3,4 because its a direct reply to the doa.
thanks, ilmu yang baik perlu disebarkan, ini one way of ibadah, give knowledge to others, keep it up sis.
Ma is mu kah? Ismi Bond, James anak Bond sifr sifr tisahah. Ana tilmi zun jadid. Ana lak phil http://www.moontari8.blogspot.com/
Aina tas kunuh?
Wassalam...
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