The Da'wah of Ustadh Ahmad Javier

Ustadh Ahmad Javier's Da'wah is humanising Muslims. That we share the same social, economic and political landscape with the rest of the Philippines. That we react to heavy traffic and viral videos. This is a very important in breaking barriers. It makes people think outside of their comfort zone a bit. It makes them understand and empathize with Muslims more. 

There are many Ustadhs and Shaikhs already catering to the needs of Muslims. May Allah bless them with more success. But few has reach towards otherwise unsympathetic audience.

As a Muslim minority  where Muslims are regularly dehumanised in the media we need this so that it is easier for us to  eventually worship Allah in the best possible way.

To Allah we belong and to him we shall return

May Allah accept your deeds Ustadh Ahmad Javier. May it tilt your balance of scale towards Good deeds and make it heavier ameen. May Allah forgive your shortcomings and excesses.

May you serve as an inspiration to Da'ees in the Philippines and as a lesson for us to learn.

You have broken the barrier between the normal demographics of da'wah and sphere of influence. Even non Muslims listen to you. After all who amongst the Ustadh in the Philippines can claim that even non Muslims follow them and may have planted seeds of Tawheed in their hearts?

We met once  here in Doha at Fanar and was glad to have spoken with you just before your speech. I saw a brother who was not afraid to speak his mind and possess leadership qualities. 

You did what you thought was right and stood by it. You understood that Da'wah is not just to speak to the congregation but also to build bridges and break barriers towards another congregations. 

You da'wah is inclusive, transcends barriers, relevant, trend setting and wide reaching. You showed the reality of mundane life of Muslims in the Philippines. In essence you are a quintessential Balik Islam whose culture and religion amalgamate and eventually shaped your discourses.

Regardless of the discourse about the method of your Da'wah, may Allah accept your effort and reward you for your ijtihad and admit you in His Jannatul Firdaus Ameen. I hope that the sign that he accepts it from you is judged by the number of people who saw the light of Islam despite the darkness of ignorance in our times.

Ramadan - a message of discipline, health and hope

Ramadan and COVID-19, two unconnected words that have seemingly nothing to do with each other, and yet we are not both experiencing simultaneously. With social distancing and lockdowns, one has enough time to muse and ask the question: Is there any lessons from Ramadan we can use in our fight against COVID-19? I shall attempt a shot of parallelism.

Ramadan is the ninth month of Islamic Calendar and it is the month where Muslims fast from the first speck of dawn until the sun sets in the horizon. Behind the physical action of not eating and drinking, engaging in physical intimacy (while fasting), abstaining from backbiting and from
general acts of sinning, the ultimate goal of fasting is spiritual and that is to attain Taqwa - an Arabic word that means to shield oneself from the punishment of God.
Essentially, a muslim leaves all the ‘halal’ things like eating and drinking in order to curb his urges as a means for him to realize that if he is able to abstain from what is lawful, he should also be able to abstain from what is unlawful or ‘haram’. Being able to experience hunger once in a while should bring about a sense of empathy to those food insecure families.

Further, during Ramadan, apart from the five daily prayers, a Muslim spends his night in additional prayers - the tarawih - where the Qur’an is recited. By and large, Muslims spend the night praying and the day fasting - fighting the urge of sleep and hunger. This instills a sense of discipline and habit building that can leave a lasting impact on one's personality. Ramadan is also a month where generosity is emphasized. This is exemplified by God Himself that He will
reward the fasting person immensely more than any other acts of worship. Feeding a fasting person will give you the reward of that fasting person without diminishing his reward. Just before Eid festivities, Muslims sacrifice animals such as sheep or cows to be given to those who are in need.

In other words, fasting and praying in Ramadan brings about in a person a sense of discipline, God-consciousness and empathy - among other things. In this time of COVID-19 discipline is required and empathy for the poor people is needed.

Discipline

 Non-pharmaceutical means of flattening the curve of spread of pandemic such as social distancing, quarantine and lockdown require a great sense of discipline among the population.

A Muslim, who reads the Qur’anic words: “Obey Allah and His Messenger, and those who are in authority among you” should not have any problem following instructions from the government of staying home and observe physical distancing and wearing mask when going outside. Meanwhile, having to pray five times a day - and washing the extremities and face as a
ritual - five times a day - should make following hand hygiene easier to adhere to.
For some Muslim women who wears the niqab, wearing a mask in public is like any other ordinary day. All of these require a sense of discipline, conscientiousness and following orders.

Fourteen hundred years ago, Prophet Muhammad said “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place."

The consequences of lockdown and community quarantine means that ordinary people who depend on daily income are not able to feed their families anymore. A fasting person who experiences hunger for a month is more likely to relate to this situation and hopefully be more generous and charitable.

Humility and Hope


Mankind is now attempting to colonize another planet and yet cannot defeat one of the smallest biological entities - a virus. This is a reminder that no matter how technologically advanced we may become, there is one ultimate source of power - the Creator of the universe. And in Ramadan this Creator declared - according to His Prophet peace be upon him - “Whoever fast in Ramadan - with faith and hope for its reward - will have his past sins forgiven for him”.

Ramadan is a month where one’s sin is hoped to be forgiven. Hence Ramadan is in a sense a month of renewal offering glimmering rays of hope in these difficult times. Just like the month of Ramadan will end, mathematical models predict COVID-19 will reach its peak and the curve will have been flattened, herd immunity reached or vaccine discovered. Indeed the Prophet Muhammad said “There is no disease that God has created, except that He als has created its treatment”.

Personal Essay: MY Ateneo LSE JOURNEY

File name: Ahmadul, Al-Madzhar J.

Deadline: one week after Session 12 (last formal session)

Introduction

I am Al-Madzhar Jundam Ahmadul, a native of Jolo Sulu, but grew up in the streets of Sampaloc Manila. As a second generation OFW, I spent my childhood days with grandparents while my parents are abroad. When I finished college and passed the Physical Therapy board exam in 1998, my parents immediately sent me a family visit visa to stay with them here in Qatar. That was twenty years ago and since then – and with 6 kids on my own all of whom but one were born in Qatar - I have called Qatar as home.

As with the “Langit sa piling mo”, of the anthem goes, I realized in me an inexplicable yearning to return to my roots. Add to that a healthy dose of megalomania, that self-belief that one can indeed leave a dent in this world and embark on an immortality project (a project still benefits people even after one is dead) I explored many ways of accomplishing that. I have followed and tried to learn from likes of ‘Uthman bin Affan, Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf and the current ‘guides’ such as Mohammed Younus, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Benjamin Franklin, Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Duhigg, Angela Duckworth, Tony Seba and many other ‘mentors’ and indeed has gotten from them a decent amount of understanding that if one puts one’s own mind into something and focus on it, there could be a chance to change things. However, I needed a systematic approach wherein the collective wisdom of these business and Tech Gurus and others like them can be presented to me in a comprehensive package. At the end of this search, I have found social entrepreneurship as the most win-win approach that firstly benefits myself, my family and has the potential to trickle down to my community and society at large. When my friend, Mark Santos informed me about Ateneo LSE, I didn’t hesitate a bit and was excited to be in.

Personally, I just want to be with my family - including my parents – and spend a lifetime with them and navigate through the ups and downs of life. I have made breaking the cycle of the need to work abroad as one of the missions of my life – while simultaneously improving the lives of my people. Big dreams right, but its free to think big and this gives me more reason to accept the struggles of life.

Many of what the program has offered confirmed my understanding from my personal quest of leadership and its variations (servant leadership etc.) The session about leadership contained lots of wisdom and even gave practical and real recent examples such as war against drugs. That we need ethical leadership above all was the primary message I took home that day. It might be noted though that the presentation did not mention Integrity as a fundamental need of leadership. It seems that the people of the Philippines – or at least those who put the current leadership in its position – care more about integrity than ethics. They chose a leader who walk the walk and talk the talk. They couldn’t care less about the morality of the leader if the choice is between morality and integrity. They saw a leader – with his home city as the example – who might not be the best of example for our kids in terms of speaking – but stands tall in terms of fighting against corruption.

I would say, of all the sessions, I benefited most from Financial Literacy. I wish that somebody told me the stages when I first held a job and made my own money. However, it wouldn’t hurt though if the presenter would weave the presentation with more hems of hope rather than the despair of reality. Although I wasn’t depressed when the sessions ended, I wasn’t hopeful either. And hope – that anticipation of a better tomorrow - is the only reason why we continue to do what we do despite everything else.

From all the quests and the conclusions I have made, I didn’t know that it has a terminology. When the idea of financially improving one’s self and family, and at the same time solving some of the nation’s woe through entrepreneurship dawned on me, I didn’t know that people call it social entrepreneurship. Ever since I learned the term it stuck with me. Hence, when ALSE appeared on the horizon, I didn’t have second thoughts in joining. I learned that the UN has identified sustainable goals as guide to social entrepreneurship. And so, six months have passed and here we I am writing this essay on wee hours of the morning because tomorrow is my last, last, dead, deadline…

I am excited to present the business plan my team made as we hope that we can improve poverty and food threshold of the Filipino family while throwing electricity into the mix. No, we will not electrocute people but we aim to harness the power of green energy and help put food on the table of poor families.

In the future, I would wish that the program offers the importance of failure and handling it as a prerequisite of success. Here are some of my suggestions that the program can include in the future:

• 1Failure – the importance of failing early and failing small
• 2SWOT analysis
• 3The basic of market research and market segmentation with a special touch of marketing in the Philippines
• 4How to register a business and its intricacies – real life experiences
• 5How to get funding – including crowd funding
• 6Crowd sourcing
• 7The basics of Corporation
• 8Emotional Intelligence
•  Current trends in Technology and how Philippines can be a player in technology and not just agriculture. I mean look at Vietnam!
•    The importance of finding a mentor – Thanks to the ALSE team for their great hard work

With that I truly wish everyone a success. Thank you.

What is the importance of Islamic Banking? Part 1

Note: This is part of my answer to Ara Belleng's  (UP student mastering in Islamic Finance) questions on Islamic Banking. I am not an expert in the field. This is just a 'writing out loud' answer.

The importance of Islamic banking can be answered from multiple perspective but is rooted on one basic principle: Maqaasid ash Shariah or the Goals of Shariah. Accordingly, the goals of Shariah are the preservation of faith, life, lineage, intellect and wealth. All of the injunctions of Islam can be traced to these five goals. Broadly speaking, the importance of Islamic banking, just like any other Islamic systems, must promote and not contradict these goals.

From an economic perspective, the importance of Islamic banking is not different from conventional banking. Banks serve as repository and transfer of wealth, of nations and individuals, engage in economic activities. Had there been no banks, we can be still carrying loads of gold coins when we purchase that house we always dream about. However, humans are ever prone to deceit, dishonesty and greed that beset both the ancient and modern economic transactions. Whether it is selling rotten potatoes hidden on the bottom of the sacks or some clauses hidden in modern buying and selling contracts, Islam prohibits Gharar or deception and uncertainty in economic transactions. Further, Islam also prohibits Riba fueled by greed. Lastly, any transaction that leads to haram is also forbidden. Consequently, Islamic banking aims to prevent harm and promote benefit to the society, both Muslims and non-Muslims. In a nutshell, Islamic banking allows Muslims to enjoy all the benefits of banking systems and engage in modern economic transactions without going against the injunctions of the Shariah – hence the term Shariah-compliant products. This includes personal and business financing, and opportunity for halal investments. This allows capital to flow, finance businesses, promote growth of small and medium enterprises, creates jobs and contribute to overall health of the economy.

All these benefits may affect the social and political domains. A nation with a healthy economy and strong middle class are probably amongst the happiest nation with stable peace and order situation. A common man, normally just want to put food on the table and provide a secure shelter to his family. Deny him this basic right, many resorts to crime and other unlawful means.

Lastly, Islamic banking may have a role in geopolitics. After World War 2, imperialism took a new form. Instead of the ugly and bloody military domination, control of a country and consequently its resources is done through economic control. The New York Times best seller, The Confessions of an Economic Hitman, revealed that First World corporations take control of Third World countries through Riba-based loans designed so that it can never really be paid, rendering these countries forever indebted. Thus, any action these debtor countries impose (such as invasion of a country) is surely not opposed, locally or internationally (e.g. UN votes) by the indebted countries. Theoretically, Islamic financing systems may rid these first world countries their economic weapons that led to wars and untold sufferings in modern times. After all, it is mentioned in the Qur’an that God called Riba as war.

Are Dutertards incapable of critical thinking?

N.B. I have friends who are non Duterte voters and I love them. This post only concerns those who generalize all Duterte voters as retards who are not not capable of critical thinking

These non Duterte voters think they are cerebrals? When in reality their minds are lazily wallowing in system 1 type of thinking. They are not able to weigh which is worse: bad mouth or bad governance? They are active participants in media's manufacturing consent. Do you think you are free to think? Without Duterte you really don't have a real choice. All other presidentiables are operating under the structure set up by the oligarchy. You are now in a world of necessary illusion thinking that you have a choice between Poe, Mar and Binay. No, my dear friends you do not. Because choosing any one of them doesn't make any difference. They might have different strategies but they have the same goals. Perpetuating Oligarchy.

If you are really cerebral I'm sure you know by now what I meant by #manufacturingconsent and #necessaryillusion

Why Duterte still deserve the Muslims' votes?

As Muslims we need to denounce Duterte's unIslamic acts like cursing, kissing non Mahram women, and others. The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is our role model for a leader and he forbade us from such.

However we are a minority and the majority are not emphatic to us. That is why we need a national leader who will speak our narrative and champion our rights.

Duterte, in my opinion, offers the best solution so far for us to attain some form of autonomy in order for us to live our lives more completely as Muslims.

As long as the Filipino people are overwhelmingly anti-Muslims we will not be able to get what we deserve. They behave like that primarily because of the way the oligarchy powered media portray Muslims. Our bad image is also partly because of our own faults.

After the way the BBL was dumped by Filipino lawmakers backed by Filipino people, many Muslims lost faith in the current system. No President can positively affect the Bangsamoro issue no matter how sincere he may be if he will be confined to the limits of the1987 constitution.  A constitution framed and backed by the guardians of Philippine oligarchy.

Federalism may solve MILF-MNLF competition and may bring peace to our homeland.

This anti-corruption and anti-drug campaign is just a bonus.

That is why despite of everything negative about Duterte, in my opinion, he still deserves the Muslims' votes.

Why Daang Matuwid is not enough for Mindanao?

MRT - Luzon

Mamasapano Bridge - Mindanao

Like many, I have never been interested in a Philippine presidential election until now. As a Muslim from Mindanao - I am all too weary of the way the Philippine government handled the Bangsamoro issue - both the recent and the bygone. As far as I can remember, there had been no good solution to satisfy both the Bangsamoro people and the rest of the Philippines. Frankly, I didn't believe that there will be any in the future. I say this because even with the best effort of current Gov. Hataman, the poorest areas in the Philippines are still located in ARMM.

However, all these changed when Duterte finally decided to run for the presidency. I know he has many shortcomings both as a person, a statesman and as a leader, but deep in my heart I believe that he can make changes in the country more than any of his running mates. So for a Muslim Mindanaoan like me, this is the most logical and reasonable decision to make. However, I wanted to understand why a Mindanaoan or a Muslim in the Philippines clamoring for change wouldn't vote for Duterte? Hence, I am writing this piece as a mental exercise in trying to know the 'other' as I attempt to 'climb inside their skin and walk around therein'.

The way the campaigning has been done is to present a dichotomy of ideas. The candidate is either good or bad, angel or devil, clean or corrupt, black and white and no gray areas between. For the voter, this is the easier cognitive task, rather than having to choose a harder mental choice that all candidates have something to offer, though some of them are better or worse than the other. For the voting mind or the naturally lazy brain for that matter, a black and white choice is much easier. This is termed as 'cognitive ease' in the sciences of the mind and the politicians and their campaign managers knew this all too well.

After watching the first and second presidential debate, it dawned on me that these presidentiables do have something to offer to the country. Unlike many, I do not want to preoccupy myself in the negative images that each candidate wants to project upon the other - although I believe they are necessary at one point - because these can cloud my judgment regarding their merits.

Daang Matuwid is ok but not enough. I remember feeling some kind of relief when the word 'Bangsamoro' came out from the mouth of President Pnoy himself repeatedly last year. It sounded like music to my ears, that the highest government official of the land is acknowledging the Bangsamoro narrative. At last, I said to myself, I can already feel that there is a chance that the Filipino people could now understand and perhaps even empathize with the Bangsamoro. It was when the BBL was conceived in the Philippines' aging womb - a sort of late pregnancy - after forty years of courtship, off again - on again relationship between the Bangsamoro and the Philippine government.  It was somehow too good to be true until the Mamasapano incident reopened old wounds. Just few days before the BBL's formal deliberation in the congress, it has already died a tragic death that broke the hearts of peace advocates from all over Philippines. Whether Mamasapano was deliberately done for the abortion of BBL is subject to another investigation and as people say - when you are an investigating detective you don't have the right to believe in coincidence.

For the Luzon's intellectual elite and thriving middle class, Daang Matuwid seems to be really the right path to traverse. The economy is on the rise and graft and corruption is improving, we even have sent our own satellite to space to monitor weather patterns to be more prepared for super typhoons - to those outside of the Mindanao's grinding poverty and cycles of violence - this could only mean that Daang Matuwid is a road worthy of being continued to be tread upon.

However, the people of Mindanao cannot wait anymore. Because while the people of Luzon is complaining about the MRT, the people of Mindanao doesn't even have a coal-powered train to complain about, how much more of an electrically powered urban train! While the people of Luzon complain about a loss of wallet from the pickpockets, the people of Mindanao, specifically the evacuees don't even have a home to return to. 

For the people of Mindanao, Daang Matuwid might be the right way - pero matraffic parang EDSA, the birth place of Daang Matuwid! We are clamoring for a radical change in the way the Philippine government has been treating us for a century. Yes a Century! We have been treated like this since the last stand of our ancestors in the Battle of Bud Bagsak in 1913 and being annexed to the Philippines, until the brutal dictatorship of Marcos during the martial law. How many peace talks do we have to take? How many agreements do we have to make? Marcos had the Tripoli agreement; Cory had the Jeddah Accord; Ramos had the SPCPD; Erap was bullshit with his all-out-war; GMA had the MOA-AD; Pnoy had the BBL! For the proponents of Daang Matuwid, what can Mar Roxas offer this time after 40 years, six presidents and more than 120000 killed? The people of Mindanao are exhausted and desperate; and looking for a paradigm shift in approaching the problem.

The way the campaigning is being done - character assassination, negative ads and dehumanization of the candidates clouds the minds of the people including the intellectuals. It is easy to lose track of what the candidates want to do and what values they represent. Arguably, apart from his Yolanda's performance and Zamboanga Siege, I don't have anything against Mar. I honestly think he can be a good president. Will Mar's supporters do the same for Duterte? Is it possible for them to recognize his merits? Will they empathize with the people of Mindanao?

However, in my opinion, it is nothing less than a constitutional amendment that can bring peace, order and prosperity not only in Mindanao but for the rest of the Philippines. There might not be a utopic solution but federalism brings the best promise. Will the guardians of Daang Matuwid call for constitutional amendment when they cannot even pass the BBL?

Another lesson I learned from the debates is that the discussions are confined to a certain spectrum - all skewed to the Right. The issue of climate change, divorce, FOI are important but the debate is missing a lot of issues that beset the Philippine society today. If we are to grow together as a country we need to include the positions of the Left and find common grounds along the way. Even the issue of China is being predicated from a pro-western liberal democracy point of view.

All the other candidates are just somehow a shadow of Daang Matuwid: Poe would be Daang Deretso and Binay could be Daang... I still honestly don't know what Binay represents! :) It was just an increase of budget here and there; reallocating resources here and there, etc. etc. Except from a change in strategy all of then don't have anything new to offer. The Philippines need a change from a fundamental level.

A nation that truly celebrates diversity provides opportunities to all to prosper, offer avenues for grievances to be heard and delivers justice to the oppressed minorities. Unless the Filipino people - specifically the elite intellectuals and thriving middle class of Luzon - will empathize with the downtrodden people of war torn Mindanao, there will never be a lasting peace in the Philippines. That is a condition that only benefits a few billionaires and families. And this is why Daang Matuwid is not enough for Mindanao - and for that matter the whole Philippines.

Photo credits:

http://mrt3.com/index.php/news-page.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/676012/tukanalipao-bridge-and-its-symbols