Sabah Standoff and Sultan Kiram III

Map showing Sabah and Southern part of Philippines

To many Muslims of southern Philippines, Sabah is the nearest refuge to escape poverty and hard life in Philippines. Though, many of them have entered it by wearing the unwanted label as "illegal aliens," they have managed to flourish there or, if not, experience the good ambiance of good governance and economic stability of the place, to say the least, since Sabah has prospered under Malaysia.

A little dig on the history of this issue, Sabah was given to the Sultanate of Sulu as a gift and then eventually became once loosely worded contract to a British trading company that paved the way for it to be part of Malaysian territory.

The contract between Sri Paduka Maulana Al Sultan Mohammad Jamalul Alam, representing the sultanate as owner and sovereign of Sabah on one hand, and that of Gustavus Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent representing the North Borneo Company, on the other, as lessees of Sabah, was executed on January 22, 1878.

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III

That Lease prohibits the transfer of Sabah to any nation, company or individual without the consent of the Government of the Sultan of Sulu. 
Less than a decade later, the Sultanate of Sulu came under the control of Spain and was forced to sign a document giving all of the Sultan’s Properties in Palawan and Sulu (excluding Northern Borneo) to Spain. In 1885, Spain relinquished all of its claim to Borneo to the British in the Madrid Protocol of 1885.

President Aquino

The sudden move of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III this early February puts this topic into spotlight again. Royal Army of Sulu wants Malaysia to recognise it as the rightful owner of Sabah, and to renegotiate the terms of the old lease - something Malaysia has made clear it has no intention of doing. 

But by creating havoc in Sabah in order to put a pressure on Malaysia and Philippine governments for them to resolve this issue, I think that was where the Sultan fell short. Indeed, he might have a better plan other than this one. Back in 2010, he even wrote a letter to President Aquino for this but sadly,it was snubbed by the Malacanang palace. 

One big question we might ask now is: Why is President Aquino turning a deaf ear towards Sultan? Is President Aquino coward enough to loose hope in the Sabah claim?

Norberto Gonzales

In one angle, foremost many Filipinos have been reaping the peaceful and rich economy of Malaysia. To support Sultan's action means to jeopardize the lives of those many. Just to today, at least 289 Filipinos arrived at Zamboanga city from Sabah after they were deported by Malaysian authorities. And siding Sultan Kiram would be taken by Malaysia as a provocative act into invasion. And Philippine military is not that strong enough to pose a sufficient threat if the only way to resolve it comes to one single final resort - war (whether we like that word or not). From reports in 2012, junks of military equipment were donated by US to Philippines. So, to put that card on the table is a suicide. 

ex-president Arroyo

And from another seemingly strange perspective, Malacanang believes that this action of Sultan is a piece of masterpiece drafted by an intelligent. They suspect the national security adviser of ex-president Gloria Arroyo, Norberto Gonzales, as behind this sabotage. Like in 2001, when Misuari staged a rebellion, Gonzales was known to have exerted influence to allow the former governor of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to be placed under house arrest. Thinking that the sultan was in the senatorial ticket of the Arroyo administration in 2007, could the ex-president be far behind? If this were to be true, it'd be heartbreaking to witness in this modern age another sultan becoming a victim of deception, just as what happened in the past - the power of Sultanate of Sulu have massively faded because of deception of the West.

It's hard to swallow but it would have been best if Sultan stayed in Sulu and established peaceful and strong ground before even thinking of going into Sabah to complain about the rent. His men would not have lost their lives over the battle against the strong army of Malaysia.

Even if he could succeed in claiming Sabah totally, his other fellow muslims may still opt Sabah to be part of Malaysia rather than Sabah under a christian country.

What is certain right now is that the real enemies of Islam are rejoicing while sitting on couch and watching muslims killing one another! Indeed, they have succeeded once again.

So, what is your say on this?

References:

Our history with Sabah by Ducky Paredes
Sabah, Merdeka and Aquino by Glenda Gloria
289 Filipinos deported from Sabah arrive in Zamboangaby Julie Alipala

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Wedding of a friend

In Islam, there are four things that must not be delayed: 

1. The five-times daily prayers 

2. The burial of a dead person 

3. The paying of debt once the debtor has sufficient means.

4. The wedding of a person desiring marriage.

On December 27, 2012 (Thursday) we have witnessed the accomplishing one of these four things that must not be delayed. Our beloved friend and brother, Shahid Manalundong married Rohaima Diangca at Pagadian City, a city worth 4 to 5 hours travel from Marawi City.

The Newly Wed

Our best wishes to this newly wed couple. May they have happy and blessed married life. :-) Read More

Remembering A Teacher

'ilm - is the arabic word synonimous
to knowledge.

     Sacred knowledge can be acquired either by direct spiritual inspiration or through the teaching of a certain guide or master. The former is only possible if the spiritual state of our being is already at a sufficient level. And so, the latter is relatively easier to have and may also be the initial step in achieving the state needed for the former.

     In the struggle to find knowledge which may hopefully lead to a peaceful and life with spiritual guidance, we paid dedication to a teacher few years ago. He was distinct. Most of his student consider him as one of the “Awliya’llah” (friends of God) for he was granted a special gift to accomplish amazing things: He could heal the sick. He could hit someone from a distant without physical contact and even if there is barrier. He could even make a building tremble with just one punch. And if you were angry with him, once you see him again, all of that anger shall be wiped out completely and you would feel again the love and yearning for him. He had intuition of what’s going on your mind. He could see without using his physical eyes. Although this may sound like an embellished folklore at first, people who know him have testified about these.

     With all these amazing things that he was able to do, he would just say “We ask Allah for strength so that we may be able to do several things. For the only source of true strength comes from Him.”

     In learning from this teacher, we visit him in his house near the Capitol of Marawi City, usually right after dawn when the mind is still fresh and the body is still fully energetic. At times, we wouldn’t be conscious of the passing of time for we would be craving for more of what he had to say next.

     One morning shortly after the lecture, we were sitting on the floor in the porch, drinking coffee which is basically our custom there. He was sitting on a chair beside the door of the house. He was facing us and the door of the porch was right behind us. Its curtain was completely unfolded. Suddenly, he told us that he saw woman selling fish passed by the gate and he wanted to buy fish. So, he requested one of our classmates to go out to call her.

     I was puzzled at that time for I thought there was no way that he could have seen the woman pass by! Because the line of vision from where he was sitting was blocked by our bodies, the unfurled curtain of the porch’s door, and the metal gate was closed.

     My classmate came back and informed him, there was no such woman around. But the teacher insisted on his claim that there really was a woman and he requested my classmate again to try check if she might be entertaining a customer in the houses nearby.

     Again, my classmate came back and informed him, the same thing. And again he still insisted on his claim.

     Teacher was getting a bit irritated. And for the third time, my classmate was requested to search for the same woman. Disappointed of not seeing the woman around, he opted to check the road leading to the highway, which was about 100 m from the house.

     He came back smiling and that there really was a woman selling fish. Only that she didn’t yet pass by the house. She had just arrived at the intersection of the highway and the road leading to the houses! Teacher exclaimed, “Allahuakbar (God is great).”

     He was able to see what was to happen in few minutes. Such was one of the peculiar experiences witnessed by us.

     In another day, a classmate of us saw the teacher giving him the knowledge to see the invisible beings. When we were at the house, the teacher asked him to write what was taught to him in the dream. And what was taught to him in the dream was confirmed true.

     Some of the knowledge was taught in the dreams. And only the rightful ones at the time are given such knowledge. Such was the unique route of learning from him.

Taqwa is an arabic word which is
loosely translated as fear of God.

     He was totally a God-fearing person. One morning, the rain was about to subside but there were still little drops from the sky.  We were to accompany him somewhere on that day. Seeing him starting to walk on the muddy road while there was still light rain, I hastily unwrap my umbrella and came to rescue him from the rain. What he said stuck me for a moment.

     “I do not fear the rain for I only fear Allah.” He said. “It is Allah’s will if I become sick and not because of this rain. So I don’t need your umbrella.”

     There are more startling encounters experienced by his past students. And it is very enlightening to hear those and to know that there were still people like these in the modern times.

     The core of his teachings always revolved around Islam. And the other side of his great legacy that he left to us is simply the behavior of being a true human being: being able to love the people around us, peaceful, moral and humble, and the likes.

     We were totally in great distress when his soul transcended on November 19, 2008. I think we will be longing for him throughout our lives. Although, physically he is not anymore with us today, we fully believe that he is spiritually alive, aware of the happenings in his students' lives, aware of what we are doing every single day. (And for that, I assume that he already know that I am talking about him in this post.) Time and again we see him in the dream, teaching those who have reached the required state and admonishing those who have done some mistakes, just like what he did in his lifetime. And we would always rejoice over hearing a reiteration whenever he is dreamed by a classmate.
     And the Qur'an offers us some soothing words in this case, which may at least, lessen the grief over his lost. It is said in the Qur'an that those who die in the way of Allah have not really died; They are alive but normal people like us may not always feel their spiritual existence.

     May Allah sanctify his soul and grant him peace and blessings.

Our teacher

     We might only have received little drops from his vast knowledge. But at least. . . at least, he was able to and will always be able to touch our lives in unforgettable ways.
     All Praises and Thanks to Allah for giving us the opportunity to meet such an inspiring teacher, an enlightened being.

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Ashura - A Muslim holiday

     Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram. It is a significant day since various noteworthy events took place on this day. Some of those events are the following.

1. On this day, Prophet Yunus [Jonah] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was released from the big whale.

     Yunus [Jonah] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was appointed as prophet at the age of 30 years old. He was preaching for thirty three (33) years to more than hundred thousand idolaters but there were only two believers. He was disheartened and ran away. He went aboard a ship (fully) laden.
     The weather condition was favorable for sailing but by night time, waves were as high as mountains and the wind blew furiously. They had to lighten the heavy load by throwing the baggage into the sea. But doing that did not suffice, and they had to throw someone else in order to lighten up the ship even more. In short, Yunus (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was randomly chosen to be the one thrown into the sea where a big whale was swimming by Allah's command.
     Eventually, he was swallowed by the whale. It was a punishment for abandoning his people. But he did not die there. He was alive and repenting while staying in its stomach.
     He was released on Ashura.
      

2. On this day, Almighty God united the family of Prophet Ya'qub [Jacob] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him).

     Yusuf [Joseph] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) was one of the 12 sons of Prophet Ya'qub [Jacob] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him). Among them all, Yusuf was the dearest to him. Consequently, his brothers became so much jealous and plotted to kill him, but they amended it to exiling him. He was sold as a slave from one person to another.
     Ya'qub (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) continuously grieved over the years of separation from his son Yusuf until his eyes became blind!
     After years, Yusuf [Joseph] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) came into a high position in Egypt in which he had full control over the cultivation, harvesting and storage of crops. Because of drought and famine throughout their region, including his homeland, where his parents and brothers lived, his brothers had to enter the realm of Yusuf (unknown that it was their brother's).
     It was on the day of Ashura, that their family united again.

3. On this day, Almighty God accepted the repentance of Prophet Dawud [David] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him).

     Prophet Dawud [David] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) had ninety-nine wives. One of his high ranking soldier had a very beautiful wife. He had a strong desire for that woman. So, he sent that soldier on purpose to battlefield and promised to increase his rank upon return. The man died in the battlefield. And Prophet Dawud [David] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) married that woman.
     This was his sin and he repented. He was forgiven on day of Ashura.

4. On this day, Almighty God healed the sickness of Prophet Ayyub [Job] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him).
     Iblis [Satan] (May Allah's curse be with him) got angry when he heard the Angels asserted that the best creature at that time was Ayyub [Job] (Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him) because of devotion and always giving thanks to Allah. In trying to divert the sincerity towards Allah, Satan started destroying him first on his wealth. Then, his family. And finally, his health. But none of these was able to divert his devotion.
     He was restored back to strength and good health on Ashura day.
    

6. On this day, Imam Husayn ibn Ali got martyred in the Battle of Karbala.

     When Yazid, the head of impiety, came into power after his father, he instructed his Governor Walid in Medina to force Husain ibn Ali to pledge allegiance to him. As the representative of his grandfather Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Imam Hussain’s main concern was to safeguard and protect Islam and guide fellow Muslims. On the other hand, the staying power of the rulers (Muawiya and his son Yazid) depended solely on the might of the sword. They used brute force to rule over the Muslim empire even by all possible illicit means. Husain refused it and uttered his famous words that "Anyone akin to me will never accept anyone akin to Yazid as a ruler." It was mainly during his stay in Makka [Mecca]] (in 680 CE) that he received many letters from Kufa assuring him their support and asking him to come over and guide them.
     But Yazid's forces had occupied Kufa before Imam Husayn could reach it. At that time, Imam Husayn together with his family and companions, had camped in Karbala. Yazid's army entered Karbala, bringing two choices to Imam Husayn: death or allegiance to Yazid. However, Imam Husayn was adamant. And so, they engaged in battle into what is now known as "Battle of Karbala." Imam Husayn's side was composed of about 70 people. On the other hand, Yazid's well armored forces amounts to hundreds. Some historians said it was of thousands. Imam Husayn's side were all killed except the women and his sick son.

   

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     There are still more significant events on Ashura which I was not able to include here. Whatever truths and benefits from this post are only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever error therein is from me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

References:
Stories of Prophet by Ibn Kathir
Lohouf by Sayyid ibn Tawoos
The Karbala by Akramulla Syed

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Perssilats Sports Club opens in MSU - Main

     Are you fond of watching martial art films? Enchanted by those attractive bone–breaking techniques applied to bad guys?. . . Would you like to learn one of those? Well, if you do, then the time has come . . . to taste one-of-a-kind martial art originating from Malaysia and Indonesia, the so – called “Silat.” 

The Perssilats logo

     With great efforts from the senior members of Silat in Marawi City, Philippines, new silat club shall be opened this November. Basically, this is the upshot of collaboration from the four existing silat clubs in Marawi city, namely: Ranao Silat, Senisilat Tongkat, Senisilat Kaida Salah, and JAC – MMA. The official name of the club is PERSSILATS SPORTS CLUB. The grand opening will be on November 25, 2012 (Sunday). On that day, activities will be comprised of the grand orientation on the club’s regulations, introduction of brief history on the martial art, back to back with some exhibitions of some silat techniques and followed by the registration of new silat students. 

     Among the major reasons behind the creation of this club is to bring awareness to the public about the existence of this unique martial art, to address the problem regarding the existing misconceptions towards it. And most of all, to share the martial art to the people of Marawi city especially the students of MSU – main campus in order to help them defend themselves in times of emergency. 

     Watch the short teaser below. 

  

     Although, the physical aspect is seen to be the major highlight of this club, other facets like mental, emotional and social will also be nurtured as well since this martial art was born in muslim countries. The silat in Marawi is loaded with etiquette as taught by the late grand-master Dr. Dirondato Disomangcop (“Dr. Hamza”). He was among the active tablighs and was fond of including hadiths in his teaching of Silat. Even the philosophy of the group he created which reads as: 

“Not to fight except in desperate situation.” 

is actually based on a hadith of Muhammad, The Last Prophet (peace be upon him). “Anyone who does not fight even when provoked, shall be given a mansion in paradise.”

Senisilat Kaida Salah

   
       So, mark the date on your calendar, November 25, 2012. And come and feel the taste of the silat and the caring brotherhood along with it. For more information about this club, contact them through these:
e-mails:
senisilatsentaja@yahoo.com
sentaja_786@yahoo.com
Contact numbers (Phil):
0916 913 1519
0919 937 3536
0909 319 3784
0905 570 3005

senior members of Senisilat Sentaja in an exhibition
in MSU-Main campus

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Which is better: Early marriage or Late marriage?

     "I think it is best to have late marriage." pronounced a friend suddenly few years ago.

     "Why is that so?," I asked. Then the conversation flooded with reasons. 

     

Don’t judge the book by its cover – so the saying goes. It means we must not draw out our conclusions so hastily over something based on its outer looks, but we should delve first into it for us to see what is there to see other than its deceptive covers.

          Both early and late marriages have their merits in their own right. To a person, the advantage of late marriage conquers all. To someone else, the opposite may be true. OK, so that we may be able to learn and decide which one is better for us, let’s draw some of facts on the table.

Late Marriage

          Late marriage gives freedom to a person and that includes getting control of finances. He doesn't have to worry about spending his hard-earned dosh on an unappreciative partner. Freedom on time, he may spend more time on good-for-all-guys occasions and can go for long week vacations without any worries of getting hit by flying plates thrown by the angry partner when he gets home. Others find it advantageous for being able to focus more on their careers and may be able to support their younger siblings.

          When the time of tying the knot comes, he may have the financial stability and will be fully matured to handle and shall be able manage his new family very well.

          But being single for too long in the society can also pose several risks.

        The age gap between the parents and the children may become very far. By the time the first son has fully grown, the father may no longer be able to play basketball with him!

        And single persons are prone to temptations especially towards the opposite sex. That means the longer one stay single, the longer he will have to struggle against that.

Early Marriage

          On the other side, people who are in early marriages may not possess the financial stability (that the people in late marriages have) and they may not be matured enough at the time when they start to build their new family.

          Nevertheless, there are insights or level of thinking that can only be attained upon marriage. So as time goes on they will learn on how to establish their finance and be able to deal with their situations. The age gap between the parents and their children will be less. When their son gets old enough, the father can still play basketball with him.

          From the Islamic point of view, being single is like making a fast. Just like in fasting, a person has the strong desire to satisfy his hunger yet it is forbidden for him to do so during the time of fast. So is being single, a person has the desire to be with someone from the opposite sex yet it is not allowed if they are not yet married. By tradition there are plenty of reward one can get from giving a person food to break his fast. How plenty would then be the reward of legally breaking the fast of staying single by giving one’s self through marriage!

          So looking at these, which one do you think is better?
        But before we finally decide for ourselves, let's not forget the following saying of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam)

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Narrated 'Alqama: While I was with `Abdullah, `Uthman met him at Mina and said, "O Abu `Abdur Rahman ! I have something to say to you." So both of them went aside and `Uthman said, "O Abu `Abdur−Rah. man! Shall we marry you to a virgin who will make you remember your past days?" When `Abdullah felt that he was not in need of that, he beckoned me (to join him) saying, "O 'Alqama!" Then I heard him saying (in reply to `Uthman), "As you have said that, (I tell you that) the Prophet once said to us, 'O young people! Whoever among you is able to marry, should marry, and whoever is not able to marry, is recommended to fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power." (Bukhari)

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How a muslim scholar measured the radius of the Earth

          Ever wondered how was the size of the Earth measured? Well, here's a way how.
          I was quite amazed by the this documentary film entitled "Islam and Science" (part 2) released by BBC especially when Prof. Jim Al-khalili explained how a muslim scholar measured the radius of the Earth. Prof Al-khalili is a physics professor of University of Surrey. This film really suites him for he understands and can speak the Arabic language and it was advantageous for him because he had to delve into Muslim history and Arabic books.

          We, muslims, are required to face a direction towards Kaaba whenever we pray. And that leaves no excuse to anyone far from Kaaba. Wherever country a muslim resides, he should always find that direction. And this eventually led to the measuring of the Earth's radius.

Professor Al-khalili explained:

  "... A more reliable and sophisticated method for estimating the Earth's size was needed, and two centuries after Al-Ma'mun died, it came. What made it possible was a great leap of imagination. And the fact that, by 900 AD, much of the world's mathematical knowledge had been translated into Arabic, so scholars could scrutinize and improve on it. 

  Out of this obsession with scholarly learning came a true mathematical visionary - Abu Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni. And like all Islamic scholars of the time, Al-Biruni was obsessed with the science and mathematics of the ancient Greeks, Babylonians and Indians. And because of the success of the Translation Movement, he had literally on his desk the great work on geometry by Euclid, Ptolemy's Almagest, the Indian text the Sindhind, and the famous work on algebra by Al-Khwarizmi."

Let me dissect this subject a little bit further. The way I see it, we need three things here:
1. astrolabe (this is just like a large protractor)
2. distance measuring device (in our present time, we can use the rolling Measuring wheel), and
3. knowledge on basic trigonometry.

So let’s try to follow what Birani did in measuring the radius of the Earth. Here we’ll use the most basic ideas in trigonometry. Okey, here we go. Find a fairly high mountain in which we can see the vast flat horizon, the sea. What I can never forget in this is that with few simple measurements around this mountain, you can measure the size of our whole world.

Here's the step made by Biruni.
Height of the mountain

1. Al Biruni’s first step was to work out the height of the mountain. He did this by going to two points at sea level and knowing the distance apart and them measuring the angles from these points to the mountain top. The two points and the mountain top must line in one straight line. In measuring the angle, he had to use an   Astrolabe.

Prof. Jim Al-khalili using the astrolabe in measuring the angle of inclination of the mountain top.

Angle of inclination from the two points are measured and the distance between them is denoted by d in this figure.

2. We may consider first the triangle on the right side (drawn by yellow lines). We may use the Sine Law to solve for the slanted side l.

3. Then, we consider the right triangle on the left. We can use the sine function to solve for the height h of the mountain. (Refer to the diagram above, the right triangle whose hypotenuse is the side l.)

Now, one more measurement is needed to get the size of the Earth.

Radius of the Earth

4. To get the last measurement, one must climb to the top of the mountain to measure the angle of the line of sight to the horizon as it dips below the horizontal.

As you can see from the diagram, the line connecting the mountain top and the point where the line of sight reaches the horizon is perpendicular to the line connecting center of the Earth and the the point where the line of sight reaches the horizon. And the distance between the center of the Earth and the mountain top is equal to the sum of the radius of the Earth and and the height of the mountain (h+R).

5. We now have a very huge right triangle where the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the radius of the Earth and and the height of the mountain. 

and by using the identity

would eventually lead to the expression:

The accuracy of this measurement is remarkable achievement for someone 1000 years ago!

EXERCISE

If you wanna try the steps described above, here's a list of values.

The distance (d) between two points is 100 m. The angle of inclination from one point near the seashore is 24.5 degrees while the angle of inclination from the point nearer to the mountain is 26.5 degrees. From these three given values, you can calculate the height of the mountain.

The angle of declination is 0.5 degrees as measured when one is on the mountain top.

(These values were measured by Prof. Al-khalili. And following the steps described above obtains a value of the radius of the Earth far greater than the known value. Big error isn't it? Well, Prof. Al-khalili did the measurements only once. But the measurement of Al-Biruni was more accurate than this because he did it again and again.

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