I get asked once in a while about classes on Islamic knowledge that takes place in and around town. Below is somewhat of a directory of (routine) classes that take place. Before that, I explain, that I am sharing for three reasons.

1 – Sometimes I share online about the knowledge I learn at these classes. Recently I found out that some people end up attending the classes based on the stuff I put out.

2 – My exposure to Islam, I suspect, is a little different than most Malaysians and I only noticed this recently. Some Malaysians complain that the classes or stuff they’re exposed to, are inclined towards a certain direction or angle that they’re not keen about which is, broadly speaking, about non-Musliams, hell fire and what things are forbidden (shari’a).

The classes I am familiar with, among other things, discuss about the spirit of Islam, the spiritual elements of Islam, the study behind the anecdotes and incidences involving the Prophet, his companions, his family and the scholars and leaders following his time.

These are the kind of things you could expect from going to the classes I write below. All of them are open to public. Please take note that these are gatherings for the purpose of learning, therefore please observe respectful conduct.

3 – When other scholars from out of Malaysia come to visit, they tend to have speaking engagements at these classes too. And is it normally at these classes, where you will get information of where else will they be speaking for their time in Malaysia.

*Please keep in mind, the information is correct at the point of publication. If they are not, please notify me via FB or phone. I will also continue to update this post as I get more info, especially the books that they are studying. Due to physical or audio limitation of the venue space (tend to be the case for classes at individual homes), some may be open to men only.

**On Monday 4th June 2012, a film screening of a documentary on Imam Ghazali is in the midst of being organized. Updates on this blog later.

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+ Every Monday night. Jalsa Isnain.

Some people in KL have been asked Al-habib Umar  binHafidz (scholar who founded Darul Mustafa) to start ‘Jalsa Isnain’ or Monday Class.  Several years ago, he started going to the market in Tarim, Hadhramout (Yemen) to teach the traders there on the premise that should traders be unable attend knowledge session at masjid or rubat, he brings the jalsa to them at their trading place. Now, every Monday night the market throngs with attendance; even the non-traders. Bringing knowledge by syarahan to the public in suitable places with traffic; of course with due permission. There’s currently two initiatives in the works for this. One in Shah Alam, one (English) in TTDI KL. Updates here soon. Both open to men and women, although the TTDI one will be youth centric.

+ Every Wednesday 8pm: Rubat Aljunied.

No.55, Jalan Opera K, U2/K, Seksyen U2, TTDI Jaya in Shah Alam; an upper floor shoplot. Habib Najmuddin Alkhered translates and elaborates 3 books.  Ratib Al-Haddad is read upon commencement.  Place can accomodate 60 men/women. Books are:

1. Fiqh (Jurisprudence) – Safinatun Najah (Most basic of books to understand Islam and its practices).

2. Sharhal Ainiyah by Al-Habib Ahmad bin Zain AlHabshi.  As primary student of Imam Al-Haddad, Al-Habib Ahmad elaborate the qasidah of Imam Al-Haddad called ‘Al-Ainiyah’ – a 240-line poem describing and honoring past top-level islamic personalities from the Prophet s.a.w. to those in the times of Imam Al-Haddad.  The book describe their noble characters, admirable deeds and words of wisdom duly recorded over time.

3. Tafseer Al-Quran with focus on the last juzu’; shorter surahs which mostly describe warnings about Allah’s punishments and the end of time.

+ Every Thursday 7pm: Madras At-Tazkiyah in Pantai Dalam every Thursday night.

Habib Mahadi Al-hamid and Ust Asyraff lead the Jumaat evening zikr after Maghrib prayers which is followed by the reading of the Maulid Dhiya-ul Laame’.  This is followed by the reading and elaboration of the book Syama’il Al-Muhammadi by Hbb Mahadi and translated by Ust Asyraff.  This book was authored by Syeikh An-Nabhaani a litlle more than a hundred years ago who collected and arranged all descriptions about the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.; ascendency, physical attributes, characters.  For those who seeks to feel love of our Prophet s.a.w., this is an excellent start.

This class varies in size, you’re looking at above 100-200 pax. They study the books of Imam Alhaddad, including Al-nasaih Al-dinyyah (as per the Bahasa Malaysia translated book, Nasihat Agama dan Wasiat Iman). This class is quite insightful and like the class above, quotes a lot of Hadith and stories of Rasulullah, the Caliphs and other leaders before our time.

This class started in 2001 by Allahyarham Syed Ahmad bin Semait; translator of the books of Imam Al-Haddad to Bahasa Malaysia.  Hbb Ali syarah Nasihat Agama dan Wasiat Iman after Maghrib while Hbb Najmuddin Alkhered syarah the Penuntun Hidup Bahagia after Isyá’.

Open to men and women.

+ Sundays. 12pm – 2pm. Madrasah An-Nur, Pantai Dalam.

This class is called Madras Annur initiated by Al-Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Hafidz conducted in Bahasa Malaysia where 4 kitabs are read by 4 Ustaz for 20 minutes each starting at 12:00 noon until 13:30 pm followed by qasidah, doa, dhuhur prayers and light makan.

1. Tafseer: Al-Quran currently @ Surah Aali Imran by Imam Azian Man

2. Hadith: Sahih Bukhari currently in Vol 2 (Book of Solat) by Hbb Najmuddin Al-Khered

3. Fiqh (Jurisprudence): Kitab Tanbih by Abul Ishak As-Syiraazi translation and commentary by Hbb Ali ZA

4. Tasawwuf: Kitab Dakwah Yang Sempurna dan Peringatan yang Utama by Imam Abdullah Al-Haddad read by Ustaz Azahar Hashim and briefly commented by Hbb Ali ZA.  By far the most beneficial and concise learning of all branches of ilm (knowledge) in one 1.5 hour session.  Understated and undervalued.  Probably due to the foundation set by Al-Habib Umar bin Hafidz.

+ 2nd & 4th Sundays. Maghrib onwards. Asma’ul Husna + lecture.

Al-Bukhary Mosque, Jalan Hang Tuah. Next to Victoria Institution, in front of KL Monorail station. Will update later on the books that they study here. Open to men and women.

Imam Afroz Ali (founder of Al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences and Human Development, Australia) is in Malaysia for some days and below are his engagements. Click here for his bio. And click here for the wiki of Imam Ghazali.

From what I understand, all of these talks are open to all members of the public. Non-Malaysians and Malaysians, non-Muslims and Muslims, non-cool and cool people.

Some of the info are extracted from Imam Afroz’s Facebook page, click here and other sources. Ccorrect at point of publication, will be amended with updates, if any. Please email ZainHD [at] wago.com.my

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• WEDNESDAY 9TH 4pm- Faculty of Arts & Design UiTM, Shah Alam: Islam & The Environment. Contact: Dr. Khatijah Sanusi.
• WEDNESDAY 9TH 8pm- Meeting & Forum with SeekersCircles attendees; public welcome. Contact: Amran Sofiyan.
• THURSDAY 10TH 6pm- Surah Kahf And Its Importance. Contact Shaykh Imran Hosein for all venue and exact time details.
• FRIDAY 11TH 8pm-10pm- Itqan Integrated Islamic School, No 2, Jln 33/70A, Damansara Jaya, PJ. RSVP Call: 03-77256160. Click here. Directions to location, click here.
• FRIDAY 11TH 1030pm – Majlis Ta’lim Darul Murtadza (Friday night, weekly classes by Habib Ali Zainal Abidin Alhamid). Muaz bin Jabal Mosque, Setiawangsa, next to Setiawangsa LRT station on Jalan Jelatek. Click here for info, and live streaming.
• SATURDAY 12TH 9.30am-2pm – Leadership & Event Management Workshop. RM10, limited to 30pax. Itqan Integrated Islamic School, No 2, Jln 33/70A, Damansara Jaya, PJ. RSVP Call: 03-77256160. Click here. Directions to location, click here.
• SATURDAY 12TH 8:30pm- Bangsar Utama (near Menara UOA and Bangsar LRT): Life of Imam Ghazzali & His Relevance Today. Click here for info and map. Seeking youth volunteers here. Please contact me at ZainHD [at] wago.com.my.

Of late I’ve been writing to LoyarBurok and have yet to replicate those pieces here. All of my articles published there can be viewed here.

The two recent ones are on free education and PTPTN, click here, click here, and the my account during the demonstration for clean and fair elections, click here.

I was also on Channel News Asia Singapore, for a phone interview before things broke out at Bersih. A point I mentioned then, that I must correct myself though not entirely, is the (context of) lack of impact, of Bersih happening to non-Bersih supporters who do not resonate with the event. Based on what happened after the phoner, tear gas etc, there was indeed impact but to the negative. Overall while a win-win was present, there too was a lose-lose.

Monday 7 May. Maghrib onwards, there will be a lecture in English at the surau of Mutiara Damansara by Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi. I’m not sure if it is similar/same to the famous topic, Purification of the Heart. Sheikh Zoubir lectures here every 1st Mondays and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. Click here for map.

The late Yasmin Ahmad, blogged about a book that discussed the same topic, written by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, click here, (which I assume rooted from) and also in  Imam Nawawi’s renown book 40 Hadiths in which this same topic sits at number 6 - click here.

FYI, this Saturday 12 May there will be a talk in KL by Imam Afroz Ali (founder of Al-Ghazzali Centre, Australia). Details soon insyaAllah.

Recently Juana Jaafar wrote an article on spoilt votes. I’ve had this discussion at length with her and some of our friends, repeatedly some time back. It is an interesting concept that is rarely explored in what I might call an immature democracy in Malaysia. Understand that a vote for the lesser evil, is a vote for evil too, however exaggerated that term is in this application. Consider reading her article as well as other literature on spoilt votes, or undak as some call it (UNDi-rosAK).

Spoilt Votes Count Too by Juana Jaafar via Malay Mail:

THE general election seem imminent and the stakes are high for Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat in a contest touted as the “mother of all elections”.

Almost every other issue is now an election issue and social media is abuzz with people making a case for why their friends and followers should vote for one party and not another — despite the fact that the names of election candidates have not been announced. Some are not so blatant when making their stand, offering only the advice to “vote wisely”. Sure.

And what if in all your wisdom you realise that none of the candidates contesting in your constituency represent your ideals? Worse still, if they and their political parties take a contrary position on the issues most important to you?

“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t” or “Choose the lesser of two evils”. We have heard these too many times in conversations about politics. But are these really our only options? ]

No, you can choose to spoil your vote.

Many young friends say they are not aware of this option. Some thought spoilt votes were merely a technicality where people mistakenly spoilt their ballots when in fact they had meant to vote for a particular candidate. This is true in some cases.

Others have been outraged that casting a spoilt vote was even brought up as a topic of conversation, and one has been accused of being “irresponsible”. After all, you are only given the opportunity to vote once every five years or so and it is your civic duty to mark that ballot. The latter is true.

However, no one should feel compelled to vote for any “devil” or “lesser evils”. In France, Spain, Colombia and the Ukraine for example, voters have the option to vote ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) either on the ballot or by casting a blank vote.

This option is based on the principle that all legitimate consent requires that individuals also have the ability to withhold their consent. In other words, if your conscience does not allow you to vote for any of the candidates, you don’t have to. In fact it lets you go a step further to put on record that none of the candidates appeal to you.

The inclusion of NOTA on our election ballots did not make it onto the list of demands by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih). But Malaysians can still vote ‘none of the above’ by simply spoiling their ballots.

It is completely legal to do so and it does not make one’s vote any less legitimate.

You are still performing your civic duty by participating in the electoral process, and you are voting according to your conscience.

There will be those who will say the act of deliberately spoiling a ballot is “as irresponsible” as not registering and showing up on polling day. This is not true.

So why show up at all? Well, there are at least two reasons to show up on polling day despite the spoilt vote.

The first is the sad state of our electoral roll. When the deceased are still registered as valid voters and individuals are registered in multiple constituencies, there is plenty of room for abuse. Show up on polling day to ensure no one else is voting in your name.

The second is to make a statement. The same way others are voting to express support for a candidate, a person who spoils the ballot is making a statement that she/he does not support any of the candidates. Every vote counts.

 

Reading a book. 1 part it discusses the writers experience in mining town Potosí, in Bolivia, economically the poorest cntry in S America.

I wondered if the bus I was in, 15 hours fr bordertown Villazon to La Paz, went past tht town. See map.

Re the map/twitpic. Journey was to La Paz after I walked across the bordertown La Quiaca (Argentina) after 4 hrs of rest, in out of hostel. ..

Tht border crossing, my 1st tht whole trip, and Bolivia was d only country where a visa is needed. Nervousness grew as no 1 knew ‘Malaysia.’

Almost every border I crossed in S America, they had to refer to some dusty piece of paper pasted on the wall to see if Msians need a visa.

Anyhow,got into the other bordertown Villazon (Bolivia), hung around for 5 hours waiting for the 15 hr bus to La Paz w/ 4 new acquaintances.

I thot them how to tie a sarong, and use it as a mat, the Colombian couple studying in Sao Paolo taught me how to chew coca leaves.

18kg of coca leaves make 1 gram of cocaine btw. Not sure how many bags make up 1 kilo cause it’s bloody weightless esp when it’s dry. As I was learning how to get used to coca leaves, he also offered some weed. I said ‘slow down. I don’t want to get pregnant.’

Walked arnd the street market for fruits n bread for the journey. Sometime for the funfair b4 getting on the bus. ..

15 hours, winding road, ascending to high altitude. I assume we went pass mining town Potosí. Arrived in cold La Paz, 6am.

Was in La Paz 3 nights.Did tht 6 hr dangerous bike ride in Coroico b4 having Xmas dinner in Calacoto w/ half Kelantanese half American fren.

And her husbands fam. Whose fam is Bolivian. But friend n husband lives in San Fran. Happens to be in La Paz same time as I.

To add, my 1st night in La Paz, I stayed in a dodgy ass cheap ass hostel. USD3 a night. For 2 beds. Pics all in my FB btw.

El Carretero. The same place Brit author Rusty Young of Marching Powder, former prisoner n drug trafficker got 1st introduced 2 cocaine.

In 2000, he lived in San Pedro Prison with Thomas 'the tour guide' McFadden (left) for four months in order to research the book 'Marching Powder'. Afterwards, he lived in Bogota, Colombia, where he worked as an English teacher and translator whilst completing the book.

He ended up in San Pedro prison, 2 blocks away fr that same hostel i/he stayed in. An amazing prison indeed. Google his book. Rusty Young. Marching Powder. I have it. Can pinjam. But read in my house only. Nak pinjam, bleh gi mam. (click here to read about the book http://zainhd.com/2009/05/san-pedro/ )

(Btw all this was Xmas 2008). So after tht I went to a small serene village town in the valley called Sorata. See map.

Then took a bus to Huarina, a small town en route Copacabana, for Lake Titicaca, next to Peru border.

At Huarina, a place I was only at the main road (highway?),a place where I was dropped off really, to wait for a bus to go to Copacabana.

There. On the mainroad by the town of Huarina. The bus stop was really, nxt to some stuff and a pig. Aku tunggu bas dgn babi.

And it didn’t help that 6 buses had stop heading towards where I wanted to, all full.

Finally I got into one, n got a special treatment. Sat in the drivers compartment w/ his family. See my fb profile pic of me n a small girl.

Anyway fr there went 2 Copacabana for 2 nights I think. Did Lake Titicaca in btwn. B4 heading to Puno(Peru),en route Cuzco for Machu Picchu.

Ok cukup. Penat jari. Wanna continue my book then sleep. Tweets shld only confine to Bolivia. Dnt wanna start on Peru. Not nw. Slamat malam.

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Yes. I brought 9. Gave away all in each house I stayed in. Incl mine. RT @h_hardy_h: @ZainHD I wonder, do you wear sarong at El Carretero?

With Senor Gustavo Courreges, whose house and farm I stayed in in Villegas, Pampas (Central) Argentina.

During my 40 days in S America 4 tht trip.Besides hostels,I stayed in ppls homes. In return 4 hospitality,I gave them a sarong. @h_hardy_h

With Cecilia Knöpfler, in Centragolo, suburbs of Buenos Aires.

With Ruben Schmidt, at his place, in Tigre (the delta) of Buenos Aires.

Bcz my trip got extended unexpctedly, I had to give away my own sarong 2 d 2nd last house. The last hse got a I Love KL tshrt.@h_hardy_h

Today I was at (only) 1 of the forums at Creativity & Spiritual Path event in KL. And I’ve some thoughts to share, that I fear might offend some people. But with a heavy heart (for whatever reason) I quote Salman Rushdie who said, if offendedness is the point at which you have to limit thought then nothing can be said.

That said, to be frank, it is partly my (excuse me, I meant my – main) objective. To offend. Whoever that might be offended. Or perhaps for a better word, to cause some sense of friction. This I arrived after observing what I did at the event, the discussion in the forum, and the post-mortem I had with a few of the attendees and non.

Friction. Perhaps derived from this line I heard recently, that it is through the clash of views, new ideas are born. Whatever the words might be, the point is, until and unless (though not exclusively), there is clash, controversy, friction, difference, distinction, the cause of new thoughts, or thoughts being developed. Either the product, or the process.

And keep in mind, that even the intelligence of one person, is the result of the multi disciplines (or segments) within his own brain, working together to formulate something, which results to us coming up with a word, stringing a sentence, making a decision, articulating a thought.

Even human beings aren’t able to survive alone. There’s always a need for a complimentary element. One that is different and supportive/reliant of the other. The point is, two or more different elements coming together to produce one or more things.

Now to what I observed.

I felt that while some parts, or areas, were very well curated. Some parts weren’t, or at least were neglected or not sufficiently explored. And for the purpose of what I just raised, I will only in the following, raise the negative part with clear intention to perhaps irk your thoughts, twitch your muscles.

For starters, I didn’t see much of art, or creativity, (or Susan – call it whatever you want), were being explored, challenged or provoked in whatever sense and method available (or not yet done so). While I’m not saying that’s its sole purpose, or even it is its purpose in any way, I’m just saying I didn’t see much of that happening.

One or two of the speakers/presenters did achieve this impact (from my end, that is. Nader Khan singing a song called Alhamdulillah in the same manner as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, is one of the few moments that it did happen). But generally no. Neither were the exhibitors/booths/shops. Nor I think did the organizers thought (much) of exploring this. I’m not sure if this is apt, but safe was somewhat the premise. And I thought that was a little unfortunate.

Secondly, the themes were, whether deliberate or not on the organizers end, but it was still on discussing things like the (challenged) Islamic identity. And if it were in the consumer sense, it was fresh only in the context that it was not traditionally Malaysian, but influenced in the Western/English speaking Islamic sense of Islamic brand.

We/it, seemed to be trapped in this sphere, discourse of the same thing of us and them, which is largely reactionary (albeit progressive in the sense that it avoids/devoids the blame game), and on the latter, trapped in the sense that we’ve not explored ourselves in our own landscape.

For example, if Islamic art/creativity is marketed in one way, using mediums such as Bahasa Malaysia, it’s how it’s always been. And if it’s in English, it very much replicates what the Western Islamic sphere is doing or generally supposedly you Western youth are doing.

But you don’t see a cross-section  of the two I’ve just mentioned, the Western method but with the use of Bahasa Malaysia. Or that in the sense of being cool but exploring new or untapped methods, as oppose to just taking a band dressed in rock like attire (with hints of religion accessory, is that supposed to be considered creatively fresh and sufficiently Islamic?).

On that same point, there’s no depth into digging what was the cultural history of this domestic landscape? Whether it’s early Islamic influence or the pre-Islamic influence of the Nusantara. Because what I saw was inevitably elements of Arabic, which while I’m proud of, doesn’t quite do much for the people ‘here.’

Perhaps bring in elements of the wayang kulit figurines? East coast Malaya batik influence? Orang Asli elements? Perhaps this demand is coming too soon from an arm chair ivory tower observer critic (like myself), and that we are indeed en route to this. But no, this is one of those times I think there’s a need by us to be soft.

We have to start putting (1) thought into our own art and (2) develope that, (3) expand that, (4) merge that, as well as (5) explore others. Sometimes jumping straight to step 5 is necessary as a launchpad or reference point, but there’s the danger of falling comfort and relying on that, always wandering into the glass window, forgetting the mirror reflection.

And I think that already happened a long time ago.

*One speaker that impressed me thoroughly, who did, in some ways, explored similar things that I just wrote about is Dr. Amir Zerkgoo, an artist, art historian and Indologist at ISTAC Malaysia. I can’t find a youtube of him, but I will upload in another post, some tweets I put up while he was presenting.

A world renown Islamic scholar, ulama, who has been making frequent visits to Southeast Asia for some years now is coming again in April. I visited the school he founded, Darul Mustafa, in Tareem, Hadhramout, Yemen in December 2010, which has produced a number of renown scholars around the world. His students also run weekly classes in Malaysia, the schedule of which I will post of up soon.

Watch a brief video of him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6rCO29wV-c

Jadual Rehlah Dakwah Al-Habib Umar bin Mohammad bin Salem bin Hafidz di Malaysia pada 17 April 2012 sehingga 25 April 2012..

17 April - Maghrib di Masjid Al-Falah USJ 9, Subang Jaya.

18 April - Maghrib di Masjid Al-A’zim Bandar Melaka.

19 April - Jam 5 petang acara Haul Habib Ali bin Jaafar Al-Aidarus di Masjid Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Pahat, Johor.

20 April - Kuliah Subuh di Masjid Bandar Baru Uda. - Khutbah Jumaat di Masjid Besar Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai. - Maghrib di Masjid Jawaher, Mutiara Rini, Skudai, Johor.

21 April - Maghrib di Masjid Khaled Ibn Waled, Jalan Gurney, Kuala Lumpur (KEMENTAH).

22 April -Kuliah Subuh di Sekolah Menengah Agama Kuala Lumpur, Kepong ( SMAKL). -Maghrib di Masjid Negeri, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

24 April - Maghib di Dataran Perwaja, Gurun Kedah.

25 April - Kuliah Subuh di Masjid Bukhari, Kedah. -Maghrib di Masjid Bukit Pinang, Alor Setar, Kedah.

What a song. Thanks JJ for sharing this version.

Habib Ali Aljufri/Aljifri (Taba Foundation, UAE), is coming to Malaysia and below is his schedule (correct at point I received it), if you’d like to attend any of the events. He shares many admirable qualities of other scholars, ulama’s and clerics.

But one in particular that stands out about him is his ability to relate to present day examples in his explanations. Also below is one good lecture he gave.