Habib Umar bin Hafiz is back in Singapore

Alhamdulilah, Habib Umar bin Hafiz scholar from Hadramawt, Yemen will be coming to our beloved country, Singapore again. He is the principal of Darul Mustafa. Here are the information of the events. All are welcome!

All the lectures will be delivered by Habib Umar Bin Hafiz in Arabic with intermittent translations to the Malay language by his student.

Date: 6 Feb 2008
Day:Wednesday
Hikmah Di Sebalik Musibah
Venue: Masjid Hj Muhd Salleh (Maqam Habib Noh)
Time: 12.45 hrs
(The lecture will be before and after solat Zuhur)

Umati!Umati!Menjawab Seruan Rasulluah s.aw.
Venue: Masjid Abdul Aleem Siddique
Time:7pm
(The event will begin after the solat mahgrib with Mawlid)

Date: 7 Feb 2008
Day: Thursday
Renungan dan Meingati Allah swt
Venue: Masjid al Mukminin
Time: 4pm

Penyakit Penyakit Hati
Venue: Masjid Ba'alawi
Time: 7pm
(The event begins after solat maghrib with recitation of Ratib al Attas)

Date: 8 Feb 2008
Day: Friday
Solat Jumaat Bersama Habib Umar
Venue: Masjid al Abdul Razak
Time:12.45
(Habib Umar will be giving short lectures before his Friday sermon)

Date: 9 Feb 2008
Day: Saturday
Patience- Attribute of a Believer
Venue: al Wehdah, The Arab Association (no 11 lorong 37, Geylang)
Time: 7pm

*Habib Umar will be performing solat Subuh and having short talks at Masjid al Abdul Razak from 6 Feb to 10 Feb 2008.

For more information and enquiries, you can call bro Nassir 63460153

The dynamic duo

Eat your hearts Batman and Robin. These are our new dynamic duo, Bro Nash Faqirullah (left) and Bro Firdaus jr (right). We had a good time in the Wali Songo tour last june 07. Both of them contributed many good quality photos. At the young tender age, they begin their spiritual journey, in their quest of the youth certainty. It is something unique for the youth to be in this path at such young age. Nevertheless, its a positive sign cause tariqa teaches us not only to Love God but also loving his creations, whoever they are and whatever religion they might be . The lovers of Saints, thats what they are and also the lovers of peace and harmony.May Allah bless both of them.

pic: Nash Faqirullah

Habib Syech Assegaf, Solo

I fell in love with Habib Syech voice when the first time i heard him singing some Qasidah at Masjid Riyadh during the Mawlid with the Late Habib Anis. It was my first day in Solo. His voice captivated me and divinely open the gate of my heart. I was mesmerised by his singing. He told me his experience in learning Qasidah since young. His late dad would always forced him to sing therefore, he believe due to the baraqa of his dad, he is able to sing Qasidah very well today.He was one of the Muazzin of Masjid Assegaf, Solo together with Haddad Alwi when he was a teenager.

I did manage to meet him at his home, after several attempts as we know he have very busy schedule. Masha'Allah it was a very blessing and unforgettable experience. We had some coffee. I realized the Habaaib love coffee, its the wine of Islam. He began to sing infront of me, the tears in my heart began to flow. He did ask me to sing along with him. He said if you love Qasidah and music, you should sing.

He lead the majlis Ratib al Attas beside, the Qasidah sessions. Usually, there will be huge crowd gathering for his majlis. On thursday night, he will be at Masjid Riyadh attending the Mawlid Simtur Duror. Recently, early last year 2006, they had Qasidah Festival at the mosque. It was a unique event, propogating love for the Beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. through the singing of the Qasidah. He would sing the famous Diwan Imam Abdullah al Haddad, Diwan of Habib Ali al Habsyi, this include some other Qasidahs from other Awliyah.

Today, Habib Syech have been touring within the domestic state from java, kalimantan, madura including Jakarta to spread the teaching of Islam through his Qasidah singing and preach about love, compassion and humanity to various societies. may Allah bless him.

The Maqam of Habib Alwi and Habib Anis, Solo

This is the Maqam of Habib Alwi bin Ali al Habsyi and the Maqam of Habib Anis bin Alwi al Habsyi at Solo. The maqam are situated in the entrance of the Mosque Riyadh.

Pic by Firdaus Jr

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Masjid Riyadh, Solo

This is the Riyadh Mosque which was built by the father of the late Habib Anis , Habib Alwi bin Ali al Habsyi. He built this mosque for the sole purpose of having religious class activities and having various spiritual gathering . Habib Anis continued the effort done by his dad by conducting many classes in this mosque such as Nahu, Hadith, Tasswuf and having Rohah session. On every thursday night, there will be Mawlid Simtur Duror and tahlil after maghrib. There will be majlis on certain special occasion in Islamic calender such as Nisfu Shaban, Isra Miraj, Mawlid etc

You can feel the ambience of Hadramawt once you entered this mosque. I somehow felt the spiritual ascent of the blessed place. The decoration itself resemble the architecture of the mosques in Hadramawt. The mosque is also a home for Habib Anis and his family.

In the month of Rejab, there will be Khatm of Imam Bukhari. Usually, the late Habib Anis will lead the majlis of reading the hadith of Imam Bukhari until the end of Rejab whereby they had completed reading the whole hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari.During the month of Ramadhan, many will come for terawih and Qiyamulai.

The Haul of Habib Ali bin Muhammad al Habsyi whom is also known as "Sohibul Mawlid", the one whom composed the Mawlid "Simtur Duror" is at this mosque . There is estimation of around 1 million people from various part of the world with the locals attending this haul each year. The reason for the this haul is to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and remembering the deeds and contribution of Habib Ali al Habsyi.

The maqam of Habib Anis al Habsyi is beside the maqam of his beloved father, Habib Alwi bin Ali al Habsyi. You are able to see the maqam when you enter the front enterance.

Pic by Firdaus jr : The back entrance of the mosque and the huruf on the wall is a "Taweez" of the al Habsyi family

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Bengawan Solo

Bengawan Solo, riwayat mu ini
Sedari dulu, jadi perhatian dewi Sari
Music kemarau, tak berapa airmu
Di musim hujan air meluap sampai jauh

Chorus:
Mata airmu dari Solo,
Terkurung gunung seribu
Air mengalir sampai jauh
Akhirnya kelaut

Itu perahu, riwayatnya dulu
Kaum pedagang selalu
Naik itu perahu

Translation:

Solo, the Mighty River
The mighty river Solo, your legend this,
From ages past, you captivated the goddess Sari,
In seasons dry, your water is low,
In rainy seasons, the water overflows into the horizon

Chorus:
The spring of Solo
Locked in thousands of mountains.
Its water flows intot he distance,
At last to the sea.

That boat, legend of the past,
of traders, always going
by that boat.

The Landslide tragedy in Solo

On 27th dec 07, after commemoration of the tsunami, the landslide tragedy happened in Solo. It was unexpected although it is a wet season but nobody anticipate such misfortune may happen. I was having dinner when my sister was watching the news. When I heard the tragedy happened in Tawangmangu and karanganyar, Solo, I quickly rushed to the tv screen. I was in the state of shock to hear the news. I sms one of my teachers Kiyai Ust Sholeh Masrur to check on him and his family condition. Alhamdulilah, they are safe and fine but they informed me, some of the students there had died, some lost their families members while many lost their homes.

A few days later, he sms me asking for some donations, to raise the funds in helping the victims of the landslide. I can imagine in such situation on how the people are feeling because I experienced earthquake in Solo while I was studying there. The collateral damage was severe. The recent news, 60,000 people had lost their homes. My heart sank while watching the visual of the district in Solo. It reminded me of Aceh. The city becoming like an ocean, with the high tide at bengawan solo, the water level is increasing from time to time. Many had to abandon their homes and seek refuge elsewhere while some are still hoping for a miracle and recovery soon.

The sweet and bitter memories of Solo will always be in my heart forever. It is an important valuable experience for me inorder to be a better man. I still remembered when I informed Shaykh Zakaria, we are about to passby the Bengawan Solo, he was so happy that he looked out at the window of the bus and sang the song Bengawan Solo. Today he still remember the Bengawan Solo river and he would share with those around him and he will sing the song for you. Bengawan Solo, riwayat mu ini, Sedari dulu, jadi perhatian dewi Sari

The al Haddad Royal family in Solo

After we ziyarah Habib Noh al Haddad at his home, he advice us to Ziyarah his Great grandfather Habib Jarif Alwi al Haddad, Solo and also Habib Jarif Hasjim bin Ibrahim al Haddad, Solo. They are the direct descendant of al Imam al Habib Abdullah bin Alwi al Haddad. According to Habib Noh al Haddad, the date also stated they were earlier than the arrival of Wali Songo. This means they are the first Ahlul bayt or Hadramis to enter the land of Java. At the same time, they are also part of the Royal family in Solo. As it was stated before, the first al Haddad married to the princess of Solo. Wallahu Walam. may Allah bless the family of Imam Abdullah al Haddad.

Pic of maqam by Firdaus jr

Pic of Habib Noh al Haddad

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Demak "The City of Saints"

After we left the Pondok pesantren At Taufiqy, we headed to Demak, the city of saints. It was two and half hour journey. As we entered the city, there was a huge signboard "Welcome to the city of Saints". It make us excited although we are exhausted due to the journey in the bus. We finally arrived Demak, the first Islamic Kingdom in Java. It was thursday night of "Kliwon", an auspicious night for the Javanese. So it was crowded in the city area, buses and cars coming into the city to visit the Maqam of Sunan Kali Jaga. It was said only in the night of Thursday Kliwon, the maqam of Sunan Kali Jaga will be open for the public to visit.

Alhamdulilah, we are fortunate to be at the right time and day to visit One of the vital member of the Wali Songo. A saint whom we have heard of his wonderful stories in regards to his contributions to the poor and development of Islam in the Java region. But we didnt manage to visit the maqam on that particular night due to the crowded situation. Thus Allah had a better plan for us to visit tommorow. We were expected to have Khatm Khawajan or zikir in the Masjid Agung, Demak but due to the tiredness of Shaykh Zakaria, we did at the home of our bro Hidayah parents which is located near to the maqam of Sunan Kali Jaga.

Although Hidayah is not at home as he is working in Balikpapan, Kalimantan, his parents were so happy to recieve us as their guests. Hidayah was also hoping we visited his parents. We had a good time zikir at the house. May Allah bless them for their hospitality and kindness.

Pic of Hidayah father

masjid Agung, Demak by Firdays jr

Interior of Masjid Agung

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Maqam of Habib Hasyim bin Yahya

Alhamdulilah, we managed to visit the maqam of Habib Hasyim bin Yahya, the father of Habib Lutfi bin Yahya, pekalongan. The maqam is located near to Habib Ahmad al Attas "Paku Pekalongan".

pic by Firdaus jr

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Habib Ibrahim al Haddad, Solo

This is the picture of Habib Noh al Haddad grandfather, Habib Ibrahim al Haddad, Solo. may Allah bless him

Pic by Firdaus jr

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Mawlid "Simtur Duror" at Pekalongan

Alhamdulilah, we had mawlid right after the ziyarah and riyadah session. It was held within the pesantren area. It was very beautiful singing and recitation of the Mawlid "Simtur Duror" or known as Mawlid al Habsyi. We joined the chorus during the Mawlid "Qiyam". The voice of salutions make us longing for the Beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. We are unable to describe the feeling of the majlis itself as we lost in the ocean of love towards our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Both pic by Nash Faqirullah and Firdaus jr

Please do not re-use the photos without permission, may Allah bless them

Maqam Shaykh Abdullah al Khan

This is the maqam of Shaykh Abdullah al khan, inside the pondok Pesantren At Taufiqy, Pekalongan. Shaykh Abdullah wrote the manaqib of the Imamul Tariqa Khawaja Shah Bahauddin Naqshband q.s According to some historical sources, he is the descendant of Kurdish Ulama and sufi scholar. There are some history indicated he is an ahlul bayt. He was instructed by his murshid to travel to South East Asia to spread the teaching of the Naqshbandi tariqa in Java and other parts of South East Asia.

(some narration claimed he was from the kurdish area in Iraq while some argued, it was syria)

Although, there are many versions on the history of Tariqa in Java itself, we cant deny the contributions of Shaykh Abdullah al Khan. During his lifetime, the Naqshbandi Tariqa was spread rapidly from Java to Sumatra and other parts of South East Asia such as Singapore and Malaysia. He brought the spiritual culture of Central Asia and localized it through his beautiful teachings which fill with wisdoms. Until today, the Naqshbandi tariqa continue its tradition with the spiritual practices and propogating peace, love and tolerance within the society.

The routine of the students in the pondok would be the ziyarah to the Maqam of Shaykh Abdullah al Khan in the morning after their wirid.

Pic by Naqshandi.org ( From left: Shaykh Zakaria Bahgarib, Shaykh Mustafa, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Bapak Walid,Kiyai Taufiq and Kandin as Sufi)

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Another view of the Pondok Pesantren At-Taufiqy

This is near the entrance of the pondok, such beautiful school with spiritual vibes surrounding it.

pic by Firdaus jr
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