Majlis Burdah bersama Habib Sholeh al Jufri

InshaAllah, Burdah with Madeehul Mustafa and Habib Sholeh al Jufri. We also will be having Launch on Madeehul Mustafa 1st Qasidah album on this event. It will be at al wehdah, no 11 Geylang Lorong 37 at 8pm. All are welcome!!

Voyage of the Sacred Love: "The Medley for the Prophet s.a.w."

The Voyage of Sacred Love: “The Medley for Prophet s.a.w.” is a night of sacred Music, uplifting poetry and divine words that will draw you close to the man who forgave his enemies and came as a mercy to humanity. Listen to the enchanting voices singing the praises of Allah and the Prophet s.a.w. and open your hearts to the spiritual music. Embark on a journey with Madeehul Mustafa, Habib Hasan Alkaf and Shaykh Imamudeen.

Madeehul Mustafa is a qasidah ensemble consisting of local students studying in Damascus, Syria. Formed in 2002, they have been performing at various events. Recently, they performed to a crowd of over 2000 at the Esplanade, receiving rave reviews.

Habib Hasan al Kaf from Solo became a munsyid at the age of 15. He studied in Darul Mustafa in 1996, and often recited the Qasidah Burdah at a Hadhramaut radio station when he was there. His captivating voice has inspired many and continues to inspire love and longing in the hearts of the seekers.

Shaykh Imaduddeen is orginally from Jordon and lived in Boston for 18 years. He has several ijazas from well-known scholars in Qur'an, Hadith and Fiqh. He is currently based in Tarim, Yemen with his Shaykh Habib Umar bin Hafidh.

Drawing inspiration from spiritual traditions of Medinah, Syria and Tarim, The Voyage of Sacred Love celebrates the life and love of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Let us awake the spirit of Traditional Sacred Poetry so that we can embrace the beauty of faith and the longing for the Divine.

Organized by Sout ilaahi

The Qasidah Showpiece at Singapore

Alhamdulilah, recently Bro Khalid Ajmain from Sout Ilaahi managed to get Madeehul Mustafa on the stage for the Tapestry of Sacred Music at esplanade. For the past 2 days, (23 & 24 April 2010) Madeehul Musafa Qasidah ensemble consist of Singaporean students studied in Damascus, Syria have been entertaining us with spiritual enlightment. Their last performance at the outdoor teather was indeed a sacred performance for Singaporeans. Alhtough Singapore is famous for being fast pace modern city in the globalization, we are still not lacking of spiritual ensemble that provide space for our lifes. May this Qasidah performance bring us closer to Prophet saw.

1st photo by Khalid Ajmain
Other Photos by Siti Mahirah

Habib Sheikh al Habsyi

This is Habib Sheikh al Habsyi, a munsib of al Habsyi from Hota, Hadramawt, Yemen. He is 91 years old. He was born in Singapore in 1919. He used to stay at Geylang lorong 33, near the Masjid Khadijah which was famously known back then as Masjid Bagharib. In 1939, his dad migrated with him to Hadramawt. He shared with me his experience with the late Mawlana Abdul Aleem Siddique and Mualim Shaykh Omar bin Abdullah Bagharib. Alhamdulilah, hes able to return to Singapore and he was indeed happy to be back again for a while. Although he have been living in Hadramawt for many years, Singapore is still in his heart.

The day before he left for the haul of Habib Muhammad bin Salim al Attas at Masjid Ba'alawie, I managed to meet him at Habib Abdul Kader bin Ali al Haddad house. He gave me ijaza of kitab Risalatul Jamiya' written by his late grandfather Habib Zain bin Ahmed al Habsyi. Then before I left the house, he said words that really touches my heart to the extend I cried inside my heart. He said whenever you attend any kind of majlis especially the reading of Yasin, dont forget to include my name and make doa for me too. Finally, he make doa I visit him at Hadramawt one day. Indeed a man of God, have a look that soften the hardended hearts. They speak the language of love and embrace humanity just like their Greatgrandfather Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. may Allah bless him, always

(This is me with him taken at Masjid Riyadh, Solo)

Sout Ilaahi: "The Season Of Love"

Available at Wardah Books at 58 Bussorah St (Near Masjid Sultan) and Manzil Mustafa Golden Landmark #02-29, 390 Victoria Street

The First Mosque in Trengganu, Sultan Zainal Abidin Mosque

Alhamdulilah, we have the time to visit Sultan Zainal Abidin Mosque in Trengganu. It was the first mosque in Trengganu name after the pious Sultan. Its completely whitish with sacred architecturedesign. This is also the reason why its also known as "White Mosque". It was built between 1793 and 1808. From a distance, I thought I could feel the vibes of the Mosque. What came to my mind was "Hadramawt",sort of same architecture design. When I reached at the mosque which is situated in the heart of the city, I feel the sacred feeling of the mosque especially the unique architecture design. It somehow remind me of the National Mosque in Aceh, Baitur Rahman Mosque. Same profound architecture design which had the soothing feeling. Somehow the design attracted my heart. I rather found it more of Turkish mixed with some element of Middle east architecture design. Anyway, I was being informed Islam reached the shore of Trengganu from Iraq. Well, thats another side of history which I will write later on.

Ziyarah Tok Ku Paloh (Trengganu)

When I started this blog, I did wrote about Tok Ku Paloh if you can find my earlier post. I have always been a strong admirer of him so I did told myself one day I am going to visit his Maqam when I travel to Trengganu. Alhamdulilah Allah grant what I wish that is to visit him when my wife decide to travel to Trengganu during the holidays. We plan to visit Tok ku Paloh maqam. The Shattariyah Brothers helped to drive us to the maqam . It was in a remote kampung area filled with the atmosphere of tranquility, far away from loud buzzing city noise pollution. We also managed to pray in the zawiyah of Tok Ku paloh, a place where he used to pray and conducted his zikir and teaching with his murids. An old Kampong house filled with blessing. It look jaded and old from a distance but when you are inside, you can feel the strength of the place.

One of the Tok ku paloh great grandson whom guide us to the maqam allowed us to take the photo of the maqam. mashaAllah. It was stated by one of our friends, usually they wont allow anyone to take photo of the maqam but alhamdulilah we were allow to do so. We are indeed grateful to Allah swt that we are able to Ziyarah one of his lovers who have been spreading Islam in the Golden age of Islam in Nusantara.

Below is an article by Ustaz Zaidi Hassan which I decided to repost again on this blog on the biography of Tok Ku Paloh, may Allah bless him

Tok ku Paloh

Tok Ku Paloh was a very well known 'alim of Trengganu, his name is Sayyid Abdul Rahman al-Idrus, and his grave is well-kept in Kampong Paloh, situated not far from his masjid. The title'Tok Ku' was given to him and his forefathers and decendants in Trengganu signified the high respect from the society for this blessed family, 'Tok Ku' ia abbrevition of 'Datuk Tengku', the title usuallyreserved for the royalties. And actually, in the recent past history of the Trengganu Sultanate, the leading 'alim from this family would coronate the new sultan for the state, and the members of this family was considered as having the same status or almost equal to the sultan's family itself, and some of them are until married to each other.

They practice naqshabandiyyah tariqah, some of them such as Tok Ku Pulau Embun and Tok Ku Paloh himself wrote a number of books in malay and arabic, especially on tasauf matter.
Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Rahman Limbong was a 'murid' to Tok Ku Paloh, he initiated a revolt against the British ruling on the land-tax imposed the people of Trengganu, he was, therefore was imprisoned for several times, and finally was exile by the British to Makkah, he died in Makkah. May Allah benefited us from their knowledge and amal.

Photo (The Maqam of Tok Ku Paloh inside the fence, we are sorry that we are unable to upload other photos of the maqam as we hope to seek the permission) And the Photo of Tok Ku Paloh. Top Photo Interior of the Tok ku Paloh zawiyah