Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracry by Cathy O'Neil, A Review

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers, 

I always view the combo of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) with askance. Despite its many pros that are evident in our daily life, big data can entice majority of humans, the possessors of authentic intelligence, to quickly jump to conclusions without so much of a thought. It's ironic actually, considering we have all the data. We may also become entirely dependent on algorithms to make  decisions for us. At least, this is my opinion.

Now from this book, I learn that this deadly combo can also cause imbalance between IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient/emotional intelligence); leading to acts of oppression. This issue was pointed out ever so simply by the author, Cathy O'Neil (Except the part where the author made a comparison with baseball to which, as a Malaysian, can't quite relate. To generalize, Malaysians don't play baseball 😁) 

O'Neil started the book by introducing the concept of mathematical model, a familiar topic for me. Basically, a mathematical model tries to express any complex phenomena like the economic system, an office day-to-day operation, the weather, basically anything, in mathematical terms. Mostly with the use of statistics and assumptions (together with big data), a mathematical model can provide you with outcomes, predictions, and explanations. The assumptions are of course, based on evidence. With big data and AI, a mathematical model can be built more complex than ever.

The issue arises when the assumptions were not changed despite evidence proving otherwise (repeated use of the same model) or the outcome/prediction seemed illogical (see now what happens when you abandon reason?).

One may ask, "How come these cause oppression?" To illustrate the harm these pose, allow me to present to you two case studies from this book.  

Case Study 1 -Modelling teacher's competency

A teacher had scored 6 out of 100 on a teaching evaluation test. It's a ridiculous score because he had been teaching for 26 years. We suspect that the score is ridiculous out of moral ethics (EQ) and human reasoning (IQ) i.e. we recognize the teacher's experience and contribution that he made in spreading knowledge to his students. Curiously the next year, he scored 96 out of 100 despite maintaining his teaching methods.

Upon investigation, it was learned that in the year he got 6 out of 100, the teacher was teaching high achieving students and low achieving students. You see, it's difficult for low achieving students to score higher than their average marks. As for high achieving students, they had already scored high marks so they simply couldn't get higher marks. Therefore on the evaluation test, the non-increase in marks indicate that the teacher's teaching methods is abysmal.

On the other hand, in the year that the teacher scored 96 out of 100, he was teaching middle achievers. Middle achievers can either score below or higher than their average marks. That year, most were able to obtain higher than average marks. Due to this increase in marks, the evaluation test captured this as the teacher possessing excellent teaching methods. 

What does this tells us? The mathematical model was inaccurate in evaluating the teacher's ability to teach! The model was practically useless! Allow me to emphasize here, the inaccuracy of the model was detected by recognizing the value of the teacher and applying human reason. This is something that AI and Big Data are incapable of.

Case Study 2 - The United States (US) subprime mortgage crisis

Using algorithms (AI) and data on home mortgages (Big Data), a mathematical model was developed to segregate these mortgages into tranches. These tranches are then packaged into securities before selling them off to investors. The mathematical model had predicted that profit can be generated this way. The thing is, the outcome/prediction was illogical because these mortgages are held by people who are not eligible for loan in the first place. As such, the securities will induce loss sooner or later to the investors (see again why you need to apply human reason?). The mathematicians had somehow forgot about human beings from the model and only saw potential profit (EQ vs IQ). Due to this, many people defaulted on their loans and US suffered a recession.

 

There are many other case studies that O'Neil mentioned in her book. O'Neil concluded that in order to avoid these acts of oppression, the mathematical model of any phenomena must constantly be revised to include recent information. The author also alluded to the importance of reason (authentic intelligence) and moral values before trusting the outcome/prediction of a certain model. Only by holding on to these two traits reason and moral values), we are able to execute justice in this lifetime.

 

Source: O'neil, C. (2017). Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Great Britain: Penguin Random House UK

Voltaire's B*st*rds: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by John Ralston Saul. A Review.

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I pray that everyone is safe 🙌. I recently discovered that emojis can be inserted in blog posts! These are only some discoveries that I made during this global pandemic... I pray that everyone is safe and sound. Ameen.

Alhamdulillah (all praise to God), after much brooding, I finally understood the crux of this book. It actually stems from these two schools of thoughts: Socrates's and Plato's.

To put it simply, Socrates believes in the societal well being through the establishment of an ethical system that is built upon human reason [1]. To arrive at that ethical system, Socrates would questioned and challenged people what true ethics actually is. When the assumption of ethics that people held are challenged, Socrates had instilled doubt; to which this book claims the Westerners' lack. This lack of doubt and attention towards the societal well being are the main causes for the degradation of the Western civilization.

On the other hand, the philosophy expounded by Plato attempts to answer what true ethics, or basically the truth of everything, is. According to Plato, everything has an ideal or form in another world that is unchanging. This is termed as the Theory of Forms [2][3]. Since there indeed exists a form or a true answer to the questions raised by Socrates in his dialogues with the people, little doubt is left. So, people just need to think critically, and use all the five senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch), what is the closest ideal version or the closest form of something in this world is. Using the five senses also means taking reality (of this world) into account. As such, this book argues that the West is obsessed with finding the forms of this world through efficiency and professional methodology (employment of technocrats); and views reflection (arising from doubt) as inefficient and the well being of society as secondary (I will argue later why despite thought and the use of five senses, well being of society is not primary). As such, the opening of this book argues that Plato's philosophy has put less emphasize on humanism that his mentor, Socrates, has preached. I, however, humbly disagrees.

Plato did say to take into account reality. The reality is that majority of Westerners value individual freedom more than societal well being. In other words, the West views individual freedom as the form of ethics, and that translates as the reality of this world. Thus it is not that Plato's philosophy is wrong, but it is the people's thought process and the use of five senses that had led to the assumption that individual freedom is the form of ethics. This belief is so ingrained in Westerners so much so that there is no doubt about it. Yes, despite this issue, the conclusion to the problem is still lack of doubt, similar to what Saul (2013) have said in this book. Yet again, I will also show one crucial point from the philosophy of Plato that the book did not highlight.

Saul (2013) had given countless real life examples where efficiency and professional methodology fails to solve a particular problem. He asserts that the current system that we have, politics, education, finance, economy, basically almost everything, are in shambles. The author pinpointed the source of the structural problems to the lack of humanism; where its foundation was built excessively on the Theory of Forms, the discouragement of doubt to permeate, and the inconsequential of societal well-being .

I feel that I need to tackle one particular system or two, in particular education, in particular social science, in particular finance and economics. These are two fields of study that I am familiar with. But this requires, God willing, another blog post for it will be quite lengthy.

Remember before I said that Saul (2013) had missed one important point about Plato's philosophy? That point is the form exists in another world that is unchanging and constant. So frankly, there is no perfect solution for this world. That world i.e. another world that Plato expounded, as to my belief, should be the afterlife. Plato himself was not able to arrive at that conclusion because his philosophical thinking, even Socrates's, does not take religion into consideration. They did not acknowledge, or was not able to arrive at the deduction, that there exists a Supreme Being that is All Knowledgeable.

By extension, try reflecting on this phrase:

Like most religions, reason presents itself as the solution to the problems it has created.

Saul (2013) had written this phrase in the opening vignette in Part I Argument of his book. Reading this statement in passing, one would think that the author views religion in askance for religion is the one who had created these problems in the first place and without shame, claims that it has the solutions.

Yet, notice that Saul (2013) said most religions. Meaning, one can also interpret that the author believes that there exists few religions that can provide answers to mitigate problems that these few religions did not create. Or perhaps Saul (2013) is simply being neutral? I would like to assume that he is in the former category.

In my humble opinion, we should combine doubt, the theory of forms, and religion (or ideas that you can get from it) to arrive at a solution that balances between societal well being and individual well being. When problems of each unit of society (individual/family) is addressed, consequently, the problems of society as a whole will be addressed too. In addition, one cannot be complacent but must constantly evaluate from time to time (stemming from the virtue of doubt), whether the solution presented before, is still practical for the present and future. It is worth emphasizing that ideas from religion is quintessential as human has limit to his/her thinking capacity. Thus, it is only reasonable to deduce that there exists a Supreme Being that is All Knowledgeable, constant, unchanging, and never dies. Plato indirectly said so in his theory of forms.

Before I end this post, I would like to address the other crucial point that the book did not highlight, or probably even consider. Our thought process should be guided by our heart. Sounds corny, I know. But ponder on this example:
You have only $10 and you come across a homeless mother with a child crying out of hunger. Nearby, there's a food stall that sells food for exactly $10. You are hungry yourself. But if your thought process is guided by your heart, there is a very high possibility that you will buy the food for the child instead of you eating it yourself.
Thus in religion, one's thought process is guided by the heart or "eye of the soul" where in Malay we termed it as "matahati". Perhaps, the deduction that individual freedom is the form of ethics comes from the disregarding of matahati.

It is important to be mentioned here that our matahati needs to be guided too. And that guidance can only come from the All Knowledgeable.

Main source: 
Saul, J. R. (2013). Voltaire's B*st*rds: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah: Kembara ke Kota Baghdad, Iraq by HAMKA

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

On rare occasion, I would accidentally come across a book that is simultaneously unputdownable, on-point, well mannered in its words, and coincides with current world event. This is that book translated in English; On the Banks of Dajlah River: Travel to the City of Baghdad, Iraq.

Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah narrates HAMKA's travelings in Iraq with a backdrop of the region's history. Due to the fact that I had visited Iran last year, the never ending Sunni-Shiite quandary, and the assassination of Iranian General Suleimani, I immediately felt an affinity to this book.

For this post, allow me to concisely discuss the lessons that we can derive from the Sunni-Shiite quandary within the context of this book.

Let me first state one thing (lest I'll be judge in the social media tribunal), that I am a Sunni and disagrees with the Shiite doctrine. Yet, I feel the pure hatred that half, if not majority of Malaysian Sunnis, have on Shiite has caused a dangerous rift between Muslims. I am well aware that there are fatwas saying that Shiite are not Muslims, but I will reserve my comments on this matter. Instead, let me turn your attention to HAMKA's narration in pages 75 to 78 [1] (brief explanation in English is provided after):

Maka bilamana kami telah masuk ke dalam perkarangan makam Abbas itu, mulailah mutawwif kami mengajarkann bacaan-bacaan. Mula sekali mengucapkan salam pada Rasulullah, sesudah itu kepada Ali bin Abi Talib, sesudah itu kepada Hasan dan Husain, barulah langsung kepada Abbas ini. Bermacam-macam pujian diberikan kepadanya, dan kami turutkan. Kemudian mulailah bacaan berisi politik itu, iaitu mengutuk kepada orang yang membunuhnya dan mengutuk kepada orang yang menyuruh bunuh! Tentu saja Yazid!

Oleh kami adalah kaum Sunni, dan pasal kutuk mengutuk itu tidak ada dalam ajaran kepercayaan kami, maka di waktu bacaan sampai di sana, kami berdiam diri. Diulang oleh mutawwif kami itu sampai dua kali, kami tidak mahu menurutkan...mutawwif kami kelihatan agak kurang gembiranya...

Lalu di tengah jalan saya suruh mutawwif itu mendekat dan saya berkata: "Kami ini bangsa Indonesia, mazhab kami ialah Sunni, Syafie. Tetapi kami bukanlah membenci zuriat Rasul (keturunan Rasul). Kami ziarah kemari dari tempat yang jauh karena kami pun cinta kepada Husain... Sebab itu tuntunlah kami, tunjukkan kepada kami tempat-tempat yang penting, tempat berziarah. Cuma satu permintaan kami, janganlah dibawakan lafaz-lafaz yang mengutuk kepada orang yang telah mati". 

"Maafkan saya! Maafkan saya!" Jawabnya...

"Dahulu Imam Syafie difitnahkan orang di hadapan Raja Harun al-Rashid, dikatakan pembela Syi'ah, sehingga nyaris berbahaya bagi jiwanya" kataku pula. 

"Oh Tuan orang alim. Tuan banyak pengetahuan. Maafkan saya!"

Saya jawab pula: "Alim benar pun tidak, cuma tahu sedikit-sedikit saya kenal nama Ulama Syi'ah yang terbesar di zaman ini. Syed Al-Mujtahid Al-Akbar Syeikh Al Kasyif Ghita".   

"Oh , Tuan kenal nama beliau? Wahai, itu adalah ulama besar kami, pimpinan besar kami. Tuan kenal namanya?"

"Selama orang Islam membaca bahasa Arab, tentu akan kenal buah fikiran beliau. Kenal cita-cita beliau yang luas dan faham beliau yang mendalam". 

Brief English explanation:

When HAMKA and his companion was in the tomb of Abbas, the mutawwif (guide) ask them to praise Muhammad the Prophet (may peace be upon him), then Ali, then Hasan, Husain, and finally Abbas. They did so. But when the mutawwif went into politics and ask them to curse/condemn the killer and the plotter i.e. Yazid, they refused to do so and just kept quiet. The mutawwif was not happy.

HAMKA then explains that they are Sunnis and Sunnis are not supposed to curse. Yet, they do love the lineage of the Prophet. The founder of the Syafie madhab, Imam Syafie himself was slandered in front of a king saying that he's the defender of Shiite. HAMKA proceeded in stating that he also appreciates the thoughts of one of the Shiite's ulama namely Syed Al-Mujtahid Al-Akbar Syeikh Al Kasyif Ghita.  

It is a known fact that Shiite originated from a political disagreement; the reason why I ardently believe the mutawwif had asked HAMKA and his companion to curse/condemn Yazid. Interested readers may read this book to know the exact account of this historic event.

To return back to our main purpose, we can certainly derive two important lessons from HAMKA's narration in pages 75 to 78:
(1) Politics combined with any supremacist ideology can lead to a treacherous schism
(2) Yet, a bridge can be built over the schism by speaking the truth kindly and wisely

Certainly, in this dark age where people defined freedom of expression as freedom to express crudely, it is refreshing to read how HAMKA stood firm on his faith and politely disagreed. At the same time, he had also been respectful and sought common ground to further diffuse the tension. Nowadays, this courteous manner is almost an art form. I give this book 5 stars.

[1] HAMKA. (2018). Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah: Kembara ke Kota Baghdad, Iraq. Kajang: Jejak Tarbiah Publication.

The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

Death is only the beginning; afterward comes the hard part.

Immediately I was sucked into the story and found myself at Wall Street in year 1920. I could almost hear the bomb exploded and swore my ears were ringing among the civilians. When the story reminisced on World War 1, it is as though I was transported to the war zone itself. When the author introduced me to Sigmund Freud, Marie Curie, and Thomas Lamont, I was intrigued. As the story evolved towards the United States Treasury, a building on Wall Street, I got a sense of how monetary based on gold had worked before the Bretton Woods system collapsed.

Indeed, for the first time in weeks my mind was able to wander and forget the mirage we call reality. 

Unlike any other historical fiction I'd read, this book seeped right into my soul. The choice of words that the author used and the scene he depicted, revived something in me that I thought had long abated. That something is the thirst to write placidly, without chains.

As the book has given back a piece of me, I in return, give this book 5+ stars.

I just hope that I won't lose this piece of me again.

The Charm of Knowledge

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

When my emotion and physique are not exhausted from work, I would pick up a non fiction book. I have piles of them waiting to be consumed in my office and my apartment. The one I'm currently reading is the The First Command by M. Jamal Haider. It is about Muslim intellectualism in the past.

But don't misunderstand, this is not a post about book review. This is a post on how I am inspired and at the same time stressed, by the Muslim savants from history at which the book highlights. I am inspired because their thirst for knowledge is so pure and sincere, and I am stressed because as an academician, I don't think I can reach their heights.

Source: Wikimedia

Martyrs of knowledge
The curiosity that these group of men possessed were immeasurable. They would go to great lengths for knowledge; always willing to sacrifice almost anything to get an ounce of it. Below is a bullet list of some of them:

• Ibn Sina, or most Westerns would call him Avicenna, had cured the King of Bukhara from an illness when he was mere 17 years old. The King had hired many physicians beforehand but all were unsuccessful. Out of gratefulness, the King wished to present him with a reward. Instead of asking for wealth or power, Ibn Sina asked for access to the King's extraordinary library.
• Abu al-Nasr al-Farabi or better known simply as al-Farabi, did not marry for he was highly focused in academia. I dare say that if most of you had known him, you would say that he doesn't have a life! Before that, he had endured poverty. He was employed as a gardener at first, and at last became the King's companion. He taught us that patience, determination and passion can help one pull through. Perhaps, he understood the meaning of life the most! 
• Abu Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham or Ibn al-Haytham or Alhazen loved other fields except engineering. He hated it so much to the extent that he pretended to be mentally unstable when Caliph al-Hakim asked him to figure out how to stop floods. After the Caliph died, he pursued other fields of knowledge in Spain. This is another example of what passion, patience, and persistence can lead us to. In addition to all those lessons, we also learn what line of action to take when person(s) of authority asked us to do something that we don't like 😜
• Prince Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah had abdicated his throne in order to study chemistry. People nowadays would call him a fool.

Most of them are also Mathematicians
It is interesting to know that regardless what their expertise were, most of them were also excellent in Mathematics! Below are some of them:

• Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (died c.840) - Geographer, Astronomer, and Mathematician 
• Banu Musa brothers (9th century) - Mathematicians and Mechanics 
• Thabit ibn Qurrah (836 - 901) - Mathematician, Astronomer, Mechanics and Translator from Greek to Arabic 
• Abu Abdullah al-Battani (858 - 929 CE) - Mathematician, Astronomer, and Mathematician 
• Al-Razi (864 - 930) - Studied medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, music and philosophy 
• Abu al-Nasr al-Farabi - Studied philosophy, logic, sociology, music, medicine, and mathematics 
• Abu al-Wafa Muhammad al-Buzjani (940 - 997) - Mathematician and Astronomer 
• Abu Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham (965 - 1040) - Studied optics, mathematics, physics, and medicine 
• Omar Khayyam (1044 - 1123) - Studied mathematics, astronomy, poetry, and metaphysics

This fact is exceptionally intriguing for me because:

Reason 1: My undergraduate Degree was in Mathematical Science
When I entered into the last semester of my sophomore year in university, it began to dawn on me that Mathematics is not for me. I found it harder to learn and understand. Despite my interest in it, I can't seem to grapple with most of the concepts. But somehow when I did my Masters and Doctorate Degree, I always steered back towards some form of Mathematics. I suppose just like human love, I can't really forget Mathematics. Ever since I started reading this book, I decided that I should incorporate more Mathematics in my research; even if it turns out to be mediocre.

Reason 2: Philosophy, poetry, AND mathematics?!
This is utterly mind boggling. In Malaysia at least, there is no one who would be an expert in philosophy or poetry WITH mathematics (if I'm wrong, please correct me). Those three different fields are just that, THREE DIFFERENT FIELDS! I however, do have have a few theories why, though. That my friends, will be in another post in the future, inshALLAH (God willing).


Still, there is one pertinent question to the current post that must be addressed; why was knowledge so alluring to the point that these Muslim scholars fell head over heels for it? I believe the words from M. Jamal Haider holds the obvious answer:

If now some scholars are using such verses (Quranic verses regarding geology, zoology, astrophysics etc.) as proof of authenticity of the Quran, in the past, such verses had directed the Muslims into an incredible quest for scientific knowledge that had lasted over a century.

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

If you're an ardent follower of my blog posts, you'd notice that I've found a (not so) new hobby; hiking. The allure of hiking once a week, to admire nature and breath in the fresh air together with new and old friends, leaves me begging for solitude on another day. It is on this day, the pull of my introvert side would call upon a novel to be present. Navigating Early written by Clare Vanderpool is one such novel.

This novel is by actual fact, a children's novel. I was too proud to buy the novel at first. But the synopsis had helped me battle with my ego. The story takes place on the Appalachian Trail attempted by two friends, one of whom is obsessed with the number pi (3.14). The synopsis certainly piqued the hiker and fallen Mathematician in me. Its true what people say, passion can overcome anything.

Jack Baker, 13 years old, had lost his mother at the end of World War II and was sent to a boarding school by his Naval Seal father. There, Jack met with a peculiar boy, Early Auden. Early has a pet frog named Bucky, likes to colour code his jellybeans when upset, and will silently exit any classroom when he disagrees with what's been taught. Early especially disagrees with his Mathematics teacher who thinks that the number pi has an end because Early opines that the number pi does NOT have an end. Early somehow came out with a story using the pi numbers which he only shared with Jack.

Early had an elder brother who died during the war. But Early does not buy that. There's a black bear who is terrorising hikers on the Appalachian trail and Early believes that he'll find his brother when he finds this bear. Jack thinks this as nonsense of course, but seeing that he's alone during school break, Jack might as well join Early on his quest. Besides, Early reminds him of his mother so much.

As a reader, what fascinates me most is how Early sees the world. It's truly outlandish how people see things differently and get judged harshly for that. Anyway, I believe this is what a good novelist should acquire, a SENSE of his/her characters. Early, if you had not guessed yet, is actually a savant and has high functioning form of autism. I give this book 5 stars.   

A page from the book

Rationality vs Deep Thought

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I'm reading a book written by John Ralston Saul entitled "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West". I started reading it in 2016 and even after two years, haven't finish. This is record breaking for me as I've always been a fast reader. Still, it is unsurprising because the writer is a philosopher. Like most philosophers, it's so difficult to fathom his thoughts!

Fortunately (and alhamdulillah), his ideas got across to me recently. I am able to boil down his points into one simple sentence:
People make wrong decisions when they confuse rationality with deep thought.
You are questioning this sentence, aren't you? "Is not rationality similar to deep thought," you ask? Even Thesaurus lists wise as a synonym to rational. Well, you and Thesaurus have never been more wrong.

No, this post is not a book review to support that fact. The book review might come in the future, God willing. Probably eons away in the future. The actual purpose of this post is to explain how rationality is different from deep thought based on two simplest examples.

Image by tsukiko-kiyomidzu

1. Social media posts
It is easy to say that a person is narcissistic when (s)he post a lot of selfies on social media. People quickly presume that someone is an attention seeker when (s)he post a lot of personal struggles online. These conclusions are rationale, after all.
But should we think deeper, we might arrive at a different conclusion; the former might be suffering from a mental condition (which a study had recently pointed out) while the latter could view writing in social media as a form of therapy.

O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.
[Quran: Chapter 49 Verse 12]


2. Stages in life
We are often advised to embark in life by following these steps: obtain an education, get a high paying career, get married, and have kids. These stages must be followed accordingly and religiously. The masses have agreed that to skip any step or to not follow them in order would translate into a difficult life. To clarify further: If you don't get an education, it will be difficult for you to find a high paying job. And if you can't find a high paying job, you won't have enough money to start a family. This insecurity will cause difficulties. Difficulties in turn, cause restlessness and sadness. These are the lines of a rational thought.
But if we pause for awhile and observe, we'll notice that this isn't necessarily so. People go through these stages of life at different times and at a different pace. Some might not go through one or more of these stages at all. Thus you wonder sometimes, how can the poor still smile and be at peace amidst chaos? How are the rich can be so serious and worried though in stability?

But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. [Quran: Chapter 2 Verse 216]


You may surmise two things from the above examples. One, cliche and two, morality or ethics.

Well my dear readers, these cliches can be analogous with what Saul wrote in his book. Politics and economics, topics that we would deem novel, have been made complicated by a rational line of thinking. These complexities then have been confused with deep thought. This is because rationally, anyone who possess deep thought, would be able to figure it out. The reality is, these complexities are to create a class or a caste that would separate people by "knowledge" (I think the strike through together with the quote will further emphasize how knowledge, in this sentence, is an oxymoron).

Anyhow, like I said earlier, I'm not going to elaborate further what Saul wrote in his book; at least not in this post. But I'd like to share a conclusion that I've arrived at.

To be a person with deep thought we need:
1) Simplicity
2) Morality/ethics
Do you agree with me? Or you simply don't care?

Hiking and Discovery

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

Currently in Malaysia, mountain and hill hiking are becoming a fad. Facebookers elate when they find new hill hiking spots and people race to post their hiking adventures on Instagram. These did not go unnoticed. Both responsible and irresponsible hiking trip organisers mushroomed and more people get sucked into the euphoria.

The hiking "fad" isn't necessary a negative connotation, though. It actually presents another method of spending time aside from the typical activities of shopping, dining, gaming, clubbing, and watching Korean soap operas. It began to dawn on people that they can still have a blast and de-stress while sweating.

There are also those who went one step further and find hiking therapeutic. Somehow, the world made much more sense, serenity becomes less elusive, and God is all the more omnipresent. I would like to believe that I'm in this category.


1. Constant steep trail = Never ending trials
Mount Datuk in Rembau is the most popular place to hike for those who want to transition from hill hiking to mountain hiking. 80% of its trail involve steep and tiring ascends. I remember pushing myself hard, controlled my breathing, and asked hikers descending the mountain how long more until we reach the top.

One of a few set of stairs leading to the top of Mount Datuk

Raihan, a friend of mine, told me that this steep trail symbolises the never ending trials that we face in life. The capability to breath in oxygen always comes with responsibilities, hardship, anger, annoyance, misunderstanding, and sometimes, the urge to just kill one self. This is simply how ALLAH had designed life to be.

2. Effort, patience, and perseverance always pay off
Still, ALLAH had also decreed that those with effort, patience, and perseverance will pull through. If not in this world, the next.

Kutu Hill is NOT a hill; its a mountain. Situated in Kuala Kubu Bharu, it rises 200+ meters more than Mount Datuk. If Mount Datuk is tiring, Kutu Hill is grueling. My knee gave way and my brother literally had to carry me down for a short while. Its not that the Kutu Hill trail is steeper, but it's longer, wilder, and lonelier. In comparison to Mount Datuk, not many people hike here.

View from the top of Kutu Hill

The Kutu Hill trail reminds me of my PhD studies a bit; a long, winding, and lonely odyssey which has not yet end! To quote Linkin Park, "Uphill struggle, blood, sweat, and tears". Nevertheless, each time I reach the peak of the mountain (or hill) that I'm hiking on, it gives me optimism that I can finish it. This also applies to my ambition of becoming a novelist (despite not being able to fulfill promises to my readers)! 

3. Its the journey that matters

Although messy and unpredictable, its often the journey that matters. There's no meaning if we achieve success by cheating and manipulating. The journey should pain us so that we grow wiser and kinder.  

This hit me when I hiked Botak Hill in Puncak Alam. The top was completely bare like a bald head (hence the name Botak) but the trail was pleasant. We were greeted by ferns, huge boulders, and birds freely roaming the vast sky.

Botak Hill trail

4. Compassion and teamwork
I felt pain not at Botak Hill but at Batu Chondong Hill in Ulu Klang. I fell when I was climbing down a tree. My friend Aisyah, not me, was traumatised with the incident (not to worry, I'm fully recovered, alhamdulillah).

The tree that I fell from, Batu Chondong Hill trail

Truthfully, I did not felt pain when I fell. Maybe I was in a daze but I also like to think that it was because Azratee and Aisyah comforted me. They were willing to slow down to my injured pace and hold my hand as I descended. I, who tends to be secretive, came to terms to the fact that expressing can reduce emotional hurt. 

5. Learning is infinite
To be honest, Batu Chondong Hill trail was the fastest hike for me in comparison to Kutu Hill, Botak Hill, and Mount Datuk. My knee didn't hurt one bit! Indeed, with experience comes skill. But, falling down from a tree, teaches me that I must never feel over confident. I should always be humble, careful, and keep on learning to become better. 

Gasing Hill is an educational jungle set in bustling Petaling Jaya, my very first hiking trail as an adult. Hence the word "educational" absolutely hit home with me because I had learned my very first lesson there; hiking is therapeutic. I remember that I was almost near crazy trying to include waqf (Google it!) into my economic model.

Gasing Hill trail

6. History is a great teacher
History has always been close to my heart. I was the best student for history during PMR (a centralised exam for Form 3 students during my time) and History of Mathematics was my favourite subject during undergraduate studies. My first publish book (which I retracted, by the way) was inspired from that subject.

People always say that we should forget the past. That, in my opinion, is utterly wrong. We have to accept and learn from it because the past is an invaluable teacher. Events in the past, can help guide our thoughts, feelings, actions, and decision making. For instance from the Quran:

And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers. (Surah Al-Ankabut: 14)

This verse teaches us that even 950 years of effort can't change people's minds. It is really up to the individual themselves. Yet the Prophet Noah pressed on because he knows that ALLAH counts his effort; not whether he succeeds or not. As such, we should internalise these lessons that had occurred in the past when we read this verse. Not to mention, finance and economic, two out of many "professional" and "real" areas, still rely heavily on historical data for forecasting.

It is the reason of history that I attempted the Mount Berembun trans Telapak Buruk trail in Pantai twice. During the first try, I wasn't able to reach the World War-II B-24 Liberator air craft crash site. Still eager to see, I attempted the second time and made it to the site. Indeed, nobody can ever know how death may approach.

Remains of the aircraft on Telapak Buruk

 
7. Living reminders of God
It is hard to shake the awe that every hill and mountain hiking has to offer. The animals serve as a reminder that ALLAH is Al-Khaliq (The Creator) while the ruins elucidate ALLAH as Al-Mumeet (The Destroyer). The fruits and rushing water speak of ALLAH Al-Muqeet (The Feeder) while the view from the mountain top shouts ALLAH Al-Aliyy (The Most High). Easy trails echo ALLAH Ar-Raheem (The Merciful) while the arduous ones constantly whisper ALLAH Al-Hafiz (The Guarding One). When I rest and put my head on the bare ground in prayer, I can't help but hear ALLAH Al-Mujeeb (The Responding One). As I descend down the hill, got in my car, and head home, my heart sings ALLAH Al-Ahad (The One).

Broga Hill in Broga

The House Dilemma

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

I am now a part time lecturer teaching Foundation of Islamic Finance at a public university in Malaysia. It was not long before I realise that students, no matter how boring the topic may be, pay attention when the lecturer is passionate. One such occasion happened when I was arguing on the necessity of a house bought through mortgage.  

Source: Binyamin Mellish

No, it is not the purpose of this post to debate on whether Islamic home financing is truly Islamic. Instead, it is to point out some obvious realities of home financing that people dismiss simply because the realities are not attach to any financial nor economic jargon. It is my personal opinion that when  making decision to buy a house, one should also be aware of the realities and repercussions attached to that decision.

1. Does house equates to a home?
Pause and observe; do all house owners view their house as a home? Some view their house as a long term investment which is not wrong; but some also view their house as a burden. Burden in two senses; burden of debt and burden of not having a real home. A real home is where we view our house as a sanctuary from the elements; both realistically and metaphorically. To describe the latter, most people are working long hours just to pay off the house. This causes fatigue and instead of feeling happy to spend time with their family when they get home from work, they would feel disgruntled. Hence a house that should by default be a home, becomes a mere symbol of financial security. I used the strikethroughs on purpose.  

2. Does house ownership equals to fulfillment of basic need?
Most tolerate the long working hours and family time because they argue that owning a house is a basic human need. House provides shelter and protection for their families, after all.
The fact of the matter is, other choice of housing like renting and mobile homes also give similar protection too. In relation to this, developed countries of Europe chose to rent instead of buying which could be mind boggling for people coming from less developed countries. Taking some points from the link, potential house owners should consider other costs attached to owning a house such as insurance and upkeep before making their final decision.

3. Does a house on a mortgage is truly our house?
It is always wise to be aware of the fact that the house we own is not really our house; at least not until we finish paying the monthly installments that often take up decades. I repeat, in underline and bold, decades. Until then, the house that we see as a financial security, is actually a mirage.
How so?
Consider these risks; losing our job, savings and investments dried up, major health issues (assuming no health insurance was taken), economic crisis etc. Wouldn't this affect our ability to pay the monthly installments? And when we can't pay, the bank will seize our house. Notice the strike through.
I had a conversation with my husband regarding this which I would like to add as a side note. Imagine that we face a religious, morale, and/or principle clash at work. But because of the need to pay down debt, we would easily step on our principles instead of quitting the job. It is as though we become slave to our employers due to debt which had enslaved us in the first place. It's as though we are worshiping two gods without us even realising.

4. Is living within our means and in moderation are backward concepts in this modern era?
This question reminds me of this book, "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West"  which I am still reading. John Ralston Saul, the author of this book, strongly critiques the technocrats that ivy league universities are producing. According to the author in page 22, technocrat is "the man who understands the organization, makes use of the technology and controls access to the information, which is a compendium of "facts"". The education they receive, according to him, emphasized more on technical jargons instead of analysing real problems. Even when the problems were address, the solutions were often superficial.
Corresponding to this, it is to my believe that living within our means and in moderation are not backward concepts at all. Instead, they are two simple yet wise principles grounded to reality. Hence, one should not feel dejected when (s)he is being accused by the community as idiots for not taking a mortgage. You are merely considering your physical and mental capacity to shoulder debt.

I would like to end this post with a clarification. I am not criticising those who have taken mortgage. I am merely pointing out the fact that acquiring a mortgage is not necessarily an indicator of financial security. At least, that is what I believe. What do YOU believe?

Freedom Fantasy

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

Excluding prisoners in jail and those poor souls trapped in modern slavery, everyone has freedom. But that my friend, is a foolhardy assumption. To prove this claim, let's begin with the most basic; the meaning of slave.

Oxford Dictionary defines slave as (especially in the past) a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. This includes:
- A person who works very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation.
- A person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.
- A device, or part of one, directly controlled by another.   

Photo credit: Comfreak

Definition 1: A person who works very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation.
All around the world, we find cases of employees being paid wages that are lower than the inflation rate. In the United States, one of the economic super powers, millions of full time workers still rely on the government to get by due to their low pay. You could say that they get low wages because not much skills are required for the job. The fact of the matter is different, however. According to Low Wage Work, "these jobs require knowledge, patience, care and communication".

Not more repulsive than child labour, though. Amnesty International claim that companies like Samsung, Sony, and Microsoft had workers as young as seven years old working in hazardous environment. This brings memories about the infamous Blood Diamond controversy.


Definition 2: A person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.
I personally believe that this form of slavery is the most widespread but always ignored.

Have you ever noticed how the media uses certain words to manipulate you? I would like to give you an example that was pointed out by The Patriots from this article piece that they uploaded in their Facebook page:

A normal person would just read this piece and concur that it is beyond a shred of a doubt that Majapahit relics were there in the Malacca river. Not many would notice the word "possibly" and "believed" in the first paragraph which means Majapahit origin hasn't actually been confirmed. Also notice that it was "a group of professional divers" and not archeologists (persons having solid knowledge of history) who had found these relics.

However, one not need go far to see this kind of slavery in action; it can happen within our family circles too. Abused spouses almost always believe that it is their fault for being abused; a classic example of how one can control another. In fact, there are also cases where one just succumb to the abuse because they feel like they can't survive without their partner.

Then there's the case where an individual feels pressured to conform with society's view. A person over 40 can feel dejected when s(he) is still single, a person can feel depressed when s(he) only has a cheap car, a teenager can feel ashamed with his peers for still being a virgin, and multitudes of other examples.

This can result in people becoming a slave to their desires too. To get an expensive car, (s)he would be willing to take bribe and a teenager can resort to rape to satisfy his lust. 


Definition 3: A device, or part of one, directly controlled by another.
This definition doesn't concern humans.


Thus the truth is, we are slaves to something or someone. You can deny it all you want.

But remember, we are human beings endowed with freedom of choice; we can choose who our masters are. And it's high time for us to choose. 

In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
[All] praise is [due] to Allah , Lord of the worlds -
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path -
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.

(Quran - Chapter 1)

 

Beautiful Lessons from Beautiful People

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

These past few months had been exceptionally challenging for me. Everything seems to be going downhill and my patience and acceptance of God's will have been tested greatly.

 
A hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) that offers much motivation crossed my mind but it was difficult for me to digest its wisdom. This is the hadith:
 

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:

“Look at those who are lower than you (financially) but do not look at those who are higher than you, lest you belittle the favors Allah conferred upon you.” Agreed upon. Source

So ALLAH had helped me grasp this wisdom, and more, through one beautiful and strong woman.

Picture courtesy of pixabay hence not the woman I'm writing about

It was the kind of day where interaction with humans were stressful for me but my phone still made noise. I ignored it. But the same noise came from it; again and again. Reluctantly, I checked my phone and saw several messages from a close friend of mine. She needed to borrow some money so that she and her kids can eat. They hadn't paid their car loans and rents for months as her husband's business is suffering. She was also embroiled in other conflicts that I pray I won't ever have to go through in my existence.

I can't help but feel like a weak idiot; here I am feeling sorry for myself when others, closed others, are facing much bigger and more real problems.

But here comes the dilemma; I am saving for a rainy day. In case I can't finish my PhD studies on time, I can use my own money because my scholarship only cover three years. However, this hadith had resolved my dilemma:

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
"Whoever relieves a Muslim of a burden from the burdens of the world, Allah will relieve him of a burden from the burdens on the Day of Judgement. And whoever helps ease a difficulty in the world, Allah will grant him ease from a difficulty in the world and in the Hereafter. And whoever covers (the faults of) a Muslim, Allah will cover (his faults) for him in the world and the Hereafter. And Allah is engaged in helping the worshiper as long as the worshiper is engaged in helping his brother." Source

In other words, if I want to be helped, I need to help others. Who knows, this might just be the sacrifice that I need to do in order for me to finish my PhD on time; or obtain more financially. Hence in the name of ALLAH, and my love for her, I gave her extra than what she initially asked to borrow.

It is my sincere hope that we can help ourselves by being grateful, and simultaneously help others in need. If this woman and the above hadiths do not motivate you enough, then perhaps this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson might just be right for you:

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 

My Free Upcoming Novelette: Front Cover of Letters to God

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear avid Bits and Pieces readers,

It's amazing how two months has passed since I updated my blog. And we're in 2016 already! I was under heaps of study and mountains of pressure that when I emerged out of them, I was knocked back down again out of shock. As I was slowly recovering and emerging, I managed to go through the first draft of Letters to God; albeit half way. Now that I've fully surfaced and alert, I hope I can get it done this month (please say ameen).

There is however one aspect of the book that I managed to get done (well it was my husband who did most of the work) out of God's mercy. The front cover of Letters to God has been completed!

My husband was learning Adobe Photoshop and so I enlisted his help to design the front cover. I first told him a general idea that I had in mind. The design I pictured is an ancient mailbox perched on a mysterious snowy area somewhere. Since the main character writes letters of complaint to God, I thought the ancient mailbox would symbolize the perfect place to drop those letters. I also chosen a snowy backdrop because I see snow as pure and mysterious, a place where God could live.

So we sat together in front of his computer and flick through picture by picture at Creative Commons. My husband had also done an independent research of book covers and found that white and black are very common backdrop themes. I thought for a bit and decided to give up the snow setting because I want my front cover to be unique.

By then, we had several selection of mailbox pictures but no design ideas. Disheartened, I shifted my focus to study instead while my husband continued. After a few days of creative drainage, my husband sat still on his chair, his right hand in a frenzy, eyes fixed at his computer. Hours after, he showed me his design.

I looked at it in awe. I love it! Except for one thing. The word "Letters" in "Letters to God" is the same color as the mailbox whereas "to God" are in white. I asked him and my husband showed a few book covers that others had done online. Almost all of them used different colors for their title too. After much thought, I asked him to change "Letters" into white. I don't know, I just think it looks much better. Thus behold, the front cover of my free upcoming novelette!!!


 

What do you think? Does it look good? Do you think it needs improvement? In what way? Please, do tell me in the comments.

Divine Speech - Literary Characteristics of the Quran (Part 3)

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

The first and second part from the previous posts had discussed about the micro study of the Quran. Therefore this post will discuss on the macro study of the Quran that was also delivered by Nouman Ali Khan. The flow of the discussion is as such. First, the definition of surah is presented. After that, an explanation on how the surah is organized is given, some literary features of Surah Yusuf is discussed and an example of coherence between surahs are forwarded. Lastly, three frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Quran are discussed before this post is concluded. 

What is Surah?

A surah is something that has a lot of different things in it and each of these things connect with one another. A surah is akin to a city where there are people, government, animals, houses etc where each of these connect with one another in some way. Therefore to call a surah a chapter is unfair. Furthermore, later chapters in a book never repeat the content of previous chapters, instead the book would instruct you to refer to those previous chapters. This is actually a very different concept with surahs in the Quran because surahs do have repetitions.  

How the Surah is Organized

Firstly, we should know that there are two types of surahs namely Makki and Madanee. Makki surahs are surahs that were revealed before the Prophet Muhammad's pbuh (peace be upon him) hijra to Madinah while Madanee surahs are revealed after the Prophet's pbuh hijra to Madinah.

There are two opinions in terms of the arrangements of surahs in the Quran; one opinion says that the surahs are arranged by ALLAH while another opinion says that the surahs were arranged by the Prophet's pbuh companions. Regardless, there is a sequence between one surah to another because of the following reasons: 

1) Historical

Zaid bin Thabit had witnessed the Prophet's pbuh recitation of the whole Quran to the angel Jibril in a sequence. This sequence is the sequence that Muslims had been using until today.

2) Textual

ALLAH had said in Surah Al-Qiyama (no. 75) ayah 17 that HE had arranged the surahs:

"It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad) the ability to recite it (the Qur'an)"

3) Observed

Based on observation, we can also see a certain sequence. For instance, in Surah al Isra' (no. 17) ayah 1:
"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing."
In this ayah, ALLAH  had taken his slave away meaning that the slave (which is the Prophet) traveled to get the message.
Meanwhile, in Surah al-Kahfi (no.18) ayah 1:
"[All] praise is [due] to Allah , who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance."
In this ayah, instead of making HIS messenger to travel, the message itself had traveled to the messenger.

Literary Features of Surah Yusuf (no. 12)

Nouman Ali Khan had also explained about some of the literary features of Surah Yusuf. As you read this, kindly refer to Surah Yusuf (no.12).

Ayah 4 to 6 talks about Yusuf's dream while in ayah 100, Yusuf's dream is made into reality. 

In ayah 8 to 18, the plot of the brothers against Yusuf is revealed while in ayah 58, Yusuf's brothers were beginning to learn their lesson. I

Then in ayah 23 to 31, the Minister's wife plus the Egyptian ladies attempted to seduce Yusuf but to no avail. Meanwhile in ayah 51, the ladies and the Minister's wife confessed on their wrongdoings. 

In ayah 35, Yusuf was sent to prison and in ayah 50, Yusuf was acquitted. 

Lastly, in ayah 43 to 44, the king speaks about his dream while in ayah 45 to 49, Yusuf interpreted the king's dream.

Thus as you can see, there is some sort of order between the ayahs in this surah.

Coherence between Surahs

Despite the fact that there are repetitions from one surah to another, there is still a sequence between them. For example in Surah An-Nasr (no. 110), ALLAH had promised victory whereby many will convert to Islam (bear in mind that this surah was revealed long before Islam was widespread). As a proof of HIS promise, ALLAH talks about the worse enemy of Islam at the time in Surah Al-Masadd (no. 111) namely Abu Lahab, who will be punished and burned in hell. Then surah no. 112 (Al-Ikhlas) was revealed after many had converted to Islam (after victory came). This is because a person who travels in a long journey (spreading Islam and faced hardships), tend to forget his true purpose after such a long time (in this case, worshiping ALLAH, the one God).  And in order to successfully worship HIM, Muslims must seek protection from outside influences (Surah Al-Falaq, no. 113) and from what's inside of him (Surah An-Nass, no.114).   

FAQ about the Quran

How can we claim that the Quran is truly authentic when the text is based solely on memorization? Won't people who memorizes something tend to forget the thing that he had memorized?
If the Quran is not authentic, if some of its contents were left out because the person who memorized it had forget, we will surely find many versions of the Quran. However until this day, there is only one version of the Quran that is recited by all the Muslims in this world.

Why does ALLAH use WE, I and HE in the Quran?
We is used when ALLAH describes about kingdom, gifts, water, life etc. An example of ayah that uses "We" is in Surah At-Tin (no.95) ayah 4:
"Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould)."

In this ayah, ALLAH is speaking about the creation of human.

I is used when ALLAH speaks about something to the extreme such as when HE is extremely angry, extremely forgiving, really listening etc. One example is in Surah Al-Baqarah (no.2) ayah 186:
"And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright."

Here, ALLAH is saying that he is definitely listening.

He is used in the context of formality or in the context of distance. One example is in Surah Al-Ikhlas (no.112) ayah 1:
"Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, (the) One."Here, ALLAH is being formal.

Why does ALLAH make oaths in the Quran? 

Oaths are used in the Quran for five reasons:
1. When in anger
2. When not being believed
3. When we are in the court of judgement
4. To get our attention
5. To use the object of the oath as evidence. In turn, the object of the oath prepares us for the subject of the oath.

For example in Surah Al-'Asr (no.103), ALLAH uses time as the subject of oath to bring to our attention on who will be the winners in this life:
"By Al-'Asr (the time). Verily! Man is in loss, Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf)which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah's Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad, etc.)."

Conclusion

After learning about the micro study and macro study of the Quran, Nouman Ali Khan gave these conclusions. Firstly, we can see that the grammar used in the Quran is very different than the grammar used in English; in fact it's even different than the formal Arabic grammar. This goes to say that ALLAH sets HIS own standard of grammar that is incomparable with humans. This befits a God. In addition, based on the Quranic literary features, we can also say that the Quran is clear but it is not simple.

With this, the posts on the Literary Characteristics of the Quran has ended. I sincerely hope that you have benefited from all of the posts. Should you be interested in learning about the Quran, you can sign up to Bayyinah TV. But if you can't afford to sign up (because there's a fee to sign up), you can click on "Gift" in the Bayyinah TV webpage.

Divine Speech - Literary Characteristics of the Quran (Part 2)

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

To recap, the previous post had discussed some points from the micro study of the Quran as delivered by Nouman Ali Khan in the seminar. Those points are the genuine meaning of ayah and several forms of ayah in the Quran namely verbal idioms, intricate word choice, transition involving 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons and sentence structure. Also, a subtopic of camera scenes in the Quran were also discussed. Thus in this post, I will share the remaining form of ayah which is sequence in Quranic discourse. In addition, a few alleged grammatical errors in the Quran will also be presented. To conclude the micro study of the Quran, I would like to share some inspiring ayahs, that was discussed by Nouman Ali Khan with the hopes that they will inspire you too :)   

Sequence in Quranic Discourse

In Surah Al Kahfi (Surah no. 18) ayah 19 to 20 ALLAH says:
"Likewise, We awakened them (from their long deep sleep) that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said: "How long have you stayed (here)?" They said: "We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day." They said: "Your Lord (Alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here). So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town, and let him find out which is the good lawful food, and bring some of that to you. And let him be careful and let no man know of you. "For if they come to know of you, they will stone you (to death or abuse and harm you) or turn you back to their religion, and in that case you will never be successful.""

Then in the same Surah at ayah 26 ALLAH says:

Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed. With Him is (the knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)! They have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector, etc.) other than Him, and He makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule."

In these ayahs (ayah 19 to 20), ALLAH had actually recorded a conversation in a cave that had happened sometime in history. This means that ALLAH is acting as a historian here. But ALLAH is not just your typical historian. He had in fact recorded a conversation that no human historian will gain access to nor are interested in since it happened in a cave. Normally, historians would only record speeches by ministers or kings but not some guys in a cave. Then ALLAH said in ayah 26, "With Him is (the knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)!" which basically says that HE can sees and hears every single conversation, even in a cave; it is crystal clear to HIM. 

I also would like to give you a second example that Nouman Ali Khan presented. In Surah Al-Mulk (Surah no. 67) ayah 29 ALLAH says:

"Say: "He is Al-Rahmaan. We believe in Him and upon Him we place our trust. So you will come to know who is it that is in manifest error.""

Now, why does "we believe in him" is in normal grammar and "upon Him we place our trust" sounds like Master Yoda's grammar? According to Nouman Ali Khan, the purpose old Arabic makes an unusual sequence of words is to include the word "only". So "upon Him we place our trust" actually means "we place our trust only in HIM". This is logical, really. In terms of believe, we don't only believe in ALLAH but we believe in HIS Prophets, the angels, the Day of Judgement etc. But, in terms of reliance, we only rely on ALLAH.

Alleged Grammatical Errors in the Quran

According to Nouman Ali Khan, some quarters assert that there are grammatical errors in the Quran. Two example of alleged grammar errors are in Surah Al-Baqarah (Surah no. 2) ayah 177:

According to several quarters, the red boxes in the above picture are grammatical errors. Firstly we must remember that the Quran was revealed in ancient/classical Arabic thus the grammars of the formal Arabic do not apply to the Quran.

Let's analyse the first red box which is at the upper side of the picture. The reason ALLAH says Al-Birra (transliteration of the first red box) instead of Al-Birru (the proper grammar for formal Arabic) is because HE wants to say that "Righteousness is not only that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is also in one who believes in ALLAH, the Last Day..."

Now let's discuss the second red box. The reason ALLAH says As-Sobireena (transliteration of the second red box) instead of As-Sobiroona (the proper grammar for formal Arabic) is because HE wants to say that "Righteousness is not only that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is also in one who believes in ALLAH, the Last Day...and [those who] above all  are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle..."

Some Inspiring Ayahs

1) Surah Al-Hajj (Surah no. 22) ayah 78:

"And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. [It is] the religion of your father, Abraham. Allah named you "Muslims" before [in former scriptures] and in this [revelation] that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the people. So establish prayer and give zakah and hold fast to Allah. He is your protector; and excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper."

According to Nouman Ali Khan, "He has chosen you" is a choice by qualification. Meaning, we have been chosen to be Muslims by ALLAH because we have certain qualification or quality. Even ALLAH sees us as someone who is worthy. However, each and everyone of us has different capabilities. Some have the ability to teach, some have the ability to write, some have the ability to invent, some have the ability to do marketing etc. Therefore, we shouldn't be disheartened, feel inferior or demotivated. Each and every one of us do have an ability as evident from this ayah; all we have to do is to find it and strive for the sake of ALLAH.

2) Surah Ali Imran (Surah no. 3) ayah 141: 

"And that Allah may test (or purify) the believers (from sins) and destroy the disbelievers."

We always complain when we are faced with hardships. We feel sad, angry, frustrated and confused. But in this ayah, ALLAH explains why he tests us; which is to purify us from sins.

3) Surah Al-Baqarah (Surah no. 2) ayah 255:

"His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

Once, Prophet Muhammad pbuh was asked about the size of ALLAH's throne. So, the Prophet pbuh made an analogy. Imagine that we are flying in a helicopter (Nouman Ali Khan uses helicopter so that we can easily relate and understand) high above the desert. Then we throw a ring from the helicopter. Now the ring symbolizes every galaxy in existence while the throne of ALLAH is the desert. That my friend, is how vast is ALLAH's throne. So the next time when we say that ALLAH does not know what we are going through or that ALLAH doesn't care about us, we should think again.

4) Surah Al-Fatihah (Surah no. 1) ayah 5

"You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)"

When we worship something, that means we are a slave to that thing. So in Islam, we are the slaves of ALLAH. But the definition of "slave" here is different than the human definition. Let's see what is the human definition of slave versus the Al-Fatihah's definition of slave.

Human defines a slave as someone who does whatever his master orders him to do. In other words, his job is to help his master and his master on the other hand, does not help him. Here in Al-Fatihah, the slave is given help by his Master for each and everything. Besides, to not be a slave of ALLAH is to be a slave to other things such as fashion, alcohol, sexual desires, money, status, cars, football etc. It is only natural. Therefore, we should ask ourselves to whom or what should we rather be a slave to.  

This wraps up the micro study of the Quran. Be sure to wait for Part 3 next week! God willing.

p/s: Should you be interested in learning about the Quran, you can sign up to Bayyinah TV. But if you can't afford to sign up (because there's a fee to sign up), you can click on "Gift" in the Bayyinah TV webpage.

Divine Speech - Literary Characteristics of the Quran (Part 1)

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

Firstly, I am very sorry for not writing a blog post last week. But I'm going to make up to you by writing about a two day seminar that I had attended on the weekends which is the "Divine Speech - Literary Characteristics of the Quran" delivered by Nouman Ali Khan. This seminar will be discussed in three posts so I will be writing two blog posts this week to make up for last week's.

The seminar was divided into two parts. The first part was the micro study of the Quran while the second part was the macro study of the Quran. Micro study covers the verses of the Quran while macro study covers the chapters of the Quran plus the Quran as a whole. And as has been implied by the title of this seminar, participants were exposed to the literary side of the Quran only. To be precise, the purpose of this seminar is to expose people to the meanings of the Quran that were lost in translation and to show how beautiful the Quran is from the lens of literature.

Today's post will discuss partly on the micro study of the Quran, the later post will discuss the other half of it, while next week's post will cover the macro study of the Quran, insyALLAH.

First and foremost, we must understand that the Quran was revealed in Arabic. Not in the formal Arabic or the spoken Arabic that is presently used but in classical or ancient Arabic. It is on this premise that Nouman Ali Khan started the discussion.

Definition of Ayah (verses)

Usually, the ayah of the Quran is translated into "verses"of the Quran in English. However, this translation is too narrow. The genuine definition of ayah is:

1) Something that is valuable

2) Something that makes a person curious

3) Something that points to a direction

4) Something that amazes us

5) Something that is calling us

6) Something that convinces us

7) Something that serves us a purpose 

Thus, the challenges that we face everyday, the love between a husband and wife, the breeze that calms us, the words in the Quran, the moments in our life, basically everything in existence is actually ayahs.

Focusing back to the Quran, the ayahs in the Quran are in the forms of verbal idioms, intricate word choice, transition involving 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons, sentence structure and sequence in Quranic discourse. In addition, some alleged grammatical errors in the Quran were also discussed by Nouman Ali Khan. I will share with you one example for each.

Verbal Idioms

In Surah Al Isra' (Surah no. 17) ayah 24, ALLAH says:

"And lower unto them the wings of submission and humility through mercy, and say: "My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.""

At first glance, "To lower unto them the wings" or short, "to lower wings" seems senseless to us. However, this is actually an idiom that was used by the Arabs of the old which means to be humble, to protect and to sacrifice. Therefore, this ayah instructs us to be humble and to protect our parents (as has been stated in ayah 23) as well as sacrificing for them.  

Intricate Word Choice

In Surah Al Ahzab (Surah no. 33) ayah 13, Allah says:

"And when a party of them said: "O people of Yathrib! There is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!" And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet saying: "Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy)." And they lay not open. They but wished to flee."

Before the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him (pbuh) came to Madinah, the place was named Yathrib. Now in other ayahs of the Quran (63:8, 33:13, 33:60, 9:101, 9:120), ALLAH uses Madinah instead of Yathrib. This makes us wonder why in this particular ayah ALLAH uses Yathrib. Next, we need to know that this ayah is talking about this city (Madinah/Yathrib) going to be attacked and how the hypocrites refused to help defend the city; so they were talking privately among themselves saying that this city is doomed. We also need to know that the hypocrites had initially agreed to welcome Prophet Muhammad pbuh and changed the city's name to Madinah because he had been victorious in several occasions before. So, ALLAH had actually exposed these hypocrites by saying exactly what they were privately talking to themselves which is "O people of Yathrib! There is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!" and ALLAH uses Yathrib instead of Madinah to describe the hypocrites who are not sincere in welcoming the Prophet pbuh in the first place. 

Transition involving 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons

In Surah At-Tur (Surah no. 52) ayahs 18 and 19:

"Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them, and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire."Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do.""

As you can read from ayah 18, "Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them, and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire", ALLAH is talking in the 3rd person point of view. But suddenly in the next ayah, ALLAH talks in the 1st person point of view, "Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do". The reason for this, according to Nouman Ali Khan is, ALLAH's forcing us into this ayah. HE wants to bring us to the attention that we will be talking directly to him in Heaven. And that my fellow friends, is the best gift that a person can ever get :)

Camera Scenes in the Quran

Nouman Ali Khan had also presented an example of camera scenes in the Quran. In Surah Yunus (Surah no. 10) ayah 22: 

"He it is Who enables you to travel through land and sea, till when you are in the ships and they sail with them with a favourable wind, and they are glad therein, then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think that they are encircled therein, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him Alone, saying: "If You (Allah) deliver us from this, we shall truly be of the grateful.""

Imagine that you are watching a movie with the scenes depicted in the above ayah. First, the movie shows the land and the sea. The camera then zooms in and shows that people are boarding a ship and they are sailing faraway from land. After that, the camera shows the happy faces of those on board. But suddenly, a scene where storms are raging and waters lashing on the occupants emerges. This can cause the boat to sink. In that paralyzing fear, the people raised their hands and prayed sincerely to God to help them.

Sentence Structure

In Surah Al-Baqarah (Surah no. 2) ayah 254:

When tanwin (circled red in the picture above) is used, it means that there could be an exception. According to the ayah above, there will be "no intercession" in the Day of Judgement. However, Muslims know that that is not true because the Prophet pbuh will intercede for some of us that are worthy during that Day.

This ends the post. Kindly wait for the next posts in which I will explain Part 2 and Part 3, insyALLAH :) 

p/s: Should you be interested in learning about the Quran, you can sign up to Bayyinah TV. But if you can't afford to sign up (because there's a fee to sign up), you can click on "Gift" in the Bayyinah TV webpage.