Doc Ahmad Hajiri

Bismillah. I am posting this before the Eid for this year arrives (it’s either August 8 or 9), so I am writing before the actual Eid is happening and there might be some changes of thoughts that may happen within that short time, and thus whatever I might have written here may be different after Eid (in shaa Allah, I do hope so it will). First off, it will be my second year spending ‘Eid far away from my family AND on a non-Muslim community. I have actually spend some ‘Eids away from home years ago, but those times where happy-‘ol-times as I can still feel the atmosphere of unexplainable happiness of spending the ‘Eid with your Muslim brothers (remember, I have spend more than 4 years in Marawi City :D and oh I miss that place). But this time of the year (well, it actually started last year), it’s a totally different world. I remember last year’s Eid. I was happy during the first few hours after the Eid prayers as I was spending some time with my Muslim friends (you kno...

Bismillah. The following conversations/questions are always thrown at me when they see my beard. Friend 1: “Hey Ahmad, why don’t you shave your beard? Are you really letting that grow? Or you just don’t know how to shave…” =) Professor 1: “You are a Muslim and you have a beard. So, you have been to Mecca, right?” Friend 2: “I like your beard… But man, it makes you look older!” Maybe there are a lot more conversations I had with friends (especially non-Muslims) who would never fail to notice my now-two-inch-long, sparsely growing beard hanging on my chin. And whether they ask me why, or I would notice them getting curious about it, I only have one answer for them:  “It’s simple my friend. This is SUNNAH!” (Usually followed by a beaming smile here) But what is Sunnah, you ask? No, it’s not the Arabic for “fashion”. Nor is it something done to please other people. SUNNAH is simply “following the examples of our beloved prophet Muhammad (Peace and ble...

Bismillah. Ramadhan or the month of fasting for Muslims is now fast approaching. And for a country where non-Muslims dominate the population, there are always some point in time where a lot of people are getting curious of what really Ramadhan is. What do Muslims do in this month? Why is it so special to them? What can non-Muslims do to appreciate this month? And how can non-Muslims appropriately join in with their celebration? To have a short reading on need-to-know-about-Ramadhan, please visit my post: Ramadhan for Non-Muslim s . And in this post, we will talk about answering the question stated earlier: What can non-Muslims do during Ramadhan? Here is a list of things that non-Muslims can do and should avoid doing, from one Muslim’s personal experiences in living in a place where non-Muslims are the majority.  What you can do: 1.   Know who are Muslims around you. Before Ramadhan kicks in, keeping in mind who are Muslims around you--in your neighborhood...

Bismillah Last June 9, 2013 I was fortunate to be part of a Pre-Ramadhan Symposium, Alhamdulillah. This was organized by our Muslim Student Association-Alumni brothers and sisters from different campuses and in coordination with the Islam in Focus (IIF) Productions-Manila . The symposium themed: “Virtues of the Holy month of Ramadhan” was held at Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation, Inc., at Sampaloc, Manila from 1:30 to 5 PM. The symposium, although simple, was attended by more than a hundred Muslim brothers and sisters throughout Manila. Sheikh Ahmad Javier (in black shirt) with the other ulama during the symposium There were two main lectures followed by the usual open-forum part. The first lecture entitled “Virtues of Ramadhan” by Sheikh Ahmad Javier who is also the director of IIF-Manila. He talked about the great value every Muslim should place on Ramadhan and we should never let Ramadhan pass us by without us reaping its bountiful rewards. He also emphasized...

Bismillah. Every year, there comes a very special visitor that Muslims are always looking up to. This is a very special event that lasts for one month: the Holy Month of Ramadhan. As this month draws near, you will see most Muslims getting more excited and eager for the first day of that month to come. This is one of the mysteries that non-Muslims are always curious about. What is Ramadhan? What is so special about it? Why do Muslims celebrate with joy when Ramadhan comes? In shaa Allah this post will answer these questions posted by our non-Muslim friends so that when this year’s Ramadhan comes, they will be more aware about it. What is Ramadhan? Ramadhan is the 9 th month of the Hijra or Islamic Calendar. This is one of the special months for Muslims wherein one of the five fundamental pillars of Islam happens: As-sawmu Ramadhan or fasting in the whole duration of Ramadhan. For 29 to 30 days, Muslims would abstain from eating, drinking, having sexual contact with their ...