Kobe Mosque merupakan masjid pertama di Jepang. Masjid ini dibangun tahun 1928 di Nakayamate Dori, Chuo-ku. Kobe berarti gate of God atau gerbang Tuhan. Tahun 1945, Jepang terlibat perang Dunia Kedua. penyerangan Jepang atas pelabuhan Pearl Harbour di Amerika telah membuat pemerintah Amerika memutuskan untuk menjatuhkan bom atom pertama kali dalam sebuah peperangan. Dan Jepang pun kalah. Dua kotanya, Nagasaki dan Hiroshima dibom Atom oleh Amerika. Saat itu, kota Kobe juga tidak ketinggalan menerima serangan pengeboman lewat udara walau tidak dengan sejenis bom Atom seperti Nagasaki dan Hiroshima. Boleh dibilang Kobe juga menjadi rata dengan tanah. Ketika bangunan di sekitarnya hampir rata dengan tanah, Masjid Muslim Kobe tetap berdiri tegak. Masjid ini hanya mengalami keretakan pada dinding luar dan semua kaca jendelanya pecah. Bagian luar masjid menjadi agak hitam karena asap serangan bom. Tentara Jepang yang berlindung di basement masjid selamat dari ancaman bom, begitu juga dengan senjata-senjata yang disembunyikannya. Masjid ini kemudian menjadi tempat pengungsian korban perang....

The pharaoh who ruled Egypt was a tyrant who oppressed the descendants of Prophet Jacob (pbuh), known as the children of Israel (Bani Israel). He used every means to demean and disgrace them. They were kept in bondage and forced to work for him for small wages or nothing. Under this system the people obeyed and worshipped the pharaoh, and the ruling class carried out his orders, thereby authorizing his tyranny and crazy whims. The pharaoh wanted the people to obey him only, and to believe in the gods of his invention. Perhaps, during that time, there were many classes of people who did not believe in or practice polytheism; however, they kept this to themselves and outwardly did as they were expected to do, without revolting or revealing themselves to anyone. Thus, successive dynasties came to Egypt and assumed that they were gods or their representative or spokesmen. Years passed, and a despotic king, who was adored by the Egyptians, ruled Egypt. His king saw the children of Israel multiplying and prospering. He heard them talking about a vague vision that one of Israel' s sons would dethrone the pharaoh of Egypt. Perhaps thi...

Imagine yourself at the moment of your death. What thoughts cross your mind? Memories of family and friends? Panic? Regrets? Remembrance of Allah? What is death? What happens to us after we die? What is life in the Hereafter like, this new and strange world after death? Do we lose consciousness of this life? Where does our soul go? Do we feel and think the same? The ineffable feeling of crossing the boundary between this world and the next cannot be described in words, nor imagined in the mind, but can be understood only through divine revealation and inspiration. Let us for the next few moments seek an understanding of this, death, the only certainty in life. Sometimes we may not want to know about the processes that occur after we die because we are afraid or don't want to think about it. However, this is not the attitude of a Muslim. We should be foremost in learning and understanding death, so we can live our lives accordingly. The prophet (saw) said, "Live in this world as though you are a stranger or a traveler (passing through it)." [Muslim] We are on a journey and should know about the whole journey's itinerary, not ju...

In the beginning I was clay then I became a bird by Allah's leave. From motionless clay to a soaring bird. I was something that was not able to move by itself and then I could fly in the sky. That is me. I do not know how to introduce myself to history. Allah (Exalted and Glorified be He) introduced me in the last of His Books saying, "(Remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection), 'O 'Isa (Jesus), son of Mary am (Mary)! Remember My Favor to you and to your mother when I supported you with Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibril (Gabriel)) so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and when I taught you writing, Al-Hikmah (the power of understanding), the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospel); and when you made out of the clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My Permission, and you breathed into it, and it became a bird by My Permission.’” That is me. A handful of clay... I was the princess of clay, even though I was made of clay. Then I fell in love. That was before 'Isa the son of Maryam touched me. When I fell in love I began to transform. How can a creature explain the scent of the earth ...

There’s a story related in Sahih Bukhari emphasising the vastness and generousness of Allah’s mercy. The Prophet (saws) picked on certain events throughout history to show their importance. This emphasised a certain message that he was trying to convey to us. Since the events of the past are so numerous, the ones chosen to be related and preserved in his words till the end of time must be of great importance. Whenever we hear stories of the past we should always remember that Allah had chosen those stories to be related as a great occurrence. There was a man who had heartlessly murdered 99 people, when all of a sudden he felt remorse over what he had done. He asked the people in his town if they knew anyone who was pious enough to get advice from. They recommended to him an ascetic who lived in the mountains. So the man went to this learned person and told him about the past and his wishing to repent for his actions....