Archive: September, 2009

Selamat Berpuasa Bulan Syawal 1430H

No comments September 27th, 2009

Abu Ayyub al-Anshari radhiallaahu ‘anhu meriwayatkan, Nabi shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda, “Barangsiapa berpuasa penuh di bulan Ramadhan lalu menyambungnya dengan (puasa) enam hari di bulan Syawal, maka (pahalanya) seperti ia berpuasa selama satu tahun.” (HR. Muslim)

Imam Ahmad dan an-Nasa’i, meriwayatkan dari Tsauban, Nabi shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda, “Puasa Ramadhan ganjarannya sebanding dengan (puasa) sepuluh bulan, sedangkan puasa enam hari (di bulan Syawal, pahalanya) sebanding dengan (puasa) dua bulan, maka bagaikan berpuasa selama setahun penuh.” (HR. Ibnu Khuzaimah dan Ibnu Hubban dalam “Shahih” mereka)

Dari Abu Hurairah radhallaahu ‘anhu, Nabi Shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda, “Barangsiapa berpuasa Ramadhan lantas disambung dengan enam hari di bulan Syawal, maka ia bagaikan telah berpuasa selama setahun.” (HR. al-Bazzar)

Pahala puasa Ramadhan yang dilanjutkan dengan puasa enam hari di bulan Syawal menyamai pahala puasa enam hari penuh, karena setiap hasanah (kebaikan) diganjar sepuluh kali kelipatannya, sebagaimana telah disinggung dalam hadits Tsauban di muka.

Membiasakan puasa setelah Ramadhan memiliki banyak manfa’at, di antaranya:
1. Puasa enam hari di bulan Syawal setelah Ramadhan, merupakan pelengkap dan penyempurna pahala dari puasa setahun penuh.

2. Puasa Syawal dan Sya’ban bagaikan shalat sunnah rawathib, berfungsi sebagai penyempurna dari kekurangan, karena pada hari Kiamat nanti perbuatan-perbuatan fardhu akan disempurnakan (dilengkapi) dengan perbuatan-perbuatan sunnah. Sebagaimana keterangan yang datang dari Nabi Shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam di berbagai riwayat. Mayoritas puasa fardhu yang dilakukan kaum muslimin memiliki kekurangan dan ketidaksempurnaan, maka hal itu membutuhkan sesuatu yang menutupi dan menyempurnakannya.

3. Membiasakan puasa setelah Ramadhan menandakan diterimanya puasa Ramadhan, karena apabila Allah Ta’ala menerima amal seseorang hamba, pasti Dia menolongnya dalam meningkatkan perbuatan baik setelahnya. Sebagian orang bijak mengatakan, “Pahala amal kebaikan adalah kebaikan yang ada sesudahnya.” Oleh karena itu barangsiapa mengerjakan kebaikan kemudian melanjutkannya dengan kebaikan lain, maka hal itu merupakan tanda atas terkabulnya amal pertama. Demikian pula sebaliknya, jika seseorang melakukan sesuatu kebaikan lalu diikuti dengan yang buruk, maka hal itu merupakan tanda tertolaknya amal yang pertama.

Puasa Ramadhan -sebagaimana disebutkan di muka- dapat mendatangkan maghfirah atas dosa-dosa masa lalu. Orang yang berpuasa Ramadhan akan mendapatkan pahalanya pada hari Raya Iedul Fithri yang merupakan hari pembagian hadiah, maka membiasakan puasa setelah Iedul Fithri merupakan bentuk rasa syukur atas nikmat ini. Dan sungguh tak ada nikmat yang lebih agung dari pengampunan dosa-dosa.

Oleh karena itu termasuk sebagian ungkapan rasa syukur seorang hamba atas pertolongan dan ampuan yang telah dianugerahkan kepadanya adalah dengan berpuasa setelah Ramadhan. Tetapi jika ia justru mengggantinya dengan perbuatan maksiat, maka ia termasuk kelompok orang yang membalas kenikmatan dengan kekufuran. Apabila ia berniat pada saat melakukan puasa untuk kembali melakukan maksiat lagi, maka puasanya tidak akan terkabul, ia bagaikan orang yang membangun sebuah bangunan megah lantas menghancurkannya kembali. Allah Ta’ala berfirman, “Dan janganlah kamu seperti seorang perempuan yang menguraikan benangnya yang sudah dipintal dengan kuat menjadi cerai berai lagi.” (QS. an-Nahl: 92)

5. Dan di antara manfa’at puasa enam hari di bulan Syawal adalah amal-amal yang dikerjakan seorang hamba untuk mendekatkan diri kepada Tuhannya pada bulan Ramadhan tidak terputus dengan berlalunya bulan mulia ini, selama ia masih hidup. Orang yang setelah Ramadhan berpuasa bagaikan orang yang cepat-cepat kembali dari pelariannya, yakni orang yang baru lari dari peperangan fi sabilillah lantas kembali lagi. Sebab tidak sedikit manusia yang berbahagia dengan berlalunya Ramadhan, sebab mereka merasa berat, jenuh dan lama berpuasa Ramadhan.

Barangsiapa yang mereka demikian maka sulit baginya untuk bersegera kembali melaksanakan puasa, padahal orang yang bersegera kembali melaksanakan puasa setelah Iedul Fithri merupakan bukti kecintaannya terhadap ibadah puasa, ia tidak merasa bosan dan berat apalagi benci.

Seorang ulama Salaf ditanya tentang kaum yang bersungguh-sungguh dalam ibadahnya di bulan Ramadhan tetapi jika Ramadhan berlalu mereka tidak bersungguh-sungguh lagi, beliau berkomentar, “Seburuk-buruk kaum adalah yang tidak mengenal Allah Ta’ala secara benar kecuali di bulan Ramadhan saja, padahal orang shalih adalah yang beribadah dengan sungguh-sungguh di sepanjang tahun.”

Oleh karena itu sebaiknya orang yang memiliki hutang puasa Ramadhan memulai membayarnya di bulan Syawal, karena hal itu akan mempercepat proses pembebasan dirinya dari tanggungan hutangnya. Kemudian dilanjutkan dengan enam hari puasa Syawal. Dengan demikian telah melakukan puasa Ramadhan dan mengikutinya dengan enam hari di bulan Syawal.

Ketahuilah amal perbuatan seorang mukmin itu tidak ada batasnya hingga maut menjemputnya. Allah Ta.a’a berfirman, “Dan sembahlah Tuhan-mu sampai datang kepadamu yang diyakini (ajal).” (QS. al-Hijr: 99)

Dan perlu diingat pula bahwa shalat-shalat dan puasa serta shadaqah yang dipergunakan seorang hamba untuk mendekatkan diri kepada Allah Ta’ala pada bulan Ramadhan adalah disyari’atkan sepanjang tahun, karena hal itu mengandung berbagai macam manfaat, diantaranya; ia sebagai pelengkap dari kekuarangan yang terdapat pada fardhu, merupakan salah satu faktor yang mendatangkan mahabbah (kecintaan) Allah kepada Hamba-Nya, sebab terkabulnya doa, demikian pula sebagai sebab dihapuskannya dosa dan dilipatgandakannya pahala kebaikan dan ditinggikannya kedudukan.

Hanya kepada Allah tempat memohon pertolongan, shalawat dan salam semoga tercurahkan selalu keharibaan Nabi, segenap keluar dan sahabat beliau.

Sumber, Risalah Ramadhan, Abdullah bin Jarullah bin Ibrahim al-Jarullah.

Salam Aidilfitri 1431H

1 comment September 17th, 2009

Salam,

Sempena Syawal yang bakal menjelma, saya mengucapkan Salam Aidilfitri dan saya ingin memohon ampun dan maaf sekiranya tulisan di dalam blog ini ada menyentuh peribadi seseorang, tersilap kata dan terkasar bahasa.

Saya akan balik beraya di Kota Bharu, Kelantan selama 7 hari. Inilah untung jadi agen. Nak cuti lama-lama pun bos tak marah :-) .

Semoga kita dipanjangkan umur dan akan berjumpa bulan Ramadhan pada tahun hadapan.

Wallahu Alam.

Blue ocean pics on August 2009

No comments September 12th, 2009

Ini gambar-gambar yang sempat diambik pakai Blackberry saya dan Sony Ericson Razmi. This trip kitorang sempat berpuasa selamat 2 hari kat sana. Ini adalah pengalaman baru bagi kami sebab tak penah sebelum ni kita bersahur dan berbuka puasa di blue ocean.

Apa-apa hal pun, harap enjoy tengok gambar-gambar kitorang

MNRB sees modest growth on selective underwriting

No comments September 8th, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: MNRB Holdings Bhd sees a modest growth of 8.5% in revenue in its fiscal year ending March 31, 2010 (FY10) due to selective underwriting, overseas expansion and a higher claims ratio.

The reinsurance company posted a 20% growth in revenue to RM1.2bil but net profit plunged 86.7% to RM22.7mil in FY09 against FY08.

Chairman Sharkawi Alis said profitability in the industry might not be in tandem with the revenue achieved.
Sharkawi Alis … ‘Our takaful operation will also consolidate this year.’

“We may do well in increasing the premiums growth but higher claims could pull down profit likewise in FY09. The large difference in net profit in FY09 was also contributed by the RM75mil proceeds from MNRB’s disposal of a 3.24% direct equity interest in Malaysian Oxygen Bhd in FY08,” Sharkawi said after the company’s AGM on Friday last week.

He added that under the current economic climate and what the company had experienced last year, nobody could conclude that the worst was over, hence the modest projection. Sharkawi said Malaysian Reinsurance (MNRB’s wholly-owned subsidiary) would be selective in the industry that it underwrites and not just underwrite for the sake of premiums growth.

“Overseas market expansion, which had been rapid for the past couple of years, will be done cautiously this year to make sure we will invest only in profitable business. Our takaful operation under Takaful Ikhlas, which had enjoyed growth 30% to 40% over the last couple of years, will also consolidate this year. We only target gross contribution income of RM600mil compared with RM580.5mil last year,” he said.

Jom kita bayar zakat fitrah

No comments September 5th, 2009

Ibnu Abbas menyatakan: “Rasulullah SAW telah mewajibkan zakat fitrah, untuk membersihkan orang yang berpuasa daripada ucapan yang tidak ada manfaatnya dan kata-kata yang kotor, serta untuk memberikan makanan kepada orang-orang miskin.” (Hadis Riwayat Abu Daud).

Bila sebut Ramadan, maka ia amat sinonim dengan zakat fitrah. Dalam Islam, di samping zakat harta maka semua umat Islam yang layak diwajibkan zakat fitrah. Zakat fitrah dikenakan kepada semua umat Islam, sama ada merdeka mahu pun hamba sahaya.

Kadar zakat fitrah pula ialah sekadar segantang Baghdad yang dikenakan berdasarkan makanan asasi. Jika di Malaysia, beraslah zakat fitrahnya. Segantang Baghdad itu pula menyamai 2.7 kg. Maka, darablah harga beras semasa dengan 2.7 kg bagi mendapatkan kadar zakat fitrah.

Kadar Zakat Fitrah yang telah ditetapkan bagi tahun 2009 / 1430H adalah seperti beikut :

Kuala Lumpur : Belum diumumkan (2008 : RM 5.20)
Labuan : Belum diumumkan (2008 : RM 5.20)
Putrajaya : Belum diumumkan (2008 : RM 5.20)
Johor : RM 5.00 / RM 7.50
Kedah : RM7.00
Kelantan : Belum diumumkan (2008 : RM 7.60)
Melaka : RM6.30
N.Sembilan : RM6.50
Pahang : RM7.00
Perak : RM7.00
Perlis : RM 6.00
P.Pinang : RM 7.00
Sabah : RM 6.60
Sarawak : RM 6.00
Selangor : RM 7.00
Terengganu : RM 5.00 / RM7.00 / RM8.00

Di dalam memastikan umat Islam khususnya golongan fakir dan miskin turut merasai nikmat hari raya inilah, maka zakat fitrah diwajibkan. Ia bertujuan memberikan mereka makanan yang cukup. Bahkan dalam konteks hari ini, fakir miskin bukan sahaja diberikan makanan bahkan wang ringgit. Maka, dapatlah mereka membeli keperluan hari raya dengan wang ringgit tersebut.

So, jom lah kita sama-sama menunaikan zakat fitrah yang wajib ke atas kita dan tanggungan kita.

Sumber :   BERNAMA dan Blog Zakat

Investment, image and Kartika

No comments September 4th, 2009

By VANMALA SUBRAMANIAM- The Star

How much has her case affected Malaysia’s attractiveness?

LAST Tuesday was one of those rare days where Malaysia made the front page of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Alas, it was not for another feel-good story about Asia’s astonishing economic recovery, but rather the controversial case of Kartika Seri Dewi Shukarno, the part-time model who had been sentenced to six lashes of the cane for drinking beer in a Kuantan hotel.

The Kartika saga has generated much negative publicity for Malaysia. – AP

The Kartika saga has generated much negative publicity for Malaysia.

Questions have been raised about Malaysia’s image as a moderate majority Muslim nation.

Amnesty International and other campaigners have urged the courts to drop their sentence, calling it “cruel, inhuman, degrading and prohibited under international human rights law”.

This is a time where local and regional economies seem to be switching into recovery mode. Slowly but surely, credit is becoming available.

Investors, both local and foreign are on the prowl, albeit cautiously, for lucrative markets. Economic competitiveness among Asian nations is increasingly intense. Surely this is not the time for negative publicity.

“Definitely not,” says Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI).

“Bad publicity leads to poor confidence and lower investment. The Kartika case exposes the ambiguity in our country’s laws. As long as the laws remain unclear, investors will be confused and inhibited about Malaysia. If you feel insecure about a country’s laws, why would you want to put your money here?”

Recent history has shown us that investors are no fans of instability. Bank Negara statistics indicate that the political ruckus that followed the March 2008 election results caused a plunge in foreign direct investment inflows.

Navaratnam’s views are echoed, somewhat, by International Movement for a Just World (JUST) president, Dr Chandra Muzaffar. The prominent political scientist believes that the Kartika caning episode will have an immediate impact upon some business circles, especially in the West.

Others however, beg to differ. The situation is not so bad, they say. An economist for a prominent regional bank dismisses claims of lower investor confidence in Malaysia due to the bad publicity generated from the Kartika case.

“I don’t think it is of overwhelming significance. Foreign investors will invest in a country if they see profitable returns. The recent liberalisation policies of Najib’s government have definitely succeeded in catching the interest of investors. So this caning case will not make a huge difference.”

Chief economist for Ratings Agency of Malaysia (RAM), Dr Yeah Kim Leng also believes that despite the Kartika case being splashed on the front covers of major financial newspapers it is unlikely to affect economic confidence and sentiment.

But the Kartika caning case is not the only incident that has exposed the dichotomy between liberalism and conservatism in this country. What if this becomes a trend?

“If there is a trend, it is quite conceivable that a negative image of Malaysia will begin to form in the minds of some investors from abroad,” says Muzaffar.

Navaratnam, also the former chairman of Transparency International, points out that the frequency of incidents such as the Kartika caning will only serve to dampen potential returns the country might have got from the recent liberalisation policies introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Regardless of the extent to which the Kartika episode has affected investor confidence in Malaysia, the events of the past week bring to light the economic costs of political hue and cry. For an export-led country in a highly competitive region, stability is the name of the game.

“I would want to put my money where my mouth is,” says Navaratman. “Indonesia is a secular country, and increasingly stable. Their government has made a concerted effort to tackle corruption. We cannot afford to lag.”

At the end of the day, are foreign investors going to be deterred from investing in Malaysia over the Kartika case? Perhaps not and probably less if in the end her whipping sentence is not carried out.

But if more such cases come up, they may be a cause for concern, not just for foreigners but for Malaysians themselves who will ask the inevitable question: “How much further?” That has the potential to permanently erode confidence within the country itself, far more damaging than a temporary erosion of the image of the country in the eyes of foreigners.

New rules to boost insurance

No comments September 2nd, 2009

By Daljit Dhesi-The Star

PETALING JAYA: The lifting of the restriction on foreign insurers’ tie-ups with local banks is expected to improve the penetration rate of insurance, apart from boosting insurers’ revenues.

Before the liberalisation of the financial sector in April, foreign-owned insurers were only allowed to tie up with local banks to market bancassurance products.

Foreign insurance companies are now able to partner as many local and foreign banks that they want to sell insurance products.

Md Adnan Md Zain … ‘The traditional agency channel will remain an important distribution channel for insurance companies. Experience so far in Malaysia shows the bancassurance channel has its strength in distributing short to medium-term single premium products.’

Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (Liam) president Md Adnan Md Zain said the measure would increase the distribution channels for life insurance as consumers could have access to a wider range of products. This augur well for the Malaysian public as the percentage of people with life insurance protection was still around 41%, he said in an interview with StarBiz.

With the restriction removed, Liam sees the bancassurance channel playing a more important role in distributing insurance, as foreign-owned insurers would now be more active in bancassurance.

“The traditional agency channel will remain an important distribution channel for insurance companies. Experience so far in Malaysia shows the bancassurance channel has its strength in distributing short to medium-term single premium products.

“For regular premium products, the agency distribution channel is still the dominant channel. This is due to the complexity of regular premium products which the agency channel currently has a relative advantage in terms of experience and knowledge over their bancassurance counterpart,’’ Adnan said.

For the life insurance industry, the bancassurance market share of total new business premium increased from 2% in 1994 to 42% in 2008.

Last year, the share of bancassurance in single premium products was 65% while in regular premium products it was 7%.

Bancassurance contributed RM2.47bil in single premiums and RM185mil in regular premiums in 2008. The corresponding figures for 2007 were RM3.17bil and RM130mil.

According to Adnan, the recent financial turmoil had affected the single premium business to an extent and, hence, the performance of bancassurance would be affected in the short term as well. However, with the liberalisation and the subsequent economic recovery, bancassurance was expected to grow positively in the medium to long term, he added.

As of June 30, there were 15 life insurance companies which had tie-ups with banking institutions. In the same period, a total of 7,375 bank staff selling life insurance were registered with Liam.

Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd collaborated last month with OCBC Bank to launch its first regular premium bancassurance product.

Before the liberalisation, Great Eastern was only involved in marketing credit life-related products through banks.

Great Eastern director and CEO Koh Yaw Hui said the new bancassurance partnership with OCBC would enable the company to market a full range of life insurance products through the bank. With this partnership, Great Eastern is expected to generate total new business premiums of about RM100mil by the year-end.

The tie-up would see bancassurance contributing 8% to 9% of the company’s total portfolio by year’s end, Koh said.

Lonpac Insurance Bhd adviser Tee Choon Yeow said the company would consider more tie-ups for bancassurance if the opportunities arose. Currently, Lonpac’s main partners for this business are Public Bank Group, United Overseas Bank (M) Bhd and EON Bank.

“The liberalisation will afford the insurers to have more outlets to reach their potential clients. With more than one financial institution in partnership, they will be able to design and market bancassurance products as well as provide the insurer greater opportunities to expand its market,’’ Tee said.

The company’s bancassurance premiums grew from 5% in 2005 to 10% as at June 30.