ARS Newsletter | Issue 34

I S S U E

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SWIPE TO READ

ISSUE 34 IN THIS ISSUE Takeaways from Aidiladha sermon 2021

~ Rayuan memelihara keselamatan masjid kita

~

Mufti Ustaz Dr Nazirudin Nasir delivered this year's khutbah at Masjid Ar-Raudhah, Bukit Batok.

An open letter from Chief Executive of Muis

~

The prayer was broadcasted live on SalamSG TV with over 26,000 viewers.

Buku panduan CPE 2021 diterbitkan

~ 260 attended the enriching Pre-

This year's sermon entitled purity brings honour. Here are some of the key takeaways from the sermon

ICCOS

Sanctity of human life, dignity and rights The Prophet S.A.W. was a messenger of peace and harmony. He dignified the value of humanity - every soul created by Allah is honourable.

CONTENT ARS Office

A common goal: To rise from this crisis

ARS Secretariat

together, in the spirit of helping each other.

Office of Mufti

The struggles we face in today's crisis have resulted

COVER PAGE IMAGE Masjid Ar-Raudhah Facebook

EDITOR

in

various

trials

that

may

overwhelm us. Our sense of patience, perseverance, love and unity are indeed being tested.

Ustaz Dr Muhammad Haniff Hassan Ustazah Dr Sukarti Asmoin

However, with the grace of Allah, we are willing to sacrifice for the common good, by cooperatively ensuring the safety and welfare of ourselves and others.

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Islam applauds giving advice to one another in a proper manner Being open to receiving advice will help us to be a better person, and eventually a better society, where we are able to identify our shortcomings and improve ourselves and our contributions to society.

The Prophet S.A.W. once said: "the religion is nasihah" (Hadith narrated by Imam Muslim)

Sign of genuine advice that comes from a pure and sincere heart It respects and preserves the dignity of the person being advised It does not provoke hatred and anger in others

The correct practice of religion requires knowledge The right knowledge encompasses the depth of many sciences and disciplines, and hence illuminates our understanding, the same way a bright lamp is able to eliminate the darkness from our surrounding.

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Penularan COVID-19 dalam masyarakat tetap menjadi bahaya yang jelas. Ini terutama sekali dengan varian virus yang baru dan mudah menular.

Muis ingin mengingatkan masyarakat bahawa solat berjemaah harus dilakukan di masjid, dengan tempahan yang sah.

Masjid-masjid kita mempunyai prosedur pengurusan yang selamat dan jelas untuk memastikan pelaksanaan solat berjemaah dengan selamat.

Kami memahami keinginan masyarakat untuk kembali ke masjid untuk solat berjemaah. Walau bagaimanapun, kami memohon kesabaran dan kerjasama anda ketika negara bergerak melalui Fasa 2 (Kewaspadaan Dipertingkat) dan kami secara bertahap menawarkan lebih banyak tempat dengan selamat di masjid kita.

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Assalamualaikum wr wb Dear Friends and stakeholders of Muis, At the Muis Workplan seminar in May during the last few days of Ramadan, we released a video about emerging stronger together from the crisis. We received very positive feedback, and many in the community felt that despite the trying times and sacrifices we had to make as a community during Ramadan and Hari Raya, we would emerge even stronger in the years to come. We also provided updates on how Muis is improving our support for our Asatizah and strengthening our religious institutions. We could not have come this far without your support and contributions.

In response to queries and requests by fellow leaders and stakeholders, I thought it would be timely to provide further updates to what was shared earlier at our Workplan seminar, in our work to strengthen Muis, our mosques and madrasahs in the area of governance. In these complex and challenging times, we must continue to protect and strengthen our religious institutions so that they can continue to serve the community. To do this, we must uphold the highest standards of integrity through good governance and zero tolerance for any form of fraud and/or corruption.

As a statutory board, Muis is required to put in place strong and sound financial and HR governance procedures. Every year, we engage external auditors and our financial statements have to be presented to Parliament by 30 June, which are also published on our website. We also have a systematic plan of internal audits, and an Audit Committee chaired by a Muis Council member to scrutinise the findings.

As a public institution, Muis is also subject to audits by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO). In the last audit in 2018, there was no evidence of fraud uncovered.

However, some procedural lapses were discovered, and we have been actively addressing these findings. A taskforce that I chair, comprising key leaders in Muis, has been making steady progress, and all the observations by AGO are on track to be fully addressed by the end of this year.

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Under AMLA, all mosques in Singapore are vested in Muis, and my colleagues have been working hard with our mosque volunteer leaders in the various mosque management boards to continuously strengthen mosque financial governance. Mosques are required to undergo audits and display their audited financial statements. Alhamdullilah, the financial governance of our mosques has also shown significant progress over the decades.

In 2015, 77% of our mosques had financial statements which were clean (unqualified). For FY2019, we have managed to bring this number to 99%, and only one mosque received a qualified statement. In fact, at the start of 2019, I challenged mosque leaders to work together to ensure that all mosques have unqualified financial statements within 3 years. I am confident that with the dedicated leaders in our mosques, we will be able to achieve this target.

Strengthening the financial governance of our madrasahs is an ongoing effort, and together we have achieved many improvements. Through the Joint Madrasah System (JMS), Muis ensures that the accounts of JMS madrasahs are audited annually. Muis also extended a Comprehensive Assistance Package to Madrasah Wak Tanjong in 2018 and this included support to ensure strong financial governance processes and annual audits.

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Nevertheless, even with improved systems and processes, we may fall short at times. Even with a sound financial system in place, lapses will occur if there is a lack of integrity of those operating the system. Thus, as a public institution, we hold our officers to the highest standards of integrity. We hold our mosque volunteer leaders to the same standards when they are appointed to their roles and undertake their oath of appointment. Where lapses arise, we will look into the matter seriously to ascertain the facts and thereafter act in a fair and impartial manner to put things right. We have also not hesitated to report matters to the authorities for further investigation.

As a public institution that is set up for the Muslim community in Singapore, and made up of members of the community, we will continue to serve the community to the best of our abilities.

This COVID-19 crisis has led us to reflect on how we can continue to best serve the community in the midst of change, including re-examining our systems and processes. It has spurred us to improve in serving and engaging the community better. We also strive to communicate better with our stakeholders such as yourselves.

This is something we are committed to. Together, we aim to work with our leaders, the staff and volunteers across our mosques and madrasahs to build up and uphold the trust the community has in us and serve the needs of the Muslim community in Singapore. Out of this crisis, we must emerge stronger together.

This is our amanah to ourselves, our community and ultimately to our Creator.

May He guide us all on this sincere endeavour.

Thank you for your support and walking this journey with us in building a Muslim community of success that inspires and radiates blessings to all. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how Muis can further improve, I invite you to share these suggestions with me.

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Pembelajaran Berterusan Profesional (CPE) adalah program latihan yang dimulakan pada tahun 2012 oleh Lembaga Pengiktirafan Asatizah (ARB) untuk meningkatkan profesionalisme dan menanam budaya pembelajaran dan pengembangan asatizah secara berterusan di bawah Skim Pengiktirafan Asatizah (ARS).

Seorang ustaz atau ustazah dikehendaki mengikuti kursus di bawah program CPE sebagai prasyarat untuk pembaharuan akreditasi ARS. Muis bekerjasama rapat dengan rakan-rakan seperti Pergas untuk menawarkan pelbagai kursus yang merangkumi topik-topik seperti sains agama dan disiplin lain termasuk kursus mengenai isu-isu kontemporari dan kursus kemahiran untuk membolehkan asatizah memainkan peranan mereka dengan yakin dalam membina negara yang inklusif.

Bermula dari cadangan Jawatankuasa Asatizah Masa Depan (COFA) pada bulan Februari 2020, Muis bekerjasama dengan Lembaga Pengiktirafan Asatizah bagi memulakan kajian semula program ARS-CPE pada bulan Ogos 2020 untuk memperkuat pengembangan asatizah dengan penekanan yang lebih besar pada pengembangan kemahiran yang sesuai dengan visi masa depan asatizah.

Kajian ini juga menggabungkan pelan peningkatan kemahiran sebagai sebahagian daripada fasa kedua Pelan Pembangunan Tenaga Kerja Asatizah (AWDP).

Oleh itu, buku panduan ini diterbitkan. Ia mempunyai direktori kursus lengkap, Perincian kursus (dengan pautan pendaftaran) maklumat mengenai CPE Review dan ATC Lungsuri http://go.gov.sg/cpe-gb1 untuk membaca lebih lanjut mengenainya.

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Some 260 participants virtually tuned in to the first Pre-International Conference on Communities of Success Seminar (ICOSS) in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Speakers include Mufti Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir who shared how Muslims have emerged more resilient and confident in adopting new contextual religious norms based on the fundamental creed of faith.

Muis also introduced the Research Programme in the Study of Muslim Communities of Success to promote the study of emerging issues in contemporary societies and to build the body of knowledge as an asset for Muslims to thrive in their countries.

Do check out http://www.muis.gov.sg/officeofthemufti/RPCSto find out more.

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by Ustaz Ahmad Ridha Bin Ramlan

The word 'adab' is commonly understood as the Islamic etiquette of having good manners and character. Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. is known to be a person of the best etiquette and moral values concerning his relationships with Allah S.W.T., himself and others. There are many instances from historical accounts where Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. showed excellence in character. When the Prophet’s wife, Aisyah r.a described the etiquette of her beloved husband, she said, “His character was the Quran”. (Sahih Muslim) In the Quran, Allah S.W.T. describes the Prophet S.A.W.: And you are truly an excellent standard of character. (Surah al-Qalam 68:4) In one of the hadiths, the Prophet S.A.W. mentioned that one of the main purposes for his appointment as a prophet is to perfect the moral character of the people. Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. said: “I was sent to perfect good character.”

(Sahih Muslim) The Prophet S.A.W. also said: “The most perfect/complete believers in faith is he who is the best of them in manners.” (Sunan at-Tirmizi) By referring to the contents of the Quran and sayings of the Prophet S.A.W. on Adab or good character, we will find that morality is highly regarded in Islam. This also shows that morality is deeply rooted in the principles of faith. The Islamic moral system encompasses every aspect of life, including one’s affairs and relationship with the self, others and ultimately with The Creator. Therefore, having good morals will benefit us in ways that strengthen our faith.

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https://blog.pergas.org.sg/wasat/

Oleh Ustaz Mohd Hafiz Bin Kusairi

Artikel ini ditulis hasil dari interaksi saya dengan beberapa individu di dalam masyarakat. Walaupun pengalaman peribadi dengan beberapa sosok individu tidak semestinya menggambarkan realiti masyarakat; namun

pendapat

saya

turut

mengambil

kira

perkembangan masyarakat berdasarkan pemerhatian harian melalui interaksi dengan beberapa aspek masyarakat sama ada secara langsung ataupun melalui pengamatan yang diperolehi dari jadual harian dan wadah media seperti media sosial.

Tulisan saya terfokus ke arah tiga perkara yang terserlah sepanjang interaksi saya, iaitu: 1. sikap selektif dan kurang cermat di dalam menggunakan fakta sejarah Rasulullah S.A.W. dan para Sahabat sebagai pegangan 2. sikap sempit di dalam menanggapi sejarah Rasulullah S.A.W. dan para Sahabat 3. sikap kurang amanah di dalam menyampaikan sejarah Rasulullah S.A.W. dan para Sahabat Ketika jangkitan Covid-19 menyebabkan tertutupnya masjid-masjid di seluruh Singapura, saya teringat perbualan saya dengan seorang pakcik di kawasan

In collaboration with

Haig

Road.

Pakcik

tersebut

yang

memulakan

perbualan tersebut (mungkin kerana melihat ‘wibawa keagamaan’ pada cara pemakaian saya): “Perlukah masjid satu Singapura ditutup hanya kerana segelintir kes? Mana letaknya iman kita? Tawakal kita?”

PERGAS

Bacaan Lanjut

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