Silaturrahim

One of the reasons for researching and writing on The Early Malay Doctors was the harmonious relationship between humans, a term referred to as "silaturrahim". When I first heard the term, it made me wonder what it was and why people mentioned in at family gatherings or when friends met. For a long time, I wondered and tried to search for the meaning of "silaturrahim".

Today, I found Mohd Nasir bin Ismail, a relative who wrote about the meaning and context of that word in Facebook. I'm copying it here for everyone to read. He is also following up on his relatives and therefore fulfilling the meaning of "silaturrahim".

Mohd Nasir Bin Ismail:
Dari Malik bin Rabi'ah as-Sa'idi Radhiyallahu 'anhu, katanya:
"Pada suatu ketika kita semua duduk-duduk di sisi Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam , tiba-tiba datanglah kepadanya seorang lelaki dari Bani Salamah.
Orang itu bertanya:
"Ya Rasulullah, apakah masih ada sesuatu amalan yang dapat saya amalkan sebagai kebaktian saya kepada dua orang tuaku setelah keduanya meninggal dunia?"
Baginda Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam menjawab:
"Ya, masih ada. Iaitu mendoakan keselamatan untuk keduanya, memohonkan pengampunan kepadanya, melaksanakan janji kedua orang itu setelah wafatnya, mempereratkan hubungan kekeluargaan yang tidak dapat dihubungi kecuali dengan adanya kedua orang tua itu serta memuliakan sahabatnya."
HR Abu Dawud [Riyadhus Solihin, Imam Nawawi, Bab42#342]

From the above text, I think we can safely say that "silaturrahim" is abount human relations and bonding of relatives and friends. So that is why I have added "Family" and "Friends" for each of the doctors' biography for my book, Biography of the Early Malay Doctors. And that is why this book is special. The element of "silaturrahim" is a strong theme throughout the book and is meant to bring family and friends together.