It gets better each day

Tonight's tazkirah is the best, methinks.The ustaz used to lecture at ITM in the 80s but he's from Indonesia.Isi ceramah dia padat and we learnt new things..although some we had heard before from past ustaz2.Yang I suka about bertrillion2 malaikat turun utk catat amalan kita di bulan ramadan and he said just talk to them and say your prayers supaya malaikat angkat ke langit persembahkan kpd Allah.Malaikat2 4 itu adalah Jibrail, Mikail, Israfil dan Izrail so mintalah yg baik2 berkaitan dgn umur panjang, rezeki yang halal, hujan dan angin yang rahmat (tugas Israfil selain tiup trumpet kiamat is to turunkan hujan dan angin..so kita doa hujan dan angin rahmat bkn yang membawa bala so negara kita aman damai).Waktu paling baik to converse with them from maghrib to dawn.Bumi ini gelap dgn malaikat and if I tell you what I saw masa ceramah tadi, you won't believe it..me and makcik sebelah I je yang nampak...I saw it first and asked her did you see benda besar bersayap hitam ni? She said yes, yes...It could be burung helang but it disappeared so fast...adakah...?? Izrail datang menjengah? But memang he menjengah kita beberapa kali a day, right? So kena pohon sekiranya masa untuk pergi, biarlah dalam Islam dan iman dan diterima amalan2 baik kita.

Ustaz kata sapa2 menghadiri majlis ilmu, ganjarannya mcm 1000 kali solat sunat..setiap tapak ada ganjarannya.Apatah lagi kalau solat wajib/sunat berjumaah, berzikir, baca Quran, sedekah paling mengetop, even tidur is ibadah in Ramadan.

Hari ni habis lewat cos' the prayers were long.If I remember more,I tambah later.Didn't bring my notebook tadi.Fishbrain.

A meeting of minds, friends and all, part two

I have another story which I must record cos' it is so touching.It's my surau story again.

You remember bdk yg baca selawat and sleeps at the surau tu? Well, Nik said he jadi religious cos' he lost his gf at age 21.Cancer.Masa tu dia dikejutkan bhw ajal is not for old people.And he turned to God.Dia suka azan.Lama2 surau suruh dia azan and then I guess baca selawat every teraweh.He comes from a well to do family and this is why it is so touching...dia tinggalkan keselesaan rumah to sleep with nyamuk in the surau (masa ramadan jelah).It's been 9 years since he lost his gf.Tadi we watched him from afar as Z and I got into the car to go home.Surau pun dah kosong.We saw the young man melipat2 sejadah dan menyusun2nya.Tiba2 my hati tersentuh...mulianya budak ini...and he looked so alone and so lost...menyerahkan dirinya ke alam Tuhan...sedih,kan? He could have taken a different route, kan? Pubs, women, drugs, etc etc.

Bertuahlah ibubapanya kerana mendapat seorang anak yang soleh.

A meeting of minds, friends and all

I had my iftar outside again folks but was in time for the surau's tazkirah.Mlm ni tak sedap cos' ustaz cerita pasal solat jamak qasar as travellers.Ni in preparation nak balik raya la ni.Yawn...but hey, byk benda kita buat sebenarnya salah.You can't simply jamak suka hati.Samalah juga like you can't simply solat duduk just becos' you feel tired ke hapa cos' solat berdiri merupakan rukun solat.Weiii..byk benda I didn't know nih.Ustaz kata mereka yg solat berdiri adalah mereka yg ada pendirian.Manakala mereka yg solat duduk adalah mereka yang ada kedudukan.Ahaks.Why do you think I suka sangat pi surau dengar tazkirah? Ustaz2 dia kelakar!:))

I was with my Prof. Council friends and Dato Seri Rector memikirkan isu 'negara' :). I like this group.Easy to work with and Prof. Riduan was kind enough to take the minutes this time.I told Prof. Aslam and Dato Wira..I ni sejak sekolah jadi pencatit minit mesyuarat sampai I jadi Prof. So bless Riduan for being such a generous person and volunteering himself to write the minutes.

The iftar was with Sultan Pahang..we saw him giving duit raya dlm envelope tebal to this law student in wheelchair.I heard him ask him, ayah kamu kerja apa? The boy said kerja kilang.Then Sultan bisik stg to his aide and then the envelope.After the crowd cleared,I suruh budak tu kira duit tu.I think Rm5K.Phuiyooo...he had found his lailatulqadr!

Z's A Level results came out today.Syukurlah alhamdulillah...she cleared Shell's uni entrance requirements but may have to nego with her sponsor cos' she missed 3 points to get an A for her Math making it 2As for History and Econs and a B for Math (biasa her grade is C so we are very2 grateful actually).Cambridge A Level exam is said to be tougher than the other A Level but I knw Z worked very hard the second year of her A Level prog at KYUEM so kasi chan la kat Z for not getting 3As.It could have been worse ==> air batu campur..A B C for History Econs and Math.Thank God, that didn't happen!

Tazkirah malam ini

...was by an ustaz from Bandung.My God, he's as funny as Salleh Yaacob.Wajahnya pun mcm tu! Haha.

I arrived when they were doing their witir.Mlm ni habis cepat pulak terawehnya.Ustaz Rashid was not there to give the in between teraweh tazkirah so looks like I didn't miss much.But the forum perdana tazkirah penuh dgn gelak ketawa la pulak sampai Ustaz Bandung ni tak habis his 10 points on why doa tak makbul sebab hati dah mati.Byk sgt detour dia but mmg nak pecah perut mendengar his stories.Antaranya nak lembutkan hati anak, suami or isteri..he said tengah mrk tidur, cabut sehelai rambut, sambil genggam dlm tangan, zikir Ya Roheem till we fall asleep..then he kasi contoh isteri nak buat kat suami yg mata keranjang..suami tidur pakai songkok...buka2 nak cabut sehelai rambut, tengok2 suami dah botakkan his rambut.She tries angkat his ketiak..pun habis kena cukur.Ahaks...can only come from ustaz from Bandung, right? :))

He said hati yang mati antara sebab doa kita tak makbul.Hati mati sbb kita tak suka baca Quran daily.He said syurga merindui 4 golongan manusia: org suka baca Quran, org suka sedekah terutama suka kasi org miskin makan..I think 2 points tu lagi dia tak sempat kupas...ceramah is limited to 30 mins je...tht is why dia tak leh cerita sampai habis.

But I heard for the first time that penghuni syurga ramai wanita.We are often told penghuni neraka ramai wanita..this is true but it is also true that penghuni syurga pun ramai wanita.How come ustaz2 tak pernah beritau kita perkara ni?

Ustaz cerita how a beautiful woman aged mid 30s dtg nak minta doa temu jodoh.Ustaz kata beli jodoh dgn duit dia..niat then sedekahkan wang itu kpd anak yatim.He asked for all the money in her purse.The woman gave RM35.Three months later she rang ustaz kata belum jumpa jodoh.Ustaz kata did you give everything in your purse the other day? The woman said no (she had lied to the ustaz by saying RM35 was all she had).So the second time around, she gave all (RM35 also...it so happened.That's like 100,000 rupiah or something).4 months later she rang to say, dia sudah ketemu jodohnya.

This is not the first time I hear this.2-3 mlm lepas pun Ustaz Rashid told quite a similar story psl kontraktor sedekah dulu to get his wish granted.Let's try it! I want a new LV! :))

The Curve

Raya will not be perfect if you don't do your last minute shopping.We had done ours but today for lack of a life, I ajak Z pi the Curve to join the last minute shopping for some.It's the last weekend, right? Nik needed his sleep so kita ladies lagi seronok mengukur the mall at our leisure.

Wough, security guards everywhere.Nice and feeling safe.Great!

As we passed by many eateries, kita nampak our non fasting friends makan...soup, noodles, steaks, O'Brien's sandwiches..ice creams..Z said get some and tapau home.No..I want to sit and eat with them..giggles...Z said go ahead..me: nanti kena tangkap? Z: just tell them you uzur...more giggles..boleh ke??

We moved from one shop to the other.I found something I liked at Metrojaya.Nice viscose cotton.Price pun reasonable.Got sale some more.Z found a nice maxi at another shop.No sale.:(

Then Z said let's check out this new place..artists ramai beli kat sini.So we went.The designer was in.Kita pun tanya berapa harga baju2 kurung tu semua.Mostly close to RM2K sepasang.Control macho and still went on, belek2.Then asked the designer berapa kalau nak tempah sepasang kain sendiri.RM1K.Control macho.Oh.

Lepas dua tiga minit lingering,kita kata thank you.Out of sight, Z and I went w-h-a-t-t??? RM2K???

Last year we did that with a designer..lepas setahun dah tak boleh pakai! Gemok! ( in my case, I lost weight.Ahem) RM2k hangus just like that.No thks this year.This year,both of us went cheap.Slogan dia: biar comfortable.But if we look like maids this raya...you'll understand why.:))

Ramadan weekend

A lazy one here.Everyone is still in bed after subuh prayer.I'd go to the pasar with Bibik in a bit.

Last night we broke fast at my MIL's after visiting Nik's cousin in Duta Mas, just out of surgery for breast cancer. She's keeping strong.Muda lagi.Semua org balik dgn rasa insaf.My sister in law and me.Nik was also affected.He and the kid sister grew up with this cousin when my mil went back to uni.The parents had all gone and cousin N is the only child.Ah..sad,sad.I hope Allah will protect her and ease her pain.

Last night I arrived late for the tazkirah.Didn't miss much cos' ustaz jemputan from Patani didn't turn up.The ustaz yg selalu jadi moderator had to speak alone.Microphone pulak low battery so suara perlahan and tenggelam timbul.Not our night, folks.But I heard a bit: kalau nak muka bercahaya, buat qiamulail; nak kaya, bykkan bersedekah; nak selesaikan masalah dan doa makbul,bykkan beristighfar.I tak sempat bwk notebook cos' I came bck from swhere.Baju pun mcm nak pi tengok wayang.Haha.Yup, kena marah dgn Menteri Dalam Negeri.:)

Nak finish up my Mengapa Saya Keluar Syiah.Dasyat shiah ni..I didn't know it is tht sesat.

Tazkirah selepas subuh

Dengan izin Allah, I managed to catch some words of wisdom at the tazkirah last night at the surau.When I arrived, the jumaah were doing their witir prayers.I thought I could sneak into the garden,Tengok2 ramai pulak men melepak kat luar! I guess these were the ones who wanted to do beyond the 8 rakaat and akan sambung kat rumah.But rasa terkantoi juga lah they saw me dtg lewat and not in my prayer garment.

I joined a group of budak2 yg sedang minum soda kat bawah khemah tu.Sorang umur 13, the other 12 and the sister was 9.I asked the two older boys pasal apa tak kat dlm solat? They told me they did witir secara sendiri cos' dah tak larat.Aik? Muda lagi dah tak larat? So you knowlah the mother in me..pok pek pok pek on fadilat solat berjumaah.Haha.Then we got to talk on recycling materials (sbb i tengok surau ni beli polystyrene cups and plates everynite.I cringe just looking!)Nasib bdk2 tu tak lari and continued sitting with and listening to me. Read on why polystyrene is bad here http://verdant.net/nofoam.htm

Intipati last nite's tazkirah :

1.Cari kebahagiaan akhirat.Barangsiapa mencari akhirat,dunia akan mengekorinya (ini dari hadis).Tetapi barangsiapa yang leka mencari dunia, akhirat akan tinggalkan dia jauh di belakang.
2. Buat baik sesama manusia sebagaimana Allah telah berbuat baik kepada kita.
3.Jangan membuat kerosakan di muka bumi ini kerana Allah tidak suka akan mereka yang membuat kerosakan.
4.Jika kita ada masalah, jangan mengadu kepada manusia tetapi mengadu terus kepada Allah.

Here's the funny bit.Ustaz kata kadang2 org telefon dia mengadu hal.Dia pun tak tau nak selesai macamana.One day, a man rang him up and asked him to interpret his dream.The man said in his dream,he was on the beach with his wife and her gf on the other side of the beach.Then suddenly there's a huge wave like tsunami which swallowed both wife and her gf.After everything reda, his wife was there, safe ( masa ni I dah berguling2 dah ketawa with Z.The rest of the jumaah pun gelak). Ustaz kata engkau mimpi sedap2, aku pulak kena pikir apa maknanya.:)) He told the guy, maknanya isteri kamu selamat dari tsunami.The guys lagi kuat gelak.Freudian slip tu.

Have a good weekend,everyone!

Berita baik bagi wanita-wanita Muslim yang tidak berpuasa pada 10 mlm terakhir Ramadan

Allah Maha Kaya.I was wondering about this.I'm sure I was informed years ago hukum hakamnya..bolehkah wanita2 malang ini menjumpai lailatulqadr dlm keadaannya yg sebegitu.No one responded to my enquiry earlier.

Alhamdullilah on my way home from work,I tuned in to radio IKIM.One listener dok marah org main lagu raya during the last 10 days.Dia minta pihak berwajib campur tangan.Ahaks.He said kalau ada org2 besar meninggal, all forms of entertainment dibatalkan.Hanya mengaji Quran.Betul juga.

Anyway, seorg pemanggil wanita bertanya bagaimana wanita yg tak boleh solat kerana uzur (oklah..kerana period/nifas) boleh mendpt lailatulqadr.

Ustaz kata (he's so knowledgeable..lupa pulak sapa namanya) itu paling mudah bagi seorg wanita.Dia niat je nak jumpa lailatulqadr,pahalanya pun dah dpt.Woohoo..niat je tuan2 dan puan2! Lagipun dia boleh bangun mlm dan doa for keampunan dan keselamatan dunia dan esp. akhirat.Tak perlu duduk atas tikar semayang pun.Sambil baring pun boleh buat.Then do all the zikir.Woohoo..mudah banget nak dpt lailatulqadr kalau mcm ni. :))

Mcm tulah indahnya agama kita.I have decided to go to the surau time forum perdana kejap lagi.Watch this space.

Nostalgia ramadan

Standing from left: my 3 older sisters (the gal on the right I tak kenal)

Sitting cute from left are Mek, sulky me and aruah my 4th sister, Siti Nurul Anwa who died in a car accident at 34 (al fatihah)

Are you like me who would get sentimentol di bulan ramadan as it comes to an end? You'd think of the dead..your dad, your sister, your grandmothers (I never met any of my grandfathers), your cousins, your uncles and aunties who had all gone. Even my guru mengaji, Pak Aji Asmawi.He's from Sumatera but a Singapore citizen.I miss him cos' he taught me the value of humour in seeking/teaching religious knowledge. Going to his place was something I would always look fwd to: not only my sisters and I would be given apples/oranges after mengaji but cerita2 hantu. :)) I saw him in Singapore a few years before he died.Al fatihah.

Tahun ni our annual tahlil for all of them lambat sikit.I hope my other half would not forget to fill in the form before the week ends this week. Our surau buat tahlil for the dead every night before teraweh.But you gotta pay seikhlas hati...for the surau anyway.Byk nama-nama menarik as the mc reads out who the tahlil is for.

p/s The pic was taken in Cameron Highlands.Mek told me once that the older sisters told her as they helped to dress us up that we were all going to London.Coming back to a warmer climate in Raub, Mek was asked by her friend where she had gone over the holidays.She said, "We went to England.Sejuk, awak!" Haha.

Perawi-perawi

Folks, tak sama if I'm there/not there.Our two perawis malas nak cerita cos' dah ngantuk.The tazkirah mmg biasa habis lambat and we usually get home just before 11.30 pm.But often very energised.I guess the two need to get up early tmrw.I have to send Nik to the airport lepas Subuh besok. Z tak tau apa pulak plannya.

Anyway, both of them said ustaz reminded all if this Ramadan is to be our last...maka perlu kita pulun habis mengejar pahala. Also, nanti bila nak masuk syurga, jam sebab berebut2 org nak masuk kecuali satu pintu..yakni pintu sedekah so kalau nak green lane, sedekahlah byk2.

Nik ckp ustaz also reminded all jgn kita lalai dgn kemewahan kita cos' mmg ada dlm Quran bhw Allah akan tarik balik if we terus lalai. Ustaz gave the examples of negara2 kaya mcm Iraq dll.

Z pulak ckp if kita pi ke majlis ilmu, satu langkah kita pergi ibarat dapat seribu pahala.Juga kalau kita penuhi satu hajat org, Allah akan memenuhi 1000 hajat kita.Phuiyooo..pls email me your hajat sebelum ramadan tamat. Jgnlah yg pelik2.:)

Enjoy your last 10 days of this blessed month.

A quiet iftar

Can you beat this: Z and Nik semua berbuka kat luar (different events) ? I thought I had one at a different location but got the dates mixed up.Not this evening.

That leaves me, my mom and Bibik. 2 of us tak puasa.Guess who? Haha.Anak bulan syawal terbit awal for us.

So I read a book Bro. Jamal of my Muslim NGO kasi last Saturday at ACCIN meeting.Tajuknya Mengapa Saya Keluar dari Syiah by ulema shiah terkenal dan disegani Sayyid Husain Al-Musawi,diterjemahkan di Jakarta. Phuiyooo..asyik membacanya...ilmunya padat, bahasanya cantik dan philosophical. Will do a short review after habis baca.But looks like ulema yang jujur will not run away from the truth. Not easy to buang kedudukan, kuasa dan pengaruh..silap2 kena bunuh..not sure dia ni hidup lagi ke tak.

So you will have to google sendirilah tazkirah for today.Perawi lagi satu pun tak pi surau. :))

Stories at sahur, part 2

This entry is based on Nik's memory of last night's tazkirah at the surau.

It's about menjaga keturunan yang baik melalui pemilihan pasangan yang bertaqwa dan beriman.The story of Umar again...choosing a wanita beriman for his son and how cucu cicit dari pernikahan ni membuahkan keturunan yg begitu menjaga pekerti and menjaga aib keluarga.There's a story about Malik Aziz (tak silap cucu Khalifah Umar) yang bought the whole of hamam cos' he didn't want to see wht he was not supposed to see and didn't want others to see wht they were not supposed to see(so he had chased everyone out from the public bath).Org kanan bapa dia said this was arrogance on his part.He should not have bought exclusiveness.Malik apologised.The guy said but I will have to report to your dad about this incidence but will say you have taubat.Malik said yes, please do but my father will not ask you what wrong I have done.The man said how do you know? Malik said sebab dari kecil mereka telah dididik agar menjaga aib masing2 walaupun antara anak and ayah/ibu dll.

Wough..so terperinci!

The other story I like is about kisah Nabi Sulaiman wafat dalam keadaan berdiri cos' that was his request to Allah sebab dia tengah supervise jin2 buat Baitulmuqqadis..he didn't want the jinns to know dia dah wafat so that mereka kerja siang malam siapkan project besar ni. :)) And that was wht happened sampai tongkat dia reput dimakan anai2 dan akhirnya baginda rebah.Baru tau baginda sudah wafat.

So kata ustaz,don't think jin2 ni tau semua benda..yg beritau tu syaitan so hati2 bila pergi jumpa bomoh yang suka menilik and tell you this and that.Semua tu tak accurate sebab yg membisikkan adalah syaitan.

Iftar-ing outside

Iftar at the Islamic Art Museum

Apologies folks...looks like no tazkirah this week...I was iftar-ing outside this evening and more this week and next.Will get notes from Nik,insyaAllah.

Today was at the Islamic Art Museum with my Fulbright group and other invited guests, hosted by the US Embassy.Seated at my table was Dato Mahadzir Lokman, Assoc Prof. Dr. Shahrim, Johan of Petronas, Puan Sharifah and Gayah.Nice company sebab we share common interests..art, galleries, paintings, cooking, books, communication.Mahadzir Lokman was so funny.Bdk pelayan from Bangladesh tu dia panggil Sharukh Khan.."Hello Sharukh Khan..ini boleh angkat, itu dan ini.This one, no."Senyum lebar si Sharukh Khan.Was talking about the forgetful Wea Zawiyah with Johan cos' I forgot his name every 5 minutes! I had to tell him the Wea Zawiyah story nak ke Kuale Kangsor every 5 mins.We had a good laugh over this! The young man will alert Gayah and I of the next art exhibition at Petronas.

I told Gayah..our retirement will not be dull with these newly found arty crafty friends..they are so friendly..Dr. Shahrim paints and cooks.Nanti G and I nak join kelas memasak dia.Kelas painting dia pun I nak join but quite pricey, apparently.Will call up his guru Raja Azhar.

Johan and I dok soksek soksek abt how ML malas nak layan my question about his fall.Rupa2nya dah lama and the story is so complicated.Haha but J told me.Kelakar gila..not the fall cos' it's pretty bad but my persistence to know but tak dilayan.:))

G and I stopped for tutty fruity for our gals.G is such a good mom.

Second-hand tazkirah

Sorry folks..I was too tired to go to the surau this evening.We had to do our raya shopping today and doing it with both Nik and Z would mean lots and lots of walking.:) But we got what we wanted.

Did my teraweh at home after my home spa with Bibik.Ah heavens!

Tonight's tazkirah is from Nik's memory (and interpretation).He said some student from Syria, home for summer, gave the talk.All this shiah-sunni divide I tak suka sgt nak bincang kat sini.Lagipun I wasn't there.Anyway, we had a little debate over one of the stories related by the ustaz during teraweh tazkirah ( we usually have two rounds of tazkirah..satu in between the 4 rakaat tazkirah..satu lagi after solat teraweh and during our moreh..tht forum perdana thingy)

Nik cerita pasal org yg kuat beribadah non stop for 60 years but satu hari terjumpa dgn satu perempuan dan berzina dgnnya. Masa nak balik ke rumah, he bumped into one fakir yg sedang lapar.He had 2 keping roti so he gave it to the fakir.Belum sempat sampai ke rumah, Allah ambik nyawanya.Dan dikatakan setelah ditimbang berat dosa pahalanya,this pakcik layak ke syurga bukan kerana amalnya yg 60 tahun itu tetapi sebab sedekah 2 keping roti itu.

Unless Sheikh Rizal can correct me (if this story comes from hadis sahih), I think the take home lesson is ikut apa Quran kata: jgn hampiri zina langsong cos' tht is dosa besar.I remember Prof Karcic,a Bosnian Prof of Law at the uni who said the same thing...the Quran said do not approach zina..the Quran does not say do not commit zina cos by then it would be too late,isn't it? My point of contention of the story above is..(unless it is a genuine hadis) how do we know the abid went to heaven and so easy too.I have heard of the story of a woman who prostituted herself cos' of poverty and fed a thirsty dog and went to heaven for such kindness but I have not heard of an adulterous abid going to heaven cos of two pieces of bread.If any of you know more of this story, please beep me here.I fear some people may take the easy way out...let's do wht is wrong and if we bersedekah, we'd still go to heaven.

Be very,very afraid cos' I think everything is by the grace of Allah.There is no guarantee if we pray for 100 years, our place is the jannah.We can only pray for that mercy and grace.

Menyesal pulak I tak pergi surau mlm ni.I would have asked questions.:))

Happy Nuzul Quran

Malam ni is 17th ramadan, the date when Quran was first revealed. Ustaz said if we stayed beribadah dan mengingatiNya pada mlm ini, we should bersyukur and should do more cos' the period of keampunan yakni phase two of ramadan sudah bermula.We were reminded to berlumba2 untuk mendapat taqwa yg Allah cuma kasi free di bulan ramadan..bulan2 lain we have to work hard to find this.But in Ramadan, we need only to pray for taqwa and Allah grants it.Remember, if you don't ask, you don't get.

Ustaz teraweh read surah Toha and related the stories in it..wough...so touching.Kita semua nangis.It's about how manusia paling gangster waktu tu sampai nama dia di carta teratas kat kaabah (selain nama2 poets yg handal2) yakni Umar wanted to find Rasulullah s.a.w. to kill him cos' he had challenged their way of life/condemned their tradition and cuba bawa agama baru.Where is he, where is he, said Umar with pedang terhunus.Mukanya merah padam cos' sangat marah.Kawan dia yg ada said you wanna kill Muhammad, your own sister had converted to his religion.Maka makin marah Umar and he rushed to his sister's home.

The ustaz's version is different from what is commonly told to me.She was not reading the Quran yet whn he came.Umar sempat tampar pipi adik dia hingga berdarah hidung adik perempuan dia.And her hubby tried to stop Umar from further abuse but Umar cekik leher adik ipar dia sampai kawan tu nyawa2 ikan.Sat tu di belakang adik dia terlayang stg..ayat quran yg ditulis mungkin pada kulit or stg.Umar tanya adik dia wht is this.Adik dia kata you can't hold it till you have washed yourself.Maka sekeras2 hati Umar,ada juga lembutnya..dia pun pi mandi.Then he read the Quranic verses.It was surah Toha ayat 1-5 yang menobatkan kebesaran Allah dan why Allah turunkan Quran:

1. Tor.Ha.

2. Kami tidak turunkan Quran kpdmu (wahai Muhammad) supaya engkau menanggung kesusahan.

3.Hanya untuk menjadi peringatan bagi orang yang takut, yang melanggar perintah Allah.

4. Al Quran diturunkan dari tuhan yang mencipta bumi dan langit yang tinggi

5. Iaitu Allah ArRahman yang bersemayam di atas 'Arasy.

Menggigil tubuh badan Umar tatkala membaca ayat ini lantas dia bergegas nak jumpa Rasulullah.Nasib waktu tu bapa saudara Nabi, saiyidina Hamzah another gedeber ada.He said let me handle this gangster.If he comes secara baik, kita sambut baik.If he's looking for trouble,maka bertemu buku and ruas.

Bila Umar jumpa je Rasulullah s.a.w. terus baginda dipeluknya dan dia terus mengucap.Berita itu disambut baik even by para malaikat.It's like winning the olympic gold which we missed tonight.:))

But so inspiringlah this story.It makes you appreciate Islam more..org lain nak jumpa dia, sikit punya payah..we were given..and yet...

Happy Nuzul Quran.Semoga kita khatam byk kali dan memahaminya sekali.Ustaz tanya Quran turun kat Selangor je ke sebab Selangor je cuti.:)

Yup, it's another wonderful evening

I made the right decision by not having my iftar outside...was invited to a family iftar in Putrajaya and another one in Bangi.

Tonight was another great evening at the surau.Tonight's ustaz was imam masjid negara..oh my god, he's so funny...I ketawa berguling2 when he related a story about how he arrived late at one mosque and prayed on saf of ultramen,batmen,supermen..and they would slide on the floor.Sounds familiar, yah? :))

Ustaz ni is also a nazir masjid satu msia and he says our surau is extraordinary and memang lain.He said he'd do a paper to suggest a similar model to be copied by others..antara perkara yg dia suka ialah membaca doa dlm bahasa arab dan melayu, menterjemahkan secara ringkas intipati bacaan2 quran yg dibaca dlm solat teraweh, forum perdana konsep kita dan majlis santai bwh khemah kita.I also notice ustaz2 sekarang muda2...that is why they adapt well to innovations..The man behind this fantastic management is Haji Ali..a yuppy..an engineer by training..young chap.Well..about Nik's age.Of cos' he has a strong backup by other yuppies and a strong financial backup as well by ahli2 masjid yg lain.Dulu surau ni agak boring and I thought not that friendly so I would do my teraweh at home, but this year in particular, you feel the good vibes sampai kita syg nak miss praying thr.Tahniah to the team.

Sebab I dah sleepy, secara ringkasnya, ustaz ckp the following:

1.Jgn tinggal teraweh sbb mmg ada hadis bhw Allah akan ampunkan dosa org2 yg berteraweh, bertadarus dan berqiamulail.Tak boleh buat all 3, at least one of them.

2.Org berpuasa, Allah ampunkan dosa2 dia kecuali dosa sesama manusia..tu kena usaha sendiri le.

3.Tiga perkara yang kalau kita pandang dapat pahala: quran, kaabah dan wajah ibubapa kita.

If I rajin, sambung later.zzzzzzz

Notes before iftar

Z has gone to iftar with her cousins and aunties in Putrajaya.I malas nak pergi cos' just got back from my scriptwriting wshop then my ACCIN meeting at Perkim.They (accin frens) are all going to Equatorial in Bangi for iftar.Too far for me.Lagipun I will miss my surau,right? Sapa nak ambik notes? :))

It has been an interesting and full day for me.We had loads of laugh at the scriptwriting workshop esp. when academics presented their work.Kaku gila.We'll get better.

The ACCIN guys pun byk discussions today.I pun letak my two sen.Being the only lady was not a problem.No issue of the guys ignoring my voice.In fact, they listened well.I used to have some difficulty getting heard in the past (not from accin but other men elsewhere).

Besok our creative recycling workshop will start.We have the venue shifted from MPPJ hall to dewan ilmu at the al ulum surau.Sarah was so kind to shift her tadarus class to the surau hall.

Watch this space.I hope to take some pics tomorrow.Ohh..this is so exciting!

Tazkirah paling best!

As salam folks,

Hari ni punya Ustaz the best of all nights.Dia dari Kelantan tapi muka mcm Mawi (the thinner and younger version). Sebab musabab I like him:

1. Cerita dia pasal perbualan malaikat dgn Allah mengenai orang yang suka duduk dalam majlis ilmu.Allah perintahkan para malaikat duduk bersama dalam majlis2 ilmu dan catitkan apa hamba-hambaNya buat.Malaikat akan beritau mereka berzikir mengingatiMu Ya Allah.Kata Allah Aku akan ampunkan dosa2 mereka selagi mereka duduk dlm majlis2 ilmu itu dan tidak Aku beri mereka azab selagi mereka di situ.

Ustaz ni pun beri contoh masa gempa bumi di Turki yang tidak musnah was the mosque dan pangsapuri 20 tingkat bersebelahan masjid.Adapun amalan penghuni pangsapuri itu adalah menyeimarakkan masjid itu..mereka akan turun solat berjemaah ramai2.Itulah yg menyelamatkan mereka.

2. Ustaz kata bulan Ramadan ni semua kelapan2 pintu syurga terbuka dan pintu2 neraka ditutup.Siksaan kubur pun off sebulan...syaitan2 diikat tetapi ustaz kata dlm ramadan ada juga org kena santau, kena bomoh so ada dua pendapat di sini..ada yg kata jeneral2 syaitan je diikat tetapi setan yg kurang tajam taringnya masih bebas..wallahualam.

Ustaz ni boleh mengubat org and rating sihir paling tinggi now ialah ilmu pengasih.Yang kena bukan anak dara ke teruna ( masa ni I tengah santai minum teh tarik terus tersedak! Ahaks...weiii, got market value lagi ko? Haha.Na'uzubillah!)Satu kes lelaki umur 60 tahun.Dengan satu pompuan who called him on the phone je then from thereon mulalah drama2 meluat kita berlaku sampai lelaki ni hilang susut badan dan tak perdulikan anak isteri lagi.

Satu kes lain,wanita berumur 55 tahun diilmu pengasihkan dgn budak muda umur 24 tahun..habis reta, gelang emas dia serah kat bdk pengikis ni.

Yang kes paling terok satu kakak in her late 40s ke hapa..yg tak kaya or cantik ..dia tak kerjapun tapi ada satu man dah syok dgn dia.Bila communicate dgn ustaz..setan tu kata "hambo sajo suko dia..geram je nengoknyo" ( jin kelantan tu)

Wough...sensasi tazkirah malam ni.:))

And I made new friends every nite..so ada juga cerita2 hangat surau like the elderly women ramai juga nak bermenantukan bdk yg dok baca selawat teraweh tu..i thought budak but dia berumur 30 tahun lebih, kerja kat satu MNC..haha..lucu but dia sudah ada gf.Sorry moms! :)

Tazkirah malam Jumaat

My French friend ( married to a Malay man) yang since so long tak pernah tak pergi teraweh except bila period all the years I know her (since 2001 tak silap) told me ustaz mlm ni is her favourite.True enough..even the moderator knew.In his intro said Ustaz ni a fav. esp. with kaum muslimah.

The first cerita kita dah dengar ..kisah anak tangga tiga tu.However, the following agak baru for me.Here's sharing:

1.Sahur tu hukumnya sunat.Makna sunat bkn jika dibuat pahala, jika tidak,tak apa.The real meaning of sunat is jika buat dapat pahala,jika tak buat, rugi.Rasululah s.a.w. bersabda bahawa sunat melambatkan sahur (paling afdal 5-10 mins before imsak but kalau takut tak sempat, try la 5.40 am ke if subuh is at 6 am).Sunat juga menyegerakan berbuka tetapi kata ustaz idak le immediately lepas Asr.Kah3.

Ustaz kata 2 perkara yang Allah segerakan balasannya ialah:

1.berbakti kpd kedua ibubapa

2.mendamaikan dua org yang bersengketa atau merapatkan hubungan silrahturrohim.

Ustaz cerita kisah dia visit mak dia one day.Mcm biasa dia kasi duit kat mak dia.RM200 or RM300 ke hapa.I didn't jot how much but I remember idak le sampai beribu2.Balik je dari kg, he got a phone call minta dtg ceramah mlm tu cos' penaja dah approached 9 ustaz..semua berhalangan.Penaja dah buat kambing golek 2-3 ekor, khemah dah byk, org jemputan dah ramai but no ustaz.Kebetulan Ustaz takda plan mlm tu so he said oklah.Ceramah israk mikraj.

Bila habis, penaja pun hulor envelope.Ustaz tak tengok pun.Wife dia tengok bila sampai kat rumah.In the envelope, RM1600.Ustaz kol balik penaja jam2 tu juga takut penaja tersilap kasi dia envelope..takut duit nak bayar kambing golek 2-3 tadi or upah pasang khemah.Kah2.But penaja said mmg tu peruntukan bayaran dia.Phuiyooo...

Ustaz juga beri 4 rintangan yang sering melalaikan kita dari berbuat baik dan beribadah:

1. Pengaruh kawan2

2. Kesibukan dunia

3. Nafsu

4. Syaitan

Dan org yang betul2 berusaha utk mentaati Allah akan disayangi dan dibantu Allah dgn memberinya kekuatan jiwa dll.

Sekian.Wassalamualaikum warahmatulllah hiwabarakatuh.

Guests from Pakistan

Sheikh Dr. Ameen was born and raised in Makkah.He would be our teraweh imam for a couple of days..last year he came too but I somehow missed him.Dia punya reading mcm Imam Masjidilharram..masa solat, I perasan depan kaabah...high kejap.:))

Sheikh tengah nak raise funds for two madrasahs in Karachi.If we nak sedekah on behalf of ibubapa yg dah meninggal also can.Masa teraweh, he read surah ArRahman on nikmat Allah mana yang nak kita kufurkan atau kita dustai.

Masa ceramah,another ustaz from Al Azhar kupas ayat tu lagi..apparently Allah ulang ayat ini sebyk 31 kali kerana:

1.Allah nak kita insaf akan nikmat yang Dia dah beri kpd kita.Kalau dah ulang byk kali tapi masih bebal..teruk tu kerana nikmatNya memang tak terbilang...dari kita dlm kandungan Ibu hingga sekarang terutama nikmat Islam dan iman.

2.Allah juga ulang2 ayat itu sebab nak kita sedar nikmat yg berbeza2 yang telah kita terima.

3.Nikmat besar yg Allah gives us is the Al Quran..untuk selamatkan kita and for us to use as a guide.Dalam surah Tahrim disebut bhw Quran adalah petunjuk paling lurus.

Bulan Ramadan juga mempunyai nama2 lain :bulan Al Quran, bulan rahmah, bulan kesabaran, bulan kasihsayang, bulan keampunan.

Ditanya moderator mengapa habis je Ramadan, kita tidak juga berubah.Kadang2 makin teruk jadinya.Ustaz jawab sebab mindset kita buat ibadah hanya utk ramadan..kita jadi hamba Ramadan bukan hamba Allah.Kalau jadi hamba Allah, kita berterusan amalan baik kita..sebab sifat taqwa subur di dalam diri kita.

Maksud taqwa sidang pembaca yg dirahmati Allah sekelian ialah bila kita merendahkan diri kita kpd Allah; kita juga mensyukuri nikmatNya; kita jadi waraq yakni bkn sahaja kita menjauhi perkara yg Allah tak suka tetapi juga brg2 yg syubahah dan akhir sekali, kita yakin akan kebesaran Allah.

Maka sahabat2 sekalian, marilah kita menghidupkan balik hati2 kita agar Nur Islam itu, Nur Iman itu kembali meresap ke dlm hati kita dan cahaya iman itu terpancar di wajah kita.Hati yg mati tidak akan dpt kemanisan beribadah.Buat dosa pun dah jadi biasa.One ustaz said a few nights ago..jiwa tu sentiasa tensi..solat lama sikit, tension.Doa panjang sikit, tension.Wa na'uzubillah.

This reminds me of former Director/Imam masjid SHAS UIA..Ustaz Farid...muka dia bercahaya sampai orang sejuk dan tenang memandang wajahnya.Wajahnya sentiasa tersenyum.

Sayang, he has left IIUM.

Sekian tazkirah ringkas kita hari ini.Ustaz Al Azhar ni serious sikit orgnya.Takda joke yg funny2.

Shortcut to paradise

Tonight's ustaz has an interesting personality.He speaks Malay with an Arabic accent (mcm P.Ramlee ckp "Ana mau fetola..fetola"), his English mcm Queen of England bercakap (with some exaggeration..but betul pronunciationnya) and his Arabic mcm Arab.He does not like the forum perdana setup di mana berceramah dlm suasana santai with people makan minum.He said his guru Sheikh Nuruddin ajar adab2 majlis ilmu..org tak boleh makan minum dan jgn menyampuk tanya soalan sedang guru berceramah.I think ada betulnya sbb kadang2 annoying juga kalau byk ngat senda guraunya.

Anyway, ada beberapa points je I nak share from the tazkirah yakni 4 perkara yang boleh melepaskan kita dari api neraka jika kita amalkan (zikirullah) terutama sepanjang bulan ramadan yag penuh keberkatan ini:

1. Zikir syahadah

2. Istighfar minta ampun dari Allah

3.Doa pohon masuk syurga

4.Doa pohon hindar dari masuk api neraka.

Baca 70,000 sehari.

Ada satu kisah di mana seorang pemuda kashaf telah dijemput makan kenduri tapi sedang dia nak ambik makanan, dia tak jadi sebab nampak ibunya kena siksa di alam barzakh.Pemuda itu tak jadi makan.Org tanya why.He told them what he saw.Tak jauh dari situ, seorang Sheikh yang dijemput telah terdengar cerita pemuda ini.Dari tadi dia dtg awal and sementara menunggu majlis bermula dia telah berzikir ashhadualla illahaillallah muhammadarasulullah sebanyak 70,000. Lantas beliau berdoa kpd Allah dlm hatinya,"Ya Allah, sekiranya zikir aku diterima oleh Mu,ingin aku sedekahkan pahalanya kpd ibu pemuda ini."

Tak lama lepas tu pemuda kashaf tadi bernafsu utk makan kembali.Dia telah melihat ibunya telah terlepas dari siksaan kubur.

Ustaz juga kata kalau kita nak hindarkan apa jua masalah kita ( from masalah kesihatan to finance to whatever) banyakkan beristighfar juga (70,000...more is better).InsyaAllah satu ketenangan dan pertolongan akan tiba.Let's try it and tell me how it worked with you.

Note I ni agak kabur mlm ni..there's one part where I scribbled baca 3x selepas setiap solat dan selepas iftar.Atas nota ini adalah 4 perkara yang disebutkan di atas tadi..you guys buat la dua2... Baca 3 x lepas solat dan iftar 4 perkara tu in addition to zikir 70,000 syahadah dan istighfar.

Poverty in Batu Kurau

As salam sidang kuliah kita hari ini.

I thought ceramah kat surau malam ni tak sedap sgt hingga uztaz dari Utara ni cerita pasal kerja2 masyarakat mereka di Perak and each day find poor people.Ustaz went with one of the imam muda and bdk muda tu menangis menengok satu dangau or danau? (rumah pondok kecik) kat Batu Kurau. Lantainya tanah.Imam muda took off his shoes kerana menghormati tuanrumah dan rumahnya.No toilet.Ada ibu tua yang lumpuh yg dijaga anak lelakinya berumur dlm 30an.Ditanya mana toiletnya..he said kat semak so every time mak dia nak buang air, he will usung her.Kesian,kan? So the religious activists panggil org bancuh simen buat lantai dan kasi kerusi roda kat anak muda ini so that dia tak payah la usung mak dia lagi.

Tak payah pi jauh nak bersedekah..kat Msia masih ramai yg dhaif..just go down and look for them.Urban poverty pun bersepah2.

Ustaz kata Mufti Mekah baru2 ini ditanya oleh rakyat miskin kat Somalia apa hukum puasa kami yg tidak bersahur dan tidak berbuka kerana kami tiada apa nak makan.Mufti tu menitis air matanya.Besok I don't want to buy kuih koci, murtabak,puding,kuih tepung pelita kat pasar ramadan.Beli air kauthar je.

Mengikut hadis Rasulullah s.a.w. ada 5 perkara yg akan mengurangkan pahala puasa kita atau puasa kita ditolak terus:

1. Berbohong/ berdusta

2. Mengumpat (terutama secara bersiri..tak habeh at workplace,sambung kat rumah)

3. Menjadi pengadu domba bagi meretakkan hubungan dua org beriman atau siapa saja.

4. Bersumpah palsu

5.Melihat sesuatu dgn syahwat

Again, the stress on sedekah during this month...malaikat akan doakan pagi2 lagi bagi mereka yg suka bersedekah agar ditambah lagi rezeki dan lain2 kebaikan termasuk kesihatan,terhindarnya musibah,dll.Kalau kedekut, malaikat doakan agar muflis.

Sekian utk mlm ini.But Z and I gelak berguling2 cos' the announcer ckp mcm dj radio (yg bahagian tengah mlm).Nik said dia top corporate guy.Mesti cita2 nak jadi dj masa kecik2 dulu.Haha.Is this bersiri or wht?

Momma's gal

Top left to right: Z with Tunku Abidin (2nd son of the YAM Dipertuan Negeri Sembilan); Johan Merican (CEO of Talent Corp); bottom left: Z with Azran of Asia-X and finally, Z with KJ.

Not tonight

Sorry folks, no kulliyyah ramadan tonight cos' I had to leave early..tengah syok jotting down ustaz's ceramah on memuliakan Al Quran esp. in Ramadan since Quran turun bulan ini,I was called to go home by Menteri Dalam Negeri.But intipatinya kita kena baca dan practise-kan apa dlm Quran agar berkat hidup kita.Makna berkat ialah kebaikan kita bertambah dan kita semakin bertaqwa cos' yang masuk syurga itu hanya org bertaqwa.Manusia bertaqwa adalah manusia yang paling baik di sisi Allah.

Pokoknya sidang hadirin yg dirahmati Allah (dah start daaah...haha) bagaimana kita nak jadi manusia baik di sisi Allah? ( ni nota dari ceramah separuh jalan tadi ni).Caranya ialah mempraktikkan akhlaq Rasulullah s.a.w. dan akhlaq baginda ialah akhlaq Quran.Membaca dan memahami Quran dgn betul adalah fardhu ain jadi jgn kita malas nak baca Quran sebab kita tak tau bila kita akan mati.Sabda Rasulullah..jgn kamu ingat kamu ada di pagi hari,kamu akan ada di petang nanti dan jika ada di ptg hari,jgn ingat kamu ada di malamnya.

Waktu I tengah syok jotting notes ni,Nik dtg melambai2 ajak balik cos' nak ambik Z from Hilton.Z ada berbuka puasa with McKinsey and para mentors internship prog dia (alhamdulillah she is so lucky..dapat dengar talks by captains of the industry..CEOs from everywhere and her dream came true dapat jumpa KJ! Tanya soalan panas kat KJ sampai KJ kata might as well I go home now.Haha.Lepas talk tu she told him pasal internship with KJ in which she was also shortlisted but his people tak call her back.KJ said he'd find out.Tak lama lepas tu,she got someone to speak to her but Z said now tht she's with McKinsey,and results A Level pun dah nak keluar, she does not think ada masa nak join).Apparently Z berdua je Melayu kat prog ni and the only one yang tengah tunggu A level..Yg lain tu dah kat uni or baru graduated.It should not matter..the experience should be good for her.Bdk2 Cina kawan dia kata wahhh..your English so good and you ask good questions..we got malay frens but they don't talk like you.Innocent kan budak2 ni? Of cos' there are others...cuma mrk tak jumpa cos' some of them went to Chinese school ke hapa.

Z also met the CEO of Talent Corp, Johan Merican; Tunku Abidin ( anak raja Negeri Sembilan who graduated from LSE and sgt2 vocal on many issues...a role model for our youth,really);Azran Osman-Rani of Asia-X; dan ramailah yg lain2nya.Kita dengar lah nanti cerita selanjutnya as Z works with her team on a project in rural Sabah.

I think it's wonderful that all these people from the industries are doing their bit grooming our young people not only teaching them leadership skills but stressing on the importance of giving back to the less fortunate.

We wish Z and those carefully chosen for this prog much success and that they would be better people after the experience.

Ramadan mengajar the power of consistency

Assalamualaikum folks.Kita sambung kuliah Ramadan kita hari ini.Mudah2an ada ilmu baru untuk kita baiki mutu puasa kita.

Another different ustaz today.Some of his jokes esp. on women I tak gemar sgt.And I find it rude also when men joke about nak kawin lain..especially depan isteri mereka.I thought ustaz semalam and hari ni pun lebihkurang je when talking about women.Yg semlm ckp women mcm jin sbb ada satu ketika tengah dia berceramah,he heard kelentang kelentong belakang tabir.Rupa2 the women menggoreng sesuatu.He said mcm jin.Hello..they might have been preparing for makan2 after the ceramah.But I didn't tell you this yesterday.I focused on good things je but after mlm ni..I feel like I have to record my protest and if ustaz or bakal ustaz reading this,please..have some respect for the women.Do not talk of them mcm kita ni sirens..pi masjid pun nak menggoda mrk (tundukkanlah pandangan mata tu if you ternmpk we tersinsing betis masa ambik wudhuk.Duh!Ha..mulalah I nak marah ni..haha).

Anyway, some new knowledge mlm ni:

1.Waktu berbuka puasa,just pray for anything you want..bkn setakat baca doa makan sebab doa orang berpuasa esp di bulan Ramadan, Allah kabulkan.Ingat, the first part of Ramadan adalah penuh dgn kemurahan dan kasihsayang Allah.Just ask.Nak kaya, nak cerdik, nak jadi lebih beriman,etc etc..say it waktu berbuka.

2.Banyakkan bersedekah esp. kasi org berbuka..pahala dan ganjarannya sgt besar..full marks wpun kasi satu org makan.One Prof from UM without fail derma RM4K every year.The 3rd year he gave RM5K cos that year dia naik pangkat.The following year, naik lagi pangkatnya and he gave more and more.

3.Solat tahajud kalau tak buat,banyak rugi.Tahajud menerangkan kubur kita nanti.

4.Jangan tinggal teraweh.Rasulullah s.a.w. tak pernah tinggal teraweh.

5.Lepas Ramadan..continue solat witir walaupun satu rakaat.

6. Jangan kerap pi tempat awam cos' that will kurangkan pahala kita..I guess sebab nampak byk benda2 kita tak patut nmpk atau byk buang masa dari mengingati Allah.

I like the cerita Ustaz cerita mula2 ceramah tadi.About 3 men who went to pray at the mosque whr the Prophet was and after prayer,the Prophet pbuh berceramah.The first chap duduk kat tengah2 sebab eager to hear, the 2nd chap duduk tepi sebab malu nak duduk kat tengah.The 3rd chap angkat bontot and blah.

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda bhw pemuda 1&2 will be so much loved by Allah dan akan tolong mereka dlm semua hal.The 3rd one you can guess lah apa dia dapat.:)

Wallahualam.Saya cuma mencatat apa saya dengar.

Islam itu indah,Ramadan itu rahmat

Gosh guys, I love my surau.There's so much love showered on this place.Takda la besar mana but meriah.We have a huge space that they buat 2 rumah for the 2 resident imam and tok siak,siap ada library and they set up a stage ala2 forum perdana kat depan balai ilmu where the ceramah is done after teraweh and we have refreshments under tents in the open air.Syoklah suasana santai gitu sambil dengar ceramah sambil minum teh tarik and makan kuih muih.But we do not talk much with each other..yet.Senyum2 dan angguk2 je.I only know a couple of people sebab jumpa setahun sekali je kan? Soon my green friends and I would be organising activities so tht we bond with each other.

I go only to the surau in Ramadan and today's ustaz kata dia perasaan yg dtg ni are "regulars". I thought dia mengerling arah Nik and me.Haha.He said yg timbul only di bulan Ramadan tu org kat tempat lain.Kah3, perli,nampak.Anyway, this young and clean-looking ustaz is from Penang but kerap di KL as penceramah.He grew with our surau..dari bujang sampai dah kawin dia masih one of our penceramah.

Yg lawak he said I often wonder di mana tuan2 dan puan2 berada di luar musim Ramadan.Kerja tempat sama, rumah sama, kereta sama...apa tuan2 dan puan2 buat?

The topic given was wht was the difference between puasa di zaman Rasulullah dan sekarang.I pun terdetik di hati...apa ke kelakar sgt topik forum ini.But ustaz pun lawak juga..he said patut takda beza..mereka lapar,kita pun lapar, mereka dahaga,kita pun dahaga..cuma bezanya mereka dapat pertolongan dari Allah (dalam hati I..aik?Adakah Allah tidak menolong kita skrg?) Wht he meant was masa kaum Muslim yg awal ni berperang di bulan Ramadan satu ketika itu.Allah bantu mereka.

Then he said bulan ramadan ada 3 perkara yg bulan2 lain takda iaitu keberkatan, keampunan dan pembebasan dari api neraka which we have to work hard and pray that we get it.For example keampunan..kita kena minta..tak minta, macamana Allah nak ampun.

Besok I nak ambik noteslah.Byk points lupa.Memory like a fish!

Nik's BMW was hit by a car tadi ptg.Proudly he rang me up saying tazkirah semlm sgt berkesan mengingatkan perlunya transformasi diri, "I tak marah pun kat org yg langgar my car tu.Somehow I ingatkan diri I, I sedang berpuasa."

Then I said excellent.Tu mesti ada dosa2 you Allah nak peringatkan.Then he said, "You ni kan...bla bla bla bla" (marah)

I laughed and reminded him not to marah,dia sedang berpuasa, nanti kena jual.Guling2.But he laughed after that.I suspect marah kat I tu sebab the earlier marah was repressed.:) But I also should not have said tht,kan? :)

It is a struggle,isn't it? But try we must.Selamat berjuang!

Law of Attraction

Bismillahirrohmanirrohim,

Sidang pembaca sekelian,

Today no tazkirah but nak share an element of law of attraction hari ni.Bagi yg belum tau apa itu law of attraction, sila google sendiri.

Baru blog entry yang lepas kita cakap pasal Ustaz Hasrizal.Well folks, tadi Isyak and teraweh dia solat dengan kita kat surau kita! Dan beri ceramah lepas teraweh.Power giler! I think it's high time penceramah2 kita dtg dari kalangan mereka yang berilmu tinggi.This guy is.English dia pun superb.Arabic dia pun dasyat! Yoko...swooon sekali lagi.Haha.

Let me share with you some of his points today yang buat semua orang rasa terkantoi:

1. Bahawa Allah khaskan sebulan Ramadan ni for us to re-assess kehidupan kita..consciousness kita. Amat malang (in fact neraka la tempat kita) jika transformasi diri tidak berlaku selepas Ramadan should we die masih dlm kekufuran sebab ada hadith Rasulullah s.a.w. mengenai hal ini tatkala baginda s.a.w. turun dari mimbar bertangga tiga dan setiap tangga,baginda mengucapkan ameen.Sahabat bertanya apa yang diameenkannya.Baginda s.a.w. bersabda:

- Malaikat mendoakan bahawa tiada berkatlah kehidupan seorang anak yg sekiranya ibubapanya masih hidup dan dia tidak berlaku baik/menjaga mereka (maka baginda s.a.w. mengameenkan hal ini)

- Then the Angel also said - Rugilah mereka yang tidak berselawat apabila nama mu disebut

(baginda s.a.w ameenkan)

- Finally bisik malaikat: nerakalah tempatnya bagi mereka yang TIDAK memanfaatkan bulan Ramadan dan membuat perubahan diri agar semakin hampir dan bertaqwa dengan Allah

(dan baginda s.a.w. berkata ameeen).Kalau makin jauh dari Allah, something is wrong somewhere tu.

2.Ustaz kata raising our level of consciousness termasuk mengawasi cara kita makan di bulan ramadan, menjaga perilaku kita, kata2 kita dan sensitiviti kita terhadap penindasan yang berlaku di luar sana...dan mendoakan agar inilah ramadan terakhir bagi regime2 kejam di luar sana.

Deep, isn't it? Byk lagi but ni je yg ingat setakat ini. :)

Budak kecik superman yang suka bising tu takda mlm ni so my solat was so good and the imam punya bacaan mcm imam kat Mekah ( even Ustaz Hasrizal said if only his home were closeby..he'd want to pray at our surau daily.You know the imam baca doa dlm bahasa melayu juga? Wough..power giler..)

I hope yours went OK too.Enjoy your ibadah!

Stories at sahur, part 1

At least one complaint was lodged against me for not updating my blog. Puasa, folks.Tidak ada upaya to write! :))

I had to use my old Dior glasses yesterday cos' the one I usually wear tercabut screwnya.Maka tertanggal cerminnya.Thank God I still keep old glasses.Kalau tidak, another lack of insight, another poor judgment.Insights and sound judgments have loads to do with clear vision, methinks.

Sometimes we are tested so much that we tend to lose sight of the lessons Allah wants us to learn.I got this insight from a friend who is a non-Muslim but often talks about lessons to be learnt out of experiences we have.Good or bad.

This brings me to a story told by Z, returning from her ibadah camp in Bangi (as part of her preps to live overseas, by grace of Allah)

It came from one of the ustaz who went to study in Jordan in the early '90s.During his final year exam, he got locked in his home,missing his last two papers which he could only sit the following year.Then a series of mishaps happened to him..one after another..that I thought he just made up for dramatic effect, like an unfinished short story in which the editor would insist on adding more and more till he gets the right length or right drama.

The mishaps include the study fee increased 7 times more the year he returned for his exam..so he collected signatures to appeal to the authorities in Jordan and was accused of menghasut pelajar2 and his scholarship was suspended for 7 months, leaving him with much financial difficulty.So he went to London to work as a dishwasher to make money to pay for his study fee...then the British authorities found out his visa ran out just as he was leaving the UK.He was jailed for two weeks before deported back to Malaysia.His brother gave him some money later on so he could return and finish off his studies.

I think the tests didn't stop there.He met with an accident, had bad buasir, this that (I lost count!) and finally...8 years afterwards, got to sit for his last two papers.The lecturer who found out about why it took him so long to finish up his degree gave him an amanat...that he'd use his knowledge to remind others of the beauty of Islam.

So he became a daie..tried to be a fulltime lecturer..every time he enrolled in a postgrad studies, something would happen.In the end, he got the message..Allah wants him to stay a daie (he is also a successful businessman now)

Touching,isn't it? Sometimes it would take time for us to get it right.To get the lesson that God wants us to see.But whatever it is, it should take us back to Him.

Sekian, tazkirah Ramadhon kita kali ini.Wabillahi taufiq walhidayah,wassalamualaikum. :)

Ramadan Kareem

As salam,

Here's wishing everyone here Ramadan Kareem! May we do more this year to make up for lost years.

Eat less, pray more. :)

Sunday with Tariq Ramadan

comel

a bigot blogger in Vienna described him as the smiling terrorist (horrible labelling!)

After Nasi Padang lunch at Lina's, we went to listen to Tariq Ramadan's talk at ISTAC.The announcement was for 2 pm but he arrived almost an hour later.

He has aged, this man.But the fire and passion are still there when he speaks on certain issues.Much of what he believes in with regard to the arab spring or as he sees it - arab awakening,is similar to wht I think is happening too.That it didn't come outa vacuum, it would have taken time to plan, lots of financial support from here and there and that it wasn't just one group involved but many..wanting a share of control, etc.Yang funny was the first question from a rep of Perkasa...he wanted to say street demos are not Islamic and asked if there would be a spring in Msia too.Tariq kata how would he know...and said he knew the guy was hoping..haha..wrong...the guy is trying to stop it from happening..street demos not our culchah (culture).Soalan pertama selalu kelabu asap..:))

The Q&A spoke of more uprisings in MENA...now, that's really interesting to know.I must read up more lah on this.

Back on the road

Looks like my old routine is back.I have started reading poems again,thanks to Raja Ahmad's invitation to join his literary circle at his gallery at Dutamas.With the young ones.Ohh..they are very young and promising writers.A joy to meet them.Some with very bold voices who wrote of their or their personas' sexual tensions and desires.Raja and his lawyer friend,Razak and I a bit squeamish gamaknya.Ahaks.

I read 4 of my old pieces...2 in Malay, 2 in English.The young woman who sat next to me kata best...(I asked for her feedback..okay tak my reading?).Always ask for feedback so that you'd know wht work/not work.And that should give you some indications whether you should continue writing and reading poems. Kalau setakat syok sendiri, baik focus on blogging.Haha.

Many were held up by the police road block due to the march at the istana.Stopped to ask a policeman how else I could get to dutamas since semua jalan bapak mereka ditutup.One kind policeman advised me to go through Jalan Segambut.Tak sampai 5 mins dah sampai.Grin.A naughty sms said I hope you won't be the only one at the function.Kah3.Well, we had 20 people.Not bad lah,kan?

My Arabic class ended today.I hope I'd get the opportunity to polish up more after my big project's done next year.I intend to do my sabbatical in one of the countries in the Middle East.Mudah2an Allah perkenankan.Saudi, folks, Saudi. Madinah to be precise.

Z's generation

Z is home till Sept.I repeat: Z is home till Sept.

Please be prepared to read lots of Z's stories till then cos' I admit: I don't have a life.Haha.

You know that's not true but Z is such a good storyteller and I find stories of her friends worth sharing cos' the young minds would inspire us,the oldies.

By the way,she got the McKinsey internship thingy.It was pretty competitive to get in but alhamdulillah, she'll get some experience working with the best in the multinational org.Am proud of you gal.

But Z spoke of another brilliant friend (again, of mixed parentage) who won a scholarship to study in Hong Kong before going to the US to study in one of the ivy unis there.Let's call this bright and pretty gal Annie.She's a true genius cos' despite being surrounded by atheist and friends as well as teachers who mock religions and laugh at any show of religiosity,she came back every winter and summer break to learn more of Islam to strengthen and affirm her faith.Her family isn't particularly religious (but decent people) and I find Annie's decision to educate herself more of her religion truly touching.She went out of her way and enrolled in a course at IIUM..by herself! Wough..she has a clear direction of what she wants and needs,yah?Am deeply impressed cos' I also know of other kids her age who are easily influenced and sold their soul cos' of peer pressure and environs.Annie,may Allah give you strength to stay strong and wise (she does not wear tudung but it's obvious she takes great care of her iman and Z says Annie's constant prayer is she'd marry a good Muslim man to guide her.And this tall gal is very,very pretty,OK? Like a model.Her hair a bit blondish..naturally so)

Z has a seminar tomorrow ( on what ..I have lost track!) but watch this space to hear her stories when she returns.:)

Intellectual picnic by the lake

Keynote speaker, Prof Vijay Bhatia

me, Prof Wan and Dr Arbaayah

Prof Sabariah, Prof Bhatia and yours truly

the hall where I spoke

Today marks the end of MICOLLAC's 2-day conference.Dr.Rosli Talif was the one who founded the conference..now into its 7th year.Fantastic,isn't it?

I sat through some interesting lit. papers by young academics and pgrads.We had nice discussions on racial divides etc.Oh met Dr. Ida and got into Anthony Burgess' discussions...Zul was there too and the three of us had a bit of a laugh over Burgess' time in Malaya.

Mlm tu we had a barbecue at the Village.A long day.Beeped Jerry to get him to help out with my powerpoint materials while I keluar bersukaria.Thank you Jay for a job well-done.

My plenary session went ok.I terkantoi when a participant from Canada asked me why did I feature only male leaders in my presentation.Kah3.Then Rosli as my moderator HAD to rub it in by repeating the question...cheh cheh cheh.:))

But I had real nice questions during the Q&A.Prof. Bhatia and a few others said they too enjoyed the session.Baiklah Prof B ni.Kita berdua dok sok sek psl yg sorang tu yang tak pernah consistent dalam arguments nya.

Looks like ada ikatan kasih antara UPM and IIUM now.Congrats to Assoc. Prof. Wan Roselezam, Dr Sabariah and team.I enjoyed knowing all of you.Hope to do some research collaborations with you guys soon.

Footnote:All my 6 copies book of poetry were sold out at the conference.Alhamdullilah.Should have brought more.

UPM conference

I checked in at Pullman, Putrajaya late yesterday afternoon.This hotel and resort looks beautiful in the evening although the room I'm in is a wee bit odd (it has no writing desk..I have to do my work at the TV cabinet.I was told the place was built as a museum or a few museums to be exact but Putrajaya being Putrajaya...the place didn't have many visitors and ran a loss so some smart people bought it and converted it into a hotel..so spacious and exotic!)

We had dinner by the lake (at a restaurant called The Village.Like 10 times).Food was good.
At breakfast today, met Prof Vijay Bhatia (conference keynote, based in Hong Kong for the last 20 years or so) and had a very, very nice chat over breakfast.He's the Father of Genre Analysis and I learned more of GA at his workshop today.Mine went after his, after morning tea.I had to convert my intended lecture mode to Socrates style of learning (let the participants talk..with me in the b/ground asking questions and occasionally throwing in my responses to issues raised).What a wise last min decision! :)) A lot more inputs and a lot more inclusive that way.Thumbs up for Iranian/Gaza/Egyptian/Msian/Thai intelligent inputs.Ahh..enjoyed the discussions.Prof Bhatia's presence and input also added colour to what would have been a dull session had I not changed my modus operandi.Ahaks.

Fred's (from Finland) session was also interesting but I wish he had time for Q&A cos' I was a bit disturbed by his submission over dropping culture from any reference to or of multiculturalism.He said it's erroneous to say we meet culture when we actually meet people (hence, to treat people as individuals?... 16th century, isn't it? Very dangerous methinks..for this part of the world.It may work in Europe..to be culture-less is to be equal?) But imagine in this part of the world, what are we or who are we without culture (which would also include religion, I would argue). And he submitted that there's no such thing as a clash of civilisations..only clash of people.That's quite a nice argument but to advocate for individualism throughout...mmm...tak minat.Besok nak provoke dia sikit lagi.

I think Day 1 went well so congrats to Prof Wan and team.And to Dr. Daniel who picked us up in his brand new Mercz...thank you!
To Dr Arbaayah..nice touching base again.Hope to work on that book project soon.

Goodbye,Teja

Well folks, finally I found the courage to bid farewell to Teja.

When I took Teja for her usual injection, I asked Dr.Bilqis if there were anyone who'd like to take care of Teja.I no longer have the heart to hold her captive in her small cage.Nak lepas, takut hilang lagi.

Dr. Bilqis said Rafiq would not mind.Rafiq gave me an ear to ear grin.He's an Indonesian worker at the vet's and lives in Kg Jawa,Shah Alam.He's good with animals.He passed my interview,"Awak suka makan arnab?"

He laughed and said saya tak sanggup,Puan.

OK, passed!

So I took the last few pics of Teja which Dr. Bilqis kata is a male!Patutlah gatal sgt dok run after Tanjung and Tuah.We thot she was a lesbo!

I made a couple of calls to Z and Nik.Z was sedih.Nik supported my decision although a fortnight ago, he said not to give it away..for the joy it brought to us.But I think we all agreed Teja should not be kept captive.Bukan naluri arnab tidak melompat2.

Goodbye Teja.Thank you for all the love given to us all this time. Thank you for returning everytime your gps didn't work.Gonna miss you but you deserve a better life, a bigger space which Rafiq claims he has in Kg Jawa.

Rawa-land

Half of the clan are flying to Sumatera tomorrow.Queen Mother included (how she kissed and hugged me like it's me going just now...haha).There's so much excitement in their pre-departure.I'm a bit envious..I am not able to join mainly cos' of the conference in which I am one of the plenary speakers (in other parts of the world, that's keynote speaker for day 2 or 3, haha. Thanks UPM for that vote of confidence.I have always enjoyed speaking at your uni..this time it's at Pullman as well, yah)

Back to Queen Mother and her duckies.It's their first pilgrimage to their homeland..former Rawa kingdom.I just hope that they will not be sold by the guide, travelling from KL to where is it they are going...? Padang? I'm sure Mek and Sal will have heaps of fun stories.Mek is already funny sharing with us on how my mother bawak barang2 mcm nak balik kampong...bekal dia macam2..sambal belimbing..sambal jerok limau..berkotak2 instant noodles and tidak ketinggalan, her winter coat! Haha....we thought that was so cute.Padang is not England, Mom (she came to visit me in the UK in the 90s and had travelled to Egypt and Saudi quite a bit.Each trip she'd bring her wintercoat) This is her first trip abroad after years of being in and out hospitals in the last 4 years.A miracle, huh? Alhamdulillah.

Well, I'm glad Sal and family are having a break as well.She takes care of my mom a lot more than any of us put together.I wish them well.Tak sabar nak dengar cerita kelakar mereka (or horror stories of marble headed Rawa women travelling together!)

Watch this space in a few days.

The water monkey and I

Z is home till her A level exam results are out..you are looking at a couple of months bickering for iPad, air time, undivided attention just for her, etc.Water monkeys and tigers do not usually get on that well but separated, they miss each other a lot! :)

I see her time till August is almost full...with conferences, workshops, more internship interviews...another interview at petronas tower level 57.Interview junkie ke hapa budak ni.But Momma is proud,ok gal? Wish you all the best.Remember the slogan: it's OK to fail. haha.

I made time to listen to her endless stories about her friends.A fine lady was trying to impress a fine young man.At a function at this fine young man's home, the musicians were playing mozart..the boy told the gal..ahhh...i love classical music..Gal said: me too.Boy:Did you enjoy that wonderful piece by Mozart? Gal: ha? yah yah..that was fabulous (her cousin gave her an aside: you knew it was Mozart??)

I find this sooo cute.

Then there's another interesting friend..half French, half Malay. There was a family tradition in which gifts were given if a child lost a tooth (the tooth must be placed under the pillow).The French mom had not continued this tradition with the older kids but with a younger one, she did recently.The little one was pleasantly surprised.She thought it was the mouse that gave it to her.In her next trip to the dentist, she pleaded that all her teeth were taken out!

She lost another one but mom forgot to put the gift that nite.The little one was convinced when her mom told her the mouse got stuck in a traffic jam.Guling2.

The next morning, the little one asked if the mouse could get her a gift from The Girls.Mak dia dah beli pencil case NOT from The Girls.She said er...the mouse would not know where to buy The Girls' stuffs.

For parents with young children: does not this remind you of the moments when you have to lie a bit to make the little ones happy/motivated,etc? I had my moment or two too when Z was growing up.Well at least one lie..to make her lose her weight at 12.We told her she'd get her mobile phone.She lost a lot but only got her mobile ph at 17...5 years later.We didn't want her to bergayut too early.

Better late than never. :)

Happy 236th anniversary Uncle Sam

I got invited to the US Embassy's Independence Day celebration held at Marriott today...on my capacity as FAAM exec. I got to bring my spouse (who came late from work).

Pretty exciting cos' there were people I knew..Cathie Mulker of NZ High Comm..hug..hug..Chew from the US Embassy..then met new friends...the Ambassador of Afghanistan, spotted with Wahabudeen who just found out abt our blood ties..haha..janji nak balik kg bersama.And met up with someone from Kazakhstan and I learnt a bit more of the country.The country population is only 17 million,folks and so rich. Literacy rate is very high and they are inviting investors to do biz there mainly agriculture at the moment.Lots of land.Hope to visit one day.I have already an appointment to discuss possibilities (of other areas).Heh, the power of networking.

I also bumped into Sharifah's sis in law.And Khalid (now a CEO of an org while I guess still practising law ) and his friend from the Prime Minister's Office.I also got connected with this iron lady, a gutsy Dato from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and we spoke of the spread of corruptions at all levels in the country.Universities included! Will invite her to speak to the kids at uni.They have to learn early that the hands that receive (bribes) and those which give are equally sinful and criminal.

The spread was good, folks.Authentically American.I loved the beef roast.Sedap giler.But I had churros and hot chocs just before the event so didn't eat that much.However, sempat juga merasa turkeynya.

Pics later.

To all my American friends...wherever you are...happy Independence Day...please get your government to leave Afghanistan, Iraq and support world peace in non-military ways.Congrats once again!

Here we go again

Saturday morning started with KL Hilton and ended with a lunch at Chynna,entertaining Prof. Alan Lew and his lovely wife. Z was with me.We had a nice time.Rugi you tak join with your wife, Dr. Bubbles.Even the green tea was nice.:)) Billnya pun nice juga.Haha..but never da mind. Alhamdulillah, we got da monehhh. :)

The talk on Speaking Tourism:Language, heritage and identity in Sabah did not attract much crowd.Miscommunication with KL Library..they only did the announcement after I asked them.Strange for a lib! Nak kena suruh ke? But those who came were interesting personalities with curious minds.I have to thank Dr. Bubbles who came to support.Not only that, he contributed to a lively discussion after the talk on his team's work addressing some issues on Sabahan street kids.Owh..so inspiring.

At lunch, Z and I got to know the Lews better, talking about growing up kids and the empty nest syndromme.Z and I had a nice time going through the day's event and her Spore trip experience while driving her to her spa.

By the time I got home, I was too tired to drive bck to Gombak to attend the workshop.So lepak with Nik till it was time to attend Dr. Aziz Bari's son's wedding in Taman Melewar.Hensem anak dia ni.He works in the US, I was told.Saw many PAS leaders there.We came late.Maybe thre were more before or after we left but met the gang and opened table to analyse local politics.Kah3.Told them, my struggle is bigger than my ego..this on why I agreed to the headship of cerdas (the directorship is reduced to headship as cerdas is brought back to kulliyyah) I need to see the end of projects I started.After that, I can move on to other things, OK? This morning, my new Dean rang to say he wanted me as one of the Deputy Deans but I told him the same thing I'm telling you here.I chose to stay at cerdas cos' of the on-going projects.Otherwise I would have said no to it as well.He respected that. :) For me, it has never been about positions but space and freedom to do what I believe in. I hope the new structure would not change that too much.

Have a good Sunday, folks.

30,000 voters and more

Prof. Farid,Prof Ainul and I were ASA reps to the high tea with PM Najib at Sri Perdana.No one else wanted to go..possibly due to another compulsory event on campus..the Quality Day.Managed to drop by and caught up with some news with some friends I had not seen for some time.

I thought the memorandum sent by MAAC was fair.But the question that shook the hall..at least my table..was a grp of women asking Najib to be seconded to KPT since he did well with the Women's Ministry ..what a slap to Khalid!! Wough..thot I was surrounded by fan holders...Prof. Che Husna sitting next to me was cool on her ph., texting her Boss.Haha.

Najib ni pandai juga buat lawak.In his stress on the need to close gap between the rich and poor in the country, he highlighted some poor places which would be so ulu tht it would be a wonder to get successful kids out of these places.Kg Bantal in Jerantut was cited as an example.He said..entah iya ke tak...the kg was named bantal cos' people who finally got thr would fall asleep immediately if disorongkan bantal due to the long and tiring journey.Kah3x.

I thought Sarawak lagi terok.Just then as though he read my mind..he said in Sarawak, there's this plc which I have to pronounce carefully..Kg Ulu Lachau..which is so remote bla bla bla.We have a funny PM,folks.But that is all there is.:))

Farid asked me, apakah achievement kita with this trip? I said kita dapat bergambar dgn Rosmah (gambar Rosmah on the wall).

Let's hope Najib kasi kita satu senator if his gomen is re-elected.Profs jeles Jins Shamsudin dan artis2 je dpt jadi senator...

Talk on Saturday

Looks like I'll miss another class of Arabic and my early session on screenwriting on Saturday.

Prof Alan Lew (Arizona, USA) will deliver a talk on "Speaking Tourism: Language, Heritage and Identity in Sabah" at 10 am at Lincoln Corner, KL Library.

And guess who I got in touch with after all these years? Yulduz! She's the Press Sect of Yen Yen at Ministry of Tourism.Wough..it's been a longgggg time but she's sweet as ever..promised me to extend the invitation to staff at the Ministry.Like me, she loves the academe.After GE (she wants to step down, she says), we'll meet more often, I hope.Yulduz (Taiwanese of Central Asian origins, married a Malaysian Chinese Muslim and by now is a citizen I'm sure) and I were both PhD students in the early 90s..she was finishing hers at MU, I was starting mine at Adelaide.We shared a common interest: Msian women's writing..she was doing a comparative study between Malay and Chinese Msian women writers.I was doing the Anglophone ones.Happy dayslah. :)

What do I do without my gfs?? Azah is the funniest.Saniah, the Pavlov jokes are truly funny.Love you gals.

Simply Tuesday

It could have been just another Tuesday on a summer's day.Or any Tuesday in Winter.I got both.

Ted arrived from Melbourne last nite,calling me late in the evening.I got him mixed up with Bas...haha..it was so hilarious..me asking him over the phone if he wanted to dine somewhere different from Sean's Royal Commonwealth House since they had been dining there every evening.

"And do you think Sean might want to join us?"I asked "Bas"

Bas asked me in return, Sean? I know no Sean..

Aren't you Sebastian?

No..I'm Ted.

OK, folks..rotfl!! Guling2.

Ted and I met at IIUM and saw bits of Separation (thanks, friend!) the best foreign movie then being screened at Comm Studio.Fantastic movie with a poetic ending ...also an annoying one.In a family breakup..no one wins.OK...we got the message.

A serious discussion with the film group...gosh...they wanted to move beyond IFF.A bit too rushed for me.We'll see what Dato' Sri will say if I get to meet up with her soon.

Malam: finally got to meet Bas and Sean.Kelakar giler diaorang berdua nih.Interesting projects highlighted and discussed.

Bumped into Raman and it's nice to know of his new interest in classical texts.I look fwd to reading them in translation.

The weekend

Saturday was particularly busy. Z's last day at KYUEM.Her Awards Day.The guest was a young CEO of a well-known organisation.I was told he had had 3 heart attacks (for someone so young and looking so fit!) I liked his speech for the graduating kids: return to Malaysia and serve the nation, prioritise community service and serve your aged parents no matter how busy or successful you are..their prayers are blessings to our lives.

But what was most touching was the speech by student rep, read by another student.Imran's dad passed away on Wednesday so he could not be there at the Awards Day but his speech had everyone in tears.He wrote it when his dad lay unconscious (due to a stroke which happened in KT while he was sitting his A Level exam in KL..it was during his last paper..his mom didn't inform him till after the exam and he rushed back to KT to be with his dad.The docs said there was no hope)

Imran said the same thing the CEO did: we often don't realise how important it is to spend time with our parents in our busy-ness..etc etc and started advising his friends the same stuff the older guy did just moments earlier.It touched my heart so much...that it took a successful corporate guy a lifetime to realise the same value a 20 year old realised in his brief moment facing his father's death...

I attended 2nd half of the film workshop.Azrain was playing The English Patient (which he had nicely censored).Fun and interesting discussions took place.Loads of laughter.Kelakar giler.

Malam: I attended a fun wedding (with British humour throughout).Never a dull moment.

Getting sentimentol

Gosh folks, I have just heard a sad news...one of my close friends is leaving IIUM.Weiii...rasa nak nangis nih!

Prof. AS has always been a friend who'd support me every time I kecoh over issues at our workplace.Dia je faham my way of thinking.Ahaks.

Why do people leave?

I can only guess:
1. frustration (possibly over things not moving fast enough)
2. better pay elsewhere
3. better working environment
4. greater opportunities to help those who appreciate your help
5. wanting new experience/s
6. wanting security (PR/citizenship)

The list could go on. I should not feel so emotionally (and intellectually) attached to a friendship.People come and go. There's always the internet.

Farewell AS.All the best!

The end of my regime

Upon being told I would no longer be heading CERDAS, I text-ed a couple of people including Nik.His text made me laugh: an end to the regime of Nor Faridah.

Kah3.It was a fun regime.Well, dictators would always say that,yah? :)

It is time to move on.I would still be kept busy with the Fest next year and the never ending invitations to speak at conferences.I won't be lonely, folks.Worry not for me.In fact, I want to be left alone so that I could focus on my writing.Both academic and creative ones.

But CERDAS has taught me a lot..and I appreciate every min of it.Will miss my team/friends but life is about moving on and giving better,regardless of where or who you are. You the King or you the Pauper.

Watch this space for future adventures. :)

A joyous reunion

I was too busy to write about a visit to an elderly NZ alumna's place with other NZ alums yesterday.He's not too well (suffering from cancer).We had planned this over the group's fb for some weeks.Alhamdulllilah it went very well despite early worries : that there would not be enough crowd to make the solat jemaah and doa selamat, there would not be enough food if the crowd was too big, etc etc.

Then on the day itself...Mazidah who was supposed to arrive at 3 pm was held back by the bubur man who was still cooking it at 3 pm! And they lost Adnan who was supposed to join them at Wangsamaju or something.He was late so depa tinggalkan dia.Haha.But he joined them in Kg Baru.

I had to pick up the two maids from Gombak.Carlotta was with me.Gayah was not so I was not sure of the way to the place.But found it from memory.Sakinah was so cekap in the kitchen.Ajmal didn't turn up.Sons arriving from overseas or something.

The best part was Zul doing the tazkirah on arti israk mikraj and tied it up to all our tests and hardships.Zul ni kalau consistent, cerah masa depan dia as ulama. :))

It was nice meeting new and old friends and TS and Puan Sri were looking well.

Now, on to the next big event...my UPM conference!

Silver Wedding Anniversary

Nik and I celebrate our silver wedding anniversary today, folks.That's 25 years of ups and downs, joys and tears together. I say alhamdullilah that the relationship remains strong and stable.

I would not say we had not been tested.Ohhh...many times, sometimes perhaps too often.Ahaks.Busy people are always like this. People like watching this old couple.They say we look loving together.Funny.Weird.Mis-matched.We accept all compliments and say syukur.Both of us are sometimes extremely different but there are times when we are also so similar.I guess over the years, we learn to accommodate and respect each other's need and also space.

Dr. Bubbles asked me not too long ago about keeping a marriage strong.Well, I think it is not up to us.It is grace by Allah.We are mere players but I can tell you this about Nik: he's sincere and respectful of me and of family values.Of marriage as an institution itself.I hope we will be continued to be protected by Allah.It's a bad world out there but we live on lots of prayers.Since I got married to Nik, he reads his doa aloud. You know this man loves you right from his soul.I would suggest every husband does that when solat berjemaah with the family.It's an open declaration of love, commitment, responsibility. I reflect upon these little,little things in the relationship every time I see red in my life. And your spouse is really your jodoh chosen by Allah.Treasure it.It is your only means of happiness for the Hereafter.If you don't screw it up.

For Nik: thank you for accepting me as I am, the most imperfect spouse one could ever have but honey, I truly truly truly love you and seek your forgiveness for all my bads.

Happy 25th anniversary and may Allah give us much more blessing, patience, grace and protection.Amin.

Events

The marks are all keyed in, folks.But more deadlines to meet.But having a demanding job is better than NOt having a job, right? So we say alhamdulillah for whatever there is.

I met old and new friends at the winners' alumni today.Enjoyed the national laureates' session.Could not help asking a question on inclusive literature for a multiracial society and the issue of not doing serious translations of literatures of the 'other'.Would have loved to stay longer but I had other commitments.Hope to catch up with some of the new friends I made (one Chinese Accountant and another a Chinese lady who studied all the Malay classics and read some Arabic.I mean where do these people come from??) Masli N.O. was funny when I asked him when did he find the time to write.He said when you can't sleep."You can't sleep, right?" he insisted (nak tergelak pulak).I can sleep, bro. and if I can't, I won't be able to write! :)

The best is meeting the MM Editor.Byk keperluan I dgn dia.Kah3.

Had to leave early to submit marks and all.Also rushing home early to prepare for tonite's dinner with Makoto and Carlotta and Nik.We are eating Japanese.

Egyptian jokes

My Arabic class yesterday was soooo mean.In a nice way.Dr. Saodah is back from her umrah where she prayed for both of us that our learning would be made easy...haha.On Friday's skyped lesson with my Arabic teacher, I thought I did miraculously well.And on Saturday, Dr. S and I didn't go on our normal " forgetting it every 5 mins" mode.We did well in our sentence making.Syukur.

Then came in the Egyptian jokes...here's sharing:

During Sadat's cruel regime where so many people were killed, even dogs were leaving the country.At the border, a dog was stopped and asked: why are you leaving?

Dog: Sadat is killing all the donkeys.

Guard: But you are not a donkey.

Dog: Do you think he knows the difference?

Lesson to be learnt: if you didn't lead your life well, you would still be the talk of town after your death.In a bad way.

Here's a more contemporary one:

During the Egyptian Spring, a protester wanted to distribute Hosni Mubarak's picture for reasons known only to him. So he photocopied Mubarak's pic on the poster but wht came out was a pic of a donkey. He tried and tried again.Same result.

A little boy watching this at a distance, said,"Why don't you do the reverse? Photocopy a pic of a donkey and see what happens?"

The older man did.And true enough, Mubarak's picture came out OK.

Lesson to be learnt: do not undermine young voices.

And oh! There's another one on Bush and Mubarak but I'm off to my Sunday wet market.

Fulbright Alumni Association of Malaysia 2012/13

Gayah brought me in to be one of the comm members for 2012/13 and I was put in charge of public talks.

Today was my first event with Assoc. Prof Sean Foley.We met the year he was here as a Fulbrighter.I dah tak ingat how we met but he and his family (wife) became friends with mine.Kasi talk kat EPF lagi on impact of the Arab Spring on world econs or something like that.Sean ni serba boleh.Umur baru 32 but bijak.Bapak dia lagi bijak.Mak dia laggiiiii bijak, both grads of Cornell (hence lies another common factor.His dad a philosopher turned poet.Power gila poems dia.Urat otak semua bersimpul thinking about wht he writes.Mak Sean,an economist).

What I like about this group is the opportunity to meet interesting scholars...intellectual passion is like candu.Alhamdullilah,the talk went well.We had Profs from OUM.Q&A session was also fun.Sean ckp Robert Fisk ambik kerja dia.Turun saham Fisk.I asked Sean if he noticed Fisk dah berubah on many issues with regard to the Middle East.I terkantoi.Bdk smart ni kata,sure sebab ME pun byk berubah.Kah kah kah.

With regard to Sheikh Tahir Jalaluddin ni,rupanya dia kontemporari dgn Sheikh Hadi.Sean kata kelompok Islamic modernist but I tanya bukan ke term tu oxymoronic or a juxtaposition?He said it is just to differentiate aliran conservative or traditional.Lepas tu he linked up aliran ni dgn Maher Zain.Clever connection! I like.I raised the possibility of Zain being influenced by Tariq Ramadan and of cos' this is not new..let's go back to Said Nursi and his disciple Gullen.Let's go back to the spirit of the Quran.Modernist tak modernist.It's been there.New era, new labels.

Next month,Prof Alan Lew pulak on coastal tourism.Another new thing.Watch this space.

life cycle

What a strange weekend it was.

We thought we were attending a kenduri cukur cucu of a cousin so I bought flowers and all for the mom (not sure how big the baby was..you know some people cukur when the baby is months old.Didn't want to buy babywear which might go to waste).

When we got there, found out it was a kenduri aqiqah.And the baby's 10 months old. :))
But it was nice catching up with news with Abg Jib and Kak Jah (they lived in Jeddah for years and just got home a couple of years ago).

Then we were supposed to attend a wedding but Nik received a phone call one of his relatives was in nazak.We changed plan (dari shopping kat Giant to going home and collecting his mom
and sister to visit Pakcik Zahari at the Selangor Specialist Hospital in Shah Alam).

Loh lah lok lek..we were late and Pakcik Zahari died while we were still going round and round in a circle trying to locate the hospital (we all tak biasa sgt with Shah Alam).The children were all there but yang sempat mengadap were Makcik Yah (the wife) and Mi (the eldest son who lives in Tganu..O&G engineer..a good son..since he found out the father had cancer in April, he would travel every week to care for the dad.Syurgalah bagi anak ini...I was so touched.One of his boys hafiz and mengaji sedap by the bedside).

We didn't stay for the funeral cos' my MIL pun tak larat.And we had the wedding to attend.
The lovely newly weds were beaming...a new life for them.

Birth-death-marriage...semua in one weekend.It makes you feel in awe of life. Bahawa hidup ini sentiasa berputar.It ain't static.A minute's sadness for one has another meaning of happiness for another at a different location, same time. Inikah yang dikatakan binary opposition?