Deepavali update

deepavali at sunway lagoon club

 early arrivals

 more early arrivals



 make way for me, Sir.

 my fav spot of the day: tosei paling sedap

 2 heroes of the country: Mr. FOMCA man and Mr. SUHAKAM man

You can say Diwali or Deepavali.Both also can

As expected, the tosay was good. Without shame, I went for several helpings.I was at the same table with two gentlemen from the Labour Dept.We started talking about employees' rights, equal pay etc ..memang..I ni tak tau nak hormat orang...pilih lah tajuk2 yg deepavali sikit, kan? But bila lagi nak dpt inside stories.In the end, we all had fun talking.You'd be surprised to know that the gomen's decision to have a min pay of RM 900 ditentang oleh company yg besar2 ni..nak minta gomen lanjutkan tempoh implementasi.Terok, kan? RM 900 tu way below world's average pay at USD1500.

I said prob is if gaji naik, barang pun naik..sama juga.Cik Nik kita dgn bijak menyampuk..but kalau gaji tak naik, brg terus naik, worse.Haha..iyalah..iyalah.

Then ada satu lagi joker.An activist (another reason why I like going to Datuk M's annual open house selain tosay yang sedap ialah tetamu2 dia kebanyakannya activists.Tapi lawak).So Mr J ni kwn Nik juga.Nik kata let's say hi to J.I asked where is he from.Nik : Portugal.

So I told J, Nik said you're from Portugal.Pakcik ni kata yes but our ancestors were mainly from Goa.I said are you sure you are not Jewish cos' kat Goa kan byk Jewish settlements dulu2 masa zaman colonial..and saki baki masih ada sekarang.J ketawa kuat2.He said I have an answer to that : who cares.

Haha.

I'll put up the pics later.

Was going through some fb postings on Deepavali (some people are so lucky holidaying in Prague...)...one entry complained for being mistaken for a Hindu.Dia pi hantar kereta nak cuci but was asked tak mau wax ke for raya. Another Hindu fren was asked if he were carrying the kavadi this year.I remember my own blunder last year and another one at raya a few years back.Yg Indian Muslim tu I asked at a seminar held on deepavali eve: so besok Deepavali? He said I don't celebrate, I'm Muslim.Kantoi jahanam!

At a raya puasa open house,I asked 2 Indian looking guests if they ate beef..they said they had no problem.Rupa2nya Indian Muslims.And they were from IIUM too ( different Kulliyyah).Kantoi!

Marriage tip

I was trying to reach out to one of my former students but I wonder if the *^%# stalker hacker is fooling around with my internet connection.I could not get through this fine young woman.

#%^* stalker has been flooding me with improper pics.One reason why this blog was kept to a small circle earlier but I figure...huff and puff, why should I deny the rights of others to read me. Perasanlah sikit mcm ramai readersnya! :)

A, I bumped into your blog and you mentioned about your mom-in-law suggesting that you quit your job and you felt a failure as a wife and mother to your lovely child.I can't discuss it here but do you mind either emailing me or private messaging me on fb? My fb account is my full name.Otherwise email me at Faridah dot Manaf at gmail dot com. Stay happy, gal.

Sibuk di malam raya

Not my rayalah of cos'.Raya kawan2 India I.Tadi tu sorang dah kena kacau masa dia tengah semayang mlm raya dia.Kes sapa nak ambik Kimball balik dari Penang.So I had to call Ramli (Ibrahim) who will be performing with Kimball nanti.K is staying at his plc.Ramli suruh K ambik cab je.But you knowlah our cab macamana.And we have time constraint nak memunggah brg2 si K ni.So I rang up Amin suruh dia carilah sapa2 pi collect K tu.Karang dok kena tipu dgn taxi kita.He said OK.I malas.Too far.Tak suka rushing from one end to the other.Balik tu mungkinlah I can drop him at Ramli's plc.But Amin pun duduk kat PJ on the way to R's plc.I kena memikir nak pick Philip pulak.Dipika pun ada ni.Kimball bumped into her in Spore.Line crony sama. :)) Piccadilly.Gangnam style.
I guess I'd meet her at Sutra's.

I was caught in the jam balik dari meeting kat Great Eastern Mall tadi..finalising our other event.InsyaAllah, I'll post the video clip here soonest it's done.The mall was playing early Xmas songs...apa daa..patut tunggu la Deepavali over dulu.Ain't it early to be singing Xmas? It was raining hard outside so yes, we felt like it's winter too over here.

Selamat bercuti besok for those not celebrating Deepavali.I'd be marking exam scripts and essays.

Ma'thurat 23

An exciting week this week.So many public holidays! To friends celebrating Diwali/Deepavali, have a good one. I'm looking fwd to going to our annual Deepavali's open house (Datuk hapa ke namanya..kawan Nik).Every year, different location.Looking fwd to the tosays, lamb/fish curries and murukus.My neighbour pun usually would buat open house.Ahhh..putu mayam with curries...

Kimball's and Philip's events pun this week.2 weddings to attend and Awal Muharram! Yikes, how time flies.

Ma'thurat, kita jangan lupa:

"We are now in the morning (or afternoon), firm in the natural disposition of Islam and the word of sincere devotion to Allah, and in the religion of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and in the creed of our Father Ibrahim, the True in Faith and he was not of those who associate partners with Allah"

Losing a sense of shame

I don't usually read Sunday printed newspapers but today, terbaca. On gigolo boys kept by older women.Yup, in KL. Haiyooo..are women too that sex starved these days? The guys (not all)...would go without saying as they keep their bohsia, bohjan etc. - in addition to GROs and bini2 org/single moms yg galak ni.Or tertipu cos' terkena ilmu hitam etc.

In case you missed the news...I find it unbelievable...iyalah..partly I think it's so stupid to do it.Mengabehkan boraih aje.Like this 53 year old woman..with good position, good husband, good kids..she kept what the reporter termed as "anak ikan" ...a term commonly used on young gay boys of older gay men and of late, young gals being sexually used by rich older men.Now the term is well extended to include crazy old women.

So where did we go wrong? (the woman who later on went from one anak ikan to another akhirnya got Aids and she lost everything..her job, her family and her anak2 ikan).

Interestingly there was also a case of a young female doctor who kept a university student.Aiyoo...doctors also? Malay, OK?

Do we blame the technology for easy access to all these? Most of them said they met online.
So are we that deprived as post modern subjects that we have to reach out to strangers for intimacies and fulfilment of sexual needs? Any psychologist will tell you it's not so much the crave for sex..it's some unresolved needs one would have as a child...

Then of cos' later it would become an addiction ( as in the case of the anak ikan..he said he was getting treatment for his sex addiction).

I find it hard to believe that the women are picking up fast the habit. Well, some women. I hope la SOME!

Off to meet my friends now.Enjoy what is left of your weekend.Say No to being an anak ikan or mummy ikan.God is watching us.

Bond tua...

We have to face it...the world now belongs to our children.If you don't believe this, just go and watch the latest Bond movie.Tak sedap langsong! Cos' Bond dah tua.Nak kejar org jahat pun dah mengah.:))

But a nite out is a nite out. Skyfall has many witty conversations esp. between M and 007. I enjoyed this bit.Parts of Istanbul and Macau were recognisable.And Shanghai looked beautiful in the movie.

And we had a lunch wedding and saw Dato' and Datin again..my Malaccan foster parents.There were friends of the bride's parents who travelled all the way from London and Brunei.I turned to Nik and said Amiruddin (bride's dad) must have been such a lovable and likeable friend that people would travel all the way to share his happy day.And I asked Nik, I wonder if your friends from abroad would do that for you.Haha, saja usik dia.To which he replied, and I wonder about yours too.Wakaka.I'm pretty confident they would, pretty confident. :)

End of the week's drama

Yup, I do have an exciting life.Sometimes rasa mcm nak pengsan dibuatnya.

Our drama this week started around Maghrib time.I was picking up my mom from Sal's plc.She was still in Putrajaya on a meeting.Baru aku tau Sal dah naik pangkat jadi Penolong Guru Besar.See? Berkat jaga mak yang sakit.Allah lapangkan rezeki kita.Alhamdulillah.Dah lama katanya.Sal would never flaunt.Not like me. Semua benda nak di-blogkan.You know now when I go to work, my friends at work who are also my fb friends dok tanya handbag dah jumpa? Then they laughed at me.Bertuah punya kawan2.:))

Anyway, Sal's youngest son Bashir is 10.Comel habis.Today the older brother was supposed to pick him up from sch.Hujan lebat.When Yayan went, Bashir was not there.That was at 5 pm.

By 8.30 pm he was not home..still.My mom dah mula berdrama: mmg hari ni Bashir not himself.Dia tak sempat makan cos' the father was in a rush.bla bla bla.

I was like oh mannn...

I had a long day so I told my mom let's go home to my plc dulu.We'll come bck with Nik if B is not bck yet.Nak tunggu pun, I tak tau buat apa.Meanwhile mcm biasa...bilik gerakan started calling the family network: the doctors, the human rights officer, the police, the media guy...sambil kita speculated what could have happened to Bashir.

I had never felt so scared in my life of ugly possibilities.Cos' pernah terjadi kat Bashir ni...ada org ajak dia ikut naik kereta.Nasib perempuan.And she knew where to send him! 

Dalam kecoh2 ni, sempatlah pulak I menjawab telefon my friend baru tiba KL.Then my mom's phone rang.I was driving.Fuiiii...mcm telephonist..bersilang tangan nak menjawab queries.

I rang Pak Din minta dia buat solat hajat Bashir tak apa2.

Gamaknya tak sempat pun Pak Din ambik wudhu', Sal rang to say they found Bashir.

Or rather Bashir was sent home.By his friend's mother.

Oh mannnn...phone..tau tak there is such a thing called telephone?

So I had to reverse all my calls to update the happy news termasuk my friend yang baru sampai Msia ni.Tak pasal2 turut sesak nafas!

Sampai kat rumah..another drama..Nik's sister pulak kena langgar.Nayli was inside the car but alhamdullilah, just a small accident.No one's hurt.Hujan lebat, licin, org belakang hit her when she stopped at the toll.

Lesson to be learnt: get rid of all tolls.

I hope no more dramalah.Tak sanggup aku!

Ma'thurat 22

Petang pun boleh baca ma'thurat ni.Kalau pagi, sebut pagi, if petang sebut petang:

We are now in the morning (or afternoon), and so the sovereign and praise is due to Allah.There is no partner with Him and there is no deity except Him, and to Him is the resurrection (or the return)

You will need to baca 3x ayat sebelum ni and from this onwards till ma'thurat 41.

Full day today.Nak pengsan rasanya.Just finished a session with the postgrads.Prof Noraini kasi 15 mins sorang to speak on research methodology..mana aci.My slides pun dah 20. So I had to go on my rambling mode (but intelligent ramblings OK? Nak muntah, sila).Slot pulak 4 pm.But sempat I temubual a 'victim' on my way out ("How was my presentation? Did you find it useful?" Kah3.I need to know so that I can use it again next time.Budak pompuan ni dgn senyuman paling manis in the world said yes! yes! thank you so much!)

Message I simple: kau dtg nak buat postgraduate studies ni jgn kerana nama..nak title Dr, Prof kat depan tu.Jadilah macam sarjana2 Muslim zaman silam..they did research to solve problems of the community, the ummah, the world.I thought if I dropped a pin in the hall, I could hear it.Malangnya hall itu bercarpet tebal.

So I didn't hear it.
But I had a good time.Despite that time constraint.

Ma'thurat 21

Something familiar:

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of Mankind, the King (or Ruler) of Mankind, the God (or Judge) of Mankind, from the mischielf of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper), (The same) who whispers into the hearts of Mankind, among jinns and among men." (Al-Nas:1-6)

KL Rain

Sebab dah terkantoi, maka I pun bawaklah Anna and Colin ke Central Market. Rosli pandai, kali ni dia tak mau pergi.I was hoping dia boleh jadi gps.:))

Bila dah tersilap turning (road construction tak habeh2!) we got stuck in a jam kat Bangsar lagi.Yang nak tergelak when I saw this woman in a car next to mine at the traffic light jam.She was waving mcm I ni celebrity.Her gal driver pun melambai2.Rupa2nya Jai and her gal.I pun unwind my window and ckp hey..where are you heading..Jai said ke Melawati and asked apa I buat kat Bangsar jam...and we actually had a conversation mcm one motorcyclist with another...sempat plan dinner with our mutual fren from NZ tu..lepas tu I terasa kelakar sgt and had to explain to Anna and Colin...I don't do this everyday...Anna ckp yeah..I was wondering if you knew so many people in kl which is a big city.

Sebab jam terok sgt, we decided to have dinner kat Shangri-la je.Hujan turun lebat gila.Nasib Mat Salleh berdua ni enjoyed their dinner.Mcm2lah keluar cerita.Untung jadi tourist guide ni.Anna ckp nak dtg Bologna, ckp je.Dia ni Yahudi-Amerika.Asal Austria, kerja kat Italy.She's based in Paris at the mo. but soon would want to move to Bologna which is not far from Florence.Kerja memasang network ni mmglah seronok. :)

Congrats Obama on yet another term.Kau jgn meragamlah pulak bila masuk round ke2 nih.

Academic freedom

Freedom fighters :)

Looks like 2-3 hari ni tak sempat kita berma'thurat.My apologies.Nov. sibuk with friends visiting.
Today we were at UM, attending Rosli's seminar on academic freedom,academic rights etc.We had 2 guests from Melbourne and Bologna, Italy talking about what it was like whr they were.

Sama je.In fact Victoria may be heading for the worst, according to Dr. Colin Long, a historian but now fulltime with the education trade union.Dasyat, kan? Rosli kata trade union depa ni kaya..academics thr potong gaji tiap2 bulan for trade union depa mcm kita byr epf kita.Colin ni comey..tak bergaya la trade unionist.Haha.Anna tu bergaya sikit tapi ckpnya lembut.Menikam kalbu whn she shows her commitment to professionalism of the academe.

We had banana leaf dinner...I tak le gemor sgt but in the end, fun juga.Kepala gila semuanya.
Lepas tu we showed them KL at nite.

Bosan je KL ni.20 mins dah habeh pusing.

But I'll share with you more later.Ngantuk giler lepas mkn kari Kerala ni.

The Professor

I met this smart lady Professor just a while ago.
But besok sahaja sambung.

Sila maafkan semua orang sebelum kita tidur.:)))

Sebelum kaorang...

...muntah secara berjemaah (my fav borrowed expression from one of the bloggers), let me warn you that I am starting to feel like Imelda Marcos now..or Kak Mah kita...

handbags ok..handbags!

Not too long ago, I belilah (well..a gift from boiferen I sempena our anniversary) satu lagi handbag yang agak2 setanding jugalah dgn handbag Marcos sebelum dia (Marcos) jatuh papa...ahaks.No..bukan Prada I..hok tu came later.My life before Prada...

Entah macamana, bag yang tak sampai 6 bulan dibeli itu telah tercemar dan pemegangnya telah menjadi tak mcm leather.Terdetik hati I..depa ni jual kualiti tahap lain ke? (harga ori.Maklum, ini kan Msia? Pulak tu suppliernya Hong Kong..bukankah HK tu part of China? Jeng jeng jeng...beli kat Pavilion OK? Bukan beli kat Giant)

Adapun tujuan I menulis blog ni ialah agar kita semua (kaum wanita terutamanya) berwaspada..dgn barang2 jualan biarpun di mall2 yang besar2 di KL ni.

Bila I dah naik hangin (kebetulan I saw the same bag in London..kulit dan pemegangnya lain tapi harga sama! Even after conversion) I pun ckp nak report kat HQ mereka di Italy..keh keh keh.Waahh..melawan..maka mereka pun memberi I contacts di Itali (sampai la ni I takda masa nak tulih) but semalam ladies and gentlemen, sambil I bernekad nak ambik balik handbag I tu selepas memberi sepatah dua kata bersifat peluru berpandu dan tulis kat Italy, supervisor nya kata did my gal tell you I had placed an order for the holders from Italy and they should arrive in a few months' time? (I kata nope)

Awat hang tak habag awai2...hang biag aku pot pet pot pet! :))
Lantas I said er..oh yeah? When is your next sale? I'll bring my friends...

Bolehlah muntah secara berjemaah now!
But imagine if I didn't make noise...ada mrk kisah nak order2 dari Italy? (the gal who attended to me months earlier kata oh they sent to HK, HK kata there's ntg they could do)

But selepas kehilangan handbag baru2 ni, I vow no more handbags pelik2 ginih.Gua akan bawak beg plastik je.

Perompak pun tak angkat sebelah mata tengok I.I pun tak stress kalau bag tercalar sana sini.

Koyak, ganti lain. Warna merah jambu.Warna oren.Warna kuning.Warna biru.Putih belang2.Semua ada. :)

Ma'thurat 20

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of Dawn, from the mischief of created things; from the mischief of darkness as it overspreads; from the mischief of those who practise secret arts; and from the mischief of the envious one as he practises envy." (Al-Falaq:1-5)

The English translation mischief is so mild compared to the Malay one: jahat (isn't the word 'evil' closest to the meaning of "jahat"?) If Ustaz Rizal is reading this, mohon penjelasan.What is the Arabic sense of jahat/mischief in this ayat?

For IIUM alums

Announcement from Dept of Accounting (for IIUM Accounting alums):
Join us

16 Nov. 2012 10 a.m. at KENMS, IIUM

All the way from New Zealand

Mr. Philip Lim will share :


• Tips to success
• His journey to NZ
• IFRS transition – the NZ experience
• Confessions of a Financial Controller

Background and experience:
*Chief Financial Officer – New Zealand Stock Exchange Limited
• Chief Financial Officer - AMP Capital Investors (New Zealand) Limited
• Senior Manager - KPMG New Zealand
• Group Financial Controller - PGG Wrightson Limited
• Financial Accounting Manager - Fonterra Cooperative Group Limited
• Financial Controller & Company Secretary - Prudential Assurance
• Senior Auditor - Deloittes New Zealand


Admission: Free Please call to register at 03-6196 4684 / 4698

(Sr. Fatima / Sr. Yati / Sr. Shima)

Hantu tangan

We were in Bangkok.
As in Bangkok, the restaurant. :))

Nik was with PM at some function and could not join us, celebrating Faiz's grand day.He graduated despite many obstacles, alhamdulillah.Faiz is one of Mek's twins.Mek, if you remember from old blog entries is that crazy sister of mine who quit medical school to be a chemist cos' she pengsan tengok darah or mayat.Ironically, she can see ghosts.I avoid travelling with her alone at night.She'd go, nampak tak perempuan tua tepi jalan ni? (as we drive through the night) Memang menyampah jalan dgn dia ni. :))

Of all tales at dinner, cerita hantu yang keluar.It started with me telling all about my mom ketakutan, sitting at the back satu malam when I picked her up from my sister's plc to sleepover at mine.Masa tu I just got back from Italy, kan? So the music I listened to on my cd was some funny Italian songs.Italian can sound scary in some songs.Mmg bunyi hantu!

So sampai je at my house, my mom immediately asked, was that you talking just now or was it some singing? I was shivering at the back cos' I thought it was a ghost.

Then Mek, Syam and his wife Nor started telling me their ghost stories.Mak oiii! Mek was saying her residential area ni keras.Semua rumah mesti ada sightings.My other cousin pun tinggal dekat rumah Mek and would always see lembaga baring atas katil di bilik mereka downstairs.And sometimes the hantu would want to terkam G's hubby, a tabligh guy.One of Mek's encounters was bila the alarm went off at 3 am cos' Fairoz the other twin has to travel for work in Spore.Mek saw a tangan keluar from langsir tiba2 tutup jam tu.Tangan warna putih...jari2nya panjang.She didn't meraba2 to find where punat jam tu..she knew at one tap. Nor (yang tak mau kalah) mula keluarkan cerita hantu tangan dia pulak.It was during her college days in Shah Alam.Her bed was next to the window.Windownya pulak terbuka.I guess masa tu takda aircon la tu.Ahaks.She fell asleep while watching TV. Tiba2 she felt someone tapped on her shoulder (tangan berbulu from the tingkap)and showed her the tv as though to say jgn membazir letrik,tutup TV tu! But ada she kisah? She tutup muka with bantal and went back to sleep.Dalam ketakutan! Me? Happy to have no sightings ever in my life.Semoga terus dilindungi Allah.

Lady Macbeth

For BENL students, do you remember that blood washing scene in Macbeth?

Have you ever been so geram when trying to get rid of something? ahaks..a lot of things?Then there would be some fools who would not simply let go?? Apa ke jadah faedahnya?

I give up! But there are stuffs which are mine which I wish to take back.I ni macam eraser.I don't like, I erase. :)

Ma'thurat 19

A quick one this morning, folks (rushing to mengadap Tan Sri with my cronies.Harap2 berhasil lah perjumpaan ini):

"In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Say: He is Allah, One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like Him." (Al-Ikhlas:1-4)

If you notice ya Ustaz Rizal, Ma'thurat ni banyak reinforcements or re-assertions of Allah as the only God.Tidak dua.Tidak tiga. Nampak mcm hanya satu perlafazan yang biasa2 aje but it is so core to our belief.If I have time, I will write about how this 'simple' belieflah yang membuat saudara2 bukan Islam kita masuk berduyun2 ke dalam Islam. I cukup suka cerita2 conversion to Islam (tak leh ckp revert, contrary to what we are told.Nanti kita bincang).

Al fatihah buat Shukri

Setiap kali melewati
lamanmu

kami akan tertanya-tanya
di mana shukri

anak lelaki saingan di usia muda
yang sering berlari berkejar-kejaran

setiap raya
bentong-raub-bentong

di mana agaknya dia

dan semalam teman mu mazlan
telah berkata
telah bertanya

masihkah kau ingat
shukri, kawan kita

dan aku menderaskan angguk ku
iya iya
di mana dia?

I have always wondered
about this childhood friend

Mazlan bercerita dia orang besar kelasi
yang satu hari , 4 bulan lalu
semasa seronok bersama teman-teman
ber-harley davidson
dia tiba-tiba rebah

nafasnya yang terakhir

shukri
we never met again
but your youth
was a friendship
I carried with me
every time raya
bentong-raub-bentong

al fatihah
semoga dicucuri rahmat ke atasmu

IIUM
Gombak

* also takziah to Hizwani whose dad passed away yesterday.Al fatihah dan semoga dicucuri rahmah ke atasnya.

Ma'thurat 18

One thing I love about the Ma'thurat is it's made of many different verses:

"In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. When comes the Help of Allah and Victory, and thou dost see people enter Allah's religion in crowds, celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and pray for His forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy). " (Al-Nasr: 1-3)

I will need Ustaz Rizal to interpret this verse.I guess it's about celebrating God's mercy and grace on people who are shown the light, the right path. Anyone out there who wants to offer his/her interpretation?

Nov. will be my busiest month this year, I think.In terms of coordinating events and visits of friends from abroad.Watch this space.

Historical moment

One day, we will understand why. But this was where it began.Bersama rakan-rakan seperjuangan yang tidak pernah melihat $$ itu penting (Mak Aji Esah kata pede'ah! pede'ah! haha)

Ma'thurat 17

In between meetings, folks. Ma'thurat, kita jangan lupa:

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Say: O you that reject Faith! I worship not that which you worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship.And I will not worship that which you are worshipping.Nor will you worship that which I worship.To you be your Way, and to me mine." (Al-Kafirun: 1-6)

This much cited verse endorsing religious freedom is one of my favourites also (meant for those who have chosen not to be Muslims but not for those already Muslims..hey man, if you have joined the club, you have to play by the club's rules and regulations.If you choose to exit, remember there's heaven and hell and if thee are in misery, blame no one cos' the Quran has given guides to happiness and tranquility.Chewah! Macam Mak Aji Esah je bercakap!)

All's well

In case you too have been worrying about my friends (ahaks), they all wrote back.Haji Zaidon is not in Atlantic City.I repeat, not in Atlantic City.He's in Atlanta.Not affected at all.Syukurlah.Dia tuan guru saya. Zikirnya sokmo menjadi.Ada ke patut I thot Atlantic City was the capital of Atlanta.Kah3...I sound so American, kan. Ramai depa tu, Kuala Lumpur pun tak tau kat mana.

Atlanta tu metropolitan ke 9 besarnya.Kota budaya.Kota ekonomi (ranked 15th in the world).Kota diversities (immigrants mcm2 ada). Manakala Atlantic City tu pula kota judi, kota leisure.Ada judi ada la betina, kan? Donald Trump banyak reta kat sini.Dia bawak peninju laga2 agar penjudi2 main judi atas perlawanan2 tak berperikemanusiaan ginih.Macam laga ayam gitu.Tak percaya, google sendiri. :) Tapi kita jgn la kata : patut la turun Sandy (kata laporan kawan I kat NYC, mata Sandy memang menuju Atlantic City ..the eye of the storm on the place.NYC tu sipi2 jah) sebab hanya Allah tau mengapa setiap kejadian itu berlaku.Kita jgn la lebih2 pulak muncung tu bawak cerita.

Me and friends are still raising funds for Sandy victims.Kimball akan bawak balik uncang2 kami, diizinkan Allah.Watch this space for further updates.Org berbudi kita berbahasa (org2 Amerika yang paling byk memberi bantuan kpd mangsa2 tsunami Acheh.Bukan gomen dia..rakyat biasanya)

Also good news: kawan yg ada cancer tu ckp dia selamat.Not only that, tanda2 cancer dia takda dah.I tell ya, dia ni ikut kumpulan sufi.Went to their zikir group once.Woit..cleansing habis...if you see our brothers and sisters yg masuk Islam later in their lives ni beribadat, insaf sgt.

I leave you with that thought.Di mana kita dengan Islam kita.

Ma'thurat 16

Doa Ma'thurat pagi ini untuk mereka di East Coast, USA.Semoga tabah dan selamat.

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.When the Earth is shaken to its (utmost) convulsion, And the Earth throws up her burdens (from within), And man cries (distressed); 'What is the matter with it?' In that Day will it declare its tidings:For thy Lord will have given her inspiration.On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the Deeds that they (had done).Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it." (Al-Zalzalah:1-8)

Prayers for friends in the East Coast,USA

My prayers for all friends in the East Coast (ramai!) as they encounter Sandy and her aftermath.One of my friends is recovering from cancer...I hope he and his family are protected by Allah (Muslim converts). Haji Zaidon in Atlantic City... harap2 not affected by the banjir.May sounds fine on fb.Gotta beep friends upstate New York.Hopefully they are not affected.Situ kawasannya berbukit2 dan banyak pokok so probably, tak apa2.

Begitulah ujian Allah.Remember what one of the ustaz masa tazkirah Ramadan said? We gotta pray that angin or hujan yg dtg tidak memusnahkan kita tetapi memberi rahmat tatkala 4 malaikat turun di bulan Ramadan tu?And afdal berdoa ketika bulan Ramadan cos' Israfil ada meraikan Ramadan bersama2 kita.Wallahualam.

Ma'thurat 15

Selamat sampai office tanpa drama (dgn takdir Allah, tak berbunyi pulak alarm tu bila I started the car to go to work tadi, syukur alhamdulillah).

First thing sampai, mengadap sembah kat Big Boss, Dato' Zuhdi. Banyak benda nak kena buat since Ministry buat polisi baru pasal exe. courses ni (semua nak kontrol! how on earth can new knowledge be?) Anyway, kena akurlah.Dato' and I cuba cari jalan terbaik to work with the system but at the same time ensuring ilmu2 berfaedah kekal mcm biasa.Or make it better.


Ma'thurat, kita jangan lupa:

"Allah is He, Whom there is no other God except Him; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.Allah is He, Whom there is no other God except Him; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise." (Al-Hasyr:22-4)

Wow, this ayat leaves no space utk menduakan Allah.Ayat ini penuh dgn Kemuliaan dan KebesaranNya.I like that: source of peace.Source of perfection.Guardian of faith.Preserver of safety.If we internalise all these, we can walk confidently through just about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.

Monday blues

Aisehman..the car will not go on spare key.The alarm will go off.Tak sanggup I pi Honda Service Centre dgn keadaan begitu.Dah lah IC and driving license tak sampai lagi ( my nephew will send my handbag from Raub in a bit..tak tau pukul berapa sampainya).Imagine this: me driving kereta yg alarm tengah berbunyi, polis stops me..ic/lesen takda...dah la dituduh mencuri kereta, kesalahan takda proper docos pulak.Time to write a short story!

But I cannot afford to go late to work.Kimball nak dtg.Philip nak dtg.Kena check if things are in order.So folks, akan ku brave going to my car service centre to reprogram my spare key agar I can drive my car without the alarm going off.

Watch this channel to know if there are interesting adventures happening nanti.

Raub is my New York

Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar Raub

(tempat yang dikatakan berlaku keciciran)



I wrote earlier about wanting to wait for the end of a story.It has just ended, alhamdulillah..So now I can blog about it so that we all can learn something out of the experience.

I lost my handbag yesterday.I only realised it as we packed to go back to KL at 5 pm.I was certain I left it at the masjid Raub's kitchen counter cos' I was helping the kaum Ibu prepare drinks for people doing the daging qurban.Hot day,OK? So I made them iced soda drinks (yang org komplen manis sangat tu..)

Dalam kecoh2 menyibuk tu, Nik ckp we got already our share of daging korban and ajak I balik.So we left around 10.30 am.Balik tu after lunch dgn daging fresh tu (I buat barbecued pieces),kita pun tertidur mcm hari malam.

After zohor, tidur lagi.Yes, Raub is like a resort.Kalau balik,mesti nak tidur je.Haha.

At about 5pm, selepas berkemas2, I realised my handbag was no where to be found.Searching squad was immediately set up led by Bibik and my sisters.Then we decided that I must have left it at the mosque.Off we went to the mosque.The team members were all busy on their phones.Ada yg called the Imam, Tok Siak, saudara mara.Didn't expect to be so kecoh!

At the mosque: the tok siak was already alerted.He said yes, he saw a black handbag on a chair in the kitchen but by lunch time,it was gone.We looked up and down anyway.I looked bawah periuk..entah apa ke jadah I cari bawah periuk! :))

Then we went to the Imam's house.He said no one went to him to return anything lost and found.Usually they would.

Then my bro in law's dad arrived.So nice a soul.We looked again.Then he said just proceed with a police report cos' I would need my ic,license, credit cards and bank cards anyway.So off we went to Balai Polis Raub.

The sarjans semua takda so the kind policewoman who took my report and her friend rang up Inspector Anthony who came soon after.Young rooky.We just reported cicir cos' if reported stolen lagi panjang cerita.But he was kind enough to rush to the scene with another rookie and a photographer.Fuiyo...

But time was running late.We had to rush bck to KL.Said our thank yous and after Maghrib at my mom's, we left.By then I was texting everyone.Biasalah,kan? Drama Queen.Yang kat Mekah pun kena gerodam. Students yg alim pun I minta tolong buat special doa.Yg kat Africa, kat Dhaka, semua bergerak sama. :))

At 2 am, my sis text-ed me tengah tidur asking if there were progress.I texted bck saying pls let me sleep.haha.I think people worried more than me.

Bangun pagi, I teringat my life in my handbag...I was so down. But my chant was redho, redho, sabar, sabar.Somehow, everyone felt I would get back my life.I felt it too.

After sending my mom to my sister's plc...today ada dialisis..my youngest sis rang up to say she found my handbag!!! At my mom's place in Raub!!! We were like whaat..how..cos' the squad had looked everywhere.And I don't recall bringing it home with me.Medihah was right.Senility, catching up...

But syukur alhamdulillah although I still need to do new atm cards tomorrow but less work now.

Lessons: Talbiah is not a music you dance to ( my secret with my youngest sister).

                Buy and use cheap handbags.

                Build a doa network.If something like this happens, you know who to call.

                Calling up Tok Batin is a no-no.

                Have faith in Allah.If you ask, He will give. Learn to let go.
                If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

After all, it is just a handbag.

My mother's daughter

Maka sahlah today I am my mother's daughter...I have started going through old photo albums, staring at Z's old pics!!!! (This is my mother's favourite hobby now).


Ayoo yoo..but Z was so cute as a baby, toddler, young pre-sch. child, etc etc (sapa lagi nak puji anak sendiri).

I guess we are (I am!) just missing her this Raya (budak bertuah itu sedang bersukaria di Manchester bersama kawan2nya). Luckily we have many young nieces and nephews.What joy menipu these kids! (Irfi and Che'ah loved my hantu terowong stories and baby Shad shivered ketakutan when I made the kucing gatal noise.Haha.For lack of a life!)

The korban do went well.Ours went no. 2 (too early for us to witness..by the time we arrived at the Raub mosque, lembu dah selamat.Sempat menyibuk buat soda drink je.I heard one of the men komplen: fui..manisnya..orang yang buat air ni tak merasa dulu ke air ni? Cheh..I was right there behind him)

But this venue is a new venue.I don't really know the community except my bro in law and his family (my old venue dah penuh so this year, we had to go to a new place) so tak leh nak mengedik sangat.Not my people. :))

Aidul Adha 2012

Just got bck from my surau..everyone pot- lucked so our bryani tak berapa laku. :)

Khutbah was in Bahasa Indonesia so for a while, I felt like I was in Jakarta. Imam Bari is our resident Imam.Met up with Haji Ali, Pengerusi surau and he asked abt plans ke Kampuchea yg Dr. Azman was supposed to initiate.Kena tanya balik Dr. Azman nih.Kita semua dah bersemangat nak implement this.Volunteers dah berbaris.

Imam cakap korban maknanya sacrificing what we love most.Kalau kita sayang duit most, korbankanlah duit itu for Allah.Itulah sebab Nabi Ibrahim diuji suruh korbankan anaknya sebab Allah tahu itu yang baginda sayang (ironically bukan isteri).

We are off to Raub now.Tiba masanya utk bergumbira with sanak saudara.
Have a good one!

Ma'thurat 14

"Haa-Miiim.Al-Qu'ran itu diturunkan daripada Allah Yang Maha Mulia lagi Maha Mengetahui, pengampun segala dosa dan penerima taubat serta sangat keras siksaanNya.Lagi mempunyai nikmat yang luas (yang tak berbatas), tidak ada Tuhan yang disembah dengan sebenarnya melainkan Dia, kepadaNyalah tempat kembali."


Bercakap pasal nikmat yang luas (yang tak berbatas) ni tak cukup satu hari satu malam (but of cos'!) Who was it who reminded us about being God-conscious? (must be one of those Ramadan tazkirahs).To be mindful all the time.Jangan main redah dalam apa juga perlakuan kita.Ingat, ada yang memerhati.Dan ada yang mencatit. :)

I received a wonderful email yesterday with 2 great news tapi let it be confirmed yet baru boleh cerita (which means, wait till next year, InsyaAllah).Tapi kita mesti tau certain things HAVE to happen cos' Allah wants it to happen and has better plans for us (read: the ummah)

Travel safe if you guys are travelling.Raya Haji is not only for those doing haji. :)

Selamat berwukuf

I guess my friends on their hajj journey will not be able to read this but I wish them well.Some are updating us on facebook.Jangan ada nanti yang skype from Arafah dah lah. :)

My own memory of wukuf...oh so long time ago.I often confuse it with Mina.I think Mina punya tent lagi canggih.Got air-con kalau tak silap.Toilet facilities pun OK.At wukuf...semuanya very basic.
I think dugaan byk kat sini..trying hard to recall nih.It must be 12 or 13 years ago.Nik said this morning, let's go again.

I said we would be denying the rights of others to go.You know how it is now..anak yang lahir dah kena daftar now but can only go years and years later.I figure if people have gone on hajj once, jgn nak pi lagi so tht org yg belum pergi, can go.I don't know why TH has gone commercial with stg so fardhu like hajj.Pakej mahal hanya orang kaya yang mampu.Visa masuk sama je.

Anyway, have a blessed Raya, everyone.I'm looking forward to mine.

Ma'thurat 13 (very long)

"So (give) glory to Allah, when you reach eventide and when you rise in the morning; Yea, to Him be praise, the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline."

"It is He Who brings out the living from the dead, and bring out the dead from the living, and Who gives life to the earth after it is dead: and thus shall ye be brought forth (from the dead).Among His Signs is, that He created you from dust; and then, behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide)!

"And among His signs is, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and Hehas put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors; verily in that are Signs for those who know."

Translation in Malay for "for those who know" : "bagi kaum yang menggunakan akalnya."

(in the background bunyi ...toink! toink!)

Kita sambung:

"And among His Signs is the sleep that you take by night and by day, and the quest that you (make for livelihood) out of His Bounties: verily in that are Signs for those who hear.And among His Signs, He shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope, and He sends down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead: verily in that are Signs for those who are wise."

"And among His Signs in this, that heaven and earth stand by His Command: then when He calls you, by a single call, from the earth, behold, ye (straightaway) come forth. To Him belongs every being that is in the heavens and on earth: all are devoutly obedient to Him." (Al-Rum: 17-26)

Ma'thurat 12

"Did you then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?" Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Reality; there is no God but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honor! If anyone invokes, besides Allah, any other god, he has no authority therefore; and his reckoning will be only with his Lord! And verily the Unbelievers will fail to win through! So say: "O my Lord! Grant Thou forgiveness and mercy! For Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!" (Al-Mu'minun:115-8)

The last verse in Malay reads: Ya Tuhanku, ampunilah dan rahmatilah kerana Engkau sebaik-baik yang memberi rahmat.

I guess if you zikir that all day today, you will get lots of rahmat. :)

IIUM is having its mid-semester break.Pretty quiet on campus now.But there's still much to do.Enjoy your Tuesday, folks.

Ma'thurat 11

Maaf, lambat lagi hari ni. My physiotherapy day (dah lama tak pergi.Balik dari UK,angkat shopping bags byk sgt gamaknya..terasa sakit balik).Alhamdulillah lepas masuk gym kat situ, jalan laju macam boleh tawaf haji balik. :)

Ma'thurat kita jangan lupa:

"Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Al-Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful names.Neither speak thy prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course in between." Say: "Praise be to Allah, Who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion:nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation": yea, Magnify Him for His greatness and glory!" (Al-Isra': 110-1)


Jangan pandang ringan ayat di atas.Baca banyak kali till you get it.What I got were the following:

1.Preferred names Allah suka Allah atau Ya Rahman sebab itu yang keluar.But Allah kata tapi kalau suka nama2 cantik yang lain tu, suka hati kitalah sebab semua nama2Nya indah dan Dia mendengar semuanya kalau dipanggil (no reason for us to give up on Him just becos' kita diduga seciput).

2.Kalau baca doa, suara tu jgn keras atau terlalu perlahan.Ayoo...I ada ahli keluarga yang bila baca doa, dia berbisik dia pun tak dengar.Apatah lagi makmum di belakang.Itu bukan namanya rendah hati.Itu namanya menyusahkan makmum! So please find the middle path...kuat tak kuat, perlahan tak perlahan.

3.Kita jangan suka puji sapa2 sebab yang layak dipuji hanya Allah.Jangan sekali2 mengambil selain dari Nya.Syirik tu neraka jawabnya.Na'uzubillah.Penat je kita hensem2 dan comey2 pi kerja, kalau akhirnya kita semua jadi kayu bakar neraka sebab syirik.

Dan sempena raya korban, I have this I ceduk bulat2 from http://lenggangkangkung-my.blogspot.com/2011/10/ibadah-korban.html :



Kelebihan Ibadah Korban (**makanya belum terlambat to find that lembu for the ibadah.Go get it!)


Firman Allah yang bermaksud: "Dan binatang-binatang korban itu Kami jadikan buat kamu sebagai sebahagian dari upacara-upacara (agama) Allah. Padanya ada kebaikan bagi kamu. Oleh kerana itu sebutlah nama Allah ketika menyembelihnya dalam keadaan berbaris-baris. Maka apabila gugur (sembelihan-sembelihan itu), makanlah daripadanya dan berilah makan fakir yang menjaga kehormatan dan fakir yang meminta. Demikianlah Kami mudahkan (binatang-binatang) itu untuk kamu agar kamu bersyukur. Tidak akan sampai kepada Allah daging-dagingnya dan tidak pula darah-darahnya. Tetapi akan sampai kepada Allah ialah ketaqwaan dari kamu. Demikianlah dipermudahkannya korban-korban kepada kamu supaya kamu mengagungkan Allah terhadap hidayah-Nya kepada kamu. Dan hendaklah kamu gembirakan orang-orang yang berbuat kebajikan ". (al-Hajj : 36-37)


Rasulullah saw bersabda: "Tiada suatu amalan pun yang dilakukan oleh manusia pada Hari Raya Korban, lebih dicintai oleh Allah swt selain dari menyembelih haiwan korban. Sesungguhnya haiwan korban itu nanti di hari kiamat akan datang berserta tanduk-tanduknya, bulu-bulunya, kuku-kukunya dan sesungguhnya sebelum darah korban itu menyentuh tanah, pahalanya telah diterima di sisi Allah, maka beruntunglah kamu semuanya dengan pahala korban itu". (HR. Tirmidzi dan Ibn Majah)


Para sahabat bertanya kepada Rasulullah saw: "Ya Rasulullah, apakah Ud-hiyyah (korban) itu?". Rasulullah menjawab: "Itulah sunnah ayahmu Ibrahim". Para sahabat kembali bertanya: "Apakah yang kita akan peroleh dari Ud-hiyyah itu?". Rasulullah menjawab lagi: "Pada setiap helai bulu (dari binatang yang dikorbankan itu) kita akan mendapat satu kebajikan". (HR. Ahmad dan Ibn Majah)

Maksiat yang tak pernah cukup

Weiii..is it my imagination but sejak pentadbiran selepas PR lalu ni, mcm2 cerita maksiat keluar kat kota2 kita..KL ke Penang ke, Kuantan ke, JB ke..sama ligat.Padanlah Msia dilihat as one of those hubs for trafficking women..with tht dgn tujuan prostitution.Ini belum lagi berjaya nak jadikan Msia pusat kelab malam posh2.

Cerita terbaru dari pemberita tak rasmi kita (I will not disclose my source.Haha) ialah sekolah2 kejururawatan kita telah dijadikan fokal point to pimp our gals.Dial and pickup.Kita tau some uni gals (and I'm sure certain boys juga tidak terkecuali) dah lama buat service ni.But now nursing schools.Ayoo...apa nak jadi.

I like to highlight things like this supaya tanggungjawab membendung maksiat dibuat bersama oleh kita.We see, we sekat.Jgn kita sama naik. :)

Have a good week ahead you, folks.

Ma'thurat 10

Keretapi lambat sikit today.Here's our Ma'thurat for the day:

"But if they turn away, say:"Allah sufficeth me; there is no god but He:in Him is my trust, - He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!"

Melayu macam biasa: "Allah cukup menjadi pemelihara untukmu, tiada Tuhan yang disembah melainkan Dia.KepadaNyalah aku menyerahkan diri dan Dialah yang mempunyai Arasy yang besar."

I cut a deal with a youth org in hosting Kimball Gallagher (nak kasi UIA, depa kata sibuk with a special convo.Not many students will be there anyway cos' Thursday is a public holiday.Many would just cabut balik kampong cos' Friday is a no class day) So thank God, Amin and friends are willing to take over.The networking is timely.Will get their assistance to help me with IFF.Some things are just meant to be, alhamdulillah.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Entertainment in Islam

My friend from the Comm Dept invited her friend to speak on Entertainment in Islam.Prof. Zul focused on music.I learnt much on the position of singing and performing music in Islam.The Prophet was not against it if it's done in celebration of something or if people were expressing their happiness over good things as long as it does not go against the moral framework outlined by the religion.In those days, women played the tamborines.They also sang.

But I raised the issue of why must we narrow down music to entertainment only.Music opens up to other worlds..in the old days,the subject was placed under mathematics..you have to be a good mathematician to be a good musician.Al Farabi was the first to write a book on music and he used music to cure sick people.Music as therapy is not something new.Al Farabi introduced it centuries ago so how could we say music is a western import? And I pointed out to the medical discovery made by a Medical Prof. in Tokyo who did a study on gamelan..that only gamelan produces a certain pitch which could trigger our intelligence cell.

Meanwhile in Sheffield...Z pi dentist..dentist katuk..patut tak perlu buat root canal, dia buat without consent.Mungkin ingat just because kita beli London mcm kita kaya sgt, semua orang Malaysia kaya dan patut dikatuk.

She confirmed once again on Skype, she didn't miss us.I asked her to balik winter break ni, she said you send me the money.I said so you can return home? She said no..so that I can keep it.Bertuah punya budak.

You know, at first I was like so cool, kan? The feeling of loss dtg tiba2... one senja after my power nap, it hit me! Wough, rasa nak nangis teringat Z jauh beribu2 batu.It reminds me of me coping with my dad's death..my sister's...I didn't cry immediately..it took me months...when it hit, tanpa disangka2.Tengah dlm shower.Tengah drive.

Terok.

Ma'thurat Ayat 9

"(All) faces shall be humbled before (Him), the Living the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has Faith, will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment (of what is his due)." (Taha:111-12)

Ayat Melayunya lagi menusuk jantung: "Dan barang siapa yang mengerjakan amal-amal yang salih dan ia dalam keadaan beriman, maka ia tidak usahlah khuatir akan perlakuan yang tidak adil (terhadapnya) dan tidak (pula) akan pengurangan haknya."


Orang yang solih sentiasa confident yah? Perhatikan anak2 sekolah tahfiz.Suka menengoknya.Dan imam2 yang bercahaya airmukanya.Tenang kita memandang wajahnya.

Syukur alhamdulilah raya haji dah semakin hampir.Dulu masa kecik2, paling boring ialah raya haji.Takda happening.Semakin terdedah akan ilmu agama, saya rasa Raya Hajilah yang bermakna buat kita sebagai manusia.Sebab kalau tidak kerana kasihsayang Allah, kita semua akan disembelih oleh ibubapa kita sendiri sebagai tanda syukur mereka kpd Allah.Itu tidak berlaku.Digantikan Allah dgn binatang yang boleh pulak kita makan dan boleh pulak kita tambah pahala dgn bersedekah kpd yang tiada.Takbir!

Tetapi yang menjadi kemusykilan saya ialah cara kita menyembelih binatang2 korban ini.Adakah mengikut adab yang ditetapkan oleh Islam (tidak menyakitinya, daging benar2 diagih2kan kpd yang miskin dan tidak berlaku pembaziran/over eating)

Siapa yang memantau semua ini?

Ma'thurat Ayat 8

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Alif Lam Mim.Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal" (Ali Imran:1-2)

When you are in trouble, you'd know how small you are!
Almost a high drama at work today.Everything was almost confirmed when yesterday's email might change our plan slightly different.It is not something of a great worry but would involve some diplomacies on some quarters of the committee I'm in.I told them oh no..the breaking of news to the big boss won't come from me.

Yesterday someone from the Press asked if I'd like to have my own column.Waaaahhhh...is this for real? We'll see.

Today, a phone call from New York said they had approved me to be in their prestigious Who's Who.Tapi kalau nak life membership, kena bayar USD900.Apa ke jadah faedahnya when LinkedIn can do the same job for free,yah? So selepas being interviewed berjam2 (it felt berjam2), I finally said I have to run now...my friend's waiting at the door (ni selepas dia ckp life membership is USD900). Kah3.

Nov. lagi gila with guests arriving from the USA and NZ.Semua nak berlaku pada hari/tarikh yang sama.

But I look fwd to seeing them.

Ma'thurat ayat 7 (long)

"To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth.Whether ye show what is in your minds or conceal it, Allah calleth you to account for it. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth.For Allah hath power over all things.

The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith.Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His Angels, His books, and His Messengers. :We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His Messengers." And they say: "We hear, and we obey, (we seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray): "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thoud didst lay on those before us; our Lord! lay not on us something greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness.Have mercy on us.Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against Faith." (Al-Baqarah:284-86)

I'm giving you small doses every day so that we could absorb better what Allah is saying in Ma'thurat verses.

This long bit is particularly apt this morning as I think of those people wasting their time doing things which move them away from God.All you need to do is read their fb statuses and postings!

I love the last line: help us against those who stand against Faith.Kadang2 kita nak buat baik tapi kawan2 pulak ajak buat jahat.But alhamdulillah, I carefully choose my friends now. :)

Ma'thurat Ayat 6

"Allah is the protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness.He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith their patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness.They will be Companions of the Fire, to dwell therein (forever)." (Al-Baqarah: 257)

This is another powerful verse.Again Allah reminds us that He will only protect and help those who believe in Him.Sapa tolak, masuk neraka and hidup merana. Ngeri, kan?
My students and I were discussing this last Friday.One is from Jerusalem.Sure byk lagi cabaran dia, kan? I asked pernah tak you all rasa mcm why lah Allah kasi dugaan macam ni dan macam tu? They said yes.Then I asked stop questioning that cos' segala dugaan dtg cos' Allah loves us, etc etc.So just say alhamdulillah and take home the lesson/s so that we become better people and closer to Allah.

rain on

This cake sedap giler

                              

Just the two of us

 decor of the restaurant

 macam Venice! This is ancient time China

Sapa tiru sapa?

Potongan rambut Itali.

It was difficult getting up for my monthly ACCIN meeting...and I was late.But working with ACCIN under PERKIM as the pengerusi is fun.Just as I had loved PUM, Perkim pun bestttt...I learnt a lot every time we met.I hope everyone will agree Perkim should remain as Chair when its term ends this year.

An old friend wrote saying his dad had just passed on and his mom wanted to spend some time in Malaysia.So he's coming home to teman her after living away for the last 30 years.I don't think he will return, having married a foreigner.It's funny how our lives turn out to be, kan? My friends and I will organise a little reunion lunch with P. P bkn Melayu.Dia Cina Msia. I have many Chinese friends who migrated.But many also chose to stay back.Macam juga kawan2 Melayu lain.Ramai dah migrate.Ada yg lepas beberapa tahun,balik semula.Ada yang tidak. It is a choice.But I am impressed with P menjaga kedua ibubapanya.He brought them over duduk bersamanya.Nice, kan? Orang Cina amat mengambil berat hal2 jaga org tua ni.I was once scolded by my Indonesian Chinese friend for not holding my mom in law's hand as she was going dwn a slope in Seoul ( she followed me on a conference in Seoul).Marah betul Melanie masa tu.I walked fast,OK? But Mama and I are good friends. :))

Taking Nik out on a bday treat this evening.Will review the new eaterie.Said to be the best in town.Watch this space.

Just came back from Qing Zhen.It's just a bad evening..someone booked the place for a bday party and the guests were a noisy lot..their kids invaded our little corner..berlari2 mcm rumah datok mereka.If there's anything which irks me mucho,it's noise during meal time. I told off a little boy hiding under a table next to mine..I told him hepp..this is not your home.Haha.Geram.But ada budak ni kisah?

But the food was not that bad.Their chef is from Kunming, China.Chinese Muslim so the cuisine we had was a fusion of Arab, Mongol,Indian cuisines.Not your typical Chinese.That is why I tak suka sgt.I like the Chinese restaurant in Tanjung Malim called The Garden Seafood Restaurant

Anyway,Nik and I had a nice time just talking and enjoying his bday cake.Semoga terus diberkati Allah.

Ma'thurat Dose 5

Let there be no compulsion in religion:Truth stands out clear from Error:whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trusworthy hand-hold, that never breaks.And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. (Al-Baqarah: 256)


Yesterday's IOK class was lively with Osama (from Jerusalem) and Azmi (from JB) and I arguing and analysing IOK as an intellectual movement, the failures of the 1977 Education Convention and way fwd to reinstate a culture of knowledge in the Muslim world. I was inspired to write a book entitled "English can kill" as we discussed language policies in some super-power/developed countries in Asia: Japan, China, South Korea, etc and tied it up with what Edward Said and Robert Phillipson said about Linguistic Imperialism and other forms of imperialism imposed on the 'South', 'East', 3rd world countries etc.

Education policy makers got wordy on the aim and objective of education (revisited).The Quran has only one expression: to perfect our akhlaq.Bringing back morality in our lives is prime.End purpose.Ultimate goal.In whatever we do.Why get wordy?

Ma'thurat Dose 4

Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal.No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they compass ought of His knowledge except as He willeth.His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatique in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Al-Baqarah: 255)

The Malay translation of the last verse is more beautiful: Tidak berat bagi Allah memelihara langit dan bumi, Allah Maha Tinggi lagi Maha Besar.

Sometimes we forget this...so all you have to do is ask Allah to take care of you in good times and bad.If good, you won't get carried away.If bad, you do not lose faith in Him.

Islam and Film

going through the questions before going on air: talk show for an Iranian

TV prog. (pic is months old)

The panel discussion I helped organise at IIMU's Islam in Asia and Oceania went well,alhamdulillah..all my cronies were there..dari speakers sampai ke moderator sampai ke Director of the conference (Prof Waleed is an Egyptian..dia cerita kat Sheikh Afeefudin how I rang him up when he was in the US and pressured him to invite the good Sheikh who is the 19th descendant of Sheikh Qadir al Jailani). I thank those responsible for these good contacts.

Tapi my Iranian film maker friend baguslah.He's the one responsible for interviewing me for Iranian TV.He said dah nicely edited the talk show and it should be aired soon.Hai..malulah pulak eden cos' it'd be aired in the US, UK dan di mana sahaja ada satelite dish...ahaks.

We all had a good time at this session.The no. 2 guy from FINAS was superb too, alhamdullilah...berbaloi organising this.We now have created awareness and interest of our forthcoming Islamic Film Fest next year.


Gist of the roundtable:

1.To do dakwah through films, they must bring in emotions (through music, content, acting etc)
2. Islamic cinema is not about Islamic rituals or themes..it must reinstate our fitrah (wahh..so beautiful..my Iranian fren said this)
3.Iran did well with their films cos' there's no governmental control.Film makers are independent.
4.If governments won't promote Islamic cinema,the least they can do is not to stop people from producing creatively and making things a bit more easy for them to market and screen their films.
5.The shariah compliant framework needs thorough study.
6. Films about great historical Muslim figures must be made.

Byk lagi.Tak cukup masa nak tanya soalan.

Al Ma'thurat dose 3

In the name of Allah. the Most Gracious. the Most Merciful

Alif Lam Mim.

This is the book; in it is guidance, sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them; And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter.They are on (true guidance), from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper. (Al-Baqarah:1-5)

Seringkali saya tersentak bila Allah berkata Quran hanya utk org yang beriman, yang percaya kpdNya...it makes sense, kan? Kalau tak percaya, mesti cari kesalahannya...tak mau ikut (dan huru haralah hidup sebab tidak ada panduan/tidak mau mengikut panduan dari Allah..maka amat rugilah kita kerana berlaku sombong)

Al-Ma'thurat, your daily dose

the straight path

Semoga yang menulis dan yang membaca mendapat pahala.Mari kita ber-ma'thurat setiap hari unless I have other happenings yang perlu dikongsi in between our daily doses.Ada 47 ayat Ma'thurat.Fadilatnya sangatlah banyak (diceduk bulat2 dari :http://hatikering.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/kelebihan-membaca-al-mathurat/)

Kelebihan membaca Al Mathurat:


1. Tidak dihampiri syaitan

2. Rumah dan keluarganya terselamat dari perkara yang tidak diingini.

3. Allah mencukupkannya apa yang sangat diperlukan dari urusan dunia dan akhirat.

4. Orang yang membacanya kemudian dia mati pada hari atau malam tersebut maka Allah akan menjamin untuknya syurga.

5. Selamat dari segala sesuatu.

6. Allah menyempurnakan nikmatnya ke atas orang yang membacanya.

7. Allah berhak untuk meredhainya

8. Tidak ada sesuatu yang mendatangkan mudarat ke atasnya.

9. Terhindar daripada syirik.

10. Selamat dari bisa atau sengatan semua makhluk yang beracun.

11. Dimudahkan menyelesaikan hutang-hutang.

12. Berhak untuk mendapat syafaat pada hari kiamat.

13. Sesiapa yang membaca di waktu pagi,akan dipelihara oleh Allah hingga ke waktu petang.Dan sesiapa yang membacanya di waktu petang akan dipelihara hingga ke waktu pagi.

14.Mengamalkannya umpama mengamalkan Sunnah Rasulullah dari sudut zikir dan berdoa, dan berbagai lagi kelebihan.

* wirid ini amalan harian junjungan besar kita s.a.w.

Mulakan dgn bismillahirrohmanirroheem dan alfatihah:

1. I seek refuge in Allah the All-Hearing the All-Knowing from Satan, the rejected one.

2. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Master of the Day of Judgement.You do we worship, and Your aid we seek.Guide us to the Right Way.The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor those who went astray. (Al-Fatihah: 1-7)

Al-Ma'thurat

Al-Ma'thurat in English lies staring at me on my desk.Published by IIUM's Public Relations Office (year not stated),nyata it is a gem.They must have placed it in one of those door-gift bags in one of the many functions I attended.

Things you need to know about al-Ma'thurat:

1.It refers to a compilation of wirids which are inherited from the Prophet (pbuh), compiled by Syahid Imam Hassan al-Banna (Tariq Ramadan's granddad).

2.It is usually recited at dawn or dusk as suggested in Surah Taha (130): "And celebrate (constantly) the praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before its setting"

*bukan celik je mata, fb-ing.Ahaks.

3. Al-Ma'thurat is a comfort for the diseased heart as alluded by verse 28, Surah al-Ra'd: "Those who believe and those whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction."

4. There are two forms of wirid al-ma'thurat:

i)  al-kubra (compilation of all the wirids)
ii) al-sughra: wirids for those in a hurry.

To be continued later.

Happy Teacher's Day

 Aishah and Nora helping out with the cupcakes :)

 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Che Noraini, long time friend

the lunch with the gang

What a day!Today is Unesco endorsed Teacher's Day.ASA ( read: me) took the opportunity to examine the status of the academe and teaching as a profession.

Alhamdulillah, the halfday seminar I helped organise went well.Lots of intellectual discussions on teaching and learning at tertiary level and our 3 speakers delivered well their lectures.Datuk as always came early.As always our security guards screwed up the welcome.Geram je.Nanti I nak report kat En. Hamdan, their Director.

Otherwise, things went as planned except a pail of my 100 roses airnya tertumpah dlm bag cupcakes wondermilk i..haha...nasib tak basah cakes tu ...I have to thank Nora and Aishah of my former office at Alumni who found ways on how to dry up the boxes.The cleaners came to assist as well.

Putri's coming in to help out with the lunch arrangement, etc etc eased up the burden of me feeling like I was alone organising this.I mc-ed as well sampai lupa cv Aslam and Che Noraini.So kaypoh!But the guys were great..Dr. Mazslee, Prof  Farid, Dr. Tunku Mohar, even Prof Rosli from UM came to show their support.The gals Dr. Maheran,Prof Ainul, Dr. Haslina were sweet darlings as well.

The gist of the seminar: lecturers in Msia are paid low ..hence, we are not able to retain best talents.Those best who stayed back are either simple people or true teachers/scholars.

Aslam: most of my friends are in oil and gas but I do not like their lifestyles.
Touching,isn't it?

Rosli: let's go back to embracing liberal education.

Mazslee: we educate to transform society

Che Noraini: no money, no talk, no knowledge ( on how knowledge is a commodity..those who have a higher purchasing power,will go far)

Datuk Razali: we must not look at braindrain in a negative way.The focus should be on tapping and maximising these networks of our best talents abroad to benefit us.

Of cos' there was much other info esp from Datuk Razali who came from various industries.He spoke like a typical aerospace engineer,I thought..despite him being everywhere. :))

Lunched out at Booker's.Mandy rice,mandy lamb.Air longan.Aiyooo...on the road!

Happy Teacher's Day, folks.

Oh Ibu...

I was on the phone with an old friend a while ago.We went to Uni of Liverpool together.While catching up with each other's news (I rang him to ask about choc Swiss tu, Mawar.Haha.I sampai gaduh2 dgn Nik over nama choc. ni.Kalau dah takda anak macam nilah..wrapper choc pun boleh jadi isu.I told Nik let me ask my friend sebab dia yang selalu beli choc tu.Haha)

My friend ni dah lupa.Byk sgt chocs dia beli kat sedara mara and friends..mana nak ingat semua. :))  Anyway I asked if his mother was still around.He said bulan April baru ni dia meninggal.Innalillah and al fatihah.

Zac never married and he's very close to the mom.Dialah yang berulang alik, belikan mak dia apt so that mak dia selesa tinggal dekat dgn anak2 in KL. Masa mak dia pi Mekah, Zac jugalah yang temankan.Tapi yang pengsan naik kapalterbang, dia dulu!
I have always been in awe of this mother-son relationship.Berapa ramai anak2 lelaki hari ini yang sanggup jaga mak dia mcm ni.

But the story on the death of his mom pun menyedihkan.That particular weekend was the first weekend Zac could not travel down to KL to be with his Mom.And she was extra not well so Zac told the brother to take her to the hospital.He did.After lunching on her fav. meal, she said let's go home, I'm very tired.

Then she collapsed.The brother recited the syahadah to her, she closed her eyes and ..gone.

Zac switched off his ph as he worked through that busy day.Satu Penang cari dia! sampai ke Boss no 1! When finally they managed to locate him, it was petang dah.Nasib ada flight to KL.Sampai dah 10 mlm lebih.Nasib tak tanam the same day.I would have pengsan if it happened to me.

Such is life...and no matter how much we try our best to care for our parent, it would never be enough.There would be regrets.Bukan senang jaga orang tua esp. kalau dia sakit.Zac and I were exchanging notes on this.

Sedih, kan? (jadi orang tua and feeling dependent on anak2).We must see the world from their eyes.

So please be nice to your aged parents.Menyesal after they are gone may be too late.

Dating again

I do not know how long it will last but we are dating again, Nik and I. Sebab Z takda nak kami kecoh2 over lagi.

Today I ikut dia kopitiam with his two friends from the press.Azam and Kamaruzaman.I went to get some gifts for friends I'm seeing over the next few days.Business is real badlah.I felt like I was in Greece already.To my Greek friends reading this: apologies but we are heading your way too.

KLIA was so quiet when we came back.Even Changi as well but it was busier than KL of cos'.

Anyway, it was fun listening to the 3 boys doing their own kopitiam talk.Kelakar giler!
Balik, Z pulak nak skype.By 4 pm her time, she's bored to death where she was.Dah planned nak pi ke Spain pulak dah.Swipe je credit card tu ke? Fat chance! :))

I found a nice gift box for Dato R and another one for Prof Che Noraini.Aslam punya gift belum jumpa kotak but it's been nicely wrapped.These are for my Friday event.Ramai nak dtg..UM will send 2 reps but a group of teachers will join us too...Reporters from the Education Desk pun will come.I pray that all will go well.

I have to collect 100 roses ptg besok.

Another suprise in the mail box...someone from the uni I wish to spend my sabbatical next year wrote to ask if there's a plc for her at my dept.Wah..tukar suka sama suka je nanti.Madinah, OK? You see my Arabic blinking? Exactly! :))

Allah Maha Mendengar.

Well done IIUM!

I must congratulate IIUM students and staffs for a calm re-election today.Marah betul budak2 tu sampai sapu bersih pro-students' seats.There were 3 for the opposition in the last election.With this re-run, they were determined to show who the bosses were.

Ah well, campus elections are always fun.I just do not understand why the powers that be refuse to let these kids enjoy their youth.They were in that position too.In fact they were allowed to be tear gassed and all.I remember being caught in one in KL as uni students were gassed on the streets for their street demos.Pedih woh bijik mata.

Ni nak mengundi pun nak kontrol.Apa daa.

It would be silly to raise hell again out of this latest dev.I hope no one is that desperate.I need to focus on educating the kids.Please leave us alone now.

Back at work

and my car's here too.Alhamdulillah, it looks like new.

A lot of happenings while I was gone.The stories on students' election memualkan.The world must know IIUM was the first uni to go e-voting and we never had glitches before and what more, phantom voters!

The students have been circulating pleas to lecturers to assist them to fight for a fair re-election.Kesian dengarnya.I told my friends nanti kat akhirat, we will all be questioned by Allah if we do not assist people to fight for honesty and integrity.Kalah tak apa.

Tak tau lah.But I have faith in this institution.Badai bukan sekali telah kami harungi.We will survive, InsyaAllah.

Home

Upon arrival...

From the air looking down the green kelapa sawit, Nik and I got excited, "Venice! Venice! Kita dah sampai di Venice!"

Haha..we got a bit crazy in the head after our brief European trip.I forgot to tell ya, at the Marco Polo airport, I asked the guy if I could get on a bus shuttle to Venice.He said that's not possible Ma'am, you'd need to get on the water taxi..Venice is surrounded by water...

But of cos'.Ingat aku bodoh? Haha.

Ohhh..it's so good to be home.Nak migrate ke hapa ini macam? Baru 2 minggu dah macam mamai ingat rumah.

Kat airport lagi dah cari nasi lemak.I had laksa penang cos cari mee hoon tak jumpa.Apalah airport Msia ni.Tak international langsong! :))