~ The Journey of Life ~

Barakallahulakum

2011-05-29T11:38:00.005+08:00

"Allah bless all of you and shower HIS blessings on you and place goodness between both of you"

To all friends, Alfu mabruk and congratulations...
I'm seeking an apologize for unable to fulfill all wedding invitations..

28 May 2011
Nilam Hirdayani & Husband

29 May 2011
Hidayah & Hairul
Siti Aisyah & Mohd Hazim
Nurun Naziah & Mohd Firdaus
Eyu Halili & Hafizi

4 June 2011
Abg Mirzan & Wife
Nur Haslina Shamsuri & Husband
Sharif & Safwati
Nurul Iman & Husband

5 June 2011
Firdaus & Wife
Dila Ahmad & Husband
Nani & Husband

12 June 2011
Fazlinda Hamzah & Husband

26 June 2011
Siti Nur Atiqah & Husband

Semoga berbahagia hingga ke SYURGA~!

Challenges in Cyber World

2011-05-27T13:00:00.005+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Yesterday (26 May 2011), I received a call from a friend where he told me that I'm in need of certain money due to my difficulties to attend seminar in Spain. Oh What?? At that time, I just met my supervisor in IIUM and really surprised with that shocking news. Then, a sms received from another friend to ask about my condition and willingly to help. Ya Allah! What was really happened??

I tried to check my email through my phone. It was inaccessible at that time, I opened my laptop and did the same thing. Ya Allah! My Gmail account was blocked. It is very important email address for many important matters. I tried so many times to get back that email, and my efforts failed.... Thus, I have to make it clear to everyone in order to avoid unexpected response from my friends. The content of the email as below:

"How're you doing and I trust that I find you in good health. I'm really sorry to reach out to you this manner and I'm sorry for not informing you about my urgent trip to Spain. I am here for a Seminar and to complete a project. Presently, I will be glad if I could confide in you and I want this issue to be confidential between You and I because I don't want people to get worried about my situation.

I happened to be a victim of a robbery attack on my way to the hotel and I lost my belongings including wallet, mobile phone and some valuables during this incident. I am sending you this e-mail from the city Library (and I only have 15mins in every 2hours to access my email from here), I had to block my account and my bank cards immediately the incident happened., I am facing a hard time here.

I am facing a hard time here because I have no money on me to clear my Hotel bill and other expenses. Please I will like you to assist me with a loan of 3000 Euros or any amount you could afford to sort-out my hotel bills first and to get myself back home. I have reported the case to the embassy here and they are going through the necessary procedures but I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with and I'll refund you the money as soon as I return. I await your reply immediately so I can email you the details to transfer the money.

Thanks in advance

--
Saadah Khair"
Dear family and friends,

I am truly sorry for those who received that email. Actually, it was hacked by someone, using my real name and request money from others. I am not desperately to do that. And one thing that can differentiate is it my writing or not is the signature used in that email. I will usually put link of my blog behind my name. So, actions for the receivers is please ignore that message and do not reply anything. In addition, do not believe the content of that message. Your considerations are highly appreciated..

Yeah, this is one of the challenges in Cyber World, there are more challenges that we should be aware of. May Allah shows the right path to the hacker, and to all email users, please be careful to protect your details and confidential..

One more thing, please delete that email (bintukhair@gmail.com) from your list contact, and please ask my new email in private.

May Allah forgive all of us...

**THIS IS NOT SPAM, but originally comes from my deepest heart.

MeoW MeoW

2011-05-24T10:45:00.004+08:00

Ouch~ Bad smell~!

Lately, it makes me feel unhappy when I'm coming back to my home. Although it just my rent house, but I'm started to fall in love with this small house, but unfortunately the bad smell is disturbing all of us..

What makes that bad smell??

Actually my apartment is surrounded by many cute cats, they play together with their owners especially kids. I still remeber during my childhood, my mom always angry if I'm trying to play with cats. She always said that cats are dirty and there are a lots of germs. And it's true because at that time, all cats are owned by no one. They went to anyone's house to find foods. They pee and let their shits everywhere. And my mom is the one who emphasizes about cleanliness~!

Since then, I'm scared of cats. I will not let any cat near beside me. Until I met a friend who loves cat too much. During my secondary school, she took a baby cat with her and asked me to play with that cute cat. But I'm scared. She is the one who bath and put all the perfume at that cats. She was very particu;ar about the healthy and cleanliness of that cat. And that was my first time ever touched and played with cat~!

However, I still have my own perception that cats are dirty if they are not taken care of. It's all because I was taught like that. But I'm not trying to hurt that animal because they have feeling like human too. They need food and good shelter. They should not be killed because they are created by Allah too...

A reason why our Prophet Muhammad PBUH called one of his companion as Abu Hurayrah which means "the kitten man”, literally “the father of a kitten” because he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with. Even the Prophet himself loves cat too much and be kind with this animal. He was once performing ablution (Wudhu') for prayers from a pot of water. A cat passed there and turned its eyes at the pot of water with a thirsty look. The Prophet realised at once that the cat was very thirsty, so he stopped the ablution (Wudhu') and placed the pot before the cat. Only after the cat had fully quenched its thirst, did the Prophet resume the ablution (Wudhu').

Besides, Islam taught us to be merciful to all creatures, and that includes animals. The Prophet said:"Those who are kind and considerate to Allah's creatures, Allah bestows His kindness and affection on them. Show kindness to the creatures on the earth so that Allah may be kind to you." Hadith - Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi

Ok, let's move to what happened to my house..

There are a lots of excrement or defiling filth or in a simple word, shits of cats and it gave a very bad smell...in front of house. It happened twice since last month and it spoils our moods in tyhe house..

I'm really hope that the owner of cats should responsible with this matter. It disturbs the neighbours and should alert with the cleanliness of house. Some actions should be taken to avoid this matter happen again...

To all cats out there, please do not leave any bad smell again..
(ops! Do they read my blog? hahaha)

What Are You Running For ?

2011-05-23T17:45:00.003+08:00

Bismillahirrahirrahmanirahim..

The question above is for myself and the answer also within myself. Lately, I'm thinking too much and the problem is I don't know what am I thinking for. My brain exhausted, followed with my soul and body. I don't know..

Let's start from the most important thing. Thesis. Alhamdulillah, it is done. Now it is in the nad of examiner or known as the second reader. My hope is not only finish everything early, but with success and excellent.

Ok, move to another thing. Work. Alhamdulillah everything is ok, but sometimes I think that I am not ok since a weird case happened to me a month ago. Was that my mistake to have misbehave students? If in that case, I should change the way I am. Besides, I am planning to have more secure work in terms of financial and challenge experience.

Next! Further study. Oh, that's my dream... but I am confuse in making decision. Is it too early to further phD? Am I ready for all the difficulties waiting for me? or Which university is better for me? the most important thing is what should I further in phD.. hmmm...

Next! hmmm...what ek.. Oh yeah, marriage. My mom asked me about that during my break at JB. It is shocking question but I know that she suppose to ask me about that since I am the last daughter and I will be 26 this year. (psst: Am I old?) I spoke honestly to my mom, and hopefully she will understand that I need more time to move the next step in this topic.

What else hmm..? another thing which relate to my personal development. I am testing myself to involve in the conference and article writing. And it needs a lot of time to read, revise, think and write. If I want to success in the future, I should sacrifice all those times to play, fb and blog. opps! I think I need my timetable back....

Next? I think I should top up my good deeds. I should fasting monday-thursday frequently, perform solat on time, spend money in a good way, go to orang asli villages, and many others good actions that I should do to get closer to Allah...... I need His forgiveness and Mercy..

Let's stop here for this moment..

So, am I answer the question?

Murabbi

2011-05-17T20:57:00.000+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Kata-kata Prof. Dr. Sidek Baba dua bulan lepas masih terngiang-ngiang, katanya: "I am not a politician, I am a Da'ie and Murabbi". Majalah Solusi isu 31 juga mengeluarkan artikel beliau yang bertajuk "Aku Seorang Da'ie dan Murabbi". Dan perkataan Murabbi itu semakin berlegar-legar di minda ini apabila tarikh 16 Mei menjelma..

Tidak semua cikgu, guru, dan pengajar itu Murabbi. Tapi semua Murabbi itu berperanan sebagai guru, cikgu dan pengajar, malah Murabbi itu adalah pendidik jasmani dan ruhani, dengan memegang tanggungjawab yang sangat besar.

Murabbi itu tidak pernah bersoal tentang menerima, tapi akan sentiasa memberi..
Murabbi itu tidak akan menyembunyikan ilmu di dada, tapi akan sentiasa berkongsi..
Murabbi itu tidak akan mengejar harta dan nama, tapi akan melakukan hanya kerana DIA..

Layakkah saya menjadi seorang Murabbi...??

Murabbi terhebat yang pernah saya temui ialah seorang insan bernama Ayah. Tidak mampu saya catat setiap ilmu dan kasih sayang yang beliau curahkan. Ucapan terima kasih sahaja memang tidak cukup untuk membalas, apatah lagi wang ringgit, tapi doa anakmu ini akan terus dikirim buatmu Ayah..

Dan doa saya akan mengiringi mereka yang pernah berkongsi ilmu walau sepatah ayat. Jutaan terima kasih buat kalian. Saya tetap pelajar walau kini sudah mengajar, dan kadang-kala lebih banyak belajar dengan mereka yang saya ajar.. Proses pembelajaran ini tidak akan pernah tamat dan akan terus berpanjangan..

Ustaz hasrizal berkata: "Jangan jadi lilin...tapi jadilah lampu pelita yang menyinar.." (Terus baca di SINI). Ya, saya setuju... perumpaan lilin itu mungkin ada benarnya, tapi jadilah yang akan membakar bukan hanya sepetang tapi berterusan menghasilkan kebaikan dan tidak jemu untuk memberi...

Dedikasi buat semua Murabbi.
Selamat mendidik dan dididik..

**Sambutan Hari Guru memang tiada dalam dalil Quran dan Sunnah, tapi bukankah menghormati orang berilmu itu disebut di dalam Quran dan Sunnah? Bukankah para Sahabat sering menyebut nama guru-guru mereka, terutama Guru Agung, Nabi Muhammad SAW.... Renung-renungkan, dan selamat beramal...

Oh Broga...

2011-05-10T23:34:00.006+08:00

Alhamdulillh..Akhirnya.....

Hasrat dan perancangan yang sudah lama disimpan ini tercapai juga. Alhamdulillah. Terima kasih buat seorang teman setia yang pernah merancang ke bukit ini suatu ketika dulu. Terima kasih juga buat rakan-rakan sekerja yang merancang ekspidisi ini beramai-ramai. Terima kasih Tuhan atas nikmat melihat kebesaran MU di Bukit Broga...

Jam 3 pagi di IIC adalah bukan untuk mengajar, tapi pengajar-pengajar IIC ini mengejar masa agar mengikut perancangan untuk mula mendaki pada jam 4 pagi. Kami tiba di pintu masuk lebih kurang jam 4.30 pagi, dan pendakian bermula dengan nama Tuhan Yang Maha Pemurah lag Maha Penyayang....

Jam 5.50 pagi, kami berehat mencari tempat untuk tunaikan kewajiban Subuh. Jangan terkejut bahawa bukit ini sudah dipenuhi pendaki berjiwa besar seawal pagi sebegini. Kami solat Subuh berjemaah, dan ini adalah nikmat yang tidak terhingga..

Meneruskan pendakian ke puncak seterusnya, kami rehat untuk sarapan pagi. Ringkas tapi cukup untuk mengisi tenaga yang sudah pancit dek mendaki.hehe.. Ada di antara kami yang meneruskan pendakian ke puncak seterusnya, tapi saya tarik diri, InsyaAllah saya dan Broga akan bertemu lagi..

Matahari terbit adalah saat yang dinanti-nantikan bagi para pendaki. Subhanallah.. walaupun matahari seperti malu-malu kucing untuk terbit di sebalik bukit, tapi nikmat vitamin pagi itu sangat indah..

Ok, jom tengok gambar... ^_______^

**Program seterusnya di Chilling, Kuala Kubu Baru. JOMMMM :)

PRO Trainer?

2011-05-07T00:55:00.007+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Jemput baca, kerana catatan ini adalah jawapan kepada soalan (yang bukan seperti soalan) sebagai tajuk entri ini. Saya menghadiri sesi perkongsian SMILE (Seni Mengurus Insan Lebih Efektif) oleh Tuan Zamri Mohamad yang telah menyertai satu bengkel bertaraf antarabangsa 'Training and Presenting like a Pro" oleh Dr. Billy Kueek.

Jangkaan awal saya rupa-rupanya tersilap sedikit, tapi sesungguhnya saya bertuah kerana berpeluang menuntut ilmu daripada orang hebat bersama dengan orang-orang yang hebat. Dua jam berharga pada pagi Jumaat yang mulia itu adalah sesi perkongsian yang sangat bermanfaat, bukankah ilmu itu memang harus disampaikan dan bukan untuk disimpan..

Gambar di ambil dari SINI

Dan di sini, saya juga mahu berkongsi sedikit sebanyak yang diperolehi daripada sesi tersebut. 20 tips penting kepada mereka yang bukan sahaja bergelar pelatih (trainer), tapi sesuai juga kepada penceramah, pensyarah, guru, mahupun penyampai..

Tip 1: Presentasi bermula dari luar. Pihak penganjur memainkan peranan yang sangat besar untuk tip pertama ini untuk mewujudkan unsur 'suprise', kebebasan autonomi, layan kelas pertama, dan maklumat seminar kepada para peserta.

Tip 2: Penggandaan energi dan pemilihan peserta boleh dilakukan sebaik sahaja pintu masuk dibuka. Sapaan ringkas pertama yang disertai dengan salam dan senyum berperanan sebagai suntikan energi kepada peserta.

Tip 3: Penyediaan nota sebagai rakan presentasi. Nota yang baik dilihat dari kulitnya yang boleh disertakan dengan mesej 'Formula 3', pengenalan ringkas dan pemilikan total. Malah isinya harus ringkas dan menarik menggunakan daya kreativiti penyampai. Dr. Billy memilih tulisan berberntuk surat sebagai pembuka nota beliau.

Tip 4: Tegakkan mesej pada tempat yang boleh dilihat. Kebanyakan poster di dinding dewan memetik kata-kata Dr. Billy sendiri. Elakkan meletak poster di hadapan yang boleh menggangu konsentrasi peserta.

Tip 5: Pemilihan hos (MC) juga memainkan peranan yang penting. Digalakan agar menggunakan ayat-ayat aktif (ber.. ter.. di..) berbanding ayat-ayat pasif (me.. ke... pe..).

Tip 6: Berada di bahagian 'Tabiat' mengikut keselesaan peserta. Kebiasaannya, peserta lebih cenderung melihat ke kanan, jadi ikutlah rentak dan cara peserta.

Tip 7: Tayangkan video di mana ia menyiarkan peserta yang turut hadir sama ketika seminar dijalankan. Ia boleh memberi aura sihat kepada peserta.

Tip 8: Agihkan tugas yang mencetuskan kegembiraan peserta. Kegembiraan boleh dihasilkan dengan memperkenalkan para peserta dan juga pekerja yang telah banyak membantu, serta pujian ikhlas sebagai tanda penghargaan buat mereka.

Tip 9: Perkenalkanlah diri dengan cara berbeza. Sebagai contoh, gunakan simbol berupa gambar. Respon dari peserta adalah lesen untuk meneruskan cerita tentang diri dengan lebih jelas.

Tip 10: Sediakan hadiah kepada peserta sebagai penggalak agar mereka menglibatkan diri dalam memberi respon dan bersoal jawab. Ia tidak perlu dilakukan secara kerap, tapi biarlah peserta ternanti-nanti dengan kewujudan hadiah yang pelbagai.

Tip 11: Desain ayat yang boleh mencetuskan respon para peserta. Kebiasannya boleh dilakukan dengan bertanyakan soalan.

Tip 12: Waktu rehat adalah waktu terbaik untuk mempromosikan program-program susulan yang akan dianjurkan lagi oleh pihak penganjur.

Tip 13: Pecahkan bahan-bahan penting mengikut keutamaan. Sebagai contoh; must know, should know dan nice to know.

Tip 14: Strukturkan perjalanan program dengan lebih terperinci. Kebanyakan peserta berminat untuk mengetahui aturan masa perjalanan program, oleh itu nyatakan waktu dan topik dengan lebih jelas.

Tip 15: Tapis dan kawal peserta. Penyampai harus sedar bahawa peserta boleh memberi tumpuan yang baik hanya sekitar 14-35 minit sahaja. Selain itu, penyampai harus sedar bahawa tujuan penyertaan mereka adalah berbeza-beza, barangkali kerana sukarela atau mungkin juga kerana terpaksa!

Tip 16: Semak skrip yang digunakan terlebih dahulu. Elakkan menggunakan perkataan yang boleh membuat pserta ragu-ragu dengan kebolehan penyampai.

Tip 17: Semak juga lagu yang dimainkan ketika program berjalan. Skrip dan rentak lagu boleh memberi kesan samada positif dan negatif kepada peserta.

Tip 18: Gunakan flipchart dan akronim yang menarik. Sebagai contoh; BOS, ia bisa jadi 'Buat Orang Senang', 'Buat Orang Susah' atau 'Buat Orang Santau'.

Tip 19: Meraikan mentor, guru, atau pengajar adalah gaya orang Asia. Penyampai boleh berkongsi tentang keperibadian mentor, ilmu yang diperoleh dari mentor, dan pengalaman bersama mentor. Perkongsian ini adalah salah satu penghargaan peribadi setiap penyampai.

Tip 20: Meng'hollywood'kan kisah diri. Penyampai harus kreatif untuk berkongsi cerita dan pengalaman peribadi, samada kisah kejayaan atau kegagalan, harapan dan misi kehidupan kepada peserta.

Semoga tip-tip di atas boleh membantu kita semua untuk menjadi penyampai yang baik. Saya fikir bahawa tip-tip tersebut boleh dipilih mengikut kesesuaian penyampai di mana faktor peserta dan topik berperanan penting dalam menjayakan sesuatu program.

Selamat menjadi penyampai yang baik dan selamat menyampaikan kebaikan!

**Perkongsian peribadi Tuan Zamri juga boleh dibaca di Trainer 1, Trainer 2 dan Trainer 3.

Cheese & Stone

2011-05-07T00:54:00.002+08:00

Oh, I'm not sure is it a correct combination or not between CHEESE & STONE, but who cares... It's my idea in reviewing these two books below that I read and wanna sharing them here. I think they might have rhythm.. Lets look..different things with totally different stories..

It was written by Spencer Johnson, where this book to be often distributed by managers to employees as a motivational tool. It contains very simple story which illustrates the vital importance of being able to deal with unexpected change. Two mice named 'Sniff' and 'Scurry', and two little-people named 'Hem' and 'Haw' are among important characters that readers can put themselves in their shoes. They were searching for cheese and loving it as their important foods. However, they had problems when they faced the losing of the cheese. It's all about how they solved the problems and their courage to change the way they face changes either in positive or negative way...

Read below to understand the content of change mentioned in the book..

Lessons from this cheesy story can benefit everyone, young or old, rich or poor, looking for less stress and more success in every aspect of work and life, especially those who need and want changes and not the one who are forced to change~! Lets change to positive... :)

Next book please.....

Izinkan saya berbahasa Melayu..

Ini kisah tentang Melayu. Kebanggaan Melayu itu adalah pabila dia bergelar Muslim juga Mukmin. Kedudukan Islam di sisi Tuhan tidak perlu dipersoalkan lagi, tapi pelbagai soalan timbul apabila menghurai asal-usul dan waktu kedatangan agama suci itu ke Tanah Melayu.

Seperti biasa, karya FT memang menjadi pilihan, walau dia banyak menimbulkan kontroversi besar dan kecil sehingga laman sesawangnya telah diambil tindakan tegas secara serta-merta. Dan buku ini adalah karya beliau pertama bersama PTS, sebagai penerbit karya Melayu tersohor.

Batu. Ya, batu itu lah yang menjadi bukti dan saksi. Kajian demi kajian yang dilakukan pada batu istimewa itu menimbulkan banyak persepsi yang berbeza. Satu pujian yang harus diberikan kepada FT apabila beliau menggunakan lebih daripada 20 buah buku sebagai rujukan ilmiyyah di dalam penulisan buku ini. Saya kagum dengan olahan fakta-fakta sejarah.

Akademi Seni Islam. Idea ini adalah sangat sihat! Di mana pelakon itu dididik dengan baik sepanjang latihan doku-drama. FT juga tidak lari daripada mengambil beberapa imej realiti yang nyata dalam dunia hiburan tanah air untuk menghidupkan seseorang karakter di dalam karyanya.

Kontroversi lagi. Ini bagaikan tidak asing lagi buat FT. Karya beliau tidak lari daripada mengkaitkan dengan nama Saidina Ali R.A secara langsung ataupun tidak. Sila baca dengan teliti dan berhati-hati..

Islam. Inilah yang harus menjadi kebanggaan walau di mana kita berada. Usahlah berdebat untuk menegakkan fakta bahawa ia datang dari sini atau sana, pada waktu ini atau itu. Setinggi-tinggi pujian buat DIA kerana mendatangkan nikmat Islam, Iman dan Ihsan di Tanah Melayu ini...

Corn Custard Pudding

2011-04-30T21:30:00.014+08:00

Bahan-bahan

1 cawan tepung kastad
1 cawan jagung manis
3/4 cawan gula
3 cawan air
1 1/2 cawan susu cair

Cara-Cara

Campurkan tepung kastad, gula, jagung, susu dan air.
Lepas itu dikacau sehingga pekat dan berkilat di atas api yang sederhana hingga sebati.
Angkat dan sejukkan di dalam loyang atau acuan dan boleh lah dihias dengan buah ceri dll.

It was my first time ever to try cooking of any desert..

It was success pudding but not really good, still cannot compare to my mom's pudding.

Anyway, i'm happy... If I can make it better and tastier, then I will give to my friends..

*Recipe was taken from HERE

The Last Friday of April

2011-04-29T19:13:00.009+08:00

29 April 2011, The Last Friday of April 2011

First: Eid Milad

Happy 6th Birthday to Anas Abdullah..
He is the last son of my elder brother.
May you be a Soleh wa Musleh..
May Allah promise you with excellent life ahead in Dunya wal Akhirah..

Second: Honeymoon to China

It is not my honeymoon, but my parents'..
Received a call at 7am from my mom in the flight, she seems happy but unhappy for not getting her seat beside my dad..hehe..
Actually, it was not their honeymoon but a trip to China, the largest country in Asia with their friends. It's been a long time ago that we planned to go together, but I'm working and not having enough money to support myself. hehe..
Hope they will happy and safe there..
Can't wait their coming back and listen to their hundred of stories..

Third: PBAKL 2011

Finally, I've been there. International KL Book Fair started from 22nd April last week and end this Sunday. As a seventh day, I can see that the people are keep coming even though today is a working day. I chose Friday because I'm not prefer to involve in packed situation especially at weekend there, but i will miss those interesting events there..

It's ok because I got what I want. I prepared wishlist books and enough budget to shopping day at that Book Fair. Frankly speaking, I like last year book fair more than this year. I never miss even once to the book fair because I am a serious book lover and full time book reader.

Here we go..

I bought all these books, only two books are not mine, it belongs to my sister and a friend. Satisfied but still had a feeling wanna go there again and again.. Hope I can finish reading them all. Oh! I need new bookshelf.. :)

Fourth: Last Day with Uzayr

This Friday too is the last day with Uzayr..He is moving to Kuantan with his family..
Uzayr and Masheetah are students of mine in Darul Fawwaz. I teach them al-Quran and Arabic Language twice a week.And I'm happy teaching them..
Hopefully, Uzayr will be a good son and success in his study and life, same goes to Masheetah too.. Take care dear..

Fifth: Royal Wedding

Many people are waiting for this event. It becomes a history..
Prince William and Kate Middleton. Click HERE for more information.
However, why we were so eager to see their weddings? especially they are Christian, they followed the Christian rule of wedding..
Wedding as important as marriage to make the relationship between man and woman legally approved by Islam. The Prophet once said: "The best people of my Ummat are those who get married and have chosen their wives and the worst people of my nations are those who have kept away from marriage and our passing their lives as bachelor." (Mustadrakul Wasail by Muhaddith Noori, Vol. 2, Pg. 531).

**HELP!!! May is Coming~~~~~~~

Challenges with Non-Muslim Students

2011-04-28T18:54:00.005+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

New semester of IIC had began in the middle of March, and it is a short semester to all the lecturers and students. I received a responsibility to teach 2 subjects for 3 sections. And I'm happy for this task... Teaching is sharing, and sharing is caring..

However, I have a big challenge for this semester and it sometimes make me feel uneasy in my class. Teaching "Islamic Ethics" is not a new thing for me but teaching that subject to non-Muslim students is not new thing too because I had teaching experience with an Indian student and he is Malaysian. But, teaching to non-Muslim students with strong belief to the Christian is a new thing for me. It is not easy as others think...

I take this challenge with positive mind. This might be the time I can share the beauty of Islam to them, especially the subject relates to the ethics and behaviour as taught in the Quran and Sunnah. Nevertheless, it becomes difficult when the teaching is not similar with the reality happened among Muslims.

For example, Islam teaches not to lie, backbite and slander, but there are many Muslims involve in that vices. Islam encourage patience and modesty, but there are many Muslims do not practice these good virtues..

I tried my best to answer their questions and will try again and again to reduce their bad perceptions towards Islam. And I wish Allah will help in guiding their hearts to accept Islam not mere a religion but as a way of life..

إسلام يعلو ولا يعلى عليه

[Photo: a view from my apartment. Masjid Salahuddin al-Ayyubi]

Muhasabah: Busy?

2011-04-20T01:09:00.006+08:00

I saw this picture at wall Facebook of a friend of mine. It makes me cry... Yeah, I can't say anything but my tears just coming down. Dear family and friends, please think about it..

Supposedly, the more busy we are, the more closer we are with GOD, because HE will not go far away even though we are going far from HIM..

O Allah, please forgive my sins.... T__T

**I will try to make myself busy with Allah's assignments...

New Books

2011-04-13T21:42:00.007+08:00

Just bought this book for the price RM 8~! I don't care if it is just a used book bcoz i'm searching this old book for a long time ago. The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a guard of the musketeers. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, inseparable friends who live by the motto "all for one, one for all" ("tous pour un, un pour tous"). Read more HERE.

I didn't remember when is the first time I heard the title of this book, but it was one of the questions asked in the story of Slumdog Millionaire, the last question that make the boy became a millionaire. Then, I read that this book also was listed in 500 important books to be read in history. I tried to search it in many bookstore, and I downloaded it too from internet. Finally, I found it even though it is a used book. A used book still can be used. Thanks for the original owner because selling it back to others and owned by a person like me.. :)

Please read summary of The Three Musketeeres HERE.

I attracted to the creativity of this book, and it contains high motivation for readers. That's among reasons of buying this book at Bookxcess with a very affordable price. The first page says: "When you change the way you see things, the things you see change...". I love it and aim to finish reading this book early.

However, around seven in the morning, I got immediate exercise; physical and mental resulted from reading few pages of this book last night. It was unconsciously dropped out from my window, 8th level of my apartment. Ya Allah, it was my mistake because I planned to snap a photo of this book with a view from my room, but it dropped~! I don't want to tell more about my efforts to get it back, but seriously I'm regret for not fully taking care of my new book. Positively, it was a destiny.. No matter what, it's still my book. The more it become ugly, the more precious it will be..

Best regards,

Book lover

The Understanding of Happiness

2011-04-12T19:48:00.004+08:00

Throughout the ages, the concept of happiness has been widely discussed by the great thinkers of the past oriental or occidental. The Greek philosophers have stated in clear a term that the ultimate happiness will take place through what they called virtues. They unanimously agreed that there are four cardinal virtues, namely temperance, courage, wisdom and justice. Thus a happy person is the one who possessed these cardinal virtues in their selves.

Unfortunately, happiness in the context of modern western man is never been defined in a definite manner. It has continuously changed depending of which philosophical school or line of thinking these definitions are derived from. The utilitarians will define happiness based on their practical purposes. The hedonistic school will define happiness based on pleasure and pain. The homosexuals will on the other hand view happiness as what satisfy their animalistic instincts. All these groups will view happiness based on their biased subjective mind. Happiness has become a relative thing and the western man will never be happy with whatever definition of happiness given.

What is the view of the Quran on happiness? In the Quran happiness is termed by the word sa’adah. Whenever the term sa’adah mentioned in the Quran, it is always related into two conditions; the happiness in the hereafter (ukhrawiyyah) and happiness in the present world. For a Muslim, the ultimate happiness is the happiness in the hereafter as mentioned by God in Surah Hud (11:108):

‘And those who are happy shall be in the Garden; they will dwell therein o long as the heaven and the earth endure, except as our Lord will, a gift without break’

This sa’adah refers to the happiness which is everlasting, the highest of which is to see God in the hereafter which is promised to those who inwardly have lived in a willing submission and conscious obedience of God’s commands and prohibitions. This definitely does not mean that a Muslim cannot attain happiness in this world. To be happy in this world is to prepare one self for the ultimate happiness in the hereafter by having a strong faith and firm belief in God. It is a state of spiritual tranquillity which is everlasting, permanent and stable in one’s heart. It is deep feeling of secure and becoming free from fear, not the fear from God but the fear of the unknown , of the utter loneliness, and more importantly free from the fear of death and what lie beyond death.

This is exactly what is meant by all the good virtues in Islam such as temperance (‘iffah), abstinence (wara’), piety (taqwa), truthfulness (sidq). All these religious virtues nevertheless should be preceded by the prior condition of consciousness in the soul of truth which is termed by the Quran as yaqin. There are three level of certainty mentioned by the Quran, ‘ilm al-yaqin, ‘ain al-yaqin and haqq al-yaqin.

It is clear that happiness in Islam does not thus refer to the bodily or material aspect of the human life. As a matter of fact, the abundant material wealth, excessive physical pleasure sometimes contributes to the prevention of the true happiness. How many cases have we seen people with abundant of wealth are deprived from gaining the true happiness in their life. Their material bounties, on the other hand, are the very origin and cause of their unhappiness.

It is interesting to see that the contrary of sa’adah is termed by the Quran as shaqawah, which conveys the meaning of great misfortune and misery in general. Shaqawah is the generic term which include within it many other terms also mentioned in the Quran as khawf (fear), huzn (grief), dank (narrowness), hasrat (profound grief and regret for something gone and never be experienced again). These terms are used in the Quran to denote those who turned away from God and spend his life in self-waste which than he discover after death how he has lost his soul and appeal toward God in turning back to worldly life to make good deeds.

As accurately observed by Prof . Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, the term shaqawah is reflected in the concept of tragedy in the Western literary tradition. It was very popular in the field and art and literature and gained its roots from early Greek thinker, Aristotle in his book Poetics. Contrasted with comedy in the field of theatre, tragedy is referred as a narrative recounting the life of some ancient or eminent person who suffered a decline of fortune toward disastrous end as a result of either personal failings or circumstances beyond his control. It is a constant failing from prosperity to suffering and chaos. According to the western writers, the function of tragedy is actually to help people to overcome the thought of death in their life.

This is what tragedy is all about and also what the Quran means by the term shaqawah. It is the total misfortune and misery of those who reject the guidance of God. To prevent themselves from the fear of death particularly, the western man keep on looking for a so called sensational activities to quench his lonely tragic spirit. They, according to Professor al-Attas, are just like Sisyphus in the Greek literature who pushed the stone up the hill where at the top it is destined to roll down again.

We pray to God that we will be among those who will attain the real happiness in this world and the hereafter. The happiness that is based on the real knowledge of God and the true certainty of the soul toward God. There is no other real tranquility of soul for a Muslim than to gain the true knowledge, faith and consciousness of his Creator. What else does a man of faith really need when he already gained the ultimate knowledge of reality.

**This article was taken from Dr. Farid's blog (Click HERE). Actually it is a Friday Khutbah delivered by Dr. Farid at IIUM Mosque on 6 Nov 2009.

Allah's Test is Allah's Love

2011-04-10T21:42:00.005+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

It's been a long time for not spending a word in this blog. I miss blogging. I miss sharing my words here. Due to my business and sickness, I have to stop blogging for a while, and now I'm start to write again and again...

Alhamdulillah, semester was ended last week in IIC. All exams finished and their marks also completed. Congratulation for those who succeed and "Sorry" for those who failed in my subject. It is not my intention to do that, but all of them will get what they deserved based on their efforts and du'a..

Alhamdulillah too, I'm tested with flu and fever for three days. Allah only test me with this tiny test to remind that I have a lot of sins... But it is my first time for receiving test like this serious sickness like this. And the best medicine is HOME because attention from my parents cannot be replaced by anyone..

Anyway, I feel so grateful with this kind of test because I'm sure that Allah will give test to the person that He loves. Allah had said in the Qur'an the reason of His test:

"Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false." (al-Ankabut: 2-3)

Allah also shows how to face with all tests, in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 45:

"Nay, seek ((Allah)'s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,"

If sometimes we feel that we unable to face all the difficulties, Allah said:

"never give up hope of Allah's Soothing Mercy: truly no one despairs of Allah.s Soothing Mercy, except those who have no faith." (Yusuf: 87)

Because, Allah said:

"So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief, Verily, with every difficulty there is relief." (Insyirah: 5-6)

However, how can we consider His test is His Love? How we know that Allah loves us? How do we know His Love?

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah the Almighty said: 'I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed." [al-Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah]

Also:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If Allah has loved a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel (on whom be peace) and says: 'I love So-and-so, therefore love him.'" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: 'Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him.' And the inhabitants of heaven love him." He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: 'I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him.' So Gabriel abhors him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: 'Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him.'" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth." [al-Bukhari, Muslim, Malik, and at-Tirmidhi]

And finally:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

"Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him." [al-Bukhari]

May Allah's love will never end for us till the end...

May Allah's test will never let us forget Him for every second of our life..

Thank You Allah~!

'Girang' Day

2011-03-22T19:38:00.014+08:00

20 Mac 2011 is a date that should not be forgotten. This was my fourth participation (please refer HERE, HERE and HERE for my previous participation) in supporting the culture of reading among the Malaysians. Although it refers to LRT, but this 'cool' culture is not only refer to that particular public transportation, but reading can be done everywhere~!

As previous programmes, there will be no ribbon cutting, no protocol, no special ceremony, even though there are special person, acknowledged participants, and respected book readers joined on that day. We gathered at Terminal Putra around 10.15 am. This time, at first I planned to go alone because I'm sure that I will meet many new friends there, but I also invited my friends to join us. Luckily, one of my friends, she also my colleague at IIC, want to join and will bring her 3 children, moreover after this she will move to Kedah and work there. So, it will be her last time to use LRT before she moved to Northern state.

Liza and her two sons and one daughter.

As usual too, we just focus in reading like nothing happened. Read and read without wasting our time. I brought a special book 'Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin' written by Syed Naquib al-Attas, and it is a serious book that should be read by Muslims.

What make me happy is I met new friends and they were book lovers like me too. Hope that this friendship is not for one day, but will keep in touch after this. Sharing from my new friends can be read HERE and HERE.

Memory 20 March 2011 (Photo credit to Huzaifah Ahmad)

This 'Girang' Day has a very special person that importantly to be acknowledged for his effort in establishing the first Booktown Movement. He is a Welsh bookseller, known for his contribution to the success of Hay-on-Wye as a centre for second-hand bookselling. He is also the self-proclaimed "King of Hay". Read more HERE. Please click HERE as well to see his book shop online. It was a great pleasure that he spent a day with all of us that morning. And a reason that I impressed with him is that he is a year older than my father and he is still strong enough in supporting people to read..

King Richard Booth

During interview session with him, I had opportunity to ask some questions to his stepdaughter. I asked her: "May I ask a silly question? Is he a real King?". "In UK, it is free for anyone to declare himself as a King, by establishing his own kingdom and follow certain rules as a King," she answered with a very nice smiling. Really?? Impressive. If in that case, I wanna be a King too..lalala~~

There was also special guest from International Booktown Organization in Malaysia. Now, all of us know that there are booktown in Langkawi and Malacca. Interesting~! It is better if there will be a booktown in KL too..

Heaven for book readers

Destination for that day is Bookxcess at Amcorp Mall. A book heaven..huhu. But unfortunately I didn't have more budget to spend in buying books on that day because I spent around RM100 to buy books last two weeks, and there were many books that have not read yet. But I wanna go shopping at Bookxcess next week InsyaAllah, wanna join me? :)

Last but not least, Chinese proverb says "A book is like a garden carried in the pocket". So, bring a book is not enough, but read that book will create a real garden around us. Bring book every time, read book everywhere.

Now, let's read.. ^_^

Video klip khas BACA@LRT yang telah berlangsung pada 20 Mac 2011 dengan kerjasama PTS, GPTD, PKPIM dan Team GKKI.

Are you a Postgraduate Student ??

2011-03-20T22:09:00.008+08:00

I put a question that should be asked to those who claimed themselves as a postgraduate student. If you say YES for that question, do you know your role as PG Student? Do you know that PG students are future Muslim leaders? Do you realize the heavy responsibilities as PG Muslim students? Answer these questions inside your heart okay..

Attending lecture given by Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid Moten is very interesting and worth~! He waited for a long time to deliver his speech for this important topic "The role of Postgraduate Students as Future Muslim Leaders." It is an obligation for us, especially PG students to know own own roles and responsibilities, so I will not leave this opportunity to listen to him (in addition I miss his lecture so much) and share with all my friends.

Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid Moten

To become a PG student is not easy. It is not a coincidence, and it is not suppose to be the last choice to further education. Prof. had said that becoming a PG student is a step to become a scholar (Ulama'), and being a scholar, it does not mean that they are the most perfect and knowledgeable person. Although we are not perfect and was created as a weak creation, but Allah asked His servants to do the best in any matter. A scholar is the one who has knowledge and does not stop in acquiring knowledge. The more you acquire knowledge, the more you know that you don't know. When you realize that you don't know, you should know that there are many things that you should know. Do you get it?? The wise man is the one who know what he don't know.. So, the first role of PG student is acquire knowledge~!

There are 4 types of people in acquiring knowledge:

Those who don't have any knowledge, and they know that they have no knowledge. A way to response them is sympathy and encourage them to seek knowledge.
Those who have knowledge little bit, and they know but they think that they don't know. A way to response them is by giving them confidence.
Those who know that they have limited knowledge, and they know that they have knowledge. A way to response them is benefit and learn from them.
Those who don't have knowledge, but they think that they have knowledge. Most of these people occupying the position among society and keep up bluffing others. A way to response them is DON'T be like them and keep away yourselves from them.

When you have knowledge, you can differentiate between good and bad, true and wrong. This would be the second role, doing good and avoiding bad. Imam Al-Ghazali said that observing good people and associating with them will benefit mankind. It is because humans by nature are imitative and they learn by imitation. If we associate with bad people, indirectly we are following them, and if we associate with good people, indirectly we are imitating them. Thus, be careful in choosing friends..

Muslims unable to know what is good and bad without referring back to the Islamic Guidance. Being PG student is the one who should conscious about religion (Islam). Although you are not specializing in Islamic studies, but other people especially outsiders will expect that PG students know everything. The most important knowledge about Islam is to understand the primary sources of Islam; Quran and Sunnah.

Then, being a knowledgeable person, you should seek knowledge for the sake of Allah, then it will be Ibadah. The intention of being PG students is not because of status, name, recognition, or anything else, because all knowledge come from Allah and we only know small part of that knowledge.

Besides that, how knowledgeable person you are, it is useless if you keep it for yourself. Then, you should have skills to distribute the knowledge. Knowledge is something that should be shared to everyone, because the more you give, the more you get, and it will not be reduced.

Another important role of PG student is respect yourselves, and respect others. You cannot respect others without respecting yourselves, and it is incomplete if you don't respect the knowledge. From respect, you will get things back~!

May Allah bless Prof for his sharing..

May Allah bless all of us..

Allahua'lam..

**Postgraduate students are the one who further M.A, PhD and higher grade of education.

Aa Gym di UIAM

2011-03-19T22:11:00.004+08:00

Abdullah Gymnastiar atau lebih dikenali sebagai Aa Gym (sebut huruf G seperti perkataan 'gigi') adalah nama yang tidak asing lagi di Indonesia, mahupun di Malaysia. Pertama kali mengenali beliau ketika sesi Usrah, tatkala saya masih setahun jagung di UIAM. Cerita-cerita tentangnya buat saya kagum, apatah lagi setelah membaca buku tulisannya. Malah dia sering menjadi tetamu di Astro Oasis. Baca biodata beliau di SINI.

Kehadiran Aa Gym di UIAM adalah sesuatu yang sangat ditunggu-tunggu. Saya juga tidak mahu melepaskan peluang itu walaupun saya mempunyai dua program pada hari yang sama (19 Mac 2011). Tiada serban, wajahnya agak berbeda. Beliau amat sederhana. Kelembutannya sama dirasa..

Ada beberapa perkongsian yang harus dicatat dan dikongsi bersama. Bicara Aa Gym pada petang semalam adalah berkaitan tentang perdamaian dan pertengkaran. Kata beliau: "Pertengkaran sering berlaku kerana ingin dekat kepada duniawi, tapi kita tak perlu bertengkar untuk dekat pada Allah.." Oleh itu ada empat perkara penting untuk menghasikan perdamaian:

Carilah persamaan dahulu sebelum perbezaan. Walaupun hakikatnya kita semua itu berbeza, perbezaan itulah yang mengikat agar kita terus bersama.
Tidak perlu jadi orang yang suka menonjolkan diri (over acting/show off). Jadilah seperti jantung yang bergerak setiap saat, duduknya diam di dalam jasad, tapi tak pernah menonjolkan diri.
Usahlah meremehkan orang lain kerana kehidupan kita ini sememangnya memerlukan orang lain. Tak perlu juga merendahkan orang lain kerana kita sememangnya rendah di mata DIA. Kita juga tak perlu dikagumi ornag lain, tpai disuruh berbuat kebaikan untuk diri sendiri.
Gunakanlah kelembutan, kerana ia bukan kelemahan tapi kekuatan. Kelembutanlah yang akan bisa buat kita akrab, kerana hati tak bisa diubah dengan kekerasan. Seseorang yang hilang kelembutan, hilanglah keindahan dalam dirinya.

Perkongsian peribadinya tentang bagaimana untuk menghadapi penghinaan sangatlah mudah. Katanya: "Kenapa harus memikirkan mulut orang, kerana tak bahaya dihina orang, tapi yang bahaya itu adalah menghina orang lain.."

Katanya lagi: "Kita semua ini rapi bukan untuk dipuji, tapi untuk menghormati.."

Nasihat terakhir beliau: "Ayuh perbaiki diri dan lakukan yang terbaik~!"

Wallahua'lam..

**Doa-doanya yang tulus di akhir program tak bisa menahan kekangan air mata.. Moga Allah memakbulkannya. Moga Allah merahmati kita semua..

Tiga Kali Seminggu

2011-03-18T23:26:00.006+08:00

Tiga..
Tiga kali seminggu..
Isinya bukan hanya tiga kisah..
Tapi tiga hari, bacaan pun sudah..

Kisah Satu: Kisah Hakiman dan Zaharah.
Kisah rindu luar biasa indah, tapi ujian cinta takkan pernah sudah. Emosi dan perasaan menjadi hujah dalam diam tatkala lekas berdebat wacana bahasa Ibunda. Hadir pula Adibah membawa kisah, berakhir sudah hidup si jejaka. Matinya dia kerana hati; kanser dan makan hati.

Kisah Dua: Kisah Si Tuan Guru Tua.
"Kalau tak berada-ada, tak akan tempua bersarang rendah", kalau kisah ini tiada, tak akan pula timbulnya cerita si abuya. Perbalahan Tuan Guru tua dan muda, berlumba siapa yang punya lebih ilmu dan kuasa. Banyak cerita yang dipanjang-panjangkan, usah percaya si tukang cerita, hanya dongengan semata-mata.

Kisah Tiga: Kisah bantahan filem 'Fitna'
Pertikaian Islam itu adalah agama ganas untuk pengganas menjadi titik perbualan. Ia adalah fitnah! Islam bukan sedemikian rupa. Kisah perjalanan di Dhaka ini adalah kisah perkongsian ilmiyyah. Kisah Umat!

Kisah Empat: Kisah Manisah si anak Saigon.
Pencarian identiti bermula apabila ibu yang meninggalkan hanya sekadar ibu jagaan. Persoalan siapakah yang menkandungkan itu terjawab, tapi megundang gundah-gulana. Agamanya berbeza. Ibunya juga entah ke mana. Dia anak perang, tapi bukan anak terbuang!

Kisah Lima: Kisah Cinta Medeni dan Zanjabila.
Kedua-duanya cendekiawan. Sekufu ilmu dan juga agama. Demi masa, siang dan malam, mereka secocok untuk bersama. Demi satu soalan, Medeni sanggup mencuba, untuk memiliki pujaan hatinya, Zanjabila. Demi masa, bersabarlah dengan cinta, berpesanlah dengan kesabaran dan kebenaran.

Kisah Enam: Kisah Priyanka, Chai Yin dan Khatijah.
Tiga janda berbeza bangsa, bertekad untuk teruskan perjuangan bersama. Priyanka dengan Maruku nya, Chai Yin dengan kuih Pau nya, dan Khatijah dengan kuih Dangai nya. Niat mereka sama; untuk persembahkan kepada ketua negara, di malam laungan Merdeka. Hadiah ikhlas daripada tiga bangsa berbeza ini disambut mesra dengan senyuman lebar perdana pertama.

Kisah Tujuh: Kisah Hajah Abidah.
Kisah kehidupan glamor yang sudah berakhir. Pintu hatinya terbuka untuk ziarah ke Tanah Suci Makkah. Tidak tersangka ada yang jatuh hati pada bakal hajah ini, dilamar pula di hadapan Kaabah yang mulia. Tidak tersangka juga Ustaz al-Junied ditolak mentah-mentah, tapi tetap tak mahu mengaku kalah. Akhirnya, ada jawapan gembira di sebalik percubaan kedua, dan Kaabah itu menjadi saksi utama.

Kisah Lapan: Kisah Iran dan Syiah.
Perbualan Tse dan penulis menyentuh banyak kisah; Kisah percampuran budaya Timur dan Barat, kisah revolusi dan kekerasan, kisah kehebatan peradaban Islam, kisah pejuang bernama al-Afghani, san kisah menuju latar.....

Kisah Sembilan: Kisah sebuah warkah kepada Khalifah Allah.
Warkah tertulis panjang lebar, agar memberi hak keadilan kepada haiwan dan mergastua semesta alam. Hubungan di antara semua makhluk Tuhan harus dipelihara, keadilan harus sama-rata, kita semua tiada beza, jika sudah namanya 'kita dicipta', pasti yang hebat itu adalah Sang Pencipta!

Kisah Sepuluh: Kisah Muhammad Ulul Albab.
Kisah penjelajahan seorang arkitek bernama Mario Chavez. Kehidupannya berubah setelah pertemuannya dengan seorang pelukis bernama Pelangi. Entah kenapa nama 'Muhammad Ulul Albab' muncul dari bicara si Pelangi. Mereke berdiskusi tentang kesenian Melayu yang indah dan tentang Melayu sebagai bangsa Ulul Albab. Tugas manusia itu adalah memaknakan rahsia, dan rahsia pertemuan mereka adalah hidayah Tuhan kepada Mario menerima cahaya Islam.

Kisah Sebelas: Kisah Pemergian Muthupalaniappan.
Kisah ini kisah paling menyentuh hati, Kisah anak kecil bernama Muthupalaniappan yang besar tekadnya mempelajari bahasa Inggeris dengan Cikgu Rosmah. Wujudnya dia menguji kesabaran, hilangnya dia menjadi persoalan. Kehilangan Muthu bukanlah sementara, tapi selama-lamanya ketika menghafal nombor dalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Kisah Dua Belas: Kisah Haziah dan Perlak Emak.
Wasiat emak akan diturutinya, dan itulah yang Haziah yang akan pertahankan setelah pemergian satu-satunya emaknya. Memori bersama emaknya tak akan dilupakan sampai bila-bila. Emaklah yang memberi nasihat, emak juga lah yang mendendangkan hikayat.. Hikayat Malim Dewa tetap segar dalam ingatan Haziah.

Medannya indah bukan kepalang,
Rantaunya luas bagai terbentang,
Tebing singainya bagai diraut,
Pasirnya serong bentuk taji,
Di sana rumah di situ halaman,
Di sana sini pokok kelapa,
Nyiur gading lambai melambai...

Kisah Tiga Belas: Kisah Ustaz Agil dan Zaheeda.
Kisah ini yang menjadi buah mulut ramai. Kisah ini yang dicari oleh pembaca. Dan kisah ini penuh kontroversi.. Pertanyaan Zaheeda mengundah gulana hati sang Ustaz. Banyak hal yang tak pernah ditanya orang sudah terjawab segala persoalan. Banyak perkara yang harus disimpan rapi mengundang gelisah orang ramai. Ah! baca sendiri kisah ini.

Kisah Empat Belas: Kisah Zadie dan Manira.
Manira, seorang Muslimah yang diracuni oleh Zadie tentang kewujudan lelaki yang tak harus menjadi kepentingan. Zadia menolak fitrah yang Adam itu diciptakan untuk Hawa dan mereka saling memerlukan. Kisah ini mengangkat ayat 35, Surah al-Ahzab, juga ayat 30, Surah ar-Rum. Malah menyentuh juga buku Islam and Secularism karangan Syed Naquib al-Attas. Hidayah itu milik DIA, sekerasnya hati manusia, pasti akan lembut juga dengan KalimahNYA. Percayalah bahawa setelah diciptakan Adam, Hawa pula diciptakan. (Saya sangat suka kisah ini)

Kisah Lima Belas: Kisah Hilda dan Kegawatan.
Kisah ini kisah terakhir dan yang paling lebar berjela-jela. Sarat dengan isu semasa. Memetik kata Ziauddin Sardar yang dicatat penulis: 'Kita sebenarnya buta. Fenomena ini umpama mereka tahu mereka mahu mencapai sesuatu, tetapi mereka tidak tahu apa yang ingin dicapai. Mereka tergapai-gapai. Mereka tahu mereka ingin menuju ke destinasi, tetapi tidak pula tahu secara tepat dan munasabah ke mana mereka ingin pergi."

Rujukan lengkap, sila ke Blog penulis (Dr. Faisal Tehrani) di SINI.**Tak lupa ucapan terima kasih buat Cik Sabariah, si empunya pemilik buku ini..

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Oh Merong~!

2011-03-13T20:52:00.007+08:00

A History of Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa

This is the first Malaysian movie that really impressed me with the story line, accessories and actors. Nothing to say, but thumbs up to KRU Production for producing this kind of story. After watched this movie, I really wanna know the real history behind this story. Is that based on a true story or just an imagination? And now I think that I knew where is the truth. Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (HMM) is a collection of story from Kedah (a state in Northern Malaysia), and maybe it was not only imagination, but a legend that should not be forgotten. Please read HERE for further info on the real story of HMM.

Based loosely on the 16th century historical document entitled ‘The Malay Annals’, ’The Chronicles of Merong Mahawangsa’ is an action-packed epic feature film, with mythical characters, magical moments and dazzling visual-effects sequences. Merong Mahawangsa was a descendant of Alexander the Great, a renowned naval captain and traveler who came to Asia several hundred years ago.

The year is 120 AD… a time when the Roman Empire is at the height of its power, during the reign of Hadrian – one of the Five Good Emperors. Meanwhile in China, the Han Dynasty is firmly cemented as the ruling empire and is expanding into Central Asia… one hundred years before the period of the Three Kingdoms. As the Roman fleet did their repairs and traded in Goa, they asked Merong Mahawangsa to escort a Roman prince to Southeast Asia, to wed a beautiful Chinese princess from the Han Dynasty. The Chinese princess and the Roman prince are supposed to meet halfway and be married on neutral grounds.

However, the pirate nation of Geruda had other plans. They decided to kidnap the Chinese princess and use her as ransom. En route to the Straits of Melaka, Merong Mahawangsa’s fleet was attacked by Geruda’s forces while stopping at a small island to replenish supplies.

Will Merong Mahawangsa be able to rescue the Princess and re-unite her with her betrothed in a marriage that is set to bring together two great civilizations from the East and West ?

The Summary of the movie was taken from HERE.

However, there are some critics towards this film. Of course, not all things will be considered good for everyone and different people have different opinions. Some comments that should be highlighted:

How can Merong is the one who really fluent in using English although he was living in his ship and sailing from place to another place ?
Why Embok was not properly dressed ? because it was known that the Malays at that time preserved the dress code of young woman.
Why should most of the Malay stories always used black magic as an issue to be disunited?
It should be nice if this movie emphasize some Islamic teaching that practiced by previous generations, and tell about the coming of Islam to the Malay land.
Additional comment from my student: Why not Ying Ying and her inang not speak using Chinese language? It is better if they speak Chinese rather than speak English to show the variety of languages in this film. And the Chinese General supposedly to speak Malay with Merong because he stayed in Malay land for a long time. Language also plays a very important role...

I rather not to say too much, but I have my own view even though I said that it is a good film. So, watch it and evaluate it by yourself.. :)

I end this entry with a favourite poem of Merong:

Sampai masa tibanya waktu..
Redup hati kaum berdua..
Bila dua jasad bersatu..
Hidup mati jadi bersama..

Kasih Sayang Tuhan

2011-03-12T13:38:00.003+08:00

Setelah dunia digemparkan dengan revolusi oleh rakyat di tanah Timur Tengah, dunia kini digegarkan pula dengan revolusi oleh alam di tanah Jepun. Adakah ini ujian atau nikmat? Atau petanda Hari Kiamat yang sudah dekat?

Semoga Allah ampunkan dosa kita semua..
Semoga setiap kejadian yang terjadi bukanlah sekadar sia-sia.. Tetapi di ambil pengajaran oleh kita yang dikurniakan akal fikiran..

Langit menangis..
Guruh berdentum..
Lalu tenggelam..

Gunung meletus..
Debu berterbangan..
Dan terus kabur..

Ombak menari..
Tinggi tak tercapai..
Musnah segalanya..

Bumi bergegar..
Retak sejuta..
Merekah tanpa kata..

Teriakan itu tak berguna,
Andai menyalahkan Yang Kuasa,
Air mata itu sia-sia,
Jikalah menuding jari ke arahNya,
Biarkan hati menerima,
Segala ujian yang menerpa,
Kerna ini adalah kasih-sayang Dia,
Rahmat buat yang masih ada,
Hikmah buat yang sudah tiada...

Teirma kasih Tuhan..

Saadah Khair
*Sajak ini telah disiarkan di Majalah Tunas Cipta, Januari 2011

Orientalist & Islamic Studies

2011-03-11T21:35:00.007+08:00

Orientalism in general is the study of the culture of the East (orient) through Western perspectives. The word "Orientalist" refers to the Western (mostly not only Christian or Jewish_ scholars of Islam. They focus their studies on the culture and civilizations of the Orient or East or Morgenland, of Asia including the study of language, literature, history and religion.

Orientalists are concerned not only with the great, living civilizations (such as Islam, India and China) but also with ancient civilizations no longer exist (such as Egypt and Mesopotamia). They was also known as Indologist, Sinologist, Arabist, Islamologist or Islamicist.

The term of "Islamic Studies" was actually emerged from Orientalism. It refers to the study of the religion of Islam and of various aspects of Muslim cultures and societies. This term also known as Islamologie, Islamstudien, Islamkunde Islamwissenschaft or simply Islamistik and Islamics. Islamic studies that carried out in the West was part of the Oriental studies, and was sometimes also called Arabic studies or Arabistik.

Orientalists started their project in Islamic Studies with the Translation Movement, whereby many books written in Arabic was translated into Latin. The movement took place mainly in Spain and Italy, but also in France, England and Germany. The first Quranic translation into Latin done by Orientalist was Robert of Ketton (de Chester), was given name Lex Mahumet Psedoprophete. (So, be careful of using this kind of Quranic Translation). Then, many other books written by Muslim scholars was translated into other languages by Orientalists.

Simultaneously, the Orientalists also produced a new approach known as 'Historical-Critical Method" especially used in their writing on the matter of Islam. The basic of this method is: 1. Form Criticism, 2.Source Criticism, 3.Redaction Criticism, 4. Textual Criticism. Among Orientalists who excellent in using this method was Theodor Noldeke, Goldziher, W. Montgomery Watt and many more. Consequently, many theories were developed from that method; Theory of influence, Theory of Origin, Theory of borrowing, Theory of evolution, and Theory of Development.

The Orientalists also made an attempt in:

Reconstruction of Islamic Historical Events
Restoration of Islamic Text
Copy-editing al-Quran
Questioning the Arabicity of the Quran

There are comparison of Islamic Studies carried out by Muslims and Orientalist. Islamic Studies done in the West by Orientalists and Islamologists are characteristically different because:

They look at Islam as a subject of study or as a kind of symbol for the focus of their research, and not as a divine truth and guidance for mankind.
They seek relevant data about Islam for the sake of research, regardless of the meaning that Muslims as adherents of Islam attach to them, and irrespective of the truth they recognize in them.
They investigate Islam as a social phenomena, approaching things Islamic from the historical, cultural, sociological, anthropological, political or literary perspective and not merely from the viewpoint of Religion.
They also introduce ridiculous categories like: 'Islamic thought' versus 'Islamic observed', 'militant Islam', 'fudamentalist Islam', 'classical Islam', medieval Islam', 'modern Islam', 'radical Islam', 'progressive Islam', 'liberal Islam', etc.

This summary of Orientalist and Islamic Studies was taken while attending talk by Dr. Syamsuddin Arif in his Intellectual lecture, organized by IYC IIUM and HAKIM.

The question by myself is How deep we study Islam compare to the Orientalist? How to counter back with them when we know some of them are more knowledgable on the Islamic matters compare to Muslims? Lets think about it and Muhasabah ourself while admitting that we are real Muslim and they are Kuffar...

During the Q&A Session, there are discussions on the matter 'Muslim Orientalist' such as Fazlur Rahman. We also have to know to counter Orientalist in the term of 'Istighhrab' opposite of 'Istishraq'. Therefore, we have to make a serious and critical study on the Orientalists' works by accessing through many languages.

Last but not least, Dr, Syamsuddin gave a serious reminder "Don't write anything that you can please Orientalists, because they will never please with Islam"

Allah said in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 120:

ولن ترضى عنك اليهود ولا النصارى حتى تتبع ملتهم قل إن هدى الله هو الهدى، ولئن اتبعت أهواءهم بعد الذى جاءك من العلم ما لك من الله من ولي ولا نصير.

Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah.

Wallahua'lam

Communicate with Books

2011-03-06T21:34:00.002+08:00

Many people said that 'Book is the best friend ever, and it is the most patient listener", but the question is how we are talking and communicating with books if we consider them as our friends..

Actually, last two weeks, I wanna make my lecture interesting with my students. So, I asked them to go to the library instead of sitting in the class and listening to my lecture. I gave an order for them to find any books related to Da'wah Islamiyyah as many as possible in that library, even though IIC library is too small compared to IIUM library. While waiting their findings, I am hoping that they are not just looking for the books to complete the tasks, but I am giving them an opportunity to communicate with books...

"Miss, how we gonna communicate with them? they can't speak and maybe they can't listen too," asked one of my students.

"Yes, they don't have mouth to speak, and no ears to listen. But they speak through their words, and they listen through their papers. Communication is not only delivered verbally, but also non-verbal communication. Similar like human, they also communicate through their actions not only by their speech.."

That activity did not end only in IIC Library, but I invited them to go to IIUM Library too, with the same task. Alhamdulillah, they have done it nicely and hopefully they can benefit from this kind of learning process outside the class. Indirectly speaking, I want my students were given opportunity to communicate with books and develop their loves in reading, because reading is a bridge to gain knowledge..

During my childhood, I always imagine that books can speak and sing, they also can persuade me if I'm crying. I wrote a short story about this based on my imagination and gratefully, won that competition. There is nothing important in that simple story but sometimes I feel that I want it becomes true. If it is a true story, maybe it might shocking everyone especially book lovers..hehe..

Communication with books is a process to understand its content, and indirect chatting with the author. But sometimes, it is not enough to read the content of the book because some books need clear and precise explanation by the teacher, especially if it has heavy contains, and to avoid misunderstanding..

Stephen R. Covey said in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People', page 60: "Book is not something to read once and put on a shelf, it is designed to be a companion in the continual process of change and growth". As an appreciation to books, let them be our companions and develop our loves to them by frequent communicating with them. They also have feelings like a human being, in which if we love someone, we always want to keep communicating with them..

Sincerely,
Book Lover..

A Taste of Death

2011-03-01T11:18:00.007+08:00

Allah said in Surah ali-Imran: "Every soul shall have a taste of death". [3: 185]
Death is confirm. When it will happen?? Only Allah knows....

Last Sunday (27 Feb 2011), I received a sad news that my uncle passed away in Singapore. He was sick before my grandfather passed away, staying in the same house with Arwah. The last moment ziarah to his house was during Eid. But I heard a news that he had some improvements because he was comma and stayed on his bed only. Only Allah knows the best for him..

Today, 1st March 2011, another sad news... I received an SMS from my younger brother this morning before my lecture session. I can't say anything but it was so sudden... Only two days passed, another death came again. Yeah, "Izrail" is doing his job following Allah's order... It was my uncle too. He was sick before this and had an heart operation. According to my brother's story, he fainted at the same day that my uncle passed away last Sunday and warded in the hospital. And today, Allah called him to meet him personally.. Allah knows...

The thing that make me sad is both of them have children around my age. They are my cousin. Most of them are staying in Singapore. All funeral session will be the Muslim Singapore graveyard. I'm here and can send my prayer far away.. What make me so sad is the disappearance of a person that we love most.. May Allah give them a great patience to face new coming days..

Surely we belong to Allah and to Hi shall we return. May Allah have mercy on their souls, forgive their sins, and grant them a place in Jannatul Firdaus and join them with the Muttaqin. Ameen..

**I'm afraid of losing my beloved father.... T___T

Books Sharing

2011-02-28T22:48:00.002+08:00

This entry will share some books that I read in January and February, and some of them will be read on next month, March 2011. Reading is one of the process to gain knowledge and release tension.. ^__^

Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions and Facts, by Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin

As mentioned in previous entries, the first book I bought in the beginning of 2011 was a book by Dr. MAZA. It helps me to understand the situations of Muslims especially in Malaysia. This book was a compilation of some of the articles by the author, and has been published in his website (http://drmaza.com/home/). Honestly, it was used to add some information regarding to Malay Muslim Society in my thesis. Among my favourite articles in this book are; 'Peace be Upon You', 'Islam: Fact and Fantasy', 'The Balance of Worship and Development', 'Women's Rights: Allah's Will and Our Failure', 'Extremism in Argumentation', 'Understanding the Ulul Albab', and many more. There are still some articles are not read yet..

Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Alborn

It was a long time ago that I stopped buying a novel, but I think I have to wash my brain with a simple reading especially after finishing my thesis writing. So, I bought this cute greeny book and start reading it at the end of January.

There are a lots of values discussed in the book especially the lessons of Morrie Schwartz imparted to his student, Mitch Albom. It was written based on a true story between a student and his favourite Professor who was waiting the death in suffering a serious disease. They chose Tuesday as the day that they will discuss together and the moment that they will share any issues happened around them. One of lovely quotation by Prof. Morrie from that book is "Learn how to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll know how to live" which emphasizes on the value of life, time and love.

Book review in detail can refer to Mitch's Blog (HERE) and Portal PTS (HERE). You can click HERE if you want to know who is the real Morrie and Mitch.

Lelaki Pengenggam Kairo, oleh Ahmad Jamaluddin

This book was bought in Toko Buku Sakinah, Pekanbaru. A simple history of Syeikh Hassan al-Banna by knowing his family background, educational background, his Jihad work by establishing Ikhwanul Muslimin, and his influence toward Islamic history. This simple book was designed to remember al-Banna's struggle in reforming Islam especially in Egypt. May Allah bless him for his great works.

The Prophet's Methods of Correcting People's Mistakes, by Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid

I love this book. It is not mine, but borrowed from IIC Library. Actually, I found this book through one of my students. This book is an attempt to study the methods of the Prophet in dealing with mistakes made by people of different levels and backgrounds, among those who lived with him and with whom he interacted. Correcting methods mistakes is one of the teaching methods taught by the Prophet PBUH, as some Quranic verses were revealed to correct some mistakes of him and the Companions. In in this book, the author has compiled many methods of the Prophet for teaching people and correcting their mistakes. It is really an excellent reference in educational methodology. This book can be downloaded in Pdf and Word Doc in HERE.

Speeches that Changed the World

This book is a compilation of more than 100 of the most influential speeches ever made by human in history. It was compiled by Cathy Lowne in which he divided all speeches into many chapters; ancient history, love, religion, science, patriotism, philosophy, humanity and liberty, sport, politics and war. Many of those speeches have inspired people to act, some have changed the way people think or look at the world, and some might gave good and bad impacts to others. However, the best speech can never compete the divine speech of Allah compiled in the Holy Quran.

Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin, by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

This book is a free book given to all participants in WISE programme, organized by HAKIM. It is an excellent programme which will produce many knowledgeable person, InsyaAllah. This book is an important book that should be read by all Muslims. My myself still not finish the book yet. Among the contents of the book is about the questions asked by Muslims, Problems faced by Muslims, Characteristics of Western Culture, The understanding of religion, Justice, Knowledge, Culture, Position of religion, Freedom and Ethics, Change, Development, Language, Literature and Arts, Secularization, and many more...One of my friends shared his view on this book, which can be read HERE.

Hidup Sederhana Penuh Berkah, oleh al-Harits al-Muhasibi

The title of this book can be explained as 'Moderation life is full of Blessings'. I love the title of this book. It encourages us to live in this world in a moderate way which is the best way to get the blessings of Allah. Richness will not determine anything, but His Blessing is much more important. So, lets live in the simplest way, but the fastest way to get His Mercy and Love and all Happiness that promised by Him in the Hereafter..

Burn This Book, Edited by Tony Morrison

I borrowed this book from my friend and will read it starting on March, InsyaAllah. This book compiled many articles from different authors by sharing their opinions on the power of the word and writing. It is a unique book by its shape of book, type of paper and special contents. This book is a good book for those who tend to be a writer as well to a book reader.

**Need to find another storage box to keep all my new books..huhu..

Our Plan? Allah's Plan?

2011-02-23T20:53:00.004+08:00

Fail to plan is Plan to fail

Plan your work and Work your plan

We always heard to the above statement. It is an encouragement to make a plan to be a better person. Planning actually is a preparation to face unknown future life, but not all plans will become true, it is just a plan, the rest will be the effort of a person to make the plan successful.

I'm still remembered during my secondary school, one of the motivators encouraged to all of us to make a plan of what you wanna be in the future. He said, the person who makes a plan will be more successful compare to those who does not has a single plan. He also said that those plans should be written down to be remembered all the times, because imagination unable to achieve the plans. So, write the plan, and work on that plan...!

Since 15, I wrote my own plan what I wanna be in the future. What I wanna do for 10 years in the future. I think, even though I didn't achieve all that plans, but I'm satisfied with myself right now. Last year, my age was 25, and I never regret what happened in my life along last years.

So, becoming 26 years old this year, I have to make another plan for 10 more years in the future. The plan is done but the important thing is my effort to make all those plans succeed, because hard efforts will determine the success. Ralph Waldo Emerson said; ''Life is not a destination, but a journey..". That's why, I make this blog as my journey of life, but not all that has been written here showing my true identity...

Allah, The Perfect Creator, The Best and Ideal Planner..

Nevertheless, how great our plans are, there is a greater plan which is written by He The Most Knowing, al-'Alim wa al-Khabir. Yes, we have the right to list down our plans, but we do not have the right to decide those plans and make them come true no matter what happen. Because the decision is in the hand of Allah. He plans everything and has the power to make those plans successful or fail. Allah has mentioned in Surah al-Anfal, verse 30: "They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah."

But I'm sure Allah will plan the best for those who try to do the best for seeking His pleasure and avoiding His anger. That is our own effort to ask Allah to give us the best, even though it seems not good for us, but Allah knows everything. He might give something that bad to us, but indirectly He wanna us to think the reason behind all those things. Isn't true that Allah said: "But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not."

Anyway, do not give up early... Please plan anything that best for you and your future, and do not forget to pray hard and hope that Allah will give chance to achieve that plans and dreams...

May Allah help me to achieve my plans..
May Allah make every journey in my life easier in the right path...

Ameen...

**Future life, is there long-lasting happiness for me?

Ayah's Birthday

2011-02-16T12:01:00.011+08:00

Eid Milad Sa'eed Ya Habibi Waalidi..
Happy Birthday to my beloved father..

He is 72 years old now.. Alhamdulillah Allah gave a great age for him with a great life and great family..

May Allah bestow His Mercy, Love and Blessings upon him in this world and the Next World..

May Allah give him a healthy, wealthy and happy LIFE..

May Allah promise a great reward for his kindness, loving, caring, sharing and understanding..

May Allah put him together with the great believers in the Paradise...

You're a dad,
and you're doing great,
You taught me by example,
as a role model,

Everyday the whole year through,
You always make the effort to listen and share,
with thousands care,
This is a wishful daughter pray,
that you always stay the same,
as a lovely father,
as a knowledgeable teacher,
as a good listener,
as a wonderful exemplar,
as the best person ever..

I feel grateful that you are my father,
May Allah bless you always..
Happy Birthday..

**The poem above was published again here as published in my previous blog (HERE)..

Everyday is a Loving Day

2011-02-14T11:23:00.005+08:00

The date of 14th February is so popular since years ago and it still has been promoted today. The promotion of LOVE is widely spread over the media, publication and movie. That's why now you can see everywhere the symbol of love and discussion on love everywhere because today is 14th February..

I'm sure that all of us know the history of Valentine's Day or Festival of Love. The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of "spiritual love".

There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom. More reading about this history can be viewed HERE, HERE and HERE.

Love is something that can be defined differently according to different perspective. The highest level of love is the love to Allah and Prophet Muhammad more that others. And it is natural of human being to love someone which is the closest one or love something that we hold everyday. So, the question is, why we should choose only specific day to show our love??

Love should be exposed everyday even though it is not for everyone. The love that is specifically exposed for specific day is not the true love, it might be temporary love only and it will not be remained forever. Loving day is everyday...

The concept of love was mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. The word love, hubb in its various grammatical forms, is used 69 times in the Qur'an. It is an interesting article if you can refer to the writing of Farid Mahally in his article "A study of the word Love in the Quran". Please click HERE. The word of Love also mentioned in the Sunnah or the saying of the Prophet SAW. And of course, Prophet Muhammad was a very loving person. He once said: "The one who is not loving will not be loved" من لا يَرحم لا يُرحم

So, what about love to partner or soulmate? Allah said in the Quran: “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.” (30:21) This verse shows that every person will be given a partner chosen by Allah to create a happy family life in affection (Mawaddah) and mercy (Rahmah), and this opportunity given by Allah is to think and be grateful to all His Greatest Love in this world and the Next World.

Interestingly, Islam is the religion of Love. Thus, we should not follow other religion to show our love and passion. Besides that, we should not imitate other cultures that contradict to our fitrah or especially which is against the Islamic teaching.

Let's hope Allah's love not only in this world, but in the Hereafter..

**Am I falling in love?

Mabruk ya Misriyyuun...

2011-02-12T08:36:00.001+08:00

Allah knows..
Allah knows..
Allah knows what we don't know..

May Allah bless all Muslims in all over places, all the time..

**Further news, please refer to Al-Jazeera English, Click HERE

Masjid Pekanbaru: Edisi 3

2011-02-08T22:29:00.007+08:00

Bersambung lagi...

Kali ini kisah tentang Rumah Ibadah orang Islam yang digelar Masjid, Surau atau Musolla.

Pemandangan Masjid Agong An-Nur selepas Subuh

Pada pagi Hari Raya Cina yang disebut Imlek oleh orang Indonesia, kami berlima berjalan kaki kira-kira 3km menuju ke Masjid Agong An-Nur di tengah bandar Pekanbaru. Siang semalam sempat solat Zuhur di Masjid indah ini, dan kali ini beriadah selepas subuh ke Masjid. Walaupun agak jauh sedikit, tapi kami puas menyaksikan pelbagai ragam kehidupan di sepanjang perjalanan.

Sangkaan saya yang menyangka Masjid akan sunyi setelah subuh tersalah! Rupa-rupanya, masjid ini sudah dipenuhi penduduk untuk beriadah sejak jam 5 pagi. Bukan sahaja lelaki, tapi wanita dan anak kecil juga tersenyum indah di pagi tersebut. Ada yang berjogging, bermain badminton, menunggang basikal, dan ada juga yang berpoco=poco.

Masjid Agong ini bukan sahaja berperanan sebagai rumah Ibadah. Ia menyediakan perkhidmatan WIFI, kelas agama untuk orang dewasa dan tadika untuk anak kecil. Cara merekan mengimarahkan Masjid selayaknya dipuji. Mereka yang bukan Islam juga dibenarkan memasuki Masjid dengan syarat mereka harus menghormati undang-undang Islam. Terdapat juga jualan-jualan di kaki lima Masjid memudahkan mereka untuk mencari sarapan pagi.

Sepanjang 5 hari di Pekanbaru, saya dapat merasa bahawa setiap kawasan dipenuhi dengan rumah ibadah ini walaupun kecil. Boleh dikatakan secara puratanya terdapat 3 hingga 4 masjid atau musola di sesebuah kampung. Dan kagumnya, rumah ibadah ini dipenuhi Muslim setiap kali waktu solat. Berbeza senarionya dengan apa yang ada di Malaysia.

Foto: Masjid paling lama di Pekanbaru berdekatan dengan Tanah perkuburan para pejuang Nasional.

Saya teringat sebuah hadith yang dikongsi bersama pelajar ketika mengajar subject 'Legal Text of al-Quran', "Daripada Uthman bin Affan r.a.. Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda, sesiapa yang membina masjid semata-mata untuk mencari keredhaan Allah s.w.t.. Maka, Allah s.w.t akan membina baginya sebuah masjid atau rumah sepertinya di syurga." [Hadith sahih Bukhari dan Muslim]

Perintah untuk mendirikan masjid telah bermula sebaik sahaja Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. tiba dari Makkah ke Madinah. Sejarah itu harus dikenang untuk menunjukkan bahawa pentingnya Masjid sebagai mercu tanda orang Islam. Satu hadith menyokong di mana saydatina Aisyah R.A. berkata bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. menyuruh umatnya mendirikan masjid-masjid dan surau di tempat-tempat perkampungan, dan masjid-masjid dan surau itu sentiasa dibersihkan dan diharumkan. (Riwayat Imam Ahmad, Abu Daud dan Tarmizi)

Masjid Agong di Siak, bersebelahan dengan Sungai Siak. Menjadi tunggak utama Kerajaan Siak mempertahankan Islam.

Kedudukan Masjid yang sangat tinggi di dalam Islam juga telah dinyatakan dalam Surah at-Tawbah, ayat 18, Allah berfirman: "Hanyasanya yang layak memakmurkan (menghidupkan) masjid-masjid Allah itu ialah orang-orang yang beriman kepada Allah dan hari akhirat serta mendirikan sembahyang dan menunaikan zakat dan tidak takut melainkan kepada Allah, (dengan adanya sifat-sifat yang tersebut) maka adalah diharapkan mereka menjadi dari golongan yang mendapat petunjuk."

Wallahuta'ala a'lam...

Avocado Pekanbaru: Edisi 2

2011-02-08T21:12:00.005+08:00

Bersambung lagi di sini...

Pokok buah Avocado di hadapan rumah Cik Edi

Pernah dengar buah Avocado? Kalau dah dengar, pernah makan atau rasa? Setiap kali Emak pulang dari ziarah saudara di Indonesia, buah kegemaran yang dibawa pulang ke rumah ialah buah Avocado dan buah Salak. Jika buah Salak mudah didapati di Malaysia, Avocado jarang didapat di sini tapi dijual merata tempat di Indonesia. Di sana, mereka lebih gemar memanggilnya Alpukat..

Setelah diberi pendedahan oleh Emak tentang khasiat buah ini, Emak akan mengupas buah ini dan mengeluarkan isinya. Lalu dikisar dan dijadikan jus minuman. Campur sedikit dengan gula melaka. Ada cadangan dari seorang teman, jika ditambah dengan susu coklat segera dan dikisar dengan ais, ia akan menjadi lebih sedap... Terliur...... :)

Minuman pertama sejak kami sampai di Kota Pekanbaru itu adalah Jus Alpukat Ais... sedap sangat.. Yang paling lucu, setiap kali keluar makan ke mana-mana, minuman ini adalah pilihan utama kami berempat. Enak bangettt..

Maaf Abang Zul, ter'snap' gambar curi muka kelaparan. Lihatlah lelehan coklat campuran jus Avaocado itu~!

Slurrppp...da habis.. segelas lagi satu~! ngeee...

Oh ye, niat di sini bukan sahaja nak menceritakan keenakan minuman ini, tapi berkongsi tentang kebaikan buah istimewa ini. Khasiat buah Alvocado ini diambil di SINI.

1. Pencegahan kanser prostat

Avokado telah dibuktikan berkesan untuk menghalang pertumbuhan kanser prostat.

2. Perlindungan (mencegah) kanser mulut

Penyelidikan telah menunjukkan bahawa sebatian tertentu dalam avocado dapat mencari pra-kanser dan kanser sel kanser mulut dan menghancurkan mereka tanpa merosakkan sel-sel sihat.

3. Perlindungan (mencegah) kanser payudara

Seperti minyak zaitun, avokado mengandungi asid oleik yang sangat tinggi, yang telah terbukti untuk mengelakkan kanser payudara dalam kajian banyak.

4. Baik untuk kesihatan mata

Avokado mengandungi lebih lutein karotenoid daripada buah-buahan yang lain biasa dimakan. Lutein melindungi mata daripada kemerosotan makular, katarak dan penyakit mata yang berkaitan dengan usia lanjut.

5. Menurunkan paras kolesterol

Avokado mengandungi beta-sitosterol yang tinggi, satu sebatian yang telah terbukti dapat menurunkan paras kolesterol. Dalam sebuah kajian, 45 sukarelawan mengalami penurunan paras kolesterol sebanyak 17%, selepas mereka mengambil buah avocado hanya untuk satu minggu.

6. Memelihara kesihatan jantung

Satu cawan avokado mengandungi 23% kandungan folat daripada nilai harian yang disyorkan. Kajian menunjukkan bahawa mereka yang mengambil diet kaya folat mempunyai risiko yang lebih rendah daripada mendapat penyakit jantung daripada mereka yang tidak. Kandungan vitamin E, lemak tak tepu tunggal dan glutathione yang terdapat dalam buah avokado juga bermanafaat besar bagi jantung anda.

7. Mencegah strok

Kandungan folat yang tinggi dalam buah avokado juga dapat memberi perlindungan terhadap strok. Mereka yang makan diet kaya folat mempunyai risiko lebih rendah terkena strok daripada mereka yang tidak.

8. Penyerapan nutrisi lebih baik

Kajian telah mendapati bahawa nutrisi tertentu diserap lebih baik bila dimakan dengan avokado. Dalam sebuah kajian, ketika peserta makan salad yang mengandungi avokado, mereka dapat menyerap lima kali jumlah karotenoid (kumpulan nutrisi yang merangkumi lycopene dan beta karoten) daripada mereka yang tidak termasuk avokado.

9. Sumber glutathione

Avokado merupakan sumber glutathione yang sangat baik iaitu satu agen antioksidan yang penting yang menurut para penyelidik, ia penting dalam mencegah penuaan, kanser, dan penyakit jantung.

10. Sumber vitamin E

Buah avokado adalah sumber terbaik vitamin E, yang merupakan vitamin penting untuk melindungi badan terhadap banyak penyakit dan membantu menjaga kesihatan secara keseluruhan.

Walaupun terdapat pelbagai khasiat buah, daun, biji dan kulit pokok avokado, namun begitu penggunaannya perlu mendapat nasihat daripada pengamal perubatan agar kemudharatan di kemudian hari dapat dielakkan.

Semoga bermanafaat!

Silaturrahim Pekanbaru: Edisi 1

2011-02-07T18:30:00.010+08:00

Alhamdulillah..

Perjalanan ke Pekan Baru bermula 2 - 6 Febuari 2011 (5 hari 4 malam) dengan niat utama adalah untuk silaturrahim sanak saudara di sana. Akan tetapi saya menambah niat untuk menenangkan hati dan minda setelah menyelesaikan tulisan tesis dan juga tamat menjaga peperiksaan pertengahan semester di IIC.hehe..

Rancangan awal sebenarnya diajak Emak untuk ke Acheh pada akhir bulan ini, tapi tarikhnya jatuh bukan pada waktu cuti, jadi saya terpaksa batalkan niat untuk menemani Emak. Akhirnya Ayah mengambil keputusan untuk meneruskan rancangan yang pernah dibincang suatu ketika dulu untuk ke Pekanbaru, Riau, lebih-lebih lagi saya ada cuti panjang pada Hari Raya Cina. Tidak melepaskan peluang, Abang Zul dan Kak Idayu juga mahu turut serta. Jadi, kami pergi berempat menuju ke destinasi baru.

Ini bukan kali pertama ke tanah Indonesia yang luas itu. Ketika kecil, pernah sekali ke Batam bersama orang tua dan juga arwah Datuk. Tapi memori ketika itu masih belum kuat untuk diingati setiap perjalanan ke sana. Dan tulisan ini sebagai kenang-kenangan perjalanan..

Kata ayah, amat beruntung kalau ada saudara di mana-mana. Mengikut sejarah, arwah Datuk memang berasal dari Indonesia. Kemudian berhijrah ke Singapura dan berkeluarga di sana. Lahirlah Emak sebagai anak yang ketiga. Jodoh Emak bertemu di Malaysia. Dan saya adalah anak jati Malaysia. Dipendekkan cerita, keluarga besar kami berasal tiga negara serangkai.

Di Pekanbaru, dua adik perempuan arwah Datuk menginap di sana. Mereka adalah pangkat Nenek Saudara. Dalam bahasa Jawa, saya harus panggil Nyayi dan Eyang. Kata Emak, saya pernah jumpa mereka ketika mereka berkunjung ke Johor. Saya masih kecil, memori masih belum utuh. Impresi pertama, mereka peramah. Budaya orang jawa adalah melayan tetamu sebaik-baiknya, dan syukur Alhamdulillah kami dilayan dengan sangat baik.

Di sana, saya lebih banyak mendengar berbanding berbicara. Saya mahu menjadi pendengar yang baik, terutama nasihat dan pengalaman orang tua. Wajah Eyang Munasir benar2 mirip arwah Datuk, dan semangat mereka sebagai pendidik juga hampir serupa. Keluarga mereka ada mendirikan sebuah pesantren (sekolah pondok) kecil di sebuah tempat yang dinamakan Pondok Pesantren Khairul Ummah di Air Molek. Sayangnya, kami tiada peluang untuk ke sana kerana masa yang agak suntuk dan destinasi yang agak jauh. InsyaAllah lain kali. Tapi saya kagum. Sangat kagum. Darah yang mengalir sebagai pendidik itu adalah warisan yang harus diteruskan. Kehidupan senang yang mereka perolehi sekarang ini adalah berkat usaha kecil mereka yang ikhlas hanya kerana Allah untuk memandaikan anak bangsa. Kini, dua pakcik saudara yang ada di sana bekerja sebagai Pensyarah Universiti Riau, sudah tamat PhD ketika sama2 dengan Abang Zul ketika di Manchester pada tahun 2005.

Niat Emak untuk silaturrahim mengenal saudara sudah tercapai. Tradisi ini harus diteruskan untuk generasi yang akan datang. Ya, jujur saya katakan, saya lebih mengenal kawan-kawan berbanding saudara sendiri. Syukur yang tidak terhingga kerana Ayah dan Emak sangat menitikberatkan soal kepentingan saudara dan silaturrahim agar ia berpanjangan.

Semoga Allah merahmati seluruh saudara yang ada di pelusuk dunia. Semoga hubungan persaudaraan ini berkekalan dan dirahmatiNYA...

Allah berfirman di dalam Surah al-Hujrat, ayat 10: “Sesungguhnya orang-orang beriman itu bersaudara. Sebab itu damaikanlah (perbaikilah hubungan) antara kedua saudaramu itu dan bertakwalah kepada Allah, supaya kamu mendapat rahmat.”

Perkongsian Abang Zul boleh dibaca di SINI.

O Allah! Save Muslims in Egypt...

2011-02-06T22:45:00.003+08:00

The world is awaken by a big news that Egypt is in chaotic since last week. And I'm sure all of us know about this shocking news especially when we worried about family members or friends who stay there either for study or work. Latest news in Egypt can be opened at http://news.egypt.com/en/

Egypt is a country which I called as 'The Land of Anbiya' because there were many historical events happened there. In the past, it had been my dream to study in Egypt especially in one of the oldest university in the world, University al-Azhar. But Allah decided my destiny to study in the country only, and I'm still happy my sister and my younger brother had the opportunity to study there... However, I'm still hope that my dream to go there will be achieved in order to see all the historical places by my own eyes and listen to religious lectures by my own ears..

Egypt is officially known as the Arab Republic of Egypt, a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinan Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. More info can be read HERE. The problem happened in Egypt is not a new tragedy, but it began since the leadership of Hassan al-Banna where he formed an Islamic group "Ikhwanul Muslimin" (Muslim Brotherhood). I don't want to tell more about this group, but it gave big influences to Muslims around the world. More info can be read HERE, HERE and HERE..

Day by day, the situation in Egypt become worse. I'm afraid it will take a very long time to neutralize back the situation, unless the President will turn over his position. I'm agree with Syeikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, he said: "Go away, Mubarak, leave this people alone! Enough, you've ruled for 30 years already! Dozens have been killed in one day. You cannot stay, Mubarak!", "On behalf of hundreds of thousands of religious clerics in Egypt and in the Muslim world I'm calling on you to leave your country..."

By the way, let's hope and pray together for the Muslims over there. May Allah gives strength to all of them and bestow them with peace and harmony.

I'm relieve right now that my younger brother will come back to Malaysia. Really hope that Allah will make everything smooth and easier. Indeed, all tests from Allah are signs of His Love...

Conclusion

2011-01-29T09:55:00.004+08:00

Allahumakhtim lana bi husnilkhatimah wa la takhtim 'alaina bi su'ilkhatimah...

This is a frequent du'a that I ask to Allah these days.. Ya Allah, please give a good ending and not a bad ending.. And I'm sure, most of us like happy ending compare to sad ending in the story, but happiness is something that is subjective. Crying at the end does not mean it is a sad ending story, and laughing in the end does not mean it is happy story..

Currently, I am now in almost final stage. As said before in my facebook status: "Frankly, writing conclusion is much more difficult than introduction, and finalizing thesis is facing different challenge from the way to begin the writing." It is true, but some might said that conclusion is easier because the researcher knew everything he or she want, and just conclude it in a simple way..

Win or loose does matter, but the effort is much more matter..

You wanna know why I feel that conclusion is difficult? Because the conclusion will be the result of our research. Yes you may do anything, but you will never forget what makes you reach the end. All the efforts and hardship will be ended.. Of course, after this I will miss all the books doing for research, all the time spending in the library, all the papers scattered in my car, all the bad mood while finding the ideas, all the corrections made by my proofreader, all the meetings with my supervisor, and many more... And it will make me sadder to end all of these things...

As promised earlier with my supervisor, I will submit the first draft thesis at the end of January. InsyaAllah, this monday will be the day..

I'm nervous, but happy..
After this, wanna spending my holiday to Pekan Baru, Indonesia with my family, and a very special present to myself..

Saadah Khair

The Fastest way to be RICH

2011-01-21T20:51:00.008+08:00

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving..

Today, I shared a story with my students. In fact, last week I gave a task for them to search any story to be shared in today's class. As a lecturer, I have to do the same task too. Fortunately, I have a lot of books to share with them. Last class I shared the story of The Alchemist written by Paulo Coehlo, and this week I just picked a simple story from Zabrina Bakar's book, Life is an Open Secret.

In short, some of my students shared their stories in which most of them are based on their true stories. I'm happy because they participated in my class. But what I wanna share with them is a story to be RICH.

I'm not a businessman, I'm just an ordinary person who thinks that RICH is something that so great. But the question is HOW I can be rich in the fastest way. Sis Zabrina said by mentioning some Quranic verses and hadith that CHARITY is the fastest way to be RICH. Yeah, spending in the right way will make you earn something in different ways.

Picture was taken from HERE

The Prophet (PBUH) said, 'The Upper Hand is better than the Lower Hand. The upper hand is the one that gives, and the lower hand is the one that takes".

The Qur'an highlighted that the reward of Charity is not one, but will be multiplied. Allah SWT said in the Holy Book, 'The likeness of those who spend their money for Allah's sake, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears, every single ear has a hundred grains, and Allah multiplies (increases the reward) for whom He wills, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower'' (2: 261). And He SWT said again, "Whoever works righteousness, whether a male or a female, while he (or she) is a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do.'' (16: 97)

Ok, one of the Companions asked the Prophet: O Allah's Messenger! What kind of charity is the BEST? The Prophet answered: "To give in charity when you are healthy and greedy hoping to be wealthy and afraid of becoming poor." [Sahih al-Bukhari] See, he even guided how to do charity.

There were many verses mentioned in the Qur'an about charity, the Prophet also encouraged to do charity and always telling the rewards of charity. But what is the meaning of RICH?

The Prophet said: لَيْسَ الْغِنَى عَنْ كَثْرَةِ الْعَرَضِ وَلَكِنَّ الْغِنَى غِنَى النَّفْسِ
"Richness does not mean having a great amount of property, but richness is self-contentment."
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8: #453]

Yeah, it's so true. I'm fall in love with this hadith. Your money or property will not determine your richness. The richness is so subjective. You can be rich in knowledge, well-behaviour, smile, happiness, and something else. However, this narration makes neither richness nor poverty a worthy pursuit. If we live in poverty, we ought to strive toward rectifying the conditions in light of God's practical divine guidance. If we are wealthy, we should be careful about what we have acquired and how, and furthermore, whether those possessions are helping us to seek pleasure or displeasure of God. If God has blessed us with resources, we do not have to be ashamed, but we should be conscious of our responsibilities and try to seek contentment. We should not also despise ourselves if we are poor. Instead, we should make honest effort in His path to improve our situation. God wants us to seek bounty from Him, but in His way. [HERE]

So, now everyone can be RICH, but please do not forget to give charity to yourself too. You cannot spending without earning. You unable to give without having an effort.

Let's be rich in the sight of Allah...

Saadah Khair
IIUM Library,
9.15pm, 21 January 2011

**Ya Allah, need your help to end this month little bit late... Yassir wa La Tu'assir..

Plagiarism

2011-01-16T11:28:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, 15 January 2011, I attended a workshop on Plagiarism at Al-Ghazali, INSTED IIUM. Alhamdulillah there were so many participants especially from Postgraduate Students. The speaker was Prof. Dr. Ratnahwati, her name similar to my mother's name, but my mom is a Home Professor only..hehe

What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is well known term to academic research. It can be defined as the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds or the creative expression of others as your own. It also can be considered as cheating and deception. Read more HERE

Plagiarism can be done intentionally or unintentionally. Intentional plagiarism is when the researcher is stealing other's work, and it can be understood because it's only done with a specific intention. On the other hand, unintentional plagiarism is when the researcher is careless, quoting excessively or he doesn't have his own voice (expression, idea or point of view).

Types of Plagiarism?

Uncited Sources: The ghost writer (unknown), The Photocopy (without acknowledgment), The Potluck Paper (combine from difference sources), The Poor disguise, Labor of Laziness, The self-stealer.
Cited Sources: The forgotten footnote, Misinformed, Too-perfect paraphrase, Resourceful citer, Perfect crime.

When you not need to cite?

If the researcher use his own experience, observation or reaction.
If he compiling the results of original research.

Guideline to Cite and Quote without Plagiarism.

Use your own words and ideas
Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased materials
Avoid using other's work with 'cosmetic' changes
Beware of 'common knowledge'

3 Strategies to avoid Plagiarism

Quoting, in order to support or to disagree or to highlight or to compare & contrast.
Paraphrasing, in order to express with own sentence but other's idea.
Summarizing, in order to explain in a short discussion of important points.

Prof Ratnah suggests a website that explain more on example of Plagiarism. Click HERE.

NO ONE is able to plagiarize the work and creation of Allah..

Although writing is not an easy task, we should know our own voice and the most important thing is THINK~! Appreciate your own expression and be creative..

**Now finalizing all chapters. Allahumma yassir wa La Tu'assir wa Tammim bilKhair..

Chocolate

2011-01-09T21:56:00.005+08:00

Malaysian Chocolate Fair was held at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre on 7th-9th January 2011. I had a chance to go there with my special friend. It's not really havoc exhibition because it is only for chocolate lovers, and I am one of them.hehehe...

The one who taught me the lovely taste of chocolate is my father. He loves chocolate as I am, or maybe more than myself. I still remember each time he went to perform Hajj or Umrah, he will bring back chocolates for me and my younger brother. As a return when I'm growing up, each time I'm going back home, I will bring chocolate as a present for my father. I will not forget that..

There is something special about chocolate in its taste and smell. I don't know how to describe it, but those who love chocolate, you will know it. My elder brother reminded me that we should not forget the one who plant a cocoa tree and all the labour who working hard before the making process of chocolate. Thank you to all of them..

10 reason why you should eat chocolate

All along, chocolates are known to many people as an aphrodisiac. Chocolates make people feel good. The reason behind this is due to one of the chemicals it contained, which is called Phenylethylamine. Phenylethylamine stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers and in one way or the other, helps the consumer to reach peak levels during orgasm.
Lack of magnesium in a person’s diet may be the main cause of many diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and even pre-menstrual syndrome. So if you pique of having to go through those monthly pains, getting the healthier chocolate into your dietary system might help to reduce it.
Chocolate is also a great source of antioxidant. As some of you might know, antioxidant is entirely good for skin’s health since it provides protection from free radicals; the main cause of aging and a string of other skin problems.
Chocolate helps to promote serotonin, which is found in Prozac, an anti-depressant. Rather than having to get prescription for medicine as such (which will be hard to get because it involves legal matters anyway), is it not easier to just grab a bar of dark chocolate for comfort?
It contains a whole lot of other nutrients such as essential traces of iron, calcium, potassium and a few types of vitamins (A,C,D,E and B1)
Chocolate is one kind of comfort food. Mix a hot chocolate with some sugar and you will get a good source of energy, low dose of caffeine (same as in a decaf coffee) and calmness that can make you doze off much easily. Moreover, it is said that chocolate can cure fatigue due to a long day work and provides you with quality sleep.
Not scientific research has any strong proof that chocolate is contributive to acne production. Acne production is more likely caused by unhealthy diet habits rather than chocolates. Therefore, there is no more worries for you to consume chocolate as you like.
Chocolates (dark chocolates especially) helps in lowering blood pressure, the incidents of getting cancer and heart diseases
Fats in chocolates are not entirely bad – some more good news and the more reasons you can enjoy chocolate without worrying much. Chocolates contain three types of fats: 1/3 oleic acid (healthy monounsaturated fat similar to the one found in olive oil), 1/3 stearic acid (a type of saturated fat but has neutral effect on cholesterol) and another 1/3 palmitic acid (saturated fat that has effect on cholesterol). Therefore, meaning that only 1/3 of chocolate’s fats are entirely bad for you.
Chocolate is also a symbol of love and persuasion. Are you having that fight with your love ones? Try giving him/her a gift of a whole box of delicious chocolates. Starts bonding with the goodness of chocolates!

INFO was taken from HERE.

**Sadly speaking, I have to forget my plan to join WISE starting 8th Jan 2011, due to time constraint. InsyaAllah there will be another chance for me to seek knowledge again... BTW, Thanks chocolate for making my days sweeter..

Sibuk bukan Penyibuk

2011-01-08T08:59:00.004+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

Sudah seminggu pertama berlalu di Tahun Baru ini.. Masa bergerak begitu pantas sekali, dan rasanya seperti sudah lama tidak mencoret sesuatu di sini. Kali ini dengan berbahasa Melayu kerana saya fikir 'vocabulary' Bahasa Melayu saya semakin berkurangan samada ketika berbicara atau menulis. Jadi saya tidak mahu melupakan bahasa ini..

Tujuh hari pertama 2011 ini saya memang sibuk. Saya harus mengejar dan memotong sebelum dikejar dan dipotong. Tapi saya berusaha mengelakkan diri untuk menjadi seorang yang penyibuk atau 'jaga tepi kain orang' kerana banyak kain saya yang harus dijaga terlebih dahulu. Rasanya pernah berulang kali di entri yang lepas sudah dinyatakan saya senang untuk menjadi sibuk, kerana dengan sibuk, saya boleh mengurus masa dengan baik.

Semalam saya berdiskusi dengan seorang teman seperjuangan, di mana orang yang berkerja memang sangat sibuk, tapi orang yang berkerja sambil belajar jauh lebih sibuk, apatah lagi dia yang sudah berkeluarga. Jika bekerja tempohnya bermula jam 8pagi hingga 5 petang, mereka yang berkerja sambil belajar harus menambah masa di waktu malam untuk menelaah buku dan pelajaran. Andai dilakukan dengan ikhlas dan minat, tentunya tidak menjadi masalah... Itulah rutin seharian saya. Menjadi pengajar di siang hari, dan meneruskan belajar di malam hari. Istilah belajar bagi saya adalah sesuatu yang tidak akan pernah habis..

Ada apa dengan penyibuk? Kebiasaan mereka yang penyibuk adalah mereka yang tidak sibuk atau buat-buat sibuk. Niat saya di sini adalah bukan untuk memburuk-burukkan mereka. Tapi menyedarkan bahawa sifat penyibuk itu lebih banyak negatifnya berbanding positif. Kadang-kadang sifat penyibuk ini disertai dengan sifat ambil tahu yang berlebihan samada kepada orang yang dibenci atau disayangi. Tidak salah menjadi penyibuk yang mahu mengubah seusatu kejahatan kepada kebaikan, tapi biarlah dengan cara yang berhikmah. Oh Tuhan, jauhkanlah diriku dari menjadi penyibuk yang kurang baik..

Buku ini saya milikinya lebih dari 3 tahun. Isinya masih ada berbaki yang belum habis dibaca. Tajuknya menarik. Isinya mantap. Bagus untuk mereka yang mahu belajar menguruskan masa dengan baik. Isi kandungan buku tersebut boleh dilihat di SINI.

Mahu tahu apa yang sedang saya sibukkan? Saya sedang sibuk mengakhiri tulisan tesis yang hampir tamat. Alhamdulillah saya bersyukur kerana sudah berjaya sampai ke tahap ini. Kata seorang teman, dia mahu menangis puas-puas pabila siapnya menulis tesis.. Saya geli hati, tapi itu luahan dia kerana dalam proses menulis ini, terlalu banyak cabaran yang harus ditempuhi. Ada satu perkara yang saya akan lakukan terlebih dahulu setelah tamatnya tesis, iaitu mengucapkan TERIMA KASIH YA ALLAH... Semoga Allah tidak mensia-siakan usaha saya selama ini, dan mengharapkan agar usaha ini dilindungi keredhaanNYa. Hanya Tuhan yang mengerti apa yang saya lalui selama ini... Dan tentunya saya ada banyak perancangan yang mahu saya lakukan setelah tamat segalanya dengan baik...

Tuhan, permudahkanlah....

Saadah Khair
8 Januari 2011

Memorable 2010 & 2011 Resolution

2011-01-01T01:41:00.004+08:00

2011 is coming. This is the first entry of the new year 2011, actually I wanna write an entry as the last entry of 2010, but I have a lot of more important things to do, so, here we are the beginning of 2011...

Happy New Year 2010.
All people over the world celebrated new year with a great, colourful and sparkling celebration. It's like a culture that all countries have their own my to celebrate new year. If compare to the celebration of new year of Hijrah, the difference is like of heaven and earth.

Now, I just staying at home alone. Listening to the sound of firework from my house. Watching news that there were colourful fireworks. But in the evening, I accompanied my special friend to go entertain ourself in somewhere of place. Thanks for treating me for today as the last day of 2010, and when I reached home, all my housemates are gone, celebrating new years with their boyfriends.

Today, I bought a book as a present to myself to begin new year of 2011 with new resolution..
Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions & Fact, by Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

Honestly speaking, 2010 was such of blessing. I learned a lot of things and gained many new experiences. It was memorable year that will be unforgettable. I just wanna share here some of memorable 2010 as below:

Books: Alhamdulillah read more than 50 books for 2010. Among the books are written by Andrea Hirata, Faisal Tehrani, Jim Stovall, Farish A. Noor, James Petterson, Paulo Coehlo, Spahic Omer, Anas Zubedy, Hamka, Yusuf al-Qaradawi and many more.

Places: I love to travel and see the beautiful creatures of Allah. Thailand was among the amazing places I have been in April 2010. Then, went to local places such as Langkawi, Petrosains, Bukit Tinggi, Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam, Genting Highland and many more.

Aboriginal Villages: This is one of da'wah activity that I will not leave it ever. For 2010, I have been to Pulau Carey, Pos Bersih, Kg Jedip, Pos Brooke, and Kg Pelantok. It was less that last year 2009 because I am little bit busy in 2010.

Conferences & Talk: To be a future academician, I have to attend a lot of seminars to improve my knowledge and gain presentation skills from other speakers. The best conference was with Dr. Naquib al-Attas, other than that, I also attended some conferences and talk in IIUM, USIM, IAIS, and IKIM. Besides, it was unforgettable memory to be one of the paper presenters in KIRK Postgraduate Semesterly Conference.

Writing: I am new in this field. As an amateur, I tried to find any opportunity to submit my writing to magazine, newspaper or journal. In 2010, some of my short writing was published in magazine Aquilla Asia and Tunas Cipta. I hope I can publish my writing in any journal in the future before publish my own book. However, I wrote a lot in my own blog.

Career: Alhamdulillah, I was appointed a part-time lecturer in International Islamic College in the beginning of July 2010. Although, it was part-time contract, I've learned a lot and it will be my great experience before being a real lecturer after this.

Responsibilities: In 2010, I learned many things to understand what is the meaning of responsibility especially in protecting JJU 2545 and Apartment Seri Tioman 2. Alhamdulillah Ya Allah..

This is just a sharing and reminder to myself to be better and better. Although it seems everything was sweet, there were also bitter memories in 2010. And I don't want to mention it here for not repeating those things again..hmmm

Anyway, praise be to Allah for everything for His Love and Mercy. The main resolution in 2011 is to finish my M.A and will think to end my single life..hehe..

Let's go towards the best..

1.45am
01.01.2011
Saadah Khair
Rumah Awangan

Cook & Food

2010-12-29T19:07:00.004+08:00

People said, a good woman is the one who can cook delicious food..

People said, a better place for woman is the kitchen, even though how educated she is...

There are numerous opinions and views in the relationship of woman, cooking and food. But in reality, the best chef is man and the one who like to eat food is man more than woman. hehe..

Cooking. Honestly speaking, I'm still learning. I don't want to say that I can't cook but I didn't get used to cook because I stayed in the hostel since secondary school and in the campus of university. So, there was no opportunity to cook my own meal everyday. Some might questioned that why I cannot learn cook at home during school holiday or semester break, maybe because I have 2 sister that helped mom in the kitchen and I prefer to do cleaning home rather than cooking.

However, I don't want to stay at the same place which is unable to cook by my ownself. I wanna change. I want to cook and eat food that I cook. The first important thing is to develop interest in cooking, because I still can feel the difficulties to buy a lot of stuffs before cooking and face the hot oil in the kitchen. arghh..

Then, I should learn from the one who can teach me and expert in cooking. I cannot learn from my mother because she rarely cook and I only go back to home once in a month, but I know a daughter should learn from her own mother. Besides, I can learn cooking from friends or specialists..but who are willingly to teach me..? hehe.. I also can learn from books and websites. In the previous bookfair, I bought a book "Langkah Mudah Memasak" and it was useful for my housemate, I didn't try yet any of recipes from the book.

After learned all those cooking skills, please don't stop. The next step is practice. Cook whatever you know, delicious or not is other thing, but important thing is try my best. But, after I cooked, sometimes I didn't satisfy with the result, but I do appreciate my own effort, and I will keep trying. Oh ya, I have to bear in mind that hard working is the quality that I should have in practicing of cooking..hehehe...

One advice to myself: Jangan cakap tak serupa bikin.. hehehe.. Now, let's cooking..

This is just a sample of image 'steamboat'. I'm still owe my younger brother to treat him steamboat. It's better i f I know to cook it by myself.. Who wanna try if I can cook this meal? hehe..

**Oh no, tomorrow is the last day of 2010..

KIRK Postgraduate Semesterly Conference 2010

2010-12-28T14:36:00.005+08:00

Alhamdulillah, All praise be to Allah, the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

Today is the second day of KIRK (Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge) Postgraduate Semesterly Conference 2010, but I would like to thank to Allah for everything and share the meaningful experience here. The conference begin yesterday from 27 and will end tomorrow, 29 December 2010.

Honestly speaking, I am so nervous in the beginning, luckily my turn was in the second day, so I can see my friends' way who presented in the first day. Alhamdulillah, now I relieved that the paper presentation was finished, and it happened smoothly. And this conference was my first time in presenting my own paper, and I was so happy to finish it by trying my best in the presentation.

The time given to all presenters are only 10 minutes, but I presented more than that after listening the bell ringing twice from the time controller. If I stop early, the judges and the audiences were unable to understood, because the most important topic to be delivered was at the end of the slide. Actually, I need comment/s from any judges who came to listen to my presentation, but there is no comment or evaluation, luckily there are some questions from one of the audiences, and Alhamdulillah I can answer all those questions.

In fact, I didn't finish yet in writing my thesis, but following the rules given by KIRK, the conference still accept the working paper even though it is not completed yet, in a condition that the presentation covers all the topics from the thesis, or just selected important topic from the thesis.

However, I do hope that I will finish it in the beginning of next year. All the best to all my friends too, and congratulation for those who together presented their paper in these three days.. Let's struggle our best to be the best.

** To all my students, I seek an apologize for being on leave yesterday and today for preparing and presenting paper in this seminar, hope all of you can understand that studying and working at the same time is not a simple task. Thank you for your understanding.

Best Friend's Wedding

2010-12-26T20:32:00.003+08:00

Barakallahulakumawabaraka'alaikuma wa jama'abainakumafilkhayr..

Alfu Mabruk special to:

Shaidatul Akhmar

&

Aizam

Dedicate a special pray to The Almighty Allah to give both of you, happiness in the world and the Hereafter, all the time.. and bless your marriage will love and mercy..
No matter what, you're my best buddy ever..
Nothing will destroy our friendship except Allah's destiny..

**When you sad, my shoulder is still yours. Love till the end..

10 more days

2010-12-21T15:20:00.004+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

Ya Allah, I feel so great today for being able to use my finger to write something here in this blog. Alhamdulillah that Allah gave me the opportunity to live and take a deep breath for today. Alhamdulillah.. Honestly, right now I just wanna cry because I'm soo happy, but big girl don't cry... so, let's smile.. :)

Actually, I've been so rushing go here and there, since last weeks. I tried to find free time to spend in writing blog, but there were some things that more important than spending time to blogging, which is writing my thesis. I'm so relieved today for completing the working paper and abstract for the special seminar for PG IRK Students on 27-29 Dec 2010. Yeah, I'm so nervous because it will be my first time presenting my own paper relating to my thesis, but I'm sure it will be such a great experience.

Lately, my feeling towards lecturing and teaching at IIC has been in positive mode. I love my students, and I'm sure that they like me too, because I treated them like my own friends. However, I still have to manage my time wisely in completing my thesis. So, I feel so tired because the day is focusing in teaching and the night is focusing on thesis writing.. But, I'm happy to do that.

10 more days~! Yeah, 1o more days to reach a new year. Some of my targets are not accomplished yet. I plan to finish my MA by 2010, but Allah's plan is greater. Allah knows my ability. He knows my strength and weaknesses, and I do hope that there is no regret for not finishing MA by this year. Even so, I still have 10 more days to struggle my best. Allah knows~~

10 more days, there will be a new age, new target, new mission. Before I end 2010, I wanna make this year as happy as myself. I wanna end it with gratitude to Allah for His mercy and love for this year, yet, I wanna begin 2011 with new spirit and move towards the betterment.

10 more days...

Saadah Khair
21 December 2010

The Day of 'Ashura

2010-12-16T16:40:00.003+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Today is 10th Muharram 1432H/16th December 2010. As we know, in Islam, 10th Muharram is the Day of 'Ashura. I begin with a simple question in each of my lecture class for today; What is the Day of 'Ashura? Sadly speaking, no one give a correct answer. But its okay, because it is my responsibility to let them know what is the Day of 'Ashura. That is the reason too that I share in this blog.

When is the Day of 'Ashura?

It is on 10th day of the month of Muharram in Islamic Calendar

Why it was named 'Ashura?

It was taken from 'asharah which means ten. It is on the tenth day of Muharram

What happened in the Day of 'Ashura?

Ibn Abbas RA reports that the Holy Nabi PBUH arrived in Madinah and found the Jews observing fast on the day of ‘Ashura… They said: "It is the day of great (significance) when Allah delivered Prophet Musa AS and his people and drowned Pharoah and his people, and Prophet Musa AS observed fast out of gratitude. And we also observe it." The Holy Messenger of Allah PBUH responded: "We have more right, and we have closer connection with Sayyidina Musa AS than you have"; so Allah’s Messenger PBUH observed fast (on the day of ‘Ashura) and gave us orders to observe it. [Sahih Bukhari and Muslim]

This is the authentic hadith mentioned the history of the Day of 'Ashura, which the Children of Israel was saved together with Prophet Musa when they across the Red Sea from Pharaoh. So, as a gratitude, they fast to remember that historical day.

The Quranic verses mentioned about the Day of 'Ashura?

There is no exactly verse mentioned about the Day of 'Ashura, but the history can be understood in verses 49 - 56, Surah al-Baqarah.

The authentic hadith on the Day of 'Ashura?

Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan RA relates: I heard the Messenger of Allah PBUH say: "It is the day of ‘Ashura. Allah SWT has not made fasting obligatory for you. But I am fasting. He who likes to observe fast among you should do so, and he who likes not to observe it (does not have to) observe it." [Sahih Muslim]

Abu Qatada RA relates that the Holy Nabi PBUH said that the fast on the 10th of Muharram atones for the sins of the preceding year. [Sahih Muslim]

Abu Huraira RA reports that the Holy Nabi PBUH said that after Ramadan, the fasts of Muharram have the greatest excellence. [Sahih Muslim]

Hakam ibn Al-Arat RA relates: I went to Ibn Abbas RA… I said to him: Tell me about fasting on ‘Ashura. He said, "When you seen the new moon of Muharram count the (days) and (begin to) observe fast on the 9th." I said to him: "Is it how the Holy Messenger of Allah PBUH observed the fast?" He said, "Yes." [Sahih Muslim]

The misunderstanding of the Day of 'Ashura?

There are a lot of stories mentioned about the history of the Day of 'Ashura, among them are: On this day: Allah accepted the repentance of Sayyidina Adam AS after his exile from Paradise; Allah saved Sayyidina Nuh AS and his companions in the ark; Allah extinguished the fire in which Sayyidina Ibrahim AS was thrown by Nimrod; And Allah spoke directly to Sayyidina Musa AS and gave him the Commandments. On this same 10th of Muharram, Sayyidina Ayyub AS was restored to health (from leprosy); Sayyidina Yusuf AS was reunited with his father Ya’qub AS; Sayyidina Yunus AS was taken out from the belly of the fish; and the sea was divided as the nation of israel was delivered from captivity and Pharoah’s army was destroyed. ‘Ashura is also the day when the kingdom of Sulaiman AS was restored; Sayyidina Isa ('Alaihis-Salaam) was raised to Jannah; and Sayyidina al- Imam Husayn RA (the Holy Nabi’s, Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim, grandson) achieved the honor of Martyrdom.

It was also said that there are several actions and deeds that encouraged to practice in the Day of 'Ashura, BUT there is no authentic hadith support these actions. Among the actions:
- Whoever fasts on this day is like one who fasts all his life.
- Whoever clothes a naked person Allah SWT will release him from a painful punishment.
- He who visits a sick person, Allah SWT will grant him a reward that will not be decreased.
- Whoever places his hand on an orphan’s head, or feeds a hungry person or gives water to a thirsty man, Allah will feed him a feast from Paradise and will quench his thirst with Salsabil (a wine that does not intoxicate).
- Who ever takes a Ghusl on this day will enjoy excellent health and freedom from sickness and indolence.
- Whoever provides generously for his family on this day, Allah SWT will be generous to him throughout this year.
- Whoever applies Kuhl to his eyes will never suffer from eye-sore again

Actually, you can do these action on any day, not particularly in the Day of 'Ashura.

What is the lessons from the Day of 'Ashura?

To remember the historical event in which Allah give success to the right over the wrong. Allah saved Prophet Musa from Pharaoh.
To show the similarities of message between Prophet Muhammad and other Prophet, particularly Prophet Musa in worshiping Allah as the only God
To differentiate between obligatory and Sunnah action, because after the revelation came about the month of Ramadan is the month of fasting, the Prophet make the fast of the Day of 'Ashura is Sunnah only.

Selamat Berbuka Puasa to all those fasting today. May Allah accept all of our deeds.. Ameen.

The House of Wisdom

2010-12-12T22:12:00.010+08:00

Library is the most intelligent place. It contains knowledge and knowledgeable person together at the same place. A definition given in Wikipedia (HERE), Library is a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection, the building or room that houses such a collection, or both.

In other words, library is the house of wisdom and information. It is alive and peaceful place that adored by everybody who loves the importance of knowledge. But I'm sure too that some might said that library is the most boring and silent place. Some also just took advantage to stay in the air-conditioner place like in the library to sleep in it and just to rest the body and mind. I don't care of others' opinion but I respect that. Each of us have our own perception on the library..

As a sharing, just coming back from National Library of Malaysia, I realized that books are the source of knowledge, so, it should not be difficult to receive this kind of sources. I really hope that anybody can get into this kind of knowledge easier especially in the place that called the House of Wisdom. As far as I concern, I really love IIUM Library compare to another library maybe because I get used to it. I went to libraries in another universities as well such as UTM and UM, but I like the services offered in IIUM especially the environment, book arrangements, borrowing system and so on.

IIUM Library

Due my interest in books and library, I do hope that I will able to create my own personal library in the future. I have my own plans and dreams how to build my own house of knowledge and wisdom. The aim of this place is to make useful of the knowledge and appreciate the work of authors, at the same time, I can feel that books are not dead things but they are ALIVE..

Interesting Library~! In Kansas City. Photo by Jonathan Moreau

More awesome library over the world can be seen HERE.

You can click this LINK to see TOP 50 Library Websites around the world.

**I'm thinking about my own library, Am I thinking about my own book? hmm..

Hijrah

2010-12-07T21:32:00.002+08:00

Salam Ma'alhijrah 1432H

1. Do you know that the real Hijrah of the Prophet Muhammad was not in the month of Muharram but in the month of Rabi'ul Awwal ? (Read more at Sirah Ibn Ishaq and Wikipedia HERE)

2. The first hijrah of the Prophet was from Makkah to Abyssinia. (Read more HERE, HERE and HERE)

3. Hijrah generally refers to the migration of the Prophet and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib (now Madinah). Hijrah also regards to a change from badness to goodness in term of place, physical, spiritual, intellectual, developmental and so on..

4. The first hadith of Forty Hadith Imam an-Nawawi closely related to the concept of hijrah. The Prophet said: "Actions are judged by intentions and everyone will be judged according to his intention. So whoever emigrates for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, his hijrah will be reckoned as done for Allah and His Messenger. But whoever emigrates for worldly reasons or marrying a woman, his hijrah will be reckoned accordingly."

5. Did the Prophets other than Prophet Muhammad perform Hijrah? Most of the Messenger, if not all, migrated, such as Prophet Musa went to a country called Madyan, where he married the daughter of a righteous old man (Prophet Shu`aib, peace be upon him) and stayed with him for ten years. (Read more HERE)

6. The concept of hijrah mentioned in the Quran was stated in Surah at-Tawbah, verse 20. Allah said: "Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah's cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah: they are the people who will achieve (salvation)"

7. There is no specific du'a to end the year and to start a new year mentioned in any hadith of the Prophet Muhammad. But if you sincerely du'a to get the blessing of Allah in any day in a year, Allah will listen to that du'a.

8. The significance of Hijrah is not limited to the Islamic history or to the Muslims. The Hijrah not only reshaped - socially and politically - the Arab Peninsula, but also had its impact on worldwide civilizations, and not only for previous years, but will continuously important to the next generations.

PG 2.2B, Mahallah Sumayyah in memory

1431H in Memory:

A student life hijrah to a life of student and lecturer. Teaching and learning are different but in a same responsibility.
A public transportation life hijrah to a life of responsible my own car. All thanks to Ayah~~
A campus life hijrah to a life at a new house 'Rumah Awangan', another lesson outside class and university.
A single life still maintain and not hijrah yet to another challenging life.hehe~~

** Plan, target and goal are NOT only to be aimed at the beginning of the new year, but should be prepared every time we start a new day. Have a blessed day, month, year and life to everyone..

Public Lecture: Syeikh Ramadan al-Bouti

2010-12-01T13:19:00.005+08:00

Alhamdulillah. It was a great pleasure to attend a lecture delivered by a great Muslim Scholar. I know about his coming to Malaysia through Facebook and try to search another information of his lecture during his short period of time in Malaysia. Fortunately, my students willingly to give an accurate information about his lecture at IKIM, 10am - 12pm on 30 November 2010. Alhamdulillah, I asked them to go together with me to IKIM and arrived safely there even though we were a little bit late.

The title of this Public Lecture is "Application of Fiqh Sirah in Contemporray Issues". The moderator of this lecture is YB Ir. Dr. Muhammad Fuad Abdullah and he translated every explanation of Syeikh in Arabic to Malay Language.

Ok, this entry will be divided into three parts; 1. Short Biography of Sheikh Ramadan al-Bouti, 2. Short Content of his famous book "Fiqh Sirah al-Nabawiyyah", 3. Short Sharing of his Public Lecture.

Short Biography of Sheikh Ramadan al-Bouti

Born in 1929 in the village of Jilka, which belongs to the island of “Butan”, i.e. Ibn ‘Umar, situating inside the Turkish boundaries, north of Iraq. He immigrated to Damascus with his late father, Mulla Ramadan when he was four years old.

Completed his legal secondary study in the Institute of Islamic Guidance in Damascus, and joined the faculty of religion at Al-Azhar University. He acquired ‘The International’ Certificate there in 1955. Next year, he joined the faculty of Arabic at Al-Azhar, too and acquired education Diploma at the end of the same year.

Appointed as dean in the faculty of religion at Damascus University in 1960, and deputed to Al-Azhar University to attain doctorate in the roots of the Islamic law. He could acquire the relevant certificate in 1965.

Appointed as instructor in the college of law of Damascus University in 1965, as a deputy of the college later on and as its dean then as a the chief of the Department of tenets and religions at Damascus University.

Participated, and is still participating, in many global conferences and symposia, and is, in addition, a member in the royal society of the Islamic Civilization Researches in Amman, and member in the higher board of Oxford academy.

Wrote no less than forty books on the sciences of religion, literature, philosophy and sociology, the problems of civilization and others.

>> More info about him can be read HERE.

Short Content of his famous book "Fiqh Sirah al-Nabawiyyah"

The importance of Sirah in Islam and how to make Sirah practicable in contemporary's life

The methodology in study the life of the Prophet

Biography of Prophet Muhammad PBUH since his birth until his death.

Wisdom and Lessons (دروس وعبىر) in every topic especially in historical events of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

The leadership of Khulafa' al-Rasyidun after the death of the Prophet.

>> Fiqh Sirah can be downloaded HERE and HERE
*His book was regularly used during my undergraduate study.

Short Sharing of his Public Lecture.

He encouraged to read the book of Sirah during leisure time and it should be read collectively not individually to study and analyze the Prophet's teaching and his life, as it will benefit everybody.

The application of Sirah in our life especially in today's life needs a big Jihad.

Sirah should be implemented both internally and externally through universal way in all aspects of life.

During the time of Khulafa' al-Rasyidun, they use Sirah of the Prophet as their main reference in every matters, but it doesn't show that they Ma'sum like the Prophet. They might did wrong action. Alla of us made wrong too. We are not perfect, but at least we practice what taught by our Prophet.

Sirah is the soul of Islamic knowledge and it never change no matter what happens.

>> To see the interview with him in Youtube, please click HERE.

**Time running too fast. December is coming~~!

Stress Management

2010-11-26T14:11:00.006+08:00

Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

It is also the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.

It's almost impossible to live without some stress. And most of us wouldn't want to, because it gives life some spice and excitement. But if stress gets out of control, it may harm your health, your relationships, and your enjoyment of life.

The definition of stress was taken from HERE and HERE.

Let's not talk about stress to not increase that feeling disorder again, but let's see the way to reduce or decrease the stress. I'm sure that each person has their own style to deal with stress as long as we try our best to remove it away.

I gather some important ways that can be used to reduce stress from my reading and I share some my own ways for personal preference.

1. Pray & Meditate.
Allah is the best place to show our feeling. HE is a very good listener. Ask His help. Pray a lots and meditate (Muhasabah) for a while why we got stress of our study, work and environment. InsyaAllah, HE will show the way and right path to all of us.

2. Go for a walk.
Leave everything for a while. Take a walk in the morning or evening and see people surrounding us. See the beautiful creatures that Allah created in this world. Walk alone so that you have time to relax yourself and don't get into any conversation. Isn't clouds in the morning and stars at night are too beautiful? :)

3. Spending time in your favorite place.
Go to a place that you like the most. If you think that Mosque is the best place, go and relax there. Bookstore is also a heaven to me. I can forget everything if I just stare at so many books, browsing and spending hours there. Or you can easily go back to your own Home because it is the comfortable place to all of us.

4. Light reading.
I love books, but not all books can reduce our stress. So, please don't choose heavy contents of the book, but get a light reading that can make us laugh and smile.

5. Ice-Cream & Chocolate.
This is the favorite choice during stress. Ice-cream will cool your mood and Chocolate will add its sweetness and creamy to yourself. But, don't take it too much because it is not really good for our health.

6. Watch movies.
It can help to reduce stress too because you just forget everything and focus what shown in the TV, laptop or cinema. Cinema is not my choice because it might add my stress when see bad things happen inside it, so, I just lock my doors and spend hours to see any movies or dramas. Don't watch serious movie because it will lead you to think so much,so, get a humor and comedy movie to enjoy yourself.

7. Open back your old diaries.
Due to my busyness, it was rarely to write diary again. But I love to refresh back old memories by open back old diaries. Then, for sure I will smile all the days.. :) Pictures always speak more than words.

8. Make yourself special.
We sometimes forget to treat ourselves in a special way. You can treat yourself with a delicious food, beautiful dress, expensive book or gadgets, and many more. Just give yourself any present and say Thank You to yourself in appreciating a hard work done by yourself. Then, it might reduce any burden on your shoulder.

9. Call a loved one.
Although I'm not prefer to do this, but it is good for you. You can share your joy and sorrow with them; family and friends. Don’t underestimate the power of human contact and friendship which can help to reduce all the tension. Be good to others, then they will do same to you.

10. Be Positive & Be yourself
This is the most important one. Try to think positive in every matter happens to you, even though it is hard and difficult for you, but still there is a Hikmah behind all of that. Be optimistic and be yourself. As these are my own ways to reduce my stress, you might have your own ways. Some people are not suitable to practice these ways because we are different and I'll appreciate our differences.

Choose your own ways. No stress, No tension. Be Positive.

Because Allah always there for us...

Saadah Khair
2.10PM, 26 November 2010
Writing in the bus in a way from KL to JB.

*Home & Family is another way to reduce stress.. ^__^

'Eid Adha 1431H

2010-11-20T22:13:00.008+08:00

Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Wa Lillahilhamd..

Praise be to Allah, 'Eid Adha comes again this year. This is the first time that I celebrate 'Eid without family, but I'm sure that there is Hikmah (wisdom) behind all of this. Due to short of vacation, I have to stay at KL and I'm willingly chose to celebrate 'Eid at Aborigine Village. Alhamdulillah I'm happy because I achieved one of my dream to celebrate one of the 'Eids with needy and poor people to purify my heart and show all the gratitude to Allah.

This 'Eid, there are two important message; the importance of Sacrifice & the value of Pilgrimage (Hajj) in Islam. I'm sure all of us were reminded about these messages every time when the month of Dzulhijjah comes every year. So, I don't want to repeat the same thing over again and again.

Just to make this entry simple, I share some interesting pictures here.. ^_^

Surau Kampung Jedip

Solat 'Eidul Adha

With Children of Orang Asli

Ibadah Qurban (6 cows) on 17 Nov 2010/10th DzulHijjah 1431H

"Gotong Royong" in slaughtering, skinning and distributing meats
to all Orang Asli around more than 10 villages there

Last Memory before depart back to KL with Chef Liza

**Miss my HOME but begin to love my new HOME a.k.a 'Rumah Awangan'

Books Sharing

2010-11-15T05:22:00.009+08:00

Aquilla Asia

This is not a book, but an international magazine published in Singapore. It is a 4th Issue for Sept-Oct 2010. Just a sharing that my short story of Eid Memory around the world was published there, as my story of Ramadan was published in the previous issue. Although it was just ordinary memory and writing, it was a great happiness of mine.

Siddhartha
by Herman Hesse

I read it two months ago, not in English version, but Malay version which I got it as a free copy while attending seminar at ITNM. This book was written by German author and was translated to 57 languages of the world.

This book is a story of a son of Brahman, Siddhartha. He was on a quest to find the meaning of life. Through this book, the reader can enjoy his struggle to find his own journey in many different life experiences. He tried to find out for himself who he really is. Along the way, he meets rich people, poor people, holy people, and becomes part of their world for a short time. This book is relevant to everyone, because experience is the best lesson to all of us. We will not get happiness unless we face the difficulties and hardship.

Najib's Answer:
Solving Yesterday's Problem, Today's Conflicts and Tomorrow's Challenges.

This is the latest book that I bought for my personal collection, especially it will help me in my thesis writing. I finished reading it for two days because it only contains 99 pages. Even though it is a small book, but its content is not a small issue. Original copy was written in Malay, and translated as well to English, Chinese and Tamil (as shown in the picture above) in order to serve the diversity of Malaysian Society.

It consists of questions and answers which was taken from Prime Minister's selected speeches and not directly from an interview but was supervised by himself. The questions relate to the government, developed nation, public sector transformation, integrity of civil servants, economic stability, independence and national integration, 1Malaysia Concept, the relationship between Malaysia and Asian, Malaysia and international issue, and the effect of internet technology. The answer given also not too long and perhaps accurate and easy to understand.

However, I wanna give my humble suggestion to PM if he wanna make a second edition of this book. He should give the opportunity to Malaysian in writing additional questions which is not included in this book, and the questions might be taken from different generations; students, adults, and old age people, of course from different races as well. So, it will be just and fair rather than created the questions which sometimes not be thought by themselves. And the answer must come from himself directly, not selected from any of his speeches to be clearly appreciated and aware of his leadership and responsibility to serve the citizen.

Islam Awakening: Between Rejection and Extremism
by Yusuf al-Qaradawi

I bought this book last month at Kinokuniya with different front cover page. It is a very interesting, thoughtful and important book which should be read not only by Muslims but non-Muslim as well. In this book, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi cited several major issues in our Muslim world; the accusation and the truth, the causes of extremism, the remedy of extremism and the advice from him to our Muslim youth. I did not finish reading it yet, but I can tell the important message of this book is all about moderation (Wasatiyyah) and how to be moderate not extremist.

This book can be read online HERE

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger

I knew about this book long time ago, but just bought it last month at Bookexcess with a very cheap price compare to another Book Store. I'm still reading this book, it's all about a love story between Henry and Claire. In the beginning of reading, it is complicated to understand the real situation of time and their ages because the main message is time travel, so it is very important to understand every scene is carried on different times. Some readers criticized this book and still there are some of them adore it. Its' okay, I just wanna read and finish it. As a sharing from other readers, she said: The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.

**Chapter 4 and 5 is moving together. Read, think, write, and act~!

Puitis Puisi

2010-11-13T09:37:00.009+08:00

Perkongsian Malam Puisi Riong, 12 November 2010, anjuran Berita Harian dan Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia. Laporan Berita Harian di SINI.

Ini pertama kali saya hadiri Majlis Puisi di mana pelbagai tokoh hadir untuk mendeklamasikan puisi karya masing-masing. Tema kali ini adalah ilmu dan kreativiti. Ada dua tokoh yang saya nantikan persembahannya iaitu Ustaz Zawawi (Pensyarah saya ketika di Pusat Matrikulasi UIA) dan juga Encik Khair Ngadiron (Bekas dean UIA dan kini CEO ITNM), tak lupa juga persembahan Ana Rafali dengan gitarnya. Oh ya, saya juga terpegun dengan pengacaraan indah Fedtri Yahya.

Ustaz Zawawi Jusoh

Anna Rafali

Kenapa saya hadir? Bukan kerana hiburan tapi kesenian dalam menghayati bait-bait puisi sastera Melayu. Mungkin ramai yang mengatakan sesiapa sahaja boleh menulis puisi, tapi tak semua puisi boleh meninggalkan kesan di dalam hati. Hanya penggunaan kata-kata indah yang mendalam maksudnya sahaja boleh menusuk hingga ke kalbu.

Puisi memang selalu dikaitkan dengan cinta, tapi secara tidak langsungnya boleh menjadi medan dakwah dan perkongsian sejarah. Penyebaran ilmu secara langsungnya diambil kira kerana puisi berkualiti memerlukan kritis dan kreativiti.

Sempat juga saya mencoretkan sebuah puisi di malam tersebut, sekadar coretan kerdil..

Tatkala gelita bersuara
bintang mengiringi cahaya,
Tatkala rimbunan menutupi
akar menjadi paksi,
Tatkala akal terumbang-ambing
hati bisa membimbing,
Tatkala hilang tempat berpauh
Tuhan tak pernah jauh..

Salam Madah Pujangga,

Saadah Khair.

Teaching & Learning

2010-11-12T16:58:00.004+08:00

12 November 2010 - Today is the last day of semester before final exam begin. It has been 4 months of working at IIC since July 2010. The end of the semester really mix all the feeling of sadness and happiness together.

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah that I fulfilled my responsibilities to finish in teaching all the subjects which were assigned to me in the beginning of semester. Sometimes, I feel that it was too tough for me to teach 5 different subjects for 7 sections of students. Too many courses, students and responsibilities as well, but I try my best to develop the good intention and aim in this field of work especially in sharing knowledge. The Prophet said: بلغوا عني ولو آية

A class of my students. Photo credited to my students.

This week, I've been very sensitive person. I don't why but perhaps it is due to the busyness to complete their carry mark before final. In addition to that, some of my students really make me disappointed because of cheating and lying to me, and honestly I cannot judge them due to their marks and performance in class, but I need their hardworks and efforts. However, there are some students who always make me smile and do their best in study of any subjects. By the way, I still will pray for all of them to get success not only in the final exam, but for their future life, insyaAllah..

A present from my students. Jazakumullahukhairankatihra..

My hope is that to not make them remember or not forgetting me, but I do hope that they can practice what they learned along this semester, because all the knowledge that they learned are not only for their exam but will help them to be a better person, InsyaAllah..

Besides teaching, I'm learning so many things as well. Yes, I'm learning from my students. They helped me to be a good lecturer even though I'm not really good especially I'm new. This is our process of learning from mistakes and any shortcomings. The role of lecturer is not only teaching but they will learn from students as well..

End of word, I'm so grateful to teach and learn for this semester. All the best~! Be the best among the best~!

I'm really love this quotation: "Learning is finding out what we already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers." -- Richard Bach

**New shelter is waiting for me.. Nervous.. Huhu

Cinta di dalam Gelas

2010-11-09T21:15:00.006+08:00

Sinopsis Andrea Hirata di SINI.

Tatkala tajuk buku ini menjamah mata, pelbagai soalan berlegar di minda. Kenapa cinta itu harus di dalam gelas, bukan di rumah, bilik, buku atau sebagainya. Akhirnya segala persoalan terjawab sudah setelah buku ini tamat dibaca dalam masa seminggu.

Ya, cinta itu ada di mana-mana. Bukan sahaja gelas, bahkan di tempat atau barang yang kecil sekalipun. Cinta itu terlalu subjektif dan setiap orang ada definisi tersendiri tentang cinta. Kali ini, Andrea Hirata mengenengahkan cinta dengan begitu kreatif sekali. Sambungan kepada novel sebelum ini; Padang Bulan [Review di SINI], Enong itu adalah Maryamah, dan Maryamah itu adalah Maryamah Karpov yang pernah menjadi tajuk novel ke empat tetralogi Laskar Pelangi. Cadangan ku agar perlu ada tambahan informasi di novel MK untuk membaca CDG demi memahami erti sebenar nama tersebut.

KOPI. Kenapa air hitam itu yang menjadi pilihan? Sememangnya tatkala mebaca buku ini, kopi adalah teman terbaik, malah cintaku terhadap kopi semakin mekar..hehe.. Saya tertarik dengan cara penulis memberi gambaran sifat-sifat peminum kopi mengikut selera dan cara mereka memegang gelas. Lucu dan indah. Mungkin ada juga benarnya segala pemerhatian penulis, sehingga dibukukan di dalam "Buku Besar Peminum Kopi". Andai buku itu benar-benar wujud, izinkan saya membacanya dan mengetahui jenis apakah saya ini sebagai peminum kopi..

Secara halusnya, ia bukan sekadar air gula berwarna hitam, tapi mengandungi pelarian dan kegembiraan. Segelas kopi adalah ibarat dua belas teguk kisah kehidupan dan ensiklopedia yang tebal tentang watak seseorang. Manakala warung kopi berperanan sebagai laboratorium perilaku seseorang..

YAMUNA. Ia adalah nama sebuah sungai yang mengalir di antara Taj Mahal dan Benteng Merah, dan nama ini juga diberikan kepada sebuah mesin elektronik pengisar kopi. Entah mengapa saya terpesona dengan olahan penulis dalam mengaitkan mesin blender kopi dengan A Ling, cinta pertama Ikal. Mungkin ada persamaan antara mereka berdua di mana wujudnya the moment of silence. Ia mungkin hanya difahami oleh mereka yang setia pada cinta pertama.

CATUR. Menurutku, hanya orang yang benar-benar kreatif dan kritis sahaja yang bisa menang dalam permainan ini. Saya tahu cara bermain, tapi saya tak pernah menang walaupun bertanding dengan adik sendiri. Penulis menjelaskan secara terperinci peranan setiap butir catur dan cara bermainnya. Maryamah yang tidak pernah menyentuh papan catur itu mempunyai keupayaan luar biasa apabila niatnya belajar main catur berjaya sehinggalah menjadi juara catur berturut-turut. Ini semua adalah kerana kemahuan dan usaha Maryamah untuk membuktikan bahawa dia bukanlah selemah yang disangka walau dugaan sering menimpanya, dan tujuan mengalahkan bekas suaminya dalam pertandingan catur itu berjaya!

KARPOV. Nama ini diambil dari seorang pencatur terhebat peringkat dunia, Anatoly Karpov. Sejak Maryamah berjaya mempelajari teknik pencatur dunia tersebut dan bergelar juara berkali-kali, panggilan itu melekat padanya; Maryamah Karpov.

Ternyata, saya masih mengharapkan ada sambungan lagi selepas ini...

Pengajaran terbaik CDG ini adalah; Di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan. Di mana ada harapan, di situ terletaknya sebuah perjuangan. Di mana ada cinta, pastinya ada kenangan..

Selamat meneruskan perjuangan~!

**Kurangkan kopi dan manisan, tambahkan cinta dan senyuman.. ^_^

Who

2010-11-08T20:26:00.004+08:00

Who wanna be my book
which is my loved one

OR

Who wanna be my bookshelves
which carry my love

[Confuse Mode]

**Republish from my old BLOG

Sweet Sour Weekend

2010-11-07T23:06:00.008+08:00

5th November 2010

As planned earlier in the last month, I'm going back to JB for this weekend not for celebrating the Deepavali Day, but I'm waiting to go to the reunion with my friends on Saturday Night. At the same time, my bro-in-law is going to perform to Hajj, so, May Allah make everything easy for him and accepted his Ibadah InsyaAllah..

HOME always make me happy... A sweet Friday~!

6th November 2010

Something fishy happened, but this time with no bad or nice smell. It just happened in a second. Everything was my own fault...... I'm sorry dad.. I'm really sorry..

Sometimes, there are some lessons that cannot be found in class, school, college and university, but those lessons are more valuable and helpful in facing this challenging life.. Live life to the fullest~! Experience is the best lesson..

However, the Saturday Night changed the sour day into a very sweet day. I'm waiting this day for a long long time ago..... Honestly, I can't forget all memories in my first secondary school in Benut, Pontian. There were too many unforgettable memories and I learned a lot of things especially on what life is all about.. I'm not regret that I was a naughty girl previously in my school, because those days will be never forgotten..

Thanks a lot to Wan NorHanizan for willingly to be the programme organizer. We know that u had a headache but I'm sure that all of us satisfied with the simple gathering and reunion at Banafe Village, Johor Bahru. Simple is the best..

The first person I met was my old BFF. She was the first friend at secondary school known as my best buddy ever. Both of us cried because this was the first time we met after 11 years. Just imagine, 11 years are not a short distance of time. I really miss u Wana and I tried to search you since my undergraduate.. Alhamdulillah, I found u back.. and Facebook is the one who unite all of us back.. Ops! Allah is the one who did that, but Facebook is the medium of our communication..

Zawanah Raimi, my best buddy during secondary school.
She's working as Inspector Police at Taiping, Perak right now.

Honestly, I'm Happy. Yes, we were too happy at that night. We exchanged stories of our life, remembered back all stupid memories and the things that why we hate and love our school. Only Allah knows the meaning of happiness on that night in gathering and reunion with old friends after never met for more than 10 years. Yes we are physically and psychologically changed, but our memory never changed and this friendship will remain forever..

I'm little bit jealous when they brought their own families; husband and children..huhu

7th November 2010

Today, I'm going back to KL. No more sweetness, because when I'm coming to the campus, the thing that I have to think is tomorrow is working day and thesis writing still not finish yet..

But, after Maghrib prayer, my JASAian friends and I had a simple meeting and had dinner together at a restaurant. The last day we met was around 3 months ago. All of us busy with our own career and work, but we still never forget the Ukhuwwah that we build 4 years ago in a path called as "Perjuangan" still remain in our hearts. I really miss those memories.. I miss all our programmes.. I do hope that nothing can destroy this friendship except it was determined by Allah.. Our Pictures can be viewed HERE

**"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget"
I'm tired.... But I'm happy...

Hajj Mabrur & Du'a Maqbul

2010-11-04T20:27:00.005+08:00

Labbaikallahumma labbaik..
Labbaika la sharika laka labbaik..
Innalhamda wanni'mata laka walmulk la sharikalak..

Going to the Pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is obligatory for those who financially, physically and mentally able to perform this Ibadah, at least once in a lifetime. Allah said in the Qur'an: “... And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka‘bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves (i.e. denies Hajj, then he is a disbeliever of Allah), then Allah stands not in need of any of the ‘Alâmin (mankind and jinn).” (Qur’an 3:97)

Hajj Mabrur means that the Ibadah of performing Hajj is accepted by Allah for being performed perfectly according to the Prophet's Sunnah with legally earned money, avoiding sinful actions and evil deed during Hajj.

By the way, Du'a Maqbul means that the prayer and wish is accepted and answered by Allah as it is the essence of worship and the weapon of believers.

Those who get Hajj Mabrur, for sure all his du'a will be maqbul (answered) by Allah. It is because one of the reward for performing Hajj is the acceptance of their supplications (du'a). If we aske for Allah's forgiveness, He the Most Forgiving responds to our prayer as narrated in the Hadith:

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet SAW said, “Those who perform the Hajj and those who perform the umrah are people who have come to visit Allah. If they supplicate Him He will respond to them, and if they ask Him for forgiveness He will forgive them.” (Tirmidhi 2536 and Ibn Majah)

There are a lot of rewards for those who perform Hajj in a good manner which was mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah. A good article about those rewards can be read HERE.

As a conclusion, I wanna give a beautiful hadith, as a reminder to all Muslimah outside there, that the best Jihad for a woman is by performing Hajj. Let's us think the reason behind this hadith:

Ummul Mu'mineen `Aishah (RA) reported:
I said: "O Messenger of Allah! (SAW), We consider Jihad as the best deed, should we not then go for Jihad?''

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "The best Jihad for you women is Hajj Mabrur (i.e., one accepted by Allah).''

(Bukhari and Muslim)

** Wish all the best to my brother-in-law who will perform Hajj this year, who depart from JB - KLIA - Jeddah tomorrow. May Allah give him Hajj Mabrur, InsyaAllah..

**Wish to perform Hajj by my own money in the year 2020, InsyaAllah..

Intention

2010-11-01T15:49:00.006+08:00

From the Amir al-Muminin Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiya'llahu 'anhu, that he said,
"I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying,
'Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended. Whoever's emigration is for Allah and His Messenger then his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever's emigration is for some worldly gain which he can acquire or a woman he will marry then his emigration is for that for which he emigrated'."

This hadith is the first hadith compiled in the forty hadith by Imam an-Nawawi. And I'm sure that everyone of us heard and knew about the main message if this hadith. It's all about INTENTION.

Last weekend (29-31 October 2010), I went to Air Tenang Resort, Janda Baik as a lecturer accompanying IIC students who will graduate from the college. This is a compulsory programme for graduating students after studying around 3 years in IIC. Of course this is my first programme within months working here.

So, what is the connection between the hadith mentioned above and my story in Janda Baik? It will be like this.. Most of the students have different kinds of feeling while attending this programme. They have kind of perceptions that this is Ibadah Camp which relates to religious aspects only. Some of them might willingly come and some of them were not. They just want to pass their attendance, and then graduate from the college. So, all of them have different intentions, targets and aims. It's not only to students, but to lecturer as well..hmm

I don't want to tell the whole activities for 3 days and 2 nights here, but it was a good programme. They have to understand that Ibadah is not only praying and fasting. All of our actions can be considered as Ibadah if the intention is for the sake of Allah only. So, they have to purify their intentions and make all of their doings in this world as Ibadah, so InsyaAllah Allah will give the just rewards for them. If I can imagine that I am a student who participate in this programme, InsyaAllah it will be very worth and memorable after graduation, but I attended as a lecturer and facilitator, so of course, there were a lots of responsibilities..

My group: Number 11
The champion of Explorace Games

Anyway, all the best to all graduating students. Set a good intention and best target for your future. May Allah show all of you the clear and great future of life, and make everything easier for all of you. Grab any opportunities to seek knowledge and remember that there is no ending in the process of learning..

Ma'attaufiq wannajah.. ^_^

**Good BYE October, Welcome November.. Lots of things to do in November. Allahu Yusahhil~

The Qur'an

2010-10-26T19:36:00.002+08:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious.

As all of us know, Qur'an is the biggest Mu'jizah that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad as the guidance for all mankind. As a Muslim, we should thankful to Allah for sending us the best guideline and the accurate map to get the peaceful life as the vicegerent of Allah not only in this world but importantly in the Hereafter..

I am not a Hafizah al-Qur'an, who is memorize the al-Qur'an but I try my best to be the best reader of this Holy Book. Although I have a thousand books, but I will never forget to read The Book which contained The Word of Allah once in a day. If I can't read due to special reason, I will listen to the recitation of al-Qur'an from my laptop at that time. The most important thing, I will never let my soul empty with the light of al-Qur'an.

Actually, I wanna share about the talk that I attended last week at IAIS (International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia). The Public Lecture was jointly organised by IAIS Malaysia and Center for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. It was delivered by Prof. Dr. Carl W. Ernst (University of North Carolina, USA) on the topic "The Qur'an in the Popular American Imagination".

Some important points can be highlighted from the lecture:

Most of American unable to differentiate between the Qur'an and the Bible, only some of them can tell some differences about these two Holy Books, but not in a good way.
Christians assumption about the Qur'an was understood in two manners; Polemical and Apologetic.
Keith Ellison is the first person who swore using the Qur'an instead of the Bible in the court, year 2007. Further info read HERE.
There were more negative views of American towards the Qur'an compared to the positive one, especially in the context of violence against non-Muslim, sword verses, the command of hostility towards Christians & Jews, and Women issues.
The translation of the Qur'an among Christianity is trying to refute, go against and blaming the content of the Qur'an.
10% of African slaves in America were Muslims. Refer to "Islam in Black America: Identity, Liberation, and Differences in Africa" by Edward E. Curtis.
Do not forget that the Muslims' imagination towards the Bible (corruption and nonsense) might be a reason of their bad imagination towards the Qur'an.
The Qur'an was the most wanted reading after 9/11. Among them were groups to find the truth or to put a blame on Islam.
The Qur'an is a free subject to be taken in American selected university. Anyone can learn it either Muslim or non-Muslim. Unfortunately, only Muslims can learn the Qur'an in Malaysia.
There should be another interesting method to learn the Qur'an which should be practiced in Malaysia, perhaps by the use of Multimedia and Arts.
New book of the speaker is "How to Read the Qur'an: A Reader's Guide to the Qur'an as Literature".

May Allah bless the speaker and a great sharing from him. May Allah bless all of us who take the Qur'an as the most important book in our life and practice its precious contents.

Wallahu'alam.

Books on Malaysian History

2010-10-25T20:36:00.007+08:00

Phew.. History is the most difficult subject for me. I love to read Islamic History, but Malaysian History is too hard for me even though I am Malaysian. Maybe that's why, Malaysian government took a step to make the subject of History in SPM as the compulsory subject to be scored like BM. That was a very good idea for younger generation. Thanks God that it's not decided earlier for my generation..hehe..

As mentioned before, I'm in the progress of writing Chapter 4 of my thesis. It's all about Malaysia, especially in the context of the integration of society. So, I have to read a lots on Malaysian History. It really make me difficult to breath.......

Ok, let's see what should I read. This entry is my motivation to read again and again. Please never feel bored on Malaysian History..

The first book is The Struggle for Malaysian Independence by J.J. Raj. This book will help to understand all events which lead to the Day of Independence on 31st August 1957. There were many historical events to be focused on since I try to discover the history of Malaysian Society.

The second book is A History of Malaysia by Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Y. Andaya. This book is thick and contain a lots of information. But i really make me easily bored.. Argh! I'm trying my best to read and focus on the topic of British Colonialism from this book.

The third book is Speaking Out Loud for National Unity by Collin Abraham. It is the latest one compare to two books listed above. So, it discusses about Malaysia in our present days. The author also picks up the contemporary issues in his book. It make me easier to read. That's why I'm willingly to buy this book at MPH, while the rest of other books were borrowed from the library only.

Actually, three books were not enough. There are many books arranged besides me now, but I try my best to focus on these three books first. Please do suggest any books that you know to help me easily understand and use it for my thesis writing. Any suggestions and opinions are highly appreciated..

Thank You.

**Proud to be Muslim more than to be Malaysian..

Cinta Padang Bulan

2010-10-24T18:24:00.000+08:00

Karya Andrea Hirata seperti biasa tak pernah menghampakan saya. Ini adalah novel berikut selepas karya Tetralogi Laskar Pelangi mengaburkan mata pembaca dengan khayalan, mimpi dan imaginasi. Terima kasih buat penulis kerana menghasilkan tulisan yang indah dengan cerita-cerita inspirasi, tak lupa juga buat terima kasih seorang kawan yang telah membelikan buku ini jauh dari tanah seberang..

Kisah kali ini ceria dengan watak utama Ikal, Enong dan Detektif M. Nur. Ikal dan Enong itu meskipun berbeza, tapi semangat mereka yang kuat bisa menjadikan mereka teman baik secara tidak sengaja. Tuan Detektif yang pelik itu juga tidak kalah dengan semangat luar biasa sebagai seorang teman. Tapi ada satu semangat yang sangat luar biasa dari Ikal, iaitu semangat setia kepada cinta pertamanya.

Sejak ayahnya menolak satu-satunya hasrat Ikal untuk memperisterikan A Ling di dalam novel Maryamah Karpov, Ikal pergi jauh membawa diri. Cintanya pada A Ling melebihi segalanya. Akan tetapi, datang satu khabar mengatakan ayahnya sakit, dia harus pulang juga menziarahi satu-satunya ayah kesayangannya itu. Di perkampungannya, banyak kejadian telah terjadi, termasuklah kisah Enong yang diuji pelbagai ujian. Malah, berita yang benar-benar mencucuk hatinya ialah ketika mendapat tahu ada seorang lelaki sempurna telah melamar A Ling, cinta pertama pujaan hati Ikal.

Pelbagai rencana telah dirancang untuk menumpaskan musuh cintanya itu termasuklah berlawan papan catur dan pinpong, dan usaha gilanya untuk menambah ketinggian badan. Sayangnya tidak berhasil. Tapi ada satu penghasilan berjaya apabila persahabatan Ikal dan Enong semakin akrab gara-gara pembelajaran Bahasa Inggeris. Saya paling suka saat Ikal dengan mudah melontarkan kata-kata untuk sebuah puisi, dan satu baris puisi dari Bu Indra buat Ikal adalah sangat indah untuk difahami tentang bahayanya sakit cinta:

"Love walks on two feet just like a human being,
It stands up on tiptoes of insanity and misery.."

Ya, cinta itu lah penyakit dan penawar. Cinta itu lah kesengsaraan dan kebahagiaan. Cinta lah sebab utama Ikal menjadi sedemikian, malah tetap akan setia kepada A Ling yang sentiasa menginspirasinya di dalam senyap. Kisah cinta ini yang buat saya kagum, malah turut membuat saya jatuh cinta!

Pertemuan terakhir Ikal dan A Ling menjawab segala salah faham yang berlaku selama ini. A Ling dan Zinar dijodohkan, bukan bertemu secara sukarela. Ikal lega. Kehadiran Ikal ke majlis perkahwinan A Ling ibarat pertemuan pertama Ikal dengan A Ling sewaktu Sekolah Dasar. Penuh kemanisan dan kenangan.

Satu kesimpulan yang berani saya simpulkan ialah: Kerelaan agar orang lain lebih bahagia adalah kebahagiaan yang sangat bererti. Semoga A Ling bahagia dengan lelaki sempurna itu. Semoga Ikal juga bahagia dengan mimpi-mimpi yang dia bina selama ini. Tiada yang mustahil..

Kebahagiaan Sang Pemimpi yang membahagiakan orang lain.. Kisah Ikal bersambung lagi di buku yang seterusnya, "Cinta di dalam Gelas".

Selamat Membaca..
Selamat Membina Mimpi..

*Lelaki yang bisa buatku jatuh cinta ialah si dia yang bisa melontarkan kata-kata indah di dalam tulisan puisinya..

The Path to Jannah

2010-10-23T18:10:00.004+08:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious

Now, I'm writing this entry at KLIA while waiting my brother before he depart to Cairo, Egypt. Alhamdulillah everything was settled earlier, and I arrived here in a safe journey alone.

As stated in my previous entry about my little brother [read HERE], he finished his study in Shoubra, Cairo for 3 years, and this time he will further his higher study in the same field (Qira'at) for 4 years InsyaAllah.. It is a long time and anything could happen at that time, and I hope that everything will be fine InsyaAllah.

The Prophet (pbuh) said: "..He who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah will make with it the path which leads to Jannah easy for him.." [Sahih Muslim].

He said again in another hadith: "If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise.." [Abu Dawud]

There are so many hadith mentioned that the path to seek knowledge is the way to get an easy path to Jannah.. May Allah make his journey to study the Qur'an as an easy way for him to enter the Jannah. May Allah accept all of our deeds..

Hopefully, all my brother's dreams will be achieved. Be smart, Be happy~!

Our last picture together at KLIA.
InsyaAllah we will meet again within 4 years. Will miss you soon dear..

Allahumma Yassir fissafar~~

KLIA, 6.36pm
23 October 2010

**There is a hope in my heart to further study abroad too, InsyaAllah..

Busy as Bees

2010-10-19T18:34:00.006+08:00

Alhamdulillah, I can breath again in front of my lappy.. :)

Actually we all breath in and out everyday, but sometimes we will have a specific day that we can breath freely and feel a relief.. Like I do now, writing an entry in my blog shows that I take a breath easily which means that I'm a little bit free, where I try to find my free time to write something here..

Last weekend I went back to my home at JB, because my mom told me to do that..hehe.. Actually I'm very busy during that time, but I don't want to break my mom's heart and fulfilled her wish to go back to JB. Alhamdulillah everything was ok, and I found something interesting during my two-days at home. It is about the meaningful definition of HOME.

Home and House are totally different even though they might carry similar understanding. A House is made of walls, bricks and stones, a Home is built with love and happiness, but a house can be a Home when it shelters the body and comforts the soul. Do you see the differences? Hmm.. Thanks to my parents for building a home for my family, even though my house is not big, but I can feel that our Home is big and bigger in our hearts..

Regarding to the title of this entry, "Busy as bees". It is just a parable of sentence, because bee is an animal that always busy and never feel tired and boring of their works and responsibilities. Yes, I'm busy but I'm not a busybody.. :)

Actually, being a busy person, it will make us better in time management. I involved to be a busy student since my undergraduate and it really helped me a lot to manage time wisely. I can't imagine if I'm not busy and freely do everything that I want, but at the end, I just do nothing.. That's why I prefer to be busy..

And I'm sure if I say that I am busy, there are a lot of people outside there are busier than me. I'm grateful to Allah, although that I'm busy, but I still have time to spend with HIM during my prayer, I still have time to keep in touch with my family and friends because I appreciate all of them, and I still have time to myself. Alhamdulillah ya Allah...

Allah emphasized the importance of the time in Surah al-'Asr, He said: "By (the Token of) Time, Verily Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy."

The Prophet said in a hadith: "" الوقت كالسيف إن لم تقطعه قطعك
"The time is like a sword, if you not cut the time, it will cut you"

I do appreciate every second, minute and hour in my busy days. I hope that my busy days will improve myself to be better in the future. And I'm still in the process of learning, so, I can take any example from my family or friends who are more busy than me, and take it as motivation to myself..

"The busy bee has no time for sorrow" -William Blake

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon

"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it" -Henry David Thoreau

"We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind" - Stephen R. Covey

**Congratulation to my cousin from Singapore, Ummi Salamah who will further study in Syria on 1st November, and not forget to my younger brother, M. Zikri, who will continue his higher study in Egypt this Saturday, 23rd Oct. Allahumma yassir~~

Chapter 4

2010-10-12T13:59:00.003+08:00

Alhamdulillah, I begin my progress to accomplish another chapter for my thesis. So this chapter is all about Malaysia. As a multi-ethnic society, Malaysia consists of various ethnics, religions, languages, customs, cultures, and Alhamdulillah we live in a peaceful country.

Why I choose Malaysia for my thesis?
The first reason is because I am Malaysian. I was born in JB (Johor Bahru), study in KL (Kuala Lumpur) and had visited around Malaysia except Sabah. InsyaAllah i'll visit there too. So, I can say that I'm proud to be a part of the Malaysian society.

At the same time, I have an intention to make this country as an Islamic State even though it is difficult to achieve. So, as an analytical study for my thesis, I choose Madinan Society at the time of the Prophet to be the best role model and example for us to follow the way and the Sunnah of the Prophet, on how he governed Madinah to be the best well-integrated society during that time.

What is the next plan for my thesis?
I have a lot of plans. But i will make sure the important plan to make this thesis as a book and guideline for Malaysian on how to follow the Prophet's way to live in a peaceful society during his time. That's why I tried so hard to make my thesis useful and can benefit others, as well to contribute something for this beloved country.

My Hope..
I hope that I can end my thesis writing by the end of this year. But if I'm not able to do that, as long as I try my best, I do my best to finish it early as soon as possible even next year. I do hope as well that people surrounding me can give me support especially moral support for me and pray for my success.

Thank You so much~!

References to be read for Chapter 4:

The Malays, their Problems and Future, by Syed Husin Ali
The Chinese Malaysian Contribution, by Tan Teong Jin et.al
The Malaysian Indian Dilemma, by Janakey Raman Manickan
Malaysian Studies: Present Knowledge and Research Trends, by John A. Lent
Islamic Political Representation in Malaysia, by Lukman Thaib
A History of Malaysia, by Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Andaya
Challenges and Choices in Malaysian Politics and Society, by Chandra Muzaffar
A Plea for Emphaty, by Chandra Muzaffar
Konsep dan peranan Uli Amri di Malaysia, by Abdul Monir Yaacob

and many more....

**Please remind me if I read unnecessary books. TQ

M Z

2010-10-08T13:36:00.004+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Try to guess who is MZ behind this title...
There are two persons that I can make their names as simple as MZ. Let's know who are they.

First MZ: Maher Zain

He is a great Swedish singer and music producer of Lebanese origin [more, read HERE]. I can say that he is great because many of his song introduced the beauty of Islam, spread the message in Qur'an and Sunnah, and related to the humanity aspect. The messages of his songs reached to the ear and heart of listener due to nice music and his good looking as well. I downloaded all his songs and always listen to them again and again, it never make me bored.

In the beginning of October, MZ came to Malaysia and make a special performance yesterday (06102010). He was fantastic. The biggest hall of IIUM was full loaded to his fans included students, alumni, lecturers, staffs, and outsiders. I also took this opportunity to buy the ticket [only RM20], because it was so cheap to see the performance of International singer, and it is a chance because we didn't know that he might again or not to Malaysia.

However, I have a little bit disappointed with the 'Meet with fans' session at the evening. I will never go again to any kind of that session in the future, and I did regret when I went there yesterday. May Allah forgive all of us.

He only performed two songs [InsyaAllah & Barakallah], but it was great. I took a video but it will take too much of time to upload it here, so, you can see at Youtube [click HERE]

Second MZ: Muhammad Zikri

He is my only younger brother. We are so close, since the different ages between us was only one year. He is not only my 'adik', but my 'abang', my friend, my enemy, my victim, my adviser, and I do love him. Why I mentioned about him here? Because he is the one who introduced to me about the previous MZ; Maher Zain. hehe..

Actually, I have my own purpose to tell the story about him. I never did it before. As an appreciation to him, this entry was written special for him. I really appreciate his presence, because I can't imagine if I am the youngest children in my family. He helped me a lot and I can say as well that I helped him a lot too. We always helping each other. However, I don't really like if we were so good to each other, so I like to quarrel with him, but it will take only for a while. That's the way that make we even closer and appreciate each other.

Alhamdulillah he just graduated from Kuliyyah Qiraat Shubra, Egypt before Eid, and InsyaAllah will further his study at Tanta University, Cairo. He will go back there maybe at the end of this month because his class already started. I know that he is cleverer and more intelligent than me, and I'm sure that he can do his best for more four years in abroad country. May Allah bless his journey of life and all his dreams come true..

I hope that he will always be my brother forever. I don't want he to be my good brother, but it is important for me to be a good sister.

**Dedicate a song "Always be there" by Maher Zain to Muhammad Zikri.

Coffee Lover

2010-10-07T14:55:00.005+08:00

Coffee..

Whatever brand it is, I love its smell, aroma, taste, bitter & sweetness of coffee. Why coffee?? Because my dad loves coffee so much. I used to be the one who made a cup of coffee for my father at home. Then, I keep buying 3 in 1 Nescafe to accompany me study late at night, and that's my usual habit during my study time. Its easy and prevent from sleepy.

However, everyone around me asked me to not addict too much on coffee. Yes, I know that. I'm not addicted yet, but I think coffee has its own advantages and disadvantages. Previously, I posted this info at my old blog, so, I wanna repost it again here, as a sharing for those who are coffee lover like me.

Coffee Pros

1. Antioxidants. Coffee is rich in antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging.

2. Parkinson's disease. Regular coffee drinking reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease. A number of studies have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.

3. Diabetes. Coffee drinking has the potential to protect against the development of type 2 diabetes. A prospective study as part of the US Nurses Health Study found that moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle aged women.

4. Liver cirrhosis. Coffee drinking may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis.

5. Gallstones. There is some evidence that coffee drinking may be protective against gallstone formation in both men and women.

6. Kidney stones. Coffee consumption lowers the risk of kidney stones formation. Coffee increases the urine volume, preventing the crystallization of calcium oxalate, the most common component of kidney stones.

7. Improved mental performance. Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.

8. Alzheimer's disease. Regular coffee drinking may help to protect against Alzheimer's disease. Recent study in mice showed that caffeine equivalent to 5 cups of coffee per day reduced the build up of destructive plaques in the brain.

9. Asthma. Caffeine in coffee is related to theophylline, an old asthma medication. Caffeine can open airways and improve asthma symptoms.

10. Caffeine safety. In 1958, caffeine was placed on the Food and Drug Administration's list as generally recognized as safe.

Coffee Cons

1. Heart disease. This is somewhat controversial. Most prospective cohort studies haven't found that coffee consumption is associated with significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease. On one hand, diterpenes cafestol and kahweol present in unfiltered coffee and caffeine each appear to increase risk of coronary heart disease. High quality studies have confirmed the cholesterol-raising effect of diterpenes. Also, coffee consumption is associated with an increase of plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for coronary heart disease. However, a lower risk of heart disease among moderate coffee drinkers might be due to antioxidants found in coffee.

2. Cholesterol. Heavy consumption of boiled coffee elevates blood total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels. Unfiltered coffee contains two cholesterol-raising compounds cafestol and kahweol.

3. Blood vessels. Coffee negatively affects the blood vessel tone and function.

4. Heart rhythm disturbances. Coffee can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias).

5. Blood pressure. Although coffee drinking is not a significant risk factor for hypertension, it produces unfavorable effects on blood pressure [8] and people prone to hypertension may be more susceptible. Recent Italian study found that coffee drinking can slightly increase the risk for development of sustained hypertension in people with elevated blood pressure.

6. Osteoporosis. Coffee intake may induce an extra urinary excretion of calcium. Heavy coffee consumption (600 ml or more) can modestly increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women with a low calcium intake.

7. Heartburn. A cup of coffee can trigger the heartburn.

8. Sleep. Most are aware of the stimulatory effects of caffeine. High amounts of caffeine taken before going to sleep can cause difficulty falling sleep, tendency to be awakened more readily by sudden noises, and a decreased quality of sleep. However, some people can drink coffee and fall right asleep.

9. Dehydration. The caffeine in coffee is a mild diuretic and can increase urine excretion. This effect may be easily neutralized by drinking an extra glass of water.

10. Dependence. Although "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA, caffeine is still a drug, a mild central nervous system stimulant, and it produces dependence. Caffeine withdrawal is a real syndrome. You may get a few days of headache and irritability if you choose to quit drinking coffee, however, it is relatively easy to break this habit, and most people are not addicted to caffeine.

INFO taken from HERE

See, the number of advantages and disadvantages are same~! So, there are benefits from drinking coffee, but consuming it too mush will cause harm to our body, because all caffeine affect our body just like drug. That's why a person can be coffee-addicted.

As a conclusion, please be moderate~! Everything should be taken and practiced in moderation. You can drink coffee, but after that, please drink plain water a lot. Lets take care of our health~!

**I'm just an ordinary coffee lover..

Theater Tun M

2010-10-03T19:38:00.009+08:00

Wonderful~!

02.10.2010, the opportunity to watch this theater was great. Special thanks to my bodyguard a.k.a. boss, for accompanied me this time. The theater was about a special great leader, Malaysian former fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. It began from 24th September to 9th October and performed at Istana Budaya.

The performance was so great because it was LIVE in front of the audiences. Although I bought the cheapest price of the ticket and seated at the top level of floor, but it was already make me satisfied to the performance. It was not only the influence of the artist, actor and actress to make it great, but the line story also was great, because Tun M previously was a great leader who known as the Father of the Development.

Watch it, then you will know it by yourself. I don't want to tell the whole story here. But I relieved my tense and forgot the matter of thesis writing for last night. In other words, I'm happy..

Oh, one more thing, I heard and read from the newspaper that Tun M was in a critical health condition and warded at a Hospital in Australia. May Allah bless him and shower him a good health and great life in this world and the Hereafter. Amin~

Some pictures of theater can be viewed HERE in the Facebook Page of Musical Tun Mahathir.

OK, now lets back to work..
START Progression, STOP Procrastination..

**Once upon a time in my school days, my ambition was an actress of theater. But it was impossible~! hehe..

September Ends, October Begins..

2010-10-01T21:25:00.004+08:00

Silent..

No more words. No more explanations.

I woke up again and again at the end of September, and realize again and again that today is the first October. The understanding of the golden values of these two months and next two months only known by myself.

I don't want to show any regret for knowing that it was my own mistakes and careless of the importance of time. So, lets improve today to have better tomorrow..

September ends, October begins..

Start progression, Stop procrastination..

All the best~!

Bahas Bahasa

2010-09-26T13:03:00.003+08:00

Dengan nama Tuhan Yang Maha Penyayang.

Ada yang mempersoalkan. Tak kurang yang memperbahaskan. Tulisan asal penuh blog ini adalah berbahasa Inggeris, mengapa sudah berbahasa Melayu. Saya anak Melayu. Tapi saya belajar untuk fasih dua bahasa utama di universiti saya; Bahasa Arab dan Bahasa Inggeris.

Jika jawapan mudahnya: "suka hati saya"
Tapi secara profesional, jawapan itu tidak memenuhi syarat, malah mementingkan diri sendiri.

Alasan Bahasa Inggeris yang diguna sebagai bahasa utama di blog ini adalah untuk melatih diri untuk menulis lebih baik di dalam tesis yang sedang dikerjakan kini. Malah saya perlu mengajar di dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Jadi, adalah lebih baik saya memperbaiki diri saya sendiri yang serba kekurangan ini.

Sejujurnya, idea akan datang mencurah lebih dua kali ganda jika saya menggunakan Bahasa Ibunda Tanah Melayu ini. Saya bebas meluah rasa dalam berbicara. Saya selesa menggunakan apa sahaja gaya walaupun saya tidak pernah skor markah penuh di dalam subjek Bahasa Melayu ketika PMR dan SPM. Tapi ia bukan alasan untuk memperkecilkan bahasa ini. Bukankah bahasa budaya kita.

Bahasa Arab. Saya sangat sukakannya sejak sekolah rendah. Kini saya sangat merindui kelas Bahasa Arab yang disampaikan oleh para syeikh di UIAM. Masa saya sangat terbatas. Ada juga hasrat untuk menulis blog dalam bahasa syurga ini, InsyaAllah.

Bahasa German. Kelas yang saya ikuti sudah tertinggal jauh. Sedih. Barangkali sudah banyak yang kawan-kawan lain sudah peroleh berbanding saya. Masa kelas bahasa ini bertembung dengan waktu mengajar saya. InsyaAllah saya akan cuba usahakan mengganti semua kelas yang tertinggal. Kenapa German? Saya tiada jawapan.

Bahasa Jawa. Guru istimewa bahasa ini ialah ayah saya sendiri. Saya mahu belajar. Saya tidak mahu generasi saya kelak tidak tahu langsung bahasa ini. Tapi sayangnya, belajar dengan ayah sendiri sangat memerlukan disiplin yang kuat berbanding guru lain kerana kelasnya adalah rumah! Sungguh susah!

Jadi, usah mempertikai.

Terima Kasih.

*Info Foto: Timbunan buku ayah di rumah TG dalam pelbagai bahasa.

Pencinta Buku

2010-09-23T20:28:00.005+08:00

Pada 21 September 2010, saya telah menyertai satu seminar sebagai santapan rohani di Aidilfitri ini setelah terlalu banyak menghadami santapan juadah istimewa Hari Raya. Seminar Pencinta Buku Malaysia 2010 telah diadakan di Bangunan ITNM anjuran ITNM dan Komuniti Buku Online. Rancangan asal pergi bersama sahabat tidak tercapai, tapi tidak menghalang untuk saya pergi berseorangan diri. Sebagai pencinta buku yang tegar, saya pasti akan bertemu ramai rakan baru yang kebanyakannya merupakan pencinta buku.

Seminar ini dirasmikan oleh LAT atau nama penuhnya YB Dato' Mohamed Nor Khalid. Ini kali pertama saya melihatnya secara langsung sekaligus mendengar perkongsian lucu dan pengalaman berharga daripada beliau. Saya kagum. Malah satu perkara yang saya tidak dapat nafikan ialah bakat itu anugerah Tuhan yang tidak boleh dijual beli.

Saya sangat teruja ketika Sidang 3 sedang dijalankan yang membariskan tiga tetamu undangan khas berkongsi kertas kerja mereka. Kertas kerja pertama dibentangkan oleh Tuan Syed Nurul Akla Syed Abdullah yang merupakan seorang penterjemah karya hebat Ibn Battutah dari Bahasa Arab ke Bahasa Melayu. 10 tahun proses penterjemahan bukanlah satu tempoh yang sedikit, malah usahanya itu adalah satu perjuangan di mana rakyat Malaysia boleh membaca kisah perjalanan Ibn Battutah mengelilingi dunia di dalam bahasa yang mudah difahami. Beliau berkongsi bahawa penterjemahan bukan sahaja memerlukan ketepatan, akan tetapi keindahan (estetika) di dalam penghayatan untuk membaca sesebuah karya.

Perkongsian Dr. Faisal Tehrani juga adalah di antara sesi yang saya nantikan. Beliau membincangkan konsep penterjemahan dari sudut sebagai seorang pengarang, dan telah menyatakan minat beliau terhadap karya terjemahan dari bahasa Parsi. Menarik. Sebelum ini saya tidak pernah terfikir mahu belajar bahasa ini berbanding Bahasa Arab yang sudah saya pelajari dari kecil, atau Bahasa Inggeris yang wajib di UIAM, atau Bahasa German yang kelasnya saya ikut sekali-sekala, atau Bahasa Perancis yang selalu saya kerling tertarik, atau Bahasa Urdu yang romantik. Mungkin satu hari nanti, saya mahu juga mencuri tahu beberapa perkataan bahasa Parsi yang mudah dan indah. Berbalik kepada FT, beliau mengambil dua contoh pemikir hebat; Ali Shariati (Syiah) dan Jalaluddin Rumi (Sunni), dengan membawa karya-karya mereka yang diterjemahkan ke dalam banyak bahasa dunia. Dari perbahasan beliau, ada juga kontroversi kecil tidak diundang samada dia sengaja atau tidak, tapi mendatangkan beberapa persoalan yang barangkali sudah mafhum oleh para pendengar. Saya tidak mahu mengulas banyak, tapi saya sangat tertarik dengan satu perkara, iaitu Rausyanfikir.

Perkataan rausyanfikir ini didengar pertama kali pada seminar bersama Syed Naquib al-Attas pada beberapa bulan yang lepas. Jujur saya tidak mengerti makna disebaliknya. Tapi FT berjaya merungkai maksud rausyanfikir itu dengan membuat perbandingan di antara rausyanfikir dan ilmuwan. FT juga telah mengambil kata nukilan Prof. Jalaluddin Rakhmat yang dimasukkan ke dalam kertas kerja. Ia berbunyi: "Rausyanfikir berbeza dengan ilmuwan. Seorang ilmuwan mencari kenyataan, seorang rausyanfikir mencari kebenaran. Ilmuwan hanya menampilkan fakta sebagaimana terdapat, rausyanfikir memberi penilaian sebagaimana seharusnya. Ilmuwan berbicara dengan bahasa universal, rausyanfikir berbicara seperti nabi dengan menggunakan bahasa kaumnya. Ilmuwan bersikap neutral dalam menjalankan pekerjaannya, rausyanfikir harus melibatkan diri pada ideologi. Sejarah, kata Shariati dibentuk hanya oleh kaum rausyanfikir." Jadi, adakah cukup hanya menjadi seorang ilmuwan atau rausyanfikir? Fikirkanlah...

Saya tidak menyokong seluruhnya dengan pandangan FT, tapi saya yakin dia ada sebab untuk berpandangan sedemikian. Malah dia pasti mengkaji sesuatu dengan mendalam. Ada sesuatu di dalam dia yang sering menarik perhatian saya, terutama pemikirannya. Walaupun demikian, satu bantahan berani terhadap pendapat FT telah diutarakan oleh seseorang melalu laman muka buku, dan sengaja saya sertakan di sini. Sila klik SINI untuk baca lebih lanjut. Ada juga pendapat yang dinyatakan di dalamnya yang perlu diambil kira.

Sesi selepas zuhur yang mengundang ngantuk kepada para peserta sebolehnya saya cuba gunakan sebaiknya. Saya tertarik dengan senarai buku-buku terhebat ketika sesi pembentangan oleh Prof Emeritus Dr. Abdullah Hassan. Banyak karya hebat yang saya tidak tahu tapi harus mengambil tahu selepas ini, tapi sayangnya ada banyak karya hebat tulisan Cendekiawan Islam yang tidak diketengahkan.

Perkongsian Tuan Kamil Zuhairi yang fasih berbahasa Parsi tidak kurang juga menariknya. Beliau membentangkan perspecktif sejarah tradisi intelektual Parsi, tapi memulakan perkongsian dengan memberi definisi tajuk seminar yang dihadiri peserta. Tertarik dengan kata-kata beliau: "Sungguh berat sebenarnya tanggungjawab sebagai seorang pencinta buku". Ya, sangat berat. Saya baru merasakan itu walaupun sudah memiliki beribu buku peribadi. Pencinta buku bukanlah hanya cinta kosong semata-mata, akan tetapi ia adalah cinta sebelah pihak yang harus disertai dengan pengorbanan untuk mencurahkan ilmu setelah menghadam isi sesebuah buku. Sebuah cinta hebat yang mekarnya tid ak akan pudar selagi ilmu berbekas di dada bukan hanya di atas kertas semata-mata..

Pameran buku-buku karya Ustaz Abdullah al-Qari

Perkongsian terakhir adalah satu sesi istimewa bersama Ustaz Abdullah al-Qari Hj Salleh, seorang penulis berusia 73 tahun yang telah menghasilkan lebih 300 buah buku, dan bukunya diterbitkan dan dijual sendiri oleh beliau. Sungguh tidak disangkakan tubuh kecilnya itu masih kuat, dan usia tua bukan penghalang, malah masih sangat rendah diri dengan mengharapkan keuntungan di Akhirat kelak. Memulakan dunia penulisan sejak berumur 15 tahun dan mengatakan pernah berjumpa Rasulullah di dalam mimpi. Wallahu'alam. Tapi usaha murninya menyebarkan dakwah melalui tulisan sangat disanjung tinggi dan dikagumi.

Alhamdulillah, puas hati walaupun hanya satu hari. Syukur juga kerana bertemu kenalan baru yang hebat-hebat. Moga jaringan yang dibina bukan hanya sementara, tapi berkekalan di atas dasar cintakan Allah dan wahyu pertama yang menuntut agar membaca.

"Shopping" buku di ITNM untuk bulan September.

Cintakan buku, terus maju..

Allah Mahu Tahu.

**Sebahagian gambar telah diambil dari SINI dan SINI.

"Pelajaran" Syawal

2010-09-19T19:35:00.011+08:00

Alhamdulillah..

Segala puji bagi DIA yang menghadirkan segala nikmat. Ramadan sudah berlalu pergi, Syawal juga sudah genap 10 hari. Saya kini kembali ke kampus, melayari kehidupan sebagai pelajar juga masih belajar menjadi pengajar. Syawal kali ini saya banyak belajar sesuatu yang baru, jikalau ianya bukan baru, tapi saya hargai segala pelajaran di luar dewan kuliyah ini.

Solat Eid Surau Taman Gembira

Ini Syawal pertama tanpa Datuk di Singapura. Kebiasaan bermalam raya bersama beliau bermain-main di fikiran saya ketika menjelangnya takbir Syawal. Ini juga Syawal pertama di mana hanya Ayah, Emak, adik dan saya di rumah Taman Gembira. Jujur saya katakan sangat sunyi tanpa suara riuh anak saudara. Ini juga Syawal pertama yang saya rasakan saya rupanya sudah berumur suku abad. 25 tahun patutnya sudah matang tapi saya masih kebudak-budakan. Oh ya, ini juga Syawal pertama yang mengubah dekorasi rumah TG yang umurnya sebaya saya.

Tetamu Syawal pertama kali ini ialah tiga orang bukan berbangsa Melayu tapi tetamu setia Surau TG. Sedikit sebanyak menceriakan rumah kami. Kemudian hadir juga Abang Edi yang sudah seperti keluarga kami sendiri. Perjalanan pertama Syawal adalah ke kampung sebelah ayah di sekitar Batu Pahat Johor. Ini tradisi silaturrahim yang bertahun-tahun diajar ayah agar menziarahi sanak saudara yang lebih tua. Sepanjang perjalanan ke kampung yang bermula di Parit Abas dan berakhir di Air Tawar 3, saya banyak belajar keindahan dan kelembutan bahasa Jawa. Rugi. Saya yang merasa rugi kerana selalu melepaskan peluang belajar bahasa istimewa ini. Harapan agar niat mempelajari bahasa Jawa tidak akan pudar. Pelajaran yang ayah ajar untuk ziarah saudara akan saya ajar untuk generasi saya kelak InsyaAllah.

Orang tua saya sudah memulakan puasa enam Syawal pada hari kedua. Ini juga tradisi Sunnah yang sudah lama diamalkan mereka. Saya masih belum mampu berbuat sedemikian. Ini adalah pelajaran mengawal nafsu pada 'bulan makanan' dan Istiqamah dengan amalan yang dilakukan pada bulan Ramadan.

Tradisi lain di Syawal ini juga diubah sedikit, ketika mana orang tua saya mahu berjalan jauh. Mungkin mahu tukar cuaca dan ubah rasa. Rancangan pertama ke Terengganu dibatalkan kerana hal tertentu, tapi perjalanan diteruskan ke Tenggaroh, Tanjung Leman dan Kuantan. Niat ke Pulau Sibu dan Air Papan diubah untuk bulan yang seterusnya, InsyaAllah. Pelajaran di Kuantan benar-benar menyayat hati saya. Ini kali pertama saya berjumpa dengan Tok Wan, datuk saudara jauh sebelah emak yang umurnya setahun lebih muda daripada ayah. Makcik saya yang turut serta dengan perjalanan kami menitiskan air mata saat pertama kali berjumpa beliau di Kuantan setelah lebih 4o tahun tidak bersua muka. Cerita lama yang dibongkar membuat saya terdiam dan berfikir banyak. Dan ini adalah Syawal pertama, saya dan adik membantu basuh pinggan mangkuk di sebuah kedai makan milik Tok Wan secara ikhlas tanpa gaji tapi puas hati mendapatkan pengalaman yang takkan dilupakan sepanjang hidup.

Silibus pelajaran Syawal ditambah lagi apabila ramai tetamu hadir pada Syawal kali ini. Saya tidak menang tangan kerana berseorangan membantu emak di dapur. Tambah tidak sampai hati jika hanya emak seorang di rumah menyiapkan semuanya. Rombongan Abang Saadon sekeluarga bertembung dengan rombongan Mak Usu sekeluarga. Pertama kali saya saksikan rumah 77 ini dipenuh terlalu ramai sanak saudara. Biarpun penat, saya puas hati. Fakta penting yang saya harus terima, semakin tua orang tua saya, semakin ramai tetamu di rumah TG ini.

Syawal ini juga menambah satu tanggungjawab besar untuk saya. Kehadiran JJU 2545 memberi pelajaran baru buat saya. Nasihat ayah dan emak yang berulang kali akan saya cuba lekatkan di minda. Saya lebih hargai nasihat2 itu berbanding "ikan kelisa" itu. Tanpa mereka, tiadalah hadirnya tanggungjawab baru ini.

Oh ya, ada satu lagi pelajaran baru di Syawal 1431H ini. Saya menemani rakan baik sahabat sejati saya ke Pejabat Agama Johor untuk mengambil borang permohonan nikah. Ops! bukan untuk saya, tapi hanya menemani sahabat yang bakal melangsungkan walimah akhir tahun ini. Sejujurnya saya yang berdebar-debar. Haha. Moga urusan sahabat saya ini dipermudahkan kerana pasangan hidup bukan hanya untuk sehari tapi berkekalan walau selepas mati. Moga ada yang sudi untuk hidup tua bersama saya dan menerima segala kelemahan diri. Yang penting, moga hati saya bersedia menerima apa adanya.

Kalau diikutkan hati, masih banyak pelajaran yang dipelajari, tapi yang dicatat ini adalah yang utama sebagai peringatan buat saya dan generasi saya. Kesederhaan Syawal kali ini cukup membuat saya bahagia. Moga segala amalan kita semua diterima dan saling memaafkan di antara satu sama lain walaupun bukan di bulan Syawal.

Salam Syawal Minal 'Aidin wal Faizin

Saadah Khair
10 Syawal 1431H/19 September 2010
Mahallah Sumayyah, UIAM Gombak

**Istilah belajar itu tidak akan pernah habis. "Learning Never Ending"

Salam Syawal

2010-09-11T19:17:00.002+08:00

Eid Mubarak

Kullu 'Am wa Antum Toyyibin wa Alf Khayr
Minal 'Aidin wal Faizin

Tinten Riyadin kang Muliyo,
Kulo matur lapatan sing katah katah lahir batin. Semoge Allah pangeran nagmpun akeh doso kulo lan doso sampiyan, InsyaAllah..

Selamat Hari Raya IdulFitri Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Tulus Ikhlas,

Saadah Khair

Universiti Ramadan

2010-09-09T13:39:00.004+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

30 Ramadan. Ya, hari ini akan genaplah 30 hari kita berpuasa. Hati saya lebih sedih meninggalkan Ramadan berbanding gembira menyambut lebaran. Ada di benak yang tidak terungkap. Ada di fikiran yang tidak terluah. Hanya tulisan bisa ku titipkan peringatan untuk diri sendiri..

Sepanjang Ramadan ini, saya melalui dan mempelajari banyak perkara. Jujur saya katakan, saya sangat menghargai setiap detik di Ramadan kali ini.

Ibadah. Inilah yang paling utama. Walaupun syaitan dirantai, tapi Ramadan benar2 mengajar untuk melawan hawa nafsu gila. Tidak susah untuk beribadah. Ibadah itu bukan hanya solat atau duduk di masjid 24 jam sehari. Setiap amalan yang diniatkan kerana Allah dikira sebagai Ibadah. Bukankah Allah itu Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang. Semoga setiapa amal ibadah kita diterima Allah.

Keikhlasan. Usah mencarinya di merata tempat. Ia sebenarnya wujud di dalam setiap individu itu. Ikhlas dalam beramal. Ikhlas dalam bekerja. Ikhlas di dalam setiap perbuatan. Ramadan ini mengajar saya supaya tidak mempersoalkan kelemahan saya yang terlalu banyak, tapi saya harus belajar menerima kelemahan tersebut dan bersyukur di atas setiap sesuatu. Betulkan niat, betulkan niat, dan betulkan niat. Biarlah ikhlas hanya kerana DIA bukan dia...

Tanggungjawab. Perkataan ini lah yang paling menakutkan tapi terpaksa dilalui oleh semua orang. Ramadan kali ini menyaksikan saya menerima tiga tanggungjawab lama dan baru. Terasa kerdil kerana merasakan apabila banyaknya kekurangan diri apabila dipertanggungjawabkan, tapi bila mengingat satu potongan ayat al-Quran ini, saya tidak bisa mempersoalkan apa-apa lagi. Allah bersabda: "La yukallifullahu nafsan illa wus'aha" Dimana maksudnya Allah takkan membebani seseorang itu di luar kemampuannya.. Terpana. Allah sebenarnya lebih tahu kemampuan kita berbanding diri kita sendiri.

Bakti. Ia harus ditabur dan disemai agar hasilnya indah. Ramadan ini memberi saya peluang yang sangat banyak untuk menabur bakti pada orang tua. Sudut hati saya selalu sayu melihat wajah ayah dan emak. Terlalu banyak jasa mereka yang tak mampu dibalas. Saya hampir menangis ketika mengajar satu topik kepada anak murid tentang Ayat2 Quran yang menyatakan tentang perintah hormati Ibu Bapa, tapi air mata itu hanya terbuku di dada. Andai terjurai, itu tidak mencacatkan kredibiliti saya sebagai pensyarah, tapi saya mahu melatih diri agar kuat secara emosi. Nasihat yang saya berikan buat mereka terlebih dahulu ditujukan buat saya. Moga Allah berkati orang tuaku yang telah membesarkanku dari kecil hinggalah dewasa kini.

Muamalat. Sayangi Yang di atas, dan orang di bawah akan menyayangi kita. Tidak cukup hanya menjaga pergaulan kita dengan Allah sehingga mengabaikan hubungan sesama manusia. Terlalu banyak hati yang perlu dijaga. Sebelum terlalu menjaga hati orang lain, jagalah hati diri sendiri terlebih dahulu. Malah harus faham bahawa setiap manusia itu tidak sempurna, malah ada kekurangan dan kelebihannya. Carilah keberkatan di setiap muamalat, Allah itu Maha Tahu.

Maaf. Adakah begitu sukar memohon maaf atau memaafkan itu lebih sukar? Jadikan penutup Ramadan ini untuk saling memaafkan di antara satu sama lain. Bukankah Allah itu Maha Pemaaf. Ikhlas dari hati, mohon maaf zahir batin atas segalanya..

Selamat berkonvokesyen dari Universiti Ramadan ini.
Moga mendapat jawatan kerja tetap bernama 'Istiqamah'

Wallahu'alam

Eid Mubarak
Kullu 'Am wa Antum bi alf Khayr..

Sad Beginning

2010-09-01T15:11:00.004+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

Today is 1st September 2010. My mixed-feeling made me feel uncomfortable since last night. Actually I didn't understand what kind of feeling that disturb me so much today. But the one that I realize is I'm not able to achieve my target for the month of August..

Since morning when I woke up for Sahur and Qiyamullail, I was thinking too much.. I saw my planner. I wrote notes at my calendar. I just can't say anything because I stayed alone at my room. I looked around of my room which messy with books and notes everywhere. Sadly speaking, I'm very sad in the beginning of September... Since morning of this first of September, I just pretend to be happy especially in front of my students. I can't show my weakness to them because I am the one who advice and motivate them to try harder in everything in their life..

It was my own mistake to not arrange and manage my time efficiently..
It was my own decision to take a responsibility of working..
It was my own intention to make a target for every month..
It was my own responsibility to accept all that will be happened after this..
And I have to redha for everything and take this challenge of life with patience. I have to be strong inside and outside. I have to look forward and think positive.. The most important, I have to change myself..

Another reason that make me sad is, Ramadan will end soon... And there are a lot of people outside there ignoring the last 10 Days of Ramadan and start busy preparing for Eid. I always remind myself and told my students that, please appreciate the time that we are in the Holy Month of Ramadan and grab all the opportunities to get His blessing and Love in this month..

Ya Allah, make me strong and patient to receive any test from You..
Ya Allah, give me a chance to face the Powerful Night of Ramadan..

Only YOU knows everything..

No more tears,
c3.1, IIUM Library

Books In August

2010-08-31T08:58:00.007+08:00

Holy Quran
(Photo: My personal al-Quran)

I love to read books, but special for this Ramadan, I wanna spend my time to read this Holy Book more than any other books. Alhamdulillah that I think I can achieve my target to Katam al-Quran for this Ramadan, InsyaAllah. I asked my students to do that, so, I have to do the same thing, or should do better more than them. And as Allah said: Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). [2:185], So, there are no acceptable reason to say that you have no time to read Quran, especially in the month of Ramadan..

Oh yah.. The Holy Quran is not to be read only in August or Ramadan, but tor the whole time of our life~!

Life is an Open Secret: Ramadan Special

Zabrina A. Bakar

Actually I read this book for the second time especially for the month of Ramadan. I really want to always remind myself that I am have to take care of my actions during this month and Istiqamah in the next coming months. This small book also gave me idea to tell some stories during my lecture in my classes. Fortunately, the author also was experienced working at IIC as well.

This book carries 25 motivational and inspirational stories specifically tailored for the month of Ramadan when Muslims worldwide are required to observe the act of fasting from dawn until sunset for a period of one month. This special month brings along with it many benefits and blessings that are sometimes forgotten. Thus, the stories in this book serve as a reminder as to what Ramadan is truly about. All stories are written in a simple, chatty, humorous and witty way that promises to touch your heart, tease your mind, soothe your soul and make you reflect along the way. Please click HERE to read this book online..

Kabul Beauty School: An American Women Goes Behind the Veil

Deborah Rodriguiz

I bought this book long time ago, but just had opportunity to finish it in the beginning of August even it took more than 2 months to finish my reading of this book. Anyway, I myself appreciate all the efforts done by the writer as a main role in this book which is based on a true story. She tried hard to protect the woman's rights in Kabul, Afghanistan in her own ways. The beauty school was only a trademark, but she did more than that. It was all about friendship and freedom, as well as sincerity which can never be explained.. The story of Afghanistan always catch my eyes since I read two books written by Khalid Hosseini.

Yathrib Qabla al-Islam, Dr. Muhammad Sayyid al-Wakil
and
Tarikh Shamil li al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Dr. Abd al-Basit Badr

This two books are two main references when I'm writing the topic of Yathrib in my thesis. Yathrib is the old name of Madinah al-Munawwarah. The history of this city was not well mentioned in websites or English article. So, I have to refer to the Arabic History Kitab to know more information about this city. The story about Yathrib can be categorized to some important aspects, which are in term of belief system, political system, economic system, social system including its diverse population. I'm not finish yet in reading these two books, I put my best efforts to translate the Arabic explanation to English understanding in my Chapter 3 of thesis. Hopefully this chapter will be end in the middle of September which supposedly to be ended in August, but I failed to do that.. :(

Aquilla Asia (Issue July/Aug 2010)

This is not a book, but an international magazine focusing on the Muslimah Issues around Asia. I introduce this magazine here due to a reason that my short writing and picture was published for the issue of July/August 2010 under the topic of "Ramadan Around the World". Yes, it was just a small writing in a corner of two pages, but I was really happy, because I can make it as a motivation to write more and more in another magazine, article, or journal. The purpose of writing is not to show off, but I wanna share the knowledge and experience to other. Prophet SAW said: Balighu 'anni walau aayah...

**I hope I can manage my time efficiently for today as the last day of August and Holiday for the Independence Day of Malaysia..

Small Reunion

2010-08-30T17:43:00.006+08:00

30 August 2010, 20 Ramadan 1431H

A small reunion was held in order to strengthen our Ukhuwwah and maintain the close relationship among four of us, as well as to rewind back our past unforgettable memories during undergraduate at IIUM. Honestly, we were happy. It was too difficult to gather back four of us since we already proceed our own different ways after graduate.

Alhamdulillah, Mun, Timah and I went to break fasting at a Restaurant area Taman Melati, sadly, Fizah still on her way from Kajang to Gombak. She had her simple iftar in LRT, pity you my dear friend.. After Maghrib prayer, we fetched Fizah and accompanied her to take her dinner. Then, we went to IIUM Mosque to have congregational Isyak prayer and Terawih prayer.

I love the moment that we can laugh happily and share our stories. I like when Timah said, "Ya Allah....rindunya kat UIA. Rindu nak tengok muka lelaki2 soleh di UIA." haha... And four of us always flashed back our innocent memories past years... I miss that... Timah again well said: "Jom jadikan ini aktiviti tahunan untuk berkumpul setiap Ramadan..". Speechless! But I do happy....

It was the blessing of Ramadan that we can gather back like this. It was the nikmah from Allah that we had this simple unforgettable small reunion. It was the sweetness of Ukhuwwah that maintain our friendship until nowadays. Ya Allah please bind our friendship for the sake of YOU..

Thank You Munirah..
Thank You Fatimah..
Thank You Hafizah..
and not forget Thank You Kak Syam..

Thank You ALLAH!

Sincerely,
Saadah Khair
Batu 8 Gombak (Mun's house)

A Blessed Birthday!

2010-08-24T17:45:00.004+08:00

24th August.

New age. The increasing of this new age should be accompanied by the increasing of Iman, Knowledge and Deeds. Alhamdulillah ya Allah for giving me the opportunity to continue this life and let me breath peacefully in this world. Thank you Allah!

Thank you mom for having a great and difficult time to give a birth to a daughter like me, and patiently educated me since that date until now..

Thank you dad for delivering azan right away after I born, and really thankful to you for everything that you taught me the beauty and the difficulty of life..

Thank you to all my siblings for having a great time together since my childhood, and still understand and accept my real character at home..

Thank you generally to all friends, and especially close friends for accepting a friend like me, and stay keep in touch even though I am not a real good friend but try to be good to everyone..

Really appreciate all the wishes, the du'a, the hopes, and the thoughts from all of you during my special day, either directly or indirectly. I received over 100 wishes at my FB yesterday, and many telephone calls from family and friends. It was a great honour to remember my birthday. I just feel wanna to cry yesterday, but I bear it and just express the feeling of happiness to everyone.. May Allah bless all of them and shower them with a great love and blessing~!

Special thanks to a friend who accompany my at the night of my birthday, even though just through a medium of technology, but I really appreciate that.. May Allah always bless you and give happiness throughout your life..

The blessed birthday of this year really make me happy due to some reasons. Firstly, it was in the month of Ramadan, and I do hope that I can do better than last Ramadan, hopefully this is not my last Ramadan. Secondly, it was celebrated in a very simple celebration, and I love to be a simple person. Thirdly, I realize that my presence and existence among my friends is good enough, and I really hope that all of my friends now will still be my friends in the future. Once friend is friend forever..

Actually, I have a lots of dream for this birhday, but I will not mention it here. But I do hope that all my dreams can be achieved by my hard efforts and the rest will be decided by Allah..

**Happy Birthday to myself~! Be Happy~!

"Imtihan" in Ramadan

2010-08-20T22:28:00.004+08:00

First Imtihan: Health Condition

I wish that I will not face any health problem in this Ramadan, but who knows that Allah want to give a test as His mercy and love. I got flu and cough. I am not easily infected by virus, but once I got it, it will not easily getting well. In addition to that, I hate to take any medicine, and that is my problem. By the way, I try to control myself for not only use all the time in Ramadan to rest, but feel grateful that the sickness is His Mercy for me, Allah knows all the Hikmah behind this. May Allah grant me a good health for me to perform Ibadah in this Holy Ramadan..

Second Imtihan: Student's Manner

It had been more than a month I'm working at IIC. Of course I learned a lot of things. There are also difficulties and easiness. But the problem is how to deal with all the students. Due to my less experience, I have to mentally prepare the unexpected things to be happened in my classes. And I really need Sabr (Patience) comes together with Ikhlas (Sincerity) during my lecture and convey the important message for each subjects to my students. May Allah help me to use Maw'izah (lesson) and Hikmah (wisdom) with all my students..

Third Imtihan: Jihad an-Nafs

Rasulullah said that all syaitan will be chained for the whole days of Ramadan, but the biggest problem is our own Nafs, especially in performing Ibadah whether Ibadah Wajib, Sunat, or Mubah. I'm sure that everyone of us want to improve the Ibadah Level during this Ramadan, and I'm sure also that some of us succeed and some failed to do that, or succeed in the beginning and failed in the middle of Ramadan. Jihad an-Nafs is the biggest Jihad for a Muslim. May Allah make our faith stronger and never give up to perform our best in this Ramadan..

*Read this entry: Ramadan jangan sampai retak.. a nice one!

Fourth Imtihan: Tadarus and Tadabbur al-Quran

For this semester, I was given a responsibility to teach 5 subjects and 3 of them related to the al-Quran (even though I'm specialize in Hadith), and that was a real challenge for me. So, for each class, I asked them to try khatam al-Quran even once for this special Ramadan, and for those who able to do that, I will give a bonus mark. At the same time, I don't want they just read without understand the content of the Quran, and that is my responsibility to give a good explanation for each subject in order to make them realize the importance of Tadabbur al-Quran, not only Tadarus and Qira'ah al-Quran. Actually, this is also a motivation to myself. May Allah light all of us with the blessing of al-Quran...

**Imtihan mentioned in this entry refers to the Test of Allah, not an examination paper..

A silent friend

2010-08-19T22:55:00.005+08:00

Actually, I have another thing to share in this blog for this week, but something was happened, and I think that I wanna change the topic. Today, it was enough a week that my grandfather passed away. May Allah bless him. Allahummahfirlahuwarhamhu... AL-Fatihah..

But that is not the issue for this entry. In the same context, one of my silent friend passed away this morning. I don't care if you wanna say that I am childish and silly, but I do sad because of the losing this silent friend. Although he is not my best friend, but I do appreciate him for accompanying me along these years especially during my postgraduate study.

Thank You friend for the silence that make my heart ponder of you. I'm grateful that you can't speak but still stay by my side..

Thank You friend for the loyalty that you show when I stayed up late at night..

Thank You friend for the happiness that you cannot express when I make a useful benefit of you..

Thank You friend for the sharing that reduce my thirsty, and maintain my health indirectly..

Thank You friend for the courageous and the spirit that sometimes motivated me..

Thank You.. even though you are just only a black, big, and ugly mug.. The colour of black was specifically chosen for you due to some reasons. I really love black mug. I don't know why, but it will give me satisfaction while drinking any water.. Especially coffee..

And I apologize too because not able to stay by your side until the end. You went away without my presence and someone told me late and not informed me early.. I'm sorry friend.. I'm regret for not able to see you for the last time...

I know myself better than others. Sometimes I like to stay alone, that's why I'm really appreciate everything around me and accompany me all the time, even it is a little thing for you but it might be big and important thing for me. Yes you can call me weird and odd, but these kind of silent friends should be appreciated similar to appreciate human being as your friend, and sometimes they are much more better and understandable than a real breath human friend.. but pity, they can't speak...

And even now, I'm really sad because all his pictures was not found in my new lappy, there are a lot of memories with him saved in the my lappy at home...waaa... I miss my black mug.. Then, I cannot share his picture here... :(

**Waiting for new black mug, anyone wanna give me that? I'm really appreciate it.. ^_^

Ragam Ramadan

2010-08-14T19:39:00.008+08:00

Ragam Satu

"Puasa itu apa?" Soalan ini ditujukan oleh seorang wanita berusia 40 tahun ke atas kepada seorang anak kecil berusia 5 tahun. Anak kecil itu diam seribu bahasa. Koma. Perkataan puasa itu memang mudah disebut tapi bukan mudah untuk didefinisikan oleh anak kecil.

"Hasni puasa?"
"Puasa..."
"Hasni makan apa tadi?"
"Makan nasi lah..."
"Kalau Hasni makan, tandanya Hasni tak puasa.."
"oouh..."
"Puasa tu, tak boleh makan.. tak boleh minum.."
"Tak boleh makan? Tak boleh minum?"
"Iya, siapa yang makan dan minum, dia tak puasa namanya"
"oouh.. Puasa tu tak boleh makan.. Tak boleh minum"

Tiba-tiba ada suara sumbang di belakang, "Puasa boleh kentut tak..??" Pecah perut kami dibuatnya..

Ragam Dua

Di Pasar Kg Melayu, Johor Bahru.

Gadis: Bang, ada jual cekor?
Penjual: Ada, kat belakang Tongkat Ali.
Gadis: Hah? *sambil menggaru kepala*
Penjual itu masih sibuk menimbang sayur pelanggan yang lain.
Gadis: Maaf bang, saya tak kenal cekor.
Penjual: Cuba tengok dalam bakul belakang tu.
Gadis itu menuju ke arah yang ditunjukkan itu sambil mengenal pasti ada bakul halia dan kunyit, dan terlihat sesuatu yang kurang dikenal pasti. "Abang, ini ya..?"
Penjual: iya... *sambil tersenyum geli hati melihat gelagat gadis tersebut*
Harga juga diberi murah kerana kasihan melihat wajah pelanggan yang terpinga-pinga.

Ini lah bahana jika ke pasar setahun sekali...

Ragam Tiga

ABC di Kg Melayu memang tiada tandingannya. Air Batu Campur. Tapi ABC khas di bulan Ramadan hanya untuk kaum wanita dan mereka yang dikrukhsahkan keadaannya. ABC bukanlah abjad biasa, tapi mengandungi maksud luar biasa. "Allah Bagi Cuti". Bunyinya nampak mudah, tapi tak semudah yang disangkakan. Bunyinya nampak enak, tapi bukanlah untuk disengajakan tapi sudah ditetapkan.

Ramadan ini tiada istilah cuti. Jika cuti berpuasa, tidak semestinya boleh makan sesuka hati. Jika cuti solat, tidak bermaksud boleh meninggalkan ibadah yang lain. Belajar itu ibadah. Senyum itu Ibadah. Membaca itu Ibadah. Dan semua yang dilakukan kerana Allah itu adalah Ibadah. Mari berlumba-lumba beribadah di bulan Ramadan dan istiqamah di bulan yang berikutnya. InsyaAllah..

Ragam Empat

Pahala. Yuk kejar pahala. Tapi bukan bermakna boleh sesuka hati memilih pahala yang paling sesuai dalam mengerjakan Ibadah. Teraweh malam pertama Ramadan begini, dan malam kedua begitu pula. "Kalau begitu, saya mahu Teraweh pada malam sekian sahaja lah, kerana pahalanya begitu dan begitu."

Teraweh itu Ibadah Sunnah. Dua puluh atau lapan hanyalah pilihan, bukan kewajiban. Pahala bukan kita yang tentukan, tapi Allah berhak letak apa sahaja yang Dia rasakan sesuai. Besar kemungkinan juga tiada pahala langsung diberikan setelah berdiri lama, ruku' dan sujud, sambil membawa perut kekenyangan yang tiada tandingannya, tapi hanya keletihan semata-mata..

Yuk amalkan Ihsan dalam mengejar pahala. Beibadahlah seakan-akan kamu melihat DIA, jika kamu tidak melihat DIA, tapi pastilah bahawa DIA melihat kamu...

Ragam Lima

Al-Quran adalah bahan bacaan yang tidak pernah menjemukan. Alunan suara merdu Imam juga mencairkan hati makmum dan menenangkan hati insan bergelar Mukmin. Tapi usah terlalu fokus dengan lagu dan alunannya, isinya lebih penting. Tajwid bacaan juga perlu dititikberatkan.

"Saya mahu solat di Masjid itu, kerana Imamnya adalah si Polan.."
"Solat di Masjid di sana lebih baik, kerana Imamnya seorang Hafiz keluaran luar negara"
"Solat di Masjid di situ lah... kerana Imamnya baca pendek-pendek"
"Masjid di sana tu lebih bagus, kerana suara Imamnya merduuuuu sangat.."

Usahlah solat kerana Imam atau Masjid, tapi solatlah kerana itu adalah medium untuk bertemu Tuhan!

**Ramadan untukku akan benar-benar bermula sebentar saja lagi.. :)