End

The cogs turn faster now. Though everyone, I suppose, wished that the track would move slower. In less than a month it would all be over and we walk out the gates one last time. There is an end to everything, so to speak, and this is it.

The sentimental types would turn all glassy-eyed at the mere thought of separation. Promises are made: I will never ever forget you. I will always keep in touch. Promises that are forgotten the moment the sun rises up on a new day, and one sets foot in a new land.

It's true.

This is not the voice of cynicism, it is reality. Everyone experiences separation. Man leaves wife, child leaves family, lover leaves lover. The only real difference is some separations appear to be reversible and some appear as how they really are. Permanent.

Of course, one should never lose hope. Nay, the believer is the consumate optimist, even in the worst of circumstances. Kabhi Alveda Na Kehna, they say. "Never Say Goodbye". Goodbye eliminates all hope of reunion. It eliminates hope.

In other words, 'till we meet again. It's been nice knowing you.

I need a hero

I like che. I really do. I've read his books, watched Fidel!, Motorcycle Diaries (in German) and am waiting for the one featuring Benicio Del Toro to premiere. But el che pales in comparison to Mus'ab Bin 'Umair (may Allah be pleased with him). You need a young idealistic role model who left everything behind for the cause, even dying for it (and what an end it was)? Then look no further than this great companion of the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

hey, mutton-curry head!

iklan deepavali petronas : http://202.71.107.161/petronas/index.asp

on podcasts

Got a new obsession : podcasts! Yes, i know, though it seems tempting to say its oh-so-passe now, I did try it out previously, only to have my interest peter off due to the lack of podcasts that interest me.

Now, however, its a totally different story. Through podcasts, there is a cost-efficient way to partake in various intellectual pursuit. Here are a list of some of the podcasts I currently subscribe to (with a short description of its contents):

• Gamelan Podcast - self-explanatory
• Zaytuna Institute Podcast - one of the more frequently updated and truly multimedia podcasts, contain both audio and video lectures on Islam by Shaykh Hamzah Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir, and also documents on Islam
• Q-News Podcast - of Q-News magazine fame, covers current issues, e.g. Palestine, organic food, mental health from a decidedly Islamic perspective.
• iKhutbah - various lectures from American Muslim scholars, i.e Imam Suhaib Webb, Imam Siraj Wahaj etc.
• Radical Middle Way Project - UK podcast with lectures on Islam delivered by noted scholars (in English).
  
• mykuliah.net podcast (Malay) - a compendium of ceramahs delivered by famous Malaysian speakers like Dr Harun Din, Aqil Hayy, Ustaz Shamsuri Ahmad.
• Zirah KLFM 97.2 (Malay) - a favourite show of mine. This is the podcast for Zikrah, the daily morning radio program on KLFM featuring Ustaz Wan Sohor Bani Leman.

The quality of the recordings are generally bearable bearing in mind that most of the episodes are actually lectures recorded live (with the exception of the Gamelan podcast as it is essentially a music program). The Zaytuna podcast deserves extra mention as it truly is a full-featured multimedia podcast and is updated at regular intervals. Its a good thing then, I suppose, that one finds it hard to tire of Hamzah Yusuf and his educational mirth.

There are also podcasts that aim to teach or at least complement the learning of a language. The learn Japaneses podcast is very popular (it was even featured in Time recently), so is the learn Mandarin podcast. However, the arabic language podcasts that I have tried are unsatisfactory,to say the least.

After listening to people like Abdul Hakim Murad, Hamzah Yusuf, Zaid Shakir and others, one finds it tempting to make comparisons with the lectures we regular hear delivered by our homegrown scholars of islam. The content of the Malaysian lectures are rather superficial, as opposed to the deep probing discourses, especially those delivered by people like Abdul Hakim Murad, a professor of Divinity from Cambridge University. There also seems to be greater emphasis on the application of Islam principles to daily life and issues as opposed to merely restricting it to supplications, prayers and the odd political issue. As there is a very obvious spiritual vacuum, perhaps it is timely for our Ustazs and scholars to start speaking in depth and offer their opinions on concerns such as the environment, health, culture, relationships lest people seeking for answers pick up instead the solutions offered that may be incompatible with Quranic principles.

God knows best.

Baliklah wok

Bersempana musim perayaan yang kian menghampiri ini, hayatilah sajak yang ditampilkan ini. Sajak ini, yang bertajuk 'Baliklah wok', ditulis di dalam bahasa melayu terengganu. Sajak ini juga sering diputarkan di siaran radio di negeri Terengganu.

Sayup mengelor anok dok balik
Menyembah sujud pada Mung
Seakang zaman doktong sudah sapok
Seakan zaman gelekek habih doh
Mung duk jauh Mok panggil dekat
Mung duk dekat Mok panggil rapat
Mung duk rapatt Mok sendal
Takmboh bui gogeh
Renungan si Ibu terandeng jauh
Seakang mengelor anok manih
Yang hatinya gelebek sumbing
Ingat air mata yang luroh berjelabok berlembang di lambor
Seakang noknya anok tembor berdecung dari Kuala Lumpor
Biar cokkoh depang mata
Biarlah mung dulu suka mengakas
Sedor sedor le ni senyap tuppas
Sampai gitu mbas menengung
Mok tunggu mu balik raya kappong
Mok tunggu mu jadi bejuruh jangan jadi cakduh
Mok doa' biar jadi manih dok kelat sebbat
Mok doa' lagi hari raya, biar tenang jangan kelecat barat
Rok jelibung mok tebah buat jalang
Takut mung kena pakoh pinggat lari meletang kalang
Nok tengoknya ke mung
Memang dok dang dang
Nok ramah jari mung anok ku anok kesayangan
Hari Raya andainya buleh aku kelor mung
Takut nak jeruwoh takut mung belohok
Bukang mok nak kereta tolok, bukang mok mitok mah setokol
Mok tahu mung makang burger, hotdog
Dulu mu berahi jering, gemo kuih badok
Mok cuba kelor lagi neh
Baliklah Wok baliklah
Hari raya dok baik bekok
Mok terima mung sayang
Salahnya cuma silap belaga buah getoh
Silap sikitnya rebus ubi kayu dok rebus ubi torok
Adik Adik mu tu nye je mung jadi bekok
Hari raya ning baliklah Wok
Mok sorang berlagu pilu sedih
Ayoh mu gi dok royat nok mati
Rasa nok gelekek tadok tepat geli
Raya sama mung dok tau tepat nok gi
Baliklah Wok
Anak anak ku
Kalau mu kenang duana mung tubek
Kalau mu kenang sapa beso ke mung
Kalau mu kenang sapa dia jaga mung jok kecik
Kalau mu kenang macang mana mung boleh baca nulih
Pagi raya ning mung ada cokoh dirumah
Pagi raya ning mung buat air dappor
Pagi raya ning ciung tangang orang tua
Pagi raya ning mitok maaf dengan mok
Pagi raya ning mok dok pernoh berniat nok kehel mung
Hari raya hari berkeluarga, cenderhati termahal
Hadiah paling comel, hamper paling beso
Hari raya, mung semualah paling beso
Anok beranok, warih waroh

(Sajak hasil karya Ibrahim Mohd Taib dari Ajil, Ulu Terengganu)

2:41AM

“Azura… kalau kau jadi kekasih ku… akan ku anyam buih-buih di laut… untuk ku jadikan pengalas cinta kita… Azura… Bolehkah aku buat begitu…”

Perh...


dari Perjalanan Hidupku


sat!:

Lagi klip dari filem tersebut.

Jangan marah...

'mahkotaku telah dirampas'

Things to do:

• Study for externals
• Do more math exercises
• Write contribution for Writers’ Block
• Wash Car
• Try out Date and Oat Cookie Recipe
• Stop blogging

Things to listen to:

• Q-News Podcast – A Spiritual Vision of Jerusalem
• Radical Middle Way Project Podcast – Murad Hoffman’s lecture
• Soldiers of Allah -1924
• Senandung Melayu bersama orkes Allahyarham Hamzah Dolmat
• Siri 1, 2, dan 3 Surah al-Taariq pimpinan Tuan Guru Dato’ Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
• Best Nik Aziz
• Misteri Di Alam Jin – Ustaz Ismail Kamus
• Tafsir Surah Al-Mulk- Dato’ Ismail Kamus
• Continuum – John Mayer
• Jazz In The City 2
• OrAnG- OAG

Things to watch:

{currently none}

addendum: I forgot to include

Things to read:

• Failed States - Noam Chomsky
• The One Percent Doctrine - Ron Suskind
• Panduan Hidup Muslim - Prof. Dr Hamka

20 Ramadhan

It was a simple majlis. Nothing ostentatious, food served on nondescript plastic plates, guests seated on linoleum. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, students, slackers gathered in one humble hall to break fast together.

I sat at the back, as I always do. Its nearer to the exit, but that's not the point of the story. The purpose of typing this post juiced-up on caffeine so late at night is about the tazkirah that was given after the buka.

Now, it's important for me to tell you that officially the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor frowns on this practice. To be fair to them, what they actually discourage is the giving of tazkirah after every 4 raka'ats of Tarawih, as they say it disturbs the concentration of the jemaah. Nevermind the fact most people bail out after 8 anyway, tazkirah or no tazkirah, and you pretty much lose concentration after the first mercun bang ten minutes into the first raka'at, but that's not the point of this post.

So this Ustaz reminded the faithful present in that humble hall, that tonight (local Malaysian time) marked the beginning of the final 10 days of Ramadhan. Of course, some people would say it was yesterday based on their own local sighting (of the anak bulan), and both are valid opinions, as Syeikh Hamza(h) Yusuf would say, although it is rather confusing, but that's not the point of this tale.

He reminded them, that in these final 10 days exists a night where deeds are rewarded the equivalent of 1000 months, roughly 83 years. That's ten years more than the Malaysian life expectancy rate for females, 14 years more than for its males. It was also mentioned how the Messenger of Allah (s) was the best of men during Ramadhan.

You see, these final 10 nights should be a sort of a wake up call. If you are like me, and the past 20 days of fasting have been more murtabak than mubarak, these final 10 days is the time to change.
If your tilawah has not progressed beyond page 5, then its time to pick it up again.
If your previous terawihs were impaired by the contents of your stomach, maybe its time to spend less at the bazaar ( despite what Tun Dr M says about the economy).
If your last tahajjud was... a long time ago, perhaps tonight would be a good time to resume it.

I advice myself and all readers of this blog this, and I ask Allah that I don't blow this last few days of Ramadhan. Amin.


Links:
Dato' Ishak Baharum's view of the current ban on tazkirahs. (In Malay)

Coffee and Company

'Eh what are you having?'

'Get me a latte'

'I’ll have a cappuccino'

'Make that two,'

The sun shone brightly that Thursday morning, and what better place to beat the heat than the conveniently located starbucks, a mere stone’s throws away from the college. Not that this visit there was anything unusual. It was just another weekly round of their favorite cuppa where the girls, Ash, Emma, Jaq, and Kayleigh, caught up with each other and be updated of the latest gossip.

As usual, they took some time to settle down, or in their own words, to “get in the zone” before they begin their weekly session. After 5 minutes of the usual outfit comparing and complimenting, and their piping hot drinks ready on the coffee table before them, it was time to get the ball rolling.

Kayleigh took the first strike, 'So, Ash, I hear there's something between you and Mr. Hotness.'

Ash flashed her world famous guy-crushing smile. 'What do you think?' she purred.

'Well, I heard that he finally got to asking,' Jaq said, adding almost breathlessly, ‘so what'd u say?'

Again, a smile. 'I said yes.'

'Oh My God!' they shrieked, destroying whatever shred of class left remaining of the establishment.

'Wah, so this will be one special raya for you, ya?' quizzed Kayleigh, 'so what color will your baju rayas be?'

Ash took a sip of her latte.

'Unfortunately, Johan won't be around during Raya. He's going back to his kampong in Kelantan, but we'll still be wearing matching outfits,' Ash said with a wink. 'I’m thinking pink.'

'I thought he was this macho fler?' Kayleigh interjected.

'Yeah,' answered ash, her sly smile ever present.

'Anyway, tell us when did he ask for it? He took you out for dinner is it?' asked Jaq.

Emma couldn't help herself, 'oh please, Johan? Dinner? He's been to the masjid every night since puasa started. Ash's very lucky to have caught such a good guy.'

Noting the sarcasm, ash parried,' yes, he's such a good boy, and besides,’ she looked Emma straight in the eye, ‘I terawih too, you know. You only get to perform it during Ramadan, so my dad takes us all to the masjid every night. He’s very particular about these things.’

She took a moment to wipe the spill from her latte off her top.

'Anyway, Johan,' she continued, 'it was Monday actually, I was having lunch with my classmates when suddenly, out of the blue, I received this sms from him, wait, let me get my phone. Here, u guys can read it yourselves.’

Kayleigh snatched the phone from her in a blink and loudly proclaimed the contents,' 'Hey, u knw i thnk we can b mr thn frnds''

'Such eloquence,' Emma, of course.

Ash pretended not to have heard, ‘of course, after what happened to Laili no way was I’m going to believe smses that easily,'

'So?' breathed Jaq impatiently.

'So I rang him up there and then' ash staccatoed. 'The thing is, the poor boy had class at the time, and I forgot. But you knowla, people in lovekan, sweetheart call of courselah must answer.'

'Ohmygod, that’s so sweet!' Jaq and Kayleigh said in unison. 'And then?' they demanded.

'Well, I asked him was he serious? He said yes. I asked him why? He said he was attracted to my 'sincerity' and the fact that I’m not like those other Malay girls he knows.'

'Wait, wait,' Jaq interrupted, 'I thought Johan was from a boarding school?'

'Yup, mrsm. Coed.'(‘Aah,' they went, except for Emma who was now deeply engrossed in her cappuccino.)

'Anyway, as I was saying, I asked him again whether he was serious, he said yes then he asked 'so how'?' the girls gasped except Emma who by now had finished her drink and was playing with her stirrer intently.

'I said, 'umm, i’ll think about it'' ash ended her tale.

‘I thought u said yes?' asked Kayleigh, whose poor head hurt from the contradictions.

'I didn't say no, did I?' ash stated matter-of-factly.

'Hisy, why you so slow one?' Jaq berated Kayleigh,' we girls must not be too easy. We have to jual mahal a bit. If not, the guy won't appreciate you and take you for granted' 'ooh,' Kayleigh squeaked, her dark green eyes wide with awe over this new piece of information.

'You see, that way, she has him all wrapped around her little finger,' Emma sneered.

'Yes, my little finger,' ash retorted without missing a beatt, displaying her pinky with the well-manicured black-polished nail.

'Well, I suppose that ends our session today,' Jaq announced, ‘I’ve class at 11.00'

'Oh yeah, me too'

'Me three'

'Same here'

Their meeting now over, the girls got up from their chairs, straightened their skirts, tugged their tops, picked up their sequined designer bags and duly trotted up to the cashier to pay for the coffee and company.

The end.

Gadis Ayu Bertudung

Many people say that when they wear the tudung, they are freed from the shackles of fashion. They no longer have to follow the trends of the day. They are now on a different path, where their clothes are an expression of their faith, not their desires.

Today, somehow, this statement is starting to sound more and more shallow.
Case in point, the superfluity (thank Dictionary.com for that) of tudung styles. If you were to visit The Hijab Shop website, you will find so many different styles of tudung (some never before seen in Malaysia) in so many different colours, and patterns, and lengths. And of course our homegrown varieties shouldn't be forgotten, i.e Wardina, Waheeda, Mawi, Ina etc. etc. Hijab is now a fashion industry in itself, and it won't be long before the luxury fashion houses decide to tag along.

This is not to say, of course, that all muslim women should be dour tudung labuh wearing matrons in shapeless jubahs. I of all people, am certainly in no position to tell people what they should, what they should not do. And if someone wants to wear a black chador , feeling that it is what Islam demands of them, I have no quarrel with that. But here ,rather, I wish to ask why people should wear the hijab in the first place.
I'm no scholar so I don't have the answer. But I can question, and my question is: don't the bright, striking, and highly visible tudungs detract from the purpose of the legislation of the hijab, which to my understanding is to enforce modesty?
What about individuality? Does the hijab rob you of your identity or is it possible to strike a balance between the two?
And finally, what about faith? Does a black abaya denote a higher level of faith than that of a baju kurung?

I'm not trying to be smart, only curious. Everyday I see so many women practicing this aspect of their faith, yet at the same time , neglecting it. I think that we are so concerned about wrapping our heads that we forget to fill them up, which in my view is the more important of the two.
What good is it to be free from one fashion trend only to be enslaved by another?

This post is totally blogging for the sake of blogging. Don't blame me. There's not much to do when you're stuck all alone for 3 hours in college while your friends are on the other side of the Klang Valley 'running' errands. Did I say 3, more like 3 1/2 if you take into account the time it takes before berbuka.

Side-tracking a bit here, somehow I much prefer the term berbuka to iftaar, though iftaar is of course the actual arabic word for the much-loved activity "breaking fast at sunset after refraining from eating since sunrise". Blame it on the the sentiments.

Oh yeah fasting! It's still the fasting month. The 14th (or 15th) {i think}[dependingonwhouask] of Ramadhan, the blessed month, when the gates of hell are shut for the peoples of Muhammad (s) whilst the gates of heaven are open widely. The month the Quran was sent down and revealed one night in the cave of Hira', marking the appointment of the final messenger, as a mercy to all mankind.

Also the month of bazaar ramadhan, kurma, ramadhan buffet, ayam percik (hoho, to overseas readers, read and weep hehe), murtabak, sirap bandung, kuih lapis, seri muka, bangkit etc etc.

Only those who feast, eh silap,fast can truly appreciate the sweet taste of the first kurma that enters your mouth, ending a long day of self-control or denial, followed by plates heaped with the various dishes (kuih, soup, nasi+lauk, desert,fruit) prepared for buka.

Of course its not all eating and drinking. There's still tarawih prayers to perform you know. Take your pic :8 ,20, 36, 4 rakaat (its all sunnat, some would say), but don't forget to witir. Then lets all get together at the local mamak for some teh tarik and moreh.

Fasting is not easy you know. Not eating, not drinking. How then should we fill the time between working, studying, and sleeping (oh and solat too)? Work even more? Nah,I'm so tired already. Besides with my stomach growling so much, I'm not really in the mood for more work, I think I'll just rest my head for a while. Wake me up when its maghrib ok?

"The messenger of Allah (S) said : “There are many who fast who will get nothing from the fast except hunger and thirst”"