on sleeping in a storm

i absolutely love this story.

"A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, 'He sleeps in a storm.'

The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly.

So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed.

He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and are wrapped in tarpaulins.

He races to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. 'He sleeps in a storm'.

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of 'I could have, I should have.' We can sleep in a storm.

And when it's time, our good-byes will be complete."

- From Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom

On ice

went ice skating with messieurs Maaba and Yim yesterday.

and afterwards we went to Nandos to celebrate Ubee's birthday. While waiting for the chicken i kind of spouted philosophies from ice skating. Must be the stomach talking.

"Every large glide begins with a small step"

"Being a beginner while watching professional figure skaters doesn't feel so bad with friends to help you"

"When we fall only do we appreciate the value of getting up"

"When we enjoy an act, falling feels better"

okay i'm starting to sound like Chairman Mao. Hmmm..'the little green book'. Save that for now.

On the currents that sweep us

Any revolutionary, or revivalist, or champion, must understand the currents that drive the society he lives in, in order to reverse those currents.

On a side note, looking up thesaurus.com, I found that synonyms for 'revolutionary' are anarchistic, rebel, defiant..you get the idea =.= and that is a simple symptom of the currents that we live in. Branding people who bring change as 'rebels'. People who practise religion as 'fundamentalists'. Reminds me of the time I was in form 4, seniors used to brand juniors who were a bit friendly as 'social'. And that term is derogatory.

Which isn't unusual. People in power determine the language that we use. Why do we have so many arabic words in the malay language? Because in the olden days Arab trade was powerful and spanning the globe, and Arabic was commonplace as the language of Islam and the Quran.

So these days the culture we practise reflect the currents that sweep over us. not fighting that current is giving it legitimacy. For example, why do we not push for having tea and scones for breakfast? Because we think nasi lemak and roti canai are awesome. Nasi lemak and roti canai, are, in our minds, legitimate breakfasts.

Why do we not fight injustice then?

Why do we fight, or at least dislike, people who look too 'alim'?

Now think.

This is what every revivalist understands.

I'm not saying this is right and that is wrong. That is up to you, dear reader, to decide whether the currents pushing you are pushing you towards heaven, or otherwise.

And if you think the current situation is wrong, keep on reading.

To be fair, the currents are very strong, and have had a headstart for hundreds of years, and have engulfed and drowned many of the unwary. Many people are trapped, unable to swim away, not even wanting to swim.

We must show them the currents are filled with dirt and filth, and teach them to swim away, so that they themselves could teach others to swim as well. The currents are strong, yes, and this is an uphill task. Or upriver, if you prefer.

And this is what every revivalist understands.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

On the simple joys of being a minority

today is malaysia day in Finsbury Hall.

Morning menu:

Nasik lemak Kota Bharu (rice cooked with coconut milk)

Sambal (that red spicy thing)

Timun potong ala vogue (cucumber cut ala vogue)

Kacang goreng (fried groundnuts)

Ikan bilis (fried anchovies)

Telur rebus (boiled egg)

Telur dadar campur mentega dan mayo (omelette with butter and mayo)

Evening menu:

Roti canai Farid Nazer (how do you explain this in english? i just kn

ow there's a huge amount of oil and butter)

Kari ayam (wishful thinking, it hasn't been cooked yet)

To non-malaysians, this might look a bit exotic.

To Britons, it might look luxurious, a far cry from that bland thing you call 'food' (which i consume everyday, nonetheless).

To health enthusiasts or doctors, you might already be fainting after counting all those calories. (two types of egg?? fried everything??? coconut milk and butter??? *faint*)

To Malaysians, you might be thinking what's so great about something you eat everyday?

But to me, in this strange land with strange cultures and a strange duty, it just feels and smells like home :-)

On fathers and sons

Based on my observations whilst living in the UK, rarely do I see British children with their fathers.

I see a lot of men with dogs. And I see a lot of the dogs' by-products -.- In one sociology lecture I went to, the lecturer told us that there were even people who were paid to walk other peoples' dogs.

That sort of thing. There was this one time I was walking in the park with a tennis racket and a can of tennis balls and this dog started to chase me. I think it was just being friendly and wanted me to throw the balls, but when you're Malay you'd think that every dog was trying to eat you, so I ran backwards and tried to shoo it off. But when that failed I threw the can of balls at the dog's face. It just stood there, stunned. I guess British dogs aren't used to brutality. And the owner started swearing at me. That's how much people here love dogs.

But strangely this sort of public affection doesn't apply as well to children. Sure I see lots of mothers pushing their children in prams, but surely no one in the world today experiences virgin birth anymore.

But its a different picture at the Muslim Welfare House (MeWaH), our local mosque. I usually see children with their fathers, praying together, sitting while the father reads qur'an. And they're (usually) quiet and disciplined, no need for Pakcik Fauzi (pakcik fauzi is a pakcik in Kota Damansara whose very name strikes more fear in the hearts of children than Puaka Niyang Rapik) Like just now i saw a man sitting down and reading the qur'an, his son patiently waiting beside him. The man's face was calm and had a semblance of Yusuf Islam. To me that was a beautiful sight to see and made my heart flowery-flowery.

And another time there was this kid returning from primary school and his dad was following behind, lecturing him in Arabic. I didn't understand what he said but it sounded tarbawi. hihi.

Syeikh Ahmad Saad said, Rasulullah told us to

just go with what the child wants at the ages of 0-7

be firm on them ages 7-14

14-21 treat them like a friend

after that all birds eventually leave their nest.

I love seeing this kind of informal education which starts at home. That's where you actually learn things. Like writing sentences. Or how to pick up stuff if they fall down toilet bowls. and especially important, my parents taught me how to be a good Muslim :)

I believe in this potential of the young generation :)

On history

One of the reasons i love being at LSE is its a social science institution. You know, the science of studying human beings. Not putting people in cages and prodding them and giving electric shocks, no. For that i'd study at the CIA.

Social science. How human beings behave, how they interact, why they prefer their own race and why some consider others as monkeys, why nations rise and fall. Even in the field i study, Accounting, its more than just number-crunching. When lots of money is involved, politics flare up as well. We start to blame others for losses. Some backstab.

Which gives it a lot of drama and emotion, even more drama than the 'Nur Kasih' shows you all like, believe me. And studying all this has flourished my interest into becoming an amateur historian. Not a book nerd, a historian. History is one of the engines by which God drives the world.

History, says Niall Ferguson, allows us to make analogies between what happened then and what could happen now. It doesn't give major theories, like 'the whole purpose of existence is to outsmart each other just like animals in the jungle' (anyway i think that line of thinking is a bit ridiculous). What it has are exactly that, stories. His stories. And the Qur'an uses stories a lot, to make you realise the reality of things and relate to it so you can act accordingly.

Strong and powerful and technologically advanced?

The tribe of 'Ad were all those. They were physically huge (saw some pictures on the internet of their remains, but not sure of their credibility) and they could build palaces on mountains. But that wasn't enough to prevent their punishment. And the Thamud. And the pharaoh. And a whole host of once great nations that we hear of their name in the history books, but no longer see.

Which brings me to the point of reading history. Its a living, breathing thing, not like the government-engineered pseudo-history that we memorise for SPM. Once we learn history, we'll recognise that the Age of Empires hasn't ended. We're still living in it, and we'll continue to live under empires. Only unlike empires of old, who project visible power and physical governance, the American Empire prefers to project its influence economically and culturally. Which movies do we see? Hollywood. Which model of consumption do we use? American-style consumerism. And the list goes on and on.

And we thought we're independent. The creation of an illusion of independence is one of the great successes of the post-world war. The actual colonialism is in here

The Mental Empire. different color, different culture, similar beliefs. Because most of the world is under that sphere of influence.

So you see, history is more than just dates and names. That this thinking is prevalent in society is an unfortunate offshoot of trying to paint a rosy picture of the ruling party.

Imam Abu Al-Qasim Al-Junaid said, "History is one of the soldiers of Allah to strengthen the heart.."

It enables you to see the world for what it actually is.

Welcome to the real world.

On memories

I was eating PCP (pizza chicken point) with Shuk just now (erk) and our conversation started to drift into the topic of memory. It's amazing, how conversations develop and you start talking about butterflies and end up with how to topple the government. No, this conversation did not happen. I've always been fascinated with conversation flow and said to my mum, like, zillions of times

"we were talking about something else, and now all of a sudden we're talking about this"
Mum replies

"That's called conversation. If two people had nothing to talk about then it'd be boring"

Mums know a lot of life's truths :)

True. true. What if two people were talking and they suddenly ran out of ideas? You'd start looking at the walls and at the road and saying

"hmm..sooooo..there are ants on the sidewalk"

Awkwardness.

And I'd better start eating some fruits. All this chicken is making me feel clogged.

Where was I? Oh yes, the topic of memory. We started talking about memory. Shuk said he didn't remember anything before kindergarten. The farthest my memory goes is looking at the inside of the womb. I don't know if its a dream or not, but that's the earliest life experience i remember. I remember seeing my hands. And some blood vessels. And this reddish light. Shine-a-torchlight-through-your-hands kind of reddish light.

And suddenly i'm 3 years old. Standing at the edge of my parents' bed. Sitting in a car to go see my newborn baby brother. And we're all grown-up now, when did that happen? I don't know, but you can only cherish and smile at the things that have happened :') The irony of memories. You wish them to last forever, but if they were forever you wouldn't have sweet memories.

I love the times when i was 7 years old and we were in Ghana. It's ranked 130th on the Human Development Index, but when you're 7 years old you don't think about these things. The worst problem on my mind back then was how to write sentences using the given words. My mum said "just write simple words, like 'the pencil is red'". But I didn't want simple sentences, heavens no. I wanted sentences like 'I have a red pencil and it's used for doodling in my spare time'. Now that's an awesome sentence for a 7-year-old.

And i love primary school. Going back from sekolah kebangsaan. Eating lunch with my mum while the zohor azan was being called out. Sleeping a bit before sekolah agama. cycling to school. Losing my bicycle keys down the school toilet and asking my dad to carry my bicycle home. The little things are repetitive and boring when you're in them. But its the repetitive little things that you remember.

And i love the carefree months after finishing KY, before flying off. That's when you realise lots of things. These are the things money can't buy.

And i love now. Learning things that not a lot of people get to learn. Not accounting, anyone can learn that. Other things, things that are important when all is said and done. Filling my days with remembrance. Laying the groundwork for a revival of society. These are the things only God can give, and all the things he gave before? It's to shape you for what you are now.

You, the reader, i may not know your story and your memories, but you're not reading this as a coincidence. Once you really think about it, you'll realize you have a blessed life and all that God asks from you is obedience. simple :)

A friend of mine once said that i'm too optimistic. I know. And i love that as well :)))

Bearers of the Light

Fly forth bearers of the light!

Like the bee,
Searching many flowers
For a single precious drop
Man thinks you a nuisance
But your spirit never stops
Though they hum and they haw and they swat you away
They still drink the fruits of your tireless day

Fly forth bearers of the light!

Like the eagle,
You're blessed with the gift of unclouded sight
To see the whole world in a whole new light
How high you may fly, wherever you go
A great many hearts fill with wonder and awe
And though the great skies are a lonely outpost
The Creator is with you, and he is very close

Fly forth bearers of the light!

Like the swan,
How noble, full of grace
Unblemished, serene
A white and pure face
And though your wings are to bring you great heights
Your head is bowed down, o bearer of light.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

On loose cannons

Play this simple game.

What you'll need:

- a voice recorder (blackberry, obviously)
- a group of friends (if they're gossiping friends, all the better for the purposes of the game)
- a moral sense of right and wrong (so no psychopaths..or if you want to catch psychopaths then play this game)

The rules are: there are no rules. Just switch the voice recorder on, and put it in the middle of a conversation where everyone can see.

Then talk.

I played something to this effect and the responses were very..intriguing.

"Sshhh, don't say that, we're recorded"

"*not saying anything but looking at the other person with a we're-being-recorded-silly look*"

I wonder how politicians feel. They say silly things on recordings all the time.

"With my kasyaf, I saw the hand of the devil when he wanted to shake hands with me"- member of a political party

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." - bush

"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." —Barack Obama (duh)

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." —President George W. Bush

Or maybe they're psychopaths. Which explains a lot of things.

Anyways, try it out with a group of friends..you'll be surprised at what people aren't willing to say on film..and while we were doing this, somebody pointed out

"Aren't we recorded all the time?"

And our recordings, good or otherwise, will be shown on The Day.

Perghhh.koyak.
(Perghhh. Torn.)


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Chicken soup for the soul

Do you feel empty?

Lost?

trying to talk but only the walls talk back?

need light?

We've got just the thing for you:



Pocket Quran..with tajweed and translation =)



And it's got themes explaining what certain verses are about, and that's really helpful.

Plus it fits in the palm of your hand:



Price? 15 pounds. there's a slightly larger one for 17 pounds.

And you'll find that God talks to us through the Quran. Like this one time I was feeling quite dengki at some people, and I came upon this verse;

And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al Hashr: 10)


(Dan orang-orang (Islam) yang datang kemudian daripada mereka (berdoa dengan) berkata: “Wahai Tuhan Kami! Ampunkanlah dosa kami dan dosa saudara-saudara kami yang mendahului kami dalam iman, dan janganlah Engkau jadikan dalam hati perasaan hasad dengki dan dendam terhadap orang-orang yang beriman. Wahai Tuhan kami! Sesungguhnya Engkau Amat Melimpah Belas kasihan dan RahmatMu”)

True story.

100th post.

my 100th post. Weee.


I'm posting a post just to say I've reached a 100 posts.

Which is pretty pointless, because usually people commemorate something when they reach the tens or the hundreds or the hundred-tens.

'the 160th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage'

'210th anniversary of kicking out the British with the help of the French and 211th anniversary of kicking out the French'

'10th anniversary of my Digimon going down the toilet bowl and baba using kitchen tongs to take it out' :')

Pointless? Yes, much like the things we do everyday. Purposeless, more like it. That's what society does nowadays, ramble and do random things and commemorate things they don't even know the significance of just to have an excuse to celebrate and get entertained.

It's like a train. Everybody's on it having a great time, singing and dancing and giving good cheer. But nobody knows where the train is going, oh dear oh dear.

Where is your train going?

Hopefully not down the toilet bowl.

The Middle Way? You're kidding me

I frequently hear words to this effect from a lot of people,

"alaa..yes, i do this and that, but at least i still pray and fast"

"i don't think that's applicable in this age, that's all medieval"

"i believe capitalism is the way forward"

If you're Richard Dawkins then i wish you all the best sir. but if you're muslim and you say you're a muslim and you identify with the muslim culture, then uh-oh maybe we need to reflect a bit.

Is the frequently touted 'middle way' permissible? can you do little bits here, little bits there, and create a mixed collage?



see this verse and decide for yourself;

"Verily, those who disbelieve in Allâh and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allâh and His Messengers (by believing in Allâh and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, "We believe in some but reject others," and wish to adopt a way in between.

They are the true disbelievers. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment." (An Nisa':150-151)

And even when translated into english, that's pretty strong stuff. The people we usually brand as 'kafir totok', at least they're clear in their disbelief. What about us? if we believe in some aspects but reject others? Do we like being 'true disbelievers'? *shudder*

Believing 'there is no god but Allah' has major implications for your actions, your way of life. It entails that your systems, your laws, your etiquette, and your conduct all come from Him.

And we're not branding anyone here but ourselves, cause it ain't right to point at others. When you point one finger, another 3 point back at you *taken from a mural at SK Seksyen 7 Kota Damansara*

Are we accepting Islam as our way of life?

parable of the toy

Imagine you're a kid. A 7-year old kid.



One day you're walking in the supermarket. Why a 7-year old child would walk alone in the supermarket, i don't know, but you're walking nonetheless..and you suddenly spot your dream toy.



your heart beats fast. you've been wanting this toy since you were 4! tears of joy roll down your face..you could now buy it with the money you got from your relatives last raya. elated at your new purchase, you proudly carry it home, you want to show it to everyone. mom, dad, your big brother, even the boy next door who has a similar toy..but of course, yours is more precious.

You knock on your door. You show it to your dad, but he takes it away from you. You start getting angry at your dad, saying

'Why are you taking it from me??!!'

you're all mixed up inside..you're sad, you're furious at your dad, you want to cry, you want to hit him, you feel helpless cause after all he's your dad and you can't really fight your dad.

I'm taking this from you, he says, because you can't have it.

And it's as simple as that. Just because your dad says no.

You plead with him, please please let me have that toy

He says this is for ages 10 and up. You're only 7. Its not time for you to play with it.

You plead and beg and throw tantrums, but nothing's gonna change. You feel defeated, and you decide you just have to trust your dad..he may give it back to you or he may keep it in storage forever or he may give you another toy or he may give the toy to someone else, and that's up to him..you can only hope.

"Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evil-doers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allâh and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good-doers), whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment."
(57:20)

Trust in Allah, and trust that if you follow his commands he will give you the best that you can hope for..

"...and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not know" (2:216)

Ya Allah, give me strength over things which you have ordained eventhough it is hard on me.

failing

did my econs quiz via the random shooting method.



and got a 30-39% mark -.-

its supposed to be a social science right. normal humans don't use that much maths for everyday economic activities.

Most of the time its just random shootings.

But not my inflatable chair. I had a deep, 5-second contemplation before buying that.

we're pirates, arrrrrrr

Yesterday in LSE100 the module was 'Who owns ideas?', mostly discussing intellectual property, who should own it and copyright.

Which reminded me of an incident last year when i was still living in LSE halls.

I got this email from the IT services department:

Please be advised that IT Services has received notification (see below) that copyright material has been made available from the IP address apparently being used by your computer. Internet access from this IP address will be disabled until I receive reply to this message with the following assurances:

1. That the offending copyright material has been removed from the computer.
2. That you will not in future make any copyright material available via the LSE network.

The period of disconnection will not be less than one working day; I will normally process replies around 17:00.

This activity is against the law, and contravenes the Rules and Regulations that registered users of the School’s IT facilities are bound by. These can be found on the IT Services Intranet pages at:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/itservices/Rules/default.htm

Conditions of Use of IT Facilities at the LSE can be found at:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/itservices/Rules/condits.htm

Your attention is drawn to sections on Legal Requirements and Prohibited Uses (point 7 and 8) and to the LSE Disciplinary Regulations (points 15 to 18).

Please use the School’s IT and Network facilities responsibly. Not only is the copying and sharing of copyright material illegal, this activity consumes network bandwidth to the disadvantage of others who wish to use the IT and Network facilities for their academic studies.

Should IT Services be notified of further instances of copyright material being made available from an IP address used by your computer then further action will be taken.

Regards

Jeremy Skelton
pp Malcolm Barker
Network Manager, IT Services



-----Original Message-----
From: SonyPicturesEntertainment [mailto:SPECopyright@mc.mediasentry.com]
Sent: 14 October 2009 23:40
To: Skelton,J
Subject: Case ID 952157896 - Notice of Claimed Infringement

Wednesday, October 14, 2009


RE: Unauthorized Distribution of the Copyrighted Motion Picture Entitled
District 9


Dear Jeremy Skelton:

We are writing this letter on behalf of Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., ("Columbia Pictures").

As you may know, Columbia Pictures is the owner of copyright and exclusive distribution rights in and to the motion picture entitled District 9.

No one is authorized to perform, exhibit, reproduce, transmit, or otherwise distribute the above-mentioned work without the express written permission of Columbia Pictures, which permission Columbia Pictures has not granted to 158.143.185.230.

We have received information that an individual has utilized the above-referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of the above-mentioned work through a "peer-to-peer" service.

The attached documentation specifies the location on your network where the infringement occurred, the number of repeat violations recorded at this specific location, as well as any available identifying information.

The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.

Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:

1) Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above; and
2) Terminate any and all accounts that this individual has through you.

On behalf of Columbia Pictures, owner of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by Columbia Pictures, its respective agents, or the law.

We also hereby state that we believe the information in this notification is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that MediaSentry is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.

Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions.

We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. In your future correspondence with us, please refer to Case ID 952157896.

Your prompt response is requested.

Respectfully,

A Kempe
Enforcement Coordinator
MediaSentry.

Before i came to London, I was downloading so many movies I forgot when it started. They finally caught up with me here.



Which is an interesting revelation of who owns ideas across the world.

In Britain, its Big Business.

In Malaysia, its your pasar malam DVD seller.

At least LSE had more sympathy, disconnecting me for only one day. The enforcement officer wanted my accounts terminated -.- That's for messing with the real authorities in the state: the people with money.

Threatened, i naturally wrote an apology letter, saying i was 'sorry i did it' and that i 'would remove the film from my computer' and i would 'never do it again'.

Of course i removed the film from my computer..

...onto my external drive.



But the last part was true, i didn't do it again.

It feels like stealing, eventhough you're taking from ridiculously rich companies. And now my drive is emptied of all the other downloads. Except Kungfu Panda.

Islam is easy~

my first attempt at a song production:



Lyrics:
Islam itu mudah kalau buat semuanya
(All) Islam itu mudah kalau buat semuanya

(All)
Bukan solat saja
Bukan akhlak saja
Bukan dakwah saja
Kena buat semuanya

Buat sikit saja bukanlah Islam namanya
(All) Buat sikit saja bukanlah Islam namanya
Bukanlah Islam namanya
Bukanlah Islam namanya
Bukanlah Islam namanya

Lyrics: Ikmal Nordin

Arrangement: Ikmal Nordin

Singers: Ikmal Nordin
Shukri Hariri
Izzat Za'ba
Hamidi Yusoff
Khalil Imran
Adam Hamdan

Cameraman: Adam Hamdan

*clapclapclap* to everyone involved..you guys are awesome :DDD

canvases

*krik3*

that's the sound of crickets who've taken over this blog in my absence. If cyber crickets exist, that is. Maybe they do, and someone made a virus out of them that only attacks silent blogs. If you are a virus-maker visiting this blog, DO NOT charge me with criminal liability for putting these ideas into your head.

Okay pretty overwhelming week. Ups and downs. We laugh and we cry. In short, everything's normal.

"We have created man in hardships" (Al Balad:4)

This road. Its does things to you.

The threads of your life slowly unravel, piece by piece, and all that you love will be carried away, to quote Stephen King.

But new threads form, stitch by stitch, and you never know what the ultimate canvas will look like.

I leave that to Him =)

night of a thousand months

I think yesterday (Wednesday night) was lailatul qadar. but this is a guess only, and try not to use my opinions as trusted references.

Coz at midnight it felt very cool and calming and peaceful, perfect for midnight prayers. but i didn't make good use of it, nor any of the other nights.

Feeling pathetic -.-

blocked nose is alright, as long as it isn't blocked brain

Let's turn disease into an art form:



lol if i could do that now. Catching a cold isn't a bad thing at all. Some people say 'i'm sick' like its a bad thing that Allah puts on them to make them suffer. We complain a lot don't we. Like everything else, its another test for you which could be a good thing if you're patient with it :-)



Besides, if you're patient with it He forgives your sins..how nice :-D

sensitivities

Heard at a mosque in Klang Valley:

1st scene
Imam: "Please can you let the people wearing jubah (robes) stand in the first saf...(name held secret) will get upset if people wear T-shirts."

2nd scene
Imam: "Today we have a new brother with us, and he needs some help..you'll find him at the back..the one who looks like a Chinese, that's him."

a little more tact please.

chicken soup for the soul

Rasulullah pbuh said:

"Whoever amongst you sees munkar, then he should change it with his hand.

If he is not able to, then with his tongue.

If he is not able to, then with his heart.

And that is the weakest of iman"

(Narrated by Muslim)

What if in our hearts we don't even want the munkar to change?

Does our faith go out the window then?

If there is no wind, would the trees shake?

Have you ever had the conversation below?

Me: Kerajaan ni, kerajaan tu..bla3
(government this, government that..bla3)

Anonymous: Jangan macam tu..kau blaja siapa yang tanggung?
(don't be like that..who pays for your study?)

Me: -.-
(-.-)

I'm irked by that kind of reasoning, and the thing is lots of people think in the same way, which may be a reason why there aren't a lot of protests/revolutions/anarchies here as compared to other countries, and i'm not saying these are good.


protesting unemployment

To be fair, the government is not all nonsense and waste. They have done a lot of good things like sending myself overseas and turning Malaysia into a former Tiger economy. But why shouldn't we be allowed to voice our opinions on rulers' faults? We're just exercising some constructive opinions.



1. The money used for sending students overseas comes from the taxpayers' money (and maybe a few dodgy sources; an economics student from LSE told me that Malaysia is World No.2 in the list of countries financing their projects via lottery). It is the people's money and the government is only the 'trust holder'; therefore we, the people, have the right to voice out against any mismanagement.

2. Not having the right to voice out on the grounds of 'kerajaan tanggung kau' is akin to bribery. On its most basic level, it's like 'i give you money, you keep quiet ok?' Real smooth, Al Capone-like.

Yes, i admit that it is government policy that enabled truckloads to be sent overseas. So that is why we give constructive opinions; so that lots more people could be made happy by your policies instead of the those few naughty naughty men =)

Then again, maybe i'm complaining too much.

"Verily, man was created very impatient" (Al-Ma'arij:19)

Ratatouille~

Yesterday this story happened.

I went back to my grandma's house *location kept secret* and, as carpets are infinitely more comfortable than floors or mats, i was asked to take the carpet from one of the rooms.

Now this carpet hasn't been used for quite a while. It just stood there, rolled and waiting.



So you could understand my anxiety. I gave the carpet a few shakes and out came a few ants and some dried leaves from the bottom. owhkayyyy. Now it was advisable to let it dry outside first. So my mum and i carried it outside, and all of a sudden

-PLOP!-

from the bottom fell 4 little newborn mice



of course, when 4 mice fall out of your carpet, you must freak out to some degree. Imagine if we had just rolled it out in front of the tv *shudder*

Their eyes haven't even opened yet, and they were barely able to walk, let alone find food. :( So since we couldn't keep them, we put them in a drain in front of the house and let them be. So now i'm an accomplice to baby dumping in the month of Ramadhan.

But at least there was water in the drain, if baby mice can drink water. And i felt sorry for these little guys (they couldn't even see!!) Imagine how their mother would feel if she went back to the carpet at night. No more home, and no more babies *sob3* aiyohhh..they could die from the heat, or from starvation, or from ants. slow and painful. ouch.

My point is, if we could feel sorry for baby MICE who we met just a few minutes before, how could people have the guts to dump baby HUMANS who they carried around for 9 months and have their similar features?

Its like we returned to the age of Jahiliyyah you see, even if we are materially prosperous. The Arabs in those days used to bury female babies, thrown and left for dead. At least they kept it to females. Now with the rise of gender equality movements, even male babies are dumped as well. Sad state of affairs, its true.

Maybe what we need is a fundamental change in society, much like what the Prophet pbuh instituted in those days. Maybe only then can people start treating other people like humans, not rats.

For People of understanding

Why are we here?

No, not why you are in front of the computer.

I mean why are we HERE?



Why are we here today, as human beings on this blue planet?

We could have been



or we could have been insects.
or trees
or even a parasite in one of our friends' brains, for that matter.

But no.

We're humans, and that made all the difference.





And its a major difference.
We could create deforestation, but forests could not dehumanize cities.
We can breed chickens, but i haven't heard of chickens breeding humans.

We are given control of this blue planet. Humans are, in a way, very, very unique amongst living beings.

So why this difference? For what purpose?

Are we created to live, breathe, work, eat and eventually die?


The lion works.


It eats.


It occasionally plays.


And it eventually dies.

Let's ask ourselves; are we any different from the lion? or the chimpanzee? or the fish? What makes us human? For what higher purpose are we HERE, because if we just eat, sleep and drink *like the Coca-Cola advert* we are, in essence no different from the animals.

To be continued....

*yawn* :D

Salams readers,

longgggggggggggggggg time no see... :)))



had a period of self-exploration and truth searching recently, so i didn't know what to write in ye olde blog..

so hopefully now i'll clear away the cobwebs and continue to write, insyaallah :)

BUT before that,

next week on Monday (3 days more -.-) i'll be having my 1st ever exam in LSE, which is an accounting paper..accounting is a lot more fun than what you think, okay :)



if any of you have spare time (and the fact that you have time to read this blog proves this, aha!) please make doa for me so that my affairs are made easy.

THANX loads :)

London Islamic School

2 days ago I went to the London Islamic School.

An Islamic school. In London. What about that.

It was part of this outreach programme that the University of London Islamic Society (ULUIsoc) was planning. You know, where you go out to schools, tell them how great university life is, and let them figure out for themselves how stressful it is later.

It was more or less like my 'sekolah agama' back home. downstairs there's a mosque, and upstairs was the school. Except my school was the other way round. I think that its more sensible to build the mosque downstairs. How do they expect the old uncles to climb stairs for each prayer time??

So my friend told me a bit about British schools.

1)There were private schools for jolly rich chaps
2)State schools funded by the jolly government
3)Islamic schools for jolly Muslims

But then Islamic schools were usually paid for by the students themselves, because there's this problem of shortage of government funds. Come to think of it, if i were Gordon Brown i wouldn't want to be funding schools harboring future 'terrorists', would i? that's a whole load of bull.

On another note, there's this professor in the LSE who wrote in Psychology Today that 'half of Muslims are terrorists or are active supporters of terrorism'. Even bigger bull.

But on the whole, the school looked like it was in good shape. There was a computer lab complete with projectors and everything. Even my school wasn't that up-to-date, and we call ourselves an Islamic country -.- The kids wore 'kopiah' and white robes and one of the teachers looked like Haji Zul, an uncle in Kota Damansara. Ahhhh, how i miss home :'(

So then we were supposed to do a presentation. Before i said anything i asked them 'Can you guess where im from'? Cause i was the only, how shall i say it, 'stranger' in the outreach group.

Then they said

"China"
"Taiwan"
"India"

-.-

Okay, the first two are acceptable. India? Not that im degrading Indians, they are an honourable, warm people, but that's so far away from where i come from.

Then an African-descent boy raised his hand and said 'you come from Malaysia'. Good boy. You'll do well in the future, and you look a bit like Obama, which is currently a good thing. :)

Then we went on to do a workshop, like asking them what they want to do etc. Most of them had no idea, much like me when i was their age. Oh wait, when i was in secondary school i changed ambitions every few weeks. Brain surgeon this week. Pediatrician next week. Lawyer next next week. Thankfully it didn't get any worse than Lawyer.

At the end me and Zaid (he's doing Econs at UCL, and he's from South Africa. He went to Egypt last year and said that he spent more time with Malaysians than Arabs. Malaysia Boleh!!) gave a peptalk which sounded like this:

"In the end yeah, you're not innit for the money. You've got to do something fulfilling and in the end, you need to know that you're doing this to please Allah. What would you think of an engineer who memorises the Quran?"

Boy: "That's sick"

"exactly. And that's the type of person you're aiming to be. Safe" :)

Pooh pooh

So i was in the toilet, doing my business. 'Throwing my big water out', according to the popular Malay idiom.

Some people read, some people play with the water taps. Me? I just stare at the wall and get it done ASAP.

Now to put this story into a better context, let me show you a picture:



The door lock was this knob that you had to twist 90 degrees to lock the door. But this whole time, the knob would only turn 45 degrees, no further. And that was what i did. Turn it 45 degrees. Honest, i thought it was locked.

So i was staring at the wall, when suddenly someone pushed the door open (the door swings to the inside, thank God for the contractors' common sense) With lightning-fast reflexes, i pushed the door shut with the strength of '1000 fists of Xiaolin'. BAMMM!!!

Then i heard the person scream. Girl. Positive -.-

Im sure it was a girl. If a guy screamed like that, i'd be TERRIFIED. Thanks to '1000 fists of Xiaolin', she didn't push the door far enough to see my face. If she did get that far, maybe she'd scream even louder. Or maybe i'd be the one to scream like a girl. *shudder* And what do you know, after that the knob could turn 90 degrees.

Games with Names

In my LSE100 class, we were learning about the discipline of ethnography, which is basically studying different people's cultures in their particular contexts.

For example, your name could mean a lot in your specific culture. Take my teacher's name, Carmen Amelia Gayoso *something*. Having a Spanish father (Gayoso) and an Italian mother (*something*), both of her ancestries are reflected in her two surnames. In addition, the name Carmen is common in Peru, and has been in the family for 4 generations. Basically, her great-grandmother is Carmen, her grandmother is Carmen, her mom is Carmen and she is Carmen, and its common practice to name your child after a distinguished person.

So each of us had to do the same, write our full names and 3 meanings of our names in our culture.

So there's this guy, Joe. In his family, Joe has a lot of significance. Why? Because his ancestors were alternately Joseph or Jonathan. E.g if his grandad is Joseph, his dad is Jonathan, and he is Joseph, and the pattern continues. Kinda like a binary code, 101010101010

And then I wrote my full name on paper, 'Mohamad Ikmal bin Ahmad Nordin'. Since the question asked about meaning, i gave a literal one. 'The Praised Perfect son of The Praised Light of Religion'. This was the first time i saw my full name translated into English, and i was like WOAAAAA. And then when Carmen asked me to explain my name, she was like WOAAAAAAAA. And then she asked the class, "has anybody found interesting facts about their name? No? Then let's hear Ikmal's" Then i told the whole class the meaning of my name, and they were like WOAAAAAAAAAA.

Seriously, those of you with Arabic names, try translating it into English and then saying it out loud. It'll sound really exotic, like some kind of mystical rock or ancient artifact. 'Praised Light of Religion', doesn't that sound like the Tablet of the 10 Commandments?

Then i told them that a name in Malay culture gives some sort of semblance to your character. Ikmal=perfect. "So in your culture, does your name bring a burden on the way you're supposed to behave?" "Well, not exactly. It's not really something that actively determines your real life. So if my name is Ikmal, which means perfect, im...not perfect, but i'd like to think i am". Erkk.

Dummy

Went to Madame Tussauds yesterday and did this to Bush:



Always wanted to do that.

Decency much

Right, i was in LSE100 class and it was already 5 minutes past the hour. Ms Gayoso, probably the hottest teacher i ever had (which maybe explains why i came early to class) looked like she was about to cry because only 5 people were there.

And then she waited a few more minutes, when someone came in through the door. A girl.

And she was wearing a large male shirt, un-ironed, and only knickers underneath, but it was soooo short you'd think she was wearing the shirt only. And the hair was all messed up, like she just got out of bed. Whose bed, i'd rather not speculate.

Excerpts from my mind:

''How the hell did she walk outside in this 5 C weather?''

''Is it summer yet?''

''Is it 'dress minimally to school' day?''

Throughout the class we played a game. But after that we were told to sit in pairs and discuss the game, and, you guessed it, i was with THAT woman.

How could you concentrate on the task when you're distracted by exposure?

I couldn't even take what she said seriously, because of hearing 'stupid bimbo' jokes, and she was dressed like one.

Have the decency to cover up. Some people want to learn, not watch stripshows.

Drag

Today is one of those days where you don't have the energy to do anything, just because you've had too much sleep.



I woke up at 8 (arghhh..noooo) and then, finding no reason to wake up, slept.

Woke up at 9.15. Snoozed

Woke up at 10. Snoozed.

Woke up at 11. Snoozed.

Woke up close to 12 and decided to enjoy the 4 1/2 hours of sunshine left during this long winter.

Seriously, snooze must be the most destructive invention ever after nuclear bombs and baked beans.

But ironically, even after getting all that sleep i just didn't have the energy to do something productive. No reading



Not even lifting weights



And then i skyped a bit (there's always energy to chat) :)

And then Yazid came to visit Butlers Wharf (rarely anyone comes here, sob3). He couldn't stand my room's *ehem2* 'lack of tidyness' because i think he has OCD, so we decided to go outside and grab a bite.

On the way from my hall to London Bridge, you can see these things:

1) Statues of indecent Londoners (i think its the Western version of 7 Puteri mandi2)



2) City Hall @ Mayor's office @ The Glass Gonad



3) HMS Belfast, a battleship turned museum



Finally, fresh air. Then we ate greasy fried wings and chips, which constitutes 1/3 of my diet nowadays.

Now I feel refreshed!!!! (dance) After this blog post, i'll start studying. Probably. Or after facebook. Or after this song on Youtube. Too many distractions lah. No wonder im exhausted.

p/s: Goodluck to people getting their AS results tomorrow!! :))

Realizations :)

Yesterday a band of brothers from around London and Portsmouth gathered together at Finsbury Park mosque to hold a qiyamullail (literally 'waking/standing up at night', correct me if im wrong)



Because in our busy worldly schedule, we must remember that this world, and everything in it, was created by the Almighty. What better way to show gratefulness than to sacrifice our sleep (which is very very nice) and pray, but of course not many of us are capable of doing that.

And then in the morning we all had a breakfast of Nasi Lemak =) and teh tarik:



Which was quite spicy my tongue turned a brighter red (i was thinking of putting a photo here, but for the sake of humanity decided against it).


Makan sampai licin

Then after Zuhr i went back home but before that, stopped at the best place for eating grilled chicken, Griller's @ Finsbury Park.



This stuff is seriously good. You know places in KL where we can get really nice briyani like Insaf at Jalan TAR? That's like nasi goreng here. Exaggerations intended, but that's what Mr Ravi told me once, and i thought he was talking crap.

After Nasi Lemak and Grilled Chicken and probably thousands of calories (most of us went for basketball in the morning, but i stayed and slept, for i hadn't slept i'd have written nonsense in here), i finally went home sweet home.

Oh yeah, thank you to Hafidz for transferring ownership of these Clarks shoes for only 8 pounds (FACTORY OUTLET PRICE 20 pounds):



Now that i think of it, its kinda funny. We were in a factory outlet store the other day helping Akmal find shoes for his parents. I saw these shoes and i thought i wanted to buy them, but since Hafidz wanted them i said ok, go ahead and i didn't buy them cause that would make either of us un-unique.

But suddenly on Tuesday he asked me whether i wanted to buy the shoes (he only wore it what, 5 times?) for 10 pounds and i said '8 pounds, ko dsperate nk jual kn..hahaha' and that's how i got my new second-hand shoes ;) It still looks new to me, and i got it for less. Life has sometimes weird and unexpected ways of turning out. Praise the Almighty :))