The Reader

Thank you,Dr Mahathir

To-day is the last day of Dr Mahathir as Prime Minister of Malaysia. May I take this opportunity to thank Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir and wish him a happy retirement.

At the same time, may I welcome Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawai as the new prime minister. May Allah swt guide you Pak Lah to lead our country to a better future.

PS:Now Dr Mahathir is Tun Dr Mahathir Muhamad.

PS: I have set up a photoblog for Ramadhan that requests your contribution.Your participation is greatly appreciated. Jazakallahu Khairan.

Fasting in Makkah and Madinah

To those who plan to do their umrah, may I suggest you do it during the month of Ramadhan.I cannot tell you exactly about the feeling being there.You have to be there yourself.

Here is another short note I wrote in Dec.,1997 about my fasting experience ...

Click here for a few beautiful pictures of mosques in Makkah and Madinah.

Imported Imams

Yesterday, my friend who lives in my neighbourhood told me that he had been praying teraweh at Masjid Kampung Baru(MKB),Kuala Lumpur for the last two nights. According to him, the teraweh prayers was led by an imam form an Arab country and the Imam recites one surah every night!. Now, I know why there are one thousand people praying there every night!(as reported by a newspaper) .

During the month of Ramadhan,some muslims prefer to pray at different mosques and some will leave their 'khariah' for better imams some where else.So, it is no suprise that some surau and mosques are getting the best imams that can get. Last year, my surau managed to get two hafiz(one local and one outsider) to lead our teraweh prayers. But this year, our local imams lead the prayers for the last three nights. I am quite fortunate that we have a few ustaz cum hafiz who resides near my surau.

My friend who went to pray at MKB confided to me that he felt like praying in Mecca.I think this is due to the Qur'an recitation by the Imam from an Arab country. All the best for him.

By the way,do we really need imported imams? Are we short of good imams to lead our prayers? I donot know the answer to the first question , but the second is definitely YES.

Well, IMHO,we really need good imam to lead our prayers.My friends from other neighbourhoods did not attend the jemaah prayers there because the imam there often make mistakes in reciting al-Fatihah.(in tajweed/pronounciation).These are the voluntary imams and not the imams appointed by the religous authorities.

Most of us are just ordinary makmum.However, we also must recite al-Fatihah properly.When you meet an ustaz/ustazah or religous teachers,why not recite al-Fatihah and ask him/her to comment? I did and recieved a few comments/corrections.Another important aspect of prayer is kushoo'.

Missions of MERCY

Donation of winter clothing to Iraq

Winter in Iraq can be harsh with the temperatures ranging between -4 to 18 degrees (varies according to locations) and in extreme situations, temperatures may range between -30 to 51 degrees. While the Iraqis face an uncertain future, the coming of winter will add another dimension to the suffering and hardship they have already had to endure.

As part of our on going medical and humanitarian relief, MERCY Malaysia will be shipping medicines and medical supplies in early November. We plan to include winter clothings in this shipment and we APPEAL to you to contribute to this effort. We appeal to you to donate generously colthings and other winter items. Your donations will be distributed to communities in and around Baghdad.

Collection period will be between 31st October to 2nd November (Friday-Sunday).

Please send them to 4th Floor (MERCY Malaysia Store), Ampang Putri Specialist Hospital, Jalan Mamanda 9, Ampang Jaya from 8:30am-6:00pm.

If you need more information, please call Don at the MERCY Malaysia HQ at 03-4256 9999

Please spread the word and we look forward to your support.

Thank you

MERCY Ramadhan Stalls:
During the month of Ramadhan, MERCY Malaysia is selling delicious meals and kuih-muih for berbuka puasa. The stalls are in Kuala Lumpur and Pahang. ALL are welcome to buy our 'MERCY meals' and support us at our stalls. Our stall in Kuala Lumpur is at - No 57, Pasar Ramadhan in Desa Pandan. In Kuantan, the stall is located near the state mosque, stall No 64. Both stalls will open between 4 to 6 pm.
Proceeds from the sales will be donated to the MERCY Humanitarian Fund to support our relief work locally and internationally.
We hope that all MERCY members and volunteers will give your heart-warming support towards this project. Those interested to become volunteers to man the stall in Pahang can do so, by e-mailing us at [email protected] or [email protected] (Dr Zalina Nusee 0199527809). Thank you.

NOTE: The above advertisement was taken from a newsletter "week #44" sent to me by MERCY.I am spreading the words around and I support MERCY's good deeds all over the world.Let's us sadaqah for those in need.

Bubur lambok

Everyday in the month of Ramadhan, my surau prepares 'bubur lambok'.It is not as famous as the Kampung Bharu 's bubur lambok where even the Agong drops by to collect his portion but if I don't get it by 6pm,it is gone! If you are passing through Kg. Pandan, please drop by at Surau Taman Maluri(next to IKM Kg. Pandan).It is available from 4pm until stock lasts.

On my way back from my 'asar prayer to-day,I dropped by at Pasar Ramadhan near my house. As usual,the are plenty of foods and cakes to choose from and the crowd is four times greater than the prayers at the surau.

Note: I have added a few photos of Pasar Ramadhan at Snapshot Album.
RAMADHAN 1

Ramadhan al-Mubarak

Note: The above picture of Masjid Assyakirin was taken a few years ago. I was attracted by the numbers of pillars and palms around the entrance to the mosque.

Let me take this opportunity to Welcome the Holy Month of Ramadhan al-Muabarak which falls on 27th Oct.,2003 for Malaysia. May I wish all muslim/muslimah especially the readers and visitors of this blog SELAMAT BERPUASA and may Allah give us the patience to perform the fast as stipulated in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

To-day is a good time to review what is rukun,wajib,haram,sunat and makruh in the perofrmance of this special ibadah so that we can reap the FULL benefits of Ramadhan.It only comes once a year.In my case(senior citizens),I am wondering how many more Ramadhan would I have?

The main objective of Ramadhan is to achieve taqwa. This objective can only be achieved through certain activities-both inactive and active activities.Many a time, our physical self is fasting but not our thoughts and actions. One way is to remember Allah through zikir and be conscious ALL the time that we ARE fasting and this month is the fasting month.Taqwa is a state when one fears Allah AND conscious of Allah's presence-all the time.

May I propose that we take this Ramadhan as a personal project.It is a project to achieve taqwa.To succeed, we have to plan,execute, monitor and control our activities.InsyaAllah, if we work hard enough and seek Allah's assistance, we may achieve our project objective on the 1st Shawal,1424.Then only, we deserve to celebrate Eidul Fitri.

PS: Further reading on Taqwa. This note is quite comprehensive and informative.

RM14.5 billions Railway Project

The graphic was taken from the Star and it was reported that the project was awarded to Gamuda-MMC Consortium. To the best of my knowledge, this is the biggest single project awared in this country and it will take four years to complete.

What is your views on this project?

Sadaqah(Charity)

Let's me share with you an ordinary story but it is also an extra-ordinary act of sadaqah(charity) from an ordinary house-wife.This story was told to me personally by my dear friend Datuk Dr Jemilah, the President of MERCY.

During one of the MERCY missions to war-torn Bosnia a few years ago, she was given a shelter in a muslim family house. Everyday Dr Jemilah and her team were fed with the best food the family could afford.What really touched her everyday was the act of the lady of the house who cleaned and polished her shoes everyday!Of course, Dr Jemilah objected to that but the lady of the house insisted. When Dr Jemilah asked her why she did it,here was her reply:

"Everyday when I wake up, I think of what I could do for Allah to-day?".Since she could not do anything much at that time(after the war),she just did a good deed to her guest who came all the way from Malaysia to offer medical help to her neighbours and the Bosnian people who were in dire needs of medical attentions. IMHO, considering the situation at that time, the lady had done a great sadaqah(charity) that would brought me to tears...

The lesson that I could learn from this simple act of charity is that we don't have to be the king or prime minister or a millionaire to offer sadaqah. Everyone of us can afford to give a sadaqah,especially in the Holy Month of Ramadhan.We must take every opportunity to do more sadaqah especially in the fasting month. And don't be like a neighbour of mine who can't smile back at me when I smile to him.He is so "poor" that he could NOT afford to give even a smile to his own neighbour. May Allah bless him..

To those who have some money to give away(within our means), please allocate some now for sadaqah during the coming Ramadhan al-Mubarak.I believe you will be rewarded many,many times over if you do...

Excerpt from Forms of Sadaqah:

It is related following Abu Dhar that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "Sadaqah is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises." It was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, from what do we give sadaqah every day?" He said: "The doors of goodness are many--the tasbih [to say 'Subhaan-Allah'], the tamhid [to say 'Alhamdu lillah'], the tahlil [to say 'La-ilaha-illallah], enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one's legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one's arms--all of these are sadaqah prescribed for you." This is related by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih. Al-Bukhari related it in a shortened form and added in his report: "Your smile for your brother is sadaqah. Your removal of stones, thorns, or bones from the paths of people is sadaqah. Your guidance of a person who is lost is sadaqah.

NIGHT OF THE PANTHER

InsyaAllah, my son and me will be at the above gathering to catch and bring home a Panther;-) It will be held at Macasia Apple Centre ,3rd Floor, GE Mall,Jalan Ampang,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.

The picture above was taken during the launch at about 8:30pm.Quite a good crowd was there and a few seen taking the panthers back home.

Night prayer

This is one of the most difficult form of worship especailly if you are young.Even older people of my generation seldom do.May be the words of a great sufi below will explain why:

Someone said to al Hasan al Basri: "We are unable to perform the night prayer so prescribe me a cure." He said, "Do not disobey Him during the day and He will help you stand before Him during the night."

Personally, I am still struggling to perform the tahjud prayer every night.Some of my friends have never done it even though they are in their 50's. As Ramadhan draws nearer , I am writing this reminder for me and others who wish to take heeds and to take the opportunity in this coming month to start or continue the tajud on the daily basis. I know, it is easier said than done, but at least we tried. To many(I am included),it is so difficult to wake up at 3am or 4am to perform the tahjud, but an elder person told me that I still could do it even at 4:30am when we wake up for 'sahur'. The way to inculcate this good practice is as soon as we wake up for 'sahur', we pray first and then only prepare our food for 'sahur'. If we can't do it everyday, at least we should do it on weekly basis.That is the advice I got.

Let's resolve to make this coming Ramadhan al-Mubarak better than our last Ramadhan,InsyaAllah.