The Reader

Al-Hajj

Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
Chapter 22: Verses 27-28

SPECIAL NOTE: I have just received sms from a friend who has just arrived in Arafah. The weather is fine and the temperature is about 16 deg. C. Ibadah wukuf starts after dzuhur on 31/1/04.(about 5:30pm Malaysian time

Tomorrow is Eidul Adha ,1424. I am happy that my friends in Makkah and in London can celebrate it on the same day. May I wish you Eid Mubarak,wherever you are..

Before I went for my Haj, I don't feel as much joy as for Eidul Adha compared to Eidul Fitr.But now,my feelings improves because now I understand the significance of Haj through my personal experience.For those who have been there, you know what I am talking about. But for those who have not been there,try your best to go as soon as possible.

Below is an excerpt taken from Friday Nasiha #259.It will you to understand the benefits of Haj:

Benefits of Hajj
"And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men; they will come to you on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways; That they may witness the benefits for them.”

The word "benefits" is in the indefinite, implying all types and numerous forms of benefits. Most notable among these benefits are the purification of the soul, refinement of character, refreshing of one's spirit and the spiritual training that takes place in the most honourable land on this earth.

In addition to the points made above, one may note some of the following effects of Hajj in the purification of one's soul:

1. There are a number of important historical events that the Hajj commemorates. These events should be a source of reflection as well as inspiration for the believers. These events include but are not restricted to the absolute trust of Abraham on Allah and the sacrifice of Abraham and Ismail.

2. One of the greatest ways to remove sins from one's being - and thus aid in the process of purification - is to perform the pilgrimage of Hajj.

3. In the Hajj, there is an opportunity for the Muslim to demonstrate his complete submission and obedience to Allah.

4. One practical aspect that occurs from the Hajj and that anyone who has performed the Hajj can testify to is that during the Hajj one can see the willingness of other humans to sacrifice for the sake of Allah.

5. Hajj helps us to realize the relationship between our faith and sacrifice. Islam is not about practicing those aspects of faith that one finds easy or pleasing.

6. Selfishness, arrogance, looking down upon others and greed are some of the dangerous diseases that despoil the soul. One must work valiantly to remove any remnants of these diseases. The Hajj is a helpful step in this process.

7. The Day of Arafah, which the Messenger of Allah described as the "essence of Hajj," is a moving experience that immediately brings thoughts of the Day of Judgement to one's mind.

8. Even the preparation for the journey to the Hajj and the pilgrim's farewells to his family and friends is a reminder to the believer that he is on a true, lifelong journey for which there is no return. In the same way that he must prepare for the Hajj journey in this life, he must always be prepared for that final journey by having the provisions of Taqwa (consciousness of Allah.)

9. All of the events that one performs at the Hajj and the historical and spiritual significance of the place in which the person performs them should have a profound effect on the believer. He should view his own life in the light of the lives of the Prophets. He should recognize his own shortcomings and the insignificance of the other aspects of this world that he gives preference to.

Source:
"Purification of the Soul" - By Jamal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 251-263

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

First is my apologies for not being able to update my blog for the last three days. I was on the move and the access to Internet was difficult/erratic.On top of it,my mind was 'trapped' in The Digital Fortress-a book written by Dan Brown. Below is a delayed posting:

On my way back from Ampang Point shopping Complex, I passed through a few enclaves of the rich people along Jalan Ampang Hilir, Jalan U Thant and Jalan Langgak Golf of KL. Many of these houses( or rather mansions) have a guard house next their entrance. As I drove through, my wife passed a comment:

"Can these guards be trusted?".

I don't blame her for making such a remaks. Lately, in Malaysia, 'jaga' or guards is bad news!

IMHO,not all guards are bad people, but honestly I do not know which ones can be trusted. At the moment,anybody can be a 'jaga' or a guard.Even an ex-convict or drug addicts have been employed to act as 'jaga' or security guards. The rules are all there but compliance by security companies and enforcement by the authorities are another story altogether.

If I have the money to pay for the security services to protect my family and my house while I am away,I won't employ any security company at all. These companies could just send anybody-for all you know, these 'jaga' may collaborate with the robbers as it happened to someone a few years ago.We really need a cleaning up in this industry.

Talking about guards, all of us are in fact guardians in one way or the other.As a father, I am a guardian to my family;and as the Prime Minister, Pak Lah is the guardian to our country,Malaysia.All of us are guardians to the trusts given to us;we must be responsible and accountable. I like the Malay word "tanggung jawab". First is "tanggung" and then "jawab". For muslims,we are also answerable to Allah on the 'amanah' given to us by virtue of our post and position in personal or official life. A few years ago,one Chief Minister said he is responsible but not accountable.

To-day, I have another shock again when I read in the newspaper about a father who raped his own teenage daughter-not once but three times!!! Who else the daughter could look up to than her own father to protect her???

Let me quote from Satires of Juvenal:
" Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?".

Translated: Who will guard the guards?

PS:
1. Selamat Hari Raya Qurban( Wishing you The Blessings of Eidul Adha).
2. I am now reading chapter 87-The Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.Reading this techno thriller made me forget to blog;-)

Wukuf on 31/01/04

This morning I received a sms from my friend in Makkah that he will be leaving to Arafah after this Friday prayer to perform wukuf on Saturday.When I was in his position, my heart was beating a bit faster wondering what it would be like to be going to Arafah and stay there for a day with other 2 millions muslims and muslimahs?

It was the BIGGEST congregation I have ever attended in my life last year! May Allah swt bless all the pilgrims.

In fact, we are pligrims all the time in this life....

Note:
Two of my friends are in Makkah right now. They keep sending me news every other day via sms. On Friday, there was a big downpour and they had flash floods around Makkah. Almost everyone going for Haj is already in Makkah now .One of my friends told me that he only can pray at the roof top level even though he went 45 minutes earlier for his dzuhur prayer yesterday. The other was caught in a human traffic jam!

Sister blog: Simply Projects

When I read the news that KLIA luggage handling system is having problems a few days ago,it prompted me to update a sister blog of The Reader which I gave a name Simply Projects. I started it in Oct.,2003 and managed to post only 7 postings for the last 4 months:-( Hopefully, I will update Simply Projects blog at least once a week or once a fortnight. In the event I forget to update, please send a reminder.

This blog is dedicated for postings and discussions on the art and science of project management-theory and practice only. By the way, I am still a student of project management. Hopefully, we can learn from each other.

Previously , I created a blog at blogger.com called Project Snap$hot. but it was not updated since 30/06/2003.

Turning green

Everyone who passes under this entrance to Lot 10 turns green! As I took this picture, my mind wondered what if one of them will turn into An Incredible Hulk;-) Luckily, no one did,otherwise I will be running for cover.

Below is what I wrote about Being green some time ago:

Being-green and ever-green!

Technically speaking,green is just a colour; but to the people at Benetton, colour is their business. Like any other colours, it has its own unique meanings to different people. To PAS members,it is their party's colour.It all lies in eyes of the beholder! So is beauty...

First, let me thank God for making the leaves green. It is very pleasant to the eyes. As a city dweller, I need more of greens by the road sides and also in my wallet. Honestly,I got more than enough of grey concrete jungles in Kuala Lumpur:-(

Not only the leaves of trees are green,we are also blessed by the green grass. As they say,the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Most of the time, it is only a perception of what we do not have is better than what we have. And yet,many left their green,green grass of home to look for greener pastures. A few had found the so-called greener pastures are just plastic grass (similar to Astroturf at our hockey stadium) and they wished to come back to their home turfs.

On looking at other's fortunes, a few of us are having green eyes. They become jealous of other's achievements,yet they have not put enough efforts to strive for themselves. The successful were not lucky,they were ready when opportunities came knocking on their doors.

Most of us would like to have a few million green backs,but when asked to work for it they were not willing to do what it takes to own the green backs. They only wish the money would grow on trees and fall on their laps. Of course,some lucky blokes just happen to be sitting under such a tree.

"Hijau itu muda,dan muda itu hijau". Being green means being young and inexperienced and vice versa. The green leaves have to withstand all weather conditions before they can useful to the trees.

Our environments are threatened by our own civilisations or more appropriate our own cannabalisations. There are a lot of business opportunities in being green i.e environmental friendly. New green technologies are being developed to fight and defend our environments.

Nowadays,it is very fashionable to join the green revolution, just like the flower power of the 70's. It is also where the green backs are in the next decades.So stay green-be rich and be happy.....

Now,let me sing the song green,green grass of home and stay evergreen forever!

13/05/2001

ps. additional greens:
> 1. Green fingers
> 2. Green tea
> 3. Green lanes
> 4. Green house
> 5.Green card
> 5.Green light

Aidil Adha on 1st Feb., 2004

I just heard over the TV that Raya Qurban (Aidil Adha) this year is on Sunday 1st Febuary,2004

Sickening news...

The last few days our nation was bombarded with some sickening news that is almost beyond comprehension!

We have Chief Police Inspector who was shot dead for robbing a bank,we have a father who raped his own daughter, we have a teenager who raped another teenager, we have the security guards who raped and killed a 10 -year old girl and to-day I read about four police recruits who were arrested for suspected rape and sodomy of an Indonesian maid! I just wonder what is next???

Let me misquoted al-Rumi's poem:

Be helpless and dumbfounded,
Unable to say yes and no.

Now, I begin to believe that there are more mad people outside Tanjung Rambutan Mental Hospital and they are running loose in our midst!

Talking about personal security, there is no such thing as security- the only thing that exists is the different levels of insecurity.

I am not a qualified social scientist to explain the reasons of what is happening in our society now. But one thing I am sure that all these events are symtoms of something grossly wrong some where. What and where must be identified so that immediate actions have to be taken to address the issues. In the mean time, all of us must be more security conscious.

By the way, I have written a short note about insecurity in July,2000.

Take care and Happy Chinese New Year and Have a Good Holiday.

The date of new moon

The date of new moon according to Islamic calendar is on 23/01/2004. It differs by one day compared with Chinese calendar.
Chinese New Year starts on 22/01/2004.

10 Zulhijah,1424

The above is taken from moonsighting.com

The website concludes that 10 Zulhijah is going to be on 1st Febuary.The official date for Eidul Adha( Hari Raya Kurban) will be announced by the authority. I have yet to get information on the date of the "wukuf" in Arafah.

News from Madinah al-Munawarah

I am very pleased to receive two sms this afternoon from my friends who are now in Madinah. The temperature is about 16 deg. C - a very good weather but a bit warmer compared to last year around this time.

With the modern day IT, we can inform everyone back home about us as soon as we arrived in Makkah or in Madinah by using our cellular phones. When my late father went for his Haj in 1952, it took a month before my mother got news about my father. Those were the days when my father had to travel by camels from Madinah to Makkah. It took him 15 days by ship from Penang to Jeddah and cost only RM 900! Now, the cost to perform the Haj is about RM 10,000.

The first time I arrived in Madinah was in 1986. It has changed a lot since then. Now, there are more 4 and 5 stars hotels and also a lot more shopping complexes. The temptations to do shopping is greater than to do ibadah. My observations were that many people spent more of their time at the shopping complxes than inside the mosque doing ibadah.

While watching people queuing up to change their ringgit to rials in order to do shopping in Madinah, it crossed my mind that we also must equally "exchange" our worldly assets to the "currency" that we can use to purchase goods/services in the akhirat( Hereafter).Just like the ringgit cannot buy things/services in Makkah and Madinah, our worldly possesions cannot buy things/services in the Hereafter.