The Reader

Deceptive leisure

Last Saturday Kuliyah Subuh,our teacher Dr Ali Saripan quoted this ayat below:

[57:20] Know ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children. Here is a similitude; how rain and the growth which it brings forth, delight (the hearts of) the tillers; soon it withers; thou wilt see it grow yellow; then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the Hereafter is a Penalty severe (for the devotees of wrong). And Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the devotees of Allah). And what is the life of this world, but goods and chattels of deception?

Referring to the above ,he reminded all of us not to get carried away with pleasure of this worldly life-just like the similitude mentioned above.Most of us who are in our 50's,60's and 70's nodded our heads because we have personally observed and experienced of what  is this worldly life is all about.

I am not saying that this world is not important, but it is temporal in nature and only a bridge to the next eternal world. Mathematically speaking,when we divide 'temporary' by 'eternity',the answer is asymptotically approaches zero.

When I was 25 years,I know the translation of this ayat(level of information); but today as the number exceeds 52 years old,I think I understand its meaning with the Guidance and Mercy from Allah. We only gain knowledge when the meaning arrives at our souls or the other way around when the souls arrive at meaning. I du'a and seek wisdom from The Owner of Knowledge so that I can grasp the meaning of the meaning.InsyaAllah.

NB: Please ponder on the ayat above (Ayat 20,surah Al Hadid) and ponder on the last 10,20,30 years of your life.For beautiful photo of fallen leaves ,please peek here.Photo credit goes to my dear friend Beta Blogger-Jalan jalan..

New stock of M

  New stock of M 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi.

A few days ago I discovered that The Borders Bookshop in KL has received new stock of moleskine notebooks. If you are interested, it is better to buy now because my previous experience told me that when the stock runs out,it will take more than a month.

At the rate I am keeping my journal,I only need four copies annually.The photo shown is my old stock which have been given away and resold to friends at cost.

You can read and see how moleskine lovers use their notebooks here.

My blog shall remains apolitical..

To all visitors and readers of my blog:

Right from day one I chose not to write or discuss political issues or debates in my blog.Likewise I request all visitors to refrain from posting anything political in nature in their comments in my blog. May I ask your co-operation to comply with my blog's policy.

If you need to say something political,there are other blogs that allow political debates. If you wish to let me know, then please send your comments direct to me.

During this current hot political  climate, most of us have our own views. I do have my view  but I do talk about it some where else.

Thank you for your kind co-operation and understanding.

Penalty kicks

If you want to make God laugh, tell him your future plans.Woody Allen

As usual,I woke up about 5am this morning. I checked my mobile phone for any messages and during this football season I also downloaded the scores of what took place during the night or morning. To my suprise ,I saw no result for Switzerland Vs Ukraine.I switched on my telly and saw both teams were struggling to score some at least a goal.I waited and no goals until 120minutes of play.

Personally,I hate to see a game where the winner was decided by penalty kicks.Honestly,I got no 'kicks' at all ....but that is the rule of the game. As far as this match is concerned,whoever wins does not matter to me,but I prefer a goal win and not penalty kicks win.

As a casual football fan,I saw both teams played very well...but the Swiss has to go home early.That is qada' and qadr of Allah swt.Woody Allen's saying above may be related to what happened.

Behind the wheels...

I wonder how could polite and nice people become rude and uncaring when they are driving? What made the motor cyslists, car divers,bus drivers,lorry drivers etc behave differently when they are behind the wheel? Is it because they feel they are in power or in control so they wish to demonstrate to others what they are capable of? Or is it because they were bullied at home or at work that this is their chance to get their revenge? Honestly,I don't know the exact answer.

The state of 'behind the wheel' also applies to those who are in position of power or when they become rich.I have personally seen a few who simply changed for the worse.

As far as the road manners is concerned, it is getting worse over the last 22 years of my living in KL.I cannot confirm nor deny on what The Readers' Digest survey.

Lovely geometric....

Nicely lighted
Originally uploaded by Adibi.

This photo was taken about ten minutes before solat magrib at the Masjid Putra,Putrajaya. The inside is more beautiful but I could not take the photos as photography is not allowed inside the mosque.

Another beautiful aspect of mosque is the khat calligraphy on the wall or even inside the dome of the masjid.

Peace

I share Pok Ku postings two days ago about peace.Scanning the world situation now,I am also scared of the next World War.If it does happen,no one is safe.

When I was small,my grandma used to tell stories of the atrocities of the Japanese and  the bad living conditions during WW11.I thank Allah swt that my generation and my children donot have to live in those conditions. I really hope the world had learnt enough lessons from the last two World Wars and all the local wars all over the world.

All of us needs peace-starting from each individual to each family to each  neighbourhood and so on and on.In fact ,everyone on this planet wants peace. And yet, the wars are still going on especailly in the middle east.If everybody loses in a war,then how come we still have wars? It is most likely that a few will reap the benefits from the wars.Who are they?

Salam to All and have a good and safe wekend.

According to my opinion?

Let me begin with an example-in the case of the MRR2 which is being repaired now.When someone asked me what do you think,and straight away I replied," According to my opinion...".Even though I am a  civil engineer by training,I should not give my views  without really knowing the  facts/figures  about cracks  and without reading the technical reports. Even after doing all that, the appointed  experts disgreed on how the defects happened. Now, what is the value of my opinion as an ordinary engineer compared to experts who are subject matter experts.What is worse, the comments from the laymen who have zero knowledge on structural engineering!

When it comes to religous matters, we as ordinary folks(I am one of them) should not jump to give our views. Our main reference are Qur'an,Hadith,Ijmak Ulama and Qias. All of us should refer  to the four sources before we could afford to say,"According to my opinion...". Personally,I would not even say that because of my limited knowledge.I prefer to qoute some authorised source than giving my personal opinion.

So, we must be careful in whatever we say,we do and we believe because it may affect our aqidah. In case of doubt, ask clarification from the right person and refrain from takwil aljahilun(discourse of the ignorants-bicara orang-orang jahil). According to Dr Syed Naguib al- Attas, takwil aljahilun is a form of corruptions of knowledge.

Wallahu-a'lam.

Changing to fruits

I love cakes and pasteries...and I think my stomach is 'telling' me in its own way to eat less cakes and pasteries during my coffee or tea breaks. As they say,old habit dies hard.When I see cheese cake or apple strudel, my resistance crumbles to pieces...so I close one eye and shut the other.What worries me is that I may not be able to open both eyes.

Lately,I am struggling to change an old habit.Now, I put extra efforts to eat more fresh fruits than cakes. One of the ways is to avoid cafés that sell nice and tasty pasteries...and to buy more fruits when I go to supermarket.

In Malaysia,we have so many varieties of fruits that we are spoilt for choice. And yet people like me prefer carbo to fruits. Is it the upbringing?
Honestly,I don't know.

Photo Note:The photo above was taken at a roadside fruit stall near a town called 'Taif,some 90km from Makkah.More photos here.

Optimise Normal Days

Most of us,most of the time only experience normal days.Only some of us,some of the time have great days. As I grow older,I feel the time is moving faster and I feel more concern about the quality of my life.Looking back I realised that I have wasted so much of my time...

Yesterday,I discovered this article on how to OPTIMISE my days.Talking from my experience,I think,it is a way to make our normal days better-hopefully we can turn a few to great days! Looking at the list, I have done about 80% of them.I hope I am on the right track.

May I wish you a better day everyday of your life!