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Mid-Month Ramadhan Review

Now we are in the middle of Ramadhan.Fifteen days have gone by and we can't have back.If we failed to do any ibadah during the last 15 days,the opportunity is gone forever.Time is just like the flowing water in the river.If we don't take it,it just flows to the sea.

All of us should be grateful to Allah swt for letting us to be alive in this Holy Month of Ramadhan.Let us do some personal check on our actitivites relating to special ibadah for this month.One of the techniques used in GTD( getting thing done) as mentioned by David Allen is to DO A REVIEW.From the review, we shall discover many things-what we have done,what we have not done and what we could have done. Then ,prepare a revised TODO list for the next 15 days of Ramadhan and strive to do better than we had done in the last 15 days.

For those of us who are fasting(or who had been fasting) in the Holy Cities of Makkah al-Mukarrahmah and Madinah al-Munawarah, they have two "kemulia'an" -the Sacred locations(space) and the Blessed Month of Ramadhan(time).Hundreds of thousands congregate there to seek Rahmah and Forgiveness from Allah swt.For most of us who could not be there, we must strive to enrich our ibadah during solat terawih at our local masjids,allocate more  time to read Qur'an and zikir,give more sedakah etc.InsyaAllah,all of us will be well rewarded;in this world and in the hereafter.

In doing ibadah, the greatest enemy is from within us-our nafs. We really need a lot of sabar(patience) in order to maintain our restraints in this month and to do more ibadah sunat.I know it is not easy and I have failed in many tests but we must strive as our jihad against our nafs.According to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W),it is the biggest war! Knowing that we are in the 'war zone',we must act like 'soldiers' whereby we need a lot of discipline in our characters.

Here is what I wrote four years ago during the month of Ramadhan in 2004.

Let us strive to make this month as the month of Festival of Ibadah and not the Festival of Nafs.Here is what I wrote last year on similar topic.

Writing my blog in a moleskine

  Writing my blog in a moleskine 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi

I was away for the last ten days and could not access Internet via my computer. To keep blogging,I used my moleskine notebook to record my journey and my thoughts on a daily basis.

I tried to use my smart phone to upload while I was away but could not get through.However ,my Twitter was a great help for short update at my blog.

So, the old fashion way(book and pen) always works  without any batteries and telcos connections wherever I am..

I may  be hitech with all my gadgets like Treo,GPS device and iPod but I never leave home without a notebook and a pen.

Alhamdulilah,I am back in KL.

First ,let me offer my deep gartitude for Allah's rahmah on my safe journey for a few days and I am now back home with my family.Second,I would like to thank all my friends and fellow readers for your du'a.May Allah swt reward you His Rahmah in this Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.

InsyaAllah,I shall continue my blogging as soon as my body clock returns to normal.My apologies for not being able to respond to your comments in my blog in the last ten days.

Below is a photo how thousands of muslims/muslimahs break their fast everyday at Masjidil Haraam.It is a sight to behold!!!I felt guilty if I didnot share this moment with my fellow readers...

On blogging leave..

To all readers of my blog The Reader,please be informed that I will be taking leave from blogging for the next 10 days as I will be away.InsyaAllah, I will continue blogging when I return home.

Best regards to All.

Ramadhan Journal

I do keep a journal but I don't write everyday. In fact,I have two notebooks;one for my personal life and the other for my business notes and records.

Starting yesterday,the first day of Ramadhan 1428 I have started a daily journal what I have done and what I have failed to do in relation to what I should have been doing everyday as a good muslim in holy month of Ramadhan. This will become my personal scoreboard-to be updated and reviewed on the daily basis by me.

By writing this daily journal,I hope it will remind me of my obligations and hopefully will improve my Ramadhan KPI.KPI should not be limited to corporate performance but also should be applied in our ubudiyyah to Allah swt.

NB: The above posting was featured in the moleskine website today.Here is the link.

1st Ramadhan,1428

First and foremost,let me thank Allah swt ,The Lord of All of the Worlds-Known and Unknown,Seen and Unseen(Rabbul 'alamin) for His rahmah on me to be alive today to welcome Ramadhan al-Mubarak,1428H.My deep gratitude for fulfilling my du'a during the last Ramadhan to be able to fast again in this Ramadhan. (hopefully many more to come)

Fasting is a very special form of ibadah when it begins from subuh till magrib.In Malaysia,it may take more than 13 hours when we must observe the fasting rules and regulations.Abstinence from what is forbidden during fasting is an act of obedience-which is a form of worship.So ,we must be conscious all the time that we are in the state of 'ubuddiyah' to Allah swt.

As they say, good start is half the battle won.So let's do the best we can today so that we can repeat it and improve it as the days go by..Along the way,we are going to face more battles with our nafs.

Be prepared to 'fight' as our jihad to seek the pleasure of our Lord only and insyaAllah to be accepted as solehin.

Doing good to others..

I don't have the power of descriptive analysis like Nicholas Sparks to articulate the words for the feeling when I have  completed something,especially when we have done something good for others. From my experience, the feeling is much better if others can benefit more from our good deeds.

Similarly,if we have given something to others as compared to getting something from others. I don't know how to say it, but for those who have the experience,you know the feeling.

Not many of us can accomplish great things during our life time.But I know,many of us can do many small everyday things like helping someone who needs help to find their way or give information to others so that they can get their job done easier and faster. Many a time, I am the receiver of many good deeds done by others. Many thanks and may Allah bless you all.

Let me tell you a real story about a young man who is also a frequent visitor of my blog.A few days ago, he sms( text) me asking whether I wish to donate some money for his initiative to get some books for the library of an orphanage in Parit, Perak.A few days later, he sms me that he had collected RM2025 and used the money to buy 246 books.Imagine the benefits to the orphans at that school! May Allah swt bless you IS.

In Al-Qur'an, I read about the al-Muhsinun i.e the doers of good things. Most of us are good people who normally do good to others. The month of Ramdhan is coming tomorrow.Why not we look for something good that we can do;no matter whether we are rich or poor,scholars  or not educated and ordinary muslims or pious muslims.By the way, it is easier to do good things than bad things.

Let this Ramadhan be a good training ground so that we can continue doing more good things in the future.

From Surah Az-Zaariyat:

[15] Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang bertakwa adalah ditempatkan di dalam beberapa taman Syurga, dengan mata air-mata air terpancar padanya. [16] (Keadaan mereka di sana) sentiasa menerima nikmat dan rahmat yang diberikan kepadanya oleh Tuhan mereka. Sesungguhnya mereka di dunia dahulu adalah orang-orang yang berbuat kebaikan. [17] Mereka sentiasa mengambil sedikit sahaja: Masa dari waktu malam, untuk mereka tidur. [18] Dan pada waktu akhir malam (sebelum fajar) pula, mereka selalu beristighfar kepada Allah (memohon ampun). [19] Dan pada harta-harta mereka, (ada pula bahagian yang mereka tentukan menjadi) hak untuk orang miskin yang meminta dan orang miskin yang menahan diri (daripada meminta).

Ahlan Wassahlan Ya Ramadhan al-Mubarak!

From KL to JB by train

I planned to blog every hour on the train but I could not not.The main reason is the connectivity to Internet.From KL to Seremban was a bliss but after that,I lost my patience when I had intermittent connection until I arrived at Kluang-most time no connection at all).By then,my mood was not there any more as I was getting hungry.Hungry men are angry men;-) I am using Celcom broadband with 3G wireless card.

Another reason that I did not proceed with blogging was due to lateral movements of the train as I type on the keyboard with my two fingers. Last but not the least was I am worried the vibration from the train may cause damages to some parts inside in pc.So I chosed to update using Twitters via my Treo680 smartphone-as and when I could get connected to Digi.

By the way, when it comes to writing/blogging on the train, the old fashion way of a notebook and a pen will do just fine. That was what I did along the way...

One interesting discovery I made is the direct distance from JB Railway Station  to KL Sentral is about  329km but the real distance I travelled by railway is 376km.This figure shows that the route constructed is only 14.3% longer than the straight line. Considering our railway lines were done more than 50 years,it was an good engineering work done by the engineers at that time.

Using my GPS device to track the travel,here are some figures:

Max speed                   101km/hr
Moving average speed     55km/hr
Travel time                      6.5hrs
Ttotal time for Stops          25min
Distance covered              376km

At Tampin and Gemas railway stations,I saw a few old trains and old buildings being left to rot away. What a waste..I could write more but nothing is good to report about. In a sentence,our KTM needs a major overall overhaul in order to keep it relevant and modern.

Here is something to smile about:

When I bought the ticket for KL/JB, the ticket officer told me I have made the right choice compared to travelling by plane or bus.When I enquired why, he told me that I can enjoy the ride much longer for every ringgit I paid compared to travelling by plane or bus!

Note on the photo:The photo showed how people sleep on the train.I saw one with a plastic bag to cover his head!

CEO of the Year 2007

First,my congratulations to Dato' Abdul Halim Harun for winning the award!

Most corporate executives dreams to be a CEO one fine day.It is a tough job and sometimes it affects our family life if we donot know to manage our personal lives. Another thing is that one has to wait.Management knowledge and experience takes time.However, luck also plays a part.You may be competent and hardworking but opportunity was not there for you or someone else has taken away from you. I was lucky to have a chance to a CEO and it was a tough life. As they say,one cannot have the cake and eat it at the same time.

Let me share what he said in the interview as reported by Adeline Paul Raj of NST:

"I like to go to basics."he said of his style of management."I like to keep things simple.Sometimes people make things complicated that they end up not knowing what's going on.A good CEO must be hands on.When I start something,I see it to finish."

When asked what drived him,Dato abdul Halim said,"It is a strong passion to keep improving myself and my company". By the way, his favourite football team is Arsenal;-)

PS: It is very lonely at the top..