The Reader

Living with certainty(yaqin)

Last week,I went to see my senior(in knowledge and age) to check my understanding of the meaning of the word yaqin after reading item #68 of the book Liberating The Soul written by Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani.Another reason why I went to see him was because he personally knows and has met the author of this book in person.

How could people say they believe in Allah and Qur'an and yet everyday they disobey the Commands of Allah and go on living against the Holy Book?IMHO, this may due to the level(maqam) of our yaqin.

Since I am not qualified to articulate the meaning of the word "yaqin",please let me share these few paragraphs from the the book Liberating The Soul and this link:

Certainty,yaqin,is the soul of beliefs.You may say,"Amantu bil-Lah,I believe in God,and in theangels,in the holy books,in the prophets,in the Last Day,in qadar."That is how a little boy begins school,saying,"A,B,C,D...",saying it without certainty,following his teacher.But afterwards,when he understands,he becomes certain that it is really "A" or "B" or "C".

Therefore,it is important for everyone to make himself improve in certainty,not remaining as he is.Everyone knows something,but not everyone has certainty about what he knows.Certainty comes through the heart of the Prophet(SAW).

Let's improve our knowledge and ubudiyyah and ask the Mercy of Allah swt to bestow yagin in our hearts,insyaAllah.

Please click and read the this link to read more about the meaning of yakin.

Note on photo: I took this photo of the shouq behind Masjid Syaidina Ali.

Book: The Art of Learning

I love watching people playing chess and if there is an international event about it,usually I will read about it some where. But some how,I missed this brilliant grandmaster Josh Waitzkin.I only know about him when I recently discovered his book-The Art of Learning.

What attracted me first to the book is the title and when I looked closely,I saw a young boy looking down on the chessboard and a young man doing tai chi.And that reminded me of my youngest son who never fail to beat me in any chess game with me.In fact,I was the one who taught him how to play in the first play.I don't how he learnt fast enough to beat his own dad when he was 12 years old.I tried to read something on cognitive science of learning but that is too academic for an old engineer like me.I hope by reading this book,I will learn a little bit more about learning because I am a student,albeit older for my age,but I keep learning.Next on my agenda is to learn a skill on how to ride my bicycle down a cascade of concrete steps.It looks dangerous, but I am willing to give it a try.

From my life experience,we thought we have learnt something, but in fact we have learnt very little indeed.Just look around and you can see people keep on making mistakes in their lives and the finger is also pointing straight to  me.

What is your breakfast?

Olive oil +bread at Italian restaurant
Originally uploaded by Adibi

After fasting in the last Ramadhan,I feel lighter and many a time, my trousers have decided to drop on my feet.Luckily, no one was around;-)

From today onwards,I will try not to eat roti canai/prata and nasi lemak for my breakfast.Instead, I will go for bread with Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive oil for a change.The November 2008 Reader's Digest has made a mention of it(page 142).

To my friend out there.Please answer my simple question.What did you have for breakfast today?

Thank you.

What we see,what we don't see..

Many years ago,I was alone on a Boeing 747 London-KL flight -sitting by the window.It was night time and the pilot told us that we were passing over a town  in Iran.From the plane 10km above the ground and  travelling at about 1000km/hr, I saw flickers of light - a beautiful sight to behold, of peace and tranquality of the town below.But that was what appeared to be.Down there,in the houses and on the streets,only Allah knew what was happening.

Likewise, when we travel along our roads-either on PLUS highways or the town roads.What we see is passing us at the speed of our vehicles-only glances and patches of images.However, we will see different things if we were travelling on our bicycles.We don't only see more things in details but we also hear and smell what was in the vicinity of our routes.May be, it is like  a camera with bigger aperture and slow speed.

Here is a short note from my cycling blog when a group of my friends and me decided to take the roads less travelled around Putrajaya lake yesterday morning.InsyaAllah, our next morning rides will be at Putrajaya Wetland and FRIM.

Alhamdulilah,with His Mercy,I managed to participate with my friends to cycle along the lake of Putrajaya.It was my first time and I discovered that the are some really good locations with beautiful sceneries around the lake.At the same time,there are a lot of bicycle lanes for me to exercise and enjoy riding my bicycle with my friends.

Previously,my visits to Putrajaya were mainly for business and in my car, I see only some parts of the city and many beautiful places were hidden from my sights.Today,my ride opened my eyes - there is a lot of places for me take photos.However,during this first visit,I focussed mainly on riding my bike and not taking photos.May be ,next time,I will come alone and take my own sweet time to capture those beautiful sceneries..

Another pleasant discovery was that using a bike,it allowed me to explore the nooks and crannies of the city.

Herewith I attach four photos taken by my friend Dr Taufik.My thanks to him for his consent to allow me to post his photos here.Last but not least,I wish to record my special thanks to Saifudin for being our guide and to everyone to participate in this morning ride.It was my great pleasure to be with you guys/gal.

List of riders;Saifudin,Dr Azmi,Dr Taufik,Abdul Samad,Aliff,Muzafar,MBA,Ghazali(Bond),Nadim,Didi and Adib
Photo: The photo above  was taken by Dr Taufik  and the map/graph below by Dr Azmi and posted here with their consents.

























 

Sunday Ride @Putrajaya

Crowded adverts

Crowded adverts
Originally uploaded by Adibi

Everyday we are being bombarded with advertisements every where.This one shown is located at Ampang Park Shopping Complex along Jalan Tun Razak.

Which one catches your attention and why? By the way, what is the main message in the signboard below:

Al-Haqq

During one of the lectures I have attended,Prof Dr Syed Naquib al-Attas explained the meaning of Al- Haqq as TRUE AND REAL.This is one of the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah swt.There are many more that I have to know and learn the meaning in order to know My Lord better.

[59:24] He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

Below is the relevant ayat in Surah al-Hajj related to Al-Haqq:

[22:62] That is because Allah, He is the Reality: and those besides Him whom they invoke, they are but vain Falsehood: verily Allah is He, Most High, Most Great.

From wahiduddin.net on Al-Haqq:-

The Truth, The Reality, The Just and Correct, The Truly Existing The One who is the truth, the real, and the truly-existing. The One whose essence is the only substance and the only reality. The One whose essence is wisdom, justice, right, rightness. The One who is just, right, proper, correct. The One whose existence is undeniable. The One who acts in accord with the needs of every situation. The One through whom all righteousness, justice, and truth are revealed.
From the root h-q-q which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to be suitable to the requirements of wisdom, justice, truth or fact to be in accord with the needs of the situation to be true, right, correct, just, proper to be genuine, authentic, real, sound, substantial to be established, confirmed as fact to be necessary, requisite, justified to be unavoidable, inevitable, due to be binding, obligatory, incumbent upon to happen without doubt or uncertaint.

Question:
Please recite and write all the names of Allah that you know/remember.Count the number and divide by 100.Now ,you know the answer  that many of us(including me) know very little indeed.

Tips from my Ustaz Dr Ali Saripan:

Memorise and recite the last three ayats of Surah al-Hashr, and you will know at least 15 Beautiful Names of Allah swt.

My Lily just blooms today..

My Lily just blooms today..
Originally uploaded by Adibi

I have a pleasant suprise yesterday that I saw these few flowers bloomed in my garden.Actually,I am not qualified to say it is my garden because all the hard work was done by wife.Anyway,when a flower blooms,I usually lay claim that it is my garden;-)

In fact, it was there a few days earlier but many a time,I just took my garden for granted and failed to notice the beauty of this flower.This analogy applies to other things in our lives.Sometimes, when it is gone,then only we realise its beauty etc.With flowers, we need to get near them,look closely and then only you will appreciate their beauty.MasyaAllah!

So young men and women out there....don't rush so much.Please stop and smell a few flowers on your way:-)

NB: My thanks to my wife who keeps on maintaining 'my' garden even though there were no flowers for months.

Pilot G2-07

Pilot G2-07
Originally uploaded by Adibi

After trying a few brands of ball pens to write in my moleskine notebook,my 'research' came out with a clear winner-Pilot G2-07.So,I started buying one after another.Lately,I saw the stationery depart at my local bookhops are selling almost all colours.Each cost RM4,so I bought all the colours.That is how I ended up with this collection.

Most of the time,I only carry three different colours.A friend asked why I need all these colourful ball pens like school kids?My answer: I take notes using mindmapping method and my notebook would be more colourful and nicer to read.

 

Total cost for the ball pens is RM 32 and the case is about RM40.This case was meant for PS2.It also can store my notebook
My platinum notebook costs RM20.All in,just below RM100.

Monday blues..

Yesterday morning,I went to visit my friend at his office.After we exchanged our Hari Raya greetings, he immediately told me that he is having his Monday blues.So I cut short my business talk with him and asked him where shall we go for a coffee break.Of we went and we talked about our personal lives...

I don't blame him.After more than 30 years in government service,life has become a dull routine and Monday drags along a big inertia.

By the way, may I ask my fellow readers on how do you overcome your Monday blues?