The Reader

Wajh Allah

Let me share this beautiful ayat and its meaning:

Living The Quran : Face of AllahAl-Rahman (The Merciful) - Chapter 55: Verses 26-27

"All that is on earth will perish, but the Face of your Lord will abide forever - Full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour."

To entice us to remember Him and to love Him Allah has used the beautiful words Wajh Allah or the Face of Allah in this verse.

Everything on this earth will perish except the 'Face' of our Lord. His is the 'Face' we must desire. The expression 'Face of Allah' does not, of course, mean that Allah has a face like ours. But, again, if you love someone, you desire to look upon his face all the time, you always want to be in his company and you will make all the necessary sacrifice to earn his pleasure. So, when the Quran uses the expression 'Face of Allah' it is really to make us conscious that Allah is looking at us and we should do the things which will please Him and abstain from things which will displease Him.

If we continuously remind ourselves that Allah is looking at us when we are praying, when we are studying, when we are doing our jobs, when we are with our families and friends, when we are involved in dawa - then we are well on our way to attaining ihsan, the most excellent form of worship. Ihsan takes us to the highest station of nearness to Allah. This is what gives real worth to everything we do and makes our actions acceptable in the eyes of our Creator and Sustainer.

Compiled From:"In the Early Hours" - Khurram Murad, pp. 65, 66

Personal Note: Let us put more efforts to elevate us to the maqam of Ihsan,insyaAllah.

Morning walk at St Paul and Malacca Riverside

At first,my wife said NO to my invitation to walk the St Paul Hill.Out of pity,she agreed to accompany her husband.When we were up the hill,she said,"Luckily I have come -cool morning air from Selat Melaka".I just smile to make her feel more guilty;-)

Overall,we have a great morning together and walked 3.6km in 1hr 5min.

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On language..

What is word(heard/read) without meaning?

Just observe a few months old infant responding to words said by mother.To the child,it is just the sound and the visuals of action by the mother  talking.At this juncture the child is still developing his faculties.As he grows daily,he will learn to understand what his mother was talking..

I am always fascinated by the signs and their meanings.In fact,the whole world is a collection of signs for us to interpret and live our lives.As muslims,we must always refer to the Qur'an and The Sunnah to guide us in our understanding.In fact,Allah has used analogies to explain the meaning of our existence!

Let me share with you this note by a sufi master:

Rifai was asked:

"Why do  you have to use so many analogies when you are talking about higher understand.Can we not speak in plain language of such things?"

He said:

"This is an example of 'sublime ignorance producing correct information'.It there wer no people who did not know things,we would not be able to discern as to who is wise. Know,therefore, that language is itself an analogy.Every word and phrase,every letter ,is an analogy."

"In words we cannot speak of higher things directly,since no language encompasses higher things and not lower things as well".

 

 

 

 

 

Still in the woods..

Today is my 10th day after I fell sick....

Thanks to Allah swt,I am recovering.To get my self to feel energetic,I went for few morning walks.It is good for my  breathing and doing exercises made me sweat and it also relieved my stress.There are five more days to end 2010 and I plan to take part in the New Year Inter-Parks Night Ride with more than a few hundreds cyclists to usher the New Year 2011!YaAllah,please forgive my impatient to get well and I pray that I will be healthy enough for the ride..at 8:30pm on 31/12/2010..

Below is what I did this morning to stay fit.

No cycling for 3 weeks!

24122010-Bend to the sun shines
Originally uploaded by Adibi

The last time I rode my bike was on 4th Dec,,2010.Then I have fever and bad coughs.It looks like a holiday season to get sick.Many of my contemporaries are getting sick later.I am feeling better today...so,I went out cycling around my neighbourhood.

At 7:30am,I cycled to the Masjid al-Hasanah to see if any one taking the bicycle offer to ride after kuliyyah suboh.None!As they say,turning an idea into a really needs great effort!

 

Peringatan akhir tahun..

Kita semua tahu kehidupan dunia hanya sekejap sahaja,tetapi  kita masih belum BERSUNGGUH-SUNGGUH bersiap sedia.Sama-sama kita semua ambil peringatan.

Photography:Night shot at Saba'

This shot was taken using Nokia N8.If you wish to see more big photos,click here.Have a good weeekend/holiday..

Yang buruk vs Yang baik.

Kenapa yang buruk juga menjadi pilihan?Lihatlah didalam kehidupan masyarakat mutakhir ini,masih lagi terdapat kumpulan yang masih juga terlibat dengan kerja buruk..

Dalam mengharungi pelbagai arus kehidupan,disebabkan oleh sesuatu keadaan,kita mungkin terheret kedalam kerja buruk.Walaupun  kebanyakan kita tergulong dari kumpulan orang baik-baik,kita mesti sentiasa berhati-hati dan sabar.

Kita ada pilihan,dan sebagai orang yang berakal fikiran,pastikan kita pilih yang baik sabagaimana perintah Allah swt di dalam ayat saperti dibawah:

Surah Al-Maidah,ayat 100:

Katakanlah wahai Muhammad:"Tidak sama yang buruk dengan yang baik,walaupun banyak yang buruk itu menarik hatimu.Oleh itu bertaqwalah kepada Allah wahai orang-orang yang berakal fikiran,supaya kamu berjaya".

 

One week blogging holiday

To all my regular readers,kindly be informed that I am taking a week holiday from blogging.The last three days I was grounded with fever and bad cough that I could not sleep all night for two night.It was hard on my chest and it hurt my throat.Today,I felt better and I really need a good rest.At my age ,recovery takes longer time..

To all of you who are taking your annual holiday,enjoy yourself with your families and friends.Take care and God bless..

50 Plus Fitness Walking..

This posting is dedicated to my peers who are in their 50's and 60's.Most of us,had knowingly or unknowingly misused our bodies-just pure negligence.We took more care of our cars than our bodies.Just look around you,how many of us are in good shape,fit and healthy?A few of my friends are now regulars to clinics and hospitals-some with chronic diseases!I am blessed by Allah that the only 'medication' I took daily are two capsules of Cod Liver oil.Whatever your situation are,it is better late than never.I started regular cycling mountain bikes at the age of 56 and early this year,I also do fitness walking.

My dear friend asked,'Don't you get bored walking?'.It all depend how you walk,where you walk and who you walk with.Here is a link I recommend you to read.This is one of a few things you have to do it yourself and could NOT  delegate to others even if you are the Sultan or the billionaire!

Let me share my personal experience when I first started regular walking in March ,2010.First I bought myself a good pair of Nike+ shoes.Together with the shoes,I bought a sensor and a wristband to monitor my walks.I started with 3km for 45min and then moved to 5km in 60min.As they say,when things get measured,things get done!Now,I have logged more than 600km-cumulative total of 3 or 4 times walk every week.This is nothing great compared to my walking partner Nazley who walks about twice my mileage.

On walking partners,most of the time they are my family members and friends.When they could not  be with me,I join the walking crowd at our neighbourhood park.To add spice to my walking ambience,I go and walk at some beautiful parks at Putrajaya,KL and even to FRIM,Kepong.

Another friend asked,'Can you really get a workout by just walking?'.In fact,I sweat more by walking  than my cycling(except MTB at FRIM).Just like yesterday morning when I was catching my breath walking up three small 'hills' at Taman Rimba Alam at Putrajaya.By the way,I cycle once or twice on weekend.

If you are a grandfather(or grandmother),why not take your grand children to the park and see whether you can chase them around or not?

Notes on photos: All the photos were taken at Canseri Garden and Taman Rimba Alam,Putrajaya.