The Reader

The tribe that rides together..

We share a common interest-cycling to stay healthy and keep fit.

We meet two and three times a week..

We cycle together...

Then we eat together and have conversations....Before,many of us were strangers but now we are buddies.C'est la vie..

Last night our Putrajaya Urban Riders group got invitation from Perbadanan Putrajaya to attend the riding event to promote Presint 11 and cycling among the residents.We were honoured to be given the oppoutinity to show that all of us can ride,stay healthy and keep fit and having fun..

Touch of colours!

These boring cabins that were turned into a temporary office for an event looks nice and interesting.Just a little bit of colours made a lot of difference!

Night photography Revisited

The above shot was taken using my DSLR Canon 400D in August,2008.Since then ,I seldom take my DSLR to take photos at night.Most of the time,I use my compact Lumix TZ2.A few months ago,I saw my riding buddy Rahmat Hussien alway took beautiful and stunning night photos of our cycling activities.He uses his Lumix LX5.Inspired by him,I also bought a Lumix LX5 so that I could get better photos.

Yes,I did some improvements but I have yet to develop the skills.Looking at my Canon DSLR collecting dusts in my cupboard,I think I must do justice to my purchase of a few thousands on this DSLR.It is time I must read more on this nocturnal shooting and start walking around with my Canon 400D...Here is a link to tips on night photography.

Below is my shot with my Lumix LX5:

 

 

Wasila

Allah says in His Quran:

"O you who believe, keep your duty to Allah, and seek means of nearness to Him, and strive hard in His way that you may be successful " [Al-Maidah:35]

A large number of scholars and mufassir have explained the Arabic word "wasila" as a method to get closer to Allah by doing good deeds. In "tafsir ibn kathir", ibn Kathir writes that no Mufassir has disregarded the above meaning and all of them agree upon it.

via www.islamtomorrow.com

Let me tell you a personal story...

Sometimes in March,2011 my friend Kamarul Azhan has started a cycling group called Putrajaya Urban Riders.We started with friends we already know but slowly new ones came to join us.At first ,we were strangers but over the last six months,we become close friends and some are closer than our immediate family members and old buddies.How did it happen?We share the common interest in cycling and we cycle together in Putrajaya three to four times a week.After our cycling,we continue communicating using Facebook and our mobile phones(Whatsapp/BBM).These constant togetherness and continuous communication made us closer to one another and we do look forward to be together again for our next ride!

What is the above story got anything to do with Wasilah-getting closer to Allah?Let me use the above as analogy for people who wish to get closer to Allah.

Again,from my personal experience I feel that I am close to Allah when I am doing my solat at His House a.k.a masjid.If I could visit my friend in his house every week,I must be very close with him.How often do you go visiting your brothers and sisters?The more often I meet my brother and sister,the more closer I feel towards them.What if you visit masjid everyday-two or three times a day?Surely,you will feel closer to the Owner of The House.What more if you solat,read Qur'an and zikir while you are in the masjid or else where.The acts of solat,reading Qur'an and Zikrullah are the ways/media we communicate with Allah.So ,to get nearer to Allah,we must be regular visitors to His House a.k.a masjid and do more ibadah sunnah like solat sunat,reading and tadabbur Qur'an and zikkrullah.InsyaAllah

Let us put more efforts to get closer to our Lord to whom all of us shall return.Allah does not need us but we all do need Allah all the time and all the way.

Going back to Sudoku

More than five  years ago I wrote about playing sudoku to enhance my logic engine in my grey matter.Then after a few months,I lost my interest.A few weeks ago,I got this book as shown and it has a 100 puzzled.The puzzles were categorised into four levels:

1.Light and Easy

2.Moderate

3.Demanding

4.Beware,Very challenging!

Well,why sudden interest back to numbers?Since I am now not working full time and I am scared that my brain will deteriorate faster because of under utilisation,I plan to do one puzzle one day as a logic exercise so that my thinking ability could be maintained as its best level.

We need a road map..

The photo shown above is about a group of my cycling buddies sitting down and discussing where to ride our folding bikes last weekend when we were in Melaka.Using the map and some knowledge of the city we chose the route that was suitable for everyone in our group whose age and riding capacity and capability ranging as our age-from 22 to 74 years old.Our criteria are to have fun,see a few historic places and get some exercise-3 in 1-just like our 3 in 1 morning Nescafe dosage;-)

On more serious note,we must also have our road map for our career and business plan,not forgetting our family and other stakeholders in our lives and last but not least our very own lives.We have passed many milestones and where are we now going?Before we arrive at the last milestone a.k.a tombstines,check on what we are doing so that we shall arrive at the desired and blessed destination,insyaAllah.

Colourful backlanes..

Many backlanes in most Malaysian cities are dull and dirty.Below is one good example I have seen in Malacca last weekend where I saw beautiful mural paintings.It is not only nice and colourful but it also tells the history of Malacca.Another good example which I blogged was in Singapore.

When it comes to boosting tourism features,Malacca has done very well.Other states need no brains-just copy.It will do a lot of wonders.

 

Link to my walking and cycling activities.

Malacca Revisited:By night

Last weekend,a group of us(last count 29) took our folding bikes to Malacca and cycled there just for the the fun of it.I arrived on Saturday afternoon and we went for a walk but a few of my friends went cycling at about 5:30pm.I dared not go because I saw too much traffic in the city.On Saturday night,we went out for dinner together and I took a few photos as shown below.Good grief!Malacca has a new look and it is for the better...The next day(Sunday morning) we cycled around Kg Morten and visited Masjid Selat Melaka.

My thanks to Rahmat Hussien for the organising this trip and everyone for taking part and your great company as always..Next trip outside Klang Valley/Putrajaya will be in Ipoh,insyaAllah.

More photos here.

Penghulu istighfar (sayyidul istighfar)

Rasul dan suri tauladan kita, Nabi Muhammad shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam adalah orang yang paling banyak beristigfar dan bertaubat padahal beliau adalah orang yang telah diampuni dosa yang telah lalu dan akan datang. Sebagaimana hal ini terdapat pada firman Allah,

إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُبِينًا (1) لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا

“Sesungguhnya Kami telah memberikan kepadamu kemenangan yang nyata , supaya Allah memberi ampunan kepadamu terhadap dosamu yang telah lalu dan yang akan datang serta menyempurnakan ni’mat-Nya atasmu dan memimpin kamu kepada jalan yang lurus.” (Qs. Al Fath: 1-2)

via www.novieffendi.com

Izinkan saya berkongsi amalan beristighfar yang menjadi sunnah Nabi kita.Sama-samalah kita mencontohi amalan ini untuk kebaikan diri kita dunia dan akhirat,insyaAllah.

Above the clouds..

Above the clouds,we see nothing below-almost all white.It appeared to me as if I was in the ship floating in the ocean of white clouds..Nice feelings.Sometimes,I just wonder who are the inhibitants of this nice space..

Every time I take a flight,I love this feeling of tranquility even though I am fully aware down under below the clouds,there may be turmoil and even war taking place.The feeling may be associated with the phrase "on cloud nine".