The Reader

Promoting Floria 2012

Let's go and visit Floria 2012 in Putrajaya..Below is a shot of Floria 2010[HDR-ish]..

 

Levels of worship..

Let me share this note on worship.What is our level or maqam?We have put great effort and spend thousands dollars to get educated from kindergarten to university.Did we do the same thing to get nearer to  Allah and be better servant to Him?What have you done lately to improve the quality of our solat in terms of recitation and khooshu'?Many have done very little but we have upgraded ourselves from primary education to university education and living from kampung house to nice concrete buildings in the cities...

Sheikh Muhammad Muhammad Sâlim `Abd al-Wadûd

Among the Sufis, there are those who claim that the highest level of worship is where a person worships Allah because Allah is worthy of being worshipped, and for no other reason. The second level, they say, is where a person worships Allah to be among His devotees. The lowest level is where a person worships Allah hoping for His reward and fearing His wrath. 

When we look at what Allah says in the Qur’ân and what His Messenger (peace be upon him) has taught us un the Sunnah, we find that all three of these levels of devotion are desired of the worshiper at all times. 

We should worship Allah seeking nearness to Him in love and devotion. At the same time, Allah loves us to hope for His blessings and rewards. He wants us to fear His punishment. All of this is, indeed, worship, and should accompany our outward acts of devotion. 

Allah says: “They seek a means of nearness to their Lord – even those who are nearest: they hope for His mercy and fear His wrath: for the wrath of thy Lord is something to take heed of.” [Sûrah al-Isrâ’: 57] 

“Their limbs do forsake their beds of sleep, the while they call on their Lord, in fear and hope: and they spend (in charity) out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on them.” [Sûrah al-Sajdah: 16] 

Our devotions should indeed be a joy, an expression of our love for Allah. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Prayer has been made the delight of my eyes.” [Sûrah al-Nasâ’î (3940)] 

When he wanted to tell Bilâl to make the call to prayer, he said: “Give us our relaxation in prayer.” [Sunan Abî Dâwûd (4985)] 

All of these texts tell us that we should cultivate in our hearts a rich mix of virtuous feelings and noble aspirations when we approach the worship of Allah. The fuller our hearts are, the greater the act of worship will be. 

We should have a sense of duty when offering our obligatory worship, we should desire nearness to Allah, and we should take pleasure in the remembrance of our Lord. 

May Allah grant us success in attaining His pleasure.

Here is another note I wrote 3 years ago.Click here.

 

My digital art?

Doing sketches on Noteshelf apps on my iPad2 just for fun...

Sent from my iPad

Event:Malaysia Brompton Ride-14th July,2012

Dear readers, If you ride a Brompton folding bike,you are kindly invited to join this event as mentioned below.This event is organised by fellow Brompton owners to get them to know one another and enjoy the fraternity of fellow Brompton riders.The following is the latest announcement by our event manager Mr Yik Swofinty.If you are interested to join,kindly send email to :[email protected] you.Adib-Event Director MY Brompton Ride 2012 Objective: It’s a gathering event; Brompton owners to get to know one another. All are welcome to join in. Events Information: Venue: Umai D' Lake, The Lake Garden Cafe, Putrajaya. Sisiran Tasik Putrajaya, 62675 Presint 2, Putrajaya, Federal Territory of Putrajaya. (GPS Umai D’ Lake Carpark: 2.9217 101.6830) Meeting point: Umai D’ Lake Carpark.  Dress code theme: This is a fun ride so make it interesting! We encourage participant to wear a suit jacket, collared shirt and tie or jersey alike. If you thing you have your own styling such as ‘wong fei hung’, P Ramlee, Batman please do so. Eventually as long you’re comfortable you may decide. Participant: This event is open to Brompton rider only. Unisex open category, But, participant age below 15 is mandatory to obtain consent/authorization and accompany from respective parent. Estimated 20 riders or more. Distance: 13km+ routes will take us through within dedicated bicycle path Core Island. Admission fee: (RM30each participant, may bank in direct to facilitator Mr. Yik Swofinty MBB 112781017966. kindly PM bank in slip for confirmation) 1. Prize budgeted & contribution (RM150) 2. F&B Buffet budgeted RM300 (Only for Registered ride, participants family and friend are at their own expenses. 3.Marshalling-RM150 Registration closing date: 12th July, 2012. Itinerary: 0700-0730 Registration attendance, we encourage confirmation of participant before the actual event. 0730 (10minutes; welcome speech & safety briefing) Participant set up.  0800am: Flag off ‘Umai D’ Lake (with Marshal assistant) 0930am: End ‘Umai D’ Lake’ 0930-1000 Prize giving ceremony Men Open – Top 3(three) Best Female – 1 1000-1200 Makan, Free & easy, Rest & Relax, Get to Know & Indulge. Important note: It’s compulsory for all riders to wear proper helmet, No helmet No ride! This is a self support event. Every rider must play a role for their own safety and other road users. Obey & observe all traffic rules at all times. Rider to make sure that your bicycle is in good riding condition. For those who have medical condition, please seek your doctor’s advice before you ride. Organizer holds no responsibilities and is not liable to any accidents, injuries, disable or death caused in result of such rides. Every rider must play a role for their own safety, the safety of the other riders Event content is subject to change without prior notice.

 

The rise of popularism - Columnist - New Straits Times

TRAVELLING in Europe last week, it seemed as if every other conversation ended with some form of this question: why does it feel like so few leaders are capable of inspiring their people to meet the challenges of our day? There are many explanations for this global leadership deficit, but I'd focus on two: one generational, one technological.

Let's start with the technological. In 1965, Gordon Moore, the Intel co-founder, posited Moore's Law, which stipulated that the processing power that could be placed on a single microchip would double every 18 to 24 months. It's held up quite well since then. Watching European, Arab and US leaders grappling with their respective crises, I'm wondering if there isn't a political corollary to Moore's Law: the quality of political leadership declines with every 100 million new users of Facebook and Twitter.

The wiring of the world through social media and Web-enabled cellphones is changing the nature of conversations between leaders and the led everywhere. We're going from largely one-way conversations -- top-down -- to overwhelmingly two-way conversations -- bottom-up and top-down. This has many upsides: more participation, more innovation and more transparency. But can there be such a thing as too much participation -- leaders listening to so many voices all the time and tracking the trends that they become prisoners of them?

via www.nst.com.my

This article reminds me of what I learnt many,many years ago that leaders must have trust.Trust comes from honesty.Once you have chosen your leaders,you are his followers.So,make the first choice right..By the way on second thought,liars are no leaders!

Endurance ride

Yesterday,I decided to ride alone at Taman Saujana Hijau,Presint 11.To my pleasant suprise,all the people were walking there except me-riding my Dahon folding bike.My aim was to improve my climbing and endurance.Alhamdulilah,I did two loops at the Taman Saujana Hijau and one loop around the Presint 11 as shown in the map above.

One interesting part of the ride,as I descended from the the hill to the main entrance,my bike just went on and on without me pedalling until I arrived at the Pusat Kejiranan Presint 11.What a great feeling for almost 1km..solitude in motion:-)

Why ride alone?By being alone,I did not have any peer pressure to ride beyond my capacity and it gave me private space and time to think on what bothers me.It is just like a saying,"Let us take a walk on this matter..".

Wattpad - Discover a World of Unlimited Stories

Read anytime, anywhere. Whether you love romance, humorous short fiction, futuristic sci-fi or paranormal mysteries, Wattpad is a unique reading experience for your phone or tablet. and other supported devices

Connect with readers & writers Explore our global community! Connect, collaborate and share interactive stories or stumble across the newest trends in fiction. No matter where you are (or where you're from), you'll feel right at home.

Everybody has a story to tell Find your audience on Wattpad! Write one chapter at a time, or share your full novel. Introduce us to great characters; explore new genres, entertain us and make us laugh... or cry.

via wwww.wattpad.com

At last someone came up with wattpad where I could connect to stories.Way back in 2004,I was very interested in the power of stories and I wrote this posting in my blog.I hope to use this wattpad to read stories from others and may be I could share and publish my own stories..

Psssh..Now I am about to finish a  little book.Target to publish: Before I am 60.~3 months from now.

Learning photo filters

Just playing arond with my photos..

Honouring Ramadan

Let me share this note from Nasiha.Let us honour our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by following his sunnah.

Shaban is one of the meritorious months for which we find some particular instructions in the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is reported in the authentic ahadith that Prophet Muhammad used to fast most of the month in Shaban. These fasts were not obligatory on him but Shaban is the month immediately preceding the month of Ramadan. Therefore, some preparatory measures are suggested by Prophet Muhammad. Some of these are given below:

1. The blessed companion Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that Prophet Muhammad was asked, "Which fast is the most meritorious after the fasts of Ramadan?" He replied, "Fasts of Shaban in honour of Ramadan." [Tirmidhi]

2. The blessed companion Usama ibn Zaid, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that he asked Prophet Muhammad: "Messenger of Allah,I have seen you fasting in the month of Shaban so frequently that I have never seen you fasting in any other month." Prophet Muhammad replied: "That (Shaban) is a month between Rajab and Ramadan which is neglected by many people. And it is a month in which an account of the deeds (of human beings) is presented before the Lord of the universe, so, I wish that my deeds be presented at a time when I am in a state of fasting." [An-Nasai]

3. Ummul Mumineen Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says, "Prophet Muhammad used to fast the whole of Shaban. I said to him, 'Messenger of Allah, is Shaban your most favourite month for fasting?' He said, 'In this month Allah prescribes the list of the persons dying this year. Therefore, I like that my death comes when I am in a state of fasting.'" [Bukhari]

4. In another report Aisha says: "I never saw the Messenger of Allah fast a complete month except for Ramadan, and I have never seen him fast more in a month than he did in Shaban." [Bukhaari, Muslim]

These reports indicate that fasting in the month of Shaban, though not obligatory, is so meritorious that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not like to miss it.

But it should be kept in mind that the fasts of Shaban are for those persons only who are capable of keeping them without causing deficiency in the obligatory fasts of Ramadan. Therefore, if one fears that after fasting in Shaban, he will lose strength or freshness for the fasts of Ramadan and will not be able to fast in it with freshness, he should not fast in Shaban, because the fasts of Ramadan, being obligatory, are more important than the optional fasts of Shaban. That is why Prophet Muhammad himself has forbidden the Muslims from fasting one or two days immediately before the commencement of Ramadan. The blessed Companion Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports Prophet Muhammad to have said, "Do not fast after the first half of the month of Shaban is gone." [Bukhari]

Compiled From:
Sha'ban: Merits, Do's, and Dont's - Taqi Usmani

 

Blessings..

We can't count the blessings from Allah to all of us since we were born.It is not only about the numbers to count but many blessings were given to us without us knowing and even understanding.Please forgive me my Rabb for my failure not to thank you enough.

Anyway,I just want to state for my records,lest I forget, that I have two du'a that Allah have fulfilled this month.The first is my first grand son,Ahmad Zuhayr Adib[photo on the right].Thank you Allah for this beautiful gift to our family.The second one will be announced when the time has arrived.Alhamdulillah.

Another blessing is that we are now in the month of Syaban.Let us follow the sunnah of our beloved Prophet  Muhammad(PBUH) in performing more ibadat sunat in this daily.Before I forget,thank you Allah that I am still around this Syaban and in less than a month Ramadan shall arrive.May Allah give me another chance to fast in this coming Ramadan,insyaAllah.Let us use the month of Syaban as a training ground before we arrive at Ramadan al-Mubarrak.