Min Qolbi

Assalamualaikum wrt,

Penat juga sebenarnya semalam. I slept quite late, watching the 2005's remake of "Pride and Prejudice". I would say it is one of the best classic movies I've ever watched (mempromote movie pula). That got me thinking of how prejudice, or buruk sangka or su'u dzan can mislead and often make you misjudge a person. And not only that, but it is also one of the significant elements that destroy ukhuwah. And that is why in the Quran, Surah Al-Hujurat, verse 12, Allah forbids us to exploit prejudice...

"Hai orang-orang yang beriman, jauhilah kebanyakan dari prasangka, sesungguhnya prasangka itu adalah dosa" (49:12)

Bersangka buruk akan menyebabkan diri kita jauh daripada nasihat. Disebabkan berprasangkalah, hati kita akan tertutup untuk mendengar dan menerima nasihat daripada seseorang kawan. It is true that sometimes, a friend giving an advice might also make mistakes on his own account but that should not stop us from listening to him. Kita kena selalu ingat bahawa manusia bukan malaikat, bukan maksum... we are bound to make mistakes. So, take what is good from him and leave what isn't.

Dalam ukhuwah, kita kena sentiasa bersangka baik, no matter how hard the circumstances are. Sadly, we are always caught up in our own feelings and try our best to find fault in others (or tajassus, in Arabic). Bila selalu cuba untuk mencari kesalahan orang lain, mulalah kita nak menyebarkannya kepada orang lain dan menceritakan keburukannya. Bagaimana hendak membina ukhuwah jika kita selalu menganggap seseorang itu berkelakuan buruk?

Ibnul Mubarak once said, "Orang mukmin selalu mencari alasan agar boleh memaafkan, sementara orang munafik selalu mencari kesalahan."

Sahabat2 Rasulullah are good examples of hindering prejudice. Pernah suatu ketika, Saad bin Abi Waqas dan Khalid bin Walid berselisihan tentang suatu perkara. Tapi bila ade sorg ni yang menceritakan keburukan Khalid di depannya, Saad pun tegur:"Diamlah, kita berselisih ni tak sampai menyentuh masalah agama." Dan pernah pula, sorg ni memuji kebaikan Saad dan Khalid pun ikut memujinya.. Oran2 lain pun semua hairan, bukankah mereka berdua ni bergaduh... sempat pula si Khalid ni nak puji2 Saad tu. Khalid pun menjawab,"Perselisihan kami ni tak sampai menyentuh masalah agama.

Which goes to show, even if they disagree about something, they don't talk bad about the other behind his back or try to stab him and kill him because they do not want their disagreement to cause them to commit a sin.

So, bila2 kita bertekak dengan kawan kita, selalulah memujinya di depan orang lain! Kan bagus tu. Hmm, bertambah pahala.

On another side of the coin, Alhamdulillah pada 29 Ogos 2008 Abang Cam and Kak Jaemy telah dianugerahkan dengan seorang lagi putera! 3 boys in a row... (this should be fun, hehe). Nama yang diberikan ialah Alfi Dubies. Puas juga mencari makna nama tu, tapi tak dapat pula. It's a wonderful feeling, especially when you lay your eyes on such tiny being, holding his small, fragile hands... hilang semua kesedihan dan kerisauan seketika. Subhanallah.

Selamat menyambut ramadhan semua! Moga dengan bulan penuh keberkatan ini, kita terus berusaha untuk dekat denganNya.

Wallahu'alam.

Assalamualaikum wrt,

If I asked you what you thought about exams, what exactly would your answer be?
-"frightening", "scary", "teeth-shattering", "awful"... or you might probably run away from me from asking such peculiar question (must be a real geek to run away from me).

But seriously, what do you think about exams?

Ada seorang budak ni yang sangat2 genius, org kate tak pernah fail sekali pun dlm hidup dia and his marks for exams are always 95% and above (never less), dan dlm satu sekolah die tak pernah dpt nombor lg tinggi dr 3. Hebat betul budak ni kan? (jealouslah pulak...) Berita tentang kepintaran budak ni pun tersebar satu negara, dan di sebuah sekolah yg sangat prestigiouslah kononnya, pengetuanya pun memberi tawaran kpd budak ini untuk masuk sekolah die, belajar for 6 months only untuk SPM - and not only that, semua answer schemes untuk soalan peperiksaan yang besar itu will be passed to him. All he has to do is study that answer schemes for 6 months and jawab soalan2 yg dah diberi jawapannya bulat2. And the great thing about this prestigious school is it has all the facilities you want. Nak tuition? Cikgu sentiasa ade 24 jam kalau nk bertanya? swimming pool? gelanggang tennis, bola sepak, etc? bilik yg sgt selesa n ade air-cond? ape2 sajelah...

Budak ni dgn selambenye pula ckp tak nak... Tak ke bengang pengetua tu tadi? Aduh2, org da bg jln kluar yg senang tp dia tak nak pulak.

And here's the billion-dollar question; takutkah anda semua (yg tgh bace ni...) pada hari kiamat???
-"Mestilah takut, siapa yang tak?", "AAAH!!! Esok nak kiamat ke???!!!" or you might probably run away from me again (this time, I might understand why).

Sepatutnya kite sbg org Islam, patut rase seronok, happy sebab ada hari qiamat ni. Because with every work that we do, every amal soleh, every good deed that we do because of Him... when The Day comes, we will be protected and gain His Blessings to enter jannah. Indeed, we should be motivated to work hard. Setiap amal soleh yang kita buat akan dibalas olehNya. And in some ways we are quite similar to the genius boy I told you about before.

"Hai orang-orang yang beriman, mahukah kamu aku tunjukkan suatu perniagaan yang dapat menyelamatkan kamu dari azab yang pedih?"
"(Iaitu) kamu beriman kepada Allah dan rasul-Nya dan berjihad di jalan Allah dengan harta dan jiwamu. Itulah yang lebih baik bagi kamu jika kamu mengetahuinya."
As-Saff:10-11

The offer has already been made, the answer scheme... well, it comes with the offer as well... It really is up to us whether we want to accept it or not. A few verses from the Quran is not suffice enough? Well, we have the whole Quran in our hands, don't we? Use it, study it... for the Exam to come. And facilities you ask?

"Bukankah Kami telah menjadikan bumi itu sebagai hamparan?"
"Dan gunung-ganang sebagai pasak?"
"Dan Kami jadikan kamu berpasang-pasangan,"
"dan Kami jadikan tidurmu untuk istirahat,"
"dan Kami jadikan malam sebagai pakaian,"
"dan Kami jadikan siang untuk mencari penghidupan,"
"dan Kami bina di atas kamu tujuh buat langit yang kukuh,"
"dan Kami jadikan (matahari) pelita yang amat terang (benderang),"
"dan Kami turunkan dari awan air yang mencurah-curah,"
"supaya Kami tumbuhkan dengan air itu biji-bijian dan tumbuh-tumbuhan,"
"dan kebun-kebun yang subur?"
An-Naba':6-16

And if you make another list of it, I bet you can find a billion other facilities that Allah has granted us. And in the end, it all comes down to us; do we really want to take up on that offer or not?

If we recall the story about the genius boy... Strangely, he disregarded the offer. Maybe he thought why should he go through such hard work when he already has achieved so much? He is now officially the most genius boy, he could get tons of money if he voluntered to get his brains experimented on (ok, that is quite bizarre) or if he has rich parents, he could just sit around all day, playing video games and enjoying himself. There is another possibility that he is scared of failing the exam...

Many of us get too distracted with the world; with our possessions and material wealth. Sometimes, our love for the riches of the world surpasses beyond control and at one point, we become ignorant and arrogant, thinking why should we be tested when we are obviously too good for it (perasan btol)? We forget that this world, this lifetime is temporary and that in the afterlife is something we should be chasing for. And our fear of the Big Day? Our fear of failing the hisab? Why should we fear of failing it? Bukankah Allah itu Maha Adil lagi Bijaksana? Maha Pemurah dan Penyayang terhadap hamba-hambaNya yang soleh... We should be determined to work hard for Him instead of moping and worrying about failing.

Wallahu'alam.

Assalamualaikum,

I just returned from Singapore a few days ago, went to visit some of my relatives.. Cuti summer kali ni agak/perasan/buat2 busy (sampai terpaksa cancel a few times nk kluar dgn shaq, sorry!) and takde chance lagi nak jumpe ex-classmates di Jasin dulu. Hmm, next time I have to think about making my own holiday schedule, hehe... Anyway, my holidays are going to be over soon; one week left until my "grand" return to Russia. A few more things to be packed and a few other things to be done.

My time in Singapore was very brief, inadequate so to speak. Rase macam tak puas pula, sebab tak dapat nak jumpe semua sedare because they were not on holiday. Singapore has not gone through much change, at least physically (sebab tak cukup tanah kot.. huhu) but they were still tenaciously investigating and trying to capture Mas Selamat, JI leader who escaped from a detention centre there. And the thing that amuses me was they had our thumbprints verified at the immigration centre, as if Selamat would disguise as me.

Hmm, masa di Singapore tu, sempat juga pergi shopping sekejap. Selalunya, tak pergi jalan-jalan pun sebab berjalan raya je di rumah sedare. And I bought a book entitled "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. He written another book before called "The Kite Runner". His stories revolve around the predicaments that occured in Afghanistan (and the author himself was born there), during the Soviet and Taliban reign mostly. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a story aboutMariam and Laila, both born in Afghanistan with different histories and entourage. They meet during difficult times, being wives to an abusive husband and the reign of Taliban which oppresses women and obstructs their freedom. But amidst all of the sufferings they face, they endure and establish a sense of affection and respect towards each other. One of my favorite lines from the book is when Mariam teaches Laila's daughter, Aziza a fewverses from the Quran and how to perform namaz prayers.

It's all I have to give her, Mariam had said to Laila, these knowledge, these prayers. They're the only true possession I've ever had.




Setakat tu jelah bole cerita, yang lain tu kalau nak tahu lagi, bace sendiri buku tu, hehe.

And our last usrah with Kak Anie, Kak Firdausi also came to join us. We played a little game before ending our usrah. Kak Firdausi asked us to list down 5 qualities that you want in your future spouse; and not those he-must-be-handsome-and-own-tons-of-money qualities but well, more specific ones, for example: he memorises the 30th juzu' in the Quran or whenever it is time for prayers, he quickly goes to the mosque for jamaah or he invites you for jamaah together. You know, those kind of qualities.


And we listed and we shared (not going to write down mine here) and she asked us do you have these qualities in you? And the most intriguing question was... will you marry you? Interesting, no? Will you marry you? And not in an insane, narcissistic way but more metaphoric. Will you marry someone who has the same characteristics as you do?

[30:21] Among His proofs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, in order to have tranquility and contentment with each other, and He placed in your hearts love and care towards your spouses. In this, there are sufficient proofs for people who think.

Wallahu'alam.

Assalamualaikum,

“Barakallahu lakuma wa jama’a bainakuma fi khair..”
In hopes that Allah will bless and unite the both of you in benevolence.

Jauh jugak rupenye rumah Kak Sikin… might also be because of my inadequate ability in interpreting maps, jauh tersasar dr pangkal jalan. Lain kali, take note of not letting me read maps… I’m better at driving… an auto car, hehe (haram kalo drive manual).

Teringat pula satu analogy ni.. Our life is a journey, I think everyone agrees with that. It’s like taking the commuter to reach well, Seremban for example… but on our way there, we accidentally get side-tracked and end up shopping in Mid Valley or strolling around in KL Central but eventually, after we have finished shopping because we ran out of money, or suddenly a friend calls us, yelling on the phone asking us why we haven’t reached Seremban yet, we quickly take the commuter again to reach Seremban. And this story is quite similar to us. In surah Al-Dhariyat, verse 56 it is stated that our ghayah (or purpose) of living is Allah. To worship Him and attain His Mercy and Love. But along the way, us being very forgetful people, we are always distracted by the amusement and entertainment the world has to offer until sometimes we forget our purpose (or destination) in the first place - which is Allah. That is why we have to always find a way to keep us on track, straight towards that one final destination.

Okay, back to cerita sblmnya. Sampai2 je dgn mak, dah jumpe Farahin and Kak Aishah. Once or twice, I glanced at Kak Sikin and her husband. They looked happy and I wish happiness to the both of them… =) Hmm, nak cerita panjang2, diri sendiri pun belum lagi, so baik diamkan diri. I was really surprised to meet Wan there! Lagi lame tak jumpe Wan… Mula2, as usual… sgt2lah blurr, terfikirlah yang mungkin Wan dgn Kak Sikin somehow related to each other (sbb due duenye same kecil) or terserempak and became friends (unlikely, I know) tapi bila fikir2 balik, barulah sedar yang abang Wan pun belajar kat Russia… hehe.

It’s 2 a.m. InsyaAllah, I'll be travelling away from home tomorrow. Until then, assalamualaikum wrt…

Assalamualaikum wrt,

Actually, the thought of putting up a new blog has crossed my mind for some time already but ntahlah, rase mcm kena bg commitment pulak kalau buat blog sendiri, hehe..
Anyway, tadi baru Nurul ckp da lame rupenye tak update blog ni.

Hmm, mule2 nk cite pasal mukhayyam hari tu. Mukhayyam mmg best! Bile time 1st2 mukhayyam tu, rs mcm blurr sket (ikut je mane org pergi n terima je ape yg org bg) - atau mgkin, ni one of my attributes--- seorg yg blurr pd bile2 mase. But by the end of the mukhayyam, I finally got the message. Pengisian2 yg diberi tu bknlah sekadar utk diterima n didigest (skali dgn nasi n sardin atau telur yg hari2 kitorg mkn tu) tetapi juga utk membuka mata ni yg selame ni agak rabun (literally speaking). And if I could simplify it, I would simplify it in these few phrases; "tariq dakwah, tariq wahidah"; Jalan dakwah, jalan yg satu. It is the only way our Prophet, Muhammad p.b.u.h. and his companions have ever followed. Tidak ada jalan yg lain selain jalan dakwah dlm Islam. And if you're following some other way, then, that is not Islam. "To invite people to iman and amal and uniting their hearts with love and ukhuwwah." Itulah tariq wahidah. Indah kan?

And the realization that dawned upon me was crystal clear. Kalau dulu, murabbiahlah yg bg segala pengisian… Kite yg adek2 ni, dgr and terima je. And obviously, it doesn’t end there. If it did end there, then it would just be like a barrel of water which is stagnant and not moving, compared to the water in the river which is always flowing. Kalau air tu static je, air itu sendiri akan menjadi kotor dan tak mampu untuk membersihkan apa2 tapi lain pulak dgn air sungai yg sentiasa mengalir, bukan sahaja sentiasa bersih tapi juga dapat membersihkan benda2 yang di sekelilingnya. I realize, whether we are reluctant or not, we have to be the ones now yg juga memberi pengisian kpd org lain; that in every usrah/halaqah/circle/whatever you call it there is a certain goal to be reached. Iaitu adalah untuk melahirkan para murabbi/murabbiah/daie/whatever you call them. Giliran kita pula utk menjadi murabbi/murabbiah. InsyaAllah, dgn niat krnNya, walau ilmu di dada ini hanyalah sikit je kalo nk compare dgn ulama' n ahli fuqaha'... dgn keberkatan dr Allah, kita boleh melakukannya. Kita tk mungkin dpt rase betapa manisnya tarbiyah kalau kita sendiri belum mentarbiyah org lain.

Ukhuwah fillah. One of the more significant things I was able to grasp on. Bile nak blk n berpisah dgn kwn2 sume, hmm... rs mcm sdeyla plak. Walaupun kaki still separa bengkak tapi terlupa kejap pasal kaki yg sakit tu waktu pergi jungle trekking, mndi air terjun sume (balik rumah tu terase balik.. eh, kaki ni bengkak lg rupenye). What stronger ties than the ties of those with the same faith and aqidah? Walaupun baru seminggu berpisah, dah rindu dah kat diorg... Entah bile boleh jmpe lg.. (ke Germany plak utk winter??? hehe, bole gak, insyaAllah).






The clock is showing 2.50 am. Hmm, tonight is probably the latest I’ve ever stayed up in weeks.

Wallahu’alam.