Me Farewell Montage round 1 ;)

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

My farewell montage by lovely colleagues...round 1!! :)

Touched...!! sob..sob..sob...

Alkisah Sebuah Rumah

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh....

Lama tak share benda yang bermanfaat di sini, came across this one in FB, definitely worth sharing. :)

****************************************************************************************
Petang itu kedengaran rungutan tangga sudah tidak terbendung lagi. Dia terus berleter.

“Penat letih jadi tangga. Waktu orang naik, aku kena pijak. Waktu turun pun orang pijak aku. Seronok jadi atap. Tak pernah kena pijak. “

Mendengarkan kata kata tangga. Atap terus bersuara.

"Hoi tangga. Aku lagi sakit tau. Berpanas berhujan siang malam. Mendidih kepanasan bila tengahari. Bila hujan aku terpaksa menahan kesejukan. Yang seronok jadi tiang. Tak kena panas. Tak kena hujan. Tak kena pijak.”

Mendengarkan kata atap, tiang terus bersuara.

“Mana kamu tahu? Aku dok tahan pikul atap, segala alang rumah bertan-tan siang malam. Aku terpaksa pikul jugak. Tuhan saja tahu betapa beratnya. Yang seronok jadi dinding. Tak payah pikul. Tak kena panas. Tak kena pijak.”

Mendengar kata-kata tiang, lalu dinding menjawab.

“Akulah pelindung khazanah rumah ni. Aku lindung aurat tuan rumah, hartanya bahkan aku terpaksa jaga sepanjang masa. Kalau aku tak ada semua tak guna.“

Wahai anakku,
Aku ceritakan ini untuk mengingatkan engkau bahawa setiap manusia mempunyai tugasnya sendiri. Kamu buatlah kerja yang diamanahkan padamu sebaiknya. Jangan sesekali engkau berdengki pada orang lain. Sebab mata kamu hanya dikurniakan penglihatan daripada segi zahirnya sahaja. Sedangkan realitinya mungkin tidak seindah yang kamu lihat di minda. Jadilah diri sendiri, jangan cuba jadi orang lain.

Manusia hari ini suka sangka-sangka

Ada sangka baik

Ada sangka buruk

Orang beribadah disangka riak

Orang rileks disangka malas

Orang berpakaian baru disangka menunjuk

Orang berpakaian buruk disangka hina

Orang makan banyak disangka pelahap

Orang makan sedikit disangka diet

Orang yang senyum disangka mengejek

Orang yang masam disangka merajuk

Orang berbincang disangka mengumpat

Orang yang diam disangka menyendiri

Orang yang menawan disangka menggoda

Orang yang ceria disangka mengada

Orang yang bertanya disangka menyibuk

Hakikatnya...

Mana tahu yang senyum itu kerana bersedekah

Mana tahu yang masam itu kerana mengenang dosa

Mana tahu yang berbincang itu memberi pendapat

Mana tahu yang diam itu kerana beribadah

Mana tahu yang menawan itu bersih wataknya

Mana tahu yang ceria itu cerdas mindanya

Mana tahu yang bertanya itu perihatin orangnya

Justeru itu….

Sesuatu perkara yang kita lihat

Jangan suka sangka-sangka

Sikap sangka-sangka akan memusnahkan jiwa

Kerap sangka-sangka mengundang celaka

Jangan terlalu bersangka-sangka

Jauhi sikap sangka-sangka

Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Jauhilah kebanyakan dari sangkaan (supaya kamu tidak menyangka sangkaan yang dilarang) kerana sesungguhnya sebahagian dari sangkaan itu adalah dosa; dan janganlah kamu mengintip atau mencari-cari kesalahan dan keaiban orang; dan janganlah setengah kamu mengumpat setengahnya yang lain. Adakah seseorang dari kamu suka memakan daging saudaranya yang telah mati? (Jika demikian keadaan mengumpat) maka sudah tentu kamu jijik kepadanya. (Oleh itu, patuhilah larangan-larangan yang tersebut) dan bertaqwalah kamu kepada Allah; sesungguhnya Allah Penerima taubat, lagi Maha mengasihani.

Surah al-Hujurat, ayat 12.

Nukilan asal : https://www.facebook.com/tolahah.muda/posts/771812599502107

Personal Update

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh...

Newsflash!! I got an SMS from a friend this morning, wanted to introduce a guy to me. Believe it or not this is the first in 32 years of my life somebody has made a serious offer to get me acquainted with some one. (Well...dulu-dulu maybe ada kot..but I never took it seriously and I don't get any serious follow up pon).

Ok, back to the main topic. My friend passed my phone number to her friend, this guy SMSed me with the intention 'nak kenal'. So my next step was, to ask him to read my blog. I took a big risk, I might scare him off right away. I told him it was the easiest way to know me without meeting me yet. If he is interested, then we can take it further. I have never been out on a date with a non-mahram and I am not about to start, even if the intention is to get married. I know I am scaring him off. Tapi nak buat macam mana, this is the most shariah compliant way that I can think of. When asked does he have any other proposal on how to get to know me, he said he didn't have any.

So yes, tengoklah dia baca ka tak blog ni. The reason I want him to read this blog is firstly I am super cold with strangers especially guys. I have no problems with guys, among my closest confidante at work is a guy, but strangers...I took quite a significant time to warm up. Secondly, I like to read, A LOT and I would want somebody that reads as well. Kalau light reading macam ni pun susah nak baca, what do expect of heavier reading material, so yes, it tells something about the person. Nak-nak pulak in this age people ONLY read what has been posted on FB, regardless right or wrong, which is my biggest pet peeves.

Thirdly, I opens up more in this blog compared to anywhere else, so if he cannot 'tahan' this version of me, then we don't have to take it further. Its your choice. Fair isn't it? Here, he can judge my look, my thinking, my lifestyle, my faith, my deen, and many other aspects. So yes, kalau tak boleh tolerate, nak buat macam mana kan? I am looking for a life partner, not a one time fling, you will be subjected to be with me for the rest of your life, insyaAllah (and all the way to Jannah, I wish!!)

I know I am being idealistic, but Allah knows best.

And to you, if you are reading this right now, all the best. Kalau larat bacalah sampai post yang awal-awal dulu...hehehehe.. (tough luck la ni kan)

Lagi satu..nak test English.. I kan budget omputih....(jahat betui...hahahaha..)

The Farewell Begins

Assalamulaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

It has finally started. I am now going around saying thank you and good byes to people. Last weekend, I visited an ex-colleague, Kak Safura and her hubby Razif at their new house. And on Sunday I managed to hang out with the girls and later round up few of my squad from batch 21 ROTU UiTM. We had a small potluck get together with our respective small families. Yours truly of course la sorang kan.. :)

The view from 29th floor, Twins Damansara

The spread: kebab in saffron sauce, kuih cara, garlic rice, chicken something-something..all are yummeh!!

The highlight of the day : Homemade cream cheese and cookies ice cream, extremely good, I had more than one serving of this. Enough said.  

With the man of the house

The lovely couple. 

On Sunday, few of my girlfriend gave in to my request to take a shot at archery. We went to Stars Archery, Sunway Pyramid. It was definitely fun as later after the session we went for Hunger Games 2. Semua feeling Katniss Everdeen sat..hahaha...I am guessing we are going to do it again.

Ready to rumble...?

All suited up!!

Katniss versi melayu in action.. :p

Our last shot...nak jugak amik gambar...

13 out of 15 arrows made it onto the board..not bad.. not bad at all. The sharp shooter feeling datang balik...hehehe...

Later the same day, I rushed over to Shah Alam, to meet up with my blood sisters and one brother ex ROTU UiTM batch 21. We had a simple potluck and chatted over till it was almost Maghrib. Of course, they knew that I am leaving, hence we have that gathering. I will definitely miss this bunch, next 4 years or so I will not be seeing them again. But the world is such a smaller place now, with all the social media available, I would still be in the loop.

Kumbang nan seekor..tu pun sebab we have it right at his apartment..kalau tak dia pon tak datang... ;p

The whole lot.

Yesterday, we had a farewell session for two ladies, yes, I am not the only one leaving. The Finance Manager is leaving to Miri, end of month and I will leave end Dec. The reason I am being celebrated much much earlier as the office would be quite a deserted place come Dec, people would most probably be clearing their leaves then.

Helping ourselves with the food

Mei Li, (in front of me) is leaving as well.

This is probably when the story about 'the chair' came out. SRC's own urban legend...

I was asked to give a speech..nak nanges dah time ni... ;(

Sweet cuppies ;)

main actress je nampak...extra kena overshadowed..hehehe..

Lunch buddy minus one. She's out on course.

All the SWAN ladies!! gonna miss them :(

Amek kaw...dah lama tak update, sekali letak dekat 20 pictures. You would expect more with the next coming weekends :)

The Massacre of Karbala: A Historical Analysis - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

Karbala is celebrated every year by the Shiah, here is some analysis by Dr Yasir Qadhi.

May Allah guide us all. 

Countdown begins.....

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

One of the elevator talk today.

Me : I have got my start date over there, 1st Jan, so if I calculate backwards, my last day of working is 20th.
E : You mean 20th Dec?
Me : Yup
E : Ok, prepare to cry..
We all burst out laughing...
S : I wanna see you cry..hahaha..
Me : Tu la..I have exactly one month
S : Counting down the days already.

E is my teammate who has joined the company in May and S is my long time friend in the company. They are definitely gonna be missed :) 

Why should I fast Ashura by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

Assalamulaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh..

Its the day of Ashura. I should have shared this much earlier, but I only sees this today, whatever it is, I am sharing it now. :)

Marriage isn't for me~~

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh..

Kalau style baca article habis dekat tajuk, then you are doomed. Happens to me most of the time, but I won't carry around stories based on headlines only. I discuss only when I read the whole context. Here's one of them.
______________________________________________________________________________

Seth Adam Smith / 3 days ago

Kim and I

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. :) I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?

Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.

Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget.

My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raisethem? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.”

It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see her smile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family.

My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy”, which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one.

No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give?”

Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish.

But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and aguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.

Marriage is about family.

I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better.

To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love.

And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered.

Truly, love and marriage isn’t for you. It’s for others.

This post originally appeared on ForwardWalking.com, a website dedicated to helping people move forward in life.

There you have it. Personally I am happy for now. I have yet to find the person that I can make him happy, until that time, I will not be getting married. :)

IKEA talk (not really)

Assalammualaikum wbt, 

Some email that went around yesterday. (yes, saya tak ada idea..hence sharing even the smallest, littlest (is there such a word?) thing in my life. 

**************************************************************************

Hi Pak Anton,

I am getting the transporter to come and survey the stuffs on 6^th Nov. Final date for transfer yet to be firmed.

Rencana mahu ke IKEA weekend berikutnya. Mahu kirim?

Rgds, 
me

Hi Azita,
Apa kabar? Lama sudah tak jumpa haha.
Waduh, betul kah? 

Kamu beli banyak di ikea?macam sofa boleh tumpang kah?
Kalau boleh saya mau tengok katalognya 



best regards,

anton 

Khabar baik, mungkin beli banyak barang kecil. Another sofa masih boleh masuk. :)

Rgds, 

me

Siap bu

Nanti malam saya cek cek ikea website ya…

Nanti saya kabarin lagi

best regards,

anton

***********************************************************************

I guess I'll be speaking more Indonesian after this? Hahaha...lihat aja nanti :)

Aaawwwwww.........

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh..

This took place just now.

We were talking about the next aulad program and then I suddenly broke the news..

Me: I am at the final stage of collecting my documents, just waiting for another document from Krakow then they will advise me the first day payroll only then I can proceed to apply my visa.

Dr K: Your first start date should be when..some time in June (with a big grin on his face..)

Me: You mean what...2014? Nooooo....I've been waiting since March...!! 

Dr K: Then December macam tu la kan? This will be your last program here la..

Me: I don't know, maybe..

Dr K: Nigeria eh...? I don't know whether we have any usrah there or not, I know we have some in Iraq, but most of them are Petronas. You do know Rafee is moving to Iraq.

Me: Yup..

Dr K: We also have some brothers in the UK, Birmingham..you know, there are people that did video conferencing as well..

Me: Malay takde la, but there is Bosnian family, which I tak jumpa lagi, we'll see how la...maybe I'll start a cult over there..hehehehe...

Dr K: Hehehe... hhmm... I'll try to ask around, maybe we'll pass you to the brothers over there, kalau ade...

Aaaawwwwwww........ I feel so much loved, jazakumullahu khayran doc!! (the price of an ukhwah..)

Nomad : Tetap Menantimu

I fall for the piano at the intro. Don't read into the words, tak berkaitan ok? :)

p/s: lagi satu pengaruh novel turn to drama..haish.....

Wordless Wednesday

Pic credit to Dr K & Aizat

Some progress, at last!!

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

Saw this in my email. Finally!! it is moving, let see how long it will take for the next step to take off.

Alhamdulillah :) after I received this mail, I got a call from one guy in KL that has the transfer has been stalled as well. One of the document required for the visa application is a letter from PDRM saying that I do not have any pending court case in Malaysia.

I was getting the local HR to draft me a letter to bring to the local police station, but luckily this guy called me. We are supposed to get that from the ministry. Its called certificate of good conduct. It is all online but will take time to be proceeded. After that call I quickly go to the webpage and submitted the application. Upon which then I realized, I have 2 summons yet to clear!! Gelabah sat, masuk myeg and quickly paid that....ppheeww....(padan muka!!)

Hopefully no delay dally on the certificate of good conduct :) (I think I am a well behaved citizen..hehehe..)

Till next time, daa...

Wassalam.

I did it!!

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh..

After reading the book in the previous post, now I know a thing or two about getting a property (at least a little bit more than before.) So yes, I did not settle on chenta hati (oh pool...). I did looked after few more units after that, and I concluded that I am only going to buy from a developer. The unit that I looked at Koi Kinrara was on sub-sale (chewah..dah tau pakai term ni..) hehehe...Hence the price is way much more expensive. There are so many other things that I need to learn and consider if I want to buy a sub-sale unit.
Alhamdulillah hari tu tak ikut hati sangat.

I finally settled on something that was off my spec, per square feet wise and little bit off on the price as well. I hope it will work well for me. Once I get my loan approved, I'll share more on which unit that I finally decided on. About the strategies in the book, the writer did extensive research before buying a unit, and he worked hard on making sure that he gets the unit rented, he monitors all that very closely. For now I could not afford to do that. Hidup masih agak tunggang langgang, not at least until I get my final date for transfer. Therefore, I might opt to do 'flipping' instead. In order to that, I have to make sure the developer is someone that is reliable with a proven track record. InsyaAllah this one that I picked is alright.

This few weeks of experience, house hunting, learning about the game, how people invest in property, potential issues in buying houses has broaden my horizon. It feels new to me. I have bought a house, the one in SP, but at that time I took everything lightly and I think Allah helps me a lot. The developer was some big company in the north and they did not do hanky panky business. At that time I did not even do any research about them, let alone checking the track record. What was on my mind at that time, is to buy a house, that's it. I could have easily been tricked, but I didn't.

But seeing the market these days, how many construction gets halted, I have to be careful. For now, satu ni dulu la...tak berani nak ambik risiko lagi :) Till next time, daa..

Wassalam...

p/s: project status at 16.5%..bolehlah..syok sendiri kan...it took me two weeks to get from 10% to 16.5%..hahaha.... :D

How Leh...?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh...
This got delivered to me today..ni lah padahnya shopping online..I thought I've selected two different books, but it turns out I bought the same book, just different version. Now I can read both in BM and English :p.
Since I am looking out to buy a property, is it obvious that I need to do lil bit of research..this book actually reminded me of some of my dreams.

1. I want to build a masjid (bukan kahwin..ok kahwin pun nak jugak..tapi ni literally build a masjid) together with a self funded orphanage.
2. I want to start a business by 40 (target nak ternak lembu, confirm market utk korban,akikah, & kenduri kahwin).
3. Have financial freedom (angan2 mau tinggi ye..almaklumlah..baru settle bayaq ptptn...tapi tak sedaq diri bnyk lagi hutang dok beratoq kat belakang...)

Basically I have many more dreams that involves loads of big bucks, but never once I have plans on how to get the capital for all those dreams. This book has got me thinking of going serious about this (hebat hang..baca satu buku, angan dah tinggi..) Bukan camtu, when there is a will, there is a way. If I can get myself to at least practise few of the author's strategies, then maybe I'll be able to generate enough capital for my dreams.

The content is inspiring, the author's years of hardwork was summarized to a book that of less than 200 pages. No pain no gain. I am taking the strategies with a pinch of salt, bearing in mind most of the financial products are still not riba' free. If I really want to go this road, I have to make sure all my dealings are shariah compliant. Cukup-cukuplah menyumbang ke riba' selama ini.
Wassalam..

p/s: I did not gave any final say on chenta hati #1. After halfway through reading this book, I hope I am making the right decision by not jumping to a decision on a fly.
p/p/s: those properties in Kajang that are well within my budget are SOLD OUT!! . Depa ni beli rumah macam beli kuih kat pasar..sat sangat dah habih..dasat..dasat..

Sakit Kepala~~!!

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh..

Transfer progress has been extremely slow, mungkin ada hikmahnya. One of which that it makes me thinking of securing a property in Klang Valley. (Yes, KV, not KL). I gave up hope to buy anything in KL long time ago. Not only the traffic is bad, the price is way over the roof. I have to secure it now, more than ever. At the rate the prices is going up, I doubt if I ever would buy anything next year. My requirement is simple, freehold, serviced condo with tight security, and new unit (I am not prepared to deal with legacy issue, anything can still blame the developer..hehehe..). I don't plan to rent it, so accessibility is not a big issue to me. Budget wise...let say I think I can do max RM 500K, space >1000 sqft.

So there I was, browsing through iproperty page last week, trying to find anything that suites my requirement. Only one that meets all my requirement. The property is located in Puchong, Koi Kinrara. Had a view this afternoon, dan saya sudah jatuh chenta pandang pertama..with the whole complex (particularly the gym and pool). Not so much with the unit. The phase 1 are fully occupied, while phase 2 was just completed and key handed over to buyers last July. So I will be buying from another owner, not from the developer. Price range started at RM 200K when it was launched in 2007 and now the only units left started at RM 430K!!! And from what the agent told me, only 3 units left that suits my budget. They need my final say by cob Tuesday. According to them, the unit is selling fast (sales people talk, but am afraid, I have to agree with them, super love the pool, walaupun tak pandai berenang..)

Disebabkan banyak fikir sangat, balik PD buka lagi iproperty, this time cari new development pulak. (Hari tu tak cari awal-awal kan..bijaaakkk sangat!!). This one Anyaman was just posted this month. Whether or not there are still available unit, I don't know, esok kena call ni. Awatla tak tengok awal-awal..kalau tak dah boleh pi sales office dia tadi..haish...!!

And there is this another one, Saville in Bangsar that would be a little bit over my budget (unit paling kecik ok). Nak squeeze mana the extra budget, I don't know, most probably I have to get over this one.

Also another one that I have yet to consider is Jadite Suites in Kajang. May suite my price range. All these places are easily accessible by all sorts of highway, so obviously its not an issue. Bila dah masuk Kajang, I've discovered few other prospects that are well within my budget...so in the end memang sakit kepala :P

Rasanya kena solat istikharah sebulan berturut-turut baru boleh buat keputusan ni... (Well that means I'll risk to let go Koi Kinrara?? uuwwaaaaa.....!!!) ooh..chenta hatiku..tak ada rezeki rasanya kita kali ini...I'll just have to find another chenta hati then.

Olympic size pool nak habaq kat hang...!! - Koi Kinrara, Puchong

Secrets of Surah al-Kahf

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh..

I've found and shared this via FB but I could not find it ever since, hence I searched again and alhamduliilah found it. Posting it here so that I can keep the lesson with me insyaAllah all the time.

***************************************************************************

From http://www.faithinallah.org/what-is-the-light-a-muslim-receives-for-reciting-surah-al-kahf-on-friday/

Ever wondered why Prophet Muhammad(SAW) asked us to recite Surat Al-Kahf every Friday?
Let’s find out today inshaAllah…

This Surah has Four stories in it,having some morals,lets see them and understand what they are saying to us:

1) The People Of The Cave
Its the story of young men who lived in a disbelieving town, so they decided to migrate for the sake of Allah and run away. -Allah rewards them with mercy in the cave and protection from the sun - They woke up and found the entire village believers.
MORAL:TRIAL OF FAITH.

2) The Owner Of Two Gardens
A story of a man whom Allah blessed with two beautiful gardens, but the man forgot to thank the One who blessed him with everything and he even dared to doubt Allah regarding the afterlife.So His garden was destroyed - He regretted ,but was too late and his regret did not benefit him .
MORAL:TRIAL OF WEALTH.

3) Musa(AS) and Khidr(AS)
When Musa(AS) was asked-“Who’s the most knowledgeable of the people of earth?”” Musa(AS) said:Me…,but Allah revealed to him that there’s someone who Knows more than him.Musa(AS) traveled to the man and learnt how the Divine Wisdom can sometimes be hidden in matters which we perceive as bad.
MORAL:TRIAL OF KNOWLEDGE.

4) Dhul-Qarnayn
Its a story of the great King that was given knowledge and power and was going around the world,helping people and spreading all that’s good.He was able to overcome the problem of Yajooj-Majooj and build a massive dam with the help of people whom he could not even understand.
MORAL:TRIAL OF POWER.

In the middle Allah mentions Iblees as the one who stirs these trials:
Behold! We said to the angels “Bow down to Adam”: they bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrongdoers!

Now let us see what’s the relationship between Surat Al-Kahf and the Dajjal (Anti-Christ)?

Dajjal will appear before Day of Judgement with the 4 trials:

***He’ll ask people to worship him and not Allah : Trial of Faith .

***He’ll be given powers to start/stop rain and tempt people with his wealth : Trial of with his wealth. .

***He’ll trial people with the “knowledge” and news he gives them : Trial of Knowledge .

***He’ll control huge parts of the Earth. : Trial of Power .

How to survive these trials? The answers are in Surat Al-Kahf
Survival Kit 1: Good companionship.
“And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; no obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds.” (Surat Al-Kahf, verse 28)

Survival Kit 2: Knowing the Truth of this World .
“Set forth to them the similitude of the life of this world: It is like the rain which we send down from the skies: the earth’s vegetation absorbs it, but soon it becomes dry stubble, which the winds do scatter: it is (only) Allah who prevails over all things” (Surat Al-Kahf, verse 45)

Survival Kit 3: Humbleness.
“Moses said: “Thou wilt find me, if Allah so will, (truly) patient: nor shall I disobey thee in aught.””(Surat Al-Kahf, verse 69)

Survival Kit 4: Sincerity.
“Say: “I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your Allah is one Allah. whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner.” (Surat Al- Kahf, verse 110)

Survival Kit 5: Calling to Allah .
“And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord: none can change His Words, and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than Him.” (Surat Al-Kahf, verse 27)

Survival Kit 6: Remembering the HereAfter .
“ One Day We shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, all together, nor shall We leave out any one of them. And they will be marshalled before thy Lord in ranks, (with the announcement), “Now have ye come to Us (bare) as We created you first: aye, ye thought We shall not fulfil the appointment made to you to meet (Us)!”: And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed (before you); and thou wilt see the sinful in great terror because of what is (recorded) therein; they will say, “Ah! woe to us! what a Book is this! It leaves out nothing small or great,but takes account thereof !” They will find all that they did, placed before them: And not one will thy Lord treat with injustice.” (Surat Al-Kahf, verses 47-49)

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=301012649912775

p/s: Project progress stuck at 10%.. huhuhuhu.. ;( buck up will ya!!

Wordless Wednesday : Throwback

Makeshift prayer area at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria

Even business lounge could not provide the place for prayer.

I need my mojo!!!

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh..

Project update:

I am at 10% completion (in terms of number of pages). I need my mojo to move that to 20% and 30% and 40% and etc....

Its really tough. When I compared my work with others, I noticed they elaborated on almost everything, hence that was how they increased the number of pages. Me on the other hand, short cut most of the things. Yes, I did.

So my game plan now is, finish at least completing the main plot, regardless short cut or other wise, and I will see later how many pages I ended up with. After that, if I still could not hit the 400 pages mark, I'll pick and choose which part I think that is worth to be elaborated.

Now I know why I can skip many lines in a page and still not miss a thing, they applied this tactics. Hahaha.... and now I am using it. But I notice the 'mat salih' didn't do that. I still need to go line by line, so that I don't miss a thing. Is that really the case, or I am just bad at reading English material?

Whatever it is, I need my mojo, else it will just become another unfinished project of mine...Make doa for me please...pretty please..!! :)

Wassalam....

Siapa Mahram Kami?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh..

Met an old friend last night. My schoolmate, Aze and I was in the same class in standard 6. We stayed in touch via FB and last night's meet up was after 10 years, after the last reunion in 2003. She traveled quite a fair bit, hence I was listening with envy and aspire to travel as much as well. 

When asked what is her next travel would be, she dropped the bomb, she's on waiting list for Hajj. Subhanallah!! My envy just went up one level. She and her housemate, Kimi are both in the waiting list. They would know sometime this week or next week. She was a bit concern that her visa will not get approved. Her neighbour, was refused visa last few days and the reason is simple. She has no mahram. Yes, the main concern for most of the single ladies out there. 

I was lucky because back in 2009, Saudi government still allow this term called 'tumpang mahram'. So my mahram was arranged by the travel company, I had this uncle from JB as my mahram. But that is for umrah, I have yet to perform my Hajj, and no doubt I really want to do that. This year, that has changed, Put went for umrah with her family, and Shaz wanted to tag along, but due to the strict mahram requirement, she could not make it. 

Kimi mentioned there are some 600 Hajj applicants that has no mahram. Did I not say that this is an ummah issue before? Who are the people that needs mahram? Women, and why we do not have mahram? we are not married yet. Why we are not married yet? Duuhhh..... Sebab tak ada calon la....bukan sebab kami memilih. And I am pretty sure those 600 is just the tip of the iceberg. I have yet to be included in the statistic. We are facing this issue, we are being denied the rights to perform Hajj/Umrah simply because we couldn't find the 'mahram'.

No doubt many of us have father, brothers, and other male relatives, but the most afdhal mahram would still be a husband.

Mana calon-calon mahram kami ni? A question that I have no answer for. I am hoping there can be a solution for this mahram issue from Saudi government perspective. Wallahu a'lam...

An Epic Journey Sharing - translated to Malay part 3

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

Lalai sangat dalam urusan dunia. Saham akhirat dah lama tak top up. Isk..isk..isk (sambil geleng kepala sendiri). Oklah..kita sambung dari siri yang lepas...

Dalam ayat 30-33, menceritakan kisah yang saya kira sangat famous tatkala nama Nabi Yusuf AS disebut. Cerita ini tersebar meluas di kota, dan terdengar lah suara-suara sumbang yang mencaci perbuatan isteri al-Aziz itu. Apabila kata-kata itu sampai kepada isteri al-Aziz itu, dia pon menjemput perempuan-perempuan di kota ke rumahnya. Setiap mereka diberikan pisau untuk memotong makanan. Dia (isteri al-Aziz) menyuruh Yusuf AS untuk keluar memperlihatkan dirinya dan ketika perempuan-perempuan itu melihatnya, mereka terpesona dengan eloknya rupa paras nabi Yusuf AS dan tanpa mereka sedar, mereka telah melukakan tangan mereka sendiri.

Isteri al-Aziz pon pulang paku buah keras, dia cakap : “Inilah orangnya yang menyebabkan kamu mencela aku kerana aku tertarik kepadanya! Sebenarnya aku telah memujuknya berkehendakkan dirinya tetapi ia menolak dan berpegang teguh kepada kesuciannya; dan demi sesungguhnya kalau ia tidak mahu melakukan apa yang aku suruh tentulah ia akan dipenjarakan, dan akan menjadi dari orang-orang yang hina."

Yusuf (merayu kehadrat Allah Taala dengan) berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! Penjara lebih aku sukai daripada memenuhi ajakan mereka. Jika aku tidak Engkau hindarkan dari tipu daya mereka, nescaya aku akan cenderung untuk (memenuhi keinginan mereka) dan tentu aku termasuk orang yang bodoh".

Allah memperkenankan doa Nabi Yusuf AS, dan atas persetujuan beberapa pihak, mereka merasakan beliau harus dipenjarakan. Mungkin kedengaran tidak logic tapi hikmahnya Nabi Yusuf dapat menghindar dari terus diganggu oleh isteri al-Aziz dan berisiko untuk melakukan maksiat.

Dalam ayat ini juga membuktikan nabi tidak terlepas dari godaan dan jikalau tidak dengan perlindungan Allah, mungkin akan terjerumus untuk sama-sama melakukan dosa, oleh itu orang yang beriman tidak boleh hanya mengharapkan kebolehan dirinya sendiri sahaja untuk melindungi diri dari berbuat dosa, dengan kata lain jangan terlalu yakin kita akan dapat menghindarkan diri dari sebarang jenis godaan, sebaliknya sentiasa berdoa supaya Allah melindungi kita dari melakukan dosa dan menolong kita agar tidak terjebak dalam situasi yang membolehkan kita melakukan dosa.

Ok, sekarang kita dah masuk bab seterusnya perjalanan hidup Nabi Yusuf AS di penjara.

Semasa di dalam penjara, Yusuf AS telah didatangi dua orang lelaki dan mereka menceritakan mimpi mereka kepada Nabi Yusuf. Mereka lalu meminta Nabi Yusuf AS menafsirkan mimpi mereka. Sebelum menunaikan permintaan kedua-dua lelaki itu, Nabi Yusuf sempat memperkenalkan diri beliau sebagai utusan Allah, dan pada masa yang sama beliau berdakwah kepada kedua-dua lelaki itu. Seperti di dalam ayat 38-40.
38. "Dan aku menurut ugama bapa dan datuk nenekku: Ibrahim dan Ishak serta Yaakub. Tidaklah sepatutnya kita mempersekutukan sesuatupun dengan Allah. Mentauhid - mengesakan Allah ialah hasil dari limpah kurnia Allah kepada kita dan kepada umat manusia. Tetapi kebanyakan manusia tidak bersyukur.
39. "Wahai sahabatku berdua yang sepenjara, memuja dan menyembah berbilang-bilang tuhan yang bercerai-berai itukah yang lebih baik atau menyembah Allah Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, lagi Maha Kuasa?
40. Apa yang kamu sembah, yang lain dari Allah, hanyalah nama-nama yang kamu menamakannya, kamu dan datuk nenek kamu, Allah tidak pernah menurunkan sebarang bukti yang membenarkannya. Sebenarnya hukum (yang menentukan amal ibadat) hanyalah bagi Allah. Ia memerintahkan supaya kamu jangan menyembah melainkan Dia. Yang demikian itulah Ugama yang betul, tetapi kebanyakan manusia tidak mengetahui.

Hanya dari 3 ayat, tak kurang dari 5 pengajaran dapat disimpulkan:

1. Seorang Muslim haruslah menjadi umat yang berguna tidak kiralah dalam keadaan apa dan di mana dia berada, hatta di dalam penjara sekalipun.
2. Dan amatlah penting untuk kita bertanyakan hal kepada yang pakar, dalam contoh ini kedua-dua lelaki itu telah mengetahui bahawa Yusuf AS sangat pandai menafsir mimpi, maka mereka pon mendapatkan nasihat beliau.
3. Pengajaran yang ketiga, kita ditunjukkan sekali lagi sifat kenabian Yusuf AS dari segi komitmen beliau terhadap tauhid, beliau menggunakan kesempatan yang ada walaupon sedikit untuk menyampaikan dakwah. Sambil menyelam minum air.  Ayat ini juga sekali lagi menunjukkan keyakinan Yusuf AS terhadap role model beliau iaitu ayah, datuk dan moyang beliau.
4. Permulaan ayat ke-39, cara Yusuf AS memanggil kedua-dua lelaki itu dengan cara yang sangat sopan, bukan merendah-rendahkan mereka, inilah cara yang patut kita guna untuk mendekati golongan yang belum lagi Islam ini. Adalah menjadi hak mereka (orang yang belum lagi Muslim ini) untuk belajar dengan cara yang paling baik, dan kita harus tunaikan hak itu. Dakwah tidak boleh keras.
5. Kita bukan sahaja dituntut untuk menyeru ke jalan Allah, tetapi kita juga hendaklah menerangkan betapa banyaknya limpah kurnia Allah SWT kepada kita
6. Teknik berdakwah/pengajaran boleh jadi dalam bentuk persoalan, tidak semestinya dalam bentuk syarahan sahaja, ini akan trigger audience kita itu untuk berfikir, sebab tu cikgu atau pensyarah suka tanya soalan.
7. Dakwah yang paling utama adalah mengajak untuk percaya kepada Allah yang satu, apabila mereka betul-betul yakin akan hal itu, barulah boleh masuk bab lain, solat, puasa dsb..tapi penting untuk pastikan yang akidah mereka mantap dahulu, bila hati dah yakin, insyaAllah mereka tidak akan ada masalah untuk menunaikan perintah Allah yang lain.
8. Ayat 40 juga menerangkan dua jenis tauhid:

• Tauhid al-Rububiyyah : percaya Allah itu satu dan unik dari segi segala sifatnya, dan tiada yang dapat menyerupai Allah (penduduk Mekah yang bukan Islam juga percaya akan hal ini)
• Tauhid al-Uluhiyyah : percaya tiada yang layak disembah melainkan Allah SWT, segala ibadah luaran dan dalaman, kata-kata dan perbuatan dan ketaatan kita diniatkan dan ditujukan semata-mata kepada Allah SWT. Dalam tauhid inilah ramai yang tersasar, musrikin Mekah contohnya mereka percaya kepada Allah, tapi pada masa yang sama mereka juga percaya kepada bermacam jenis ‘tuhan’ yang lain, ibadah mereka juga ditujukan untuk lebih daripada satu tuhan. Jangan kata musyrikin Mekah, orang Melayu kita pon tak kalah ni. Solat 5 waktu tak tinggal…tapi kalau ada yang tak puas hati mulalah cari bomoh dan pawang nak mintak tolong selesaikan masalah, moga kita dijauhkan dari sifat-sifat ini.

InsyaAllah, akan bersambung di siri akan datang.
Pesanan pihak penaja, dah baca Surah al-Kahf hari ni? :)

Wassalam..

Its tough

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Seems like this is the only place that I update without get questioned back..hahaha..so I will continue to do this as I need the space to vent anyway.

I have started to write, I need to finish 400-500 pages and I have just completed page 19.. long way to go. I have all the contents to hopefully made it to 400 pages (else, I'll make up some..hahahaha..) And I still need to do a little bit more research for the main content.

Now I understand the challenge of writing at a bigger scale. You have all the materials, you just need the mojo to sit down and write. And at times, you are stuck, you know what the next part would be, but you are having difficulties to bind them together, that train of thoughts must be smooth. Having time is not a luxury, you need to have the eloquence as well.

I hope I am strong. Its a personal project, and yes, I am putting pressure on myself to come up with it. Something that I need to do before I die (ok, part ni dramatic..hehehehe...). May Allah guide me... Amiinn....

This is it...!! Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

Been toying with this idea for quite some time, but never really put much thought into it. Finally I am making my first move tonight. This thing I dream of doing since school, and now finally, it hits me, its now or never. May Allah grant me the courage to finish it. (Yeah...me and gazillion other mini project). May Allah grant me the strength to complete this.

Aminnn...

Is it me?

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

I think I have an ego issue. Or is it credibility issue? Bottom line is I have problem with my current boss. It has been there for quite some time and today I think I reached the high of it. I am not a confrontational person, and I don’t really speak in meetings unless being asked to. So both of us attended this one meeting and as usual, I was just listening to the issues being discussed and of course I’ve said nothing, simply because at this point in time, I have no input for those issues. Right after the meeting, he called me to the side, and subtlety hinting to me that I should have contributed in that meeting, I should have done this..I should have done that.. I agreed with some of his point, but somehow it was so obvious that I was making faces to him. Not something that I regret doing and till now I am still not sorry for doing that. Gosh!! What is wrong with me?

Ok, some background on the problems that I have with Mr B (the boss).

Right when he started working as my supervisor, he complaints about other manager A LOT! I mean really really A LOT. To a point that he mentioned few times that he should have applied for a higher position, that is his boss' position. If he mentioned it once, I can take it as a passing remarks, but he keep on mentioning it over and over again, each time he thinks that his boss has made a mistake. Strike #1, no respect for his superior.

He undermines me as a woman. He made remarks about his wife that has a tinge to degrading women in it. There is one trainee under our section, S. Mr B gave S some assignment and after few weeks working on it, the result was unsatisfactory. Mr B told me, and I intervened (I can’t remember whether I volunteered to intervene or was asked by Mr B to do that). But after few days of me intervening, S came out with the exact things that we are looking for. When S’s lecturer came for a visit, I was asked on my involvement in S’s internship. I mentioned that I was just supporting Mr B in the process. Mr B’s made a remark to the lecturer that S understands me better because I am a woman.  What does my gender as a woman has anything to do with S understanding me better? S is a guy. He should understand Mr B better in that sense; clearly it shows that you have communication issue right Mr B? Ok, that just pissed me off. Just because I am a woman, that is not the reason S took better direction from me, that just means that I don’t go around the bush in my work. Strike #2 no respect for me as individual.

Mr B was assigned to lead an incident investigation, and was required to collect huge amount of data. He was supposed to liaise with these few Jr Engineer and asked for their support. They promised him a dateline, and 2 days short of the dateline, Mr B came to me, asking me to pass a message to these engineers that he is not going to hesitate to name names in front of the management if they did not give him the cooperation that he asked for and was ‘perceived’ as delaying the investigation. One of the engineers was sitting in front of me, Mr B’s voice was clear enough to make sure this guy in front of me heard about it. I mean these people have tonnes of other workload, they did promise a deadline, and we are not even there yet. How can you put on a threat like that? I was crossed, first off, they were my junior, I was in their team before, and so I feel the pinch as well. I called their boss and had a closed door discussion with him. We took the matter to the department’s manager and let him sort out. Strike #3 undermines people’s workload; get things done by threatening, create unnecessary pressure and obviously no respect to others. And the best part of it, he doesn't think what he is doing is wrong, to him he is doing the right thing, and it so called help him ‘expedite’ the investigation.

There are many other occasions that lead to more strikes after that. And the many of which has made him loose his credibility to me. I know there’s a saying on do not look at the person who is saying it, rather look at what he is saying, but to me I could not separate the two. Ya Allah, lembutkan hati hambaMu ini, agar dapat menerima teguran meskipun dari orang yang sangat aku tak gemari.

Reminder to myself, there are points in life you are on top of your game, but always remember to respect the people around you. He will not be my boss for long. He has quit his job and starting at new place by October. I guess he ran out of toes to step on here. (Jahatnya mulut aku…!!)

Tanda Putera - Siapa makan cili dialah terasa pedasnya....!!

Assalamulaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

In Astro there was commercial of yet another Indon movie, Ainun  & Habibie. Being a fan, I subscribed when I have the time. The story was about the former President Habibie, how his story from being a young engineer in foreign land, till he was called back to serve his country. I began to wonder when would Malaysia made such film. Films that would honour the prolific figures that help in developing the country in the early days. Little did I know, there was such effort and it was held back by our very own country men. Its a shame, all effort are being put forward to stop the release of this movie.

I salute the director, thank you Shuhaimi Baba, put taking the pain to make this movie.

I watched this on Merdeka eve. Saat di mana anak-anak muda kita berpeleseran menunggu detik 12 malam, dengan barisan konsert dan tayangan bunga api, dengan pergaulan bebas sampai ke jam entah  berapa pagi (I know....I've been there - the stay out late part that is..)

I first came to know about this movie when it came out in Utusan Malaysia that DAP banned the show in Penang. Why such pushback? they were claiming that this movie is racist. Really? I have to see to believe it, and based on my non-expert opinion, its a simple history movie.

History has to be told, else, we would be complacent and the events will repeat itself. What happened then, was the radicals and the subversives that cause chaos in the country, they incite hatred among the people, and what better way to do that? of course by attacking the racial unity. We all know that DAP was founded based on communism and it is written in history that they were behind those chaos that leads to May 13th incident. So happened that was the incident that re-joined Tun Dr Ismail and Tun Abdul Razak hand in hand to save Malaysia. The rest of the story revolves around the friendship of those two figures and the sacrifices made for the nation.

Its not a film against the Chinese, we all know not all Chinese are for communism, and we also have Malays as few of the top leader in PKM. Jadi, kalau ada yang nak melatah bila tengok filem ini, saya rasa yang paling cepat terasa ialah komunis. Yang DAP zaman sekarang nak terasa kenapa? Apakah mereka masih mengamalkan fahaman komunis? atau mereka memang tidak pernah mengubah arah haluan perjuangan mereka setelah sekian lama?

Sejarah tetap tinggal sejarah. Harus kita ingat, masih ada element yang hendak meruntuhkan perpaduan rakyat Malaysia, menidakkan kedudukan orang Melayu, elemen itu sangat jelas sampai ke hari ini. Melayu mudah lupa, kata Dr M. Sebab itulah kita harus diingatkan sepanjang masa akan sejarah hitam ini. Agar kita lebih berhati-hati dan bersedia menghadapi segala kemungkinan.

Yang saya sedih bila tengok komen di FB, anak muda melayu kita yang terikut-ikut mencela filem ini. Saya kira Shuhaimi Baba tidak perlukan penghargaan tinggi melangit, cukup sekadar generasi zaman sekarang mengambil iktibar dari sejarah lampau. Yang filem rempit lah, gangster jalanan la, dan segala macam cerita hantu yang tidak membangun minda disanjung-sanjung, award berderet-deret, perlakuan mereka dipraktikkan dalam kehidupan seharian....tapi filem sejarah sebegini di caci maki...apa nak jadi dengan generasi melayu zaman sekarang. They are fighting the communist battle for them, and the communist didn't even have to do a thing. Poke a little bit here and there and there you have it, the young Malays will go all out for them. Its downright shameful.

Ya Allah, kurniakan kesedaran kepada generasi ini, untuk membezakan mana yang haq, mana yang batil...amin..

Syria...where do we stand?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

Felt the urge to post this, hence giving it a go via phone. Pardon for the potential cosmetics mishaps..hehehe..

Ok..back to business. 3 hours of watching CNN has triggered this question. For now White House is looking for allies to take military action on Syria. The last chemical weapon attacks to the civillians has strengthen the decision even more. They were intially looking at Britain to join them in yet another mission to save the world.

Surprisingly, more than half of Britain's parliamentary rejected the motion..leaving the Prime Minister to say NO to White House's proposal.
CNN showed the footage of the debate and there was a clear vibe among the parliament members that they want to avoid another Iraq...where up till now the WMD has yet to be found.

They will at least wait until the UN investigation concluded on the last incident that killed mostly among them women and kids, then they'll probably decide once again whether or not to join their ally, the US.

Back in the states, it was not a unanimous decision either...rallies were held in some part, refusing war on Syria. They too are strongly against another yet a repeat of Iraq invasion. They demand for solid proofs before any military action to be taken..

The states secretary are confident that the action is a go, regardless there allies to it or not. Russia refused to support the war on Syria. And while most of the countries in the world had condemned Assad and his regime, none of which are strongly behind the idea of war on Syria.

If US strike on Syria does happen, Assad will be greatly supported by Iran, and not to mentioned...the Isreal as well. It will be a very long battle. One could imagine what kind of war facilities Iran has up on their sleeves.

The question is...as a Muslim, we detest what the regime has done to its people. Its clearly a Sunni-Shiite conflict. We all wish Assad to be defeated. But how? On one hand, one of the world's veto power has initiated what we wish we could do. But on the other hand, we know once US sends its troop to a country, much more casualties to be expected. Plus, the country will no longer be ruled by its own people. All kinds of puppet show will go on once US started to meddle into the country's business. Iraq and Afghanistan is the living proof of that.

So the question remains, where do we stand? hoping for Obama to stay true to his words and launch attack on Assad? Or at all cost avoid foreign invasion on Syria and let Assad and his dogs to continue mutilating our brothers and sisters over there...? Honestly, I don't know which one is better.

Pray to Allah SWT all the best to Syrian people. Its a long battle for them, to a point it is unimaginable to us. Being brought up in a free country, we should really appreciate what we have. The peace, the stability, the platform to say our piece, all of these did not come for free. And to maintain that will take even more hardwork and sound mind.

Selamat Hari Merdeka untuk semua rakyat Malaysia. Doa saya moga Malaysia kekal aman dan kita akan berada di tempat yang membolehkan kita terus membantu umat Islam seluruh dunia...aamiinn.....

The Egypt Conflict for Dummies - a translated version

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh....

(Its been a while I had two post in two days in a row..hehehe..) mojo is back? you wish...hehehe...

Received an email from a colleague, she asked whether am I interested to do some pro-bono translation work. She was referring to this link.
http://angelwearsgucci.blogspot.com/2013/08/konflik-mesir-untuk-dummies.html.

From the trail of comments, seems like they need help to get it translated to English. I am not saying I'm good in English, but I know enough and I think I can contribute in this way.Without much thought, I agreed. I honestly hope nothing gets lost in translation, insya Allah.

So here goes, my small deeds to spread the awareness of the current conflict in Egypt. May Allah bless our brothers and sisters over there and gives them the best. Allah knows best of what is good for them and for Islam in general.

Those highlighted portion are my comments, minor disputes with the original writer...hehehehe.. (nak jugak..!!) I even copied the pictures from the post, just to add some colour to this yet to be long and serious post :D

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

When I was asked at Pengicau, “Who is as-Sisi?” I knew that I had to pen down this post.
Based on the format of Israel-Palestine conflict for Dummies that was written quite some time back, Insya Allah I will be sharing facts and important points in relation to the on-going crisis in Egypt right now, for the benefits of all.

Of course, I will not be able to tell all about the crisis in this post and therefore I would only focus on 2 things for the time being:
1. Important facts on the on-going crisis
2. Significant historical background of the crisis.

Hopefully, after going through this post, you will, more or less have a clearer picture on what is actually happening in Egypt. Thereafter, it’s my wish that you would share these facts with friends, families, neighbour, or anybody you wish to. There are still a large amount of people out there that are still not aware of the actual situation in Egypt and relying heavily on the biased local mainstream media mostly originated from the West.

(I beg to differ, we have been given the freedom to choose, there will always be sources of news that is questionable, but lo and behold, I've watched TV Al-Hijrah almost every night and they are mainstream, but they do provide trustworthy news. Don't be too quick in judging the local mainstream media. They do have integrity)

And if you wish to know further, by all means you can go ahead and kick-start your own research. If you want to know more than that, the only way is resort to doing a live coverage from Egypt itself!

Fact #1
Let’s first have a look at Egypt’s history, so that we can further understand the socio-political condition that provided the base of turmoil that is currently happening in Egypt.

Egypt itself is rich in history. Among the earliest civilization that sees the rise of great monuments such as pyramid, the Sphinx and the Obelisk, not to mentioned, belly dancing too. Egypt was also part of the background location for Yusuf AS’s history that ends with the typical happily ever after when he was elected as the minister that took care of Egypt’s financial affair. And as it is widely known, he was reunited with his dear father, Ya’qub AS and the rest of his brothers.

Egypt has also been a witness to Musa AS’s and his brother Harun AS’s da’wah to Pharaoh laknatullah ‘alaih. Pharaoh’s cruelty was clearly mentioned in Al-Quran when he ordered the murder of all babies which are boys of Bani Israel and when his wizards turn their backs against him. Pharaoh and his men were finally drowned in the Red Sea, before he was able to seek repentance from Allah SWT.

And then there was a warrior named Saifuddin al-Qutuz, who had beaten the ferocious Mongols during his reign in Egypt. There is also Salahuddin al-Ayubi, the man responsible to free Baitulmaqdis from the Crusaders who was also originated from Egypt.

It’s clear, how significant Egypt is as a blessed land not only because of the anbia (the Prophets), but also because of many significant figures that fought their battle to uphold Islam.

Fact #2
The army involvement in Egypt’s modern history is not something new. King Farouk, the last monarchy of Egypt was overthrown by Muhammad Naquib and Jamal Abdul Nassir, which are both army officers. Muhammad Naquib later went on to become the first president of Egypt, and consequently was overthrown by Jamal Abdul Nassir after only one year in the office.

The military reign on Egypt was later continued by Anwar Sadat which was later assassinated by his own officers in the year 1981. Anwar was later replaced by Hosni Mubarak, whom ruled Egypt until early 2011, when he was later overthrown by the people during the infamous Arab Spring.
From the era of Jamal Abdul Nassir until Hosni Mubarak, the power was fully given to the military, over a period of 44 years.

Insane.

(Based on my limited knowledge and reading, though its military based, there were still legit election held at the early stage of Mubarak's reign, but the election becomes questionable later on, so I am not sure how to classify what type of ruling (full military or not) and I am no political expert, so I am merely translating here..)

The Naguib and Jamal conspiracy

Fact #3
The turmoil that is currently happening in Egypt is the effect of military coup, led by General Abdul Fatah as-Sisi on President Muhammad Mursi who was brought down on 3rd of July 2013. In response to that, President Mursi’s supporters hold protest and peace demonstrations all over Egypt, but the main focus is in the capital, Cairo.

The overthrow of President Mursi was seen by many parties as illegal and illegitimate due to the fact that he won the election fair and square, when he secured more than 51% of the people’s vote. Ironically, the parties that hold demonstration to bring down President Mursi claimed themselves as fighters for democracy.

Fact #4
Egypt’s 2011 election, which for its first time in many years was hold fully transparent and fair, with almost no involvement by the military and deceit by the government sees Party al-Huraiyyah wal ‘Adalah (Freedom and Justice Party) which is the political wing of Ikhwanul Muslimin, had a big win when they managed to gather 37.5% of total votes, followed by Party Salafi an-Nur (27.8%) and Party al-Wafd (9.2%). Both FJP and an-Nur are based on Islamic ideology, so indirectly, the Egypt’s parliament has been dominated by those that are fighting to uphold Islam. This is an obvious threat to the liberal groups in Egypt.

Party al-Hurriyyah wal 'Adalah (Freedom and Justice party) 

In the beginning FJP did not want to send candidate to contest for the Presidency, as it is not their main goal. However, after seeing the potential harm of not contesting, and the greater good that needs to be defended, they have decided to send Khairat Shatir to be in the running for that position.

However, due to technical difficulties that to me I considered as small and petty, Khairat Shatir’s nomination has to be cancelled. Muhammad Mursi, which is the president of FJP, was sent in as the replacement. He officially won the presidential election on 24th June 2012 and became the first Egyptian president that was elected by a democratic election.

Fact #5
Among those that are behind the demonstration and protest that leads to the downfall of President Mursi are Muhammad el-Baradei, Amr Moussa, Hamdeen Sabahi and Hisham Bastawisy, almost all of them lost in the Egypt’s presidential election. Now, do you see what is at play here?

El-Baradei

There were claims from Ikhwanul Muslimin how el-Baradei and his man are in cohorts with the Israeli Zionist and United States of America in planning the chaos in Egypt which ends up overthrowing President Mursi.
El-Baradei was appointed as the new Vice President for the temporary government that is after being protested by many parties that disagree to the proposition to elect him as the new Prime Minister.

Latest, el-Baradei has resigned as Vice President because he disagrees with the military action that killed the protesters in Rabaah Square and the area surrounding it.

Oh el-Baradei, that still would not clean your hands from the blood of the people of Egypt.

Fact #6
It’s an open secret that US, Israel and other enemy of Islam are behind the scheme to overthrow President Mursi and ends FJP authority in the parliament of Egypt.

The Tamarrud Campaign, a name given to protesters which is against President Mursi was proven to have received funding from the US, as reported by Al-Jazeera.

Among the first action taken by the temporary government led by President Adly Mansour is to close down the border at Rafah, which previously opened up by President Mursi. This border has been an important link to the Palestinian in getting their basic daily supplies. This closure has clearly shown the coalition between Israel and the new Egyptian government.

US and Israel is the real fighter for democracy..? really?!!

Fact #7
The other Arabic countries also play a part in the despicable conspiracy in overthrowing President Mursi. As soon as Adly Mansour was appointed as the new president for the temporary government, Saudi Arabia is among the first that sends its congratulatory message to Egypt.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and UAE, each funds their financial support that worth billions of USD post the downfall of President Mursi. These countries are well known not in favour of Ikhwanul Muslimin for fear of the ideology that it brings.

On the other hand, two countries that been loudly voicing out their protest on the coup are Tunisia and Turkey. The president of Turkey, Reccep Tayyib Erdogan did not acknowledge the temporary government led by Adly Mansour and demand that President Morsi to be released and returned to his original position.

Fact #8
On July 3rd 2013, General Abdul Fatah as-Sisi announced on the Egypt’s national TV that the military has taken over the power from President Mursi due to his failure to fulfil few demands by the Tamarrud and the ultimatum was given by the military. President Mursi was arrested in an unknown location, apart by the military.

Who is as-Sisi? He was appointed by President Mursi to replace Muhammad Hussein Tantawi as the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces. He is seen as a moderate figure due to his strong religious stand, the most suitable candidate to replace the old Mubarak regime. Who would have known that he will be the main player in overthrowing his own boss?

After appointing Adly Mansour as the president for the temporary government, as-Sisi appointed himself as the new Minister of Defence apart from the Deputy Prime Minister.

As-Sisi, how much blood has you caused to shed? Have that answer ready in front of Allah SWT.

Fact #9
What/Who is Ikhwanul Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood)?
It would be nuts to explain about IM in one single fact!

Imam Hassan al Bana

Ikhwanul Muslimin is a da’wah movement that was founded by Imam Hassan al-Bana in the year 1928, as a direct response to the downfall of the Uthmaniah Caliphate in the year 1924. The history of this movement is very long and colourful, and suffices to say that the history of modern Egypt is heavily influenced by this movement.

The clash between the military and Ikhwanul Muslimin (IM) is very well known. IM members have been massively detained, thrown into jail and reprimanded during the era of Jamal Abdul Nassir, and total members that was caught was estimated to reach millions all over Egypt. Many of them were released when Anwar Sadat reign, but was later captured again when Hosni Mubarak took over. Among the prominent IM figure that lost their life during the dictatorship includes Sayyid Qutb, Abdul Qadir Audah dan Syaikh al-Faraghli.

Since then, IM was banned from actively moving, even more so in the political arena as the rulers sees them as a major threat. However, IM members keep on moving within the society hiding behind different names or different organization.

The popularity and influence of IM within the people is obvious when finally they are allowed to contest in the election post Mubarak downfall, it was an easy win in most places especially in rural area. Apart from that the people’s uprising against the overthrow of President Mursi involves millions of Egyptians that describes the solid support to the movement that is almost reaching its centenary.

To date, IM plays and important and active role in painting the picture of socio-political and economical of the Egyptians.

Fact #10

The massacre that happened to the protesters starting from 14th August 2013 happened when the military decided to clear the Rabaah Square, al-Nahda Square and Mustafa Mahmud Square in Giza off President Mursi’s supporters. Before this, there has been attack during early morning (Fajr) where Mursi’s supporters were shot by sharp shooters while performing Fajr prayer on 8th of July 2013. This is syaitan at play.

But the massacre that took place on the 14th of August is far worse and out of bound. They were not only murdered, the mosque was set on fire, the dead bodies of the martyr were burned and some were rolled over by bulldozers alive!! Total fatalities were quoted differently based on different sources, but the highest reported is more than 2,200 lives. This is outright cruelty that went way too overboard, and to make it worse, it was done by the Egyptians, to their own people. Some even describes the military’s action was pretty much a plot by Israelis and US, far more despicable and  sickening from Bashar as-Assad’s killing of his own people and the Israel towards the Palestinians. Their actions have violated all humanity values that have ever existed.

World’s reaction, as usual is predictable, only capable of condemning the cruel act of as-Sisi and his dogs. Even the US themselves, which the hands are smeared with the blood of the Egyptians joins the world to condemn the act.

Fact #11
Do I need to mention, what is the real reason President Mursi was overthrown? Or what was the justification used by the Tamarrud and the military to bring down President Mursi?

They claimed President Mursi had failed to keep his promise when he was first appointed as the President of Egypt. He had failed to reinstate the bad economic condition, apart from a few other political, economic and social factors. This includes more job opportunities, the police that vandalize the protesters and many others.
That was their justifications.

The truths is, it’s unreasonable for President Mursi to reinstate fully the almost ruined Egypt from all aspect post Mubarak’s regime years of ruling in just one year. Mursi would need Harry Potter’s wand or countless magic spells to turn Egypt to a prosper, peaceful country in the blink of an eye.

Regardless, President Mursi’ biggest ‘sins’ that really cause uneasiness among the opponents are:

1. Increase the productivity of wheat production from 20% to 60%
2. Developed industrial factories such as electronics, arms and cars that open up job opportunity and reduce Egyptian’s dependence on import materials.
3. Given the freedom to media, to a point they were not ashamed to slander him almost every day. Regardless, he was cool with it and handles that with patience. (if it happened in Mubarak’s time, the editor would have gone straight to jail)
4. Memorize the al-Quran completely and became the imam at masjid.
5. Refused to live in the president’s castle and refused to be protected by private bodyguards.
6. Support the fight of the Palestinians, Syrians, and Myanmar, by opening up the Rafah border for the convenience of the Palestinians. 
7. Freed up the Egyptians government from the military rule.
8. And many others….

These are the real factors why he was brought down. The real factors as to why President Mursi was overthrown are because he brings out the Islamic ideology in his ruling. It’s fair, just, trustworthy, clean and wise. How can taghut (one who exceeds the limit, worship anything but Allah) and jahilliyah (stupidity or ignorant) resting quietly seeing such leader in power. If they let Mursi and IM continues bringing changes that leads to full implementation of Islamic nation, they know Islam will rise again. Therefore, they started to seed their evil ploy to bring Mursi down.

So that is it.

Now, you know a thing or two on what is happening in Egypt? As I mentioned earlier, a post this brief might not give a comprehensive understanding on the turmoil that is happening in Egypt. But I believe it is enough for you get a rough picture of the current situation.

The on-going crisis must not be taken lightly by any of us. Egypt is a blessed land that needs to be defended. It’s the entry point to free the al-Quds. And it’s not impossible that it might be the starting point to Islamic victory that just beyond reach!

I am very confident, whatever that our Egyptian brothers are facing right now is part of Allah’s test, to eradicate any existing elements of jahiliyyah and taghut, before Allah lift them to a higher standard. What our brothers and sisters are facing in Egypt is a trailer from Allah before he grants the more superior victory!

Allahu Akbar!

While we here in Malaysia, keep on sending our prayers for our brothers’ and sisters’ safety and victory in Egypt. Share and spread the trustworthy news and facts about what is currently going on. Educate our society to be aware on what is happening outside.

Because Egypt is not just a country in the Middle East, the Egyptian is not just a group of Arabic people. Egypt is not just a country that holds the legacy of Pharaoh, Haman, and Qarun.

It’s not impossible the condition in Egypt will be prolonged and leads to Civil War. Nauzubillah. If that happens, it would be much worse and even more atrocious than what happened in Syria. At least in Syria it’s a clear dispute between the Shiite and Sunni, but in Egypt, it’s between brothers of the same belief.

Their pain, suffering and tears over there, are ours too. 

The defeat of Egypt is our defeat too. But with the winning of Egypt, the superior light of Islam will be shining bright, Insya Allah!

Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said, “He who removes from a believer one of his difficulties of this world, Allah will remove one of his troubles on the Day of Judgement; and he who finds relief for a hard-pressed person, Allah will make things easy for him on the Day of Judgement; he who covers up (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah will cover up (his faults) in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah supports His slave as long as the slave is supportive of his brother; and he who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah makes that path easy, leading to Paradise for him.” (Muslim)

So where does that leaves us? Do we turn a blind eye, keep it silent and refuse to hear. While our brothers and sisters are being victimized, slaughtered and brutalized by the evil taghut..?

Go ahead and don’t forget to have a very good excuse to defend ourselves in front of Allah at Masyar later.

-gabbana-

I have received request to include the reference sources to the facts that was presented. Most of the fact that was shared is widely known, so either it’s easy to get it online or based on memory from my previous reading.

Insya Allah, the facts that I have shared is legit and true, no reason for me to fabricate and twist the facts. Indeed, I am very scared of Allah’s punishment. But if however you found that the facts are doubtful or inaccurate, please correct me, so that we only share facts which are true and legit here.

There are request to translate this article to English. Honestly I do not have the capacity to do that for the time being. I welcomed any party that wish to do that.

Alhamdulillah, the feedback for this article is very welcoming. Please share and upgrade if you find it beneficial for the ummah and give the awareness to us that there is a lot more tarbiyah and da’wah that we need to do. Verily the victory for Islam is near, but it will not come without the sacrifices be it monetary, our energy and our soul.

May Allah bless us, biiznillah!
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Alhamdulillah, I think I managed to keep it 90% close to the original post. All the good things are from Allah, and the bad one are my own doing. Wallahu 'alam...