What do I feel?

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Warning: this post may sound like a broken record, with no particular purpose :P

Today is the second time in two weeks I had lunch with the girls at work, and the topic does not differ much. Last week was to celebrate one girl's last day working as bachelorette, and of course the topic was about the wedding preparation. Among the girls, another 2 will be walking down the aisle and of course the are busy changing notes on all the prep work.

Mind you, all of them are much younger than I am. So tell me how am I supposed to feel? Right there and then I feel like registering myself to many online matrimonial sites and go all out to find my other half. But apart from that particular moment, I don't really feel the same drive.

So should I start to keep a distance with these girls so that I do not have to feel that way again? Trust me, it felt so bad to be in the middle of the discussion.

Another girl has just broken up from a long term relationship (6 years!!) and the rest of the girls did make jokes on fixing her up with somebody, but nobody, I am stressing this again, nobody wants to say anything about me. How does that make me feel? Well, I don't really want to be fixed up with anybody, but that has made me realize that I am in a stage where people don't really bother anymore, I don't know what's the cut off point, is it age? is it looks? is it status? I honestly don't know.

Tell me how am I supposed to feel? because I am really confused, should I be sad, or should I be relieved, or should I even be devastated, what is it should I be feeling now? For sure I don't feel good. Only for this particular topic and on this particular occasion, apart from that, I feel fine.

The Speech of Rasulullah SAW

Hadith Tirmidzi

(215) Hadith Number 3 Imaam Hasan radiyallahu anhu says, “I asked my (maternal) uncle Hind ibn Abi Haalah, who always described the noble features of Rasoolullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam to describe to me the manner in which Rasoolullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam spoke.

He replied that Rasoolullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam was always worried (about the hereafter). And always busy thinking (about the attributes of Allah and the betterment of the Ummah).Because of these things he was never free from thought and never rested (or because of worldly affairs he did not gain rest, but gained rest and contentment from religious well being.

It is mentioned in the hadith that the coolness of my eyes is in salaah). He always spoke clearly from beginning to end. (He did not speak in a manner where only half sentences are spoken and the other half remained in the mind of the speaker, as is prevalent among snobbish high-minded and proud people).

He spoke concisely, where the words are less and meaning more. (Mulla Ali Qaari has collected forty such ahaadith in his commentary which are very short. Those who wish may refer to it and memorise it). Every word was clearer than the previous one. There was no nonsensical talk, nor was there half-talks’ where the meaning was not complete and could not be grasped.

He was not short-tempered, nor did he disgrace anyone. He always greatly appreciated the blessings of Allah even though it might be very minute, he did not criticize it.  

He did not criticize food, nor over-praised it (The reason for not criticizing food is clear, that it is a blessing from Allah. The reason for not praising it is because it might be felt that one is gluttonous. Nevertheless, he praised food if it was to make someone happy, and sometimes praised some special things). He was never angered for anything materialistic. (The reason being that he did not pay much attention, and did not care much about materialistic things).  

If someone exceeded the limits in religious matters or against the truth, he became so angry that no one could endure it, nor could anybody stop it till he avenged it.

If for some reason he made a gesture or pointed at something, he did it with a full hand.(The ulama say the reason being that it is against humbleness to point with one finger only. Some ulama say it was his noble habit to signal oneness of Allah with one finger, therefore he did not signal anyone in that  manner).

When he was surprised by something he turned his hands, and when he spoke sometimes while talking, he moved his hands, he sometimes hit the palm of his right hand with the inside part of his left thumb. When he became angry with someone, he turned his face away from that person, and did not pay attention to that person or he forgave that person. When he was happy due to humility it seemed as if he had closed his eyes. The laugh of Rasoolullah sallallahu alaihe wasallam was mostly a smile,at that moment his mubarak front teeth glittered like white shining hailstone.

Live it, every day, every moment of our life :)

Al-Dajjal and its Fitnah

Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you),

(Tajuk gempak tak kak tek?hehehe..)

Jokes aside, I am sharing some of the material from the Signs of the Hour course last weekend.

From wikipedia:
Dajjāl is a common Arabic word (دجال) with the meaning "deceiving" or "the Placebo" or "impostor" Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, with the definite article al- ("the"), refers to "the deceiving Messiah", a specific end-of times deceiver.

of course from Google :)

Al-Dajjal a.k.a Pseudo Christ is one of the Major signs of the hour. When Al-Dajjal appears, it will be the start of 10 major signs and the end of days is near. It (al-Dajjal) will create a great deception in his effort to turn as many people away from Allah SWT by spreading its fitnah.

This fitnah is so dangerous that the Prophet (SAW) warned us over and over again about it. He (SAW) said:
There is no fitnah from the time of Adam till the end of time as serious as the fitnah of Dajjal (Muslim, 5239)

When will Dajjal emerge?
The Prophet (SAW) said. The Dajjal will not emerge until people (in general) become oblivious and do not mentioned him (Majma al Zawa’id. 7/338)

Types of fitnah
According to Ibn Qayyum, there are two types of fitnah:

The Fitnah of Shubuhaat (Doubts and Misunderstanding) 
Fitnah is of two types: the fitnah of ‘shubuhaat’ (doubts and misunderstandings), this one being the greater fitnah of the two. This is due to having a weak vision and a lack of knowledge. This is the kind of fitnah which leads to kufr and nifaaq (hypocrisy). This is the fitnah of the hypocrites and ahlul-bidah (the people of innovation), according to the degree of their bid’ah. Thus, the majority of them innovate because of the fitnah of shubuhaat (doubts and misunderstandings), whereby they confuse the truth with falsehood and guidance with misguidance.

The Fitnah of Shahawaat (Desires) 
Allah has indeed combined in the following ayah (verse) the description of those whom the two types of fitnah have befallen:
“Like those before you, they were mightier than you in power, and more abundant in wealth and children. They had enjoyed their portion awhile, so enjoy your portion awhile as those before you enjoyed their portion awhile; and you indulged in play and pastime (and in telling lies against Allaah and His Messenger Muhammad, sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) as they indulged in play and pastime. Such are they whose deeds are in vain in this world and in the Hereafter. Such are they who are the losers". [Surat- at Tawbah, 9:69]

So Allah is pointing out to us here what happens from the corruption of the hearts and the deen because of taking pleasures in their portion (of this world) and indulging in (speaking about) falsehood, (and this is so) because corrupting one’s deen occurs either by falsehood and engaging in it, or by doing deeds which contradict correct action.

As for the first one; it is bid’ah and what results from it. And the second one is sinful actions. The first one (bid’ah) is a consequence of shubuhaat (doubts), and the second (sinful actions) is an outcome of shahawaat (desires).

Fitnah of al Dajjal.
The hadith mentions that the fitnah of al-Dajjal is the greatest of all the fitnah that hit on earth. Al-Dajjal will come with apparent miracles that will shock people, causing them to react upon emotion and not use their God-given faculties of intellect to discern and judge what is happening.
Abu Hurayrah (RA) said:
I love Bani Tamim for three reason, the first that the Prophet (SAW) said they are the strongest people against al-Dajjal. (Mukmin, 2525)

The fitnah:

He will have a Heaven and a Hell	The Prophet (SAW) “Al-Dajjal will be one-eyed, blind in his left eye, and will have thick hair. He will have a jannah and a hell with him, but jannah will be a hell and his hell will be a jannah.” (Muslim, 5222)
Apparent control over natural elements	It is also reported that he will have rivers of water and mountains of bread. He will command the sky to send down rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so. The Prophet (SAW) said: “I know what al-Dajjal will bring with him; he will have two flowing rivers. One will clearly look like water and the will clearly look like blazing fire. If anyone of you sees that, let him choose the river which looks like fire. Upon entering into it, let him close his eyes and lower his head and drink from it, for it will be cool water. ”(Muslim, 5223)
Treasures of the earth follow him and he travels like clouds driven by the wind	The Prophet (SAW) said in the hadith of al-Nawwas bin Sam’an about al-Dajjal, it is reported that: The Sahabah said: “O Messenger of Allah, how long he will stay on earth? ” He said, “Forty days : one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week and the rest of the days are like your days.” …. They said, “How fast he will travel through the earth? He said “Like the clouds when they are driven by the wind. He will come to some people and call them, and they will believe in him, and respond to him. Then he will command the sky to rain and the earth to bring forth vegetation, and their cattle will come back to them in the evening, with their humps very high, and their udders full of milk, and their flanks stretched. Then he will come to another people and will call them (to believe in him) but they will reject him. So he will leave them and they will be stricken with famine, with none of their wealth in their hands. He will pass by ruins and will say, ‘Bring forth your treasures!’ – and the treasurers will strike him with a sword and cut him in two, then (he will put the pieces apart from one another) the distance of an archer from his target. Then he will call him, and the young man will come forward smiling, with his face shining.” (Muslim, 5228)
He kills someone and brings him back to life	The Prophet (SAW) said: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (RA) narrated that this man whom Al-Dajjal will kill is one of the best people, who goes to Al-Dajjal, “I bear witness that you are Al-Dajjal of whom the Messenger of Allah (SAW) told us about.” Al-Dajjal  will say (to the people) : “What do you think? If I kill this man and bring him back to life, would you have any doubts? ” They will say. “No.” So he kills him, then bring him back to life. Then, (the believing man) will say, “By Allah, I have never been surer about you than I am today.” Al-Dajjal will want to kill him but he will not be able to do so. (al-Bukhari, 6599)
He brings the parents of some people to life	The Prophet (SAW) said: “Part of his fitnah will be that he will say to a Bedouin, “Do you think if I resurrect your mother and father for you that you will testify that I am your lord?” He will say , “Yes”. So two devils will appear to him in the image of his father and mother saying, “O my son, follow him for he is your lord.” (Ibn Majah, 4067)

Why the fitnah of Al-Dajjal is so grave?
It combines both the elements of fitnah of shubuhat and fitnah of shahawaat and it will take a lot for people with average iman to resist the temptation to fall into the fitnah of Al-Dajjal. We should not be attached to anything in this world so dearly that it will opens up opportunity for Al-Dajjal to influence us with his fitnah.

Allah bayar cash :)

Allah has a funny way of getting back to us. It is in a way of testing us.
I am in this course, and there is this one sister that I particularly dislikes the way she look, its actually how she dressed and carried herself. And today, somehow she sits beside me. I know I was too quick to judge.It is Allah's way of testing me to not pass judgement based on one's appearance. Subhanallah..I still very much do not fancy the way she carries herself, but I am training my conscience to accept people the way they are.
These holier than thou mindset has got to stop.

Twas the Year 2012

Assalamualaikum wbt (for the benefits on non Muslim, peace be unto you),

I am going to start off with this greetings consistently from now on :)

As the sun sets and as most of the celebration kicks in, here I am again, alone in my rented home with nothing much to do. I am holding the pager, but even if I am in KL, I don't thik I'll weather through the crowds just to say hi to 2013. I am kinda old.. I guess ;) I treasure the quite moments at home, watching sinetron on TV (ya buk..masih lagi deh nontonnya :D)

This year 2012, has been the year with my least entry in this blog. I guess one of the reason was because I started using smart phone and I get online the normal quick touch and go thing, be it to check FB or some other stuffs. And I logged on to the blog even less when Instagram is available on android... (a cheapskate talking here y'all!!!)

So what happened to me this year? A lot actually, see if I can remember all and list it down here (did I mentioned I'm old..?) hehehe...

I can't remember much of what happened in Jan, but one thing for sure I had a blast doing this with my friends..!!

January action

In Feb, I made it to the land of middle earth, story only half told here, and in Sha Allah I will pick up where I left off here later :)

In March, probably one of the start of my physical activity as I joined my colleagues cycling from Seremban to Putrajaya, I took some 3 hours, if I'm not mistaken...(phheewww....)

Now what happened in April..? nothing much, I guess, or have I forgotten it? (Yes, age is catching up.. :P)

In May I managed to unwind with some friends in Janda Baik. It was meant to be a reunion for ROTU UiTM Batch 21, but as fated, only 4 of us made it, nonetheless we had a good time just chilling out.

June probably sees me busy running around (or swimming around!!) . This year the nieces + nephews club has one more member, Hana was born in March and we have the first outing for all the kids in June. They were treated to fun ride at Cosmos Times Square by Mak Teh.

Sometime mid month, I went to Redang with people at work. The snorkelling trip was fun considering I have not been swimming for the last 10 years, and yes, I did have a  panic attack once they let us off in the sea. Well, I'll try to blog about that later.

Did I say I was busy running around? well....fast walking is more like it. I managed to complete the Standard Chartered Marathon : 10KM within 2 hours, and after that sore feet, pain in the joint etc for the next 2 weeks, serve me right, I had it coming I guess ..hehehe...

too tired to stand :)

Now what happened in July..? I was busy working I guess..hahaha..finally work after all play.
Ramadhan was somewhere end July and as usual we have the iftar with local communities. This year its a bit special. Our event was graced by Yamtuan Besar Negeri Sembilan. He, Tuanku Ampuan and his two boys (wink, wink!!) joined us at Masjid Kg Paya and yours truly was asked to be one of the usherer for the day. We all are all given a free baju kurung each (yes!!) by the organizer :)

notice the gents does not have matching outfit :D

After that life pretty much the same with Eid and all. I can't remember where I put my photos, must still be in the camera I guess :P

In October, I reached another milestone by reaching the Low's Peak of Mount Kinabalu. A picture would not do justice to the adventure and I promise you I will write a whole post on it.

In November, we had an open day at work, where the worker are allowed to bring the family and they were given a guided tour around the plant. Yours truly was volunteeered as one of the tourist guide. Again, I thought I have downloaded the picture but can't seem to find it now.

Dr K was approached by some of the locals and asked us to organize a youth program at the local masjid, and as usual, I was pulled into the organizing team. With the help of his usrah and my usrah, we managed to came up with Klinik Remaja Islam Soleh (KRIS) . I was in charged of the ice-breaking game and believe it or not I was referring to some of the Christian sites for the games !! anything good would do, its not like the game involved the kids understanding the concept of trinity or anything like that, its teambuilding type of activities :) More pics are on his webpage .

Since I was on duty during Deepavali, I managed to round up few ROTU gang and had them coming over for a picnic. This time, turn out was a little bit more than during the 'reunion' but still not more than 10. Whatever it is, we still had a good time catching up.

Come December, I joined yet another activities organized by the company's sports club, this time its a trip Beijing. When I enroll for it, it did not occurred to me that we are going in the winter time. I will blog about this, hence a sneak peak would do :)

The year 2012 ended with me attending the 2-days conference, Twins of Faith 2012. And as usual, the sheikhs keeps us entertained and at the same time gave us some very good reminder of the states of our deen. And yes, I will blog about that in detail later...Guess I came out of this with bunch of delayed post for 2012. Its better late than never, they said.

Till we meet again in the next post, pray for good health and great year ahead to all of you, I really hope something can be done to stop Israel oppression against the Palestinian in 2013. Enough of the all talks yet no firm action. I hope Egypt & Syria can be stabilize soon so that they can return to their glory days in 1940-50's of helping the Palestinian. And I also hope that I can join one of the solidarity mission to Gaza, in Sha Allah.. :)