Friday, February 14, 2014

Blog vs Instagram

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh....

I guess as it is for the rest of the things in the world, the social media also has its trends of ups and downs. Lately (last 1-2 years) blogging is no longer the in thing. I myself didn't share as much as I should in this blog. More hip and trendy (not to mention quick too) medium of sharing is Instagram, but it comes with few limitations.

I think I am more wordy that picture based, but nonetheless I was bitten by the IG bug as well...hehehe..

I have been using Instagram since 2012. One of the things that I like is there are tonnes of people out there that came up with the photo challenge (ala blog dulu pon ada jugak 30 days blogging challenge..) and I have yet to properly managed to finish a complete one month challenge properly.

This month, I've decided to join yet another photo challenge by FatMumSlim #fmsphotoaday. To add more spice to it, I added on my own hashtag #anayahaday (an ayah a day). That is my effort to at least look up one ayat in the Quran, regarding the photo that I posted. Until today, I am 4 post behind..hahahaha.. (typical me!!)

My plan is to do round up of 5-10 pics on the blog and utilizing this platform to delve deeper into all those ayat :)

For today, I'll just share my first 10 pics of the challenge. The detail #anayahaday will come later.

AnNahl : 69

Ali Imran : 191

At-Tawbah: 34

At-Taghabun : 15

Al-Maidah : 90

Az-Zukhruf : 13-14

Al-An'am : 141

Al-Anbiya' : 30

Surah Sad : 43

Al-Baqarah : 152
Setiap gambar ada cerita..bak kata Yuna...so tungguuuu.....

Wassalam :)

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Of Rosmah, Racism & Al Quran

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh....

For the past 2-3 weeks, I have been one of the only 2 Malaysian staffs left in the camp. The rest went back to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The other guy is an Iban, so he will go back to celebrate Gawai I guess.
Yesterday morning, I saw one of the guys returning back to work, excited to see a fellow Malaysian returning to work after holiday, I immediately asked, "How's Malaysia?" . His quick reaction was to open up the whole story of Malaysia is bad, government is corrupt, how people are being ridiculous in reacting to a certain video made by a certain somebody and the whole thing took what it seems to me like forever. I can't remember how, but later Rosmah's name got dragged into it, plus the story of back when the KLCC was built. I was dumbfounded.

Seriously I don't like to talk about things that has no end, where you will not get any positive outcome from it. Alhamdulillah I managed to divert the conversation into focusing with my latest challenge at work. The conversation seems not so interesting anymore, well, at least to him..hahaha..

Mental note, lain kali jangan tanya "How's Malaysia?" that would just open up a whole grandmother story. My initial intention was to ask the general condition, weather, traffic jam, sales, what they bring back from Malaysia, that's it. Who knew any questions about Malaysia has to be answered only with political response...hahahaha...seriously, get a life people :)

A friend shared this in FB, and to me its a joke, a point of sarcasm, if I may add somebody that came up with this definitely has a good sense of humor. So, without much thought, I shared that as well. It is true, in Malaysia, the sense that I get is, if you are a Malay, and you defend Islam and whatever things associated with Malay, you are definitely a racist. Dr M has been called racist many a times simply because he speaks up and call us Malay to work harder, he pointed out our weaknesses, he put policies to help us achieve what ever that can be achieved, and yet is being called a racist.
Do these people know what is the definition of a racist in the first place? According to :

Oxford dictionary : ra¦cist
(NOUN) a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another:
(ADJECTIVE) having or showing the belief that a particular race is superior to another:

dictionary.refence. com : rac·ist [rey-sist]
1. noun: a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a certain human race is superior to any or all others.
2. adjective: of or like racists or racism: racist policies; racist attitudes.

Has Dr M made a statement that we Malays are better than the rest? NO, he keeps on pointing our weaknesses, and he made statements to make the Malay realized that we have to work harder, gain grounds in economics. If at all, he created policies that benefited Malays more than the rest, that is because he realized we need that extra push and help to excel, even more so emphasizing the point that indeed we are weak.

That is not racism, its favoritism, get your labeling correct people :) Racism is when you banned certain race from certain rights because you think your race is far better than the rest (apartheid in South Africa is one obvious example). Have we separated the seats in the park for Malays and non Malays? Do you have to use different transport, live on the other side of the town? or even can't access to just any public toilet when nature calls? You were not treated like that right? Racism leads to discrimination, where you get almost NOTHING. Don't tell me you did not get anything from Malaysia for the past 50 odd years. Joke!!


Indeed UiTM is only for Bumis, but how many other local public university that is open to all Malaysian? Do you say that because the rest are being denied the rights to study in UiTM, therefore, we Malays are racist? Weh..korang tak pandang pon ITM tu dulu. We only offer diploma courses to poor Malays back in the 70's, anybody who get accepted to ITM was deemed as second class. I've been there, I know that. Now that it has obtained the university status (Thanks Tun, I was there when it was declared, historic moment at Stadium UiTM), now you want you share? Go fly kite.

Ok fine, tutup cerita bab ni, as I said before, we are getting no where. Last but not least, the definitely the one and only book that we should be referring to. The noble Quranul Kareem. I have subscribed to this weekly installation of simple learning of Al-Quran from Quran Weekly , link updated on the top right hand corner. (Though its for daily dose, but no harm in going there on weekly basis :). Their video ranges from 6-10 minutes and sent every week on Tuesdays. Alhamdulillah, I like the way it is presented, simple enough for somebody that does not have memory like an elephant (that's me!!). Highly recommended for you to sign up as well.

I leave you with a hadith from the Prophet Muhammad SAW (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam - praise be upon him)

The Prophet Muhammad  said: O people!  Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one.  An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety [Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #22978] 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Hantu TV : Good Luck Charlie!!

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh...

I have always been a fan of the stupid box, I have been watching it since I was very young. I picked up languages from the TV, and anywhere I go, first thing that I check is TV, and  without fail I would make sure that the TV works. Back to the days when no satellite TV was available, I once bought the indoor aerial just to make sure I can watch TV at college.

Here in the guest house, there are limited TV stations, and apart from the news, sports channel, the other channel that steal my time nowadays is.....Disney Channel!! I can't believe that I am actually enjoying the shows. Well, some of it are re-runs of old series (That's So Raven) that I used to watch, but most of it are new.

My latest favorite has got to be 'Good Luck Charlie'. I just learned that they are airing the final season this coming week, so sad!! The reason that I love this series so much is because of the wholesomeness. It appeals to all age groups, My favorite character, definitely the series title herself, Charlie :) . I kind of like the oldest brother PJ as well, he's the innocent, honest and almost all time not so bright, but that's the beauty of it. Their day to day challenges get summarized at the end of a day in a video message project by Teddy. But I think another pull factor for me liking the show is definitely the theme song, seriously catchy and contagious!!


It's been a while I caught myself adding new TV series to my liking :D That's all for now.

Till next time, Wassalam...

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Meroyan part 1

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.....

Pejam celik pejam celik dah sebulan kat sini.....sebulan juga chek tak makan ikan keli berlado, asam pedas, ayam goreng (KFC ka, ayam penyet ka....), karipap, mee, bihun, kuetiaw (ok, kalau sambung lagi mesti histeria!!)

Nak buat macam mana..dah nama pun merantau, kena la pandai pandai bawak diri dan kena bawak banyak bersabaq...hehehe..Meroyan part ni cuma mukadimah ja..lepas ni banyak lagi episod meroyan yang akan menyusul :) Disebabkan la ni masih lagi hidup di guest house, takda dapoq sendiri dan barang masak of coz la takda langsung, so kena la redha ja.

Dalam redho-redho tu, gatai tangan jugak pi cari resepi macam-macam. Waktu ni la dok teringin nak itu ini. Siap la nanti, dah dapat masuk rumah sendiri, kita tengok 'rajin' tara mana tuan tanah ni. Azam dok tempat orang, 'maintain makan makanan malaysia'..hehehe..amacam, ok tak azam? Bukan apa, time ni la nak test diri sendiri mampu tak nak mandiri ( independent kata orang kampung chek). Jangan main-main, dah siap kopipes resepi mee kuning + kuetiaw home made tau nak habaq kat hang...

image credit to google and the original link as in picture.
Tapi yang ni susah sikit kot nak buat...mana nak cari petai tengah tengah bumi Afrika ni...habaq mai sat...!!

Sekian meroyan episod 1. Wassalam...

p/s: kalau dah pos bahasa ibunda tu, paham-paham ja la tahap rumah sakit (home sick le tew!!) macam mana 

An Epic Journey Sharing - translated to Malay part 4

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahiwabarakatuh...

Blogging bukanlah trend zaman sekarang, I myself rarely looks at blog nowadays, which is a lost, sebab banyak je ilmu yang berguna masih lagi di kongsi di dalam blog-blog yang ada (okay fine..saya lagi banyak follow YouTube sekarang..but I think worth to put the ceramah into writing..another pet project perhaps..hahahaha...) Ok, back to the main topic, dalam siri yang lepas, kita telah bincang serba sedikit sampai ayat 40 Surah Yusuf. Saya dah janji nak habiskan juga perkongsian dalam BM ni. Yang dalam English kena tunggu masa sikit, sebab folder tu ada dalam kontena kapal..tengah belayar kat laut mana entah sekarang...hehehehe......

Setelah itu Yusuf AS pon menafsirkan mimpi kedua-dua lelaki itu. Dia berpesan kepada salah seorang yang dijangkakan akan bebas dari penjara untuk mengkhabarkan perihal dirinya tentang tuan kepada lelaki itu.
Maka dijadikan oleh syaitan bahawa lelaki itu yang kembali kepada tuannya dan lupa akan pesan Yusuf AS, dan dari sebab itu Nabi Yusuf terus berada di penjara untuk beberapa tahun lamanya.

Selang beberapa waktu, raja Mesir telah mendapat sebuah mimpi seperti di dalam ayat 43:
"Sesungguhnya aku mimpi melihat: tujuh ekor lembu yang gemuk dimakan oleh tujuh ekor lembu yang kurus, dan aku melihat tujuh tangkai (biji-bijian) yang hijau dan tujuh tangkai lagi yang kering. Wahai ketua-ketua kaum (yang hadir, terangkanlah kepadaku tentang mimpiku ini, kalau kamu orang yang pandai menafsirkan mimpi".

Dia bertanyakan kepada pembesar-pembesar baginda tetapi jawapan yang diperolehi menurut mereka itu hanyalah mimpi-mimpi kosong.

Dan terdengarlah hal ini kepada salah seorang lelaki yang sama-sama berada di dalam penjara bersama-sama dengan Nabi Yusuf AS. Katanya : "Aku akan memberi tahu kepada kamu tafsirannya. Oleh itu hantarkanlah daku pergi (kepada orang yang mengetahui tafsirannya) ".

Maka lelaki itu pergi berjumpa dengan Nabi Yusuf yang masih di penjara dan menanyakan perihal tafsiran mimpi raja itu. Seperti maksud dalam ayat 45 - 49.

45:Dan (pada saat itu) berkatalah orang yang terselamat di antara mereka yang berdua itu, dan yang baharu mengingati (akan pesanan Yusuf) sesudah berlalu suatu masa yang lanjut: "Aku akan memberi tahu kepada kamu tafsirannya. Oleh itu hantarkanlah daku pergi (kepada orang yang mengetahui tafsirannya) ".

46: (Setelah ia berjumpa dengan Yusuf, berkatalah ia): "Yusuf, Wahai orang yang benar (pada segala-galanya)! tafsirkanlah kepada kami (seorang bermimpi melihat): tujuh ekor lembu yang gemuk dimakan oleh tujuh ekor lembu yang kurus; dan tujuh tangkai (biji-bijian) yang hijau serta tujuh tangkai lagi yang kering; (tafsirkanlah) supaya aku kembali kepada orang-orang yang mengutusku itu, semoga mereka dapat mengetahui tafsirannya".

47: Yusuf menjawab: "Hendaklah kamu menanam bersungguh-sungguh tujuh tahun berturut-turut, kemudian apa yang kamu ketam biarkanlah dia pada tangkai-tangkainya; kecuali sedikit dari bahagian yang kamu jadikan untuk makan.

48: Kemudian akan datang selepas tempoh itu, tujuh tahun kemaraun yang besar, yang akan menghabiskan makanan yang kamu sediakan baginya; kecuali sedikit dari apa yang kamu simpan (untuk dijadikan benih).

49: "Kemudian akan datang pula sesudah itu tahun yang padanya orang ramai beroleh rahmat hujan, dan padanya mereka dapat memerah (hasil anggur, zaitun dan sebagainya)".

Nabi Yusuf terus memberikan penafsirannya kepada mimpi itu. Ada beberapa pengajaran penting dari ayat-ayat ini.

  1. Lelaki yang bebas dari penjara itu tidak berdalih dengan menyorokkan siapa yang pandai menafsir mimpi, dia berterus terang menyatakan dia akan pergi ke orang yang tahu, dia tak take credit for somebody else’s work. Kalau nak ikut dia boleh je buat macam tu.
  2. Nabi Yusuf disapa dengan sopan, ini adab orang yang mencari ilmu pengetahuan, menunjukkan rasa hormat, rendah diri terhadap orang yang lebih tinggi ilmunya dari kita.
  3. Sains menafsir mimpi adalah sesuatu yang sangat tepat, setiap situasi dan peristiwa memainkan peranan dalam mimpi yang ditafsirkan.
  4. Kebolehan menafsir mimpi adalah mukjizat Nabi Yusuf sebagaimana mukjizat Nabi Isa berkebolehan menyembuhkan penyakit dan Nabi Musa yang berhasil menukarkan tongkatnya menjadi ular dan yang paling penting Nabi junjungan kita nabi Muhammad SAW, apa agaknya mukjizat Nabi Muhammad SAW? (al-Quran)
  5. Ayat 47 mengajar kita supaya bergantung kepada keupayaan diri sendiri terlebih dahulu, barulah meminta pertolongan orang lain.
  6. Ayat ini juga mengajarkan kita orang bijak pandai dan golongan penasihat seharusnya berusaha memberi penyelesaian untuk masalah yang mereka kesan (bukan tahu raise concern saja). Saya petik kata-kata Robin Sharma dalam kata-kata aluan bukunya yang bertajuk The Leader Who Had No Title : Vicitims recites problems, leaders presents solution, jadi kita yang mana satu?
  7. Dalam ayat ini juga Yusuf AS mempamerkan akhlak yang sangat mulia iaitu tidak menyembunyikan ilmu, walaupon yang bertanya itu orang yang pernah menganiaya kita dahulu. Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda yang bermaksud: Sesiapa yang ditanya tentang ilmu (terutama ilmu agama) lalu dia menyembunyikannya akan diikat mulutnya (meletakkan kekang di mulutnya seperti kuda) dengan kekang dari api neraka pada hari kiamat. (Riwayat Abu Daud dan at-Tirmidzi)
  8. Keseluruhan ayat ini menegaskan untuk setiap satu jangka waktu yang susah, akan ada 2 jangka waktu Allah bagi kesenangan pada kita (seperti ayat 5-6, Surah As –Sharh ) 7 tahun yang ada hujan, makan dan berjimat sebagai persediaan untuk 7 tahun kemarau dan sesudah itu akan datang waktu hujan akan turun kembali dan boleh bercucuk tanam. Pengajaran, waktu rezeki melimpah ruah, beringat-ingatlah untuk menyimpan, sebab langit tak selamanya cerah...chheewwaahhh..!! hahaha.. (gelak sendiri la kan, takda sapa nak gelak ngan kita)
Sehingga bertemu di lain kali, insyaAllah :) Wassalam....