to go against the flow

Orang kata, lebih kurang begini, 'Jangan sedih andai matahari hilang dek hujan, kerana Allah ingin bagi pelangi.'

Tapi aku lagi suka hujan.

Semua perkara sangat subjektif kan. Tapi sayang masyarakat suka memandang sesuatu dari satu perspektif je. Everyone want to fit themselves into the mainstream although they realise the fact that it is totally meaningless.

Dunia baru mengajarku untuk bebas dari semua itu. Kalo difikir-fikirkan balik banyak sekali duit elaun ku habis lantaran ingin mengikut arus. Tanpa sedar menjadi mangsa kepada penghambaan akan sesuatu yang tiada nilai, semata-mata mementingkan pandangan manusia.

Hmm sekarang, bila browse profile friendster orang-orang lain, terasa sangat akan kepoyoan lampau. Most of them, choose to indulge over things that the mainstream is crazy about. Yeah, you won't have the difficulty to name those. I know because I used to.

When we make ourselves to go with the flow, we tend to view things at one perspective. I'm not talking about mainstream music vs underground music. They're just in the same flow. Oke, it's easy, just go to Mid Valley or KLCC, and you can see the flow that most people follows. I don't think I need to describe them as I'm sure all of us have the picture of what the situation is there.

Kita lihat. Tapi parah bila kita tak mampu nak buat apa-apa. Sebab orang-orang muda seperti kita macam ada fikiran iaitu, "Jangan jaga tepi kain orang boleh tak". Mungkin kesan banyak tengok movie hollywood. Yang mana orang putih ni bukan jenis kacau hal orang lain. Tapi firman Allah sendiri cakap. "Demi masa sesungguhnya manusia kerugian, melainkan yang beriman dan beramal soleh, serta mereka yang berpesan-pesan dengan kebenaran dan kesabaran."

Hanya mampu cegah dalam hati kerana lemahnya iman.

It's very hard to tell people that what they did is wrong, just because it is a norm that the society accepts. Sometimes, it is more depressing when you have to put on a fake smile each time they talk to you about that, but deep inside your heart says to forbid the wrong they did, but you can't just because you are afraid of hurting their feelings. But it's even worse as you know it is something that is not pleasing to God. But it is the fact that you have to face when you are living in the real world.

Ya Allah, ampuniku.

Last but not least. Sekadar mengulang analogi yang banyak kali diceritakan.

Analogi gajah. 3 orang buta yang belum pernah melihat gajah, suatu hari berpeluang bertemu dengan gajah. Lantas mereka excited dan memegang-megang gajah tersebut. Seorang memegang belalai, lantas menganggap gajah itu seperti ular, seorang memegang ekor dan seorang lagi memegang kepala. Oleh sebab mereka buta, mereka hanya menggambarkan gajah itu sebagai sesuatu bahagian kecil gajah yang mereka sentuh. Kasihan, kerana gajah yang sebenar bukanlah seperti yang mereka gambarkan.

Begitulah hidupku 20 thn lebih ini. Orang buta yang hanya melihat agama dari satu sudut. "Aku solat, aku puasa, aku zakat, etc.". Padahal islam itu sangat besar. Islam itu segala-galanya. Tidak boleh langsung sebarang anasir asing masuk ke dalamnya. Sedangkan minum air teh tarik yang termasuk sebesar zarah tahi cicak pun kita tak sanggup.

Alhamdulillah, kerana dicelikkan. At least berpeluang lihat gajah besar itu. Sayanglah kalau sudah celik mahu berlagak seperti orang-0rang buta tadi. Sayang seribu kali sayang.

Harapan: Semoga lebih banyak orang dicelikkan. Kerana perumpamaan arus perdana dalam masyarakat kita sekarang samalah seperti orang-orang buta yang jakun pegang gajah tadi. Bila melihat mengikut persepktif orang banyak, maka kita sendiri akan lelah. Ikutlah manual kita. Senang dan mudah. Meskipun macam going against the flow. Insya-Allah, moga dipermudahkan.

For the Ummah

Why we need to be enthusiastic about issues like the Palestine, anything related to the ummah. Why should we care about them? As we have our own life to take care of! Well, in a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said,
"Barangsiapa yang tidak mengambil berat urusan ummat Islam maka ia bukan dari golongan ummat Islam."
In another hadith,
"Perumpamaan orang-orang beriman dalam kasih sayang mereka , hubungan naluri mereka dan persaudaraan mereka seperti satu jasad . Apabila satu anggota terasa sakit, maka seluruh anggota turut berjaga dan terasa sakit (demam)."

As we don't have the capability to go there to fight for Islam against the enemy, caring and updating about the latest news happening to the Ummah is one of least ways that we can do besides praying that Allah will grant us strength and a near victory. Other than that, we can actually contribute financially through lots of organisations that provides help to our brothers and sisters there.

Talking about victory, there are lots of verses in the Quran which tells that victory is Islam's but only when Muslims turn to the real Islam. As we see nowadays people adopt to lots of ideology but none of those can be better than Islam. Notice that we talk about Islam as an ideology instead of religion. Why? Simply because nowadays when we say 'religion', we tend to think of it as a belief and as a ritual or ibadah only. Religion is seen by many as a separate aspect of life, in which is termed as secularism. Secularism is indeed an ideology. Other examples of ideologies includes communisme, sosialisme, nationalism etc. We look at Islam as an ideology in this case as that's how it should be treated. Like communisme who controls every aspects of life in the country who practice it, the same way does Islam deserve the same kind of treatment. Islam is indeed everything. 24/7 of your life should be influenced and accorded by Islam. Islam controls how we lead our life, not we suiting Islam according to our own needs. Example, the HAMAS leader, The Syahid Dr Abd Aziz Al-Rantissi is known by many for his tendency to postpone any interviews or events whenever the time of solat arrives. One example for you to ponder about.
Well, we don't have to wait for the goverment to imply 'shariah law' in the rulings of the country or wait for a change of the government in order for us to practice Islam as our way of life. We should start within our individual self first. Ask yourself, how much you know about the history of Islam? The way you eat, the way you communicate, the way you sleep and all. are they islam? All these are one stepping stones towards the victory of Islam that we are always dreamt of.

One interesting about Islam is, your never lead your life for the sake of your own self. We see the typical life of every human, 'study a good course-get a job-get married-have kids-become an elderly-death'. Muslims arenn't meant to live his or her own life for the sake of fulfilling those typical criteria of living a life as defined by the mainstream. We live life that way, but along the way, we hold a mission, which is to contribute as much as we can to the ummah. As Islam urges is followers to work collectively according to your own speciality, and it must be directed towards the aim of developing the ummah. Arya Hissin, the one who claimed herself as a Muslim atheist, said that one principle of Islam in which she cannot tolerate and accept is,

"The overarching argument in The Caged Virgin is that there is insufficient freedom for the individual in Islam. This, Hirsi Ali argues, is because one of the fundamental tenets of the religion is the submission of the individual to God, which creates a strict hierarchy of allegiances. At the top of this hierarchy is God, then His Prophet, then the umma, then the clan or tribe and finally the family. The individual,she insists, is simply not valued. Whatever one thinks of this hierarchy, however, it is hardly unique to Islam; one can make the same argument about other monotheistic religions." (it's an excerpt from an article in 'The Nation' posted in someone's blog).

This is in fact a unique thing about Islam in which it avoids individualism from spreading. Like some of the countries that practice capitalisme that oppresses the minority and the weak ones, Islam never allows people to put himself above others. A Muslim life is never about himself as Islam puts a requirement to put all those things first, as the main priorities. It is indeed a beautiful relationship, among the servants of Allah,which is the Muslims and the love is based on one source of everything, which is Allah. And the hearts is tied up to something and it is one amazing thing. In fact, have we ever wonder who instill such strong love and affection among the believers?

"Indeed those who have believed and done righteous deed, the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection" (19:96).

It is a positive thing that is perceived negatively by Hirsin Ali. Not a very concrete argument though. As there are just too many examples of nations who practice this sort of individualism belief in their life, and we can see the increasing rate of people committing suicide in such countries. Islam never says that one cannot love him/herself, the principle is, every human is a brick contributing to the development of a building. A building can never be developed if the bricks aren't put together. It will remain a brick, having no usage at all if it is not put into the building organizaton no matter how good the quality of the brick is. Meaning that no matter how accomplishes the person is, he is nothing if he does not contribute to the development of the building, the Umma. And the affection among themselves is like a cement that hold the bricks.

So, it is important for us to start being someone who love others for His sake as it is one sign of the sweetness of iman. Let us strive hard towards the path of Allah.

Say no! to individualism. Live for the ummah for His blessings.

petang Ahad

Pada suatu hari Kak Muna asked us,
kenal "Hasan Al-Basri"?
aku: kenal..
kenal "Abdul Aziz Al-Rantissi"?
aku: erm.. erm..
kenal "Asmawi Ani"?
aku: seperti pernah dengar..yep Mawi! world!
kenal "Syeikh Ahmad Yassin"?
aku: erm lagi... seperti pernah dengar
kenal "Bon Jovi"?
aku: kenal sgt.. hehe
kenal "Britney Spears"?
aku:hehe mesti la kenal..sape yg tak kenal

perasan tak berapa banyak yang saya kenal? Anda pula bagaimana? Adakah anda mengenali orang yang saya tidak kenal?

Sesungguhnya saya kena berusaha gigih.. sampai bila nak salahkan tarbiyyah jahiliyyah semata. Diri sendiri tidak berusaha sungguh-sungguh. Maksudnya usaha untuk kenal lebih banyak tokoh-tokoh yang menyumbang buat ummah. Kerana hidup terlalu singkat buat semua yang lain.

selingan..

vid klip dari Outlandish "I only ask of God"

I only ask of God

He won't let me be indifferent to the suffering

That the very dried up death doesn't find me

Empty and without having given my everything

Hikmah sujud

It's amazing that behind every single that Allah ordains us to do, lies many hikmah for us either it be physically or mentally. And sujud is one of them.

Diantara Keajaiban perintah Sujud Terhadap Tubuh

Apabila anda sedang mengalami stress, atau tensi anda naik, atau pusing yang berkepanjangan, atau mengalami nervous (salah satu jenis penyakit penyimpangan perilaku berupa uring-uringan, gelisah, takut, dll). Jika anda takut terkena tumor, maka sujud adalah solusinya.... Dengan sujud akan terlepas segala penyakit nervous dan penyakit kejiwaan lainnya. Inilah salah satu hasil penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Dr.Muhammad Dhiyaa'uddin Hamid, dosen jurusan biologi dan ketua departemen radiasi makanan di lembaga penelitian teknologi radiasi. Sudah lumrah bahwasannya manusia apabila mengalami kelebihan dosis dalam radiasi, dan hidup di lingkungan tegangan listrik atau medan magnet, maka hal itu akan berdampak kepada badannya, akan bertambah kandungan elektrik di dalam tubuhnya. Oleh karena itu, Dr.Dhiyaa' mengatakan bahwa sesungguhnya sujud bisa menghilangkan zat-zat atau pun hal-hal yang menyebabkan sakit.

Pembahasan Seputar Organ Tubuh

Dia adalah salah satu organ tubuh... dan dia membantu manusia dalam merasakan lingkungan sekitar, dan berinteraksi dengan dirinya, dan itulah tambahan dalam daerah listrik dan medan magnet yang dihasilkan oleh tubuh menyebabkan gangguan dan merusak fungsi organ tubuh sehingga akhirnya mengalami penyakit modern yang disebut dengan "perasaan sumpeg", kejang-kejang otot, radang tenggorokan, mudah capek/lelah, stress ...sampai sering lupa, migrant, dan masalah menjadi semakin parah apabila tanpa ada usaha untuk menghindari penyebab semua ini, yaitu menjauhkan tubuh kita dari segala peralatan dan tempat-tempat yang demikian.Solusinya ???Harus dengan mengikuti sesuatu yang diridhai untukmengeliminir hal itu semua, ... yaitu dengan bersujud kepada Satu-satunya Dzat yang Maha Esa sebagaimana kita sudah diperintah untuk hal itu, dimana sujud itu dimulai dengan menempelkan dahi ke bumi (lantai). Maka di dalam sujud akan mengalir ion-ion positif yang ada di dalam tubuh ke bumi (sebagai tempat ion-ionnegatif). dan seterusnya sempurnalah aktivitas penetralisiran dampak listrik dan magnet. Lebih khusus lagi ketika sujud dengan menggunakan 7 anggota badan (dahi, hidung, kedua telapak tangan, kedua lutut, dan kedua kaki) maka dalam posisi ini sangat memudahkan bagi kita menetralisir dampak listrik dan magnet. Diketahui selama penelitian, agar semakin sempurna proses penetralisiran dampak itu semua, maka sujud harus menghadap ke Makkah (Masjid Ka'bah), yaitu aktivitas yang kita lakukan di dalam shalat (qiblat).Sebab Makkah adalah pusat bumi di alam semesta. Dan penelitian semakin jelas bahwa menghadap ke Makkah ketika sujud adalah tempat yang paling utama untuk menetralisir manusia dari hal-hal yang mengganggu fikirannya dan membuat rileks.

Subhanallah....pengetahuan yang menakjubkan.

Dedi Haryadi Muslim

Teknik Material ITB Indonesia

pupus

Di saat kamu sibuk termenung mengenangkan nasib sendiri, ingatlah betapa sedihnya dirimu kerana masih sibuk mementingkan keadaan diri sendiri di saat mereka di luar sana bersungguh-sungguh memperjuangkan nasib ummah.

Ujian itu memang pahit. Tapi ujian itulah yang menunjukkan tingkat iman kita. Harus rasa bersyukur kerana semakin banyak ujian tertimpa atasmu, itu merupakan indicator kasih-sayang Tuhan terhadapMu.

Kadangkala sukar untuk dimengerti kenapa doa tidak terjawab. Cepat-cepatlah usir prasangka buruk terhadap Tuhanmu. Boleh jadi Dia sangat gembira untuk sering mendengar keluh-kesahmu, jadi permohonanmu lambat untuk diperkenankan. Tapi kadangkala juga cepat-cepatlah muhasabah diri, kerana mungkin maksiat yang terus-terusan kau lakukan menjadi hijab pertolongan Tuhan kepadamu.

Kadangkala penat mengeluh kenapa noda-noda mazmumah dalam hati begitu sukar untuk terpadam. Mungkin juga kurang zikrullah. Mungkin juga masih banyak bebanan-bebanan yang menjadi perosak hati.

Sekadar kata-kata peringatan buat diriku sendiri.

Nyawa di hujung tanduk

I've been wanting to write this since long time ago. But being lazy plus the workload, thank God for the oppurtunity to write about it today. One of the incidents that I will never forget is the time when we're heading to Kawa Kawa for a quad biking activity. The journey from Auckland to Kawa Kawa was a smooth-sailing one until out of a sudden the car that we're in went out of control. It was spinning on the road, left and right and we just didn't know what to do except waiting for what's going to happen next. In my mind I kept thinking what is going to be the end of this? On that moment, only one thing I had in mind.. DEATH. It's weird that I just have no idea what to do besides waiting. I tried to utter the syahadah, but it turned out that I said 'astaghfirulllah' instead of syahadah. Then, after being nervous and had no idea what's going to become of us, my friend, Iyce, the driver made a very immediate action to make the car stopped by letting it crashed to the side of the road. Alhamdulillah, nothing horrible happened to us. It's just a few damage at the bumper. Alhamdulillah that during the incident, there were no cars on the other side of the road. Or otherwise, we just.. pheww. It's also good that we're not on hilly area or the situation could have been worse, perhaps.

There were 3 cars behind us, stopped to help us. One of them said that we're very lucky, being the witnesses of the incident, I bet they know the consequence should have been worse. But this is what Allah has already planned. He decided that it is not our time yet. Reflecting back, I don't know, if really I was fated to die on that day, am I really prepared for it? What if during the time of the accident, I was thinking about something other than Him. Like the eagerness to do the biking or perhaps listening to something which is not a remembrance towards Him? Perhaps He want this to happen to us as a reminder that we should always alter our intention during the journey. That He wants me to always remember that the journey is not only about fun, it should be something that can draw me nearer towards Him.

The incident, quite a spoiler that for the first few days in NZ, I feel like wanting to go back to OZ asap. Trauma! Made me feel that it was a mistake to do the road trip in NZ as I think we should opt for a public transportation instead. But after a while, I started to enjoy the journey, as the road trip actually enables me to see more of north island of NZ and Subhanallah, there were just too many amazing and miraculous creations of God, which makes you feel like an ant crawling on the ground of earth which seems like forever to reach the destination. This is the way in which road trip benefits you, it enables you to stop at anywhere you want. One of the amazing things in NZ are the Green Lake and the Blue Lake. They are actually two different lakes, but they are next to each other. It's just amazing that how they can be in two different colours. Subhanallah. They're just beautiful and yeah beautiful. Thanks so much to Iyce for her patience driving all the way from Auckland to Wellington :) It's not easy to drive on NZ road. I think they are more hazardous than Highways in Malaysia. I would say ours is better.

At least the incident taught me something, that you'll never know on what land you'll die and at what time. And you'll never know how the end of your life will be. I hope that I will die as a Muslim and that I will have my soul departed from my body during the moment when Allah is pleased with me and that He had forgive all my sins. Amin.

"Ya Allah, jadikan kebaikan itu pada penghujung umurku. Ya Allah, jadikan amalku itu adalah redha-Mu. Ya Allah, jadikan saat yang terbaik adalah saat menemui-Mu."

i want my own big sister!

I went to a talk organised by Mumsa today. The speech was given by a sister who is a journalist, and a lecturer at RMIT University. Listening to her giving the speech enthusiastically which depicts her intelligent really inspires me to have a sister like her. It's good to have a big sister as someone that you can look up to. But since I'm the eldest, it's impossible. But it would be such an amazing thing if I really have a sister like her. A role model that will inspire me to be someone as great as her. Well, I am not used to having a sister. Even during school days, I'm not the type who practised this kakak angkat, adik angkat thingy. So, I never really had experiences of how does it like to have an older sister until June last year, where I met lots of new friends, and many of them are older than me. And now they're like my big sisters to me. It's good that at least I can experience the feelings of having a sister. I love you all with all my heart and soul!

Hurm.. but I really admire the sister who gave the talk. It's amazing to know that she's just got married to a revert. How can she manage three things (a lecturer, a journalist, a wife) all at once? That's just wow~ If only she was my blood sister. Oh, I'm dreaming.

Well, maybe it's time for me to realise the fact that I have 4 younger sisters. I don't know but I hope I can be someone that they will look up to as well so that with this thing in my mind, it will become one driving force for me to be someone better each day. Insya-Allah. Or at least, enough of me portraying bad example to them. huuuu :(

See you guys in Dec. Insya-Allah.

because of You

I haven't started writing the assignment on effective teaching which is due this Friday. I don't know why I'm like this. Lack of motivation maybe. As I read some of the materials for the assignments, I came across a topic on motivation among higher education students. When I read that, I feel like the situation really depicts mine. My current situation I mean.
Well, intrinsic motivation is all that I needed. Intrinsic motivation is about having interest to do something. While extrinsic is more about fear, for example in managing a classroom. It is universally acknowledged that motivation plays a major role that drives one to do something. No matter what we are doing, it is important to ask ourselves what is the thing that motivates us?
For a Muslim, it is sad if the motivation comes from things other than God. This is what I'm always afraid of. The fear that I might be doing this, or chose to do this because of things other than God. A Fear that I might be lying to my own self. Doing something for other purposes, That would be the most tragic thing and fruitless, indeed. As the purpose of a human is to serve God, meaning that all actions should be directed towards achieving His blessings and pleasing Him.

O Allah, grant me strength.