The Du'a

Bismillah...

I literally stared at the screen blankly for a few minutes just now and decided to look at my older posts to get my 'voice' back. Writing lesser and lesser these days really took a toll on my skills.

I had a chat with one of my colleague recently and I was rambling about how I'm 'such a jerk magnet!!' To my surprise and to my horror, he suggested me to close this blog so I don't look as 'poyo' (nice choice of word hahaha) Of course, I will not consider this idea at all because from the very beginning this blog has always been a place for me to weave words to pour my thoughts and share my experiences.This is a baby step to my dream of publishing a real book of my own and I just won't give this up just because of being afraid of what people would say about me...

I came across this Du'a a few days ago. Well, it was not the first time I heard it. I remember having some discussion with some friends about the powerful meaning of this Du'a a few years ago. It's just that it reminds me of an unbelievable encounter a few months ago.

It was the first time for me to listen to the talk by this prominent figure in my field. I've heard of him and his disputed opinions but I decided to remain neutral until I listen to it myself. He started off with, "Before I begin, I would like to ask you to look at this from a scientific point of view. Not from religious point of view. Not from moral point of view." Then he began with some case scenario; one was about a guy who had a one night stand with another guy who he just met and another one is a woman who had just slept with a stranger. And he had suggested in both cases, medications should be given immediately to prevent the individuals from contracting disease.

My first reaction; I was dumbfounded, I thought, "Just how modernized and liberalized has the people around me become that morality and religion is totally ignored?" Well, as far as I know, for almost all diseases, if it's still in an early stage, lifestyle modification is the first recommendation. Even if the patient have been started with medications, it should also be followed with lifestyle modification. I don't understand why can't encouraging stopping the unhealthy lifestyle be emphasized as one of the preventive measure. It's the lifestyle they choose that will make them end up 'there'.....


And I started thinking about one of the basics in Islam, "To enjoin good and prevent evil..." and the guy standing in front was doing totally the opposite. I was not questioning his faith or his relationship with Allah or anything. It just saddened me that such a knowledgeable and influential guy is trying to get everybody to agree that this is the best measure for prevention; which will allow people to continue what's morally and religiously wrong. It might not be wrong anymore by moral standards in many other countries in the world. But what Allah has ordained as wrong will forever be wrong regardless if one day 99% of the world says it's okay. It's really heartbreaking to see a Muslim with such potential doing this to his own ummah, you know...


When I saw this Du'a, I saw the significance of having a beneficial knowledge together with a heart fearful to Allah from the aforementioned encounter. It is a waste and even a sin to not apply a beneficial knowledge. But it is also not right to have a beneficial knowledge but use it to encourage something that is against the Sharia. We were even taught to decline our own parents' requests if they are against Sharia...What more if it can affect the ummah...

To me this Du'a is very comprehensive and applicable in many areas in our life.

"From a supplication that is unheard.. From a soul that is never sated"

We asked a lot from Allah in daily basis and work-wise I really really very much want to be bestowed with the greatest patience because I can be short fuse at times. But yaaaa.. Allah answers Du'a in 3 ways; grant us with what we asked in His own time or not giving us what we asked because it might cause harm or it will be granted in the Hereafter. Whichever it is, then the soul must be grateful of what have been decreed.

And another important Du'a.. To always ask from Allah to be in His Guidance sebab Ustajiah pon selalu lupe jugaaaakkkk haha

Eyh.. Rasa macam jawab paper Islamic Input hahaha

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IDIOSYNCRASIES ~

'Ntah ape-ape lah.. Muslim tapi tandas takde paip!"  squawked the lady in her 50's. That was not the last time I heard someone complaint about how things are different from the way it is back home. Another country is labeled 'Tak best!' or the least would be 'Biase je..' because one failed to appreciate the difference of culture or even ignorant to why are things done differently in another country.

Well, personally I was also, sometimes, surprised by the difference but the things I encountered didn't really annoy me. Instead, I found it pretty interesting and some are even amusing and very pleasant to remember. here are some of my favourite

1. Everybody wants to sit on the 'Throne'

During our safari, we opted to camp instead of staying in a luxurious lodge to save budget. To me, the campsite is very decent; equipped with a dining hall and a clean shower facility and toilet. The queue for morning shower was not very long because it seem like most of the people there only take shower in the evening while Ray and I stick to our twice daily shower routine. But the toilet queue was snaking long!

 That morning, I went to the toilet before starting our Game. There were still people queuing for their turn to use the toilet. I saw the squatting toilet was vacant and walked myself there. Then I heard one of the Londoner that we chatted with the night before exclaimed, "Oh my God! I don't wanna die with this full bladder!!!" That's when I stopped and asked, "Would you like to use this one first?" pointing to the squatting toilet. "It's okay. I want to enjoy my throne" and we laughed.

We spent 3 nights there. And throughout that, I noticed only me, Ray and another Singaporean girl used the squatting toilet. The rest, who were westerners, sanggup queue panjaaaaaaanggg to enjoy the throne...

2. Preciousssssssss bog roll

My staffs sometimes asked me how did we cope with toilet that has no water outlet in oversea. Well, we always have this 'botol hikmat' with us and get some water from the sink before we enter the toilet. And the toilets abroad never seem to run out of toilet papers. So, everything was sufficient for istinjaaaakkk~

I just find it funny that when traveling in SEA, I'll be relieved to see the toilet but it's the opposite for the westerners. I was once offered a toilet roll by this European guy when I said, "I need to go to the washroom"
When I told him I don't need it because I have some tissues with me, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Pheeeww. This is actually my last~"

3. Spoon please~

When we were in Croatia, we went to a popular halal food restaurant at the center of the city. It was a fancy restaurant that was dimly lit but the price was actually reasonable. I ordered a local delicacy which I don't remember its name. But it was rice plus chicken with gravy that made it taste like butter chicken. When my food arrived, I tried to eat them with fork and knife (which were the only ones prepared on the table) and my attempt was to no avail

I called up the waiter and asked for a spoon. for  a moment, his eyes scrutinized our food and asked back with a puzzled look on his face, "May I know for what?"
"For my rice.." I answered in confusion.

His curiosity didn't stop there. When we entered the restaurant, he and 3 other waiters were standing near the entrance where there was a small bar. But after I requested for a spoon, these waiters stood at a far corner that could be easily seen from our table and we actually noticed their furtive glance.

"Aku je ke rase dorang tengah tengok macam mana aku makan nasi pakai sudu?"
"Kite pon rase.. Obvious sangat kot.."

And I still can't figure out how they can eat rice with fork...

4. "WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO IF YOU DON'T READ!!!!?"

I think it was a wise decision for us to hire a car transfer instead of using the normal public bus to cross between Montenegro to Bosnia. Although our bags were searched because the border officers were not familiar with Malaysian passports, we get to see the bay of Kotor from a hilltop and passed many beautiful villages along the way. We chatted with our friendly driver and even stopped to buy some Bosnian cherries.

Our driver was 3 years younger than us and at that time he worked 5 different jobs! Most of them were free lance and being a driver for the hostel was only to fill his pass time. Me and him had a lot in common in terms of hobbies; both of us scuba dive and enjoy outdoor activities very much.

"So, what else do you do? Do you read?"
"Yeah.. I read.. The three of us read.. Among the few Malaysians who does.."
"Why do you say that...??"

"Well, there was a study saying that Malaysian read an average of 2 books per year.. I read an average of 6 books per year at least.. That's good enough~"
"I read at least 12!"
Our driver went silent for a moment and startled us when he cried,
"WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO IF YOU DON'T READ!!!!?"

" Amboi.. die tak boleh terima kenyataan ade orang tak membaca kat dalam dunia ni hahaha"


5. This is halal~~

I really love meeting Muslims all over the world. It amaze me how we look different, speak different language but is united by one faith. But, there are times that our differences are a little hard to brain or digest... That you can't help to make face; a 'whateva~' face..

Like when we were in this halal restaurant in Amsterdam. We ate quite a lot there, since we still have a lot of spare money towards the end of our Eurotrip. I went to the toilet before we leave, while the rest of my friends went to the counter to pay their food. And when I went to the counter after that, after I paid, suddenly the cashier who I presumed the owner of the restaurant suddenly raised a glass of beer and said, "THIS IS HALAAALLL~"

I was of course surprised because I wouldn't noticed the beer if he didn't do that. Rupanya, before that my friends stared at his beer and made faces hahaha

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#1 April 2016

Bismillah...

Tersentuh...

After a few soft knocks,  I twisted the door knob and walked myself into the room without waiting for a permission to come in. The guy on the first bed gave me an impassive look and went back to looking at his phone. I moved to the next bed which was hidden behind the orange curtain.

There he was, sitting on the floor on his prayer mat. His hands raised in prayer. I paused and waited for him to finish. We chat a little. I asked him where is he staying,  who is coming to get him,  is he working or still studying and talked about my stuffs; the drugs...

It's easy to judge based on what is briefly written in one's social history. But,  I realized those few lines doesn't define his whole life. That's just one of his mistake that have made him ended this way. Watching him pray moved me. He is facing many uncertainties; he knows very well what he is put on is suboptimal. And there is chance for failure. Perhaps,  I wouldn' t know if that one particular prayer that I saw is more sincere than the hundreds that I've done.

Terasa...

When I was a kid, some kids teased me because my parents got divorced. It happened when I was very young so none of the other kids' parents were divorced (yet). My parents tried their best to raise me lovingly despite living separately. I never felt deprived of love at all in my entire life and I think I grow up just fine..

But,  I guess even at this age being someone who has a complex family tree is a taboo. I just dont understand and I feel it's unfair to be judged by what's not even my fault to begin with. Just because my family went on different courses in life, doesn't mean we are bad people. That was our fate,  that was our test. What matters is we went throught it just fine~

I almost ask,  "Do I look like I'm someone who was raised in a bad environment and surrounded by bad people...?" but I held my tongue because I haven't seen the person in front of me for months and I was happy to see that person.

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