Plan, Planner & Planning

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Alhamdulillah, another day to enjoy a long breath, a nice environment, a wonderful life, and an exciting journey as planned by Allah. Everything was written in the hand of God. It was Maktub.. Thus, i wanna share a lovely verses in surah ali-Imran (3:54), the translation from M. Shakir: "And they planned, and Allah also planned; and Allah is the Best of planners".

This verses carried a meaning that can be clearly understood by everyone. Yes, there was a story behind this verses at the time of Prophet when he deal with Quraish. But i just want to take the general meaning that can be used in our daily life on the importance of planning. I'm sure that all of us have our own plan of life. I made a plan. I am a planner. I'm planning my future. But my plan cannot defeat Allah's plan, and still hope that His plan for me is the best plan in my plan. We plan, Allah also plan, and of course His plan is greater than our plan..

Right now, the main plan in my life is to complete my master as soon as possible following a plan which was decided a year ago, in achieving the excellent result, insyaAllah.. Alhamdulillah, the process of thesis proposal ran smoothly, and now still waiting the result from Kulliyyah's meeting. Thanks a lot to my supervisor for supports and advices, I'm really appreciate that. And Thanks to my family and friends for uncountable love and kindness. May Allah bless all of you..!

I just bought a book written by Prof Rashid Moten yesterday. The title as shown on the picture above. Regretfully, i knew this book just after i finished writing and submitting my proposal, but i'm sure that 'better late than never', for it can be used during writing the next chapter. I tried to buy this book from himself, but since i went to his office more than twice, but he was not there. So i bought at Dar al-Kutub. Prof Rashid was my lecturer during my first year for the subject 'Intro. to Political Science'. He was and still and admired person. He was the one who changed my mind to change my minor degree from Psychology to Poltical Science, and i kept my secret with him (but i'm sure he forgot about that..hehe).. And i will never forget him and his advices, and pray to God that he will be given a good health and life to continue his good deeds and knowledge in IIUM. amin...

I recommend this book to everyone especially my friends who continue postgraduate study and for those who plan to do that. The price is RM35, a little bit expensive, but its a very good of an academic book. If you are not affordable, i can lend my book, i'm ok with that.. as long as you return the book safely.. :) The small book beside Prof Rashid's book is written by Syeikh Mawdudi which discusses on the unity of Muslim World. It is an interesting book, i will finish it today, insyaAllah..

Back to the story of planning.. I do hope that I can finish everything regarding to the thesis by the end of this year 2010. I have to repeat and say it again and again, so that it will be maqbul by God, insyaAllah.. Then, after that i will further my next plan...

Fail to plan is plan to fail..! and Surely Allah is the best planner...

Before i end this entry, just wanna share a poem that i read during having my breakfast today from a book 'Like the Flowing River' by Paulo Coelho. The poem was written by a Japanese poet, Mitsuo Aida (1920-1991) who reminds us the significance of innocence..

If tomatoes wanted to be melons,

they would look completely ridiculous,

I am always amazed

that so many people are concerned

with wanting to be what they are not;

what's the point of making yourself look ridiculous ?

You don't always have to pretend to be strong,

there's no need to prove all the time that everything is going well,

you shouldn't be concerned about what other people are thinking,

cry if you need to,

it's good to cry out all your tears

(because only then will you be able to smile again)

**The advantage of my lappy was warded in 'hospital' is I can read a lot and focus on my plan.. hehehe.. waiting for the new one next week, insyaAllah..

Saadah Khair

29 April 2010

ITD Lab, IIUM

World Book Day is Everyday!

Happy World Book Day!

Some said that 23rd April is the World Book Day. But i said that the World Book Day is everyday~! yeay~~

Book. I love books so much. My reading hobby began since my childhood. According to myself, the concept of reading will never end by finishing a reading of a book. It is a continuous process. Read and practice. Read and digest. Read and keep it close to your heart. Read and rest your mind... Like someone said: "Read! You'll conquer the World". But the clearer order mentioned in the Quran: "Read! in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created.."

Lets celebrate the World Book Day everyday, not particularly for one special day..

Special for today, i wanna review two books, but in Malay language. Enjoy~~!

Buku Pertama:

Bahlut, Faisal Tehrani

Buku ini dibeli pada Pesta Buku 2010 Mac yang lalu, disertai tandatangan penulis. FT yang saya kagumi. Saya terpaksa menahan diri daripada membacanya ketika musim peperiksaan kerana saya tahu jika sudah bermula, pasti saya mahu tahu pengakhiran ceritanya. Jadi buku ini dibaca jurus selepas tamat periksa, sebelum bertolak ke Thailand. Hanya dua hari!

Bahlut. Anak Semai. Anak Orang Asli. Anak pejuang. Anak luar biasa. Kisah dia juga bukan kisah biasa. Juga bukan kisah cinta. Ini kisah Bahlut yang mahu mengubah kehidupannya di dalam dunia yang berbeza: dunia hutan dan dunia trek. Kehadirannya ke Kuala Lumpur selepas tragedi yang menimpa keluarganya adalah detik perubahan Bahlut menunjukkan bakat yang ada. 'Perenheg' (pecut) adalah pembakar semangatnya menjadi atlet kebanggaan negara. Bahlut bukan sahaja bertemu semula dengan bondanya setelah berjaya, malah dapat memelihara kampung tempat kelahirannya yang jauh di pedalaman ketika dicerobohi kegiatan pembalakan haram. Saya tidak mahu mengulas panjang tentang Bahlut, sila baca dan hayati sendiri...

Walau apapun, saya ingin melihat sendiri kampung tersebut yang dikatakan benar2 wujud oleh FT. Kampung Orang Asli Bukit Payung namanya. Saya juga mahu berjumpa sendiri dengan Orang Semai untuk mengetahui sendiri kisah mitos Bahlut yang dikatakan adalah seorang pahlawan yang berani. Ini adalah kerana sepanjang saya mengenali Orang Asli di dalam kegiatan dakwah bersama mereka, jarang benar saya berpeluang ke kampung OA yang berketurunan Semai. Konsep Satu Malaysia yang diketengahkan FT untuk tidak meninggalkan kaum minoriti di Malaysia juga adalah satu usaha yang sangat baik. Jika berpeluang, saya mahu mengajak sendiri FT menyertai program2 yang pernah saya sertai ke kampung2 OA dalam menyebarkan dakwah Islam kepada mereka, kerana pada pendapat saya, FT menulis kisah ini melalui beberapa informasi dari rakan dan sumber yang dipercayai, tapi saya kurang pasti adakah FT pergi sendiri bergaul dengan mereka, mengetahui kisah kehidupan seharian mereka, dan kemudian menghasilkan Bahlut yang benar2 menarik hati saya. Saya berdoa agar diberi kekuatan untuk menulis tentang perjalanan dakwah kepada mereka, cuma saya masih belum mampu kerana mempunyai komitmen yang lain. Pengalaman berdepan dengan mereka adalah pengalaman terbaik yang pernah saya ada. Semoga perjuangan ini tidak berakhir dengan mudah!

Buku Kedua:

Pudarnya Pesona Cleopatra, Habiburrrahman

Buku ini dipinjam dari Zakki. Karya Habiburrahman selalunya tidak menghampakan pembaca2 nya.. Buku tipis ini memuatkan dua cerpen (cerita pendek) bertajuk 'Pudarnya Pesona Cleopatra' dan 'Setitis Embun Cinta Niyala'. Kupasan buku ini lebih kepada cerpen yang pertama.

PPC adalah cerita ringkas kehidupan suami isteri yang dijodohkan oleh orang tua. Kebahagiaan yang diharapkan tidak ditemui kerana si suami terlalu memandang bahawa kecantikan wanita itu adalah segalanya walaupun dia sedar isteri yang dimilikinya itu sudah sempurna cantik, malah solehah dan hafizah terjaga budi pekertinya. Cuma isterinya itu bukan pilihan hatinya sendiri, tapi pilihan orang tuanya. Baginya, calon isteri yang terbaik buat dirinya haruslah mempunyai kecantikan persis Cleopatra, ratu Mesir yang sentiasa membayangi dirinya sejak menuntut di bumi Mesir ketika dahulu. Saya tidak mahu menulis panjang lebar sinopsis cerpen ini. Cuma mahu mengajak agak kita fikir sejenak tentang ertinya sebuah kecantikan.

Cantik itu sesuatu yang subjektif. Jika di mata saya lukisan itu cantik, barangkali di mata orang lain, lukisan itu hanya biasa-biasa saja. Setiap orang pasti ada definisi cantik yang berbeza. Bukankah ada benarnya bidalan bahawa cantiknya bunga, bunga akan layu, cantiknya manusia, manusia akan mati... cantik itu tidakkan kekal selamanya. Dan penulis mendedikasikan tulisannya itu khas untuk mereka yang menganggap kecantikan itu adalah segala-galanya! Memetik kata-kata dia: 'bukan wujud jasad yang selalu dirindukan, tapi apa yang wujud di sebalik seseorang..'

Wallahua'lam..

**Buku terjemahan Bedar Sukma Bisu masih belum tamat2..!

1000 Memories in Thailand

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Almost 10 days in Thailand created uncountable memories in my life. Thousand memories only just a symbol, but i even cannot count the exact number of those memories.

Departed from Puduraya at 11pm, 8 April 2010 straight to Hadyai. I met new friends from IIUM but originated from many different countries. I didn't bring a single of my old friend because I'm sure that i will meet new friends. Kak Da, Kak Mah, Safiyah, Tasnim and Huda (Thailand), Kak Shima, Kak Nurul and Rbaeyah (Malaysia), Kak Uswah and Zakki (Indonesia), Asem and Amoodi (Yaman), Rauf (Ghana), Abdul Rahman (Kenya). It was more than enough to be facilitator in Songsermsasana Vittaya School, Songkhla, Thailand.

The main target of our journey is to accomplish the English Camp in that school, while travelling and enjoying ourselves in Thailand are -supposedly- the second target of our journey.. So, that is our responsibilities to make sure th English Camp held successfully for 5 days. The students of that school are great. They had courage to learn English in their own way, they were so creative and brave to try new things, and i think that they were much more better than me during my previous secondary school.. I do hope that all of them can achieve their dreams and be a great person in the future..insyaAllah..

So, Thailand.. It really can make me smile until now. hehe.. The first amazing visited place was Floating Market. I dont know why i always think that the floating market can be found only in Thailand. And during at that time, i was so excited..... Majority of the sellers are women and they were so sporting for smiling when i snapped their pictures. I dont know how to express my feeling here but i encourage to all of my friends go there by yourself.. You can feel the full satisfaction.. ^__^

After floating market, we went to the restaurant in the middle of the sea.. oh yeah! it was actually not a sea, but a very large beautiful lake.. It was awesome with windy weather twilight.huhu.. Tom Yam Kun was awesome too~! It was my first time eat the different taste of Tom Yam cooked by the pure Thai chef.. Sedaapp~~

Then tomorrow morning, we went to Pasar Pagi in front of the school. It was so different environment with JB or KL. I dont like to go to market, but i wanna know the feeling of Thailand's market..hehe.. The English Camp started on Saturday's evening, but i dont want to tell more about the whole programme held with them. I just wanna mention some interesting places which i visited during 10 days in Thailand.

A trip with SSV students was held on 14 April. We went to Museum of Songkhla, Aquarium of Songkhla and Tang Kuan Hill. Unfortunately, we were not had much time to visit Samila Beach and a Historical Village in Songkhla.. :( But its ok... I had so much fun during that day!

The last day of English Camp, we went to Satun with SSV students as well. We played canoe at a river ( i dont know its name). It was my first time to enjoy the long journey canoeing with Zakki and Rauf. I tried it before but it was not adventurous journey like we had in Satun..huhu.. We decided to wait all the students took their turns first, then we begin our journey along the uncertain river. It was so fun at the beginning because i am the only queen, but i wanna try to conduct the canoe with Zakki's help. I was so happy even though we have to go through the wrong path (hahaha...), the dark cave (scary....), and the nice happy students (pretend to be better than them..huhu). Honestly, i will never ever forget those moment in my life..

At the same day, it was the last day we spent together with students. They were going back to school, but we continued our journey to Satun Island. All sisters stayed in Tarutao Island, and the brothers spent their night on the boat in the middle of the sea. I enjoyed every moment in the Island by praising the only God for creating the beautiful creatures in this world. Subhanallah! We spent time in the island by waiting the sunrise, swimming, and climbing the cliff. After that, we wanna see the brother's boat and wanna know what were they did the whole night on the sea.

It was so hot~! My first time spending a day experienced as a fisherman. But i like it... I chatted with the sea pilot (actually, i dont know the exact name of the boat driver..hehe), even though we have language barrier (he spoke Thai, and i spoke English & Malay with him), i learned new things with him how to control the boat. Kap Kun Kah Pi chai.. (Thank You Brother). I experienced the fishing as well.. And i fell in love with sea during that time..

We arrived at land during Asar prayer time. We stopped by at Kak Da's house to get some rest for a while before all of us continue our different journey. Some of us were going back to KL, Thai friends were going back to their home, and the rest were continued the travel to another place, including me. There were two groups; a group to Trang and a group to Phuket. My journey in Phuket will be continued in another entry... ^__^

Some of pictures in Thailand can be viewed HERE

** Thailand, i will come again to you next time...

Travel

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Allah said in the Holy Quran:

"Travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before (you): Most of them worshipped others besides God." (30:42)

"Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those before them? But the home of the hereafter is best, for those who do right. Will ye not then understand?" (12:109)

Travel is one of my hundred dreams. As mentioned two Quranic verses above, travel is permissible in Islam, though it is encouraged to travel around the world in order to see the creation of God and learn from others culture and civilization, not to follow and adopt their products, but as a lesson to be better in worship only HIM.

During my childhood, Ayah always bring 5 of us, my sibling go to travel. In a simple understanding: he brought our family going to enjoy the holiday at everywhere even only in Malaysia. I'm still remember our moment at Langkawi, Pangkor Island, and so on. That's why, our family is close with each other and we have a great binding together, but now it seems everybody has their own family and i'm sure that we will still stay the same in a happy family. That is also the reason, i like to travel. And my dad will allow anywhere i want to go with two conditions, be safe and dont forget Solat..!

I am so envy with my eldest brother for spending around 3 years and half in UK with his family, with my second sister for getting her degree from Azhar, Egypt in 5 years, and my younger brother for still continuing his study in Egypt too and now he already three years there. I'm not going anywhere except Singapore because i have a lot of relatives there, but i'm still lucky for staying in Malaysia and this is my beloved country. There are many places that have been not visited yet here, and it will save costs a lot..hehe..

For a short writing here, i will go to Thailand tomorrow~!!!! I'm so excited. haha.. The happiness after ended the story of examination in IIUM will be further continued in my holiday. I'm happy... lalalala~~ Actually i have a lot of friends from Thailand, my roommate this semester is also from that country, as well as my classmate. And this programme is invited by my ex-roommate during my final year degree, we are still close until now. She knows that i really want to go there, so, she asked me to go with her join the English Camp organized at a private Islamic School in Southern Thai. The programme is not only to have a fun, but we have to teach English for high school students who will sit for their important exam. Most of the participants in this programme is International students of IIUM, there are only 5 Malays including me. We will not be paid any salary or wages, but they will support our accommodation and holiday trips, and i think that is more than enough. InsyaAllah i will update my story for enjoying a week in Thailand as soon as possible in this blog. ^___^

A map of Thailand. I will be at Songkhla and Hat Thai only, not the whole country!

And for this time, i'm not bringing any of my Malay friends not because i'm selfish but i just wanna enjoy with new friends, new experience, especially in the new environment. I wanna feel to be at the place that i will not understand a single word of their mother-tounge language. I wanna know the feeling of being a foreign person. I know i can do well, InsyaAllah. Like my sister said, "Campak je Saadah tu kat mana-mana, InsyaAllah dia leh hidup je!".. hahaha.. I love to try something different..

Come back to the issue of travel, InsyaAllah one day i will go travel around the world. InsyaAllah... Like Ikal and Arai in the story of Sang Pemimpi by Andrea Hirata, he said: "Bermimpilah.. kerana Tuhan akan memeluk mimpi-mimpi itu", and they succeed to travel around France just because of they believe that Allah will answer their prayer and make their dreams become true.

Guess what place is this. You will be given 10 marks. hehe.. My dream place!

Ok, lets have fun~!

The Exam Moment

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

First and foremost, gratitude to Allah for having a such great and happy moment in this life. I finished all the exam. I completed all 10 subjects of coursework for my postgraduate study. I ended in entering exam hall maybe for the last time this morning. I just waited a bit longer staying in the exam hall for today's paper even though i finished answering all the questions. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.. I am so relieved~!

Exam is ended, but examination will still go on in our reality of life. Life is an exam. All of us are examined by Him The Almighty, and the real success is in not only in this world, but the Hereafter. And as a student, the word of exam is really scary thing since my primary school. Everybody seems to want to do their best unless they just take exam as a simple test not take it in a serious matter.. But i'm sure i will miss many things related to the exam..

My special black mug of Nescafe. It is a must to avoid sleepy feeling during my revision. But lately, i still feel sleepy after took nescafe..huhu

My notes and mindmap. Blue, Black and Red pen. Oh! my loyal purple mechanical pencil..

My study table. I will sit tight on the chair close to my desk and not moving around..

My black "ninja". haha..

My mom. She will wake me up for Subuh Prayer on the day of my exam. She will call again an hour before the exam. She will say the same things since my secondary school to make sure i'm fine to answer all the questions. "Selawat banyak2. Baca surah alam nasyrah. Solat Dhuha sebelum pergi. Jawab betol2''. If i have three papers in a week, i will listen three times but i love that and will just laugh. By the way, I love u emak! Thanks for everything. Your prayer is really meaningful for me..

A support from family and friends. Their do'a and wishes are appreciable. They might be contributing to my success. Thank You everyone!

And i just wanna thank my self as an appreciation to do well and great efforts during my undergraduate and postgradute study. After this, my focus will be changed soon. More serious plan and action will be taken to complete the thesis writing. I will not accept only 'pass', but what i really want to achieve is EXCELLENT..

And the most important thing, Thank You Allah~~

6 April 2010
Examination was ended!

Read!

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
Bacalah dengan (menyebut) nama Tuhanmu Yang menciptakan,

Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Dia telah menciptakan manusia dari segumpal darah.

Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
Bacalah, dan Tuhanmulah Yang Maha Pemurah,

He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
Yang mengajar (manusia) dengan perantaran kalam,

Taught man that which he knew not.
Dia mengajar kepada manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya.

Day, but man doth transgress all bounds,
Ketahuilah! Sesungguhnya manusia benar-benar melampaui batas,

In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.
karena dia melihat dirinya serba cukup.

Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).
Sesungguhnya hanya kepada Tuhanmulah kembali(mu).

Seest thou one who forbids-
Bagaimana pendapatmu tentang orang yang melarang,

A votary when he (turns) to pray?
seorang hamba ketika mengerjakan shalat,

Seest thou if he is on (the road of) Guidance?-
bagaimana pendapatmu jika orang yang melarang itu berada di atas kebenaran,

Or enjoins Righteousness?
atau dia menyuruh bertakwa (kepada Allah)?

Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns away?
Bagaimana pendapatmu jika orang yang melarang itu mendustakan dan berpaling?

Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?
Tidaklah dia mengetahui bahwa sesungguhnya Allah melihat segala perbuatannya?

Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock,-
Ketahuilah, sungguh jika dia tidak berhenti (berbuat demikian) niscaya Kami tarik ubun-ubunnya

A lying, sinful forelock!
(yaitu) ubun-ubun orang yang mendustakan lagi durhaka

Then, let him call (for help) to his council (of comrades):
Maka biarlah dia memanggil golongannya (untuk menolongnya),

We will call on the angels of punishment (to deal with him)!
kelak Kami akan memanggil malaikat Zabaniyah (malaikat yang menyiksa orang-orang yang berdosa di dalam neraka.)

Day, heed him not: But bow down in adoration, and bring thyself the closer (to Allah.!)
sekali-kali jangan, janganlah kamu patuh kepadanya; dan sujudlah dan dekatkanlah (dirimu kepada Tuhan).

Intentionally, i listed down full verses (1-19) from Surah al-'Alaq. It is a 96th surah of the Holy Quran in order. Surah Al Alaq "Blood Clot (The Zygote)" was revealed in Mecca, Arabia upon Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last Prophet and the Messenger of God Almighty .The surah has taken its title from verse 2. The surah describe; Man however differs from everything else. On the one hand he happens to be social and has to live alongside other people.

The first five verses of the Surah are universally admitted to be the first revelation which descended upon the Holy Prophet in Cave Hira' in a night in the month of Ramadan, 13 years before Hijrah. This date corresponds to 610 A.D. On that "Night of Destiny" when the Holy Prophet lay on the floor of the Cave, his mind locked in deep contemplation, these verses were revealed and the words became branded on his soul. These verses are the first act of mercy with which God blessed His servants (Kathir). In this Surah it is stated that just as the birth of man is the result of a gradual process of development, so is his spiritual evolution. The Prophets whose examples were cited in the preceding Surah attained to different stages of spiritual development, but the Holy Prophet represents in his person the best specimen of man's complete spiritual evolution.

The word Iqra' meaning read, recite, convey, proclaim or collect, the verse signifies that the Qur'an was meant to be read and proclaimed, to be collected and put together and then conveyed to the whole world. The mention of the Divine attribute Rabb. (Nourisher, Sustainer and Developer, Who sustains man through all the stages of his development), shows that man's moral development was to be gradual till it was to find full consummation in the Holy Prophet.

And the symbol of Pen mentioned in this Surah would play a very important part in committing the Qur'an to writing and in preserving and protecting it from being lost or interfered with. It further refers to the great contribution which "pen" was to make towards the propagation and dissemination of the spiritual sciences and Divine secrets revealed by the Qur'an and of the physical sciences to which the study of the Qur'an was to impart a great stimulus. It is really very significant that frequent mention should have been made of "pen" in a Book which was revealed among a people who had no respect for, and had made rare use of, it and which was revealed to a person who himself did not know how to read and write. [Source from HERE]

So, read, read, and read.... Reading is not narrow down only on books. There are various forms of reading nowadays; magazine, newspaper, e-book, blogs, webs, boards, etc., as long as the source of reading not against the Syari'ah and benefit to the readers. And please don't forget the importance kind of reading: al-Quran and it's meaning. It is the first 'medicine' to cure and purify your heart..

I am in love with this bookshelves. Many awesome creative bookshelves designs can be viewed HERE

** I read the whole book ICT (Critical Thinking: An Islamic Perspective by Dr. Mumtaz) twice for the paper on 5th April. Now wanna continue my reading on 'The Prau With the Silent Soul' by FT