Faithfully

Recently I saw the movie "A Dog's Story"

Starring Richard Gere, based on a true story about a dog that waited for his Master at the train station everyday for the next 9 years after the Owner passed away.... such a moving story.

To know more about this, read Wikipedia.org-Hachiko



 

This is the real dog....






They actually built a statue of the dog at Shibuya Station

In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at theUniversity of Tokyo took in Hachikō as a pet. During his owner’s life Hachikō saw him out from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachikō was loyal and every day for the next nine years he waited sitting there amongst the town’s folk.





As a Muslim, we're not supposed to have dogs for pet [I could be wrong here] , so i guess I'll never experience this bond.... but then again, even if I were allowed to have a dog, I don't think my dog would wait for me ...... even when I am alive!


Well, 2 ways to look at it, either the dog is SO faithful.... or just plain dumb! Go FIGURE!


I don't know if dogs, or animals for that matter, have emotions or can think.  My conclusion is that the Dog thought
Someday
Somehow
the Master is still alive [coz you can only be faithful to someone who is still alive] would somehow come through the Station and greet him



Anyways, I can't say I can ever be that faithful ..... or that DUMB!


And what' up with when finishing a letter, we write 'Yours Faithfully'?

being a beach bum

I have always wanted to be a beach bum, well maybe not always always... Anyways, i am now living that dream somewhat because I am now in Langkawi.  I have been here since last Friday, so 6 days since.  I have a friend who had decided to open a 'resort' here, eventhough she has been a city girl all her life + definitely not her line of work..... This girl's got guts, that's for sure!

So supposedly the Place [La Pari-pari] is scheduled to open by January 2012. Well,  that's not going to happen! It looks like maybe another 3 months.  Anyways, I decided to come + help if i can in any way i could, while at the same time being a 'beach-bum'.

Some pictures of La Pari-pari, the place is not by the beach, but it's got sand + extremely breezy, so it does somehow feels like you're sitting by the beach

The Chalets [12 of them] looked nice, clean cut design, all white exterior + interior.  The bathroom is huge too + you get King-size bed.

The first few days felt like 'Waa... this is awesome being a bum, and I think I can live this way, no cares in the world, just me + the sun + the breeze'

Having campfire + BBQ with friends by our 'beach'

Strolling at night for some desserts + drinks

Scribbling on the ceiling of Cactus [a cafe]

 Scribbling on the ceiling of Cactus [a cafe]

Watching boats by the pier at Perdana Quay

Sidetracking- these are fisherman's boat, mainly to catch squids, they have loads of light bulbs on top, coz squids are attracted to lights

 Eating at some 'exotic' floating restaurant [Hole in the Wall] in the wilderness  

 

Me... looking extremely happy on the boat

Looking like a fool in a swimsuit that decided to expand from waist down!

Anyways, it is awesome, doing nothing, just hanging out with friends.......
Nevertheless, there comes a realization that I cannot do this ALL the time, it just doesn't feel right,
maybe taking a break is ok, but not being a full-time Beach Bum...... it's just not natural for me

So, i am happy for this experience to be somewhat reliving my dreams

Someday
Somehow
I hope everyone get to live their dreams
Coz sometimes dreams are better left as dreams.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE!!!!

the paradox

when you quarrel or argue with someone, it eats a little bit of you inside,
but if you keep it to yourself, it builds up inside like a toxic, and still eats you up inside.

when you try to make things better,
yet you somehow manage to change it to worse.

when you listen to TEDTalk on Gratitude, and feeling that there is so much to be thankful about,
then you end up being ungrateful

when you pray and plea to God to make you a better person + 'bersyukur'
and you think God will answer your prayers right away + make you that stronger person,
then you don't + become weaker in the process

when you think it is time to walk away because that is the best thing to do,
and yet you stay on because you have hope + faith [or just delusional.. as a friend would say]

when you hurt someone else, then you are now the receiving end,
so supposedly you should know how to deal with it,
and yet you are clueless

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there- Steve Jobs


 The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness. - Eric Hoffer:

you would think at this age, the mind is somewhat settled..... but not!

If you're thinking 'Is there something bothering me now?'
no worries..... I'm just fine, thank you for asking


someday
somehow
maybe, just maybe i would find the answers

awesome!

SEA Games 2011 Final: Malaysia Vs Indonesia
I usually don't watch SEA Games or Malaysian Football coz [sounding unpatriotic] it's usually BORING. However, last night I actually watched the whole Final game alone [almost never]and the game lasted 130 minutes or so coz it went into overtime after an equal 1-1 score

The Penalty Kick at the end was SO dramatic, even fiction could not envisioned this. The Captain [don't know his name] was the last shooter + when he kicked the ball, the Indonesian Goalie actually saved it!

However, the Ball had it's own mind, went strolling out from his hands and into the Goal! How bizarre is that!!

Oh ya... we got GOLD medal

Premier League 2011: Manchester United vs Manchester City
Speaking about 'Soccer' + 'Feel Good', I enjoyed watching Manchester City trashed Manchester United at OLd Trafford!
"Manchester City inflict upon Manchester United their heaviest home defeat since 1955 as they demolish Sir Alex Ferguson’s men 6-1 to open a five point lead."

Roberto Marcini, the Coach for Man City

3As of Awesomeness
I stumbled into this TEDTalk through BFM, and this chap Neil Pasricha, through his Talk '3As of Awesomeness' has inspired me to give birth to a new blog, mainly concentrating about the good moments in my life.

Someday

Somehow

we all get bumps along the way

so let's try to vision it like a Flute!

i am muslim..... too

i am prompted to write this topic [eventhough i am no expert] because i am muslim......too.

nowadays i feel the perception of islam is somewhat screwed.  i feel that nowadays we are known as the terrorist, a religion to be feared upon, not to be embraced, which is a bit ironic coz we are encouraged to greet other muslim with 

'assalamualaikum' [peace be upon you] 

and yet we are not seen as peaceful.....

examples to cite from:

• that indonesian song 'mungkin hanya tuhan dapat ....' [translated as 'maybe only god can understand].  well, a lot of people, the so-called-defender-of-islam scdi], were arguing that how can we doubt coz god would definitely know... so recently when i heard this song again, the lyrics were sang 'memang hanya tuhan'.  this is a pretty old song, so i  supposed the scdi got their way!!  

         as for me, my interpretation of this song was- the person is really sad + hoping that another person
        [most probably the person that she is sad about feels it too]other than god would know what she is
        going through at that moment of sadness, in other words god definitely knows what she is feeling.

• holier than thou syndrome : one blogger assuming a prominent leader's wife not islamic coz the blogger assumes the lady does not pray 5x daily, a few bloggers from each side of the political party labeling each other not islamic, because of different views of  islam, etc.

          who are we to judge another human being just from the physical outlook, what matters is in the heart

          + only god knows. isn't accusing someone else without proof 'fitnah' + 'umpat'? aren't these big sins 

          too?

• the issue of 'murtad' [apostate] :  i don't quite understand why are we forcing people to stay in this religion if they don't want to, like the case of lina joy [i don't quite know the details except she wants to convert from muslim to another].  while i do believe that we should advise + counsel, however after that, it should be that person's decision... it is not for us to put force + impose terror. 

sura al-baqarah 2:256 [extracted from wikipedia Al-Baqara_256]

There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. 

Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in God (ar. Allah), then he has grasped the most trustworthy 

handhold that will never break. And God is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

"this verse is acknowledged to belong to the period of Quranic revelation corresponding to the political and military ascendance of the young Muslim community. ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ was not a command to Muslims to remain steadfast in the face of the desire of their oppressors to force them to renounce their faith, but was a reminder to Muslims themselves, once they had attained power, that they could not force another's heart to believe. There is no compulsion in religion addresses those in a position of strength, not weakness. The earliest commentaries on the Qur'an (such as that of Al-Tabari) make it clear that some Muslims of Medina wanted to force their children to convert from Judaism or Christianity to Islam, and this verse was precisely an answer to them not to try to force their children to convert to Islam."
       
extracted from wikipedia Apostasy_in_Islam

The Qur'an states that God (in Arabic, Allah) despises apostasy, with severe punishment to be imposed in the hereafter, but not mentioning explicitly any earthly penalty for apostates.

• poco-poco/ yoga/ valentine's day : all these are 'haram', supposedly because of the origins of these activities, hence would deviate our beliefs.... what the  ????!!!!####%%

       is our 'aqidah' that easily bent + fragile??? doesn't it go back to your nawaitu... in everything you do? 

          why must we be protected so much, are we that weak?  why is the thinking of the so-called islamic 

          scholars so shallow? if they block a lot of things from us, how are we supposed to learn, can't we 

          think + question? isn;t that the real teachings of islam... the quest for knowledge???

         as i was surfing, i read this.... supposed there are a lot out there who are in the same wavelength...
         thank god!

extracted from unscientific malaysia.com Blind Faith

By denying the use of reason and logic, religion curbs its own advances.

And why would they want you to believe that? It makes it easier for them to control how you practice Islam.  And so they would have you believe that religion requires blind faith and involves no logic means that if you were to believe in Islam, it meant that you had to just accept things as-is for 
What happens when you be eternally damned to hell. Or so many would want you to apply reason and logic to Islam? You would believe.  whatsoever. Or what many would like to call a “leap of faith.”  no reason but because God says so. I can’t accept that because it basically

• this religion somehow is seen to have more "don't" than "dos".  cannot do this, you'll rot in hell...  

how are we supposed to entice others if we keep signalling that this is a religion with no tolerance?  i always take comfort that of all the 99 names that god can select, 3 are repetitive.. 'the forgiver'... al-ghaffar, al-ghaffur, al-afuw

• the wearing of head-scarf: this is another topic that mystify me.  during our grandma days, u hardly see anyone in it unless u are reading the quran [even then, your upper hair would still be seen]... suddenly in the 80's, it started to gain momentum, and by now i even see almost toddlers wearing them!!!  If you are not wearing, you are the minority. so much emphasis on the 'zahir', the physical appearance...

         what actually happened? during our grandma's time, i'm sure there were a lot of pious muslim 

         too..... did they overlook this matter?? how's that possible if this is such a vital ingredient to be   

         a 'good' muslim?

extracted from www.quranic.org

26 - O you children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your private parts as well as to be an adornment to you.
7 The Purgatory, 26

The minimum covering for both men and women has been since times immemorial the covering of the private parts of a person as foreseen in Verses 26-22 of the Sura The Purgatory. There are three verses in the Quran that have reference to a woman’s attire.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF COVERING THE HEAD FOR WOMEN

31 – Say to the believing women to lower their eyes and guard their private parts, and not display their ornaments (ziynet) except what is apparent outwardly, and cover their bosom with their veils (hýmar). And not show their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers or the fathers of their husbands or their sons or the sons of their husbands or their brothers or the sons of their brothers and the sons of their sisters or their women or their captives or male servants free of physical need or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. They should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O believers! All of you shall repent to God that you may succeed.
24 The Light, 31

The Arabic word hýmar means simply ‘cover.’ It has a wide range of meanings. It may be any cover such as the table napkin. If it is used to cover the head, it will signify the headscarf. However, if the head had been the target, the expression should have been hýmar-ur-ras meaning the covering of the head. However, in the context, one should understand the portion of the body corresponding to the bosom. Therefore it is the low-necked attire that is meant here. Even though the headscarf was the corresponding meaning, one should conclude that it was to be used to cover a woman’s bosom and not her head. 

i am babbling a lot about things that i don't know in depth.... is it a sin to question?? wallahualam...

i believe that different people have different views + can interpret it differently.  hence, there is more than 1 'mazhab' in islam

someday
somehow

i hope, we as muslim could do a better job to promote this beautiful religion as well as understanding it ...............

till then
a-s-s-a-l-a-m-u-a-l-a-i-k-u-m    readers

paint me

painter's studio in bukit antarabangsa @ chief's studio

    the painting on the right cost rm 22,000.00!





       



      a - w - e - s - o - m - e !!!!!!

Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...

thought it is just appropriate to include this song.... tribute to van gogh

everywhere you looked........ it was a - r - t ...!....!



judging from the number of canvas in this house, it would be likely that there is more than rm 200,000.00 worth of paintings here!!

don't you just wish..... that you could paint like these
..... sigh sigh.....
who knows

someday
somehow

or.... maybe not!



just like playing guitar
it looks easy......
but to me, it's really really hard!!!

happy birthday ....... quran

today is quran's birthday........ sounds strange mentioning it like that...! anyways here in selangor [state where i work] is a public holiday. i say this because some places [like kuala lumpur] it's a working day. supposedly, it's a public holiday because we are to pay respect. however, here it becomes a nightmare for those who work in kl coz loads of the non-working-for-a-day would be flocking the shopping centers/ bazaars for the raya celebration! so.... what is the point of giving a holiday when you don't even celebrate!!!

anyways, here in this office [we are working today... by choice so that our raya holidays could be stretched longer], we are trying to set a tradition to celebrate the birth of the book.... everyone [..not forcing though] would recite any part of the quran for about 1/2 hour.


these are some facts about the quran which i am sure a lot of us don't know:

extracted from :
http://aqadeerm.webs.com/generalknowledge.htm 

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF HOLY QURAN.    

How many Sura are in Holy Quran ?                        114
 How many Verses are in Holy Quran ?                     6666
How many parts of Holy Quran ?                          30
How many time the word 'Quran' is repeated in Holy Quran ?     70
Which is the longest Sura of Holy Quran ?           Al-Baqarah.
Which is the best drink mentioned in Holy Quran ?          Milk.
The best eatable thing mentioned inHoly Quran is ?           Honey.
Which is the shortest Sura of Holy Quran ?               Qausar.
The longest verse of Holy Quran is in which Sura?    Al-Baqarah No.282

The most disliked thing by the God though Halal is ?     Divorce
Which is the best night mentioned in Holy Quran ?        Night of Qadar.
Which is the best month mentioned in Holy Quran ?       Ramzan.
Which is the biggest animal mentioned in Holy Quran ?     Elephant.
Which is the smallest animal mentioned in Holy Quran ?      Mosquito
Which Sura of Holy Quran is called the mother of Quran ?    Sura Hamd
Which sura is called the heart of Holy Quran ?                      Yaseen.
 In which Sura the name of Allah is repeated in every verse ?        Sura Mujadala.

Which sura is having the laws about marriage ?                           Sura Nesa..

What is the meaning of the word "Qur'an"?                     That which is Read.
Where was the Qur'an revealed first?                           In the cave of Hira (Makkah)
On which night was the Qur'an first revealed?             Lailatul-Qadr (Night of the Power)
 Through whom was the Qur'an revealed?                            Through Angel Jibraeel (Alaihis-Salaam)
 Which is the book which is read most?                                                        The Qur'an
What are the other names of the Qur'an according to the Qur'an itself?   
Al-Furqaan, Al-Kitaab, Al-Zikr, Al-Noor, Al-Huda


Who is the first 'Haafiz' of the Qur'an?                                                  Prophet Muhammed S.A.W
At the time of the death of Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. how many Huffaz were there?        22
How many times has the Qur'an stressed about Salaat or Namaaz (prayer)?              700 times
How many times has the Qur'an emphasized on alms or charity?                         150
Name the Prophet whose name is mentioned and discussed most in the Qur'an?        Moosa A.S.

Who was the first person who counted the Aayaath (verses) of the Qur'an?                  Ayesha R.A.
On whose order was the Qur'an compiled completely in written form? A) Abu Bakr R.A.
Out of the copies of the Qur'an compiled by UsmanR.A., how many and where are they at present?    
Only 2 copies. One in Tashkent and the other in Istanbul.
Which is the first and the most ancient Mosque according to the Qur'an?           Kaaba.
Who is the relative of the Prophet Muahmmed S.A.W. whose name is mentioned in the Qur'an? A) Abu Lahab

In which Holy Book of Non-Muslims the Qur'an mentioned repeatedly?  
In the Holy Book of Sikh Community-Granth Saheb.

What according to the Qur'an is the root cause of the evil?                  Alcohol.
How long did Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. receive the revelation of the Qur'an in Makkah?            13 Years.
How long did Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. receive the revelation of the Qur'an in Madinah?          10 Years.
Where was the first Surah revealed?          In Makkah.
Where was the last Surah revealed?              In Madinah.
How many years did it take for the complete revelation of the Qur'an?        22 years, 5 months and 14 days.

Which is the Surah, which Allah taught as a Du'a(Prayer) ?           Surah-al-Fatihah.
What is the reason of keeping Surah-al-Fatihah in the beginning of the Qur'an?          It is the door to the Qur'an
What is the Surah (Chapter) revealed completely and found first place in the Qur'an?        Surah-al-Fatihah.

Who was the only lady whose personal name is found in the Qur'an?         Bibi Mariam A.S.
In which Surah (Chapter) of the Qur'an do you find maximum instructions?             Surah-al-Baqarah.
When and Where did the Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. and Jibraeel A.S. meet for the second time? 
On Friday,18th Ramadan,in the Cave of Hira.
What was the interval between the first and the second revelation?          2 years and six months.
How many different names of Allah are mentioned in the Qur'an?                99.
Who were the three non-prophets whose names are mentioned with due respect in the Qur'an? 
Luqman, Aziz of Egypt and Zulqarnain.
At the time Abu BakrR.A. how many companions had compiled the Qur'an in the form of a book?  75 companions.

Which is that only book which is completely memorized by millions of people in the world?           Al-Qur'an.
Which are the most popular transalations of the Qur'an in English?  
Transalation by Muhammed Marmaduke Pickthall and by Allama Yusuf Ali.
Into how many languages of the world has the Holy Qur'an been transalated?             Nearly 103 languages. 









27/08/11
i read in the facebook, friends putting status like 'lets hope this is not the last ramadhan = there'll still be years to come to celebrate this special month'
i used to dread the fasting month coz one has to .... fast! now i don't dread [can't really say i eagerly anticipate!] it anymore... it's a month where we put our worldly desire aside [...somewhat] and focus on taking advantage of all the bonus points that one can collect, insya-allah!

i also know now that it's not so much i love this world that i wanna live longer... it's just that i fear i do not have enough supply of good deeds to ensure my membership in heaven!!!

anyways, my staff's parents [both of them] died in this holy month, both were in a car accident then comma for about 3 weeks + another person i met recently [before this month] died in mecca [or madina] during his umrah with his family...... while i do sympathize with the family, i cannot help but thinking .... what a nice way to die [being with your loved ones + dying in the holy month!]

this is the first ramadhan that i have woken up for sahur [iftar... nope 'iftar' is breaking of fast] the most.... maybe since primary school...... and that was very very very long ago!

this is also the first ramadhan that i so anticipate or look forward to lailathul qadr [last night was the 27th night]. who actually knows when that special night comes???
even when it does come, can we [the mere mortals] actually feel it, or do just special chosen lucky people get to have this privilege?... wallahualam.
i was reading in the net about signs [afterwards] of this special night... the next day is not so bright..... well, today feels like that.... or maybe i'm reading too much into this!

i hope

someday

somehow

all of us do get to experience the magic of'the night of power' [lailathul qadr]
coz it better that 1000 months + all our sins will be washed away
and insya-allah book us a one-way ticket to heaven....!!