Calling for you!

"Hey, come here!"

What is your action when the caller is your friend? I have no doubt that you will hurry up and answer it as soon as possible. And you will also act that you are happy!

What if it is your teacher? You will also answer that quickly, maybe because you believe that there is something important. Or maybe you are scared of your teacher? Usually you are not that happy.

What about your mom? It depends. We are very close to our mothers. A boy may run towards his mother. Another girl will just ignore it and wait until her mom comes.

But what if... ALLAH? The Almighty God? In other words, the adzan? Usually, how will you react when you hear the call?

It is better to stop for a while and hear it with your heart. Do you know, hearing adzan can also be the source of your peace? While working hard to complete your assignment, a short stop will absolutely re-energize your soul. It will be much better of you straight away pray. Of course, Allah will love you more! Isn't it good? :)

Wide eyeview

Just after the Friday prayer, I kept my eyes on the television. It was not the usual channel I watch everyday (we don't buy Astro).  But I like that specific program. The program which is shown by another channel. A channel that rarely shows clothes! The National Geographic. Of course the animals don't wear clothes!

So, back to the main story. Today, I am able to widen my knowledge about the unique ways of the creatures sneaking and hiding in order to catch their food or prey. Most of us know about the carnivorous plant with sharp green teeth and acidic liquid, consuming the insects, unlike other plants. Or maybe without the teeth like pitcher plant or periuk kera in Malay. And also some desert animals, hiding in the sand, and many more!

But there is one unique creature which I never thought that it will do it. Snakes are commonly known as a cold-blooded reptilia with poisonous stings. However, do you know that there is one type of snake that uses tricks to attract its prey?

(source:wikipedia)

Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori, or its common name, Taylor's Cantil.

A frog wants to catch a worm. However, as it jumps towards the worm, something was waiting for it. Out of a sudden, the frog was caught by a snake!

According to the info in the TV, the snake don't even hide its body or head. However, its worm-like tail attracts its prey! If only the frog do not keep focus with the 'worm', it could save its life!

Same with our lives. We should not keep focus on one single thing. Otherwise, we will be like the frog.

What I can see in the younger generations is they keep looking for money and money and fun. Once they know that an action will not make them rich, they won't take the way.

However, what is more important is take the chance and keep it up. We should not do Allah's work! Our work is only to keep striving and believe in Allah. Even if we do not succeed like anyone else,  we must know that Allah wants the best for us.

Keep it up and believe!


Ac

Love Them ❤

"Here's your food. Now you can eat!"

*********************************
"Where are you?!"

My cat always did this after he finished eating. A few days ago, I noticed he was missing from the place he usually eats. Then, we tried to search for him upstairs as he really likes going there. However, after about 10 minutes, he was still missing. My sister wandered around downstairs, maybe the cat was hiding somewhere in the rooms. I went to the front. Pulled the curtains. Saw something moving. "He is right here!" I exclaimed. Actually, I only saw his small foot. But then he walked back to keep hiding, thinking I didn't see him. What a surprise! After that, I pulled the curtain and he ran away!

See, even cats have emotions. They have the feelings to be pampered. They want us to pay attention to them.

That's why we have to LOVE them!

In the past, Prophet Rasulullah s.a.w. really encouraged us to be kind towards cats.

"A woman was tormented because of a cat which she had confined until it died and she had to get into Hell. She did not allow it either to eat or drink as it was confined, nor did she free it so that it might eat the insects of the Earth." (Sahih Muslim)

Besides, Abu Hurairah r.a., one of the companions who had narrated many hadeeths, was a great cat lover. I heard a story about him with a kitten. It was sleeping on his clothes. Trying to avoid disturbing the kitten, he decided to cut his clothes, leaving the part where the cat slept. What if that happens to us? Are we kind enough to let our clothes being cut only because of cats? Something to ponder...

In Islam, we should behave nicely to not only cats, but also every creatures including plants! There are many animals stated in al-Quran. Among the names of animals chosen to be the names of the surahs are al-Fil (Elephant), An-Naml (Ant), An-Nahl (Bee) and Al-Ankabut (Spider).

We know that to treat animals, the most common activity we can do is preparing drinks and food to them. But how about plants?

Well, PRESERVE the nature.
REDUCE POLLUTION.
...and many more!
Gardening is also one of the ways to communicate with plants. They will surely feel delighted to be cared by us.

One last question; why we have to do that? Why we have to love them like they are humans? Because they are Allah's creatures, like us. When we  treat them nicely, we will get the same. What you give, you get back. Furthermore, those sinless creatures will pray for us. Of course their prayers will be realized, right?

So, LOVE them! :)

Fun?

Humans cannot be separated from songs, games, stories and any other kinds of fun. They always seek for them in the aim to calm their mind after working heavily. There's nothing wrong about it.

During the pilgrimage of Muslims to Madinah, the peple from Makkah were honored by Madinah people with the traditional music and some songs. Yet, Rasulullah did not prevent them. This story shows that Islam never stem the interest of people in music.

Nevertheless, Islam teaches us the way to have fun. In order to prevent ourselves from hedonism (obsession of fun), we must follow the rules so that our actions are counted as 'ibadah' or kindness.

Nowadays, I could see that most girls are too interested in Korean songs and movies. I'm not saying about all but most of them like the male actors or singers. And also, men are also addicted to anime from Japan. Everyday, they watch the movies in their laptops to have fun. These acts could be right and wrong.

First, look at the actors. Are they wearing proper clothes, covering their aurat? If that so, then go for it. However, if they wear inappropriate shirts, then try to avoid them. Remember, eyes are trust from Allah. We should always follow the rules because eyes are not ours.

Then, think. Is it going to affect your life? Is it going to cause you procrastinating? Even worse, is it going to make you forget about your prayers? Something to ponder about. This is the most important criteria to make the acts legal. Even if it is just a children show, but you tend to miss your prayer while watching it, so don't do it! Prayers are much more important than those things.

However, in seeking for relaxation after being busy for a long time, the best thing to do is to always remember Allah and practice zikr. Sometimes, go take wudhu' and recite some verses from Al-Quran.

“By remembering Allah, hearts will be in peace..”

Thus, keep interacting with Allah and you will feel the true inner peace in yourself, insyaAllah..

Nationalism: Good or Bad?

In the history books, we commonly see the word 'nationalism' everywhere. Even the main purpose of learning that subject is to instill the spirit of nationalism in the students and also others. However, have you ever think that it is good or bad?

First, let us take a look at the definition of NATIONALISM. Nationalism is the spirit of being loyal to own races and nations and also to give full commitment to preserve the importance of the races to compete with others. What do you think when you read it? Isn't it connected to the racism issues?

Now, let's take a deep look into the Islamic concept. Islam approves the work to preserve own nations and races. It is a must to protect our nations from the enemies and threats. Even Rasulullah s.a.w. loves his own family, Quraisy. Allah had also created a 'surah' based on the Quraisy tribe.

“Because it is a norm for Quraisy, their norms to travel in winter and summer. Thus, they should worship the God of this house(Kaabah), who has given them food to avoid them from being hungry and making them in peace from fear.”

(Quraisy:1-4)

So, it is proven that nationalism is not totally wrong. But there are two conditions that have to be fulfilled in order to make it as 'ibadah':

1. It does not exceed the love for Islam.
   
   Islam is not the property of any race. No one can actually claims that Islam is only for Arabs or Malays or Palestinians. Even Americans can revert to Islam. So, the love to Islam should be put much higher compared to other things. As an example, if someone with other races reverts to Islam, we should treat him or her as a brother.
   
   

“A muslim is a brother towards another muslim”

2. It recognizes other races' rights
   
   Don't be too obsessed about ours that you denies others' rights. For example, we cannot reserve a public place as ours. It is a public place and anyone should have their rights to have a rest or eat there.

“All people are the same, except for their faith”

Long ago, Rasulullah s.a.w. developed Madinah by uniting people of many races under one faith: Islam. The native people of Madinah called Ansar and the migrates from Makkah called Muhajirin were united although they came from different places. As they were both Islam, they could live together in peace and harmony.

But why nowadays, the 'bad' nationalism is widely hold? In 1924, the Ottoman's Empire was defeated and the main factor was they ignored the unity based on faith. They preferred their races to Islam. And then, countries based on races were developed. That's why we could see most nations are ruled by mostly one race. For example, Malaysia is for Malays, Japan is for Japanese and so on. Don't you realize that it is one of the ways to defeat Islam? History of Otoman's Empire had proven that nothing was more important than the unity based on our Islamic faith.

In a nutshell, a strong nationalism is bad because it contradicts with Islam. People should unite based on their faith, not races or nations. American Muslims, Palestinian Muslims, Japanese Muslims and any other Muslims should be in one line because we are all in one faith. However, Islam does not prohibit us from protecting our countries. Instead, we will be given much benefits from Allah when we strive for our beloved countries. Thus, protect your country and at the same time, unite under one faith.

Suicide?

Nothing can replace our life. Nobody can buy life. Even the cats. (You know, some people believe that cats have nine lives each. Yet, they'll still die, just like other creatures)

We are the creatures of Allah. Allah is the One who controls us. He is the one who sets our death time. However, no one can actually know his or hers. It is a secret. A secret that can only be revealed once the time come.

But why?

Allah wants us to be kind all the time. When we do not know when will we die, we will try to do goodness every and each time to ensure our death is a good death, to ensure that we do kindness when the time come. Isn't it good to die in the prayer? Isn't it good to die when we are helping others? Our death indicates the hereafter. A good death means 'jannah'.

Meanwhile, what if we die in the cinema? On the road, racing harmfully? Or in front of our computer, looking at the pornography pictures? It will be terrible, isn't it? Not only it indicates our bad future in the hereafter, our family members left will also be humiliated! People will talk about the person for a long time about something bad. Don't we feel pity to them?

Suicide is also categorized as a bad death. Some brainless people thought that suicide is the best alternative to solve problems especially about money, love and studies. Every month, or maybe everyday, we can read in the newspaper about anyone committing suicide or at least attempting it.

In Islam, one of the five basic things that are important to take care of is LIFE, either yours or others. So, committing suicide is already contradict with that principle. And there are very many ways to do it. Sometimes (or always), we are approaching it without being realized.

NO SMOKING

One of the most actions I have seen in my own country that contributes the most to the suicide cases is smoking. Although it is literally not considered as suicide in data collection, it IS actually killing yourselves. It is your own hands which put the cigarette into your mouth. It is your own mouths which suck the harmful gases. And you use your own money to buy it! In most cases, you can actually put the blame on yourselves. Who forced you to do it? No one, right?

Some organizations realized that traditional cigarettes are bad for health. Thus, they try to make an innovation by inventing the electronic cigarettes. Yet, it is also harmful! Some scientists also said that the chemicals in the e-cigarettes are much more harmful compared to the traditional ones. You are killing yourselves!

In addition to killing yourselves, you will also kill your beloved ones, the people who always beside you and also the ordinary citizens. Don't you feel pity to them? They are not guilty yet they are still affected! The harmful gases sneak out through the cigarettes will harm people who smell them. And they are your family, your relatives, your friends! You kill your loved ones, don't you realize it?

Thus, please and please, stop smoking for those who are smoking. You will kill yourself and your beloved ones!

“Don't kill yourselves. Verily, Allah loves you.”

[An-Nisa': 29]

Easy or Hard?

Continuing my story during the camp, on the second day, we had fun with the outdoor activity. Since most of the activities were indoor, we got really excited when we were going to play some physical games.

TREASURE HUNT

Sounds cliché right? However, it is a bit different with the usual one. We were firstly divided into 9 groups.

Then, we were told to hide our most valuable thing in the group within 100 meters radius from the hall we were in. We decided to choose a pair of spectacles to be hidden because compared to phones, it is much safer to be left. Only two people of each group were required to go and find its hiding place. The rest of us stayed in the hall. It took about 10 to 20 minutes for all groups to finish the task.

Next, the two members had to write the directions to find the valuable things. Knowing that other groups will use that directions to find ours, we decided to make more complicated directions instead of straight forward. In the mean time, there was also laughter among other groups which I felt they were also doing the same thing. Maybe all of us was going to walk around and around to search for the things.

Our thoughts came true! We were then required to use other group's directions to find the valuable thing. And to our surprise, we got the directions with only 3 steps! Wow, it's going to be easy! Well, definitely, it was really really easy. In addition, one of our members saw the thing was hidden there during the hiding period, so he could easily find it back. In just two minutes, we accomplished our goal! Alhamdulillah, what a relieve... We didn't have to walk far away.

We were the first to arrive at the starting point. After taking pictures, we sat in the hall, having a rest after a tiring(is it?) search. About 45 minutes later, there were still three more groups didn't manage to complete their task. We were asked to help one of the group to find it. But also with our help, we couldn't find it! At last, the facilitator asked the one who hid it show where the actual place is.

As soon as we finished having our tea, we gathered in the hall for feedback session. The groups which couldn't find the things complained about the directions they got. Some of them were not precise. For example, they wrote “walk 20 steps” whereas in reality, they have to walk double the steps! That's why they were lost. To make matters worse, one of the thing was hidden with the cameraman! The direction helped the group to arrive at the destination where the cameraman wandered around. Although he seemed to be suspicious-looking, well, following the group members anywhere they went, they still couldn't figure out the trick. Finally, they gave up and the person who hid it revealed the truth. There were also some funny steps like “2 steps forward, 2 steps backward, 2 steps left, 2 steps right.” It was funny yet annoying.

After hearing some feedbacks and complains, the facilitators announced the winners. We thought it was us. But the actual winner was the one who wrote the directions, who ease us in finding their thing. Another winner(writer) explained that they did that because the thing was an iPhone. It was really really valuable (we were surprised how could she give it) that they wanted it to be found as soon as possible.

EASY OR HARD

The lesson I learned from this activity, we should try to do the best and easiest way to direct our friends. Although at first we made a mistake to joke in the given directions, we were relieved to get the easiest direction containing only three steps. Imagine the groups which did not manage to finish their task, they were really tired when they got back, plus with the feeling of angry about the hard directions they got. And the facilitators told it in a fun way. When the group made the easiest and direct ways, it is the one who won the game, not the searcher.

The same goes in the reality. Although competition is sometimes good, but it is much more important to do kindness to others. No matter what they did, kindness is always the best thing.

“Be like a fruitful tree. Thrown with a stone, reply with a fruit”

A simple example to be pondered. You always encounter a woman who always make an angry face to you. But you usually smile to her although she never smile at you. And one day, her heart is opened to smile. Isn't it great to make people smile? :)

Another example is in the seerah. Long ago, Rasulullah s.a.w. always fed a blind man at a market. When he was feeding, the man always talked about bad things about Rasulullah s.a.w. However, Rasulullah s.a.w. keep feeding him everyday without getting angry. One day, Rasulullah s.a.w. was gone forever. Abu Bakr r.a, Rasulullah s.a.w.'s best friend went to the market to replace his best friend. However, the blind man realized that it was a different person. When Abu Bakr r.a told him that the actual person who fed him was Rasulullah s.a.w, he cried and on the spot, reverted to Islam. Rasulullah s.a.w's kindness had made the blind man to regret his bad acts and eventualy turned over a new leaf.

Thus, make kindness to everyone, no matter he or she is kind or bad. Remember, your kindness will be rewarded if you do it for the sake of Allah.

“Verily every action is based on the intention...”

[Hadith 40 Imam An-Nawawi]

Book: Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time

Being a member of Wong's family yet you flunked? It's ridiculous. However, it really happened to Stanford Wong. Pity him, his intelligence was the other way round. While all of his family members are bright, especially his dad and sister, he is the only sportsman among them. Basketball is his true passion, not the academics or books.

Credit: http://sveta-randomblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-of-stanford-wong-flunks-big.html

Long ago, his life was much more miserable! He was the worst person in school; no one wants to befriend him. However, things began to change when he was attracted to basketball. Being observant to the Team A games, he managed to imitate their movements and lastly, joined the basketball team. And what made him so proud is, he was the first and only sixth grade who succeed to be in the A-Team, the greatest team in his school.

Nevertheless, bad news came when he was going to enjoy the summer holiday. He flunked in English! He got F! His dad did not allow him to participate in a basketball camp in the summer. His awful grade was sticked on the refrigerator. His failure in sixth grade would prohibit him from continuing his studies. He had to pass it to be in the A-Team. To make matters worse, he was going to summer school!

No one in the team had gone to summer school. He had to maintain his reputation as the A-Team. Everyday, he sneaked to the class. And everyday, he had to be tutored by Millicent Min, his enemy since child. However, as time flows, he and Millicent were able to be together. And to my surprise, Millicent's help was working! She succeeded to make Stanford read and think about the book. And his English teacher began to like his book report.

Eventually, he passed English. And he live happily ever after... :p

This book taught me that every people has different skills and abilities, and they are not inherited.

“O mankind, verily We created you from male and female, then We created you in tribes and races so that you can know each other...”

(Surah Al-Hujurat:13)

People are different!
Credit: http://aoao2.deviantart.com/art/We-re-different-204348189

Yes, you might say that most intelligent people have the same background. However, once in a blue moon, one can find the similar thing like happened too Stanford Wong. His dad went to Stanford University. His sister also the same. And his father put his high expectation for Stanford to do the same. That's why his name is Stanford Wong. Yet, that high expectation made him crazy. He is different. Somehow, he is passionate in basketball, but his dad had never accept it. He did not even go to the game when Stanford played and won. However, after Stanford's attempt to run away from home, he began to change. He tried to spend more time to talk with Stanford. The most surprising act was he decided to refuse the offer to have a job with higher reputation just to reduce his time working. And that's what a loving dad should do. Not that I am saying people to just apply for a low-paying job, but try to spend your time with your family. They are your life. They are your heart. Without them, who else can make you happy? Something to ponder about...

Besides, Stanford had also reminded me the importance of being observant. All people are able to succeed when they are observant. For example, Stanford observed the A-Team players in their game for a long time. And once he got the chance to play, he just imitated them and it worked! That unique quality made him to vanquish his goal to be one of the best basketball player. In the real life, we learned history of our nation. Had you ever think why we did that? Well, a cliché answer. One who forget the history will repeat it back. That's for the failures. What about the good ones? We must follow it if we ever face the same problems.

“These stories are told to you so that you collect the lessons from them.”

Credit: https://www.probe.org/history-and-the-christian-faith/

One of the main problems we face now as Malaysians is the economic problem. Maybe we could do some research about the economics problem in 1997 and how we survived. I guess it could help, isn't it?

In conclusion, this book is really great as a motivation to be better in any field. Although it contains a bit about the 'monkey love' between a boy and a girl, just ignore it. Take the lessons, throw away the bad things.

Ignore the differences

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I am very sorry for abandoning this pity blog. If you notice, my previous post was about a week ago. Actually, my friends and I went to a pre-departure program organized at one of the PLKN camps. One of the lessons I've learned there is to share and unite with each other.

There were two games related to both qualities.

1. Broken Square

We were divided into 9 groups. Each group received an envelope containing pieces of puzzle. We had to solve the puzzle to produce a perfect square. Howevet, we were prohibited from stealing, taking or snatching others' pieces.

We got 4 different triangles to be solved. Some groups received weird shapes like the shape of T. However, after some time, we still didn't managed to solve it.

Suddenly, one of the participants stand up and voiced out her opinion. "I am sure that we need to share our pieces to produce only ONE square for all of us. We can still share although we cannot steal or take others', right?" Then, our mission began. Each group representatives brought their pieces in front and worked together to solve it. Only after a few minutes, a big square was formed in front!

"Congrats to all of you! You managed to conplete this task perfectly. I said that you cannot steal, take, or snatch anything from other groups. Instead, you can GIVE to them," said the facilitator.

Tangan yang memberi lebih baik daripada tangan yang menerima.

To give is much better than to receive

(Malay proverb)

In the reality, we need to always find the connection between ourselves and others'. Even though we are different, the differences are the important qualities to make an awesome group.

"O people, we created you from males and females, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you will know each other."

 (Surah Al-Hujurat:13)

So, differences should not stem us to unite! Yet they will help us.

2. Investing?

We were divided into 4 groups. Each group received two flashcards, one with the symbol X and another with the symbol Y. In every round, each group representative needed to show either cards. Marks will be received based on the comparison with other teams.

(No of teams show X)-(No of teams show Y)
(Marks received if choose X)-(Marks received if choose Y)

4 - 0
+1 - 0

3 - 1
-3 - +6

2 - 2
-2 - +2

1 - 3
+2 - -4

0 - 4
0 - -1

Our group decided to show Y all the way as we could receive more profit and we could win! Others keep changing their Xs and Ys. And at last, we won and had a tie with another group although all groups got negatives.

We thought that we should calculate some probability in this game. However, we were wrong!

The facilitators' expectation was for all of us to show X. But why?

Although we only received +1 each round, yet we would still gain profit together. All groups would receive +10 for 10 rounds. All would get profits. Unlike what we did, all of us faced great loss when we compete each other.

Thus, in order to succeed, never leave our friends behind. Instead, walk together to the acme. Even with small steps, we'll still achieve success together later.

These two games had really taught me to be together with our friends all the time. Never leave our friends because of our selfishness. (But you can sell fish instead)

"You are not a true believer until you love your brothers just like you love yourselves."

Why I love you?

To love someone is a basic, and to be loved is also a basic in our life. Life without love is like the world without people. No one cares about others. Everyone does their own works, as if he or she is the only person exists.

Is it going to be like this?
Credit: http://rea-disappearance.wikispaces.com/The+World+Without+Us+-+Alan+Weismann+%26+Life+after+people+-+The+History+Channel

However, everybody knows that it is impossible. One needs others to survive. A child needs a mom to take care of him. A mom needs a husband to get some money to buy things. A dad needs a fisherman to get a fish to eat. A fisherman needs a knitter to knit the equipment to catch the fish. And the series goes on until we realize that no one can survive by themselves.

So, love is important. Without love, we could be depressed. We love our parents. We love our siblings. We love our pets. We love our friends. We love our teachers. We love our grandparents, and so on. But have you ever think, why should you love someone?

Anas r.a reported that Rasulullah s.a.w. said: “There are three things if found in a person, he will experience the sweetness of imaan: (1) a person who Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anyone else, (2) a person who loves a servant (of Allah) only for Allah, (3) and a person who hates returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would hate to be thrown into the fire (of Hell).”

[Sahih Bukhari and Muslim]

According to the hadith, one of the qualities of people who feel the sweetness of imaan is to love others only for Allah.

FOR ALLAH

But what does it mean?

A person does not want his or her best friend to be harmed in any ways. A mom does not want her child to be harmed also. Everyone does not want the beloved ones to be harmed. But it is not only about the safety in the world. It is also about the hereafter.

To love someone for the sake of Allah is to protect him or her from the danger of 'maksiat' (evil things). This also includes the minor sins like procrastinating to perform prayers, littering, talking back about someone and many other things. No one wants to be in the hellfire right? So, to show our love to them, invite them to do good deeds. Every time you want to perform the prayers, invite them to join you. Every time you see they are wasting their time with unnecessary things, advise them. But never scold them! A smart person is the one who can advise people effectively. For example, you can always talk to him or her with low voice. “My friend, let's go to the musolla. Allah is waiting for us.” Even if he or she does not want to, keep on trying. I am sure that with Allah's will, your friend's eyes will be opened to see the benefits of good deeds.

Protect from 'maksiat'!
Credit: http://www.recoverdatas.com/protect-computer-viruses-spyware/

“But I am not a good person. How can I ask people to be good?”

Well, I am also not a perfect person. In fact, I am advising my ownself. Many of us think that we should be nice before we ask others to do the same thing. However, don't take your weakness to stem your intention to turn other people to the way of Islam. Whenever you see someone is doing the wrong things, just advise him although you actually did the same. And then, you will realize that you had done something not appropriate and quickly ask Allah's forgiveness. We may not be perfect but we can strive to be perfect by inviting others to be perfect. That is called the love for the sake of Allah.

Credit: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/love-desktop-wallpapers.html

I LOVE YOU FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH

UHIBBUKUM FILLAH

:)