Eidul Adha greetings..

Wishing Eid Mubarak to everyone!

May we continue to rekindle the spirit of sacrifice as it was exemplified by our Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and his son Ismail a.s. simply for the sake of seeking the pleasure of Allah and Him alone...Amin.

Bring down that wall!

My other half was watching the BBC news early this morning while I was summoning my might to start examining a postgraduate thesis from a certain university down south. All of sudden, my eyes were transfixed on a certain message scribbled on an ugly wall, flashed on the tube.

“WHY IS THIS WALL HERE?”

A commentator was presenting all the hype about the final fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November twenty years ago (1989) and how the event has turned into a sort of worldwide celebration nowadays.

My eyes turned misty as I suddenly remembered about the plight of our brethren – the Palestinians holed up within the walls of the heartless Zionists.

Just then, an email forwarded from Dr. Hafidzi jolted me. And so, I am doing my part to educate others about the Apartheid Wall.

These are facts:

1. Israel's apartheid wall is three times the length of the Berlin Wall.

2. Israel's wall was ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice,sections of the wall have also been ruled illegal by Israel's high court.

3. Israel's wall mostly separates Palestinians from other Palestinians, not Palestinians from Israelis

4. Israel's wall confiscates Palestinian farmland and water resources in contravention of international law.

5. Israel's wall cuts off access of Palestinians from their other family members, deprive them of their rights of a decent livelihood, rights for proper education and even treatment in hospitals.

And so likewise, I am asking Israel and its counterparts - the same thing as what was flashed by the BBC news:

“WHY IS THE WALL THERE AT PALESTINE?”

I demand an answer!

PS. Remember the story of the little bird who tried to carry water back and forth from a nearby river in its tiny beak to save the Prophet Ibrahim when he was put on the stakes to be burnt by the cruel Emperor? The little bird was ridiculed by its friends (the eagle) because after all how much water can he carry to smother the flames? The bird’s heart may be tiny but it was a great one, for he replied, “This is the least that I can do. I have an answer that I have done my part when I will be questioned by Allah on the day of judgement, what have I done to help?”

So, why not do your part?

For resources on what little that you can do to spread this message, please visit:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=317

Tell the Caterpillar Company (which directly profits from
CAT equipment being used to demolish Palestinian homes and orchards in
the path of the wall and in the actual construction of the wall) that what they are doing is WRONG. Click here

More resources:

http://tinyurl.com/stopthewall

http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/09wall.pdf

<http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article. php?id=2380>

<http://www.endtheoccupation.org/calendar.php>.

'Beautiful Daffodils'...amongst other books...

Thank you, Allah...Most Gracious, Most Merciful for allowing my fourth book "Beautiful Daffodils" (Seindah Dafodil) to be chosen amongst the list of books purchased by the Ministry of Education for the year 2009.

I chanced upon this surprising and happy news here...
Thank you to all readers for the support. Parents may present this book to their teenagers as a way of indirectly giving advise to their teenagers; especially the importance of inculcating the importance of adhering to our faith and iman. More so, for those young adults who find themselves away from home in a far away land, and foreign environment...

To all youngsters, feel proud of our faith and iman i.e. Islam for only this can ward us from the impending dangers of undesirable influences that may destroy our identity as Muslims.

Of quakes and devastations…

I love to watch the History Channel 555 on Astro. The series are eyeopeners, knowledge enriched as well as being therapeutic when times are taxing and academic commitments become so stressful and too demanding.

Was watching a slot on the Lost City of Atlantis which existed thousands of years ago, whereby it seems more recent studies suggests that it may be situated more towards the east; near the island of Crete. It is believed that the technology advancements during that civilization then were very advanced. The existence of sophisticated high rise buildings with indoor plumbing, extensive irrigation facilities, architecture, code of laws where men and women are of equal standing plus other richness of information. However, within a blink of an eye, the whole civilization vanished in a huge earthquake.

The devastation produced by the event was far worse than the one which afflicted the island of Krakatoa in 1883. Even then, the Krakaota produced a Tsunami reaching 120 feet high killing about 36,000 people. Skies were blackened for three days. The sound of the explosion was heard as far away as 3,000 miles. The one at Atlantis was 4 times that of Krakatoa. Just imagine? Good readups are available here and here.

And then, news came of the quake which hit the Samoas followed by Padang, Indonesia. Questions started to arise. Are those two earthquakes connected? (Read here).

Whatever, such news brought sorrow deep down in my heart. How fragile this precious earth is. How little there is beholding our lives. Only God knows how long more we can withstand watching our lives unfold before our eyes.

How true are the words of Socrates:
"Man's life is like a drop of dew on a leaf."

While our are hearts are still pounding, why not contribute some of the good things that God has mercifully bestowed upon us.

"And every one has a direction to which he should turn, therefore hasten to (do) good works; wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together; surely Allah has power over all things.” (Al Baqarah: 148)

Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) has taken up a mission called Misi Kasih Padang (freely translated as The Mission - Love Padang) to help those in need there. (Click here for more information).

Being in Malaysia, we have been spared of this catastrophe and for that, we are truly blessed by God. But then, who knows about the future?

Let the following words of the Quran below remind us of the fragility of our existence (Surah The Romans: 41-43):

“Disasters have spread throughout the land and sea, because of what the people have committed. He thus lets them taste the consequences of some of their works, that they may return (to the right works).”

“Say, "Roam the earth and note the consequences for those before you." Most of them were idol worshipers.”

“Therefore, you shall devote yourself completely to this perfect religion, before a day comes which is made inevitable by GOD. On that day, they will be shocked.”

Are we fully aware too that studies have shown that these catastrophes may strike again, anytime in the near future? (Read here and here).

Till then, we can only pray to God, to ward ourselves of these perils. Also to hasten in doing and promoting good deeds while we still can. I will continue to watch the History Channel 555, to remind me constantly of my existence and fuel my soul of the urgency to enjoin good.

Would you like to watch the channel too? Tell me if you have other enlightening information. Do share them with me. I would only be too happy and grateful…

Puteri Salsabila....2nd. Reprint..

All Praises be to God (Alhamdulillah...) for making it possible for my book, Puteri Salsabila to be in its 2nd. reprint (September - just last month). I received the news when it was listed here (but for non-Malay readerss, maybe the source would not be understood). Anyway, just sharing my happiness...


I have also found a review of the book Puteri Salsabila. A very hilarious one indeed! For Malay Language readers, please click here... (Thank you to blogger Adi Jeff).

As it is, 2 more of my other books have also been reprinted last year i.e. Sentuhan Muttaqeen and Seungu Lavendar.

For this, I just want to say:

Thank you to readers for buying my books and most important of all - for reading them. I do hope my Malay Language readers will continue to enjoy reading my books...

Eid Mubarak!

Wishing everyone Eid Mubarak 1430H!

Please forgive... for any misunderstood words or wrong doings on my part.

May Allah accept all our good deeds and may we get to see Ramadhan again next year, Insha Allah (God willing….)

PS. The nest is quiet now, no more whimpers or sweet baby talk from little baby Ameer Ihsan nor chatters from his talkative elder sister Nuha Insyirah. They have left for down south, to be with their father’s side of the family, having spent the last few days of Ramadhan with us. And so, my other half and I decided to start the six days of fasting in Shawal. If we don’t make a start, probably we will not make it at all. Good deeds shouldn’t wait, right?

Still so happy together…

September. Brings back all the memories at the back of my mind. Happy days and sad moments. 30 years….is a long time. That is how long we have been together. My other half and I.

The day before our anniversary, we sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, in a train. Enjoying each other’s company, watching the scenery. All the way from KL Sentral to Parit Buntar.

Along the way, there were so many things to see, to laugh at, to reminisce. At Ipoh, I recalled the train would be full of white clad boys (from STAR - where else?). The residential school where my husband hailed from. Some of the experiences on the train rides during school holidays decades ago, I have shared in my book Seungu Lavendar.

We passed by Bukit Berapit where the station is in ruins now. All dilipidated and in a sad state. But I could recollect the time when back then, the station was still intact and functioning; N, a hostel mate of mine (when all of us Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban girls were on our way home up north, sleeping in chartered coaches in the year 1974), winked from her deep sleep in the middle of the night. Thinking that it was nearing her stop, N threw her luggage out the door of the train which was slowing down momentarily. Before we could stop her, she had hopped down from the train. If not for the shouts from the KTM man on duty, asking her what was she thinking, which of course startled her and caused her to wake up from her state of delirium and scrambled frantically back up the coach, I think she would have been stranded all alone in the pitch darkness and jungle, in the middle of nowhere. From then on, we took the liberty to take on the incident as a subject for N to be teased about. Naughty us!

At a certain stop called Pondok Tanjung, what a sight to behold! It was as if time stood still. As though we were caught in a time tunnel of the 1950’s. Especially the rustic quarters, children waving, smiles from wrinkled faces holding onto their motorbikes, patiently waiting for the train carrying us to go by, at the tiny railway crossing. Must remember to get hold of a few pictures, next time…

And then, another delightful sight - Tasek Merah. Looking out through the window, one has the impression that one is flying across the lake, as the track cuts right across the serene waters….my heart involuntarily sang to the melodious tune of the 1967 song, “So Happy Together”.

It was just wonderful! All praises be to God. What a great way to spend one’s 30th wedding anniversary….Thank you, Allah. I pray that God would allow us to grow old gracefully, the same like as this kindly soul, a friendly visitor of my blog who happened to hop by (admire his sincere efforts, good work and having spent a fruitful life) just celebrated…(for theirs is 45 years…Subhanallah….)

Interesting site about Malaysian trains and its history, click here..