A Breath of Fresh Air...

It has been such a long time that I have not updated this blog of mine. So much paper work. The never-ending number of theses to be read as an external and internal examiner. As soon as I completed, then another arrived... Postgrads to supervise and to stand in during their vivas…

Pressures of living up to be an academic in a university chosen to spearhead the APEX programme is really taking its toll…And most recently, we thought that ever since USM has been upgraded to APEX status (for information on this, it is here and here) then the number of undergraduates would be reduced. That was what we thought..until last week. The new enrolment in September 2011/2012 session for our school (School Electrical & Electronic Engineering – NOT other schools) would be at least 200! Horror! That would be just like the small creeks Down Under bursting at their brims and river banks – hence the devastations and floodings…How could and should people like us in the department keep up? We would be stretched to the limits. God forbid, please…

Just recently, I had 1 more Ph.D student registering under my wings – I could not remember agreeing to this in the first place. While in a state of blurriness, another one showed up at my office doorstep, showing me his registration letter as yet another of my student….But of course, it is not always grey skies. Once in a while, it is so heartening when you supervise students from Palestine especially – with their good manners and sincere prayers (doa) for Allah's blessings bestowed upon their supervisors whenever we try to help as best we can…(will share some of these stories later…)

And so, when a group of young girls (from various colleges around Tg. Malim, Banting, Shah Alam and KL) decided to come over up north for a little bit of sharing and to spend the night filled with spiritual and motivational activities – one of the initiatives under IKRAM (formerly known as JIM), I was thrilled. They were more than welcomed to my humble abode in Ipoh. All 30 of them will be flying off to Germany, Ireland and Australia (doing Engineering, Medicine and Biotech) as early as July, as late as January 2012.

I was glad too that an ole' friend of mine, Yati could also spare some time with us over the weekend. We had such wonderful moments, sharing our past, more than 30 years’ of experiences in the UK (I was in Sheffield while Yati was in Cardiff). The good and not so good ones..The good ones – for them to emulate, the not so good ones – hopefully these new breed would be wary of…

The whole bunch of girls had some morning activities..some tazkirah (reminders presented in a chicken soup for the soul kind of way..using the multi media - these young folks of today are ever so creative, I learnt something new then and there...) and I shared my motivational talk which I usually do share with my own first year students once in a while. About focusing on their target and never to lose sight of their goals, about the true meaning of success and the roadmap towards it, about discovering their full potential and then harnessing their talents….Most important thing of all is that both Yati and I stressed the importance of remembering the sacrifices of our elderly parents and kins, about preserving our own identity as Muslims and our faith – to safeguard them as precious pearls – especially out there where ‘prying hands’ are always everywhere trying to take it away from our hearts…

I have uploaded these pictures here so that these young girls will always remember the good moments that we shared together…I pray that they will accomplish all their dreams..and may Allah bestow upon them success and make things easy for them in their pursuit for knowledge…Amin.

PS. I thank my other half for making all the necessary arrangements for the instant meals (tea break, dinner and breakfast) that he purchased from the eateries around our place. In so doing, our weekend programme went smoothly without a hitch…My gratefulness to Mumtaz of UTP and Ain Nasim for making this possible. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to sow some seeds of goodness…May Allah accept our good deeds..Amin…

Reminder...

A good friend of my son has passed away in the early hours of last night. A very good dai' while in his prime - university days. A very good son, a very good soul.

My condolences to your mum and family members...May you rest in peace…May Allah accept your good deeds, forgive your misdoings and place you amongst those whom He is pleased with…Amin Ya Rabbul Alamin…

Al Fatihah...(Please click here...)

This is a good reminder to me too...Have I done enough when Allah says that it is time for me to flicker out? Still, the clock of life is ticking by...and the end is fast approaching.....

PS. I must apologize to all readers for not updating this virtual 'abode’ of mine for quite some time. Been running around….there are so many things to share however so little time to spare…

Aidil Adha Greetings...

Eid Mubarak! Wishing blessings of Eidul Adha to all..

May we live to emulate the spirit of sacrifice exemplified by the noble family of our Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) his son Prophet Ismail a.s. and his mother Hajar.

Besides the degree of sacrifice by the Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail, we should also ponder on how this noble and wonderful woman had been so steadfast, patient and true to Allah’s commandments. It was this brave woman who became the pioneer of a blessed Holy City, the destination of pilgrims from all over the globe during hajj and umrah.

Her acts of running in despair back and forth between the two hills, in search of precious water; while young Ismail lay crying on the hard and desolate desert sands, has been made one of the hajj and umrah rituals…

For an enlightening article on how we can reflect and act upon the examples shown by this great family, please click here

PS. Image was taken from here.

Ngah & Kayah's Drinking Well...

All praises be to Allah....

Am so grateful that my dream and intention has been fruitful…

Last Ramadhan , I received an invitation from an activist, who also happens to be my husband’s junior during their school days (Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (STAR) old boy, Ipoh, Perak). This gentlemen has forwarded a chance to contribute towards a very noble effort.

In his flyer, it was stated:

Hadhrat Sa'd
(Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, 'Umm Sa'd (mother of Sa'd) passed away. What should I do?'

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Dig a well (in order to provide water).'

Hadhrat Sa'd dug a well and said, 'This (the water of the well) is for the reward of Umm Sa'd.' (Mishkaat - Chapter of Sadaqah).. (Hadith Riwayat Tirmidzi)

And something suddenly fluttered in my heart…Instantly, I remembered both my parents. They – who had toiled and faced such hardship bringing up my siblings and I. We would not have been like we are today if not for their hard work and sacrifices (my father passed away in 1997 and my mum in 2003).

And so, I immediately offered my hand in this gesture, so noble…

I wanted so much to ‘enshrine’ both my parent’s names in something that would give rewards for them in the hereafter until the end of time or as long as it is of service for the betterment of others…Alhamdulillah….Praises be to Allah for fulfilling my dreams and making this possible…(The proof is here).

For those of you out there who would also like to contribute towards this good deeds, please contact:

Dato' Haji Mustafa Kamal bin Zaini (hp: 019-2149345)
President, ACT Malaysia
www.actmalaysia.org.my ( Please click here)

May Allah accept all our righteousness…Amin, Ya Rabbul Alamin…

Caught by surpise!

Little did I know that I would be one of the subjects of entry for Madam Ainon Mohd.’s (the President of PTS Publications Sdn. Bhd.) blog ...

For Malay Language readers, the entry in her blog Universiti Terbuka PTS (or literally translated as ‘ PTS Open University’) is here.

Don’t know why…

But I do appreciate her highlighting this…even though, I think I owe it to my other half – for his ever ready attitude and willingness to send me to the venue and then pick me up at the end of the never ending workshops….Mdm Ainon's entry motivates me to continue adopting her new ideas and exploring new ventures in writing more books…

There are at times though..deep down inside, when I feel like ‘life for me is fast approaching into its twilight years’ especially sitting there amongst those young and vibrant participants at the writing workshops. However, when I recall my late father’s voice saying, “You are never too old to learn..Remember that!” then I would dismiss these little voices and instead hold on to his words – real tight…

How about you? Care to join us writers? It is never too late to make a start…Sydney Sheldon started writing his first novel at the ripe age of 52. ;-)

Feeling really good inside…

All Praises be to Allah (3X)...Alhamdulillah..Alhamdulillah…Alhamdulillah…

For the 4th consecutive week, I have made myself available and to be able to follow Mdm. Ainon Mohd’s free lectures (the big boss of PTS Publications - an aggressive publishing company, she was and still is my mentor in writing) at Taman Permata, Kuala Lumpur. Always updating us with new projects, forever inspiring us with new ideas too…maybe I will share all that I have gathered – the notes that I have made while attending all these lectures – in other entries…For this entry – I just want to share this happy feeling...

This morning, I was feeling really swell… when I heard these words come tumbling out of Mdm Ainon’s lips:

“Ladies and gentlemen..who have never been tired writing and giving us your book manuscripts…your efforts have made it possible for us to venture into this Watershed Project – the translation of Al Quran for new reverts – and also for ‘dummies’(in the context of the yellow series of Books for Dummies).

We have made studies on how to make the Quran more simplified in its translation in order that a person who obtained just a grade ‘C’ for his/her Bahasa Melayu would also be able to understand the meanings of the verses…For that too, we have embarked on translations of the Quran in multi languages, in the hope that these translated versions will assist as tools for our brothers and sisters who are involved in dakwah work and to speed up their efforts.

We have produced the Surah Yasin in Iban language. The Quran in the same language is in the process of editing . The Khmer version is under print at Kampuchea. Others in line are in Kadazan, Tagalog and a string of others. These translated versions will be given away for free.

To print these, we need special ‘Bible paper’ – very thin but tough enough to be flicked back and forth. If not, the editions will be too thick and that will defeat the purpose of it being easily carried here and there, everywhere. This type of paper is very expensive. And that is where your efforts have helped us. The profits from the sales of your books as writers all these while – a portion of it has gone into this. We have really helped each other.

I am very passionate about this project and I am working really hard to make it all become possible. Pray that Allah give me strength and good health to continue and complete them all in these efforts. I want this to be my part of my good deeds (sadaqah jariah) when I die…"

Imagine how happy I was to hear all of these…All the hours spent in writing the books – have paid off in a way – I have contributed a little, if not much (as my books are not bestsellers although quite a number have been reprinted, their numbers are not very many…) However, I still feel very good inside.

You as readers are also contributing . For, in buying and reading the books by us PTS writers, you also have made yourselves shareholders in this very noble effort. Let us pray to Allah Almighty that all these good deeds of ours…are accepted by Him The Almighty….Amin…

For Malay readers, to learn more about these projects, please feel free to click the following:

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Eid…town…countryside…

“Abah! I think that would be your present for me, right? You must! Promise, ok?” said little Nuha Insyirah, her eyes wild with excitement.

My son-in-law’s eyebrows suddenly cocked up to one side.

By then, the little girl was running all around the fields and around the house belonging to an aunt (her grandfather – my husband’s side). Her t-shirt was all soaked and her forehead trickled with sweat. The little chicks she was chasing went helter skelter and were desperate on their feet, their mother clucking and following right behind them.

“Insyirah! Be careful, the mother hen could give you a nasty peck if she gets very annoyed!” said I, trying to hold still her little brother Ameer Ihsan who was flapping gleefully everytime the rooster cried, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

“But I want to hold the little chick in my hand!” cried Insyirah, “they are so cute,” and off she was again.

“How would you like yourself to be away from ibu and abah?” said her dad, trying to cajole his little girl.

“I would not like that!” she said, thoughtfully.

“Likewise, the little chicks. So leave them be, okay?” said her father. His little girl now tired, held on to his hands. But her eyes were still eagerly watching the yellow and fluffy chicks pecking and sifting the sands behind the bushes with their mum.

I remembered the first time we brought our son-in-law to this remote part of Kedah. A place called Kampung Bukit, near Napoh to be exact.

“What is that?” my son-in-law asked, quickly moving to the paddock nearest to the roadside. He could not help from running his fingers along the golden stalks.

“Why? That is the padi plant, of course! You mean you have not seen one?” I asked in return.

“No! I have not!” he said, a look of wonder in his eyes.

A teacher in a well established environment in the city once told me that she had asked the little children under her tutelage to draw a picture of a chicken. And what she got was a drawing of the fried chicken drumstick!

Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was put in the care of Halimatus Saadiah at the countryside as was the norm and custom during those times. This was so that the child may learn the fine language of the outback and grow up in the unspoiled and clear environment, where the air is fresh and clean.

However, the same cannot be said about the present state of affairs in most of our own countryside. On my parent’s side, the kampung is infested with drug addicts and situation for old folks staying all alone is certainly not safe.

How about your experience in your own kampung? Do you encounter the same situation? It would be interesting to share…

Our Eid this year was really a meaningful one. Ameer Ihsan (I year 2 months) has just ‘found his feet’ and put them to real use. Our yearly photo session was hectic too! Which explains why most of the pictures had to be just candid…

To all readers, it is still not too late to wish you all “Eid Mubarak…let us seek forgiveness and start anew”.

May Allah bestow upon us the strength and commitment to fast the 6 days in the remaining days of Shawal and to be able to see Ramadhan and Shawal of next year, Insha Allah…Amin…