Answer to the Call of Nature

Last month, a lady named Sue called me from the WWF Malaysia office in KL, politely requested me to consider to increase my monthly donation amount. I told her that I'd think about it (errr, in order to be polite and diplomatic).

Last week, I received the WWF journal, but only got the chance to flip through it today. Flipped through the pages, read a few lines, and somehow it got into me that hey, I really need to consider Sue's request. Besides, it's tax deductible. Untung di dunia, untung di akhirat (mudah-mudahan).

Last hour, I picked up the phone and called back Sue. OK, agreed to give my donation a booster.

For all the rhinos, turtles, tigers, orang utans and elephants:

Here is a wee bit of my contribution for you.

I pray that you will all continue to exist, with the help of the experts in the conservation and protection program from WWF.

I hope that all my kids, grand kids and great grand kids will be able to hold you, touch you and pat your back for generations to come.

Oh Allah the Almighty, please help us to help them continue to exist on this planet.

Wanna do your part? Visit this website - www.wwf.org.my

Ultimate Reward - Reward Yourself

It's high time where I think I need to reward myself, for surviving and maintaining my sanity and health despite all challenges life puts me through.

Welcome Aboard My Friend

Date joined the family - 27th September 2008 (Saturday)

Welcome aboard my friend.

Your first journey was indeed a very long and winding road exceeding 600km from JB to the town of Kuala Terengganu. We purposely wanted to put you through this challenging road for you to prove your worth.

As of today, after more than 3000km of journey, you have shown us nothing but relief.

Thank you my friend for being there.

Let us go through this turmoil and all challenges of life together.

Sweetness of Bitterness

Kenapa ubat untuk orang dewasa pahit rasanya?
Kenapa ubat untuk kanak-kanak manis rasanya?
This is another dose I've got last nite from program Channel 106 - Bersama Dato'.

Batu permata, seperti mutiara jugak, makan masa bertahun-tahun untuk menjadi satu benda yang sangat tinggi nilainya. It has to go through years of evolution and overcome all obstacles to finally be precious. Apply that to ourselves.

In order to get that wisdom, we have to undergo tests after tests, and then only we realize whether we've become wiser, or "hampeh". Only we know how we fared.

Therefore, adults need to go through the motion of experiencing tumults and many many challenges, to gain that wisdom. Wisdom does not come from just doing routines of our life. No doubt routine is safe, but it is predictable. We know how to react, we can anticipate. That is the very reason why suddenly Allah impose heavy tests sometimes, to test how far we can survive and how deep is our love towards Him. Or perhaps, we have forgotten about Him for a long long time, and He just wants us to go back to Him.

Jika kita mendekatkan diri 1 langkah kepadaNya, Dia akan datang 1000 langkah kepada kita.
Jika kita menjauhkan diri 1 langkah dariNya, Dia akan jauh dari kita 1000 kali lagi.

Confirm, today is the beginning of That Time of the Month. Stay solemn please....
Always, go back to Him and ask for forgiveness and guidance. For all of it, only He knows best.

Sacrifice - Berkorban, Terkorban or Mangsa Korban?

Oxford dictionary defines "sacrifice" as:

The giving up of something of great value to oneself for a special purpose, to benefit somebody else.

In Malay, "sacrifice" means "korban". Either you are:

1. Terkorban - dead
2. Mangsa Korban - also dead, victim of an event
3. Berkorban - pretend to be dead to make someone else happy
4. Pengorbanan - doing things for someone whom normally would forget that you ever exist

Sounds cynical huh? I am in a cynical mood these days. Perhaps its that time of the month.

There is a song in Malay about "sacrifice" or "korban", with lyrics as below:

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia

Kepentingan sendiri
Tidak diingini
Bahagia kekasih
Saja yang diharapi

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia
hmm... hmm... hmm...

Untuk menjadi bukti
Kasih yang sejati
Itulah tandanya
Jika mahu diuji

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia

Berkorban for Kekasih huh? If that Kekasih is Allah, then it's OK. What about if the Kekasih is your partner? Your children? Do we have to show our sacrifices act first, before they realize that we actually love them? Is it necessary? Is there any way that I don't want to sacrifice anything, but yet declare that I love them? Will that be acceptable? Worst, after all the sacrifices, they still do not acknowledge the love we shower upon them. So, in the end, after all the pengorbanan, either you terkorban, jadik mangsa korban, atau dikorbankan. Kesian....

In Islam, korban is an ibadah, with ultimate objective to clean oneself from harta and kepentingan dunia and contribute some of that to the needy. This ibadah is a commemoration of an ultimate sacrificial act of Nabi Ibrahim for his son Nabi Ismail. You see, Nabi Ibrahim had been married for many years but did not have any child. Until after almost 30 years, he finally got Ismail, and then at about age 8, Allah commanded him to sacrifice Ismail (as a test of Iman). How far can he go to sacrifice his one and only, much awaited child? Because of Ibrahim's deepest commitment to Allah, he placed Ismail's neck on a rock, closed his eyes, ever ready to swing down the sabre, recite "bismillah" and swing down the sabre he did. But when he opened his eyes, it was a kibas. It was such a relief. Verdict - Ibrahim passed the test with flying colors.

This is the ultimate sacrificial act, and it is about LOVE (kasih sayang). If you realize, in our solat, the tahyat akhir would mention about religion of Ibrahim and Muhammad. Allah wants us to have the guts of Ibrahim. Whatever test that we are facing, remember what these 2 prophets had to go thru, and compare that against our test. Is it comparable? Only we know how we fared. How far can we go in Allah's every test?

All in all, sacrifice, let me give you a new definition:

Sacrifice - a noble act to forgo one's greatest interest for the happiness of another person, with no intention for payback, but in the hope that the other person would remember and appreciates the act.

But maybe for another species:

Sacrifice - a vocabulary which has never existed in life, an act which can be easily forgotten, what more to be acknowledged.

Similarities vs. Differences

When do similarities between couples become important?
- when they are in love
- when they share the same ambition
- when they care for each other
- when both realize that each has his/her own responsibilities towards each other

When do differences between couples become a pain in the b***?
When their love for each other deteriorates.

There are many reasons why Allah made us as couples, besides all the differences we share, above all:
To complement each other.

Hence,
Should we focus on the similarities that we share or should we continuosly argue about our differences?
Depend on the love thermometer that the couples share. At 100 degree or at 0 degree.
At 100 degree, maybe it's all fine and dandy.
At 0 degree, forget it.
In between - how do we regulate?

Satu Kemaafan

Apakah signifikannya bermaafan di pagi 1 Syawal? Kenapa dipanggil Aidil Fitri?
Fitri bererti "fitrah". We are supposed to clean ourselves inside out during Ramadhan, so on 1 Syawal, we are supposed to be a piece of white cloth again - plain, pure, immaculate, precious.
But then again,
Kena tunggu 1 Syawal baru nak salam ke? Sebelum tu kita kutuk abis2an, marah puas2, hentam2 giler2, tapi on pagi raya, boleh minta maaf. Is that how it works?

OK, what about a person you love the most has hurt you so bad, that you feel there's no way on earth you will forgive the person. I always remember what Dr Fadzilah Kamsah said :
Maafkan semua orang sebelum tido. Baru hati bersih. Mana tahu kot2 masa tido tu dah tak bangun terus...tak baik tu, hati kotor..
Memang betullah apa dia kata. Mampukah kita memaafkan?

Sedangkan Nabi ampunkan umat, kata orang. I remember a story about a man who always threw shits at Nabi's house, and 1 day Nabi realized that there was no more shit thrown. He inquired about the guy, apparently he was sicked. Nabi went to visit the guy. That's how he changed things. Only through pureness of heart and kindness, will beat all hasad. Can we be like Nabi? Can we clean our heart and memaafkan semua orang? No matter how painful, how miserly, how disappointed, how disheartened our feeling is? Mampukah?

Hati mesti bersih bang, kak. Hati bersih, wajah pun berseri, orang pandang kita seperti tiada masalah. How to bersihkan hati? For more panduan, refer to my friend's blog on Hidup Itu Singkat (link is below). Siap ada lagu Aspalela by Apek on HATI.