Child Abuse

Sad story indeed. Who is this child basher? Who is this child? Only Allah knows. This video clip was sent to me by my niece. May be if you're a working mother, if you can afford it, get a cctv installed at home secretly.... just to make sure that your child is not verbally, physically or sexually abused by your maid at home. Only Allah knows what your child had to go through while you are busy working at the office. Nowadays there are many ways to make money from home.... by blogging for instance. How exactly, I'm not very sure yet. I'll write more about how to make money from blogging once my maestro, Dr Yusri, is able to teach me in the coming blogging session after the final exams are over, I hope. Rather than leaving your child at the mercy of others, better find alternative ways to be as near as possible to your child round the clock.

Thursday Versus Sunday

It's Thursday vs Sunday (for us in the East Coast) .... or Friday vs Monday (for those in the rest of the other states)!!!

Since we were not born on silver plates, most of us need to go to work to support ourselves. Once in a while, something like this do happen to most of us, I guess, .... especially when we are a bit stressed. I really envy friends who chose to retire early and can afford to sit back... relax... and take it easy.

What A Wonderful World

My student sent me this video clip which I'd like to share with the rest of the world... a very creative way of making various forms of shadows in expressing this particular song.

Monkeying Around

This video shows exactly what the title says... a monkey monkeying around a dog!

What A Voice

This boy reminds me of Prophet Daud 'alaihissalam. It's not that I've heard Nabi Daud's voice before but I was told that Nabi Daud's voice was so melodious that even birds flying in mid-air forgot to fly.

Let's pray that in akhirat, we will be granted the chance to hear nabi Daud reciting suurah ar Rahman in the biggest gathering ever held for the occupants in paradise, insya Allah.

Mat Rempit In Saudi Arabia

I thought Mat Rempit exists in Malaysia only, ... until someone sent me this video .... Hah! It seems that they have Mat Rempit in Saudi Arabia too!

Hey guys... wait till I tell your mom what you did in this video... Believe me... it's simply not worth dying for.

Fantastic Advertising

If I were the CEO of Air Asia or MAS, then, I think I will surely learn something from this fantastic video. Simply fantastic and amazing advertising. I've never flew in Brussels Air before but watching this video made me want to fly with them. They've got the 'human touch'.... they care about their passengers and their staff go all out to please their passengers.... errrrm...well, ...at least that's what I understand from the message being potrayed by this fantastic video!

Is The Situation Really That Bad?

This morning, my heart nearly stopped as I watched the morning news. The man interviewed over tv3 said during his years, bus drivers only used heroin to keep alert. Nowadays, bus drivers use the ecstasy pills!!!

I guess, with that kind of confession, all the products of MAA Takaful, Takaful Nasional, Takaful Ikhlas and what not will be best sellers after this, insya Allah. Anybody who dares to travel using the public transportation without having any kind of Islamic insurance must be nuts! With this kind of situation, you are actually putting your life at stake once you board the bus.... Only God knows whose turn is it next.

Bus drivers should not only have enough rest before they start their journey, they should also stop at appropriate times to make sure their passengers have enough time to perform the obligatory prayers. After all, most bus drivers are Malays and Muslims too... Try travelling long journeys that involve the Fajr prayers. Notice that bus drivers never bother to stop in order to perform solaatul Fajr, for example. I pity those passengers who never got the chance to perform prayers when travelling in buses and if they get involved in accidents, they simply "mati katak".

Hopefully, after this, each time they are about to start their journeys, at least, to the bus drivers, recite doa's first... and initiate travel with basmalah. If they can do it in planes travelling for the hajj trip, why not on buses? After all, shouldn't all of us be practising Muslims?

There Must Be A 'Hikmah' For Everything

Yesterday morning, as usual, I 'listened' to the Ustaz preaching over TV3 while ironing the clothes after fajr prayers. The story about a king from an unknown country somehow stuck in my mind. The story goes like this:

There was this king who one day decided to cut a fruit on his own. While peeling off the fruit, he accidently cut off his finger because he had used an extra sharp knife. When he told his adviser about it, the adviser said, there must be a 'hikmah' behind everything that happens.

Feeling angry because he had amputated his finger and dissatisfied with his adviser's answer, he ordered the adviser to be prisoned instead. When asked again about his imprisonment, the adviser calmly said, there must be a 'hikmah' for his imprisonment!

Long after that, the king went into the jungle to hunt with his men (without the adviser, of course). He went for days to hunt for animals but to no avail. One day the king's troops were ambushed by the aborigines. All his men ran off for their lives when they saw the king got caught.

It turned out that the aborigines were cannibals! Fearing for his life, the king could only pray and hoped for the best. The aborigines wanted to use the king to make a sacrifice to their idols. Before doing that, they checked him thoroughly from head to toe. To their dismay, they had to let him go because of his amputated finger. He was not deemed fit for the sacrifice to their idols.

Once freed, the king ran all the way home as fast as he could. The first person that he searched for was his very own adviser who was still in prison. After the king related everything to the adviser, he said, that must be the 'hikmah' why Allah made the king cut off his finger. If not, he would have been dead by now. As for him being imprisoned, had he not been in prison, he would surely have followed the king into the jungle and would have been caught too... Since the king wasn't a perfect choice for the aborigines, then he must be the one to be sacrificed! Aha!!! Very clever adviser.

The moral of the story, I guess, is, accept whatever your written fate with redho'. Allah always knows best. Wallahu'alam bissawab.

Cure Against Magic

A very near and dear friend of mine sent me these 6 ayats for cure against magic recently. Recite them any time you like.

Beautiful scenery

I love winter. I simply love taking long walks in the woods during winter. It had therapeutic effects on me each time I took those long walks in the snow.

Waste Not... Want Not

An acquaintance e-mailed me this picture..... A very creative method to dispose your helmet...

Theorem On Salary

Have you ever wondered why you don't make that much money? Heheheeheee.... an acquaintance e-mailed me this 'fabulous' and amusing theory.

Suuratul Ikhlas

If you understand what this suurah means.... hmmmm... I guess Christianity will not stand a chance. Allah said Allah has no son. Prophet Isa (Jesus) is not Allah's son. Prophet Isa infact, has no father. In Islam, Prophet Isa is likened to Adam, who also has no father.

Mesmerizing Pictures of Magmas

An acquaintance e-mailed me these mesmerizing pictures of volcanic eruptions.... These breathtaking views can only be taken by those who are really passionate about volcanoes. Subhanallah.

Alhamdulillah, Rejab's Here Again!

To be read every morning and evening 70 times each with both hands raised:

"Allahummaghfirli warhamni wa tubb 'alaiya"

Tasbih:

To be read every day from 1st until 10th Rejab:
"Subhanallahil Haiyil Qaiyum"..............100 times per day

To be read from 11th until 20th Rejab:
"Subhanallahil Ahadis Somad"...............100 times per day

To be read from 21st until 30th Rejab:
"Subhanallahir Rauuf"............................100 times per day

Husnul Khaatimah

Many friends e-mailed me this picture of a very fortunate man who died while he was in the sujood posture in Masjidin Nabawi in Madinatul Munawwarah. Masya Allah.

As Muslims, all of us hope that when it is our turn to return to Allah SWT, hopefully we will die in husnul khaatimah (good, beautiful ending). We will be the happiest beings on earth if we end our lives in husnul khaatimah.

During our last moment on earth, syaitaan will try to deviate us from the true path. Syaitan will try his very best to make sure that we die in su'ul khaatimah (the opposite of husnul khaatimah - a bad ending), na'uzubillah. He will appear in various forms, among them as our mother.... If that fails to deviate us, as our father. All sorts of tactics will be tried on us, just to make sure that we die as a non Muslim.

May Allah protect us all. Ameen.

Ron Wyatt

People who care to read my blog must be wondering... why am I poking my nose in areas other than Maths... Well, to be blunt, I must say that my areas of interest are so diverse.

Ok. That explains why I want to talk about Ron Wyatt today. Have you watched Steven Spielberg's movies "Raiders of The Lost Ark" , "Indiana Jones" or "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom"? Heh heh he he he... If I hadn't become a lecturer, most probably I would have ended up being a journalist or an archaeologist... all due to the influence of Steven Spielberg's movies.

Ron Wyatt is an archaeologist. Together with his wife Mary Nell Wyatt, they've done research in the middle east, discovering many wonderful things such as the Firaun's wheels in the Red Sea, Noah's Ark in Turkey, the stones from Sodom and Gomorrah's era , just to mention a few. If you click on to his website which I will write down at the end of this writing, you will be shocked and awed just like me I guess.... simply because he reminds me of Indiana Jones (acted by Harrison Ford) complete with the hat and all. Perhaps Steven Spielberg must have visualized and personified his on screen hero from the life of Ron Wyatt heh heh he he....

One thing that I respect about the Westerners is their determination, their keenness, their thoroughness, their sacrifice, the willingness to go all out when they're interested to do research in their areas of interest. If you're a fan of the National Geographic series, you can see for example, their stubbornness to live with the gorillas in Africa year in year out, sacrifice their lives to get a better camera angle of volcanic eruptions, painstakingly wait for polar bears to appear in their arctic excursions... They made our lives to see the grandeur of Allah's creations so much easier, by just sitting back, relaxing in our couch in front of our tv sets.

Back to Ron Wyatt. Please browse through the following to appreciate his works in the archaeological field. You won't regret it, infact, even though he uses the bible, as Muslims, we'll appreciate the Quran more after reading his website. Whatever he discovered only proved further that whatever Allah mentioned in the Quran is very true and there's no doubt about it.

http://www.wyattmuseum.com/ron-wyatt.htm

http://www.wyattmuseum.com/red-sea-crossing-04.htm

Mouse Mystery

My colleagues from the computer science department will surely love this... heh heh he he he...

A very near and dear friend of mine sent me this. Under the title: "Mouse mystery is finally solved" , my friend's friend posed a very good and intriguing question: How does the small arrow on your computer monitor work when we move the mouse?

Heh heh he he he.... I couldn't helping laughing as I write this.... Well, through the miracle of high technology, you can now see how it is done... he he he....

Click on the link below and you will find out. Slowly move your mouse over the light gray circle and you will see how the magic works heh heh he he he...

http://www.1-click.jp/

A Real Sad Story...

An acquaintance e-mailed me this story.

A woman had 2 daughters. She got pregnant again and this time, even though she was hoping for a boy, the doctor said, it's another girl for her. Feeling sad, each time she was asked by friends, she jokingly answered she was carrying 'a snake' instead.

This incident happened in a hospital in Makkatul Mukarramah. I'm relating this story not with the intention to embarass anybody but hopefully as a deterrent for all of us. If we learn from our own mistakes, we are clever... but if we learn from other peoples' mistakes, we are intelligent, Insya Allah.

Allah always knows best. Whatever Allah sends us, we must learn to accept with 'redho'. Whether it's a son or a daughter, Allah must have His very own reasons. The most important thing is, we try to educate our children the best that we can, praying that all our children will be soleheen and solehaat.

I think, it is not advisable for those who are pregnant to watch this video. I couldn't help but felt sad for this unfortunate child shown in this video. To all pregnant ladies, recite lots of du'as for your foetus and recite the Quran regularly. Obey Allah at all times. May all of you have a safe and sound pregnancy and may all of our children become obedient slaves of Allah. Ameen.

http://img531.imageshack.us/my.php?image=makkahhospitalfh8.flv

It Is Allah Who Cures

Years ago, a close friend came to me, feeling distressed because she was about to get married in less than a month's time but had skin problem around the chest. She wanted to present herself to her husband with good-looking skin. She had tried various brands of cream but before she finished using any particular bottle, she tend to lose hope and would change to another.

I didn't answer her question immediately when she asked me what to do... simply because I didn't have the answer to her problem. What I did was, I related to her the story of Prophet Musa a.s. He was one of the fortunate beings who could converse directly with Allah, our creator.

It so happened that Musa a.s. once had a toothache. He asked Allah what to do to solve his toothache problem. Allah told him to get such and such kind of leaves and chew them. He did what Allah asked him to do... and, as a result, he was cured. The next time he had another toothache problem, Musa a.s. went to get the same kind of leaves and repeated exactly like what he did the last time. This time he found out that he wasn't cured. He asked Allah why was it this time it didn't cure him like last time to which Allah answered, the last time Musa a.s. had the toothache, he had asked help for the remedy from Allah, and Allah granted his wish. This time, however, he didn't ask help from Allah but depended solely on the leaves.

The leaves were the 'asbab' of his cure. It was Allah who made the cure possible. It is Allah, and solely Allah, The One and Only God who can answer all our pleads, hopes, aspirations, wishes ... call it what you may. Musa learnt his lesson well. And so did my friend. By the end of my story, she realized that she had acted like Musa a.s., putting her trust too much on the medicines and forgot to ask help from Allah.

Nowadays, each time I go to the clinic, I can't help but smile whenever I read the label written on the plastic wrappings : "Kami hanya berikhtiar. Allah yang menyembuhkan" (We can only ikhtiar. It is Allah who cures).

Budu

Budu is synonymous with the east coast states of Malaysia, especially Kelantan and Terengganu. If Melaka is famous for its cincalok, then budu is the food associated with these folks over here.

An acquaintance sent me an e-mail recently about budu. Budu has gone international! Wow!! Research done at the University of North Carolina, USA has revealed that eating budu has several positive impacts, among them, eating budu can increase, believe it or not, your IQ! Eating budu can also help you to avoid heart problems and hypertension.

Budu can reduce cholesterol. It has the potential to resist free radicals besides resisting the process of aging and, amazingly, can avoid breast cancer too! Budu contains multivitamins, iron, calcium and magnesium. Too good to be true, isn't it? I sincerely hope someone is not trying to pull my legs with this budu news. If what was sent to me is true, may be that explains why there are so many students from Kelantan in our public universities.... it could be the result of eating budu. After this perhaps we should 'drink' budu just like we drink mineral water...heh heh he he he ....

I would appreciate it a lot if researchers from our local universities can verify whether this information is true or not. If it is really true, then I'll have to make it a habit to add budu to my diet...

Just in case you're interested to read more on this, please browse through:

http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budu

Kacip Emas - The New Found Remedy For Chronic Diabetes

Alhamdulillah, good news are in store for those suffering from diabetes.

Kpt. (B) Yusoff Md Saad recently revealed in an Astro program, called "Bersama Anita", which was hosted by Anita Sarawak, that he had found the cure for diabetes, something which he named 'Kacip Emas'. As reported in Mingguan Warta Perdana, vol. 924, Yusoff said he founded the traditional formula since 20 years ago while he was still in the army; knowledge that he gathered from old Malay folks living in remote villages and also from the aborigines in the jungle (orang Asli).

The remedy is sold under the label of Gold Pincer Trading. Yusoff used 8 types of local herbs, among them what is known as "peria katak" and he mentioned that it takes 9 hours to process the remedy. Those who want to try out this Kacip Emas can contact Mr Zulkifli Wahab at 016 - 298 - 7878, Mr Wahab Ibrahim at 012 - 232 - 8669 or Puan Saliza at 03 - 618 - 80778.

Subhanallah. Allah has promised that there is a cure for every kind of ailments except for death. It's up to us to find them.

Why Barzah Was Created

Have you ever wondered why Barzah was created? What is Barzah anyway?

Before we were sent to earth, when we were still in the 'ruh' (spiritual) form, as Allah mentioned in the Quran, we already testified that Allah is our creator, The One and Only (Ilah) God and that we will submit to Allah and Allah only (see the Quranic verses: "Qaalu bala syahidna....."). After we were born, Allah sent His messengers continuously beginning from Adam a.s. until the last messenger which was Muhammad SAW to guide us along the way.

When we die, since we were created from the soil, we will be finally returned to the soil, to fulfill a promise made by the angel Izrail to earth when the angel first wanted to take the soil from earth during the process of the creation of Adam a.s. Some of us will decompose in our graves. Pious people and those who are close to Allah will not. The bodies of the Prophets, those who achieved martyrdom in wars such as Badr, Uhud etc will remain intact until the day of Judgement.

The 'world' that we will be placed in immediately after death is known as 'Barzah'. Yesterday morning, while ironing the clothes after fajr prayers, I had the opportunity to hear a lecture by one ustaz over TV3. So, back to the question, why was Barzah created? Except for those who became martyrs, why were we not placed immediately in Jannah (paradise) or Nar (hell) after we die? Wallahu a'lam. Only Allah knows the real answer.

The ustaz said, Allah is Forgiving. We were given the chance to beg for forgiveness from Allah for whatever sins or misdeeds while we are still alive. Once we die, the doors of forgiveness is 'partially' closed. I use the word 'partially' because, Allah, The Most Forgiving, The Most Merciful, has left another opportunity door opened for us. That's one of the reasons why Allah created Barzah. That 'door' is, according to the ustaz, through du'as made by the children of the dead persons for their parents. So, parents who have children who are soleheen or solehaat will benefit from du'as made by their children when they are in Barzah.

The ustaz said it is a pity if the descendants of the deceased don't bother to ask for forgiveness from Allah for whatever misdeeds done by their parents at least five times a day. He used the term 'anak derhaka' to those who didn't bother to make prayers for their parents. So, if you truly love your parents, you should always make dua's for them. Recite the Quran for them. Pay off their debts if they have any.

Some of us, i.e. those who were obedient to Allah when we were alive, when we are in Barzah, we will be shown our place in paradise already... so we will gladly wait for Qiyaamah to happen. Some of us, i.e. those people who were disobedient to Allah, will be shown our place in hell, na'uzubillah. So, these people whose final abode will be hell, will obviously not look forward for Qiyaamah to happen.

So, since we know all these already, we should act accordingly. Wallahu a'lam.

The E-Codes

Are you perplexed with the E-codes?

By the way, what are the E-codes? Have you noticed that when you buy foods on the markets' shelves, if you read the ingredients listed on the wrapper of the foods that you are buying, they sometimes list out that the foods contain things such as E471, E140 etc. Those numbers are called the E-codes.

My friend, Puan Zuraini Mat Issa, a food technologist, brought to my attention this website to visit for those who care about halal foods and are interested to know more about the E-codes:

http://www.understandingfoodadditives.org

Sun Baby

My student sent me these pictures. She reminded me to beware that there are some products in the market, in this case, children's shoes, which are made from pig 's skin. As Muslims, we should be sensitive to such matters because it involves our ibadah since pigs are najis mughallazah.

The Power of Basmalah

Basmalah means saying Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. It means in the name of Allah, The Most Benificent, The Most Merciful.

Rasulullah SAW reminded us many times to recite basmalah before we start doing anything.... before we eat, before we sleep, before we recite the Quran, before going inside our house, before we start driving our vehicle.... infact, anything or everything that you can think of, make sure you start off with basmalah.

Once there was a man whose wife had the habit of reciting basmalah before she does anything. One day he decided to test his wife. He purposely gave her some sort of jewellery and asked her to keep it safely. As usual, the wife recited basmalah before putting the jewellery in the cupboard.

Unknown to her, the husband took the jewellery and threw it in the sea. Then he came back home and asked for the same jewellery from the wife. The obedient and unsuspecting wife, reacting as usual, recited basmalah before opening the cupboard and to the husband's surprise, there it was, still wet, as if someone had put it back there....

It is very important that we make it a habit to recite basmalah. Rasulullah said, if a man goes to his wife without reciting basmalah, and never bothered to recite du'a, syaitan will have intercourse with the wife first, na'uzubillah. So, don't expect to get descendants who are soleheen or solehaat if you don't bother to obey Allah in the first place.

Rasulullah once narrated that when he was with Jibril during Isra' and Mikraj, the angel showed him his palace in paradise. When Rasulullah asked Jibril how to get in there, Jibril answered that Rasulullah has the key. Surprised, Rasulullah asked what the key was to which Jibril replied: Simply recite: Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!

We were told that life and things in jannah are things which we have never heard or seen before, never thought of by humans. I guess, after seeing the latest development in recent automated technologies, most probably, what Rasulullah meant was, the house answers and recognizes his voice and opens automatically... wallahu a'lam.

Lightning

I've always marvelled at one of Allah's creations, i.e. the lightning. I don't know why , but somehow, lightning fascinates me. They looked beautiful to me, as long as I'm not struck by one of course, na'uzubillah.

These pictures were sent to me by an acquaintance, if I'm not mistaken, taken by someone in Sydney, Australia.

What Are These.... Genies?

As we all know, genies can change their forms; they can transform to snakes, black dogs, black cats.... etc.

Some types of genies or genii can fly.

Only Allah knows what type of species these creatures are.

Naughty Postcard

Still A Virgin (And Proud of It)

Last night I almost choked while watching news on TV3 when I heard one of the Deputy Ministers confessed that according to a survey done recently, teenage girls in Malaysia are not ashamed anymore when they lose their virginity through sexual intercourse before marriage.

Astaghfirullahal 'azeem. I thought we wanted to be a developed country in our own mould by 2020 but look at what's happening now? I fear the retribution from Allah SWT due to our carelessness in shaping up the country's young generations' perspectives and values in life.

It seems that we are fast becoming just like the USA, where promiscuity is a way of life and rampant. Allah has said that doomsday won't happen until zina is rampant in society. It never occurred to me that this thing would happen in my own country during my life time!!! May be this is the side effects of globalization... Our teenagers tend to copy blindly whatever that comes from the west thinking that everything that comes from them is great.

Years ago, when I was studying in the USA, I had a friend by the of name of Betty Shannon. Her father is an American working in Saudi Arabia. Her mother is a Filipino. So, even though she was raised in the USA, she was brought up with eastern values. She looked like the next door American girl; tall, beautiful with model-like figure, and quite loaded. She commuted everyday from Paw Paw to Kalamazoo, Michigan in a Camarro. The only difference that I noticed about her was, her values. She didn't smoke, didn't drink and the female friends that she chose to be closed to were mostly people from the East; for example Malaysians like me, Iranians, Cambodians etc.

One day, while I was waiting for my Spanish class and she was waiting for her French class, she confessed to me that she was still a virgin. I replied: "So what? I'm a virgin too!!" She made gestures to make sure that I lowered down my voice. She explained that according to the Americans' teenagers' values (at that time), to be a virgin was a shame. It's as if nobody wants you. In Malay, I guess I should say sort of "tak laku".

Another incident that I will never forget was when I was hospitalised in the Western Michigan University's Medical Center due to diarrhoea. I had followed my seniors to an orchard for apple and plum picking. Poor me. It must have been the influence of the tv. I simply rubbed the fruits on my garments before consuming them; just like the cowboys did on the American shows that I had been watching while growing up.... and I guessed that caused me the diarrhoea! Dr Novak and another female doctor hovered over me because before I was admitted to the medical center, there were diarrhoea cases too and one of the students died. So I guess they had to be thorough in their investigation.

What was memorable over the incident was, Dr Novak asked me how many times I have sex per week which I casually replied: "Oh! I'm still not married yet!", to which I noticed that she exchanged surprised glances with the other female doctor. They were not expecting that kind of answer, I guess. Only then did I realize that the eastern values were different (I have to use the past tense mode because I think our society is fast changing and we are now almost just like them, sadly speaking) when compared to theirs, but I guessed they also understood that my answer was no, not even once...

Later on in my Spanish class, I learnt that my classmates who were American teenagers were proud to announce that they were sleeping with so and so, going out with so and so, doing all the things that's a no-no in the eastern culture, things which Allah actually forbade us. I'm glad during my years in the USA, I was like a fish swimming in the sea. My surroundings were 'salty', but luckily (alhamdulillah!) the fish was not affected.

So, to all Malaysian girls, protect and guard your virginity and chastity. Everything can wait until you are lawfully and legally married to your husband. If he truly loves you, he too has to wait and guard his virginity until he's lawfully wedded to you. That, is more favorable in the sight of Allah.

Answering Nature's Call

As a Muslimah, I believe in whatever Rasulullah SAW taught us, be it the way to live, the way to behave, the way to dress up, the way to eat, and even how to answer the call of nature. Islam is actually a way of life. As the saying goes: Neither East nor West, Islam is the best!

If one were to adhere strictly to the sunnah of the prophet, insya Allah everything will be ok. It has been proven time and again that as man advances in scientific research, all those mentioned by the prophet or in the Quran are all true.

Please visit this website:

http://www.naturesplatform.com/

Sun-rainbow

A friend e-mailed me this awesome photos depicting what she called the 'sun-rainbow' or 'rainbow-sun' which was taken in the Kuching (Sarawak) sky on the 22nd June 2007.

Inspiring Thoughts

A friend e-mailed me something which I would like to share with all of you out there:
Please go to:

http://www.InspiringThots.net/movie/best-day.php

Hope it'll make your day.

Road Accidents... Can We Avoid Them?

Malaysians are lucky because, here, we don't have calamities like earthquakes , typhoons, tornadoes or anything of the sort.

Anyhow, Malaysians, even though we are well known as good-natured people, we behave otherwise when we are behind the wheels. Why? I really don't have the answer.

What to do? Brace yourself with what I call as 'defensive driving'. On your part, try to obey all rules, then watch out for others. Before you start driving, say Basmalah, then recite : "Subha nallazi sakhkharalana haza wama kunna lahu mukrineen. Wa inna ila rabbina lamunqalibuun".

Fellow Malaysians, drive carefully. Remember your loved ones. YOU can make a difference.

Remembering Allah (At All Times)

These are pictures of ants' home sent to me by an acquaintance. It reminds you of Allah's name; spelt Alif Lam Lam Ha. Subhanallah.

As Allah's designated vicegerents on earth, we should remember Allah more than these ants do. We should remember and obey Allah at all times.

Laa ila ha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntuminazzaalimeen.

Towering Personalities

Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi talked about towering personalities and the importance of the human capital. Hmmm.... I guess, one of the ways to achieve these two is to make sure that we go back to the most basic thing that is the family. The family institution is the most basic building block which forms the society.

A happy marriage or a happy and loving family ensures that the children produced will be well balanced and able to contribute positive things to society. I salute our Prime Minister and ex-Prime Minister for showing good examples to the country on how a happy family should be.

I guess it's still not too late to wish "Selamat Pengantin Baru" to Pak Lah and Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah.

Start And End Your Day At Work With Du'as

To obtain barakah from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, start and end your day at work with du'as. Hopefully, if you are a decision maker, the decisions that you make on that day will be in line with Allah's favor. If you are a teacher or a lecturer, hopefully your students will have a better understanding of whatever you're trying to teach or lecture on that particular day. So, whatever your occupation may be, stay close to Allah by reciting du'as.

Allah said "Ud'uuni astajiblakum"...so ask, insya Allah, Allah will grant your wishes.

The Importance of Emotional Quotient (And personal suggestions of ways to raise your kids' EQ)

It saddens me when I read about the Malaysian student from Kampung Laut, Chendering, Terengganu, who was murdered by another fellow Malaysian student in Egypt a few days back. I can only express deep condolences and sympathy to both sets of parents.

My friends from UiTM Negeri Sembilan, UiTM Melaka, UiTM Penang, UPSI (Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris) and I were fortunate to obtain a grant from URDC UiTM Negeri Sembilan to do a research on the modelling of causal relations between emotional intelligence (EQ), managerial intelligence and the intelligence quotient (IQ) from 2003 - 2006. I learnt a lot while gathering information in the process of completing this project.

What I can conclude here is that, while we as parents stress the importance of IQ , we should never ever neglect about our children's state of EQ. Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes parenting mistakes in the process of bringing up our own children. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and realize them before it is too late.

In my opinion, a husband should try to provide a stable (financially, emotionally) and conducive environment when he plans to start a family. When the wife is pregnant, he should make sure that she is happy, well fed and well taken care of. This is important because whatever condition she goes through during her pregnancy will have later effects (positive or negative) on her baby. So no drugs, no smoking and totally no alchohol should be consumed before, during and after pregnancy by both parents.

Through my own experience and through reading, I noticed that if a woman is most of the time happy during her pregnancy, usually the foetus, when he/she comes out is an easy -to- managed baby ( in other words, a happy baby, a baby who cries only when he/she is hungry or wet). On the other hand, if a woman is sad or most of the time emotionally unstable or depressed during her pregnancy, then there's a high possibility that her baby will be a very trying, crying, wailing baby....

Somehow, the mother-to-be's sad emotions is transferred to the baby. I guess that's why in the traditional old Malay community, whenever a woman gets pregnant, all her wishes (especially if she desires to eat anything) are entertained even though it's something quite ridiculous to be obtained. Most probably, the old folks want to make sure the foetus is happy.

As Muslims, it's best that both parents-to-be recite the Quran regularly especially suurah Lukman, Yusuf and Maryam. When the child is born, feed him with halal foods only which should be obtained through halal means. While the child is growing up, live according to the sunnah of the prophet.... A child learns best through living examples set by the parents (they are the very first and most effective role models in the child's life) and the environment around him. Be fair to him and his siblings.

Let the children mix around with good company. Choose your children's friends. Teach your children to learn to give and take and learn to accept defeat (in sports, school exams) gracefully and graciously. Winning is not everything in anything else, but winning Allah's pleasure should mean everything to the child.

Teaching a child about moral values or about anything at all from a very young tender age is like writing on a stone. It will stick in his mind and he will remember whatever that is being preached unto him for his whole life, insya Allah. He may not seem to obey you now, but trust me, it will take effect in his later years, insya Allah.

gordevs@yahoo.com wrote this:

Give your child all the love he needs.

Give him care - continuously, consistently. It's essential for his mental development.

Give him your time. The hours you spend with him mean more than you will ever imagine.

Give him opportunities. To learn and experience new things. This enriches his mind.

Give him encouragement. In work and play. Do not limit his attempts at exploring, imitating, creating, imagining and constructing.

Give him responsibilities, starting with simple chores. It's good training, and makes him feel useful.

Give him the right to be different. He's unique- don't compare him with his brothers or sisters.

Give him praise. For all his achievements. But even more - for all his effort in trying, even if he fails.

Give him your understanding. Consider his age and temperament when you show disapproval. You may reject his behaviour, but never the child.

Give him reassurance - constantly. Never withdraw from him. Or threaten to stem your love or give him away.

Give him everything he needs. Expect nothing in return. You chose to have him - he did not choose to have you. So teach him respect for elders and filial piety.

Believe it or not, between a high IQ score and a high EQ score, employers tend to give priority to choose those with a higher EQ score (even though they have lesser IQ score). Employees with a higher EQ score can work better with their counterparts, easier to manage (they cause less problems) and perform better on the job. So, when your children are still in school or university, make sure they learn all the soft skills; how to socialize, how to communicate effectively their ideas, their feelings, how to vent their anger and disappointment through the proper channels. Children pick up these skills through their co-curriculum and sports activities without them even realizing it.

Lastly... You can't protect your children all the time. After all your painstaking efforts, pray to Allah ... a lot! Hopefully our children will be amongst those people whom Allah is pleased with them. If Allah is pleased with them, then everything else is guaranteed. Rest reassured that they will do fine in life, insya Allah. You can then walk tall. Ameen.

The Lamborghini Patrolling Our Highways?

Last week, I watched the program 'Beyond Tomorrow' over TV1. Ahaa.... Do you know that the Italian's police force use the Lamborghini to patrol their highways?

It would surely boost the morale of the Malaysian police personnel (besides getting a higher wage hike starting July 1st this year) if they were given the same kind of sophisticated gadgets to perform their duty. It would make me feel like I'm another James Bond or Simon Templar ('The Saint') doing my job if I were in their shoes...

Dad.... Amarte Asi

My Dad passed away in March last year. I missed him terribly. My younger sister used to tease me by calling me "Daddy's girl" because may be to her I appeared closer to Dad. Ever since I was a little girl, I had always confided to Dad each time I worry about something or anything at all... He was always there to listen and to console whenever necessary.

My Dad taught me how to recite the Quran. He patiently held the bicycle's rear when I first learnt how to cycle just like in the fast food advertisement on tv. He accompanied me to school for one whole week when I first started primary school. I can still vividly recall him holding my hand as we walked down to town after I've finished class to catch a bus ride home. He taught me to look to the left... then look to the right before I crossed the road to town.

I don't think I can match him when it comes to teaching my own children the values of life. Every waking moment of his was spent on doing da'wah to his children, his relatives... even his customers (my dad owned a sundry shop) were not spared! He reminded to me remember Allah at all times and not to forget syaitan's eternal promise to deceive human beings.

To me, Dad is still alive and will always live because I never got the chance to see him buried on the day he died. When I reached home, everybody had just got back from the graveyard... If only they had waited just a little bit longer. So, each time I go back to my home town, I still feel as if he is still around. As a Muslimah, I know, insya Allah, I'll meet him again in Mahsyar... hopefully both of us will be among those people whom Allah is pleased with them.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I pray that Allah is pleased with you in Barzah. Amarte asi.

Friends

Friends matter a lot. Friends can make your life happier, merrier and more cheerful.

If you're not selective enough, friends can also destroy you. Ever heard of the famous phrase : "Tell me who your friends are... and I can tell you what sort of a person you are" and also "Birds of a feather flock together"?

A good friend is likened to a perfume seller. Even though you don't buy her perfume but the sweet nice scent will stick to you somehow. A bad friend is likened to a blacksmith. Even though you stay away from him, the black smoke will find its way to you and will dirty your clothes somehow...

Good caring friends are those people who would stick with you through good times and bad times. Always there for you when you needed them the most. Their words of encouragement lift you up when you are down. They are beside you to remind you whenever you err or forget... They lend their shoulders for you to lean on when you are weepy. Blessed are the lives of those who are lucky enough to have sincere, caring and kind friends.

Allah Is Everywhere

We cannot see Allah, but Allah is everywhere. Only in Akhirat, will the fortunate ones amongst us be able to see Allah. They are the ones who, while on earth are obedient to Allah.

Allah said in the Quran, Allah is nearer to us than our jugular veins. We must always remember Allah in whatever we do. Everything that we do or don't do is for Allah's pleasure and we try to go all out to make sure that Allah is pleased with us.

We don't practice usury because Allah hates oppression. We spread love, goodness and kindness because Allah loves peace on earth. We care about others because we seek harmonious relationship among mankind (hablumminannas) so that our relationship with Allah is in harmony too (hablumminallah).

We try to be obedient and good at all times because we know Allah, the One and only One God who is never tired, the One who never sleeps, is watching us and Allah is everywhere.

Little Porcupines

Mind you.... These are not cacti but baby porcupines!!

They look cute aren't they? I just wonder how the mother porcupine must have felt when she delivered these baby porcupines... whether the sharp needle-like thorns hurt her or not.

Most probably it's just like mother hen's case. Her eggs are soft while they are still inside her, but once they come out, they harden and appear as eggs like we see in our everyday life.

(I got this picture from an e-mail sent by an acquaintance. So, regrettably, I don't know who the real owner of this picture is.)

The Problem With Maths...

When I was young, one of my teachers commented that among all the subjects taught in school, Mathematics IS the easiest... He said , the subject will become easier if I were to think positive and psyche myself up saying that "I CAN DO IT... I CAN DO IT !" all the time.

Looking back now, I think he is right. I notice that, my students, once they have what I call as a 'defeatist mentality', they tend to easily give up and stop trying such that even if they were given simple problems, they won't be able to solve them.

So, each time I encounter students like these, the most important thing that I try to do is build up their self-confidence first. Something must have happened in their history of learning Maths so much so that they've become so negative towards Maths.

I once had a student who repeated her class for MAT xxx. When she was in my class, surprisingly, I noticed that she understood whatever that was being taught in class and could answer all the assignments given correctly. I asked her what exactly happened when she took the course the first time. She said, whenever she asked her previous lecturer, she was always rebuked with the phrase, "Don't tell me you don't even know a simple thing like that?", which made her feel so turned off and rejected. So, she stopped trying and stopped asking.

I can understand her plight. My own son who was in primary school years ago once came home and told me that when he asked his teacher how to solve a particular Maths problem, was given this answer instead: "Go back and ask your mom!" The teacher was lucky he wasn't in front of me at that time.... for if not, I would have strangled him!

Sunsilk Lady

There was a big flood last weekend in
Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

I pity those unfortunate residents living in Kuala Lumpur. It's a heavy price to pay in the name of development.

It's times like this that one tend to feel fortunate to live in Dungun... a quiet, serene, scenic town with azure blue skies and in the afternoon blessed with turqoise blue sea. Dungun is a town situated in Terengganu, one of the east coast states.

In times of adversity, I guess one should always do istighfar to Allah and always look at things from a positive perspective. The picture attached above was sent to me by an acquaintance. Children are blessed with the ability to easily adapt to good or bad situations, infact they can still enjoy having a good bath and playfully shampooing an elderly's hair!!!

Wrath of Allah

Allah is Al Jabbar. Al Qahhar. Allah is able to do all things Allah desires. With mere "Kun".... It will be "Fayakoon".

The oppressed Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan may not have technologies as advanced as the kuffars. The one and only one thing that they have is their du'a. Supplications were and are still being made to Allah so that Allah will somehow torment their oppressors just like in the Ahzab war during ar Rasul's times.

The American soldiers and President Bush's administration showed their might in the Middle East.... but lo! Allah showed His might too. Allah gave them Katrina and Rita in the states near the Gulf of Mexico. Allah gave them big forest fires in California. Allah gave them tornadoes in the mid-eastern states. Allah gave them floods in the eastern states. What more are they asking for?

Which of the favors of Allah are they denying?

The Splitting of the Moon

In the movie 'Devdas' which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Devdas acknowledged that Paro is beautiful, as beautiful as the moon. The only thing that he didn't like about Paro was that, to him, she was arrogant. He mentioned that even the moon is not arrogant as Paro is. What touched me was Paro's answer . She said, she can afford to be arrogant because she has no scars. The face of the moon is full of scars.

The moon has no atmosphere like the earth. Its surface is full with craters made by bombardments of passing meteorites and whatever debris flying in space which were and are attracted by the moon's gravitational pull.

It is common knowledge that since man first landed on the moon, they discovered that it showed symptoms of having been split into two . Tests done proved the theory to be true. What Muslims knew all along as mentioned in history books is that, during the times of the prophet Muhammad SAW, he was asked by the musyrikoon to prove that he is a prophet.

What Rasulullah did was, he pointed his finger to the moon and the moon was split into two. He then moved half of the moon to one side and the other half to another. Finally, he made both parts of the moon to gather as we see the moon today. There were witnesses among different Arab tribes to testify this astounding occasion as recorded in the history books. Praise be to Allah, the one and only God. Lord of all the worlds.

(I got this picture of the moon e-mailed to me by a friend, most probably this picture was provided by NASA)

Bush Can Never Win

I got this superimposed picture from an e-mail sent by an acquaintance.

I guess no matter how hard President Bush tries to manipulate the war in Iraq, he could and will never win.

Muslims are die-hard people...willing to die for the sake of Islam. The American soldiers fight to live, while the Mujahideens fight with all their might to die.... surely the results won't be the same. Dying as a martyr is the best and most glorious form of death seek by Muslims.

Once during Ar Rasul SAW's days, there was this Muslimah who had three sons who went for jihad. When news came that one of her sons died during the war, she was silent. When news came that another son of hers also died as a martyr, she was still silent and kept her composure. Finally... when she was informed that the third son also achieved martyrdom, only then did she cry.

When she was asked the reason why she cried, she said she was sad not because of her sons' deaths but because she no longer has sons to offer to fight in the path of Allah! Masya Allah....

History usually repeats itself. Perhaps President Bush and his administration should take heed of past experiences from the previous wars in Korea and Vietnam. Moreover, the story cooked up by the president about the existence of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) proved to be a mere hoax. One certain fact that should be embedded in the Americans' minds is that Osama Ben Laden's threat is for real.... Osama is SBD (silent but deadly).