THE SPARROW-ALHAMDULILLAH! - Friday the Blessed, the Sabbath for contemplation

It was Friday the Blessed yesterday, and you would find a sinner loitering outside the Mosque, finishing his cigarette before making his way in, a sinner amongst the pious, into the Mosque for ablutions and prayers.  

A Young Man Without Any Arms. Cars were parking illegally all over the place, as like on all Fridays, ordinary traffic regulations are not enforced so long as you do not actually block a road. A space opened by the pavement right in front of me and a small car slipped in. A Chinese lady came out of the driver seat and I was thinking to myself, "Huh, even the Chinese take advantage of Friday!" when suddenly from the front passenger seat, out jumped a young man and I literally jumped out of my skin, because he had no arms at all. He walked pass me with a spring in his step, as I continued to stare at him. He looked well-pleased with himself and I wanted to smile at him. He noticed me watching and we smiled at each other shyly. Dammit. He looked happy. He looked contented. How could he be, when he didn't have any arms?

So I knew, you see... that this Friday, the last Friday of the Holy Month of Sya'ban would be an extraordinarily good Friday.

The sparrow-Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

Alhamdulillah... Praise be unto God,

I recited, my voice spoke, my heart ignited,

Alhamdulillah... my soul sang and sent

All my Alhamdulillah to the spirits of the dearly departed,

To my Beloved Prophet and His beloved Family,

To His Companions and His Saints, alive and living,

Alhamdulillah... my spirit sang and sent

All my Alhamdulillah like a flock of sparrows in their thousands

Flying towards the beloved faces of my mother and father,

Towards my brothers, my uncles and aunties and all my cousins,

To all my nieces and nephews and all my friends and their children,

And as the flock arrived, they descended toward my beloveds,

And they begin to whirl round and round my beloveds,

The flock of sparrow-Alhamdulillah continued to encircle them,

A circumambulation of love around my beloveds,

Until a desire sparked in me and I found that I myself

Have become one of my own sparrow-Alhamdulillah,

...I could feel the wind rushing over my feathered wings

As I flew with scriptural speed around these familiar faces...
Whirling and spiraling like blue lightning,

...Oh mother! Oh father! Oh brothers! Oh my loves!

...................................

Have a wonderful Sabbath, sunshine. Keep your light on, remember Allah (s.w.t.) always and devote your life and love to His Beloved Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), His Anointed Mercy to all the Worlds.

From the strangest places and avenues do mercy come, and yesterday it began with a disarming smile from a young man with no arms. May Allah bless him always... for the journey ended in the flight of the sparrow-Alhamdulillah!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way 

In the Suburban Idleness of Hartamas - ya Allah ya Rasulullah!

People and God

How I prefer to deal with you, Love,

Than with people.

People who are conditioned

By their past and expectations, fears

And hopes of a bright future.

People who are not able

To be in the present with me.

Like icebergs, they float into my life,

And when I get too close,

The ice invisible underneath

Breaches my hull,

And I am left adrift,

Cut by their words

And their action,

Though they mean me

No harm at all.

O’ Lord, you mean me no harm,

But You would do nothing, and indeed

You would do everything to

Ensure my happiness,

Which is in Your presence.

...................................................

Praise and prayers be for the Message and the Messenger, Nabi Muhammad (pbuh) Beloved of God, and God's Mercy unto the worlds.

Yesterday as I was walking the dogs in the afternoon I passed through a secluded little park in the neighbourhood of Hartamas. I was by my lonesome save for two street sweepers who were taking a lunch nap on the park benches. And it was a good idea, because although the sun was shining brightly it was also very breezy under the shade of the tall trees.

As I passed the dozing pair the wind then really picked up, and a crop of trees were heaving gently, its rustling leaves suddenly bursting into song. Even the sleeping sweepers could not help but get up. For a minute or two I stood beside the trees, as the wind and the leaves sang their duet. Those crazy Sufis like to remind people that all things and creatures have their particular songs that glorify and praise God. It is called dzikr (remembrance of God). They also say that the salawat (praise of the Prophet Muhammad) calls the wind and the wind answers. So for a moment I was transfixed by the ya Allah (oh Lord!)and the ya Rasulullah (oh Prophet of God!) choir playing amongst the wooded hallow of a small park in the suburban idleness of Hartamas.

Then just as suddenly the wind came, it slowly died down and I continued my walk. It was a good walk you see. I knew it because it began with a stranger's greeting. A chinese contractor, having lunch in the coffee shop under my office smiled as he saw me coming in my walking outfit, then asked if I was going running. I said that I was not running, but only walking. Then he asked "Tak kerja ka hari ini? (Not working today?)" Then I said, "Kerja dan jalan!(Working and walking!)"

It does not take much to make me very happy. 

My dogs are friendly with cats so long as they are not snobbish.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Wedding in Perlis - Pictures tell stories

Fifi's parents love gardening I guess. They have an interesting batch of pink and
orange hibiscus around their little patch of village in Kangar. The red version is
the national flower of Malaysia.

The sinner is in the northern state of Perlis Indera Kayangan, the smallest little state in the Federation of Malaysia and the rice basket of the country. I have not been here for 30 years, I reckon, and am glad to know that things have developed decently, although the old ways are, happily, still the same. As we left our spanking new hotel last night, I was shocked to find a rice combine harvester, ploughing through a paddy field which we did not even noticed were right there in front of the hotel.

I am here for a wedding of two dear friends, Fifi and Syed Khaled, expected to take place this late afternoon after Asr prayers at her house just a five minutes drive from here. The marriage is an interesting amalgamation of Fifi who is a thoroughly Malay girl (with some spots of Siamese heritage I suspect), and Khaled who originates from Arabian stock.

I have misplaced my beloved songkok (traditional black-coloured Malay head gear) during the Eidul Fitri celebrations, and am now rushing to the small city (okay... let's call it a town) of Kangar to look for a replacement. So I can't write much right now. Below are some more pictures I managed to take yesterday.

When we arrived, Fifi the blushing bride was frantically asking us,
"Ooh... take me out! Take me out of my house at least for a while,
I cannot stand anymore of this wedding preparation!" So after telling
her father a bald-faced lie, we headed to Fifi's favourite seafood restaurant
at the jetty in Kuala Perlis. You cannot even see the place from the main road,
and would have to walk down this dark lonely path to find it.
Only the locals knows the place, she says. Wow. Exclusive.

Along rickety and loose planked pier we walked (or is it a jetty?), and pass
through the trees and small houses we arrive at the restaurant, hidden from
prying eyes and with a view of the Straits of Melaka. There were many Muslims
eating, but Fifi had once earlier asked the Chinese proprietor whether the food was
halal (permissable for Muslims). He blustered his reply,
"Waa... Agung pun makan sini! (Even the King have eaten here!)" He he he.

We didn't know what to order, but happily Fifi's relatives were having their dinner
at the next table. So we sought their advice and tested their food before ordering
ours. Yes. Fifi, and by proxy all of us, is quite shameless.

After dinner and incessant calls from her mother to come home, we left happy, satisfied and sleepy. Heche however went to do her best-friend-job and stayed with Fifi to help her with the wedding prep until later into the night.

Now it's 10.50am here in Kangar. And they are waiting for me. Gotta go now, sunshine. See ya later!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Silver Medal but Golden Heart - Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and the heart of Malaysia

Not Olympic champion, but our champion.

Last night, at about 9.30pm I left my house to pick up Mikhail. The road was empty with only a few cars making their way through the overcast Malaysian night. I knew where everyone were... they were at home in front of their television, recovering from (watching) an epic battle between David and Goliath, between our Lee Chong Wei vs the People's Republic of China's Lin Dan in the finals of the men's badminton competition in London.

After winning the first set and trouncing Lin Dan at 21-15, Chong Wei faced a resurgent Lin Dan who won the 2nd set with a confidence-boosting 21-10. In the nail-biting see-saw battle of the final set, the PRC player, seen by many badminton pundits as one the most talented and dominant player in the sport's history finally overcame our Chong Wei at 21-19. The scores barely hint at the drama that was being played on court and in the homes of millions of Malaysians as once again, our champion lost to the amazing Lin Dan.

Because truth be told, I suspect many Malaysians, when they knew that Chong Wei was to face Lin Dan in the finals, kinda sighed a mute resignation, "Oh, well... silver is already an achievement." That is the level of awe inspired by the unquestionable ability of Lin Dan.

Lin Dan. Simply amazing. 

I was close to tears watching the last few minutes of the 79-minute ordeal because my gut feeling was that Chong Wei was not going to make it. And alas, the hopes of millions of my countrymen perished after Chong Wei lost the battle of nerves with only 2 points away from our country's first gold medal. 5 minutes later I was on the road to pick up my son.

Don't fret, my friend. For you have won your place
in the hearts of milions of us back home.

But during the drive I recalled the British female commentator when she exclaimed that Lin Dan had once again broken the hearts of millions of Malaysians rooting for our champion, and it got me thinking... Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), that we as Malaysians had a heart to be broken. And for that thrilling 79 minutes, we forgot our communal and religious differences, our political agendas and historical baggage, our gripes and complaints... to find a common cause and a common hope in the heart of that thin lanky young man standing alone in the centre court of Wembley Arena, London.

Yes, I am right. Alhamdulillah that we had a heart to be broken. For it is a precious thing in this strange and often troubling times that we live in.

Thank you for sharing our sadness and happiness this morning, sunshine. God bless you.

Postscript 10.46am - And after the match the fella actually went and tweeted an apology to the 28 million Malaysians that were rooting for him to defeat Lin Dan... How can you not but love this guy? *smiling through tears...*

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Turning Introspection into Inspiration - Meeting the 'BOSS'

The Boss. I attended a pre-launch function for a potential client last night. It was organized at a fancy pant-sie restaurant not far from my house. No sooner that I arrived I was led to the private room behind the stage (it was also a jazz club) to meet the ‘Boss’. Inside I was introduced to the Boss, and I guess the immediate impression was that the Boss would be perfectly casted to play a Chinese triad chieftain in a Jackie Chan movie. His stern demeanour and the clucking underlings that deferentially hovered around him made the atmosphere even more convincing.

Come to the back. My boss wants to meet you. *Gulp*

Engak Bisa. The Boss was very polite and we discussed potential work. That took about 20 minutes. After that, curious as I was (and talkative as he was), we continued to chat about work, business and politics, especially in Indonesia. Oh, I forgot to mention that he is Indonesian. He shared many experiences and lessons about his life, work and family. But his main passion was in marketing and motivation, and in that sphere I found the Boss to be very passionate. Although he spoke in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesia Official Language), I was quite able to follow him as my Malay language and Bahasa Indonesia are closely related. Anyhow, He had one particular perspective about life, ambition and success which I found to be enlightening. He said…

Walaupun kamu tahu, engak pasti kamu mengerti. Sekiranya kamu mengerti, engak pasti kamu bisa. Walaupun kamu bisa, engak pasti kamu dapat. Dan walaupun kamu dapat, engak pasti apa yang kamu dapat itu bagus!

(Meaning - Just because you know, it does necessarily mean that you understand. Even if you do understand, it does not mean that you are applying your understanding consistently. And even if you do apply your understanding regularly, it does not mean that you are guaranteed success. And even if you do succeed, it does not mean that what you succeed in achieving is necessarily a good thing for you!)

Learning this is a good start. But it is still a looong
way to the Conductor's baton of the
Vienna Philharmonic...

“The problem with a lot of people...” the Boss continued, “... is because they leap from a little knowledge to imagining their grand moment of personal achievement. They learn to play ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’ on the piano with one finger in the morning, and they go to bed at night imagining themselves conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. That is just ridiculous!”

I think I am just like that. A bit of a daydreamer. But the truth is that there is no guarantee of success, and certainly there will be none if you are not willing to sweat and work like a dog. Throughout our conversation, my mind kept drifting back to my own career and how woefully short I am in that aspect. The introspection made me feel a little sad. But I hope to turn this introspection into an inspiration.

Pray for me and wish me luck, sunshine!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Oranges in the Sea, Coconuts on the Streets - Chap Goh Meh and Thaipusam in Malaysia

"Please... send me a good man, a handsome man, a wealthy man but even-tempered... not fat...
...nice skin... good family background... no busy-body mother..."

"I cannot imagine the state Penang must be in!" Mused Heche about her home island of Penang. "Oranges in the sea yesterday, and coconuts on the streets today!"

"Whatever do you mean?" I inquired.

"Well, yesterday was Chap Goh Meh, and today is Thaipusam, isn't it?"

Ah yes, she is right. I forgot.

Such is the condition of my country, Malaysia, with a majority of Malays, and a very sizable population of Chinese, Indians and other colourful assortments, that we are blessed (a former Prime Minister rather says we are cursed) by many public holidays. In total we have 14 national holidays (including Eid ul Fitri and Chinese New Year which is both celebrated over 2 days). At state level there are additional holidays spread more or less evenly amongst the states through out the year, almost 30 in all, I reckon.

Chap Goh Meh (or Chap Goh Mei, some would call it) is celebrated on the 15th night of the Chinese New Year here in Malaysia. In the old conservative days, it was the only time when single young women of marriageable age was permitted out of their homes, to be dressed in beautiful clothes and stroll up and down the street, but still under the fierce and keen eyes of their aunties. Young men would stand close by, watching the rarely seen maidens parade in their best costumes. The women would also visit the temples, asking for a heavenly matched husband and the beginning of a good and prosperous year. Another tradition also saw these girls throw oranges into a lake on the belief that the man who picked up their orange would inevitably be their future husbands. In Malaysia sometimes a lake is not conveniently available, so they make good with rivers, streams and even the sea, as in Penang. In order to identify your particular orange, nowadays some girls write their cellphone numbers or email addresses on their oranges. Ah, love makes fools of all of us.

Heche texted me late last night that the coconut breaking symbolises the breaking
of one's ego, revealing the purity within, the banishing of obstacles in life
to a begin a clearer and brighter future.

That was last night. Today (being Tuesday, 7th February) marks the Hindu Thaipusam (a national holiday), and we shall see a mass throng of devout Hindus in temples all over the country coming to worship, pray for good things, carry Kavadis in a procession to the temples (See picture below) and throw coconuts on the streets. Of all temples, none shall be as festive and crowded with the Hindu faithful (and curious tourists) as the Batu Caves temple complex not far from my house. Each year at least a million strong is expected.

Kavadis are carried normally as part of a solemn religious vow by the individual.
This guy must have asked God for something really spectacular.

This is my country. Full of varying ethnicity and religion. I am not much for the commonly bandied term of an 'Islamic country' but I  reckon the freedom and recognition of religious rights and festivities of non-Muslims makes my country Islamic indeed - In a very real and poignant way which is beyond the understanding of religious extremists. 

Religion does make people extremist and intolerant. It is people who make religion extreme and intolerant. I am ever thankful to God that in Malaysia we have enough people who actually make their respective religion tolerant and beautiful. And look at the plus side... we have lots of holidays!

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I will vote for the Orange Party. It is a Fruit and it is Good for You!

I Vote

The air is heady in Malaysia for the General Election. As long as I am in the country, I have not missed my chance to vote since I became eligible at the age of 21. The incumbent government has not announced the GE yet, but rumours suggest late March. We shall see...

I Cancel Myself Out

At heart, I think you may tag me as a Socialist-Libertarian-Capitalist. Perhaps the political tags kinda cancels each other out, which is funny. If I was a Sufi, I would be pleased with such an outcome. Sufis should stay out of politics. In fact I strongly abhor the use of God and religion in politics.  

The Choices

Politics in Malaysia is generally based on coalitions between Barisan Nasional (the National Front consisting of UMNO (the Malays party), MIC (the Indians party), MCA (the Chinese Party) (PPP and Gerakan, who are ostensibly non-racial but predominantly Indian and Chinese) against Pakatan Rakyat (People's Coalition consisting of PAS (the Islamist Party), DAP (again, ostensibly non-racial but predominantly Chinese) and PKR (non-racial but largely Malay). This is only in Peninsular (west) Malaysia. In East Malaysia, consisting of Sabah and Sarawak, there are even more political parties, mostly representing the Malays, Chinese and the Indigenous races of the states. There are not many Indians in East Malaysia.

My Choice

I would vote for the coalition that does its best to stand out of my way, and says or does the least stupid things. Based on my understanding of human nature, I am really not entitled to expect anymore than that.

The Orange Party

If no one can meet my criteria, I will probably draw an orange on the ballot paper and write that I shall vote for an orange. Or any fruit really. It is likely to do less harm.  

This is MY political candidate. It does not want to change the world. It does not
want to dominate or change the way I live or think. It just sits there, you know... being an orange.
And if you get tired of it, you can eat it. You cannot say the same think for a human candidate.

Have a good day, sunshine. God bless.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way.

A Rainy Chinese New Year, a Vespa Scooter and Propaganda News - Pictures tell stories

About a month ago, I mentioned that the hot dry season is coming. Well, it lasted for a week  at most,
then the rain came back with a vengeance, causing flash floods in a number of neighbourhoods
in my city. So note to readers: Don't use this almanac as a weather blog. 

I saw this colourful scooter yesterday morning. It was emblazoned with the tricolours
of the Italian flag, which of course makes sense since the scooter is the Italian-made Vespa.
I was walking on my way to buy breakfast.

I read this Flying McCoy cartoon today in the daily Sun newspaper. I think it is a little funny because
I suspect that most people have kinda made up their minds that 99.99 % of newspapers in the world
all serve some vested interests or other. Fox News is flayed by liberal and progressives as the un-News
television news network. But to some degree, EVERYONE has an agenda, be it a government television
network, a privately-owned news organisation, a non-governmental group or even a blog. It is not wrong
to have an agenda, the important question is whether your agenda is to promote understanding or hate,
circumspection or hubris, peace or violence, unity or division?

Update: On Chinese New Year holidays, and especially on the first couple of days, almost 99% of
Chinese restaurants the country over would be closed, which means brisk business for Indian, Indian Muslimand Malay eateries everywhere. We arrived for brunch and found a vast crowd of humanitytrying to get sitting in this famous Indian banana-leaf restaurant (Raju's) in the leafy neighbourhoodoff Jalan Gasing. They were all here - Malays, Indians, Eurasians, Caucasians and even a smattering of Chinese, taking a break perhaps from the festivities at home.

Have a good Monday, sunshine. It is a public holiday here in Malaysia, being the Chinese New Year. We have many, many, many public holidays. Gong Xi Fa Chai! 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon - babies and brides

Today is the eve of the Chinese New Year, as many of the 1.4 billion Chinese of mainland China and 40 million Overseas Chinese gather around the family table to celebrate the rise of the Year of the Dragon.

Befitting such an auspicious year, many plans will be made and followed through with the well-known Chinese diligence to get married and make many, many more Chinese babies. 'Tis a good plan.

In my office, Shikin, our tiny, tiny clerk manage to give birth to another bouncing baby boy yesterday, days ahead of her scheduled Ceasarian. The vitality of a Dragon baby, he cannot even wait for the Dragon year to actually commence. The baby weighed in at a healthy 3.5kg, which means that his mother would need to lose a mere 1.5kg to return to her normal weight. Shikin had absolutely the most skinniest pregnancy I have ever witnessed. "But she is so thin!" remarked Heche hotly.

For myself, there is a flurry of weddings anticipated this year, as young (and old) lovers among my friends and family finally settled to settle down. In less than 2 weeks time, I am (dubiously) respectable and (sadly) old enough to be asked to witness the Aqad (wedding) ceremony of my niece Balqies and her beau, Amirul.

Take care, sunshine. May you ride the Dragon well this coming year.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way