Today

At certain points in your life you start thinking about the future. Especially when you're ending a stage and beginning a new one. You start thinking about all that you've accomplished and all that you still want to do.

Everyone knows these points,

when you finish high school,

when you enter university,

when you graduate,

when you get married,
...


It's inevitable and great and all. But, I think even more important than those 'great defining moments' are the 'everyday moments' that people tend to overlook.



What have I done TODAY, not yesterday or tomorrow, but this very day. Did I make a friend smile or helped out with chores around the house? Did I spend even a few short moments sincerely thinking about My God in prayers? Did I say thanks that there's a person out there that loves me?


Or.... did I just laze around complaining about the extremely hot weather and watch re-runs of stories on my laptop?






So, here's my tribute to TODAY.
..try to make the most of it yeah!

Disebaliknya

Ada apa pada rupa?

2 eyes, 1 nose, 1 mouth, 2 ears, 2 hands, 2 legs, 1 body= a human
Ciri-ciri yang terlihat begitu simple. Ada pada kebanyakan.

Tapi, dunia boleh berpusing hanya kerana rupa. Sellers and buyers in the currency of looks.
Betul kan?

Kalau nak kira, mesti ada berjuta kedai baju dalam dunia. Belum kira kedai seluar, kedai alat solek, kedai gunting rambut, kedai cat kuku, kedai majalah. Oh, tambah lagi, laman2 web seperti Facebook/ Friendster/ MySpace/ Flickr/ Fotopages...etc yang ahlinya sampai beribu, dimana gambar wajah2 Si Pemilik dan rakan2 dipampang untuk tontonan ramai. Itu belum kira lagi dunia filem atau dunia permodelan atau..dan atau....

Cukupla contoh sampai situ.
Tapi fahamkan maksud yang nak disampaikan.

Ada apa pada rupa?

First impression?
Cara menarik perhatian?
Cara mencari cinta?
Cara menzahirkan peribadi dalaman?

atau mungkin, anda pun tak pernah terfikir. Setiap hari menyarung seluar, setiap hari menyapu bedak, setiap kali membeli baju baru, setiap kali mengupload gambar ke internet, setiap kali meluangkan masa melihat gambar2 teman2.

Cuba fikir,..
Why are you doing what you are doing?

Lihatlah disebaliknya.

The Thin Line

There is this Thin Line.
It divides the world and everything in it.
People are controlled by it, whether they know it or not.
It has many names.
And it is strong, unbreakable.
Yet, The Thin Line is elusive.
Look for it, and you may not find it.
Sit still, and you might find you already have it.

Determined by intention,
Manifested in action.

The Thin Line,
..that divides between Right and Wrong.

Menasihat & Ternasihat

Tersangatlah susah nak menasihati seseorang.

Sedih.
Geram.
Bengang.
Marah.
Helpless.
Sedih balik.

Nak dibiar je- sesungguhnya aku amat menyayangi hamba Allah ini, tak mungkin aku boleh biar je dier macam tu.
Nak cuba mengubah- aku dah takde idea nak buat apa.
Dah try semua cara. Pernah dengar ustaz ajar nak menasihat kena berhikmah. Tapi kalau dah habis hikmah, tak da kesan jugak...

Adakah bermaksud hatinya belum dibuka Allah untuk menerima teguran?
Atau, kelemahan aku sendiri sebagai 'yang menasihat'?

Last2, dalam usaha menasihat orang, rasanya aku yang ternasihat. Terdidik dalam sabar & tersedar akan kekurangan diri sendiri. Tiada apa yang berlaku tanpa izin Yang Maha Kuasa.

huhu.
berserah!

Berayat-ayat

Fuh!

Mantap tul. Cube buka blog sendiri tadi.
Aiseh!
Baru aku sedar tulisan aku kat blog semakin lama semakin panjang.
Apakah?!!
Penuh dengan ayat-ayat lak tu.
Tak leh jadi ni.

Kurangkan ayat.
Padatkan maksud.

..
..
..

Tapi kadang2 macam best lak biler tulis panjang2. Rasa puas.
-konfius tul la ak ni-

In words I know how..

Being affected.

I cannot imagine being stuck in a place where I can't escape from falling bombs. I cannot imagine living in a place where bullets rain down on me and I have no where to go. I cannot imagine not being able to get medical treatment because the hospital supplies have run out. I cannot imagine myself bleeding out on the streets simply because there is no other option. Worse still, I cannot imagine seeing my mother bleeding out and know that there is nothing I can do for her. I cannot imagine the desperation I would feel when I go to the border of this horrific war zone, and my neighbor refuses to let me in. To just be left standing there, dying, all the while, looking over the other side of the border knowing a few meters are all that separates me from peace. I cannot imagine the indignity that must fill my heart when I think about the millions of brothers and sisters I have,.. out there that are doing nothing for me,.. in here. Above all that, I cannot imagine wanting to stay in such a place. I cannot imagine voluntarily choosing to stay, fight and be killed in this place because I believe that justice will prevail- if not now in this life, then later, in the next.

I cannot imagine-
because I am here. There is no shower of bombs raining on me. I know that there will be food for me tomorrow as it has always been there for me in the past. I am healthy and my future stretches in front me. I feel blessed.

Yet, what if I close my eyes tonight, and, I die.

What value is my life to me then?

I will die. That is the certainty. So will my brothers in Palestine. But their life is a carefully calculated sacrifice. They are promised Jannah. They die on the last true battlefield of Islam in today's modern world. What is my life? A calculated plan for a comfortable life on earth? So when the ground welcomes me, who is the one who is blessed? The one dies covered with blood fresh from the battles of Islam shouting Allahuakbar or the one who dies full of ignorance in sleep with the lilting voice of Yuna acting as a lullaby?


I am ashamed.


Because, even as I am writing this I know I do not yet have the courage to buy a one way ticket to the grounds of Palestine. The thought of meeting my death and meeting my Lord so soon scares me, even as I know that death will come for me regardless of where I am.

I am ashamed.

Its been a week. A week where my brothers and sisters of Islam are being killed mercilessly by Israel. A horrendous week which saw witness to ground of Palestine get soaked with the blood of fellow Muslims. Yet here I am, snuggling in bed! I sometimes stop while eating because it struck me what my brothers in Palestine would give to eat as I am eating.

I am ashamed and horrified.

I do not know what I can do for you my brothers!! I know that you are dying and I do not know what I can do. I don't know what I can do! I cannot shield you from bullets. I cannot help you escape. I can only sit and watch! I pray for you and cry for you but I fear that is not enough. I pray Allah gives you comfort. I pray Allah bestows peace in your heart no matter what situation you may be in. If you are dying and in pain, know that Paradise is welcoming you in a way I doubt it will ever welcome me.
I do not know what else to do, so, I am writing this. Let me write this for whoever that will read it. Let me write this so that you know, no matter how it may seem, your sacrifices will not be forgotten. Let me write this, so that other Muslims will also come to realise with whose blood are we paying for the ownership of Palestine. And most importantly, let me write this to always remind myself that my peace and comfort come at a price that is being paid for by others.

Let Allah always be with you my brothers. Let Allah help you through this. Amin.

Last day of 2008

I have been reading a lot. And I have been trying to experience as many things as possible. As a result, I have been growing. It is sobering to realise that an idea you thought was completely true may turn out to be the opposite.

Blogs, I once thought that if you had nothing to discuss and you were just writing down your thoughts (like a diary) then you probably shouldn't write a blog. As I read more I realise that there is nothing wrong with blogging even if it is just writing down how you feel. As long as you keep to the boundaries of Islam (no slagging of other people) then if nothing else, the blog can act as a medium for you to vent out your feelings and generate a response. It can be a way of release for you.

I say all of this not because I have changed the purpose of my blog, but rather because I realise that after reading a gzillion blogs that while the people may change, with different styles of writing, varying languages all writing about different things, and yet, amidst all of that, I am slowly starting to see a common thread. Some talk about world issues and others just talk about their own personal issues, but a lot of blogs written by young adults have something in common in which all their authors have something to say. Things they probably can't in real life. And I think its great they can do it online.

So entering the new year, any resolutions on my part?

Tons.

But none that I feel the need to share with people online. :)