Actions Speak Louder than Words

Assalamualaikum,

Here's a story for you.

One group of friends are at a restaurant waiting for their dinner. Then another group of friends come to the same restaurant and sit down a few tables away. While waiting for their food, the maghrib azan is heard from the nearby surau. Since the food didn't arrive yet, a few people from the 1st table decide to go pray at the surau. Just as they're about to get up, the drinks come, so they sit back down. One of them while sipping on his drink, glances over at the other table. To his surprise, no one was there anymore. There were food and drinks on the table, but no people sitting there. They had all gone to the surau for maghrib. Feeling a little embarrassed, he and his friends too decided to go pray at the surau.

Lesson of the story, sometimes we don't need to say anything to encourage people to do good. Sometimes leading by example is the best form of da'wah.

"O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not? Grievously odious is it in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not."

Al-Qur'an, 061.002-003

Malaysian Football Hooligans

Assalamualaikum,

For those of you who know me, you'll know I don't watch Malaysian football. But tonight was the final of Piala Malaysia, so my friends and I watched it lah. Anyway, I'm not about to comment on the football. But I would like to talk about the fans.

In England, hooliganism among football supporters was a huge issue in the past. Now even if there are a few isolated cases of hooliganism involving English fans, the problem has been almost completely eradicated. Unfortunately, I don't think the same can be said about our Malaysian football fans.

Watching the match on TV, it was like a warzone. Mercun going off continuously, smoke filling up the stadium, seats set on fire, projectiles being thrown, what's worse is that someone who put the fire out with an extinguisher was targeted by a projectile.

There's nothing much for me to say really. Just that Malaysians (or in this particular case, the majority of the fans were Malay) are still a bit uncivilised when it comes to football.

Sad really that the fans portray a negative image of the beautiful game.

The other side of Aurat

Assalamualaikum,

First of all, if anyone was waiting, hoping, maybe praying for an update, sorry lah I didn't update in a long time. Been busy with the usual final-days-rush-to-finish-assignments-and-lab-reports. Even now I'm in the middle of finals, I'm only writing because I malas to study environmental law. Hehe..so here's a short entry on something I think not many people have ever thought about.

Aurat is a common subject for discussion, and one that many people feel very emotional about. A women's aurat is a "tool" many people use to label women, although it shouldn't be that way despite our common instincts to judge people.

But we almost never talk about guys when we think aurat. It's always the women who come under criticism when we discuss aurat. Boys have their own aurat too, why aren't they ever talked about? I always see at the pasar malam, mamak or even in malls guys wearing shorts. Some are like khakis shorts, some are those flowery shorts that look almost like boxers. Why doesn't anyone ever make any noise about them? They too don't cover their aurat just like the women who don't wear tudung. So why do we always "attack" the women but not the men?

To any guys out there who go out in shorts, I hope you stop. It might seem like a small issue, but it's the equivalent to a woman not wearing a tudung. Aurat is aurat, regardless if your male or female.

Potato Love?

Assalamualaikum,

A message from our Creator?

Allah Knows Best

Assalamualaikum,

You know, we always pray for things that we want. We pray for good health, for a long and blessed life, for murah rezeki, for a happy family, good friends, good results in exams, the works.

Sometimes, we pray for things which we think are good, but might not be the best for us. Or we pray that something won't happen to us, because we think it's bad for us, but actually its the best thing for us. We only know what is immediately apparent to us, we never know in the grand scheme of things, what truly is good for us, and what isn't. And that is what makes Allah far more superior to us, being able to know what is best for us and what isn't, and hence granting us what is best for us, even though we might not see it as a blessing to begin with.

If we don't get what we pray for, it's not because Allah ignores us, or because He can't give us what we want, if He gives us something we pray not to receive, its not because He wants to punish us or because He just wants to play with us, but because He knows what is best for us and what isn't.

"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not."

Al-Qur'an, 002.216