The Right Way
I’ve since learned how we should do things the right way. Following the concept of salah (praying).
You see, the first thing we do even before we perform the salah is ‘niat’. That is, to saying in our hearts that we want to perform the salah. Then we go and cleanse ourselves through the ablution. After that we affirm our niat by saying it out. And only then we start to perform the salah. After praying, we hold our hands up and ask God for forgiveness as well as ask Him to accept what we have performed earlier.
In our day-to-day job, that’s what we should do, too.
1. Before stepping out of the house, we say in our hearts that we shall do our level best to perform our tasks. And at that point of time we ask for His forgiveness, for His guidance and His help so that what we shall be doing, will be made easier.
2. We go to work and do our best to fulfill our responsibilities.
3. We pray to God for what we do to be accepted and also to get His blessings.
That’s also how we should do a lot of other things in life – study, play, travel and even to shop.
Not Bad At All
The first day when I heard that I was offered a job in KL made me feel elated. I have always wanted to ‘go back’ to the Klang Valley. That’s where my family and most of my friends are concentrated. After a while, the reality started to sink in and I told myself “Hey! That’s the metropolitan…”.
I had been in the Klang Valley almost a decade ago and my memory of that experience was one of rush…rush…rush. Ignorance, selfishness, stressfulness…and not forgetting…high cost! So all those thoughts made me a bit scared.
Over the first few weeks, I tried to maintain my composure. I tried to avoid being caught in the rush hour. So that’s why I chose to go back after 7.30pm. I avoided going out to the complexes at lunch time. And I avoided going to the restaurants for meals. Except the Swiss Oven, where I would occassionally have my breakfast.
It wasn’t so bad, if one ignores the surrounding. I guess that’s why most of KL city folks tend to be ‘ignorant’. So I couldn’t blame them much. If I were to open my eyes and my heart to the surroundings, I would feel the tension. Because I would see youngsters not having any respects to the elders. I would hear polite words like “Excuse me” being said in a harsh tone. And that makes me wonder if they are actually being polite or forced to. I would see adults having no regards to the law, be it the pedstrians or the vehicle drivers. I would see the mixture of both rushing for limited seats in the trains while blocking those who wanted to come out. And I would see people rushing to the bus even when everyone has their ticket!
But on the other hand, I would also see acts of kindness. I would see people holding out hands to the blinds. Helping them cross the street or into the coaches. And these acts are regardless of skin colour or ethnicity background. So that’s so cool. People would still have smiles on their faces whenever you look at them. A few would still offer others their seats.
So in general, it wasn’t so bad after all. Thank You Allah, for making it easier for me.
Been A While
It’s been a while since I last updated this Blog. I missed it, though. Since I started working a couple of weeks back, things seem to be ‘frozen’. Time seems to stand still and so is my mind. I don’t seem to be ’thinking’ of anything else lately, except for ‘work’. That’s the sad thing about being in the corporate world.
I’ve actually learned my lessons, from the past dwellings. On how I had forgotten the most important things in my life i.e. my family. And how I’d forgotten my passion and my love for sharing stories. So it’s a bit disappointing when I am unable to do just that, right now. Can’t afford it, at this point of time.
First of all, I am commuting daily from my parents’ to my work place. And that means waking up as early as 4.30am to catch the 5.45am bus. Reaching the office around 7.30am, I’ll have some time to read the newspaper or to chat a while with friends on FB. But I still can’t think of anything else. Then in the evening I would most of the time go back after 7.30pm, either to catch the 8.30pm bus or the last one, at 9.30pm. That means reaching home around 10.30pm – 11.00pm every night! I’d only manage to spend just a lil bit of time with the kids before preparing to sleep and that is about 12am. So..how much time would I have for myself? Hmm…
I don’t feel tired. Not really. And I thank God for that. Perhaps He gave me the strength to pull all these crazy things, in the first place. But somehow I feel like there is a void somewhere in my soul. I feel like I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. And I don’t know exactly what it is! Sometimes I could feel there is a sadness and I can’t describe what is it all about. It’s like there is something unfulfilling. Perhaps it has to do with something personal that I have experienced for the past few months….that is taking a toll on me. Wallahu’alam.
I’m not complaining. I feel so grateful for what God has given me all these while. And the fact that I’ve finally walked out of the dark and long tunnel, is something that I would profusely thank Him always. And I would thank those who have supported me through that long journey, too. Those family and friends who really cared.
Syawal
Today is a great day for Muslims. It’s the 1st day of Syawal (Islamic calendar) that marked the victory of Muslims around the world against fasting continuosly for a month during Ramadhan. Fasting in Ramadhan does not only mean that we have to refrain ourselves from eating and drinking during the day, but also to refrain ourselves against our greed and bad behavior. We were to increase our gratitude to Allah the AlMighty, repent from our sins and to improve our good deeds. Most importantly, we were to fight against our own nafs.
Victory in Syawal means celebrating our success in fighting against those needs, greeds and wants. Only, and only if, we have fully made use of the time we had during Ramadhan to prostrate to Allah, ask for His forgiveness and spend more time in prayers and reciting the Al-Quran.
So during Syawal, we visit our families and friends while we ask for forgiveness from each other against our past woes and sins. Syawal is a month of good blessings from Allah SWT, a month of strengthening the kinship among us Muslims and also to strengthen our friendship with the non-Muslims.
Syawal is a month for us to perform good deeds, by attending to the needy. We’ve done this through paying the zakat before end of Ramadhan. But we are also encouraged to attend to them during Syawal by inviting them to our houses or to provide them with food, clothings or monetary provisions.
To me, Ramadhan has been a fairly good month. I hope Allah has accepted my repentance and forgiven me of my sins. And I hope He will continuously provide me with the ‘shelter’ that He has given throughout Ramadhan. It was an awesome experience. One that soothens the soul.
Have a great Syawal, everyone!
At The Cross-roads (Again)
I haven’t updated this Blog for quite some time now, I can see that. Obviously you can, too. Duhh! Well, I’ve been going through some challenging times of my life and I guess I got swept away by the turmoil.
Anyway, I am currently facing another challenge. I’m at the cross-roads between two job offers. Which should I consider? I am balancing the fact that one is a very attractive offer, but would require me to be away from home and the other is only half of that, which require me to be closer at home.
Then I remember writing this post about Priorities. Yes, I should put my family first. But does that also mean I have to sacrifice a once in a lifetime offer which I have been asking for from God all these while and one which I think would be interesting and challenging?
On the other hand, the offer that is closer at home would realise my need (I won’t say it’s my dream) to impart my knowledge to others. And who knows, with the blessings of God and my family, I would eventually earn more. Eh?
Usually I would go with my guts. This time, I would like to take cautions for I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes that I have done before and I don’t want to take any false moves. This is an important decision that I need to make and one which can turn my life upside down, if not carefully thought of. So…yeah, I need to consider a lot of things.
Reunions – The Way I See It
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Today was a day of friends meeting friends and strangers becoming friends. It was a gathering of the ex-students from UiTM who studied Transport Courses at the institution from way back in the 70s up to 2006. I was elated because I have been corresponding with them through emails and Facebook; and today I finally got to meet some of them.
I’m proud, because I played a part in making the Transport Alumni a registered society. I turned someone’s dream into reality. It was indeed a good feeling. More so, today was a history in the making. It was the first Annual General Meeting for the Alumni. Hopefully there will be hundreds more to come. The day was even more historic because we held the meeting in UiTM itself, where we used to study.
However, there were some who chose not to join the Alumni for reasons of their own. I know a few of them refused to meet up with old friends. A few were sceptical towards the ‘success’ of the Alumni while another few couldn’t find the time away from their families to attend this one-in-a-365-days function. But I can’t deny the fact that there were a few who were genuinely interested but just couldn’t get away from their commitments. I’d reserve my comments on that.
Reunions aren’t actually meant for us to remember the past. Not really. We would usually be reminded of the yesteryears on the first few occasions and then no more. To me, reunions are meant to continue with what we used to have. Friends reunited = Friendship, Kinship, Brothers- and sisters-hood.
Those are the things that grown-ups are lacking. And lacking those things turned us away from each other, which tore us apart; when we should be supporting each other. Because apart from our families, I believe that friends play a vital role in our lives, too. To a certain extent, friends could turn into our most precious supporters when even our own families turned against us.
Reunions, to me are also to find ways on how to make good of what we have gained from our studies. Because I believe that whatever we have gained, we must give some of it back to the society. That’s what life is all about. It’s nature.
But then again, everyone would have their own perspective. That’s how people see life. Not necessarily others would share the same perspective as mine.
Nevertheless, I’m happy. It was a successful gathering and I had a great time.
Motivating Ourselves
When a friend or someone else is feeling down, it is quite easy for us to help ease their pain and to cheer them up. But when we are feeling down ourselves, sometimes it is difficult to bring ourselves up. And we can’t rely on other people to help cheer us up, especially when we are so far away from each other.
That’s what I find most difficult – to motivate myself when I’m feeling down. What would you do when you are feeling down?
Those who can’t control their feelings would succumb to the pressure and let themselves suffer from the stress and become mentally ill. Some would resort to being depressed, angry, violent and suicidal. Some would resort to being a recluse. Some would go for the unlawful substance or even alcoholic drinks. And I’m trying not to let myself become involved in any one of those. God, help me.
So what can we do when we are feeling down and all alone? Here are some of the things that we can do, immediately:
1. Listen to loud music. And happy ones, that is. Because music gives a certain impact to the soul. If we put on sad songs, we will become even more depressed. I’d usually listen to rock songs..they are loud!
2. Dance to the music. Jumping up and down when we are all alone is not wrong, I guess. Dance until we feel tired or until we feel that we are doing something stupid. Then we will laugh at ourselves and we’ll be fine again.
3. Sing to the songs. Singing would help us to get the worries out from our system. After a few songs, you’ll feel relaxed and happy again. Trust me. I’ve done that a lot. But…sing happy songs. Don’t forget that.
4. Watch cartoons or funny movies. Laughter is the best medicine. At all times. Even though I have sort of ‘forgotten’ about watching cartoons.
5. Read motivational books- inspiring ones, that is. Or just simply go through a light reading – magazines or comic books. Don’t read the newspapers ’cause they usually contain bad news.
6. Pray. Prayer would always give calmness to the soul. Most of the time I would find that through prayers I would come to realise that I am just a helpless servant who has an objective to serve in this world. And that when I tend to forget that objective, I will be lost. And that’s when I will start to feel down and trodden. So prayers would help me to remember the objective and get back into focus. Sometimes, after the prayers I would get the answer that I was looking for.
When we are back to our normal selves, we can start to motivate ourselves again. Therefore it is very important that we have our objectives, purpose, mission, vision, plans, etc., in writing. So that we won’t forget and we won’t lose focus. Once we are back on our feet, look back on the things that we have written and what we have planned.
Some motivational people suggest we put these visions on a paper and paste it around our bedroom or work stations. Others would suggest we put in writing and read them aloud every day. Do whatever is most suitable for ourselves. So long as we are back on our feet and have the strength to move on again.
Tellin’ Ya What I Know
I’ve just recently become a Unit Trust Consultant with BIMB Investment Management Berhad, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad. And Bank Islam is a subsidiary of BIMB Holdings.
According to the Syariah Advisory Council of the Securities Malaysia, BIMB Holdings is one of two securities which are listed as being syariah compliant. So this was what I told friends alike. But, some of them thought that I tried to ridicule the other unit trust companies who also carry with them syariah compliant unit trusts. And some of these friends are in fact the unit trust consultants too.
Look, I’m tellin’ ya what I know, okay. I’m not saying that the other unit trusts are not syariah compliant. I can’t say that, because each and every one of those companies have their own syariah panels. So how could I say that they aren’t syariah compliant? I’m not in the position to say that.
What I’m saying is, the unit trusts under BIMB are 100% syariah compliant because the parent company is listed as one of syariah compliant securities. THAT’s what I’m saying. And THAT’s what I meant.
It’s just like me telling you that Wall’s ice cream is not Halal. And some of you would say “but they have Halal logo”. Or when I tell you that some Nestle products don’t have Halal logo. And some of you would say “but they are Halal certified”.
As I said, I tell ya what I know. It’s up to you to make the choice. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve done my part. As the saying goes “tepuk dada tanya selera”.
Again…it’s back to my mantra “We have a choice”.
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