Category: Random rambling

Reminiscing the good old days? Aye

Someone asked me about my SPM results.  Well, it was more than 20 years ago when I had the SPM exam.  I still remember what my results were.  I got C4 for Malay language and A2 for English and A1 for Arabic.  Yup.  Don’t ask my how I got such results.  I tried my best.  Indeed.

Thinking back, even though I like reading yet I was more inclined to listen to English songs.  That might explain why I got a better grade for English as compared to Malay.  But if you ask me if I can still converse in Arabic, the answer is No.  But I can roughly understand if someone converse in Arabic.  Especially when it comes to numbers.  I still remember numbers in Arabic.  So, it does help to use it when I performed hajj.  There was this incident when I wanted to buy a jubah which the sales person tried to sell it for “150 riyal”, but when he was asked by a Tunisian couple how much the jubah cost, he replied “80 riyal”.  To his surprise, I replied in my broken Arabic that he was trying to cheat in which he told two different prices to different customers.  Of course I got the jubah for 80 riyal in the end.

Learning language is not easy.  Yet, using it for different context such as for academic writing, magazine and such requires one to be proficient in selecting the wording and whatsnot.  Clearly, I don’t think I am that proficient.  Well, apparently, writing in this webometrics in English makes some people think that I am proficient.  I feel like a fake.  Indeed.

 

Kaedah memberi sumbangan

7 Muharram 1442H

Firman Allah SWT:

﷽

قُلْ أَنفِقُوا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا لَّن يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنكُمْ ۖ إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ [التوبة : 53]

Ertinya: “Katakanlah: “Dermakanlah harta kamu sama ada dengan sukarela atau kerana terpaksa, tidak sekali-kali akan diterima daripada kamu, (kerana) sesungguhnya kamu adalah orang-orang yang fasik.” (Surah At-Taubah: 53)

Keterangan Ayat:

1. Sebab turun ayat: Ketika orang munafik ingkar untuk keluar berjihad bersama Rasulullah SAW dan mereka hanya ingin memberi sumbangan harta!

2. Allah SWT tidak akan menerima sumbangan mereka! Sama ada mereka memberikan sumbangan secara sukarela atau terpaksa!

3. Sumbangan mereka tidak diterima kerana mereka adalah orang yang fasik! Mereka tidak beriman dan tidak taat kepada perintah Allah!

Rujukan tafsir: At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir dll.

Antara Petunjuk Ayat:

1. Tidak semua sumbangan harta diterima oleh Allah! Hanya sumbangan yang cukup syarat sahaja yang diterima!

2. Sumbangan orang munafik tidak diterima oleh Allah! Mereka ragu-ragu kepada agama Allah! Mereka melanggar perintah Allah!

3. Sumbangan harta yang diterima oleh Allah SWT adalah sumbangan yang diberikan dengan keimanan dan keikhlasan!

Kaedah Beramal:

1. Hendaklah kita memberi sumbangan dengan mengikut perintah Allah! Bukan dengan melanggar perintah!

2. Hendaklah kita menjadi orang yang yakin kepada agama Allah dan tidak melanggar perintah Allah!

3. Hendaklah kita memberi sumbangan dengan keimanan dan keikhlasan! Bukan dengan kekufuran dan kefasikan!

Ya Allah jadikanlah kami orang yang memberi sumbangan dengan keimanan dan keikhlasan, terimalah amalan kami. Aamiin.

Nothing can be stopped from happening with the Blessing from Allah: Part 3

It has been more than a month since it happened.  At the moment, since the ceiling was replaced yesterday (10 August 2020, Monday), I am starting to do the cleaning process.  Bit by bit.  Yup.  I need to move the old moldy book shelves out (I need to repaint one of the shelves – still can be used as the mold is not that bad).  But the moldy shelve?  Total lost.  The wood is damaged.  It starts to rot.

The smell of rotting wood is what contributes to the current smell of my room.  It will be better sooner or later once I start cleaning.  Alhamdulillah I have Pandanus amaryllifolius  at home.  So, I brought some to my office.  I also bought charcoal and put it inside the office. On top of that, one of my seniors lent me her air ioniser.  I put that as well.  This is my way to get rid of the smell au naturale. 

From the first day since it happened, I try to look at what I can gain from this incident rather than the loss.  It is not about the monetary compensation, but what I can “gain” from this incident is more about what I can do to move on with my life.  There are so many junk that I have been wanting to throw away but I keep on postponing it because I think that I might use it or some of the students have not graduated yet so I need to keep their assignment as evidence.  The incident gives me a valid reason to get rid all of those junks.  Alhamdulillah.  Finally, I am able to get rid of it.  A lot!!!!!

But since that happened, I know that I take quite a long time to start cleaning my room.  For obvious reason, the ceiling has not been replaced.  It is unsafe for me to be in the room, cleaning and whatsnot in which I know there are rodents lurking and overlooking me from the ceiling.  Something might drop from above due to their “movement”.  Well, there are traces of its existence every where.

So, for now, one thing at a time.  Slow but moving.  I will do things according to my pace.

What I like about the current working style?

Previously (before COVID-19), there are many events conducted through face to face like the monthly engagement with Datuk VC.  Now, we use online form such as FB live.  So, at the comfort of my colleague’s office, I can do my work such as writing a post here, finishing a newsletter article and attending (listening) the monthly engagement. 3 in 1.  I like my current working style: online plus physical format. 

Note: Some might wonder why I am still using my colleague’s office but the thing is my office is still not in a suitable condition for me to use it (not for long).  I will need to clean it first, get rid of the weird smell and so many things to be done.  Some might wonder why it takes me so long to clean up my room.  Well,  the ceiling was finally replaced yesterday (10 August 2020, Monday) after more than one month since the unforeseen incident.

This picture was taken on 8 August 2020 (Sunday). Yup. There were more than 10 ceiling plates that need to be replaced. So for safety reason, I don’t even dare to enter my room for long, just in case anything fall from the ceiling (uhuk uhuk.. there might be rodents lurking somewhere).

My to-do list:

1) Get rid of the moldy shelves

2) Get rid of some of the books (I have tried to salvage it.  I sent it for repair.  But it cannot be done.)

3) Shop for new books (I need to replace few books that are not mine too.  I borrow from my friend)

4) Spring clean (I will do it bit by bit)

Nothing can be stopped from happening with the Blessing from Allah: Part 2

I was surprised that one of my students who is a teacher and super busy with her school matters is willing to come to UTM after school just to help me cleaning my room. I was like “Biar betul?” Her school is opening soon and she has to prepare the classrooms and all.  It is laborious and physically taxing.
Well, the thing is, I just take one thing at a time. The cleaning process is an “on-going” thing at the moment. For me, it is quite pointless to do an extensive cleaning now because sooner or later somebody will come to do maintenance and whatsnot and it will become dirty again.
But, again, it warms my heart when somebody offers her support in any way now. I am truly blessed.

Nothing can be stopped from happening with the Blessing from Allah: Part 1

Whatever will happen, will happen. Nothing will stop it from happening.
It is a fact. When I heard the news, my thought is “Alhamdulillah. Ada peluang beli buku baru kalau dapat pampasan dari majikan di atas kerosakan harta benda staf” (What was I thinking at this time?  How naive I was to have such thoughts)
But when I saw some of the books are not mine, my heart sank. Two of the books are priceless possessions of someone. There is no price tag for that. I told her honestly that among the books that cannot be salvaged was hers. Cannot be salvaged because even if it is dry, it will be out of shape and the worst case scenario, you cannot even open the pages. It is stuck to one another. But the good news is one of the books has a latest edition. Perhaps I will get the latest edition later as a replacement in sha Allah. I will try to cut and paste the page (where she wrote the place where she bought the book as a memento) inside the new book. So, at least she has a little thing of her old book inside the new one.  Alhamdulillah, many of my colleagues helped me to salvage any book from the non-stop dripping water.
How bad it was? Well, suffice to say that more than 20 textbooks are really in a bad condition. The water seeped inside and stuck the pages together. I accept the fact that I need to buy new ones for that. It might take years for me to have similar collections again. So, I will take it “one thing at a time”.
What I learn from this incident is, it is really important to look at small damages, cracks or problems. We have complained many times that there is something wrong with that area. But, well, only major thing is rectified. If nothing major ever happens so, nobody really pays attention to check if there is anything worth to be amended.
Retrospectively, we might perceive small things are harmless, less meaningful or not beneficial. But we might forget or overlook the fact that even an atom matters. It has clearly stated in the Quran (examples: verse 4:40, 13:16). Even a small atom has a meaning and accounted. So, I am thankful that it helps me to remind myself “Don’t take things for granted even though it seems insignificant or minuscule aspects of things that happen/exist around me“

Social responsibility: We play our own part (small or big? It does not matter)

When I was young back in the 90s, one of my comic magazines is Ujang which was a big hit circa 1994.  But due to lack of financial budget, I never subscribed or bought the comic on monthly basis but rather borrowed from those who had it.  I am such a cheapo, right?  I admit that.  But I remember it well, somewhere in 1996, Ujang came to Pelangi Leisure Mall (I worked at MPH at that time while waiting for my SPM results).  I bought a bandana (I lost it now).

Somewhere in the late 90s, there was this controversy that somehow affected the comic badly.  But I remember well one of the cartoonists, Sireh (Lawak Student).  Well, I was a teenager at that time and somehow the cartoon characters and story line resonate with teenage life.  Years passed by and I am no longer a big fan of any comics (it does show how age is catching up).

But I vividly remember that what I like about Ujang (and the cartoon characters that the other cartoonists created) is the variety of social issues that happen in day to day life depicted in the story line of the characters.  It could be related to teenagers life, university students (young adult) or mak cik or pak cik at villages.   The social drama is translated into comical descriptions without losing the seriousness of social issues that is being highlighted and emphasized.   This can be exemplified by one of the cartoon strips by Sireh.  It is hard-breaking yet it depicts the real issue that we are facing right now.

This cartoon strip is by Sireh (Lawak Student). I came across this cartoon strip on my Facebook.  Somebody posted it in her Facebook.  I