The Lure of Kellie's Castle

I finally made a trip to Kellie's Castle in Perak! Transportation was one of the reasons for the delay and thus with my spiffy new MyVi(!!!) my children, sisters, nephews & nieces and yours truly, visited the "castle" on Boxing Day. We enjoyed exploring the nooks and crannies, and the garden was pleasant.

I won't go into the history of Kellie's Castle as there are numerous variations of this on the internet. However instead of the usual pic of the front exterior of the castle, enjoy other views of the exterior and look within its walls!
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Unaware or Just Don't Care?

I've been in pain the past week - went to the dentist with a slight pain in my gum, came back home with two cavities filled. Ended up with one week of a throbbing headache and tooth/gum-ache. Dentist then took an x-ray and says I have a gum problem; remedy - increase Vit C and Calcium intake and live with the pain.

Got a second opinion this morning (through life's experiences realise that at times doctors/professionals play guessing games). The minute my friend-cum-dentist Sabariah looks at the x-ray, she says there's a lesion on the gums as the root canal done few years' back wasn't a good job - only 1 of the canals had been filled (though not well compacted) and this has led to accumulation of dirt, etc leading to infection.

(Check out demo if want to know what a root canal is: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1759080/root_canal_treatment_procedure_mumbai_india/)

So today was my first out of three treatments to get a better job done. Yeah, no throbbing now, just soreness from the cleaning up of the canals.

Do people really know what they are doing or just out to make a fast buck?

The Red Telephone Box

News on the telly covered the sad fate of the red telephone box in Britain. With the advance of the communication era, they face a sad plight of ‘extinction’. To many, the red telephone box is as symbolic of Britain as fish and chips!

Well, we have our very own red telephone box in Cameron Highlands (opposite Ye Olde Smoke House)! Here are a couple of photos taken in 1992 and another two in 2007.
It's a sight for sore eyes now, obviously neglected. I wonder if there are other red telephone boxes in Malaysia? (Yes, that young chap in the white t-shirt is the same little boy with his granddad in the earlier pic!)

Can we save a piece of history?
Read on!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3333543/Communities-rally-round-to-save-the-traditional-red-telephone-box.html

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Tractor-blockade-phone-box-stand/article-391059-detail/article.html

http://www.newtownabbeytoday.co.uk/news/DIALLING-UP-A-PLAN-TO.4639951.jp

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/-The-Italian-connection.4610938.jp

System Gone Awry

Passed my car keys to the regular amiable chap, and took a seat.

"Asalamu'alaikum!" I start off on this bright sunny morning, making small talk. Ah, lectures in Islamic Studies at the University close by; it is compulsory for the Malay/Muslim students that attend the University to attend Islamic Studies; the syllabus starts off with Islamic History right up to the current Islamic Era.

"Does the course cover an in-depth understanding of Islam?" I ask.

"The lecturer has to step in to play that role. We get about 10% of the students who are graced with the profound meaning and alhamdulillah there is a positive change in them."

Perchance we talk about the Islamic education at the Primary school level (children 7 to 12 years of age).

"From my observation and close-hand experience, the love for Allah and the understanding of Islam is not instilled in the child at Primary level. The children are thought to memorise verses without understanding the meaning, thought how to read the Quran without understanding its context."

“It’s only at the secondary school level (children age 13-17) are students exposed to the deeper understanding of Islam,” I am thus enlightened.

Influx from the daily news and the evident behaviour of teenage kids, show it’s a tad bit too late at this stage. Before they reach their teens, children are exposed to negative influences that somehow seem to leave an impression on them (does not Syaitan entice us with things that seem exciting?). Can we not recognise that the younger years are the most important in instilling values in children?

"I dare say the Islamic Education at the Primary level needs some serious adjustments."

"True enough."

"So how do we go about it?"

"There needs to be change at a higher level," whilst the lecturer gets up, walks to a clean, gleaming car.

I wonder, when will we have a clean slate?

Cosmic Unity & Right from Wrong

May the below shed some light on our direction, and the harm we are creating on Earth be it at the expanse of other creatures in this world, our fellow men, and yes, to ourselves!

By the Sun and his glorious splendour;
By the Moon as she follows him;
By the Day as it shows up the Sun’s glory;
By the Night as it conceals it;
By the Firmament and its wonderful structure;
By the Earth and its wide expanse

The contrasts between the Sun and the Moon, the Day and the Night, and the Sky and the Earth – conduce to cosmic unity.

By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it;
And its inspiration as to its wrong and its right;-
Truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it!

The most precious gift of all to man is the faculty of distinguishing between right and wrong. The soul of man, with internal order and proportion in its capacities and faculties, as made by Allah, is appealed to as having been endowed with the power of discriminating between right and wrong.
Men should learn that his success, his prosperity, his salvation depends on himself; and his failure, his decline, his perdition depends on his soiling his soul by choosing evil.

Surah Ash-Shams (The Sun), Verses 1 – 10, The Holy Quran (Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation)

A Treasured Reminder

I went behind the curtain to a room with a clay pot on the floor and sunlight shining through. Walked out and met Omar who took my hand and showed me his ‘playground’. It was sunny, brown earth, stones, a bare place. As we walked, he showed me his ‘home’ (where he slept)– a small one-story building/hut made of grey rocks. As we entered, I could see a simple kitchen area, other than that it was bare inside, and he pointed to a spot where he slept in the next room. Omar tugged at my hand and excitedly led me out to the bright sunshine. We walked on and saw a beautiful green garden on the other side. As we walked back to the room I had come from, he asked me to stay. I knelt down to him, face to face, and I said I could not as our time on earth is determined by Allah. As I spoke, he gave a little frown (of seriousness/curiosity at my words). When I had spoken, he seemed to understand and went happily off to play. - Friday, May 23 2008 (17 Jumaada al-awal 1429)

Email conversation with a fellow revert in Africa

...Yes, it is rather sad the way Islam is portrayed these days. I sometimes sit and observe people (who are Muslims) and ask myself "what went wrong?" There must be a solution. The "situation" as it is makes me wonder where can we start? How do we right so much wrongs?

Firstly I suppose we have to look at ourselves (the more I read/learn, I realise there is so much more I don't know. A humbling feeling). After the knowledge comes the practice; then on to the ummah. This I find rather challenging in Malaysia.

Islam and Malay culture seems to be intertwined to the extent culture, at times, overrides Islam in actions/decisions. I wonder on your observations on this when you were in Malaysia?

When I reverted I received statements such as "Now you are a Malay, you have to speak Malay", "Now you are a Malay, you have to eat with your hands". I was dumbfounded! Then when I decided to wear the headscarf I received a comment from a non-Malay "I didn't know you were a Malay" - I sat the chap down and explained to him the difference between Islam and Malay. Dare I say that the majority of people of other races in Malaysia link Islam to the Malays. Thus when a Malay behaves "inapproriately", it's Islam that gets shot at.

I start with myself in trying to change the "situation". But it seems so far a road ahead. An insignificant me trying to push a heavy load up a mountain. Muslims have to be united. And honestly, if you have any inkling on how we could do this, I would be glad to hear about it!

People are so comfortable with their worldly materials that they have forgotten that this is a temporary place.
___________________
Assalamu'alaikum, sister

Thanks for your last mail.
As for solutions, there are some things that we could do. First of all re-associating the Islamic studies with scientific studies; after all sciences and natural laws are part of Allah's creation. I do not know how it is in M'sia but here in Islamic school the teacher are telling their students that all sciences are evil, brought from the west and that they should concentrate only on studying the Holy Quran.

Very well on religious side but, just ask yourself that question: what are they learning? To repeat entire verses, not understanding the real meaning, just like parrots or tape recorders, as there is no teaching of the Arabic language. Believe me I have seen children of 12 years old that can recite any verse of the Holy Quran but can barely spell their names or add at 9 and 7.

Over here you can wonder, what type of next generation are we preparing to deal with life? Some idiots that will blow themselves up inside a plane because one Mullah told them to do so? What has happened to the science of logic that was once the pride of the Islamic world? So much for mathematic, astronomy, biology and so on and so on. Those were the fleuron of Islam not so long ago.

Do you know that the Crusaders were so much retrograde that they were considered as barbarians by the Muslims, with good reasons!

Just think about it and let me know your thoughts.

Victim of Slander!

Yesterday I was a victim of slander. Slander of a ludicrous notion that somewhere in the past 10 years of my life, I had rejected God! As far back as I can recall, I have always thanked Allah for His guidance and mercy in my rocky road in life; thanked Him for always being by my side through my search for the Ultimate and ‘keeping an eye’ on me even at times I went astray. Many a time (though probably not enough) I have asked forgiveness for my ungratefulness for His divine guidance and mercy, and pray that He does not take away the very little Taqwa and Iman I have, but to increase it as days go by. I also pray to be on the straight path.

“But those who believe and work righteousness, and humble themselves before their Lord, they will be Companions of the Garden, to dwell therein for aye” - Surah Hud (The Prophet Hud), Verse 23, The Holy Quran. ….There is no virtue, quite the contrary, in rubbing our noses to the ground before men. We are not to be arrogant even before men because we are humble in Allah’s sight. Nor does true humility lose self-confidence; for that self-confidence arises from confidence in the support and help of Allah (Abdullah Yusuf Ali).

Knee-Jerk Reaction

Some of us seem to take a myopic view of issues that obviously should be given more thought. Do we not look to the future, in decades to come, for the betterment of the society?

I have had experiences of “silent responses” from personnel in service oriented organisations to my queries for the mere reason that the other party was unable to hold a simple conversation in the English Language!

Surely we all know that to achieve, we must strive; and strive hard. Giving up on a sound plan before we can even attempt to reach the half-way mark results in definite failure.

A nation should be proud of their National Language; but let’s not get too “proud”.

I have said this time and time again, “Arrogance is the downfall of men”.

A Non-Muslim For A Day?

Through my walk in this life, I have often heard a more or less similar statement on dressing our children in attire that is not according to the Islamic dress code.

Reasons pertaining to why we should do so, sing in more or less the same tune. The fear that as the children grow up to be young adults, they would like to fulfill their “desire” to dress like the non-Muslims. Thus having “exposed” them to such clothing at a younger age, as compared to a “restrictive” upbringing, would help curb such a yearning when they mature in years.

Maybe we could throw the blame on the media, social influences, peer pressure and everything else under the sun. But more importantly, when did it occur to Muslim youths that it was acceptable to dress in “devil-may-care attire” and thus selectively discard a part of their religious beliefs? What’s more dastardly is to note that within our own circle there are those who have labeled Islam as “restrictive”.

No, I am not saying we are to force our children to wear what we parents say is acceptable. Ramming rules down curious minds won’t hold. Instead we need to instill in our children the understanding of Islam and the love for Allah, fundamentals that play a major role in our guidance to the right path in life.

Through understanding, love is instilled; and acknowledging His Greatness leads to total submission. Even loyal subjects bow down to the King, what more the Almighty Creator!

Let us find a quiet moment within and ask ourselves whether as a parent we portray a good enough role model for our children? Have we not sung them praises of Allah, describing how beautiful the religion is and most importantly that Islam is a way of life?
Or are we ourselves lacking in our daily practice and understanding of Islam as a way of life.