The Soap

If you are a Muslim and wish to buy a "halal" soap at a big supermarket like Tesco, Giant or Carrefour, chances are that you won't find it or would have some difficulties locating it. This is because most soap brands contain glycerine, which is chemically derived from animal fats.

Last week I went to a large supermarket at Mutiara Damansara for my grocery requirement. One of the items that I wanted to buy was soap with the "halal" label, as the one left in my bathroom had dwindled down to an insignificant size.

As usual, I went to the toiletries section of the supermarket, to look for the soap. I selected each brand of soap one by one to look for the "halal" sign on the cover. I found to my disaapointment that all of them contained "glycerine" and there was no "halal" sign whenever the soap had glycerine as one of its components.

There was one brand of soap which was supposed to contain vegetable oil. But this brand had no "halal" label on it and comparatively more expensive than the others. Therefore, I didn't buy it.

I was about to give up when I instinctively bent down to reach for a brand of soap that was placed among a row at the lowest rung corner of the shelf. "Alhamdulillah," the soap had a "halal" logo sign on it and upon reading the ingredients written on the cover it did not mention "glycerine". The soap's brand was "Fruitale - Nutrient" and produced by Lam Soon Group of Companies. One pack contained 3 bars of soap and cost only RM1.98 and that was considered as cheap.

This brand of soap was placed at an insignficant part of the shelves - I wondered why. Was it because it was cheaper and therefore made less conspicous? I guess the supermarket people knew better ;)

Some of you who may be wondering what the fuss is all about. Let me inform you about "glycerine". The Wikipedia defines it as a translucent, colorless, odorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, pigs and horses.

It was narrated by Abu Muhammad Al-Hassan Bin Ali Bin Abi Thalib, grandson of the Prophet (Prayers and Peace be upon him) who said,"I have memorised from the Prophet (PPBUH) who said,"Leave the things that are doubtful to things that are not doubtful to you."" (From Termizi)

Thus, if glycerine is obtained from the animals, then it becomes a doubtful ingredients for the Muslims as it is very difficult to know what type of animal it was obtained from. Even if it comes from animals other then pigs, we don't know whether these animals were slaughtered in the correct Islamic way. As such, glycerine is doubtful unless we know from which source it was obtained.

Now, my question is, if the other brands of soap contained glycerine which comes from "halal" animal fat, then why didn't they put the "halal" logo on the packet? Makes one wonder, right?

We take our bath before a solat or wash our hands before a meal with soap. Now instead of cleaning our body and hands, we in fact rub the "haram" g;ycerine onto them. Now, does that make us clean? Think about it. :roll:

The Bridge that collapsed

About a month ago, I wrote in my blog "Are we building a "reban ayam" here?" about how irresponsible was the developer of the bridge at Dipang that collapsed and claimed the lives of the three (3) schoolchildren. By "developer" I mean the owner of the bridge, the one for whom the Contractor built and handed over the bridge after it was completed. Until now, I don't know who the owner is. Since the bridge was used by the students for the "1Malaysia" activities, I suppose the owner was the Ministry of Education. Otherwise it could be the local Municipal Council, Public Works Department or other Government Department.

It is a normal construction practice that after a building or structure is completed, the Owner takes over and consequently maintains the building or structure after the Defects Liability Period is over. In the case of the bridge, the Owner should also take over and maintain the bridge after it is completed. Certainly the Contractor is not going to do that - he just wants to be paid for the work already done and moves on to another construction job.

It was reported earlier after the collapse-bridge incidence that no plans were submitted by the Contractor to the Authorities for approval before the bridge was constructed.

This report regarding "submission of plans" sounded a bit funny to me now. "Funny" because normally it is the responsibility of the Owner and not the Contractor to submit the plans for approval. The Contractor only constructs what are shown on the plans given to him. The design of the bridge or any structure for that matter is usually undertaken by a registered Professional Engineer. Thus, it was not a Contractor's job to do the design unless of course, the Contractor was apointed on a "design-and-build" basis. Nevertheless, the onus was on the Owner to submit the plans, even if the Contractor that he employed was a "design-and-build" Contractor.

The Star on 2nd December 2009 reported the Director-General of the Ministry Of Education having said "that the bridge did not meet the required engineering codes and specifications."

Now, this is also another funny statement to me because if there were no plans being submitted, where did the Education DG get his information that the bridge did not meet the required engineering codes and specifications?

It was further reported that, "The suspension bridge which collapsed near SK Kuala Dipang in Kampar was capable of taking the weight of eight (8) pupils, each weighing 35kg. There were about 15 pupils on the bridge when it collapsed."

Again, if there were no plans submitted, how did the DG know that the bridge was designed to take the weight of eight pupils, each weighing 35kg?

Even if the Owner of the bridge knew that the bridge was designed to take only eight 35-kg-each students, he would have ensured that a big signboard would be placed at strategic locations at each end of the bridge to warn the students and the teachers especially, not to use the bridge with more than seven or eight students at any one time. Of course, the Owner would only do this if he had the civic-mindedness or concern for the safety of the others.

The DG further stated, “The investigation committee found that the concrete block connection in Pylon A could not handle the uplift force from the back-stayed cable."

Of course, when a structure is subjected to a force greater than what it can take, it will eventually give way or fail.

Finally, the DG stated, "The Education Ministry, he said, will take into account the views of the Public Works Ministry and Department, the Construction Industry Development Board, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers in deciding the appropriate measures to be taken against the involved parties."

Who were the "involved parties?" No doubt it was convenient to blame the Contractor who built the bridge, but he would not have gone ahead and built the bridge if he had not got the approval from the Owner.

The Bernama reported on the same day that the bridge was built "hasil sumbangan pihak swasta" (as a contribution from the private sector). I wonder whether it meant that the Contractor built the bridge for "free" or was paid from the contributions obtained from the private sector. Either way it did not mean that the Owner could forego or ignore the requirement of getting approval for the plans from the relevant authorities.

Whether the bridge was built by the Contractor for free or for a certain sum of money, he would not have gone ahead with the construction of the bridge if he had not received the "blessings" or approval from the Owner himself.

The "Town" Chicken

A "town" chicken is the term that I use to describe a chicken that is reared commercially, as opposed to a "kampung" (village) chicken. A "kampung" chicken is the term given by Malaysians to describe a chicken that is reared in the "kampung" or at our own backyard. It lives naturally in the "kampung" environment and is allowed to wander around the compound to fend for food. If it is allowed to roam during the day, by nighttfall it will return to the chicken coop. The "kampung" chicken is normally fed with left-over rice from the day's meals or uncooked rice if there are no left-overs.

In the past, I normally avoided taking the "town" chicken and preferred the "kampung" chicken instead, simply because its flesh tastes better. There was one exception though, which was the KFC chicken - Colonel Sanders had indeed invented a delicious recipe for the fried chicken. I really enjoyed the KFC chicken back then. However, after I gained knowledge about how the town chicken was bred and treated up to the stage where it was slaughtered, I decided once and for all, to give up consuming the "town" chicken. I am going to tell you why I do that, as follows:

1). Chicken Feed

I understand from an "Ustaz" (Religious Teacher) that 60% of the chicken feed consists of animal bones, which are grinded into powder before it is mixed together with the other chicken feed. Further investigation into the source of the powder by the Ustaz brought him to a factory in a neighbouring country. which specialises in grinding of animal bones into a powder form, and it includes pig's bones too. He also mentioned that manufacturers of toothpaste in that country use the powdered animal bones as one of the ingredients in making toothpaste. He therefore advised Muslims against buying toothpaste made in that country.

2). Growth Hormones

The town chicken are also fed with growth hormones to make them grow faster so that they can be sold to consumers within a short time, as compared to the time taken for a kampung chicken to grow to the same size. The Ustaz mentioned that the growth hormone given to the chicken supposedly encourages the growth of cancer cells in the body. An interview which was conducted with cancer patients at one time revealed that their favourite food was "town" chicken.

3). Cancer-causing Antibiotics

Chicken farmers believe in the motto "Prevention is Better than Cure". So they also include antibiotics in the chicken feed to prevent the chicken from contracting chicken diseases easily. Some diseases can cause them to die instantly. This is a good move by the farmers, except that the antibiotics are bad for human consumption.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) had conducted several random checks on chicken farms which frequently revealed the deplorable filthy conditions and rampant antibiotic abuse on the farms.

CAP revealed that in 2003 alone, 13 out of 17 samples of chickens which were tested were found to contain bacteria which were resistant to either Nitrofuran or Chloroamphenicol, or both. Both Nitrofuran (a cancer-causing agent) and Chloroamphenicol (which can cause potentially fatal bone marrow depression in some people) are banned in food. Therefore they should not be present in chickens.

4). Physical Abuse

Islam forbids treating any animal in a cruel manner. It is said in the Quran that "There is not an animal on earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but they are communities like you..." (Al-Anaam : 38).

It was narrated by Anas r.a. that the Prophet s.a.w. said, "All creatures are like a family of God and He loves the most those who are the most beneficient to His family." (Al Bukhari)

If you have been to a typical farm, where the "town" chicken are reared, you would observe that there are not enough room for them to move about such that they cannot even spread their own wings, let alone move freely to exercise their muscles. They are also debeaked (a painful procedure) to reduce further pecking and cannabalism. Basic natural behaviour such as foraging, nesting and laying eggs in privacy is impossible. As a result, they suffer many health problems such as feather loss, skin damage, injury to their feet (including abnormal claw growth) and poor bone development (which leads to bones, especially in the legs, being easily broken).

Islam teaches us to love and respect all the creatures ("makhluk') of Allah, irrespective of their usefulness or their apparent harmfulness.

Abu Huraira r.a. reported the Prophet s.a.w. as telling of an incident that happened to another prophet in the past. This prophet was stung by an ant and in anger, he ordered the whole of the ants' nest to be burned. At this point God reprimanded this prophet in these words: "Because one ant stung you, you have burned a whole community which glorified Me." (from Bukhari and Muslim).

Apart from the deplorable conditions in which these chicken are being "brought up" at the farms, they are also treated very badly at the place where they are slaughtered. Eyewitness accounts from ex-workers of such a place reported reprehensible mistreatment of the chickens, such as chicken with popped-out eyeballs, broken bones, disfigured and missing body parts and chickens that are scalded alive and have their bodies literally blown to pieces. In short, from their breeding ground to the time they are slaughtered, these chickens suffered and are treated in the most inhumane manner.

It was related that Shaddad ibn Aws r.a. said: "I recalled two things that the Messenger of God (prayers and peace be upon him) said: "Indeed God has enjoined upon you to be kind to all that you slaughter, so slaughter in a kind manner and when you slaughter, slaughter well. Everyone of you should keep his knife sharp and permit the animal to die in comfort." (from Muslim)

Thus, it can be deduced from the above "hadith" that if the chickens in the farm and the place of slaughter are not treated kindly or they die in discomfort, then it is "haram" (prohibited) to consume them.

In more recent investigations, CAP's tests have even discovered that chicken is one of the most unsafe meats in the market as it is frequently badly contaminated with bacteria - a clear indication of unhealthy chicken breeding and processing practices.

Lastly, most of the commercial chicken farms in Malaysia are owned and operated by non-Muslims. These non-Muslims sometime do not understand the proper method of slaughtering the chicken in the Islamic way. These farms consider slaughtering the Islamic way as very cumbersome and time-consuming. Even though they are being regularly monitored by the religious department, there are still some of them who try to avoid slaughtering it the proper way.

So, I hope now you can understand why I don't take the town chicken anymore. However, if I have the urge to eat chicken, I either go for organic chicken or "kampung" chicken, which are a bit more expensive, but at least I am assured that they are "halal" and hygienic.

Are we building a "reban ayam" here?

The recent suspended bridge at Dipang which collapsed and claimed the lives of three schoolchildren on 26 October 2009 prompted me to write this article.

Prior to this incidence, we read about the collapse of the roof of a newly-completed stadium in Kuala Trengganu and that of a mosque in Kemaman. After the collapse of the Dipang bridge, I asked myself, "what else will collapse, I wonder?"

I also asked myself, "Are Malaysian engineers incompetent or do we have building contractors who cheat and cut corners here and there to maximise their profits? Or do we have field supervisors who collaborated with the contractors to compromise on quality and safety?

All these questions came to my mind before I read the article in The Star on 12 November 09, where it was reported that Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the investigation carried out by the Public Works Department showed that the bridge did not have a proper plan and its structure was weak.

So the bridge was built without a proper design? Of course, it goes without saying that when there's no proper design, not only the structure but everything else about the bridge would be considered as "weak".

I at first thought that the bridge had collapsed because of poor design by the engineer or the use of poor construction method by the contractor. It would be simple enough for an engineer like me to determine whether it was due to poor design or poor construction, but when our Education Minister announced that there was no "proper plan", it means that there was no professional engineer being engaged to carry out the design of the bridge. When there was no professional engineer being engaged to do the design work, everything else about the sizes and type of structures for the bridge would just be guessing work.

The thing that made me wonder most was, in the first place, how could the bridge be allowed to be built and used without a proper plan (design) being first drawn up and submitted and for the normal process of approval to take place? What made the person(s) responsible for the development of the unfortunate bridge think that building a bridge is like building a "reban ayam" (chicken coop), where you can just nail in the timbers and planks together and the "reban" will stand?

Wasn't there any respect and due regards for the safety of the public when the idea of building the bridge was first mooted?

The Education Minister also mentioned that a detailed report by a special committee set up to investigate the incident involving the PWD, Perak police and the state government would be completed at the end of the month.

I certainly would like to know the contents of the report after it is completed at the end of this month. I also hope to give my comments in this blog after I have read the report.

A House in Heaven

It was only last Friday that I went to the mosque known as Surau As-Sahabah at Section 7, Kota Damansara to perform my Friday prayer there with my son, Anuar. Even though I have moved to Ampang, I always make it a point to go there for my Friday prayer.

Even though another mosque (Masjid Kota Damansara) has opened recently, the Surau As-Sahabah is still popular with the local residents. As with other mosques, sometimes when the crowd is heavy, there is not enough space for the Muslims to find a place to perform their prayer. I remember on one occasion that I had to pray in the open sun at the back of the mosque when the crowd was unusually heavy that day. Therefore when the surau As-Sahabah decided to extend its existing building to cater for increasing number of Muslims using it, I totally agreed with the proposal.

So, prior to the start of the fasting month, I saw some construction activities going on at the mosque. I thought that it could be completed before the start of the Ramadhan month, but when it was not completed, I thought that it could be completed before the "Hari Raya Puasa". But alas, it could not be completed before the "Hari Raya Puasa" either and last Friday at the mosque I was told that it was another 30% to go before it could be completed.

Obviously, the reason for the delay was due to the lack of funding to support the cost of construction. Just before I left the mosque that day, one of the committee members announced over the speakers requesting for financial support to complete the outstanding 30% of the building.

So I said to myself I must contribute something, if not in cash or in kind, at least in some other way, towards completing the construction of the mosque's extension.

So here I am in the way that I only know how, through my email to you and my blog, appealing to you for donations towards the fund. From Al-Termizi, it was narrated by Abu Hurairah r.a., who heard Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said, " When someone dies, he is cut off from his deeds ("amalan"), except three : prolonged alms ("sedekah jariah"), beneficial knowledge ("ilmu yang bermunafaat") and pious sons who always pray for him."

Thus your contributions towards the mosque is considered an "amalan jariah" and it continues to increase your "investment" in the "akhirat" for as long as the mosque still exists to function to bring benefits to the Muslims.

There is also another hadith from Al-Muslim, where it was narrated by Othman bin Affan r.a. who heard Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said," Whoever built a mosque for the sake of Allah SWT, Allah SWT will build a house for him in the Heavens."

So there are many benefits that you can get in this world and the next if you help to build a new mosque or extend an existing one.

So if you wish to contribute to the mosque, you can contact one of the following committee members :-

YM Tengku Endut 012-6769427
Tn. Hj. Senin 012-3121150
Tn. Hj. Razif 012-3118043

or if you wish to pay directly into the bank account you can do so into the EON Bank account no:0539-11-0000-463 under the name of As-Sahabah. May Allah SWT blesses you in this world and the next for your generosity.

Waiting for 40 Years

Assalamualaikum,

Whenever I go to any mosque or "surau" ( a small mosque in Malaysia) to perform my prayer in congregation, I observe that not many of us Muslims are aware of the following hadith:-

It was narrated by Abu Juhaim r.a. who heard the Prophet (PBUH) said, "If a person knows the sins of walking infront of a person who is performing his "solat" (prayer), he would rather wait for 40 years than to walk infront of that person." (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

We can therefore deduce from the above hadith that to walk across a person who is performing his solat is a big sin.

However, I observe that it's not only the problem of a person walking across another person who is performing his solat. It is also the problem of the person who is performing the solat, not to give an opportunity for the other person(s) to avoid walking across him. Let me quote you two (2) examples, as follows:-

Scenario No.1

In Islam, it is encouraged and quite a common sight to find Muslims arriving at the mosque early, before the time for mandatory prayer (solat fardhu) is due, to perform solat sunat (optional prayer) such as "sunat tahiyatul masjid" (respect the mosque as the House of Allah SWT). However, it is also a common sight to find them performing at the back of the mosque instead of at the front. This is not a problem if the mosque is large or there are not many Muslims. However, when the mosque is small or there is a big crowd of Muslims, then it becomes a real challenge trying to avoid walking across the persons who are praying to find a spot to perform one's own "solat sunat".

Scenario No.2

This happens after a mandatory prayer has been performed in a congregation. We find some Muslims "rushing" to the back to perform the 2-rakaat optional prayer (solat sunat rawatib). Instead of performing it at where they were before, they go at the back portion to perform this prayer instead. As a result, those who wish to leave the mosque also finds it a challenge to avoid themselves from walking across the persons who are performing the "solat sunat" prayer.

During the Prophet's time (PBUH), he (PBUH) and his companions used items like the saddle of a horse or a spear or even an arrow (which they poked into the ground) to be placed infront of them whenever they wanted to perform their prayer in the open desert. These items functioned as a barricade or blockage.

Thus, we should always have a barrier infront of us whenever we perform our prayer in an area where there is a crowd. For instance, we can use our briefcase or travelling bag placed infront of us as a barrier. If we are in a mosque and don't carry these items with us, we should look for an item in the mosque such as a chair or a standing fan to become the barrier. Otherwise we can look for a column or go to the back of another person to perform our prayer. Worst come to worst, we can go to the front most part of the mosque to perform our prayer where a person can't walk across us.

We go to a mosque to pray in congregation hoping to be rewarded with 27 times as compared to praying alone. However, if we walk across someone who is praying or we pray at a place where it's very difficult for someone to avoid walking across us, unless we place a barrier infront of us, then the sins from there may exceed the 27 times reward that we get from the congregational prayer. Is it worth it then?

Wallahu'alam

P/S - I hope this information is of some benefits to you and please forward it to our fellow Muslims for their benefits too.
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Bila saya pergi ke mana-mana masjid atau surau untuk menunaikan solat fardhu, saya dapati bahawa ramai umat Islam yang mungkin tidak menyedari tentang adanya hadith sahih yang berikut: -

Daripada Abu Jahim Al-Anshari r.a. Nabi s.a.w. bersabda, "Jikalau mengetahui oleh orang yang lalu di hadapan seorang yang sembahyang akan apakah seksanya, nescaya adalah berhenti ia selama empat puluh tahun terlebih baik dari ia lalu di hadapan yang sembahyang itu." (Riwayat Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Maka bolihlah ditafsirkan dari hadith tersebut bahawa melangkah atau lalu di hadapan orang yang sedang mengerjakan sembahyang itu adalah berdosa besar. Tetapi apa yang saya perhatikan berlaku di masjid-masjid dan surau-surau sekarang bukan sahaja masaalah orang yang melangkah di hadapan orang yang sedang bersembahyang, tetapi masaalahnya juga orang yang mengerjakan solatnya itu tidak mengizinkan orang lain daripada mengelakkan diri daripada berjalan di hadapannya. Saya berikan 2 senario yang berikut:-

Senario No.1

Adalah digalakkan dan menjadi kebiasaan untuk datang ke masjid lebih awal sebelum waktu masuk solat fardhu. Masaalahnya adalah bila mereka memilih untuk berada di barisan belakang dan bukan mengisi ruang-ruang kosong di bahagian barisan hadapan untuk mengerjakan solat sunat. Akibatnya mereka-mereka yang datang kemudian daripada mereka terpaksa melalui tempat yang sedang mereka bersolat itu. Kalau sudah terlalu ramai yang sedang bersolat, maka menjadi sukar untuk mereka berjalan ke bahagian depan masjid tanpa melalui di hadapan mereka yang sedang bersolat itu. Dalam keadaan begini, agak susah untuk mengelakkan diri daripada melintasi orang-orang yang sedang bersolat, kan?

Senario No.2

Senario yang kedua pula adalah apabila solat sunat rawatib di kerjakan selepas mengerjakan solat fardhu. Selepas sahaja Imam habis membaca doa dan belum sempat lagi yang lain habis bersalaman antara mereka, terdapat beberapa Muslimin yang sudah pergi ke barisan-barisan belakang untuk mengerjakan solat sunat rawatib. Akibatnya yang baharu selesai bersalaman tadi tidak ada ruang untuk berjalan keluar dari masjid tanpa berjalan di hadapan mereka-mereka yang sedang bersolat sunat itu.

Pada zaman Nabi s.a.w. dahulu, baginda s.a.w. dan sahabat-sahabatnya menggunakan barang-barang seperti pelana kuda, tombak atau panah yang di cacakkan ke dalam tanah sebagai "dinding" di hadapan mereka sebelum mereka memulakan solat.

Di zaman sekarang ini, kita boleh menggunakan beg kita sebagai penghadang. Sekiranya kita tidak membawa "penghadang" bersama kita, adalah dinasihatkan supaya kita menggunakan penghadang yang sediaada di masjid itu seperti tiang atau kipas berdiri atau seelok-eloknya pergi lah ke barisan hadapan masjid untuk menunaikan solat sunat kita.

Kita ka masjid untuk solat berjemaah supaya pahala kita dapat di gandakan sehingga 27 kali berbanding dengan bersolat seorang diri. Tetapi sekiranya di masjid, kita melangkah di hadapan orang yang sedang bersolat atau pun tempat kita bersolat itu tidak memberi peluang bagi orang-orang lain daripada mengelakkan diri daripada melangkah di hadapan kita, maka dosa yang telah kita lakukan itu mungkin lebih berat daripada pahala yang kita terima daripada solat berjemaah itu.

Wallahu'alam

P/S : Saya berharap pengetahuan ini akan dapat memberikan munafaat kepada kita semua dan diedarkan atau disebarkan kepada kaum-kaum Muslimin dan Muslimat yang lain untuk rujukan bersama.

Don't Look Like a Pig

Last Saturday, 5th September 2009, my family and I went to IKEA at Mutiara Damansara to buy some household goods for our newly-completed house in Dungun, Trengganu. Well, it's going to be exciting to celebrate the Aidil Fitri's festival at a new house, right? Just like it's exciting to get a new car before the festival.

We arrived at IKEA rather early, around 11.30am, and easily found a place to park our car.

Whilst in the "shopping" mood, we totally forgot that the time for the zohor prayer had arrived. When I looked at the time on my mobile phone, it was already 2.30pm. I said to myself "Astaghfirullahalazim....." (God forgives me). We had been careless or negligent by the shopping spree that we didn't realise that the prayer time for zohor had passed us. After that I hurriedly brought my family to the prayer room, which was fortunately available at IKEA, to perform the zohor prayer.

In the fasting month of Ramadhan, as we approach closer to the 1st day of the Syawal month (Aidil Fitri), it's very typical of Malaysian Muslims to go for shopping for new clothings, handbags, shoes, festival cakes and the likes. I hope that the shopping does not make us careless of the prayer times like what happened to me at IKEA, where I was careless of the time to perform the zohor prayer.

It was related by Abu Huraira r.a. that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: "The place that God loves most is the mosque. The place that God hates most is the market."

"Market" includes supermarket, shopping complex and shops. One of the reasons that God hates these places is because we tend to forget our duties to HIM when it comes to performing the fardhu (obligatory)prayer when the time is due.

It is advised that during shopping time, if we hear the "azan" or are "reminded" by God that the time for prayer is due, we should immediately stop shopping or whatever we are doing and look for the nearest place to perform our prayer.

Let's not delay in performing our prayer by saying things like, " Oh..there is still ample time to perform the prayer..." because delay in performing our prayer without a valid reason will bring disaster to ourselves, as narrated in the following hadith by Imam Ahmad and Baihaqi:-

At one time, Muaz bin Jabal r.a. approached the Messenger of God (PBUH) and asked him, "Oh Messenger of God, please explain to me regarding the content of the Al-Quran, which says that :-

"The day that the Trumpet shall be sounded, and ye shall come forth in groups." (An-Naba' : 18)

When he heard the question, the Messenger of God (PBUH) cried until his clothes were wet with his tears.

He (PBUH) then answered, "Oh Muaz, you have asked me a very significant question, whereas on that day my followers would be brought into 12 groups. Each group with its own features."

The hadith then describes the features of each of the 12 groups, but I'm not going to state here all the 12 different features, except the feature of the group which is relevant to this case, which is :-

"The people in the group that like to carelessly delay in responding to the call for performing their prayer shall look like a pig."

There is definitely no hadith or Quranic verse that says that we should go shopping in the month of Ramadhan to celebrate the Aidil Fitri. In fact, in the month of Ramadhan, especially towards the last 10 days, we should be spending most of our time doing good deeds to increase our "investment" in the life hereafter.We should also look forward to the "Lailatul-Qadar" night, which according to the Al-Quran, "is a night better than a 1000 months." (Al-Qadr : 3)

New clothings and other purchases can be done at other times, not necessarily in the month of Ramadhan. Any excess money is better spent on those in needs, like the poor people, orphans and mosques so that we are blessed and rewarded 10 to 700 times if compared to the reward at other months for the same deeds.

Lastly, do not forget to pay the tithe bcause those who do not pay the tithe are described in one of the 12 groups as "the person whose stomach is as large as the mountain and filled with snakes and scorpions."

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Bahasa Malaysia Version:-

Pada hari Sabtu 5hb September 09 yang lepas, saya seisi keluarga telah pergi ke IKEA di Mutiara Damansara untuk membeli barang-barang perkakas rumah bagi rumah kami yang baru siap dibina di Dungun, Trengganu. Maklumlah, seronok nak berhari raya di rumah baru. Seperti juga seronoknya apabila dapat membeli kereta baru sebelum Hari Raya.

Kami tiba di IKEA agak awal sedikit dalam pukul 11.30 pagi dan dengan senang kami mendapat tempat untuk meletak kereta.

"Shopping punya shopping", kami telah terlupa apabila sudah tiba waktu zohor. Apabila saya melihat jam di telefon bimbit saya yang menunjukkan sudah pukul 2.30 petang, saya mengucapkan, "Astaghfirullah.....". Rupa-rupanya saya telah dilalaikan oleh "shopping" saya sehingga tidak sedar sudah masuk waktu zohor. Lepas itu saya terus mengajak keluarga saya untuk pergi ke surau yang nasib baik ada disediakan oleh IKEA di bangunan itu, untuk mengerjakan solat zohor.

Di musim bulan Ramadhan dan semakin dekat tibanya Hari Raya Puasa, memang menjadi lumrah kaum Muslimin dan Muslimat di Malaysia untuk "shopping" pakaian baru, "handbag" baru, kasut baru, kueh-mueh dan seumpamanya. Saya harap semasa "shopping" itu, kita tidak dilalaikan seperti apa yang berlaku kepada saya di IKEA sehingga lambat untuk mengerjakan solat fardhu zohor.

Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a., Nabi s.a.w. bersabda, "Tempat yang paling disukai Allah ialah masjid. Tempat yang paling dibenci Allah ialah pasar." (Riwayat Muslim)

"Pasar" termasuk juga pasaraya, "shopping complex" dan kedai-kedai. Satu daripada sebab-sebab mengapa Allah SWT membenci tempat-tempat yang sebegini adalah kerana tempat-tempat ini mudah melalaikan kita daripada menunaikan tanggung-jawab kita untuk mengerjakan solat fardhu setelah tiba waktunya.

Semasa "shopping" itu, sekiranya kita mendengar azan berkumandang atau di"ingatkan" oleh Allah SWT bahawa sudah masuk waktu solat, hendaklah kita hentikan "shopping" kita itu atau meninggalkan apa yang sedang kita buat dan terus mencari tempat yang terdekat sekali untuk mengerjakan solat.

Jangan kita melengah-lengahkan tanggungjawab kita itu dengan memberi alasan-alasan seperti, "Aah...tak mengapalah, ada banyak masa lagi...." kerana berlengah-lengah dalam mengerjakan solat fardhu tanpa sebab yang munasabah adalah menganiayai diri kita sendiri, seperti hadith yang di riwayatkan oleh Imam Ahmad dan Baihaqi, iaitu:

Suatu ketika, Muaz bin Jabal r.a. menghadap Rasullullah s.a.w. dan bertanya, "Wahai Rasullullah, tolong huraikan kepadaku mengenai firman Allah(Iaitu) pada hari ditiup sangkakala (trompet), lalu kamu datang berbondong-bondong." (An-Naba' : 18)

Mendengarkan pertanyaan itu, baginda s.a.w. menangis sehingga basah pakaiannya dengan air matanya.

Lalu baginda s.a.w. menjawab, " Wahai Muaz, engkau telah bertanyakan kepadaku perkara yang amat besar, bahawa umatku akan dibawa, dikumpulkan berbaris-baris menjadi 12 barisan. Masing-masing dengan pembawaan sendiri."

Lepas itu hadith itu menghuraikan satu-persatu pembawaan dalam 12 barisan itu, tetapi saya tidak mahu menyebutkan di sini kesemua 12 pembawaan yang berbeza-beza itu, kecuali yang ada kena mengena dengan melengah-lengahkan solat, iaitu:

"Golongan yang suka melengah-lengahkan solat adalah mereka yang menyerupai babi."

Jadi, sekiranya kita termasuk golongan yang suka melengah-lengahkan solat kita di dunia ini, janganlah terperanjat di hari akhirat kelak apabila kita dimasukkan ke dalam barisan di mana rupa-rupa kita menyerupai babi. Wallahu'alam...

"Salam Politik"

When I was in Dungun last Friday, 28 August 09, I went to the local mosque to join the local Muslims there to perform the Friday prayer.

As it was and still my usual habit, immediately after I entered the mosque and before sitting down, I performed the two-"rakaat" "solat sunat tahayatul masjid" (the optional prayer to respect the mosque). It was customary or encouraged, if you like, that after we finished performing our "solat", we should "salam tangan" (shake hands) with fellow Muslims sitting next to us on the left and right side. It was related by al-Bara' r.a., that the Messenger of God (prayers and peace be upon him) said: "When two Muslims meet and they shake each other's hands (berjabat tangan), God will forgive both of their sins before they depart from each other."(Riwayat Abu Dawud)

Whenever I shake a person's hand to "salam" him, I always make it a point to look at his eyes directly to give him a sincere smile and sometimes together with a nod of acknowledgement.

So on that day when I extended my hand to "salam" the two neighbouring Muslims, I was also greeted with a smiling face by each one of them. They also looked directly at me when we "shook hands".

After the "iqamat" was called to perform the Friday prayer, I moved forward to occupy the empty space left open in the rows infront of me to perform the prayer. I was between two Muslims who were not the same ones whom I "salam" earlier.

After performing the Friday prayer and before leaving the mosque, I extended my hand to "salam" with the two neignbouring Muslims on my left and right side. I was also greeted with the same sincere smiling face from each one of them as we "salam."

I felt very pleased with the "salams" given by the four Muslims in the mosque because they were done with great sincerity and I could feel that sincerity inside of me.

However, this was not always the case when it comes to the "salam" with the Muslims in the mosque or surau that I normally frequent in Kuala Lumpur or Selangor. Some of them just extend out their hands to you but their faces were looking somewhere else. If this is not an act of insincerity, what is, then?

This is what I call "salam politik". If you observe a certain event on the TV news, where a politician is shaking hands with the people, you can see that while shaking hands his eyes are looking at another direction. There is no sincerity at all in his "salam." He shakes hands for the sake of shaking hands, that's all.

Maybe I'm too sensitive about this matter but that is how I look at it. So, the next time you shake hands with me as a form of "salam" but your eyes look somewhere else during that time, I know you are not sincere in greeting me. And may Allah forgive your sins too before we depart....

My Two First Times

I can vaguely recall in 1964 when my class teacher of Standard 6, Mrs. Maniam asking me, "Roslan, would you like to sit for an exam to enter Form 1 at Malay College Kuala Kangsar?"

Not knowing anything special about MCKK (Malay College Kuala Kangsar) at that time, I just looked at her and said nothing.

"MCKK is a special school for selected Malay students with high academic performance and leadership talents," she said, or with words to that effect.

"I suggest you sit for the exams and I'll include your name, along with Abdullah Hamid and Ali Hassan." she continued.

At that time Abdullah Hamid, Ali Hassan and I were among the top four students at Standard 6A at Sekolah Kebangsaan Temenggong Abdul Rahman at Johor Bahru. The other person was Quek Yee Teck. I can never forget him because his name reminded me of a duck. Quack ("Quek") is the sound made by a duck and Yee Teck is also pronounced "itek", which means duck in Malay.

Anyway, the three of us sat for the exam and were told later that we passed it with flying colours. Abdullah and I accepted the offer to continue our Form 1 in MCKK, but Ali rejected it. Until today, I didn't have the chance to ask him why.

When I first told my late mum about the offer, she just nodded her head. I guessed like me, she too didn't know anything about the status of MCKK at that time, that Malay parents who knew about MCKK would "do anyhting" to get their sons into MCKK.

I knew she discussed with my late father. but neither of them asked me to confirm with my school about going there, until one afternoon the headmaster came to our house to explain to my mum about MCKK. Most likely he had convinced my mum because she then convinced my dad to agree to allow me to enrol in the alma mater.

So my time in the next five years and few months were going to be spent at MCKK.

Therefore, in 1965, after all the personal items, like mosquito net, bedsheet and pillow cases, had been purchased, I was ready to leave for Kuala Kangsar. My dad at that time didn't say anything about how we were going to travel to Kuala Kangsar. Neither did my mum because most probably, she didn't know, either.

I remembered asking myself, "Could it be by car, train or bus?" At that time travelling by air plane was too "far-fetched" an idea for me to even consider it. Nowadays however, with cheap air fares provided by budget airlines like Air-Asia, one can always consider seriously whether to travel by air or otherwise to a destination.

I said to myself that whatever mode of transport that was going to take me to Kuala Kangsar, I would request my dad to let me sit by the window so that I could enjoy the scenery along the way.

So that morning, with all my clothes and personal belongings already packed, I waited with my mum for my father to take me to MCKK. Soon enough a lorry arrived at the house. I said to myself that most likely the lorry driver had lost his way and had to stop by the house to enquire from us about the correct directions to take to get to his destination. As my mum and I approached the lorry, suddenly my dad jumped out from the lorry.

My mum asked him, "What are you doing here with this fish lorry?"

"Nothing" answered my dad. "It's just that I'm going to take Roslan to Kuala Kangsar in it."

"What? You are going to send my son in that fish lorry?" My mum asked in a high tone of disbelief.

Noting that my mum didn't look too pleased with his plan, my dad pulled her aside and both of them had some kind of a "conversation" (to put it mildly). Somehow my dad finally managed to convince my mum to allow me to travel in that lorry. Years later, my mum explained to me that if the family had been financially stronger, she won't have allowed me to travel in that lorry. The items that were bought and needed for the boarding school had more or less drained out most of my dad's bank savings, that he couldn't afford to take me to travel in the other more conventional means of transport.

So anyway, after saying goodbye to my mum, I hopped onto the back of the fish lorry, with the not-so-pleasant fish-smelling aroma to start my journey to this so-called special school, MCKK. My dad didn't have the same chance to enjoy the smell of the fish aroma like I did because he was sitting at the front seat together with the driver. I said to myself that this school had better be worth the journey that I had to endure to reach there.

The lorry stopped for a few times along the way for the driver to rest and for us to have our regular meals. On one of the stops my dad explained that the lorry had just completed its delivery of the fish to the market in Singapore and it was making its way back to Malaysia to be filled up with another new load of fish to be transported back to Singapore. Considering his financial predicament at that time, he thought that it was a good opportunity to take a free ride in his friend's fish lorry to take me to MCKK. After the explanation, I felt better.

It was initially not pleasant to sit at the back of the lorry with all the fish stench. Even though the lorry had been cleaned (so I was told), the stench remained strong. My dream of wanting to sit by the window to enjoy the scenery remained a dream, of course. The lorry was totally covered in canvas and therefore the view from inside was totally blocked. Before long, I got used to the stench and taking a nap every now and then was how I passed my time away in that lorry.

I couldn't recall how long the journey took, but finally we reached Kuala Kangsar. It was not that difficult for the lorry driver to locate the "Prep School" because everyone he asked in Kuala Kangsar knew where to find it. The Prep School (short for "Preparatory School")was actually a hostel to accomodate new Form One students.

I remember it was already evening by the time we "checked in" to the Prep School. After the registration process was over, my dad helped me to carry my luggage to where my bed (locker no.54) was located in a dormitory (Dorm C) on the top floor of the double storey building. After my dad left me, it was already time to take my shower to prepare for the night's dinner. After the bedsheet and pillow case were done, I started to put up the mosquito net. Mind you I had no previous experience in installing a mosquito net. Back at home in Johor Bahru, we burned the mosquito coils to deter the mosquitoes away, not using the mosquito net. My neighbours, like Bab (Anuar Ismail) and Salleh Sulong (now a Tan Sri) already had their mosquito nets nicely installed and hung over their respective beds. They had arrived earlier and most likely already had some previous experience in installing their nets. I should have asked my mum to show me how to install the net before I left for this place.

So after it was "light's out", I was still struggling in the dark to install the mosquito net. You see, my bed was located by the side of a wall, at a "corner lot", so to speak. So, I had to make sure that the entrance of the mosquito net did not face the wall. I could not remember how many times I had to open and reinstall the net. It went on unsuccesfully until it was time for the dormitory prefect to make his routine round at the dormitory. He was Aziz Abdul and he helped me to install the net in the correct way. Thank you prefect Aziz for not scolding me but helping me to install the net on that night.

By the time the net was tucked around the bed successfully, I was too exhausted to do anything else or even to think about missing my family at home. I also felt relieved that there was no more aroma of fish around me. So, that night, as soon as I placed my head on the pillow, I fell asleep immediately.

That was the story of my first day to MCKK, where I had the chance to get two first-time experiences. The first one was travelling in a fish lorry and the second first-time experience was installing the mosquito net. I became an expert in installing the mosquito net subsequently as I moved from one dormitory to another in my five-year-plus tenure at MCKK, but for the fish lorry, it was to be the first and the last experience for me, thank goodness.

H1N1 - Curing is better than Prevention?

The situation with the outbreak of A(H1N1) virus in Malaysia is getting from bad to worse. It is reported in The Star today (21 June 09) that "An 11-year-old girl from a Chinese vernacular school in Kuala Lumpur is among seven new confirmed Influenza A (H1N1) cases, bringing the total number to 42."

The SJKC Jalan Davidson became the first school in Malaysia to be closed after it was found that she had transmitted the virus to two classmates.

Other than Malaysia several Asian countries have ordered mass school closures, some in the thousands, to stem outbreaks of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

The Hong Kong government has closed all primary, kindergarten, nursery and special schools since last week after the Chinese territory recorded its first case of the virus.

Japan has closed 4,466 schools in six prefectures, mostly primary schools, kindergartens, junior, according to its Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Thailand has authorised schools to suspend classes if necessary, without seeking the Education Ministry’s permission, according to a Thai news agency which quoted Thailand’s Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit.

The Philippines, which has suspended classes in 11 schools and universities after detecting one case in each, told school authorities to report any influenza-like illnesses among their students, especially those who have recently travelled to affected countries.

It all began in Mexico and has now reached a pandemic level according to WHO (World Health Organisation).

Little did we know that about 1,400 years ago, we had been informed by a great man how to handle the problem if there was an epidemic in a certain area or country. He said that to prevent the disease from spreading, no person should leave that country and no person is allowed to go into that country. That great man was none other than Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace be upon him) himself.

It was related that Usama ibn Zaid said that the Messenger of God (prayers and peace be upon him) said, " The plaque is a punishment, some nations before you were punished by it. Then it remained on earth, and it returns from time to time. Whoever hears of it in a land, he should not go there, and if it occurs in the land where he is, he should not flee from it." (Al-Muslim)

Thus, if we know that countries like Mexico, US and Australia are plaqued with the virus, we should not allow anyone from any of these countres to come into Malaysia. Likewise, we should also not allow anyone from Malaysia to go to any of these countries, until the disease has gone.

No doubt if we take this action, someone will say, "Oh, but they are Malaysians who must return to their families in Malaysia." Or even say,"We can't do that, it will badly affect our airline business."

Since a cure for the flu has not been found yet, it won't surprise me to hear next that a patient has succumb to the disease.

We talk about "prevention is better than cure". We talk about preventing getting a disease is better than trying to cure the disease. Yet, we are not preventing, but allowing the disease to come in. So instead of prevention is better than cure, it becomes curing is better than prevention. To make matters worst, we have not found the cure for it yet.

Let's pray and hope that the quarantine process for those already infected with the flu really works and that the disease can be safely contained from spreading. At the same time, it is still not too late to prevent people from infected countries to come into Malaysia. Better to sacrifice a bit of inconvenience to implement this preventive measure than to finally find that we are losing precious human lives instead.

My Visit to the Baitul Quran Care Center

I seldom have the chance to meet someone who devotes and sacrifices much or all of his/her time towards taking care of orphans and needy children. So when I found out that my friend Ismail Jusoff and his wife, Rosminah Atan owned and managed two (2) teenage homes known as "Pusat Penjagaan Baitul Quran" (Baitul Quran Care Center), I did not hesitate to contact them to visit the care center to find out more about it.

It was at about 9.30am on Wednesday, 17th June 2009 that my eldest son, Johan and I left our home at Taman Kosas in Ampang to go to Masjid Mu'az Jabal at Taman Setiawangsa to meet Ismail. My other friend, Johari Amat, who was staying near the mosque, was there to greet us. Together with him, we proceeded in my car to a "mamak" restaurant which was located a few minutes' drive away. Even though Johan and I already had a hearty breakfast that morning, we nevertheless joined Johari and Ismail for a brief "teh tarek" session there. Johari was kind enough to pay for the bill, citing the area as being his "territory" and he has therefore, the "full right" to pay for the bill.:-)

After having a short discussion and a light meal, we proceeded to the teenage boys' home at Jalan Setiawangsa 2A, which was not far from the restaurant. After reaching the home, Johari had to excuse himself for another appointment and Ismail then took us into the home. According to him. there were 20 boys in the home and that was the maximum number that it could accomodate. Located at a corner lot, the house was rented at RM3,000 per month. The house had plenty of land area, which according to Ismail, was convenient for the boys to play mini football or other games during their free time.

We observed that there was a group of four (4) boys at the car porch taking lessons in reading and writing from a tuition teacher, who was specially employed by the Care Center to provide the lessons. Inside the house, the other boys were occupied with reciting verses from the Al-Quran with an Ustaz to teach and guide them along.

I left my car at the boys' home and went into Ismail's car to visit the girls' home located a few minutes' drive away at Taman Keramat. There we met Ismail's wife, Rosminah and we sat together to listen and find out about their purpose of setting up the homes and their experience in running it.

According to her, there were 36 girls in the home and that was about the maximum number that the house could accomodate. The blessed couple explained why they started the homes. According to them, Muslim parents play a very important role to ensure that their children are raised in accordance with the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The status of the teenagers nowadays are that normally they have working parents who are always too busy that the teenagers have nobody to talk to or receive advice when they encounter problems. Their actions are not supervised and therefore, they are prone to be negatively influenced by their surroundings. They are exposed to bad elements from watching TV (television) and other media. They have no positive role model, except for artistes and sport personalities. They are badly influenced by the "lepak" culture which wastes their precious time away. As a result, many teenagers got themselves involved in crimes and immoral activities. Many of these teenagers are orphans or come from less fortunate families or financialy disadvantaged working parents, especially single working parents.

In view of the above, the couple came up with the idea of providing a "home" with Islamic environment to assist parents in bringing up their children according to the teachings of the AL-Quran and Sunnah. Their objectives are to instill a love of the Quran and abide by the Sunnah of the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) for guidance during the tumultous period of a teenager's life, to instill Islamic values, inner strength and a sense of self-worthiness within themselves, to teach and guide them through love and awareness of their purpose in life.

In 2002, the couple started to set up the home modestly with eight (8) "totally loss" teenagers from parents who could not afford to care for them the Islamic way. The parents were more than pleased to have their teenaged daughters and sons being brought up by the couple in the Islamic way. These teenagers were at first accomodated at a double-storey linked house but as their numbers increased, due to the effectiveness of the programme that the couple implemented at the Care Center, the teenagers had to be moved to the existing bigger house, which is more spacious and can accomodate more people. Soon after, this bungalow house became over-crowded too and the couple had to rent a corner-lot house at Jalan Setiawangsa 2A to accomodate the boys only, whereas the girls remained at the bungalow. They now have a total of 20 boys + 36 girls = 56 teenagers under their care.

Due to the big demand by other parents to request to accommodate their own teenagers into the home, the couple had to look for another place to accommodate them. They soon found a house at Taman Permata for this purpose. This house had been recently renovated and they said that as soon as they had found suitable and reliable staffs to assist them in running this new place, they would take in new inmates. In the meantime, they allow the place to be temporarily used to accommodate single mothers who were in desperate need of shelters.

When asked how they educate and bring up the teenagers in the home and ensure that the teenagers become good Muslims one day, the couple said that they implement the following programme :-

1. There is 24-hour counselling - a place to turn to in times of trouble and provide guidance towards becoming a good Muslim.

2. Teach them to read, memorise and understand the meaning of the Al-Quran and the Sunnah. They also provide advice and support to other Islamic schools - for example, when the Care Center receives bags and bags of rice from generous donors, they give some of the bags of rice away to them.

3. They also fill the teenagers' time with healthy activities and get them involved in charity work, such as visiting the less fortunate people to instill the spirit of sacrifice and volunteerism in them.

4. Provide training skills such as cooking, sewing, hair styling, facial and body care, massage and personal grooming.

5. Provide "Tarbiah" (education and training) through love and good examples and use the Quran and Hadith to develop a good "Akhlak" (character, moral) and "Akidah" (belief, faith) in them.

When asked how they managed to run their organisation successfully without financial support from the Government or even the Baitul Mal, they said that they survived on donations from friends and friends of friends. They say Allah is Great, Who always ensures that there is a source of financial support from the public, either in cash or in kind. For example, they were paying rental for the present bungalow house and a few months later, the owner decided to let them stay there for free. We were told that as a result of this good deeds, the owner's business also subsequently improved.

The couple said that their average monthly expenses was about RM13,000.00 and most of it go towards paying salaries to the staffs, teachers and ustazs. They said it was difficult to look for staffs who are dedicated and yet prepared to work for lesser salaries, but Alhamdulillah they still managed to find them.

We were served a plate of delicious meehun goreng, cooked by one of the inmates, and a glass of cool thirst-quenching drink while we were there. Not wanting to take up more of their precious time, we finally bid farewell to Ismail and his wife. On the way back to Taman Kosas, Johan and I were mostly silent in the car, each immersed in our own deep thoughts about the meeting with this fantastic couple, who sacrifice their time and money to take care of these teenagers and to train them to become better persons one day.

In an effort to acquire as much wealth as possible to improve their lives in this world, most modern-day parents not only tend to neglect the affairs of their own children but also neglect to do something about their own lives in the next world (Hereafter). Life in this world is just a transition, in anticipation of another life in the next world, which is more secure and permanent. The accumulated wealth in this world will not help us in guaranteeing a better life in the next world, but the accumulated good deeds and sacrifices that we do in this world in the path of Allah SWT, will certainly help us to have a better permanent life in the next world, insyaAllah.

It's not easy to find a dedicated couple like Ismail and Rosminah, doing what they are doing now. We pray that Allah repays Ismail and his wife tremendously for the great efforts and sacrifice that they have done and are doing taking care of the orphans and the other less-fortunate teenagers. Ameen... As related by Sahl bin Saad, that the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) had said, "The orphan's custodian and me are like 'this' in Heavens." He said it while showing his two fingers, one was the index finger and the other was the middle finger."

However, Ismail and Rosminah could not have done what they have achieved if there are no generous and charitable contribution from people like you and me. And for people who contribute generously towards a good cause, Allah has promised a good return, as said by Him in Surah Al Baqarah : 261 of the Al-Quran, "The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain of corn; it grows 7 ears and each ear has a 100 grains. Allah gives multifold increase to whom He will. And Allah is All Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All Knower".

The Baitul Quran Care Center is run by the couple on volunteer basis and therefore welcomes any contributions if any, be it in monetary form or in kind. There is also a scheme where if anyone is interested to sponsor a student, his/her "investment for the Hereafter" is only RM250 per month for the student's food and lodging.

You can contact the Baitul Quran Care Center by calling Rosminah at 013-3460580/012-640 5008 or Ismail at 019-2511792 and if you wish to contribute directly into their account, you can do so to Account No: 14030004456713 at Bank Muamalat Berhad, Taman Melawati. May Allah blesses you for your contribution.

My Trip to Cameron Highlands

I never thought I'd get another chance to savour the cool fresh air and feel the peaceful serenity of Cameron Highlands again until Salmiah invited me to accompany her to a seminar sponsored by her employer at this popular mountain resort. I can recall that the last time that I went to Cameron Highlands was about two years ago when I accepted the invitation from my younger brother, Rosman and sister, Rosnah to join them and their family for a barbecue by the side of a stream at Tanah Rata. But that was a day trip. This time, it was for four days and three nights. We stayed at the Equatorial Hotel, standing at 1,600m above sea level and located about 4 km from Brinchang town.

We left Ampang at about 4.00 pm that day (Tuesday, 19 May 2009) and took the North-South Expressway. We stopped for awhile at Rawang Rest and Service Area to fill up the petrol tank and perform the "solat asar" (prayer). We then made our way to Simpang Pulai Tol Plaza, preferring to use the new and better-constructed road to our destination, instead of using what I thought was a less-safe winding road from Tapah Tol Plaza. We reached the hotel at about 8.00 pm. We could have reached it earlier if not for the drizzling rain, which slowed us down after we encountered it about 10 km from the Tol Plaza.

As soon as we got out of the car to check into the hotel, we could immediately feel the cool and refreshing air of Cameron Highlands. However excited we were to arrive at this place, we didn't venture out that night, preferring to rest in the cosy hotel room after the long drive. We settled down for the night after we had our dinner at the hotel's Coffee Room.
The next morning we had buffet breakfast and I managed to meet some of Salmiah's working colleagues. I also met Najeeb, whom I first met many years ago when he was formerly working in Perlis. Now he is attached to Langkawi.

After breakfast, Salmiah went to her seminar and I took a walk to the nearest farm to buy myself a half-kilogram of freshly-picked strawberries (RM15.00), six (6) pieces of large "jagung mutiara" (pearl corn) at RM10.00 and a packet of sweet potatoes at RM2.00.

After Salmiah finished her seminar at about 4.15 pm, we took a drive to Brinchang town and stopped by a Malay restaurant to have the famous Cameron Highlands vegetable soup. It was really delicious. It contained an assortment of vegetables and boiled with seafood. On the way back, we stopped by some roadside stalls to look at some of the fruits and vegetables there. We compared their prices from stall to stall so that we would know where to buy after we checked out from the hotel two (2) days later.

We brought along an electric steamer with us and used it to steam-cook the vegetables. Whilst Salmiah had dinner in the hotel with her colleagues that night, I steam-cooked two (2) pieces of pearl corns and two pieces of sweet potatoes for my dinner. The delicious strawberries became my "snack" throughout the day. Come to think of it, if you want to look after your diet and slim down your body, this is a good place to do that, where vegetables and fruits are your everyday meals.

Most of the time in this cool and tranquil place, I spent my time reading a book about Khalifah Abu Bakar As Siddiq. He was the first "Khalifah" (Muslim ruler) after Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had passed away. His character and leadership qualities is an example for a leader of any country to emulate, so as to make this world a better place to live in. Why I said so was because this God-fearing man was very concerned only about the welfare of the people under his rule.
Ever since he embraced Islam, he spent most of his cash and properties towards helping the Prophet (PBUH) to introduce and spread Islam to the Arab countries. He bought out and freed at least five (5) Muslim slaves, who were tortured by their former masters for becoming Muslims.

Immediately after he became the "Khalifah", he announced to the people that the fact that he was chosen as their leader, did not mean that he was the best among them. He said that if he did the right thing, they should support him and if he did the wrong thing, they should correct him. The weak among them would be strong to him for he would support them and the strong among them would be weak to him because he would take away from the strong to support the weak.

Initially, he carried his things to the market to do business as usual, until one day along the way, he encountered Omar Al-Khatab, who asked him, "Where are you going with those things, ya Amirul Mukmnin?" ("Amirul Mukminin" means the ruler of the people).

Abu Bakar replied," To the market to do business as usual."

Omar said," But you are a Khalifah, you shouldn't be doing this?"

"But I've to earn my living, haven't I? How am I going to feed my family if I don't have an income?" replied Abu Bakar.

Omar then brought him to meet Abu Ubaidah, who was the Keeper of the "Baitul Mal" (Treasury), who then determined how much salary Abu Bakar should get as the "Amirul Mukminin" (President/Prime Minister). His salary was only a meagre sum, just sufficient to feed him and his family. Only after that did he stop going to the market to do business.

Abu Bakar stayed about 3 km from Medina and during the first six (6) months as the Prime Minister, he walked back and forth to Medina to lead the five-times-a-day prayer in the mosque and also to administer the country. He seldom took a horse or camel unless he had to travel long distance, preferring to walk instead. He didn't have any bodyguard with him and preferred to walk alone everywhere.

He did everything with his own hands and preferred not to seek for help. For example, when he was on a camel and something fell down, he himself would pick it up, refusing to let anyone else to do it for him.

When he died, he left behind only one (1) dinar in his savings.

I had the opportunity to finish reading the book about him and his achievements with all the free time that I had in this popular mountain resort.


Now back to my stay in the hotel. On the third day, I ventured out of the hotel room to have a look at the swimming pool at level 5. There was nobody at the pool. I walked to the edge of the pool to touch the water. It was cold and not heated up as expected in a cold place like this. I then walked down to level 4 to have a look at the gym, but it was locked, with a sign asking guests to get the key from the reception if they wish to use the gymn facility. I then went down to level 1 and observed that apart from the business centre, which was closed, there was also the karaoke room known as "Singalot." The Coffee Room, where breakfast, lunch and dinner were served, was also located on Level 1. There was also a table counter, which provided a tour service for those interested to visit Cameron Highlands in more detail.


After Salmiah finished her seminar, we decided to take a walk to the nearest vegetable stalls to buy two (2) packets of mushrooms of different variety, a packet of tomatoes, a bunch of asparagus and two (2) packets of fresh strawberries. That night, whilst Salmiah had steamboat dinner with her colleagues, I had steam vegetables for dinner, which consisted of an assortment of mushrooms, tomatoes and asparagus. You should try it sometime, it was appetisingly delicious!
On Friday, 22nd May 09, the day for us to bid farewell to Cameron Highlands finally arrived. Salmiah's seminar ended at 10.00 am that day. Since the checking-out time was at 12.30 pm, we decided to do our "shopping" first before we checked out. We packed our stuff and shove them in the boot of the car and drove to the places that we had scouted two (2) days earlier and bought some corns, strawberries and an assortment of fresh vegetables.


When we had finished shopping, we went back to the hotel to check out. Salmiah invited me to join her for lunch because most of her colleagues had decided to leave early and skip the lunch. Only one out of the five lunch tables was occupied that day.

After lunch, we left the hotel at about 1.45 pm. We decided to use the same road that we used on the way up. When we reached the foot of the hills, we stopped at a Petronas station to fill up the petrol tank and perform the "solat jamak takdim" (2 different prayer times conducted together). After that we entered the North-South Expressway at Gopeng Tol Plaza and drove non-stop to reach Ampang at about 5.15 pm.

Finally, it puzzled me how the corns didn't taste as sweet or the strawberries as delicious as when we had them in the mountains. Could it be because the hotter weather at Ampang had adversely affected their taste? I would be glad to share your experience regarding this matter if you had been to Cameron Highlands before and bought the corns and strawberries.

The Seeds of Health

Nature has given us many sources of health food as well as medicine. One of them is Nigella Sativa or "black seed" as it is popularly known.

I call it the "Seed of Health" because it's the only herb that I've encountered that has really worked for me. I have tried other types of herbs, usually those sold through the "direct-selling" member-get-member method, but either they didn't work for me or they only worked on specific type of illnesses.

I'm a diabetic of type 2 and doctors have told me that there's no cure for it. They say that the best you can do is to control the sugar level in your blood to a safe level by taking the prescribed medication. They also advise us to control the type of food that we take, have regular exercises and get enough rest.

I don't like to be told that there's no cure for my diabeties. It was related that Jabir said that the Messenger of God (prayers and peace be upon him) said: "For every ailment there is a cure. If the remedy is correct, the ailment will be cured by the leave of God Almighty." (Al-Muslim)

Thus, there is always a cure for any disease or illness. It's a matter of finding the correct remedy only.Since that day, I started to search for a cure for my diabetes. I tried many herbs and even teas, but to cut the story short, I think I finally found it - the herb that can cure, that is, the "black seed". Why "I think" is because I'm still monitoring the effects that it has on my diabetes for I've just taken it for a few months and therefore it's unfair for me to reach a conclusion within such a short period.

But a few days after taking the "black seed", I started to feel the improvement and positive effects that it has on my 57-year-old body. I used to take the expensive physillum husk twice a day to help with my digestion and relieve my constipation. Now I don't take the husk anymore.

I used to go to the toilet to pass urine every so often that it became an annoyance to me, simply because I discovered that there was not much urine to be released; it was just a few drops. But the "pain" in my urinary bladder at those times was like the bladder was already full and about to "explode" if I didn't release it immediately. Sometimes, I didn't have time to open up my zip to release the urine. It decided to leak out before I was "ready" for it.

At night, it disturbed my sleep because I had to wake up so very often to release out the few drops of urine. All the symptom stopped after I took the "black seed." After that, the process of going to the toilet to urinate became more bearable and regulated to this day. At night, I don't have to wake up so often again to go to the toilet to urinate.

I used to have running nose every morning after I woke up and had my shower. At times it could get so bad that I had to take medication to stop it. This symptom stopped after I took the "black seed."

I found out from the internet that there are many other medical and health effects that one can get from taking the "black seed." It includes increasing the body's immune system and for the ladies, it stimulates the menstrual period and increases the flow of breast milk.

It was related that Abu Huraira said he heard the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) say:"This black seed is a cure for everything except Al Saam." Aishah said: " What is Al Saam?" He said: "Death"."(Al-Muslim)

If you have any persistent ailments, I suggest you try taking the "black seed", especially when this advise came from the Prophet himself (prayers and peace be upon him).

Between Petronas and Shell

I hold a Visa Debit Card. For those of you who may not be aware about it, the difference between a Credit Card and a Debit Card is that, for a Credit Card, you use the bank's money to purchase something. That means the bank pays for the items that you purchase and you pay back to the bank after it sent you a statement showing the amount that you have spent using the bank's Credit Card. If you delay in paying back to the bank, you will be charged interest on it.

For a Debit Card, the bank pays for your transaction from your bank account. You use the Debit Card on the strength of your own bank account. Therefore, you need to have some money in your bank account before you can use the Debit Card to purchase something. What you spend should not exceed the balance available in your bank account.

So a person with a Credit Card may only have thirty sen (RM0.30) left in his bank account, but with his Credit Card he can purchase any amount he likes, provided it does not exceed his authorised limit. However, a person, who holds a Debit Card with only thirty sen left in his bank account, can only spend not more than thirty sen. So, a person with a Debit Card has to top up his account with sufficient fund all the time to enable him to use the Debit Card to purchase something.

Having said all that, you might wonder what the two types of card had to do with Petronas and Shell? Well, let me narrate to you my experience about using the Debit Card to purchase fuel for my car at Petronas and Shell.

You see, I never have any problem using my Debit Card to purchase petrol from Shell. It's just like purchasing at Giant or Carrefour, easy, within seconds after the cashier swiped the card, the receipts were printed out for signature verification. But I always have problems when using the Card to purchase petrol from Petronas. Most of the times, my card would not be accepted. Mind you there was always sufficient funds available in my bank account.

However, during one of those very few trying times when my Card was finally accepted by the few Petronas stations, it was a "fill first, pay later" kind of transaction - I had to go back to the pump to fill the petrol and then went back to the cashier to sign the receipt chit and to get back my Card. Not that I mind having to walk to the pump and back again (it's a good exercise for me, right?) but let me ask you, do you think that this is the kind of service that you should provide to your customers if you are running a petrol kiosk? I could not remember any single instance when purchasing petrol from Petronas, where the "pay first, fill later" principle was applied. But with Shell, it was applied successfully, which provides more convenience to customers. Funny, isn't it?. Sometime when I am in a hurry, I just use cash to pay for my petrol at Petronas.

Last Sunday, I was at Bangi. After sending my son, Jowin to his hostel at UKM, on the way back I stopped by a Petronas station to fill petrol for my Pesona. I only had a few dollars left in my wallet and therefore gave my Debit Card to the cashier to pay for RM60.00 of petrol. I was prepared to walk back and forth, but as expected, my Debit Card was not accepted. To worsen the matter both the Maybank ATM's did not accept my CIMB ATM Card. Most probably, that day being a Sunday, the machines had run out of cash.

The cashier said that the nearest CIMB ATM would be at Bintang shopping complex. I didn't know whether I heard wrongly or misunderstood him, but it was a long drive before I could finally find the Bintang Complex. After withdrawing some cash from the ATM, I finally made my way back to the same Petronas station. Why the same station, you might ask? The reason is that there was no other fuel stations nearby, you see.

Just as the Pesona reached the Petronas station, I heard the call for prayer ("azan") for "asar" distinctly from a nearby mosque - indeed, as the "azan" said "God is Great". So you see, buying petrol from Petronas using your Debit Card is indeed like a challenge ("dugaan') from the AlMighty.

I don't know what seems to be the problem that the service at Petronas differs from that at Shell when it comes to using the Debit Card. Whereas it's easy to use the card at Shell, it's the opposite case with Petronas. Is it because Petronas recognises the Credit Card more than the Debit Card? Or is it because
the communication line in Petronas is less efficient? Whatever the problem is with Petronas, they better sort it out as soon as possible before they lose more customers to Shell, Esso or Caltex.

As for me, whatever poor service that Petronas provides, I still go to Petronas to fill up petrol for my car. You know why? Because Petronas is a Malaysian company and as a Malaysian I am proud of it and therefore will always support it. Furthermore, Shell belongs to Holland and I don't like Holland after one of her citizens gave the wrong impression about my beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he painted the Prophet's (PBUH) picture a few years' back. I've also stopped buying any item from the supermarket that bears the "Made in Holland" sign.

A close friend once asked me why I didn't use the Credit Card instead? I told him Islam has forbidden usury ("riba") in any transaction. The company that sells an item, which is paid through a Credit Card, has to pay interest to the bank. The purchaser using the Credit Card has to pay interest if he delays in paying to the bank. Whether a person pays interest or charges interest, both are forbidden in Islam, as per the following "hadith":

"It was related that Jabir said,"The Messenger of God (Prayers and Peace Be Upon Him) cursed the one who devours usury and the one who pays it, and the one who writes it down and the two witnesses to it." And he said,"They are all equal."

The Need to wear a Glove

Last Friday, 13th February 09, after taking my 'wuduk' at Masjid Sahabah at Section 7 in Kota Damansara for my weekly Friday Prayer, my youngest son, Anuar asked me why I did that. He asked me not because he was ignorant of the fact that a Muslim must take his "wuduk" (cleans himself) before he starts his "solat" (prayer). He asked me because from his previous observations, I didn't take my "wuduk" at the mosque. I took it at my office before I left for the Friday prayer. I just smiled at him and told him that my earlier "wuduk" had been annulled ("batal"). It had to be retaken to ensure that I would be a "clean" person again to face the Almighty in my prayer.

Before I go further let me explain a bit what "wuduk" is all about. As defined by Wikipedia, Wudu (Arabic: الوضوء al-wuḍū', Persian:آبدست ābdast, Turkish: abdest, Urdu: وضو wazū') is the Islamic act of washing parts of the body using water. Muslims are required to be clean in preparation for ritual prayers. The Qur'an says "For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.". Muslims are also required to be clean when handling and reading the Qur'an. The Qur'an says "Which none shall touch but those who are clean". Wudu is often translated as "partial ablution", as opposed to ghusl, or "full ablution".

Wuduk is performed by following a certain procedure in washing one's face, hands, ears, hair and the feet. Little did Anuar knew that just about 10 minutes before I fetched him and his brother Amin from the house, my "wuduk" had been annulled by the "touching" incidence with the opposite sex at the Kota Damansara Toll Plaza exit. You see, my Touch N Go card only had 30 sen left (RM0.30) and the fact that PLUS had changed its top-up service between the period from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm had not made it easier for me to top up the card's credit. Thus, until such times that I could top up the card again, I had to enter and leave the Toll Plaza the "manual" way, that is, to collect a ticket on entry and pay for the trip on exit at the next Toll Plaza .

That day on the way into the Subang Jaya Toll Plaza, I collected the ticket but felt my hand rubbed against that of the person at the Toll Plaza. But I didn't realised whether that person was a "he" or a "she." So I said to myself that since I couldn't identify the sex of the person, my "wuduk" should still be valid. Before I reached the Kota Damansara Toll Plaza exit, I prepared the RM1.20 in advance to pay for the toll. So when I reached the Toll Plaza, I tried to hand over the RM1.20 "cleanly"; "cleanly" in the sense that her skin won't have to rub against mine, you see. But somehow she must have sensed my great effort in trying to hand over the money "cleanly" to her. Therefore, it's just natural that she reciprocated by grabbing the money instead of taking it. In the process, the money and my hand was also "grabbed" by her, thereby rendering my "wuduk" to be null and void ("batal").

Sorry, I forgot to explain earlier on that the state of cleanliness of one's "wuduk" would be annulled if one performs one of the following acts :-

1. Defecation, passing gas or urination.
2. Emission of semen.
3. Sleep.
4. Passing blood.
5. Vomiting.
6. Loss of senses.
7. Fainting
8. Touching the skin of the opposite sex (of marriageable status)

And that is why I have to take my "wuduk" again because my skin touched hers at the Toll Plaza.

This incidence kept me thinking that Highway Concessionaires should really ask their staffs at the Toll Plaza to wear a glove each. I did come across female staffs at some Toll Plazas wearing glove, but most of them did not. I had never come across a male staff wearing the glove, though. The reason why the female staff at some Toll Plazas were wearing their gloves was most likely not because she wanted to maintain the validity of her "wuduk" but more so because she didn't want her hand to be infected with germs or dirt from the motorist during the transaction.

Therefore it makes good sense for the Highway Concessionaires to encourage their Toll Plaza staffs to wear glove, not because they want to avoid annulling the motorists' "wuduk", but more so due to health; because if a Toll Plaza staff contracts a disease during the transaction with an infected motorists, the particular staff has to go on medical leave, and therefore her employer will incur losses in terms of working hours and medical bills.

However, I can't wait for the Toll Plaza staffs to wear glove. I have to buy a pair of glove myself so that every Friday I won't have to retake my "wuduk" when I go to a mosque to perform the Friday prayer.

Where is my Kampung?

Assalamualaikum,

"Where are you from?" or "where is your kampung?" is always the standard question asked by someone whom you have just met in a conversation.

The Wikipedia defines the term "kampung" as "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country" In other words, a kampung is defined today as a village in Brunei, Indonesia or Malaysia.

The Wikipedia continues to say that in Malaysia, a kampung is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a penghulu (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village. A Malay village typically contains a "masjid" (mosque) or "surau" (Muslim chapel), stilt houses and paddy fields. Malay villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" (gotong royong), as well as being family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family, particularly the parents and elders), courtesy and believing in God ("Tuhan") as paramount to
everything else. It is common to see a "kubor" (Muslim cemetery) near the mosque, as all Muslims in the Malay village want to be prayed for, and to receive Allah's blessings in the afterlife.

Having said that, a kampung is therefore our origin, where we were born probably and also where we grew up and spent most of our early schooling years there. A kampung is also where our parents settle down for good.

Whenever we have the opportunity, a kampung is where we return to spend the time with our parents, relatives and friends, who grew up and played together with us in the kampung. There is no other preferable way to spend the time during the holidays than to "balik kampung" (return to our parents' house in the village) whether we were at college, university or working somewhere else at that time. A kampung can also be said to be the focul point for "silaturrahim" (maintaining close relationship amongst friends and relatives), where all the brothers, sisters and close relatives get together as often as possible, especially during festivals like the Aidil Fitri, Aidil Adha or marriage ceremonies of those very close to the family. For as long as one of the parents is still alive, the "spirit" of the "balik kampung" still remains, that is, the joy of looking forward to return to the kampung.

Now, back to the question of where my kampung is. You see, I was born in Singapore at the customs quarters at Kampung Bahru Road. Later on my parents rented a house in Kg. Bukit Kasita. I studied at the Radin Mas Primary School from Standard 1 to Standard 5. So it can be said that my kampung at that time was Kampung Bukit Kasita in Singapore.

In 1963, my late father was transferred to Johor Bahru. At first, we were staying in the Government's quarters at Jalan Larkin. Later on, my late father bought a house at Jalan Kasawari, Larkin Lama, Johor Bahru. I continued my studies at Sekolah Rendah Temenggung Abdul Rahman. At the end of 1964, my class teacher, Mrs. Maniam recommended me to sit for an examination for selection to study at MCKK (Malay College Kuala Kangsar). I was one of the successful candidates to be selected, the other one being my classmate, Abdullah bin Abdul Hamid.

So whenever I was asked where my kampung was during my 5-year study period in MCKK, I would answer that it was Johor Bahru. Fellow Johoreans at MCKK thus thought that I was a pure Johorean.

In 1970, I was given a scholarship to study for a diploma in Brighton Technical College in the United Kingdom. Two years later, I went to London to study for my enginering degree at King's College (University of London). While I was there, whenever I was asked by any Malaysian about my kampung, I would say that it was in Johor Bahru.

While I was studyng in London, my late father was transferred to Lumut in Perak. Subsequently my late father bought a piece of land at Kampung Kurnia in Tronoh, Perak and built a house there. "It's going to be my retirement place." said my late father. So after that, Lumut and subsequently Tronoh in Perak became my kampung. In the meantime, my mother continued to stay in the house in Johor Bahru. So technically speaking, I had two kampungs at that time, one in Perak and the other one in Johor. It wasn't very long thereafter that the house in Johor Bahru was sold and therefore Kg. Kurnia at Tronoh in Perak became my latest kampung.

My late father was born in Lubok Merbau in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. My late mother was born in Batu Berendam in Melaka. My late mum was a "baba nyonya" which explained the Chinese look in me. So by right I should have a kampung in Melaka too. But it was not to be that way for the story as was told by my late mum was that she was "disowned" by her parents when she married my late dad. She never returned to Melaka to meet her parents again after that except to visit her two elder brothers, Pak Long and Pak Ngah, who had also embraced Islam at the same time as her.

I still have some relatives residing in Melaka who are descendents from my late Pak Ngah. Until today, whenever I meet a nyonya-baba or baba-nyonya from Melaka, I wonder whether he or she is related to my late mother.

When we grew up, we got married and have children. We eventually establish our own kampung by buying a house of our own. We spend lesser and lesser time to "balik kampung" after both our parents had passed away.

Almost all of my brothers and sisters have committed themselves to have their own kampungs by buying a house at the place chosen by them. Therefore, during the holidays, their own childen visit them, just like they visited their own parents when their parents were still alive.

As for me, I do not have a house to settle down yet. All my life I had been travelling and working at different places and I was never at a place for more than 4 years. However, my wife and I are building a house in Dungun and most likely we will settle down in Dungun for good and call it our kampung.

So in the meantime, what shall I say if someone is to ask me where my kampung is? :-)