Give me the correct understanding of Deen

I have attended several Islamic lectures and towards the end of the lectures they often say so that Allah grant us the correct understanding of Deen. I never bother to ruminate upon its meaning until recently that I attended Sh. Bilal Moola lecture after Tarawih in Hepburn mosque that it sparked to my mind what it really means.

Often enough we were reminded that Islam is simple and its teaching is easy to follow. Several restrictions imposed on its teachings are a cause of prevention before we are far astray. That is the basis of Islamic guidance. This where I think that we need to ask God to grant us the correct understanding of the religion. Having been born in a Muslim family does not guarantee us to practise Islam in its correct way. Those who revert/convert to Islam often have a better understanding of Islam because they seek and look for the truth. We who were born as a Muslim tend to take things for granted and we practise it as though it is a culture to practise not as something compulsory as instructed by God.



Having been granted the correct understanding of the religion will enable us to see Islam in the true perspective of how it should be viewed. Lacking of this quality is the source of the wrong interpretation of the religion and the basis for the things that we think is condoned by the religion but as a matter of fact is not. For instance, excessive music in daily life that has blended well in our norms now. Things are easily fall into oblivion when we do not really understand the religion. There are so many small facets in our life that we regard is permissible by the religion but is actually less desirable Islamically. I believe that having committed many small sins is actually worse that committing one big sin. Committing big sin is easily realised by us but the danger of not realising the small sins that we commit repeatedly is a more perilous deed to do. Worse still, we do not even realise the deeds as sins. These are entirely devil’s game.

I strongly believe that Islam should not be judged by looking at Muslims. It should be evaluated by its true teachings. Most often Muslim does not portray the essence of the religion. If I may use the term “modify”, the teaching has been modified (added and subtracted) to suit our daily life just because of our ignorance. We need the correct understanding of the religion.

Oh God give me the correct understanding of the Deen! I need that guidance to make me understand Islam better and to practise it in its true form. Let us practise it in its true form not in the manner that we think is right but rather in the way that have been instructed by you and your Messenger in its original teaching.
I remind myself and others.

Being Me

We chase our dreams, we walk the road that we create and we talk the thoughts that we picture just to realise the future that we have been longing for. Sometimes we forget that we ought to take a step back and look into the unique existence of us in this world. No doubt we want to be successful and we all have our own choice of colours to paint our future. We hasten in realising our dreams and we forget to relish the snippets of our lives. Life is a journey with no end but ironically we rather hunt for the finishing line forgetting to savour the passage or the quest that we take to materialise the journey. It is the road that we take towards the future that makes up our life and worth to be treasured.



Life is getting complex with today’s society. We are competing to be more successful than the others. Times and again we overlook the learning route that we take and we let it pass by unbeneficial. I believe in taking a break and ponder upon the sole reason we are here and let us tread the way that we deem is right. We should steer our life according to our beliefs. Let us just be us.

I saw a quote on TV back home the other day. It says;
“The hardest challenge in this life is to be ourselves in the world where everybody else is trying to make us to be somebody else”.

On Old Friends

Coming back for raya meeting old school friends and teachers that I have lost contact with for some time was indeed a refreshing experience. Most of them have had a turn in their lives, have moved from a student life to having a career. Time has changed so much for the past seven years since I left the school but Taiping is still the same old town that I have known for the past 24 years. Coming back here has seen that I have to change my Malay accent to the northern dialect which I have to admit that I have to think for a while first before I utter something. I have called Australia home for the past 6 years and my Malay there is conversed in KL-type accent.

I enjoy meeting old friends and share the old stories together, had a laugh together. They are still of the same old characters. My Taiping friends are of less complicated people. We do not talk about having a lot of money, about having a business and bragging about career. We talked about teachers, about friends that we did not manage to keep in contact with and of course about school. These less complicated topics are easy to talk about and a great source of amusement to us. It brings back the good old memories and I am actually amazed by how much I can appreciate those memoirs now. Sometimes the bitter past can be a sweet one when we laugh and pick on each other.



Time has inevitably changed the path of our life. Every junctures that we take now is decided by us and will lead to future consequences. We begin to assume responsibilities to family and to ourselves. We still talk about the same topic we used to talk before e.g. flirting with girls, picking on some friends etc. but now we also talk about the future more seriously e.g. married life. We begin to feel the burden that we need to carry in the years ahead. I am happy that at least I know that most of my friends know where they are going or at least have the noble intention to have a rewarding life. The most important lesson that I learned when meeting them is that we cannot judge people by their conducts at school. People grow and mature. By time and God willing we begin to feel the sense of responsibilities that we need to have. An urchin may become someone important in the future. People are funny and unpredictable and life is complex that it can take its turn so quickly without us realising it.

It is interesting how we can learn from each other so much regardless of our background. I find it fascinating how people can be so enthralling that every move we take can serve as a lesson to others. Probably that is the reason why God say that human being is the best of His creatures. It is also worth mentioning that every step we take will be recorded and rewarded if the intention is right. God reward the good action when we intent to do it before we actually carry out the intention but only record that bad action once we commit it.

Let us all savour the good old times and benefit from every bit and pieces that have been left behind for us to glance at to remind us of our roots. When we reach upon a star, make sure our feet is still on the ground.

15 Oct 2007, 7.08 pm Taiping

Irony Syawal

Today is the second day of raya and I am back home at the moment. I am watching a program in TV 9 called From Taiping to Akademi Al-Quran a story about a Taipingite who became the champion of Akademi Al-Quran. It is always a wonderful feeling to be here even though there are not many people at home now but guests keep coming as every past years. Always looking forward to see them. It is a nice feeling and environment here with raya song and program played on TV, kids coming for raya from out of nowhere and meeting old school friends that I have lost contact with for years.

I have to sincerely say that this Ramadhan was not as sweet as my past Ramadhan. I only woke up for Tahajud once and Alhamdulillah I did not miss one single Tarawih while in Perth except for one day when I was on the flight to Malaysia. I guess I have been slacking in making this Ramadhan a beneficial one. Having to work and some other commitments are not an excuse for me to treat Ramadhan as any other months. I was very inspired by this MAS accountant that I met in Trinity prayer room when he said that we do not do justice to Ramadhan if we treat Ramadhan just like any other usual months. Therefore, he took 2 weeks off to celebrate Ramadhan. On the other hand, I took 2 weeks off to celebrate raya! I know that one of the groups of people that has been cursed by Rasulullah s.a.w. is those who do not take full advantage of the month of Ramadhan. Allah forgive me.



I begin to feel that we are not on the right track in our way of celebrating Syawal and our way of saying farewell to Ramadhan. It is an irony how we are in high spirits in celebrating Syawal and at the same time we forget that we are leaving Ramadhan behind us not knowing if we are meeting Ramadhan in the next year never mind if we have benefited from this year’s Ramadhan. As far as I am concerned, Islam stresses heavily on reaping full benefit of Ramadhan and 1st of Syawal is the day that we celebrate having successfully completed Ramadhan. Syawal is the celebration of religion not that of culture. However, today we tend to celebrate Syawal like a big party putting Islamic values to a side. It should be a way of expressing our gratitude to Allah for giving us the blessed month of Ramadhan.
It is an irony how we are joyful that Ramadhan has gone and for some of us Ramadhan is not something that we look forward to even though we know the big rewards that contain in it. Every big reward comes with difficulties that we have to face and in this case we have fast and to govern ourselves from everything that has been forbidden to us in order to reap the benefit of the blessed month.

It is an irony how we can cry of not meeting families in Syawal but we can’t cry realising that Ramadhan is going. It is an intrinsic nature of human being I think that we are forgetful and we enjoy being happy. We look forward for the worldly happiness and we forget about eternal happiness. I think what we should really be doing is that we have to reap the full benefit of Ramadhan and then we enjoy the Syawal festivities, of course within the Islamic boundaries.

I remind myself so that next year my heart will be soften to perform more in Ramadhan and to moisten my lips more with the praising of my God. Not to mention also that Ramadhan is a month to practice to be carried forward to the months after.

14 Oct 2007, Taiping

On Patience

Went to Hepburn yesterday and as usual the talk by Bilal Moola was inspiring
even though we might have heard the story before, but the way he narrated the
story leaves an impact. Therefore, I think I should extend the reception of
the story. Yesterday's talk revolved around the image portrayed by the
Muslims with an example set by Rasulullah s.a.w. I gathered 2 stories
basically. Of course, this is my version of the story as my memory could
retain and should not be treated as authentic narration.



There was this famous Jews Rabbi by the name Zaid bin San'ah and he read from his scripture that there
will be a great Prophet and He will be the last prophet sent by God to the
people. He was not convinced that Muhammad s.a.w. is the last noble prophet
as mentioned in his scripture. Therefore, he decided to investigate the
quality of Rasulullah s.a.w.; the high level of patience as a sign of true
prophethood. He went to the Prophet's s.a.w. house to investigate. When he
was there, there came a poor man asking for some food.

"Ya Muhammad, could you spare me some food?" says the poor man

"By Allah, I will give you if I have something but I do not have anything at
the moment" says Muhammad s.a.w.

The Jews Rabbi thought that this would be a good opportunity for him to test
the true sign of Prophethood of Muhammad s.a.w. Thus he said to Muhammad
s.a.w.,

"I have an orchard and if you will you can pick the fruits there and I will
accept the payment from you later"

"If that is the case, I will accept and will pay you at the set date" said
Muhammad s.a.w and they agreed on the date of payment.

Three days before the set date of payment, the Jews Rabbi came to Muhammad
s.a.w. and asked for the money saying in a harsh way that the Prophet s.a.w.
has forgotten to pay the money owing. Even though it was before the agreed
date, the Rabbi showed his anger and rude manner. At that point, when he
turned his head, he saw Umar r.a. behind him with his eye ball rolling
showing his anger.

"If it is not because of the presence of Muhammad s.a.w., I would have
beheaded you right now. How could you talk in such a way to my Prophet?" said
Umar in an angry manner.

"Calm down Umar, this is not what I want from you. You are not making the
situation better. What you should really say is, remind me to pay the debt by
time and tell him to ask in a softer manner", said Muhammad s.a.w. and he
went off.

Look at the quality of the prophet in this instance. After the incidence,

"Do you know who I am Umar?" asked the Rabbi

"I don't know who you are and I don't want to know who you are" said Umar
angrily.

"I am Zaid b San'ah and by Allah
today I have witnessed that Muhammad is a true prophet of Allah by the
quality that he has shown. From now on, I shall recite my syahadah and will
give half of my belonging in the path of Allah", said the Rabbi after he was
moved by the manner of the prophet.

I think this is very beautiful.



Just one other point, we can see that Umar was so angry at the Rabbi for his
harsh manner to Muhammad s.a.w. The love of the sahabah to Prophet s.a.w is
unique.

At the death of Prophet s.a.w., there was this sahabah and he mentioned that,

"My eyes are no longer useful if I could not see Muhammad s.a.w again"

And he asked Allah to take away his sight so that the last object that he
sees will be Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Allah granted his wish.

Pls pass this along to be a great example of patience of its
virtue.

-From the e mail that I wrote to a friend.

Matters of the Heart

Perhaps I should just let my heart decide on its own matter. The interference of mind will sometimes make things complicated as mind decides base on logic and matters of the heart are matters of emotional not logical. It is kind of tricky when someone gets into your life and the state of your emotion changed due to commitment, happiness but you still act the same. It is really hard for me to describe the situation I am in now. I am just not the kind of person to express feeling into words or actions. I need to learn to be more appreciative of my environment i.e. the people around me, things that I have etc. It sounds easy but matters of the heart involves emotions and emotions are unpredictable. Sometimes you can be cold hearted towards a person and sometimes you can be the most gentle person. Sometimes you can be very sensitive and sometimes very insensitive. Sometimes you can be very easily hurt and sometimes you could not care less. It is just hard to put a solid line defining the two extremes emotional states.

Same Life Still

This is my 6th year in Australia, Perth in particular. I don't know if I can call Perth home now and I don't know how much longer I am going to spend pieces of my life here. Truly I have no plan for my future. I am still ruminating upon my future. Right now I am still wondering aimlessly as far as my future is concerned. I don’t really know what I want to be in the years ahead.

I’d love to see the world. I’d love to experience different cultures and see wonders of the world. I have been craving to travel the globe but just some constraints holding me back i.e. time, money etc. Perhaps I want a different environment to refresh my thoughts and merely just to broaden my horizon. At this point of time, I cannot say that I have the freedom to do that as yet.



I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has somehow shaped my life be it coincidentally or deliberately. I thank God for his love and blessings granted upon me and sometimes I forgot how forgetful I am not to thank him. It happens to me that everything that I wished once upon a time was granted now and sometimes I even forgot that I used to wish it before. Just as yesterday while I was walking down the terrace on the way back home, I was sparked by this thought that I wanted a Camry before when I was a fresh university student back in 2002 and now God granted it to me some 4 years after that. I only realized it yesterday after about a year having that car. We always think that wish never comes true but for me it does, it is just time that separates us. I thank God for innumerable things he granted me and complemented my life with.

I thank my friends, my long lost friend, close friends or friends I never met. I learn a lot from them and I have hurt some of them a lot too. I have to say that I am very insensitive towards someone’s feelings but very sensitive upon my feelings. That is just unfair of me I guess. Now I learn that to be solemn at times is very rewarding. We can always be the focusing character of a situation but I have to learn that that will not last long. Everyone has his own fair share of time in this world it is just that I have to remind myself that I among the lucky few.

Ever Since I Met Her

I believe in what God has decided. Ever since God destined that I shall fail in my last relationship and that I shall spend my year here working, I know that He got something planned for me. In my previous posts, I keep saying that God has a better plan for me whenever something do not fall into places. Indeed, He has a grandeur plan for me. He gives me her. Ever since then, I know that this plan is definite and right.



I do not know how to describe how thankful I am for her presence in my life. It is such an inexpressible feeling. I am still findings ways to tell her that I am very much grateful that she is willing to be with me. Sometimes we wonder why we like and adore someone so much. I am still finding the reasons for that. I do not know why I want to be with her. It’s just this uncanny feeling that something from above telling me that she is the perfect one for me to be with. I don’t think I can love anyone as how I love her now.

The feeling of loving someone is a feeling that only can be described by action. Words are too limited to express how and what we feel towards someone. I can feel, but I do not know how to express. I just hope that my inexpressible feeling of how much I care for her is conveyed through my action. I don’t expect anything at all from her except to share the same feeling.

Ever since I met her, I know that she is the one and has been beautifully created to make me smile. I adore her so much with all I’ve got. She is everything beautiful in this world to me.

I Proposed...

and she said yes (14th Oct 2006)!

*I love her with all my heart.

Things That Make Me Smile

It's been quite a while again since I last wrote here. Not to say that I am busy but just could not find the right time and the right mood to write here. Below are just the things that can make me smile at the moment to be documented here in no particular order:

1. Looking at photography books about people around the world taken by the
inspiration of the photographer to capture moments of happiness in other
people's lives. They smile in different cultural background and costumes no
matter what the conditions are. I smile at them back from far here.

2. Seeing people playing around with their kids full of laughter and jubilance. They
take pleasure of the free time they have together to enjoy moments with their
family. I smile at their happiness in their elements.

3. Walking into gift shops and found something adorable, suitable for the one
that I really care at the moment. Seeing her is already a great gift to me. I
smile when she sent me messages saying how sweet and cute the gift was and I
replied that she is as cute and as sweet as the gift is.

4. Sending someone I love to work and pick her up later in the evening no matter how
busy I was. I smile when she got off the car and say "Thank you, pakcik". Just
small things but make me happy that I can do something for her however small that
may be.



5. Looking at my boss scratching his head and doing his routine walk-around-the-
office. He looked at me and say 'How are we doing, Muhamad?" and
gave me his smile even though he knows that things are not doing that well at the
moment. I smile at his "No Worries" attitude.

6. I smile at how people used to pick on me about me going out with her. I pretended
to be shy and say do not disturb me again. I enjoy that as that means that they
know that I care for her.

7. I smile sometimes just thinking that I can achieve what I want in life even
though it may be far-fetched from now. I just enjoy the moment that I can think
about that whereby there is hope for me.

8. I smile in humility when someone cry in the face of their God asking for
repentence. I am amazed at the ability of them shedding tears to God. I wish I
can do that.

9. Watching people meeting and enjoying their conversation with friends full of
laughter and humour. I smile at how they enjoy and appreciate the moment spent
together.

10. I smile at how much I can smile thinking that I am a lucky person that I should
be more thankful for what I have.

Don't be Sad (Laa Tahzan)

I am currently reading this book called Laa Tahzan or Don't be Sad by 'Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni. An english translated Arabic book. I have read a lot of this kind of book but this particular book is very different from others (e.g Seven Habits of High;y Effective People, How to Win Friends and Influence People etc). Well.. let's put it this way, it is an Islamic motivation book. It is about life. It is about being thankful of what we have. And more importantly it is about how do we deal with daily situation and always look on the bright side of life. We always look on the bad point of life but really we forget to savour the joyous moment that we have. We never satisfied with what we have and always wanting more. I just realise it myself that I should stop grumbling over what I can't have.Me learning to be more grateful here. One of the rare book that I will recommend people to read. Suits very much to my mood at the time being.
Following are some of the inspirational words that I randomly picked while reading it (still reading it though!!):

* The person who sits on the ground does not fall.
*Most human being are ungrateful to their Lord, so what you and I shoud expect?!
*Verily, with hardsip there is relief.
* If I were given a choice between having a status in society and plentiful money and between a happy, radiant, smiling self, I would choose the latter. For waht is great wealth if it begets misery?

There goes another of my birthday

There goes another one of my birthday party with friends. I have nothing special to write here about that. The same thing happen evenry year with Li grumbling not wanting to go to Japanese and we went to Fast Eddy's instead for dinner. we head to Hit Studio next for 3 hours of karaoke and I really love it!! And... I did something stupid again that night! :(

A Life Revisited

I have grown to be lazy to write here. Probably nothing interesting that happens in my life at the moment. As for now, I have been working for about 3 months here and still looking for the right tune to switch my life from this transition. I realize that when you work your desires grow and without realizing you can never earn enough. My bad! Still busy settling down over here in Perth and still have difficulties in managing in finance. Hopefully, I will get through it soon.

I am still looking to accommodate this hollow in my heart and been worrying about it for sometimes. I begin to feel the pressure of it and loneliness further solidify the feelings. Just need someone to lash out how I feel and I do not have the guts to do it yet. I was just wondering is it worth while worrying about that? It is not so much that I worry but more of a feeling-sharing thingy kinda things. Been praying really hard but still waiting for the God above to listen to me. I do not know how and why He structures my life as it is. Mundane and monotonous. Will keep on praying!

On Being Appreciated

Just an e mail from my thesis supervisor. Feel like putting it here for my own remembrance. Not always I get something from someone that appreciate what I do. This wil do then!

*************************************************************************************

On Being Thankful

From a forwarded e mail that I get. At second glance, this does make sense! Only need to look at from different perspective.

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

God's Discretion

This entry may sound cliché and typical but I am just writing what I feel right now.

GOD decides everything that happens in my life. I do not know how to describe my belief in Him right now. Definitely I believe in the power of god as I have heard, read and even witnessed it myself. I keep telling my self that when something befalls unto my life may it be a bitter or a pleasant one, there is always a reason behind it. Why do I wake up a little later this morning that usual and why I decided to wear a dark green long sleeve shirt to office today other than my usual short sleeve. Even the minute details that I do in life have a purpose. I may not see the purpose of it now, may not notice it and may not even realise why I did it. God has arranged everything. Sometimes I wonder why don’t (if god has arranged everything!) we just let my life flow as it is. Just let the wind carry me to where I belong according to god’s discretion. Therefore, I do not have to bother to go against my needs, feelings and beliefs. Then I realise that yes He decides everything but I have to inspire it myself. Whereby, I have to ponder upon my existence. Why am I being brought to this world and why am I working in Perth and not back home. Ultimately, I realise that whatever happen in my life was inspired or planned by me but decided by Him. His power and rank do not even affected by my doings. It only affects me here in this world and the hereafter. But on the other hand, I believe that god is merciful and gracious. He pardoned me so many times when I forgot about him. He does not even take my eyes back when I see obscene things and does not amputate my leg when I walk towards the evil paths. I can feel that He guides me through my life. I always have this uncanny feeling towards others who forgot about Him. I do not know why but I feel pity for them and I hope that He will give hidayah to those who have astrayed far from the righteous way. I pray for them and may god listen to me this time too. Forgive me for I have sinned a lot and I always try to do my best but sometimes my weak heart got disturbed by the devil’s whisper. YOU know best!!

**I have decided to sponsor a child today. What is the purpose of me being happy here when other people on the oether side of the world is suffering.

Letting Go

Sooner or later, everyone you know will disappoint you in some way. They'll say something or fail to say something that will hurt you. And they'll do something or fail to do something that will anger you. It's inevitable. Unfortunately, you make things worse when you stew over someone's words and deeds. When you dwell on a rude remark or an insensitive action made by another person, you're headed for deeper problems. In fact, the more you dwell on these things, the more bitter you'll get.
You'll find your joy, peace and happiness slipping away. And you'll find your productivity slowing down as you find more and more time thinking about the slight or telling others about it. Eventually, if you don't stop doing it, you'll even get sick. So what should you do the next time someone betrays you? TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR FEELINGS. Even though the other person may be at fault, even though the other person wronged you, you are still responsible for your own feelings. In other words,other people do not "cause" your feelings. You choose them. For example,two different people could be told that their suggestions made at the staff meeting were stupid and idiotic." One person may "choose" to feel so hurt that he never speaks up at any other meeting again. The other person may "choose" to feel sorry for the critic, sorry that the critic couldn't see the wisdom and necessity of her suggestions. As long as you blame other people for your feelings, as long as you believe other people caused your feelings, you're stuck. You're a helpless victim. But if you recognize the fact that you choose your feelings and you are responsible
for your feelings, there's hope. You can take some time to think about your feelings. And you can decide what is the best thing to say or do.



Then, you've got to learn to WALK AWAY FROM DISAPPOINTMENT. It's difficult to do, but it's possible. The famous 19th century Scottish historian,Thomas Carlyle,proved that. After working on his multi-volume set of books on "The French Revolution" for six years, Carlyle completed the manuscript and took volume one to his friend John Stuart Mill. He asked Mill to read it. Five days later, Mill's maid accidentally threw the manuscript into the fire. In agony, Mill went to Carlyle's house to tell him that his work had been destroyed. Carlyle did not flinch. With a smile, he said, "That's all right, Mill. These things happen. It is a part of life. I will start over. I can remember most of it, I am sure. Don't worry. It's all here in my mind. Go, my friend! Do not feel bad."

As Mill left, Carlyle watched him from the window. Carlyle turned to his wife and said, "I did not want him to see how crushed I am by this misfortune." And with a heavy sigh, he added, "Well the manuscript is gone, so I had better start writing again." Carlyle finally completed the work, which ranks as one of the great classics of all time. He had learned to walk away from is disappointment. After all, what could Carlyle have done about his burnt manuscript?



Nothing. Nothing would have resurrected the manuscript. All Carlyle could do was to get bitter or get started. And what can you do about anything once it is over? Not much. You can try to correct it if it is possible, or you can walk away from it if it isn't. Those are your only two choices. Sometimes you've just got to shake it off and step up. It's like the farmer who had an old mule who fell into a deep dry well. As he assessed the situation, he knew it would be difficult, if not impossible,to lift the heavy mule out of the deep well. So the farmer decided to
bury the mule in the well. After all, the mule was old and the well was dry, so he could solve two problems at once. He could put the old mule out of his misery and have his well filled. The farmer asked his neighbours to help him with the shovelling. To work they went. As they threw shovel-full of dirt after shovel-full of dirt on the mule's back, the mule became frightened. Then all of a sudden an idea came to the mule. Each time they would throw a shovel-full of dirt on his back, he would shake it off and step up. Shovel-full after shovel-full, the mule would shake it off and step up. In not too long a time, the exhausted and dirty mule stepped over the top of the well and through the crowd.That's the same approach we all need to take. We need to shake it off and step up.



Finally, you need to FORGIVE. It's difficult, especially when the other person doesn't deserve your forgiveness or doesn't even seek it. It's difficult when the other person is clearly in the wrong. Part of the difficulty comes from a common is understanding of forgiveness.Forgiveness doesn't mean that the other person's behaviour is okay. And forgiveness doesn't mean that the other person is off the
hook. He's still responsible for his misbehaviour. Forgiveness is about letting
yourself off the emotional hook. It's about releasing your negative emotions, attitudes, and behaviours. It's about letting go of the past so you can go forward to the future. Everyone in your life, everyone on and off the job is going to disappoint you. If you know how to respond to those situations, you'll be way ahead of most people. You'll be able to live above and beyond your circumstances.

Dr. Alan Zimmerman

**Something that has been sitting in my inbox for 2 years and could not be bothered to read it until today.

Living a life in Perth

Hmm…been thinking to write here for quite sometimes already. Just got back from a month of holiday in Malaysia and now is my third week working at INTEC Engineering. These three weeks I get paid for doing nothing. Absolutely nothing! I can’t believe they pay me just to stare at the screen and chatting with my friends. They wanted me to learn something but the things that they want me to learn in one week I can do it in a day. All in all, it is a pretty dull day everyday. Am looking forward to working on a real project.

I don’t really feel the transformation from student’s life to a working life. Probably I am still in the early transition time. Life is still the same for me now. Nothing much has changed and I guess I’d feel the same for a very long time. Now that I am no longer a student, I have bigger responsibilities towards family and building my own future. I do not know where will I head from here and frankly speaking I can’t see myself in 10 years time, where will I be and what kind of person I will turn into. I need to grow up and care more about others. Whatever the future may be, I am here to shape it. I have got nothing more to say just to keep my blog updated even though no one knows about it.

The Old Me

What can I say about life now? It is not always the way you want it to be right? Like in my blog tag. But I am grateful with the life, family and friends that god bestowed to be around me. They serve as a pillar of strength for me and hold me up when I feel down. And now, I am back with the old me!! The ME that my friends like not the ME that I have been lately. I am recovering well from the emotion. I really treasure the lesson that I learned within one month of my relationship and I hold no hard feelings to anyone even to her. When God says so, so it will happen! I thank her for the lessons and for being with me even for a short while. I hope that I did bring even a small sparkle of joy to her and only God knows how sincere I am when I am with her. Whatever the thing is now, I take it as something that I can learn from may may God gives me strength to shove in the journey of my life.

Heals my Heart

I do not feel entirely good today after I called Mom this evening. It always happen that everyime I called her and I am in a happy mood but she is not. That will switch my mood immediately. I called her this evening just to know that she is not feeling very well. My heart is not at ease now. I am just pretending to be me like normal day but deep inside my little soul is crying to be comforted. I just hope that God will grant her speedy recovery. Was it a punishment for me for the things that I have done wrong? I know that I sinned a lot but forgive me for I am trying to be a better person day by day. I am just a normal human being subject to humanly mistakes due to lack of spiritual supplications.



May Allah heals her health
May Allah heals my heart...