Of Butterflies [The Stroke, the Effect and the Monarch]

It's something I believe. That the world holds miraculous wonders, and in it intertwined relations, treasures and beauties. I don't know why they are there for sure, but I always feel like it is for us humans to learn and ponder.

Butterfly Stroke
When I was 8, I was playing in the pool at Ulu Yam with my brother Naim 6 at that time. We had a family day. Out of boredom for the shallow pool, we decided to switch to the higher ground, deeper pool. No one was watching us. The family day was too happening that no one expected us to climb up higher.

The pool we went then was murky. It's not like a swimming pool, it's just a ground digged filled with water. We did not see the real depth of the pool. We jumped straight away in it. Somehow, Naim stepped into the deeper side of the pool. He screamed for help as his feet weren't unable to feel the bottom of the pool. I at that time managed to stand up felt with my foot where the pool got deeper. Naim was screaming and drowning. I was so afraid at that time. I felt like crying. I later felt the steep part, I grabbed the side of the pool while Naim was slowly drifting away from the side and drowning. He struggled so much. I jumped to him with my hand still attached to the side and grabbed him. He was saved. Alhamdulillah.

Today, it's one of my initiatives to teach people how to swim. During a camping or a jaulah, whenever we are in water I often be asked or voluntarily teach people how to swim. Of course, I never have the coach certificate, but I do learn how to swim out of fear that one day when someone needs help as in Naim's case, I might not be able to save the person. And I could never forgive myself for that. Never.

I often ponder why Rasulullah told us to learn swimming(also riding horse and archery). In my opinion, there are a few important values people acquire along their journey to learn swimming. Adapting oneself, courage, freedom, focus and most importantly, appreciation.

Butterfly : Upper body strength is very important to perform this stroke beautifully.

In swimming, there are four main strokes. Freestyle, breastroke, back stroke, and butterfly. The hardest of all these strokes is butterfly and this stroke is usually learned the last of all four. Fluidity, power and rhythm as mentioned by Philip Toriello makes butterfly stroke the most majestic stroke. This stroke is considered the hardest because it requires both hands and legs to move together, not in alternating pattern of right and left like the freestyle, or leg and hand like the breast stroke. Butterfly requires you to move both simultaneously. And compared to other strokes, this stroke stresses the importance of rhytm, without it your butterfly will be inefficient and out of form. I've already started to learn this difficult stroke as the holiday started. A beautiful point I found on the net and deeply significant for me is when learning this stroke, we must learn to appreciate.

As this stroke is very difficult compared to other strokes, we must learn to appreciate every little part of movements involved in the stroke. The push, the pull, the recovery phase, the dolphin kick, the breathing, the energy management. We must learn to aware what movement contributes to what dynamics, what push moves you forward, how to recover effectively, how to dismiss unnecessary movements. The stroke is so tiring you need to really observe your energy management as your energy is limited. Your efficiency in managing your energy by performing the correct technique optimizes your speed and fluidity in water. Otherwise, you would just be splashing water.

If you observe the body performing butterfly from the side, you will see the rhythm of the body somehow mimics the shape of sine graph. If you perform it correctly, you'll understand why people say it's the most beautiful, majestic stroke ever. For butterfly to come to its shape is not easy, it requires hardwork, discipline, respect and appreciation for every minor and major details of the stroke - and from it comes the beauty, power and fluidity of this superb stroke.

From this stroke, I learn something to relate with my life. I hope I put it out well for you to understand. It's appreciation. Success comes when I acknowledge and appreciate minor and major things in my life, realizing that each of these contributes in my life, one way or another. And to move forward efficiently, dismiss any unneccessary movements that might slow you down or distract you from reaching your dreams. It's so significant for me.

Perhaps because this stroke is very hard and I could only go 25 meters with a nice form. Longer than that my upper body fails to execute the movement really well. And I would telan all the water as my effort to breath also fails. -.-

* It's unlike freestyle or breast stroke where you could go 1-2 kilometers without complete exhaustion, butterfly's a whole different thing. Perhaps it's me only lol. (Here's a video - Olympics Men 4 x 100m Medley Relay where all four strokes in one competition. Watch. It's amazing! Click )

Butterfly Effect

In 1972, Edward Lorenz a mathematician and meteorologist presented a paper titled, "Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?". As far-fetched as it sound however, the effect is real. The effect is also called sensitive dependence on initial conditions.

Butterfly effect describes how one small change in a system initially can result in a big difference in the end.  Opposed to common sense that small change would only compensate for small difference. Lorenz realized this when he was keying in data in his weather model. He encountered problems earlier and to save time and space, instead of entering 6 digits data he decided to round-off the decimals to 3 digits assuming that the rounding-off makes no significant change.

What he found was surprising. A very small change had altered the outcome by major difference in his model. Later he realized that long-term weather forecasting is impossible due to the nature of the weather. It's because of this butterfly effect that makes predicting space weather is far more easier than predicting our own weather.

While I am eager to share the mathematical aspect of this effect, I am afraid that what I'm trying to share might not get to you. Picture below is an example of butterfly effect. The instrument is called double pendulum. While it is fairly easy for us to predict the motion of a single pendulum swaying fro and forth, when we add another variable, in this case is another pendulum attached to the original pendulum, the predictability becomes significantly hard and the condition becomes haywire and chaotic it results in a fairly complex condition. Another example is like how Sun and Earth interacts ceteris peribus. You can predict the motion of these two bodies fairly easy if you have enough information. But if you add another body, let's say Mars, it becomes a completely different thing. Predicting it becomes hardly possible and hitherto the solutions aren't completely understood. (Read more : Three body problem)

Here, I am not trying to potray that our life is chaotic and frenzy, no. But I'm trying to show you, in life, every single thing small or big act you do, do have effects in your life. Being more serious, good deeds and sins do affect our life. As good deeds bring blessings and tranquility into life, sins make us less sensitive to people and to God. Although we do know that Allah is al Ghaffar and sins can be erased through repentance, we also should know once we do what we do, the effects are already rippling through life.

In a bigger picture, what we do affect other people. Family, friends, Ummah and humanity. The struggle to appreciate every small things we do, to pay attention to big things and observe the incoming ripples stemmed from our actions is tiring. I assure you. But, Rasulullah taught us to observe minor details, both good and bad. Every bit of positive energy injected in the system and vice versa, we are to observe that and not to take it for granted.

Abu Dzar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Don’t underestimate any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.” (Muslim).

To really realize that every action we make is indeed significant, if not in short-term it will be in a longer term, requires consistent effort. To fill in every little space and hole in our life with deeds, even the smallest of all deeds and to dismiss and consciously deal with bad behaviour or mistakes. Rasulullah also mentioned how we as Muslims should observe and avoid underestimating minor sins.

Rasulullah pbuh said: “Beware of sins which are treated as being minor, just like a people who encamp in the centre of a valley, so someone brings a stick of firewood and someone else brings a stick until they are, therefore, able to bake their bread. Likewise, sins which are treated as being minor, and for which the person is taken to account, will destroy him.” [Ahmad]

The realization of small things do bring significant effects in our life is important as it would allow us to be mindful of Allah, to deal with our own desire justly, to become aware of the cause-effect factor in every thing we do in life. I don't intend to depict that sinning is the end and then we are doomed, no. There is hope. If you have injected negative energy, reinject positive energy so that the net energy in your life is positive. As good deed erases sin :) May we be a servant of Allah who is observant and grateful.

Frodo is small yet he saves the world. Be the change.


Monarch Butterfly
At last, here comes the real living butterfly. I think the placement of this wonderful creature as the last of the butterflies is right. I suggest after you read my post, you do further readings on this butterfly. I am afraid that what I am going to share is not sufficient and don't do justice to the monarch butterfly. It's one of the most amazing creatures on Earth, and this is not exaggeration.



Dan Osipov

Why do I say it's an amazing creature? It's because they are the only insect that migrates up to 2500 miles to move to warmer areas! These monarchs migrate to overwintering areas because they could not stand the freezing of winter. Masya Allah. The migration is also caused by the availability of foods for their larvaes, in this case milkweed.

By October or sooner, millions of monarchs will migrate to their overwintering areas. They travel about 25-30 miles per day. Another amazing thing in their migration is, they somehow know where is their overwintering sites. They know where to go.

Apart from that, they also know how to come back when the strangest thing is, it's not the same butterflies that makes the first journey, they are the fourth generation, super grand children of the ones who arrive at the overwintering sites.

Not all of the monarchs are capable to migrate. The first, second, and third generation only live up to six weeks after their metamorphosis. Only the fourth generation live up to six or eight months to enable them to migrate. Allahu Akbar. This generation will embark upon a journey they have never gone before, following only God knows what direction to their away overwintering sites that are thousand miles away. Along with millions of other monarchs, they travel together, struggling through strong winds, bad weather, dangerous and poisonous air, and lastly to adapt when they arrive at their overwintering sites only to know that the sites have been demolished to make way for humans.

Scientists still cannot figure out how the monarchs were able to tell direction. Some postulate that they might have same mechanism as migrating bird, a sensor in their brain to align with the magnetic fields of earth. Some say that they follow the wind. Up till now, no one really knows how these wonderful creature know how to fly thousand miles and end up in the same places as their ancestors were. All Praise to Allah, al Khaliq.

Sadly, many of their sites are now gone. Due to inhuman human activities. The good thing is, citizens of U.S and Mexico are so amazing they decided to start the initiative long time ago, to tag the butterfly and plant milkweed so that these monarchs have a home when they come back.

I'll leave it to you to relate Monarch Butterfly to your life. We are the student of the world, we learn from every thing. And I learn a lot from them.

I am calling all readers to care for our environment. We as a khalifah in this world have a responsible to preserve and care for our forests, animals and other living creatures. I teach Biology and Science at Al-Amin as cikgu ganti, I told my students who are capable, to join a campaign by WWF. You can choose either to adopt a tiger, turtle, orang-utan or a panda. Not more than RM40 a month. You will also get free merchandises and updates of your beloved pet. Most importantly, you save a life. http://www.wwf.org.my/how_you_can_help/donate_main/adopt_a_tiger1.cfm

Start the initiative now! :)
Conclusion

Live your life, learn, and appreciate.

Chase your dreams.

Always be aware of other people's sufferings and hardships.

Have a nice day! :)

p/s Just have a very good night with my family at the Global March to Jerusalem. Pray for me that I'll die there one day, untuk syahid sebenar-benar syahid.

[Cerpen] Panahanmu aku sambut

1.

Irfan berkalih selang beberapa minit. Malam ini terasa serabut. Hatinya tidak tenang. Hujan lebat dan kilat menyabung tidak menambah apa-apa kecuali keresahan. Sejak kebelakangan ini, semuanya tidak menjadi. Hatinya terasa kering dan gersang. 'Alangkah lucunya hati ini. Di luar sana sedang musim hujan, dalam hati ini musim kemarau. Allah.'

Guruh semakin galak berdentum. 'Ahh..menganggu tidur sahaja!' katanya. Irfan semakin geram. Dia berkalih sekali lagi. Kali ini kaki di kepala katil pula, terbalik. Dia terfikir kenapa sampai begini hatinya resah. 'Ada apa-apa yang aku buat salah ke?' fikirnya.

Usrahnya sudah tak basah seperti dulu. Tadabur dan tilawah al Qurannya juga seperti tidak membawa makna apa-apa. Semakin bosan. Solat pun sudah hilang umphnya. Puasanya hanya kerana mengikut ikhwah-ikhwah lain yang turut berpuasa. Tiada lagi semangat dalam hatinya. Galau sungguh rasa. 'Kenapa?' monolognya.

Ditambah serabut dengan tanggungjawab persatuannya dan assignmentnya lagi. 'Ahh..serabut. Classmate tak boleh harap, semua nak aku buat. Ikhwah akhawat pun kerja lembab semacam je. Kata nak dakwah, tapi ambil tanggungjawab acuh tak acuh. Nak kejar syurga, tapi kerja macam tak nak syurga.' keluhnya geram.

'Baik aku keluar ambil angin sekejap. Duduk dalam bilik lagi serabut jadi'.


Di ruang tamu, kelihatan seorang sahabatnya, Aiman sedang bertahajjud. 'Oh..sudah pukul 4 rupanya'. Dia keluar diam-diam ke halaman rumah, tidak mahu menganggu sahabatnya itu. Irfan membuka pintu dengan berhati-hati, tanpa mengeluarkan sebarang bunyi dan menutupnya kembali dengan perlahan. Dia menuju ke bangku di sebelah rumah.

Kawasan luar rumahnya berbumbung, menghadap bendang yang sangat luas. Dia dan kawan-kawannya sering duduk di situ berehat-rehat, melepaskan tekanan seharian di universiti. Namun, pagi ini dia bersendirian. Dia ingin merungkai permasalahan hatinya.

Irfan duduk. Keluhannya berat. Hujan masih lebat. Kelihatan nun di sana kilat sabung menyabung, bagaikan menari-nari di kaki langit.

'Allah..bantu aku ya Allah. Kenapa hatiku rasa begini gersang?'

Irfan berharap dia mendapat jawapannya malam itu. Dia termenung jauh. Jauh ke arah kilat yang saling menyabung di kaki langit sana. Bercahaya dan terang benderang. 'Cantik...' katanya. Irfan berbaring dan terlena.

2.

Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar! Azan sayup-sayup kedengaran. Irfan terbangun. 'Oh..aku tertidur di sini rupanya...' bisiknya. Badannya sudah menggigil kesejukan. Tidur di luar sepanjang malam yang hujan membuatkan badannya berhempas pulas mengekalkan core temperaturenya. Rumah sudah bercahaya, tanda penghuni-penghuninya sudah bangun.

Alhamdulillah. Semenjak duduk di sini, Subuhnya terjaga, solat-solatnya andai tidak di Pusat Islam di universiti, akan di surau. Dakwah masyarakat kan? Semestinya penduduk teringin ikut sekali ke surau andai kelihatan mahasiswa-mahasiswa yang mengimarahkan masjid. Yang sedang dalam perjalanan ke surau pula sentiasa berdoa, memberi salam kepada penduduk kampung yang berselisih jalan dengan mereka.

'Kita perangi mereka dengan kasih sayang. Dakwah kita berlandaskan 'athifah. Kecintaan yang mendalam kepada manusia..' Irfan mengelamun. Teringat daurah Dakwatuna dalam Risalah Himpunan Hasan al Banna semester lepas.

'Tapi macam mana aku nak memberi kasih sayang andai aku pun rasa hati aku kosong macam ni?' keluhnya.

Irfan bingkas bangun, bersiap-siap sekali dengan ikhwah lain untuk ke surau.

'Lah...sini rupanya nta..ana ingat nta dah ke surau awal tadi..' ujar Aiman yang mencari Irfan sejak azan berkumandang lagi.

'Tak..ana di luar. Ana pergi siap-siap kejap..' balas Irfan basa-basi.

3.

Kelas hari ini semuanya bosan. Nombor-nombor yang memenuhi kertas-kertas kelihatan tak bermakna. Rasa konkrit dan kosong. Lagi menyakitkan kepala melihat skema litar yang berselirat sana-sini, dengan simbol-simbol yang menambah kekusutan di kepala.

'Nasib baik circuit atas kertas je. Kalau kena mengadap circuit betul lagi berserabut aku jadinya..' getus Irfan.

Rasa hati Irfan semakin menganggu dirinya. Pening dia memikirkan apa yang sudah terjadi dengan dirinya. Dahulu, dia amat meminati subjek-subjeknya. Setiap hari ke kelas semangat untuk mempelajari perkara baharu kekal hidup. Tapi, apa sudah jadi pada hatinya sekarang pun dia tak tahu dari mana hendak mula mencari jawapan. 'Allahu musta'an...' doanya dalam diam.

Tak sabar nak menghabiskan sesi makmalnya yang terakhir. Sudah hampir 3 jam setengah dia berada di dalam makmal itu. Geramnya pada classmates bising dan riuh itu membuatkan dia ingin saja mempateri mulut seorang demi seorang. 'Soldering pen dah ada, timah dah ada. Tinggal nak buat je..' Irfan mengomel seorang diri.

Dia mengambil sebiji kapasitor  berkapasiti 10 mikrofarad untuk dipateri pada litarnya. Untuk menenangkan diri, dia merenung kapasitor itu lama-lama. Pelik. Dia seperti merasakan jawapannya kepada persoalan hatinya ada pada kapasitor ini. Pelik. Apa kaitan hatinya dan kapasitor?

'Ahh..bakal electrical engineer tak ada masa nak melayan intuitif punya kata hati macam ni..aku bukannya artis...imaginasi yang diperlukan, bukan kata hati pelik macam ini..' Irfan menidakkan kata hatinya.

'Allahu musta'an..' bisik Irfan. Dia sudah semakin lemas dalam kegersangan hatinya. Dia kembali memateri kapasitor di litarnya. Bagaikan berada seorang diri di dalam makmal, dia fokus menyiapkan kerjanya tanpa mempedulikan apa yang berlaku sekelilingya.

Dia tak sabar untuk ke kolam renang selepas ini. Setidaknya itulah kebebasan yang dia masih miliki sejak kebelakangan ini. Kebebasan untuk bergerak sebebas-bebasnya di dalam air. Tenang. Tiada yang menganggu.

4.

Guruh berdentum sekali lagi. Malam ini hujan lagi. Ditambah dengan riuhnya guruh dan kilat di luar. Irfan kembali ke bangku di luar rumah. Dia semakin menyukai tempat itu. Ditambah pula dengan pertunjukan kilat di hadapan matanya dan hujan yang menambah syahdu. Dia memerlukan sesuatu untuk mengisi rasa hatinya yang kosong. Jam menunjukkan tepat jam 4 pagi.

Dia duduk termenung. Kemudian Irfan membuka mushafnya untuk dibaca. Dia berharap dapat menemui jawapan dalam tilawahnya itu nanti.

Dalam hujan malam itu, dia membaca penuh pengharapan. 

Tangisannya diseka. Tilawah al Quran membuatkannya menangis. Tapi tangisnya bukan kerana menyesal atas dosa. Tangisnya kerana merasa sangat takut dengan apa yang berlaku dengan dirinya. Dia menginginkan agar Allah menunjukkan jalan padanya. Dia masih tidak faham apa yang sedang berlaku.

Dia sudah meninggalkan maksiat, dia sudah melengkapi mutaba'ahnya, perkara-perkara harus sudah dikurangkan, namun kenapa rasa hatinya masih begini? Masih kosong. Iman itu seperti melarikan diri daripadanya.


'Assalamu'alaikum, Irfan. Ana tumpang duduk boleh?' Aiman menyapa tiba-tiba.

'Astaghfirullah! Terkejut ana. Ingatkan hantu mana tadi.. bagi lah salam dulu kalau ye pun..' Irfan mengurut-urut dadanya.

'Ana dah bagi dah..' Aiman menjawab sambil tersenyum.

'Hah..duduklah. Wa'alaikumussalam..' Irfan menjawab.

Aiman mengambil tempat di sebelah Irfan. Kedua-duanya diam. Menikmati angin hujan seketika. Aiman memulakan perbualan.

'Ana pernah baca dalam Dr Gray punya buku, Men from Mars and Women from Venus yang lelaki ni bila ada masalah dia masuk dalam gua dia. Diam seorang diri, sampai dia jumpa jawapan. Baru dia keluar gua dia balik. Dia jarang nak berkongsi dengan orang. Jadi, ana hormat nta sebagai seorang lelaki.. ' Aiman berkata-kata sambil tersenyum.

'Apa maksud nta?' Irfan bertanya kehairanan.

'Ana dah nampak nta macam ada masalah. Cuma, ana biar dulu nta settle sendiri. Mungkin nta perlu masa bersendirian. Cuma, ana nak beritahu kalau nta perlukan teman mendengar atau nak consult sesiapa, ana ada di sini..' ujar Aiman sambil tersenyum lagi.

'Ok. Takpe..kalau ana perlu ana cakap. Sekarang ana perlu masa berfikir. Cuma, kalau nta tak keberatan, nta teman ana duduk di sini kejap boleh?' pinta Irfan. Di sebalik keengganannya untuk berkongsi masalahnya, dia akui dia memerlukan seorang teman untuk bersamanya ketika ini.

'Emm..ok!' jawab Aiman pantas.

Tiada gesaan ke atasnya pagi ini. Qiamnya sudah cukup 8 raka'at, muraja'ah al Qurannya sudah dilakukan sekaligus di dalam solatnya, solat witir dan doa qunut juga sudah dipanjatkan untuk pejuang-pejuang Islam seantero dunia juga untuk mereka yang dizalimi. Sekarang sudah hampir waktu sahur, sunnahnya ialah berhenti qiam dan beristighfar sehingga waktu subuh. Ayat al Quran 'Wal mustaghfirina bil ashar' dan 'wa bil ashari hum yastaghfirun' dipahat di dalam kepala.

Kedua-duanya diam. Membiarkan dentuman guruh mengisi telinga masing-masing. Irfan dengan fikirannya dan Aiman dengan istighfarnya. Di dalam hati masing-masing mengagumi keindahan suasana hujan dan kilat yang saling menyabung di hadapan mereka.

Lama mereka diam.

'Tengok kilat tu..cantik kan?' Aiman sekali lagi memulakan perbualan.

'Haah..cantik.' jawab Irfan lemah. Dia masih sibuk menyelami rasa hatinya yang sedang mencari jawapan.

Mereka berdua diam kembali.

Irfan yang masih berfikir tiba-tiba mendapat idea. Dia teringat peristiwa petang tadi di mana dia merasakan kapasitor yang dipegangnya dapat memberikan jawapan kepada persoalannya.

'Bagus..mamat sebelah aku ni budak dekan elektrik, mesti boleh jawab!' Irfan bermonolog.

'Akhi..emm. Boleh nta terangkan pada ana tak pasal kapasitor? Ana tahu ana macam orang gila tiba-tiba pagi buta ni tanya pasal kapasitor. Tapi ana nak tahu..' pinta Irfan.

Aiman memandangnya kehairanan. Dia mengangguk dan diam sebentar. Kelihatan seperti mencari cara terbaik untuk menerangkan pada Irfan mengenai kapasitor. Kemudian dia memandang Irfan dan tersenyum.

'Tu....' Aiman berkata sambil menunjuk ke arah bendang.

'Erk..apa dia yang nta tunjuk tu?' tanya Irfan kehairanan.

'Kilat..' Aiman menjawab. 'Untuk pengetahuan nta, kilat adalah sebuah kapasitor semula jadi.. konsepnya sama seperti dengan kapasitor yang kecil tu..cuma, kilat lebih besar, bertenaga, dan tak terkawal. Dan ianya ciptaan Allah yang sangat indah..!' sambung Aiman sambil bertasbih.

'Elaborate more please...' Irfan meminta sambil tersengih. Dia tertarik mengenai kaitan kilat dengan kapasitor.

'Nta tahu macam mana kapasitor berfungsi kan secara basic kan? Cuba terangkan pada ana. Kita revise balik pagi ini..' Aiman bertanya kembali.

'Tahu. Kapasitor berfungsi bila dua plate yang dijarakkan, di caj di satu plate positif dan lagi satu plate negatif. Bila charge positif dan negatif makin banyak terkumpul di plate masing-masing, voltan antara kedua-duanya semakin tinggi, sehingga tiba ke satu tahap yang digelar breakdown, udara atau material yang memisahkan kedua-duanya yang pada asalnya penebat menjadi konduktor kerana breakdown yang berlaku. Bila dua-dua plate itu discharge, tenaga terhasil. Arus eletrik pun mengalir.. Nta nak ana bagitahu sekali ke formula-formulanya? Ana ingat lagi ni..hehe.' jawab Irfan sambil mneyeringai kebanggaan.

'Fenomena kilat secara asasnya pun macam itu lah akhi..kilat ini secara sejarahnya merupakan fenomena yang membolehkan manusia memanfaatkan api. Kalau nta pernah tengok cerita Spongebob Squarepant macam mana Spongebob, Patrick dan Squidward manfaatkan api yang terhasil daripada sambaran kilat..' Aiman mula menghuraikan. 'Walaupun mereka duduk di laut..' Aiman berbisik. Baru dia sedar mengarutnya Spongebob. 'Ada api dalam laut?' monolognya.

'Ana tak sangka nta minat Spongebob...' Irfan memintas. Dia menjeling Aiman. Aiman minat Spongebob? Kelakarnya.Tak logik langsung, macam 1+1=3.

'Eh..ke situ pulak. Itu dulu. Lelaki ini kadang-kadang muka je legend, dalam hati ada taman..' Aiman membela diri. Takut tercalar imej kejantanannya. Jatuh sahamnya kalau pakcik-makcik ejen Baitul Muslim tahu ini. Macam mana nak kahwin dengan akhawat qawiyyah macam ini.

'Plate dalam fenomena kilat ini ialah tanah dan awan. Dalam proses yang saintis pun tak faham sepenuhnya, caj-caj negatif terkumpul di dasar awan dan caj-caj positif tertarik ke kawasan awan yang lebih tinggi. Saintis percaya matahari memainkan peranan penting dalam proses pemisahan caj-caj ini.. ' Aiman menerangkan sambil tangannya menggayakan awan dan matahari.

'Bila caj-caj negatif terkumpul di bahagian bawah awan, caj-caj positif terkumpul di daratan. Cuba nta tengok sekarang, nampak tak dalam banyak-banyak kilat itu, ada kilat yang tak sampai ke bawah? Dia keluar in branches tapi tak cecah tanah. Fenomena itu dipanggil stepped leader atau downward leader. Ianya terjadi bila caj-caj negatif yang ingin turun tak disambut oleh caj-caj positif dari darat. Nampak tak mereka macam cuba nak turun tapi tak dapat?' Aiman bertanya.

'Haah.. macam cinta tak disambut pun ada. Bertepuk sebelah tangan..' Irfan menjawab.

'Macam cinta Allah yang tak disambut oleh hambaNya kan?' Aiman menambah.

Irfan terasa. Dia mula mencari makna di sebalik fenomena itu diam-diam. 'Astaghfirullah..' bisik Irfan.

'Kilat ini akan jadi bila stepped leader disambut oleh upward streamer dari daratan. Udara antara awan dan daratan akan break down, menyebabkan pokok-pokok atau konduktor dapat mengalirkan caj-caj positif dengan berkesan. Medan elektrostatik yang tinggi akan menyebabkan udara di ionize dan memudahkan laluan untuk pertemuan caj-caj positif dan negatif. Boom! Kilat pun menyabung..Pertemuan dua kelompok caj itu akan menghasilkan cahaya yang gemilang beserta dengan energy transfer yang sangat-sangat tinggi!..' Aiman meneruskan huraiannya. Hatinya semakin gembira dengan takbir, membesarkan keagungan Tuhannya. Allahu Akbar.

'Ianya semacam dua-dua sumber tenaga yang melimpah-limpah bila bertemu. Mereka mengalirkan tenaga yang begitu tinggi.. Semacam empangan yang dibuka setelah sekian lama ditakung..Masya Allah..' Aiman tenggelam dalam kekagumannya pada ciptaan Allah.

'Senang cerita, untuk kilat ini terjadi ada dua syarat. Yang pertama, perbezaan voltan antara dua kawasan mestilah sangat tinggi. Yang kedua, mesti adanya medium yang menghalang aliran tenaga daripada berlaku. Macam udara yang kemudiannya break down. Atau macam dinding empangan. Sebab itu bila kilat menyabung, semacam flood gate terbuka..' Aiman menamatkan penerangannya sambil tersenyum. Episod Spongebob kembali menjengah mindanya. Teringat babak di mana Spongebob berkongsi api membakar makanan. 'Tapi, api dalam laut? Hish..mengarut..'Aiman berkhayal.

'Akhi..terima kasih!' Irfan memeluk Aiman erat.

Irfan merasakan dia semakin hampir dengan jawapannya.

'Sama-sama. Akhi, buka Surah ad-Dhuha. Tadabbur maknanya, baca kisah di sebalik penurunannya..moga Allah mempermudahkan..' Aiman merasakan pelukan Irfan semakin erat, dadanya kembang kempis.

Irfan bangun dan terus masuk ke dalam rumah. Menahan sebak di dalam dadanya.

5.

Irfan cepat-cepat menghabiskan lapnya yang terakhir di kolam tersebut. Freestylenya ditambah dengan drill slow arm recovery, quick catch dan high swingers sebagai final push. Rasanya tidak sabar lagi untuk pergi ke library. Ingin mencari maklumat mengenai Surah ad-Dhuha seperti yang disarankan oleh Aiman.

Setibanya Irfan ke perpustakaan, dia terus menuju ke makmal komputer untuk mencari di Internet dan direktori buku-buku di situ. Mencari asbab nuzul surah itu, pendapat perawi-perawi dan Imam-imam hadith mengenai surah itu.

Setelah lebih tiga jam berulang-alik tingkat satu dan dua, mengupload artikel-artikel ke dalam dropboxnya untuk dibaca di telefon pintarnya, membawa buku-buku rujukan dan kitab ke mejanya dan menelaah serta menelefon asatizahnya, akhirnya dia puas.

Surah ad-Dhuha diturunkan kepada nabi Muhammad untuk menghiburkan hati Baginda, yang merasa ditinggalkan oleh Allah dan Jibril kerana sudah lama tidak menerima wahyu. Juga untuk menenangkan Baginda yang berduka cita kerana ejekan kafir Quraisy.

Bismillah

 Demi waktu dhuha,

  Dan malam apabila ia sunyi-sepi -

  (Bahawa) Tuhanmu (wahai Muhammad) tidak meninggalkanmu, dan Ia tidak benci (kepadamu, sebagaimana yang dituduh oleh kaum musyrik).

Dan sesungguhnya kesudahan keaadaanmu adalah lebih baik bagimu daripada permulaannya.

  Dan sesungguhnya Tuhanmu akan memberikanmu (kejayaan dan kebahagiaan di dunia dan di akhirat) sehingga engkau reda – berpuas hati.

  Bukankah dia mendapati engkau yatim piatu, lalu la memberikan perlindungan?

  Dan didapatiNya engkau mencari-cari (jalan yang benar), lalu Ia memberikan hidayah petunjuk (dengan wahyu – Al-Quran)?

  Dan didapatiNya engkau miskin, lalu Ia memberikan kekayaan?

  Oleh itu, adapun anak yatim maka janganlah engkau berlaku kasar terhadapnya,

  Adapun orang yang meminta (bantuan pimpinan) maka janganlah engkau tengking herdik;

  Adapun nikmat Tuhanmu, maka hendaklah engkau sebut-sebutkan (dan zahirkan) sebagai bersyukur kepadaNya.

'Indah sungguh ayat-ayat Allah untuk NabiNya...cukup indah. Maafkan aku ya Allah.. Maafkan aku..' Irfan menitiskan air mata selepas membaca surah ad-Dhuha. Ayat-ayat Allah itu satu persatu menerjah hatinya, membasahi daerah yang sekian lama kontang dengan iman, menerangi negeri yang sudah lama dicengkam kegelapan.

Irfan menangis tersedu-sedu. Hatinya digamit kesedihan yang begitu pahit. Betapa dia menyangka Allah telah meninggalkannya. Betapa dia merasakan bahawa Allah telah membiarkan dirinya keseorangan. Betapa dia sering menganggap Allah membiarkan doanya tak bersambut. Begitu sangkaannya selama ini.

'Ayat ini untuk aku!' Irfan terus merintih. Dia membacanya berulang-ulang kali. Ulang dan ulang. Hatinya merayu sedalam-dalamnya, memohon ampun dan menghinakan dirinya di hadapan yang Maha Mulia.

(Bahawa) Tuhanmu (wahai Muhammad) tidak meninggalkanmu, dan Ia tidak benci (kepadamu, sebagaimana yang dituduh oleh kaum musyrik).

Irfan merasakan nikmat yang tak terhingga. Hatinya mula kembang setelah sekian lama kuncup. Bagaikan nafas kehidupan kembali memenuhi setiap rongga di dalam hatinya. Rasa hangat dan dicintai. Pengharapannya yang sekian lama sunyi kini bersambut. Bersambut dengan penuh hikmah dan kefahaman. Hatinya bagai dibelai-belai dengan kasih sayang dari yang Maha Penyayang. Dia mula sedar dan bangkit. Dia mula segar dan kembali hidup, setelah sekian lama hatinya mati.

'Ya! Ianya bagaikan kilat! Setelah sekian lama rasa sunyi dan kosong, hatiku ini sangat-sangat memerlukan cinta yang bersambut. Alhamdulillah pada hari ini cintaku telah bersambut...' Irfan mula memahaminya.

'Allah memang tidak meninggalkanku. Dia ingin mengujiku sejauh manakah pengharapanku padaNya! Aku lulus ya Allah..aku lulus! Hahahahahahaha.....' Irfan semakin gembira. Air matanya tumpah kegembiraan. Dia menarik nafas, kemudian melakukan sujud syukur. Sujudnya lama. Bagaikan hamba yang pulang ke pangkuan tuannya setelah lama menghilangkan diri. Irfan tunduk. Mengagungkan kemuliaan Tuhannya.

6.

'Kunci kebahagiaan kita ini ada pada ta'abbud kita kepada Allah. Itulah seperti yang diungkapkan oleh Ibnu Qayyim dalam menghuraikan rahsia dan hikmah di sebalik solat. Ibadah itu tiada tujuan lain, hanya semata-mata ta'abbud kepada Allah. Puncak kenikmatan dalam beribadah ialah merasakan betapa hinanya kita di hadapan Allah..hati ini dipersembahkan kepada Allah, anggota-anggota kita semua ikut tunduk kepada hati. Kita serahkan segalanya untuk Allah..dengan itu, hati menjadi hidup. Sambutlah cinta Tuhanmu wahai ikhwah sekalian..bagai kilat menyambut tetamunya. Agar kehidupan mengalir di dalam hidupmu. Ia..agar ia mengalir dengan segar..' Irfan mengakhiri tazkirahnya. 

Dan sesungguhnya kesudahan keaadaanmu adalah lebih baik bagimu daripada permulaannya.

Irfan mengulang-ulang ayat daripada surah ad Dhuha itu. Dia menyedari hikmah musim kemarau yang melanda hatinya dahulu. Kini dia mendapat pengajaran yang mendalam. Dia menyedari kesilapannya dahulu.

Dan didapatiNya engkau mencari-cari (jalan yang benar), lalu Ia memberikan hidayah petunjuk (dengan wahyu – Al-Quran)?

Pengajarannya yang dia perolehi terus daripada surah ad Dhuha tersebut. Dulu dia hanya memfokuskan peningkatan kualiti dirinya sahaja. Farqiyyah! Peningkatan vertikal. Dia lupa dia juga ada tanggungjawab terhadap aspek ufuqiyyahnya. Peningkatan horizontal.

 Oleh itu, adapun anak yatim maka janganlah engkau berlaku kasar terhadapnya,

  Adapun orang yang meminta (bantuan pimpinan) maka janganlah engkau tengking herdik;

Nabi berhijrah dari Mekah ke Madinah berdua. Kembali ke Mekah dengan sepuluh ribu orang. Islam ini nikmatnya bukan untuk seorang diri. Tapi, untuk dikongsi. Tak ada makna andai cinta ini dinikmati seorang diri tanpa menghiraukan orang lain di sekeliling. Dakwah itu dasarnya 'athifah. Inilah 'athifah yang diungkapkan oleh Imam Al Banna. Kasih sayang mendalam terhadap umat manusia. Ya..kasih sayang dan cinta.

7.

Irfan kembali ke bangku kesukaannya. Hari ini dia menghabiskan qiamnya awal. Dikejutkan juga rakan-rakannya yang lain. Dia ingin orang lain merasakan apa yang dirasakannya. Walaupun dia lebih suka qiamnya dia seorang sahaja yang tahu. 

Irfan tersenyum memandang ke arah bendang yang luas di hadapannya. Malam ini hujan lagi. Kilat dan guruh kembali menjadi temannya. 

'Kilat..aku rungkaikan rahsia kau pada hari ini. Rupanya bukan cintaku tak disambut Tuhan. Tetapi aku yang tidak menyambut pengharapan manusia lain padaku. Manusia yang masih di dalam kejahilan dan kegelapan jahiliyah yang pekat...'

'Kilat..aku rungkaikan rahsia kau pada hari ini. Aku menyedari nikmat kehidupan itu tersembunyi dalam bermanfaatnya aku pada makhluq yang lain. Tenaga kehidupan yang mengalir hasil interaksi yang lahir daripada kasih dan cintanya aku pada umat manusia...'

'Kilat..aku rungkaikan rahsia kau pada hari ini. Aku akan ingat, andai suatu hari nanti aku mengalami kesusahan yang menjatuhkan, masa yang memeritkan, saat yang mendukacitakan, dan keputusan yang mengecewakan - akan ku pahat di hatiku bahawa ia hanya merupakan permulaan untuk panahan cinta yang lebih hebat. Itu lah ujian. Dan ujian tidak lain dan tidak bukan sebagai kafarah dan tapisan dari Tuhan, untuk mengetahui siapakah dalam kalangan HambaNya yang terpilih. Dan aku berdoa, agar aku dapat bertahan sehingga panahan cinta menyambutku sekali lagi. Sehingga maut menjemputku... '

'Dan pada hari ini, panahanmu telah ku sambut..' Irfan berkata. Dia mengakhiri luahannya dengan syahadah. Syahadah yang dimaknakan sedalam-dalamnya, menghadirkan hati dan mindanya, membulatkan tekad dan azamnya.

'Ini jual beliku ya Allah..terimalah..'

Di belakang Irfan, Aiman memerhatikan dengan tenang. Dia tersenyum. Alhamdulillah, Irfan berjumpa dengan jawapannya. Dia gembira untuk Irfan.

'Tapi..dah sambut panahan kilat? Ceh..mamat ni ingat dia avatar Aang ke apa nak main sambut-sambut kilat. Lain lah macam aku..ada rupa Jeneral Iroh..' Aiman kembali perasan.

Tamat.

Nota kaki :

1. Kajian mengenai kilat juga dikenali sebagai fulminologi. Masih banyak yang belum difahami mengenai fenomena kilat ini. Sila search untuk maklumat lanjut. Istilah dark lightning ada menjelaskan mengenai interaksi antara elektron dan positron (anti matter of electron). Malah, ada fenomena yang dikenali sebagai ball lightning. Peminat Naruto, bayangkan Raikiri. Ha..itu lah dia. Kepada Allah dikembalikan segala pujian, Subhanallah.

2. Ayat beristighfar waktu sahur - Ad Dzariyat:18(وبالأسحار هم يستغفرون) dan Ali Imran:17(والمستغفرين بالأسحار).

3. Idea tercetus bila Ayaz tanya macam mana kilat terjadi.

4. Image from Spongebob episode Cavemen.

4. Sebarang ketidaktepatan maklumat atau kesalahan minta dibetulkan. Terima kasih. Selamat mengambil pengajaran. :)

Cahaya yang tidak terpadam

Sudah sebulan habis membaca novel Hilal Asyraf - Takdir: Cahaya yang tak terpadam. Masih lagi terasa semangatnya. Lain kesannya berbanding novel-novel lain. Memang, setiap novel dan cerita ada kesan berlainan. Contohnya novel Ayat-ayat cinta, karakter utamanya membawa pembaca cenderung untuk menjadi 'romantik-baik-warak' sebegitu. Oh tidak. Aku bukan orang sebegitu - jadi, kesan buku-buku cinta yang bertemakan Islam tidak begitu berkesan. Banyak mana pun baca novel macam itu, macam ini je lah tuan yang membacanya. Karakter-karakter yang dibentangkan tidak begitu diminati. Terkesan memang - tetapi tidak berapa 'fit' dalam idea ke'hero'an yang ada dalam kepala.

Hari itu jalan-jalan di Giant. Selalunya kalau Ayaz dan Saif datang angin pelik mereka, akan sentiasa diminta bawa ke Giant untuk puaskan kehendak. Selalunya nak aiskrim dan donat coklat - yang mana kadang-kadang makan sikit lepas tu tak habis. Jadi masa jalan-jalan, nampak buku, usha sikit-sikit. Nampak buku Hilal Asyraf. Belilah. Perh. Satu hari baca sudah habis. Menakutkan sungguh. Teringat lagi masa tingkatan 4 - Asyraf Roslan bagi pinjam buku Warcraft Archives. Buku tebal tu compile kan 4 lore dalam Warcraft - memang lama baca sebab tebal, tapi habis sebab kita tertarik nak habiskan. Novel Hilal Asyraf yang ini ada kesan addiction yang sama macam novel Warcraft tu. Haunted, sebab sangat best.

Nak ceritanya, betapa seronok baca buku tu, sampai habis baca masa makan malam declare - "Cop..semua, nanti nama anak-anak Asif, Asif nak letak nama Fathi Auni dengan Fathan Adi. Jangan amik..". Takkan nak letak nama hero Angkasa pulak kan, kuno benor namenye. Haha. Betapa fanatiknya. Kenapa aku minat? Sebab aku sangat menyukai idea seorang lelaki, yang bukan sahaja di'equip'kan dengan akhlaq yang baik dan ilmu yang kukuh - tapi seorang lelaki yang mempunyai ciri-ciri kepahlawanan. Mungkin ini ciri-ciri lelaki tradisional. Biar. Aku lebih suka begitu. Betapa indahnya seorang lelaki yang mempunyai keupayaan untuk melindungi. Melindungi orang lain yang lebih memerlukan.

Sinopsis dan Nilai
Ceritanya berkisarkan akhir zaman yang betul-betul akhir. Tiada lagi senjata elektronik dan sebagainya. Jika hari ini kita dapat melihat sehingga peluru biasa pun mempunyai sirip untuk ketepatan. Sirip yang sentiasa meng'update' posisinya dengan satelit, dalam beratus mili saat, kecepatannya meng'adjust' posisi untuk mengenai sasaran. Tapi, zaman dalam novel ini, semua itu tiada. Bak kata Encik Einstein yang mengatakan perang dunia keempat akan menggunakan kayu dan batu. Latar masa ketika itu memang seolah-olah pada masa itu masa zaman dahulu. Hendak ke kota seberang wataknya menggunakan alat jarak zaman dahulu. Jika sekarang jarak diukur menggunakan kilometer, dalam novel ini menggunakan 'sehari perjalanan' atau 'dua hari perjalanan'.

Heronya Angkasa, yang mengembara untuk memenuhi takdirnya. Zaman itu zaman gelap - zaman seluruh dunia tunduk pada Sang Asura, watak jahat yang memerintah dunia. Dalam kegelapan dunia, masih terdapat segelintir yang masih berpegang pada kebenaran. Unsur 'Islam' dalam novel tersebut sering digandingkan dengan langit. Agama Langit, Kitab Langit, Utusan Langit. Yang menariknya, seni beladiri di dalam novel ini juga membabitkan fantasi yang besar. Bagi mereka yang pernah menonton Avatar The Last Airbender, Naruto, ataupun One Piece - membayangkan seni beladiri di dalam novel ini tidak menjadi masalah. Latar masyarakat di dalam novel ini, dari kalangan pahlawan mereka segelintir menguasai seni aura. Seni yang menggunakan tenaga di sekeliling. Semacam 'form chakra' di dalam Naruto yang terdiri daripada pelbagai jenis chakra iaitu angin, api, tanah, kilat, dan air. Atau pun Haki di dalam One Piece yang mana mereka yang betul-betul fokus dapat mengoptimumkan tenaga di sekeliling mereka. Macam dalam One Piece, ada tiga jenis bentuk pengolahan Haki. Yang pertama, dia panggil Observation Haki. Di mana pengguna Haki jenis ini sangat sensitif dengan keadaan sekeliling. Boleh mengesan pergerakan sekeliling. Tahap kedua, Armament Haki. Membolehkan pengolah melindungi badan menggunakan Haki, untuk pertahanan dan juga menyerang. Yang last sekali, jarang yang ada dan dapat optimumkan - Conquerer's Haki. (Watch : Types of Haki) Macam dalam novel Takdir, orang yang auranya kuat boleh suppress orang lain, sometimes to the extent tak boleh nak angkat kepala langsung. Macam apa yang berlaku pada hero Angkasa masa dia kena suppress dengan End, salah seorang jeneral Sang Asura.

Conquerer's Haki [Short Clip]. Tenaga yang dilepaskan oleh Luffy ke sekelilingnya - melemahkan musuh-musuh di sekelilingnya.

Selain seni aura, dalam novel ini juga ada include pasal serba sedikit pasal gerak, kekuda mende alah semua. Dalam Tae Kwon Do panggil pattern atau Tul. Cantik. Jadi, bila novel ini pun ada mention pasal gerak, lagi lah excited. Macam perh, Hilal Asyraf ni. Dalam banyak-banyak, aku ada terpesona dengan gerak dalam cerita Avatar the Last Airbender. Masa ini dua-dua nak belajar 'true' firebending. Jadi mereka pergi belajar dengan Firebender asal, Dragon!! Macam buat team pattern lah pulak. Beautiful.


Link Video Dragon Dance oleh Aang dan Zuko. Banyak-banyak scene smart, scene ini antara favorite.

 Selain perang, romantik pun ada. Suspens pun ada. Cara pembinaan karakter setiap watak sangat kemas dan teliti. Macam mana watak-watak sampingan pun boleh menarik pembaca berfikir pasal dia. Senang cerita, pembaca tak 'lost' sampai tak tahu nak expect apa sepanjang baca novel, juga tak boring sangat sebab jalan cerita dia dan pembinaan karakter dia sangat interesting. Penamaan dan penggunaan istilah pun sangatlah cool. Contoh agama Islam dipanggil agama Langit. Nabi Muhammad dipanggil utusan Langit. Macam ada satu situasi dimana Angkasa tengah baca Quran, ada orang lain, macam tertanya-tanya zaman tersebut jarang orang pandai baca Kitab Langit. Aku pun, ya Allah. Tak boleh smart lagi ke. Excited. Novel ini bagi idea macam mana Islam will prevail. Macam mana aqidah Islam itu kekal menjadi mutiara bagi penganut agama Langit, macam mana penganut itu mempengaruhi orang sekeliling. Orang-orang yang pada asalnya kosong agama dia, akhir sekali berjuang bersama-sama hero dan kawan-kawan dia.


Aku suka kisah pahlawan zaman dulu-dulu. Zaman nabi Muhammad - ramai sangat pahlawan-pahlawan hebat. Bukan sahaja pahlawan fizikal, tapi pahlawan dalam diri. Kalau zaman Crusade sibuk semua nak volunteer jadi Crusaders sebab dapat pengampunan dosa dari paderi dan pope - malah sepanjang Crusade mereka immune dengan dosa, bunuh semua termasuk saudara mereka Kristian Ortodoks sekali. Tapi pahlawan pimpinan nabi tidak begitu. Mereka kuat dalam dan luar. Bagi contoh Thalhah menahan berpuluh panah dengan badannya ketika perang Uhud untuk melindungi nabi yang terjatuh. Contoh lain Ja'far bin Abi Talib, sampai digelar Zul Janahain, yang memiliki dua sayap kerana keberaniannya berjuang ketika perang Mu'tah, putus dua tangan untuk memegang panji Islam. Bagi contoh 'Ali yang tidak jadi membunuh kerana diludah mukanya. Nak masuk pahlawan moden pula - kita bawa Yahya Ayyash yang syahid sebab handphone dia sendiri meletup, dikhianati oleh bapa saudaranya. Dia pakar bom, jurutera elektrik kelahiran Palestin. Nak lagi muda, aku bawa Faris 'Audah. Semua dah tahu cerita macam mana budak umur 14 tahun ini syahid. Tapi jangan lupa, pahlawan bukan sahaja orang yang berlawan orang lain. Fizikal, face to face. Ingat, mereka yang membantu anak yatim juga pahlawan, mereka yang berhempas pulas hidup dari hari ke hari surviving cancer juga pahlawan, mereka yang setiap hari pulang bekerja dan berbakti pada ibu bapa juga pahlawan, mereka yang sabar dengan ujian hidup juga pahlawan. Pahlawan, he never gives up!

Ingat nak buat post pasal kepahlawanan zaman nabi lah, aku bagi nama post tu "Warriors of the Past". Biar jadi motivasi. Macam dalam al Fatihah kita baca, "Jalan mereka yang TELAH diberi nikmat". Syeikh Hamza Yusuf hurai, untuk berjaya, kita rujuk jalan golongan yang Allah dah beri nikmat. Wallahu a'lam. :) Have a blessed day!

Tuntutan Fizikal

Di atas beberapa sebab, keperluan menurunkan berat badan sangat dituntut. Iya.. BERAT badan. =.=

Alhamdulillah, badan masih sihat dan tiada penyakit. Except for yang dah lama reside within me - resdung(thanks to my beloved two cats Kitty and Kidtun - status: deceased), vertigo, and long gone diagnosed low blood pressure. Alhamdulillah. Cuma, apparently my size isn't going any smaller. And all my uncles and aunties were like "OMG Asif, kenapa macam bapak orang?"

Sekitar dua minggu lepas, di surau berdekatan rumah saya, ada perkara menarik berlaku. Kali ini ada seorang pakcik Cina yang nak masuk Islam. Back then, pernah ada seorang yang nak masuk Islam kat surau tersebut. Darah muda saya sedikit menggelegak bila melihatkan AJK-AJK surau dan jemaah memandang pakcik tersebut macam orang yang sangat asing. Langung tidak disantuni. Melihat dari jauh dengan muka yang tidak menggambarkan kemesraan. Malah mereka meneruskan ceramah tanpa ada seorang pun wakil surau yang diwakilkan untuk melayani keperluan beliau. Perlu menunggu sehingga habis. Seorang. Perkara sama berlaku sekali lagi pada pakcik Cina ini. Menerima kemungkinan jemaah-jemaah surau mungkin belum biasa. Tapi, cubalah paling kurang senyum atau berjabat tangan. Few only. Saya langsung mendekati pakcik tersebut. Uncle Ong panggil. Bertanya-tanya. Alhamdulillah. Dia seronok. Masa itu kena balik, ada program. Minta nombor HP pakcik tu. Bercadang nak transfer hubungan dengan Hidayah Centre atau MACMA. Masa nak balik, saya bagi tahu pakcik itu bertuah ada anak perempuan baik macam itu(dia bercerita pasal anak perempuan dia). Kemudian tiba-tiba, "Awak dah ada berapa anak?". Saya macam "what the fish!!" dalam hati. Hati puas menahan nak gelak habis-habis. Sebab ingat duduk dalam surau. Kena hormat. "Umur saya baru 20 lah pakcik.. Kahwin pun tak lagi". Tersenyum lebar tahan gelak menampakkan dua gigi taring saya. Kalau boleh gigit pakcik ni dah gigit dah. Geram. Tapi tak apa lah, dia pun bau arak. Dia balas, "Wahh..u nampak memang tak tua, tapi macam sudah matang macam itu bapa orang". Again, kalau dia ni lembu memang dah kena gulai kawah dah. Sabo je la. Sebelum balik, wish all the best pada pakcik itu. Pada yang sama, berazam saiz kena KECILKAN!

It's not that I'm unhealthy. Every week I jog three to four times, every session 30 minutes or about 2.5 kilometers(Taman Metropolitan!). I also do dumbbells workout every day. I still can dive and swim healthily. Makan malam pun dah kurang. Ala kadar. Air manis pun tak minum. Pagi sahaja beli teh ais. Or it is not sufficient? What is wrong?

Sekarang ini pun saya buka kelas private taekwondo ajar adik-adik. Every Sunday. For sure banyak bakar kalori. Oh..Please help me find more ways! :D

Lifestyle. Ada orang dia ubah sikit dah boleh kecilkan saiz. Tapi ada orang dia ambil banyak usaha dan masa untuk ubah, saiz dia berubah sikiiiiiit je. Apa-apa pun, kena jaga pemakanan. Kena teruskan exercise.

Pembaca yang ada tips - boleh berkongsi atau PM atau mesej. Terima kasih. Bercita-cita nak mengecilkan saiz badan menjadi saiz normal plus healthier. Pernah tengok Ironman tak? Bukan cerita Ironman. Ini pertanding Ironman Kona Championship. I follow this every year since they started few years back. This year akan start October. Di Hawai. Mereka berlumba - berenang for 2.6 miles, kemudian bike 112 miles, kemudian running for 26.2 miles straight. Badan manusia sangat mengagumkan. I do not know if it is appropriate for a Muslim to participate, but if it is appropriate, I wish to finish this race one day. Maybe 10 years from now.

Tengok jangan tak tengok. Even yang tempang dua-dua kaki pun boleh habiskan race ini.

*Towards a healthier lifestyle! :)

a place to rest

My friend introduced me a really nice place. 'the quiet place'. My close friend. Rest and break. Thanks to him.

I know then why I like so much to go camping. Why I like to go to places like that. I know why I love to be with nature so much. And I know why I like being alone.

A strong circle in the storm

Beautiful. Masya Allah.

I remember when I became AJK for Kem Asas(a very lasak camping for form 1 student). We arrived late at the campsite. The most important thing when you arrive at any campsite or anywhere, is to erect your tent. For protection and safety. That is the first and foremost task you must complete. To build where is another different thing. So, when we arrived, we helped the peserta to erect their tents. And ours to. Ours are simple. You put two pole, tie a rope or a long stick across, then you cover it with canvas. It started to rain then. So, we only managed to erect only one for us because almost all of us were too occupied to help participants build theirs. We did not expect much from them to do it ASAP because they were all new to it. Form 1 students, itulah rebungnya. Rain poured very heavily, unabated. At that time, we could not even start a fire to cook. And so did the participants. We took our roti and distributed it to participants. I was still form 3 at that time. So watching my seniors 'redah hujan' from tent to tent during a very heavy downpour to give foods and to make sure all participants were not hungry made my respect grew. And we did not eat that time. We made it sure participants had eaten. All of them. Because of only one tent we managed to erect for us, we made an express canopy by tying a piece of canvas to trees around us. And we managed to build a small unstable unggun api. The rain was so heavy, and each of us was shivering. While ustaz and other seniors were trying as hard as they could to keep the fire live, we decided to hug each other. Everyone in the circle hug each other. A huge lump of cold, shivering bodies near the fire under a very heavy rain. I will never forget that moment. I hug Amirul Arif, I hug 'Ammar Sahrim, I hug Chiman, and we hug each other very closely to keep each other warm. It was so nostalgic. In the midst of the heavy rain, I felt connected to them. What a memory. I miss them. One of them was arwah Abdul Hadi[a post dedicated to him], pengarah for the Kem Asas. He was the first person I had seen to cut a whole big bamboo in just three clean slash. 'Buluh tak pecah'. Rindu sungguhhh.. Ya Allah.

An apprentice not to be

I used to carry this every where I went. :)

I was absorbed into this circle of activity when I was in form 3 at first because I was to be trained by Abang Sarep. He was a certified participant of  'Kursus Perubatan Tentera' and wanted me to help him during Al Amin campings as AJK Keselamatan. 'Keselamatan' not only in physical sense. It included the unseen one. He trained me. Taught me steps in treating injuries, taught me not to be panic, taught me kinds of wounds and cuts, taught me how to pull duri dari daging peserta, taught me this and that. During camping, it is normal for people to be cut by their own parangs. Some deep and some shallow. Sadly, a lot I missed to learn from him. I managed to learn only few skills. So much to know and to learn. I don't know which plants to treat what. The only plants I know are daun kapal terbang in which you chew them, and you spit it on your wounds; and senduduk for 'perangsang'. The point is I could not become his apprentice as he wishes. Or once wished. So much we had gone through together. He took my hand when I was in form 3 and led the way until I finished my SPM. He IS my naqib, mentor and teacher. He was the one who summoned alumni of Al-Amin to come and work at Al-Amin. Some of us are already planning to teach there for a year or two. "Membina manusia ni makan masa bertahun-tahun, bukan sekejap". That's what he said. I will bear that in mind.

I remember during our expedition Merentasi Banjaran Titiwangsa, Muhammad also had his mentors. Along the expedition, Muhammad and Pak Long; a JPA sergeant will stop a while at places to talk about certain plants. Suits him, Muhammad is now in UiTM Medic. He was my boss when it came to uniform unit affairs.

One of the best mediums

Our usual tent. Just replace the pole in the pic with bamboo. :D

During a meeting, a senior said "Perkhemahan medium paling sesuai untuk terapkan muwasofat tarbiyah. Dalam camping ada qadirun 'ala kasbi(berdikari), ada munazzamun fi syu'unih(tersusun urusannya), ada harisun 'ala waqtih(menepati masa), macam-macam lagi. Masa ini kita boleh terapkan ukhuwah, 'aqidah, yang mana-mana kualiti-kualiti yang dapat diterapkan masa perkhemahan ini kita tak boleh nak terapkan di wasilah tarbiyah yang lain. Sebab itu walau macam mana aktif kita pun, dalam setahun paling kurang ada sekali mukhayyam dalam wasilah tarbiyah kita." Well-said.

We can see our true self when we are in hardship and desperation. Camping shaped most of myself. Although for a bit of times now, it has not yet shaped my physical body as the way I want it. But, for my inner self, yes. I thank Allah for that.

What is of the essence?

Why I like going into nature? I don't know. It feels different when you take your wudhu' from a river. It feels superb when you prostrate with your head touching the cold sand. When you sit and pray on the grass. You are not worried when insects creep on your hands or face when you are praying, because you know they know you are worshiping Allah. When your sleep is accompanied by sounds of the jungle. When you open your eyes, you look up, and you see stars very clear. You eat foods that you cook by yourself, even if it raw most of the times, you finish every bit of it. None wasted. You learn to share and to ration. Wherever your eyes go, it stops at the greenery of nature. You feel belonged. And you know, one day you will be back to where you come from. Reminiscent lends me a piece of old memory to describe this;

I want to heal, I want to feel
Like I'm close to something real
I want to find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong


Victory
Ramadhan has left us. And now we can see whether we really win or lose. A sense of continuity. It is up to us to istiqamah. Live your life at your own pace. After Ramadhan ended, I regard some of the previously important things as less important now. I really do not care how much I will lose, because I have nothing to lose. Just do everything as best as you could. Itqan. And you have nothing to worry. Simple and clean heart leads to simple life. Make small deeds matter. So you will not miss the big deeds. Appreciate everyone around you, and around your heart. And do not chase something or someone which is not yours. Feel satisfied with what you have, and never forget your dream. Don't ever forget your dream.

Al Fatihah for arwah Noramfaizul. May Allah bless his soul. He becomes my motivation instantly. He died before he could make his wish comes true. He wanted to go to Baitul Maqdis. So do I.

Do you want to go to 'the quiet place'? Click 'Rest my friend :)'

And do you know how to rest taught by our prophet?

Solat. It is a form of istirahah for mu'min.

Rest.. :)

Written in the stars [Part 3]

(To the righteous soul will be said:) "O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

 "Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!

 "Enter thou, then, among My devotees!

 "Yea, enter thou My Heaven!

Al Fajr

It is about the present. Not the past. For the past few eons, I have been wandering alone. Weird enough though. The train of Ramadhan, it will be leaving Her soon. Finishing it's last lap of 'Safety from Hell-fire', plus an extra edition of blessings and happiness, the awaited and searched night - Lailatul Qadr.

Hundreds and thousands and millions of souls are happy in this month. The fabric of space and time itself seems stretched - as if to give each living thing on its dominion to grasp each minute chance and breath the air of blessings and forgiveness from their beloved God, Allah.

In the inner world of my heart. I see the land that was once dry, now fresh and fertile to prepare for the coming of wind of seeds of happiness and acceptance. I see the land that was once dry, now moist enough to welcome thankfulness and gratitude to germinate. I see the land that was once inhospitable, now ready to house colonies of knowledge, dwellings of understandings, habitations of appreciation and love.

Now I understand why I saw continuous networks of cracks spread on the land once. The land did not conceal itself from hope at all. The land did let others to take a peek inside of itself. So that the others would look up and would call upon the owner of all hopes to send down rain of compassion. The drought made the land yearned for drops of blessings. The drought made the land appreciated the presence of humidity of calmness around. The drought made the king of the land recognized who was the true king. Malik al Mulk. Zul Jalaal wal Ikram. King of kings. The Lord of Majesty and Bounty.

I guess I will reside on Earth then. My journey is painful and meaningful enough, I guess. It teaches me something profound.

I wish you all the best. I wish all of you will meet the awaited night of al Qadr, and will come out of Ramadhan with a satisfied, forgiven soul. Amin.


"Forgive yourself"

I am happy. In peace of mind.

And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- and who can forgive sins except Allah.- and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.
 For such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath,- an eternal dwelling: How excellent a recompense for those who work (and strive)!
 [Ali Imran: 135-136]

Written in the stars [Part 2]

I sat there. It was so dark. Not even the faintest of light I saw.

Yesterday was my birthday. I saw colors of prayers racing towards my God. Whether He answered it or not, it was up to Him. Prayers from my special friend I did not see, physically, nor hear, but I knew He will receive prayers from that friend. A far friend. Insya Allah. That friend gave me pearls of wisdom, yet never I heard from that person that night of my birthday. I did not mind. In the end, we ended with my prayer so both of us would survive. Amin. 

Here again I sat. Alone. Moment of solitude. At near-end of the universe I knew. I saw at my horizon of sight, a bright train of light. The train, it was full with blessings and rahmah. I had seen that train few times before in my life. Could not even remember how beautiful it was. The train still, it was a bit far. Not yet to arrive at my world. In few days I guessed.

The train rushed at full velocity towards my world. It was like the train itself was eager to meet its destination. It traveled on a long magnificent rail. Rail in which every thing in my world took place. Even me, and my other friends and other creation of His, almost all of them were subjected to these two-entities rail. Rail which consists of time and space. Some other than us did not need this kind of rail to move in this world. Some were subjected to one entity only, either space or time only, and some were subjected to none of these entities. These two entities carried that bright train leading it to my world. It seemed to me it will be a rain of blessings from my God when that train arrived at my world.

I was still here. Sat down alone. Took my 'sejadah' of repentance, wore my cloak of humility, covered my head with a fez full of remorse and regret. Took off my luxury attire of confusion, pride, and lie. Threw it away, and promised to myself to never wear that again. And I prayed. So I could survive.

"I hope.. I really hope that I could hitch that ride back to my world..a meaningful ride back to my world. A ride on the train of Ramadhan..Amin."

Written in the stars
A million miles away
A message to the main
Seasons come and go
But I will never change
And I am on my way

Of a diamond and hardship

* This is not an attempt to describe diamond's physical properties and its characteristics scientifically.

Assalamu'alaikum..
I always believe that my God, Allah created His creations with purpose. He created us to worship Him. And He also created this universe with certain purposes, only He knows all the purposes. Wallahu a'lam. I love beauty, and I can be easily astonished by it. Whether it comes from diamond, sun, stars, animals, jungle, or music, it reminds me effectively of who I am. My iman fluctuates frequently, and I pray to Allah, hoping that He will watch over me and let me die in defending His religion. Insya Allah..

"Diamond is a lump of coal that did well under pressure...."

Diamond has a legendary history. When you hold them, you are actually holding one of the ancient world heritages. Diamond consists of carbon. Coal also consists of carbon. But what makes them different? Although most of people thought that diamond really comes from carbon, some may disagree. But, wait, I'm not writing this to explain the science of coal and diamond. Referring to the above beautiful saying, Let me write you a beautiful story of metaphor.

Coal and diamond are made up of carbon. Both of them are from the same element. But, why are they so different? I often think that we have many similarities with them, perhaps I'm wrong, I can't help but to entertain my metaphoric mind, that we as human and them consist of the same material mostly for us, which is carbon - the renowned building-block of life. So, it is one similarity right?

Coal and diamond both are made up from carbon. But, coal, as you can see is made up of complicated impurities other than carbon. It is not a pure carbon. Diamond, on the other hand, is pure carbon. Diamond as we all know is the most fascinating mineral, chemically resistant and wins the hardest natural substance in the world. And they are rare. But their journey is not an easy one. These guys endure a long hard process before they form diamonds. They were formed around 990 million years ago. And not just that, they must be persistent and consistent enough to withstand the unbelievably high pressure under the mantle. But, where does such pressure exist? Diamonds inhabit a level 200-120 miles below our feet, and the pressure down there is fifty thousand times greater than what we feel above the crust. And do not forget, it is also hot down there. 900 -1300 Celcius.. Masya Allah..

Mantle burst out and became lava.

For them to form a complete diamond, they must endure thousands of years or millions, high pressure, and high temperature, where in my mind initially I thought for that kind of condition there was no place for beauty, just total chaos. But, I was wrong. Beauty did come from there. And I know, humans are like that. We always initially start as a lump of coal. Normal people. Coal also has their benefits. But, for great humans, they choose to be the diamond. Each of us has the choice to make. Our life is full of problems, obstacles, and hardship. What makes us different than others is the way we choose to deal with it. Coal-people chooses to endure small temperature, and they might be glowing for a while in red, but later they will turn into ash and dust. Nothing much. While diamond-people chooses to endure unimaginably insurmountable problems and obstacles, they never give up, and they keep trying although it takes time. They push their limits, and keep their faith intact. Hope is always in front of their mind, and they believe they can achieve their objectives. From this process will born a bright and hard man, with exceptional quality and experience. And they become like diamonds - rare, exceptional quality, and invaluable asset to the earthlings.

You see, coal and diamond have the same core substance. Just like human, each of us has our own unique abilities and potential. It is up to us to choose how to live our life. Well, obviously, diamond chooses to live a much more meaningful life. How? Just be persistent and consistent, never give up, and have our faith to Allah, you'll be the diamond. After all, diamond is a lump of coal that did well under pressure.. :) Look at our history. Our prophet Muhammad was a great man, and his problems and obstacles were also great. He grew up as a strong, fine man. He became an orphan since he was six. He was trained to be the shepherd, and he was out-casted by his own people. And many more tests and hardships he had endured. And there he was, the greatest man in the world. With great obstacles, comes great characteristic. With great characteristic, comes great power. With great power, comes greater responsibility.

Natural uncut diamond.

Similar isn't it? It's pureness is astonishing. They are made up of carbon. We are also made up of carbon. Our DNA, the famous double-helix molecule is made possible by carbon's ability to form long molecular chains. We are similar. To take lesson from them is inevitable. So, let us be the best of us... Wallahu a'lam..

Picturesque 3 - Of B-2 Spirit and MQ-9 Reaper

Assalamu'alaikum.

In our life, when we seem to be drifting away from our cause of life, Allah reminds us. Sometimes, with a very simple reminder. It's not delusional, your heart can verify it for you. Only you know when the reminder comes. It happened to me, when I was watching 'Skyline'. An epic scene took over my heart for a while. A very deep reminder. Wake up! Before the real story starts, let me tell you a little bit about something. As an Ikhwah had reminded me, we need to know everything about something, and something about everything.

B-2 Spirit

This unique and 'stealth' plane is a bomber. She is known as 'Stealth Bomber'. The bomber's stealth comes from a combination of reduced acoustic, infrared, visual and radar signatures, making it difficult for opposition defenses to detect, track and engage the aircraft. She can penetrate even the densest anti-aircraft defenses and in the same time deploy a large numbers of bombs - conventional and nuclear - to destroy the most defended targets, Biiznillah. Why? She moves at maximum 972 km/h in air and in the same time she can make herself technically invisible to radars and detectors. If Marine Sniper leads the foot army, Abram tank leads the vehicle, this elegant bird conquers the sky. 

Her engines are buried in her wings. Source

She has 52 meter wingspan to protect her sophisticated radar absorbent materials and coatings. Source

She can carry 80 bombs of conventional or 16's of nuke. Source

How I wish this technology be in the right hand. It's so sad to see this beautiful bird kills more citizens than soldiers :(

MQ-9 Reaper

This aircraft is a UAV. Unmanned Air Vehicle. She is more known as Predator. This drone has no pilot in the plane. You can control this drone from a station. This drone is very-very useful. She carries the duty of surveillance, intelligence, and eliminating targets air and ground. This small drone brings with her during flights few powerful sensors including thermal imaging and can stay for 14 hours in the air with full munitions, and 42 hours without. This drone can be a very persistent and dangerous hunter as it can fire air-to-air deadly missiles, and also air-to-ground missiles - plus this drone eliminates most human errors as the controller of the drone can be changed at the Ground Control Station.

If a pilot didn't pass the sight test, he can be in this squad. :) Source

The most expensive aircraft toy ever made. Toy means without the missile. Source

He who shoots and run, lives to shoot another day. Source

And sadly still, this drone isn't yet in the right hand, and right now, they are killing hundreds and thousands of people with this thing. So sad :(

So, the climax. Aha.. While I was watching, this scene, that I'm about to show you, somehow I felt that I want to be the pilot one day. The unknown one. Am I fantasizing? Oh yes.. But, I want to be like that pilot. I want, and I want. And I pray to Allah, hope I will be given the opportunity. The reminder? That's just between me and Allah la.. :) Sit back and watch. And pray for me. Thanks!