Before Me Time is Up

Today me went to the funeral of an elderly man, whom me only got the chance to know from a distance, although maybe me had often shook his hands after prayers in a nearby mosque because he was a regular there.

In a way there is nothing extraordinary about this man except that during his funeral this morning, me noticed the crowd who went to pay their last respect and prayed for him was a bit extraordinarily large given the fact that today is a working day and he had died a sudden death the night before due to a short illness.

However, upon hearing some of the comments made by the crowd, me had the feeling that this ordinary man is not really ordinary after all. The extraordinariness of this man could be seen from what he may have done to deserve such a special “honor” of an “easy death” (for he died “quickly” within a few days of being sick) and having an extraordinarily large crowd attending to his funeral.

Upon closer scrutiny, me believe there are strong evidences pointing to the fact that the good deeds which he did - by providing voluntary services to the community, may have contributed to him getting all those special “attention” at his funeral – only God knows.

Being ordinary human being, me could not help but to postulate that the dead man must have done many good deeds during his lifetime. One thing for sure, me was informed, up until the end of his long healthy life, he died at 77, he was still giving services to others by being the head of the Khairat Kematian of his Kariah (a sort of voluntary body to take care of the funeral arrangement for the dead members within the community). Being the head, he must have come across so many kind of “deaths” depending on the “deeds of the dead” to have realized for himself the importance of early preparation before his time is up.

Alas! me must also reflect on this occasion to start preparing before me time is up too!

What Scientists See in Islam

One thing good about the West is their never ending desire to find out "why" behind everything that they had ever come across. This has led to so many discoveries and endless streams of new knowledge which has enriched the West and the world at large.

This desire to find out why has also led them to discover, little by little, the truth which Allah has revealed in the Quran. Over the years many of these scientists have started to declare themselves Muslims after having discovered "things" which have been described in the Quran more than 1400 years ago...which only now is making sense to the scientists or people of the West, with their never ending thirst for knowledge.

Some of these testimonies could be discerned from the 2 video clips below - happy discoveries!!

The Six Mistakes of Man

Me thought this article is worth sharing for our own good. Me happened to "bump" on this article while reading a daily newspaper a few months back. Hope we can all learn something from the writing below...

"Over 2000 years ago, Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero noted what he considered the six mistakes of mankind.

Here we take a look at what the mistakes behold...:

1. The delusion that personal gain is made through crushing others.

In almost all business endeavors, the more people operate as a team, the more they will accomplish. You personally gain more from raising others up rather than putting them down. Crushing others means reducing their enthusiasm, their confidence and their overall ability to contribute. Raising them up increases their worth and yours.

2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.

Stress is the by-product of worry. There are many things you should be concerned about, but few you should worry about. While working on a proposal you should consider it from all angles. Plan your materials and ask questions about its viability. After the proposal has been made, however, there is nothing you can do. Nothing can change the outcome. Worry is useless and fruitless. Let it go.

3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.

Time changes everything. Who knows what you might find out next week..tomorrow …or when you turn the next corner. The impossible of yesterdays are commonplace today. You should never look at anything as impossible.

4. Refusing to set aside trivial preference.

Often, people fool themselves into thinking that the way they do things is the right way, when what it usually come down to is simply preference. And sometimes that preference is simply trivial – such as the way you put your shoes and socks on, the way you install a roll of toilet paper and the way you hire a new employee.
There is nothing wrong with preferences, but you should study your choices and make sure there is nothing trivial about your decisions.

5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.

I like avid readers. Those people will read its contents printed on the ketchup bottle at a restaurant. There are always new ideas and new solutions to old problems, but they can be missed unless you are constantly looking, reading and studying. Personally, I like to read three or four newspapers every day. I even like to read old news magazines in the doctor’s waiting rooms. Reading is brainstorming. Even a comic book can bring enlightenment.

6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

Our workforce and consumer base is becoming more diverse, yet there are people who would deny that diversity. You can’t make everyone believe and live as you do. And even if you could, wouldn’t that be boring? Diversity brings more ideas and more experiences. We should celebrate the differences,not try to obliterate them.

Everyone is guilty of making the six mistakes of mankind at some time or other. We just need to learn from our mistakes every 2000 years or so..!!"

Egypt - The Land of the Pure Hearted

Egypt was in the limelight recently due to the popular uprising against their long serving President. The land of the prophets and the pharaohs was in a turmoil for just 18 days when it abruptly turned peaceful with the forced departure of their hated ruler. The long suffering ordinary people of Egypt was seen rejoicing at the prospect of enjoying their new found freedom for the first time in almost 30 years. Only time will tell whether their hard won freedom is here to stay or disappeared before their very eyes.

The ordinary people of Egypt had attracted so much worldwide attention with their sudden uprising and show of force. These same ordinary simpleton, who are mostly Muslims, had also caught the attention of an ex-Priest who became interested in Islam upon his return from a holiday trip in Egypt....where he found the hearts of these ordinary people are still as pure as they can be...

A Brief Stopover in Hong Kong

Me wrote this short piece at the Hong Kong Int'l airport while waiting for me connecting flight to Busan, Korea. It took about three and half hours flight from KLIA to Hong Kong and me have to wait for several more hours before me next flight to Busan at 0200 hours.

Me last transit at this airport was about a few years ago on me way to Japan. But this time around, me and me 2 colleagues got a pleasant surprise when discovering that the airport now has a musolla for Muslims to pray. So without further ado, we took the opportunity to fulfill our obligation together with a Brother from the Middle East. However, the fun part was, while we were inside the musolla, a lot of people got confused and entered the musolla thinking that it was a male toilet as it was located beside a female toilet and the sign at the entrance (as seen below) looked a bit like a male toilet sign!



Nevertheless, the long wait at the airport did not diminished me feeling of excitement on the prospect of experiencing Korea for the first time. Since this is me first trip to Korea, me is also feeling a little bit apprehensive at the prospect of meeting Korean business people for the first time and trying to anticipate their way of doing things. Obviously me got the feeling they are very much different from me Japanese business partners.

Nonetheless, me kids back home got even more excited upon knowing of me Korean trip since they have long been great fans of Korean movies and surely would love very much to have the chance to experience Korea for themselves. Alas, the time for them has not yet arrived, me doa is with them to have the chance to one day see Korea and their "Winter Sonata" movie idols!

Just as me experienced business dealings in Saudi Arabia recently, me hope the experience gained in Korea would be very useful in furthering the business agendas between Malaysian and Korean companies in building a better future for us all.

Got to go now, the time to board me connecting flight has arrived...see you all soon insyaAllah...