Sicko

I'm sick.

This is the third consecutive month I've had the flu. I better heed HPB's 2 fruits + 2 veggies advice...

I'm sick...

Hair it goes again

My hair has seen many things in the last 27 years.

It used to be the side-parted style in the 80s - the parting was established by my mother and it has stayed there forever. I don't know how she did it, but the physical scar has remained since. (The side-parting was together with the days of wearing primary-school uniform with the shirt tucked in until it can be pulled from the shorts.)

Then in secondary school, the curry puff came. Basically the side-parting was not altered, but the front fringe had a nice little bunch to it - a curry puff. A derogatory name no less, christened by my dear wife. The curry puff remained that way until Sec 2, when it was disrupted by my executive decision to shave my head. It was not approved by Congress or the Security Council, I just used my Presidential mandate to shave the bugger off. I gained many guy friends who thought it was damn cool, but lost a fairly decent girl fan base of at least one girl.

The curry puff resumed until NS, when I tried to do a spikey hairstyle because of the short-hair requirement. I discarded my comb because I thought real men needn't waste time with extraneous devices like combs. I thought my spike was damn cool, until (two and a half years later) this colleague told me it sucked, and that it sucked for the last two and a half years. The reason being that only the front part of the hair was spiked, while the rest of the hair was limp. I decided to move on in life after this tragic realisation.

So I went back to the curry puff with a vengeance in Uni. It was a massive hit. Or rather, I couldn't care less. I didn't care that people called me some Amitabh Bachan 80s flashback. I momentarily changed by hairstyle into a semi-spike and and on a good day, it looked quite good. Then I got the girl :) Then I went back to my old ways soon after...

I was having a weird hairdo ever since starting to work. Until... the Hoopoe showed me the way. The Hoopoe used to work at the same organisation I am in, and one day, while meeting him for lunch, he sported this uber cool hairstyle that actually made him look cool. I thought that, if he could do that, so can I. I credit the Hoopoe with making me take this scalp-shaking life decision.

So I got some professional advice, and now my hairstyle is a bit more decent and contemporary. My wife was jubilant. But I suspect it might be too revolutionary for my mother, the Author of the Side-parting, but she doesn't say anything.

My hair is also fodder for my 7-month old son who grabs it at every chance he gets and gives it the Super Deluxe Saliva Mix treatment which inhibits dandruff and hair growth of any kind. It's only a matter of time before some hair comes off in his violent hands.

But I must say I have let the hair grow for the last 2 months... and it looks like a hardcore curry puff now. I mean... I've been using a comb for the last 1 week! That's unacceptable.

So before Eid, I plan to shore off my locks and become more fashionable again. Wish me luck.

The Bedouin

Bedouin: I want to be the best of men.

Prophet: Do good to others and you will be the best of men.

Related by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Contactless

It wasn't so bad leaving my mobile phone accidentally at home yesterday. I felt... quite free...

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I don't know who started it but it's quite wierd. As we all know, the method of performing the Witr prayers differs slightly between the Shafiie and Hanafi mazhhabs.

During Ramadhan, a strange sight occurs in some mosques. If in a Shafiie mosque, after the terawih prayers are done, the Imam leads the congregation to perform the witr (2 + 1 raka'ats).

But a small group of folks will scurry to the back of the mosque to be led by another Imam to perform the Hanafi-style witr (3 raka'ats in one go)! So there will be two congregations in the same mosque for the same prayer!

I understand the perspective of each school of thought. Both styles are correct. But for the sake of earning more rewards during Ramadhan, why not just do one single style with the entire congregation and go home? If in a Shafiie mosque, just follow the 2 + 1 witr and if in a Hanafi-based mosque, follow the 3 rak'at one lah. Cannot meh? It's quite intuitive to me...

Roles and Actions

From www.ryangariepy.com/digitalart.php

We just do what we have to do. Things like insecurity, doubts, suspicion, assumptions are distracting and dangerous. They take our focus away from the real task at hand.

God has given us each a special set of roles, and it is our duty to do that role properly and to the best of our limited capacities. For surely, He will not place a burden greater than what we can bear.

So in the end, it is just about knowing what to do, asking questions to clarify, and just doing it.

Pulp fiction

I read about the Jewel of Medina uproar earlier today.

Essentially, an American lady named Sherry Jones has written a manuscript about Aisha r.a., wife of our Beloved s.a.w. Inspired by the events of September 11, she did a lot of research on Islam and came across Aisha. Ms Jones obsessed about her and decided to write a book chronicling her life. She was disturbed after Random House suddenly rejected her manuscript after paying her an advance, but another publisher has bought it, much to her glee.

No problems with the concept of the book, but some initial reactions are telling. The manuscript was sent to an expert on Islam at the University of Texas, who slammed the book, calling it an incitement to war and described a portion of the book as “soft-core pornography”. That portion apparently describes a scene between the Prophet s.a.w. consummating his marriage to Aisha r.a.

This last portion is disturbing. I have not read the manuscript, and the book may be better than it is mentioned, but the “expert on Islam” has made some comments which are worth noting, and the action of a major publisher pulling out also indicates something.

I’m not sure if non-Muslim actually understand the spiritual relationship Muslims have with these two great personalities. The Prophet s.a.w is our Master, our role model, our life, our everything. Aisha r.a. is our Mother, a scholar and teacher to us.

To relegate their lives to a book that seems to sensationalise certain aspects of their lives does not respect our belief, and it definitely does not promote inter-faith dialogue.

On a bigger scale, such projects by non-Muslim authors says a lot about the whole world-view divide that Muslims and non-Muslims might have. We have a totally different interpretation of the Islamic figures. They were not normal men and women, historical figures for scrutiny. Yes, we can be critical and academic about their actions, but we cannot compare their lives to lives that we lead now, or to lives led by other historical greats. These lives were lived in specific times in history, where specific circumstances arose to answer unique issues.

These individuals have been put in history as exemplars of human behavior. It’s rotten to relegate them to pulp fiction, subjecting the historical account of their lives to the whims and fancies of certain writers’ obsessions and “creativity”, who themselves do not share the worldview of people who love these individuals.

Iftarismo

The Prophet s.a.w.: He who provides for the breaking of the (Ramadan) fast of another person earns the same merit as the one who was observing fast, not diminishing in any way the reward of the latter.

- Related by Tirmidhi

The briyani at Masjid Khalid is legendary. The rice is light, and the mutton masala is a bit sweet yet slightly spicy, and mild. I think they use a fine brand of basmati rice. But the mutton portions leave much to be desired as they consist mostly of bone and cartilage. But that's ok.

We had the briyani yesterday, and I was reminded of a similar time last year with the Musketeers and one of the Musketeers' wife. This year, I was fortunate enough to break fast with three people whom I did not know. I didn't know their names, or where they came from, but I did know that we were destined to be there breaking fast together and enjoying the barakah of the meal served by the masjid.... alhamdulillah.

There are a lot more Hari Raya stalls in Geylang than last year. Every former empty space is now filled with stalls selling anything from cars to kuih. Fortunately, as it was a weekday, the crowd was less of a challenge. We bought some really nice clothes for Zayed, and on the way got some goreng pisang and washed it down with teh tarik. We wanted to explore our gluttonous sides further but decided against it. Luckily.

Today, we hosted iftar for our respective families - but the women outnumbered the men! My wife, mother-in-law, mother-in-law's sister, my mom, my sister and sister-in-law Vs my brother, me and Zayed. Cannot lah... no fair fight. The MIA-ed ones (my father-in-law and brothers-in-law) couldn't make it.

This Saturday we'll be hosting an iftar for another group of friends, Insha Allah. These guys I've known for the longest time... and it's always a joy to have them at home to have a meal and catch up. We've gone our separate routes in life, but it's these small gatherings that make us come together and update each other on what's happening to each other. Looking forward to seeing you guys...

Ran/dom

We freeze ourselves to death in Singapore. Being cool in a warm country is one thing... but getting a frostbite in the office is another! They should really do somethng about the thermosat here.

Later we're going to Geylang to get some Eid clothes for Zayed. The tiny cute ones... wonder if they have any. Before that - we hope to savour the famous Majid Khalid briyani for iftar. Hopefully Zayed allows me to do that, while not grabbing at my date or porridge or the mutton in the briyani...

Husband and Father

At work the other day, I was having a discussion with my colleague on promotion. The promotion system was so complicated and had so many layers of vetting that I concluded that I would not be promoted for another ten years! So I told my colleague that I'll just do my work to the best of my abilities and if anyone wants to promote me, then it will be as God's wish.

I then reflected on my journey so far in this world as an individual.

Although I had a family (consisting of parents, siblings), I was not really in charge of them and their well-being. I was only recently given my wife to cherish, care and provide for. Then after that, I was blessed with a son, to care and provide for as well.

So from being a son/sibling who needed to be cared for, I have become a husband and a father, in charge of two lives. I feel that this is an extremely heavy responsibility, but at the same time, a magnificent blessing from God.

It is a spiritual promotion in my journey as a creation of Allah, in that I've been given these two roles to earn rewards for my collection the World to come, even though it is Allah who provides for them and me. Alhamdulillah!

So in the material world, the promotion may be elusive - but in the world that really matters, each of us has to just open our minds and hearts to see the blessings and "promotions" that we have received from Allah.

Singapore Dangerous?

The Sail. The Flyer. One Raffles Quay. We're building all the nice and jazzy buildings to spice up our coastline and skyline, but they may not be as strong as we might need them to be. Here's what the experts are saying:

"... Dr Spranger also pointed out that cities sited away from tremor-prone zones are not necessarily immune to the devastating effects of earthquakes.

He cited the case of Mexico City. 'In 1985, a quake occurred off the Mexican coast. About 300km away in Mexico City, buildings collapsed, and there were 10,000 fatalities.

'Between the coast and Mexico City, you didn't feel the earthquake.'

In Singapore's case, the Republic is vulnerable to certain shockwaves that can travel long distances, he said.

'Only the long waves arrive and they affect mostly high-rise buildings and especially those built on reclaimed land.

'In that respect, the risk has changed because Singapore has a lot more high-rise buildings on reclaimed land now.'

He said that these 'long waves' or low-frequency waves could 'amplify when they reach soft ground'.

... Another prime example was the quake in China's Sichuan province in May. Nearly 70,000 people died, 18,000 went missing, 375,000 were injured and about five million were left homeless.

Dr Spranger said this part of Sichuan had never been considered high-risk, compared to cities near other fault lines.

'This area that was affected is on the same class of expected shaking as Hong Kong, and probably Singapore,' he said.

... 'What is certain is that our buildings are not designed to withstand earthquakes. It is time everybody takes a good look at this.' "

- The Straits Times, 12 Sept 08

And He knows best.

The Bedouin

Bedouin: What will save me from sins?

Prophet: Tears, humility and illness.

Related by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

It's been long

Since Ramadan started, it's been tough to write any entries. Priorities were for family, worship and of course, work. Just couldn't squeeze in any time for any telepathy...

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I had a wonderful iftar session yesterday with some friends, many of whom are now scarily familiar with this blog ;) Thank you for the wonderful time.

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Sleep seems to be a valuable commodity. Just can't get enough of you.

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Last week, I had this fantastic retreat at the workplace, held at (drum roll) Crowne Plaza Hotel at Terminal 3. I know... airports aren't a typical place for retreats. But hey - it's new and they probably offered competitive rates. Great room ambience, superbly crafted toilets... and the view to the runway made the T3 hotel a superb experience.

Reflect

Solitude is the companion of self-reflection.

It's more productive and meaningful to spend an hour contemplating than doing things for the entire day without knowing why you do it.

Happy Ramadhan to all...