Read, in the name of ....

It is generally known, although there might be no evidence on this as far as i am concern, that Malaysians read less than the average British. Books here (UK) can be bought at a very cheap price, from 20p! In Malaysia, people tend to save money and spend it on something else, eg. collectible items. It is indeed not wrong to do so, however, I personally believe that one could gain a lot, in terms of knowledge, tranquility, fulifilment & self-satisfaction, from reading as compared to other leisure activities.

Internet has also serve as a good medium to transmit information from a party to another.

Facts of the world today are created by actions & opinions by the people of yesterday.
Some of their views & thoughts might be invaluable, some rubbish. Nevertheless, it's worth reading as I find it to be intellectually fulfilling.

I have added several links to some of the 'top guns' in Malaysia. Have a look, enjoy reading!

terdiam....

At the time this post is composed, i am in the computer room in the Main Building, Cardiff University. This is actually my second post for today, a couple of minutes after i published the 1st one.

The tab 'PUBLISH POST' was clicked, and then 'REPUBLISH ENTIRE BLOG', twice. Sign out. Went out from this site and checked out my financial status in HSBC.co.uk. I longed to read my teacher's (Ustaz Hasrizal) writing, hence typed his web address straight away.

www.saifulislam.com

direction --> TELADAN HIDUP

I read the article entitled 'Di Mana Damai Desa', read every single word....

terdiam.....sebak...sedih....

Aku harap korang faham.
wallahu'alam.

Calling all M'sian 2nd yr MEDICS '05-'10 !!

Salam.

Honestly mate, it's been a very very long time since i last sit down & have a good laugh with my friends in the Medics department....oh well, there is an exception (Rauna's my housemates!..huhu)

Rauna, Salad, Sakinah M, T Sakinah, Aimi, Fatin, Wei Kang, Zhuang Li, Alan TJQ, Mohana, Gayatri, Lavanya, Jassie, Shuli, Waiping (hopefully im not missing anybody here....)

That does not include the Isoc bros that i usually hangout with. Not to mention some of my ex-DR mates (most of them are locals) & my other friends as well.

Korang apa kaba sekarang? harap semua ok, God-willing.

If you guys so happen to read this post, do give a shout in the CBOX at the side ya. Kinda miss all of you. All the best in your 2nd year! Make sure you don't screw up anywhere from now 'til you graduate!

love for god

Tranquil....

Morning
-had a long, deep, quality sleep today. One that I never had in any weekdays.

Afternoon
-Went to Ayie's house, 'Hari Raya & Deepavali' celebration, organised by UMNO. Many thanks to you guys
-Rushed to Darul Isra'. Attended a 2-hour Arabic Language class, a bit late though

Late Afternoon
-Played futsal
1) 4pm-5pm = with the ISOC brothers
2) 5pm - 6pm = with the Malaysians
3) 7pm - 8pm = with the Malaysians

Evening
-Went to a friend's house. Had a deep discussion with a little bit of introspection

Outcome?
Alhamdulillah....All praise be to God, my perception towards certain issues was successfully cleared & corrected. More peaceful & tranquil inside. 2 hours of a heart-to-heart conversation.....worth every minute!

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin

STOP! Have a cup of coffee.....

*wink*

I've learned at least good thing today, and that is to have a break for a while along my journey towards achieving my dream.

My heart whispered to me, pleading me to replenish it immediately this morning. I was uncomfortable, honestly, and i do feel this once in a while, especially when i am all by myself, alone, in my own world...

I strolled down Salisbury road and entered the Darul Isra' mosque (local mosque here in Cardiff). Abu Baraa' gave an astounding khutbah (sermon) about the contributions of Islam & Muslims in the civilisation of mankind.

1001 Inventions: Discover The Muslim Heritage In Our World
National Museum Wales
24th October 2006 - 4th February 2007

The crowd left hillariously noisy as soon as the prayer finished. I took my time communicating with my heart. Honestly friends, you should try this once in a while. All praise be to God, it was quite a relief, and my heart flourished.

I made my way to the Biosciences Building and had a deep academic discussion with a dear friend of mine, Ali Mahdi (he's an Iraqi by origin, 4th yr Medical student, ex-pres Islamic Soc Cardiff Uni '05-'06). I might not want to elaborate on our discussion, as it was a lengthy one. Thanks be to God, the outcome was an amazing one....and friends, do let me know if you're interested to know the issues we discuss. I'm more than happy to sit down & talk about it with you.

Issues, conflicts, problems, responsibilities.....I had all these in my mind almost all the time, and to a certain degree, I agree that these things make me alive, competent, a good challenger in any field in any way. I tend to walk fast whenever & wherever I go, with these things in my mind, in hoping to solve some, if not all, of the problems by the time I reach my destination.

Journey: School - Town - Millennium Stadium - Riverside - Home
I stopped at the bridge by the Millennium Stadium and have a break for a while, hoping to quence my thirst with an isotonic drink. As I was lying to te side of the bridge & drinking, then I realised....
that the birds were chirping,
the ducks were swimming quite happily,
the afternoon breeze was refreshing,
the ....the .... the ....

My beloved friends, of all my entire life striving to achieve my goal, i failed to realise all these things around me.

I'm sorry if I have not contacted you for quite a long time
I'm sorry if I have not return your call or SMS
I'm sorry if I didnt 'bertegur sapa' wherever & whenever I see you (physically or online)
I'm sorry if I dont spend much time 'berborak2' with you
I'm sorry if my face shows a high degree of stress & tense, which might make you uncomfortable with it
I'm sorry if I'm a bit unpleasant to you guys sometimes

I have quite a few responsibilities to be looked over
I have a family who needs my attention back home (tens of thousands of miles away!)
I have my studies to be attended to
I want to improve myself, inwardly & outwardly
and of all these.....I have 24 hours to manage these things in a day.

I'm sorry i might be a bit emotional when writing this post. But honestly friends, I'm awfully sorry, & I hope that you understand.
To my friends, thank you for being understanding,
To my 'abang-abang & akak-akak', thank you for being a great mentor & supportive since I came here in the UK,
To my family, do not worry Mama & Papa, I'm ok, inshaAllah I'll be a good son to both of you,
To my 'enemies'(if there is....if there's none, that's even better!!), thanks for the challenge you gave....coz honestly, I love it! They just make me stronger & stronger everyday

To everyone....thank you. I love you for who you are, and I appreciate everything that you gave.
love for god

wassalam

Selamat!!

All of a sudden i received quite a response from a number of people, asking the address of my blog..

The weird part is that, they did not even ask wether i have a blog or not in the first place

Some even have not chat with me before this!

Hmmm....
Anyway, to those of you whom are the silent admirers of this blog.....whoever n wherever you are...welcome!! you are more than welcome to read, give comments, criticism, throw an argument, or whatever you want! hehe....seriously mate, it's really2 open. however, i would appreciate if you could follow some basic ethical & moral guidelines:
-rather than being an 'anonymous' guy, c'mon, gentlemen la dude.....just tell us who you are.
-usage of inappropriate words in any of the comments will be deleted. i believe that this is really understandable...isnt it?

Alright guys.....in the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful....enjoy reading!

love for god

Salam Aidilfitri

To all the Muslims out there, Eid Mubaarak! Selamat Hari Raya!
Salam Aidilfitri, especially to:
My beloved family members,
My supportive friends,
My colleagues,
(the list goes on & on.....)

I love all of you....but Allah loves you more than anyone else....

May we be stronger today & tomorrow onwards...more challenge to come.

Salam Aidilfitri from Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

love for god
takut Allah, kita ikut Nabi

A good (great?!) leader

It has been days now since i last updated this blog. i had actually composed something few days back, but those stacks of paragraphs & lenghty lines were washed away when my computer acquired some problems, unexpectedly....oh well.....sigh

got this from someone....

The Big Difference.. ...

The boss drives his men
The leader inspires them

The boss depends on authority
The leader depend on goodwill

The boss evokes fear
The leader radiates love

The boss says "I"
The leader says "We"

The boss shows who is wrong
The leader shows what is wrong

The boss know knows how it is done
The leader knows how to do it

The boss demands respect
The leader commands respect

So be a leader
Not a boss....

wslm
-love for god-

The study of Earth Sciences

I'll stop talking about my welfare plan for a while, diverting into a topic which i am majoring now.

The knowledge of Earth Sciences is underused globally (Eduardo de Mulder), despite its importance in ensuring the sustainability of the energy, mineral and other resources of this 'Blue Planet'. I came to know that, through scientific studies, the earth is 'created' about 4,650 Million Years Ago, and tonnes of processes occured within these many years.

Isaac Newton once said that "Yes, it is agreed that God created the world in 7 days, but we never know how long God's 1-day is". Hmmmm.....that's interesting! This was one of the reason why Illuminati was formed. Religion vs Science. And the dispute continues until today. Glad that there's no such disputes occuring in the Islamic theology & sciences.

Hamza Yusuf, in one of his academic lectures, said that there are differences between the words "Dunyaa" & "'Alam". Among them, he explained, that 'Dunyaa' is the world which people manifest, and got so in love into it, while ''Alam' is Allah's creation and a sign of Allah's existence. Hence, humans should be awed by the wonders of the 'Alam & get control of themselves towards fame & wealth of Dunyaa.

By studying the pattern of the changes of the world today, we could get a picture on how the earth was many many years ago, and anticipate events that might take place to this earth in years to come. One thing for sure that I really understand, and keeps me 'alive' in all the lectures, is that the world is not stable, and will collapse one day! Bits & pieces are falling over, 1 by 1....

wuuhuuu....thrilling & challenging. More to come!

Welfare work...(part 3)

Went to Darul Isra' just now, and attended the meeting to form the Fund Collection Committee.

Currently, Darul Isra' has the width of 25 x 10 metres squared, which could cater about 400 people (brothers & sisters) at one time. The number of people coming to the mosque, as well as the activities carried out are increasing throughout the year, which is a good thing. Hence, the 'top guns' of the mosque has laid out a plan to make the mosque bigger, which has the capacity of catering about 1000 people at a time, with several rooms for activities - transforming an ordinary mosque to a professional islamic institute for learning & relaxing

3 storeys - ground, 1st floor, and a basement.

Many issues were raised during the meeting, & loads of brilliant ideas given by the people who attended, mostly businessmen. Some of the things that i learnt this day about raising funds are:
-establish a committed team, elect an effective leader to lead
-have a clear target of 'when to start & end', 'target amount of donation collected', 'target area' etc.
-schemes of donation (which makes the contributor easier to donate). eg. breaking down the total cost into (1)smaller portion of shares, (2)the cost for each material needed to buy (3)special package (excellent, gold, silver award) (4)auction (5)charity dinner with the presence of prominent speakers or nasheed groups.....and many more
-preparations of the legalities (paperwork,letters & letterheads, cheque book, stamp)
-promotion (media & communication, presentation, attractive brochures etc)
-dedicated collection team to go here & there.

Pheww....honestly, it's a big task to manage!

Total cost needed for the refurbishment of the mosque = GBP 200,000.

To those who would like to donate, feel free to contact Abu Bara' or Sheikh Ya'qoob.

C'mon, let's start working! InshaAllah, working for Allah is worth living!

Welfare work...(part 2)

Alright....fully geared towards realising this dream of mine.

Attention to those in Cardiff
There'll be a meeting to set up the Funds Collection committee of Darul Isra' in the mosque, tomorrow, Sunday 8th October 2006, after Zuhr prayer (1.30pm). Those who're interested, feel free to come & join.

Bulletin Editorial Team
- still in the process of learning the know-how, as well as scouting for potential teammate.

Islamic Relief
- in the process of establishing brotherhood & network with them. It's going to take some time, but inshaAllah, with on-going effort & with Allah's grace, it is possible. BTW, Islamic Relief has always want someone to volunteer on behalf of them to raise funds locally.

Distribution of food to the needies
- i came to realise that it's a bit challenging to distribute the foods during Ramadhan, because of time factor. however, the project will kick-off next 2 weekends (tentatively 21st Oct)
- once a week (weekends; most probably Saturday night)
- target area: around town
- Food: a can of custard for every soul.
- method: carry some canned custard in a backpack, go around town, give away those stuff to the needies. will also bring a can opener & plastic spoons.

That's all for now. InshaAllah, more to come!

"Life is about giving"

Welfare work...

I was thinking about this many days ago.

Sometimes we just didnt realise that there are other people out there who have not even tasted a delicious, 3-course meal in their entire life. Yet, most of us here always complain on the food that we get, even when it's given to us without any charge! (iftar in the mosque during Ramadhan)

Was thinking of organising several activities
-Sponsoring an orphan programme (islamic relief, human appeal international)
-setting up and editorial group for a monthly bulletin (to be distributed to the people here in Cardiff).
-giving away free food to the needies in town (idea given by Nydd Dydd..thanks)
-forming a nasheed team, might be useful to light up any event organised locally
-learn to raise funds from Islamic Relief.
-joining charity work organised by the local mosque

Planning to lay out a good foundation towards the local community here.
Any suggestions, comments, supports & views are needed badly.

Many thanks.

What's going on in Cardiff?

Well, generally there are 2 main societies in Cardiff & 1 self-proclaim society.

The Malaysian Students Society of Cardiff (MSSCF)
Kelab UMNO Wales

and the other society which claimed to be a society, in which it's actually a one-man show...
Kelab MCA Wales (sorry, no link...sebab tak wujud pun this kelab officially dibawah any portfolio MCA kat Malaysia.

Issues that have always been the case with these 3 clubs every year are:
1. Welcoming new students
2. Money

Alhamdulillah & Istighfar be to Allah, the students community here has given me the trust to take the responsibility as the VP of MSSCF. MSSCF has been, i would say, a better society management-wise as compared to the previous years. Why? because we have many (read: many, not all) dedicated committee members. and thank God, we have successfully organised several events already.

UMNO Wales is not too bad as well. Unfortunately, I, on a personal level, dislike them in certain way. However, that does not mean that i cannot work with them. Many reasons, but i do not wish to discuss it here.....it's self-understood whenever u see that 4-letter word. At times, they can be quite sensible and friendly....well, i guess they are interestingly unpredictable..

MCA Wales? rubbish, and being run by a joker. Enough said.

Also, it seems to me that some of the people involved in these socities do things for their own self-interest. Not much because of the betterment of the community. They lack love & passion for the welfare of the people here.

I still feel that striving for the best for the community through giving, sharing and welfare work is better than doing things for one's self-interest. However, i've heard this statement from a respected person, and i quote "There's no friend, there's no foe, there's just interest!"

phew....

Thinking of establishing a small group dedicated for welfare work. any takers? hehe....

that's all for today..tara~

Rocks? Not too bad at all

I guess these pictures could tell something that i wish to say about my new course...

Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Wales (29/09/2006)

Barry Island, Wales (02/10/2006)

Well, that's about it now....

I'm starting to enjoy the course. hmmm....we'll see what's next....

People say, "big bucks do come in handy these days"
what say you?!

from HUMANS to ROCKS

It has been weeks since i last updated my blog.

Many things happened. Some of it forced me to make the decision of my life.

PETRONAS (sponsor)
family
friends
Malaysian Society here in Cardiff
relatives
this & that.....

God, help me...

Alhamdulillah, i have gained the courage to switch course....
I'm no doctor anymore
I'm gonna be a geologist, God-willing.

Why? simple....i failed my 1st year medical exam

Oh well.....the past is the past...let's focus on 'now' so that i can shape a better future

wallahu'alam