The Mountains of Makkah - Zain Bikha

Oh Mountains of Mecca, what can you say
Of the day that Abraham passed your way
And He was instructed by God to build
A House of peace where people will pray

And they will come on every lean camel and out of every ravine
For the purpose of praising Allah, to glorify Allah

Oh Mountains of Mecca, what can you tell
Of the day when stones from the sky fell
Destroying an army determined to break
The House of Allah that Abraham built

Oh Mountains of Mecca, how was the dawn
On the day that my Prophet Muhammad was born
How did it feel knowing he was to be, the last and most beloved of all
Rasul of Allah, Nabi of Allah

Oh Mountains of Mecca, you were there
When the Prophet Muhammad climbed down in despair
Engraved in his heart were the words of his Lord
To all of mankind this was his call

La illaha illAllah, Muhammad-u-Rasullullah
Oh people praise only Allah, Glorify Allah

Oh Mountains of Mecca, how did you mourn
On the day that the beloved returned to his Lord
And up till the last breath escaped from his lips
He prayed that his Ummah would find success

Oh Mountains of Mecca how will it feel
When the earth shall quake and tremble with fear
And we shall be gathered together to stand
In the court of Allah with our deeds at hand

Oh how we pray that on that day, we'll be with those to whom Allah will say
Peace be with you, I am pleased with you

Oh Mountains of Mecca, Bear witness that I
To the oneness of Allah do I testify
For all that He's given me, How can I deny
My purpose in life should be only to cry

La illaha illAllah, Muhammad-u-Rasullullah
There is no god but Allah, Muhammad's His Messenger
Allahumma Salli Alla, Muhammad Rasullillah
Allahumma Salli Alla, Muhammad Nabi Allah
Allahumma Salli Alla, Muhammad Rasullillah

Its Tuesday again, really?

A week has passed since I last put an entry.. hmmm...

Its raining outside and I am listening Feliciano's Listen to the Falling Rain, how appropriate!

The excitement over the Kiulu's weekend took a while to subside and I still felt some left over feelings. Killers are now planning to conquer Mount Kinabalu, a year from now. Plans are being chartered, visa applications are being filed (visa is not an issue for Maknjang, but a year from now, will I have the dough to do so?). Allah's willing, I will join this trip as well although conquering the Mountain is way, wayyy, wayyy.... beyond my ability. I told them, I may need to lose at least 30 kg to do so. Haih! I shall kid you not, climb the Mountain, I sure cannot! You have to be super fit! But if money and time permit, insyaAllah I will be there to see them off and receive them later, the climbers, I mean. I'll even head the cheerleading team! I like the idea to make this into a charity event as well and be part of the Journey to Legacy thing. I wish I can do lot more to help but unfortunately I am not good at things like this. But if my help is needed, I will be more than willing to lend a hand or two.

I still cannot believe that after more than 30 years, the bond between us are still strong. In fact I think it is stronger now than ever, more than even when we were in the same classroom. I supposed it is true, at our age we can no longer make new friends, so we hold on tight to the ones we have. I am so thankful that the killers boys and girls came to my life.

Okaylah, till next entry.. I bade you good night and enjoy the song... layan....

Happy Tuesday

Nothing but happy thoughts, that is what I told myself today. Happy happy happy and happy....

Its Tuesday and I feel obligated to write. There is so much to write actually but I have very little time.

I want to write about our trip to Kiulu, Sabah for the Official Launch of Asrama Donni. I had a very exciting weekend, started from the minute I picked Roha up from the Subang Skypark (I thought it is still called Terminal 3, sungguh ketinggalan zaman lah Maknjang ni) on Thursday evening and was sleep deprived from that night onwards. Caught a flight to KK on Friday morning, met Ita, the generous soul who sponsored my ticket to KK and a brisk encounter with Shitah who was on a different flight, at McD.

On the flight, we met with Didi, fellow killers. He was travelling with the ANGKA (Angkatan Karyawan Aktif), for the same purpose. ANGKA was the group of people the killers collaborate with for the Ghazal Party Queen, the theater performance to collect fund for the Kulim to Kiulu Project. Kak Cah Kunyit however, had to give a miss to this flight, she forgot to bring the birth certificate for her son Bubu. She had to return home, collect the certificate and caught the later flight. Kak Cah is Aisyah of the Aisyah and the Fan Club. (Uish! orang Maori pon ada nama Aisyah was Maknjang's first thought when I first saw her video clip way back when I was in ANU... ha ha ha). We had a short stop at Labuan and reached KK at 1 pm, slightly later than the original schedule. Shitah was already on the way to Marina Court with Azri, who thought that the 4 of us plus him as the driver will not fit into that small Viva... haih! tercabar! When we settled, just so-so at Marina Court, which was too big for just the 4 of us, more killerladies should have been there... went for lunch at a Thai Restaurant. Alhamdulillah, makan free, Azri belanja. Without delay, as soon as we finished lunch, we went to the Filipino Market, famous for its pearls and products from the Philipines. Maknjang only bought 2 crystal bracelets for the two princesses at BJ. The 3 of them bought more than they planned, I think. Jangan marah..

There was a misunderstanding on whose car I was renting, Alben or Albert... ding dong ding dong.. after calling here and there, Alben turned up to pick us up from the Filipino Market while Albert, whose car we were renting waited for us at Marina Court!

That night SCC threw us a Fellowship Dinner at Ocean, a few minute walk from Marina. We had a blast! The highlights were Aisyah who sang Janji Manis Mu (JMM, which she said could also be Janda Manis Mu or now that she is into manik, Jahit Manik Mu) and I Will Always Love You. Her 9 years old son's Tragedi Oktober was an out of this world experience, I tell you, penuh perasaan! SCC's choir and the food of course! After the dinner, I wanted to test drive the car and we need to go to another hotel to collect our T-shirt. Me and the car got on, on the wrong foot and some claimed that I gave them a terror ride.... ehem! ehem!

Started our journey to Kiulu early Saturday morning and got there at 8:30am. What a reception! What a grand event it was with the attendance of TYT and a few other dignitaries. Syahdu gila! As I have said before, I was very skeptical when Raja Ali first proposed this project to us on our 30th Anniversary reunion last year. Now, only after a little over 14 months, here is Asrama Donni, completed. After all the formalities were over, Killerbatch band took the stage and of course it rained after Nan sang. Surprise, surprise, the rain stopped the minute Aisyah opened her mouth to sing, coincident? I don't think so.... he he he... The whole singing thing lasted until about 2 pm and we left Kiulu, with a short detour to Nexus, Karambunai. We stopped at 1Borneo for makan and reached Marina at 5:45pm. That night, we drove to Tanjung Aru for jagung and looked for place to eat and ended up having dinner at Promenade Hotel.

Sunday... ikan bilis, udang kering and short stop at pasar Ikan Masin before sending Shitah, Ita and Azri to the airport. Back from the airport, a short stop at the Filipino Market, Roha needed a few more things while I waited in the car. Checked out, had lunch and waited for Amirah who got there at 2:30 pm, sent Roha to the airport, yak yak yak and then Amirah sent me to the airport. Slept all the way from KK to KL.

What a wonderful weekend, what a beautiful friendship. I love you killers, boys and girls.......

I am not feeling so good, rasa macam selsema since yesterday. Ya Allah, jadikanlah sakit ku ini sebagai kafarrah kepada segala dosa-dosaku. Amin.

Cukup lah takat ni for this Tuesday, nanti cerita-cerita lagi.

Alhamdulillah

Hari ni nak berbahasa percakapan lah pulak... boleh?

Actually Maknjang do not want to talk about it anymore. I have made up my mind, so I figured, I will just move on. Let it be.

Akan tetapi, setiap hari, ada sahaja sesuatu yang berlaku yang akan menyebabkan Maknjang berasa amat bersyukur yang Maknjang telah membuat keputusan untuk berhenti ni. Macam-macam tohmahan dan tuduhan dibuat pada Maknjang, tapi Maknjang okay saja, biasalah, asam garam kehidupan. Biasa pon manusia memang macam tu, bila kita suka seseorang kan, kita tak akan nampak kelemahan dia kan, sebab suka kita pada dia akan membuatkan kita tidak apa dengan segala kelemahan-kelemahan tersebut. Sebab dah suka kan. Bila kita mula tak suka pada seseorang, apa tah lagi bila kita membenci, segala kebaikan orang itu kita tak nampak dah, yang kita nampak cuma kelemahan dia saja. Macam tu keadaan Maknjang sekarang ni.

Sejak keputusan muktamad ini Maknjang dah buat, Maknjang tengok, setiap hari ada saja kesalahan Maknjang yang diungkitkan. Some of it memang lah salah Maknjang pon but some of it bukan salah sesiapapon. Kadang-kadang benda yang betul pon, kalau kita nak bagi dia nampak salah, memang akan jadi salah. Apa-apa pon Maknjang terima saja. Tapi jangan kata hati Maknjang tak sakit. Sakit chek oi!, tapi redho dan telan sajalah. Apa nak buat lagi, Maknjang ni jenis type yang tak suka nak melawan-lawan, bertegang urat. Kalau dah kata decision Maknjang 2 tahun lepas tu tak betul, Maknjang akur. Tak kuasa Maknjang nak bertekak ka apa ka. I am simply not that type.

Sebenarnya, kalau kita nak cari salah seseorang tu memang senang. Cuma kita kena weigh la kan, salah dengan betoi tu, amacam? Tapi nampak gayanya, Maknjang ni tak pernah buat kerja betoi langsung lah. Tak pa lah Maknjang. Maknjang pon dah nak berhenti.

Nak cari salah Maknjang memang senang, ini memang Maknjang akui. Sebab apa tau, sebab Maknjang dulu buat macam-macam kerja. Maknjang ni pula, manusia biasa saja, flawless I am not, banyak kelemahan Maknjang ni. Bila dah banyak sangat buat, maka banyak lah buat salah. Tapi dalam banyak-banyak tu kan, takkan lah tak ada yang betoi langsung kot. Entahlah... tak dak la kot.

Maknjang rasa macam Maknjang ni tak sampai 30 Jun saja ni, macam anytime saja will be asked to leave. Nampak gaya macam dah cannot stand the sight of me. Apa pon decision, Maknjang terima. Kalau decide suruh Maknjang berhenti dari persatuan ni, lagilah Maknjang terima.

Maknjang tengah risau ni, Maknjang baru dapat berita, Mami masuk hospital lagi. Hai, Mami, get well soonest please. Maknjang nak handover semua kerja Maknjang ni cepat-cepat. Maknjang kesian jugak kat Mami.. tapi what to do, ayam makan itik sudu Mami oi!

Maknjang amat bersyukur pada Allah subhanahuwataala kerana telah mengilhamkan Maknjang untuk buat keputusan ini. Maknjang amat yakin ini adalah tindakan yang benar dan yang patut Maknjang buat 3 years ago when I knew then that what I did was not right, berdosa in fact. Ampunkanla segala dosa-dosa Maknjang, Ya Allah. Peliharalah Maknjang dan keluarga Maknjang Ya Allah, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahiim. Permudahkanlah segala urusan dunia dan akhirat Maknjang Ya Allah, wahai Tuhan yang Maha Menentukan. Murahkanlah rezeki yang halal lagi baik buat Maknjang wahai Tuhan Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

Wallahu'alam.

Now if anyone asks, not that they would..

I will be down in Mississippi, up to no good...

NOT!

However, I will be down in AS, doing some good, insyaAllah.

How difficult is it? Must be very hard. But I know you can do it... just start slow and we will eventually get to it.

Or perhaps you just do not care much? Maybe so..

Well, life must go on.

Tuesday is here once again.. haih!

No More Honour!

Who?

Me?

You?

Why?

Allah Maha Mengetahui! Allah Yang Menentukan Segala!

Facebook

If you blog, you have to at least once, blog about the facebook, right or not?

All I want to say on this subject is that Do You Facebook while Working OR Do you Work while Facebooking?

Good night!

Selasa datang lagi

Hari ini, Maknjang berasa ingin berbahasa ibunda pula. Bahasa jiwa bangsa.

Beberapa minggu yang lepas, Maknjang terjumpa sekeping kertas didalam bilik anak saudara Maknjang yang sangat manja dengan Maknjang itu. Kertas itu adalah kerja sekolah dia, dia berusia 9 tahun 3 bulan dan berada didalam Tahun 4. Keciwa bila Maknjang melihat gred yang dia dapat untuk kerja sekolah tersebut. Dia diminta membuat profil diri. Hasil kerjanya Maknjang kagumi dan dia memenuhi semua yang perlu diletakkan di Profil Diri, iaitu nama, nama ibubapa, cita-cita, harapan dan lain-lain. Gambar passport turut diletakkan, bukan ditampal seperti zaman Maknjang dulu tetapi yang dicetak dari komputer. Malah semua keseluruhan Profil itu dibuat menggunakan komputer. Cikgu memberi Gred B untuk kerja tersebut. Maknjang terfikir, kalau sebegini hasilnya digredkan B, untuk mendapat A, tentulah Profil diri itu seperti sebuah resume untuk memohon pekerjaan?

Kemudian Maknjang terfikir, adakah gred B ini disebabkan oleh cita-cita Ayis? Ayis meletakkan cita-citanya sebagai Askar. Jika Maknjang tidak mengenali Ayis, Maknjang tentu akan berprasangka yang Ayis ini tidak begitu bercita-cita tinggi, ataupun masih berfikir seperti anak-anak kecil yang hanya berminat kepada sebarang profession beruniform. Adakah ini sebenarnya punca dia diberi B? Entahlah.

Jadi apakah cita-cita Ayis yang sebenarnya? Weaponologist, betulkah istilah ini? Secara dasarnya, Ayis yang amat meminati senjata api, Askar yang dimaksudkan itu adalah menjadi seorang pakar senjata.

Semasa berusia seperti Ayis, Maknjang tidak mempunyai sebarang minat mendalam terhadap apa-apa. Yang Maknjang tahu semasa itu adalah main, main di bendang, main kombat.. senapang jugak tu, tapi sekadar senapang kayu, bukan senapang NERF seperti Ayis. Kanak-kanak sekarang tidak lagi seperti Maknjang dulu kan. Mereka terdedah kepada internet dan saluran TV yang pelbagai. Maknjang dulu nak menonton TV pon kena catu sebab menggunakan beteri, internet, apa itu? Perkataan komputer pon belum pernah dengar. Jadi rancangan-rancangan yang ditonton terhad kepada rancangan hiburan semata-mata. Ayis pulak begitu meminati saluran-saluran yang educational seperti Discovery, Discovery Science, National Geography dan History. Memang berbeza kanak-kanak zaman sekarang dengan zaman Maknjang dulu. Lain sungguh.

Itu sajalah Maknjang nak meraban hari ini. Mungkin Selasa depan Maknjang meraban cerita hindustan pulak.