Here are photos updated my recent event!. Arifah is currently at her home sweet home. She's so hectic on packing her things out because she's moving to Janda Baik this weekend.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Surveying price!
- The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (MPH=RM 35.95)
- Growing Up in Trengganu, Awang Goneng (MPH= RM 39.90)
- Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and What You Want, John Gray (MPH=RM 36.90)
- Obama: From Promise to Power, David Mendell (MPH=RM 45.52)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Choosing the Right One
By Idris Tawfiq
British Writer and Speaker
Has romance disappeared? Well, it may have disappeared to a large extent in many Western societies where divorce and marriage breakdown figures are really high. In such societies where having different boyfriends or girlfriends is part of the normal run of things, finding true love that will last is quite difficult. The figures speak for themselves. But what about the Muslim world?
It is true that the Western media outlets portray Muslim marriage in pretty much the same way as they portray anything else Muslim, isn't it? In other words, not in a very flattering light. They talk about forced marriages or wife beating, forgetting that this is not the norm and it is not what Islam teaches. They don't show all the Muslim young men and women who have such a high regard for marriage and look forward in a very romantic way to the day they will meet the right person, get married, and settle down together for the rest of their lives. Nor do they show all the Muslim husbands and wives who have been together for so long, actually growing in love and respect for each other the longer they are together. So, no, romance hasn't disappeared.
Good Looks Aren't Forever
But how do you know when you have chosen the right person? How do you know that this is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? How do you know that your marriage is going to succeed and not break down, like so many of the marriages around you? If your parents' marriage ended in divorce, what is to stop your marriage ending up the same way? And if your parents have been happily married for years, how can yours be like that? There's lots of questions, but important ones.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave some advice about choosing a wife:
A woman may be married for four things: for her wealth, for her noble descent, for her beauty or for her religion. Choose the one who is religious, lest your hands be rubbed with dust! (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
A young man or a young woman, then, needs to choose very carefully who their life's partner is going to be. A future husband or wife will also be the father or the mother of your children. Your spouse will be the one in whom you confide everything, the one who looks after the family home or who provides food for the family table.
If it is good looks we are going to base our choice upon, well, good looks often change with time. Perhaps this is why so many marriages in the West end in divorce. If the marriage takes place because of a physical attraction, the one you are attracted to will not always look that way. They will get old or put on weight or get ill, no longer looking how they once used to. What happens then, when the physical attraction has gone?
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is very wise. He is quite realistic and knows that physical attraction is very important. For example, Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said, "I got engaged to a woman at the time of the Prophet. He asked me, 'Have you seen her?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Go and have a look at her, because it is more fitting that love and compatibility be established between you.'" (An-Nasa'i)
Knowing the Right One
Young Muslims don't want to find themselves in a marriage with someone they find unattractive. In choosing a future partner, then, this is important. But the Prophet knows, too, that physical attraction is not everything. The most important quality in a future spouse (the one you are to marry) is their piety. In other words, that they are good Muslims. If the two of you are good Muslims, faithful to prayer, and determined to commit yourselves to each other and to the family you will raise together, then this marriage has a good chance of succeeding. It won't be based only on looks but will have a firmer base.
It stands to reason that someone who has looked forward to marriage with a religious attitude, believing that this marriage will complete their deen and make them whole in the sight of Allah, will take the marriage very seriously, doesn't it? Such people try to please their husbands or their wives, rather than just trying to please themselves. They look for common ground together. As Muslims, they live their lives in the presence of Allah and do everything they can to please him. Where there is give and take in a marriage, the marriage has a chance of success. Where the partners believe they are serving Almighty Allah in all that they do and say, then these same partners will look upon each other as gifts. And in such a marriage, in sha' Allah, the bond between them will grow stronger and stronger as time goes on.
So how do you know you have chosen the right one? Well, it will feel right. If right from the start you don't feel comfortable with this person, then maybe this person is not the one for you. You might feel that, with time, you can see a bright future together. Do you have the same expectations from the marriage? Are you both looking forward to having children and to establishing a home together? These things need to be talked through, somehow, so that you both know what you are expecting. Take advice, too, from your parents and from close friends. Listen as well to wise Muslims in the community, who can speak to you at a distance removed from either family, telling you what Islam says about love and marriage.
Don't Just Jump Right In!
It is most important, too, not to just jump at the first one who comes along! You are keen to be married, yes, but you have waited all this time, so wait just a bit longer so you can be sure. Do you want a marriage, or do you want a good marriage? Do you just want a wife or a husband, or do want a wife or a husband you can delight in and be proud of? Remember that this person will be the father or the mother of your children. He or she will be the one you will care for, for the rest of your life. So just take a little bit more time. Pray a lot about it. Yes, pray. You might be so keen to marry that prayer seems the last thing on your mind, but ask Almighty Allah to send the right person into your life. And, when you have settled down together, continue to ask Allah to give you both the strength to love and support one another through good and bad times.
And so, when you are both old and grey, with grandchildren playing at your feet, you will be able to look back on a good marriage, a happy marriage, in sha' Allah, and you will both be able to thank Allah that you did wait for the right one to come along! On that day, people will look at you and wish that they, too, could be blessed with such a happy marriage.
British Writer and Speaker
Has romance disappeared? Well, it may have disappeared to a large extent in many Western societies where divorce and marriage breakdown figures are really high. In such societies where having different boyfriends or girlfriends is part of the normal run of things, finding true love that will last is quite difficult. The figures speak for themselves. But what about the Muslim world?
It is true that the Western media outlets portray Muslim marriage in pretty much the same way as they portray anything else Muslim, isn't it? In other words, not in a very flattering light. They talk about forced marriages or wife beating, forgetting that this is not the norm and it is not what Islam teaches. They don't show all the Muslim young men and women who have such a high regard for marriage and look forward in a very romantic way to the day they will meet the right person, get married, and settle down together for the rest of their lives. Nor do they show all the Muslim husbands and wives who have been together for so long, actually growing in love and respect for each other the longer they are together. So, no, romance hasn't disappeared.
Good Looks Aren't Forever
But how do you know when you have chosen the right person? How do you know that this is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? How do you know that your marriage is going to succeed and not break down, like so many of the marriages around you? If your parents' marriage ended in divorce, what is to stop your marriage ending up the same way? And if your parents have been happily married for years, how can yours be like that? There's lots of questions, but important ones.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave some advice about choosing a wife:
A woman may be married for four things: for her wealth, for her noble descent, for her beauty or for her religion. Choose the one who is religious, lest your hands be rubbed with dust! (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
A young man or a young woman, then, needs to choose very carefully who their life's partner is going to be. A future husband or wife will also be the father or the mother of your children. Your spouse will be the one in whom you confide everything, the one who looks after the family home or who provides food for the family table.
If it is good looks we are going to base our choice upon, well, good looks often change with time. Perhaps this is why so many marriages in the West end in divorce. If the marriage takes place because of a physical attraction, the one you are attracted to will not always look that way. They will get old or put on weight or get ill, no longer looking how they once used to. What happens then, when the physical attraction has gone?
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is very wise. He is quite realistic and knows that physical attraction is very important. For example, Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said, "I got engaged to a woman at the time of the Prophet. He asked me, 'Have you seen her?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Go and have a look at her, because it is more fitting that love and compatibility be established between you.'" (An-Nasa'i)
Knowing the Right One
Young Muslims don't want to find themselves in a marriage with someone they find unattractive. In choosing a future partner, then, this is important. But the Prophet knows, too, that physical attraction is not everything. The most important quality in a future spouse (the one you are to marry) is their piety. In other words, that they are good Muslims. If the two of you are good Muslims, faithful to prayer, and determined to commit yourselves to each other and to the family you will raise together, then this marriage has a good chance of succeeding. It won't be based only on looks but will have a firmer base.
It stands to reason that someone who has looked forward to marriage with a religious attitude, believing that this marriage will complete their deen and make them whole in the sight of Allah, will take the marriage very seriously, doesn't it? Such people try to please their husbands or their wives, rather than just trying to please themselves. They look for common ground together. As Muslims, they live their lives in the presence of Allah and do everything they can to please him. Where there is give and take in a marriage, the marriage has a chance of success. Where the partners believe they are serving Almighty Allah in all that they do and say, then these same partners will look upon each other as gifts. And in such a marriage, in sha' Allah, the bond between them will grow stronger and stronger as time goes on.
So how do you know you have chosen the right one? Well, it will feel right. If right from the start you don't feel comfortable with this person, then maybe this person is not the one for you. You might feel that, with time, you can see a bright future together. Do you have the same expectations from the marriage? Are you both looking forward to having children and to establishing a home together? These things need to be talked through, somehow, so that you both know what you are expecting. Take advice, too, from your parents and from close friends. Listen as well to wise Muslims in the community, who can speak to you at a distance removed from either family, telling you what Islam says about love and marriage.
Don't Just Jump Right In!
It is most important, too, not to just jump at the first one who comes along! You are keen to be married, yes, but you have waited all this time, so wait just a bit longer so you can be sure. Do you want a marriage, or do you want a good marriage? Do you just want a wife or a husband, or do want a wife or a husband you can delight in and be proud of? Remember that this person will be the father or the mother of your children. He or she will be the one you will care for, for the rest of your life. So just take a little bit more time. Pray a lot about it. Yes, pray. You might be so keen to marry that prayer seems the last thing on your mind, but ask Almighty Allah to send the right person into your life. And, when you have settled down together, continue to ask Allah to give you both the strength to love and support one another through good and bad times.
And so, when you are both old and grey, with grandchildren playing at your feet, you will be able to look back on a good marriage, a happy marriage, in sha' Allah, and you will both be able to thank Allah that you did wait for the right one to come along! On that day, people will look at you and wish that they, too, could be blessed with such a happy marriage.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Star: Challenges as Positive alert
Sunday March 30, 2008
Seeing problems as a challenge
BY TAN EE LOO
A management guru inspires students to view things positively.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) undergraduate Mohd Firdaus Zakaria is confident that he will no longer view problems as something negative but as challenges that test his determination and ability.
Issues are bound to crop up every day, but instead of brooding, he intends to deal with them in a positive manner, said Mohd Firdaus after listening to a talk by Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Renault SA.
Ghosn (left) stressing a point at the talk while moderator Datuk Azman Yahya, the executive chairman of Bolton Bhd and Group CEO of Symphony House Bhd, looks on.
“Ghosn has inspired me a lot, he is truly a management 'guru' especially in analysing problems and then using them to his advantage,” said the UPM third-year Agribusiness student.
Having different races and diverse cultures in Malaysia was an asset and Ghosn's talk made him realise that there was strength in diversity.
Another student, Radzuwan Abd Rashid, said he had learnt invaluable tips on how to manage and be successful in the automotive industry from the lecture.
Radzuwan described Ghosn's talk as “interactive and informative” and added that Ghosn was very spontaneous when he took questions from the floor and was able to keep his audience engaged.
Mohd Firdaus Zakaria
Despite earlier scepticism in 1999, the Brazillian-born Ghosn proved the world wrong when he managed to bring Nissan out of debt and transformed it into one of the most successful companies in the automotive industry
Ghosn, was the last speaker of the Khazanah Global Lecture (KGL) series organised by Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
More than 700 local business leaders attended Ghosn's dinner-lecture held recently in Kuala Lumpur. Students from four public universities – UPM, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Tenaga Nasional – were at their respective universities to view and participate in the talk via live-streaming.
The KGL series kicked off last year, with a talk by the former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan. It also saw other influential speakers such as 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof Muhammad Yunus, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and 2001 Nobel Economics Prize winner Prof Joseph Stiglitz.
Other students who heard Ghosn's talks revealed that although they had little or no interest in the automotive industry, it was interesting and inspiring.
Questions from the floor ranged from international outsourcing to motivation, and how Ghosn managed his company and personal life.
UPM third-year Veterinary Medicine student Siti Hawa Anurddin, however, was disappointed with some of the questions. She felt that they lacked depth and were not “tough” enough.
UPM management and marketing department head Dr Noor Azman Ali said students benefited greatly from the lecture.
Students were able to view and participate in the talk via live-streaming.
“Reading textbooks is all descriptive, but when a person like Ghosn delivers a live-cast lecture, they get to hear first-hand about the success and setbacks of his own story,” he said, adding that he hoped they would apply what they had learnt in their own life.
Siti Hawa agreed, saying that having a degree alone wasn't good enough. Students had to understand the skills needed to survive the cut-throat world, she added.
UPM second-year Food Study management student Sandy Ow said she would like to apply what she had learnt from Ghosn on managing a food business in a cross-cultural context.
Seeing problems as a challenge
BY TAN EE LOO
A management guru inspires students to view things positively.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) undergraduate Mohd Firdaus Zakaria is confident that he will no longer view problems as something negative but as challenges that test his determination and ability.
Issues are bound to crop up every day, but instead of brooding, he intends to deal with them in a positive manner, said Mohd Firdaus after listening to a talk by Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Renault SA.
Ghosn (left) stressing a point at the talk while moderator Datuk Azman Yahya, the executive chairman of Bolton Bhd and Group CEO of Symphony House Bhd, looks on.
“Ghosn has inspired me a lot, he is truly a management 'guru' especially in analysing problems and then using them to his advantage,” said the UPM third-year Agribusiness student.
Having different races and diverse cultures in Malaysia was an asset and Ghosn's talk made him realise that there was strength in diversity.
Another student, Radzuwan Abd Rashid, said he had learnt invaluable tips on how to manage and be successful in the automotive industry from the lecture.
Radzuwan described Ghosn's talk as “interactive and informative” and added that Ghosn was very spontaneous when he took questions from the floor and was able to keep his audience engaged.
Mohd Firdaus Zakaria
Despite earlier scepticism in 1999, the Brazillian-born Ghosn proved the world wrong when he managed to bring Nissan out of debt and transformed it into one of the most successful companies in the automotive industry
Ghosn, was the last speaker of the Khazanah Global Lecture (KGL) series organised by Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
More than 700 local business leaders attended Ghosn's dinner-lecture held recently in Kuala Lumpur. Students from four public universities – UPM, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Tenaga Nasional – were at their respective universities to view and participate in the talk via live-streaming.
The KGL series kicked off last year, with a talk by the former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan. It also saw other influential speakers such as 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof Muhammad Yunus, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and 2001 Nobel Economics Prize winner Prof Joseph Stiglitz.
Other students who heard Ghosn's talks revealed that although they had little or no interest in the automotive industry, it was interesting and inspiring.
Questions from the floor ranged from international outsourcing to motivation, and how Ghosn managed his company and personal life.
UPM third-year Veterinary Medicine student Siti Hawa Anurddin, however, was disappointed with some of the questions. She felt that they lacked depth and were not “tough” enough.
UPM management and marketing department head Dr Noor Azman Ali said students benefited greatly from the lecture.
Students were able to view and participate in the talk via live-streaming.
“Reading textbooks is all descriptive, but when a person like Ghosn delivers a live-cast lecture, they get to hear first-hand about the success and setbacks of his own story,” he said, adding that he hoped they would apply what they had learnt in their own life.
Siti Hawa agreed, saying that having a degree alone wasn't good enough. Students had to understand the skills needed to survive the cut-throat world, she added.
UPM second-year Food Study management student Sandy Ow said she would like to apply what she had learnt from Ghosn on managing a food business in a cross-cultural context.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Arifah: Wake up and have faith in yourself
Arifah,
Thanks for reading my blog!! That's a great question you asked. Many of us at one time or another ask the same question.
Let me ask you this. Why do lecturers at UPM give you exams and assignments that cause you all kinds of hardship, stress and frustration? Is it not because we care about your development and growth? Do we not want to see you smart, successful and in the end -- happy?
Yes, Allah may have chosen us, but the question is for what? We have been chosen to worship and glorify Him and to carry His message. Challenges in life force us to return to Allah for help, support, trust and ultimately, faith.
In this process, we can come to realize that everything is from Allah. This was one of the first lessons I learned in Islam prior to my conversion six years ago. It is the peak of tawhid; simple, yet so important and powerful.
EVERYTHING is from Allah. When we attempt to understand our lives in this way, through the eyes of tawhid, with Allah as the ultimate cause of everything (“Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things…” [40:62]), quite naturally we will seek understanding in our lives. We know Allah creates everything, we know Allah is the primary cause behind everything and we know that Allah is the Most Merciful and ultimate good. Thus, with everything that occurs in our lives, might we ask, “what are we to learn, oh Lord, and how should we respond to that which you have willed?” From this vantage point, we will naturally yearn to know what Allah wants us to do, which, in fact, we already have the answer – to know Him, as according to the Hadith Qudsi, “I was a hidden treasure that loved to be known, so I created creation so that I could be known.” Thus, Allah creates and manifests so that he can be known.
If it is the knowing of Him that Allah wants from us, does it not make sense that the manifestation of challenges is Allah’s way of calling us back to Him and His mercy and goodness? Could it be that this ‘whip’ of severity is the Creator’s way of reminding us of our ultimate purpose here? The Qur’an teaches us that there are three ways to know Allah: through revelation (i.e. the Qur’an and hadith), through creation, and through the Self.
One of the important roles that hardship plays in life is to facilitate introspection, to look toward the inside and better understanding of our innermost selves and heart. When we experience tragedy or calamity, often the first thing we do is go inside ourselves, seeking understanding and solace. It is an important soulful activity that must be done in order to fully realize our humanness. Part of the true self-surrendering to Allah (Al-Islam) must be to accept all of the Names of Allah, and to embrace all of the ways that He chooses to manifest Himself in our lives, including those perceived as severe or harsh. Not being appreciative of the mercy of Allah in our lives and merciful in our interactions with others will inevitably result in the experience of Allah’s wrath. For, to be neglectful in our role as the community of the ‘mercy to all the worlds’ (i.e. Prophet Muhammad (SAW)), is deserving of a Divine wake-up call.
So, does this help to answer your question??
11:04 AM
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My BELOVED Glace9903
Aku sebenanye tak jumpe pon di mana muka ku.. huhu. Later i need to ask sonick.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Brotherhood & Love
We are here to promote culture of brotherhood and love within PESUMA members. Super seniors, seniors and juniors included, no one will be excluded for this. We are going towards something that could really not happen in UPM and in other university in Malaysia as well.
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