.thesportsmansprayer.

Assalamualaikum.

Greetings.

I am entering my 8th month here as a postgraduate student and at the end of the 9th month, I am required to submit my First Year Progress Report. This report (alongside with the Annual Review/Interview) is considered as the key milestone to progress in this journey. The outcome of the report (and the review) will decide whether the student will continue the journey as a PhD student or continue as M.Phil student, or under worst case scenario, the student will be advised to abort the whole journey.

I have about a month to get  things settled. I have taken things so lightly and spent my time inefficiently during months 3 to 6. Every week was pretty much the same routine - prepare matters to be discussed with my supervisor; discuss; relieved and relax; and repeat the following week. In month 7, I realized that I made no significant progress, so I decided to give myself a slap and do something. I am grateful that my supervisor was really supportive and gave a lot of advice and suggestion to go about my struggle.

In times of despair, the faces of those who are rooting for me came into mind. Immediately, their words of hope and their expectations appear in front of me, beautifully encapsulated inside a huge bubble. And it is my greatest duty to not let that bubble burst by my unfit mindset and behaviour. One of my remedies would be "The Sportsman's Prayer:

"Oh God, please help me to win for I always want to win. But if in thy inscrutable wisdom Thou willest me not to win, then make me a good loser. For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game."

It is true (at least for me) that RMC has taught (read: indoctrinated) of how I perceive things. Two main points can be seen in the prayer. First, one must always have the desire to win or highly successful in anything that one do in life. Second, one must do their best regardless of whatever the outcome might be.


Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.shift.

Assalamualaikum.

Greetings.

Today marks the 17th day I am here, in the land of the Scots. InsyaAllah I will be staying here for 3 to 4 years to complete another level of education qualification at SCQF Level 12 (or RQF Level 8). I anticipate this will be another kind of ball game altogether, different from my undergraduate years. Back then, everything was nicely structured, hence you will just need to follow the necessary requirements and go about tips and tricks from seniors' experience.

But, this time, you are in control of the whole journey. Well ultimately, you are not exactly in control to give the final YES or NO to your final product, but you are in control to decide your direction, to decide your speed, to decide what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve. Hence, making it very confusing along the journey. Your anxiety builds up as you would always have this feeling of uncertainty in everything you do. You keep on searching for something you are unsure of and at the end of the day you will just feel that, "this is all  a waste of time."

Dealing with the above is just one of the struggles.

Honestly, even before I leave my home country, I know that I will miss every bit of Malaysia when I reach here. This time it feels different from how it was 5 years ago. Coming here alone is one thing, but maybe its because I am too accustomed to living in Malaysia; staying with family and waking up everyday to see them; hanging out with friends, like almost every week; being surrounded by those who cares and are really sincere and nice to you (yeah there are some you feel like kicking them in the a**).

"You need to always, always remember why you went there in the first place. Why you took this step. What made you decide on this. And what do you want at the end of the day."

"I want to create. I want to help. I want to achieve."

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.


p/s: imyg

.strangers.

where x=your circle,

You. (x=1)

You met a stranger. You became friends. (x=1+1=2)

You met n strangers over time t. You circle grows. (x=2+n*t)

Your rate of meeting strangers decreased by half as you start to think differently than others. In the same time, m friends became strangers over time t. (x=2+[(n/2)*t]-(m*t))

You made sure now that the current number remain constant and you would introduce a new variable p to increase your circle over time t, hence (x=(p*t)+X), where X is that constant.

Suddenly, something went wrong and (x=(p*t)+(X-1))

Vengeance. 

Aku tak lupa. Serius.

.transition.

Assalamualaikum.

After two years of hiatus, I finally feel like writing a post. It feels a bit awkward after a while but when that feeling of writing comes, it comes.

Alright, let's see what happened so far;

• I've finished my studies in Leeds and obtained a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Alhamdulillah, all praises to God. Thank you to everyone who have contributed, helped, guided and so much more, especially to my family and friends. Congratulations to my fellow #tdpuk5 and all who have graduated. You received the fruits of your success. I'm really proud. My sister also graduated.

Awesome Classmates 

Family

Gonna Miss this place

My sister's Graduation Ceremony

• I was employed in a GLC company in Shah Alam as a Management Trainee. It was my first working experience and it lasted for 11 months (up until end of this month). It was truly an eye-opener on how companies in Malaysia operate, generally, and being in that position has provided me with the opportunity to experience different departments within that short period of time. Having said that, things need to be acquired quickly to ensure tasks are carried out smoothly. Nonetheless, there were free times and joyful moments. Roughly that should be the case for any company.

Training in Gombak

Deepavali Performance

Trainings

Cendol Sesh

Lunch at Hipstur Cafes

• The first among #tdpuk5 got married and Alhamdulillah soon expecting. Surprisingly, she's the youngest among us. But I can see others soon to come, as they are progressing well in their career. insyaAllah.

• Early this year, my RMC batch #OATHS0809 organized the Batch Monument Inauguration Ceremony. More than half of our total strength turned up, coming from all parts of the World. Apart from the main agenda, we also had career sharing session with the present Puteras, as the least we can do to give back to the college. As a part of the steering committee, we had meetings every week and it was relief that everything went well. Thank you everyone for making it a success.

C-coy who came 7/20

Tree planting after the inauguration 

OATHS fall in

Sharing with Present Puteras of C-coy

Now, I'm working towards a career change. I've made this decision and I will carry through. Hoping for the best insyaAllah.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.ourjourney.

Assalamualaikum

Today is the 21st of Ramadan, which is in the final 10 days of this holy month. Towards the end of Ramadan, we must strive towards finding Lailatul-Qadr. I hope everyone are doing their best to get the most out of this holy month.

This year's Ramadan month is in the month of July. Soon, July will end and comes August. Then, August will end and comes September. As September approaches, that means that the new university session will begin. New things will be learnt, with the basis of previous years knowledge. From SPM to Foundation studies to First year to Second year, and lastly to Third year, I've always been looking forward for the new academic year, knowing that things will always be as I expected.

However, moving to Fourth year of studies feels different. Even though there is still about less than 2 months before the new session starts, but I can already feel what I will feel in 2 months time.

Yes, the new academic year will be different. I might no longer be going to a city in the UK which I used to go there once a month. I may need to find other reasons to visit certain places in the UK several times. Trips throughout UK and Europe will no longer be the same. It will no longer be the same.

Honestly, I feel really sad about it, about these things that happened. It feels more sad because I couldn't do anything to avoid from these things from happening in the first place. Or, it is more on "I didn't do anything" rather than "I couldn't do anything". I could have...should have done something.

Honestly, I think I didn't really and totally grasp and understand what I've learnt in my engineering course throughout this three years, although I managed to achieve good marks. On the other hand, they really do understand what they were learning but (I believe) due to the marking system used in their institutes might have caused their marks.

Even though my time has passed three years ago, but I still feel the responsibility. The responsibility of making sure everything will run smoothly throughout these 5 years. I'm truly sorry that could not fulfil my promises and my responsibility. I'm very sorry.

On a personal note, I strongly believe they will be better engineers in the industry. Generally, being an engineer is all about understanding the concepts and applying them for practical uses.

Regardless of whatever happens in the end of our journey, I have and will always have faith in you guys that all of you will be successful in everything you guys do.
Together We Build The Future.


Wailalliqa' maassalamh.

.careerfair.

Assalamualaikum.

Last Sunday, I went to the annual UKEC-Graduan Career Fair, which was held at Lancaster Hotel, London. I departed from Leeds around 6am and arrived there around 10am. I'm not really a fan of the huge major city- London as Central London is relatively crowded and have a lot of people moving around, compared to Leeds. But, sometimes it is rather fun to have a sweet time there and spend some time with friends from other universities.

From my point of view, I think the career fair was a huge success, as it was really crowded the whole day! My friends and I managed to visit some engineering-related companies such as Intel, Shell, Samsung and UEM. Besides that, there were also talks by a minister and top figures in the companies involved in the fair. Since it was a very tiring day, then we treated ourselves with delicious food in Tinseltown, Bayswater.

The following day I attended an interview with Intel Malaysia. It was my first experience to attend a job  (internship) interview and that job interview have changed my perception towards interviews once and for  all (okay, thats kinda over). The interview session lasted for about 40 minutes. Instead of 'typical' interview questions, the interviewer asked technical questions, in particular my first year modules questions (serius tak ingat). He also asked about projects which I have or currently doing, and that have really hit me rock bottom. He questioned this and that, this and that, until I can come out with a proper solution for the faults I made in the project. I was really shocked and surprised with my first ever job interview, but the interview really have opened up my mind to improve my current project and future work as well.


Wailalliqa' maassalamah


P/S: maybe it wasn't the right time.

.recap2013.

Assalamualaikum.

2013. A year of new experiences and new faces. A year of hellos and goodbyes. A year of truth and hurt. 

Generally, for the year of 2013, I've been given the opportunity to know more people and learn more from them. Besides that, for this year, the ties between those whom are important in my life were managed to be tighten and hopefully it will continue to remain like that.
-Family and Relatives
-USJ23 friends
-OATHS0809 and CS0809
-KMKN friends
-tdpuk5
-Malaysian@Leeds

Besides that, for this year as well, I have seen and encountered various events which I didn't expect to happen during previous years. Is this a sign of maturity of the people around me? Am I holding myself back ?


January
13 January - My first experience of snow in Leeds.
16 January - January Test starts
21 January - OATHS0809 5th Anniversary

February
8 February - *First trip to Cardiff. The following day visited Cardiff Bay in the morning and attended FODX in the evening, whose main actresses were Afifa and Amirah R. The next day, attended Muhammad: MUM, a talk by Ustaz Don from Malaysia.
15 February - Visit Sheffield and attended the Sheffield Malaysian Games the following day. Played rugby touch and table tennis doubles. Managed to get runner-up for table tennis.

March
1 March - Visited Glasgow.
2 March - *Day trip to Aberdeen. Had two wonderful tour guides around the city centre. Had the opportunity to taste Nazu's cooking. Tasted like home. 
16 March - Attended DUDE5: BSc in Love Management.
17 March - *Visited Loughborough to meet my cousins. Had the chance to visit Leicester and tried the famous Tinseltown.
23 March - Second visit to Liverpool. Went for the Anfield Stadium tour.
24 March - A visit from my uncle and aunt from Malaysia at Leeds.
27 March - *Trip to Belfast via Jet2 with Acap. Started off with a wonderful stay in Belfast. Played football amongst Batch5mates on a Friday morning.16 out of 21 of us went there for a biking and camping trip at Rostrevor, somewhere near to the border of NI and ROI. Had a campfire and BBQ during the night, while singing our lungs out. Biking around the snowy hills of Rostrevor and eventually got tired. Visited the Giant's Causeway as well.

April
3 April - Collected my bike at Northallerton.
6 April - *Leeds Bradford Games 2013. Became a committee member for FIFA13 game. 
7 April - Celebrated amiminey's birthday with other '92 kids.
9 April - Second trip to Cardiff, with Akmal Z.. Tried a buffet restaurant at Cardiff Bay and joined Syimi for a swim. Afifa and Amirah cooked dinner the following day.
27 April - LUMSOC AGM2013. Elected as one of the committee.


May
11 May - Visited Sheffield and ate Nando's.
16 May - May Exam started.
26 May - Visited Leeds United.

June
1 June - Visited Sheffield.
2 June - Handled a talk by Sheikh Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin.
3 June - *Trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach with Tungk, Mud, Manjohn n Khairy, while others went to Germany, France. Rode some outstanding rides!
7 June - *Amon H visited Leeds. Brought him aroung the City centre, played touch together and watched a Doraemon movie.
9 June - Leeds Food Festival.
10 June - *Flight back to Leeds via Emirates with Khairy, Acap, Diana, Amirah, Akmal. Transit at Dubai for 8 long hours -.-
12 June - Registered for Hajj.
15 June - Returned to hometown in Kemaman.
23 June - Visited my tri-service squad at UPNM with Anam.
27 June - OPA Annual Tahlil at Bangunan OPA.
29 June - OPA Annual Dinner.  
30 June - OPPP Games Carnival at RMC. Had a great time catching up with my batch, OATHS0809.

July
1 July - Flight to Tokyo-Haneda by Airasia with Khairy. Stranded at Tokyo for the night.
2 July - Checked in at our ryokan and started going around Tokyo; Shinjuku, Harajuku. Had two reliable tour guides, Nina and Alief. 
3 July - Went to Disneyland Tokyo
4 July - Went to Akihabara, Daiba. Had dinner at a sushi restaurant in Saitama.
5 July - Took the bullet train to Shizuoka and visited NAI's place. Prayed Jumaat there and straight away went to Gifu, Ben's and Faiz's place. Had a wonderful night there.
6 July - Took the train to Hiroshima and visited the historical spots. Had a great Japanese cuisine there.
7 July - Took the afternoon train to Osaka and overnight there.
8 July - Covered some place in Osaka and took the flight back to Malaysia in the evening.
14 July - Iftar with Aidil, Syrith and Arif Chan at Carl's Jr Subang Jaya.
25 July - Became a facilitator for a 'Langkah Bermula' program at SMK Seri Bintang Utara.
27 July - Back to Kemaman.
28 July - OPA Iftar. met my cousin there, Naim.

August
2 August - OATHS Ramadan TTS at Nilai. Stayed there until 4am!
8 August - Eidul Fitri at Shah Alam. 
12 August - Went to Melaka with Khairy. Ate SK!
14 August - *Raya open house at Ash's. A lot of OATHS came.
16 August - *Raya Open house at my place. Had visits from Batch6, KMB friends, USJ23 friends.
17 August - Participated in the Viper Challenge, along with Que, Wandan, Ija and Fae.
23 August - Went to Syamimi's open house.
24 August - Went to a graduation ceremony in PICC. Stuck in a jam for 2 hours before reaching BMI for Miss Shairah's wedding. Spent about 15 minutes there before stuck again in a jam on the way to USJ to attend a Raya open house there. Luckily managed to reached at the exact and correct timing. After maghrib, went to OPA Raya Open house.
25 August - Nazu's Open house. Dragged Ayol and Bombay.
29 August - Went to Sunway Lagoon with Akmal Zubir and Syimi.
31 August - Attended the Independence Day celebration at Dataran Merdeka with Anam. Parked at the most strategic spot. Then, picked up Que at Sungai Besi and Wandan at Sepang before going to Mimo's wedding.

September 
2 September - Took a flight to Kota Bharu and first time reaching Besut, land of Khairy. Then, straight away to Pulau Perhentian, together with Shang, Syrith, Syimi, Risdo and Khairy. Escape from reality.
5 September - Back in Shah Alam and went to KLIA to send off a person.
11 September - Instagram.
17 September - Flight my batchmate, Jose to Newcastle, UK. 
20 September - Space's flight to Southampton, UK. Last dinner with family at Agehan Japanese Restaurant.
21 September - My flight back to the UK, sent off by my family members as well as my squads, Que and Anam. Debt for not sending me off last year.
25 September - Visited Sheffield.
29 September - Day trip to Glasshoughton, a factory outlet complex near Leeds.

October
5 October - Fresher's Explorace, as the Gamemaker.
6 October - Garage Sale at Kelso Gardens. 
12 October - Visited Sheffield with.
20 October - Eid Adha Celebration at Woodsley Community Centre.
31 October - The birth of my first nephew, Salahuddin Yusuf :)

November
2 November - Went to London for UKEC AGM2013 with Husni. Had Habibi Sushi with Syrith and Fred.
8 November - Visited Sheffield.
9 November - Went to Nottingham for Nottingham Malaysian Games 2013. Celebrated Mud's birthday happeningly.


December
14 December -Trip to Glasgow. Had the long-awaited OKO Express, a Japanese restaurant in Glasgow :)
17 December - Day visit to Edinburgh with Khairy, Muiz, Acap and some batch6.
20 December - *Attended a winter program, RISE at Stowmarket. The program was conducted for 4 days and 3 nights. Made new friends there and learned loads of things.
23 December - Had a dinner at Tinseltown, Queensway and overnight at Highbury.
24 December - *Visited Cambridge. Impressed by the magnificent university.
25 December - *Visited Southampton and stayed there for a few nights, with the hospitality of my RMC batch, Saifullah.
26 December - Boxing day at Portmouth. Only bought a pair of jeans -.-
29 December - Attended a weeding in Bradford and visited Sheffield afterwards.
30 December - Celebrated manjohn's birthday at Centertainment, Sheffield.
31 December - First attempt of making Nasi Lemak. Achievement unlocked for the new year.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.japantrip2013.

Assalamualaikum.

Alhamdulillah, hari ini sudah berjaya menyelesaikan hari pertama berpuasa Ramadan pada 1434H ini. Moga2 amalan ini diterima dan moga2 hari pertama ini menjadi pemangkin bagi hari2 seterusnya. Aminn.

Nak dijadikan cerita, pagi hari semalam aku baru sahaja pulang dari bumi matahari terbit. Sekitar pukul 5 pagi begitu, yang mana juruterbang tersebut awal setengah jam drpd ETA. hebat2.

Di bumi Jepun, aku dan rakan aku, Khairy telah berjaya melawat beberapa tempat, antaranya Tokyo, Shizuoka, Gifu, Hiroshima dan Osaka. Alhamdulillah segalanya berjalan lancar, meskipun ada beberapa perkara yang dirancang tidak berjaya dicapai namun tetap sukses pada pandangan aku. Di samping itu, dari segi kewangan juga menepati target. Alhamdulillah.

Sesungguhnya, dalam bermusafir atau secara mudahnya berjalan-jalan, ia tidak seharusnya sekadar berjalan membuta tuli sahaja. Namun, permusafiran ini sepatutnya (atau sekurang-kurangnya) memberi pengajaran dalam diri kita, meskipun pengajaran itu sedikit. Keadaan ini mengingatkanku kepada sebuah ayat daripada kitab suci al-Qur'an yang sering dikongsi oleh seniorku di Leeds yang mafhumnya:

"Apakah mereka tidak berjalan di muka bumi supaya mereka menjadi orang yang ada hati yang dengannya mereka dapat memahami, atau ada telinga yang dengannya mereka mendengar, sesungguhnya bukanlah mata kepala yang buta, tetapi yang buta itu ialah hati yang ada di dada." [22:46]

Subhanallah. Hebat kalam Allah ini.

Sepanjang permusafiran kami di Jepun, terdapat beberapa perkara yang telah aku pelajari dan mungkin pelajaran ini agak umum tetapi masih bole diaplikasikan. insyaAllah.

1. Aku sangat mengagumi keteraturan yang ditunjukkan di Jepun, sebagai contohnya di stesen tren, orang yg ingin berjalan ke satu arah akan berjalan di satu laluan, manakala yang ingin berjalan ke arah laluan yang bertentangan akan mengikuti laluan berbeza. Pengajaran: kita kena tahu arah yang kita ingin pergi dan jalannya, jika tidak, kita akan sesat dan dilanggar.
2. Di kota-kota besar seperti Tokyo dan Osaka, sistem rel di kota-kota ini sangat mengagumkan. Mengagumkan dalam erti kata, untuk menuju ke satu2 destinasi common, terdapat beberapa cara dan laluan, dan biasanya disediakan oleh pelbagai syarikat tren. Maksudnya, ada banyak train yang boleh digunakan. Pengajaran: meskipun ada 5 train, janganlah kita kejar kesemua. Pilih satu sahaja. Walaupun yang satu itu memerlukan kita utk tunggu sehingga berminit-minit berbanding yang lain tp perjalanan kita dengan tren itu lebih certain berbanding yang 4 yg lain itu. 
3. Aku juga kagum dengan kemesraan (baca: politeness) masyarakat di bumi Jepun ini, khususnya mereka yang bekerja dengan melayan manusia. Mereka tidak lekang dek senyuman dan semangat meskipun mengulangi ayat yang sama berkali-kali. Pengajaran: satu praktis yang baik untuk diikut khususnya mereka yang bekerja di kaunter utk melayan pelanggan.
4. Makanan halal atau makanan yang sesuai untuk dimakan oleh umat Islam agak susah untuk dikesan. Perkara ini bertambah teruk apabila kita sebagai pelancong tak berapa nk reti membaca tulisan dan memahami bahasa mereka. Oleh sebab itu, hanya makanan yang common saja yang dimakan seperti onigiri tuna mayonais di kedai serbaneka menjadi target. Pengajaran: bersyukur dengan kepelbagaian dan kemudahan makanan di tanahair dan menghargai segala usaha umat Islam di bumi Jepun yang gigih menentukan jenis makanan yg boleh dimakan.
5. Langit tak selamanya cerah. Kadang-kadang hujan turun tanpa diduga. Namun, sejurus selepas itu panas terik lantas menjelma. Pengajaran: Life is full of uncertainties. Tak semua yang kita sangka akan terjadi, dan tak semua yang kita tak sangka tak akan berlaku. 

Setakat itu sahaja. Berikut merupakan beberapa gambar sepanjang trip ini.

Alief dan Khairy time jalan di Akiba

Nina, sorang lagi tour guide di Tokyo

Large scale Gundam di Daiba

Disneyleng Tokyo

Visit Sumpu Castle Museum, Shizuoka (Thanks NAI!)

Majlis bacaan Yaasin dan makan2 oleh pelajar Malaysia di Gifu. Langkah kanan ;)

From left: OPBen 0809B, Khairy, me, OPFaiz 0910C dan pekjah

Tour guide Hiroshima, Azri

Lunch di Hiroshima

Gambaran keadaan kota Hiroshima selepas dibom

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.parents.

Assalamualaikum.

Last weekend, most Malaysians celebrated Mother's Day. In social medias, people posted all sorts of wishes and pictures to show their deepest thoughts and appreciations to a person whom they call mother. The person who has sacrificed a lot. A lot.

"الجنّة تحت أقدام الأمّهات"

Always be grateful and thankful that we are still given the feeling of love towards our mothers or parents generally, as some people no longer have this feeling inside themselves. They no longer develop the love and care, thus ignoring their parents in all aspects. Even worse if they feel having their parents around them are like burden to them. We are aware of stories of people who neglect their parents like the story of Tanggang, and we know the tragic endings.

"And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age (while) with you, say not to them (so much as), "uff" and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word."    [17:23]

Do appreciate and pray for them while they are still alive and if they already passed away, then keep on praying for them. They can largely contribute to our 'share' towards gaining access to Jannah. Subhanallah!

If we ever have the urge to go against them without a concrete reason, then remember, "what goes around, comes around". We are going to be parents someday and our children might do the same to us.

Ultimately, it is not easy to become good parents. It is not a one-day training but an ongoing process and it starts even before a person gets married. We need to develop ourselves in all aspects especially in the things we want our children to acquire. Generally, if we want our children to be good, then we need to be good and viceversa. Seriously.

Keep on praying for the best for everything as we are from Allah and to Allah we will return.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.statusquo.

Assalamualaikum.

Currently, I'm listening to my iTunes with a playlist of songs from year 2008 to 2010. Roughly, 3-5 years back. One thing about songs is that they tend to reminiscence past events and occurrences, in which those events happened while those songs are the "in" thing or at least I think. When I listened to these songs, I would then sit back and imagine those days of being a new boy in 2008 and a senior in 2009.  Meanwhile, songs in early 2010 reminds me of those post-SPM days, the long break before I started my foundation studies and the list goes on.

A song by MUH and Black, back in 2009/2010

First time driving experience. Hangout with a group of people which include girls. Going to interviews. I could possibly imagine those days I used to do things people usually do during a long break. I also could recall the fights I had with others. These rough pictures of the past have led me to recall of myself back then. The way I think, how my character and attitude back then, and not forgetting my physical (ouch) as well as my appearance.

"I really have changed from what I was back then to what I am right now."

After a semester in Kuala Nerang, a thought a came across my mind, "One should not remain at the same level, but one should jump or at least crawl to another level. Even a slight change is a change." Since then, I have developed this idea to always improve myself in all aspects; a deep feeling inside me told me to do so. Let it be studying, praying, managing time, managing people, speaking in front of a crowd, or even playing sports, there's always room for improvement, as the saying goes. Even in the Qur'an has stated that:

"...Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves..." [13:11]

However, I wasn't really clear back then on what is the real purpose for me to do so - become perfect or at least good in everything. What I know is that I must achieve these goals!

After a few months in the UK, a senior of my mine told me about some ayat in the Qur'an regarding the purpose of living. Based on the Qur'an, the purpose of living is divided into two; as a slave and as a leader:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me."  [51:56]

"And, when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority."...."   [2:30]

After I read and analysed these two ayat, I finally got my answer for my question. This is the main reason on why I need to change myself - to become a better Muslim, thus a better Mu'min. InsyaAllah.


As a conclusion, I would like to stress that first and foremost, we need to be clear of our objective when doing something and that include the purpose of us living in this Dunya. Secondly, we are encouraged to always improve ourselves in all aspects (putting aside bad deeds) be it for our share in this World as well as in the Hereafter, as there's always room for improvement. Last but not least, let us all always remind our own selves and the people around us to keep on doing good deeds and restrain from bad things. insyAllah.
A reminder to us all and myself, especially.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

"Don't be afraid to change !"

Hoping to finish this project very soon!

.history.

Assalamualaikum

Whenever the word history or 'sejarah' came across my mind, I will always recall the 2 years of learning history back in RMC. My history teacher was Mr. Mahendan. He gave us a lot (yes a LOT) of work to make sure all of us will score at least A for the subject. Currently, he is a Guru Cemerlang for the subject.

Mainly, history is not just facts and figures written on books or journals. It is indeed more than that. Past events are kept really well in order for us to gain something from it. We are expected to learn from them; follow good things and avoid bad deeds. That what makes a person, a person. He or she learns from a mistake and make further improvement to make life better. Clearly, this is why we are given the intelligence to think and analyse.

For the past few months in the UK, I have taken the opportunity to travel to some places other than my base, Leeds. I like to visit historical places and think of how it was back then, back before it became a history. I always have this mental picture how the Leeds Grand Mosque was when it was a church and how the arrangement of the furniture were like or how the Roman Colosseum was like when it was fully operational with spectators sitting inside the building or how was the castles in the UK were like.

I really wish that I can see how it really happened back then. InsyaAllah, maybe some day.


Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.handball.

Assalamualaikum.

Today I went to another handball training session, after missing weeks of sessions. I just couldn't attend those because I was strictly busy with school stuff. But today's session was kinda fun, although not many have attended.

Actually, I just started joining the club in the semester, after having a deep thought of joining at least one thing in this university. Knowing the fact that things like basketball, rugby and other mainstream stuffs are loaded with way way good players, so I decided to give handball a go.

Tracing back the time when I first started playing this sport, it was roughly 5 years ago, which was during Form 4 in RMC. Honestly, that was the very first time I played and I like playing it since then. RMC is a college that has the facilities for various sports, such as fields, courts, boxing ring, shooting range and even a swimming pool (yeah, used to be RMC's). Because of that, the college holds numerous sporting events for the Puteras through out the year and this will contribute towards the best company of the year (or the Commandant Company).

During my time as a new boy (or Form 4), my company (Charlie company) was at the top for sports like handball and hockey. Meaning to say that some of my seniors were state players for this sports, so they are really good. After my squad and I undergone a few months of continuous fitness with seniors especially with SUO Tom, we then played sports including handball which was conducted by SP Panje. For that year, our company won first place.

By the end of 2008, there was a selection conducted for new players. I tried out but didn't get in. Nampak tak permainan dia kat situ. haha

The new boys with SUO Tom and JUO Herman 

'The past will forever remain as a history, but this history is the beginning for a better future.'

Wailalliqa' maassalamah

.nuurhidayah.

Assalamualaikum.

I recall an incident that happened yesterday. In my school building, there is a designated area for Muslims to pray, somewhere at the top floor of the building. I was on my way to that place and as I reached there, I saw a person, ready to perform his solah, but since he saw me, then he waited. From his face, I can see that he is British.

I made a hand gesture indicating that I would like him to lead the solah as he seem a bit older than me. He then insisted me to lead and said, "I'm new. Please lead.". We then performed the solah.

This incident has brought me to think of my religion and it's followers. Those who are Muslims since birth and those who just became Muslims. Some (not all) of those who are Muslims since birth aren't really practicing the religion and sometimes those who just became Muslims are more knowing compared to those who are Muslims since birth.

A friend of mine shared this documentary about British Muslimat:

Firstly, age or duration of embracing Islam is not the main parameter of clarifying someone as a true Muslim.
Secondly, having a family or generations of religious background doesn't necessarily means that the upcoming generations of that particular family will remain as they are.

This reminded me of an ayah in the Holy Qur'an:

"Mankind was (of) one religion (before their deviation); then Allah sent prophets as bringers of good tiding and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves. And Allah guided those who believed to the truth concerning that over which they had differed, by His permission. And Allah guided whom He wills to a straight path." [2:213]

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.destined.

Assalamualaikum.

Currently, I'm in a train back to Leeds. Everything went smoothly as planned; going back to Leeds by 8am and reached my school by 9am for a lab session. Splendid. Personally, I could have choose to skip classes, but I just can't. New semester, new spirit. InsyaAllah.

I spent the weekend in Cardiff. I visited some friends from previous places of study and I also went to some events organized by the Malaysian society there. Overall, it was great for both events that were held.

My weekend in Cardiff has brought me to think of a lot of matters, especially matters related to human beings. These include my point of view on human beings in which humans will not remain at the same status quo. They will eventually change or they will need changes to become a better person in life. I have been thinking of this matter for quite sometime and now I have seen this by myself. Taking an example, I wonder why must my UK program batch was divided and sent to different universities and courses. Indeed, after visited Cardiff Uni (which is the 5th I went to in the partner university list), I can see that my friends seem more matured and different in certain aspects. Little do we notice it, these are the changes which I''ve observed.

Another thing, I recall a matter people used to say in social network sites, "Allah doesn't gives you what you want, but He gives you what you need..". I chose Cardiff Uni when the UniKL officer asked during a special session held in my foundation year and I wad really aiming for that. Instead, I was selected to go to Leeds. However, my trip to cardiff have brought me think that I'm really happy to become a student of Leeds Uni. Alhamdulillah.

Maybe some other time. I will come again. InsyaAllah.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.probability.

Assalamualaikum.

Today, at 10 o'clock in the morning, I had a test on Probability Theory. The test contribute 15% out of the total marks of the module, which is Communications Theory. The topic Probability Theory itself (for me) has a lot to focus on and based on past year test papers, each question has a large amount of marks which leads to specific (or 'tedious' if I would say) workings on the solution. I only studied for the test the night before.

The lecturer made a surprise. The questions were all multiple-choices. Yes. To be exact, 10 MCQs, with each question carries 1.5 marks. I was like, "what's this!". Seriously, it was truly a 'probability' test. Since there is 4 options for each question, therefore the chances of getting a question correct is 0.25 and the chances of getting only 1 question correct out of 10 is 0.1877. This means that the probability of I'm getting all questions correct is approximately 0.0009537. This will then lead to an average of 2.5 questions that is possible to be correct out of the 10 questions. To make things worst, on the answer sheet of the MCQ, the lecturer added another choice of answer for each question, which is 'Something Else'. This really has messed up all the calculations. err.

By the way, it was an open-book test. Jyeah.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.testsandexams.

Assalamualaikum.

As what can I observed from social media sites, I can see that most of my friends in Malaysia are currently struggling for their final examination for the semester. Somehow, I can also feel the intense and extreme condition of what is going on there. Nevertheless, most students in the UK are also going to face exams in the upcoming week as well. Since examination is a huge thing in a student's life, therefore different emotions tend to exist in ourselves making it hard for us to deal with exams, such as preparing for the exams and doing the exams lastly.

Exam is just a part of all of the tests that we as humans have and will face in this dun'ya. The tests in this dun'ya were prepared for us to evaluate whether we are going to succeed or fail. The test of dun'ya can be either involving good things given to us (such as being rich and healthy) or otherwise (such as being poor and sick). Ultimately, that is how life goes. In the Holy Qur'an, Surah al-Hadid [57:20], Allah has explained to us about this matter. The verse goes:

"Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion, and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children - like the example of a rain whose (resulting) plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes (scattered) debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion."

As a conclusion, I would like to wish all of my friends and readers the very best to face your exams and tests, whether it is on paper or it is in front of you.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.recap2012.

Assalamualaikum.

This year 2012 have drawn all the possible ups and downs in my life. The year I and most of my friends became 20. The year which I have experienced and seen various success and failure. Below are some dated events I managed to keep account. Clearly, there are still some other events (which are also important) I didn't managed to type it because the date was unclear.

January
3 January – Joined the MSR S1 ’12 Committee training in Ulu Yam. The training was conducted for about 5 days and it was filled with dozens of memories with my fellow friends.
8 January – The Orientation Week itself. A good exposure for me because I got the chance to be a part of huge event. Plus, the TDP ANZ Batch 3 of BMI students also registered in this very week.
15 January – The ex-603 apartment of BMI session S2 ‘11(except Acap) went to Genting Highlands for a day out.
16 January – Semester 2 in UniKL BMI started. New subjects.

February
4 February – Hangout with my squadmates (Faiz, Que, Note, Irman and Syahmi). Note and Que overnight at BMI.
11 February – Sent Ashraf Shaharuddin (Acap) to KLIA in the morning as he was leaving for Perth whereas in the evening was Daman (leaving for Adelaide). Daman treat us KFC.
18 February – Sent Amiruddin Azhar to KLIA with Man, Mud, Syimi and Muiz. He was leaving for Brisbane. He treated us for some Secret Recipe cake. On the same day, I went to a kenduri aqiqah in USJ with my squadmates; Dyn and Que.

-           

March
10 March – Had a small gathering with SMAKK friends; Afiq and Sxon at KLCC.
21 March – Sent off Ismah and Maizwani for Japan at KLIA.
22 March – Sent off Azri as well.

April
26 April – Engineer’s Day at UniKL BMI. It was an open day as well.
28 April – Participated the ASCI 2012. A Scrabble competition. Besides Arif Chan, there are also TDP ANZ students; Ikram, Luqman and Elisa
29 April – I-Camp  replacement event (called Kursus S-PJ) by Rakan Masjid.

May
7 May – Final Examination for Semester 2 started and lasted for 2 weeks.
18 May – The TDP UK Batch 5 Appreciation Nite.
21 May – Went to Kem Bina Negara Meru for the BTN camp with all TDP Batch 5. The camp was held for 5 days. There was also a group from INTEC.

June
27 June – Went to Ipoh with Mud, Tungkai, Syed Harith and Muiz. Stayed at Mud’s house in Tambun for a night. Get to visit some places in Perak and friends studying in RCMP.
30 June – Attended the OPA Annual Dinner.

July
1 July – Went to the OPPP Weekend at RMC.
14 July – Went to the Wonderful Overseas Weekend (WOW).
25 July – Went to BMI for one of the MSR sessions.

August
6 August – Went to Kota Kinabalu with Man, Mud, Muiz, Syimi and Khairy for holiday.19 August – Eid Fitri. Celebrated at Labis, Johor.
24 August – Went to Johor with OP Note and OP Chep.  Got the chance to visit OP Rafiq’s and OP Note’s.
25 August – The solemnization of OP Chep and his wife. The first-der of our batch OATHS.
26 August – OP Chep’s walimah. A lot of OATHS came to the event.
31 August – Went to Dataran Merdeka to see the Independence Day celebration. Met up with Que and went for sushi.  

September
7 September – Went to MICET. Met OP Irfan.
9 September – Small open house in conjunction with Eid plus a farewell for me.
11 September – Met the RMC teachers with OP Amon.
13 September – Went to the MARA pre-departure briefing.
16 September – Malaysia Day and my flight to Leeds via Amsterdam, KLM flight KL810 and KL1545. One of the days that I’ve been waiting for.
17 September – Reached Leeds and registered as a student of the University of Leeds.
29 September – LUMSoc Fresher’s Explorace.

October

-          6 October – Planned on going to Edale but turned going to Sheffield instead unintentionally.

-          13 October – Went to Liverpool.

-          28 October – Eid Adha celebration organized by LUMSoc. Most Malaysian in Leeds attended the event. Get to know them even better.

-           

November
9 November – LUMSoc organized an event to promote Malaysia to Leeds students. The event was held at the LUU. The event was great because I get to eat Malaysian food. Yeah! Went to Sheffield after that.
10 November – Went to Nottingham for the Nottingham Malaysian Games, claimed to be the largest Malaysian Games in the whole UK. True story. Most of the TDP UK Batch 5 came except those who are studying in the Northern Ireland.

-           

December
4 December – Acap, Hafeez, Amirah and Afiqah made a little surprise by buying a cake and celebrated my birthday at my school. When I reached home, Azhar and Hafiy also bought me a cake. Besides that, I also received some presents and cards from Malaysia. Thanks!
7 December – Last class week for the first sem
8 December – Reached Glasgow for a Power League tournament. Watched Le Pirates won 3^rd place in the tournament. Reunion with half of the TDP UK Batch 5 and stayed in a Youth Hostel for the night. Nice place.
11 December – Went to Italy for 7 days and 6 nights. Landed in Milan, proceed to Venice, then Florence, Pisa and lastly Rome. Learnt a lot of new things journey. Went back to Leeds on the 17^th.
19 December – Went to Hull to join a cruise camp to Amsterdam. Spent the nights in the cruise ship. Amsterdam was great. Made new friends as well.
24 December – Went to London for 4 days. 2 nights at Tune Hotel King’s Cross and another at Brunel University, Uxbridge.
25 December – Experienced Christmas Day in Central London in which the whole metropolitan was dead including the public transportation. Had to walk for an hour to Malaysia Hall.
26 December – The streets and shops were absolutely crowded with people surviving the Boxing Day.

-          Went to Finsbury Park and the Emirates Stadium.

I think that wraps up this year 2012. Looking forward for to become a better person in the upcoming years. Aminn.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.peoplechanges.

Assalamualaikum.

It is a Sunday plus a long winter break, so to open a book or even to flip the notes will be last thing I would do in this period of time. I tried to make some effort but I couldn't fight the laziness. haih.

For few days, I'm having a friend staying in my room. He came all the way from Glasgow - a 4-hour train ride. His name is Khairy. You guys can visit his blog. He's a nice guy.

Despite having the trouble of trying to study in this period of time, something else caught my mind. Lately (in fact, in the past few months), I've been noticing most of my friends and acquaintances are different than the last time I ever met or talked to them. Most of them are different towards something better and very least of them are the otherwise.

It is good to change to a better person, as a saying in Malay goes; jadikan hari ini lebih baik daripada semalam dan hari esok lebih baik daripada hari ini. Honestly, I congratulate and proud of those who are in the phase of changing or those whom are putting effort to change. Allah will always be there with you guys.

I really believe that there is no definite change or in simple term one can not really be 'changed' to become a good person. This is not a matter of digital logic in which we have two discrete value to be of concern; 1 or 0; good or bad. Instead, as human we are bound for tests (or dugaan in Malay) and ourselves we will not always remain at the best of our imaan. It fluctuates. In the Surah al-'Ankabut (29:2), Allah tells us:

"Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried?"

It has been clearly stated in the al-Qur'an that as humans, we are bound for tests. We will really taste the sweetness of imaan after we have successfully managed to overcome those tests. We are not aimless created by God. We are here to become an 'abid as well as a khalifah.  Not an easy task to do is it ?

InsyaAllah.

Ultimately, let's change towards becoming a better Muslim and human as a whole. Aminn.

This is out of topic. I would like to convey my thanks and highest gratitude to those who wished for my birthday, about two weeks ago. Thank you!

Wailalliqa' maassalamah. 

.milanoveneziafirenzepisaroma.

Assalamualaikum.

My winter break has started over a week ago and I have spent a week of this break by going on a tour to Italy. Well, it can't really be considered as a 'tour' but accurately can be called a journey because I think I have learned a lot from these few days. Indeed, by travelling, one can gain a lot of knowledge and experience, and when it comes to going with friends or acquintances, one can know one's self and know one's friends in depth. True story.

On the first day, we went to Milan, the next day to Venice, then Florence. On the fourth day, we went to Pisa and lastly Rome. In short, all I can say is that this country is full of history and worth discovering and studying. We can really learn their ways of developing their country.

Indeed, we are encouraged to travel in order to get to know other people of various races and backgrounds as well as their cultures. As stated.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.

.father.

Assalamualaikum.

Last monday, the father of a friend of mine in Leeds has passed away. The sad part is, he couldn't manage to reach Malaysia on time before his father departed. Hopefully, his father will be among the believers and he will face this challenge smoothly. Amin.

When this such situation happens, I would always remember this one story of a father and a son. At that time, the son was in his last year in school and he will undergo an end-year exams in which this exam will more or less determine what and where he will be doing in the future.

One day, the father and his son were in a car and on the way to a supermarket. Since there were only two of them in the car, so the father took the opportunity to talk to his son. First of all, he talked about his other sons and daughters and their education. Then, he talked about expenses; daily expenses, education expenses etc. The son listened and understood the situation.

Next, the father asked his son, "what if I'm no longer here? What if I pass away tomorrow? What will happen to you, your mom and your other siblings?". These few sentences have made the son silent and made the son ponder and think. He was really affected by those questions. At that time, he even imagined what will it be like if it really does happen tomorrow.

Since then, the son was really determined and do what ever it takes to do his best in the exam. For that, he will be well prepared for what will (and certainly will) happen in the future.

Wailalliqa' maassalamah.