Kembara hidup

Telah jauh aku mengembara
Mencari erti hidup di dunia ini
Yang selama ini sering disalah erti
Oleh mereka yang bertuhankan hati

Ku musafir ke pelusuk dunia
Memerhatikan gelagat manusia
Ada yang gembira hingga terlupa
Ada yang berduka tetapi gembira

Terasa lelah menempuh jalanan beronak duri
Kekadang sesat tanpa haluan
Sehingga punca hilang di mata
Kuturutkan jua hati yang buta

Kupasrahkan padaMu Tuhan
Segala yang akan berlaku
Kerana Engkaulah penentu segala
Menciptakan dunia penuh pancaroba
Tak terdaya rasanya kaki melangkah

Kau pimpinlah langkahku Tuhan
Agar tidakku kesesatan dari jalan SyurgaMu yang diidamkan
Kerana tidakku terdaya menahan seksa neraka
Tidak pula layakku ke syurga

Ku hanya hamba yang diciptakan dengan kelemahan
Sering daku terlupa sering jua daku terleka
Dengan nikmatMu yang melimpah didepan mata

Sebabnya mudah

Kenapa bani Israel dengan mudahnya diperhambakan oleh Firaun dan orang-orangnya?

Mudah sahaja.

Allah menjawab, kerana mereka (bani Israel) adalah orang-orang yang fasik!
Maka atas sebab itu, mereka hilang jati diri, mudah diperkotak-katikkan, mudah mengikut dan menurut sahaja pada kebatilan yang seterang-terangnya batil.

Bilamana seseorang itu banyak berbuat dosa, maka dia akan dengan mudah sahaja menurut pada hawa nafsu, pada kezaliman, pada kejahiliahan.

Fikirkan, seandainya seseorang itu tinggi tahap imannya, adakah dengan mudah dia akan menurut pada hawa nafsunya? Adakah dengan mudah dia akan biarkan dirinya diperkotak-katikkan, dipermain-mainkan, diperlekehkan bagaikan sampah di jalanan?

Pastinya tidak. Seseorang yang rapat dengan Allah akan mempunyai jati diri yang mantap. Bertemakan 'Inilah Aku', dia akan pastikan dirinya masuk kedalam Islam secara menyeluruh; dan bukan setakat dirinya sahaja, tapi juga orang-orang di sekelilingnya.

Seandainya bani Israel di ketika itu suci dan tinggi imannya serta menjauhi dosa, pasti mereka takkan merelakan diri mereka diperhambakan oleh Firaun laknatullah.

Sekarang, lihatlah pada diri sendiri.

Seandainya kamu tewas pada nafsumu, adakah kerana nafsu buasmu itu terlalu payah untuk dikawal, atau adakah kerana kamu sudah terlalu jauh dari Allah dan hatimu hitam diselaputi dosa sehinggakan godaan yang tak seberapa pun mampu menggugat pendirianmu?

Tepuk dada tanya iman.

Allah tidak akan memberi hidayah pada orang fasik.
Allah tidak akan memberi hidayah pada orang zalim.
Allah tidak akan memberi hidayah pada orang kafir.
Allah tidak akan memberi hidayah pada orang musyrik.
Semua ini tercatat dalam satu surah yang sama.

Maka jika kamu harapkan hidayah Allah, peliharalah dirimu dari menjadi golongan-golongan ini.

Sebabnya mudah sahaja.







Ya ayyuhallazi na aamanu limatakuu luu na maalaa taf 'aluun. Kabura maqtan 'indallahi antakuuluu maalaa taf 'aluun.

Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh

From Beca Sisters:

Setiap kali disoal mengenai tokoh idola kita, pasti sahaja nama-nama tokoh barat yg terlintas di benak fikiran. Hakikatnya, Islam itu sendiri telah banyak melahirkan tokoh-tokoh ternama yang memberikan sumbangan yang sangat besar kepada umat manusia. Berikut adalah kisah seorang tokoh Islam yang dikagumi ramai, bukan sahaja di kalangan umat Islam sendiri malah diakui juga oleh pihak barat.



Kisahnya bermula begini……

Sultan Muhammad Al Fateh dilahirkan pada 29 Mac 1432 dan mangkat pada 3 Mei 1481. Detik kelahirannya pun sudah mengisyaratkan bahawa ia bakal menempa sejarah yang besar. Rasulullah S.A.W pernah bersabda maksudnya;



Konstantinopel akan jatuh ke tangan seorang ketua yang baik, tentera yang baik dan rakyat yang baik.”

(Hadis riwayat Imam Ahmad)



Kejayaan yang bakal ditempanya sudah dapat dirasai apabila berita kelahirannya disampaikan kepada ayahandanya-Sultan Murad, tepat ketika baginda sedang membaca Al-Quran pada ayat yang bermaksud;



“Sesungguhnya Kami telah memberikan kepadamu kemenangan yang nyata.” [Al Fath: 1]



Semenjak dari kecil dia sudah diajar dan dididik dengan ilmu agama. Panglima-panglima tentera telah dijemput oleh ayahnya untuk mengajarnya ilmu peperangan. Bentuk badannya tegap, kuat dan tinggi. Pipinya putih kemerah-merahan dan hidungnya mancung. Baginda merupakan cendekiawan ulung dizamannya dan sudah menjadi tradisinya mengumpulkan ulama-ulama untuk berbincang.



Sifatnya tenang, berani, sabar menanggung penderitaan, tegas dalam membuat sesuatu keputusan dan mempunyai kemampuan mengawal diri yang luar biasa. Kemampuannya dalam bidang pentadbiran dan pengurusan sangat menonjol.



Baginda sangat kuat menyimpan rahsia pemerintahannya sekalipun terhadap sahabat-sahabat dan saudara-saudaranya yang terdekat. Sultan Murad begitu menitik beratkan tarbiyah kepada anaknya. Hati anaknya telah ditempa dengan jiwa jihad dan ilmu peperangan semenjak kecil lagi. Dia tidak dimanjakan, walaupun beliau hidup dalam istana. Jiwa mujahid dan ‘abid berpadu sekali. Inilah merupakan ketua yang malamnya bagai rahib merintih pada Allah dan sangat kuat beribadah manakala siangnya bagaikan singa yang kuat berjuang.



Dengan tujuan mendidik, sewaktu berumur 16 tahun pernah Sultan Muhammad Al Fateh diberi kepercayaan oleh ayahandanya untuk memangku jawatannya sebagai pemerintah Turki semasa Sultan Murad pergi ke Pulau Magnesia untuk bersuluk. Beliau mula menduduki takhta pada masa umurnya 19 tahun. Di kala itu baginda sudah begitu arif mengenai tipu helah musuh. Di waktu itu Maharaja Kristian dari Konstantinopel telah mengirim guru-guru terbaik untuk mendidiknya tentang adab dan adat istiadat kehidupan raja-raja, beliau menyuruh guru-guru tersebut pulang sambil berkata “Haram hukumnya seorang Islam ditarbiyah oleh orang kafir.”



Sewaktu pemerintahannya juga, baginda membangunkan sebuah benteng yang dinamakan Rumeli Hisarri yang bermaksud benteng orang-orang Rom. Baginda sendiri membuka baju dan serbannya, mengangkat batu dan pasir hingga dengan itu ulama-ulama dan menteri-menteri terpaksa ikut kerja juga. Melihatkan usaha Sultan Muhammad Al Fateh itu, gementarlah hati Kaisar, Maharaja Rom. Benteng tersebut siap dalam masa tiga bulan.



Dari benteng itu, dikawal dengan rapi kapal-kapal yang melintasi Selat Bosphorus. Dan dari situ juga beliau mempersiapkan kelengkapan untuk membebaskan Konstantinopel; cita-cita utamanya untuk merealisasikan hadis yang telah disabdakan Rasul tercinta 700 tahun sebelumnya.



Setelah persiapan taqwa dan kekuatan lahiriah telah mantap, peperangan dimulakan. Berbulan-bulan lamanya berlaku peperangan, namun belum tampak tanda-tanda kemenangan di pihak tentera Islam. Muhammad Al Fateh pun merujuk guru mursyidnya, Shamsudin Al Wali bilakah masanya benteng Konstantinopel akan jatuh ke tangan tentera Islam. Gurunya melalui firasat memberitahu: pada hari yang ke-53, hari Selasa… pukul 11.00 pagi.



Di sepanjang tempoh menunggu tersebut, kesemua tentera menghabiskan masa dengan perjuangan yang gigih di siang hari serta mempertingkatkan ibadah di malam hari. Pada hari yang diisyaratkan itu, Hassan Ulubate, seorang tentera Al Fateh merebut bintang sebagai syahid dengan melompat ke atas kubu musuh dan memacak bendera di situ. Beliau gugur demi membuka pintu kemenangan kepada sahabat-sahabatnya yang lain.



Akhirnya pada 29 Mei 1453, baginda berjaya menawan Konstantinopel. Beliau telah membuktikan kebenaran hadis Rasulullah. Konstantinopel telah ditukar nama kepada Islambol (Islam keseluruhan) yang mana kini dikenali dengan nama Istanbul. Sejarah mencatatkan bagaimana baginda menunjukkan sikap berlemah lembut dan bertoleransi yang sangat mengagumkan. Rakyat pada ketika itu diberi kebebasan untuk beragama. Semua gereja yang ada dikekalkan untuk Kaum Nasrani beribadah kecuali gereja Aya Sophia telah ditukarkan kepada masjid. Baginda dengan tawadhuknya melumurkan tanah ke mukanya dan terus sujud syukur apabila meraih kejayaan tersebut.



Pada kali pertama solat Jumaat hendak didirikan, timbul pertanyaan siapakah selayaknya menjadi imam. Muhammad Al Fateh memerintahkan kesemua tenteranya termasuk dirinya untuk bangun dan baginda lantas berkata. “Siapa di antara kamu sejak balighnya hingga ke saat ini pernah meninggalkan sembahyang fardhu sila duduk!” Tiada seorang pun yang duduk, melambangkan tidak ada seorang pun di antara mereka yang pernah meninggalkan sembahyang fardhu.



Muhammad Al Fateh berkata lagi,

“Siapa di antara kamu yang sejak baligh hingga kini pernah meninggalkan sembahyang sunat rawatib sila duduk!” sebahagian daripada tenteranya duduk.



Muhammad Al Fateh meneruskan lagi,

“Siapa di antara kamu yang sejak baligh hingga ini pernah meninggalkan sembahyang tahajud, sila duduk!” Kali ini seluruh tenteranya duduk, kecuali seorang.



Dia itu tidak lain tidak bukan ialah Muhammad Al Fateh sendiri. Dialah orang yang tidak pernah meninggalkan solat fardu, solat sunat Rawatib dan solat Tahajud sejak akil baligh. Inilah dia anak didikan Shamsuddin Al Wali dan dialah ketua yang telah diisyaratkan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w.



Semoga kisah hidup Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh ini menjadi inspirasi kepada kita semua untuk menjadi seorang individu muslim yang soleh dan berjaya bukan sahaja di dunia, tapi juga di akhirat.

Uzlahku

Well, it isn't literally 'uzlah'. As uzlah means to be on your own.
I went away with other people; those who didn't believe in Allah. So, let's just assume that I was alone.

Only me, My God, and His creations.. Subhanallah.

I spent the last weekend at Mt Gambier for my Volcanology field trip. And boy, what a blast that was. The volcanoes; they were just amazing! Subhanallah..

Let the picture speaks..


The sky, during the journey to Mt Gambier


Guess what lake this is?


Blue Lake; me and my cabin mates went out for a morning walk


Where we stayed. It was awesome!!


The first set of outcrop that we had to study on the second day. Awwhh..we love you too, rock!


Climbed up to Rotary Lookout, where we saw a lower unit of phreatoStrombolian magmatic rocks and an upper unit of Phreatomagmatic Sutseyan rocks. (Can't believe that I still remember what they are..ahaks!)


And from up there, we looked down upon Valley Lake and Brown Lake (which apparently is no longer a lake!). Sorry, Yan was in the way when I took this picture.

Then came the interesting part. We climbed UP and INTO Mt Schank! Cool!


So here's Mt Schank crater. This time Daniel was in the way. Anyway, note that grey area at the middle of the Volcano. You'll see it up close in a while!


Here we are, at the very top of Mt Schank crater rim.


And down we go into the volcano crater!


And here we are at the very bottom and center of the volcano. Remember the grey area that I mentioned earlier on? Here it is! It says, THE END. Yeay!

This grey area is the conduit of the volcano. The conduit of a volcano is, for those who don't know, where the magma rises and flow/erupt out of a volcano.

Then we had to climb out again. Walked around the rim, went down through a kangaroo track, and found another volc! This time, a maar.


Us, walking around the rim of the crater.


Still going around the rim. (Aah..the 'traveller guy', Richard! ;) )


And finally, the maar. This time, Dan is in the way. (Why am I always taking picture form the back of people's head??? -may be an explanation to my shortness..haha)

The best part about walking down mountains is that the vegetation changes along the way. So, here's one part of it:


And another:


On the third day, we went to see some lava blisters, aka Termouli (I think that's how you spell it!)



My girlfriends, in case you are wondering if there are any other girls or not on this fieldtrip! There's Shanon (holding the hammer, facing the front), Tamar (holding the hammer, facing the camera), Andrea (in blue-her 5th layer! ;) ) and our lovely volconologist, Heather (in orange).

Someone was saying that geologists are the most destructive lot of people ever. Because where ever we go, we got our hammer out and start bashing the rocks!! huhu..

Next, we went to look at lava caves. These were originally lava flows that form tubes. But the inner lava flowed all the way out, leaving the inner side empty, and as the upper layer collapses, it formed a cave.


Disappointing for us, we couldn't go into the cave. Understanding this disappointment, Ray, our course coordinator said, 'Do you want to go into the caves?'. "YES!!" shouted the whole group. "Well, follow me then", said Ray. "Hooray!!" chanted the excited geologist-to-be! haha..
So Ray brought us to another lava cave where we could actually climb into it.
And here we are, climbing into it



And still climbing down


And finally, inside the cave

of course, it's dark..what did you expect to see?? =P

Right after someone shouted, "Hey, turn the lights on!", Yan stepped and fell into a hole. And the guy went, "I told you to put the lights on!~". Hahaha..


A view from inside the cave. Subhanallah..

And as usual, once we climb into somthing, we've got to climb out again. So out we went. And here's how dirty my hand got:



"Euuww..disgusting!", said Pat, one of the demonstrator when he saw my hands. "Hey, I'm a geologist, ok!", I said. "Let's have a look at your hands". So, Pat showed me his clean hands -obviously he didn't went into the cave!! "So you are not a geologist. Coz geologist don't have clean hands!", I continued. Hahaha..laughed Pat.

Then we continued out journey:

A view of Mt Napier, another volcano.


Our final stop: Tower Hill Volcanic Center.
The depression you see is part of the maar, with some scoria and spatter cone complex forming the small hills in the middle.

Wanna see the walls of this maar?
Here:

Cool aite! We did a ~17m strat. log on this unit in such a chilly weather. Consisting of phreatomagmatic and magmatic lava that alternated due to the alternating amount of water that interacted with the magma.



But despite the weather; this guy could still go to a deep sleep!


And finally, we headed back of to Melbourne and reached uni at 9pm.

Rabbana ma kholaqta haza bathila..Subhanaka fakina 'azabannar.

My uzlah session was not during doing all the field work, obviously. Though I had my own secret time of whispering praises to Allah. The uzlah part was mostly during the journey. From Melbourne to Mt Gambier, and from Mt Gambier to Melbourne. As it was a long journey. So I had plenty of time to think about stuffs.

At the same time, listening to marvelous nasyid from an ipod i borrowed from a friend. Which helped me a lot in thinking about life. About God. About nature. And to marvel and admire the nature,the scenery. To watch the clouds go pass. To star-gaze the stars. To stare meaningfully at the moon, where we both conveyed messages to each other, agreeing that Allah is our God, our Creator. To watch the birds fly in their groups. Having in my mind that Allah is holding them up in the sky. To watch the cows in the meadows, lazing around and grazing the grass; reminding me of how we could be even more dishonorable than them, if we chose the wrong way to lead our life.

To regret all previous sins. To regret all current sins. And continuously seeking forgiveness from Him. Pleading Him, may he grant me his Heavens, and keep me away from His hellfire. To take the opportunity to ask for all that I wanted; as the doa of a traveler is always granted. To renew my intention in being on this road. To search for my Creator and to go closer to Him. The feeling.. His presence.. It was...

Speechless..
Let it remain my secret and Him.

3 hari, daku mencari cinta. Dan alhamdulillah, He granted it to me. And now i'm back in Melbourne, with a new spirit! May it last. Ameen.



Mt Gambier 2009, in memory.

A day amongst all other day

Warning: There's gonna be a lot of rambling in this post. Sorry for that!

Last year, I spent the whole day of Hari Raya out in the field in Buchan looking for fossils. Though I have no idea what I was doing in my trousers and amal wafa' t-shirt with my geology all-weather note book in my hand and a compass around my neck on the day when every other muslims were in one of their best clothes to celebrate one of the 2 day of victory and celebration that Allah has granted us, there I was. Amazingly, I managed to discover a few large and interesting fossils, that really amused my paleontology teacher. And despite the fact that I am not interested in fossils, it wasn't a bad day after all. Yet, I hope I wouldn't have to spend another Eid doing something as such.

This year, I had an 8am lecture on fossils that went on for two hours, followed by another 3 hour of lab, looking at fossils under the microscope, on my birthday!! Wow.. what a way to spend your birthday!

It occurred to me, why am I always stuck in fossil-work on important dates?? huhu..


Anyway, I believe this is the first time I had 2 birthday celebrations! a pre-birthday, and on the day itself. Jazakumullahu khair sahabat..=) (Will there be a belated one? =P)

Someone said somthing today, that was during the second celebration:
'Ni last year awak kat sini yer? Ala, sedihnya. Extend la lagi..extend la lagi..'

And suddenly, i felt sad. Sebak. It's true. This is my final year here. And then I will have to go back to Malaysia to serve my country.
But I don't want to go back just yet. 3 years is not long enough. Or maybe, 3 years have been too long, such that my heart has fallen in love with this place. I'm not prepared yet to go back for good. To leave all my beloved friends behind. To leave this place which has taught me a lot about life. The place in which Allah granted me the best companions ever. The place where I learned more about Allah, to know Him, and to love Him. The place where I found myself, and learned to become a better person.

This place.. Clayton. Melbourne. Which I had grew to love with all my heart..is about to become a memory once I finish my degree at the end of the year, iA.


But nevertheless, I still have another 9 month to go.So let's just put the emotion aside for a while, and make full use of what's left for me.

If last year I put up a long 'perutusan' for my birthday, this year, let's make it simple. Yang pasti, as I grow older, my life is getting shorter. Because the more time goes by, the less time is left for me in this world before i meet death. Somehow, I wish that I can be a better slave of Allah, and a better daie too. I have to be more mature, to grow up; whilst at the same time, not forgetting my sense of humor. Overall, what I feel this year is the same as what was posted on the 1st of April last year, except that, this year I feel the urgency to put more actions into it so that what I hope for really becomes reality. I'm currently training myself to be more disciplined, mostly because of the fact that I'm coming home for good by the end of the year. And I really hope that I will never 'futur' from this way of life that I have chosen. Ameen..ameen..


Ok, now I would like to post the chosen bday wish for the year: by a very special ukhti (let the person remain my own special secret):

Bismillah, Dear Allah,
The lady reading this is beautiful, classy and strong, and I love her. Help her live her life to the fullest. Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations. Help her shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs You the most and let her know when she walks with You, she will always be safe.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Ameen..ameen..Ya rabbal a'lamin.. May Allah fulfill this wish for me, and to her, and to everyone else who had wish me a happy birthday. Thank you all for the warming wishes, I really do appreciate it! Alhamdulillah, Allah has bestowed upon me the best friends that I could ever have on this earth, and I am really really thankful for that. Alhamdulillah.

A special credit to both my ibu n ayah (ei, no. Not credit. Let's make it a high distinction!!! yeay!) for loving me, caring for me, growing me up and educating me for the past 21 years. May Allah loves you two more than the two of you love me, and may He keep ibu and ayah away from hellfire, and rewards you with Jannah, because in the past 21 years, you have taught me about the purpose of life, to know Him and to love Him, and because you have provided me with the best love I could ever ask for. These are the most valuable thing ever. No one can ever replace you two. Love you ibu and ayah. =)

-end-