Author: diam13

It is an Malay word for “Sel-reflection”. In Islam, we are taught to take time to review our life every now and then. Best if it is done on daily basis. At the end of the day, sit down after your solat and starts reviewing your day, your week or even your entire lifetime. What have you done and if the things you do is right by Allah or have you wronged yourself by doing stuff that is against what Allah has permitted. If you think you have been ‘naughty’ then go back to Allah. Ask for forgiveness. The fact that you think you have done wrong shows that you have regrets. Regrets and remorse are good quality for ‘abdi’ like us. ‘Abdi’ is slave of Allah. Allah is the Lord and we are his abdi. We turn to The Almighty and repent. No need to tell the whole world, just tell Him..The All Knowing and All Forgiving.

Heavy rain is my favorite loud noise of all time! Yes. I love the rain…and everything that comes with it except for the flood (of course). The smell of the air just before the downpour and the smell of the air after the rain stops. The sweet sensation of the water as it hits you. It is a little painful but it is a nice kind of pain. I remember the days when I used to play in the rain (main hujan.. lol!) with my late father. He is the only adult I know at the time who is into this kind of thing. ‘Adulting’ should not be all hard work. What a cool dad! Don’t you think? Unlike other adults who give you the dirty look when you as much as look at the rain. I think that is why I like the rain so much. It reminds me of an adult who just know when to be all strong and responsible and when to chill and let loose a little. Just like the rain, it can be heavy downpour or just a drizzle here and there. I wanted to be just like my father when I grow up …I used to think. Now that I am one…I know it is hard to be as cool or as good as him. I should let loose a little I always remind myself but old habit die hard…this overthinking demons in me.

The rain outside has subsided. Thank you God for reminding me about life through the rain. Heavy rain for too long can be dangerous. Be strong but take it easy at times or else storms and flood will follow suit and the world will turn ugly.

Is it worth writing about? That is a tough question. What is worth doing in this world? Reading, writing and working on things that is worth it is important to most people. Before I decide to write, I need to be clear on a few things. For one,  who is going to determine what you do, write, said is worth it? Next I need to be clear – Worth based on whose scale?

In Islam, we were taught to do things and say things that is worth the blessings of The Lord of the Sky and the Earth..Allah. So, the answer is write what makes Allah please with you. Write things that will do good for this religion. Write what needs to be said to help this religion. Write things that can ease people’s heart. Write about love and life in this world. Write about things that can soften the heart towards Allah.

Malaysia has a perpetual extended weekend! Don’t believe me? Well, most states in the country have Saturday and Sunday off but 4 of the states (Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu & Johor) have Friday and Saturday off. That makes for an extended weekend to almost all of us. Well, especially to those who live in a neighboring states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Johor.

Here’s how I see it, when Thursday evening rolls in, the folks from these 4 states would go out and start enjoying their weekends by eating out or going for a holiday in a neighboring states that have Saturday and Sunday off. These folks flock the streets, sit around at eateries and checked in to the hotels. That’s what I always do when I was in Kedah. Thursday night we would pack and go to Penang to eat and sometimes stay over because it is already weekends for us. Come Sunday morning when it is a holiday for folks in Penang, they would come over to Kedah and pay their bills because the government offices are open on Sundays! It’s a nice trade offs actually because we have the flexibility to run errands on Sundays. If you are doing business, Friday, Saturday and Sundays should be peak time for both shops in Penang as well as Kedah.