Half and half | Renewed vision

Bismillah.

Hi people. They say we should try to make four good habits each year and if we do that every year we'll achieve quite a lot over the years. What new habits are you trying to pick up? I am trying to say hi to people instead of hello. Hi sounds like the Arabic hayy meaning alive. Hello sounds negative as in hell and low. Oh, I wanna wish you something a whole lot better than that and wholeheartedly, not half-hearted. If you love someone, always love wholeheartedly. Never give only half of you. 

But sometimes in life, we'll have to make do with only half. 

"Half and half" - for those who are familiar, those who have been to the States, you will know that "half and half" refers to a popular dairy product that accompanies coffee. It is made of 1 part cream and 1 part milk. In other countries "half and half" may be equal parts of any two substances, usually alcoholic.

Today is my third day after having undergone LASIK (laser eye surgery) and I am still reflecting on this important milestone. To recap, for blended vision (people who can't see far and near clearly) one of the eyes will be corrected for shortsighted, that is to make you see far. The other eye will be corrected so that you can see near i.e. read.

Both eyes need to make some compromises and agree to give and take. If both eyes are stubborn and refuse to change/adjust/be corrected then none will benefit. So my right eye has to play its new role of seeing far only while the left eye has a compromised role of seeing near only. But together they function in harmony to see both far and near. Though obvious, my doctor reminded me not to ever see with one eye. It will take some time to get used to this new way of looking at things but before long I will see things with a renewed vision InshaAllah.

        

I think the same applies to relationships or life in general. There must be a compromised position. Everyone must know their strengths and weaknesses; agree to play a role in their area of strength and work in tandem, harmoniously. It's a teamwork and we are such a big team, aren't we? 

It may sound philosophical. Sound like a theorized cliche even. But I guess when you are impacted physically, you would understand better. You will just have to work it out or let things work out as it should be. That is if you can't do it yourself, you must be willing to let someone do it for you.

I love this tweet by my girlfriend:

"Life is already complicated without arguing if the glass is half full or half empty. Just drink it. Celebrate life. Get refills if you can."

  

My beautiful LASIK (eye surgery) carried out by Prof. Dr. Muhaya Mohamad

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. About four hours ago I had the privilege of undergoing a laser eye surgery called LASIK (which stands for Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis) or in layman's term, it basically means having the shape of your cornea reshaped/corrected using a laser so you won't have to wear specs and/or contact lenses.

I have only two intentions for writing this: to express gratitude and wonderment for Allah's blessings and to encourage people to correct their vision by way of LASIK.

A little bit of history

I was 11 when I got attracted to spectacles. I thought I looked intelligent having a pair of glasses on my face so I would borrow my classmate's glasses. Her name is Miss Hong Yi Wei.

At that time only two pupils in our class were wearing glasses. And I reckoned only about ten students in the entire school were shortsighted/nearsighted. As you might have guessed this habit of mine eventually affected my vision. I remembered the following year my late father and I (smiling) went to an optician somewhere on Rope Walk in Penang. And yes, I looked clever with my glasses, so said some people :) heh heh.

Since that first pair of glasses, I have had probably four or five pairs of spectacles before I began wearing a contact lens. As many of you may be aware, glasses can be quite expensive. It can go from RM500 to RM3,000. It's very tempting to spend "a little bit more" on glasses as I did for my latest two pairs. They are both good Japanese brands i.e. Masunaga and 9999 (pronounce "four nines"). Unfortunately just two weeks after getting them, I realized I had difficulties reading. I had become longsighted/farsighted all of a sudden. That's normal for someone my age. But don't you think it's weird? Theoretically, if people are both shortsighted and longsighted then they should be able to see the whole big picture both at macro and micro levels. That's a good thing and is expected when you reach a certain age/maturity.

But nay. That means I have to take off my glasses to read until I get another pair of reading glasses or make a new pair that is dual-focused. Or get a special contact lens made. I cannot simply swing by the optician and grab the disposable contacts. Wearing sunglasses on a hot day is not an option anymore. What's worse I could not perform my work at an optimal level. 

LASIK is the way to go

And then signs were everywhere that LASIK was the way to go. I interviewed a colleague who had done it and she said she regretted procrastinating it because of some unfounded fears. She's absolutely right, there's nothing to fear. It's a simple, safe and quick procedure that lasted between 10 to 15 minutes only. It can be a very beautiful experience if carried out by someone as special as Prof. Dr. Muhaya who is a well known and much-adored eye specialist, author and motivator in Malaysia.

So last Friday from 10 am to 3 pm I was at the Prince Court Medical Center for a thorough check-up before I was given the OK to proceed with surgery. One will have to go through quite a few types of equipment to test for corneal thickness, air pressure, pupil dilation, etc. 

At the end of the tests, you'll meet Prof. Muhaya who will give you the verdict - go or no go. It was very brief but meeting this special woman got me very excited. So the next day, I headed for the bookstore to get her a book and get one of her books - her biography. My mother spent the entire weekend reading it as it's simply inspiring!

"Premium Bladeless LASIK
Optimizing Your Sight"
That sporty looking shades
is a cool post-surgery gift from
the Prince Court Eye & LASIK Centre

At the outset of the surgery, her staff who were all very calm and polite, made me feel relaxed.

The surgery room looked sophisticated and the atmosphere was jovial with nashid music playing in the background.

One of the nurses reminded me not to ever mention two words which Prof would disapprove i.e. "fear" and "worry". But trust me, you won't have time to feel any negative energies because when she appears, she exudes plenty of peaceful and loving aura.

Even before I could greet her, she quickly said: "you must be excited and eager". I realized that those words and "shukur to Allah" are her most oft-repeated phrases when communicating with her patients.

She began the surgery by reciting Al-Fatihah and making niyyat that with my right eye I will see the Kaabah (a cure for shortsighted) and the left eye is for reading the Quran until the end of my life (a cure for longsighted). That's what's meant by blended vision. One eye is corrected to see far and the other eye is to see near. So both eyes together will rectify my condition of being shortsighted and longsighted. 

The procedure went on very swiftly and pain-free. It was very professional yet quite casual as you could hear her chat with her staff and she would make small talk with you. She asked me what's the secret to my youthful look, to which I have no answer. She said people often ask her the same question and she would say "don't backbite."

Before I knew it, the procedure was over and she immediately asked me to look at my mother who had been watching the entire episode through a glass door. And then she asked me to look at the clock and checked my eyesight. MashaAllah I could tell the time and passed the reading test perfectly. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah!

At the end of the beautiful session, we took a photo together and she autographed her book.

May Allah continue to manifest His healing attribute through the gentle hands of Prof. Dr. Muhaya Mohamad.

Ameen.

p/s For blended vision the surgery costs RM7990 + RM10 for registration. But in the long run, it's worth a Quintillion times. What's priceless is the meaningful du'a Prof. Muhaya makes for you while she performs the operations. She is simply a heaven-sent.

Good to read: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/lasik-laser-eye-surgery

Insha Allah | Under His watchful eyes

Bismillah.

Some things are absolutely worth re-reading, re-visiting or listening repeatedly, like this song by Maher Zain.

Let it be here especially for my own consumption. It came as a timely reminder from one of our respectable readers. It will be my theme song as I prepare myself for a minor surgery Insha Allah. Minor but major in many aspects.

May Allah erase the sins the eyes have committed knowingly or otherwise. May we only see all that is permissible. May we see His beauties in attributes and actions. May He open the eyes of our hearts so we see His most noble Countenance. May we taste the sweetness of recognizing and witnessing His Face. May the eyes cry out of contemplation on Him. May it be moistened with tears of remorse at times of transgression. May it be watery with tears of happiness for His blessings. May it be in these states of zikir continually Insha Allah.

Let these be our niyyat and may Allah count our niyyat as acceptable for we know how easily marred our actions can turn out to be.

  

In Allah we place our trust. Insha Allah.

We can learn to love again

Bismillah.

"Right from the start
You were a thief
You stole my heart
And I your willing victim..."

That I borrow from Pink & Nate Ruess' song - 'Just give me a reason.' That is exactly what Yasmin Mogahed says we should not do! Heh..heh.. That is let anyone steal our heart.

Put three things together, this weekend: Yasmin's book 'Reclaim Your Heart'; Hamza Yusuf's 'Purification of the Heart' and that song - a veil is lifted. And yes, we can learn to love again and love the right way, as expounded by Yasmin.

Although it is one fundamental point we have been hearing repeatedly from shuyukh from east to west, still we fail and fall sometimes by letting dunya and our false attachments to it occupy the heart, instead of the rightful owner of the heart - the One Lord.

But it's OK. Remember, if you have loved the wrong way, you can learn to love again :)
And if we only need just one reason, it is for Him, by Him and because of Him.

"This means you will love what He loves and not what He does not love. And when you do love, you will give to the creation - not for what you can get in return from them. You will love and you will give, but you will be sufficed from Him. And the one who is sufficed by God, is the richest and most generous of all lovers. Your love will be by Him, for Him and because of Him. That is the liberation of the self from servitude to any created thing. And that is freedom. That is happiness. That is love."

- Yasmin Mogahed

Have a pleasant weekend people.

Ahh... the song:

"Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second, we are not broken, just bent
And we can learn to love again"

Sumber cinta dan perdamaian

Bismillah.

Sekali-sekala sanubari nan paling dalam ingin juga bersuara dengan bahasa jiwanya. 

Pada hari penghulu segala hari ini, selayaknya diri bersyukur dengan nikmat daripadaNya yang tiada putus-putus Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. Allah beri nikmat "rumahku bagai shurgaku" dengan kesederhanaan yang ada. Allah beri bayu dingin malam nan damai.

Alunan tiga suara mendayu-dayu, berdendang 'Beribu Sesalan' -  "Sia-sia ku mencintai mu, setia padamu, percaya kamu, sebak dadaku, retak hatiku, luka jiwaku di hiris pilu..."

Itu kata-kata hati yang dikhianati. 

Tidak lama dulu kita mendengar pesanan seorang mu'alem yang disegani - Habib Umar bin Hafiz. Katanya: "Jadilah sumber perdamaian dan keselamatan terhadap orang di sekeliling kita. Biar orang merasa selamat daripada lidah kita, tangan kita dan mata kita. Dan jangan khianati orang dengan mata kita, pendengaran kita ataupun lidah kita."

Hari ini saya berkesempatan bertemu seorang tokoh wanita yang ramai di antara kita kagumi dan hormati - Prof. Dr. Muhaya Mohamad. Walaupun sekejap, jelas sekali beliau adalah sumber cinta dan perdamaian. Aura dan tutur katanya sarat kasih-sayang nan tulus. Terngiang-ngiang di telinga, biarpun pendek dan lazim perkataan yang keluar dari bibir manisnya: "Syukur pada Allah." 

Ya, shukur kepada Allah atas segala-galanya - yang baik mahupun yang kurang elok pada firasat kita.

Pepatah mengatakan: "Jangan biarkan pujian mencemari minda. Jangan biarkan cacian mencemari hati." Pun begitu saya gembira mendengar pujian ikhlas Prof. Muhaya. Kata orang, tidak mengapa jika manusia di jalanan mencaci kita kerana itu tiada nilainya. Kata-kata yang baik daripada manusia berbudi, itulah yang kita sanjung tinggi dan hargai.

Segala yang baik datang daripada Allah. Kita bershukur dengan yang sedikit, mudah-mudahan bertambah lagi. Saya terfikir, arwah bapa saya hanyalah orang biasa, bukan orang ternama, tetapi shukur kerana yang diwarisi ialah sifat bersangka baik biarpun terhadap orang yang berniat mengkhianati.

Semoga Allah terus merahmati manusia yang menjadi sumber cinta dan perdamaian kepada orang lain. Muhaya memang sebuah nama yang istimewa. Dengan tajalli sifat Al-Muhyi maka hiduplah mata-mata zahir yang kelam dan celiklah mata hati yang hitam.

Allahu a'lam.

p/s

Pulau Pandan jauh ke tengah
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga
Walau dusta membawa mehnah
Budi yang baik dikenang juga

[mehnah = berasal daripada perkataan Arab yang bermaksud ujian berat/bala]

Wan Yahya bin Wan Mohd Taib (1870 - 1935) - His hajj story

Bismillah.

I am yet to properly read the "One Thousand Roads to Mecca" - edited and introduced by Michael Wolfe. I would love to read Shafiq Morton's "Notebook from Makkah and Madinah". I am yet to watch the documentary of Martin Ling's pilgrimage. I dream of writing about my own hajj experience someday InshaAllah but no way would it be as interesting as this hajj stories of Haji Wan Yahya bin Wan Mohd Taib (1870 - 1935).

I learned about his fascinating hajj experience from a write-up given out during the recent "Penang and the Hajj" conference. It's written by Mohd Isa Othman of USM and Mohd Kasri Saidon of UUM. For the benefit of our foreign readers/visitors, USM and UUM are two top universities in the northern part of Peninsula Malaysia.

Haji Wan Yahya was working with the Kedah state government when he performed the hajj in 1914. Kedah is a state in the northwest of Peninsular Malaysia, neighboring Penang to its southwest. Haji Wan Yahya was not just an ordinary staff, he was considered among the state's elite officers because of his credentials having served as a Police Inspector, a District Officer, Chief Magistrate, and the Judge of Kedah's Court of Appeal, among others. He is remembered for being the first to initiate the construction of a 7km waterways for padi irrigation, known to this day as "Sungai Korok Wan Yahya", and a road connecting Jitra and Kodiang in Kedah circa 1902. His father was remembered as a Kedah hero who fought and died defending the state against Siam [now Thailand] in 1838.

Haji Wan Yahya wrote about his hajj stories in the Malay language but opted for an Arabic title - Tarikh al-Siyahah Ila Makatul Mukaramah (Notes on Travels to Makkah). As a government officer, Haji Wan Yahya had to apply for hajj leave. The Crown Prince who was heading the State Council granted him a leave of 8 months and also advanced his salaries for six months, on top of a loan of 500 riyal. Haji Wan Yahya also enjoyed other state's privileges. He boarded Darulaman (a Kedah state's sea vessel) from Alor Setar to Penang where he was to officially depart for hajj. In Penang, he, his wife and their adopted child stayed for 12 days at the Kedah State's House in Kelawei, while waiting for Nova - the ship that would take them to Port Said in Egypt before continuing on their journey to Cairo via train and back to Port Said on a Russian vessel and afterward, a train ride to Syria, Jerusalem and lastly Madinah. A stark contrast to their first-class cabin on Nova, the last leg of their journey from Madinah to Makkah was on a camel for 11 nights. An experience which was way too uncomfortable compared to the elephant-rides he was accustomed to in Kedah.

Nova according to Haji Wan Taib’s narration was a 6000 ton vessel belonging to the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. His first class return ticket, purchased through the P & O Company cost him around $340 [not sure if it was riyal or pound]. The ship left Penang Port at 7 a.m. on 19 November 1914. After three days, they stopped by Colombo before making another stopover in Aden. Unlike the many stories about hajj voyage heard from my mother, Haji Wan's experience was unique in that it sounded more like a cruise ship where passengers were expected to wear evening dress for dinner. Adults and children would eat separately. Passengers would be fined 500 pounds if they had brought matches with them. By comparison, most other pilgrims on board other ships had to bring their own stove, gasoline, pots and pans as they had to cook their own meals.

One lady who attended the Penang and the Hajj conference, related her experience being a 9 year old pilgrim. She, her siblings and parents, all ten of them chartered an entire train coach from Perak to Penang before traveling on one of the popular hajj ships - Serombong Biru (the Blue Funnel). They brought 10 gunny sacks of rice, and food supplies such as anchovies, pickled chilly, soy sauce and dried fish. Their hajj arrangements were handled by a Shaykh Haji named Shaykh Arshad who lived in Kelawei, Penang. Upon arrival in Mekah another Shaykh Haji by the name of Shaykh Abdul Manan took care of them. As a 9 year old girl, she remembered seeing thousands of people at the Penang Port. She remembered vividly when the Blue Funnel made a stop in Aden, the locals would swim around their ship begging for money and passengers would throw coins into the sea for the beggars to catch. And of course she remembered suffering from sea sick. I think that is why my great grandmother would prepare loads of tamarinds as snacks for the would-be hujjaj in our village.
    
To be continued Insha Allah.      

Takeaways from Penang

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. Thought I share some takeaways from my trip to Penang. I will repeat for the umpteenth time, I am very proud of my hometown Penang which is on the UNESCO World's Heritage List of Cities.

But it's not about food takeaways or to-go although it is worth mentioning the most popular food from Penang is none other than nasi kandar (white rice loaded with mixed curries chicken & beef & fish. Yes, and, not or). I was at the 'Penang and the Hajj Conference' and one of the presenters talked about the role of traders and merchants including nasi kandar sellers, in charting the early Penang economies, which were mostly driven by the Tamil Muslim communities. The second most famous dish recorded in the annals related to Penang as a key hajj hub/port for pilgrims in this region during the 19th century until 1974, was mee mamak. LOL! It is fried noodles but not just any fried noodles, it refers to those prepared by mamak or Tamil Muslims. In those days they were known as the Chulias. The third most popular dish attributed to the mamak was popiah (spring roll). This surprised me a bit although I shouldn't be. I remembered one of my schoolmate's father was a popular popiah vendor in the 70s. They are Chulias or keling but unfortunately the latter term has become somewhat derogatory lately. Hoping to share more about this conference next time InshaAllah.  

Anyway, one important takeaway or lesson I got from Penang was a result of visiting two maqam (mausoleum) of prominent Sufis (tariqa guru). The great thing about genuine Sufi gurus is that they often impart simple but meaningful lesson, even after their demise. 

So I learned about being forgiving and hereby forgive all who have wronged me whether directly or indirectly. There have been all kinds of people who got in touch through this space and some have done the unthinkable and "unforgivable" just to get closer. People's behaviors are often unfathomable.

And yes, magnanimous has always been a big word to me. But it's true, we should be too magnanimous to resent all the things people have said and done to us. It's always easier said than done. But personally, it felt easier after spending some time at the mausoleums to reflect and regroup.

Whatever it is, Allah is Malikul Mulk. He is the orchestrating Lord of Power. We are all going back to Him so let Him be the Judge. Here is a photo taken at the entrance of Shaykh Omar Basheer's maqam today and it says just that! 

Allahu a'lam.

__________________________

p/s 

Dr. N - I did pray for you at the maqam as requested and also for everyone who has been good to me in one way or another.

Sis N and Sidi A of Cape Town - your du'a and words of encouragement are much appreciated.

Dr. P - You are simply angelical!