Life purpose | Making a difference

Bismillah.

What makes you tick? What makes you forget about the world around you? The very thing that makes you forget the world around you, hence focus on the thing that makes you tick, has got to be your life purpose.

That's my summary of an article by Lifehack on Seven Powerful Questions To Help You Find Your Life Purpose. It got me thinking and writing again. Although it's more rambling than writing. 

At the back of my mind, I know I should be writing about an imam of a mosque in Vietnam. He is a convert. He reverted to Islam at the age of 17. Thanks to his father who first embraced Islam and made a good impression on him. The imam told me, as a matter of fact, that his father first heard about Islam while being detained in Malaysia. He (the father) was literally intoxicated at that time yet he was attracted to the words he overheard about the religion. He was among hundreds of immigrants who were detained that week. He overheard one ustazah speaking about Islam and got attracted to it. He secretly sat in a corner to listen. He was hiding because of the state he was in. When the ustazah caught him hiding and listening, he was asked "Would you like to accept Islam?" He said: "Yes, but I will come back to see you on Monday when I should be in a better state." He was a little drunk then. As promised, he went to see the ustazah, inquired more about the deen and accepted it. That took place in 1993. A couple of years after, upon returning to Vietnam, he brought his 17 year old son to consult one pious man and the son too embraced Islam. The son, after having undergone some training in Cambodia and Malaysia, is now imam of a mosque in Vietnam and is making a difference to the community in Ho Chi Minh City. He found his life purpose. What about us?

Also at the back of my mind, are some inspiring stories of the honorable Spanish guests I received last Monday. Oh well, what I am trying to say is that I wish I had published more postings on my recent meetings and experiences. Must try harder to make it happen.

***

Today 28.2.2015 is the last day of Feb.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah for a fabulous month.

Let's march on!

        

Honorable Spanish Guests | Seville Mosque Fundraising

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. Feb has been fabulous, so far. Today, was extra fab. Just look at the photo. Am I lucky or am I lucky?

Some of you might remember seeing two of them on TV Al Hijrah, speaking on fundraising for what would be the first mosque in Seville, Spain after some 600 years since Seville ever had mosques or mezquita. Our Spanish guests [from left to right] Mohsin Sierra, Ibrahim Hernandez, Malik A. Ruiz and Bashir Castineira were generous to spare some of their precious time to visit this faqir in KL today. Alhamdulillah. I shall forever be grateful for this memorable experience.

To be honest, I was still feeling exhausted from my Vietnam trip. But to honor our special guests, my mother and I had woken up at 3 a.m. on Monday morning to clean up our crib and prepare the necessary.

It's all more than worth it! Our guests are indeed learned, well-mannered, articulate and friendly too. I should write a thorough/longer posting because each one of them has an exciting background. During the meeting, each one gave a very good interview. Do look out for recordings, courtesy of Al-Falah TV, inshaAllah.

This posting is more like an introduction to who they are and the main objective of their visit to Malaysia. 

Brother Malik is the President of an education foundation called Fundacion Educativa al Andalus. He spoke passionately about the history of the one and only mosque in Granada which was opened in 2003. It took them 20 over years to build the mosque. The Granada mosque became the first mosque to have been built after 500 years since the fall of the great Al Andalus civilization. The mosque also has a dedicated place for classes and community activities. Almost every Friday, there would be requests from people wishing to convert to Islam. He considered the struggle to make Islam's presence stronger and more visible in Spain as jihad-without-weapon, it is a jihad of the tongue.   

Brother Ibrahim is the Vice President of the Seville mosque foundation known as Fundacion Mezquita De Sevilla. Malaysia is the first country for the fundraising effort. The Seville mosque will also serve as a cultural center for about 25,000 Muslims in Seville. It is important for Seville to have a mosque because it is the capital of Southern Spain. It's interesting to note that for nine years, Ibrahim had been an active international model based in South Africa. He said, becoming dai'e is not an option, it is, in fact, an obligation of each individual Muslim. 

Brother Bashir is the imam of the Granada mosque. Upon completing tahfiz of Quran in Morocco just a couple of weeks ago, he was appointed as director of the Granada Mosque Foundation. He spoke about the challenges of his new role. He is tasked to establish a waqf mechanism in order to make the Granada mosque self-sustainable and to develop an international Islamic school for 800 students in the outskirts of Granada.

Brother Muhsin is owner of a travel agency called Visit Al Andalus. He actively promotes tourism in Spain and the Mediterranean region, including Morocco. He is of the opinion that Spain should be the third choice for Muslims to travel, after Mekah/Madinah and Turkey. He encourages Malaysians to visit Spain, in particular South Spain, during winter.        

      

***

More about them and their interviews in separate postings InshaAllah.

On a lighter note, I was delighted that they had noticed the posters of Qasidah Burda in my foyer. And three of them, Ibrahim, Bashir and Muhsin offered to perform the qasidah before we began the interviews. The melody rendered was unique ala Spanish.

Ibrahim, Bashir and Muhsin singing the Qasidah Burdah

Alhamdulillah for the ukhwah. We were indeed grateful for the opportunity to listen to them and be inspired by their tireless effort in helping the religion. 

Pray Allah would ease their fundraising activities and make their trip to Malaysia fruitful. Pray so that they or rather we could see the Seville mosque manifesting very soon, as planned. Pray that Muslims in Spain would become successful and leave a lasting legacy as they did during the great Al Andalus era. Ameen.

***
Do visit these websites and learn more about our brothers and sisters in faith, in Spain.

www.mezquitadegranada.com
www.mezquitadesevilla.com
www.visitalandalus.es

Good evening Saigon | Love The Alcove | Books in need

Bismillah.

Beauty is in the details, undoubtedly.

A five star hotel I once stayed at in the country neighboring Malaysia down south, gave away some overly sweet and hard chocolates as part of their turndown service. By the way, the term turndown is derived from the act of turning down the linen for sleeping as carried out by hotels' housekeeping staffs.

On the contrary, I am pleasantly surprise at this clever little turndown gift at the hotel I am staying in HCMC. It comes with deliciously different crunchy cashew nuts instead. And to live up to its bookish/literature theme, it comes with a quote every night. Tonight it's about 'A Cow Grazing'. Cute!

Artist: "That, sir, is a cow grazing."

Visitor: "Where is the grass?"

Artist: "The cow has eaten it."

Visitor: "But where is the cow?

Artist: "You don't suppose she'd be fool enough to stay there after she'd eaten all the grass, do you?

: D

Each room comes with a unique book and a poster depicting a quote from the same book. I have got 'The Giving Tree' in my room. It's a sad humbling story of how a tree makes one sacrifice after another so that its visitor, a boy, would always be happy. Its fruits, branches and trunk, all have been sacrificed but it is just as happy to have left with a stump for the boy (who is now an old man) to sit on, in the end.

The Giving Tree

We have got 'The Wizard of Oz' in the other room.

It's a fun and chic boutique hotel that would appeal to book lovers.

On another poster, I spotted this quote by William Eliot:

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friend; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors and the most patient of teachers."

From another poster in the hotel's Bookmark Cafe, I learned one important Vietnamese word: doc (pronounce "dock") means "to read".

***

The turndown service at The Alcove Library hotel sure put a smile on my face. It's a sweet end to another great day in Ho Chi Minh.

Today, we had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Imam Musa, deputy principal at Madrasah Al-Anwar. Our new friend whom we met by chance, took us to the madrasah at a Malay village where 300 Muslim families live harmoniously among non-Mulims. Madrasah Al-Anwar is home to 120 students and is the only Islamic institution in the city. On the third floor of the building sits a mosque - Masjid Al-Anwar. Majority of the graduates from Madrasah Al-Anwar have and would customarily further their studies at higher Islamic learning institutions in Malaysia. And all of them somehow ended up getting private funding from generous Malaysians. Alhamdulillah. Having talked to Imam Musa about the school and the Muslim community in Vietnam, I realized that the school is in need of a good supply of quality text books either in Arabic or Malay language. The textbooks which the students at Madrasah Al Anwar are currently using, are in a sorry state. They deserve better looking books with better contents. I have never agreed to the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover' because a book must be appealing from cover to cover, literally. Imagine how the children in your country would react if they're fed with almost illegible photocopied textbooks? MashaAllah.

Pray, with the attention and assistance from certain groups/organizations, students at Madrasah Al-Anwar would be able to enjoy a more enriching learning experience and that they would soon be sparred from below-par textbooks simply because every child deserves a quality education.

Textbooks used at Madrasah Al Anwar

Should you choose Saigon as your next city break, do drop by Madrasah Al Anwar and drop some good Dongs or Greenbacks. You all are big money earners, not quite like Abdul Rahman whom I reckon is the sole halal home-made ice cream-man-on-wheels in Ho Chi Minh city.

Abdul Rahman

   

Abdul Rahman and 84-year-old Khadijah really made my day today : )

Khadijah

Until next time, signing off from Saigon.

-E-

___________
Madrasah & Mosque Jamia Al Anwar
157 B/09 Duong Ba Trac St.
District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Happy Chinese New Year from Saigon

Bismillah.

Wish y'all happy holidays.

May this new "goatee" year be prosperous and fabulous for all.

I gotta run now. I have got an appointment at 66 Dong Du.

The imam at Dong Du mosque in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) has kindly agreed to be interviewed. Alhamdulillah.

By the way, photos of the bilal and the masjid in the previous posting were taken at Dong Du Mosque which is four years older than my mom. It was established in 1935.

p/s
Saigon is quietly sassy in her own way, I must say.
HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City) is a city you must see ; )

Guess where?

Bismillah.

Hi folks,
Assalamualaikum warahmatullah.

From the photos in this posting, can you guess where?

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And GUESS what they have planned for you? Not much."
 - Jim Rohn

So, plan your own life.
Plan your travels.
But let God decide what you shall discover.

Have a good day y'all.

Answer: HCMC = Ho Chi Minh City

Look forward | March forward

Bismillah.

I so....look forward to seeing this week unfolds. It's because I will have completed a major work assignment very soon and then I will get to go makan angin as they say in Malay. That means: go sightseeing, inshaAllah.

Oh...another trip abroad is scheduled in March, inshaAllah, let's just march forward : D

Folks, listen, I have been working so hard, therefore I deserve to go places (in style), don't I? In the meantime, you guys go read some of the decent old postings and ignore the merepek nonsense. And block out all the noise. Don't makan hati as they say in Malay - meaning: don't take it to heart. 

YaHu! See you when I see you!

Look forward, drive, park and fly.
With Ilham (GoPro) & Rashid (Sony recorder)
and a bunch of loved ones ; )

O Light, make me light

Bismillah.

Quoted from a unique salawat taught by Habib Ali al-Habashi:

"O Allah, bestow prayers and peace with a tongue all-embracing, in the limitless divine presence upon our Master Muhammad, through which my body attains assistance from his body, my heart from his heart, my soul from his soul, my secret from his secret, my knowledge from his knowledge, my action from his action, my character from his character, my intention from his intention, my heart's focus from his heart's focus, my direct aspiration from his direct aspiration. May I attain the blessings of these prayers along with my children, my companions and the people of my time. O Light, O Light, make me light by virtue of the light."

Allahumma ṣalli wa sallim `alā sayyidinā Muḥammadin bi’l-lisāni’l-jāmi`ati fī’l-ḥaḍrati’l-wāsi`ati ṣalātan tamudda bihā jismī min jismihi wa qalbī min qalbihi wa rūḥī min rūḥihi wa sirrī min sirrihi wa `ilmī min `ilmihi wa `amalī min `amalihi wa khuluqī min khuluqihi wa niyyatī min niyyatihi wa wijhatī min wijhatihi wa qaṣdī min qaṣdihi wa ta`ūdu barakātuhā `alayya wa `alā awlādī wa `alā aṣhābī wa `alā ahli `aṣrī yā Nūr yā Nur ij`alnī nūran biḥaqqi’n-Nūr


Credit: Muwasala
http://muwasala.org/weekly-salawat-receiving-everything-from-the-messenger-of-allah-%EF%B7%BA/