Jalan TAR, eve of HRP

Last minute shopping

Shopping like there is no tomorrow. Yes.....spent all. After all, tomorrow is another day.

Life post retirement

Four months and a bit into my retirement, I am still adjusting to this new life. I am still trying to find a routine. Its not like when I was working when the days were more or less decided by the working hours. Now, some days I might have some errand to attend to but on most days, I'm free. At the moment, I am enjoying this free time. When joy turns to boredom, then I will have to seriously think of my options.

A winning mentality

If a cat has nine lives, Alex Ferguson must have more than twenty. More than twenty years at the helm of Manchester United, he has build and rebuild his team so many times over those period. Last season they were champion. You would have thought he would be happy with the team but no! this seson, new young exciting players have come to the fore and as usual, the team is still winning.

Will they choke again?

All Blacks defeated again. Twice in row. First to South Africa, then to Australia. This surely is not the best preparation for the coming Rugby World Cup. Is the World Cup already playing on their mind. The best Rugby team in the world, World Cup favourite everytime, yet it has evaded them time and again. They choke at the crucial moment, losing to teams they would beat nine times out of ten. Will they choke again this time? Playing at home will definitely add to the pressure!

Eleven the final number

Last night I was at yet another mosque to do the Tarrawih prayers. Must be mosque number eleven I think. The crowd was much less at this mosque. This must be due to some of the regulars 'balik kampong' already. As Ramadhan is coming to an end, I think for me as well, eleven will be the final number. Tonight will be the last Tarrawih prayer for this Ramadhan. I will do it at my local mosque. As for next year...... that will be another story.

In the mood for shopping

With Raya just days away, the shopping mood is in full evidence. I happened to be at Sogo yesterday. Wow! The crowd was maddening. Fathers, mothers, children, teenagers, grandfathers, grandmothers etc. were busy shopping away. Thought most of the KL folks had gone home to their kampong but how wrong was I. With large crowds everywhere, I decided shopping was impossible so I went home without buying anything.

Busy, busy

This morning I have many things to do. First I need to go to Pantai hospital for my regular check up. Then off to RHB bank in Bt Bintang, to collect registration card for my car. Next to Maybank to make some payment. After that to HSBC for yet another payment. Then to see some properties which I have been intending to buy. Wow! Been a long time since I have been this busy. Don't know if I have the time.

Final third

We are now in the last ten days of Ramadhan. This is the period when we are encourage to stay up the night, praying. The whole night if possible but at least the last one third of it. This is because this is the time when 'Lailatul Qadar' happens. A night that is better than a thousand month. When exactly it will happen, no one knows except that it happen in the last ten days of Ramadhan. As usual, I don't want to be left out as well.

One by one .....

I woke up this morning to the news that the rebels in Libya have reached town, I mean have entered the capital city Tripoli. That can only mean one thing....Col Ghaddafi days are numbered. So far he has managed to avoid capture but two of his sons were not so lucky. Two rulers have been toppled since the Arab spring began. Ghaddafi will certainly be the third. Who will be the fourth?

Dates

I never knew that there are over a thousand variety of dates until I read an article in a newspaper while in Makkah recently. That's why I guess over the years I have taken all kind of dates, big, small, medium, hard, soft, sweet, not so sweet etc. They come from various countries all over the world. While in Makkah, breaking of fast is with dates and zam zam water only. Somehow back home, this practise is not followed.

Losing a tradition

I remember when I was young, we will not know if its Shawal or still Ramadhan until we hear the announcement on TV. Thus, after the Maghrib prayers, we would wait eagerly by the TV waiting for the annoncement. If the moon is sighted, tomorrow will be Shawal, meaning its Eidul Fitri. If not, it will fasting for another day, much to our disapointment. These days, the tradition is gone because the dates are known already.

Ramadhan is leaving soon.....

Day in, day out, time keeps on running and before I knew it, its already the 19th of Ramadhan. Normally I can tell its the middle of Ramadhan by just observing the crowd at the mosques. The mosques will be less crowded as compared to the first week or so. However, this time around, I did not see any noticable changed. The crowd is still there, as enthusiastic as before. Only the airwaves are starting to play Raya songs..........

Makkah on my mind

Was in KL a few nights ago. As Maghrib approached, decided to have my prayer at the Kampong Baru mosque. As usual, the place was full of worshippers, this being Ramadhan. Luckilly I managed to find a parking space. When Tarawih prayer time came, much to my surprise, the Imam who led the prayer was an Arab, specially imported from Masjidil Haram! Wow! Immediately Makkah came to mind..........

Enjoying the atmosphere

This Ramadhan must be a record for me. If before, I do the Tarrawih only at my local mosque, this time I prayed at so many different mosques I have lost count. The pick of them all must surely be the ones done at Masjidil Haram in Makkah. No matter what, I enjoy the different atmosphere that each mosque brings. And no matter where, the mosques are mostly crowded with worshippers. That's the beauty of Ramadhan, this special of special month.

A simple problem after all

My phone has been giving me problems for quite sometime. It gets annoying especially during messaging cause it tends to slow down considerably. Worse, at the most crucial of time, it just hangs up. I was thinking of getting a new phone until I decided to try repairit first. Guess what? The problem was only the storage card which has been corrupted! Changed it and voila! everything is okay once again!

Meltdown

What's happening? Another economic meltdown? The stock markets worldwide have taken a terrible beating lately. Could it be because of US of A rating downgraded to AA from AAA? That's what happened when the economy is run on deficit! He may have his doubters especially when it comes to the opposite sex but Bill Clinton was the last American president who managed to tackle this deficit problem.

Quality vs Quantity

As usual, come Ramadhan, tadarus or reading the Quran is usually done in groups. This is the Sunnah. Unfortunately, year in, year out, the main aim of tadarus is not met. Most of the time, the aim is to finish reading the Quran and not much else. Understanding what is being read, lessons that can be taken from it and then applying them in life is not given much thought. That's the drawback. Its mostly going for quantity rather than quality wheareas quality is what God advocates.

Tarawih prayers

Since coming back from Makkah, I have been making the rounds of the mosques to do the Tarawih prayers. Its been to a different mosque every night. What I noticed is that the Tarawih prayers are done in a variety of ways. Although the basis is still the same, there'll be little differences here and there. No harm actually as they are all acceptable. Its akin to a tree. The trunk is still only one. Only the branches are many.

Jet Lag

I'm still suffering from jet lag more than twenty four hours after arriving from Jeddah. Having difficulty sleeping tonight. While at the mosque, doing the Tarawih prayers is a struggle trying to keep awake. It will take sometime before I get over it. Meanwhile, I just have to live with it.

Makkah street scene

Its between prayer times thus the streets were less crowded. As prayer time nears, the street will be filled to the brim once again with people walking towards the mosque.

At Masjid Qiblatain

This is the only mosque in the world with two Kiblat. As we all know, in the early days of Islam. our Kiblat was Masjidil Aqsa in Palestine. The prophet s.a.w. was praying at this mosque, having completed two rakaat facing the old Kiblat when verses of the Quran came directing to change the Kiblat to the Kaabah immediately. The prophet s.a.w. immediately did, completing the rest of the prayer facing the new Kiblat as directed.

Changing with the times

When I was last there in 2002, I remembered that they were quite strict with handphones fitted with cameras and cameras off course. We were not allowed to take photograps in and around the areas near to the mosques, both in Makkah and Madinah. However, I guess times have changed. Almost every handphone have cameras now. Nowadays, you are free to take photographs as you like, even in front of the Kaabah.

Outside the Nabawi mosque

Leaving the mosque after Maghrib prayer

Leaving the mosque after breaking of fast and Maghrib prayer.

I will break my fast at the mosque with dates and zam zam water. After the Maghrib prayer, I would head back to the hotel to have 'dinner'. I guess that's what the rest were doing as well. Come Isha, we all will walk back to the mosque to say our prayer and also do the Tarawih.

Kaabah

They keep on coming

Even with the mosque as big as it is, it still gets overcrowded during the Haj and Ramadhan season. When thousands and millions of Muslims from all over the world come to Makkah during this two period, you have to see it to believe. The place get so crowded that finding a space for prayer inside the mosque is a blessing itself. On Friday it gets worse. The crowd will spill to well beyond the mosque, choking the roads leading to it. On this last trip, I noticed that yet another extension to the mosque is underway.......

As I remember it

When I first went to Makkah in 1996, the Grand mosque more or less dominated the city. At least that was how I remembered it. It was the biggest and perhaps the tallest building in the city if you take into account the minarets. You can see it from miles away and everything in Makkah was centred around the mosque. These days, there are so many taller buildings around the mosque that it don't stand out anymore. The towerig clock for example is just beside the mosque....

Changing for the good

Many many years ago, the five daily prayers were repeated four times each at the Grand mosque. This was to cater for the four different mazhabs, namely Maliki, Shafie, Hambali and Hanafi. Alhamdulillah, this practise has now stopped. Its done only once now. I cannot imagine what it would be like if this practise had continued. With the ever increasing crowd, chaos would have ensued.

Ramadhan in Makkah

Although this was my fourth trip, it was the first time I spent Ramadhan in Makkah. What can I say except that it had been an enriching experience. From the fasting itself, the breaking of fast and the Tarawih prayers at the Grand mosque, I enjoyed them all. I loved being among the crowd, walking to the mosque, walk back to the hotel, praying, breaking of fast, reading the quran, doing the tawaf, saie and so on. There were just thousands and thousands of them. I was fortunate enough to be one of them, a guest of Allah.....

In the holy land again

After almost nine years I was in the holy land again. No word can described my feeling. Last time I went was in 2002 to do the haj for the second time. I had done done the haj first time around in 1996. In between, in 1999, I went to do the Umrah. This was my fourth.

Lively as ever

So many have changed since I last came nine years ago. Makkah and Madinah have undergone tremendous changed, all for the better I'm sure. New hotels, buildings and shopping complexes have come up but some things remain. The prophet's mosque in Madinah is as majestic as ever while the places in and around Masjidil Haram is crowded as usual. Talk about places that never sleeps, Masjid Nabawi and Masjidil Haram are at the top of the list.

A spiritual journey

Every now and then, the spiritual part of our lives needs an uplift. There's no better way to do it than to go to the two houliest places on earth, Makkah and Madinah to do it. That's what I did recently. A two weeks journey to the holy land that began on the 25th of July and ended on the 7th of August. Four days in Madinah and the rest in Makkah. What did I get? A faith that is renewed and restrength. A faith that will remain steadfast as I continue living this life Insha Allah. All in all, it has been a journey well done.