Sunday 9 October 2011

What people think of you is NOT IMPORTANT

According to Prof Dr Muhaya, generally there are 2 kinds of people - the IMPORT and the EXPORT. The import busy themselves taking from others but the export always think about what they can give. I think this statement will really makes you start evaluating yourself!

AM I AN IMPORT OR EXPORT PERSON?

Does it matter? The answer is YES. This is not about what others think of you BUT what you think of yourself. What we think of ourselves are most important because it is how you value your own self and this will determine how or not you are happy. Happiness usually relates to how you work towards the the meaning of your existence. In life, we have 2 vertices that needs attention. They are the:

a. VERTICAL - relationship with your creator

b. HORIZONTAL -relationship with other people - which includes your parents, your family, your children, workplace, students, neighbors, community..

The first is not so obvious. Some people can look like they are so much related to God but actually they are not. In extreme cases, you see that they are very kind hearted people who really understands the meaning of sincerity but in true sense, they don't believe in God. In my personal opinion, if you are not good vertically, you beat the purpose of existence. You have not reach the level of wisdom of your existence. To understand and really focus on this vertical relation takes you to travel deep into your soul. It doesn't only takes you down the path to your spiritual self, but also helps you to put more actions that can strengthen your spiritual being. That once your spiritual being is strengthen, all the pictures in life will be connected and bring meanings to you. The actions are your evidence of believe and trust. When this happen, all these actions come naturally to you and you enjoy doing them. For muslims, this is translated into doing more supplementary prayers and good deeds other than the obligatory ones. For companions of the prophet Muhammad pbuh, when they are doing their prayers, they reached the highest level of tranquility where they are no more connected to the world around them. In fact, many of them do not feel pain as pain is physical but they are at the time, spiritual. Hmmm... a bit philosophical here!

We move on the the second - human to human relationship. When we talk about human to human, we become exporters or importers. If we export a lot, we become rich persons and if we are importers all the time, we become very dependent on others. Importers would need others to put things into their store and would feel sad or demotivated if that doesn't happen.

Some people are natural at human to human skill. May be they are brought up that way or they pick up the skill through time. Don't take this for granted because for some people, they don't have this skill and need people to teach them. If you are importers and married to exporters, then you may have been saved. But some people can never change. They become importers all through their lives! On the other hand, some people doesn't need formal education to become exporters. They are real exporters!

Oh.. have I not define the meaning of exporters or importers? If you find someone who busy herself or himself to give - they are exporters! Importers on the other hand would find ways to get things from others. They are calculative people who always have the plus and minus signs in their head. They would give after calculating that they get more in return. May be we sometimes do this.. shame on us!

Some people were taught to give during their childhood and carry this all through their lives. Wise are those parents who teach their children charity. My late mother-in-law was an export person. After her death, I met many of her friends who told me so many stories of her generosity. She was not highly educated but her social intelligence beats many of the professors. One time she went to town with food in her hand. On the way home, she saw a few people working under the hot sun doing construction work. She stopped and gave them the food. That was natural to her. How many of us has done this? When she passed away, so many people from all races came to pay tribute She was not a senator, not even had any post in the community, but she beats them all. She is a natural social worker who was willing to give to others what she had or hadn't. I said this because she was even willing to borrow money to give others.

There are many things one can do to become exporters. You can do it through giving lots of presents to friends/relatives, constant charity and becoming more alert with other people's needs. Some people buy lots of things and give them to guests at home. Birthdays, Mothers Days, Teachers Day, Anniversary... these are occasions  if you need reasons to give small or big presents if you ran out of them. It makes the hearts grow fonder. Other than presents, we need to share ideas and knowledge. Imagine how much teachers can contribute to the betterment of mankind by teaching with sincere hearts. That is why a friend who is a lecturer would prefer his children to become teachers or other professions. He wants the children to continue his legacy... and he is a great teacher. I always see him spending long hours teaching his students although in university, there is no concept of 'tuition' but he does it anyway without any extra pay. May Allah reward him abundantly with His kindness.

So if you are really an exporter, what others think of you is just secondary. The most important is your sincerity. Even writing your own blog.. trying to disseminate knowledge or little things you think worth  sharing. Don't do it because you want people to think how great a writer you are but because you want to export with sincerity. When something is done with your heart, it strikes other people's heart too. And sincerity is not anybody's business.. it is between you and your Lord.

So next time, when you say tell a truth to a friend, or give an unpopular opinion for the sake of your organization... don't let anything hold you back because what they think is no more important. Tell them you know what you are doing!

Saturday 8 October 2011

Your weaknesses... Do you know?


There was a lecture on the radio this morning, talking about self esteem. There are too many good points that I thought it is good to share. Dr. Muhaya said, knowledge is like fish. They are slippery in nature. You can catch them with your hands but after a short while, it will slip off. Therefore, when you know anything, you can only retain it for a while and in order to hold it for a longer period, distribute the knowledge (facebook is one good medium) and the knowledge will travel far, benefiting many people around you. Among what was presented on the radio was how to know your weaknesses. Of course, we love to talk about our strength especially when someone praise you for it. However, strength and weaknesses comes in pair as no one is born perfect, we need to know them in order to overcome them. According to Imam Al-ghazali, a great muslim scholar, to know your weaknesses, you need to ask from 3 groups of people:
   (1) your teacher: they will sincerely tell you what you are weak at.  Teachers are noble people - they always want their students to improve. Teachers might know more about you than mother do and that is why mothers need to be close to their children's teachers.
   (2) your friend: you can ask your friends your weaknesses. Good friends are usually sincere too... but sometimes, they feel uneasy to tell you the truth. So, that is why you need to ask the third group of people...
   (3) your enemy: ask your enemy why they hate you so much and you will get lots of secrets like.. .they hate you because you are stingy, they hate you because you are bossy... A scholar once said, when your enemies tell you your weaknesses, tell them that you will repent for your bad conduct if they are right, and hope for Allah's forgiveness. However, if they are wrong about it, you make prayer that they are forgiven for their mistakes.

Weakness, if you know them can be your strength. The sad thing is that most of the time, we you don't know our weaknesses. That is why when someone comments on you or your actions, take the comments with positive attitude. They might meant well or even when they do not meant well, you can benefit from them. People around us are mirrors.. they tell you who you are, what you look like and from their reactions, we can learn more about yourself.

There was this person who moves to a new village. He asked a villager the condition of the village. That man asked him back, "How was your previous village?". He said it was not good. So this man said, this village is the same - not good. Another person then came to him and ask the same question. He asked again, "How was your old village". He said, "My village was very good.. he started to tell him all the good things about his old town". The villager said, "Then, this village is very good too". The person who asked in the first place was astonished to the different answers given to the same question. He exclaimed, "How come you said differently to me?". That villager said, "You are what you think of it". When you look at things positively, most of the time, things will be good for you and vice versa.

Can we have a positive attitude on our weaknesses as we do our strength. If we are not good in Math, perhaps we can collaborate with someone who's good in Math and make a strong team. There is always a way out in most problems that we face everyday. The real problem lies on not knowing the source of the problem. If you have fire, direct the Fire Extinguisher to the source of fire not directly to the blazing fire!  Find what the real problem is and perhaps you can overcome your problem or whatever you are facing. Life is a puzzle.. with levels of difficulties for those who are ready for different levels of challenges. Whatever your weaknesses are, the real challenge is how you are able to transform them into your strengths... for that is where the wisdom lies. And most of the time, there's no one to teach you the exact solution but only your knowledge and experiences as guidance.

Therefore, ask yourself.. are you ready to know your weaknesses and work on them? If the answer is yes, you are one step ahead than most people. Then, I wish you, ALL THE BEST!

From the holy Quran,
"Allah has made those who strive, with their property and their lives, to excel by a high degree those who hold back." (4:95)

Friday 7 October 2011

LOVE AT HASSAN AL BANNA's HOME

They said, in order to love someone, you have to know them. This statement is so true that we have to study about the history of great people and learn from them. We always love to hear stories of great people - on how they lived their lives, their behaviors, their attitudes, their aspirations, their family - if possible, we want to peep through the window of their lives and know everything about them. Great things or great people don't just emerge overnight.. it is a process. They have great parents who educate and groom them. What if we don't have great parents? Well... we still can be great people too in our own ways... ask ourselves, how much have we done to improve ourselves? Many of us have access to great education but still, we have not seen ourselves as leaders, let alone great leaders.. Why? I sometimes ask this question to myself.. What have they got that we do not have? The answers are MANY.

Let's look at one of the great leader of our time... Hassan Al-Banna. We had at our university this week, a book fair and I came across this book "LOVE AT HASSAN AL BANNA'S HOME". This book is not new but I have not read it. This is one of the greatest man in recent history - who's photo we still can find on the internet. Someone who had done the work of dakwah and died as a martyr. With love for this man for the sake of Allah, I took the book home and read. He was an amazing man. He lived his life based on the prophet's life.. his children were the witness to that. They spoke so highly of him and in fact, they love him so much that whatever they said of their father, you can feel their love for him. In one statement, one of his children said, "Even if you have 2 hours of his time, it was enough because that 2 hours with him were already satisfying. While I was reading the book, my mind lingers within his household.. thinking what would be like to be in such environment - having children who had nothing to complain. It was almost impossible to think how it is possible. His children admitted that the childhood and parenting skill of Hassan Al Banna was so perfect that they even think they can't be as good as their father.

These are the things that he did:
- It started with choosing a good wife as mother to the children - he was very selective. She was a great person too - thought highly of her husband and never complains. They used most of their furniture for her husband's head office - curtains, sofa, tables and chairs - you name it. She supported his every action as she understood what he fought for. They lived modestly and they were contented with what they had.
- Making sure that he had time to eat together with his family everyday. When he had guests at home, he would invite them to eat with the family so that he wouldn't miss the meal time together.
- Attended to all his 6 children without failing: the children never feel neglected, even they were amazed how he accommodated them into his busy schedule
- Sent food to school almost everyday to make sure they had good food to eat at school.
- Advice the children without scolding them.
- Never raise his voice. He was very diplomatic with his children. When he doesn't like anything, he would suggest something better to the children. The children would consider due to respect and not fear of him
- Always make sure the children had extra money to buy books. In fact, the children were given more than enough and they spent their money to buy books and they each have their own library.
- A romantic husband to his wife
- Assist his wife with budgeting and making sure that what they needed at home were ordered as planned - he was very precise and systematic
- Taught his children charity-

This book is good as presents to all husbands or at weddings for new husbands. It helps them see their role in the house as a father and as a husband. With Quran as the base of all education, you can't be wrong in bringing up your children. Giving children sound foundation of Islam helps them be better muslims and better husbands too. Current research revealed that, MAN are becoming SOFT and WOMAN are becoming FIERCE. This is due to our new preservatives and additives we have in our food.  Is this true? Or have we not use Quran and the examples of the prophet to live our lives? This great man was raised by his father with Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, Seerah etc. He was taught by his father the knowledge of Islam. They had good education at home which most of us can't give to our children but hope that the school can do it on our behalf.

So, when you read this book or any other of its kind, at least it gives you new insights on different aspects of life. Try follow some of the things Hassan Al Banna did, perhaps, things would be better at home. Or may be if you give this book to your husband, perhaps, he can see how he can at least try to improve his leadership or parenting skill to make things better for the children. Or may be, read to your sons and make them realize that they can be great person in their own way too if they follow the teaching of Islam. Isn't it great to have great people around us. But sadly, great people might not be around.. so we have to seek them through readings and perhaps, through these examples, new great people will emerge around us.. in our own community, in our own household, .... and hopefully, you can also feel this kind of greatness and love in your home too. OR HAVE YOU??

Sunday 31 July 2011

Two kind hearts

I met them in Leicester on my way to Leeds but since we stopped over at Clydach, I got carried away with shopping at the wednesday car boot sale there and arrived later than expected. It was't clear to me that my daughter had arranged for an earlier meeting. Anyway, we reached their house without difficulty with the guide of the UK map (thank you 7-11) as our Tom Tom was in Leeds.

When we parked the car, I saw a british man with white beard came out to greet us with a smiling and welcoming face. His name is brother Daud R. Mathew or previously known as David. I had high expectation of them as my daughter talked so much of them and their dakwah work - they are very much committed. We entered the house... a very lively and comfortable house, I should say. Across the room, I was greeted by a pakistani lady sitting on a sofa - smiling and eager for our hugs. She was not well for some days before - my daughter told me the last time she saw her, she was not that thin. She told me she had lost a lot of weight but alhamdulillah, recovering. She moves around in wheel chair - for many years now.

As we chatted along from one topic to another, I found them amusing. They are one of the most beautiful couple I've seen. Brother Daud told us that they are never bored of each other. They are two brainy people and very supportive to each other. They met in Oxford when the sister Anis was doing her PhD in nuclear physics and brother Daud was working at the university. She told us how she managed to impressed Oxford professors when she presented her PhD proposal ideas. Indeed, the professors were amazed of how good the idea was and as soon as she knew her idea was accepted, she asked for a permission to flee the room and pray 2 rakaat of solat to say thanks to Allah. How many of us would do that when we are grateful?

Brother Daud was attracted to Islam the first time when he saw her doing her solat at a corner of a room. She gave him a book of Islam so that he can understand more of the religion. How he embraced Islam can be read from his article "A Sleepless Night", published by the Brunei Times. He took shahadah in 1973, 18 months after doing solat and fasting. He thought he had not known much. They also told us how the family in Pakistan eventually accepted him and they got married in Pakistan. The things that they told us was really fascinating. They worked in Saudi Arabia for several years before they reside in the UK and have been doing the dakwah work ever since. Both of them are actively involve in giving talks about Islam and dakwah especially during the Islamic Awareness week, one of many programs organized by FOSIS (Federation of Student Islamic Societies) in the UK.

They invited us to stay for the night but since we had to drive to Leeds for my daughter's graduation, we had to turn down the offer but indeed, I was tempted. I told them that they have to write a book on their autobiography as I know for sure, they can really inspire many other muslims to do dakwah too, insya'Allah. Some of us are not doing it at all. May Allah forgive us for our negligence.

Time flew so fast when you are having a good time. Before we knew it, it's already time to hit the road again. Before we left, brother Daud gave us his book (newly published) as a souvenir  and signed it. It says.....
"A small gift to help you remember our first meeting - the beginning of a long and lasting friendshipDaud and Anis
July 2011
Again they invited me to stay for a month with them so that I can help them write the book I suggested. What a good offer! I would really love to do that but with my work here, I don't know if it is possible. As I left the house, I thank Allah for sending me 2 new friends with kind hearts into my life. May this friendship help us to grow closer to Him, The Al-Mighty. I remember a hadith that said...

From Abu Dawood, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Never do two Muslims shake hands except that their sins are forgiven before they depart.”



Friday 15 July 2011

They Took Their Oath....

The congregation for the conferment of degrees was so grand and merry with less protocol - short and nice. The Vice Chancellor’s speech was very meaningful and not too formal which to me, seemed to connect to all these students who were sitting there, listening well. Then they called their names and one by one, each student went on the stage to get his or her scroll. They are young doctors.. ready to serve and help people. It was indeed a moving moment for many – especially for those parents whom had thrived to send their daughters/sons to medical school. Behind all those success, I believe each one of them had their own stories to tell. Tears were difficult to hold back and I am sure, other parents felt the same. We sat there enjoying every sweet moment of success. You can see parents at their best – I bet many had ordered special suits for the occasion as indeed it was a special moment for everyone. At the end of the session, the graduates of Leeds University Medical School stood up and read their oath….

I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity,
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due;
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
The health of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the secrets which are confided in me, even after the patient has died;
I will maintain by all the means in my power the honour
And the noble traditions of the medical profession;
My colleagues will be my sisters and brothers;
I will not permit considerations of age, disease
or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from its beginning 
even under threat and I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity;
I make these promises solemnly, freely and upon my honour.

That was the oath written beautifully for these young graduates. They read and we listened quietly with contentment as they made their oath. I hope they meant what they had just recited. We need sincere and caring doctors for our future. They will be one of the most important group of professionals in the society and I am happy my daughter was among them. 


I am grateful for the success Allah has rewarded us and right now, I just want to sincerely thank Allah. My heart was full of emotions and my tears were rolling down......

Thank you Allah for everything!

A Long and Winding Road....


When Alice in Wonderland reached a cross road, she asked the wise owl, “Which way should I take?”. The wise owl asked Alice, “Where do you wanna go, Alice?”. Alice said, “I don’t know”. Then the wise owl replied, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you can take any path you want”.

In life, we often reach crossroads where we don’t know which road to take. Life comes with many uncertainties and this is where the beauty lies. If everything goes as planned and all happenings in life are predictable, I bet many of us would just die of boredom.

It was still vivid in my mind when I came to a point in my life when I just don’t know what to do and which path should I take. Being parents, we always want to do everything within our might for our children. But this one time is a bit too far beyond my reach. The dilemma was, should I send my daughter to Medical School?  The issue was not only about medical school but sending a child to medical school without any sponsorship means substantial financial implication that we wouldn’t be able to bear. This happened 5 years ago and tonight, everything was so crystal clear.

One evening I heard from Sheikh Abdullah Yaseen in our class that reading the holy Quran is the solution to any muslim’s problem. Be it a mathematical problem, financial problem or anything at all. All you need is to have trust in Allah who has the knowledge of what is best for everyone. I prayed to Allah to send me a sign – a way out, to give an instinct in my heart on what to do next at this crossroad – like what a mother should have.

A few days back, we went to Leeds – to look for an opportunity for a scholarship from any organization at all. My daughter had a bag packed with her clothes, all ready for her registration at Leed University Medical School. It was a mixed feelings when we went because I know that there was a high possibility of not getting what we hoped for – a scholarship. Before even register, we met several university officers and talked about the possibility of getting any scholarship but to no avail. She had an offer letter in her hands but without any financial support, it seemed impossible. Five years of medical school in the UK is the cost of a huge bungalow in Kuala Lumpur, which I could not afford. I don’t want living my life paying debts. After making sure that there was no way to get any means for financial support, we had to leave Leeds. It was heart wrenching to see my daughter carrying her bag back onto the car and off we went back to Swansea.

That morning in Swansea, I read the holy Quran before going to my research lab - hoping that Allah will show me what is best. I always look at what happened as a sign from the Lord. I once was asked by an AFS son from Germany what makes me think of all the happenings as signs and what if they are not. I told him that everything that happens around us is never a coincidence. They all happen for some good reasons. How can we say the Big Bang was a coincidence? The movement of the planets around the sun – they are all precise calculations of the Creator. So how can everything else around them be regarded as coincidence – They are nothing but precise calculations too.  With this understanding, I learnt to put meanings into everything that happened in my life. With this trust in the precise calculations of my Creator, I learnt to trust Him. I had this trust all along and this is how I gained my strength in life.

After reading the Quran, I went to my research lab and opened my email as my daily routine. There it was – a mail from a very good friend in Malaysia. He knew my dilemma. He told me to send my daughter to medical school without thinking twice. He said, when it comes to his children, any sacrifices are all worth it. I knew my daughter might get her scholarship in later years, but I was scared that we would be turned down. One can never tell the future and the risk was too high. With this encouragement, I suddenly realize that perhaps, that was the answer to my uncertainty. We had a discussion and after a few days, we were back in Leeds, registering her for Medical School. We gather what we had to pay for the fees and indeed, we had enough, Alhamdulillah.  We had enough for the first year of Med School fee. We dare not think of her second year or the next few years’s. But at that time, I only want to take one step at a time. We received many words of encouragement from friends and we were so happy and proud to be able to send her to Med School.

The second year, we appealed for scholarship and the Malaysian government agreed to pay for her fees. It was good enough for us. With our own PhD scholarship and some working hours, we send her monthly allowance and I believe she was able to live comfortably. The third year, we appealed again for full scholarship and we even sent a letter to the Prime Minister. My mom in Malaysia was amazed to receive a reply from the Prime Minister’s office. We wrote several letters to many others too. That year, she received a full scholarship. We were on cloud nine… I can’t  begin to express my happiness when I heard after the scholarship meeting that our application pulled through. May Allah reward them for their kindness in accepting our application.

We were so relieved at that time. Our daughter was able to study without any worries after that. It was indeed a long ordeal but Alhamdulillah, we were so grateful with all the hurdles that we had to jumped in order to get to the finishing line.

Tonight, she was on the other side of the world and we were on Yahoo messenger.  We waited for her final year exam result. It was announced online. The moment she told us that she passed, we were indeed very grateful. The feeling was indescribable. Everything that we had gone through in order to put her to medical school came rushing back to my head. Indeed it is a great feeling of success. I put my head on the ground in prostration, thanking Allah for everything.

That crossroad took us to a good spot now. There is still a long and winding road ahead for this young doctor but we are grateful that the path to take is clearer now. It is up to her now to run or to walk. We had done our part. We make doa that the road that lies ahead is not so crooked and not too bumpy. May Allah help us to persevere and keep these children of ours to be strong and be able to share and assist those who are passing through that same long and winding road in whatever way they can. Indeed, life would be meaningful if you can benefit others around you. Being there at that crossroad made you realize that taking chances can lead to success if you are really determined, insya’Allah. If the road you take is long and winding, keep your heads high and set your goal clear… when you know where you want to go, half of the difficulties are taken care of. That long and winding road might be the best path of your life.

Allah says in the Quran,….

“And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient ones” (Quran 2:155)“.

Sunday 1 May 2011

They changed their plans.....

Life is a rolling wheel.. sometimes, you'll be on top and sometime you'll be at the bottom. What you do to others will come back to you... hmmm, most of the time! I guess everyone knows this. That is why when I told my son his misbehavior towards me, he said I must have done the same to my mom. Hmm.. Amir can be a tricky boy!

It is not easy to deal with children when they are already married... i think all moms would think the same. I wonder how my mom deals with this matter with all 9 of her children married... must be challenging.

This afternoon, I got a message from my daughter telling me that she'll be coming home. When your married daughter is coming home with your son-in-law, you have to make preparations like you are having any guests. Before when my daughters came home from their boarding schools, they'll do the tiding up themselves, they'll do all the house chores. Oh, what a bless!!! When they are home, I was like having maids in the house... ( when they were not sleeping, that is !!! )

So when I know my daughter is coming home today, I prepared their bed and make sure everything is in perfect order.. so they feel very much welcomed. I changed the carpet so that the room will look nicer and they'll be real happy to be home and to come home again next time. After wiping the floor and dusting, I looked at the room... wow, it looked really nice! When Amir came in, he told me off - he said, she can do it by herself. I told him that they'll be tired by the time they arrive and it is good that I prepared this so that they can rest peacefully when they arrive. What does he know!!!

I looked at the room, I had everything ready and I sat down at my favorite couch waiting for them - any sounds of a car approaching might be them.... Suddenly I saw a message on my mobile, it says... Sorry ma, we changed our plans!!! Is it ok? Hmm.. what can I say? Well, at least, I can rest and I have a nice room upstairs ready for guests!

 I wonder all through my marriage life, my mom must have felt neglected. I remember how I was too busy with my husband, too busy with my family, too busy with my children. It is easy to hurt a mom's feelings. Unfortunately, you have to experience it to realize it...  Life is about lessons... and I am glad Allah helps me see through these lessons of life. With that note, I thank Allah for all His lessons to make me an improved daughter to my mom. I need to materialize my love to her. I hope she knows I love her so much... And if I promised her anything, I hope I would never have to say, "Sorry Ma, I changed my plans!!!

Friday 4 February 2011

Follow your passion... my almost published book!!

Everyone has passion in life... and all my life, I have always love writing. I've not written much.. only some articles and they are not even published.  I remember one time when my boss asked me to take over a book-writing project on a programming language - we published and since there were too many writers, I put my name as the editor. I don't mind not having a name on the book because I wanted to have a book on my own.

I've just finished writing this new book of mine. I am not proud but happy that I am able to contribute to my students. Nothing extra ordinary about that... It is an introductory book - very basic - like a book for the ' idiot'. To make things worse, the day I sent it to the publisher of the university, they had with them a book with the same subject matter but comprehensively written by another fellow lecturer. This other book was ready to be published - have gone through the editing process. I was stunt!!

Wish I was 3 months earlier. That is a hard lesson to learn. I had my book almost ready about a year ago but due to my procrastination attitude... it stays there untouched. Last month,  I pushed myself and it took me only around 2 weeks to finish writing it.. I submitted early this month! Now, I have to compete with the other book but the writer is a pro.... won't be able to beat him. So like they say - if you can't beat them, join them. What did I do? Yesterday, I wrote him  an email, telling him about my book and also suggesting him that we should be working side by side. I have to learn from this pro too!!!

This is life.. Most of the time, you can never be the best. And at times, you can never beat the rest. But the sweet thing that you can also learn is how to create success by joining others - those who beat you. You don't have to be the best - you only have to try your best. Again, if you can't beat them... join them.

Now I am waiting for the editing proess. I can't wait to have it published .. And I have a long list of books to write. They are all in my head and perhaps, if I push myself to write them just like I have pushed this one, I would be able to have more books published in the near future. Many great Imam of Islam wrote many books in their lifetime. Wish I can leave many books behind.. at least, a book of my autobiography. Won't that be interesting?

Our life have become too complicated. People used to live simpler lives. They don't need insurance... no road tax to pay, no bill to settle, no courses to attend, no KPI (key performance index;-p ) to fulfill... and if we let our mind create excuses, I am sure the list will go on and on. If only we realize that life is short ... we won't be spending too much time on things like facebook, twitter... and so on. The great scholars used their time wisely.. reading and seeking knowledge by traveling and meeting scholars of their time before their themselves become scholars. I read about Imam Shafie - by the age of 15, he has already giving fatwa due to his vast knowledge of Islam.

I am no scholar... My book is about a software that is useful for graduate students. And perhaps, I will promote the software with that pro... helping him and assisting him in any way possible. In fact, he has promoted the software to his faculty to be used by graduates and under graduates. Me? I am going to conduct courses to our graduate students. I have conducted one for my research methodology class students. It was going quite well. I will promote to the undergraduates also. A friend at other university had also invited me to give training to their staff. Although I am not a pro, with a good backup, I am sure I would be able to excel, insya'Allah. This is the beauty of working in a team and having backups.

So now, I am considering of writing another book.  Perhaps a travelog of my future trip to Beijing (end of February). I have the structure of the book in my head now... when you have passion, nothing should stop you. I've heard people wakes up early like 3am in the morning to write. Perhaps, I should be more passionate and continue writing....

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.
And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Harold Whitman