Eat cement, and harden up!

A two-day runaway from busy London to a peaceful and quiet snowy Liverpool was splendid. I enjoyed every second of that weekend (18-20 Jan 2013), especially play time with 2 year old plus Qalif, chit chatting with Abangchik and enjoying Lyn, my sister-in-law's cooking....hmmm marvelous! Not forgetting the delicious dinner at Al-Jazeera in Manchester with Kak Ina, Abang Zam and the kids. I purposely switched off the never ending 'to-do-list' to savour that short joyful moment. "It's weekend laa...I deserve a decent break before hopping on full gear again on Monday". That was the plan.



From left: Me, Mr Qalif, Lyn and Abangchik
(Queen Garden, Liverpool)

From left: Me, Lyn and Kak Ina
(Al JAzeera Parking lot)



 

The heavy snow added an extra two hours to the usual two and half hour train from Liverpool Lime Street to Euston Station, London. I didn't mind the delay, it was so worth of every minute spent. Outside Euston station and along the way back to Baker Street, the road was all white. It was such a beautiful view to see the park in fluffy cotton. I dragged my travelling bag along the slippery pavement and enjoyed the slit.  My snickers was not helping at all, one clumsy step could send me down to kiss the ground. The wet socks gave a cold numb sensation to my feet. "Darn...Should have bought the Timberland!" I then regret for not taking Abangchik's advice in buying the snow boot. Too late now,  cant hope for 70% price drop from high street stores other than factory outlets. My iphone flashed 8:45 pm and it was running with 3% battery.  In a snowy cold and wet night like that, there was no happy thought other than to be back at my heated studio, a cup of warm chocolate drink and slide under the fresh warm linen after a hot shower. Aaahhh...3 minutes more..hurry, hurry! My growling tummy was already asking for roti jala that Lyn prepared for tonight's supper. I planned to hang on till midnight to dail a morning call to my sweetheart at the side of the globe; plenty of time to charge the phone. 





Euston Station

Sorry, you got to turn your head: Trail of the travelling bag.
Home down the street

Sadly that night, the last I step into the studio flat. I came home not to a the usual clean and neat place, but to a ran down ceiling and thick dust on my feet. "Ya Allah...biar betul! (Owh God, this cant be happening!)" I murmered, trying to believe what my eyes was seeing, and hoping that the place was not broken in by burglars. "Think Kasihan..Think fast, fast, fast! You are not dreaming" I urged myself. "Should I call him now...No, not until things are more settled". Suddenly all that I planned once reaching home melted like snow under scorching sunlight. I could not make any calls as the phone had dropped dead. I remembered seeing a power plug in the first floor and rushed downstairs to charged my phone. Waiting has never been a tolerable situation for me, so I had to bore dreadful minutes for the iphone battery to regain atleast 15%. As soon the battery was running, I ran upstairs to snap some pics of the ruined studio and called my immediate emergency contacts - Abangchik, Lyn and Kak Ina. Neither of them can do anything in particular becuase they are miles away outside London, but their comforting words gave a sense of relief. A few minutes later, my neigbouring tenant, Max  passed by.

He was like "Owh Gracious God, what  happened...are you injured?"

"I'm fine Max...I have no idea what had happened because I was away since Friday evening and just  arrived to this".

"Thank God you are not in here when it happened. Owh dear, I dare not imagine what could have happened to you...you poor thing" Suddenly I felt like a 10 year old girl missing daddy and a wife missing hubby! How I wish either one of them were with me ;'(

"You need a good shot of this place Nor. I have my camera with me now, shall I help you with the  photos?"

Then, he went on taking good shots of the disaster, searched for the state agent emergency number in his note book, offered me tea and showed great concern. I dailed the emergency number but left talking to an answering machine. So, Max was my first rescuer of the night.

Max Reed is in his 60's, we only spoke twice  since I moved in last six monthd and yet he was very helpful and concerned. Not untill Max asked about where I will spend the night that I realised I was homeless!!! Again...Think Kasihan..Think fast, fast, fast! I was tired and hungry, my clothes were damp and covered with dust, I was sure I stink too. It was almost 10:30pm and only three persons crossed my mind: Zaitul in White City,  Zone 2; Hadzliana in Edgeware, Zone 3 and last but not least, Sarah in Paddington, Zone 1! Yes Zone 1, only 15mins away from Baker Street. A quick call to Sarah did not give her chance to think twice but to say yes to my appeal to sleepover her place.  

Before leaving, I  hold my breath and went inside the ruined dusty studio to grab my passport and some cash. As I was turning away towards the door, I saw my wedding picture on the floor covered  in debris. I went out to take another deep breath and dashed in again to pick up the frame. At that instant I wish to fly back to my husband. Even though we were constantly on the phone throughout that night, it was nothing near to real emotional or physical comfort. At moments like that, words of my secondary school friend, Sharifah Aisyah  "Eat cement and harden up!" could have helped. No time for cry baby - face the problem and solve it woman!

Sarah Affendi was my second recuer that night. I arrived to a welcoming hug, a cup of hot drink, a long hot shower, fresh clean pyjamas and heated duvet to end a dreadful night. Owh...we also had a super late supper - thanks Lyn for the roti jala and gulai ayam! Alhamdulillah for the helping hands. Alhamdulillah for the hardship. Most of all, Alhamdulillah for I was not in the studio when the ceiling hit the ground especially the bed! Alhamdulillah for everything.

The days following that night hold a different story...to be continued

Lebuhraya III

Cerita lebuhraya

Masih ingatkah episod I dan II?

Ianya pernah dinukilkan 

Sebelum bermula suatu pengembaraan

Di suatu persimpangan

Lebuhraya bertemu

Berpandangan, berpegang tangan

Pandu bergilir ganti, meskipun tidak tahu halatuju

Dengan tawakal dan doa abah mama

Dalam hati ada arah peta

Jatuh dan bangunmu, diriku ada

Sesat dan kelirukuku, dirimu ada

Saat indah, kita ada

Masa duka, kita bersama

Setiap perhentian ada cerita

Setiap cerita ada pengajaran

Setiap pengajaran ada tauladan

Setiap tauladan kita kutip pengalaman

Perjalanan ini masih jauh berbatu-batu

Lebuhraya saat ini berbelok, bertingkat

Tapi aku ada kamu, dan kamu ada aku

Perhentian rehat kita semakin dekat

Sedikit lagi, sabar sayang

Tuhan itu Maha Adil dan pemurah

Jangan ditinggal sembahyang

In Sha Allah akan sampai hari penyudah

Pengorbanan ini suatu perjuangan

Perjuangan ini rahmat suatu impian

The Influence of Islam on Science

 

Above: Dr William MacLehouse.
Below: Audiences in the lecture theatre

This 45-minute lecture over lunch hour has attracted quite a number of audience from all religous back ground to the Darwin Lecture Theatre in University College London (UCL) main campus. This interesting topic was chosen in conjuction with the UCL Islamic Week. I was extremely excited to attend this lecture - thank you to my friend Husna who mentioned about it a week ago. Alhamdulillah I was able to spare the time to be part of the audience today. Before we go further, I must say that what is recapped in here are from my notes and the best of my memory and understanding. Therefore, my words of choice may have minor decsrepencies to the original speaker (ofcourse!); but...I have tried my very best to be precise in explaining the message and In sha Allah, may Allah give us all the same understanding to benefit from this summary.

 

This talk was presentd by Dr William MacLehouse, a Lecturer in History of Science and Medicine, UCL. A little bit about Dr William: works on the connections between medical, natural philosophical, and religious thought in western Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. His research emphasises the transformations within medical knowledge as the medieval west rediscovered the Hippocratic-Galenic traditions via the Arabic world. His primary interest lies in the importance of childhood as a source of interest and concern within medieval society, as reflected in the fields of embryology, obstetrics, and pediatrics.

The lecture started with a brief introduction to the Abbasid (Abbasiyah) Dynasty in Baghdad which took place between 750 to 1250 AD. After the death of Prophet Muhammad (puh), the Isalmic empire shifted from Medina and Mecca to Baghdad. The Abbasid Dynasty was built in an impressive site and architecure to symbolise a great empire in the history of civilisation. It was once an important centre for political, commerce and scientific learning. In the glory of this dynasty the Muslims, Christians and Jews scholars collaborate to explore the magic of science. This was the era science of religion or the science of nature was borned. According to Dr William, this period was not just a passive education acceptance; in contrast, many challenging ideas was introduced. For example the development of astrology which saw the creation of many tools and mathematical methods to predict nature of the world. For instance a precise method to calculate Ramadhan. Al-Idrisi was one of the famous muslim astrologist who came out with a detailed map of the Isalmic World in the 12th century AD. Another example is Al-Jazari (1260 AD), a scientist who today, would be entitled Mechanical Engineer for his invention of a mechanical clock using water power.

An interesting question was rasied 'Why did the westerns stood to appreciate Islamic science in the 12th century?' There are may reasons but perhaps one of them was because the fallen of a rich leadership that did not survive (the Roman empire) in the west.

Later on, Dr William mentioned about the huge development of medicine knowledge and the Islam scholars behind them. In 1013 century AD in Spain, Al-Zahrawi contributed a wonderful work in compiling the descriptions and illustrations of surgical instruments.  It was also important to mention that the distillation technique was initiated since the 9th century; and this technique is still widely use to extract chemical compunds in most of our laboratories at present.  One prominent contribution of Islamic science in medicine was in the science of brain disease which we know refer to as psychiatry, mental illness or disease of the central nervous system. Among the many scholars who had done brilliant work on this was Al-Razi (Rhazes 925 AD). In one of his book, a lengthy discussion of the spritual and psychological aspect of the brain was presented beyond the scope covered by Greek scientists. Ibnu-Sina (980 - 1037 AD), a well respected physician in the area of mental illness has also contributed tremendous work and philosophy in medicine. In one of the old book, Ibnu Sina was known as the Prince of Medicine as he was illustrated crowned and seated in the middle between Hippocrates and Galen.  The advancement of Islamic medicine in psychiatry during those days came to a point of having many Islamic Hospitals that was carefully designed for space to heal by understanding the body and soul - something very lacking and almost forgotten in today's modern medicine.

To conclude, Dr William summarised that Islamic science has given a huge impact to modern medicne we have today; followed by a round of applause.



In the Q & A session, four questions were discussed in respect to limited time. However, I  manage to copied down three of them: 

1) The lecture so far presented only the good influence of Isalmis science; what were the bad influence? I could not think of any definite example in particular; perhaps errors in experiments that were later explored by western scientists. I'll have to get back to you about this.

2) To what extend did religion influence on science, in particluar the healing of mental illness? Parelal influence as in Chritianity and other religions. 

3) What and when did  the Isamic golden era declined? It could be the raising of western science; as how Islamic science took over the western in the beggining of the 12 th century. However, this seems to be an illogical theory because there are multiple explainations.



My friend Husna (right), who has been very persistent in
promoting the Islamic events and lectures in UCL



A=B+C

When I wake up this morning
I see birds flying and twinkling stars
What is happening??
It must be from yesterday's reading
If A=B where B is C+D
Then C is A minus D
How I wish my readings are easy like ABC
Someone once told me
A problem size depends on how big I want it to be
So today I will read again
Please Allah make me understand
So that the unknown become the known
And I can finish my studies and go HOME!

I am not a Super Star

I am not a Super Star
Neither do I own lots of money

As billions of pounds, dollars or dinars

Do not promise to make me happy!

I am just another commoner

Someone plain, simple and ordinary 

Neither very rich nor extremely poor

Like many others...I am just me

Many beautiful things I could not afford to buy

Exclusive circles which don't want me to stop by

No private jets to escape the crowd, no cards to show off in cutting queues

My story stays the same...nothing new

I am not a Super Star
But I do posses expensive love

Free for trade with those who appreciate

My circles are clans and friends

Who are exclusively sincere without pretence

I own personal private times to do whatever I like

To eat, wear, walk and talk whatever and however deem right

No fans to please, to judge, to satisfy or testify

My stories will always be around me, myself and I - same but never lame

Nothing new...because they are no fake but true

I am not a Super Star
Neither do I wish to be

A common public member is who I am

But in being common, I know where I stand

I follow the queue, I obey the rules

But never take my obedience for granted

For I fight with no fear if I am violated

I defend the rights of those who are wrongly fooled

New Page

When the lunar calender opens a set of new pages, I wish and hope something extraordinary has been written down for me and my loved ones. I am still experiencing the euphoric effect from the last 30 days of 2012 break with family and friends in Malaysia. The feel of being around our loved ones is a mixture of many happy emotions. To myself and I am sure to many others, it is therapeutic for healing worriness and sense of insecurity. We should be grateful for having who we have in our life (no matter how much we hated someone) because every single person who crosses our path brings blessings. Loosing a person whom we love so dearly can be a devastating experience which may potentially leads to an unexplainable loneliness understood only by those who have gone through the ordeal. Lets us broaden the definition of lost - we can loose someone because they passed away or we lost the affection of a living person who used to be very close to us. The first deals with grief...the latter is tricky as it needs clamness and a purified heart to push away hatred.

February will counts the second year of my late father-in-law in memory. I have known him for only 7 years (the age of my marriage when he passed away) but yet, the bond to him is strong that till this day, it feels like he is still around running arrands back home. Mother-in-law (MIL) shared 40 years of her life with him, obviously there is no way he will be forgotten. Deep inside, I want my MIL to be happy, to be able to move forward with the good memories of them together and leave behind the sorrows. Living in the present with sadness of the past brings us no where - in fact it instills negativity that affects our health, the people around us (especially those dear to us) and our surroundings. My husband and I have not given the happiness she longed for...not untill she has her own grandchild. Well, if concieving can be so easily done, then perhaps it would solve one hurdle (there is always a 50% chance that it would not). These are among the cycle of external pressures and expectation that subconciously increase the stress level of mankind. The singles are pressed to be get maried, the married are pressed to have a kid (and then more kids) and those with kids are pressed with other sorts of God-knows-what througout the pain of growing them. Each time a new year changes the calender, the stress gets more intensed because the cycle will restart at a highr level. In all branches of our life, the external pressure is harsh - but only if we allow them to run over.  Even if we achieve all the expectations - we will never, never ever satisfy everyone and at the final end there will always, always be someone or some people not happy with what we have achieved.

Therefore, for this year I choose to satisfy Allah swt, make myself happy and spread it around so that everyone can have a bit of it and I'll recieve some in return from them. Those who want more of me will have to wait till I am able to provide more than the usual without putting myself in misery. I choose to see the big picture, to think rational and not to over worry for things beyond my control. I choose to define my very own 'happiness', to treasure yesterday, to live in today and to dream of tomorrow.

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for spending time to read this entry.

A prayer on the eve of an anniversary

Walking down the memory lane

The path is MasyaAllah so beautiful and lovely

Even though some lanes unleash old pain

Others are mostly pictures of happy stories

Nine years ago on this very same date

Fate made two persons united from classmates as soul mates

At first it was wierd living with a friend as husband and wife

Alhamdulillah for the good things bestowed upon our life

Neither a second of regret nor bore

We are indeed embarassed to ask for more

But, for the sake of a better tomorrow

Please Allah, hear our prayers as we renew our vow

O' Allah,

Allow us to create many more memorable lanes in the years to come

Shower us, our parents, family, friends and the muslimin with love in Islam

Grant us the patience to survive dunya in Iman

Bless our souls with mercy in Barzakh wa Akhirah fil Jannah

Ameen

Happy 9th Anniversary to us

5-12-2012