the ramadhan lesson

the post ramadhan period saw the masjid losing the ramadhan jumaah rapidly ... the masjid was left with the usual lineup of makmum for al fajr as it was, before the ramadham started ... to those who managed to make it for al fajr congregating at the masjid the whole year round ... you must really have felt very beautiful inside ... alhamdulillah




the month long ramadhan saw drastic changes in the attitudes of the people in my community and probably in other community as well ... the masjid became a sanctury for almost all walks of life in search of blessings from Allah for being dutiful ... more so when the deed are rewarded 10 folds ... the iqtikafs ... the mandatory prayers ...







breaking fast in the masjids as well as having the opprotunity of contributing something to feed those breaking their fast ... doing the terawih prayers with 8 to 20 to more rakaats.


the terawih prayers end with the witr prayers ... which i felt should be done at the later time of the night rather that immediately after the terawih as the time was still as early as 10.00 pm ... followed by tadarus Al Quran session ... and once or twice a week ... the masjid will organise a taskirah session delivered by an Ustaz ...

I find the days and nights of ramadhan very challenging .... juggling with the daily chores at home and the office and the additional need to sincerely make myself available at the masjid for the nightly ibadah till dawn for the whole month ... sadden at times by not being able to live up to the expectation of Ramadhan.

flooding in the rice bowl

the monsoon season never fail to show itself every year nowadays ... bringing heavy rain causing erosion in the high land and flooding of the low lying land ... I am so sure now that there will be lots more rain coming in the future with the greenhouse effect getting worse ... the ice caps in the north and south poles will continue melting ... pity those living in the low lying areas ... acquiring losses and losses every time the "banjir" arrives!!! ... like I said earlier ... people never learn ... lots of padi land were reclaimed to develop housing estates ... and guess what!!! ... where else can the water in the padi field go to? ... if not up ... beyond the flood danger level ... notice the water mark when the flood reached its peak! (pic taken when the water receded)

Balik kampung for Eid Ul Fitr 1427 H

at the point of time when i wanted to return to my home town ... i realised that there were quite a list of things for me to do at my late parents-in-laws house ... there's no one to care for of the wooden house ... more so when flooding has been frequent in the area ... at my age, with two grown-up kids ... the grass cutting spree (i'd say) surely kept me exhaused and drained till breaking fast during the holy month of ramadhan ... armed with a weaved hat, a portable lightweight grass cutting machine hung on my back .. there i was swinging the cutter shaft from side to side trimming the grass and the stubborn lalangs

i remember that grass cutting was so much fun a few years back ... smelling the freshly cut grasses gathered in the front yard of the house ... with a stone set chairs and table under the mangosteen tree in the yard (see pic) ... use to have our family lunch there as often as we can when everytime we return home ... the stone set brought lots of sweet memories ... those days when ma and pa-in-law were still around ... they weeded all the grass in the yard and grew pegagas instead ... and harvest them on sundays and supply these "ulams" at a competitive price at the "pekan nat" near to a "not so busy" railway station ... what's left now are wild grasses, lalangs, untendered bouganvillas, ubi kayu, bananas plants, lots of creepers and crawlies ... the compound was so big (to me) that it took about three days to clear the yard

kuching - 3

a wider view of the mimbar area at masjid bahagian, kuching ... i have this crave for old buildings ... maybe i'm fond of masjid's structure and architecture .

warmest regards to all of you

surah yassin

tektik baru dikesan untuk menyara aktiviti yang tak de pekdah ... seseorang akan datang ke rumah atau tempat awam untuk menjual kitab yassin atas alasan derma bantuan kepada golongan yang memerlukan (siapa agaknya golongan yang memerlukan tu???) ... ada satu kisah benar ... boleh dikatakan kebanyakan masjid/surau menyimpan kitab-kitab yassin di tempat yang senang untuk diambil ... betul, sebab rata-rata penjaga-penjaga tempat ibadat berpikiran positif akan tujuan kedatangan sesiapa pun ke masjid adalah untuk beribadat ... tapi ... tanggapan begini telah di pergunakan oleh orang-orang tertentu untuk mengambil kesempatan di atas peluang yang ada di depan mata ...

 

 

apa yang berlaku ialah orang yang bermotif jahat akan datang ke tempat ibadat ini dan mengambil sebanyak mungkin kitab-kitab yassin ketika tempat ibadat tidak diawasi dan memulakan usahanya (berdikari la ni secara sendirian atau berkumpulan) dengan menjual kitab-kitab ini pulak kepada orang ramai dengan alasan membantu golongan yang memerlukan ... ramai yang terkena ... sebab ... nak dapatkan butiran tentang sesebuah pertubuhan kebajikan amatlah mudah seperti yang terdapat di banyak majalah majalah ... cuma ambil keratan artikel tentang pertubuhan kebajikan itu dan laminetkan ... bawa keratan yang telah dilaminetkan bersama kitab-kitab surah yassin yang telah diperolehi di masjid dan surau secara percuma dan tanpa kebenaran ... dan seterusnya .... anda tau apa yang akan dilakukan.

 

 

sampaikanlah pesanan ini kepada petugas-petugas di masjid/surau ... pastikan semua kitab-kitab yang ada dalam simpanan masjid/surau mempunyai sekurang-kurang satu tanda "wakaf untuk 'nama masjid/surau/madrasah'" bagi cuba menangani program nakal terbaru yang bermodal kecil dan mencegah kecurian di tempat ibadat ... dan menolong mengurangkan dosa manusia.

 

juga memandangkan bahawa orang ramai biasanya mewakafkan al quran dan sebagainya kepada tempat masjid/surau/madrasah atas niat amal jariah ... kesian!!!

 

akan sampai satu masa nanti ... ada orang yang berebut-rebut untuk menguruskan jenazah tanpa perlu ada ilmu kerana masyarakat biasanya ... tak tahu apa yang berlaku di tempat mandi jenazah ... dipermudahkan pula bila solat jenazah dalam mode sirrr!!! ... AWAS!!!

 

INGATLAH ... KEMAKMURAN MASJID/SURAU ADALAH URUSAN KITA SEMUA

 

warmest regards to all of you

 

kuching - 2

the wooded mimbar area at masjid bahagian ... i admire the craftsmanship ... fantastic ... there are not that many skilled craftsman around today ... their skill-set disappear when they are gone ... and that will be any nation's loss culturally!!! (01513)

kuching - 1

the ablution area of masjid bahagian in kuching city on one friday noon ... no rush to cleanse oneself here when one think of a similar session in semenanjung ... so peaceful!!! ... the masjid is close to the sungai! ... i love viewing the sungai slow flowing water going downstream (015121)