She made my day

...by retweeting me! I hope she had a good day today.

UPDATE: Alamak, yang retweet saya tu sebenarnya bukan Shila Amzahlah. Parody account saja. WTH is a parody account?

Noorun 'ala Noor

This beautiful phrase is stuck in my head. Light upon light. Can you picture it? This phrase is mentioned in surah 24:35 which is beautiful in its translation. I am sure it is stunning in Arabic. O Allah give me the 'ilm to understand its entire meaning. The following is taken from www.alim.org. (You can listen to the recitation by pressing the yellow button). Various translations are given below.

(It would make a nice name for a baby girl. A more Malay variation of it would be Nurul 'Aina Munirah = The light of our eyes the brilliant, illuminating)

Surah 24. An-Nur, Ayah 35

۞ اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ ۖ الْمِصْبَاحُ فِي زُجَاجَةٍ ۖ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لَا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ ۚ نُورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ ۗ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

Asad

:

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were, 50  that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is [enclosed] in glass, the glass [shining] like a radiant star: 51  [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree -an olive-tree that is neither of the east nor of the west 52  - the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light [of itself] even though fire had not touched it: light upon light! 53  God guides unto His light him that wills [to be guided]; 54  and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things. 55

Malik

:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche, in which there is a lamp, the lamp is enclosed in crystal, the crystal is of a starlike brilliance, it is lit with the olive oil from a blessed olive tree which is neither eastern nor western, its very oil would almost be luminous though no fire touched it - as though all the means of increasing Light upon Light are provided - Allah guides to His Light whom He pleases. Allah cites such parables to make His message clear to the people; and Allah has knowledge of everything.

Pickthall

:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light, Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is knower of all things.

Yusuf Ali

:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree an Olive neither of the East nor of the West whose Oil is well-nigh luminous though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light. Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.  2996   2997   2998   2999   3000   3001   3002   3003

Hero

Abah is a hero in my eyes because he kicked his smoking habit; once when I was 9. He went back to it but later quit for good.

One Saturday in 1973, I had to go to school for extra class to prepare for year 3 assessment exam. Usually I would take the school bus, but since Saturday was not a normal schooling day, I would have to take the public Bas Sri Jaya. I had no pocket money, so I walked instead. The short-cut route to my school was about 4km. When Abah returned from work, he asked Mak where I was. Mak replied that I went to school. How? On foot. Abah said, kesian anak aku. Aku merokok sampai tak ada duit nak bagi anak duit tambang. (All this were relayed by Abah much later). So he quit. I don't know when he picked up smoking again, but I remember him quitting the final time when I was in my teens. He carried Hacks sweets in his pocket to suck on whenever the craving returned.

I know smoking is addictive and a tough habit to kick, but with determination and pure intention, one can succeed. Don't wait until you are compelled to quit. Because by then, you would have no choice but to quit.

Cerita Mak dulu-dulu

Menurut Mak dia bukan sepenuh Cina. Dia seperempat Cina. Dia dan adiknya Husin diambil anak angkat oleh Nek Peah dan Tok Jadi yang memang tak ada zuriat. Kakak Mak dan abang Mak pun anak-anak angkat juga. Tapi Husin meninggal semasa kecil. Bila Mak Ngah saya beranak sulung, anaknya Rokiah dibela oleh Nek Peah. Tapi yang mengasuhnya tentulah Mak yang ketika itu berumur 14 tahun. Mak sempat bersekolah sampai darjah tiga sahaja. Kak Kiah memanggil Nek Peah "emak", dan emaknya "Nyai". Dia memanggil Mak "Busu".

Tok Jadi terkenal di Bukit Duyung dengan beroknya yang bernama Abu. Mak cerita, satu hari Tok Jadi bawa Mak dan Abu naik basikal ke kedai kopi. Masa tu sekitar Mak berumur sebelas tahun. Mak membonceng di depan dan Abu di belakang. Adalah seorang budak jerit, "eh Tok Long bawa beruk putih kat depan". Tok Jadi naik berang lalu lepok budak sebab panggil anak dia beruk putih. Tapikan Mak memang sangat "laku" sebab dia putih. Abah ialah orang yang ke-11 merisik Mak. Tok Jadi pilih Abah sebab masatu Abah kerja kat pasar. Gerenti bawa balik lauk hari-hari.

Si Abu ni pelik sikit. Bila Tok Jadi nak suruh dia panjat kelapa, Tok Jadi kena tukar nama dia jadi Minah. "Minah, panjat pokok kelapa!", baru dia panjat. Saya sempat tengok berok ni. Mesti masa itu si Abu sudah sangat tua. Kesian tengok dia selalu kena rantai dekat kolong.

I. Got

MashaAllah! Tabarakallah! Walhamdulillah!

Unfortunate names

Melaka people of the old generation had no qualms naming their children after anything that came to their mind. Names that would embarrass the child for at least two generations after. My parents related some of the names of their childhood; Dapur, Che Itam Comot, Ceduk. Then there were the Mats; Mat Lampu, Mat Tabung, Mat Sondok, etc. These are not nicknames, mind you. For the record, Dapur married Mat Lampu. When my late aunt informed my father that Dapur had passed away, her daughter who happened to be nearby couldn't stop laughing, "Hah, dapur pun boleh mati?"

One time my sisters and I visited the cemetery, and we read the names on the tombstones. We checked with each other thinking our Jawi was not good enough, and broke into laughter right on the burial ground because the names were downright funny. You would laugh too at the name Kecot bin Lisut, among others.

My nephew complained that his friends made fun of his grandfathers' names. I was embarrased with my grandfathers' names too.Why can't they be normal names like Ahmad or Zainal? And then my father's, oh why did my grandfather decide to name him after the day he was born. I had a problem with it until until an Arab said that my father's name is like an Arab's. Only then it became a non-issue. My father also has a nick-name which everyone in the kampung uses to address him until today, and that is Ujan. How do you think he got it?