Quote of the Day

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

Marie Curie

What My Destiny Holds

A poem about finding one's true love and spouse by Dr Mohammed Asif Chaudry

The days to encounter what my destiny holds are approaching!

The days to be adorned by my garment are approaching!
The softness spoken by a heart

The beauty perceived by a heart

The days for my heart to encounter its mate are approaching!
From a single soul were we created

By the grace of Allah will we be united

The days for this heart to dwell in tranquility are approaching!
To strive in His way hand in hand

To encounter what may come: together

The days to build a house in jannah are approaching
Oh Allah! give me the grace this day, to say,

The day to see what my destiny holds is approaching!

Quote of the Day

Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship - never.

Charles Caleb Colton

The Need to Love Someone, is that Wrong?

I found this article from my pile of files, old ones. Find it interesting, and would like to share it publicly.

Author Unknown.

Love can mean many different things: It can be a wonderful experience, which touches our deepest emotions. It is a quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present it hopes for the future, and it does not brood over the past.
It's the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals.
If you have loved in your life, it can make up for the many things that you are missing. That is the image of Love that I have in my mind. Does that sound so evil? Is it wrong to wish to have a soulmate, a confidant, a friend, a lover, and a spouse all in one? Someone with whom you share your inner most deepest thoughts? To see someone who truly impresses you in their character, personality and their honesty, and wish you can be with them forever?
Is it wrong to love someone in that way?
Yet when we find enough courage to publicly act on our love by either talking to our parents or the girl's parents, we suddenly get a bitter dose of reality that we were too naïve and idealistic in our intentions. The majority of people seem to think of such ideas as ridiculous and not valid in the real world. Have they forgotten that they themselves have been in the same situation not so long ago?
It is so very sad for me to see that we have to suffer unmarried life due to un-Islamic social factors. We must blame our un-Islamic social customs and materialistic outlook that cause some men and women to remain unmarried.
Many young people or their parents have very (unrealistically) high material expectations for their spouses. They make very difficult standards of education, profession, wealth or physical features. The result is that such people remain unmarried or others do not marry them because they do not meet those standards.
We Muslims must emphasize that best criterion according to Islam is good character, and judge a person on him or her character alone rather than family, social standing etc.
The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, "If someone whose faith and morals you trust makes a proposal of marriage to you then marry him, otherwise there will be trials and much corruption in the land."
As Muslims it is also our duty to help our Muslim brothers and sisters to get married. Allah says in the Quran, "And help to get married those among you who are single or the virtuous ones of your slaves, males or females. If they are in poverty Allah will give them means out of His grace. For Allah encompasses all and knows all things." (Al-Noor 24:32)

Quote of the Day

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mohandas Gandhi

Borrowed Heaven

The Corrs

All beauty all fade away, borrowed
All moonlight return today, borrowed
All sunrise all shooting stars, borrowed
All earth bound bare feet in clay
you know we’re standing on

Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven
All heartache all rivers cried, borrowed
Don’t stay out too late tonight, borrowed
I love you don’t wanna die, borrowed
You taste like paradise, I know I’m breathing in

Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven

You gave me life and I will give it back
But before I do, I’m gonna hold it tight
This is my prayer

All body, all skin all bone, borrowed
All silky, all smooth and warm, borrowed
All pleasure, all pain are one, borrowed
Almighty I stand alone
I know I’m living in

Borrowed borrowed heaven

Ini sebetulnya lagu yang sangat Islami, mengingatkan kita pada semua bahwa apa yang kita punya di dunia ini hanyalah pinjaman dari Yang Maha Punya. Surga dunia. Segala kenikmatan yang 'kita punya' saat ini sebetulnya milik Dia semata. Tidak selayaknya kita merasa memiliki. Ini sebetulnya untuk mengingatkan aku sendiri, yang kadang masih teramat posesif pada sesuatu yang sejatinya bukanlah milik kita. Ya Allah... ampunkan hamba... (speechless)

Quote of the Day

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Albert Einstein

Would You be Happier?

One of my favourite song from my favourite artistes.

Let me present, "The Corrs"

The Corrs, Dane DeViller, Sean Hosein

Have you ever wondered where the story ends
And how it all began, I do (I do, I do)
Did you ever dream you were the movie star
With popcorn in your hand, I did (I did, I did)
Do you ever feel you're some else inside
And no one understands, You are (you are)
And wanna disappear inside a dream
But never wanna wake, wake up

And then you stumble on tomorrow
And trip over today,
Would you be happier if you weren't so untogether
Would sun shine brighter if you played a bigger part
Would you be wonderful if it wasn't for the weather
You're gonna be just fine (You're gonna be just fine)

Are you not afraid to tell your story now
But everyone has gone, it's too late (it's too late, it's too late)
Why is everything you've ever said or done
Not the way you planned, mistake
And so you promise that tomorrow
Be different than today

Would you be happier if you weren't so untogether
Would sun shine brighter if you played a bigger part
Would you be wonderful if it wasn't for the weather
You're gonna be just fine (You're gonna be just fine)
I think you're gonna be just fine,
you're gonna be just fine, (fine) so don't worry baby (don't worry baby)
you're racing for tomorrow, not finished with today

Would you be happier if you weren't so untogether
Would sun shine brighter if you played a bigger part
Would you be wonderful if it wasn't for the weather
I think you're gonna be just fine, (You're gonna be just fine)

Would we be happier if we weren't so untogether
Would sun shine brighter if we played a bigger part
Would we be wonderful if it wasn't for the weather
I think we're gonna be just fine (we're gonna be just fine)
I think you're gonna be just fine (don't worry baby),

you're gonna be just fine (don't worry honey),
you're gonna be just fine (don't worry baby),
you're gonna be just fine

Quote of the Day

A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.
John D. Rockefeller

Bandung Orchid Festival

Kemarin jalan-jalan ke Metro Trade Center, menyempatkan untuk berkunjung ke event Bandung Orchid Festival yang akan berakhir hari Minggu ini. Bareng Reni, nganter pak Amran mbeli anggrek, persiapan menyambut kedatangan sang istri. Akhirnya pake mobilku juga, soalnya pak Deni, sopir resmi AIS, jadi ‘most wanted driver’. Kelamaan kalo mesti nunggu dia. Pergi dari Padalarang sekitar jam setengah tiga, nyampe MTC sekitar jam setengah lima-an, karena terjebak macet di Pasteur, dan sempat mampir di sebuah masjid di daerah Bubat untuk shalat ashar.
Sampai area pameran anggrek, kita lalu mulai jalan menyusuri stand demi stand yang memajang bunga-bunga terbaik mereka. Hampir di setiap stand, selalu ada yang menarik dan baru, mencuri perhatian dan membuat tangan ingin merogoh kocek untuk menukar keindahan itu untuk dibawa ke rumah kita.
Ibu pesan, minta dibawakan anggrek bulan kuning dan sekantong pakis. Aku baru melihat-lihat dan menanyakan harga di beberapa stand yang memajang beberapa varian anggrek itu. Setelah melewati beberapa stand tanpa membeli apapun, kita sampai di lokasi pameran tempat bunga-bunga terbaik yang memenangkan kontes, dipajang di sebuah area yang dipagari. Wuah… yang kita lihat di area itu memang hanya bunga-bunga pilihan, terindah di antara yang ada. Beberapa bahkan baru kita lihat saat itu. Bahkan pak Amran yang dari Singapur, negara yang terkenal dengan anggreknya, terpesona juga. Dia bilang bahwa beberapa di antara bunga yang dia lihat di sini, belum pernah dia lihat sebelumnya! Hmm…??
Hujan turun. Sementara itu kita mulai jalan kembali menyusuri ruas pameran lainnya. Pak Amran membeli anggrek pertamanya, dari seorang pedagang yang ‘pandai bicara’. Setelah tawar-menawar beberapa saat, kita sepakat dengan sebuah harga kompromi. Jalan lagi, dia tertarik pada sejenis anggrek hijau pucat yang berkelopak tajam. Di tempat itu kita tidak banyak menawar. Dia langsung angkat bunga itu untuk dibawa pulang. Setelah membayar harga bunga itu, tentunya… Di tempat berikutnya, penjualnya tak ada di tempat untuk ditanyai mengenai harga bunga yang kita minati, sebentuk anggrek berbunga kecil, ‘keluarganya’ golden shower, kupikir. Ketika kemudian si penjual datang, kutodong dia untuk memberi diskon karena ketiadaannya barusan. Haha…! Bermula dari harga 30 ribu untuk sebatang anggrek dalam pot kecil, tawar boleh tawar, dia beri harga 50 ribu asal kita beli dua pot. Hm… menggoda… akhirnya pak Amran membeli bunga itu, dengan salah satunya dijadikan hadiah untuk ibuku. Terima kasih… wah, ibu tentu akan senang sekali. Kita sebetulnya sudah ‘janji’ untuk berhenti membeli bunga lagi, tapi aku masih belum dapat anggrek bulan kuning buat ibuku.
Maghrib mulai turun. Cahaya sudah tak terlalu bagus untuk membedakan bunga yang cantik. Dalam perjalanan ke tempat parkir, satu stand bunga lainnya kita kunjungi lagi. Kutemukan beberapa pohon anggrek bulan kuning di situ, dan ketika kutanya harga, ya… nggak beda sih dengan harga bunga serupa di beberapa stand yang sudah kita kunjungi sebelumnya. Yang ini nggak begitu unik sih, sebetulnya… tapi gara-gara sudah capek jalan, plus pesan ibu untuk membelikannya anggrek bulan kuning, akhirnya kuambil juga satu pot yang terdiri dari dua pohon dengan sebatang tunas bunga baru. Di tempat itu, karena aku berhenti cukup lama, eh… pak Amran juga tergoda untuk membeli satu lagi anggrek keriting. Cantik. Tunasnya cukup banyak, dan kupikir… boleh juga nanti kuminta anak pohon itu kuminta untuk ibuku. Hehehe… ;)