Poem on Music

Poem on Music
By Kamal el Mekki

O Muslim, lawful things have good attributes. Where is the good in singing, dancing and listening to flutes?

Can we compare the words of singers and sounds of musicians… To the glorious Qur’an, it’s lessons, wisdoms and admonitions?

How many singers do you know and give admiration. And how many do you know of the companions and the following generation?

How much do you spend on singers from your wealth? Compared to how much you know of Islamic scholars.

Do you see how much is memorised of music songs? While you ignore the book (i.e. Al Qur’an) to which memorisation belongs.

How much do you memorise of these incantations? And sway back and forth in intoxication.
Have you not seen those who follow the misguided? And increase the loudness of music when they should hide it?

And who writes their songs, thinkers, or men of academia? or maybe scholars like Ahmad and Malik or even ibn taymiyah.

O you who listens to music… Don’t you see that all the songs of the world and all the lyrics you’ve seen Wouldn’t compare in reward to even Alif Laam Meem.

My First Arabic Post (Yay!)

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

اسمى نور انده بروتسر

الجنسيتى اندونسيا

اعمل في الشركات الخاصة

انا احب ان اتعلم اللغة العربية

احدث الإنكليزية و اندونسيا. اريد ان اتعلم اللغة الفرنسية ايضا

هواياتي السفرواقراالكتاب واكتب

أتمنى انتما و انتن بخيرا والحمد لله

مع السلامة

Another Intimacy With Nature: Curug Seribu

When I first visited Bukittinggi, I started to fall in love with hiking. I enjoyed climbing up the hills to find a breathtaking scenery. It is also very refreshing to breathe the fresh air. I used to be a beach-lover. However, I don't know why now I enjoy the calmness of the mountainous areas. Perhaps, it has something to do with soul-changing? I don't know for sure. But now I am craving crazily to hike.

My second hike this year was with my office mates. We went to the foot of Mount Salak in Bogor Area. It took like three hours trip by car and continued with another 3 hours for trekking to the waterfall. The road was so crazy. It was made of stones and muds alongside. Some of the road parts were very steep, we were like climbing. I went home with broken shoes and stiff legs. But overall, I really really enjoyed it. And I would love to have another similar trip again in the future.

Some purple flowers I saw before trekking

Welcome gate

Sneakers pose 1

The waterfall

Sneakers pose 2

Down the waterfall

Stream I saw on my way back

Bye bye sneakers T_T

Farewell Ramadhan

Ramadhan has gone by but the sweetness still can be felt. I have read a quote somewhere that Ramadhan month is like Yusuf (AS). Yaqub (AS) has 12 sons but Yusuf (AS) is the most beloved of all. For some muslims Ramadhan is like a month of trial. They will do their best to rectify their actions. They start to pray on time, recite Al Quran everyday, do dhikr, and do many other good deeds. Their Imaan will raise during this month. For some other people, Ramadhan is the only month they are practicing true Islam. Suddenly, people who never pray before, become obedient. They start to fast, pray five times a day, and do other good deeds, for that month only. After Ramadhan passes, they will be non practicing muslims again. And there is the last group. Some people who do not even feel the spirit of Ramadhan. They do not fast and do not pray five times a day. Or they fast but do not perform prayers. This month is just like another month for them, nothing special. However, on the day of Eid, they will be the first one to say Eid Mubarak. I pray that we are not among the second and third categories. I pray that we all raise our Imaan after a month of intensive worship to Allah. I pray that our sins are forgiven and we become people of jannah. Ameen.

There are many things we will miss from Ramadhan. Though the fasting and taraweeh and other deeds are for some of us considered hard, yet people still look forward to meeting this month in the following year. I do miss Ramadhan though it is only like two days away. And what do I miss?

- Iftaar (fasting break)

Some people say you have a wonderful meal when you can dine in a luxurious restaurant. Or when you can eat anything you like whenever you like. But someone who has observed fasting must all agree that the best meal eaten is when you break your fast. When Athan is announced, you take a glass of water and say a dua, every drop of water flowing inside your throat is such a bless. Eventhough you have only dates for iftaar, you will feel content with that. That's the best meal you've ever had. Moreover, there is a good reward that when you can give some foods to other person, you will get the same reward of one day fasting. My friends and I were competing on this last time. I said to her, this day is my time to treat you Iftaar. And she said, okay the next day will be my turn. We also distributed dates to our neighbors for fasting break. This is the blessing that I will always miss during Ramadhan. Fasting teaches us to share our wealth to our neighbors or the needy. It also teaches us to be content with what we have and reminds us that there are people who are starving out there and we have to feel their pain as well.

- Du'a (supplication)

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, "Everyday and night of Ramadhan Allah sets free a great number of souls from Jahannam. And for every muslim during everyday and night there is a time when his dua is certainly accepted".

If a beggar is allowed to ask anything for a month, would he make a wish list? Would he perform the best language so that the giver will be willing to give his wealth? SURELY. Allah has promised that any Ramadhan dua will be accepted. Therefore many muslims make a lot of dua to The Lord. If a dua is like a bubble, I am sure there will be a lot of bubbles flying out in the sky in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and in the last third part of night during Ramadhan. The tears fell down from our eyes are blessings. The moment is so sacred that we can't hold our tears. This is the moment when we feel really close to The Creator. You also have tranquility and trust because He has promised us that our duas will be accepted. Insha Allah

- I'tikaf (staying in the masjid with the intention of worshipping Allah)

Masjid is the best place to worship Allah. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the wives gave us examples to stay in the masjid during the last 10 days of Ramadhan. I want to admit that this year was my first experience of doing I'tikaf and I feel this was retreating and amazing. When you are at masjid, meaning you are with people who intend to worship Allah. You will be encouraged to do more good deeds. After Iftaar, we did Maghrib prayer in congregation and after that people began to recite Al Quran until before Taraweeh time. After Taraweeh, more Al Quran recitation. And then at 2 AM people woke up for Qiyamul lail. Imagine if you are at home, will you be able to do this? Nope for sure. Because there will be too much distraction. TV is on. Your bed seems so comfortable. Your video game is tempting. Your computer is on. Your brothers and sisters ask you to chat with them. I'tikaf secludes you from those worldly things in life. The first time experience, when I woke up in the morning, in the masjid after Fajr prayer, I was feeling so refreshed. At that time, I felt so tranquil and that dunya did not really matter anymore for me. But when you are out of that, well, welcome to dunya. 

Those three deeds can be done as well outside Ramadhan. But it will not be the same. It is because the specialty of Ramadhan. The great rewards are there for us who sincerely do our good deeds. Let me give you an analogy. Once in a year, a company must give annual leave for the employees so that they can take a break from day to day actvities in the office. It is every employees' right. It is just the same as Ramadhan. This month is our annual leave from the scarcity of spirituality, the negligance of our religion, and many other things which make our hearts hardened. When we are thinking that Ramadhan is our right, we will happily welcome it. If we don't consider it as an obligation, then we will not feel burdened.

I hope we do not only miss the special Ramadhan dishes that we can only enjoy once a year. 

May Allah accept this Ramadhan from us and give us life to see the next One! Ameen

Direction: Jannah

Hopefully it is not too late to realize that Allah has granted everything I want in this life. I want to have a stable job after college, and He gave me that. I wanted to have stuffs I couldn't buy at my young age, He also bought me them. I wanted to travel to places I wish, He made me go as well. I basically have everything I always want. All the material things. And then one moment, I realize as well that there are many things I do not actually need. I always wanted to work in a government office. When I failed in the last step in one of government office, my heart crumbled. But later I know that Allah has saved me. There are so much filthiness, fitnah, and corruption in that job that I may not stand it. I am a simple person and hates intrigues. The other thing is Master's degree. Do I really need that? How many more years should I spend for worldly knowledge. A knowledge that will not benefit me in hereafter. Isn't that enough that I learnt it from 7 up to 23 years old, which is, 16 years? Shouldn't I learn something else which can benefit my religion and life in hereafter? Another example is my ambition to travel the world. Do I really have to land my shoes in every country in the world? Isn't it better if I travel to places where I can improve my Islamic knowledge? Or a place where I can contemplate Allah's creation? Pilgrimage is what I should do to Makkah, Madinah, other Islamic countries like Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine. Would it be much worth visit rather than having a Eurotrip? Though I still want to visit UK because I think it is a central of Islam in Europe.

Re- inventing and re-writing goals in my life. Alhamduillah Allah has opened my eyes, heart, and mind. He also made me put priorities in life. If it is not by His mercy, I will still be in love with worldly purpose of life. I realize that I cannot do everything in my life. I cannot travel all around the world and at the same time being a religious woman. I cannot be a career woman and at the same time be a great mother. I cannot study worldly knowledge and Islamic knowledge at the same time, and then I hope myself getting into paradise. It just does not make any sense. The ambition I had before were on worldly matters. I never once put my dream to be a perfect muslim and enter jannah. I really cannot be so so muslim and wish to get into jannah. I cannot get a pious husband if I myself, is still karaokeing, hanging out till night, shopping till drop, and flirting with men. 

World (dunya) is a temporary life. When I die, what is the first question inside my grave? Will the angel ask me, are you satisfied with your life? Tell me about what things that make you happy in your life. Then I start blabbering that I have been into this and there, I have a lot of money, and bla bla bla. I wish it was. But the reality is, he will ask the basic question about my belief. Who is your God? Who is your Messenger? What is your religion? If I don't answer it correctly then I will get a lash or two. And it will be too painful. How can I answer those questions correctly if I do not recognize Allah, Muhammad (SAW), and Islam? If the worship I have done is only a ritual without any realization by heart, would it be useless. If I don't remember Allah and The Messenger (SAW) by heart, can I answer those questions in the grave yard. If I don't cry remembering Him, or when I am reading His kalams, can I remember Him as well when I die?

Have you ever imagined how long we will be in the grave until Resurrection Day? There were people who died hundred years ago. And if Resurrection Day will be another hundred year, it means those people need to wait another hundred years. If they died good, they would have enjoyment in the grave. If they died bad, they would get lash and punishment every single day. Surely it will be so much painful.

So yes, I need to live a good life. A good life is to live on a straight path. I don't have to mention how. Every muslim must know how to live it like that, yet they choose another path.

What I am doing now, I am opening my diary, reading through pages, throwing away my past writings with past goals. Then, I am flipping a new page, starting to write a whole different goals, and moving on.

The Maintainer of all

A poem by Velma Cook

"Everything we have is provided by Allah, the Almighty. The suns shines on those who believe in Him and those who don't. His Mercy extends to all living things. One part of His Mercy is spread throughout all creation and the other 99 is kept for the believers on the Day of Judgement"

You are the only One Who knows me
Who sees so well what I am

You never tire sending me gifts
which I don't deserve

I do so much wrong
Am never grateful enough

I make a promise to You
which I rarely keep

Yet You forgive and let
me start afresh

You have given me all I have
All I know

I turn to You alone for help
and You're always there

You're my Creator
the Maintainer of all

The One on Whom all creation depends

The Creator and the created

A Poem By Velma Cook

The busy moments of life cover up the truth of reality as we go unaware through our lives, until death catches up.

Sometimes I just stop and think. Time freezes for a second and I seem to become attuned to a reality that exists far beyond the petty struggles of everyday life. Gazing at the outline of desert hills in the distance or a lone, brightly colored flower, whose skinny, straggly stalk grows out of a bare, dry rock, struggling in its upturned motion toward the light of the sun. At other times, I lie beside the window at night, staring at the sky and the twinkling brightness of stars that shine so many milllions of light years beyond my reach, and yet whose light filters through the heavens to reach me, in my isolation; meeting in the twisted turns of time and destiny. How long did it take the light of that star to reach my eyes? How many people walk beneath its shimmering, timeless beauty, vamping out laughter and loutish cries of vanity, oblivious to the wonders that envelope them in life. 

I ponder on the steps I've walked through the days since I was born. The people whose paths crossed mine in friendship and love and others whom I carelessly ignored. The hard lessons of life that shaped my mind and heart and steered my thinking toward the Power that rules this glorious manifestation of Creation and Life. Contorted cries of pride and self conceit seem out of place in a world that slaps down the oppressor; whose deeds follow in a trail of fire and blackness. One day the deeds sent forth will catch up with the tyrant and choke the vanity from the same lips that ordered pain, poverty and death. 

Nothing escapes the Creator. No silent word whispered in the dark of night, goes unheard. No evil intent hidden in the recesses of the heart, goes unknown. No stifling corruption or bandits hand, goes unseen. The feeling of freedom that pushes the oppressor to more and more power, is in reality an illusion. For every word and action bears a consequence that bounces like so many ripples on a pond, from a pebble carelessly tossed in sparkling waters. Long after the hand that threw the stone has gone, the ripples continue to form their circles and shapes. Like the words we utter into the wind, which carries the sound of our voices in waves of air that continue to orbit the earth until the day that all will be renewed and then we will hear those same words, see those same actions and the fruit of our toil. 

Wasted time and life. How can a day pass where we cease to feel the beauty of life? Seek to understand the truth that emanates from our very existence? How can the Creator be ignored, when all that surrounds us, teems with life and meaning? The sand in our shoes, is carelessly discarded. How many oceans and seas carried each minute grain to its destiny? The very air we breath and food we eat, stand as marks of the Mercy of the Creator, Who supplied us with all our needs. Yet we eat and drink, without gratitude and without feeling for the needy. 

All within and around us belongs to the Creator. The wealth, we say we worked for, is a gift, for who gave us the strength and ability to work? Who provided the means of effort? The air? The salts and minerals that constitute our very being? Do we dig the earth in greed, oblivious to the wonder of the hands and minds we bear? Or the wonders that the treasure-filled earth bears for our use? 

These precious moments of reflection, cast my mind upon the shore of truth; light; beauty, that stand as proof of life and death and the life that follows it. For as surely as the star casts its light on this dreary earth, all in creation will bear witness to me and my life's doings. 

Either speaking for my good or my damnation. 

One Sacred Question of Life

At some points in our life, we will be questioning of what is the purpose of our life. Why are we here in this world? Is what I am doing now right? Some are lucky enough to find this question in the early age, some in the middle age, and some in the old age. Some are lucky to find the answer earlier, some later, and some never find the answer. That is a bless from Allah if we, at one point, question ourselves, and finally find the answer. Do you remember our past prophets? They began to get the revelation after they get answers of that "sacred question". Prophet Ibrahim A.S. at some point, asked to himself, why his father worshiped statues? Those statues could not do anything. They could not even eat the sacrifice that people gave, let alone solved every problem. Then he began to search and search the answer and finally Allah led him to the right answer and he was trusted to be His messenger. The same thing happened to Prophet Muhammad SAW. Where did he receive his first revelation? It was in Cave Hira. It was at the right moment when he felt unrest and there were a lot of questions in his heart about the existence of God, then he decided to contemplate in a one quiet space in that cave. And Allah had finally led him to become the greatest man on earth and rahmatan lil'alamiin (a mercy for all universe).

So, the question about our existence is a bless from Allah for every human being. If we receive that question, be grateful, for Allah has led you to His way. What should we do when we have that questions in mind? Search for the answer. Definitely. Do not despair and do not ignore that questions. Once you ignore it, you will be hindered from Allah's bless. We can see how people revert from other religion to Islam. We can see how a very bad person changes into a very pious person. We can see someone can finally find peace of mind after hardship in life. It is because they have found the answer. What is the answer of the question?

“And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans, except they should worship Me (Alone).” (Adh-Dhariyat: 56)

The answer is Allah, the God Almighty, The Most Merciful, The Exalted One. Someone who can find the answer of the question, has found Allah. We're not created in this world for other purpose than to worship Him. We may posses many worldly purpose of life. We want to be a successful person. We want to have a high educational degree. We want to have a wonderful family. We want to travel around the world, and so on. However, those purposes will not be completed if we do not worship Allah wholeheartedly. Everything we have, everything we do, will not result in contentment of heart and mind if we neglect this one purpose of life. We will feel empty, we will feel despair, we will never be satisfied. But if we have Allah in our heart, everything does not matter anymore. We may be poor, but if we have Allah, we will be the richest person on earth. We may be sad and depressed at one moment, but if we have Allah, that pain will easily slip away.

We're sometimes mistaken that happiness can be found in money, properties, insurance, husband, kids, and so on. We do not realize that we worship them instead of Allah hoping that it will give us happiness. Apparently, happiness can only be found inside us. If our heart is at peace and we feel happy and content, the whole world will belong to us. How do we feel peace?

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest (Ar Ra'd:28)

Would we want to be happy and peaceful? Would we want the whole world belong to us? It is not by chasing and catching every opportunity to be successful and neglecting Allah. It is indeed by leaving all worldly temptations and turn to Allah. Love Him sincerely, make Him our only source of happiness, embrace Him, lean on Him whenever we can. When Allah loves us back, there is nothing more beautiful than that and the whole world is surely on our hand.

”When Allah loves a slave,calls out Jibril and says:”I love so-and-so:so love him”.Then Jibril loves him.After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so-and-so;so love him;and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him.”(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

I love you dearly, see you in hell

“Say (Muhammad): If you do love Allah, follow me. Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. For Allah is The Most Forgiving, The Most Merciful” (3:31)

Have you ever loved someone (non-mahram) very dearly? In this century when all people date, especially in a non Islamic country, this phenomenon is considered a normal one. People have relationship in order to get to know each other. Love blossoms and feeling is uncontrollable at this state. Sometimes waiting for him to text or to call can cause heart beats very fast. Sometimes listening to his voice can create butterflies in the stomach. He seems perfect in your eyes. He seems to love you dearly. He seems to listen and understand every problem of you. He seems very kind.He seems that he is willing to sacrifice many things for you. He seems that he can make a good husband for you. Is that for real? We never know. 

We are sure that we fall in love but apparently it is only an infatuation. Infatuation can make people blind. Infatuation blocks your logical thinking. What is bad looks very good. What is good looks very bad. Someone who is infatuated will deny every truth which people offer. Your parents might say, he is not good for you, look at his history with many girlfriends. But you will keep denying and saying that it is different with me. He loves me dearly. I am not like his other girlfriends. A heart which is infatuated will be difficult to receive knowledge. Do you know how many tenageers can achieve high score at school by having boyfriend/ girlfriend relationship? I bet very little. Your parents are right by saying to you to focus on your study and do not have boyfriend. When you are in love with someone who is not legal for you, you will keep thinking whether or not he will cheat on you. Will someday his love disappear from his heart? Will I be with him forever? This thought will freak you out so badly. You will never feel content. You will forget how to pray khusyu’, how to really focus on your Al Quran reading, you will have an argument with your parents upon small matters. You’ve changed psychologically without you know it. So my question is, do you want to live peacefully? Guard yourself from haram things and start halal ways.

Rasulullah Salallahu 'Alaihi Wassalam said “To gaze at a strange (ghair mahram) women is zina of the eyes.To  listen  to passion-stirring words is zina of the ears. To converse with a strange woman (and derive pleasure thereof) is zina of the tongue. To touch a strange woman is zina of the hands. To walk towards her is zina of the feet. The heart desires and craves. The sexual organ then either testifies to these or denies them" (Muslim).

If we read the above hadith, Masya Allah, perhaps many of us who have not guarded ourselves from any form of dating (online and real dating) , have indeed performed zina. What does Allah reward the adulterer and fornicator? Hellfire for sure. Dating is haraam, brothers and sisters. So, let’s have a real contemplation. Do you want to throw yourself into Hellfire? Do you want to throw someone you love to hellfire? Do you fear Allah and His words? Do you think that the love of your heart is supposed to be given to Allah? The ultimate love, the yearningto be with Him all the time, the passion to please Him, it is all Allah who deserves most. For He is our creator, and someday we will come back to Him. Wouldn’t we want to meet Him and see His face in jannah?

If you feel remorse at the thought, don’t worry Allah is The Most Merciful. Human beings have many flaws therefore Allah asks us to do taubah. Start making a revolution for yourself. Break up with him and stop any kind of contact with him. Give him the number of your father/waliand tell him to contact him if he is ready to marry you. For brothers, please do the same thing if you are not ready for marriage. Contact her wali once you feel you are ready to propose. And in the moment of waiting, busy yourself by gaining Islamic knowledge, praying regularly, giving charity, exercising, or anything which can increase your Imaan. I am very sure that your heart will remain at peace and you will find the true love someday Insya Allah. 

Sometimes, we act like disbelievers thinking that without dating, we will never  find a man, and we will never ever get married. We forget that Allah has prepared a mate for us. Someday, at the right time, the right man will turn up. If we  want a righteous spouse, that can only be acquired from halal way, not by dating. Sometimes, we act as disbelievers as well, saying that if we don’t get to know each other, the marriage will be doomed. The successful  marriage is not determined by how well we know our spouse. It is determined by how well we appreciate and respect our spouse. It is determined as well by how far is the understanding about the right and duty of husband and wife. After all, is it Allah who puts love in everyone’s heart? Love which blossoms after marriage is the best kind of love. It is because Allah has blessed it and no syaithaan can separate that love. You will find a tranquility and Insya Allah both of you will meet in jannah. Sometimes we say that there are many couple who date and they still can have a happy married life. Everyone has many reasons to live happily in life. But, hey, wait the minute, if they both go to hellfire afterwards, will you join them?

May Allah keep us steadfast in His deen.

Lower Your Gaze For Better Heart

As a muslim, we must believe that what is written in Al Quran has its purpose. For example, Allaah has instructed us to avoid eating pork and drinking khamr. We, as a slave of Allaah must believe that they are good for us. Many medical examinations have proven that both things can lead to many health problems and will eventually also create social problems. Allaah allows something for us for a reason and prohibits something for a better reason as well. Now, I am going to discuss two verses, which Allaah has instructed us an action which is beneficial for us. But nowadays, we keep forgetting to maintain this good virtue. Here are the verses:

24:30:

"Tell the believing men that they should reduce/lower (يغضوا) their gaze/vision and guard their private parts"

24:31:

"Tell the believing women that they should reduce/lower (يغضضن) their gaze/vision and guard their private parts"

Those verses clearly ask the believing men and women to reduce/ lower gaze and guard their private parts. There is certainly a connection between lowering gaze and guarding private parts. 

Unfortunately many Muslims has now forgotten about the importance of lowering gaze. The world has changed. The world we live in now is the world when free mixing between men and women is just something justifiable. We interact without limits with opposite sex. Islam has a very noble and strict value regarding the interaction between men and women. It is prohibited for Muslim to commit adultery (zina) or even getting close to it. And one of the way of preventing it is by lowering the gaze.

"Do not go near to adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and evil, opening roads (to other evils)" (Quran 17:32).

So, how can lowering gaze avoid adultery (zina)? We sometimes give an excuse that if you have intention to commit adultery, then you will just do it. But if you do not have any intention, you will never do that. The question is, where does the intention come from? Old saying tells us that fire won't happen if someone does not lit the match. 

First of all, I am going to talk about lowering the gaze in the case of interaction between men and women. We sometimes bump into guys who are cute or handsome or beautiful. When we see such person our pupils are widened, heart is pumping fast, and we say, Masya Allaah how cute that girl/ boy is. Then what happens, your brain records it and you remember that person for several days, weeks, or months sometimes. You might imagine how wonderful if he/she can be our boyfriend/ girlfriend. You are smiling like crazy imagining that. Then what else, if the person is around you, you will try to find more information about him/ her. Then, wow, you've got the number! Then, the second phase begins, flirting phase. You flirt with that person and try to shoot Cupid arrows through his/her heart (most people say). When it works (hurray), you will date him/ her. When it does not work, you will feel restless and feel that the world has just ended. Everything is blue. Your heart is broken. In the other side, when it works, everything will be beautiful. The world belongs to both of you. You are holding hands together, going out together, watching movies together. Then everything is up to you. Adultery might happen or might not happen. But do we remember that Allaah does not only forbid us to do adultery but any act of getting close to it? So, we could say any form of dating is haraam, right? 

The Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It is better for you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is not permissible to you.

I am not going further about dating. But that is the first example I would say about the further effect of our unrestrained gaze. 

The second example is about our internet and online world. Some of us might say, I don't look at women/ men. I don't date. I don't even touch women/ men. We happen to be someone who just enjoy being at home, browsing youtube, and probably just facebooking. Wait the minute, but what do we watch? It will be good, Masha Allaah, if we listen to the lecture of brother Yusha Evans, or some other syaikhs, or reading Islamic material. However, let us admit, some of us might go to facebook looking at cute pictures of our male or female friends. Then we think, how beautiful she is, how handsome he is. Then we start commenting on the picture. Then our friends reply the comments saying thanks. Then we start asking what will you do for the weekend. Then everything goes like my previous scenario. I am not going to refer to pornographic resources which have more damages to our behavior. I am sure we all know what are the effects of being addicted to pornographic materials.

Lowering gaze means we have to protect our gaze from any kind of thing which is haraam for us. How do we know that it is haraam? The sign of haraam is when our heart is not at peace experiencing one situation. When we look at non-mahram, we know Allaah has forbidden it, so it is haraam. When we look at the pictures of someone who is so beautiful, handsome, or sexy, we feel that our desire is uncontrollable. Then it is haraam as well. So, it is a must for every muslim to restrain the gaze. Why Allaah ask us to do so? Because with that way we can be more protected. In that way our heart will be purer. Islam's fundamental value is about the importance of purification of body and soul. When we can restrain our vision to something which makes us restless, something which leads to haraam thing, it will give the heart happiness and enjoyment. We will have a better emotional state as well from this good deed. It does not mean that we do not look at a person at all when we talk. Eye contact is allowed in formal interaction. When our heart is pure, we can easily have more remembrance of Allaah and our Imaan will improve. Isn't it the purpose of our lives? To remember Him. To be obedient to Him.

Finally, let us contemplate what our prophet Muhammad SAW said about this hundred years ago. He knew that today's ummah will experience this issue, although we are not aware of it.

"The glance is a poisoned arrow of shaytaan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allaah, He will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness, which he will find his heart on the day he meets Him (Mishkat)"

Everything good is from Allaah, whatever evil is from myself, as I am only a human being with flaws.

Bangkok (Not) Dangerous

There are two movies which inspire me to go to Bangkok. The first one is Bangkok Traffic Love Story and the second one is Hangover Part II. Those movies describe Bangkok as a hustle bustle city, which is crowded, messy, confusing, but interesting as well. Then, I really started to get so curious with Bangkok so I decided to take my Thailand trip. At first I planned to have Phuket and Bangkok trip. But since, I moved job and I didn't get annual leave yet, so I decided to go to Bangkok only. It was not a backpacking actually, since I needed to cancel my Phuket airfare and booked a new ticket to Bangkok. Which was quite expensive! I landed on Svarnabhumi airport and my first impression was the airport was huge. I think it is the hugest airport in South East Asia. There are four terminals in one single building. So, it is surely huge and hectic. 

Huge airport exterior

                                                             

The interior is also vast

The weakness is there was no good internet access in the airport. No free WiFi  and not even computer to access internet. Actually the internet problem is not only in the airport. Overall, I must say the internet service in Bangkok is expensive. Free WiFi is not available at mall or in public areas. You have to pay for the WiFi  and moreover, the internet package for mobile is quite expensive as well. You must spend like 50 baht per day or 300 baht per week approximately. It is quite expensive compared to my country. 300 baht can be used for one month internet service, including free WiFi access from some operators in Jakarta. And free WiFi can be accessed in almost all malls in Jakarta. There are other options as well to go to internet cafe. However, you might be shocked knowing that the keyboard is in Thai letters. Huh!

Anyhow, the journey went on. I spent my three days just visiting Bangkok. We went to Chao Praya River, Wat Arun, Khao Shan street, Chatuchak Weekend Market, and Grand Palace. I would like to say, we were lost in translation. Most Thai people do not speak English. So we used mainly gestures. When we shopped we used calculator to haggle. The nastiest experience was when we got rejected by a taxi because we spoke English. So, we were on our way to Grand Palace and we ran into pink taxi (we called it that way since the color was indeed pink. Very unique). We told the driver we wanted to go to Grand Palace. Knowing we spoke English, the driver with his gesture asked us to leave. He could not take us with him. We couldn't imagine that were humiliated by pink taxi. Okay, fine. Another funny moment was when we wanted to order food. The menu was written in English and Thai. We wrote down the menu in English, of course. When we gave what we ordered to the waitress, she seemed confused. It turned out that she did not understand what we wrote. Amazing! How come there were two languages on the menu, but the writer could not understand English words? So, again we used Tarzanic jungle language, by gesture. We pointed out what we wanted to the waitress and she wrote them down on the paper. Then, we could eat. Thank God. With this experience, we were forced to learn a bit of Thai. I am a Muslim and it is very essential for me not to eat pork. So, when I ordered the food I kept mentioning “mai ka moo” (no pork). And other word that we learnt was “Sawadeeka” (Hello), and “Kob Khun Ka” (Thank You). There was another funny experience, it was still in the taxi. So, we were driven by a woman taxi driver. She tried to be nice by smiling to us. She even talked to us. We had said to her that we did not speak Thai. But she kept talking like we understood what she was saying. So, what we did just “uh hum”, “okay”, “yes”, but we barely knew what she meant. Then on the side of the road we saw a butcher house and we saw a pig being slaughtered (I felt sick seeing that, actually). The driver then said "moo, ha?" We both at the same time said "yes, moo". That's the only mutual communication between us. Haha!

My advice is, do not go to Thailand alone if you do not know Thai, because surely you will get confused. I can guarantee that. People whom you can ask for directions are only BTS officers. They can speak little English. Some tuk tuk drivers are good in English also. But, be careful of scamming. We were once almost scammed in Grand Palace. Grand Palace is a palace which has many gates. When we arrived, we entered the nearest gate. There was one person there saying to us that the palace was closed for certain ceremony and would be opened in a few hours later. Then they offered us if we wanted to go around Bangkok while we were waiting the palace to open. We did not believe that. Fortunately we read in some travel forums that there were many scammers in Grand Palace which would fool us with such a trick. What we needed to do was to keep walking and find another entrance gate. And yes, we finally managed to get in the palace. 

What do I love most from Bangkok? I love Tuk Tuk. In my opinion it was the most efficient transportation system during my trip there. Well, BTS was good as well, but you had to walk up the stairs and sometimes there were no seats left. Taxi could trick us as well with high price. Bus did not take us to the place we wanted to. But tuk tuk, with smart haggle, could take you to everywhere. If you travel in group of three or four, this is the best mode of transportation in Bangkok. Another thing I love from Bangkok is the food. I love the Thai tea, pad thai, tom yum, and the porridge. Even KFC there tasted better. What made me inconvenient was that there were many pork menus in every restaurant. It was a bit difficult to find halal foods there. We have to be choosy with foods. But the porridge was great, and the pad thai, and the milk tea. Hmmmm. Bangkok is also a shopping paradise. In Chatuchak weekend market we can get various souvenirs, clothes, bags, etc with cheaper price. I bought my daddy a hat, which was priced for 150 baht (or US$ 4.5). In Jakarta, it could price up to US$ 8 or more. P.S. my Daddy really loved the hat. Just bring enough money to Bangkok for shopping and eating. You surely will be pleased. Overall, I love my Bangkok experience and I would love to come back there someday. Bangkok is not just another big city in South East Asia. But it offers us great hedonistic and culinary experiences which we cannot find in other cities. 

Chao Praya River, the biggest river in Thailand

Wat Arun Temple, known as The Temple of Dawn

Grand Palace

Khao San Street - The famous backpacker street in Thailand

Tom Yum and Thai Tea. Yumm

 Check out the video here