Cukuplah dengan membazir masa!

Wahai pemuda! Cukuplah membazir masa!

Masa itu tidak lelah berlari menuju tibanya garisan tamat,

Engkau pula leka bermain di alam mimpi,

Khayal dengan isi duniawi,

Sedang engkau kejar kepuasan yang sementara,

engkau diperhati gerak geri hingga ke pusara.

Bangkitlah pemuda!

Bukankah engkau hidup di dunia dengan tujuan?

Untuk menegakkan kebenaran?

Mengapa engkau masih terpinga-pinga

dengan harta benda yang tidak membawa makna?

Apakah kau sudah lupa

janjimu dengan Tuhan

untuk menghapuskan kebatilan?

Pemuda yang tidur!

Kau kerja siang malam, kemudian kau berfoya,

kau berhibur dan bersuka ria,

sedangkan tanggungjawab kau masih tidak terlaksana!

Mungkin kau berkata,

'Ah cukuplah aku baik sendiri!"

Solat, puasa, zakat, haji,

Kau ingat Islam itu sekadar beribadah?

Kubur masing-masing tak payah bersusah?

Sedangkan kau adalah khalifah!

Di akhirat sana, tentu adanya,

orang yang akan menuntut hak mereka,

terhadap engkau kerana engkau alpa,

tugas kau yang kau tinggalkan,

sementara ramai yang masih dalam kejahilan.

Bangkitlah wahai pemuda!

Ummah berdarah dan merana,

tetapi mereka tidak merasa kerana lena,

Tugas engkau dan aku, untuk mengejutnya.

Of Hijab and Cheerleading.

Assalamualaikum and warm greetings,

It is the start of a new semester here in South Korea. Spring is slowly coming out of her shell (it's still cold but we were blessed with rain today) and Konkuk University is already buzzing with activities.

This week has been funny and hectic. I now live with two juniors who are one year younger than me. It's their first semester at Konkuk University and sometimes they would come home and tell me stories about their day, how hard it is to attend a class where the professor speaks in Korean and the class material is also in Korean, how Koreans won't even smile at them or how they feel totally left out and ignored.

Tips for Batch 14 Korean Programme

Assalamualaikum and warm greetings,

There's a lot to be happy about when new juniors start their studies in Korea. When I picked them up at the airport, I noticed the tired faces, the different expressions and emotions. Scared, excited, homesick, overwhelming, terrified, nauseous, happy and so on and so forth and I can't help but feel nostalgic when I saw them.

That was me, 2 years ago. Totally innocent, totally full of energy (although not at that moment because 6 hours in a flight can get you pretty cranky), new potentials, new explorations. Just a whole bunch of new experiences waiting to be discovered.

I personally love receiving juniors. When I look at them, I feel a new burst of energy, the passion to keep going in my studies. That was me 2 years ago, promising my family, friends, my nation that I will work hard and that all their money will pay off, that it isn't a waste to invest in me.

And to keep that spirit up, and to make staying in South Korea worthwhile, here are some things I wish I took more seriously.

New year and resolutions?

Assalamualaikum and a happy new year to my dear readers,

As 2013 dwindles down to a close, and precious minutes ticks away till 2014, we busy ourselves with statuses and posts about new years, and the inevitable almost ritualistic exercise of writing out our resolutions. Some of them are so far fetched, so fantasized that even we know, it is almost impossible to reach them.

Let's review 2013. How many of us can say that we have actually achieved our resolutions for 2013? Can you honestly recall things that you have done, that you are proud to mention in 2013? Have you lost a lot of weight? Have you gone on a backpacking trip? Have you made your life more than just study, work, sleep, eat, watch TV, facebook, twitter? If you have, then congratulations to you!

Some lessons I learnt in AGM 2013 (Annual Grand Meeting)

Assalamualaikum and a very good day.

November has been the most hectic month for me, as well as it is for almost everybody. It feels like November just passed us by only five minutes and we're already in the last month of 2013.

We had our annual grand meeting, on the 30th November 2013. Compared to last year, it was pretty fascinating since I also actively took part in campaigning. After a long and tiring day inside the hall, I reflected back some of the things I've learnt on that day.

"Why do you wear that thing on your head? Isn't it hot?"

Assalamualaikum and warm greetings on a cold autumn's day. :D

During summer, there is always one question that is frequently asked to me. "Isn't it hot wearing that thing on your head?" or even worse, "Don't you feel suffocated?"

There was once when I was traveling to go back to my house in Konkuk, and one of the ahjumma (read: makciks) didn't even greet me with a proper greeting, and started scolding me because I was wearing the hijab.

She started yelling at me and said that if you are in someone else's country, don't try to impose your culture! You should wear like Koreans when you are in Korea! After nagging me at least 5 minutes, and since all I could do was smile and try not to look affected by her harsh words, she said "Hot! It looks hot! Take it off!" and she started pulling on my hijab inside the train, with everyone else looking at me, all silenced because they don't dare talk back to their elderly. Despite being rather old, I guessed that if we were to have a wrestling match, she would win. That's how scary the makciks are in Korea.

Dating at the mosque?!

credit: Saeed Owairan

Assalamualaikum and good'aye mate! (fail aussie accent) :D

Today, I experienced something new and unique! We distributed pamphlets to Koreans! Not just any pamphlets but pamphlets about Islam! (I think spelling the word pamphlet is a pain but whatever)

So I just wanted to share some funny and weird stories while distributing and explaining roughly about Islam to Koreans.