1. Part of the umrah and haj rituals is to circle back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah 7 times.
2. This is to reenact Hajar frantic search for water for the crying baby Prophet Ishmael. Story goes that she left him in the valley between the 2 hills whilst running back and forth up and down those 2 hills in search of water.
3. Why do we reenact it ? To me it symbolises that act that we should never give up even though we have failed repeatedly. Strangely
enough, was browsing Napoleon Hill's critically acclaimed book "Think and Grow Rich" and this was the first and main principle and theme of the book. Never give up and you will succeed.
4. Of course it means a whole lot more than just that. It symbolises one's faith to Allah. The love and sacrifices of a mother to her child. If you could see the pic of the hill of Safa and Marwah we are talking about Hajar a female with her limited female strength frantically running up and down those 2 SOLID HARD ROCK hills. This is no sand dunes we are talking about here. It is also no easy slope. It is steep and it is razor sharp. Imagine doing that thousand of years ago with perhaps a leather slippers and no gloves. Even today with proper boots and gloves I wouldn't want to do it. A fall would from Safa and Marwah would mean deep cuts from the jagged rocks. Like I said, this is no bukit from tanah merah or sand. All of ut is made of cold jagged rocks. Also imagine Hajar doing this in the midday heat of the Arabian desert.
5. The Saie we perform today is a far cry from what Hajar did. Now we have long air conditioned corridors between the two hills with smooth tile surfaces along the way. Sometimes I think this luxury will make us forget te reason why we are reenacting this sacrifice in the first place. Oh well.. Hopefully that won't be the case.
6. This forms my personal opinion on the matter. All views are welcomed.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
I HAVE MOVED TO http://azlanroni.wordpress.com/
I HAVE MOVED TO
http://azlanroni.wordpress.com/
Please visit my blog there for latest posts.
Thank You.
http://azlanroni.wordpress.com/
Please visit my blog there for latest posts.
Thank You.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Out Forefathers got it right
1. The declaration of independence was read in English. If we can read our proclamation of Independence in English, why cant we learn school subjects in English?
2. After Tunku declared Merdeka, Islamic prayers was read. Islam was intended to be the State religion and will always be .
2. After Tunku declared Merdeka, Islamic prayers was read. Islam was intended to be the State religion and will always be .
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Taking a break from blogging
Dear friends,
Due to
a) work
b) another project of mine which i believe creates better value for all, i am taking a break from blogging. I will keep blogging from time to time but my research and focus are now focused to something which i feel will create better value than commenting on current issues and my personal life.
see you guys around.
Due to
a) work
b) another project of mine which i believe creates better value for all, i am taking a break from blogging. I will keep blogging from time to time but my research and focus are now focused to something which i feel will create better value than commenting on current issues and my personal life.
see you guys around.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Lessons that We can learn from Iran Revolution
(1) There's an excellent show on BBC right now. It's titled –Fall of a shah.
(2) I recommend all of you to watch it if you can.
(3) There's a lot that we can learn and draw comparisons with.
(4) what Strikes me the most was the similarity of the Shah and Tun M in certain respects.
(5) Although their upbringing is completely different (one is of royal upbringing, the other is from a rural upbringing) they share a common passion in modernizing and improving their country.
(6) Both men also had ideas far ahead of its time. The shah for example wanted to give the right to Vote for women. An idea which we took for granted and accept it as a natural right now was vehemently opposed by the mullah groups at that time. Tun M had pegged the ringgit during the economic crisis of 98. An unheard idea at that time.
(7) More info as I research more on the topic
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Beza Lawak Malaysia dan Lawak American ( The difference between Malaysian and American Jokes)
(1) I was having dinner and the tv at the restaurant was turned to Raja Lawak at Astro.
(2) The quality of our jokes is a joke (pardon the pun, couldnt help it)
(3) They really lack the creativity needed to crack up jokes. If this are the best that passed the screening stage, i wonder what is the level of the rest that didnt made it ?.
(4) It is no surprise that till TODAY, the best jokes are from P Ramlee and geng, some of our comedians came to the extent of making their living paraphrasing and repeating the jokes from the P Ramlee era.
(5)Below are two video clips for you to decide on our standard of jokes.
but i do notice certain things that may be conducive to nurture a good comedian growth
(1) A mature society - notice how Chris Tucker can diss (kutuk) Democrat/Republicans/Whites/Blacks/Jews without fear of repercussions. You do that here in Bolehland and we're gonna have demonstration/marcharound town and 34 police report filed against you.
(2) A tolerant law - The American First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech eventhough it may be unpopular or may be not to the taste to the current ruling government. Over here ..........???... The Sedition Act, The ISA is but two of that comes to mind, not to mention the various censorship laws and publishing permits that may be revoked.
(3) People who can keep an open mind - i think we still have a longgggg way to go here........ Can we take jokes that pokes the Malay that comes from a Chinese and vice versa ?
Note: Why does all (correct me if i am wrong) the Raja Lawak participants are Malay ?, Interesting to note isnt it....but thats another discussion for another day.
(2) The quality of our jokes is a joke (pardon the pun, couldnt help it)
(3) They really lack the creativity needed to crack up jokes. If this are the best that passed the screening stage, i wonder what is the level of the rest that didnt made it ?.
(4) It is no surprise that till TODAY, the best jokes are from P Ramlee and geng, some of our comedians came to the extent of making their living paraphrasing and repeating the jokes from the P Ramlee era.
(5)Below are two video clips for you to decide on our standard of jokes.
but i do notice certain things that may be conducive to nurture a good comedian growth
(1) A mature society - notice how Chris Tucker can diss (kutuk) Democrat/Republicans/Whites/Blacks/Jews without fear of repercussions. You do that here in Bolehland and we're gonna have demonstration/marcharound town and 34 police report filed against you.
(2) A tolerant law - The American First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech eventhough it may be unpopular or may be not to the taste to the current ruling government. Over here ..........???... The Sedition Act, The ISA is but two of that comes to mind, not to mention the various censorship laws and publishing permits that may be revoked.
(3) People who can keep an open mind - i think we still have a longgggg way to go here........ Can we take jokes that pokes the Malay that comes from a Chinese and vice versa ?
Note: Why does all (correct me if i am wrong) the Raja Lawak participants are Malay ?, Interesting to note isnt it....but thats another discussion for another day.
Friday, February 06, 2009
What we all can learn from a Mamak waiter at Hakim
(1) i think Malaysians are missing the big picture. The big picture that only the educated Malaysians are realising. Them and the Mamak Waiters and the Bangladeshis.
(2) While we are busy bickering about the small stuff, like local politics, Perak, DAP, UMNO, Pakatan Rakyat, the world is expanding and expanding.
(3) I believe at this level what we can do to help improve ourself is to gain as much knowledge as possible in order to competein a globalised world.
(4) While we are busy arguing on whether UiTM should be allowed to Non malays , the rest of the world is figuiring out how to enter other country and market. Why be so defensive Malays ?, Why dont we let the Non Malays in and increase the size of UiTM ?
(5) When i was studying in Shah Alam i had a mamak waiter friend who was waiting at the tables of Hakim Restaurant, He was from India. He has been working here for about 5 years. Later i got to know that he has now moved to Dubai to work in a restaurant there.
(6) The lessons that we can learn here are ;
(a) Even the lowly paid waiters from India has realised that the world is flat
(b) The world is now flat and borders are no longer barriers for employment
(c) One can make good anywhere in this world so long he/she is willing to work hard and brave the unknown.
Instead, what we are doing ?. We are busying ourself with political issues that adds very little value to ourself. Things like holding rallies,
It is in my belief that if you want to help your people , the best way is to garner as much knowledge as possible and give them back to people.
Standing in front of buildings and holding rallies is not one of them.
If i have a Non malay Muslim friend, he would be denied entry to UiTM because he is a non Bumiputra eventhough he is a brother of mine in religion.
Looks and feel wrong somehow.
I believe we should focusing on how to compete in a globalised world rather than bickering among ourself.
(2) While we are busy bickering about the small stuff, like local politics, Perak, DAP, UMNO, Pakatan Rakyat, the world is expanding and expanding.
(3) I believe at this level what we can do to help improve ourself is to gain as much knowledge as possible in order to competein a globalised world.
(4) While we are busy arguing on whether UiTM should be allowed to Non malays , the rest of the world is figuiring out how to enter other country and market. Why be so defensive Malays ?, Why dont we let the Non Malays in and increase the size of UiTM ?
(5) When i was studying in Shah Alam i had a mamak waiter friend who was waiting at the tables of Hakim Restaurant, He was from India. He has been working here for about 5 years. Later i got to know that he has now moved to Dubai to work in a restaurant there.
(6) The lessons that we can learn here are ;
(a) Even the lowly paid waiters from India has realised that the world is flat
(b) The world is now flat and borders are no longer barriers for employment
(c) One can make good anywhere in this world so long he/she is willing to work hard and brave the unknown.
Instead, what we are doing ?. We are busying ourself with political issues that adds very little value to ourself. Things like holding rallies,
It is in my belief that if you want to help your people , the best way is to garner as much knowledge as possible and give them back to people.
Standing in front of buildings and holding rallies is not one of them.
If i have a Non malay Muslim friend, he would be denied entry to UiTM because he is a non Bumiputra eventhough he is a brother of mine in religion.
Looks and feel wrong somehow.
I believe we should focusing on how to compete in a globalised world rather than bickering among ourself.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Never Leave Education to Politicians
3 states unite against English From NST Jan 19 2009
As for vernacular schools, Kelantan, Selangor and Kedah want the subjects to revert to being taught in the medium of the schools.
The decision was made at a meeting of the executive council members in charge of the education portfolios in the three states here yesterday.Although only three states, whose exco members were from Pas, were represented at the inaugural meeting, Kelantan Islamic Development, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah claimed it was well known that the DAP shared the same view.Selangor was represented by state Education, Higher Education and Human Resource Development Committee chairman Dr Halimah Ali and Kedah by its Education, Information Technology and Communication Committee chairman Abdullah Yusuf.Nik Mohd Amar said the Penang exco in charge of education, Dr P. Ramasamy, could not make it as he was only returning from a meeting in Chennai, India, today while his Perak counterpart, Datuk Ngah Kor Ming, had to attend another function.
He said the policy of using English to teach the two subjects was a blow to the "sanctity of Bahasa Malaysia" as the national language."It has created problems for both teachers and students, especially those from the rural areas."Nik Amar said another topic discussed was the possibility of setting up a new university with the same role as Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University as many Malaysian students were facing problems furthering their studies there.He said the university that they had in mind would concentrate solely on religious subjects using the same model as Al-Azhar, and the three states had agreed to draw on their strengths and cooperate in the field"Selangor has Universiti Industri Selangor and Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor, Kedah has Kolej Universiti Insaniah while Kelantan has Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra."
(1)Its a sad fact of Malaysia that the education is left to the politics and politcians.
(2) which century are they living in ? First AD ?
(3) The world is becoming flat. It will definitely BE flat during the time of my children. This means that if they cannot survive in the global world they will not go far.
(4) Survival in the global world requires mastery in English. There is no two way about it. Good in English, Maths, Science.
(5) They will not lose respect to their mother tongue, culture and religion. To argue so will only mean that bad upbringing.
(6) The idea of school is to equip them with the best knowledge to prepare them for their future. Therefore the thinking of the school should be that the knowledge the children gather is relevant and competitve for the next 20 years. This is to ensure that what they learn in school when they are 10 would still be relevant when they are 30.
(7) And when they are 30, their mastery in maths and science in English is the utmost important. Especially if they want to continue their studies at Oxford, Cambridge,Stanford, London School of Economics, Im sure they will do okay in the local universities but ask yourself, what parent would want their children just to have an OKAY education ?. Best possible education and be all you can be, im pretty sure thats what every parents want for their children.
(8) I think it is the duty of every parent to provide best possible education for his children.
(9) And i am of the opinion that the best education is still found outside of the country for two reasons. Firstly because the best education institution and educators are found outside of Malaysia. Secondly i believe living outside of Malaysia for a few years will teach a student about life and gives him a better insights and broaden his vision about the world.
(10) I think we should expose our children to English at every possible opportunity. To do otherwise is taking a step backwards.
(11) The mother tongue will not be compromised. They use it non stop in their daily conversations but their initial use of English is only limited to their class hours. Because so, we should expose English in classroom as much as possible.
(12) I appreciate the feedback on how teaching in English is going. Any teachers reading this i appreciate you sharing your experience.
As for vernacular schools, Kelantan, Selangor and Kedah want the subjects to revert to being taught in the medium of the schools.
The decision was made at a meeting of the executive council members in charge of the education portfolios in the three states here yesterday.Although only three states, whose exco members were from Pas, were represented at the inaugural meeting, Kelantan Islamic Development, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah claimed it was well known that the DAP shared the same view.Selangor was represented by state Education, Higher Education and Human Resource Development Committee chairman Dr Halimah Ali and Kedah by its Education, Information Technology and Communication Committee chairman Abdullah Yusuf.Nik Mohd Amar said the Penang exco in charge of education, Dr P. Ramasamy, could not make it as he was only returning from a meeting in Chennai, India, today while his Perak counterpart, Datuk Ngah Kor Ming, had to attend another function.
He said the policy of using English to teach the two subjects was a blow to the "sanctity of Bahasa Malaysia" as the national language."It has created problems for both teachers and students, especially those from the rural areas."Nik Amar said another topic discussed was the possibility of setting up a new university with the same role as Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University as many Malaysian students were facing problems furthering their studies there.He said the university that they had in mind would concentrate solely on religious subjects using the same model as Al-Azhar, and the three states had agreed to draw on their strengths and cooperate in the field"Selangor has Universiti Industri Selangor and Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor, Kedah has Kolej Universiti Insaniah while Kelantan has Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra."
(1)Its a sad fact of Malaysia that the education is left to the politics and politcians.
(2) which century are they living in ? First AD ?
(3) The world is becoming flat. It will definitely BE flat during the time of my children. This means that if they cannot survive in the global world they will not go far.
(4) Survival in the global world requires mastery in English. There is no two way about it. Good in English, Maths, Science.
(5) They will not lose respect to their mother tongue, culture and religion. To argue so will only mean that bad upbringing.
(6) The idea of school is to equip them with the best knowledge to prepare them for their future. Therefore the thinking of the school should be that the knowledge the children gather is relevant and competitve for the next 20 years. This is to ensure that what they learn in school when they are 10 would still be relevant when they are 30.
(7) And when they are 30, their mastery in maths and science in English is the utmost important. Especially if they want to continue their studies at Oxford, Cambridge,Stanford, London School of Economics, Im sure they will do okay in the local universities but ask yourself, what parent would want their children just to have an OKAY education ?. Best possible education and be all you can be, im pretty sure thats what every parents want for their children.
(8) I think it is the duty of every parent to provide best possible education for his children.
(9) And i am of the opinion that the best education is still found outside of the country for two reasons. Firstly because the best education institution and educators are found outside of Malaysia. Secondly i believe living outside of Malaysia for a few years will teach a student about life and gives him a better insights and broaden his vision about the world.
(10) I think we should expose our children to English at every possible opportunity. To do otherwise is taking a step backwards.
(11) The mother tongue will not be compromised. They use it non stop in their daily conversations but their initial use of English is only limited to their class hours. Because so, we should expose English in classroom as much as possible.
(12) I appreciate the feedback on how teaching in English is going. Any teachers reading this i appreciate you sharing your experience.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Easiest Job on Planet Earth: The News Station
Sometimes i think the newspeople are lazy. They sit around in their office drinking lattes and collectively gathering fat up their asses.
Dont believe me ? Then just look at your TV screen. This war on Palestine thing....hey...isnt this reaalllyyyy old news....i mean...isnt this like from the 1960s or something.... come on man...cant they even recycle something more recent perhaps...along 1990s perhaps ? Just look at the images, isn't that look like a war 50 years ago ? Dont tell me they hadn't solved it by now...i mean....even World War 2 lasted for like what 5 years ?...
I mean, look at the pictures, it doesn't change at all. The Israel wears a full soldier fatigue with full automatic rifle, tanks , bombs. The Palestinian in civilian clothing with not a single firearm lying dead in the rubble, heck, even the storyline doesn't change. Palestinian threats, Israel retaliates in the name of peace,security, democracy and all that other feel good stuffs and saves the day.Man, They should probably hire some Bollywood scripwriter to spice things up. Bollywood is the big thing now, just look at Slumdog Millionaire.I mean come on, after 50 years of the same story it is looking pretty BORING !!!!...... Maybe they should have a love triangle in between. Just to add spice up. Maybe we should have America instead of being Israel's loyal lover we have America having a change of heart and fall in love with the Palestinian cause while dancing in a blanket of yellow daisies on top of the Swiss Alps a la the Sound of Music. High School Musical proves that if the talent is handsome enough,we wouldn't care if the story doesn't make sense.
This malaise from the news corporation doesn't seem to end at one station. You open up other station also it seems to be the same.
ITS THE SAME OLD BORING STORY SINCE THE 1940S ............... Please la give me something new,enough recycling of dead Palestinans, killing Israels, UN resolutions, Peace process, humanitarian aid, genocide, protest, If things goes on as it is I think i want to open my own news channel. Wouldnt be that hard. Just take some old pics and post it as headline. ISRAEL ATTACKS PALESTINE, ISRAEL MASSACRES HELPLESS PALESTINIANS. ISRAEL ATTACKS KILLS 10 , 9 OF WHICH ARE CHILDREN.....hey,...you know what...even the headline can be recycled ...isnt that what has been happening since 1950s?...hmmm...this is good business...all i need to do is to change the time and place, even then it wouldn't be that hard...maintain the title ...change the place to Rafa to Gaza, Ramallah, to Aqsa back to Rafa, sprinkle a bit of Aqsa again and tadaa its news...its easy business ....the name of the perpetrators and victims doesn't seem change. Its always Israel fires, Palestinian dies...great..thats one less work for my new news channel.
Also, lets not forget the deafening silence that seems to permeate from every other Arab countries regarding this latest genocide. Has Saudi Arabia lifted a finger....nope,Dubai with all of its wealth has it said anyghint ? nope, Qatar ? Oman ?, Hmmmm..... because these rich countries always shut up then there is less work for my tv station as i don't have to incur cost to do coverage about them.Maybe they don't even give a damn about whats happening to their own fellow muslims . (but then again do we Malaysians Muslims give a damn to the oppression that our fellow Thai Muslims been suffering ?)
Oh well.......Just another day in the holy land......you know....for a holy land...it sure does spill a heck lot of blood.....not to mention producing the same boring scripts over and over again
I hope you get the sarcasm.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Only in Malaysia
(1) When everyone in the other parts of the world are worried about the global credit crunch, we are still out happy shopping
(2) When landslides occur last month, its business as usual this month
(3) To have one sale after another in the shopping mall, October Mega Sale, December Xmas sale, January CNY sale, February Valentine sale, etc etc etc
(4) Only in Malaysia...
(2) When landslides occur last month, its business as usual this month
(3) To have one sale after another in the shopping mall, October Mega Sale, December Xmas sale, January CNY sale, February Valentine sale, etc etc etc
(4) Only in Malaysia...
Friday, January 02, 2009
i believe
i believe we are what we choose to be
i believe our world should be as big as big or as small as we WANT it to be
i believe we should live to achieve our dreams
i believe no matter what people say otherwise, we should strive to achive our dreams
i believe that the best job in the world is one that pays for doing something youre passionate about it.
i believe no one can stop you from your dreams
i believe our world should be as big as big or as small as we WANT it to be
i believe we should live to achieve our dreams
i believe no matter what people say otherwise, we should strive to achive our dreams
i believe that the best job in the world is one that pays for doing something youre passionate about it.
i believe no one can stop you from your dreams
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