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Clearing Misconceptions About Adam AS

2011-12-10T14:40:00.000+08:00

Why are we stuck on earth?

Depending on one's religious belief (or one's lack of it thereof), you'll get different answers. I can't really say for every other religious belief, but I do believe that for most of the people of the Abrahamic faiths (Muslims, Christians and Jews), their answer would be because the first man created by God Almighty defied His command by eating from a forbidden tree and was thus banished to the Earth and his wife Eve (we Muslims call her Hawa) along with him.

If I didn't know better, that would've probably been my answer as well. However, a study of the Quran reveals that that's not entirely true.

You see, according to the Quran, Allah SWT has already decided before Adam AS ('alaihissalam - peace be upon him) was created, that he was to be placed on earth.

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَة

And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels, "Verily, I will create a *khalifah on earth" (Al-Baqarah, 2:30)

This might raise a particular question: if God really intended for Adam AS to be placed on earth, why was he put in Paradise in the first place? That is a very valid question; one that the Allah SWT did not forget to address in His Book:

وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا
حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Jannah (Garden / Paradise); and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will; but approach not this tree, or you run into harm and transgression." (Al-Baqarah, 2:35)

The Arabic Language has a few words that means 'to live 'or 'to dwell', the most common of which is 'khuld'. For instance when in the following ayah, which describes the people who will live forever in Paradise, the word 'khaalidiin' which is a derivative of the word 'khuld' is used:

جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ
فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۖ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ

Their reward is with Allah: Gardens of Eternity beneath which rivers flow; they will dwell therein for ever; Allah well pleased with them and they with Him: all this for such as fear their Lord and Cherisher. (Al-Bayyinah, 98: 8)

However, the word used in the aforementioned ayah isn't 'khuld' but 'uskun' ."Uskun' comes from the root word 'sukun' which means something that was in motion but stops temporarily and will afterwards continue to move (those of you who remember your tajweed should be familiar with this word). By using this word in the ayah, Allah SWT is telling Adam AS - and by extension, us- that his place in Paradise was only temporary and that he will have to move to his actual abode, earth, sooner or later. You can think of it as a transit before the final destination. Had it been a permanent stay, the word that would be the most appropriate to use is 'ukhlud' and not 'uskun' which, as mentioned above, implies the meaning of it being temporary.

Adam AS himself understood this and was aware that they won't be staying in Paradise forever, and Iblis - the Devil - used this knowledge to tempt Adam AS and Hawa into eating from the forbidden tree

وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَا
مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ

he (satan) said, "Your Lord forbade you this tree lest you should become angels or such beings as live for ever." (Al-A'raf, 7:20)

Another common misunderstanding about this story is that Adam AS and Hawa was banished to earth because of their sin of disobeying the Lord and eating from the tree. This, however, isn't the real reason because Allah SWT clearly says in the narrative in surah Al-Baqarah that He had accepted their repentance.

فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration and his Lord turned toward him (accepting his repentance); for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (al-Baqarah, 2: 37)

If they were forgiven, it wouldn't make much sense for them to be banished to earth as a punishment wouldn't it?

This further enforces the notion that neither Adam AS nor his spouse are to be blamed for the human race to be put on earth. This is clearly a misconception that needs to be set straight especially among the Muslims. We must realize that our place on earth is a matter that has always been decided. It is only after we have proven ourselves worthy of Paradise in this world that we will be allowed to live there in the hereafter.

Wallahua'lam - Allah knows best.

* * * * * * * *

*Khalifah is an Arabic word literally meaning "one who replaces someone else who left or died" (taken from http://islamic-world.net/khalifah/definition.htm)

**image taken from http://socialtimes.com

Love Others as You Love Yourself

2011-10-19T11:17:00.000+08:00

Out of the many ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w) that I memorised way back when I was in high school, one of them sticks clearly in my mind for some reason or another. The hadeeth goes:

”None of you will truly believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself”. (Al-Bukhari)

It's a fairly straightforward and easily understood hadeeth, but it was only recently after hearing a story of one particular great individual that I understood it in a new light.

The story is of of Imam an-Nawawi r.a. He was one of the greatest zahid of his time, which meant he doesn't own much worldly materials. One night as he was praying, a thief broke into his house. Seeing as there wasn't much (if any) to be taken, the thief decided to take the only he could found of value - an-Nawawi's shoes. After finishing his solah, an-Nawawi who realised a thief had entered his house started running outside chasing after the thief shouting.

What exactly did he shouted? If any normal person would be in his shoes, I think it would be something along the lines of "Stop! Thief" though honestly, that is probably putting it mildly.

An-Nawawi said nothing like that at all. Instead, he was shouting to the thief to accept his shoes as a gift! Why? Because he was a man who truly had taqwa. As much as he fears to be punished by Allah and be entered to the hellfire for committing sins, he also fears other to fall into sin. SubhanAllah, just look at the level of iman this man had! Now this is how a person truly loves his brother. This is how we should be loving our brothers.

I pray that we can inculcate even just a fraction of this attitude shown by Imam an-Nawawi into our lives

Wallahua'lam.

Allah Knows What Is Best

2011-09-28T08:35:00.000+08:00

One of the names of Allah s.w.t is al-Hakeem - the Most Wise - and part of His wisdom is manifested in the Divine Laws that He imparts to us through the Quran. In fact in surah YaaSiin (among other places), He even says that the Quran itself is wisdom.

As Muslims, we must believe that there is wisdom in each and every command that Allah gave us in the Quran, from issues like, say, the prohibition of riba (usury), the need to cover one's 'aurah, fasting, the five daily prayers and the list goes on. Basically, everything that Allah commands us to do has wisdom in it and is for our own good.

However, there are people in the post-modern society that we live in today who start to second guess the Laws of Allah, claiming it no longer relevant and is inappropriate for the 'modern' society. Some even say it's barbaric! Astaghfirullah, may Allah have mercy on them. This is because in these people's minds, they fail to see the logic - and by extension, the wisdom - behind these Laws.

What does Allah s.w.t has to say about this? In the Quran, He says:

وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُوا مِن دِيَارِكُم مَّا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ فَعَلُوا مَا يُوعَظُونَ بِهِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ تَثْبِيتًا

If We had prescribed upon them to kill themselves or to leave their homes, very few would have done it: But if they had done what they were advised to do, it would have certainly been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen (their faith) [Surah an-Nisa', 4:66]

Think about the above aya for a bit. It says "to kill themselves or to leave their houses". What logic is there in such commands? If anything, the logical mind would say that it is madness. Of course, Allah didn't command any of these to us, He was just proving a point, that is; "if We had prescribed upon them... it would have certainly been best for them".

In this aya, we learn that there are times when our limited intellect are just unable to grasp the logic behind certain things that Allah reveals to us. We may not understand it or even see the wisdom behind it, but know for sure that it is definitely, definitely better for us. Why? Because Allah is al-Hakeem, He is the Most Wise and He knows what is best. And that answer should be enough for us if we truly believe in Him.

May Allah give us the correct understanding of His Deen and the Quran, and may Allah guide us to and along the straight path.

Wallahua'lam

Allah, Our Rabb

2011-09-22T11:49:00.003+08:00

In this post, I'd like to share a reflection on the following two ayaat from the Quran which sums up the reality of our current ummah very well:

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ

If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". (Surah al-Ankaboot, 29: 61)

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلِ اللَّهُ

Say: "Who is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." (Surah ar-Ra'ad, 13: 61)

In the aya from surah al-Ankaboot, the question asked was 'who is the Creator' and the people have no problems in declaring that Allah is the Creator of everything. In the aya from Surah ar-Ra'ad however, the question asked was 'who is the Rabb' and interestingly, to this question we don't find the people declaring an answer. Instead we find Allah s.w.t commanding his Messenger s.a.w to tell the people that Allah is indeed the Rabb of the heavens and the earth.

To fully appreciate this aya, we must first understand what Rabb means. Rabb essentially means 'One who has absolute ownership, right and authority'. Actually, this is the concept that is at heart of our relationship with Allah and we can see this in surah TaHa, when Allah first introduced Himself to Musa a.s and said:

إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

Veryl it is I, I am your Rabb therefore take off your shoes; you are in the sanctified valley of Tuwa (Surah TaHa, 20: 12)

Meanwhile in surah al-Alaq which is the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, he was told:

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

Read! In the name of your Rabb who created. (Surah al-Alaq, 96: 1)

In both instances, Allah is being introduced to a Prophet and the very first thing that these Prophets were told about Allah is that He is the Rabb - He has complete authority. He even goes further to display His authority to the Prophets by giving them each a command in the very same aya in which He is introduced. To Musa a.s He says, "take off your shoes" and Muhammad s.a.w was told, "read!".

In these ayaat is a summary of our relationship with Allah, our Rabb. He has absolute ownership, right and authority over us. Therefore He has all the rights in the world to tell us what He wants us to do or not do and our responsibility to Him in turn is to obey His commands.

Now that we have established how heavy and important this word is, we should be able to understand the ayaat from surah al-Ankaboot and ar-Ra'ad in a different light.

If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". (Surah al-Ankaboot, 29: 61)

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلِ اللَّهُ

Say: "Who is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." (Surah ar-Ra'ad, 13: 61)

These ayaat exposes what is going on in the minds of people who readily admits that Allah is their Creator but are unable to accept that Allah is their Rabb. These are people who have problems accepting Allah as having absolute authority over their life. These are people who claim to be Islam but still refuse to obey certain commands of Allah - be it to pray or fast or pay the zakat or concerning their 'aurah.

Unfortunately, this is the state of a large majority of the Muslims among us today are in. People who know very well that Allah is their creator but are utterly heedless in the fact that above and beyond simply being our Creator, He is also our Rabb. And this is a sad reality that we can clearly see going on around us.

And you know what the really scary thing is? It is that the the first question that one is asked in the grave according to the narration of the Prophet s.a.w is "who is you Rabb". Know that simply acknowledging Allah as the God who created us isn't enough to save us on that day. If we do not accept Allah as our Rabb today, how can we expect ourselves to be able to answer that question when on that day?

Wallahua'lam.

Playing our part - A lesson from the story of Maryam r.a.

2011-07-21T07:22:00.007+08:00

The surah that I particularly enjoy reading in the Quran lately is surah Maryam, in which the story of the most pure woman who had walked the face of the earth is told. That woman is none other than Maryam (Mary), mother of Isa (Jesus) - peace be upon them both -. There are so much valuable lessons to be had in this short yet beautiful surah and I only wish to share one of them today which comes from the following ayaat:

23 And [when] the throes of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree, she exclaimed: "Oh, would that I had died ere this, and had become a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!"24 Thereupon [a voice] called out to her from beneath that [palm-tree]: "Grieve not! Thy Sustainer has provided a rivulet [running] beneath thee; 25 and shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. 26 Eat, then, and drink, and let shine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him: 'Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.'"

(Translation of surah Maryam by Muhammad Asad, 19: 23.26)

You will find this story that Maryam r.a. heard a voice telling her to shake the trunk of a palm-tree so that dates will drop from it. On the surface, there seems to be nothing unusual about that command. However, think more deeply about it and you'll find something unusual.

The command was to shake the trunk of a palm tree. If you think about it, it's hard enough to do so by a person who is in the fittest of health, let alone a woman who is undergoing labour. So if you think carefully, this isn't something that Maryam r.a. was able to do at that time. So why ask a person to do something that she isn't capable of doing? I mean, If Allah had wanted, He could have just made the dates fall of the tree for her just like that.

What we learn from this is that Allah will help us but only after we have made an effort, even as little as an effort that may seem to be.

We can also see this point made from the stories of Musa (Moses), - peace be upon him - when he was inspired to strike his staff in the water and the sea parted. The sea was parted by the will of Allah, not because of the staff. Musa a.s learnt this when he got to the other side and he struck the water once again, this time hoping to close the sea, but it didn't. Allah could have parted the sea without having Musa a.s to do anything, but by Him inspiring Musa a.s. to do so, He is telling us that as long as we put some effort, He will, inshaAllah, take care of the rest.

Wallahua'lam.

Making Du'a

2011-05-29T20:56:00.006+08:00

Du'a is a means for us to directly speak to Allah. We are taught from the sunnah of the Messenger s.a.w to always make du'a to Allah s.w.t. and of course, the majority of us usually follow up the daily prayer with du'a. In fact, even some portions of the prayer are forms of du'a. However, there are times that we may find ourselves not actually making du'a but only rehearsing whatever we've memorised instead. Worst still are the times when we have no idea what the imaam is reciting and we're just raising our hands saying 'amiin' over and over.

On the topic of making du'a, I'd like to share a reflection of a very beautiful ayah from Surah al-Baqarah. InshaAllah, this will motivate us to become more aware when making du'a. Allah s.w.t says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

When My slave asks you about Me, then I am near. I respond to the call of anyone who makes du'a when he makes du'a. Then they should try to respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be rightly guided [al-Baqarah, 186]

How to get close to Allah

There are several gems in this ayah. First of all, this part of the ayah "When My slave asks you about Me, then I am near" is a conditional statement. We are told in other ayaat from the Qurat that Allah is indeed near to us, but this ayah further clarifies who Allah s.w.t is near to - the one who asks about Him. Another lesson that we can derive just from the sequence of the ayah is that in order to get close to Allah, we must be the ones to first make the initiative.

Being close to Allah

There are also important things that we must take notice by Allah using the word qareeb (close). Obviously, it's much more effective to ask something from someone who is in close proximity to us, but even more than that, the word close can also depict the kind of relation we have with another person. For instance, a close friend is someone whom we can trust and just pour our emotions to. This is the kind of relation that we should have with Allah. We shouldn't be shy to admit our mistakes to Him, to ask for His forgiveness and to ask whatever it is we want.

Conditions for Allah's response to du'a

Next, Allah s.w.t says "I respond to the call of anyone who make dua when he makes dua"

Being the Most Merciful, Allah responds to the dua'a of anyone, but with a certain condition:

"Then they should try to respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be rightly guided."

The first condition for Allah's respond to our du'a is that we should try to respond to his commands. Notice the Mercy that Allah grants to us in this statement. For himself, he said "أُجِيبُ" (I respond) whereas for our part, he said "فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا" (they should try to respond), meaning that as long as we make honest efforts to respond to His commands, this is enough for Him to respond to our du'a in return.

The second condition is to have iman (to believe) in Him, which might come off as a little strange. This ayah is intended for the believers, so why is it that Allah is telling us to believe? The answer is simple. Allah s.w.t is telling us to always revitalise our iman and this can be done by means of trying to respond to His commands. InshaAllah, by always adhering to this simple lesson that Allah taught us in the Quran, we might become among those who are rightly guided.

OK, I've been making du'a but it doesn't seem to have any effect

This is something that might come to the mind of some Muslims. Is Allah not responding to our du'a? He does. We just need to realise how He does so. This matter is dealt with in two hadeeth from the Messenger s.a.w:

"There is no Muslim man on the face of the earth who supplicates to Allah but Allah would either grant it to him, or avert a harm from him of equal proportions, as long as his supplication does not involve sin or cutting the relations of the womb." [At-Tirmidhi]

"The supplication of the servant will be accepted as long as he does not supplicate for what includes sin, or cutting the relations of the womb, and as long as he does not become hasty." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allah! How does one become hasty'' He said, "He says, `I supplicated and supplicated, but I do not see that my supplication is being accepted from me.' He thus looses interest and abandons supplicating (to Allah)". [Muslim]

Wallahua'lam

I learnt this from:

A Juma'ah khutbah by Br. Nouman Ali Khan

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Wonderful lecture about the position of music in Islam

2011-05-18T08:39:00.005+08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

If you know me from years past, you'll know that I'm a music junkie. I used to listen to music while doing pretty much anything. It's hard to imagine someone like me would stop listening to music altogether but that's exactly what I did. Alhamdulillah, I have stopped to actively listen to music after being convinced by Br Kamal al-Mekki in his lecture that it's better for me to give it up some time last year and really, I don't miss it at all.

I saw another lecture yesterday by a Br Abu Mussab which was to me the most comprehensive lecture about the position of music in Islam and I would like to share with you here. It deals in much more detail than that of Br Kamal al-Mekki's as it also includes the discussions of what we call today as Islamic nasheeds/songs (Maher Zain, Sami Yusuf, etc).

Before you make remarks like "What? Music is haram?? That's nonsense! That's taking it too extreme!!" I strongly suggest you watch the lecture first and then make your decision. I pray that it will benefit you as much as has benefitted me.

WallahuA'lam, Allah knows best.

Amazing facts about the Quran - Surah Yusuf

2011-05-10T10:52:00.001+08:00

Surah Yusuf is actually one of the most unique surah in the entire Quran. First of all, it is the only surah in which prophet Yusuf a.s is mentioned. However, the stand out feature of this surah is that it is the only surah among the longer surah that conveys a single unified story - the story of Prophet Yusuf a.s. - from the beginning till the end of the surah. Interestingly, Allah s.w.t already hints this nature of the surah by mentioning in the third ayat of the surah, "We are narrating to you the best of stories"

The following are the plot in the narrative of this surah, told in over 100 ayaat:

1. Yusuf (alayhis-Salam) has a dream.
2. His brothers plot against him
3. His owner’s wife attempts to seduce him
4. Her friends attempt to seduce him
5. He (as) is imprisoned
6.The king has a dream
7.The king’s dream is interpreted
8. Yusuf (as) is released from prison
9.The ladies confess
10. His former owner’s wife confesses
11. His brothers learn their lesson
12. Yusuf (as)’s dream is interpreted and realized.

Now, if you noticed (and have studied a little bit of literature), you'll find the first six plot points were the conflicts while the latter six are the resolutions. So that's 6 conflicts and 6 resolutions - again highlighting the theme of balance in the Quran.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's take a look at the plot point again with a different perspective. Pay attention to the numbers and the words in bold.

1. Yusuf (alayhis-Salam) has a dream.
2. His brothers plot against him
3. His owner’s wife attempts to seduce him
4. Her friends attempt to seduce him
5. He (as) is imprisoned
6.The king has a dream
6.The king’s dream is interpreted
5. Yusuf (as) is released from prison
4.The ladies confess
3. His former owner’s wife confesses
2. His brothers learn their lesson
1. Yusuf (as)’s dream is interpreted and realized.

The amazing fact about this narrative isn't just that its balanced, but it's also symmetrical. Just like the way a paper is folded in half, conflicts are introduced and solved in a reverse symmetrical order.

It may not be impossible for an author to write a narrative in a similar style, provided he/she be given enough time to properly draft it beforehand. BUT, the Quran wasn't revealed as a book, it was first heard in the form of the speech of the Messenger s.a.w. and this feat is nothing short of a miracle.

SubhanAllah.

Wallahua'lam.

I learnt this from:

Linguistic Miracle.com

Tafseer of Surah Yusuf by Sh. Yasir Qadhi

You only live twice

2011-05-06T11:07:00.005+08:00

As ridiculous as that old James Bond movie title sounds, there's actually truth in it. After all, Allah Himself s.w.t says:

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

How can any of you deny Allah and you used to be dead then He brought you to life, then He will give you death again, then He will bring you to life again, then you will be returned to Him (2: 28)

We are given life twice, and the way we carry ourselves in the this life will determine our life in the next one. Just about any Muslim knows that. However, too often we became overly concerned with this life that we don't give as much concern about the next one. Allah s.w.t reminds us of this fact in surah al-A'la:

بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا. وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ

Not at all, you prefer worldly life. And the hereafter is better and longer lasting (87: 16-17)

In this ayat, Allah s.w.t is using the pronoun 'you', meaning He is speaking directly at you and I and the problem that He highlights isn't wanting for dunya (worldly life); it's preferring dunya over akhirah (the hereafter). In other words, Allah is telling us to get our priorities sorted out!

But let's face it, in this day and age, when people talk about long-term thinking and aspirations, most will talk about getting a high-paying job, a luxurious house and ride etc, which is nice and all but you know what Allah has to say:

وَفِي ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ

and in that (the rewards of jannah), let those who have aspiration aspire (83: 26)

Let's all be the judge of ourselves. How much effort are we putting into dunya? How much are we putting into akhirah?

It's all a matter of preference and in the end, that makes all the difference in the world.

Wallahua'lam.

Pondering over the Quran in light of recent events

2011-04-18T08:28:00.000+08:00

The Quran is a magnificent book, full of wisdom, lesson and guidance that is applicable in any era for those who truly seek them. This doesn't come from just reading the Quran casually as one would with any other book. In surah Sad, ayat no 29, Allah Azza wa Jall tells us a principle we should bear in mind about the Quran :

كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ

A blessed Book which We have revealed to you (O Muhammad) so that people may ponder over its ayaat, and so that those endowed with insight may take heed. (38: 29)

I was listening to a tafseer of Surah Az-Zalzalah and one of the ayat really struck me deeply. The surah informs us of a day when the Earth will be shaking violently. The day on which it will unleash of it's burdens and will speak of what the people did on its surface. This is of course describing a scene on the Day of Judgement. In ayat no 5, Allah Azza wa Jall explains to us what causes the Earth to act in such a way:

بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَىٰ لَهَا

Look up most translations and you'll most probably find the ayat translated as "because your Lord inspires it". However, this would be a shallow translation of the ayat. Explaining why this translation isn't accurate will be something very grammatical and is just beyond the scope of this entry, but if you're interested, you'll find the answer in the lecture. Instead, I'll just state the more correct meaning which is given by Ibn Kathir (r.a).

Ibn Kathir says in his tafseer, "it is apparent that the implied meaning here is that He will permit it (the Earth)".

In this statement is a scary reality. You see, when somebody is given a permission, that means the person was just waiting for the moment when he's allowed to do what he wanted to do. In other words, we learn here that the Earth had wanted to shake violently all along. That it has been eagerly waiting for the moment that it will be able to bear witness to all the crimes that people had been committing on its surface, and that the only that is holding it back it the permission of Allah.

Why exactly does the Earth want to shake? This has been explained is surah Ar-Rum

ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

Corruption manifest on land and sea because of that which men's hands have done, that He may make them taste a little bit of that which they have done, in order that they may return (30: 41)

And what do we hear often in the news lately? Natural disasters and corruption. Coincidence?

Wallahua'lam

Amazing facts about the Quran - the book of balance

2011-04-15T14:01:00.001+08:00

One of the the themes of the Quran is balance. Allah balances our motivation by telling us to aspire for Jannah, informing us a lot of its great features while at the same time warns us of Hellfire and what a terrible return it is.

This theme can be seen very well in the very first surah in the Quran, the Fatihah. In the Fatihah, we declare Allah as our Lord and we His slaves. We declare his Mercy but also acknowledge his authority. Finally, we ask Him for guidance, the path of which whom He had favoured and ask him to make us not among those who earn His wrath and those who are lost.

On this theme, there are some claims that through a corpus study, some related words are mentioned in the Quran in an equal amount. For instance, the word dunya (this world) and akhirah (the hereafter) is mentioned the exact same number of time throughout the Quran, and so does life and death, day and night, angels and devil, and so on.

Unfortunately, I don't have the resources nor the capacity to confirm any of these claims, so even I would say take the info with a grain of salt. Wallahua'lam - Allah knows best.

I can however, show something that is way more amazing. This occurs in the second surah of the Quran, surah Al-Baqarah, the longest surah in the entire Quran. In this surah, Allah honours us by inaugurating the Muslims as an ummah - a nation - in the beginning portion of ayat 143 of the surah :

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Messenger a witness over yourselves (2: 143)

The word that Allah describes the Muslim ummah in this ayat is وَسَطًا which can be translated as middle, balanced, or just - a concept that is at the heart of the teaching of Islam. As I've mentioned earlier, Allah describes our ummah with this word in ayat number 143. Now check out how many ayaat there are in total in surah Al-Baqarah. 286 ayaat. Have you noticed it? Even the position where Allah describes our ummah as a justly balanced nation is perfect - right in the middle of the surah!

SubhanAllah.

Amazing facts about the Quran - the precision in arrangements

2011-04-10T00:05:00.003+08:00

The Quran is a Book full of wisdom. And said wisdom doesn't only show in the contents but also through the way the speech is presented. This is one of the most amazing features of the Quran that is easily overlooked by simply reading it casually - the eloquence of the arrangements of words.

To give a basic example of this, let's look at this ayat from surah An-Nur

يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

On the day when their tongues and their hands and their feet testify against them as to what they used to do (24: 24)

This ayat is referring to a scene of the Day of Judgement. Notice how these words are sequenced here, "their tongue and their hands and their feet". This sequence tells us something. It tells us the order in which our own body parts will testify against us on that Day.

Why is the tongue the first to give the testimony? It's because it's the organ that whether we realise is or not, will commit the most crime. So the tongue will have to give the most testimony. The next one to commit the most crime will be the hands and finally, the feet which only lead the hands and tongue to where they are used.

Just in this sequence is a profound lesson for us to be aware of out tongue the most. SubhanAllah.

Here's something a bit more complex. We find in two surah where Allah Azza wa Jall says something very similar :

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ مِنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ

and do not kill your children because of poverty, We provide for you and them (6:151)

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ

and do not kill your children due to fear of poverty, We provide for them and for you” (17:31)

It's easy to dismiss the small difference between "We provide for you and them" and "We provide them and you" and say they're the same thing said differently, but as I've mentioned in another post, the Quran is hyper sensitive even in its sentence structure.

In the first ayat, Allah Azza wa Jall says "do not kill you children BECAUSE OF poverty", indicating the family is already poor so the first thing they worry about is themselves. So He says "We provide for you" first and "them" i.e the children later.

In the second ayat, Allah Azza wa Jall says "do not kill your children DUE TO FEAR of poverty", indicating a family who fears of poverty after having children for fear of not having enough to provide for the children. This family is thinking about the children first, so He says "We provide for them (the children)" first and "you" later.

SubhanAllah! See how perfect the words are arranged? Again, I would like to say here as I've said in a previous post; It is impossible for such perfection in speech to be uttered verbally without some kind of draft. But that is exactly how this Quran was revealed. An evidence that this Quran is no speech of a man but the speech of the Lord Himself, revealed through the mouth the Messenger, Muhammad s.a.w.

The Quran is like a gold mine that is full of hidden gems of wisdom. There is just no end to how much wealth we can gain out of it. We only need to start putting effort into it.

Wallahua'lam.

Amazing facts about the Quran - Lost in Translation

2011-04-09T16:06:00.003+08:00

In every surah that begins with the disjointed letter, the very next thing that will be mentioned is the Quran itself along with a certain feature of the Quran.

الم . ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

Alif Laam Miim. That is the book, there is no doubt in it. Guidance for the muttaqeen (2: 1-2)

يس . وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ

Yaa Siin. By the Quran, full of wisdom (36: 1-2)

In surah Yuusuf, we find

الر ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ . إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

Alif Laam Raa. These are the ayaat of the book that make things clear. For sure, we have sent it down, an Arabic Quran so that you may understand. (12: 1-2)

In these ayaat, it is clear that the Arabic Language is an inseparable feature of the Quran. While it is possible to recapture some of the messages of the Quran in another language, the beauty of the Arabic Quran would be lost in translation.

There are many things that showcases the beauty of the Quran in Arabic, but here I would like to show one specific example that even a person who doesn't know much Arabic like me can appreciate. Allah Azza wa Jall says in surah Al-Muddathir :

وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

Declare the greatness only of your Lord (74: 3)

In the Quran, the letter وَ has as many as 21 functions. One of them, such as the one used in the ayaat above is to separate one sentence from another. Think of it as the full stop and capital letter in English.

So, the sentence which really carries meaning in this ayaat is رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

This is truly amazing, but you might not immediately notice anything. Now, let's try to spell out the sentence letter by letter.

رب ب ك ف ك ب ب ر

Notice something? The whole sentence is spelled the same even if spelled backwards. In English, this is called a pallindrome. Try writing 'Declare the greatness only of your Lord' that reads the same backwards and forwards in any other language. It's not possible.

Another such example can be found in surah Yaasiin, ayat no 40 in which Allah Azza wa Jall tells us : "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They each float in an orbit"

The fact that this is mentioned some 1400 years ago when men hadn't a clue about the sciences of the universe is amazing enough, but this isn't the topic of this article. Instead, let's examine the last sentence in the ayat

وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ

They each float in an orbit (34: 40)

يَسْبَحُونَ means 'float' and this sentence explains the fact that the sun and the moon both float in their own set orbit. Let's separate the letters of the phrase that comes before 'float'.

ك ل ف ي ف ل ك

See how the letters 'orbit' around the letter ي - in a sentence that gives the imagery of objects floating in an orbit. How amazing is that!

SubhanAllah.

These are but small examples of what is missing from a translation of the Quran. As was mentioned earlier in the ayaat from surah Yusuf, Allah Himself says that He sent down an Arabic Quran so that WE may understand. So to get the full breadth of understanding and appreciation of this book, we really owe it to ourselves to learn the language of the Quran.

Wallahua'lam.

Amazing facts about the Quran - the usage of 'those who believe' & 'believers'

2011-04-08T12:14:00.004+08:00

Alhamdulillah, after studying the Quran for some time, I've picked up a few amazing facts about the Quran that I was never even aware of before. I'd like to share a few of them which are easy enough to understand that even a dummy like me could feel relatively confident to write about.

InshaAllah, this will be the first of a series of posts on this topic. I pray that Allah give me the ability to express my thoughts clearly and give us the proper understanding of His book. And with that, allow me to begin my post properly.

* * * * * *

In the Quran, you will find Muslims being addressed in two ways

الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا (those who believe)

and الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (believers)

If one were to read it casually, it is entirely possible to think that the two are merely two different ways to say the exact same thing. After all, it is common knowledge for an author to use this technique to avoid the text from sounding repetitive. Even we do this all the time just in our assignments.

However, this isn't the case for the Quran. The Quran is hyper sensitive about it's choice of words, sentence structure, and in some cases, even how the words are spelled in each ayaat. With this rule in mind, you'll need to realise that where the Quran is concerned, even though you'd think they mean they same but 'those who believe' and 'believers' aren't interchangeable terms.

So what is the difference between الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا and الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

With 'those who believe', imaan (belief), is used as a verb while with 'believers', imaan is used as a noun. In the Arabic language, a verb is associated with time - a similar concept to the English tenses - whereas a noun is timeless. In other words, you can say that a verb isn't stable in that it changes with time while a noun is something that is concrete and unchanging.

This means that 'those who believe' are people like you and me whose imaan fluctuates all the time Therefore, you will sometimes find some negative commentaries directed towards 'those who believe' in some ayaat. For example :

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ

O you who believe! Why do you say what you do not do (61:2)

The 'believers' on the other hand are the hire echelons of Muslims such as the sahabah whose imaan has matured and became firm. Read through the entire Quran and you will never find anything bad said towards this group. You will find only good things mentioned about the believers. For example in the following ayaat:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ.الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

Most certainly the believers have already attained success. Those whom in their prayer khushuu' (23: 1-2)

These are only two of the many ayaat where these terms are used. Interestingly, you will find a remarkable consistency throughout the entire Quran with how the two terms are used. Such a consistent style of speech would be an amazing feat even in this day and age where an author can use the computer to make drafts to check and recheck the text for consistency and even the best authors today have editors to help them in this process.

But the Quran wasn't originally revealed as a book. It was revealed in the form of speech without any drafts or editors and was only much later compiled verbatim as a written text. Not to mention that the Quran took almost 23 year to be fully completed. Think about it, most of us can't even be consistent in our speech with what we said in a period of a week, much less in 23 years.

This perfection of the Quran, it's attention to the minutest of details and to remain ever consistent is one example of an evidence to solidify the fact that the Quran can't be the word of a man.

SubhanAllah.

If I had only known you sooner...

2011-04-03T10:49:00.001+08:00

I was brought up reciting the Quran since my early years. I can still remember how I loathed that moment when my Quran teacher would come to my house at 6, because that was the time that cartoons would air on TV (namely, Garfield). The Quran to me then was just words to be recited.

And then years later, I went to an Islamic school. I was taught some tafsir of the Quran (among other Islamic knowledge). Then, everything was about memorisation. I memorised a lot and have also forgotten a lot. The Quran to me then was just another subject that I needed to pass.

Then I went to college. I had so much time to do so much things but very, very little was spent on the Quran. Occasionally, seemingly out of whim, I would read its translation (which at the time I thought was tafsir) and then put it back where it was. The Quran to me then was just another book in the locker.

It wasn't until years later that I started to get really acquainted with the Quran. I started to listen to lectures about it, memorised it and read various tafasir books. The Quran to me now, is becoming the dearest thing to me. It lifts me when I'm down, guides me when I'm lost and gives me counsel whenever I'm in need. It shows me how to live my life.

Alhamdullilah - All thanks and praises be to Allah for guiding me to His path. Were it not for His mercy, I would have deviated from Him for sure.

Looking back now, I can't help but to feel regret that I hadn't developed this relationship with the Quran earlier in my life. Alas, what's past is past. However, I will try my best to impart the appreciation of the Quran that I've developed to the future generations so that they will not share the same regret I feel.

This is a responsibility that every muslim carries.

Wallahua'lam.

I like to Move it Move it

2011-02-11T09:18:00.002+08:00

My PS3 is alive again!! After 2 months in the fixing bay and RM380 worth of cash flying out of my wallet. But well, at least I don't have to buy another one for the THIRD time.

It so happens that after picking the console up we (the wife and I) ran into a Sony Style and.. er... kind of accidentally picked up the Move.

It was by accident.. really.

Anyways, I've never played any of these motion control game thingies before. I don't own a wii and have never even played it so I was really curious..

The Move set that we bought came with Sports Champions and we bought another Move controller just so that we could play it together. After giving it whirl, I think that it works great! I don't exactly think it's a replacement for the classic controller. While I had fun playing ping pong with the Move, I would never want to use that for games like Uncharted.

Overall though, I think it is a recommendable piece of hardware. It's not exactly cheap, but at RM 180 a piece, it's considerably cheaper than the plastic guitar controller (which most of you who own it may have already stashed in you closets) and will likely have support for more games in the future. The There are however some limitations of the hardware that I think you should consider before picking it up.

You'll need some space to play this. A pretty large space at that especially if you're going to play a two player game.
Your TV better be big. I guess a 32" will do, but for best results, I'd say 40" above since you'll be playing from about anywhere between 2-3 meters the screen.
It doesn't work well in a brightly lit room. Your movements with the Move is captured by a camera. When it's too bright, the camera won't be able to recognise the color of the ping pong ball at the tip of the Move controller. Also, playing in a dark, preferably closed private room also works better for you because people won't be able to see you flailing your arm around like a madman.
As I've said in the last one, it WILL make others look at you weird.

Other than that, it's all good. It's also a great way to get people who aren't even into gaming interested in trying. My nephews absolutely loved it. I even I got my mum to try it, and she has never touched a game before! So I say, buy it, if not for you then at least for your family.

Psst, Sony, shouldn't you at least be paying me some for this ad? :p

A reminder for all Muslims

2011-01-26T09:45:00.002+08:00

The following are taken from a lecture from Surah Baqarah of ayahs 76-80. I transcribed them and edited the text to make it flow better as a written text. They aren't my own commentaries as I am not yet qualified to make remarks of my own in this subject matter. You can listen to the complete audio recording here, something I can't recommend enough. Please, spare some time to listen to the rest of the ayah because we owe it to ourselves as Muslims to learn Book.

I chose this one ayah (ayah number 78) to share with you because it contains a profound lesson that we need to know of. It also indicates a very huge problem that the we, the Muslims of today are marching forward into. May this knowledge help us in becoming better Muslims and may we be able to remind others with this knowledge inshaAllah.

And even out of them (Bani Israel), there are people who are 'ummiyyun', who don't know their Book (the Torah) except for 'amaniy' and they do nothing but make assumptions.

Now, lets analyse this ayah in three parts:

1. And even out of them (Bani Israel), there are people who are 'ummiyyun'

2. who don't know their Book (the Torah) except for 'amaniy'

3. and they do nothing but make assumptions

1. And even out of them (Bani Israel), there are people who are 'ummiyyun'

'Ummiy' means two things - someone who is incapable of reading or writing. In modern times it is translated as 'unlettered'. It comes from the word 'um' which means mother. Meaning they are as illiterate as they were when they came out of their mother. But the Israelites do know how to read. So why are they being labelled as unlettered?

2. who don't know their Book (the Torah) except for 'amaniy'

'Amaniy' means wishful thoughts. In other words, instead of knowing what it is, you just think you know what it is. Allah is saying, they don't know their Book at all except what they think they know what it is. They can read their Book but they can't understand what they read, so they might as well be called as unlettered.

This is a very serious ayah about the crime of Bani Israel against their Book.

Now let's stop to think about this for a bit as far as our own selves and our own ummah is concerned. How many of us think we know what the Quran says as opposed to actually knowing what it says?

Next, Allah says:

3. and they do nothing but make assumptions.

This is yet another crime the Israelite committed against their Book as a result of their wishful thinking. What this is teaching us is that our ummah better not make assumptions about Allah's Book - You and I better not make assumptions about what Allah expects us to do and what He expects us not to do. We better not make make out own assumptions as Allah has already given the Book detailing what Allah Himself wants us to do.

The second thing that we should really be aware of is the interpretation of the Sahabah regarding this ayah which is very shocking and scary as far as we should be concerned.

Now, the central crime that the Isralites commited against their Book is with the word 'amaniy'.

According to an explanation by Ibn Abbas, 'amaniy' in this ayah means tilawah (recitation). They (Bani Israel) know their Book only by reciting it and memorising it without understanding it.

This means that they did have a relationship with their Book but their relationship with their Book is just two things; they recite it and memorised some parts of it, but the most crucial aspect of reading - comprehension - is absent.

This is a description of Bani Israel. Now think about this. Think about our own ummah. Think about ourselves. The vast majority of the Muslims today can be described as people who read the book, maybe even memorise some parts of the book, but has no idea what it says.

*personal note: in Malaysia especially, isn't it true that when we think 'mengaji Quran', what immediately pops in our head is recitation?*

Again, this is Allah describing Bani Israel but look who else the description fits! Isn't it a scary thought?

*So, there are at least 2 lessons that I gathered from this lecture:

Do not make assumption on the contents of the Quran. Don't even say "I think this ayah means this that or the other", we're just putting ourselves in dangerous waters.
The second lesson is the most crucial. For our own sake, we really need to start being 'students' of the Quran. It is a must for all of us - not just the scholars or the sheikhs or the ustadz - to really learn the Quran. We also need to realise that learning the Quran means 3 things - recitation, memorisation and understanding it.

I hope this piece of reminder has been useful and will inshaAllah lead us to take actions so that we will be able to avoid ourselves from being in the same category as the people described in this ayah. Do remind your family and friends of this lesson and lets pray that Allah not make us among those who are described in this ayah.

Everything that is good comes from Allah, and any flaws is from my own weaknesses.

Wallahua'lam.

The three individuals that changed my life

2011-01-18T09:08:00.005+08:00

Up until the last Ramadhan, I was probably your average Muslim of the 21th century. I pray 5 times a day, fast for a month every year, try my best not to lie, yet as I came to find out just recently, I was probably not even at the rank of average - I was a weak believer.

Alhamdulillah, Allah has guided on the path towards him once again. And here I would like to share with you my story.

Now, Allah's Mercy and Hidayah may manifest in different ways. For me, it was 3 individuals who have changed my life forever.

To be perfectly honest with you, I wasn't at all one to open up youtube in search of religious lectures. However during the last Ramadhan, I was somehow compelled to view this video on the sidebar entitled 'How the bible led me to Islam' by a brother Joshua Evans. The gist of it is, brother Joshua was a devout Methodist, a youth minister even, who, after a series of events found Islam at the age of 17. Not only did he just learn the basics of Islam, he even went as far as becoming a Da'ie (one who calls towards Islam).

Brother Joshua and said video

After I watched the video, I was absolutely ashamed of myself. There I was, a Muslim for 24 years - since birth! Yet I had nowhere near the level of conviction that brother Joshua had. This propelled me into doing a lot of study about Islam and I did a lot of comparative religion study by myself.

I also watched more videos from brother Joshua when I eventually stumbled onto a Da'wah show from the States - the Deen Show (now available on ch al-hijrah, at 11 every Saturday). The host of the show, brother Eddie is a very interesting person. He has never said much about his own past, but he himself wasn't a Muslim to begin with. This man of Romanian descent used to live a shady past until he became a Muslim and left it all behind. Brother Eddie has been described by a person (who I will later reveal) as a 'Da'wah machine'. Literally, he would approach just anybody on the street and inform them about Islam. Subhanallah, that is the extent of change in character Islam bring out of a person.

Brother Eddie, Da'wah machine and MMA instructor

Brother Eddie's show features a guest speaker every week giving talks about Islam. Through the show, I learnt not only much about Islam but also of great speakers. I came to know of Sheikh Kamal Al-Mekki, Professor Jerald Dirks, Abdur Rahim Green, Imam Suhaib Webb, just to name a few. But of all the speakers, one of them got me truly captivated. Nouman Ali Khan.

Brother Nouman's speeches are almost always about the Quran. MashaAllah (what Allah wills), the way he explains the Quran is like none other I have been exposed to and it really touched my heart at its core. I began searching more videos of brother Nouman and later found Bayyinah.com, the website of his own Institute for Quranic studies. I must have listened to his lectures on the Quran's contents for hundreds of hours - repeatedly! - and still I couldn't get enough of it! The Quran is truly magnificent. It is through his lectures that I came to the realization that I must memorize the Quran for myself.

Brother Nouman in another one of his amazing lectures

May Allah reward these brothers for all their effort in spreading and explaining to the world and especially to me about Islam. However, I acknowledge that it is only through the Mercy of Allah that I was given the opportunity to find these brothers. If not for Him, I would not have been where I stand today - more convinced of Islam as the ultimate truth than I ever was in all my 24 years of life combined. For that, I have no words to express my appreciation other than Alhamdulillah.

Addicted

2011-01-16T16:55:00.002+08:00

I have a confession to make. I have an addiction the like which I have never had before. The addiction to the book of revelation, the last testament, the Quran.

Over the last 4 months, I've dedicated a few hours daily just listening to it's recitation and studying it's exegesis (tafseer). Alhamdulillah, I have managed to memorise 1/30th of it's content and by Allah, how amazing is it that just that small portion has managed to completely change my life.

Alhamdulillah - all praises be to Allah for nurturing my love towards the Quran and may it only grow stronger as time goes.

1 juz in 4 months is nothing to be proud of really as there people out there memorising the whole book within the same time span, but I'd just like to share my method of memorising. Hopefully, someone out there will get some benefit out of it inshaAllah.

1. Have a good exegesis with you. Memorisation has little meaning unless you understood what you recite. As for myself, I prefer listening to reading and I found the tafseer sessions by a Brother Nouman to be extremely helpful. You can find his audio clips here :

Tafseer of juz amma

Tafseer of surah Baqarah

2. Once you've got the gist of the surah, get started memorising. I do this simply listening to the surah repeatedly. For me personally, qari Misharee bin Rashid Al-Afaasee has the most beautiful recitation that isn't too hard to follow. You may download his recitations here:

http://www.audioislam.com/?subcategory=Recitation

3. After you've memorised a surah, get back to tafseer. I personally find that I learn more studying the surah once I've memorised it. You'll also be able to pick up vocabulary that will help you in the surah to come.

4. Recite often. In any free time you have, just try reciting all that you've memorised. It helps if you have a digital version of the Quran so you can always have it with you and check yourself whenever you aren't feeling sure of an ayah.

5. The last step, is actually what I did before I even commited myself to memorising the Quran. I intentionally put it last because, well... let's just say that I understand not everybody is willing to do this...

Let go of music. Completely. It's harder to memorise Quran if you spend more time letting things that are against the teachings of the Quran in your ears more than Allah's Words themselves. Rather, replace the times you might spend with music with the beautiful recitations of the Quran instead. I'm not going to talk much about music here, rather, I'll let Mr. Kamal Al-Mekki who convinced me to stop listening to music do all the convincing you might need.

Obviously, there are alternative views to this issue but the points Sheikh Kamal makes rings with me and I haven't missed music at all since its absence from my life. If anything, more room for Quran is always a better option.

And that's my unqualified method of memorising the Quran. However, I personally think you can adopt any method you want and successfully memorise the Quran if your intentions are pure, for Allah helps those who wants to get closer to Him =)

Wallahua'lam.

iPhone Gaming

2011-01-15T23:10:00.005+08:00

As I've recently started to use my iPhone more in terms of playing games, I figure I should write my impressions on some of games that are keeping me quite entertained to the surprisingly viable gaming platform. As a plus, most of these games are relatively cheap, ranging from $2 - $10 a pop.

First off, Puzzle Agent. I have Ryan Davis of GiantBomb to thank for this purchase. Puzzle Agent is quite of a mix bag. It has great presentation, a unique sense of humor and some really mind bending puzzles. Unfortunately, not all the puzzles are great. However, the story was intriguing enough to keep going to the end of the 4-5 hour game. Despite the aforementioned intriguing story though, the payoff was rather disappointing. But for $6, it is not a bad deal since it's a nice change of pace from the typical games out there and it's the kind of game that fits perfectly on the iPhone.

Solve crime by solving puzzle

The next game is Puzzle Quest 2. I really enjoyed Puzzle Quest back when it came out on XBLA 4 years back and I still played it on the PSP well until last year. It was certainly more suited as a portable game. I think Puzzle Quest 2 itself is a great game but the iPhone version suffers from the fact that the game was clearly not optimized for the iPhone. This is apparent in the menus where every button is so close to one another that going through the menu is an exercise in patience as I find myself clicking on something other than the one I wanted way more often than I would have like. I've ran into a lot of loading issues where I have to relaunch the game to load an area. The game has a lot of issues for sure, but even those aren't enough to deter me from playing the game. If you're interested in this game though, I recommend you getting the PC or probably iPad version instead.

Slim fingers recommended for best experience with this product

The last game in the list is Dungeon Hunter 2. This is an isometric loot based RPG similar to Diablo. In fact, one might even say it is a blatant copy of Diablo. That's not necessarily a bad thing since you can't play Diablo on an iPhone. The best thing about Dungeon Hunter 2 is that it is supports up to 4 players via wi-fi or even locally using bluetooth. The controls however leaves a bit to be desired, but it's more from the limitation of the iPhone's lack of a physical thumbstick. It's not going to replace Diablo or Torchlight, but if you need to sate your loot lust on the go, then this is your only viable choice.

Totally Diabolical

Words to ponder

2011-01-12T08:58:00.006+08:00

When it comes to words of wisdom, no words are more worthy to ponder upon than the words of the Most Wise Himself. So here I invite all of you to ponder on these few words from surah ar-Rahman, courtesy of this video by Br. Nouman, of whom his work I am very much in love with.

If you're the type of person who is more inclined to reading rather than watching a video. Please read the notes from the lecture which I have posted under the video. Please note that I didn't write them myself. I just copied it from the work of an anonymous. May Allah bless them for their work and may this lecture benefit you as it has benefitted me.

Surah ar-Rahman[55]

Ayah 1:

الرَّحْمَٰنُ

ar-Rahman

The Abundantly Merciful

Allah made the Qur'an in aayaat/signs. Each ayah might be commonly translated as a 'verse'.

But in surah ar-Rahman, Allah mentioned 'ar-Rahman' in ayah 1 alone. This is in of itself a source of reflection.

So we have to reflect for ourselves, How is Allah 'ar-Rahman' to me?

1 - We should count the different ways Allah is ar-Rahman to us.

2 - Allah is ar-Rahman, not just RahEEm (CONSTANTLY Merciful).

Rahman is a Mubalaghah/maximized form/hyperbole form

[it is Ism Faa'il = someone doing something right now.]

i.e. Rahman =Allah being Abundantly -Most- Merciful right now presently.

In this surah, Allah will explain alot of His Mercies through Him being ar-Rahman = Abundantly Merciful right now to all of us.

Of all the Mercies that Allah tells us in this surah, He tells us the priorities of His Mercy.

What was the first thing He is Abundantly Merciful to us for? What did He do?

Ayah 2:

عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ

'Al-lama al Qur'an -

He taught the Qur'an.

Allah mentioned this first - showing that Him teaching the Qur'an is even more of a Mercy than Him creating the human being. (since the human is just a misguided animal without the guidance of the Qur'an).

So Allah teaching the Qur'an is a bigger mercy for us than our own lives.

'Al-lama - Taught [transitive/ta'addy]

Allah did not mention who He taught the Qur'an to. This is a Mercy, because it isn't limited to Allah teaching the Messenger, or a certain group of people.
No - Allah left it open to show humans that He is teaching it to anyone who is willing to learn it. This is an extreme Mercy too.

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
- and we have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember? (Qamar 54:17)

People pay extra money to go to the high education schools because their teachers are of a higher standard.
In this surah, Allah is telling us that He is teaching us the Qur'an. The best teacher - He is our teacher - the Most Merciful (ar-Rahman).

Allah taught it to angel Jibreel who taught it to Prophet Muhammad (sal Allah alayhi wasalam), who taught it to companions, who taught it to later generations, and it was preserved in the books.

If you appreciate Allah's book - you will be a student of it.

'Al-lama al Qur'an - Taught the Qur'an.

Allah teaches the Qur'an to continuous generations - so long as they are sincere and with good intent - seeking for His Mercy.

He guides them through the teachings of the Qur'an at a practical level. This is the mercy of ar-Rahman.

Qur'an - maQru' [mubalaghah/maximum/hyperbole]- something which is Read/Recited alot.
When someone Recites the Qur'an alot, that is a proof that they love it. It has to be Read/Recited and applied alot.
This is even done in Salaah, you recite Qur'an.

Allah tells us the Qur'an is a cure and a Mercy;

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌوَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا
And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and Mercy (Rahmah) for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.
[al Isra' 17:82]

For the rest of the notes, please go to

http://linguisticmiracle.com/rahman_uncomplete.html

There you can even download it in .pdf or .doc file.

Games to play with other people

2011-01-09T08:57:00.007+08:00

I bought a slew of games on discount from Xbox Live during the year end sale. Some of them are games that I've always wanted to buy and some of them are practically on a whim because, hey, they were on discount!! Pretty valid excuse to me :p

Of those games, I was really taken by two of them. The first of which is ...

Risk: Factions!

Now, the sole reason I bought this game was because Risk (the board game) has a special place in my heart because of 'a certain unforgettable event' during my days in IPBA.

Risk: Factions, however, is more than just a board game made virtually. They actually added a new mode entirely with new rule sets and factions that adds personality to the otherwise stoic board game. The standard game of Risk is also available but the new mode is so much cooler.

Any game with a fat talking cat is automatically a good game

I had fun playing the game even against AI, but I figure it would be much more fun playing against other people. There's online multiplayer, but my crap island internet connection couldn't possibly meet the demands for live multiplayer. And besides, I always enjoy couch multiplayer (ie. local play) better. This is definitely the game I'll get my friends to play whenever we get together again.

I bought Risk: Factions for around RM18 and it's certainly a bargain for such a fun game. Heck, that's even cheaper than buying the actual board game!

The other game is...

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light!

This game stars the character Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series but plays nothing like it. The game is played from an isometric perspective (ala Diablo) and aiming is done by means of the right stick. The emphasis on this game is co-op and I can't stress enough how great this aspect of the game is.

Why did I gave such high praise to the co-op? Well, to put it simply, you and a friend will play one of two characters with different abilities and you will have to rely on each other to get around. I especially love how some of the puzzles really force players to work together.

Also of note, I can play this game with my wife and she's even enjoying it! If you're into co-op games, you should definitely play this game as this is easily the best co-op experience you're going to get right now, bar none.

Pure co-op fun

Tomb Raider and the Guardian of Light was available for RM28, though I believe both games have since been bumped back to it's regular (double) price now that the sale's over.

My personal top 10 games of 2010

2011-01-04T10:01:00.005+08:00

10. Heavy Rain

Heavy is the only game that makes it to this list not because of how it plays, but because of how unique of a game it is. Honestly, I find the the tank-like character controls tedious and context sensitive QTEs (Quick Time Events - ie. push buttons presented on screen) doesn't make for a very compelling game. What the game excels is making the players feel fully in control of the decisions the characters have to make throughout the game and this is done even better than what has been done by any other games available today, bar none.

9.God of War 3

God of War 3 may to some people feel completely derivative of the previous 2 games in the series. And while I have to agree with that to a certain extent, the game more than makes up for it with a graphical fidelity that is simply unmatched in any other console games to date. And while the gameplay may not have evolved much since the series' debut, it is still the gold standard for games of its ilk.

8.Alan Wake

At first, I have mixed feelings about Alan Wake. It is a game that I like much more before I got to the rather lackluster ending of the game. But looking back at it, no other game has got me feeling so dying to find out what event is going to unfold next, thanks to the game's masterfully crafted story-telling .

7.Blur

Blur secures a spot on my list simply because of the awesome multiplayer experience. Not that the single-player mode is any slouch, but the game is best enjoyed playing with 10 other real people trying to make a pass while you having to avoid homing missiles from behind you and thundershocks in front of you all at the same time. It is the most frantic yet fun multiplayer game of the year for me.

6.Vanquish

In my book, no other third person feels more exhilarating than Vanquish. The experience of rocket sliding around a corner while shooting and following up with a dropkick to you enemy's face and then continue shooting at him while jumping back from said dropkicks' momentum is something no other game provides. Vanquish is poetry in motion. If whatever I wrote made no sense, the just watch the first 15 seconds of this video

5.Darksiders

Some rabid fanboys out there were quick to sum this game as a Zelda rip-off with a darker tone. But isn't that what Zelda fans have been asking for all this time. Face the fact people, Nintendo will never make a '18PL' Zelda game. Darksiders is that game.

4.Halo: Reach

I didn't think I would care this much for another Halo game but Bungie did their final Halo product justice by making it their most polished game yet, making the fight alongside the rest of the memorable members of Noble Team against increasingly impossible odds of the invading Covenant army over the planet Reach, a fight worth fighting for any fans of the Halo games. Also, the multiplayer is a lot fun as well.

3.Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

It's almost inconceivable that a game that wasn't even in development for a year would make such a good sequel to last year's amazing Assassin's Creed 2. But the folks at Ubisoft had done good in keeping what made the last game so great and adding in a load of more interesting stuff to do in the game world, enough to make this game feel more than just an expansion. Brotherhood also features the most fresh multiplayer component in any game. I mean, who would think that the single player focus game such as this would have a multiplayer that is not only functioning, but plays pretty good as well. They really done did it with this title and I can only be more excited of what's to come in the future of the series.

2.Bayonetta

If you noticed, the list really gave away my love for the character action game genre. Games like God of War 3 and Darksiders have great gameplay, but none of the even blows a candle at Bayonetta. This game takes my number 2 spot simply for having a super amazing gameplay that rewards skill, timing , and an appreciation of some good old Japanese zaniness.

1. Mass Effect 2

I'm Commander Shephard, and this is my favourite game on the Citadel.

For a game that was released in January, Mass Effect 2 managed to remain an impact to me is speaking volumes about the quality of the game. And that is partly because I practically played the game throughout the year. I would replay the game every few months, trying out different classes, and making different choices. It is a game that manages to keep me thoroughly entertained throughout its 40 hour campaign, leading to the best and last mission of the game. the fact that its so much fun even on the third time play through makes me confident enough to name Mass Effect 2 as the best game I've played in 2010.

Games of the year nominees

2010-12-24T21:22:00.003+08:00

The following are games that I played this year and this automatically qualifies these games into my upcoming top 10 games of the year list.

2010 Games

(In alphabetical order)

1. Alan Wake - A competent third-person shooter with superb atmosphere and story-telling.

2. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - Some incremental but terrific changes to the old game plus a very novel multiplayer mode makes this the best Assassin's Creed yet.

3. Bayonetta - So crazy it's awesome. Plus, the best use of 'Fly me to the moon' in a video game.

4. Blur - It's Mario Kart without Mario and karts are replaced with real life cars. Features a mad addictive 20 player combat race.

5. Castlevania: LoS - Still playing through the game. Seems decent.

6. Darksiders - Like Zelda and God of War got married and had a baby. One of the most surprising hit of the year for me.

7. Dante's Inferno - A pretty solid attempt at making God of War.

8. Enslaved - A sci-fi Journey to the West. Great characters. Gameplay's not too bad as well.

9. Fable 3 - Some of the changes made over Fable aren't actually for the better, but I enjoyed it even more than Fable 2.

10. Final Fantasy 13 - Very pretty. Very linear. Very heartbreaking.

11. God of War 3 - God of War in HD! Also features some of the most gruesomely brutal scenes in any games to date.

12. Halo Reach - Great single player and multiplayer game. The last and best Halo by Bungie.

13. Heavy Rain - A series of thumbstick movements and button presses as you watch a movie unfold according to your actions. Very unique.

14. Limbo - An XBLA game that is interesting at first but loses steam towards the end.

15. Mass Effect 2 - Vastly superior to its predecessor, which was already a really good game.

16. Monkey Island 2 - Hey, I finally finished this game... after like 15 years! And surprisingly, it's still a good game!

17. Red Dead Redemption - Gran Theft Horse.

18. Singularity - Looks like Bioshock. Plays almost like Bioshock. Unlike Bioshock, involves time-travelling.

19. The Secret of Monkey Island - Hey, I finished this game after 15 years too!

20. Vanquish - Like Gears of War played in fast forward. Pretty short but is one of the most pulse pounding games of the year.

And just for posterity's sake, here are games of yester-year that I finished or re-played this year

Borderlands
Demon's Souls
Devil May Cry 4
Dragon Age : Origins + Awakening
Fallout 3
Tomb Raider Underworld
Uncharted 2
Mass Effect

Hrm...looking back at this list got me thinking, for someone who has been playing much less than I used to in the days, I still play a lot! :p

The meanings behind Allahu Akbar

2010-11-02T12:57:00.004+08:00

Allahu Akbar. A muslim doesn't have to even know know Arabic to be familiar with these two words. Most if not all muslims know it what means, but knowing and understanding are two separate matters.

I recently listened to a lecture about this word and thought it would be beneficial to share with everyone.

Commonly, it is translated as ‘Allah is the greatest’, or ‘Allah maha besar’ in BM. While I would not go so far as to say those translations are wrong, the more literal translation would yield ‘Allah is greater than’ as ‘Akbar’ is a form of comparative adjective in Arabic.

Now, when someone is to compare something, it begs the question: what is that something compared to. In this case, the sentence ‘Allahu Akbar’ leaves out the object of comparison entirely. This is part of the wonder of these two words.

For one, this omission of an object in a comparative is used in Arabic speech to imply the subject is better than any object you can think of. In the case of ‘Allahu Akbar’; Allah is greater than everything. Thus we get the common translation ‘Allah is the greatest’. But even this is understanding the sentence at face value.

You see, by omitting the object, it leaves the room for the object to be interpreted contextually. For instance, when you are doing your work and you hear the Adhan (the first line being Allahu Akbar), you have to realize it means Allah is greater than whatever your work is, no matter how important or noble you think it is. The fact is your obligation in work is minuscule compared to your obligation towards Him - the solah.

There is a narration about this form *Al-Aswad bin Yaziz. He said : I asked Aisha ''What did the Prophet (s.a.w) use to do at home?'' She said, ''He (s.a.w) used to work for his family, and when he heard the adhan, he would go out (to perform the solah).'' Clearly indicating that there is no responsibility greater than that towards Allah.

The wonders of Allahu Akbar also works in solah. Most of us are easily distracted in solah. Whether it be thinking about the the work we forgot to do, the long day ahead of us, the football game on tv to, what movies we want to watch next, to just about any little thing we can think of. So everytime we say Allahu Akbar in our prayer, we are not just proclaiming the greatness of our Lord, but we are also reminding ourselves that Allah is greater, is more important, than the things going about in our head and that He is the one we should fill our mind with instead.

So the next time you hear Allahu Akbar, I hope you will be able to understand it the way it is meant to be understood. InshaAllah, this will bring us closer to Him. Wallahu A’lam.

*Sahih Bukhari, vol 7, no 276. Taken from http://www.haqvoice.com/hadith/index.php?page=1&s=Adhan on 2/12/2010

Curses

2010-10-26T08:57:00.002+08:00

I am not fond of curses. Swears. Four letter words. Or whatever people want to call it.

Many people however, do not have a problem using it and/or with their usage. These days anyways, it is considered normal to curse. You hear it in the movies, your friends use it when they speak, you read it almost every time you facebook and you get desensitized to it. If that wasn't the worst of it, many even endorse it!

I don't know what's the deal. Maybe cursing boosts your ego. Maybe cursing makes you feel cool. The fact however, is this - A bad word deed is a bad deed. A bad word is a bad word. Take stealing for example. If everyone in the neighbourhood is a thief, that still doesn't the fact that thievery is wrong doesn't it? Likewise, just because it is a norm to curse, that doesn't mean it's right to curse.

Decency doesn't change over time. What was wrong 100 years ago is still wrong today. Rather, it's the people's perception of decency that has changed.

If you are a person who likes to curse and is somehow offended by this post, I ask you this: would you want to hear your kids curse? Please remember that the apple won't fall far from the tree.

Changing the world

2010-10-19T09:11:00.004+08:00

Read the news lately? You'll discover 2 stark contrasts. One the one hand, the nation can be seen flourishing infrastructure-wise. New buildings are going to be built, new curriculum for schools, more funds, etc. But on the other hand, the society is plummeting where morality and decency is concerned. Not a single week will go without news of child dumping, underage sex, incest and all kinds of other hideous behaviours.

What is wrong with people?

And while the goverment is supposedly hard at work to curb these issues, is there any hope for change? If the state of the 'advanced nations' that our society seems so bent to be like are any indication, then it's only logical to assume that things are only going to get worse from here on. Afterall, what our nation is currently trying to implement to curb societal problems is only what those countries have already applied and what good did that do to those countries?

I used to think that there was no saving the society. That there was no way to change the world.

History proved me wrong. There was one society which had very bad societal problems. Theirs were a society of drunkards, adulterers, and murderers who would bury their daughters alive out of shame - not too different to what our society is becoming. Who would have thought that in 23 years, they had a complete change in every aspect of life and even went so far as to become a powerful civilisation.

They were the Arabs, whose lives were changed by the Message of the Quran sent by the Messenger of Allah. They flourished when they abided by the Book, and they declined as their people started to turn away from the Book.

In it is a lesson for us - we can't put the responsibility to improve our society solely on the government, or any single body. If we want to change the world, then the change has to start from within us. And we may think that we need to spend millions and millions to treat the disease that is plaguing our society, but the cure is actually free. Turn to the Quran, and let the Message of Allah change us.

The miracle given to us

2010-09-29T12:38:00.000+08:00

When people talk about miracles of old, they will remember stories of how Musa (or Moses) peace be upon him split the Red Sea, or how Al-Masih Isa (Jesus Christ) healed, the blind, the lepers and brought the dead to the living. These are indeed wonderful stories, but to the people of today, rings more closely towards fiction rather than factual. It is understandable, given the magnitude of the miracles and particularly because we were not there to witness these miracles first-hand.

However, the muslims believe of a final miracle. A miracle which sadly, many - even the muslims - among us have either forgotten of are simply unaware of. A certain miracle that God had revealed some 1400 years ago for everyone, and that implies even to us, the people of today. This miracle is the Quran, which for the muslims, is the verbatim words of God Himself as a guidance for mankind.

Lately, there has been a lot of hate for the muslim world and we hear of cases of people doing untold atrocities to the Quran. Yet, how many of the people who do those things actually took their time to open the Quran and read it for themselves.

So here I would like to invite all of you to give the Quran a chance. For the muslims, read it to understand your deen better. For those of different faiths, remember that there is no knowledge that isn't power. You don't necessarily need to believe in it to read it. After all, people read Harry Potter knowing whatever written in it is hardly believable. So if you can read something like Harry Potter, why not the Quran? It certainly won't do you no harm. It's not even all that long if that's what's worrying you.

And while the Quran is in Arabic, these days you can easily find a translation on the internet to get a general understanding about the Quran. From what I understand, the most commonly used English translation is the one by Yusuf Ali, which you can read here.

However, bear in mind that while you can get some of the messages of the Quran from a translation, most of the things that make the Quran what it is will be lost in translation. If you are a person of literature, you will know that a translation of a text from one language to another will never be 100% similar. It will lose a lot of the nuances and features unique to the original language and might even lead to some confusion. That is why the Quran is actually meant to be read and understood in Arabic, the language it was originally revealed in. Don't let this dissuade you though, as I've said, it's okay to get the general sense of the message for starters.

Read it with an open mind and heart, then pass you judgement.

Click here to read the Quran now

Additional information about the Quran:

1. What are the main beliefs outlined in the Quran

2. Is Quran written by Muhammad (p.b.u.h)

3. Why is the Quran revealed in Arabic

4. Is Arabic uniform throughout the Arab world

5. What is the literary structure of the Quran & can the Quran be translated exactly

6. Are there grammatical errors in the Quran

7. Why does God refer Himself as 'We'

8. The Quran's relation with the Bible and the Torah

9. The Quran as a divine speech

10. Misconceptions about the Quran

Working title

2010-09-15T13:26:00.002+08:00

I'm currently trying to write about something serious. Hopefully will be able to get it done at some point and post it here =)

Money money money

2010-09-14T09:19:00.002+08:00

I see the world around me revolving around money.

I see people who work with every ounce of energy in their body to earn money.

But I also see civilians mugged everyday for money.

I see people killed for money.

I see people kill for money!

I see people think we could gain everything with money.

It's all to funny.

Because you cannot buy peace for any amount of money.

Indeed true are the words of Allah:

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

You Are Obsessed by greed for more and more. Until you go down to your graves. Nay, in time you will come to understand! And once again: Nay, in time you will come to understand! Nay if you could but understand [it] with an understanding [born] of certainty. You would indeed, most surely, behold the blazing fire [of hell]. In the end, you will indeed, most surely, behold it with the eye of certainty: and on that Day you will most surely be called to account for [what you did with] the boon of life.

Surah At-Takathur (Rivalry in world increase)

The Examination

2010-09-02T05:31:00.002+08:00

Examinations.

For what purpose do these exams serve? If I recall correctly from one of the courses of which it's name I could no longer remember, the reasons are:

1. To measure how much a person has learnt / gained

2. To discern the good students from the not so good ones.

One who does well in exams also tend to get more privileges than those who didn't, like higher chances to study in better institutions, which at the end of the day usually lands them with better jobs, better pay, a better life in general.

Naturally, every person who could think straight would want to do well in their respective exams, but not everyone will. Some will merely pass and some will fail. However, everyone has the potential to do well if they work hard enough for it.

And in our excitement for all our exams to satisfy ourselves with better lives, with all the pleasures in the world, many forget of THE exam that we are undertaking our whole lives. Think about it - is our life not analogous to an exam? Everyone has the potential to do well and claim the eternal rewards that He has promised. But not everyone will. Some will merely pass and some will fail.

So ask ourselves, do we want to do well in this exam? Or will we be satisfied with a mere pass? Will we even pass?

So, what are we going to do about it?

Najibu the video game journalist?

2010-07-18T07:48:00.008+08:00

All my life, I've had little choice in determining my own future. Almost everything was set by my parents. I wanted to be an artist. But NO, said my parents, and here I am today a teacher. I don't begrudge them for that. I'm sure all they want is a better life for me, and as a matter of fact, I'm doing pretty well. But ultimately, this isn't what I REALLY wanted for myself.

Having almost completely giving up on arts, my only interest now is video games. Saying that I'm 'interested' in video games, however, is a gross understatement. It's passion. Naturally, I'd want a work that I can channel my passion into. So when I heard GameAxis, the only real video game magazine in the country was looking for a writer, I knew I had to give it a shot.

I haven't heard anything back since I sent my resume for about a month, so I figured I must have not made the cut. Yet on one inconspicuous Friday, after a less than thrilling day at school, an unknown number rang up my phone, told me he was the editor of GAX, and that had been shortlisted to be interviewed for the job. I had to restrain myself from jumping in joy lest I bring down the shaky wooden house I live in.

Flash forward a week later, on the morning before the interview, one Brian Ekberg, an editor from Gamespot whom I used to admire just notified on twitter that he had resigned for another job. This post he left on his blog, which seemed just perfect to amp up my motivation for the interview, seemed to me to either be a really good coincidence, or that God was telling me that I am on the right path.

Later that day, I was there at the WriteOn Media office where I was to be interviewed. My wife, all the way with me has been very supportive and patient enough to wait at the lounge for the duration of the 2.5 hour interview. I can't thank her enough for that. Inside the interview room, that much time passed without me even realising it. I was talking to Terence Stephen, the editor-in-chief of GAX, a man who, like myself is deeply passionate about the industry. He was quite surprised to find out I am a teacher, but then again, he had had interviewees who are even lawyers and architects. There I was, in an interview for a job, and the interviewer was asking me questions like, "what's your favourite game?" It was surreal.

As part of the interview, I was tasked to write an article about a game, any game, between 500 to 800 words in about an hour. As much as I like writing about games, juggling between work and play had not left me much time to be writing a lot of game related stuff lately, so pulling off a well written article in an allotted amount of time was actually harder that it sounds. After giving it some thought, I decided to write a review of Blur, a game which I had intended to write a review for but never had the time and commitment to actually sat down and write.

Now all that's left is for me to wait. As much as I want this job, I don't think I'll be devastated if I were to be rejected. I'm a greenhorn with zero experience in journalism after all. However, Mr. Terence was kind enough to inform me that they're still looking for freelancers aside from the one full-time writer they will choose from the interview and the fact that I got shortlisted from god knows how many applicants was already pleasing enough for me. Regardless of wether I get the job, the interview was an experience that I won't likely forget... but man, it sure would be nice if I do get the job =)

Najibu's thoughts on Alan Wake

2010-06-19T22:39:00.005+08:00

Despite a menagerie of things I had to do during the school break, I managed to finish at least one game out of the few new games I bought. That game was Alan Wake, a game that I think is one of the most surprisingly good game I've played this year.

The game plays like a mix between Resident Evil and Dead Space. I feel that Alan Wake controls better than the two games I mentioned and the result is a very satisfying shooter. Unfortunately, the game lacks variety to keep things fresh from start to finish thanks to a very limited type of weapons and enemies available in the game. The game could also use some more different settings as the bulk of the action will take place in the dark foggy forrest.

I find myself liking the game more for it's story more rather than the gameplay. The story is a well thought out one, but it's the superb story telling that really holds the game together. I especially liked the way how the game is broken into several episodes, similar to those mini series frequently aired on HBO. Each episode ends with a masterfully done cliffhanger that I find myself wanting to play more just to know what is going to happen next in the story. Each episode also begins with a quick recap of the previous episode. Honestly, I find it hardly necessary, but it's really cool so I'll give them points for that.

The game looks as good as any good 360 game but the lighting and shadow effects makes the game seem prettier than it actually is. My other complaint is the bad lip synching during the cutscenes. While not terrible, it's not up to the standard of recent games.

Alan Wake is a pretty short game - I finished it in under 10 hours, so that might keep some people off this game. My suggestion is either wait for the price to drop or borrow it from a friend. Heck, steal it if you have to (If you got caught, I won't be held responsible). The point is, despite its inherent flaws it is a game that should be played, if only to see how developer Remedy has taken story telling in video games to the next level.

For an in-depth review of Alan Wake, kindly watch this video review by GiantBomb's Brad Shoemaker.

Najibu at VGL Malaysia 2010!

2010-04-19T11:00:00.003+08:00

In case you all hadn't heard, Video Games Live happened last Saturday. I had to leave my island prison Friday evening, rush to KL the next day, and return in the wee hours of Sunday. I got home at 4.30 IN THE MORNING for crying out loud. But. I couldn't be more satisfied that I had been to such an outrageously wonderful event.

The host, the orchestra, the vocals and the hall. Everything was top of the class.

The performance was actually pretty similar to the one I attended in Wellington some 4 years ago but there is something about watching it on my own home soil that makes it significantly better. The segments (the songs, if you are so inclined) for VGL Malaysia are catered more for the Asian audience. Meaning : there are more songs from Square, Konami and the likes. The only thing that makes it rather distasteful to me is that 90% of the songs they play are from games likely played by the attendees by rather... illegal means.

In any case, I can stress enough how AMAZING the 2.5 hour show was and I would not have second thoughts to give it another shot anytime. I only regret I couldn't get my copy of the VGL CD autographed because I couldn't possibly queue until 1am when a 4 hour drive still awaits =(

Here are some highlights of the show courtesy of Youtube.

This here is the theme for The Legend of Zelda performed by the very talented Laura Intravia

The Castlevania theme, with VGL co-creator Tommy Tallarico playing the lead guitar.

And in a surprise reveal, the last song, the encore, was Time's Scar. One of my favourite piece of all time.

I was initially a little disappointed that Liberi Fatale wasn't on the show, but Time's Scar more than makes up for it. There's plenty of other songs played including from hits such as Metal Gear, Final Fantasy and even Tetris so if you're interested hit VGL KL up on Youtube and you're bound to find something.

First Mid-sem break 2010

2010-03-22T09:13:00.004+08:00

Here's a recap of the last 1 week holiday in. Maybe someday, 20 years later or something, I might wonder, "what exactly did I do during that holiday between March 12 and 21 of 2010?" Well, myself in the future, fret not because the old (or should I say, younger) you had brilliantly written your life down so you wont ever worry about losing your memory.

1.Weddings! Two girls I knew got married and I attended them both. Congratz Mass and Nadia!!

2.Went to IPBA for our KISSM cert and got a lot more than that. Met with a whole bunch of my friends, had lunch together and went all over the megamall like we used to when we were still students. Gundams, games, and pointless wandering. Ah, good times.

3.Got lost on the road for 2 hours looking for the hotel the wife and I are going to stay at. Priceless. The next day, I woke up to find my car clamped BECAUSE I PARKED IN THE WRONG RESERVED PLOT. I was only 5 minutes late of avoiding it too.

4.Video games of course! I can't say i've gone to KL without taking some games back. This time it's God of War III, Heavy Rain, Demon's Souls and Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening. That's three PS3 games, finally a reason for me to haul that thing over to the island. Oh, I've actually finished 2 of those.

5.Got two tickets to Video Games Live! Bought the third tier ticket which was not too bad a price, but realized later that we could've just bought a cheaper one. But what's done is done, and I'm super stoked about it. April can't come fast enough!

And that's about all there is. Today, work as usual. And first day of work after a holiday is always a major burn...

Lets go to VGL!

2010-03-13T21:44:00.008+08:00

Do you like video games? What about music?

If your answers for those two questions were along the lines of "DUDE, YES!!" then you ought to be really excited for Video Games Live which is going to take place right here in Malaysia next month.

What's that, you say?

Here's a promotional poster of VGL, featuring me.

OK, maybe the 'poster' was insufficient. Simply put, it's an orchestra that plays some of the best music that has ever graced the interactive entertainment world, backed by some visual treats that one might expect in to see in a concert instead of a prim and proper orchestra. Or perhaps the talented video game composer cum VGL co-creator Tommy Tallarico can explain way better than I do.

I've had the privilege to attend VGL during autumn of 08 when it was brought to NZ shores, so I can personally attest to its awesomeness. Just the thought of watching it again makes me tingle!

Video Games Live will be going live at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on April 17th. The fact that they're having a show in the piracy central Malaysia is mind-blowing. Malaysian gamer enthusiasts especially, show some support! I'm definitely going (even if I have to take a leave from work!). Now, I'll be frank that tickets ain't exactly cheap, but if you have any passion on both games and music, it's well worth it.

For bookings and pricing, please check here.

If you want to know more about Video Games Live, I suggest you jump the official website here

Video games, time, and me

2010-03-10T23:24:00.004+08:00

So Final Fantasy XIII came out today. For someone who absolutely loves video games, and also someone who had played the series from VII all the way to XII (minus the MMO XI), it's baffling, to even myself, that I'm not all that interested of the new game.

What could this mean? That I'm losing interests in video game?

No, if anything, I've been a much more avid gamer these days that I was when I was in my early teens.

The fact of the matter is, that time's a changing. Video games, along with the industry has gone a long way since the last decade. And so have I.

When I was 12, watching a game which had super slick full motion video (for its time) was the best thing ever. Me, now turning 25, doesn't want that in a game no more. I want to be able to actively take part in my video game journeys. And so I turn to games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, games of which are currently my definition of top-tier RPG.

I'm not, in any sense of the word, belittling Final Fantasy XIII here. I'm sure there are some pockets of people out there who are screaming in glee as they get to play the game they've been waiting years for, and it's probably for a good reason. I can't think that a Final Fantasy could possibly be a bad game.

But at this point in time, it's probably not the game for me anymore.

I need this

2010-03-06T22:12:00.002+08:00

No... it's not another video game. It's just a drink that I've come to grow fond of since my days in NZ/AU. And it seems I can finally enjoy this awesome beverage locally!! But in Seremban of all places though...

Here's a picture evidence, taken by some guy/girl on Facebook. Whoever you are, I totally missed your name and forgot to copy your link too. In the unlikely event that you stumble upon this blog, I would like to sincerely apologise for this and also thank you for sharing this wonderful news.

Bubble tea....mmmmmm~

I want

2010-02-08T15:25:00.002+08:00

You know what, It'd be really cool if I could...

play the guitar
play more games
play more games on a big HDTV with a good internet connection
be a video game reviewer
continue studying Japanese
learn Mandarin/Cantonese

Random things at the top of my head.. but yeah, I want to do a lot of different things (though most of them usually involve video games in some form or another).

But then, life isn't always meant to be about what we 'want' to do. It's more about what we 'have' to do.

and right now, I have to do what I have to do.

Movie day with students

2010-02-06T14:42:00.006+08:00

During the past 1 year, this beginner English teacher has been trying different methods to get students' attention, to get them to like, even, this language that is seemingly unnecessary to them. So today I've tried something that I've never attempted before. I called them for a special lesson. To watch an English movie!

Out of the 44 invited students, merely half of them decided to show up including 3 or 4 who stayed at the hostel. Most of them were from the A class, and only 2 of them were male.

The movie was 'Horton Hears a Who', a movie which I had watched for more times than I cared to count and had enjoyed tremendously. I also find the movie very suitable as the language used weren't too hard and there was narration peppered throughout the movie. It's also fortunate that none of them had ever watched the movie. For the purpose of learning, I intentionally put the English subtitles on, despite urges from the kids to switch to Malay. Not that I had that option in the first place.

It was supposed to start at 9.30, but some technical hitches and glitches stalled the showing time for about half an hour. Being the IT savvy person I am, (heh!) I got the situation under control. And so the movie played on.

It was an awkward moment I tell you. There were scenes which were supposed to be funny but the room was just completely silent. They only responded to joke which has to do with gestures. The ones that involve dialogue - none whatsoever. It's clear what the problem here is.

Teacher, cannot understand!!

By the mid point, I find that I was about the only one still giving a crap about the movie, as most of them were either busy with their expensive cellies or just having a forum with their buddies. Some even left midway through the movie. I didn't try to stop them as I didn't made this session compulsory in the first place.

At the end of it, there were about 14 students left and I did get some good feedback from them. They didn't get a whole lot out of the movie, but they at least learnt a few new words. It's not significant, but it's meaningful enough to justify having another movie day in the future.

My only big disappointment is that I could have used that 3 hours playing more games!(and by extension, more achievements)! I only hope the students can appreciate this sacrifice I made by ~~giving me money~~ doing well in their coming tests.

Najibu really likes Bayonetta

2010-01-28T09:12:00.002+08:00

Bayonetta is now the very definition of over the top craziness. It's a character action game, much like Devil May Cry, and the similarities aren't startling since the two games are made by mostly the same guys. However instead of cool dude and heavy metal, it's sexy chick with pop, with craziness cranked to the very maximum. While still similar to Devil May Cry in gameplay, there are significant changes that differentiates the two well enough and actually makes Bayonetta even better than its spiritual predecessor. It isn't everything that I hoped it to be though, but for the most part, Bayonetta is a commendably great game.

The Good:

The crazy battle set pieces that is just out of this world. It's hard to talk about this without giving away too much, but I'll just say this: fighting on a moving missile is completely bananas, but also freaking awesome.
The witch time mechanic that slows down your opponents by dodging their attacks at the last possible second, which gives players the opportunity to deal more hurt to the baddies is a both rewarding and satisfying.
It's a beautiful game and it moves at a very smooth 60fps all the time (I've confirmed that the PS3 version has severe framerate issues though)
The game has a lot of reference to various video games , most of which are the dev's previous games, but also other famous games from Assassin's Creed to God of War to Halo. They are most amusing.
The game's rendition of Fly Me to the Moon. Who would've thought that song would be a combat theme, and a GOOD one at that! It's been stuck in my head since.
Good for newcomers and experts alike. The first 2 of 5 difficulties lets even a 4 year old play well (not that I'm recommending this game to a 4 year old) and the last 2 ensures a workout for those inclined for more challenge.
Those who appreciate the combat will definitely come back for more. I've replayed the game for 30 hours now.

The not-so-good

There are one too many cutscenes. Many of which are stylized image stills that are barely entertaining. It makes it that more annoying that to skip a scene, one has to hit start, select skip, and answer yes. A simple 1 button skip would've been most welcome.
Some occasional yet very noticeable screen tearing. It doesn't do any harm, but it isn't nice either.
Typical of a Japanese game, it has a story that cannot be understood in any way, shape or form. There's also this one character that makes me want to yawn hearing him speak.
It's pretty short if you're just going to play it for a single playthrough. Roughly around the 10 hour mark.

Also of note, the AU/NZ premium edition comes with this sexy replica of Bayonetta's gun. How crazy is that?! I would've totally bought it if I were still there!!

A foreshadowing, maybe.

2010-01-27T07:29:00.006+08:00

If this is a sign of things to come, I already know that I'm going to absolutely LOVE going out on meetings this year.

Last Sunday, I was reluctantly forced to get off the island in order to attend a PMR registration briefing in Rompin the following day. So I had all the things that they told me to; a laptop and a list of names for my school's PMR candidates.

It wasn't until the night before the briefing that I realized that I was just carrying an over-sized paperweight. The laptop wouldn't boot! Stupid government laptop. What was I to do...

OK, so here's the plan I came up with: Just bring the laptop anyways. Pretend that I didn't know it was broken, switch it on, and then *gasp!*, play the role of an innocent "I didn't know what happened" man. Well, turns out that the was hardly a need to bring a laptop in the first place, since they gave us a CD with everything we need in it.

The briefing was scheduled to end at 12. Great, that meant I could still catch a boat back at 1. 12.15 came but still there were no signs of the briefing ending soon. I was already tapping my foot impatiently. By 12.30, I mustered my courage and told the guy in charge that I had to leave lest I couldn't get back in time. Lucky me, the good man understood my circumstances.

The trip from Rompin to Mersing would usually take an hour if I didn't want any speeding ticket - and of course I wouldn't. Keeping in mind that the ferry NEVER leaves on time anyways, I decided to give it a shot.

I did arrive just in the nick of time. At 1.20, the ferry was calling for boarding. Walking triumphantly towards the thing, I figured that I had indeed made it. I was so wrong. The ticket guy said that it was full! Despite my pleas and convincing, he wouldn't let a single poor teacher on. I swear, I should've resorted to threats.

Hopeless, I thought it would be best if I returned to my hometown, which was only 2 hours drive from there. I woul've stopped at the Seng's house, but I didn't want to wait until he gets back from school. That night, I learned that his school had switched to morning session, so he was actually at home at the time. Danked!

Ah... one misstep after another. Meetings, please don't treat me as mean next time, I really want to start liking this job for once.

Two Odd Nine

2010-01-20T09:18:00.003+08:00

It was exactly 1 year ago today that I stepped foot on the island and really began my career as a teacher. A lot has happened since. Some of the them, among the best things that ever happened in my life. And then there were other, not very good things as well. As a commemoration (and also because I failed to do this at the turn of the new year :p), here's a list of the 5 most memorable and 5 most detestable events of the year that was.

5 Things I wish never happened in 2009

My job
Being myself, occasionally
Teaching them half-wits
My students' PMR result
My job.

5 most memorable event of 2009

Definitely the best thing that ever happened to me was getting married to my long time girlfriend. I mean, I'm married! To the girl I've been going out with for 4 years. I couldn't ask for anything more
Meeting my friends in Malacca. What a way to end the year! They are the best friends I've ever had. To spend time with them, even if it wasn't very long was easily among the moments that I cherished most in 2009.
In spite of me not totally appreciating the fact that I'm posted in this here island, it was a free opportunity given to me to do activities I've never thought I wanted to do before. Najibu goes jungle trekking? Swimming??? It's almost sounds preposterous!
The trip to Aishah's wedding. I disliked traveling, but then, I knew that going on a trip with a bunch of friends could be so much fun. It's a shame that things will never be the same again since.
Attending my cousin's wedding in Sarawak. It's the first time in many, many years since I got to stay together with my once-upon-a-time close cousins. It was a lot of fun, even if we just spent most of the time watching HBO. Actually, it was boring, but it was fun anyways. So weird.

Dragon Age: Origins mini review

2010-01-10T12:57:00.002+08:00

If you've like the old-school Dungeons & Dragons type RPG's such as Baldur's Gate or more recently, Knights of the old Republic, Dragon Age should be right up your alley, but if you missed out on those old gems, then Dragon Age should be the game to kick start you love for the genre. This is a hardcore esque RPG, where your characters' stats determine their hit ratio and damage and victory in battle has more to do with positioning and managing your team's abilities than having dexterous fingers.

It sound cumbersome, and truly, it is. Fortunately, Dragon Age remains accessible to everyone, from the newest of newbies to the stalwart dungeon crawlers thanks to the different difficulty options you can choose from. The game also has a really interesting, if not entirely original story, but unlike most other games where you're just there for the roller-coaster ride, in Dragon Age you take roller-coaster where you want to go. The sheer amount of interactive story elements in the game is astounding and this ultimately lends itself to making the story extremely immersive and also personal. I don't think there's been a finer RPG than Dragon Age in a good long while. Truly, this is the age of great video games.

The Good:

Multiple character classes and races to choose from, each with different origins story and and various skill sets to choose from.
Highly interactive story allowing you to shape the fiction to your whims.
Interesting companion characters who has their own motivations to follow you on your quest. Some of which you can even flirt with, if that's your thing.
Outstanding voice work overall. Especially loved the dialogue with the companion characters.
A fully realized fictional world. Hundreds of codex entries to help you better understand the world you're living in, or you can simply ignore. Your choice
Satisfyingly long, though how long depends on you play style. I played and finished it at the 65 hour mark, doing almost every side-quest I discovered (at 75% completion), including the time I spent reading every single codex entry I found, which was mountain loads.

The Not-so-good

No voice work for the player character during conversations.
A lot of the different monsters make the same, annoying noise.
Lack of ability to respec your characters. I'f you screwed up leveling your characters, you're pretty much screwed.
The 360 version's quality of pre-rendered videos suffer from what looks like an overly compressed video. I can't say for the PC and PS3 version.
It will consume a lot of your time, which unless you are a student or unemployed, is not a very good thing.

Where there's a will...

2010-01-06T22:43:00.006+08:00

About a decade and a half ago, there were a couple of medical students who were avid video game players. We all know what video games does to studies.... nothing. So they both graduated and received the title of Doctors. Not long after, they decided to drop their stethoscopes in favor of joysticks. I wonder, at that point in time, do these two doctors even thought that a decade later, their co-operated video game development company would become one of the world's most prestigious. As of today, their company has churned title like Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect and Dragon Age, among others which millions upon millions of happy gamers have played the world over. And of course, that translates into millions and millions of cash into their pockets. How else could they have their own private jet otherwise.

While it is true that not everyone just everyone could pull this off like Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk of Bioware did, they do show that putting your effort where your passion is can be something to be considered. The future is a fog that non of us can see through. You'll never know whether your path will soar you to the stars. Or maybe even fall down to the lowest depths. But this I know is also true - there is always a different path to choose

Najibu's Top 10 - Games of 2009

2009-12-31T12:01:00.003+08:00

The Year 10 is upon us! As a celebration for such even an occasion, I humbly present to the blogosphere, my personal pick of the 10 best games I've played throughout the year that was 2009.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand lucky no 10!!

10. I'm no fan of the racing simulator genre, and that Forza 3 had me hooked is saying something. Maybe it's the generous yet subtle driving assists. Maybe it's the elaborate livery editor. Either way, this is the definitive track based racing game of the year.

9. Assassin's Creed 2 goes into this list not so much for it's gameplay, even thought it is noticeably better than its predecessor in that regard. Rather, it's the fiction that is woven into the story-telling that captivates me. It's like playing the Da Vinci Code (the book/movie, not the game). It's that feeling when you cracked a near subliminal puzzle that makes you feel so smart is what makes the game so memorable. By the way, there is a Leonardo Da Vinci in the game too.

8. For a game that was released in February, Resident Evil 5 sure left a deep impression. How could it not really, when I've sunk above 50 hours in the single-player campaign. Something that I didn't do even to Dead Space, which is a similar game (and my pick for best game of 2008). It's the way the game is set up to allow me to jump in and out of any scenarios I want to replay and experiment with the different weapons I unlocked.

7. Infamous is a great open world third person shooter that...uh..isn't actually a shooter. Instead of relying on guns, the protagonist Cole shoot electricity from his hands! It's a rather lengthy game that is tons of fun to play. Easily the best open world game of the year. Also, a fine proof that you don't need guns to make a game better.

6. It's almost baffling that Shadow Complex is a download only Xboxlive Arcade game for the quality is above even most of the disc retail games this year. Shadow Complex breathes new life into the old side-scrolling a-la Metroid type of games and pushes the standards of a download only game. It looks, plays and is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greats of 2009. And I should mention that it's the least expensive of them all.

5. I didn't like the story in Modern Warefare 2 much. It pushes beyond the envelope of believable, something that the previous game was. But I'll be damned if I didn't say it was fun to play. For better or worse, the game's over the top popcorn action movie setting allows for a really exhilarating shootouts that most other games just couldn't match. Honestly thought, the game would still be in this spot even without the single player campaign, for the multiplayer and spec-ops modes are the real reason for this game to be a keeper.

4. I have to admit, I don't like the combat in this game, but Dragon Age is the ultimate role-playing game in years. I appreciate the game because it let's you play the story any way you like, unlike some other RPGs I'd rather not mention. There's no light or dark side gimmick here, yet the choices presented in the game carries weight and affects the story a great deal, leading to numerous story-lines and ending that makes me want to replay the game differently. Considering that a playthrough took me almost 60 hours, even when I skipped a lot of the quests available, I'll be playing this game a lot more in months to come.

3. If I like Dragon Age for the story, I like Borderlands for the gameplay. In fact, I'd say that the fact that Borderlands has no real story whatsoever is the reason why I find it so easy to play this game again, and again, and again. It's the simplicity (or near-mindless fun, if you will) of the game that keeps me coming back for more dudes to shoot, and more loots too loot. If Gearbox keep releasing add-ons on a regular basis, I'd be more than happy to pony in some Microsoft point to keep on playing this awesome game. On a side note, I think Borderlands is the perfect companion piece to Dragon Age.

2. Who would have thunk that this game that I had little care about (and by a little known developer, no less) would turn out to be one of the best game I've played this year, not to mention that it's a *gasp* licensed game! Arkham Asylum beats all odds and caught me by surprise with its unique gameplay. No, there is no other game that plays quite like this Batman game even if you looked every nook and crany of the universe. I was even contemplating to put this game on the number 1 spot.

1. Batman was an excellent and original game, no doubt. But Uncharted 2.... hooo boy. Let me just some it up a bit. Third person shooter. Traversal (or jumping and climbing, some might say). A little hand-to-hand combat for good measure. There is nothing that hasn't been implemented in other games. The game shines brighter than the rest thanks to a masterfully crafted execution, that weaves the narrative and the gameplay naturally like no other games have. Uncharted 2 is chock full of amazing action set pieces, like fighting a helicopter on top of a speeding train, or playing a game of cat and mouse with a tank in a secluded village in Nepal, all the while desperately looking for an RPG to destroy the blasted thing. What's RPG called in Nepal anyway? Uncharted 2 seems almost as much fun to watch as it is to playbut believe me, it's actually a lot more fun to play than to just watch. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - best game I've played this year.

Borderlands - a bite-sized review

2009-12-25T22:28:00.000+08:00

In theory, it's not hard to imagine an FPS with RPG elements thrown in for good measure. A few games actually tried this formula. None succeeded. Then came along Borderlands.

Borderlands is a killer combination of 3 great games - the light tactical combat of Halo, combined with Modern Warfare like shooting mechanics plus controls, and the addictive nature of leveling up and collecting loot of Diablo.

If any two of those games are your cup of tea, you'll find a lot to like in Borderlands.

The game is best played with 3 other players but even on your own, the experience still holds up pretty well. Borderlands is an excellent original game that is easily one of my personal favourite title this year.

The good

Perfect balance of FPS and RPG
Sleek visuals
Long, highly replayable campaign
Excellent co-op game

The not so good

Bare-bone story
Frame-rate takes a hit when things get crazy
No split-screen LAN play!!

4 days of the past

2009-12-21T21:11:00.008+08:00

If I had the sands of time, I'd rewind time all the way back to my days as a tertiary student. As it turned out, I didn't actually any magical time-altering sands after all.

A time warp happened! There was a crack in time and I was somehow transported to an alternate plane where my brothers didn't part ways once we finished college, but instead stayed together in a wonderful villa located in a resort in Malacca!

Note: Some parts of the above paragraph may, or may not be totally true.

It was a glorious 4 day trip down the memory lane. Being there with every one, (well, most of us at least) it felt like nothing had changed at all. I mean, it's not like any of us got married or going to have children soon or anything like that, right? Riiiii~iiiight~

The Seng still totally loves to eat

Being a game enthusiast I am, there's no beating having a group of players in front of the screen at the same time, laughing our heart out, and occasionally spewing obscenities (not me, I'm a good kid, I am).

My brothers in arms

Despite some shortcoming (we only had 2 screens and consoles) and we couldn't play all the games we wanted, great time was had. By the way, if we're ever to do this again, I'd totally get Rock Band again =D

1Malaysia? Forget about it. We went above and beyond that. We are Family.

The real terror of Modern Warfare 2

2009-12-11T14:04:00.003+08:00

Modern Warfare 2 has been condemned by the most-likely-not-video-game-players-mass media for a multitude of reasons. It's lets you be a terrorist, says some and it's murder simulator says the other. Take my word for it that players don't give a cat poo for any of their blabberings because what essentially matters is that much like its predecessor Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2 is really fine game. Read: Game

That supposedly disturbing airport scene where you witness (and also possible to commit) mass murder - Didn't disturb me one bit, because I know better to discern real life and the game world.

The real terror is something else

It isn't about the shooting dudes in the face part.

The real terror is finding it too hard to put down the controller once I start playing the multiplayer. It's always "one more round!" after another. I actually had to make an effort to stop myself from playing, lest I find myself losing sleep and playing well till 4a.m. Such is the addictive nature of the game's multiplayer for me. And it doesn't even have achievements.

Oh, the terror!!

I love Uncharted 2

2009-11-23T15:31:00.003+08:00

I've finally got Uncharted 2 last Saturday, played the hell out of it, finished it last night, and loved it immensely that I had another go at it today. The game play elements, though are no doubt better than the last game, hasn't changed much at all. In fact, all the cover based shooting, ledge jumping and exploration have been done to death by numerous other games in the market and in Uncharted 2, they are at best, at the standard level. So what exactly sets Uncharted 2 apart and makes it the oh-so-increadible game it is?

1. First and foremost, to me, it's the situations that these game play elements are presented in, and a lot of that has to do with the PS3's processing prowess. The game is cinematic, but rather than having you put the controller down and force 30 minutes long cutscenes down your throat, Uncharted 2 actually lets you in control of the game's many memorable cinematic sequences. There's recently talk about an Uncharted movie in the works. Screw that. This game is a better movie than any movie about this game is going to be.

2. The cast of characters in Uncharted 2, especially the protagonist Nathan Drake himself, is among the most likeable fictional characters I can think of. The interactions between the characters and Drake's frequent talking to himself moments are as believable as you and me. The writing for this game is so brilliant and witty that it often left me grinning as I play. Something that doesn't happen too often.

3. Drake is no Hero figure. He's like John Mclane, but a decidedly more likeable one. Throughout the game, the odds are almost always stacked against him, and seeing him go through all those impossible odds by the skin of his teeth is some of the most satisfyingly breathtaking moments in recent entertainment history.

If I have to name some issues, the climbing animations can look a little janky at time, and I didn't like how the game becomes unnecessarily hard towards the end, but I hated dying so much only because I was so eager to know what's next for Nathan Drake. With Uncharted 2, Naugthy Dog has created a true masterpiece of a video game.

Najibu turns 24

2009-11-14T23:59:00.005+08:00

image obtained from some random flickr

And so another year came to pass. I am now 24. That's not big a figure at all. I'm still plenty young with plenty of youth and vigor to go around. And especially young for a married man.

For better or for worse, the one thing that I have never experienced for the life of me was to celebrate my birthday with my dearest friends. Not that birthdays are such a big deal to me, but I've attended them, hosted them, and even organized one yet never had the honour as the centerpiece of the occasion as my birthday always fall during semester breaks. That might have also saved me from being enveloped with expired milk powder or getting drenched by... something. Like I said, for better or for worse....

The birthday that was the most memorable to me thus far was probably my 22nd, on the 14th November of 2007. It was an especially cold day for that time of year in Wellington. I felt so aimless and hopelessly bored that day, and everybody had clearly forgotten - or really, had never even known in the first place - that it was my birthday. Yep, nobody cares for a small fry like me, but I'm fine with that. I kept a low profile afterall.

All my aimless wandering that day (which includes a visit to at least a couple of video game stores) ended up at the doorsteps of a friend's house, who then graciously invited me in to have a cake that she had just baked! No, she had no idea it was my birthday, though, she did eventually found out a few days later, but it might as well be a birthday cake for me.

Well, that's enough of looking back. As for today, I would really love to etch my greatest appreciation to those of you who wished me birthday today. To follow a tradition I started last year, here are the beautiful souls who made my day:

Via Phone (Spoken)
Mien
Nodi

Via Phone (text)
Ah Seng
Sue Fin

Facebook
Indra - 2 days in advance!
Mass
Nicky
Nas
Guna
Jarod
Faa
Kak Jaja
Syukur
Eqbal
Alex
Anne
Fifi
Hilmi
Nina
Vimal
Pa
Tam
Apis
Aini

Compared to last year, the number of text messages dropped down a notch while Facebook comments increased exponentially. Truly, a showpiece of how the virtual space is where things roll these days.

Again, my heartiest thanks to everyone of you. I only pray that god bless each and everyone of you

One name is intentionally absent from the above list. One person, to whom my greatest appreciation goes to, is to my dearly beloved wife Sofya. Thank You, most of all =)

[Edit : 15/11] Special mention: Hilmy Yakap

Video Games, Sport?

2009-11-13T11:32:00.003+08:00

"Is video game not a sport?"

Somehow or another, that was the question that had been in my mind since I got back from a game of badminton yesterday. And thus, began my quest for the truth.

The by the book definition of sports is "games and other competitive activities which need physical effort and skill". Obviously, the words in bold are its defining characteristics according to the dictionary. So let's cross reference those elements with video games and see if they match up.

Competitive: Games, as of late has been getting more competitive than ever. Gears of War and Modern Warfare are the best examples. Nowadays, it is even a standard for MMOs to include competitive Player vs Player matches. Checked!

Physical effort: This

picture taken from http://professionalprocrastinators.com/

That's probably taking it a little too far though, so I'm going to call it a no.

Skill: There's definitely an element of skill involved in video games. This is especially true in fighting games. That's why some players are better than others. Checked!

That's two for three, but the bit that it doesn't involve much physical effort is a really big factor. Of course, this wouldn't be a credible argument with just one source. The following is the the first paragraph of the Sports entry in Wikipedia (though, not that Wikipedia is the most credible source either).

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.

Mental acuity, equipment quality, commitment, fair play, and an accurate tracking of records. Every one of these things are present in video games. And from that lengthy description, the part that strikes me the most is that card games and board games are considered as sports as well.

Frickin' board games!!

Given these facts, how can video games not be considered as sports.

Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case.

For the assassin wannabes

2009-11-09T11:33:00.004+08:00

If you're big into video games, you'll now that Assassin's Creed 2 is rolling out this month. If you're not, there, you just found out.

In any case, you don't need to be even remotely interested in the game to enjoy this amazingly received short film that Ubisoft had conveniently made to promote the game's release.

Aside from leaving me all excited about the game, this short really leaves me wanting for a full on Assassin's Creed movie. With over a million hits within the first 24 hours of this short on youtube, I suspect the question isn't a matter of 'if' but 'when'.

Out on a boat

2009-11-08T16:03:00.005+08:00

Courtesy of a school activity, Sofya and I had had the pleasure to go on a boat ride halfway round the island. We stopped by a few places during the ride, but the highlight of the day was the boat ride itself. That is to be expected when you get to ride a boat as cool as this!

Uh, not exactly..but it'd be pretty cool if it was eh? OK, this one's the real deal...

Introducing the Fila D' Nara, one of the largest tourist ferrying transport vessels available in Tioman. While it might not look much from the outside, the lower deck of the boat is equipped with a toilet as well as a kitchen to ensure a comfortable ride throughout the voyage.

The boat is spacious. There's plenty of places to hang around be it it on the lower or upper deck. My personal favourite though, has got to be the roof. Standing on top of the boat and looking at the great ocean around made me almost think being posted to this island isn't that bad afterall. Well, almost.

Normally, it'd cost somewhere around RM1500-ish to charter a boat this big for a trip around the island. Lucky for me, this being part of a school trip meant I got the ride free of charge. It is unfortunate that the wind wasn't doing us much favour that day, so we had to turn back half-way through the trip.

If any of my friends are reading this, we really should make this an event next year!

My time stopped at 1

2009-11-04T10:15:00.006+08:00

This is the story of my ever so trusty wrist watch. A watch that was given as a gift to me from Her Royal Highness the Sultanah. A very special watch that I have been wearing almost exclusively for the last 5 years. The watch has been a taking a rough amount of beating through those 5 years - getting knocked at metal bars, grinded against walls, fallen off tables - but it never ceased to fail me. That is, until yesterday. A single quick fall from the table in the meeting room. A single quick thud. And just like that, it stopped, right at 1.

Alright, now it's finally time to use my hantaran watch.

Who wants to watch Prince of Persia? I do

2009-11-03T08:22:00.005+08:00

It's been a while since a good video game-based movie graced the cinemas...wait, has there EVER been one?? Well the recently released trailer for the upcoming Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time movie looks to make good on that one. Here's a trailer I found on Kotaku. The quality is a bit low but it's watchable

I wouldn't say it good, just from the trailers, but it certainly holds promise. As a fan, I'm really glad that series creator Jordan Mechner himself is involved in the project (screen story). Also, with the famed Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Carribean) at the helm, the chances are pretty good. The only but that leaves me a bit disappointed is that they gave a name to the Prince since he was never mentioned by name in the games. The heroine also isn't called Farah. But alas, the rest of the world who aren't fans of the games certainly wouldn't care less about it.

Regardless, here's a movie that needs watching come summer 2010 =)

I fridge you so much

2009-10-31T21:25:00.005+08:00

The Refrigerator.

Most would just take it as it is, but the way I see it, the machine is much more than meets the eye. It is a magnificent invention that has more potential aside from the obvious.

1. The fridge is a makeshift air-conditioner
Not everyone could afford to install an air-conditioner. I know I can't. But I do have a fridge, and at any moment where I am in want of an air-conditioning, I could just open the fridge and sit in front of the thing for a while.

2. The fridge is the safest place (probably)
If by any chance your town got attacked by an air-raid and there's just no bomb shelter nearby, run for the fridge. Did you watch Indiana Jones? He survived an explosion which destroyed an entire town by, you guessed it, hiding in a fridge.

3. And the fridge's best kept secret...
Think about it. The fridge allows you to bring to the future stuff that, without the presence of the fridge, would've never lasted that long. It's so obvious. The fridge is essentially a time-machine!

And that is just some of the things about the fridge that most people might have never even realized about.

Okay, so maybe I got a little over-excited about finally having a fridge to call my own. First fridge is the coolest, after all =)

A piece of the future...

2009-10-24T20:41:00.005+08:00

So we moved to new place a few days ago.

Didn't care much about the old place. It was small, cramped, and not to mention is an over-sized microwave oven!

But...

It was also the first place I lived with my beloved wife. Our first 4 month of being husband and wife was spent there.

You know, when I was smaller, my parents would show me pictures and tell stories about houses they had lived in, the places they've been, people they've met..

And it occurred to me today, that maybe some day, maybe in 15 years or so, I would be showing pictures like these to my children, telling them stories of their parents' past

"Lookie here, mom and dad once lived in a really small house"

"This beach was right in front of our house when we were younger!"

We are all always carrying a piece of the future with us. Everything that happens in the past and the present are things that, if we were to live long enough, will be woven into a tale for us to tell in the future.

p/s: going snorkeling again tomorrow. Huzzah!! =D

Moving over!

2009-10-21T09:25:00.005+08:00

picture snatched from www.thechefinstead.ca

Yup, that's right. The wife and I have finally successfully moved out from our previous, miniature box into yet another box, only a much more spacious box. Compared to the old box, our current abode is a Goliath! Whereas our previous box was merely David's baby brother. Honestly, I'd put a comparison shot instead, but I can't find the transfer cable amidst those heaps of bags and boxes.

So, how fares our newly acquired abode? It is, as I've mentioned earlier, bigger, to be sure. However, the size, and the 4 star hotel-quality bed and pillows are the only true redeeming qualities. There are cracks all over the wall, the toilet needs serious repair, and there's only a thin wall of two pieces of plywood between our room and the next one. There's hundreds of giant bats making the trees in front of our house their habitat (it's around the place where this happened). The building looks a 12 years long rundown building which was only recently repaired to a bare minimum. Oh right, it's exactly that.

There's a substantially long list of negative qualities about the place but in the end, size does matter.

On the flip side, the place has a pretty nice view. Situated right in front of the beach, you can see the boats and yachts sail gracefully on the open seas. The only thing that stands between the building and the clear blue water is....a recently constructed public toilet. I know, GREAT view, right?

It isn't exactly ideal, but so was out old place, and I suspect that I will warm up to this place in due time just as I had with the last one. Afterall, teachers can't be choosers.

P/S: saw a kitten which looks almost identical to Eton sleeping at my doorsteps this morning! =D

Oh Crap!

2009-10-10T14:55:00.004+08:00

We had a picnic at the beach this morning. Eager to test the my wife's new pair of goggles out for a spin, I almost immediately jumped into the sea the moment we got there. The goggles were only slightly more expensive than mine, but it feels much more comfortable.

I took my time enjoying the underwater view, the rainbow coloured fishes dancing around, and the soothing cold water I'm swimming in. Ok, goggle test drive was a pass! So I went out of the water to grab a quick munch. We were, afterall, having a picnic.

It was then that I realized... I haven't taken out my house key from my side pocket! Luckily it was still there. I was about to jump into the water again when I felt that there's one small thing that I forgot... my wallet in my back pocket.

Oh crap!

The wallet was soaked, along with everything in there. Every single card, and every single RM note.

It wasn't too bad. I mean, its not like they dissolve in water or anything, but its a sucky situation none the less.

On the way back home, we walked under some shades. Suddenly I saw something very quickly fell out of the sky right in front of my face and not a second later, a "splat" and a squishy sensation on my right foot.

Oh crap! Literally.

So what could've been a fantastic day turn out a little er..crappy, thanks to some little piece of crap which had his crap crapped on my foot.

Crap.

Little big adventure in small Tioman

2009-10-05T22:01:00.003+08:00

When life throws you onto an island, go explore it! Okay, I lied, the truth is, since we've already been thrown into this inescapable exile called teaching on this hunk of rock, we really needed some sort of escapism. But then again, I think going deep into the jungle hardly qualifies as an escapism...

We had originally planned on going swimming at the Marine Park. It was as a 20 minute-ish journey on foot from our..er.. 'hut', so to speak. But then somewhere along the way we (and a couple of other teachers from Tioman) ended up having to lead a bunch of school kids from the mainland deep into the mystical hilly jungles of Tioman (confession: I just added that 'mystical' bit to spice things up).

It was my first time to that part of the jungle, and it was Sofya's first time trekking on the island. I really can't describe the jungle in detail because it was all like green, green, and green. And then there's MORE green. Okay, there's some brown too.

[Too small for you? Click them pictures]

The 60 minutes of trekking and hiking wasn't a cake walk. We climbed up uncountable steps - some cemented, some just plain ol rocks formations, traversed plant-laden path few have trodden, performed death-defying leaps (not), survived encounters with terrifyingly savage beasts (again, not), and at the end of it, rewarded only by the fact that we have most definitely shaved a few cals off!

Like the point I made earlier, the view wasn't much different regardless where we were, but I gotta admit though, being in the heart of nature feels very different. The air is in a totally difference level of fresh, the ambiance is relaxing, and not to mention the denizens there! Well, they're sort of creepy like...

They're even creepier up close

The path down the mountain was much faster, but its toll towards our poor legs also significantly higher. We went out the jungle with shaky knees and blistered soles. A word of advice: never ever try trekking with your walking slippers! That, however, wasn't the end of our weekend escape. We had after all, planned to go the sea, and I was dead set on going there.

Swimming at the marine park is great fun. The water isn't exactly crystal clear, but it's pretty darn near that quality. The wave isn't strong there so it's particularly easy for people like me, who's just starting to get his bearings with swimming. There's some great view to be seen there too, though it definitely isn't the best that the island has to offer. I'm really into snorkeling since. Might even make it a weekly routine if possible.

All told, we had a lot of fun and it was a good diversion from our same old daily routine. The only downer is that the wife was down with fever for 2 days after the adventure - she's doing much better at the time of this writing though =)

The Long Road Home

2009-09-30T09:58:00.003+08:00

The last raya holidays was probably the most time I spent on the road in a week. Apart, from just going back to my wife's hometown in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, we also went travelling some, visited a few friends, and explore roads we've never taken before eventually making it back to our little island escape... Ok, I was just trying to make myself feel better about that last part. There's a lot to record about the journey but I'm not feeling in the mood to write so I'll just post some of the photos we took and mention some.

On the first few days of Syawal, we visited a lot of my cousins. We didn't bring our camera along so. Also got to meet up with Aishah and her husband. She was staying at her in-law's in Kuantan.

We went to Perak a couple of days later and that's when the journey really took off.

These picture were taken in Betong, Thailand. It's really close to Soya's hometown. That car you see is the car I drove throughout the journey. Not too shabby for an old car =)

Picture of some building there. I don't know what it is but it looks pretty artistic so i took a photo of it.

The streets in Betong. Not too much different from our own, but there's a very different vibe to it.

On the same day, we went further up north to Gurun to visit Soya's best friend Wani and her baby Tariq..uh, I don't know if I got the spelling right.

They're doing mighty fine. Also, Wani served us a really nice lunch. Nasi tomato and daging rebus. Thinking about it makes my mouth water. It also makes me want to eat something right now, if i wasn't fasting...

Afterwards, we stopped in KL for a few days to indulge ourselves with all the delicious food we've been deprived from during our exile from the mainland. Ah, Italian BMT, I wish I could have you again right now. Too bad we couldn't find Yoshinoya. The one in MV seems to have been closed =(

Next stop: Seremban. We went to Hilmi's sister's wedding there. I got to meet each one of the boys in Seremban except for my ol roomie. T'was fun meeting with everyone. Reminds me of t he good old days in college.

And then we back to Pekan, passing through Melaka and took a detour to Johor along the way.

We stopped at this cool-looking mosque in Jasin for prayer.

And this picture of the assembly in Segamat we took is just for proof that we indeed went through Johor.

It was a really tiring but well spent holidays. My only regret was that it had to end.

And I'm feeling real bored right now *yawn*

So This Happened

2009-09-19T16:13:00.004+08:00

THIS!

Q4 Shopping List

2009-09-17T00:08:00.005+08:00

As the year comes close to a a close, the games are coming in droves! Even with me having much more buying power than I did the same time last year I couldn't possibly afford to buy everything I want within these few months. See, there's a set of games that I want to buy just so I could play with my posse at our year-end gathering (which is only for a few days) and then there's a whole different set that I personally, really, want to play. Here's what's in the list for now, but I might change it later according to my financial standings... (note: the list only consists of games releasing before 31/12/09)

Gathering

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Borderlands (will buy regardless)
Band Hero (maybe)
Guitar Hero: Metallica (depends)
A brand new screen!

Personal - these are games that I will definitely get

Modern Warfare 2
Forza Motorsports 3
Dragonage: Origins
Assassins's Creed 2
Alpha Protocol
Brutal Legends

Actually, doesn't seem like that many things now that I listed it that way...but I still haven't calculated how much I'd need to spend for all those.

Regardless, I expect it to be a somewhat hefty sum, but not a necessarily ludicrous one either. I was also planning to get my hands on another Playstation 3 soon but it looks like that plan will have to be put on hold till next year.

[Edit] Somewhow forgot about Brutal Legends. That game wasn't very strong in my list anyways, but I am really interested in the fiction. And then there's Tekken 6, which for me is a maybe

What I've Done

2009-09-15T11:00:00.006+08:00

The PMR trial results from all the schools across the district have been gathered a few weeks back and I've received words of the analysis.

For the English subject, my school managed to place no 16!

16, as a number isn't bad at all. It's just a digit away from making into the top 15. It's also within the top 20 so that's still a rather good feat.

16, when put into context of there being only 17 schools in the district however, becomes decidedly less flattering.

It wasn't just the students who failed. I failed as well.

Maybe next year, I should just ditch all those story books, songs and 'English is fun' stuff altogether for a more 'do exercises til you die, you maggots!' approach. They didn't seem to work anyways.

Bastard!

2009-09-13T17:08:00.004+08:00

I was on my way back from buying food for berbuka when I came across a most amusing scenario. Allow me to paint you a mental picture:

A boy, who from his size, I gather is around 7 to 8 years old was running around while holding what seemed to be a toy in his hands. A younger boy who, I believe is his younger brother was chasing the boy with the toy. Not too far away from the two boys, a lone woman sits comfortably under the shades of a tree. From the way she looked at the children, as well as some facial likenesses between them, I have made the assumption that she is, in fact, the children's mother.

While the two brothers were running around in the manner of playing tag, the elder, seemingly out of the blue shouted, "Jangan la ikut aku gampang!".

I was shocked, but the mother didn't even bat an eye!

What kind of ill-civilized society do I live in? It is no surprise that my secondary school students constantly bad-mouth each other, even in class. Maybe I should accept that such behaviour is a norm for the people here, but to say such filth to your own kin, and in front of your mother too, without being reprimanded in any way is not something should be considered acceptable, norm or not.

Teaching English - Futile

2009-09-13T10:13:00.003+08:00

Note: I have noticed that my brain is functioning much slower lately. I have been in instances where I had to think before a word comes to my mind. So, to exercise my degenerating mental prowess, I have took it upon myself to produce an academic writing during my free time at school. The result is the following, my personal opinion of the teaching of English in rural schools, or to be more specific, the school in which I am teaching in. I wasn't too pleased with the outcome, but as a mental exercise, it serves it's purpose.

----------------

Meaning-focused input, form-focused instruction, meaning-focused output, and fluency. The four strands that I was constantly reminded during my student days as the core components of language learning. Through my experience teaching so far (which, admittedly isn't that long), I have come to notice that there are much more factors that come into play before it is even possible to reach the four strands. One tha stands out most to me is not on our part as the educator, but rather on the students and their role in language learning.

One: The first being, the students' own willingness to ingest the input given by the teacher. I have tried my best to use English in my classroom. English, which I gone through a lot of trouble to dumb down to more suit my learners; level. Yet so day, my teaching in English had resulted in futility simply because there is a mental barrier set up in the students' conundrum, almost as if there is a switch that automatically registers English words as unrecognizable gibberish.

The mental barrier condemns the students' language learning to their submission to "I don't know English". strangely enough, I get that sentence (gramatically correct, I might add), so often that proves their statement wrong. One has to wonder that the real situation isn't that they do not understand, but rather, they refuse to understand any input they receive.

Two: The next factor stems the issue that (my) students aren't at all keen in using English. Not in class, and most definitely not outside of it. Without having a consciouss choice to actually practice what they've learnt (also, considering that nothing might have been learnt in the first place!), there will not be a chance for neither meaning-focused output nor fluency practice to take place.

These two factors I propose come from a deep-rooted issue which I have come to identify - the source of why English learning seemed to be such an impossiblity. A point, that I will discuss in my third and final point.

Three: I have conducted a semi-formal interview with a number of my students in my school. The following were the three questions that I asked:

Do you watch English movies/shows?

Do you listen to English music?

Do you like English?

My findings revealed that the vast majority openly voiced their dislike for English movies, even those with feature Malay subtitles. English music fared a little better but the bombshell was that about 90% of them plainly admitted that they do not like English at all (of note, they didn't seem to like most of the other subjects either). Interestingly, my two best students - whose 'best' is most probably comparable to 'mediocre' to the better schools out there - are those who rather enjoy watching and listening to English materials.

It's a clear fact - and I know that my colleagues are surely aware of this - that there is a very strong relation between the students' own interest in a target language and their capacity to learn the language. So perhaps, instead of wasting the effort on actual language teaching, the first step would be by winning the students over to liking the language. The killer question is 'how'. I've tried from storybooks to videos to songs and nothing worked so far. I am at the point where I start to wonder if there is any hope to teach English to (most of) my students.

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I've got mail

2009-08-30T10:37:00.007+08:00

Just received my 2 orders yesterday which are...

I know, you've probably played them last year. But they're sooo cheap!

I've been eager to play Red Alert 3 since I played the previous 2 and Banjo, the game that has received critical praise from the GiantBomb crew last year. Got them for little more than RM80 - a real good bargain for real good games. With Batman: Arkham Asylum in the mail sometime this week and Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood that I borrowed from my bro-in-law, I won't be running short of games to play for a while. Oh, I can hear them sweet achievements ringing already~

How cats exploit humans

2009-08-24T23:55:00.003+08:00

I read an article in the papers about the topic, but I think this picture just about sums it all.

He either can't read that, or he's just pretending he can't

I rest my case.

But it says I'm tough...

2009-08-06T09:11:00.004+08:00

Think you know yourself well? I certainly don't. Not to get wholly academic here but if I remember my sociolinguistics well, there's this guy proposed the idea that our identity is what others perceive it as. So, taking that perception in mind, what we think of ourselves ultimately don't mean squat anyways.

And it so happened yesterday that a colleague presented a study metaphysics, which if to be believed was conducted by one Prof. Fadilah Kamsah that tries to nail down personalities according to our month of birth. Here's what it says for those born in November...

Banyak idea dalam perkara. Sukar untuk dimengertikan atau difahami sifatnya. Berfikiran kehadapan. Berfirasat unik dan bijak. Penuh dengan idea-idea baru yg luarbiasa. Pemikiran yg tajam. Daya firasat yg sangat halus dan tinggi. Bagus untuk jadi doktor. Cermat dan teliti. Personaliti dinamik. Sifat yg berahsia. Pandai mencungkil dan mencari rahsia. Banyak berfikir. Kurang bercakap tapi mesra. Berani. pemurah. Setia. Banyak kesabaran. Terlalu degil dan keras hati. Apabila hendak diusahakan sehingga berjaya. Tak suka marah kecuali digugat. Mudah ambil berat terhadap orang lain. Pandai muhasabah diri. Cara berfikir lain dari orang lain. Otak yang sangat tajam. Pandai mendorong diri sendiri. Tidak hargai pujian. Kekuatan semangat dan daya juang yg sangat tinggi. Badan yg tough (Stop. Laugh. Read on.) Kasih sayang dan emosi yg sangat mendalam. Romantik. Tidak pasti dengan hubungan kasih sayang. Suka duduk dirumah. Sangat rajin dan berkemampuan tinggi. Amanah. Jujur setia dan pandai berahsia. Tidak berapa berjaya mengawal emosi. Bercita-cita tinggi. Perangai tidak dapat diramal dan mudah berubah-ubah.

So there. How accurate do you think those descriptions hit me?

The first step to global domination!!

2009-08-04T09:49:00.004+08:00

Pre-read: If you've read soyasofya's recent blog entry, you'd have learnt that she had somehow dragged me into her online purchasing fiasco.

I've always wanted to have a game retail store of my own but I know perfectly nothing on how to actually start one. But today, I think I might have taken one tiny step towards the fruition of my life ambition. Today, I have officially affiliated myself with Play-Asia.com

As you could probably see, there is a newly added, highly hi-tech and stylishly simple banner to the right. See? See? See if there's anything you fancy. Looking for more? feel free to help yourself with the search box in the column.

Based on my own experience as a buyer, Play-Asia has some of the most crazy bargains around, especially for older stuff (I bought Too Human for RM30!). Newly released stuff usually cost a bit more than the ones sold locally but hey, postage is totally free anywhere in Malaysia. Also, they accept payment through Maybank Visa.

Okay, that's enough of me pimping about my new affiliate. Head there, check it out yourself, and help me fuel my ambition to conquer the local gaming scene! Mwahahaha

Another work related rant

2009-07-20T07:42:00.004+08:00

So I went to this 2 day course which bafflingly calls itself a 'pedagogy course' last course last week. Funny, I wonder what exactly is pedagogic about having to give x number of exercises is y amount of time all in the name of ensuring A.

One of the highlights of said course was a 40 minute discussion on whether students should be penalized for writing a title for their summary. For me, it was like whatever man... we want to test theit summarising skill so let their summary be the judging point, but if you wanna punish 'em, OK, why not, sure, whatever you like... Oh it was totally maddening being in there...

IAMHORRIBLE

2009-07-02T22:54:00.003+08:00

After an eventful day in school, I'm dead sure that this thing I'm doing right now isn't for me. I'm a sad excuse of a teacher... and it makes me hate myself so much. Currently, I'm at 95% set on resigning. Only, not just yet. I'm gonna see this year through to the end. And then, maybe...

May additional highlights

2009-06-03T21:34:00.005+08:00

A lot of wonderful things happened last month. I was able to meet my friends, attended the graduation ceremony, and a cousin of mine got married. And there's plenty of goodness left to mention!

I'm gonna go through this in sequential order

First off is my first snorkeling mission..er... experience (maybe). Man, that was fun, the corals in Tioman is a sight to behold, and I think I've finally got better at swimming! Whee~

During my short, short stay in KL, I managed to steal a few moments to get to Gamer's Hideout and bought a stack of games. This is the largest number of games I've bought in one go since November 2008. Probably could last me till the end of the year! Probably... but I'm guessing that's not gonna be the case ;p

And finally, I received this very special gift from future-sister-in-law. YUI's 1st album!! !Straight from Japan too (though more precisely, amazon.jp)!!! This album is one of my all time favourite. It's also one of the two albums in my life history which I can listen from the first track to the last one and keep on listening. It's so special that I kind of don't want to tear the wrapper..ahaha. Arigatou gozaimasu future-sister-in-law-san! =)

As for June, the only big event I can foresee is the wedding. Also looking forward to meeting my friends at the wedding. Do come y'all!