A Sermon (Khutbah) in Melbourne

On the 31st of August 2011, I was asked to give a sermon in Clarinda, a suburban district south-east of Melbourne. The members of audience were mostly Sri Lankan Muslims. The Eid mass was under the coordination of the ASLAMA (Association of Sri Lankan Muslims in Australia).

The contents for the sermon were considered based on the situation of Muslims in Australia:

1. Where there is a need for Muslims to acknowledge other fellow Muslims regardless of ethnicity.

2. Whereby it is essential for Muslims in Australia to spread and preserve the message and good impression of Islam.

3. Whereby Muslims must be reminded of the history which led to the deterioration of Islamic knowledge physically and mentally.

The actual sermon differs from the text as dependence on this text was not permanent, and figure of speech and spontaneous examples have innovated the main structure of the sermon.


FIRST KHUTBAH

Praise is to Allah who hath guided us to this; and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us. We praise Him, we seek His help, and we ask for His forgiveness. Whomever Allah guides, no one can lead him astray, and whoever is led astray by the will of Allah, no one can bring him back.

We bear witness that there is but one Allah, and Muhammad S.A.W. as his messenger, and the last messenger appointed by Allah.

O servants of Allah! Fear Allah! Fear Allah the way he deserves to be feared. And do not die as Muslims in full state of submission to Allah.

My Brothers and sisters,
We give thanks to Allah for having given us the opportunity to accomplish the month of Ramadhan and all of its fulfilment, so that we may fulfil what has been prescribed by Allah;

"…so that you are able to complete the period (of fasting) and to glorify Allah for that which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful."

(Al-Baqarah: 185)

To be grateful, because of Allah’s reward in His guidance of making us as Muslims. Thus it has become our responsibility to fill our Islamism with perfect faith and good deeds.

My brothers and sisters,
We have just completed a big act of worship in Islam; that is to fast throughout the holy month of Ramadhan. We have been invited to be the guest of Allah during Ramadhan, to be served with the act of fasting, in which the reward of performing so is at least ten times that of a common good deed.

Allah has prescribed upon us,

“O you who have believed, fasting has been prescribed upon you as how it was prescribed upon those before you, so that you may become righteous.”

(Al-Baqarah: 183)

The reason is so that we become righteous to Allah; who fulfil His commands, and leave all that He has prohibited while we live on this earth, in our relationship with Him, in our relationship amongst ourselves, in our relationship with our wealth, and in our relationship with all living creatures that are around us. All these relationship must comply with all that Allah has commanded and prohibited.

This means that only with the characteristic of righteousness…or taqwa, that we are able to fulfill these relationships.

My brothers and sisters,
On this great day, I wish to share with you a verse from the Holy Quran, from the book of Al-Ma’idah, verse number 8 which goes,

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of other (nations) make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to taqwa, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.”

(Al-Ma’idah: 8)

First of all; Allah is reminding us so that we become a servant of Allah to establish truth all the time. It is a commandment from Allah that we establish truth irrespective of wherever we are.

As far as the duty is concerned, we must establish truth all the time wherever we are, at whatever era we are in.

Secondly, all of us are witnesses of what we do; witnesses of what other people do. So of that respect, Allah commands us to be a just witness.

Thirdly, Allah commands us not to allow our feeling of hatred towards another race, another nation, another creed make us become unjust. And Allah commands us to be just (I’diluu), for that is very close with taqwa. And in that respect, we must fear Allah, for He is well acquainted, well informed, no matter how large, how small, how public, or how discreet of the things that we do in this life.

Many of us who are here today originated from a land of mixed races. Even here in Australia we live amongst people of multiple races. To some, this is not something new as it has already been experienced in their native countries. To others, it is of a new experience if they were from a country of single nation, or grew up knowing little about those who exist outside of their respected tribes.

Brothers and sisters,
Most Muslim nations throughout the world would have once been living under colonial rule for many, many years. Most nations with majority Muslim population in one part of history have been colonialized, to an extent that they have forgotten the regimes which were set up by these colonial powers had been regimes that were subservient to their masters.

The governments that have been established and legitimised by the colonial powers were those that were of total obedience towards their masters. Henceforth our predecessors have been living under those conditions for many years. It could be 20 years, 50 years, or 100 years; depending on how long these territories were colonialized.

The trouble with many of these Muslim nations now is that we are suffering from a syndrome of trying to defend our race and blithering other races. As a result of that, nation states were created; splitting us apart, disintegrating us from what we used to be; a united force, a unified force at one point.

And today, we remain disintegrated. Because; I am a Malaysian, I am a Sri Lankan, I’m an Indonesian, I’m a Lebanese, I’m a Pakistani, I’m a Turk, I’m an Indian, I’m an Australian. These are the lifestyles that we have been caught into.

Many of us do not realise that when we hate other nations on the fact that we are predominant, that is a cause of zalim. The exact opposite of justice is injustice or zalim. Allah reminds us in this verse that if we are just, then we are close to taqwa. But if you are unjust, definitely you will suffer the opposite.

This verse tells us that one of the major causes of injustice is the hatred towards another nation, another race, another tribe, or another creed. The reason why Allah declared war on the Jews…the children of Israel was because of their arrogance in claiming that they were the chosen ones, the noblest of all tribes. No other tribes supersede them. Their hatred towards others can be seen today; how they try to obliterate our brothers in Palestine, how they try to destroy the minds of Muslims worldwide with countless hedonism.

Their act is positively against the verse I mentioned. Their hatred towards those other than their own kind has caused them to become vicious and unjust. And they will never rest until they are submitted to.

“Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with you until you follow their form of religion.”

(Al-Baqarah: 120)

Yes, they are happy that we are living their way of life; eating, sleeping, and dressing as how they do. But as long as we remain as Muslims, their struggle will not stop.

Brothers and sisters,
Have we learnt anything from the worship of fasting throughout Ramadhan? During Ramadhan, we have observed hunger and thirst. And by observing these, we are reminded of the people in other parts of the world who are also fasting; not because of the obligation during the month of Ramadhan, but because that is how they live.

They do not have enough to eat, they live in poverty. And we can see that a majority portion of these people are but our brothers in faith. There’s not much that we can do to assist them. Why? Because we are not united as Muslims. After years of colonisation, we still uphold the ideology of nationalism. And with this ideology, we tend to be ignorant of other people who are not of our kith and kin.

We are defenceless in protecting ourselves, our brothers, and this religion. We lack the knowledge of defending the teachings of Islam, to an extent that we submit to the ideology of other people who are clueless of the teachings of Islam.

We have observed from history; when a Muslim territory faced invasion by a common enemy, Muslims would travel across the land to join their brothers in fighting off the enemy. They would put aside their geographical factors in favour of defending a Muslim territory.

In today’s world; when Afghanistan was attacked, when Iraq was attacked, when Palestine was constantly bombarded by the enemies of Allah, the government of neighbouring Muslim countries would act as if nothing happened. Even if there were people who went to help defend these countries, upon return to their respected countries they would be charged for treason or supportive of terrorism. The act of total unjust and hatred was bred by a single cause of hatred towards others.

Brothers and sisters,
We are among the people chosen by Allah to travel to this country, be it for the purpose of education, or to permanently reside here. For some of us, we have more breathing space to practice Islam as a whole compared to our native country.

Take this opportunity to increase your knowledge of Islam and at the same time your righteousness…or taqwa to Allah, because as I have mentioned earlier only with taqwa that we are able to accomplish our relationship with all that is around us. And only with taqwa we can be united as Muslims.

But always be aware that while we are in a free country, there is no limit to anything. And because of this we are liable to be led astray from the right path.

And while we are at it, we are being placed amongst people of different backgrounds. Learn from each other, and spread the true knowledge of Islam as wide as possible, according to your respected strengths.

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”

(Al-Hujuraat: 13)

The verse I mentioned tells us that this life is a life of ta’aarafuu or acquaintance. Everything we do in life begins with acquaintance. To understand Islam, we must first be acquainted with Allah. Awwaluddin ma’rifatullah.

To be united as Muslims, we must be acquainted with fellow Muslims. When we get to know our brothers we generate brotherhood. A combination of brotherhood and taqwa will eventually lead to unity for the sake of Allah. There is a Malay proverb which goes,

“Tak kenal maka tak cinta.”

If you do not know, then you will not love.

With that I conclude the first sermon.



SECOND KHUTBAH

Brothers and sisters,
A former Malaysian Member of Parliament, the late Fadzil Noor once said,

“You must be in a congregation, and do not let a day pass without thinking about Islam.”

His reference of congregation…or jama’ah does not mean this particular congregation where we gather under one roof to pray. His reference of congregation refers to Muslims who team up together for the sake of Allah to uphold this religion…teamwork if you like.

And when he said “thinking about Islam”, it means to think about contributing to Islam. Anything we do in life, we cannot accomplish it alone. We need the help of others. That’s where the concept of ta’arafuu comes in. Different people have different knowledge. And the knowledge we require may lie with them, and the knowledge they require may lie within us.

The prophet Muhammad S.A.W. said,

“You must be in a congregation for indeed being in a congregation is a grace, and disunity is a torture.”

We as Muslims have a responsibility to uphold this religion. Give contribution to Islam in any way that suits you most. If you have the knowledge of Islam, how fundamental it may be, then spread it to others. To spread Islam does not necessarily mean you need to have a background in Islamic Studies. Your knowledge and practice of what you know about Islam without doubt is sufficient.

I myself am not of Islamic Studies background. At this moment in time, I am an Electrical Engineering student. I spend my time studying the science of electricity. With the little knowledge of Islam that I bear within me, I share it with you today. And what I have shared with you, you must share with others. The prophet said,

“Pass on from me even though it is but a sentence.”

For many years, a vast majority of Muslims faced obstacles in the effort to gain Islamic knowledge, especially those who reside in countries governed by Muslims. Even if there were provisions for Islamic studies, it would be such that a Muslim only understands Islam as being the salaat, the zakat, fasting, and pilgrimage.

This trend dates all the way back to the days of colonisation. The colonies; the Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, and British alike were at war with the Muslim world even before colonisation. So it is not something surprising that when they invaded our countries, they condemned Islamic movements, and appointed people who were subservient to them to limit Islamic practice up to only the basic worships which are salaat and fasting.

The concept of da’wah at that time was only to tell people to do good deeds. But nothing on forbidding all that is evil.

Because they knew; they have learnt from the crusade against Jerusalem that Muslims cannot be brought down by force. Muslims are united in mind and strength. So they instead decided to bring down the Muslims through manipulation of the mind.

Now we are witnessing the chain reaction of that manipulation. Our lack of understanding about Islam as a whole has caused us to be disunited among ourselves. We lack the knowledge of Islam to an extent where we are subjected to abuse by the orientalists without having the strength to retaliate.

Because of that, we do not understand why we exist as different individuals. We do not understand our role on this earth.

That is why, I appeal to all of you, to enrich your Islamic knowledge, and to live by the Quran and the Sunnah. The prophet said:

“I leave behind me two things that if you abide by them, you will never go astray; the Quran and my Sunnah.”

It is never too late to gain knowledge. The prophet said,

“Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.”

This world contains unlimited amount of knowledge. The knowledge we possess is but a single drop of water on the tip of our fingers, compared to Allah’s knowledge which is as wide as the waters on this earth. All the knowledge on this earth; politics, science, medicine, mathematics, and engineering is related to Islam. There is no segregation or secularism between worldly matters and knowledge, and that of Islam.

May the knowledge that you possess lead you towards taqwa, and may our taqwa unite us into becoming a single Muslim congregation worldwide.

Pencarian Yang Tak Tercari

“Man, this subject sucks. I don’t know what the purpose of this subject has got to do with Engineering.”

“Buat apa enta pergi sana? Bukannya ada apa – apa pun. Boring tempat tu…”

Kedua – dua ayat di atas merupakan potongan daripada perbualan – perbualan saya dalam tempoh sebulan dua yang lalu.

Ayat yang pertama merupakan perbincangan saya dengan seorang rakan sekursus universiti. Kami sedang berbincang mengenai subjek Professional Practice 4A yang diwajibkan untuk pelajar tahun akhir kursus Kejuruteraan Elektrik. Subjek ini tidak fokus kepada ilmu – ilmu teknikal kejuruteraan, malah lebih kepada case study dunia kejuruteraan; politik kejuruteraan, etika kejuruteraan dsb.

Ayat kedua merupakan perbualan saya dengan seorang sahabat sewaktu itu saya pergi berjaulah ke Echuca; sebuah perbandaran yang terletak di sempadan utara negeri Victoria, 3 jam perjalanan dari Melbourne. Echuca terkenal dengan sejarah penambang kapal kargo stim (Port of Echuca).

Terus terang saya cakap, saya tak bersetuju sedikitpun dengan kedua – dua ayat di atas.

Merujuk kepada ayat pertama; walaupun latar belakang disiplin saya adalah kejuruteraan, namun hakikatnya jurutera berurusan dengan orang – orang yang tidak ada latar belakang kejuruteraan. Maka, perlulah bagi jurutera untuk mewujudkan satu platform bagi berunding dengan pihak ini, dan perundingan perlunya kepada ilmu.

Mahir di dalam Newton-Raphson Law sekalipun, pakar dalam co-generation, tri-generation, Control Theory, Engineering Protocols, tapi kalau tak reti nak berkomunikasi dengan orang bidang lain, parah jugak.

Sewaktu saya berpraktikal di Ipoh awal tahun ini, saya dapati bahawa yang benar – benar diperlukan di dalam kerja seharian adalah kemahiran berkomunikasi, kerjasama, dan kepimpinan. Ilmu kejuruteraan sahaja tidak cukup untuk untuk memenuhi kriteria ini. Pengalaman luar diperlukan.

Sepuluh tahun saya menjadi pemimpin di dalam pelbagai pertubuhan yang berbeza latar belakang, memimpin pada marhalah – marhalah yang berbeza. Setiap pertubuhan mempunyai jenis – jenis ahli yang berbeza. Memimpin setiap pertubuhan memerlukan ilmu yang lebih kurang sama, tetapi teknik dan pendekatan yang berbeza. Memimpin Lembaga Pustakawan dan Sekretariat Persatuan Mahasiswa Hadhari merupakan dua pengalaman yang berbeza.

Kalau dua pertubuhan pelajar sahaja sudah berbeza ilmu kepimpinannya, apatah lagi apabila berada di dalam alam industri kelak. Sebab itu saya merasa perlunya pelajar Kejuruteraan untuk mengetahui dan memahami kerenah dunia. Perlu kepada pemahaman sosiologi. Kalau seorang jurutera membuat kereta, maka kereta itu bukannya untuk kegunaan jurutera sahaja. Orang politik, cikgu, usahawan, beliawan, tok wan semuanya pakai kereta.

Merujuk kepada ayat kedua; Port of Echuca sepertimana yang saya jelaskan tadi terkenal dengan kapal stim. Di mana ada kapal stim, di situ ada machineries. Dan selaku seorang pelajar kejuruteraan, sememangnya benda – benda itu menjadi obsession saya.

Ramai yang mengenali saya sedia maklum yang saya ini memang ‘kaki rewang’. Asal ada masa terluang, asal ada wang, saya akan menghilangkan diri. Etimologi ‘merewang’ saya bermakna pergi melihat ciptaan Allah dan peradaban manusia. Etimologi ini boleh diguna pakai di mana – mana sahaja; di bandaraya, di perkampungan, di perhutanan, di mana sahaja ada sejarah peradaban manusia. Andai kata membeli – belah menjadi etimologi ‘merewang’, maka hanya terhad kepada bandaraya – bandaraya dan kawasan – kawasan uptown.

Andai etimologi saya dan etimologi orang lain tak sama, maka tak mungkin mereka memahami objektif saya. Mereka akan kata saya gila, namun saya takkan mengatakan mereka gila, kerana skop etimologi saya merangkumi skop mereka, sedang skop mereka tidak merangkumi skop saya (faham ke tak ni?).

Kalau nak cari ikan, cari di sungai atau laut, bukan di dalam reban ayam. Kalau mencari sesuatu, biar kena sumbernya, biar ada matlamat, dan fahamilah skop ilmu yang diperlukan. Setiap perkara wujud dengan objektifnya yang tersendiri. Kalau selamanya kita menafikan kewujudannya, sampai bila – bila kita tidak akan memahami apa – apa.

Kebanyakan dari kita mempunyai matlamat yang sama, tetapi kepakaran yang berbeza. Sepertimana lebuhraya dan landasan keretapi; sama destinasi. Ada masanya mereka berada sebelah – menyebelah, dan ada masanya mereka perlu mengharungi laluan masing – masing.

“Maka barangsiapa yang berhijrah kepada Allah dan RasulNya, maka hijrahnya itu adalah kepada Allah dan RasulNya. Dan barangsiapa yang berhijrah kerana dunia yang ingin ia memperolehinya atau kerana seorang perempuan yang ingin ia menikahinya, maka hijrahnya itu adalah atas apa yang ia berhijrah kerananya.”

[Hadith 40]

Of Migration & Freedom

Mother once mentioned to me that music from eastern America are more smooth and easy-going, whilst those from western America are more lively. From that on, I took interest in the expansion of civilisation.

The early settlements of America were on the east coast. Later, people migrated further westwards seeking new life, and we can tell from cowboy movies that the people in the west were more lively and free, if you like.

In the modern day, migrations are more inclined towards Australia. Professionals, refugees, and asylum seekers would head for Australia or other developed countries in search of better jobs, liberation, and quality of life.

They would leave their countries that were in turmoil, dictated, or economically devastated, not to mention the legislation and constitution.

Among those who migrate are the Muslims. Many who migrate seek better space to practice their faith, whilst some too try to be free of it.

No matter where we are, we can never be seperated from the teachings of Islam. Even though some countries regard religion as a mere hobby, does not mean that we too can treat Islam as a hobby. Islam is not just a religion, it's the way of life.

Being in a non-Muslim country, our responsibility is to uphold its teaching and showing to others what Islam is all about. But because appealing Muslims disregard their religion, and took to the life of no limits, Islam is thus considered by others as nothing but a plain ideology.

A few days ago, I was watching the news. News on crimes, hoodlums, and vandalism are common. But what shocked me is that the name of the perperators were not Nigel, Bruce, or Harry. No sir, the names were Mohamed Yasin, Abou Nasser. These are names of Muslims. Muslims committing crime in a non-Muslim country.

No wonder Muslims, immigrants are being hated all around, even though they know very little about Islam, and many do not consider readin about Islam before making personal theories. Just because you live in a free country, doesn't mean that you can be stupid and act freely.

Remember this; you are a Muslim. You live by the Book and Sunnah which describes everything that you do in life. No matter where you go, they must never be segregated. You are in a deprived land, you live by it. If you are in a free country, you still live by it.

There's no use nor benefit trying to copy their ways of life, dressing, for Allah has already reminded us,

And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their religion. Say: Surely Allah's guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper.

[Al-Baqarah, 2:120]

Stick to your religion no matter where you are, and live by it. If you stick to the teachings of your religion, you will unite with your fellow Muslims, and with united Muslims, this religion shall be ridiculed no more. People will respect Islam and its worshippers.

Profesionalisme vs Personalisme: Di Antara Penilaian Matang & Penilaian Bernafsu

Di dalam hal berbicara, ada macam - macam ragamnya. Ada yang berbicara dengan matang, profesional, berhikmah (tegas...bukan jadi pondan). Dan ada juga yang berbicara dengan penuh ego, menurut nafsu, dan menurut perasaan.

Kita sedia maklum, orang yang berbicara secara profesional sudah tentu tenang, jelas di dalam berkata - kata, serta menggunakan hujah - hujah yang relevan.

Dan kita sedia maklum, orang yang berbicara menurut perasaan sudah tentu kelam kabut, penuh emosi kata - katanya, serta menggunakan hujah - hujah yang tak masuk akal. bahkan jika penuh dengan ego, boleh jadi dia akan mencabar untuk berdebat, dengan memperjelaskan bahawa dia mempunyai tauliah yang diiktiraf.

Ini adalah ringkasan sifat - sifat seorang penyampai. Namun kita sebagai pendengar, bagaimanakah pula penilaian kita terhadap si penyampai?

Kalau ikut hukum alam, sudah tentu kalau si penyampai tenang, jelas, dan berhujah, dia profesional. Dan kalau si penyampai kelam kabut, menurut perasaan, beremosi, maka dia personal.

Namun, berlaku juga kes di mana kepala si pendengar ni dah masuk air, hatta penilaiannya terhadap si penyampai menjadi putar belit. Yang berhujah macam Barack Obama dia kata tak pandai berucap, bersifat personal. Yang kencing dalam seluar sewaktu di hadapan orang ramai dia kata profesional.

Macam mana tu? Apabila nafsu dan kepentingan politik melanda dirinya...

Kita tidak boleh nafikan bahawa di kalangan masyarakat kita, ada segelintir yang songsang penilaiannya.

Ini biasanya berlaku jika si pendengar mengenali si penyampai tersebut. Berhujah secara profesional macam mana sekalipun, namun jika si pendengar ego, mempunyai perasaan hasad dengki, benci terhadap si penyampai, maka sampai ke mati dia akan mengatakan bahawa si penyampa itu bersifat personal, populis, membawa agenda peribadi.

Namun, jika si pendengar 'kamcing' dengan si penyampai; biarlah pucat wajah, terkencing dalam seluar, menggunakan hujah - hujah tak masuk akal, si pendengar tetap akan mengatakan bahawa si penyampai itu berkaliber, profesional, dan ada ketokohan.

Situasi seperti ini wujud di mana - mana sahaja, dalam apa peringkat/marhalah sekalipun. Ianya wujud di kalangan seangkatan sahabat, di dalam organisasi, gerakan, persatuan, bahkan di dalam alam kerjaya.

Lebih - lebih lagi, perkara ini wujud pada mereka yang terletak dalam golongan B.O.D., barisan kepimpinan, serta mereka yang berpengaruh di dalam membuat keputusan. Penilaian sebegini adalah di antara sifat - sifat orang yang berat sebelah, dan tidak berlaku adil di dalam menghukum sesuatu.

Wahai ketua, wahai pemimpin, wahai amir amirah, wahai rais raisah, wahai CEO, wahai pengarah, wahai presiden, wahai pengerusi,

Tidakkah pada setiap Jumaat khatib memberi amaran kepada anda:



"Sesungguhnya Allah menyuruh berlaku adil, dan berbuat kebaikan, serta memberi bantuan kepada kaum kerabat; dan melarang daripada melakukan perbuatan-perbuatan yang keji dan mungkar serta kezaliman. Ia mengajar kamu (dengan suruhan dan laranganNya ini), supaya kamu mengambil peringatan mematuhiNya."

[An-Nahl, 16:90]

Maka, apa lagi hujah anda untuk berat sebelah terhadap orang yang berada di bawah amanah anda? Walaupun dia adalah insan kerdil, wujud atau tidak dirinya tiada maknanya bagimu, namun Allah tetap menyuruhmu berlaku adil pada setiap orang.

Kalau kamu cemburukan dia hanya dia mempunyai kelebihan mengatasi kamu, agamamu mengajar bahawa penyelesaiannya adalah untuk kamu berusaha mencapai 'maqamnya', bahkan lebih dari itu.

Ingatlah, kita semua adalah pemimpin pada marhalah yang tesendiri. Mungkin ada yang belum dinobat sebagai pemimpin, hanya sekadar pegikut, namun tidak ada satu pun hujah yang memberi kita lampu hijau untuk berlaku tidak adil terhadap orang lain.

Nabi S.A.W. bersabda,

"Setiap orang daripada kamu adalah penggembala dan setiap seorang dari kamu akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya. Pemimpin adalah penggembala dan akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya. Seorang lelaki adalah penggembala dalam keluarganya dan akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya. Seorang wanita adalah penggembala dalam rumah suaminya dan akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya. Buruh adalah penggembala dalam harta majikannya dan akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya. Jadi setiap seorang dari engkau semua itu adalah penggembala dan tentu akan ditanya perihal penggembalaannya."

Hijrah: The Microscopic View Of A Man's Journey & The Life-Size View Of His Destination

A couple of months back, I was asked to give a view on one of my companions' statement. The statement is regarding the challenges and mockery faced by an individual whenever he/she is determined to make a change. The term I'm using for this particular description is 'Hijrah', which despite it's pure Arabic interpretation, is also interpreted in religious terms as,

"The journey of transforming from bad to good".

Hijrah is mentioned in one of the compendium of the 40 Hadiths which goes:

"Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated."

However, I am not going to discuss about the contents within this particular hadith. What I’m trying to bring forward is the mentality of today’s people upon those who are intending to make a change, generally from bad to good.

For years, I have been presented with roughly the same type of question,

“Why is it that people mock me when I want to make a change?”

My answer would be,

“Because they have not seen the changes occur.”

“But, I am making changes.”

“I know you are, but do they know? No sir, their focus is on the change.”

That is the fact today; people judge others by means of what they produce, not on their effort to produce. Such a fact takes place anywhere; in organisations, in politics, and even on an individual.

Hijrah itself requires a journey that has to be endured. When you want to go from Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar, you have to endure the journey along the North-South Expressway. Everything in this life requires some sort of journey. Why, even the flicking of a switch has its own microscopic journey. How’s that?

From the view of a normal person, a switch has only two conditions; ON and OFF. However, in the knowledge of Power Electronics, switches have another condition, known as the TRANSIENT condition. This condition is where the journey from OFF to ON occurs and vice versa. This is only visible on a microscopic scale.



Viewing from a general distance, the ON-OFF transition is viewable from a scope, and is shown to be in the form of a square wave, where the change between the two conditions happens abruptly. But if the scope is zoomed in, as microscopic as possible, it will be shown that there are waves between the two conditions. These waves represent the ‘journey’ from one condition to the other.

In relation to the issue brought up, many would assume that when someone wants to make a change, the change would take place abruptly. And when no change occurs, the assumption would be that the person is a hypocrite, because the change was not seen.

What many failed to consider, were the steps/efforts taken to make the change. What many did was to judge from a distance, and not to the extent of a microscopic level.

Weren’t we all taught that Allah judges a man not by what he can produce, but by the effort he has made to produce? Why so? Because it is by His will, and His only that man can produce.

If Allah does not judge a man by what he produces, then who are we to judge a man by what he produces???

We know of a man who is on a journey from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar. By Allah’s will, he did not arrive because his car broke down somewhere in Changkat Jering.

Do we call him a hypocrite for not arriving in Padang Besar?

No.

Why?

Because we know that he has already executed his intention by noticing that he is headed for Padang Besar. So, what difference does it make compared to those who say they want to make a change, but their ‘journey’ is not visible to the naked eye?

So, never judge a man by what he produces. No one has the power to produce. It is only by the will of Allah that man can produce. Man can only work to produce, and pray that Allah will see fit for him to produce.

Perginya Seorang Mujahidah

Dua hari yang lalu, sedang aku membaca status Facebook orang, aku terpaku pada satu status. Status itu menyatakan bahawa seorang sahabat aku yang aku kenal sewaktu belajar di Permatang Pauh berada di hospital di dalam keadaan kritikal, yang mana beliau hanya mempunyai 30% peluang untuk selamat. Beliau mengidap denggi berdarah.

Mula - mula ingatkan lain orang. Tapi bila terfikir balik, berapa banyak sangat orang dengan nama itu. Maka, aku bertanyakan sahabat - sahabat di Malaysia mengenai hal ini. Sah orangnya.

Hari ini, beliau telah menghembuskan nafas yang terakhir dan pergi menghadap Penciptanya. Aku hanya mampu duduk terdiam. Nak pergi ziarah, aku beribu batu jauhnya berjuang di negara orang. Beberapa jam selepas berita kematiannya, datang pula lagi satu berita mengatakan bahawa opah saudara aku juga telah kembali ke rahmatullah.

Hari ini, aku berada di dalam keadaan cukup tak tenang, resah.

Sahabat aku itu bernama Anis Amirah Ahmad Lutfi. Aku mengenalinya sewaktu tahun terakhir pengajian di Permatang Pauh. Secara umumnya, kami mengenali beliau sebagai seorang yang kecoh - kecoh.

Aku juga mengenali beliau sebagai seorang pencinta sastera. Tak kurang juga penulisannya yang aku biasa baca.

Kali terakhir aku jumpa beliau, sewaktu kenduri kecil - kecilan di rumah seorang sahabat berhampiran dengan kampus. Sewaktu itu, aku kembali ke Permatang Pauh untuk berjumpa dengan sahabat - sahabat aku buat kali terakhir, sebelum aku berangkat ke Melbourne untuk melanjutkn pengajian.

Siapa sangka, dalam aku kembali untuk berjumpa mereka, salah seorang daripada mereka aku takkan jumpa lagi buat selama - lamanya. Almarhumah berusia 22 tahun pada tahun ini. Melihatkan usianya sahaja boleh tahu dia peringkat adik. Selama ini aku sangka, adik - adik aku yang akan melihat aku pergi dulu.

Tapi Allah lebih mengetahui.

Selalu aku sebut, kehidupan mahasiswa di Pulau Pinang merupakan kenangan yang paling manis, yang takkan dapat dilupakan, baik alamiyyah mahupun ukhuwwah. Malam aku meninggalkan Pulau Pinang selepas tamat peperiksaan akhir merupakan malam yang sedih buat aku. Sepanjang pemanduan menghala ke selatan, aku mengenangkan kembali peristiwa - peristiwa yang berlaku sepanjang tahun.

Aku meninggalkan kampus Shah Alam tanpa sebarang kenangan manis. Kini di Melbourne, secara logiknya kehidupan di negara orang lebih manis kenangannya. Hakikatnya, aku masih tak lekang daripada mengingati Pulau Pinang serta sahabat - sahabat di sana. Melbourne masih tidak ada kenangan yang setanding, melainkan hanya kenangan alamiyyah.

Bila mereka dalam gembira, aku tumpang gembira. Bila mereka dalam duka, aku turut merasainya. Dan peristiwa kematian ini sememangnya menguji ketabahan diri. Sebak rasa bila mengetahui sahabat - sahabat lain menanti di luar wad hingga ke subuh.

Bahkan, di kalangan mereka juga menempuh perjalanan merentas negara di kala malam untuk berada bersama - sama dengan sahabat mereka yang sedang tenat.

Kami yang berada di luar negara hanya mampu menanti berita perkembangan melalui e-mel dan sms. Sepanjang penantian berita, ada yang berdiri tak tenang duduk tak puas, badan terketar - ketar, makan tak lalu, masak tak terdaya, merisaukan sahabat yang akhirnya telah pergi. Hanya doa dan kata - kata semangat yang mampu kami lakukan.

Semoga pemergian almarhumah pemergian husnul-khatimah, semoga ditempatkan di kalangan orang - orang beriman.

Selamat tinggal adik dan sahabatku, buat selama - lamanya.

Al-Fatihah.

Cry Freedom - A Tale of Struggle For Equality

A couple of weeks ago, I watched a film on Fox Classics channel. It was titled Cry Freedom. The first time I watched this film was about ten years ago back in Malaysia. The film describes the days of South Africa during the Apartheid period.

It focuses on two real-life characters; Donald Woods, a South African journalist cum anti-Apartheid activist who befriended Steve Biko, a black activist.

In general, the film depicts a scenario of segregation among the whites and the blacks by all means of medium (i.e. public amenities, essential rights), and oppression of the security police towards the black community.

Throughout the time frame of this film, Steve Biko has been placed under house arrest; not being able to communicate with more than one person at any given time, ad restricted to travel within a certain boundary.

He was arrested as he was travelling to Cape Town to address a black youth's gathering. Eventually, he died in prison. The government described his death as caused by hunger strike. In reality, his death was a result of beatings while in prison.

Woods, during a visit to the mortuary secretly managed to capture snapshots of Biko's body with the help of a fellow journalist. Having obtained these, he decided to expose it internationally, but was arrested at the airport and was placed under house arrest.

However, Woods and his family managed to escape South Africa and seek asylum in Britain through a series of hitch-hiking, rendezvous to Maseru in Lesotho and then flying to Botswana.

This film really captures the heart of its viewers, judging by what one has to face in his struggle for justice, equality, freedom. Along the way, he risks losing his possession, his ease of life, and to a certain extent, losing his life.

In everything we do in this life, the journey to obtaining it is not always plain sailing throughout the way. There will always be resistances. There is nothing in this world that we achieve without toil and sweat...with the exception of cheating.

Struggling to achieve our goal and purpose is difficult at times. But once we get what we struggled for, victory is at its sweetest. Furthermore, we will appreciate our victory judging by what we had to go through previously.

But always remember, it is Allah and only Allah who decides whether we will achieve victory or otherwise. We as His servants can only struggle and pray for guidance. There is no such thing as success through strategic planning. It is only by His will that we shall ever see victory.

Man could spend endless hours of strategic planning, recruiting geniuses, investing millions. But if Allah does not grant victory, then man will not achieve it. But that doesn't mean Allah will never grant victory. He will, in due time, when the situation is right. We can only struggle and ask Him for success.

It takes one who has such an experience to understand this fact.

The song below, Nkosi Sikeleli Africa was illegal during the Apartheid period, and was sung during political meetings and gatherings. the song used to be a symbol of hope and unity. Today, it is part of the South African national anthem.

Ukhuwwah: Setulen Manakah Ianya Pada Diri Kita?

Setelah hampir setahun mental seolah - olah tersumbat, kini ianya bebas untuk merenung hakikat alamiyah...

Ukhuwwah; satu perkataan yang tak terasing dari kamus kehidupan kita. Sebut sahaja ukhuwwah, kita tahu ianya ada kena mengena dengan ikatan silaturahim sesama manusia.

Tahun 2005 - 2006 seingat saya dahulu merupakan tahun yang pekatnya dengan artikel - artikel dan ungkapan - ungkapan mengenai ukhuwwah. Siapa tak lupa pada ungkapan Ukhuwwah fillah abadan abada, ukhuwwah fillah membawa ke jannah. Siapa juga tak lupa pada artikel Cinta Anta Anti karangan Maszlee Malik.

Tahun 2005 - 2006, saya masih seorang mahasiswa di UiTM ketika itu. Dan pada usia muda ketika itu serta serba jahil dalam bab - bab ini, saya tak nafikan saya antara yang menyahut seruan - seruan ini dalam keadaan tak tahu ke mana halanya.

Saya tak mahu fokus pada definisi ukhuwwah, kerana semua sedia maklum akannya. Tapi, saya mahu fokus pada mentaliti terhadap hakikat ukhuwwah itu. Seringkali kita diingatkan oleh rakan - rakan, sahabat - sahabat kita untuk menguatkan, melahirkan, mengeratkan ukhuwwah sesama kita.

Hakikatnya benda itu tak menjadi pada ramai orang. Mengapa?

Antara sebabnya, ukhuwwah itu dijadikan satu bentuk material; satu kewajipan yang tercetak di atas rang undang - undang, perlembagaan. Ukhuwwah itu menjadi objektif utama wujudnya sesebuah aktiviti/program, sedangkan ukhuwwah itu letaknya di kalangan objektif sampingan.

Ukhuwwah itu satu bentuk fitrah yang wujud dalam diri setiap orang. Dan untuk menghasilkan ukhuwwah yang sebenar - benar ukhuwwah mestilah dengan kehendak diri, bukannya secara paksa rela atau birokrasi. Ukhuwwah yang lahir secara paksa rela ibarat enjin sejuk yang dibawa merentas lebuhraya; ketat dan tesengguk - sengguk.

Antara sebab lain ialah faktor kasta. Kerana perbezaan sejarah, latarbelakang, 'maqam', maka kita menjauhkan diri kita dari orang lain, dan hanya bergaul dengan mereka yang 'setaraf' dengan kita.

Apa yang istimewa sangat pasal diri kita hatta kita menyisihkan diri dari orang lain? Tidakkah manusia itu semuanya sama di hadapan Allah?

Ukhuwwah itu benda semulajadi, dan hanya boleh dijana secara semulajadi. Ukhuwwah yang wujud dalam diri kita, hanya kita sahaja yang boleh jana menjadi setulen - tulen ukhuwwah, bukannya melalui kertas kerja, bukannya melalui arahan berwajib, bukannya program - program mahabbah, perpaduan, ikatan kasih dsb.. Sepatutnya program - program seperti itu tempat kita membawa produk ukhuwwah yang dijana, bukannya tempat baru nak jana ukhuwwah.

In Response To Current Events....

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٨) يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَمَا يَخۡدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُونَ (٩) فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬ا‌ۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ (١٠) وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ لَا تُفۡسِدُواْ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُصۡلِحُونَ (١١) أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدُونَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَشۡعُرُونَ (١٢) وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ‌ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَعۡلَمُونَ

[AL-BAQARAH, 2:7-13]

Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day" but they do not (really) believe. Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realize (it) not! In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease and grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves). When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth", they say: "Why, we only want to make peace!" Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief, but they realize not. When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe" they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?" Nay, of a surety they are the fools, buy they do not know.

Dan di antara manusia ada yang berkata: Kami telah beriman kepada Allah dan kepada hari akhirat; padahal mereka sebenarnya tidak beriman. Mereka hendak memperdayakan Allah dan orang-orang yang beriman, padahal mereka hanya memperdaya dirinya sendiri, sedang mereka tidak menyedarinya. Dalam hati mereka (golongan yang munafik itu) terdapat penyakit (syak dan hasad dengki), maka Allah tambahkan lagi penyakit itu kepada mereka dan mereka pula akan beroleh azab seksa yang tidak terperi sakitnya, dengan sebab mereka berdusta (dan mendustakan kebenaran). Dan apabila dikatakan kepada mereka: Janganlah kamu membuat bencana dan kerosakan di muka bumi, mereka menjawab: Sesungguhnya kami orang-orang yang hanya membuat kebaikan. Ketahuilah! Bahawa sesungguhnya mereka itulah orang-orang yang sebenar-benarnya membuat bencana dan kerosakan, tetapi mereka tidak menyedarinya. Dan apabila dikatakan kepada mereka: Berimanlah kamu sebagaimana orang-orang itu telah beriman. Mereka menjawab: Patutkah kami ini beriman sebagaimana berimannya orang-orang bodoh itu? Ketahuilah! Sesungguhnya merekalah orang-orang yang bodoh, tetapi mereka tidak mengetahui (hakikat yang sebenarnya).

Ye Olde Times

I have been living alone for the last month as my housemates have returned to Malaysia. Furthermore, with Rashid leaving his car in my care, I've been spending certain days driving around Melbourne...usually on official matters rather than leisure.

Eversince I moved to the City, my expenditures were somewhat erratic. Luckily my tenancy was not a year-long tenancy, so I still have the option of moving back to the inner suburbs where the cost of living is low.

With the advantage of a car in possession, I decided to do my groceries in various locations, usually being either Brunswick or Footscray. But most of the time I'd go to Footscray as I could get Asian stuffs there. Besides, everything was within reach; fruits and vegetables at Footscray Market, Halal butcheries at either Droop Street or Nicholson Street, and the Turkish restaurant where I would buy their fresh arm-length Turkish bread.

For items available in supermarkets, I'd just pop over to Highpoint Shopping Centre where the Safeway supermarket is located.

Hey, Footscray and neighbouring Maribyrnong was my hometown, and still is, seeing that my campus is situated within it.

This morning, I decided to do my weekly shopping. On my way to Highpoint Shopping Centre, I drove along Droop Street via the tram terminus. Without realising, I was driving down memory lane.

While driving at 30km/h (because a tram was in front of me, stopping frequently), I passed by a couple of landmarks. The first was the Footscray Motor Inn, where I stayed overnight upon arrival in Melbourne. While along Gordon Street, I noticed the landmarks I used to observe and knew by heart during the time when I commuted via bus or tram from campus to the Student Village, which was close to the shopping centre.

Thus I suddenly recalled my early days in Melbourne...which was 6 months back. It was those days when I was still trying to get used to the suburb's environment, learning to use the public transport, and finding out the destination of each bus that enters Footscray town.

Furthermore, I had no contact within the area during those trying times, being all alone in that Student Village, with my family being thousands of miles away. Wherever I go, I go alone. But in a way, it was fun and relaxing, as I was not bounded by any curfew restrictions, or following people to wherever it is that I do not intend to go to.

Now, look at me; a 'never die' chap who knows his way around Melbourne and its suburbs without having to carry a Greater Melbourne Street Directory around with him. Wherever I go, I know which train, tram, bus to take, which lane to drive on and how to avoid rush-hour congestions.

Time has truly gone by...

Sin vs Da'wah

Imam Hasan Al-Basri once said,

"O mankind, truly I am advising you, and that doesn't mean that I am the best amongst you, and doesn't mean too that I am the most pious amongst you. Even I have exceeded upon myself."

("Wahai manusia, sesungguhnya aku sedang menasihati kalian, dan bukan bererti aku orang yang terbaik di antara kalian, bukan pula org yang paling soleh di antara kalian. Sungguh, akupun telah banyak melampaui batas terhadap diriku.”)


On another occassion, he said,

"If a Muslim does not give advice to his brother except when he has become perfect, then there will be no one to advise others. There will be very little of those who will want to advise others, and none will perform da'wah in Allah's way..."

(” Andaikata seorang Muslim tidak memberi nasihat pada saudaranya kecuali setelah dirinya menjadi sempurna, nescaya tidak akan ada para pemberi nasihat. Akan menjadi sedikit jumlah orang yang mahu memberi peringatan & tidak akan ada orang yg berdakwah di jalan Allah….”)


(Mawa’izh lil Imam al Hassan Al-Basri, pg. 185-187)

The Journey Along The Great Ocean Road

Saturday, 3rd October was the second last day of my midterm break. And after a whole week finishing my assignments, finalising my semester project, fulfilling commitments, I have pre-arranged for this day to be fully occupied by me, myself, and I.

A couple of weeks previously, I planned to day-travel to a destination outside of Melbourne. The destination itself was either to Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, or Dandenong. To go to Ballarat, I can just take the V/Line train. To Dandenong, I can just take the metropolitan train, free of charge, as I hold a monthly travelcard, which allows me to venture into Zone 2 during weekends, where Dandy lies. I was spoilt for choice.

On the 30th of September, I calculated my monthly expenditures on the Excel. And, after calculating the remaining balance, plus balances from the previous months, I found out that I have managed to save up a wealthy sum of money, despite the fact that the University officials were delayed in returning my accommodation refund.

And so, I decided to rent a car and drive along the Ocean Road.

On Friday, after congregation at Newport Masjid, I went to Footscray town. There’s a Thrifty rental office there. I browsed the internet previously and found out that I could get a small car for $42 at the Footscray branch. However, when I enquired at the office, I found out that most cars were sold out. The only one available is either a Ford Mondeo or Toyota Camry which goes for about $130!

My next option is the Budget car rental which is about a couple of blocks away. Sadly, they too were sold out. I was devastated. I considered calling the trip off, when I suddenly remembered that there are rental centres throughout Franklin Street, which is next to the RMIT Swanston Street campus. So, I decided to take a last shot before calling it off.

My first stop was Budget. But there was a queue there. Next door is AVIS. No, AVIS is a bit expensive from what I recalled. Further down is Europcar...I’ll consider it as a last resort. Next to it was Hertz. I didn’t know why, all I knew was that I ended up at their front counter.

I enquired about the availabilities for the morrow. The clerk said that that there are cars available, and asked for details of the car I intended to rent. I simply mentioned that I want the smallest car available, manual or automatic. A friend once suggested that I go for the high-powered cars

He then said that the smallest available is a Class C Toyota Corolla sedan. He then asked if I am a student. I said yes, and he said that I am eligible for a student’s price, and that makes a total of $64.90, inclusive of admin charges, GST and Driver Under 25 Surcharge, which is roughly between $15 to $25.

Usually a Class C would cost around $65 - $70, excluding the external charges. Clearly there was a hidden wisdom when Budget was out of cars, and Thrifty had only Mondeo and Camry cars. I also requested for the fuel pre-purchase option of which they offered at a rate of $1.12/litre. The advantage of this is that I can return the car with the tank almost empty, without having to refill it. Furthermore, the price of petrol for that particular period was between $1.18 to $1.30 per litre, depending on outlet.

On my way back, I stopped by at Coles supermarket in Altona town to buy some snacks for tomorrow’s trip. I had some thought as to what food to bring. And then I recalled; back in England when we travelled to the countryside, or over a long distance; Nottingham, Loughborough, Bath, or the seaside, Abah would just buy crisps, sandwiches, and a bottle of Lucozade each. Sometimes, Mak would cook something from home.

That I could just do...minus the sandwiches, as sandwiches here are not as variable as those in UK. Furthermore, a packet costs $5.50! At that point in time, I can’t make sandwiches at home as I was out of stuffs to put on the bread. So, I just packed a few packets of plain crisps, a packet of nuts, freshly-baked cookies (gone stale the next morning... ), and a flask of water...yezzz... water is very important when I’m driving. I don’t know why, but whenever I drove over a long distance...beyond 2 hours, my throat seems to go dry.

The next day was the big day. But it was also a morning of disruption. On this day, the Werribee Line train service has been temporarily terminated due to construction works in Laverton. So, I had to take the replacement bus up to Newport, then take the train to Melbourne Central.

Having received the car I booked, my first destination was Geelong via the M1 (Princes Freeway). There, I was to pick up an old friend of mine, Nurul Alif As-Solihin (Alif Mastor). We’ve known each other since secondary school. Since I’ve never been to his house, I told him to wait in front of my sister’s house in Preston Street. My sister was away with her friends in Melbourne. He was the only one who was not doing anything on that Saturday, so I invited him to accompany me on this trip.

From Geelong, I took the B100 highway which would take me to Torquay; gateway to the Great Ocean Road. The travelling time on the initial portion of the Road was instantaneous, as the roads were wide and straight, contributing to a speed limit of 100km/h. But, as it goes further along the coast, the road goes up and down, and between hills, contributing to a speed limit of between 50km/h to 80km/h.

The first stop was the lighthouse on the coast of Aireys Inlet. Actually, I didn’t know that the place was called Aireys Inlet, not until I pondered over the road map. It was here that I had my first glimpse of what G.O.R. was all about.

Subhanallah! The beauty of it. The sound of waves, the crisp breeze, and the view of the cliffs along the coastline as far as the eye can see. It was a breathtaking moment. Having lived within the suburban for a couple of months, this turned out to be a good change for me.

Back in the car, I wondered where our journey would lead us to. No use asking Alif, as even he does not know where is where for the moment. My initial plan was to go as far as Lorne, and then back to Geelong via the country road. The clerk at the rental office suggested that I drive up to Warrnambool, one of the reason being that I’ve already pre-purchased a full tank of petrol, and that I should make the most of it seeing that it’s not refundable, regardless of fuel volume left in the tank.

Warrnambool is about 200+ kilometres down the Ocean Road, and about 3.5 hours drive judging by the road structure and signboard placed by the side of the road. I asked Alif about his plan for the day, he said nothing doing.

Seeing this, I decided to drive as far as I could manage. When I watched Discovery Channel a few years back, there was a saying in one of the advertisements,

“A true traveller has no destination, and is not keen on arriving.”

After a period of driving, we came to a town that I do not know the name of, probably missed the sign. Only after exiting the town, I caught a glimpse of one of the signboards and noticed the word “Lorne”. Only then I knew the name of the town. From the map, Lorne looked quite far away. Practically, it’s not that far. It’s true what the professor from Newcastle University said to me back in Malaysia,

“We Australians have a different opinion when it comes to distance. We have staffs working in the University in Newcastle, yet they live in Sydney. We also have people working in Sydney, but living in Newcastle. Like you mentioned, the travel time is roughly one to two hours. For you, that is one heck of a distance. But for us, it’s nothing. Australia is a big country, and two hours of travel is nothing to us...”

Judging by my current location, time, I decided to go further down the Road. Next primary destination is Apollo Bay, some 40 to 60 minutes away, if I’m not mistaken. The road between Lorne and Apollo Bay was long and winding, thus the average speed was only around 60 to 70km/h. Another reason for this was that the drivers ahead of me had this tendency of slowing down every once in a while to gaze at the scenery, or coastline.

It was at this time that Alif has started dozing off. Prior to reaching Apollo Bay town, there is a signboard which points to the direction of Geelong via the inner roads. The time was 2.00 pm, so I decided to drive further on. The next primary destination is Port Campbell, famed for the 12 Apostles. A large portion of the road between Apollo Bay and there was mainly inland, so there was less winding, twists, and turns, with the speed limit being 100km/h.

After about half an hour of driving, I started wondering as to where exactly I was currently situated. So, I stopped by the roadside and pored over the map. Clearly, I was somewhere between the two towns mentioned, but have no idea as to EXACTLY where I was situated. However, I was initially stunned when I found out the road which goes back to Geelong is in Warrnambool, roughly 2.5 hours away, but sighed in relief when I realised that I overlooked a minor road a few miles off Port Campbell which would lead me back to the main road back to Geelong and Melbourne.

And with that, I continued my journey. I can’t recall how long I’ve been driving since then. All I know is that I suddenly found myself arriving at the 12 Apostles National Park, about ten minutes prior to reaching Port Campbell.

I drove into the Park, parked my car, and went for a walk along the coastline (cliff) with Alif to gaze at the 12 Apostles...or what used to be 12 until a few of them collapsed recently. The walking and stretching was helpful, as I’ve been sitting for more than 2 hours. Not to mention being worn out. Well, what do you expect? I’ve not been driving for more than 2 months, I get the opportunity to drive, and went off half a thousand miles cross-country, in a land I’ve never driven before.

Having been fully stretched, we drove into Port Campbell town. I parked the car at the town square, and we walked around town. Having walked, the both of us felt hungry, and decided to find something to eat. I brought pizza slices, but Alif ate them all as he didn’t have any breakfast. Adjacent to where I parked my car was a Fish & Chips outlet. So, we bought a helping each, and ate on a bench by the sea. It was a wonderful feeling; eating whilst the salty sea air blowing into my face.

However, I was feeling a bit worried, as I usually avoided eating whilst on the wheel. But then again, compared to nasi campur in Tapah or Kuala Kangsar, fish and chips shouldn’t be too much of a digestion issue.

Having eaten, we got back into the car. We left Port Campbell behind us, and I drove a few miles up the Road before making a right turn into the C164; a country road which would take me across the countryside to the main road which goes back to Geelong. Based on the map, the route seemed long and winding. But then, winding as it may be, the road itself was wide, with a speed limit of 100km/h.

I drove for almost an hour before coming to the junction adjoining the A1 highway. From there, it was a swift drive back to Geelong, some 80 kilometres away. This particular road was wide and straight, with two lanes on occasions. Other than that, it’s just a normal country road (jalan lama as we call it). From where I was, I could see far up the road. It was a beautiful sight, with the sun and fields of daisies on either sides of the road.

We passed through several towns, the major one being Colac. The clock showed 5.30 pm. Maghrib was an hour away, and we have yet to pray Zuhr and Asar. At that time, I was just entering Winchelsea town. At the other end of town, I saw a public toilet sign, and decided to stop for a while, as I was getting a bit lightheaded.

I saw that next to the public toilet was a small grassy park facing a stream. So I took my sarong from the boot, and we prayed on the grass. Having prayed, I felt more refreshed (come to think of it, it always happens after each prayer) and we continued our journey. About half an hour up the road, we finally reached the outskirts of Geelong.

By the time we reached Alif’s apartment in Geelong CBD, it was 6.20 pm, a few minutes to spare before Maghrib. After having rested, and prayed, I left Geelong and headed back to Melbourne. I drove up the A1 northbound which would lead me to the M1 Princes Freeway. It has been quite some time since I drove at night.

As I reached Werribee, I decided to stop over at my house and drop off my things before heading to Melbourne. I took the Kororoit Creek Road exit and drove to Altona via Maidstone Street. I only stopped for about 10 minutes or so to unload my things, save my clothes, and headed back to the freeway.

At West Gate Bridge, there was a long crawl, as there were construction works throughout the bridge. After passing through the construction site, I started to look out for the Docklands exit which would take me into Melbourne CBD. Further than that, and I’ll have to pay the toll. There’s no toll booth. Everything’s electronic. They just simply detect the license plate number, and send an invoice. But I didn’t register my car with the concessionaire, and if I entered the toll road, I have 48 hours to register my car.

I entered Melbourne CBD via Flinders Street. There was a lot of traffic on that street that night. I wanted to enter Russell Street, which was along Flinders. The street entrance itself being next across the train station, and there were many pedestrians. Thus, I had to wait for pedestrians to cross before I can enter Russell Street.

From there, I drove all the way to Lygon Street and entered into Drummond Street, where Zaim resides. I spent the night there as I had to return the car by 9 the next morning.

When I returned the car the next morning, the invoice stated that I had travelled roughly 580 kilometres within one day. That is roughly similar to driving from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, and back again. Wow, never thought I could cover such a large portion of distance within a day!

It was an enjoyable day. But the most enjoyable of all is the driving itself. One thing I initially feared...which later turned into an obsession, was the traffic light pattern. Here, to make a right turn, you have to enter at your own will. Intersections with heavy traffic usually have guided traffic lights for right turns (like Malaysia). But others, you have to enter as if the traffic light had no electricity, in which you had to wait for traffic from the oncoming direction to clear before entering.

It’s just like entering UiTM on those days when there was an electrical failure. It was scary at first, but once I got hold of it...quite fun!

And then, there’s the Hook Turn, in which you take the right turn using the left lane. This one is a bit complicated to describe. You can read about it on this web address, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_turn )

Cheerio!!!

Aidilfitri @ Melbourne (Minggu pertama Syawal)

20 September 2009 merupakan hari di mana umat Islam di serata dunia menyambut hari kemenangan...kecuali beberapa lokasi yang menyambutnya sehari lebih awal, atau lebih lewat.

Tahun ini merupakan tahun pertama aku menyambut Aidilfitri bersendirian di perantauan, jauh dari tanahair. Pada awal pagi ini, memang wujud perasaan sayu. But then again...who doesn't on their first time, eh?

Solat Aidilfitri anjuran persatuan - persatuan pelajar Malaysia diadakan di St. Ambrose Hall di Brunswick. Solat dijangka bermula pada jam 9.30 pagi. ICV mula pada jam 7.00 pagi. Masjid di Newport, sejurus selepas subuh. Aku dan Syed Marwan berjalan dari rumahnya di Drummond Street sehingga ke Elizabeth Street, dan dari situ kami menaiki tram nombor 19 ke Sydney Road (Brunswick).

Selepas solat, serta khutbah Aidilfitri, maka ada jamuan di situ. Dalam keadaan orang lain sibuk mencari - cari, berpeluk - pelukan dengan rakan - rakan mereka, aku pulak tak tahu nak cari siapa. Yang kenal, dah peluk siap - siap dah. Maklumlah, baru 2 bulan turun kapal.

Dalam aku merewang sendirian di dalam dewan itu, maka terserempaklah aku dengan Ismail Amsyar. Ismail merupakan kenalan sewaktu di UiTM Shah Alam dahulu. Sewaktu minggu orientasi, kami di antara yang naik turun pentas; beliau sengan sesi tilawah Al-Quran, aku dengan sesi baca doa. Kali terakhir bersemuka dengan beliau adalah pada tahun 2007, sewaktu aku datang bercuti di Melbourne.

Namun, melihatkan beliau, aku menjadi terkejut beruk. Ismail yang aku kenal dahulu sihat dan tegap orangnya. Ismail yang aku lihat sekarang, very frail looking dan bertongkat. Aku bertanyakan pada beliau akan keadaannya. Ismail menyatakan bahawa dia dah 2 tahun mengidap Arthritis.

Aku pun menjadi seram sejuk, kerana mengenangkan diri yang baru sahaja pulih daripada gout. Namun sedih melihatkan si Mail, kerana Arthritis beliau satu badan. Setelah bersembang - sembang, maka pergilah aku mengadap hidangan...what's left of it.

Tengah - tengah makan, jumpa pula Lutfi Hakim, rakan lama sewaktu sekolah menengah, juga menuntut di Melbourne. Kali terakhir aku jumpa beliau ialah sewaktu aku mula - mula sampai di Melbourne.

Selesai jamuan, dan setelah seorang demi seorang mula beransur pulang, Ustaz Zul ajak ikut pergi beraya. Maka sepanjang hari ikut ustaz, isteri, serta 3 orang sahabat aku kulu kelior beraya.

Mula - mula, kami ke dewan komuniti dekat - dekat dengan kawasan Pascoe Vale (...???). Di situ ada majlis rumah terbuka anjuran komuniti Melayu Melbourne. Melihatkan gelagat mereka, aku membayangkan mereka adalah PR dan juga warga Singapura. Selesai, kami singgah di rumah ustaz Zul sebentar untuk berehat dan solat.

Selepas itu, kami pergi beraya di Bundoora, utara kawasan Melbourne. Tuan rumahnya merupakan PR, namun berasal dari Bukit Jambul, Pulau Pinang, dan berkahwin dengan bekas askar Australia.

Selesai, kami ke Clayton pula yang terletak di tenggara Melbourne, juga berpusatnya Monash University untuk beraya di rumah Abang Hanif. Di rumah inilah yang aku berasa selesa sikit dan kurang malu (bukan tak tahu malu!!!) kerana dikelilingi orang - orang serta sahabat - sahabat yang aku kenal dan rapat. Sinonimya macam beraya di Parit; empat rumah opah saudara di sepanjang jalan, paling selesa beraya di rumah Opah We, sebab biasa sangat bertandang ke rumah tu. Kalau kata aku berlari - lari dalam rumah tu, orang tak hairan.

Sesampai di Clayton, dah hampir Maghrib. Maka kami melantak di laman, solat Maghrib di Monash Uni punya masjid yang terletak di hujung jalan, dan berangkat pulang ke pusat bandar Melbourne. Sesampai di Drummond Street, jam menunjukkan pukul 7.45 malam. Maka, aku naik ke rumah Zaim dan Syed Marwan, solat Isyak, kemas beg dan terus ke Melbourne Central lantas menaiki keretapi Werribee Line dan terus pulang ke Altona.

2 Syawal

Hari ini hari Isnin. VU tak bercuti. Minggu depan baru cuti. Maka ada kuliah. Pagi itu aku berasa agak pelik, kerana sudah lumrah aku akan beraya selama seminggu (mengikut tradisi Melayu). Tapi, raya kedua pergi kuliah.

Kuliah hari itu hanyalah dari jam 11 pagi sehinga ke jam 1 petang (paling lewat lah). Habis sahaja kuliah, aku ke pusat bandaraya. Sesampai sahaja, maka jihad pertama aku adalah mencari beg sandang baru. Beg yang sedia ada, dah terputus tali, dan aku dah naik rimas jalan berdengkot sebab bergantung pada satu tali sahaja. Beg itu aku beli di Korea dengan harga $10 kira - kira 2 tahun sebelum ini.

Niat aku nak cari di Victoria Market. Namun, sesampai sahaja aku di perhentian tram Vic Market, mulut ternganga 10 inci. Macam mana aku boleh lupa??? Hari ini hari Isnin, Market tutup!!!

Aku cari pula di kedai - kedai komputer. Paling murah, Aus$ 80. Tak nak! Akhir sekali, aku ke Big W di La Trobe Street, maka berjumpalah aku dengan satu beg yang harganya dalam lingkungan Aus$30. Besar pun besar, Kalis air. Sesuai nak bawak laptop kulu kelior.

Selesai itu, aku ke Drummond Street. Selepas Maghrib, aku ikut Syed Marwan ke majlis sambutan Aidilfitri di Monash Uni kampus Parkville, yang terletak di antara pusat bandaraya dan Brunswick. Majlis ini adalah anjuran Ikatan Mahasiswa Muslim Malaysia (ISMA). Setelah makan, bersembang - sembang, melihat persembahan silat, persembahan karaoke (>_<), aku bergegas pulang ke pusat bandar, dan menuju ke stesen keretapi Flinders Street lantas pulang semula ke Altona.


4 Syawal

Hari ini hari Khamis. Aku telah menjemput seorang rakan Muslim bernama Khalili datang ke rumah. Dia merupakan warga China. Sehingga ke hari ini aku menyesal tak memaklumkan padanya akan berakhirnya Ramadhan. Sungguhpun Muslim, aku dapati beliau kekeliruan tentang kewajipan agama, oleh kerana sudah terlalu lama tidak beramal dengan sebaik - baik amal.

Namun, setelah slow-talk dengan beliau, maka beliau bertekad untuk kembali mengamalkan kewajipan - kewajipan asas, dan aku akan membantunya dari amsa ke semasa. Pada hari itu, aku mengajar beliau kembali tentang bagaimana berwudhu'...alang - alang dah nak masuk waktu Maghrib. Aku berpesan padanya supaya datang balik hari Jumaat, supaya aku boleh bawa beliau pergi solat Jumaat di Newport.

6 Syawal

Hari ini hari Jumaat. Aku membawa Khalili ke Masjid Newport. Satu kekurangan buat beliau adalah bahawa masjid itu berkhutbah di dalam bahasa Arab, kecuali tazkirah ringkas dalam bahasa Inggeris sewaktu berhenti di antara dua khutbah; merumuskan kandungan khutbah kepada mereka yang tak fasih berbahasa Arab. HAmpirnya rumah aku dengan amsjid ini, memberi peluang untuk memahirkan semula bahasa Arab yang telah lama ditinggalkan.

Namun, bagi Khalili, ini adalah permulaan langkah - langkah awal untuk beliau kembali membiasakan diri dengan ibadah - ibadah khusus Islam. Cuma, dari masa ke semasa kena ikut perkembangan dia. Takut kalau, lepas macam tu je, dia balik ke keadaan asal.

Aidilfitri @ Melbourne (pinggiran Ramadhan)

Jumaat malam, 18 September, aku bertolak dari stesen keretapi Westona menuju ke Pusat Bandaraya Melbourne. Dalam perjalanan, keretapi melewati loji penyulingan petroleum yang terletak di antara stesen Seaholme dan Newport. Di kala malam gelap, api yang marak menyala di salah satu menaranya menerangkan kawasan persekitaran.

Aku dah biasa dengan pemandangan ini memandangkan aku selalu menggunakan perkhidmatan keretapi ini untuk ke Universiti, dan juga ke masjid di Newport. Namun, pada malam ini, melihatkannya, aku teringat pula pada kilang simen di Bukit Berapit, yang terletak di tepi lebuhraya antara Changkat Jering dan Kuala Kangsar.

Maka teringat pula nostalgia Aidilfitri yang lalu. Tamat sahaja kuliah yang terakhir, malam itu juga terus bertolak dari Permatang Pauh balik ke rumah opah di Kuala, walaupun raya lagi 5 hari, dan tak ada isu kesesakan jalanraya bagi perjalanan menghala ke Kuala Lumpur. Salah satu sebabnya, dok kat Kuala Kangsar ini ada rasa ketenangan. Mungkin kekerapan balik kampung sejak kecil yang menyebatikan aku dengan bandar diraja ini. Sebab tambahan...saja cari alasan memandu di waktu malam. Memandu di waktu malam ini ada 'feeling' sikit. Sebab tu kebanyakan perjalanan jauh aku dilakukan pada waktu senja dan ke atas...walaupun mak abah tak berapa perkenan.

Balik kepada kisah asal...aku 'berkampung' di rumah sahabat di Drummond Street, berhampiran Melbourne Museum sempena raya. Sahabat - sahabat aku yang lain akan bercuti selama 2 minggu bermula 1 Syawal. Manakala aku yang menuntut di Victoria University, cutiku hanya akan bermula seminggu selepas raya.

Kalau ikut tradisinya, aku akan turun di stesen Melbourne Central, dan terus berjalan ke Drummond Street, atau naik tram kalau tak ada mood nak jalan. Namun kali ini, aku turun di Southern Cross terlebih dahulu, oleh kerana Zaim dan Syed Marwan berada di Islamic Centre Victoria untuk mengerjakan tarawih dan seterusnya berkampung di situ untuk berqiam, dan aku perlu mengambil kunci rumah dari Zaim.

Sesampai di rumah Zaim, aku menyiapkan kerja - kerja programming aku, qiam dan terus masuk tidur.

Tengahari esok, aku dan Zaim ke Glenroy (utara Melbourne) untuk membantu Ustaz Nushi menyediakan hidangan untuk esoknya. Ustaz Nushi kena sediakan juadah untuk 800 orang.

Sekitar pukul 4.30, datang pula Ustaz Hasnizul membawa kami ke Malaysia Hall di High Street untuk majlis berbuka dan takbir beramai - ramai.

Tepat jam 6.16, masuklah waktu Maghrib, dan berakhirlah Ramadhan bagi 1430 Hijriyyah.

Sedang bertakbir, tiba - tiba berlaku flashback. Depan aku muncul muka mak abah, muka arwah atok, Masjid Jamek Kampar yang diisi jemaah bertakbir. Entah kenapa. Mungkin Masjid Jamek tu yang menjadi tempat aku mengenali takbir raya. Pendek kata, tahun 1995 merupakan tahun pertama aku bertakbir. Adapun Aidilfitri di England pada tahun 1993, dan 1994, aku pun tak tahu wujudnya takbir, solat raya.

Biasanya kalau bertakbir, seolah - olah ada aura yang dilepaskan. Tapi entah kenapa, malam tu 'aura' tersebut seolah - olah tersekat, tak boleh nak dikeluarkan. Mungkin kerana aku berdepan dengan suasana yang lain daripada yang aku alami seumur hidupku.

Entahlah... (to be continued)

A Conversation...

Usually at home, I'd have dinner together with my Chinese housemates. Though not being able to consume their meat dishes, yet their vegetable dishes were of no problem, and they are welcome to have a pinch of whatever I cooked, meat or no meat.

However, since early Ramadhan, I've succumbed to dining on my own. As Maghrib is around 5.40 pm (as of 1 Ramadhan)...heading towards 6 pm and beyond as the days head closer to spring season, I usually start cooking at 4, and start eating immediately when the time comes.

This is because I'm rushing against time. I have to catch the 6.37, or 6.57 train to Newport to join the Tarawih congregation, which begins after 'Isya prayers, currently timed at 7.15 pm.

My housemates usually have dinner between 7 to 8 pm.

Anyhow, yesterday as I was tending to my cooking, my housemate came up to me,

"Err...Karim, are you doing anything on Saturday? I think I want to go to the IKEA in East Melbourne."

"No. I don't think I'm doing anything on Saturday. Should be OK," I said.

"Owh, OK. Are you still using the oven?"

"Just another 10 minutes. I'm cooling it down. By the way, you realised of course that I did not eat with you and Jared these last few days. You know I'm fasting, so I have to eat early when the time comes."

"Err, ya I know. Maybe someday we can go and buy Halal meat and we can all cook and eat together."

"Hmm...sounds good."

I have to admit that I was touched for a moment. Here I am with an individual with no religion beliefs (refer to China's Cultural Revolution effects), yet he knows my religious obligations.

However, this chap is seeking religion knowledge. He knows a bit about Islam in terms of prayer, fasting, and Halal meat. He kept asking me about Islamic lectures programmes. So far, I know none that would suit him. Those at Newport Mosque are in Arabic...one heck of a problem if I were to translate it to him in real time.

I'll have to check with ICV for any Islamic programmes. In the meantime, I'm trying to find a Quran volume with Chinese translation for him to read. It's the best method for understanding Islam. He knows about the Quran, only that he doesn't know the name, and only refers to it as Islam's text book. Hahaha.

So far, I've found none. ICV only has translations in Albanian, Urdu. I'm not in the mood to get him an English translation volume, as he is himself having difficulties conversing smoothly in English. Furthermore, the English translation uses Shakesperian English. Very classic, I must say.

Maybe I should go to Sydney Road in Brunswick. There are Islamic bookshops there. I've been wanting to go to Sydney Road for weeks now. It's been 2 years since I last went there. Owh, how I missed the fresh arabian delicacies (baklawah) the sell at Balha's Patisserie shop down Sydney Road (this is not due to the fact that I'm fasting!). I used to buy a boxful of them for mum last time.

Hikmahnya aku ke Victoria University

Sewaktu di Malaysia, aku sering ditanya akan Universiti yang akan kupergi kelak. Bila disebut Victoria University, maka naik pening sang bertanya. Kalau sebut RMIT University, UniMelbourne, Monash University, belum habis sebut dah tahu di mana. Tapi VicUni...???

Lantas terhumbanlah pelbagai persoalan,

"Kat mana Universiti tu?"

"Diiktiraf ke?"

"Cemana boleh ke sana pulak?"

Tak lupa juga kepada komen,

"Masa aku tanya Uni mana yang bagus - bagus, diorang rekemen X, Y, Z. Tapi takde la diorang sebut Victoria Uni pulak..."

Bila ditanya kepadanya akan jurusan yang ditanya, maka jelaslah bukan jurusan kejuruteraan. Nak aje aku lepuk kepala beliau.

Ya, saudara...memang tak ramai di Malaysia yang mengenali Universiti ini. Publisitinya di Malaysia pun tak seberapa. Namun, apabila aku bertanyakan Universiti yang sesuai untuk bidang kejuruteraan, Universiti ini salah satu daripada yang dicadangkan.

Ketahuilah, lain bidang, lain Universiti yang disyorkan. Adakah anda akan bertanyakan kursus perubatan di Institute of Art & Design? Sudah sekali tidak!

Maka, bagaimanakah boleh aku mendarat di Universiti ini? 10 tahun perancangan, 8 bulan menyelidik, dan 2 bulan menyaring yang telah membawa aku ke VicUni.

Selama 10 tahun, aku meletakkan matlamat untuk menyambung pengajian di luar negara. Dalam 10 tahun ini juga aku telah menyenarai pendekkan negara - negara yang sesuai berdasarkan geografi, demografi, serta kestabilan ekonomi dan politik.

Menjelang berakhirnya zaman aku di UiTM, aku mula membuat penyelidikan ke atas universiti - universiti di negara pilihan; UK, Kanada, Australia, dan New Zealand. Pada peringkat awalnya, Kanada dan New Zealand telah dibuang; Kanada kerana tidak ada MoU dengan mana - mana universiti di Malaysia dalam bidang kejuruteraan. New Zealand kerana IELTS diperlukan.

Maka tumpuanku adalah pada UK dan Australia sahaja. Kelebihan bagi kedua - dua negara ini adalah tidak perlunya kepada IELTS, memandangkan UiTM menggunakan bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa pengantara. Tambahan, pengalaman bersekolah di UK memudahkan urusan memohon ke sana. Setelah mendapatkan maklumat yang diperlukan, maka muncullah senarai berikut:

United Kingdom

1. University of Sheffield
2. Manchester Metropolitan University
3. University of Portsmouth

Australia

1. University of New South Wales
2. University of Newcastle
3. RMIT University
4. Victoria University
5. University of South Australia

Seterusnya, aku menilai setiap universiti darihal berikut:

1. Yuran
2. Kualiti pembelajaran
3. Kebajikan pelajar Islam

Setelah disaring, maka tinggallah University of Portsmouth, RMIT, VicUni, UniSA, dan Newcastle Uni. Namun pada saat - saat akhir, aku membuang RMIT daripada senarai ekoran isu musolla di kampus Swanston.

Aku ada cuba pertimbang semula RMIT. Namun, seolah - olah takdir Allah aku tidak dapat memohon ke RMIT. Ini kerana, setiap kali aku ke EduFair, ada sahaja yang akan mengganggu aku daripada ke kaunter RMIT, antaranya barisan yang panjang gila, ataupun tidak ada orang yang jaga kaunter sewaktu orang tak ramai.

Berbanding dengan yang lain, permohonan berlaku dengan pantas. Ada hikmah...

Dua minggu kemudian, keluarlah keputusan. Alhamdulillah, semua universiti menawarkan tempat. Cuma, memandangkan aku memohon proses pemindahan kredit, kena tunggu lagi sebulan. Langkah seterusnya adalah untuk ke ibupejabat JKR di Jalan Sultan Salahuddin untuk bertanyakan pengiktirafan kerajaan.

Didapati bahawa untuk UK, hanya Masters sahaja yang diiktiraf ekoran pertindihan silibus serta tempoh antara UK dan Malaysia baru - baru ini. Pihak JKR turut mencadangkan Australia kerana kualiti pembelajaran di dalam bidang kejuruteraan. Maka dengan hati yang pilu, terpaksalah aku lupakan UK.

Kemudian aku ditunjukkan rekod pengiktirafan universiti. UniSA dan Newcastle diiktiraf sekitar tahun 1990-an ke tahun 2000-an. Namun VicUni...sejak 1972???!!! MasyaAllah! Rupanya VicUni ada nama lama, dan terkenal kerana bidang kejuruteraannya.

Sebulan kemudian, keluarlah keputusan pindahan kredit; Newcastle menawarkan 3 tahun, UniSA 2.5 tahun, dan VicUni 2 tahun. Maka setelah berbincang dengan mak, abah, VicUni lah pilihan.

Ketahuilah, dalam setiap fasa perancangan serta tindakan, aku tak lupa berdoa dan bertawakkal kepada Allah memohon ditunjukkan jalan terbaik. Walaupun agak liat nak terima VicUni pada awalnya, namun disebabkan aku telah berdoa, maka aku terima ini sebagai jalan terbaik yang Allah berikan.

Antara hikmahnya aku ke VicUni, disebabkan ramai yang lebih rela ke RMIT, Monash, UniMelb jika memilih untuk belajar di Melbourne, maka tak ramai pelajar di sini...khususnya dalam bidang kejuruteraan. Palajar tahun ketiga dalam bidangku hanyalah sekitar 20+ orang.

Tambahan pula, Universiti ini adalah Muslim-friendly. Kebajikan pelajar Islam dijamin. Dewan solat disediakan di setiap kampus, sekali dengan solat Jumaat. Semua makanan di kafeteria mereka menggunakan hanya daging Halal.

Namun, setiap kebaikan sudah tentu ditemani dengan pengimbangnya. Kampus aku terletak di kawasan Footscray, 'perkampungan' Vietnam. Kawasan ini dikenali sebagai kawasan yang 'keras'; dengan gejalanya, samsengnya dll.. Boleh kata, sewaktu tiba di sini, aku didedahkan kepada Melbourne yang aku tak sangka wujud berbanding dengan ketika aku datang pada tahun 2007.

Namun, pendedahan ini telah membuat aku lebih berwaspada, tidak terlalu selesa, dan juga mengentalkan diri dalam menghadapi segala cabaran dan dugaan selama di sini. Walaupun pada peringkat awal agak melemahkan semangat. Namun, as time goes by, sedikit demi sedikit aku mula membiasakan diri dan memberanikan diri.

Alhamdulillah, kini aku tak berapa nak hairan sangat jika bertembung dengan puak - puak ini. Sungguhpun demikian hazar (berhati - hati) adalah satu kemestian.