Its been 4 months since the last update. I can give reasons for not updating the blog. I was busy. But busy I was, I should still have just 20 minutes everyday to write something, right?. But I did not. It was not actually the time. It was the mind.
Let me summarize the 4 months happenings. In May, I went to China, Korea and Japan. I visited 13 universities in those countries. Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Daejon, Tokyo and Kyoto were covered in the 2 weeks of tiring travel. I was with the VC in the 1 week China trip and then with the DVC for the next 1 week Korea and Japan trip. Fruitful and eye opening. It was an official trip that triggered my unofficial trip back to China again one months later, in late June. I took Air Asia with my wife to Tianjin and then took the fast train from Tianjin to Beijing, a distance of 150 km (in half an hour). That unofficial trip was just for 4 days but took us to many parts of Beijing, including various shopping places and the great wall. And, the best thing is that it cost us less than RM2K for the the plane fare and 3 night hotels in Beijing for the two of us.
New semester started on 6th July and this week is the 3rd week. End of this week, I am off to Barcelona (for a conference ICDAR2009 in Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) and then London (since my wife will be having meetings with some London based examination boards during that time). One year ago, we were in Spain, Andorra, Southern France, Monaco, Italy and Switzerland (besides France, my base) about the same time.
To be continued....
4 Months after the last Update
Leading Change - The Seminar Sunday 15 March @ Sunway Hotel
Today, I attended the Seminar by AKEPT (Higher Education Leadership Academy) or Akedemi Kepimpinan Pengajian Tinggi. It was on "Leading Change: what leaders really do).
The presenter was Prof. John P. Kotter, Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School.
I shall write more later, Insyaallah.
Change
It has been 5 months since I came back from my 1 year stint in Nantes France, from November 2007 until October 2008. It was a fruitful year long. Within that period, I completed my Phd thesis and submitted at the end of November 2008. I also managed to defend the thesis at the viva session held in UTM Skudai on 28 December 2008. It was a first Muharram and I was glad to start my life in the new Hijri year with a success. I was given 1 months to correct the necessary and submitted the final corrected thesis by 26 January 2009. The letter from graduate school mentioning that my thesis was accepted and I I now have a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering was just recieved a few daya ago. The convocation will be held on the weekend of 28 March 2009.
The one year in France was also a very fruitful period for my family members. Afiq my third child completed his PMR exam in November 2007 and joined me for a 1 months long 'vacation' in Nantes/Europe in December 2007. A one month period that changed his life. Together we traveled by rented car in UK, ski in the Alpes and drove through the heart of Italy to Venice, Pisa and Rome.
Even my wife enjoyed a 3 weeks stay in Nantes and we traveled to Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland during the July/August 2008 period. I am grateful to Allah for giving me the energy to persevere the 1 year and UNITEN for understanding that I need the time to complete my PhD word.
Those are some changes that happened in my life. But the most recent change that effect much more is my appointment as Deputy Dean, Students Affairs, Development and External Relations. Since I was appointed on 2 January 2009, it was a drastic change to my life. Do not get me wrong though, I am still the same guy who hates beurocracy, who is easy to mingle with everyone (ye ke? I think I am. though some people said I am a serious person or at least look serious) and who feels that performance does not depends on whether you are a Phd holder or a Professor. Your sincerity, you ability to be honest and down to earth in any situation surely brings togetherness in the work place and creates less tension.
I shall blog more on this site, sharing my thinking, feelings and experiences. I hope I will not go overboard in my writing, as now whatever I write in this blog might be taken as a stand that my organization takes. But believe me, what I will write reflects me but not entirely the organization I represent.
Rahim
40 Tips for Better Life (Forwarded by Bushral Karim)
1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games..
6. Read more books than you did in 2007.
7 Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22 Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their jo urney is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. GOD ! heals everything.
28. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
29. Your jo b won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
30. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or jo yful.
31. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
32. The best is yet to come.
33. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
34. Do the right thing!
35. Call your family often.
36. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
37. Each day give something good to others.
38. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
39. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.*
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.
Colourful Autumn in Nantes
2 weeks to go......
I am gonna miss these colourful surroundings of autumn in Nantes....
This is just the beginning....
Peringatan (From An Email)
Hanya Ingin Mengingatkan ....
Kubur Setiap Hari Menyeru Manusia Sebanyak Lima (5) Kali ...
1. Aku rumah yang terpencil,maka kamu akan senang dengan selalu membaca Al-Quran.
2. Aku rumah yang gelap,maka terangilah aku dengan selalu solat malam.
3. Aku rumah penuh dengan tanah dan debu,bawalah amal soleh yang menjadi hamparan.
4. Aku rumah ular berbisa,maka bawalah amalan Bismillah sebagai penawar.
5. Aku rumah pertanyaan Munkar dan Nakir,maka banyaklah bacaan 'Laa ilahaillallah, Muhammadar Rasulullah', supaya kamu dapat jawapan kepadanya.
Lima Jenis Racun dan Lima Penawarnya ......
1. Dunia itu racun,zuhud itu ubatnya.
2. Harta itu racun,zakat itu ubatnya.
3. Perkataan yang sia-sia itu racun,zikir itu ubatnya.
4. Seluruh umur itu racun,taat itu ubatnya.
5. Seluruh tahun itu racun,Ramadhan itu ubatnya.
Nabi Muhammad S.A.W bersabda:
Ada 4 di pandang sebagai ibu ', iaitu :
1. Ibu dari segala UBAT adalah SEDIKIT MAKAN.
2. Ibu dari segala ADAB adalah SEDIKIT BERBICARA.
3. Ibu dari segala IBADAT adalah TAKUT BUAT DOSA.
4. Ibu dari segala CITA CITA adalah SABAR.
Berpesan-pesanlah kepada kebenaran dan kesabaran. Beberapa kata renungan dari Qur'an :
Orang Yang Tidak Melakukan Solat:
Subuh : Dijauhkan cahaya muka yang bersinar
Zuhor : Tidak diberikan berkah dalam rezekinya
Asar : Dijauhkan dari kesihatan/kekuatan
Maghrib : Tidak diberi santunan oleh anak-anaknya.
Isyak : Dijauhkan kedamaian dalam tidurnya
Late Post: Raya in Nottingham (30/9, 1/10 and 2/10)
I celebrate Raya in Nottingham. Took a flight from Nantes to East Midlands on Tuesday 30/9. France celebrate Raya on 1/10 while England on 30/9. I fasted as usual in Nantes and break fast when arrived in Nottingham. Stayed in Pak Din's house for 2 nights and flew home on 2/10. The celebration in England is always like in Malaysia because there are many Malay families.
Some photos:
Boarding The Ryanair flight from Nantes to East Midlands airport.
All the delicious food at Pak Din's open house - this is just one of the houses I went:
Our undergraduates are always ready to help during the open house. At least help to eat...
Paris Raya gathering at Ambassadors residence
Me, Safuan, Tan (Singapore) and David (China) departed from Nantes on Saturday 4/10 for Paris at 7.30am in a rented Opel Meriva. Arrived at Bld Suchet, Paris at 12.30pm. The Raya gathering organized by the Embassy of Malaysia Paris in conjunction with Malaysian Association in France (MAF) is from12.30pm - 2.30pm.
Many students from all over France were present. Also there were Malaysia scientists doing research in Paris, officers of the Ministry of Education, Minister of education himself, reporters and staff from Bernama and BTP, Malaysian married to French, Malaysian working or training in France.
Photos taken at the gathering can be seen at this link: http://abdrahim.net/parisraya08/
Happenings 27 and 28 Sept
I hosted another break of fast for Montasser and wife Susan and Tan, yesterday 27 September. Tan fasted the whole day. No photo during the "mange" but after.
I cooked rendang daging for break of fast today. Still on the cooker.
This is the rendang powder.
A finished product.
Breaking of Fast at Montaser's
Me, Tan, Montaser and Susan,
We had the breaking of fast at Montaser's apartment @ Souilarderie. Montaser from Aleppo, Syria, just married to Susan, fellow Alepoean, university mate. They were married in Syria in August and came back to France early September.
Some photos to share:
Soup, salad and pickles Syrian style...
Gourget in minced meat, pickles and crepes to eat with the salad. Salad ingredients : cucumber, tomato, parsley, garlic, vinegar, and etc... to find out more.
Sweet Arabic desserts....
Tan, me, Susan and Montaser.
Me, Montaser and Susan.
Cafe a chez moi ce soir
Coffee time at my studio after Terawikh, Saturday 20th September. Its past midnight saturday night 21st September.....
From left, David (from French Guyana), Hassan (Morocco), Adil (Morocco), Ali (Morocco), Otmane (Morocco), Abdul Rahim (Malaysia). David is not Muslim yet, but he came with us to the mosque at La Boissiere. He fast for 2 days and breakfast at the mosque then prayed Maghrib. Insyaallah, one day he will be. 
In this picture, adil now at the leftmost. Adil just finished his Master attachment at Ecole du Bois, Nantes, David is at the University, doing law, Hassan is at Institut Universitaire (IUT) Nantes, doing management, Ali also at the university, Otmane now at Ecole Central, Nantes, doing Masters second year.
Iftar Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th day Ramadhan
Saturday 13th Ramadhan: I cooked A small Iftar of briani rice, poulet curry and boef for 6 people; 3 Malaysians (me, Safuan and Farhan) and 3 Moroccan (Zakaria Mosab and Aadil). Trawikh done in my studio, Alhamdulillah.
Sunday 14th Ramadhan:
Here's what I had.
With October coming, autumn is coming too.
End of 14th Day Ramadhan
End of 10th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 11 (At Taubah Ayat 94 - 129,(Yunus 1 - 109)(Hud 1 - 5)
End of 11th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 12 (Hud 6 - 123) (Yusuf 1 - 52)
End of 12th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 13 (Yusuf 53 - 111) (Ar Ra'd 1 - 43)(Ibrahim 1 -52)
End of 13th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 14 (AlHijr 1 - 99) (An Nahl 1 - 128)
End of 14th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 15 (Al Isra' 1 - 111) (Al Kahfi 1 - 74)
At Taubah - Surah 9, total of 129 ayats.
Yunus - Surah 10, total of 109 ayats.
Hud - Surah 11, total of 123 ayats.
Yusuf - Surah 12, total of 111 ayats.
Ar Ra'd - Surah 13, total of 43 ayats.
Ibrahim - Surah 14, total of 52 ayats.
AlHijr - Surah 15, total of 99 ayats.
An Nahl - Surah 16, total of 128 ayats.
Al Isra' - Surah 17, total of 111 ayats.
Al Kahfi - Surah 18, total of 74 ayats.
End of 9th day of Ramadhan
Summary of Quran for :
End of 7th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 8 (Al AnAm Ayat 111 - Al A'raf Ayat 87)
End of 8th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 9 (Al A'raf Ayat 88 - Al Anfaal Ayat 40)
End of 9th day Ramadhan : Juzuk 10 (Al Anfal Ayat 41 - At Taubah 93)
Al AnAm - Surah 6, total of 165 ayats.
Al A'raf - Surah 7, total of 206 ayats.
Al Anfaal - Surah 8, total of 75 ayats.
At Taubah - Surah 9, total of 129 ayats.
This site contains quran reading with English translation. Suitable for listening on the way to work, during traveling etc. Some files are big - 30 to 40Mb.
6th Day Ramadhan
Reminder about Juzuk 7: Surah AlMaidah:83 - Suratul AnAm:110
AlMaidah(Table Spread) Ayat 83 - Ayat 120:
Suratul AnAm ayat 1- 110:
A parting remark: Check out Kays blog. An American Muslim girl.
Magic Eye
Heard of magic eyes? Can you read hidden messages? Can you spot hidden images? Try this. Leave your comment on what you see. Click on the image to view it clearer. If you do not know how to handle magic eye images, click here
Wanna try another one, here it is:
What symbol do you see? HINT: It is the name of the image file.
Once you are comfortable, go and play MAGIC EYE TETRIS HERE
ENJOY
Fifth day of Ramadhan in Nantes
On this 5th day of Ramadhan, Cham, a young French Syrian student invited me for buka puasa at the Halal Pizza near the mosque. And we also had Oasis fruit drinks plus Haagen Daas ice cream. Due to that, we prayed Maghrib a bit late.
Juz 6: AnNisa Ayat 148 - AlMaaidah (The Table) Ayat 82
From Juz 5, ayat 136 - ayat 147 - Allah ask believers to believe in Him, His Messenger, The book, and the previous Kitabs and the last day. Allah talks about the hypocrites. Allah ask not to take unbelievers as friends.
Ayat 148 onwards -
- How Umat nabi Musa ask to see Allah, and thunderbolt took them...
- On how they claim to slew Isa, but Allah raised him
- Allah explains the nature of Isa.
- The final few ayats on Indirect hiers, inheritance rule.
AlMaaidah - contains 120 ayats.
- In this surat is the final revelation - Alyau ma Akmal tu lakum... "On this day I have perfected your religion, completed My favors to you, and have chosen Islam as your religion" part of ayat 4.
- Regarding food, religious observances, and sexual morality
- On Jews and Christians again
- On Qabil and Habil
End of 4th Day Ramadhan
After 3rd day, the 4th onwards will be routine. That's what happens to me. So, there will no more story of breakfasting and solatul Tarawikh.
Juzuk 5 of the Quran : Surah AnNisa 24 - 148.
I read Robert spencer commentary on Surah AnNisa in particular on women in Islam and related issues. ayat 1-16 here, ayat 17-34 here, ayat 35 - 104 here and ayat 104 - 176 here. I must say, his references are excellent. The only thing is that, the tone of his writing is to look at things in a negative manner. But, when I read what he wrote, I looked at it in the positive manner, I found the opposite of what he is trying to portray of Islam. It is beneficial to me. May Allah will open the hearts of whom he wills.
Look at translation of the Quran from different translators The Quran Browsers here.
End of 3rd Day Ramadan
Third day Ramadhan, with temperature below 20 and slight shower keeps the day cool and comfortable. Break of fast at Mosquee El Forqane, same style, same menu. However, only Isya was performed at the mosque since there was a talk in Arabic before Terawikh. 4th night analysis of 4th Juzuk of the Quran follows.
Fourth juzuk of the Quran consists of Suratul Imran from ayat 92 to Suratun Nisa Ayat 23. AN-Nisa contains 176 ayats.
A few significant Ayats in Suratul Imran
14: "Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world's life; but Allah has the excellent return (Paradise with flowing rivers, etc.) with Him".
29:Say (O Muhammad ): "Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is Able to do all things."
Story of Maryam, daughter of Imran (the name of this Surah), Zakaria and Isa (ayat 35 - 52) - how Maryam bore a son, Isa Alaihissalam. About people of the scriptures - "mixing truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while they know".
In summary, Suratul Imran speaks a lot about people of the scriptures - how some of them reject Allah's ayats. Suratun Nisa - Insyaallah will be summarized tomorrow.
An end note: there are pople, non Muslims who really studied the Quran, remain non Muslim, and writing blog on Quran with intention to "understand what makes the jihadists tick and what we can and must do to resist them" - in the words of Robert Spencer.
Robert Spencer Jihad Watch Blog on Quran
But first read the Introduction to why Robert Spencer blog on the Quran
Wassalam
End of 2nd day Ramadan
The whole day was gloomy and cold but not the spirit Alhamdulillah. I break the fast at Mosquee ElForqane but Pray Tarawikh at another mosque at Souillarderie. I was told it is a new mosque of 2 years old. The imam is a Hafiz from Algeria and similarly the tarawikh covered a whole juzuk of the Quran - juzuk 3. The breaking of fast was very simple soup moroccan style with baguet, et c'est tout. And we eat in agroup of 6 from the same large bowl, with the spirit of sharing. In the manner of the Jamaat Tablighi. Drinks are : plain water or milk or coffee to choose from. After tarawikh, fresh dates from tunisia were served.
Juzuk 3 of the Quran read by the imam today, consists of the last part of suratul Baqarah ayat 253 - to the end, ayat 286 and the first 91 ayats of surat Al Imran which have 200 ayats. The last few verses of Suratul Baqarah are long. Suratul Imran can be generally divided into two themes; the first theme - guides as to how to resist temptation and immorality stemming from external sources and affirming the faith. The second guides as to how to resist immorality from within - to unite and not hate.
End of First Day Ramadhan
Long Ramadhan day but Alhamdulillah, not taxing. Temperature was nice and by the time break of fast time arrive, it was still not taking a toll on the body. Fell like the fasting can go on for much longer, Alhamdulillah. Break of fast was at the house of Zakaria and the Moroccan Family and Tarawikh prayer at the Mosquee El Forqane.
Second day of Ramdahan means second juzuk of the Quran, from ayat 142 - 252 of Suratul Baqarah. To continue from Ayat 60 of the surah, yesterday:
- Allah tells the story of Musa and his people and the story of the calf.
- On christian and the jews
- On christian saying Allah begotten a son. (Ayat 110...)
- On Ibrahim and Ismail (Ayat 120...)
- On Yaakub, Ishak...
- On Safa and Marwah...
- On Heavens and Earth, night and Day ... (Ayat 158 ...)
- On Fasting (ayat 180...)
- On Pilgrimmage (Ayat 192...)
- On war in the holy month (Ayat 212...)
- On wine and gambling (Ayat 216 ...)
- On marriage to idolaters/idolateresses (Ayat 220...) On monthly course...
- On Dicorce (Ayat 226...)
- On suckling (Ayat 233...)
Introduction to Surah
The Translation of Surah Albaqarah on www.islam.us
First Day Ramadhan
First day of Ramadhan 1429 in France is on 1st September 2008. Throughout Ramadhan the fasting day is between about 13 hrs to 15 hours. On first day, Imsak is at 5.56am, Maghrib is at 8.49pm. On the 30th day, Imsak will be at 6.38am and Maghrib at 7.50pm. In the main Masjid, Mosquee El-Forqane at Malakof, Tarawih is done for 8 rakaats with 3 rakaats Witr. The Imam recites one whole Juzuk of Quran per night of Tarawih. AFter the fourth rakaat there is a break and the Imam give a small Tazkirah in Arabic and French.
In the First Juzuk of The quran, there is Surah AlFatihah and 141 ayats from Surah Al Baqarah. Surah AlBaqarah praises Allah our creator, asking His guidance to the straight path, the blessed path, not the wrathful or strayed. Surah AlBaqarah contains 286 ayats, of which 141 (ayats 1-141) in the first Juzuk, 110 (ayats 142-252) in the second Juzuk, and 33(ayats 253-286) in the 3rd Juzuk.
In the 141 ayats of Suratul Baqarah in Juzuk 1, ayats 1-60:
- Allah tells men of AlQuran as guidance to the godfearing.
- Allah reminds that he seals the unbelievers hearts, they have sickness.
- Allah asked men to serve Him who created us.
- Allah challenged to those who have doubt of the Quran to produce a sura like it.
- Allah promised good tidings and heaven to the believers who do righteous deeds.
- Allah gives lives and make us die and He has knowledge of everything.
- Allah created Adam and ask the angels to bow to Adam and they did, but not iblis.
- Allah give Adam and Hawa dwelling in the Garden but Shaytan caused them to slip.
- Allah reminds Bani Israel of His blessings.
- Allah tells the story of Firaun, Musa and the calf.
tbc..
Bellagio The little town Where Maya Karin was married on 9th August 2008
My wife Azian came to France and stayed for about 3 weeks. We had a wonderful time rehoneymooning. Believe it or not in just over a week of leave that I take from work, we travelled from Paris to Luxembourg, Brussel, Amsterdam, Lille and some cities in the north of France and also cities in south of Spain such as Madrid, Granada, Barcelona. We did also visit Andorra, a little country between Spain and France, then the cities of Nice, Lyon in South France, Monaco - a little country at the Southern tip of France, and cities in Italy and Switzerland - Venice, Zurich, Bern, Geneva. All those were possible because we travelled by a rented car.
I did one crazy thing - to detour to Bellagio, a small town by lake Como in the mountaneous Northern Italy. Guess what? That's where Maya Karin got married yesterday. We did not stay long there, anyway. We just stopped for an hour or so, taking pictures. Very nice little town. I read that Maya's husband's family has got a villa there. Must be a rich family.
Here's where Bellagio is:
(North of Italy, Near Milan)
(Its at the tip of a horn near Lake Como, a famous lake)
Here are a few photos in Belllagio:
At the "business district of Bellagio" - a small uphill lane, with nice view looking down:
At a lane leading to Bellagio Hotel:
A view by the lake side with Bellagio town at the back:
Malaysia's Two Party System - A reality?
I have been thinking about Malaysian political situation and finally, at the conclusion, I thought why not look at our Malaysian politics the following way:
At the grass root, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) looks like it is really loose. It is hard to imagine how can the people wearing kopiah in PAS will be able to sit together with the rockers in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). And we are talking about people of the same race.
At the higher level, PR looks similar to Barisan Nasional (BN) where we have parties of different races working together. The only difference - in PR you see non race based parties representing people at the grass root. In their respective constitutions, Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), PKR are all non race based. There are Malays in DAP. There are chinese in PAS and it is more obvious in PKR. In BN, different race based parties "cooperate", each having their race card. And it is easy to play the race card, by the more powerful - by UMNO especially. UMNO makes MCA or MIC bow down on certain things by playing on some race issues.
So, given the route now is towards two party system BN-PR, which one is better? Some people tend to see that BN can defend the Malays "rights" more effectively. With PR in power we might end up not having Malay previlleges. Administration wise, BN is seen to be corrupt while PR is still clean and trying to be clean. It is hard to decide. But for me, for the sake of cleaning up administration, we need to alternate. Who cares whether BN or PR rules, as long as they are clean. And you cannot keep your house clean if you do not do spring cleaning once in a while because this is when the dirt under the carpet and garbage hidden in the house can be taken out. That's the whole point of two party system and change in government.
Conclusion - we need to change the government. That is the only natural way to clean the system. The power is in us, the voters. I voted for PR last election, and I do not mind voting for BN the next time round when BN is lead by cleaner politicians (or those seen to be clean, with no controversies etc.) and the reform themselves. If PR can wrest power now, why not? Sometimes you need to clean the housr outside the regular cleaning schedule because the garbage in the house is already piling up.
Rahim
Forget about Politics (I mean the dirty side of politics)
Another (2nd) post by email.
I have been following American politics quite a lot these days. To be exact, I started following early 2008, when Barack and Hillary was still hurling accusations against each other. However, I like Barack because of his personality and his message. Message of change.
When Malaysian politics gets dirtier by the day, I feel the need to take a break from it. I wont be checking the Malaysian political blogs in the next coming days. However, as with many Malaysians, I feel strongly that whoever is at the helm of power should work towards solving peoples problems, especially economically.
Testing the blog posting by email
This post is to try the blog posting by sending email to my special blog email address. Its a good facility especially if you have a blackberry and wants people to checkout some continous regular updates on something, like a travel diary (or something like that). And the good thing is once you send you can always edit it within blogger.com.
I just bought Vanishing Acts
Today I did some washing in the morning. And I did something unselfish. At the laverie (for the laundry, in French), a black guy (probably from francophone African state - I did not asked) wanted a change from me. He wanted to dry his clothes but did not have enough coins. He gave me 20Euros. I stared at it, took all the coins I had in my pocket and it was 6.50. I found 10 Euro note from my purse. So I said OK, give me your 20, take my 16.50 and I will go home and come back with another 3.50 in coins. So that was what I exactly did. Come to think of it, why need I trouble myself for him, and I don't even know him before.
Then grab my cute bicycle (vello) and I went to Chinese shop at Bouffet and the market at Mediatheque to buy coconut cream, vegetables and some fruit. On the way home, I've got this urge to stop by at Fnac, the largest book/electronic store in Nantes, as I always did when I shop at the market because they are close together. I went to level two at the English book section, intending to buy the two books by Barack Obama - "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope". As expected, they were not there. But Ha Ha.... there were two Jodi Picoult titles - Vanishing Act and Change of Heart. I choose Vanishing Act. Hope I will finish it in the midst of so much work to do.
May and June Updates
I am tremendeously busy and hardworking nowadays. Why? Because I took a week off to travel around Europe last week - to bring colleagues from Malaysia to places here. Then, with my wife coming next months for another three weeks, I have to work in advanced.....
I am gonna make this update short. Arifah is now on holiday waiting for her 4th year to start in July. Finally, Afifah was offered a place in South Australian Matriculation at Inti College Nilai which will eventually and hopefully lead to her flying off to Australia. Look at her new look blog - http://afifahabdrahim.blogspot.com/, and regularly updated too(3 cheers for Afifah!!). Get more stories about her there. Afiq still haven't got his exam result after one months passed after the exam. But Afifah (Sorry its Atiqah, after correction by Afifah. Man, I am old...) now steal the limelight by improving her in class position. She got number 3 out of 38 students in her standard 6, SK Jalan 4 class. And... She is 2nd in her SKAgama. Hmm, she should be able to get 5A's in her UPSR this September, Inshaallah.
It will be Summer officially in Europe this Saturday 21 June. However, the temperature is not increasing yet. Still below 20 degrees. Lat week, it was even below 10 degrees for some days. Today 18 degrees. Still have to wear jacket when going out. By July I guess it will be around 30 degrees. And in Nantes, it will Fete de La Music this Saturday at Place Graslin (pronounce: Gralan). They do it every year when summer starts, in every city in France http://www.fete-de-la-musique.cityvox.com/. It is not that I like music.... I do like some kind, however. Just a piece of info.
March and April Updates
I said in my blog introduction that I will try my best to update the blog as regularly as possible. I seems that I fulfilled the promise because my regularity is a month or two months ..:)
I went back to malaysia on 7th March and was in time to vote. Of course I voted for the opposition. I do not want to make it a secret. I feel that its then or never. It turned out to be fruitful. It is well known that 5 states went to the opposition rule. 3 weeks in Malaysia brought me to everywhere. From Selangor to Pahang, then to Perak, Penang Kedah and Perlis within the first 3 days. Then again before coming back to Nantes, in the last 5 days gone back to Kedah and then through Kelantan, and Terengganu to Pahang. I came back to Nantes on 29th March. Since then my work progressed well.
Other main happenings in the last 2 months: Afifah obtained 9As in her SPM (8 - 1A and 1 - 2A). She also passed her driving test and with her new licence, happily taking the job of a family driver, to my relief, since not being around can cause mobility problem to the kids at home. Afifah was also interviewed for a JPA scholarship to study Actuarial Science in (either Australia, UK or USA). She was also offered a place in Melaka Matriculation college. Others in the family - as far as I know, life as usual but if there are any special events, they will update in their own blog. (Am I right, Arifah, Afiq, Atiqah? Azian also?).
Till the next update. (Don't know when, hopefully soon)
A Photoblog, this time !!
Here are some photos of the happenings in Nantes in January and February. Sorry for the low quality pictures, taken from a Nokia 6300 camera phone, some, at night with no flash.
The first one is from the Solidarity for Gaza night in front of the Prefecture of Nantes. Date ? I forgot. I was there, about 8pm Saturday night, chanting "Liberté pour Palestine"!! (Freedom for Palestine), among the many Muslims and non Muslims. We held candles and stand in the cold (around 3 degrees Celcius at that time) by the roadside near the rond-point (round about) in front of the Prefecture (office of the Mayor) of Nantes.
One fine Saturday (no date also but in January 2008), I went to the Bouffet area in Nantes where there are many Chinese shops and restaurants. There, outside one Cambodian Chinese shop I saw something amazing!! The durians. Selling for 8 Euros a kilo. Each durian seems to weigh about 2kgs. Imagine - a 16Euro durian (about RM80.00)
I also found "roti canai" at the shop. Its not really roti canai like the mamak roti canai we know in Malaysia. The label says Roti Prata. Yes, it comes from malaysia. What you have to do is to heat it on a hot plate or frying pan for a few minutes, turning over along the way. Taste like a real roti canai. Yes, better than not having roti canai at all. And the curry is a home made curry. Imagine eating roti canai with coffee while watching TV3 news from TV3 website. You don't feel being away from home that much.
And lastly, this is the picture of my lunch (almost everyday). In French universities, students food are subsidized. If a professor eats for 5Euro, student just pay 3Euro, for the same food. But you must always show the student card at the cashier. Especially me because my white hair shows that I am like one of the professors. Another thing is that the food is very healthy because its all boiled, no salt, no spices, no meat (of course because its not halal). I had fish everyday. The white piece in the plate there together with the veges is the fish in white sauce. An Arab friend told me, I've got to be careful with the sauce too coz sometimes it contains wine.
Looks delicious, isn't it.
Accounting Links #1
I am currently following this tutorial : Accounting Tutorial by Malcolm E White, middlecity.com Fun stuff. Well, I guess if you are computer literate, you can pick up accounting fast. After all, almost all current accounting practice makes use of computers.
Other links:
(1) Accounting: A Career Without Boundaries
(2) Text Book: Financial & Managerial Accounting: The Basis for Business Decisions, 14/e
Prinsip Perakaunan SPM (Post #3) : Tingkatan Lima
And, this is on the contents for form 5, from http://www.sabah.edu.my/csm07003/umum/subjek-spt5.htm
The contents of which I copied below:
1. Akaun Kawalan
1.1 Tujuan Akaun Kawalan
1.2 Sumber Rujukan Akaun Kawalan
1.3 Akaun Kawalan Penghutang dan Akaun Kawalan Pemiutang
1.4 Catatan Kontra
2. Pembetulan Kesilapan
2.1 Kesilapan Ketara dalam Imbangan Duga
2.2 Kesilapan Tidak Ketara dalam Imbangan Duga
2.3 Cara Mengesan Kesilapan
2.4 Cara Membetul Kesilapan Sebelum Akaun Penamat Melalui Jurnal dan Lejar
3. Perakaunan Untuk Tunai
3.1 Kawalan Tunai
3.2 Penyata Penyesuaian Bank
3.3 Belanjawan Tunai
4. Perkongsian
4.1 Perniagaan Perkongsian
4.2 Ekuiti Pemilik
4.3 Akaun Penamat
(a) Akaun Perdagangan dan Akaun Untung Rugi
(b) Akaun Pengasingan Untung Rugi
4.4 Kunci Kira-kira
4.5 Pembubaran Perkongsian
5. Syarikat Berhad
5.1 Syarikat Berhad
5.2 Modal
5.3 Saham
5.4 Ekuiti Pemilik dalam Kunci Kira-kira
6. Akaun Kelab Dan Persatuan
6.1 Kelab dan Persatuan
6.2 Akaun Yuran
6.3 Akaun Penerimaan dan Pembayaran
6.4 Akaun Penerimaan dan Perbelanjaan
6.5 Kunci Kira-kira
7. Rekod Tak Lengkap
7.1 Rekod Tak_Lengkap
7.2 Penentuan Pendapatan
7.3 Kunci Kira-kira
8. Pengenalan Kepada Perakaunan Kos
8.1 Konsep Kos
8.2 Elemen dan Kos Pengeluaran
8.3 Akaun Pengeluaran
8.4 Analisis Kos Volum Untung
9. Tafsiran Penyataan Kewangan
9.1 Analisis Nisbah
9.2 Mentafsir Nisbah
10. Penggunaan Komputer Dalam Perakaunan
10.1 Penggunaan Perisian Komputer
Prinsip Perakaunan SPM (Post #2) : Tingkatan Empat
This is from http://www.sabah.edu.my/csm07003/umum/subjek-spt4.htm on the contents for form 4. The contents of which I copied below:
1. Pengenalan
1.1 Sejarah Perakaunan Secara Ringkas
1.2 Simpan Kira Dan Perakaunan
1.3 Bentuk-Bentuk Organisasi Perniagaan
1.4 Konsep Dan Prinsip Perakaunan Yang Asas
1.5 Kitaran Perakaunan
2. Aset, Liabiliti Dan Ekuiti Pemilik, Hasil Dan Belanja
2.1 Pengertian Dan Pengelasan Hasil, Belanja, Aset, Liabiliti Dan Ekuiti Pemilik
2.2 Penyediaan Kepada Penyata Kewangan (Tanpa Pelarasan)
2.3 Persamaan Perakaunan
3. Dokumen Perniagaan Sebagai Sumber Rekod Perakaunan
3.1 Pengenalan Dokumen Sebagai Sumber Maklumat
3.2 Aliran Dokumen Antara Pembeli Dengan Penjual
3.3 Diskaun Niaga
4. Buku Catatan Pertama
4.1 Jurnal
4.2 Buku Tunai
4.3 Buku Tunai Runcit
5. Lejar
5.1 Merekodkan Ke Dalam Lejar
5.2 Mengimbang Dan Menutup Akaun
5.3 Folio
5.4 Pembahagian Lejar
6. Imbangan Duga
6.1 Fungsi Dan Pengehadan
6.2 Penyediaan Imbangan Duga
7. Penutupan Akaun Dan Penyediaan Penyata Kewangan Milikan Tunggal
7.1 Pelarasan Pada Tarikh Imbangan.
7.2 Akaun Pendapatan Dan Akaun Untung Rugi (Dengan Pelarasan)
7.3 Kunci Kira-Kira
7.4 Lembaran Kerja
8. Penggunaan Komputer Dalam Perakaunan
8.1 Komputer Dalam Perakaunan
8.2 Penggunaan Perisian Komputer
Prinsip Akaun SPM (post #1)
Assalamualaikum,
Afiq is now in form 4 at Maahad Hamidiah. He is taking Prinsip Akaun, instead of Biology. I hope by doing that he will have some basics in accounting and hopefully gain some insight into managing accounts (money?) and business. I really hope he can be someone who will some day make it into business, even though he often mentioned that he wants to be a Pilot. May be he can open up a flight training business or be another Fernandez (Afiq Fernandez) with his new airline "Air Bangi".
Anyway, I am also trying to acquaint myself with the subject matter Prinsip Akaun (Principles of accounting), in case I need to use some of the knowledge to talk at the same tune with Afiq later about his SPM subjects. I have no basics whatsoever in accounting, I must admit. While searching at Google for "Prinsip Perakaunan SPM", I found this blog by Rithuan Nasir, a Prinsip Akaun teacher in Sabah. http://sifu2b.wordpress.com/.
I am going to write something about the subject in this blog as we go on. It is for my own knowledge first, then hopefully for anybody else who wants to benefit from it, Afiq first in particular. First, this is the important thing that I found about the SPM paper "Prinsip Perakaunan" : The paper comprises of 2 papers - Kertas 1 (40 multiple questions) and Kertas 2 (2 sections, answer 4 in section A and 1 from section B).
Elections Fever
Assalamualaikum everyone,
To continue in the line of politics and elections .... Yes, in the past few months and in this coming year, we had and will witness a number of elections and change of governments - End of last year, in Australia, the opposition Labour party won and Kevin Rudd brought Labour back to power after 11 years under Liberal while in Kenya the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was reelected even though the opposition leader Raila Odinga was leading all the way. In Australia, transition of power went so well. The defeated outgoing PM wished the new PM well. In Kenya, hundreds of life lost because the supporters of both sides clashed and the clashes are still going on.
Now in 2008, we are going to have an election soon in Malaysia and America will have their Presidential election in November. I had the opportunity to follow the American Democratic debate at http://youdecide2008.com . I followed the debate between the last two: Obama and Clinton. I admired on the fact that even within the same party, they argued publicly, stating their stand and position on issues. In preparing for all those debates (17 so far) they had surely made all their research, thinking and calculations and plans. I watched the whole 90 minutes debate. I have never done this before. And it gives me clear idea of issues in the American election (OK, just from Democrats perpective). And that election is going to be in November....... The Americans still have another 10 months to understand issues and make up their mind.
Now, back to Malaysia, I wonder if I am clear of the real issues. All I watched on TV (yes I do watch recorded TV3 Buletin Utama everyday without miss) are good stuffs that the governments are doing - all the development corridors being started. How I wish (yes we wished for so long) that we will have this kind of debate on Malaysian TV.... we sure will have a better idea on the issues. So much for the evil America with their evil, yet open to criticism, what about us in an Islamic country. Is it too bad an idea to debate? How I wish for people to have a positive thinking about change in government. Its been 50 years of the same side. There is nothing wrong, in fact it is good to grab the mess in the government now, clean it up. I am not saying I am supporting any side. I just would like to see a change in government in Malaysia because we have never experienced it.
By the way I might be able to vote if the election is in middle of March.
Another Musing, Another Update
This post was written long time ago but was just published today (29April 2008)
To those who follow my blog, here's a small update. Since the last post, many things happened. I achieved some good progress in my work though not as much as I like it to be. Arifah had an accident but passed her exams just weeks later. Afifah will start her driving lesson soon in February. Afiq is happy in his Science + Accounting Principles class at Maahad. And Atiqah is enjoying her final year in primary. My wife is too busy with her work to have time to update her blog :). And hey, I am going back for 2+ weeks in March. Enough time to hopefully "celebrate" Afifah's good SPM result and help her with the next step.
I did not meet the target for the 31st January for the paper to ICFHR2008 in Montreal, but was saved because the due date is now moved to 15th February. I have the 2nd part of my C/C++ code yet to finish before simulations can be done and results can be obtained to send the paper. With the linking problems that bogged me down for a few days solved, I can now move forward to completing it. Arifah had a car accident about a week into January 2008. There is a story about it that makes me feel grateful and thankful to Allah. She had an accident on a Sunday night end of the first week of January. She was in an UNSER with another 6 girls from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur. At Gambang, the car (or van?) skidded and crashed (I did not get the detail here). 3 girls in the middle row of the UNSER was injured.
To know mercy we must be merciful, to know justice we must be just. Like if you explain to someone about swimming they will not get it until they have swam and swallowed waters. And so we will never know God until we have experienced what it is to be merciful, just, compassionate, etc.
Nantes: Since November 2007 (Until October 2008)
Nantes, here I come again. Last I was here - April to June 2005. I was with Bilal the French Muslim, then. Since then, many things happened. Yet, I haven't finish my PhD or rather I did not work much on my PhD. Partly busy, partly to do with motivation. Doing it part time is taxing on the spirit. More so for a man over half the age (separuh umur, in Malay). So, I had to find ways to come to this solitude in Nantes for my concentration.
2 Months already since early November, I am here. I tried to look at my accomplishments so far. I came with a set target. To complete the first draft thesis by latest June 2008. Giving 3 months for the final version, that will be September and 1 month for viva preparation here in October. Then by November I should be back. In between I should send a paper to ICWHR2008 in Montreal Canada and if possible write to one journal or a book chapter. So, what's acoomplished ?- none of those yet, but the paper in Montreal looks still possible.
Aside from that, by being here, other things were also accomplished. For one, Afiq came and stayed with me for a solid month. An eye opener and a very good experience for him. He made friends with some youngsters like him or older: French, Arabs (Algerian, Tunisian, Syrian, Moroccan), Malaysian students in France and Singaporean. He experienced cold winter. We went to England too to look at past historical places he lived through but not remembering anything because he was just 2. We also went to Manchester, played ski in the Alps and visited places in Italy like Milan, Venice, Pisa, Florence and Rome besides Nantes, Le Mans, Annecy, Chamonix and Paris in France. I couldn't afford those trips (by car) if we were to come from Malaysia.
I've been reading more too, these days. Not just the usual technical stuff - Pattern recognition, data mining, support vector machines, but French culture; novels and philosophy, besides my favourite sufi books. I am glad too, that though being here I can still guide Afifah on her choices of after SPM decisions and on her driving lessons and discuss with Arifah on Islamic and also shall I say philosophical issues. Thanks to the modern and free VOIP communication. Issues in Malaysia also were not neglected, more so when election is just around the corner. Though I will miss the voting, I will not miss the atmosphere.
Here are my book list as for now. The first two, by Stephen Clarke, I finished during last Christmas Holiday. The other three, will be read in the free time in no particular order. I also bought a French book on the Biography of Nicolas Sarkozy, the President.
CIRED 2007 20-24 may 2007 in Vienna Austria
I've got my paper for CIRED2007 accepted. Very high probability that I will be there to present it. CIRED2007 - "The leading forum where the international electricity distribution community meets" will be held in Vienna. I planned to spend sometime going back to France or visit Ali in Netherland when I attend that conference. I found out that this site, (http://www.elkhazen.org/vienna/) meant for expat moving to vienna is good for visitors too.
Eidul Fitri October 2006
The Celebration of Eidul Fitri this year was on Tuesday 24th October. Our family went back to Kuantan on the day before, via Mantin, Kuala Klawang and Bandar Muadzam Shah. Eid parayer was performed at Masjid Sultan Ahmad Shah Kuantan. In the evening of the Eid, tahlil for the Arwah of my late father in law was done. We met only my sister and laws: Azlinda, Azliah and family, Azlina and husband and brother in laws: Azhan and family and abang Lan and family. Another brother in law Dr. Azman, and sister in law Azliza and family went back to their respective spouses families in Yan and Alor Setar, Kedah.
(Siblings of my wife in the order: Azlan, Azlina, Azman, Azian (my wife), Azlinda, Azhan, Azliah and Azliza).
We went back to Bangi on Thursday noon, via the same route, stopping at Serting and via Broga and Semenyih, in front of the University of Nottingham. Started my 6 days Shawal fasting on Friday but took a break on Sunday because of Azliza's invitation and the travel to Kuala Lipis for sending my 2nd daughter Afifah back to MRSM Kuala Lipis. Then from Monday straight to Thursday and celebrated the 2nd Eid on Friday.
This year, we are not going back to my hometown for Eidulfitr. First reason is that both my parents already passed away. 2nd, its quite costly to travel to two different places.
Past week review.
On Sunday, I attended the gathering in Masjid Wilayah... More on this, if I have time... In the evening, my wife went off for her "Persidangan Pegawai Kanan" of her organization, representing her boss. Location : Miri, Sarawak. She was away from Sunday until yesterday (Thursday). One nice thing happened to her while on the flight there. I sent her to the airport but quite late. We were practically rushing to the airport in our 4 year old green Wira. Arrived half an hour before flight time. I left the airport after dropping her and got a call 3 minutes after that the check-in for Miri flight was closed. I was worried and tried to turn back to the airport. I stopped at the Petronas station to fill up before going back to the airport to accompany her in case she got to wait for the next flight, and then I got a call from her in a happy voice "I am flying first class". Apparently, she was give the first class seat because MAS have sold her economy class to standby passenger. I told her, next time we should do it again, so that she can always fly first class with economy class ticket.:)
Tuesday night, while being "single", I've got an invitation by Sidi Halim for a night of Zikr in Kelang. I was told by him that we are going to meet our Naqshabadi brothers, a brother from Acheh and an ulama from Terengganu. Location : Kampung Sementa, on the way to Kuala Selangor, close to Kapar in Kelang. On our side, Darqawi brothers, there are some 10 people, from Bangi, Kelang and Shah Alam. We arrived after the time of Isha but the jamaah waited for us to perform Isha together. After Isha, we were honored to lead in reciting Darqawi Wird followed with a few songs of the Diwan of Shaykh Muhamad Ibn AlHabib. Then Sidi Shamsuddin gave his discourse on some aspects of the Sadhili Darqawi. I also met Brother Azmil Mustafa (the actor) in the gathering. I met him also during the Sunday gathering at the Wilayah mosque.
The 7-Habits Revisited
Steven Covey formulate (if I can use the word) the 7 habits of highly effective people as follows:
1. Be Proactive
2. Begin With The End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek First To Understand
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen The Saw
And the 8th habit:
... From Effectiveness to Greatness
Reflection
In the past 2 weeks, many things happened. Some really made me unnecessarily exhausted. Some made me reflect upon myself that I am a mortal imperfect human. I learned that I cannot expect people to have the ideal that I imagined, for I am me and he is him or she is her. Everyone have their own pride and belief about themselves. The story of Rashomon by Kuroshawa (for a link to the film: 1 and 2 ) narrated by SAQ in his talk, sank deep into my realization. There are all the sides to the conflict and the the side of the truth.
Sabah trip cut short
Wednesday morning, flew to KK, knowing quite well that I might have to fly back early, because, Atiqah (10) and Arifah the eldest are having dengue symptoms. By Thursday night I was already back in Bangi Azzaharah hospital. Atiqah's platelets dropped further.
Second day into the semester
Yesterday was my first class for Operating Systems Concepts. The course web site was nearly completed and have been used extensively for introducing the subject matter. Today, I replaced Bahram for the 12pm class. I've got mine at 10am as well as 4pm. Web based teaching surely simplify class preparation and presentation. Besides I will also be using internet classroom at
Wednesday to Friday will be spent in Kota Kinabalu. A project progress meeting and extensive data collection to be done at Sabah Electricity.
Onthe Path to Success
In the star today (1st July 2006), under Metro classifieds, there is an article entitled "On the Path to Success". Dr. Billy Kueek (I wonder how to pronounce it) was commenting on the profile of high performers. He writes that high performers share the following traits:
(1) Positive attitude and mindset
(2) Extraordinary work ethic and personal traits
(3) Excellent skills set
(4) 360 on-the-job knowledge
Half year Resolution
Today, in anticipation of the opening of UNITEN new academic semester, I am planning a half year resolution. I have thought about it for sometimes but now I'm just gonna put it into writing. It goes without saying that the most important priority is to strive to be a better person - in the family and professionally. Leaving family matters to another (private) discussion; there are a few things professionally that I would like to achieve. Number one is to wrap up my PhD work. Second, is to very positively contribute towards my consultancy project with TNBR and SESB. In the past years of the PhD work I come to realise that there are mistakes that I should have avoided. I partly blame myself for the delay in submission but other factors like my sponsoring organisation, the supervisors and the surroundings are also important. Having said that, my new half year resolution is to target to finish the coding and experiments in 4 months (July until October) and then finish the write up (which is 80% done) in the last 2 months of the year. The good thing about doing PhD part-time is that I do not have to worry about tight time frame, but the danger is the possibility of being carried away from study by other works. I admit it is very difficult to divide the time fairly.
I hope by stating this target openly I will be more disciplined to do the right thing toward achieving the main target, without ignoring "too much" of the other minor targets. Oh yes, I have to do teaching too. However, quite luckily, I am now teaching a subject which is very familar and does not require heavy preparation.
Thus, as promised, I have said something now about my short term plan. I will spend sometime writing about my long term plan later.
I'm back !!
Today marks my return to the long left abdrahim.blogspot.com. You've gotta believe it. It is exactly one year since I last put an article here.
Even then, it was not my own writing. Just cut and paste articles about Brother Abu Bakar Sirajuddin. I thought this time I need to write my own. Not that I have ample time to waste, but I have come to believe that writing makes you a better person. Writing makes you aware of your surroundings and writing is a way to express your self. It will make you a better person. People will know what you are thinking (of course provided that you write honestly about what you have in your mind). I have seen many good writings - by the old timer and by young minds. I admired a few - for now, they are by Ayumi of the Mirkwood, Asmawi, and DrRoza (On Xanga or Blogger) and of course by my daughters (and wife too - in the future).
Well, here is my writing plan (like all engineers/scientist - always in point form):
(1) My short term vision - what I should be doing and what I am doing.
(2) My long term vision - what I aspire to be doing in years (1, 2 or more years)
(3) What I think about my life.
(4) My observations of things and happenings, current, past and future.
(5) May be some ramblings about my best known subject (you'll see later).
Till then.
A Shaykh dies
Australian National Forum
A Shaykh dies
By Irfan Yusuf - posted Thursday, June 16, 2005
May 12 was a sad day for Muslims. Across the world, Muslims mourned the passing of one of the greatest scholars of classical Islam. This shaykh, known to his Muslim readership as Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din, wrote one of the definitive books on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. He also wrote 11 other books, including one with the defiant title of Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions.
I remember first hearing about Shaykh Abu Bakr. One of my father’s good friends mentioned the shaykh and praised his biographical work on the prophet. Some years later, I bought a set of 20 tapes of lectures by an American Imam named Hamza Yusuf. The lectures were based on a study of the shaykh’s biographical work.
I joined millions of Muslims around the world in mourning the death of Shaykh Abu Bakr. Yet hardly any western newspaper mentioned his passing. It was as if the event went unnoticed. Britain’s left-leaning The Guardian newspaper did publish a short obituary. Much of the material for this article has been taken from that obituary, written by British author Gai Eaton.
I am not aware of any other western newspaper which mentioned his passing.
So who was this mysterious shaykh that most Muslims have heard of and most non-Muslims seem to ignore? Was this Shaykh Abu Bakr the leader of a terrorist outfit from Indonesia or Iraq? Was he a nasty beedy-eyed chap of Middle Eastern appearance who gave speeches in rolling Arabic?
Shaykh Abu Bakr was born on January 24, 1909. He was born in a place called Burnage in Lancashire. His parents christened him "Martin". His family name was Lings. Out of respect for the deceased and those who mourn him, I will refer to him simply as “the Shaykh” (the term Shaykh is commonly used as a title for spiritual elders).
The Shaykh spent his early years in the United States. Later, he returned to England where he attended Clifton College, Bristol. He was head prefect at this exclusive English private school (or public school for any UK readers).
The Shaykh’s tertiary studies commenced at Magdalen College, Oxford. He studied English, and became a close friend of the famous C.S.Lewis. In 1935, the Shaykh taught English courses in Lithuania.
In 1940, during the early years of World War II, the Shaykh travelled to Egypt to visit a friend who lectured in Cairo. As fate would have it, the Shaykh’s friend died in a motor accident, and the Shaykh was offered the teaching post. He stayed in Egypt until the early 1950s.
At this time, Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power and whipped up nationalist frenzy among young Egyptian students. Three of the Shaykh’s colleagues were killed. The Shaykh and his other colleagues of British origin were summarily dismissed. After 17 years of living in a village at the foot of the Pyramids, the Shaykh and his wife, Lesley Smalley, returned to England.
The post-war period was one of economic downturn for England and the rest of Europe. Work was hard to come by, and the Shaykh was forced to resume his studies. He followed up his BA in Arabic studies with a PhD thesis on the life of Algerian Sufi Ahmed al-Alawi. His wife, a physiotherapist, returned to work.
In 1954, the Shaykh found employment at the British Museum as assistant keeper of Oriental printed books and manuscripts. He held this position for about three decades, and the quiet reclusive work situation allowed the Shaykh to enter his most productive period of writing.
In 1983, the Shaykh published his best-known work. Muhammad: His Life Based On the Earliest Sources is regarded as a masterpiece of English and Islamic scholarship. Millions of copies have been sold across the world, and a copy can be found in just about any Muslim household where English is spoken.
Apart from writing and reading, the Shaykh was an avid gardener. His home in Kent was a place where plants and flowers from across the world bloomed. The Shaykh was also passionate about Shakespeare, carrying on a passion he had developed while teaching in Egypt, where his students under his direction would perform a Shakespeare play each year. During the mid-90s the Shaykh wrote a book on the spiritual side of Shakespeare’s work.
Shaykh Martin’s books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. The UK-based newspaper, The Independent, described Shaykh Martin as “One of the most eloquent and serene Western voices in the Islamic world”. The British Muslim magazine Q-News carries on its website photos of the Shaykh delivering a series of lectures on Shakespeare and Islam in November 2004 at the Globe Theatre, the place where Shakespeare first made a name for himself.
Some readers will find it strange that Muslims would mourn the passing of someone who, by all accounts, might be considered little more than just another eccentric English academic. Yet the fact remains that Western and European scholarship forms an essential part of the corpus of Islamic discourse. When Muslims think of travel writing, two names immediately come to mind. One is Michael Wolfe, the other William Dalrymple. Only one is known to be a Muslim.
The Imam Hamza Yusuf Hanson is an American Muslim of Greek heritage. Another Greek Muslim of British heritage, Yusuf Islam, has made an outstanding contribution to Islamic musical expression, just as he did when he was known as Cat Stevens. He has teamed up with musicians, Muslim and non-Muslim, from such far away places as Turkey, South Africa and Malaysia.
In the fields of spirituality (tasawwuf) and legal sciences (fiqh), it would be impossible to speak of 20th century developments without mentioning the name of an American by the name of Nuh Ha Mim Keller. And in Australia, the only published textbook on Islamic law has been written by Jamila Hussain, an Anglo-Australian Muslim teacher at the University of Technology, Sydney.
All of these writers, scholars and artists, including Shaykh Martin Lings, are proof that the modern Muslim mind has allowed itself to be open to influences from all cultures. As the prophet himself is quoted as saying: "Knowledge is the lost property of the believer. Let him take possession of it regardless of where it is found".
Muslims respected Martin Lings, notwithstanding the humiliation he received at the hands of a popular Muslim political figure like Gamal Abdel Nasser. The passing of a scion of British aristocracy, a former head student at an English public school, a Shakespearean scholar and an avid gardener brought together Muslims to pray for his soul in mosques and homes across the world, from Sarajevo to Sydney and from Oslo to Cape Town. May God bless and honour Shaykh Martin with the highest station of paradise. May God provide comfort to the Shaykh's family and loved ones and to the millions of Muslims who mourn his passing.
Obituary - Martin Lings: a Traditional life (1909 – 2005)
The Muslim News
PO Box 380, Harrow, Middlesex HA2 6LL, United Kingdom
Few among those who attended Martin Lings’ final flurry of public appearances in the last year of his life are likely to forget the experience. Lings was invited to give a keynote address at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. The topic was one, which had long been a passion for Lings: the relationship of Shakespeare to Islam. For 90 minutes, the 96-year-old English-Muslim historian of Islam, teacher of Sufism and defender of Traditional values, stood erect as a ramrod, his shock of hair barely visible from the top of the lectern, which he gripped firmly with both hands. A chair was offered, but he only chose to sit down once the lecture was over. The audience, a mix of old (and predominantly) young, listened in reverential silence. We seemed to understand, in a knowing sort of way, that this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime occasions: one of the last public acts of a seminal figure in the history of modern British Islam.
Lings didn’t have long to live, and died on May 12, 2005.
Martin Lings was born in Lancashire in January 1909, the first decade of the new century. He was privately educated at Clifton College in Bristol and took a BA in English Literature at the University of Oxford in 1932. England clearly did not hold much attraction for Lings, and he stepped into the well-worn shoes of many intellectuals, explorers and journalists of his day by opting for a life in the East.
With a degree in hand, Lings left first for Lithuania, where he taught English until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and then for Egypt. A visit to Egypt in 1940 led to a chance teaching job at the University of Cairo where he stayed until 1951.
Lings’ time in Egypt was cut short by the collapse of the monarchy, the ascent of Gamal Abdul Nasser, and an upsurge in anti-British feeling in the capital, which culminated in riots. Lings, along with many other long-stay residents of Cairo from Britain, headed for home. He was lucky to have escaped with his life, however, as some of his English colleagues at the university had been killed.
Back in Britain, Lings was at something of a loose end. He hadn’t expected to return to the country of his birth and his experience teaching English abroad did not qualify him for a university post back home. There was only one other course of action: with his wife Lesley Smalley back at work, Lings enrolled at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London where he studied Arabic, eventually obtaining his PhD in 1959.
With his university days behind him, Lings joined the staff of the British Museum in London, and eventually took charge of the museum’s Oriental manuscripts section, a heaven-sent post, which he held until his retirement from the museum in 1973, and which proved to be a perfect setting for the life of scholarship that was to come.
Lings had converted to Islam much earlier in 1938 (he adopted the name Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din) and Cairo proved to be an ideal setting for the new Muslim. The city is where he developed his links with the Shadiliyya order of Sufism, within which he would eventually become a Shaykh, or spiritual guide, in his own right. And it was in Cairo that Lings developed a close friendship with the French-born Muslim, René Guénon, whose influence would guide Lings until the end, and which forged in Lings a lifelong commitment to the principles of what is called Traditionalism, or Perennialist philosophy.
One definition of Traditionalism is that it embodies the timelessness of traditional knowledge, as exemplified in books of revelation such as the Qur’an.1 Guénon, who died in Cairo in 1951, was among the first thinkers of the 20th century, to articulate a Traditionalist philosophy that opposed the modern world – particularly the idea that new knowledge, or scientific research and development, can lead to progress in any real, meaningful, or spiritual sense. He was also opposed to contemporary European civilization, as had originated in the Renaissance. Guénon converted to Islam and moved to Cairo in 1930, where he joined the Shadiliyya Sufis and adopted the name, Abdel Wahed Yahya.
Lings remained close to Guénon until the latter’s death, after which Lings became a disciple of one of Guénon’s contemporaries, a German Traditionalist called Fritjof Schuon, who had also converted to Islam around the same time as Guénon in 1930. Schuon’s own Sufi teacher was an Algerian scholar, Ahmad Al Alawi, whose life was the subject of Lings’ PhD thesis at SOAS in London.
Prominent Traditionalist Muslims of today include the London-based writer and former diplomat, Charles Le Gai Eaton, author of Islam and the Destiny of Man2 and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an historian of science of considerable standing, based at Georgetown University in the United States and author of many books, including A Young Muslim’s Guide to the Modern World3.
In addition to their opposition to material progress and new forms of knowledge, many Traditionalists are also sceptical of democratic systems of government, on the grounds that the ‘traditional way’ is for people to put their trust in the most pious leader among them. The role of such a leader (among other things) is to guard societies against change. This idea remains a part of the governance systems of many traditional societies around the world today and is also one component of Sufism. Lings was a supporter of this idea, which he described as “principled autocracy”.
For Traditionalists, the best societies are the earliest societies, such as Arabia in the time of the Prophet. Lings himself wrote: “The initial Islamic community in Mecca and Medina at the time of the Prophet, in its outward aspects, was the perfection of primordial simplicity.” Moreover, Traditionalists regard the modern age as something of an aberration in world history because all previous civilizations in their eyes have embodied Traditionalism to some extent.
In his book, The Eleventh Hour: The Spiritual Crisis in the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy4, Lings wrote: “When in the past a Traditional civilization collapsed, it was replaced, sooner or later, by another traditional civilization. There was no modern civilization waiting in ambush to take it over. The present state of affairs has no parallel in the history of the world.”
This is partly why, in last few decades of his life, Lings, along with many Traditionalists, had come to the conclusion that the world, as we know it, was in its final hour. This is the main message of his book The Eleventh Hour.
For the influential thinker that he was, Lings remained to the end of his life, a very private man. His opinions beyond a narrow set of issues, and his achievements, were not meant for consumption by the wider public, and were reserved instead for a small group of close friends and disciples. Lings never wrote for the mass media; nor did he write about his conversion to Islam (as many other Western Muslim converts have done, such as Muhammad Asad and Wilfried Murad Hoffman). Moreover, there is no known biography.
But that is not to say that Lings was indifferent to public audiences; he clearly wasn’t, a fact that can be gleaned from his desire to teach for many years and his willingness to give public lectures well into his 90s – he travelled to Dubai, Egypt, Malaysia and Pakistan, as well as speaking engagements in the UK, during the last year of his life.
However, Lings the public figure, did not properly emerge until the late 1980s with the publication of a best-selling account of the life of the Prophet, written in English. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources5 had the overnight effect of parachuting the Prophet into countless English-speaking Muslim homes all over the world. Before Lings’ book, the only other authentic biography of the Prophet in English was a 25-year-old (and heavy-going) English translation of a classical Arabic text called Sirat Rasul-Allah6.
An account of the Prophet’s life, told as a narrative story, could arguably only have been written by someone from Sunni Islam’s Traditionalist wing. Throughout his life, Lings’ dream was to breath the clean air of the Prophet’s Makkah; to drink the purest water from the original well of ZamZam; to walk the dusty streets; and to pray in the earliest mosques. This is how society for Lings should always have remained, and in that sense, his descriptions of the Prophet’s life had the effect of planting his readers in a time-machine, with fingers firmly pressed against the rewind button - and with the added advantage of having Lings guide them though the sights, smells, joys and tensions of Islam’s first 23 years.
Last year, Lings returned to the subject of early Arabia in one of his last published books, a short monograph called: Mecca: From Before Genesis Until Now7. The book is a short history of the city, the Ka’bah and the Hajj, as told in Lings’ inimitable style. But it also includes three valuable pages of notes from his own Hajj, which he performed with his wife in 1948, together with a rare black and white photograph from that event.
Lings’ legacy of published works is considerable and also includes books on calligraphy, Shakespeare, Sufism, art and poetry. However, his unpublished legacy is probably even greater, and likely to be the subject of much historical research in the years to come.
Among this legacy will be Lings’ contribution to the development of British (or European) Islamic ideas – even though Lings himself did not regard himself as a British or European Muslim in the sense that this phrase is used today. A major part of this legacy will be his dogged defence of Traditionalist ideas, which put him at the vanguard of Traditional Islam, which is currently feeling under threat from the ideas of those who want to reform the practice of the faith, such as Abdol Karim Soroush, Ziauddin Sardar and Tariq Ramadan.
Lings’ 90-minute lecture at Shakespeare’s Globe in November 2004, was introduced by Hamza Yusuf Hanson. Hanson, who is a master at working an audience, seemed unusually overwhelmed by both the occasion and the responsibility. Perhaps Hanson recognised what we in the audience could only guess: that Lings was passing the torch to him and to others, so they could continue to carry the Traditionalist legacy to new generations of Muslims for many decades to come.
Ehsan Masood
Ehsan Masood writes on science and technology in developing countries for Nature and New Scientist
References:
1 Journeys East: Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions; Harry Oldmeadow; World Wisdom Perennial Philosophy Series (2004)
2 Islam and the Destiny of Man; Charles Le Gai Eaton; Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge (1994)
3 A Young Muslim’s Guide to the Modern World; Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge (2004)
4 The Eleventh Hour: the Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Prophecy and Tradition; Martin Lings; Archetype, Cambridge (2002)
5 Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources; Martin Lings; George Allen and Unwin, London (1983)
6 The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah; Alfred Guillaume; Oxford University Press, Oxford (1967)
7 Mecca: From Before Genesis Until Now; Martin Lings; Archetype, Cambridge (2004)
Martin Lings : Islamic scholar concerned with spiritual crisis
Martin Lings
Islamic scholar concerned with spiritual crisis
Gai Eaton
Friday May 27, 2005
The Guardian
Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din), who has died aged 96, was a public-school educated Englishman who converted to Islam, spent many years as keeper of oriental manuscripts and printed books at the British Museum, and is best known as the author of a life of Muhammad. Only 10 days before his death, he addressed an audience of 3,000 at the Wembley conference centre on the occasion of the prophet's birthday; earlier this year, he travelled to Egypt, Dubai, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Article continues
Lings was born in Burnage, Lancashire, but spent his early childhood in the United States, where his father's work had taken him. On his return to England, he went to Clifton College, Bristol, where he became head boy, and read English at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he became a close friend of CS Lewis. In 1935, he went to Lithuania to lecture on Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.
He travelled to Egypt in 1940, originally to visit a friend who was lecturing at Cairo University. During the visit, his friend died in a riding accident and Lings was offered the post. It was at about this time that he converted to Islam, and was soon imbued with the Sufi dimension of the religion. He found the critique of modern civilisation by the French Muslim writer, René Guénon, particularly convincing and shared his "universalism", within the context of Islam.
In 1944, Lings married Lesley Smalley, and their home in a village at the foot of the pyramids provided a refuge for both Egyptian and foreign visitors. The highlight of the year was Lings's annual production of a Shakespeare play. His passion inspired the student cast, one of whom became an Egyptian film star. His understanding of Shakespeare's spiritual significance led, 40 years later, to his book, The Secret Of Shakespeare: His Greatest Plays Seen In The Light Of Sacred Art.
Lings might have been content to remain in Egypt for the rest of his life, but political events intervened. Abdul Nasser's nationalist revolution was preceded by savage anti-British riots, in which three of Lings's colleagues were killed, and the British university staff were dismissed without recompense.
Back in London in 1952, and without a job, Lings decided to study, while Lesley, a physiotherapist, went back to work. After taking a BA in Arabic studies, he received his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) for a thesis on the great Algerian Sufi, Ahmad al-Alawi. This was the basis for one of his most influential books, A Sufi Saint Of The Twentieth Century, recognised as a unique view of Islamic spirituality seen from within.
In 1955, he joined the staff of the British Museum as assistant keeper of oriental printed books and manuscripts; he was keeper from 1970 to 1973, when he was seconded to the British Library. This work focused his interest in Qur'anic calligraphy and he published a classic work on the subject, The Qur'anic Art Of Calligraphy And Illumination, to coincide with the 1976 World of Islam Festival, with which he was closely involved.
From then on, he wrote constantly. For Muslims, his masterpiece was Muhammad: His Life Based On The Earliest Sources (1983), for which he was decorated by Zia al-Haq, then president of Pakistan.
Among his 12 books was The Eleventh Hour (1987), a profound study of the spiritual crisis of the mod- ern world, for which he had prepared the ground with Ancient Beliefs And Modern Superstitions (1965), and What Is Sufism? (1975), a corrective to many mis- understandings about this aspect of Islam. Symbol And Archetype: A Study Of The Meaning Of Existence (1991) demonstrated his grasp of traditional symbolism.
His interest in the symbolism of colours found expression in his talent for gardening. From his home in Kent, he would search far and wide for a particular specimen, seeking, for example, a shade of blue that perfectly reflected the perfection of heaven.
Lings remained serene, tolerant and patient to the end. His wife survives him.
· Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din), Islamic scholar, born January 24 1909; died May 12 2005
Martin Lings' biography of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).
This link contains some discussion on ML book.
Links to Forum on the book by Martin Lings
Martin Lings in memory by Dr. Mazeni Alwi
(This article which Mazeni wrote in Malaysiakini.com, was sent to me by him, thanks)
Link to the original Article
His most widely read book sits very conspicuously on the shelves of many a muslim home - its bright blue jacket against which are the white lettering of its title "Muhammad : His life based on the earliest sources". When news of his passing circulated in cyberspace recently, I learnt that Martin Lings' biography of the Prophet of Islam has touched the lives of quite a number of friends, whose frank admissions rode on the eulogy by a muslim from North America grateful that his life has been equally transformed.
The biography by Lings combines light scholarship and factual accuracy with what muslims traditionally expect of a narration of the Prophet's life - a degree of respect and reverence for his person. He does away with extensive bibliography and footnotes despite what the title suggests ("based on his earliest sources"), not for want of scholarship, for Martin Lings is more than capable of that, given his mastery of Arabic and for many years he was keeper of Arabic manuscripts in the British Museum and later the British Library. Instead he retells the familiar events of the Prophet's life in a narrative that is refreshingly simple but in such a beautiful language that the his humanity shone through. Many readers must have had teary-eyed moments when reading some of the passages that recounted the hardship and tribulations of his early Mecca years. Lings has filled a void for those western-educated muslims wishing to have a fresh start at understanding Muhammad, God's last messenger but who was also a loving husband and father, a loyal companion, a leader of his community, respected adversary and many more. Otherwise one would have to wade through Guillaume's translation of Ibn Ishaq's voluminous Life of Muhammad convoluted text and style.
When his biography of Prophet first appeared, I had not expected it to be a straightforward, traditional narration of his life, having read his earlier books A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century - Shaikh Ahmad Al-Alawi, his spiritual heritage and legacy (1961) and the 2 smaller books, What is Sufism (1975) and Ancient beliefs and Modern Superstitions (1965), and also his introduction to Titus Burckhardt's Letters of a Sufi Master the Shaykh ad-Darqawi (1969). Rather, given Lings' leaning towards Sufism, I thought it would be in a similar vein to Anne Marie Schimmel's And Muhammad is His Messenger - the veneration of the Prophet in Islamic piety (1985), weaving mystical symbolisms and interpretations into the biographical narration.
The story of Bahira the Christian Monk who thought that the young Muhammad bore the marks of the coming messenger, when as a 12 year old he (Muhammad) accompanying his uncle Abu Talib on a trade caravan to Syria, they stopped near the monk's cell, and the story of Isra' and Mi'raj, the Prophet's night journey to Jerusalem and his ascension to Heaven - both were narrated devoid of any references to mystical symbolisms.
Martin Lings, Titus Burckharft and Fritjof Schuon are notable figures who had gone beyond academic orientalism to steep themselves in the esoteric Islamic tradition of Sufism (Tasawwuf) - mastering the language, learning the texts and studying from the masters, to write eloquently as exponents of universal religious wisdom (religio perennis, a term coined later by Schuon) to guide the modern man in finding back his balance in this secular milieu of spiritual poverty. All of them lived long productive lives, especially Schuon and Lings. The latter was 95 when he recently died. All 3 of them had association with the Darqawi branch of the Shadzili Tariqa of North Africa and reformulated the metaphysics of the Spanish mystic Ibn Arabi in the modern idiom in their writings for the western educated audience.
Martin Lings and Firtjof Schuon were deeply influenced by René Guénon, the French mathematician and gnostic who was disillusioned with the west's loss of the spiritual dimension. He moved to Cairo in 1930 to steep himself in the muslim tradition. Guénon took the name of Abdul Wahid Yahya and lived as an orthodox muslim, was initiated into the Shadzili Tariqa and later wrote his influential books on the recovery of tradition as salvation for the modern man.
Lings first read Guénon's books in the early 30's and translated one of his earlier ones into English. He recommended his closest friend at Oxford, who was then lecturing at Cairo University to meet the very reclusive Guénon, and later became his assistant. As fate had it, taking a break from his lectureship in Lithuania, Lings went to visit his friend in Cairo in 1939 but unable to return because of the war. A year later his friend died in a riding accident and Lings had no option but to take his place as Guénon's assistant, and that was the start of his privileged relationship with him (meanwhile he also lectured at Cairo University on Shakespeare).
Guénon died in 1951 and Lings returned to England a year later where he took up a degree in Arabic at London University. Lings had been in special charge of Quran and other oriental manuscripts at the British Museum and British Library. Presumably it is from this background that he wrote A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century - Shaikh Ahmad Al-Alawi, his spiritual heritage and legacy, his other more readily available book. A Sufi Saint is largely adapted from his PhD thesis for the University of London, and therefore unlike his biography of the Prophet, it is written in a distinctly academic style with extensive footnotes and references to classical Islamic texts, prophetic traditions (hadith) and the Quran. It provides readers an interesting insight into one institution of traditional muslim society - the practice and influence of Sufism, its formal structure and hierarchal order of masters and disciples, its teachings and methods of spiritual self-realization. This is a useful book to gain a reasonable depth of understanding of Sufism and its various aspects through the examination of the life and works of a traditional master, who is perhaps among the last. I would like to dwell on this book in some detail as I feel it is more interesting than his other general work on Sufism and spirituality. With the title A Sufi Saint of the twentieth century, perhaps Lings would like to convey that such a tradition, though documented in our time, is something of an anachronism of the modern age, that it would soon be weakened or diluted by the encroaching modernity. Martin Lings gave an account of his subject, Shaikh Al-Alawi (Aliwah) who lived in Mostaganem, Western Algeria in the early part of the twentieth century when much of the muslim world was on the threshold of a rapid change from its encounter with the west through colonialism. This was also the period when the muslim world was supposed to be its darkest depth of ignorance, degeneration and decay. The French colonial power had the policy of separating the settler communities from the native algerians, minimizing contacts between the two and thus largely preserving the traditional muslim society and its institutions. He also provides a back drop of the social situation in the muslim world during that era - the rise of modernist muslims who uncritically wished to imitate the west, the puritanical muslim reformers who attacked Sufism as a corruption of the faith, and the agitation of the young Turks against the Caliphate which the Shaikh witnessed during his visit to Istanbul.
The first half of the book consists of a biographical account of Shaikh Al-Alawi's life drawn from a number of sources - a french doctor who befriended the Shaikh, his own dictation to his scribe, testimonies of his disciple and the work of a French writer Berque - who wrote about Shaikh Al-Alawi Un mystique Moderniste in the journal Revue Africaine in 1936 (the title is a strange one, Lings notes, Berque's quotations show that the Shaikh was essentially very conservative. His so-called 'modernism' appears to have been nothing other than the great breadth of his spiritual interests). Part 2 of the book deals with general aspects of Sufi metaphysics and mystical symbolisms with references from the Shaikh's works. It is interesting that Lings dedicated 2 chapters on the Shaikh's commentary on the ritual purification (wudhu) and the ritual prayer. This was taken from his book Al Minali Al Quddusiyyah, which was a commentary on Ibn Ashir's guide to the essentials of religious knowledge, a book which all novices had to learn by heart to ensure that they have basic grounding in the outward, obligatory rituals before embarking on the spiritual path. His commentary and explanation of the mystical symbolisms of these 2 basic everyday rituals are astounding, given that the Shaikh did not have a formal education in a religious seminary and that he started life as a cobbler. Even more so are his mystical poems and aphorisms translated by Lings which make up part 3 of the book.
If parts II and III are informative about Sufism's intellectual dimension and methods, Part I is highly interesting to the curious modern reader for it provides an account of an extraordinary life which perhaps could only have been possible in a traditional muslim environment. This is based first on the account of Dr. Marcel Carett, a French doctor who had an intimate friendship with the Shaikh from 1920 until his death in 1934. Dr. Carrett, unlike his compatriots, was curious to understand and interact with the arabs. He set up a clinic in the arab quarter of Mostaganem and charged minimal fees. Within a few months of his arrival from France he was requested to examine the Shaikh who was having a bout influenza, and thereafter began his friendship with him. At least once a week he would visit the Shaikh and the two would engage a in conversation over a wide range of things usually in the garden of his Zawiya (religious centre where the Sufis gathered). From Dr. Carrett's notes Lings gives us an account of the Shaikh's personality, habits, his disciples and the people around him and their rituals of dhikr (exercises in the remembrance of God). Of note is his first impression of Shaikh Al-Alawi's appearance whereby he was struck by his likeness to the usual representations of Christ, "including the fine lawn head-cloth which framed his face, his whole attitude - everything conspired to reinforce the likeness. It occurred to me that such must have been the appearance of Christ when he received his disciples ... that Christ like face, that gentle voice, so full of peace, those courteous manners ... his taste for solitude and self-effacement ... . I was surprised by his broadmindedness and tolerance, I had always heard that every Moslem is a fanatic and could never have anything but the greatest contempt for non-Moslem foreigners". Frequently they engaged in frank, probing conversations about faith and salvation as Dr. Carrett was an atheist steeped in the scientific rationalism of his day.
The other source materials that Lings drew to construct a biographical outline of Shaikh Al-Alawi is the account of his life that he had himself dictated to his scribe a few years before his death. This formed the second chapter of the book. His beginnings were humble and ordinary. He never went to school/seminary and his only early education was the evening Quran lessons from his father. As a young man he became a cobbler to support his poor family. His initiation into the Sufi path, his relationship with his teacher Shaikh Al Buzidi and his spiritual development makes for interesting reading for a twentieth century audience. This is straight out of classic Sufi literature, which I feel merits to be reproduced here. He tells us of his inclination towards Sufism from an early age, first initiated into the Isawi Tariqa (Sufi order), from which he quickly distanced himself because of what he perceived as unislamic practices. The only thing he kept was the art of snake charming which brought him into contact with his future teacher, Shaikh Al Buzidi, who had regularly come to visit his business partner in their shop. 'One day, when he was in our shop, the Shaikh said to me: "I have heard that you can charm snakes and that you are not afraid of being bitten". I admitted this. Then he said: "Can you bring me one now and charm it here in front of us?". I said that I could and going outside the town, I searched for half a day, but found only a small one... . This I brought back with me and putting it in front of him, I began to handle it according to my custom... . "Could you charm a bigger snake than this?" he asked. I replied that the size made no difference to me. Then he said, "I will show you one that is bigger than this and far more venomous, and if you can take hold of it you are a real sage". I asked him to show me where it was, and he said : "I mean your soul which is between the two sides of your body. Its poison is more deadly than a snake's". Then he said : "Go and do with that little snake whatever you usually do with them, and never go back to such practices again", and I went out, wondering about the soul and how its poison could be more deadly than a snake's'.
Thus began his spiritual journey under the guidance of Shaikh Al Buzidi. He was a very gifted disciple who became the natural heir to his Syaikh when the latter died, and under his leadership the Darqawi Tariqah enjoyed phenomenal growth in Algeria and Morocco as well as other parts of the Islamic world where he travelled during his pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1926 he was invited to preach the first sermon and lead the first prayer of the Paris mosque.
Apart from his mystical poems and the more profound and abstruse works, he also wrote a couple of simple expositions of the elements of Islam, for it was his principle that the first thing to be done with a novice was to teach him his ordinary religious obligations according to his capacity.
Lings quoted a number of examples of how Shaikh Al-Alawi's reliance on inspiration of the moment, such as the decision to write his ideas down into books - which is one of the characteristics of mystics, but he also gave examples of his practicality and pragmatism, however much they might go against his natural inclinations. He started a religious weekly newspaper, Al Balagh al Jazair in Algiers as a means of disseminating his teaching, seeking to safeguard Islam's dimension of breadth, and above all to restore what it had lost of its dimension of depth. He stressed the importance of knowledge of classical Arabic and pointed to the dangers of westernization. He also used the medium to defend Sufism as a wholly integral part of the Islamic tradition from attacks by puritanical reformers.
Shaikh Al-Alawi was also conscious of his role as he declares in one of his poems,
Then when the Giver vouchsafed that I might proclaim it,
He fitted me - and how I know it - to purify souls,
And girded upon me the sword of steadfastness,
And truth and piety, and a wine He gave me ...
... thus came I to pour it, nay, it is I that press it,
Doth any other pour it in this age?
Lings concluded the summary account of the Shaikh's life by a quotation by Fritjof Schuon, taken from his eulogy "RahimahulLah" published in Cahiers du Sud in 1935, "So much the greater good fortune is it to come into contact with a true spiritual representative of one of those forms (worlds which the modern west fails to understand) to come into contact with someone who represents in himself ... the idea which for hundreds of years has been the very life-blood of that civilization ... To meet such a one is like coming face to face, in mid twentieth century, with a medieval saint or a semitic patriarch, and this was the impression made on me by the Shaikh Al-Hajj Ahmad bin Aliwah, one of the greatest masters of Sufism, who died a few months ago at Mostaganem".
From his account of Shaikh Al-Alawi's life and his spiritual legacy, Martin Lings has captured for the twentieth century audience the vestige of that universe of traditional Islam where spirituality, of which Sufism is its formal expression, is the third pillar in that triumvirate of iman (faith), Islam (outward observance) and ihsan (goodness). Martin Lings belonged to that select handful of scholars who had privileged access to that traditional universe and conveyed what he had absorbed of that to the reading public with great insight and eloquence. It cannot be denied that some aspects of Sufi practices and teachings as exhibited by a number of its modern day exponents are questionable, and later developments of Schuon's own Tariqah as available in the public domain are a sad testimony of this. But, it is also more evident today that western exponents of Sufism are bringing it fully into the fold of orthodox Islam, its natural home. This owes in no small part to the likes of Martin Lings, who undertook a serious study of Sufism - mastering its language, delving into its texts and chronicling its masters, rather than removing it from its Islamic moorings and distorting it into a form of exotic pseudospirituality as was the fashionable thing to do until recently in a secular world which has lost its capacity and awe for the Transcendent. Alfatihah.
Dr. Mazeni Alwi
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About Me
- Abdul Rahim
- Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
- Abdul Rahim, born 1962 in Kedah. Currently residing in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. Was temporarily located in France from Nov 2007 to October 2008. Now back in Bangi since 31 October 2008. Married to Azian and blessed with 4 children. Working at UNITEN. Azian is with Malaysian Exam. Syndicate. Eldest daughter Arifah is a medical student at UPM. Afifah, the second is doing South Australian Matriculation at INTI Nilai. My son Afiq is in Form 5 at Maahad Hamidiah, Kajang and the baby in the family (like me) is Atiqah who is in form 1 at SMK Jalan 4, Bandar Baru Bangi.
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