Of Things That Had Been 5 October 2007

Oh, wow! So many things happening, and so little time to write… T_T Now that the mid-semester exams are finally over, let’s just recap what’s been happening for the past few weeks:

 

1) SCIENCESS Anual Grand Meeting 2006/2007

 

Among other things, we got new faces on the SCIENCESS board! The full line-up has been officially announced, but unfortunately I wasn’t at the meeting. But it’s nothing a little digging won’t do. I’ll try and get the full list up here ASAP. But I’m sure everyone already knows that Zack’s replaced Lutfi as our new president. Two thumbs up to Mugiwara-san and crew for an eventful tenure! And by the way, SCIENCESS still has an excess of RM 1k in funds. Hope that’ll get to good use next semester…

 

2) WacKOS

 

Something we’ve all been complaining about since the beginning of time immemorial: The absence of a library/resource centre in KOS. Seeing as how all those science books and journals in Gombak are never going to reach these shores anytime soon, someone came up with this brilliant idea to create (as I understand it) a resource centre where we can splurge ourselves to death, binging on chocolates and other not-so-good snacks which might or might not harm our bodies depending on whose body we’re talking about and have a good time chatting and reading and studying and hanging out and chatting and chatting and… Hey! Chatting! Now who wouldn’t like that?! =D So let’s all up and get this thing running! You don’t have to go to the audition or join the committee, just vote for the project here (click on the ‘Voting’ icon at the top of the page).

More info on the SCIENCESS blog. And here’s some more.

Examophilic Postponitis 19 September 2007

Only in IIUM do we have mid-semester breaks before mid-semester exams. Views differ on which is better: To have the exams first, or the holidays. On one side of the argument is the holidays will not be enjoyable as the exams will constantly terrorise our sleeping hours. I don’t include waking hours, because the equation’s like this for most guys:

Holidays = Sleep

 

I know that this is true because:

 

Weekdays = Sleep ^_^

 

I challenge the guys from CTS to disprove this, by the way… Ok, don’t bother. It’s called the Sleepia everytimus, caused by a virus that’s so contagious people were born with it. Back to the subject: Advocates of the holiday-comes-first motto argue that, well, holiday comes first. Personally, I prefer the former. With all the last-minute studying, it’s gonna need Heavenly intervention to get on the Dean’s list. As of this moment, some of the second-year students have only sat for one mid-semester paper (I can account for BSBT majors, at least). The last paper would be on the 1st of October, which is good in the sense that it’s not near any of the other exams which will take place this week and the next. But is not good in the sense that we might as well call it the final exam. But again, it was my fellow classmates who suggested the date, and I’m not complaining either. So tell us what you think: Exams first or holidays?

It’s That Time of the Year–Ramadhan Is Here! 17 September 2007

Every year, Ramadhan never ceases to excite me. From the Ramadhan SMSes, the pre-Raya hype, the Masjid-hopping, and the I’itikaf and Lailatul Qadr hunt. On the eve of Awwal Ramadhan, exchanging SMSes with old friends and family, I received an SMS which went like this:

“626uq73d T6M6l32″

 

After failing to decipher what I assumed was the sender’s intentional use of leet, I decided to ask a friend, who immediately suggested I look into the mirror. The thing staring back at me was “Selamat berpuasa” (Happy fasting). Pretty ingenious and da Vinci-ish, but cool. Dan Brown would no doubt be proud. Another one was signed with “Regards from So-and-So, wife, and kids,” which was perplexing because the sender was, as far as I remembered, still single and very desperate 0_o Yet another one went like this:

 

“Set your Niyyah, upgrade your level of Iman, download some Sabr, upload some effort, delete any daydreaming, and update your Du’a, and don’t forget to top-up on ‘Ilm. Ramadhan Karim.”

 

Seamless integration of modernisation and Islamisation. Ok, that sounded somewhat like a Nokia ad… But it proves my point: See how Ramadhan brings out the inner genius in people? Anyway, on the first Iftar, a friend was already playing Raya tunes on his computer, to the delight (and anguish) of some. On retrospect, they never play P. Ramlee’s Dendang Perantau. That’s taboo unless you want to see guys shedding some tears hardcore. On the second day of fasting, people were already testing to see which mosques suit their tastes. There is this Surau in Kampung Bukit Beirut the Imam of which recites a short Surah from Juz ‘Amma in every Raka’at of Tarawih. I think they beat The Flash (or is it Superman?) for fastest prayer on earth. Regardless, we finished eight Raka’at by 8:45. A world record, I say.

 

Unfortunately, for some people, Ramadhan seems to be the same as any other month. Which is sad because this is the month of ‘Ibadah carnivals, as an Ustaz likes to put it. Maybe they’ve forgotten, but every letter recited from the Qur’an will gain ten times the Hasanat from a normal month. That’s like a 90% discount at the Ramadhan bazaaars (and even better because we know that will never happen in our lifetimes!). And remember, the reward for reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas is the same as that of reciting one-third of the Qur’an. But that’s in a normal month. Who knows what it is in Ramadhan. So guys, kick aside DotA for once and increase your Tadarrus.

 

I’itikafs are very interesting experiences. Aside from having been thrown out of a Masjid once–the entire school was banned due to a minor incident; a memorable experience indeed–, a few years back, I thought I found Lailatul Qadr. It was not on an odd night, but a friend thought it was that night too. There was a lot of tears in prayers, unlike other nights, and feeling overwhelmed and shameful, like I was really prostrate in front of God. That experience changed me. Everything that happened to me after that felt like Allah (S.W.T.) was communicating with me. When I had fever it was Allah (S.W.T.) forgiving me, when I was in a mess, Allah (S.W.T.) was thinking of me. It was a great feeling that is impossible to forget. The sweetness of Iman, once tasted, can never be forgotten. Sadly, it only lasted for two months. Life was never the same again after. But I really hope to find it again this year, so let’s all try our hardest.

 

A recent Tazkirah by a certain doctor made me realise that we have to have a purpose and aim for Ramadhan. In our frenzy to finish reading the whole Qur’an by the 30th, or filling up our Mutaba’ah ‘Amal, maybe we should contemplate how it’s going to be like after Ramadhan. Some post-processing wouldn’t hurt. It’d be a waste if it lasts for only a month. So why don’t we try our hardest to continue what we’ve done in Ramadhan in other months. This normally wouldn’t last till the end of Shawwal, but try your hardest nevertheless, and pray that Allah (S.W.T.) will accept our deeds for our loved ones who have left us.

 

Ramadhan Mubarak to everyone in the Kulliyyah of Science!

 

Spare us your two Scence. Even a smile(y) is Sadaqah =)