Swimmer's ear - a gift on the first night of Ramadhan

Before Ramadhan, two weeks to be exact, I got an ear infection due to my frequent swimming workout. Funny thing is, the infection I was getting in the outer ear was known as 'Swimmer's ear'. Or scientifically, otitis externa.

The first days were very painful. I couldn't dive deeper because my right ear felt so painful, it sounded like it was cracking inside. I went to buy earplugs, but kept losing it in the pool whenever I did my flip turn. But the ear became worse. Eventually, in two days, I lost almost 70% of my hearing on the right ear. It was my habit to clean up my ear after a swimming session, but obviously it was not enough. My sleep was interrupted due to sudden surge of pain and constant ringing in my right ear.

I went to the doctor. I took the ear drops and oral antibiotics. What happened was, some water was left near my eardrum, it clogged and made surrounding area suitable for bacteria, hence the infection. My ear canal was swelling, and also my eardrum didn't vibrate the way it should. Even the otoscope almost did not fit into my ear.

So, the days of misery began. I valued music. I listened to the Quran, songs, and music, and I often wondered how beautiful music would be in the Heaven. I was specifically grateful for the hearing that Allah had bestowed upon me, more than any other parts of my body. Then, when my right ear failed to function properly, I somehow freaked out.

My hearing became muffled, I failed to detect where the sound was coming from. And I could hear the sound next to my ear like it was 2 meters away. The ringing was somehow constant and it made me a bit off balanced. The ringing sounded like after you hear the flash bang. The ringing felt so close to my ear. My balance was off. Suddenly, I valued my hearing more than I had ever imagined.

I read the story of Urwah bin Zubair. How when his leg was amputated, his friend said 'Bergembiralah, kerana anggotamu itu telah mendahuluimu ke syurga..'. The last word my right ear listened to was al Mishary just before I went to sleep. So, as to calm myself, I also told myself the same thing. Getting myself prepared just in case I lost my right ear. Allah wanted to test me I thought, and I was going to be ready. To some people, it might not be important. But to me, my hearing is important. Especially when it comes to listening to music. How I appreciate details in the piece. Still, my hearing was from Allah.

I kept snapping and clapping slowly beside my right ear just to know when will my hearing come back. I went to the doctor twice, and the doctor told me that the infection still didn't go away. I got two kinds of ear drops later. More intensive. In one week, if I hadn't got better, he would refer me to an ear specialist. It was very tense. My right ear felt right it got a veil that blocked my hearing. A veil so close to my ear.

I told my mum about it. And I got a lecture on not-to-swim-again. I understood how she felt. Sometimes, when you get older, it was good to hear your mum's lecture. Missing those old days haha. My friends and lecturers were so supportive.

During the last evening of Syaaban, just before Ramadhan, I was at the mosque. Getting ready for the azan of the first night of Ramadhan. I was at the first saf, tilawah. Felt so pumped up. Although my right ear failed to function, it failed to stop my surge of excitement for the Ramadhan. Getting my FB and Twitter deactivated few days prior, I was sure to get a good warm up.

Like a novel, when the digital clock was beeping for Maghrib, I saw the bilal went to the mike. I stood up and felt very excited. 'Allah, here I come' I said. Then, miraculously, when the azan started 'Allahu Akbar!', masya Allah, the veil that had been blocking my right ear seemed to be gone. The hearing was still muffled, but my hearing was coming back! If before I could only hear 20-30%, it became up to 50-70%. I could really feel the difference. My tears broke out, and there I sujud syukur for my hearing in the middle of the azan. It was no coincidence. It was amazing. It felt amazing. It was like the bubble that had been blocking my right ear popped. And then suddenly the sound became much clearer.

Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for my both ears. For all my parts of body, and family.

Now, I can hear up to 90% Alhamdulillah, no more pain, fever, ringing and off-balance.

1. I learned how to speak more slowly. Try closing both your ears with your fingers, and speak very slowly. You could hear it clearly. When my right ear failed to function properly, I hear what I said louder than normal. So I began to speak more slowly.

2. I couldn't wait to get back into the swimming pool. Missing swimming so much. My doctor refrained me from swimming till the ear infection had gone.

3. Syukur itu lebih tinggi martabatnya dari sabar.

4. Swimmers! Always be ready for this. Get yourself an ear drop to clean your ear after swimming. Maintain the pH of your ear, and avoid over-cleaning.

5. Some of you might wonder how I know that percentage of hearing. Hoho. I test it with my left ear and check the clarity over distance times 100.

6. Our hearing is one of the most amazing mechanism ever existed. It worked simultaneously with our brain. One of it is positioning. Good hearing works with our brain to position and trace where the sound comes from just from its amplitude and frequency. Try this 3d sound, barbershop, and say Alhamdulillah :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA)

Happy Ramadhan guys!

Beautiful - Euler's identity

Just arrived home this morning. Hoping to join the task force for PR in KL. Still waiting for further instruction.

Perspective.

In the midst of this intense political weather, men must not forget to attend the prayer at mosque and to maintain their akhlaq. It's easy to lose your cool head especially when you meet someone who is so irrational in front of hard evidence. Fanatics, or as we students prefer to call them, macai. But even I may be in the same spot as him in his view. Wallahu a'lam. May Allah guide us and free us from fanaticism and blind obedience.

My best friend, Asyraf Roslan showed me this identity. And hitherto, it is the most beautiful identity I've ever seen. It is known as Euler's Identity. Want to know more about Euler? Click

Why suddenly? Today is his birthday. He was an exceptional mathematician. I'm a student of science and math, so I think our Malaysian society should know more about these wonderful heroes of the world that have contributed so much to the world without us realizing it. So, check out the grand identity of Euler, as Richard Feynman(physicist) put it, 'the most remarkable formula in mathematics'.

Euler's Identity

Beautiful isn't it? Just simple, elegant, wonderful, and truly magnificent. Masya Allah.

Selamat berPRU dengan berakhlaq dan selamat.

Salam.

What do we mean by second, meter....? A peek into the world of measurement

Last semester, I took a very interesting subject, Electrical Measurement. And Alhamdulillah, I was taught by a very strict lecturer who was very particular and cared for her students. Thank you Miss Anis Diyana for that. Basically the subject deals with statistical analysis, how the measurement is acquired, how we calculate and deal with errors, the mechanism of the measuring instrument itself, to its errors and sensitivities. Simply put, a very technical subject full with lengthy calculations and mechanism explanations.

One of the many things that popped in my head while dealing with this subject is to wonder how accurate and precise our measurement is. The thought was induced because what I learned was how to calculate errors, not only one layer but layer upon layer upon layer of errors. If I could describe it simply, it is like there is a boundary between the outside world and our measurement. What we measure isn't what exactly 'out' there. There will always be a slight deviation in term of its real value and the measured value - perhaps technology one day might close the gap who knows. Nevertheless, my true purpose of posting this is not to bring you along in my convoluted, complex unneccessary questions and thoughts, but to share with you what I love to share. Knowledge! :)

Have you ever wondered about all the units we use in our daily life, on what are they based upon? Units of measurement like second or meter. When we say, 'I'll be there in five minutes!' or 'Boss, 2 kilos brown beras please..', have you thought about it? Did the question 'How the whole world came to an agreement of what a second is or a kilogram is?' ever pop up in your head? Malaysian kilogram shouldn't be no different than the US' kilogram right? (Actually there is, very-very minute difference.. I'll explain later).


So what do we mean by second, meter......?


There are seven base units of SI(International System of Units) unit, namely second for time, meter for length, kelvin for temperature, kilogram for weight, candela for luminous intensity, ampere for current, and mole for amount of substance. And the whole world uses these units to indicate, measure, monitor and define. For us public, defining these units is not a thing to be concerned of. For example, when we came late to class, our lecturer said "Stop, stand right there. You are one minute late." And then we said "But my one minute is different than yours. I'm just following my standard, you can't punish me for that." Exaggerated. Point taken right? But, in big laboratories, institutional research lab, giant factories, and standard maintenance it's something very important. 

Before we go into the definitions of these units, we should know who's setting the standards for these units. There are three important organizations that are responsible for maintaining the standards, one of them is International Bureau of Weights and Measures. This organization along with the other two work hand in hand internationally to maintain and revise the standard definition for the SI units. They meet once in a few years with their delegates to discuss things regarding the standards. The bureau has another important role which is to maintain accurate worldwide time. A bit WOW isn't it? The reference is called the Coordinated Universal Time(UTC), somehow has the same function as often-used GMT(Greenwich Mean Time). UTC is more carefully calculated and defined, and it is governed by scientific community.

And the bureau also keeps the international prototype of kilogram. This prototype is very carefully protected and secured. Of course, it sets the defining kilogram for the whole world!

One thing you should know that these guys in the organizations are aiming to set the standard based on constants, not physical thing which will change in time. Constants like speed of light or charge of electron.


So what do we REALLY mean by second, meter....?

Ok. We'll go through one by one. As you read, you'll realize that these definitions do depend on one another.

1. Meter - The meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. You might also realize that if you rearrange this definition, it's the speed of light!

2. Second - The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom. Previously, they defined a second as 1/(24 x 60 x 60) of the day. It's obvious right why they revise the definition?

3. Kilogram - Previously, it was defined as the mass of one litre of water. Now, it is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram. What is the international prototype? Click

4. Ampere - The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 meter apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newton per meter of length. Got it? If you don't understand, just know that when current flows through a conductor, it generates a field(circular most of the time).  When two magnetic fields meet, they are either pushed or pulled.

5. Kelvin - The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Emm..what is triple point then? Interestingly, triple point is the temperature and pressure at which a substance coexists as all three phases of matter; gas, liquid, solid. Simply, it's a condition where for example H2O will exist as ice, water, and gas at the same time.

6. Mole - 1. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon 12; its symbol is "mol."  2. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles.

7. Candela - The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. Don't worry, I don't understand it well myself. Self-effort please haha..

The definitions I listed are the exact definitions. Not a word changed.

Ongoing revision..
I don't know about other units, but from what I know, kilogram is going to be revised again and the process of introducing the new more stable prototype is on its way. I'll post the video at the bottom of the post.

Four standards of measurement
There are four standards as for now. The first one is the international standard, which is maintained by the bureau I mentioned above. The second one is primary standard, also known as national standard. This standard is preserved and maintained by each respective country. So Malaysian standard might as well different compared to Thailand standard, in very minute difference. It's an error though. The third one is secondary standard. Secondary standard is also known as industrial standard, usually maintained by large factories. Lastly, working standard. A standard that is used by most laboratories and researchers and many more.

These standards will try to maintain their standards as accurate and precise as possible with the international standard.

So, next time, in your daily conversation, you will finally begin to grasp fundamentally what a meter or a second means. Ha.

Our standard.. A sad reality
When my lecturer covered the above subchapter regarding standards of measurement, it really made me think, what sets our standard as a Muslim? In the university where I studied, you can even see girls with tudung labuh and guys with kopiah laughing so hard together on the same desk and eating together. I mean, what the heck?

I was moved when I posted about the death of Syeikh Said Ramadan al Buti, a friend commented. He said, although Syeikh Said was a syeikh, still when a female student came to him, you can see obviously he was shy because of the female student. Masya Allah. May Allah bless him.

Perasaan malu tidak mendatangkan apa-apa kecuali kebaikan - mafhum hadith.

We are an expert when it comes to talk about Islam. We can answer anything, refute anything, prove anything. But when it comes to akhlaq, we are the same with others. Our standard today has gone awry. Especially when it comes to ikhtilat and politics. I see even when it comes to watching movies, when some of them see erotic scenes or sexy poses, they just laugh and make a joke out of it.

I'm in an effort to re-adjust my standard. May Allah ease. May blessings of Allah come with my effort. Amin.

Salam.

p/s - Miss Anis Diyana rewarded me two times. Dulu masa nak beli pen drive, nak guna voucher tapi tak jadi, sebab voucher kena guna minimum Rm50. Masa itu memang sangat-sangat perlu pen drive. Terdesak. Pasrah lah masuk kelas miss. Alhamdulillah, dapat highest mark(rezeki Allah) dalam test, dapat satu pen drive 8GB. Second time, masa nak belanja makan adik-adik usrah. Masa itu memang kering, tapi nak belanja juga. Again, Allah blessed me, dapat highest mark lagi sekali dan kali ini miss bagi duit Rm40. Miss asalnya ajak makan sekali dengan student highest kelas lain, which happened to be girls. I rejected politely and miss gave me the money which I used all of them to treat my adik-adik usrah. Alhamdulillah. Allah memang ar Razzaq! :)

Video and reference
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/current.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Bureau_of_Weights_and_Measures
Don't forget to subscribe the channel!

Sebuah Jendela Untuk Remaja

Hari ini aku lihat banyak isu-isu yang mengusutkan minda. Mengelirukan. Mengotorkan hati, dan membunuh iman. Ada yang mengapi-apikan emosi dan sentimen. Sehingga ia membawa ramai dalam kalangan kita memilih untuk, 'Aku tak peduli'. Ya, ada bezanya ia dengan peduli tetapi mengambil langkah berkecuali. Aku melihat ianya satu keperluan mendesak untuk remaja khususnya pada hari ini, untuk mempunyai satu cara pandang yang berprinsip dan fleksibel.

Ada juga yang sudah lemas dalam ketaksuban dan kefanatikan sehingga justification menjadi kerja sambilan. Allah, aku juga takut aku termasuk dalam golongan sedemikian. 

Ianya bukan lah merupakan satu kerisauan bagi mereka yang mempunyai tata cara fikir yang jelas. Yang berani mendengar dahulu, mengasingkan dan mengkategorikan, menilai dan membuat keputusan, dan terus berlapang dada. 

Wujudkah satu cara pandang mempunyai solusi yang tetap?

Oh tidak. Ianya bukan begitu. Namun cara pandang ada garis-garis panduan yang ditetapkan. Boleh juga diandaikan ianya bagaikan sebuah formula. Berlainan keadaan dan pemboleh ubah membawa kepada berlainannya solusi dan penyelesaian.

Jika para da'i turun pandang, kita boleh melihat betapa masyarakat memerlukan sesuatu bagi mengisi hati -mereka. Dalam perjalanan, mereka menemui kepelbagaian yang amat seni dan kadangkala menjadi buruk. Bagaikan fractals, corak yang andainya dilihat secara biasa-biasa menjadi tidak menarik, namun jika diperhatikan secara halus dan teliti, seni yang amat indah dan tersusun kelihatan. Corak yang dianggap tiada pattern dan dianggap mustahil untuk mathematical representation sebelum ini, akhirnya disedari keindahan di sebaliknya. Order in chaos.

Fractals in nature. 

Masyarakat pada hari ini keliru dan kusut. Malah mereka yang sedang melalui proses tarbiah juga keliru. Ianya tidak dinafikan, iya, proses tarbiah itu panjang dan susah, dan cara pandang atau paradigma bukanlah boleh berubah dalam sekelip mata.

Ianya memerlukan satu masa yang sangat panjang dan keadaan yang sangat sukar untuk seseorang membentuk satu paradigma yang menjadikan redha Allah sebagai baik buruknya. Seperti geology, Red dalam filem The Shawshank Redemption mengatakan ianya the study of pressure and time. 

Tapi, untuk mencapai satu paradigma berasaskan nilai dan prinsip yang tertulis tidaklah sesukar membentuk dan memahat apa yang dikatakan Ustaz Pahrol tauhidic world view.

Satu Cadangan

Menjadi seorang pelajar kejuruteraan elektrik mengajar aku satu antara banyak perkara. Dalam bidang ini, calculus dan circuit merupakan sahabat baik kami. (^.^). Apabila kami dikemukakan permasalahan, kami cuba mencari penyelesaian. Setelah kiraan yang panjang lebar, dan circuit yang ditransformkan beberapa kali, jawapan kami salah. Mahu tidak mahu kami akan pergi kepada jalan kami satu persatu untuk mencari apa yang menjadi masalah. Namun, sebelum kami nak jumpa apa yang salah, kami perlu tahu apa yang betul.

Dalam istilah yang lebih tepat sikit, itulah muhasabah. Untuk mencapai muhasabah yang efektif dan efisien, baik dan buruk haruslah kita kenalpasti. Aha..dalam mengenali baik dan buruk itulah hadirnya keperluan paradigma yang berprinsip dengan prinsip yang benar. Paradigma yang tepat akan membawa kita memahami keseimbangan.

Aku mengandaikan pembaca aku mempunyai asas-asas agama. Jauh daripada ketaksuban dan kefanatikan, aku ingin mencadangkan sebuah paradigma yang amatlah tepat dan evergreen dalam memahami persoalan asas dunia hari ini. 

Semestinya ia tidaklah begitu simplistik untuk mengatakan paradigma ini menyelesaikan segala-galanya dengan mudah. Pemalas memang tidak akan ke mana. Namun, aku merasakan ia cukup untuk menjadi panduan. Cukup untuk memandu kau mencari jalan sendiri dan menemui apa yang kau rasakan lebih dekat dengan hati kau.

Usul 20

Usul 20 ini dihasilkan oleh Imam as Syahid Hasan Al Banna. Bukan lah niatku untuk menghuraikan satu persatu usul ini kerana aku sendiri pun menghadiri daurah dari pagi hingga ke petang semata-mata untuk memahami hanya dua-tiga usul. Ini kan pula dua puluh. (*.-)

Ianya usul, ianya fundamental. Sebagaimana wujudnya First and Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, begitu juga dengan derivation usul 20, ataupun Usul al 'Isyrin dalam kalangan ahli Ikhwan. Sungguh, ianya merupakan mutiara yang amat bernilai. Usul sendiri membawa maksud prinsip asas, fundamental, sepakat ke atasnya. 

Contohnya, sebelum ini apabila tiba perkara furu', walaupun ia khilaf, aku menjauhinya atas dasar akhlaq. Aku kurang gemar membincangkan mengenai khilaf, kerana ianya FURU'(cabang). Namun setelah memahami secebis daripada pemahaman yang sangat luas daripada prinsip 20 ini, aku memahami "Kerana ia furu' lah wujudnya khilaf. Andai ianya usul, tiada khilaf". Selesai.  

Dalam mengkaji usul 20 ini, kekaguman ku pada as Syahid Hasan Al Banna sama taraf dengan kekaguman aku pada Imam As Syathibi dan kitab Muwafaqatnya, Imam as Syafi'i dan usul fiqhnya, Nikola Tesla dan alternating circuitnya, juga Stephen Hawking dan black holenya.

Ianya merangkumi Islam dalam erti kata kesyumulannya, nubuwwah dan sunnah nabi, etika kepimpinan dan politik, istilah-istilah dan hakikat maknanya, juga keselarian hakiki Islam dan sains dalam ertikata sunnatullah tabi'i. 

Silalah baca. Ianya boleh dijumpai di dalam Himpunan Risalah Imam Hasan al Banna, dalam Risalah Ta'lim.

Makna Kehidupan

Setiap perkara itu wujud maknanya. Kerna itu apabila ditanya Rasulullah mengenai apa itu Islam, Rasulullah menjawab dengan Rukun Islam. 

Andai kita memahami hadith ini dengan pendekatan konkrit dan teknikal, kita mungkin terfikir "Apa ini? Islam bukan itu sahaja. Islam itu sangat luas....".

Namun kita lupa, datangnya Islam itu untuk memberi makna kepada kehidupan kita. Andai tiada Islam, tiada lah dapat kita memahami makna dan tujuan hidup kita. Dan dalam Islam, tujuan ibadah disyari'atkan hanyalah satu - ta'abbud, ubudiyah. Kita menjadi hamba kepada Allah dan menghambakan diri. Dalam satu paradigma yang tepat, ubudiyah kepada Allah lah kemuncak tujuan hidup. Di bawah kemuncak ubudiyah itu bukan kosong-kosong dan reput, ianya penuh dengan nilai akhlaq, keadilan, kesejahteraan, adab, kecintaan, dan keseimbangan. 

Islam itu deen, dan Islam itu juga dibina atas lima rukun, Syahadah, Solat, Puasa, Zakat dan Haji. Jadi di mana intersection point nya di antara cara hidup dan rukun? Ayuh, aku mengajak kalian mencari makna sedalam-dalamnya di sebalik setiap kewajipan ini. Maknakan kehidupan kalian. Give your life meaning!

Rasulullah memahami!

Kerana itulah andai kita melihat riwayat-riwayat mengenai bagaimana sahabat-sahabat datang berjumpa Rasulullah s.a.w bertanyakan apakah amalan yang terbaik, Rasulullah memberi jawapan yang berbeza. Ini kerana setiap orang berlainan situasinya, berlainan latar belakangnya. Ada yang Qul Amantu billah thummastaqim(katakan aku beriman kepada Allah, dan istiqamahlah), ada La taghdab(jangan marah!), ada dikatakan solat di awal waktu sebaik-baik amalan. 

Kita sebagai murabbi cenderung untuk mengikut tradisi, bagaimana naqib-naqib hebat lain yang 'menjadi' anak usrahnya. Kita lupa mereka bertindak atas dasar memahami mad'u mereka, dan kita bertindak atas dasar mengikuti mereka. Kita lupa, tugas kita menyampaikan, dan yang pertama ialah memahami mad'u kita. 

Di sinilah pentingnya kita memahami konteks dan tujuan perkara yang kita lakukan. Dan pengaplikasian cara pandang atau paradigma yang tepat. Cari makna di sebalik setiap perkara yang kita lakukan. 

Jendela di antara banyak jendela

Dalam memahami permasalahan dan isu, kita juga harus memahami ianya semulajadi untuk wujudnya jendela lain. Ada orang lain melihat melalui jendela yang lain warna kacanya, lain bentuknya, berbeza jaraknya, berbeza tingginya. Dan kita semua melihat perkara yang sama, cuma melalui jendela yang berbeza. Ianya hakikat. 

Kita mengambil sikap mengakui kewujudan jendela-jendela tersebut dan memandang perbezaan itu dalam kaca mata yang berbeza. Bukan dalam erti kata konfrontasi, tetapi dalam maksud melengkapi, kepelbagaian dan natural.

Aku gemar menyebutkan kata-kata Rasulullah mengenai sahabatnya Salman al Farisi, "Salman minni, wa ana minhu". Salman daripadaku, dan aku daripadanya. Indah.. :)

Tapi kita jangan lupa, ada beza berbeza pendapat dan berbeza bathil dan haq. Jauh bezanya.

Wallahu a'lam. 

Sekadar berkongsi sedikit pendapat. Terutamanya mengenai isu-isu politik dan jemaah. Isu-isu lain kita sudah jelas kedudukannya, tapi isu ini aku merasakan ramai yang sedang mencari. Termasuk aku. Bimbing lah kami ya Allah.

Chinese Bamboo

"Apparently, once the seed has been sown, you see nothing for about five years apart from a tiny shoot. All the growth takes place underground, where a complex root system reaching upwards and outwards is being established. Then, at the end of the fifth year, the bamboo suddenly shoots up to a height of 25 metres. What a tedious object!"  -Aleph, Paulo Coelho

Be patient friend! :)