The Price of a Smile

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Price of a Smile

Assalamu ‘Alaikum

The Price of a Smile

It was worth every sen. Now she smiles at every opportunity. Many moons ago in Riyadh when she was a wee bit smaller she must have tripped and hit a coffee table or something. We weren’t sure, it could also have been the tons of sweet the two front teeth had no choice but to process. The end result was a gap in her smile which had us a little bit worried because the stumps were still intact. With the tooth fairy scheduled to deliver her permanent teeth soon we wanted the fairy’s job to be easier without having to deal with the milk teeth stumps as well.
So Mama and Papa agreed, and Papa dug deep in his pocket for Adila to have a dental surgery to remove the stumps. Aah yes, another thing is that it can’t be done in a normal dentist’s clinic. We have run out of dentists in Bukit Jelutong who’s not afraid of Adila. Once she makes up her mind to clench her mouth shut no amount of persuasion by any dentist will get her to open it, leave alone let any dentist poke all those sharp things in her mouth. We suspected the young dentist we last visited broke down in tears as soon as we left; everything about dentist chair side manners she learnt at med school failed miserably with Adila. Well she’s in good company even Adila’s paedi did not fare any better in other encounters.

So it was in this spanking brand new Medical Centre in Shah Alam that we arranged for Adila to have her dental surgery. This dentist fared a little bit better than the others as Adila was under sedation this time. So out came the stumps plus six other little teeth which probably spared the tooth fairy some overtime. Now its endless sweet smiles from this happy eight year old girl. Still with gaps and generally toothless but a happy smile nonetheless. We only knew how heavy it weighed on her little mind when she confided with Mama that she was very shy to smile before this. We are parentally happy too; Mama said we should remember to up her mas kahwin* when the moment comes.

Mama and I also agreed our parents could never have afforded such expenditure for kids. Our tooth problems being solved either through natural means or through the proverbial stringed tooth tied to the doorknob. Dental visits will be when the doktor kerajaan visits our schools; otherwise we just pretend dentists don’t exists, tooth pains being solved by Granny’s clove or two, or the juice of Mum’s squeezed garlic.

There are many other things our kids go through where we had other alternatives in days gone by. When our five year olds stretched their limbs at the playground during kindergarten recess we flexed and stretched muscles through acrobatics on rambutan trees. When they splashed and squealed with float wings in beautifully blue swimming pools, we had natural Jacuzzi in clear kampong streams. When kampong lads in the likes of a Malaysian Tom Sawyer was our childhood hero and caring big brother, Zahir had clean cut little Farhan who pinches everyone at every opportunity. When we had marbles and tops and kites to keep us busy, our kids have zombies to kill, aliens to destroy and buildings to demolish in their computer world.

Well, that’s progress. Wonder what the kids will be writing about their own kids in their blogs in times to come.

Wassalam,

Zahid

Note: * mas kahwin = dowry; doktor kerajaan= government doctor; rambutan= a favorite local fruit;
             kampong= village 

Dari Gong Lilit ke Jakarta

2011

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Dari Gong Lilit ke Jakarta


We wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t Popo’s wedding but ties that bind and the fear of Kak Ju’s cold stare saw us put ourselves into our kenduri kahwin clothes barely a few hours after arriving from a tiring morning flight from Kota Baru. The journey started just after Subuh from Besut, Trengganu that Saturday morning after a hectic previous day's barbecueing at Tok Aboh’s retirement cottage. Actually it all started on the Wednesday night when we took the overnight mail train from KL Sentral to Wakaf Baru, Kelantan.

Koko

Friday, January 4, 2013

Koko

Assalamu ‘Alaikum

Koko

Mine was called Oren in reference to his colour. I vividly recalled the day Oren came into my life. It must have been frightened out of its wits when this 5 year old boy grabbed it and wouldn’t let go come what may. I remembered there was a boy, in the house granny and I visited, who cried and said or intimated the kitten was his but something came over me and I held on very tightly to Oren. Of course in the traditional Malay way Pakcik Roleb and his mother persuaded the crying boy to let me have the kitten and Pakcik Roleb then drove me and granny home with the kitten. I can’t say I remember much playing with Oren but I do remember he led a long life and can still picture him as an adult cat walking majestically in our home in Kampung Sira. 

My kids have asked for a pet for a long time but being previously nomadic we feared we might be nomadic again and declined their request as not a good idea. When mama said a mother cat had delivered and left two kittens in Zahir’s room I thought nothing of it taking the kittens out and delivering it to their mother. I knew the mother and the two elder siblings as they sort of assumed they were our pets asking for food at the front door every morning. We obliged by putting chicken bones and fish ribs on the grass outside the gate thinking why not as we would have rubbished them anywhere. So we were surprised to learn on coming back from mama’s kampong that there were two little kittens in the house. When I placed the two kittens at their mum’s feet what later shocked me was she only accepted one and refused the other. She took the favoured kitten away, left the other one motherless and disappeared for a long time. The appeals from the lonely kitten was heart rending. A bit later we saw the mother came back sniffed the abandoned kitten and again abandoned it! Mama says probably the kitten didn’t smell like hers and therefore she doesn’t want it. When I came back from work in the evening and mama reported it is indeed an abandoned kitten on our doorstep, we made a family decision to adopt it. The kids wanted to call it Kiki but I said it’s a male kitten and so they decided on Koko instead although he is rather black. We made a house for the kitten out of a large foam box making a door for it to slip in and out. In the current coldish weather it should keep the kitten warm if there is a thunderstorm at night. The beseeching calls to mum is still there but we can’t communicate with it to appease it so the kids decided to play with it often to keep his mind off mum. Food is condensed milk mixed with water until she gets a bit older. Kids are excited they have a pet now.

It dawns on me now why cats are so loved by the Prophet s.a.w. and is said to be the only pets in Jannah. They are so trusting on human and constantly appeals to the human heart. It was presumptuous of mother cat and her elder siblings to demand food from me every time I return from dawn prayers but they do it in a fait accompli sort of way we ended up feeding them every day. It was also presumptuous of her to choose our house to deliver her litter but I am quietly proud that this animal have high regards and trust of humans. When I left the kittens with their mum it was with some trepidation knowing what amorous male cats can do to kittens if they sense mother cat is on heat. But that didn’t happen fortunately, and in dramatic twist our hearts go out to this abandoned kitten instead. The family don’t know whether we will be adequate as a surrogate parent but we will do our best as Allah has put him in our care. Koko seems a rewrite of the story of Oren. Caring for Oren must have imparted values that now forms a part of me. I eagerly await how Koko will shape up my children in sya Allah.

Wassalam,

Zahid

Status Facebook

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Status Facebook

Assalamu 'Alaikum,

Status Facebook pagi ini.

Adila balik dari sekolah agama dan tanya emaknya - "Mama Nabi Adam manusia yang pertama kan?"
Adila balik dari sekolah kebangsaan dan tanya emaknya - "Mama cikgu kata zaman purbakala manusia tak berbaju - Nabi Adam tak pakai baju ke Mama?"
Papanya balik dari tazkirah subuh dan cerita kapada Mama tazkirah yang menarik oleh Imam pagi ini. Surah AlBaqarah cerita kepada kita Nabi Adam a.s. dicipta disyurga dan diberi ilmu yang lengkap oleh Allah swt. Apabila Nabi Adam diturunkan ke dunia ia telah memilikki ilmu yang lengkap setaraf dengan pangkatnya sebagai Nabiullah. Dari mana pulak datang cerita Neolithic, Paleolithic dan sebagainya dengan manusia kunu tak berbaju separuh kehaiwanan tanpa ilmu apa-apa? Bukan kah ini keturunan Nabi Adam a.s.? Bukan kah Habil dan Qabil anak-anak Nabi Adam sudah bercucuk tanam? Bukankah Habil dan Qabil telah menghadiahkan cucuk tanam mereka kepada Allah swt didalam suatu peristiwa yang diceritakan dalam AlQuran? Dimana pulak timbul cerita orang zaman kunu "hunter gatherer" yang tak pandai bercucuk tanam, separuh bogel tak berbaju pulak tu? 

Kata Imam tu lagi," Mengapakah kita terima kesesatan dan kejahilan Barat ini didalam pendidikkan anak-anak kita?" 
Papanya terkedu dan ingat subjek Islamisation of Knowledge yang dipelajari diUIA dimana kita perlu rombak semula subjek-subjek yang diajar kepada anak-anak kita supaya tepat ilmu mereka dengan landasan AlQuran. Atau kita masih mahu lagi agung agungkan segalanya dari Barat?

Wassalam,
Zahid '72S

Facebook status this morning.

Adila came home from religious school and asked her mother -"Mama Prophet Adam is the first man created by God, right?"
Adila returned from a national school and asked her mother - "Mamateacher said in prehistoric age people don’t wear clothes -  Mama, did Prophet Adam  wear clothes?"

Papa came back from fajr tazkirah and related to Mama an interesting  tazkirah by the imam this morning. Surah AlBaqarah tells us,  Prophet Adam a.s. was created in paradise and given completeknowledge by Allah swt. When Prophet Adam a.s. was thrown downto Earth he already possesses complete knowledge commensurate with his position as Nabiullah. Whence then came the story aboutNeolithic, Paleolithic and others with half naked men, semi beasts, lacking in knowledge ? Didn’t Habil and Qabil, the sons of Prophet Adam already know about agriculture? Didn’t they present their produce to Allah swt  in an event recounted in the Quran? Wherethence the stories about prehistoric people being hunter gathererswho did not know how to farm, and dressed half naked?

The Imam said , "Why do we accept Western error and ignorance in the  education of our children?"

Papa was speechless and recalled the subject of  Islamisation of Knowledge learnt at UIA where we need to overhaul the subjects that are taught to our children so that their knowledge accurately tracks the Quran. Or do we still look highly at everything from the West?


Zahid '72S

Andai Titian Bisa Bicara

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Andai Titian Bisa Bicara

Andai titian bisa bicara

Andai titian bisa bicara
Apa hujahnya kepada tebing
Andai luahan tersusun kata
Datangkah pagi sefajar menyinsing?


Fajar menyinsing menyinar kebenaran
Susun tapak juang menanti
Mana kesatria mana persiapan
Akan ku berjuang seorang diri?

Sungguh tinggi gunung didamba
Seribu rintangan sejuta penghalang
Kerdil dan dhaif sifat hamba
Bergantung kasih Maha Penyayang.

Berbekalkan azam, ilmu dan nyawa
Baitul Muqaddis lambang suci
Seberat beban yang bisa dibicara
Tidak seberat beban yang mengetahui.

Meniti Cabaran

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Meniti Cabaran

Assalamu 'Alaikum,

Meniti cabaran

Alangkah manis cinta ini

Cinta sejati hamba kepada Tuhannya.

Tiada pagar merintasi kata

Tiada malu menghalang rasa.

Namun aku pinta tinggal detik manis ini,

Demi perintahMu ya Ilahi

Tak mampu kususun kata-kata

Isi hati lebih kau mengetahui

Manis sungguh hubungan akrab

Diulit pilu bersulam duka

Namun aku harus tinggal pentas cinta

Mengagung korban janji setia

Kau lebih dekat dari urat dileherku

Kau kurniakan apa yang dipinta

Cinta Nabi s.a.w. kepada umatnya

Kasih insan pada saudaranya.

Andai airmata jadi timbangan

Andai hajat jadi ukuran

Andai semangat jadi pertarungan

Andai keringat jadi buktian

Ya Rabb kasihanilah,

maafilah,

rahmatilah

redhailah.

Will you walk with me this lonely path

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Will you walk with me this lonely path

Will you walk with me this lonely path?

Will you stay with me this lonely journey?

Can you see the hope behind the smile?

Can you read the wish behind the bravado?

Can you read my mind bro?

Will you read my mind bro?

I have none to turn to

An orphan of a nation.

The loneliest path is those who ask with their eyes

Who pleads with their silence

Who’s reason is eloquence itself

Who’s reality is the cold heart of day.

Can you read my mind bro?

Will you read my mind  bro?

Will you walk with me this lonely path?

Will you stay with me this lonely journey?