Red-Green Cherries

Nearly half a century old, I still love the cherry fruit of Malaysia. I prefer not the red juicy cherry but the red-green cherry on the verge of ripening. After school or during school holidays I would almost always be a permanent resident of the cherry tree that belonged to my neighbour. The cherry tree was luscious and most of its branches over the roof. I would climb the tree and make believe that the cherry tree was my home. I kept picking and eating the red-green cherries. Often Tok would pass by the road in front and call my name out load. I would remain still until she passed by. And then continued in my make-believe world. I always thought that Tok could not see me, but now I'm certain that she did. When I returned home my pockets would be full of cherries and quite often crushed.

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسْكَنَّاهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِنَّا عَلَى ذَهَابٍ بِهِ لَقَادِرُونَ
فَأَنشَأْنَا لَكُم بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ لَّكُمْ فِيهَا فَوَاكِهُ كَثِيرَةٌ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ
وَشَجَرَةً تَخْرُجُ مِن طُورِ سَيْنَاء تَنبُتُ بِالدُّهْنِ وَصِبْغٍ لِّلْآكِلِينَ

Al-Mu'minun 23:18-20 And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease). With it We grow for you gardens of date-palms and vines: in them have ye abundant fruits: and of them ye eat (and have enjoyment), Also a tree springing out of Mount Sinai, which produces oil, and relish for those who use it for food.

Mameh Mogli

As a baby Mameh exhibited strange mannerisms. For one he was not able to crawl normally. When he crawled he would have both hands on the floor yet his legs would not be bent but straight at the knees. If you know the story of Mogli in the Jungle Book, that is exactly how he would crawl. At that point of time we were worried if he would be able to walk properly. Look at him now, strutting around like a metro man.

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ

Al-A'raf 7:31 O children of Adam! Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink [freely], but do not waste: verily, He does not love the wasteful.

Rojak Special

The rojak man on his bicycle and honking his air-horn was a sight to behold. Years ago a RM1.50 rojak was too expensive to buy. It would take a long while for me to save to get one of his rojaks. One day I worked up the courage to ask the rojak man what I could get for 10 sen. He took pity on me and concocted a special rojak. A single coconut cake stuffed with a slither of sangkuang and bean sprouts with a generous helping of rojak sauce wrapped in newspaper. It looked very much like a tiny hotdog. But it was superb. Whenever he sees me he knows it would be time for his special rojak. I have no idea if any other kid had such a special rojak.

الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلاَنِيَةً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

Al-Baqara 2:274 Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Movie In The Sky

Since young I marveled at cloud formations. I would lie down in the living room, or in bed, and look out the window. My mind full of imagination; I would daydream. I could see faces, animals, and there would be stories weaved from the cloud formations, just like watching a movie in the sky. Then I would dozed deep into my afternoon nap. Even now while traveling I can look up and see faces and animals in the sky.

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مِن مَّاء فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخِّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاء وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

Al-Baqara 2:164 Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had, been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.

What A Kopi Kampung!

Often during the afternoons at tea time, instead of tea we'd have kopi kampung (local coffee). One afternoon my mind was distracted while making the coffee. The coffee tasted different. So I thought it would be fun to prank Ayah Teh with it. When he was served it he appreciatingly gulped the coffee down. He froze and almost spat out on to my face. And we started laughing aloud. Somehow instead of adding sugar to the coffee, I had instead added salt.

مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ فِيهَا أَنْهَارٌ مِّن مَّاء غَيْرِ آسِنٍ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّارِبِينَ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ كَمَنْ هُوَ خَالِدٌ فِي النَّارِ وَسُقُوا مَاء حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَاءهُمْ

Muhammad 47:15 (Here is) a Parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised: in it are rivers of water incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink; and rivers of honey pure and clear. In it there are for them all kinds of fruits; and Grace from their Lord. (Can those in such Bliss) be compared to such as shall dwell for ever in the Fire, and be given, to drink, boiling water, so that it cuts up their bowels (to pieces)?

Sunday Mornings

Fabulous Sunday morning's food galore is at Berjaya in Bangsar. The usual order is of curry mee and wantan mee. And whenever Dik Yan sees freshly fried chicken she would not be able to resist a fat hot drumstick. Resistance is futile. One of the shopkeepers is an aunty almost always with a see-through hair cap. She normally looks grumpy but she is actually a very nice lady. Her partner, the uncle, is an ex-national footballer. He however would occasionally lose his temper for some unknown reason and would storm out of the shop.

Everytime we were there the drinks maker would asked the same question, "Biasa?".

It means "The usual?"

If we confirmed it, we would always be served the right drinks.

Every Chinese New Year season the aunty would give us oranges for good luck.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِي لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Jumu'ah 62:9 O ye who believe! When the call is heard for the prayer of the day of congregation, haste unto remembrance of Allah and leave your trading. That is better for you if ye did but know.

Flexible Baby

As a baby Dik Yan like her brothers traveled in a baby basket. When she was a toddler she would be placed in a baby car seat all securely fastened. When I had to travel outstation Ayah would take the 3 kids to and from home, kindergarten, fardhu ain, and school all on his own. All three would be buckled up in the back seat. During one of those drives Dik Yan suddenly cried in pain. She wasn't in her baby car seat. Mameh also started crying and Bubba after seeing Mameh crying also wailed. Ayah pulled the car to the side and found Dik Yan on the floor bleeding at her head. She was taken to the University Hospital and got her cut stitched up. For Ayah the hardest was to calm 3 crying young children. We were amazed at how flexible Dik Yan was as she could wriggle and climb out of her baby car seat.

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً

Al-Isra 17:70 Now, indeed, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam, and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favoured them far above most of Our creation.

Taranum

An interesting segment of our Quran reciting class was the taranum, which is reading in a specific style. But for us, our style was to follow Ustaz Muhammad, our teacher. At our current rate it would be years before we could recite the Quran with correct taranum in front of an audience. If one listened to our recitation, it would sound as if a shrieking cat had its tailed stepped on. With our full quorum; Ayah, Mameh, Bubba, Dik Yan, Aunty Eng, and me, the team would sound like a choir of shrieking cats. But who knows we might surprise ourselves, we may one day do the taranum well. Our first audience might be Tokmi as she sometimes visit us on Saturday afternoons.

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ مِنَّا فَضْلًا يَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِي مَعَهُ وَالطَّيْرَ وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِيدَ

Saba' 34:10 We bestowed Grace aforetime on David from ourselves: "O ye Mountains! Sing ye back the Praises of Allah with him, and ye birds (also). And We made the iron soft for him.

Cats And Dogs

Ayah Teh and me used to perpetually argue when we were young. He'd always seem to have the upper hand as he was bigger and he could run faster than me. Once we had a heated argument and "Whack!" I felt the burning sensation of a rotan on my leg. Tok must have heard our loud argument. As she was about to give one to Ayah Teh, he ran off like a hare. I followed suit. He jumped across the monsoon drain, and I too joined him knowing that Tok couldn't get us there. Despite our argument we sat there together like best of friends knowing that we were safe as Tok could not use her ever-ready rotan.

Hadith on Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab) - Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Apostle said, "While a man was walking on a road. he became very thirsty. Then he came across a well, got down into it, drank (of its water) and then came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. The man said to himself "This dog is suffering from the same state of thirst as I did." So he went down the well (again) and filled his shoe (with water) and held it in his mouth and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?" He said, "(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being)."

Ice-cream Malaysia

Asamboi ice-cream Malaysia was the then neighbourhood favorite iced lolly. Other flavours were rose syrup and sweetcorn. It would take Tokki and me a few hours to complete a few hundred pieces which would be sold in less than a week. The trick in making good ice-cream Malaysia was in tying up the end so that it stayed firm. Now after many decades I still have the knack in making ice-cream Malaysia. The kids and I enjoy making them even though they haven't perfected the art of tying them up. Over the years we had dabbled with different flavours and one delicious flavour was the cendol. Bubba would just love this.

وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَى كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

Al-Baqara 2:57 And We gave you the shade of clouds and sent down to you Manna and quails, saying: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you:" (But they rebelled); to us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls.

Swordfish

Every Saturday afternoon we would gather for our Quran reciting class. With the class being in afternoon we ran the risk of being sleepy during the session. For the last few months of 2008 Dik Yan was often tired as she had a demanding tuition schedule. Whenever possible we would take a quick nap before the class started. Once Ustaz Muhammad arrived on time as usual and everyone was ready except Dik Yan. We kept trying to wake her up but to no avail. So we continued the class knowing we wouldn't have Dik Yan's company. Lo and behold she later turned up with a grumpy face and pouting lips. As the expression says she looked like the ikan todak (swordfish). Aunty Eng gave a wide grin. Ustaz was such a fabulous person recognizing Dik Yan's disposition never even once corrected any of her errors. All was well when we had tea after the class. The way to put a smile on Dik Yan's face is through good food.

وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاء وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُوْلَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ

Fussilat 41:44 Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in the language) other than arabic, they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say: "It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant!"

School Going Monkey

Getting everyone ready in the morning to go to school and Fardhu Ain took precise coordination and movements. Especially living in a humongous double-storey government quarters bungalow. Yes everyone was ready, only need to put on their shoes. Oh no. Mameh and Bubba's school shoes were missing. Dik Yan's footwear was still there. We searched all over the compound but only found one half of Bubba's pair of shoes. We presume the monkeys had got hold of them. They must be on the way to school with one only wearing one shoe.

وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَيُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ فَتُخْبِتَ لَهُ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهَادِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

Al-Hajj 22:54 And that those on whom knowledge has been bestowed may learn that the (Qur'an) is the Truth from thy Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly (open) to it: for verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Way.

Giant Jackfruit

At 10 or 12 years old the giant jackfruit would be almost three-quarters of my height. When I wrap my arms around it my fingers would not be able to touch. It would require 2 persons to carry it into the house. The jackfruit tree was planted close to the goat shed. Since I was assigned to clean the goat shed, I took the liberty of sweeping all sorts of droppings towards the tree. It grew big because of the fantastic amount of fertilizer it got. From a single giant jackfruit you could get plentiful sweet crunchy yellow fruits. The only problem with jackfruits would be having to sweep away the jumping fruit maggots. The gases at night is also a bit of a bother.

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الأَرْضَ فِرَاشاً وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقاً لَّكُمْ فَلاَ تَجْعَلُواْ لِلّهِ أَندَاداً وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Baqara 2:22 Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).