Penguin RushTimely
Surah Al-Asr (verse 1-3)
Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim....
By (the Token of) TIME (through the ages),
Verily Man is in loss,
Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
As the above Surah Al Qur'an reads, TIME is a precious thing. However, no matter how productive we are, we are still at loss unless we have Faith, and do righteous deeds, etc..... (I somehow feel that the impact is more, when reading the verse translation in Malay instead.... "Demi masa, sesungguhnya manusia itu dalam kerugian....").
TIME has different meanings to different people and at different TIMES (pun intended).
For some, they are cashing in on the word TIME as their company’s name or company’s tagline.
For others, they are cashing in on the TIME theme in creating the biggest hit songs, movies and TV shows. Examples are (to name a few): -
1) Songs - Time After Time by Cindy Lauper and Yesterday by The Beatles.
2) Movies - Titanic (a couple met the first TIME on the ship and raced against TIME before the doomed liner sunk) and Nick of TIME (a loving father is threatened of his daughter’s life if he fails to assassinate a senator).
3) TV shows – Without A Trace (an FBI team battles with TIME as they search for missing persons), 24 (each season tells events that unfold within a 24-HOUR period, err, how dull is that? hehe) and Lost (a group of survivors stranded on a deserted island, counting DAYS while they wait to be rescued and remembering the DAYS that took place before their airplane crashed).
For those whose work involve with tight deadlines or those who are running late to catch a flight, they may curse at the TIME for not trying to slow down a little bit.
For those who are bed-ridden with terminal diseases, they are counting the TIMES they have left on earth.
For those who like to loaf at shopping complexes, or frequently visit their neighbours spreading gossips, fail to realise there are people out there who would kill for those precious TIMES they have wasted.
For couples who are madly in love, they treasure their TIMES together, every minute, every second and never want those TIMES to end.
For those who dearly miss their loved ones who are no longer present, whether due to deaths or them being far away or simply missing, TIME can be an instrument of torture and unbearable.
For those who are expecting a child, they eagerly await for the TIME where they can play with those little fingers, hear those ‘little’ laughter and witness those first little steps.
For those whose children have all grown up, they wonder how fast TIME flies, as they feel like it was only yesterday, they saw their children in the playground.
For those who fast during the month of Ramadhan with much humility, they learn to be patient with TIME.
For those who have met their soul mates, they will always reminisce the TIME when they first met.
For those who are late for a date for the 101st TIME, they have a lot of explaining (or begging) to do with their partners.
For those who escape death at the final TIME just before tragedies strike, or those who shoot the winning score just in TIME before the final whistle is blown, they have a lot to be grateful for.
… and finally, when the TIME has come for Mailakatul Maut (Angel of Death) to approach us, we can either have a lot to feel regret about OR have a lot to look forward to. Wallahua’lam.
**************************
To my dear (future) child(ren), remember and appreciate these TIMES before TIMES of contrary nature arrive:
1. while you are still young before you are old,
2. while you are healthy before you are in sickness,
3. while you are rich before you get poor,
4. while you have all the spaces you need before all walls closing in on you, and
5. while you are still alive before you die.
Also, remember to cover your aurat before you are covered and pray before you are prayed. (Meaning: When you die, other people will cover your body in kain kafan and people will perform prayers for you before you are buried. When that time comes, it will be already too late for you to even wish you had covered your aurat and perform your prayers, let alone do other good deeds). Wallahua’lam.
P/S: Talk about TIME, it's actually that TIME of year again. Our fellow Malaysians who are fifteen year olds (including a brother in law) are sitting for an important Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) exam throughout this week, which ends today.
In my above cartoon strips, one student confidently writes down his answers. His friend (let's call him Snooze) on the other hand, falls asleep within 5 minutes after the question paper is passed to him.
In his dream, the clock in the exam hall suddenly springs to life, grabs his question paper and flees, while Snooze desperately tries to chase after the clock which is slowly but surely leaving him behind. What does the dream mean? Well, I leave it to your own perception and interpretation.
Indeed, TIME waits for no man especially those who linger or do nothing. TIME lost is irreplaceable. Even if Snooze is allowed to re-sit his exam, he has wasted much TIME. When other people are moving forward, Snooze is still stuck at his present TIME, if not moving backward.
MeanTIME, talk about exams, I remember a dream I had, about how I studied at the very very last minute before a major exam began. I remember how intense the feeling was, how scared I got the night before the exam, fearing that I would fail. If memory serves me right, I had similar dreams more than twice. Each time, even after I woke up, the reality fact that I had already left formal education and had entered a working life, failed to calm me down. Like I said, the dream was pretty intense; it was almost real. And surprisingly, a couple other people also mentioned they had a similar dream before (and how the dream affected them when they woke up), at least once after they left school/college. Have you?
posted by The Pisces Man @ 6:27 pm
16 Comments:
Abdun,
I enjoy the cartoons on your blog. You have been very productive,
er.. I mean in drawing the cartoons hee hee. Anyway, congratulations to both you
& your wifey!
p.s. don't forget to put up some of your cartoons on cedko.com!
Hi, your blog is getting more interesting by each new entry. They are also getting more well-written. Perhaps you should think of publishing them in magazines.
Also, your cartoons are getting better too. Some really tickles. Never knew you had a cartoonish side before...
Cedric, thanx for visiting.. It's been a while eh? Sure, I'll leave some of the cartoons at Cedric.com
Anon, thanx for the compliment. Pretty flattering. I've always had a cartoonish side which I had forgotten for quite some time. That is until my mom brought it up to my wife and after I attended the cartoon convention organised by Cedric.com some months ago.
TIME.. it's the most precious thing in our life. Just imagine, you can't even buy or return TIMES you had been wasted or missed in your life with thousands or millions dollars. Neither you can buy or search for TIME anywhere in this world. So make sure you use your TIME efficiently, wisely and only for good things..
All that was said in the article plus this arabic proverb: "Time is like a sword, if you don't cut with it, it will cut you".
It is those successful people, they are the ones who truly knew the precious nature of time...Plus those athletes (track, swimming, etc), F1 drivers, bartenders (on mixing drinks), time bomb, horse racing, breaking Guinness Records, experimental accuracy, cooking and baking, etc, how time is measured from day, hour, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, let the countdown begin.
Great tazkirah (reminder), abdun.
On a 2nd thought, have i wasted my time sending this comment? all for the good cause, innit?
Hi there Anne, thanx for the input. I think it's been a while since you last commented in my blog.
Manal, thanx for sharing the Arabian proverb and opinions. Worry not, you have not wasted your time sending these comments. I really appreciate any feedback from you or anyone. After all, that's one of the reasons for a person to have a blog right? :)
Dear Abdun, this is out of topic. I just wonder which uni did you do your degree in UK previously (if u dont mind sharing this info)? I need a bit of help here.TQ
Understandably, different people have different opinions eh? :) Perhaps you can share what or which is out of topic? And why would you need to know which University that I went to? Curious...
[quote]Understandably, different people have different opinions eh? :) Perhaps you can share what or which is out of topic? And why would you need to know which University that I went to? Curious... [/quote]
harharhar u got me wrong there. Obviously, there is nothing wrong/out of topic to this entry. But "this is out of topic" refers to the question that I wanted to ask you; which was, where did u go for your degree? hehehe.. sorry for the confusion caused..
anyway, am planning to pursue my study in UK, insyaAllah, so I need some input from u guys yg pernah ke sana dulu. Tapi, ingatkot nak tanya to those yg penah study kat uni yg I want to go nanti. That's why I asked..
Ha ha ha ha... so funny, I was cracking my head open (almost literally), thinking where did I say wrong or perhaps have I offended you anywhere... Ye lah, I've seen/read crappier blogs by some other graduates also, so I wonder la, how come you attacked me. Hehe, a case of lost in translation la ni..
Anyway, I studied at Univ Of Manchester, now merged with UMIST to become one major university in the UK (and both have splendid reputations on their own prior to merger). It is ranked as one of the top 10, if not top 5, in research and some other categories also. The website is http://www.manchester.ac.uk/.
What course are you doing? Masters or PhD? Sponsored or Sdn Bhd? Sori, soalan bertubi-tubi.
P/S: Some few more info coming kay..
hehehe lawak di bulan puasa ;)
oh so u went to Manchester.. am planning to go to York initially. This is for my PhD. Undergrad & Masters buat kat local je..
However, sad reply from York: the supervisor told me that she can only take me for next year's intake (2007/2008), tapi, my scholarship (JPA; SLAB program) is only valid if I go by the end of this year. I must leave M'sia by last,31st Dec 2006; so to say.
So, I applied to another 2 univs; which are UCL & Cambridge & still awaiting for their reply. Verbally/unofficially, both uni gave positive responses, tp still tengah tunggu their final say.
sori, jwpan bertubi-tubi hehe
So, in a matter of time, you will have two Doctor titles la ya? Dr Dr Shiha, hehehe..
Wow, those 2 uni's UCL & Cambridge are very prestigous, but then sure no sweat for you eh? Good luck on both of your applications. If you get 2 offers, at least you can weigh the pros and cons.
JPA; SLAB program, apo bondo SLAB tu? Siswazah Lepasan Anak Bangsa ya? :)))
hehe... double doctor? that sounds weird ;)
actually i really wanted to go to York, sbb kat situ mmg ada research group on study yg I nak buat. hmm what to do..
anyways, the main reason I asked u this, is becoz, I will bring my two kids along. I Nak tau camner nak cari (if possible) M'sian babysitter kat sana... that is my biggest hurdle at the moment. Pening kepala nak pikir...
SLAB: Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputra. Mainly for young bumiputra lecturers in local IPTA who want to pursue postgrad degree. We have to apply to the govt using this scheme. TQ in advance :)
salam...
kak red here menjengah for a while. hope u and wife are in good condition.
be xtra careful for the house safety, do pasang alarm/cctv, we just installed 1 smart home alarm to our unit last nite, itupun sebab dah kena pecah masukkan..
take care...bila due ye wife u?
jumpa2 di jalanan, tegur2lah....
kak red n family
Shiha, why don't you ask Manal (http://acemanal.blogspot.com/)since both uni's quite close to her place (I think), with regard to Malaysian community and getting assitance. I assume you know her right?
Hi Kak Red, thanx for visiting. Wife due end March or early April 2007. I'm interested to find out info bout the alarm system you have installed. Will contact u soon, leaving ofis now... Bye!!
Thanx abdun. will do that. i thought she's back in M'sia? Bukan dia kat UKM ka? sorry if i'm wrong, but will check with her. :)
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