AMAL ALBAZ

If you haven't heard about her, you have to watch this.

I know you want the lyrics. I know you want to try it yourselves too and see if you can sound just as smart.

Well, I know I did.

LOL

So, here's the lyrics I got from TEDXIB @York Series website where they interview Amal about this particular poem

 Click Me (if you want to read the interview, that is)

TEDxIB@York Talk: Crazy About Peace!

Spoken word poetry (italics):

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Is all I hear comin’ out of my clock,

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Sharper than a bell, and louder than a knock,

Tick, tock, tick tock.

And it keeps ticking.

It keeps ticking, and tocking,

As we’re currently talking,

And never stops.

I observed oh how it was so concise,

Never skipping a second, it was so precise.

It was like a song like a heart, never going offbeat.

Each tick on the dot, so discrete.

It was this timeless time-telling machine,

That struck me – on the day I turned 16.

I mean, I was still young – at least so they’d say,

But I think I saw the wrinkles trying to make their way.

And so I started to think.

What have I done in the past 16 years alive?

Did I take risks for change, or was I trapped inside my hive?

Did I neglect peace, or for it, did I strive?

And I realized, I did nothing.

16 years of absolutely nothing.

But chilling with my friends, and shopping at the mall.

Time being wasted checking my Facebook wall.

Texting my friends all day and night,

Although they just left my sight.

All the Friday nights that were spent on the phone,

Thought time would last, but it has surely flown.

And then . . . suddenly, a storm of guilt flooded my past,

Afraid that I don’t know how long I have to last.

I mean, we all know that there’s no age for death,

Our first might actually be our last breath.

Then I remembered a saying that the prophet once said,

A saying since I heard, was fixed in my head.

That we’re supposed to take advantage of five, before five.

Our body, and health, before we fall sick,

Our youth before we start walking on a stick.

Our wealth and money before we become broke,

And our free time, before we have no time to even joke.

But most importantly, our life before our death.

So if I have four, or five out of the five, what’s my excuse?

We can’t keep saying one day I’ll make a difference, when I’m like 29,

Right now I’m still young I’ve got tons of time,

‘cause life is like a drop of water in the sea,

It’s like zero compared to infinity,

And who said we even have the guarantee . . .

To live tomorrow?

Time is not just flying, it’s fleeing like crazy,

And here we are so careless, effortless; so lazy.

So let’s make use of it, before it runs out,

‘cause making the world a better place is what our existence is all about.

We are the youth, the leaders of our nation,

So we gotta’ start taking action from now to assure a good destination.

We start and end revolutions as we’ve all seen,

Together united, we’re stronger than Spider Man, and Wolverine.

We’re something else man . . . we’re the youth.

So I make a call to all those like me,

Who want to make a change, but can’t quite find the key.

Who plan so much for tomorrow, and forget they have today,

But problem is . . . if we stick to this mentality, our youth will actually decay.

‘cause the measure of youth is not by how old you are,

Or how fast you can drive a car,

But it’s all in here; in your heart, and how much you can do,

How much you can give, how much you can see through.

So just by being young, you don’t redeem the status of a youth,

It’s given to those who truly deserve it;

And that’s the truth.

Cool, rite!

The thing she just did, the spoken word-poetry thing. Man...

I remembered showing the video to my wingmates at KMB, and after that, every one of us started talking in rhymes and applauded each other at every tiny little lines that made sense. Most of them weren't, so you can imagine what crap we had for a whole evening. It was very silly, actually. But we had fun.

God, I miss my wingmates.

Anyway, a few days ago, Mr. Goody-goody-all-protective Kaspersky decided to suddenly do its job. I was trying to download Amal's video on Youtube downloader and apparently I haven't upgraded it, so I decided to do just that, then suddenly this pop-up came up and asked me if  'I'm sure that I want to download this 'cause apparently there's virus somewhere suddenly like duhh'. So, of course, I freaked out and clicked 'Block' instinctively and the next thing I know, I can't open Google Chrome. It's like the program is terminated or something.

Screw.

I almost cried, of course. I needed Chrome. I just don't do Mozzila or Internet Explorer. I've got everything saved at Chrome. The bookmarks, the blogs I follow... and I've still got months until Australia, so you can tell, I was bummed. Really.

So, I asked my friends at facebook and they suggested that I download this new browser (I don't think it's really new. I'm a noob who just found out. POOR ME)  which is apparently is better than Google Chrome, so they say.

So I did just that. The browser's name is Torch . And it's AMAZING.You can download torrent and share things and listen to music and search for lyrics all in one go. And it has this feature that you can download any videos without the need of the URL link. My Lord. 

AND AND AND..

It's like some miracle; the videos are not downloaded in .flv format but mp4 (which means you can open it in any player, yeeehaa),

This is too good to be true.

So, of course. By the end of today, I've easily downloaded all of Amal's video (there's currently 5 of them) from her youtube channel.

And I'm gonna snyc the mp3s versions to my iPod tomorrow.

Yes, I have all the time in the world. 

SO here are the links for, well, everything.

Amal's Youtube Channel (where I download the 5 videos)

Amal's wordpress blog. (You should read her writing. She majors journalism so yeah, they're good pieces)

Torch browser  (LOL. I just have to.)

This is her, the young poet =)

i think she's around my age

and here I am, watching gilmore girls

=(

SHEIKH ABDUL RAHMAN SUDAIS

May Allah bless this man
Sheikh Abdul Rahman Sudais

*         *          *

I always have felt amazed whenever I meet someone who memorized the Quran. Scrap that. I'd get blown away, if it;s only 10 juz. Or 5. Really.

I remembered what my teacher back in high school used to say. She said that, people who memorize the Quran is carrying a big responsibility, and if they can carry that, they can carry anything. It's a way of saying that memorizing the Quran is such a gifted opportunity that if you are able to complete memorizing the whole Holy Quran within your lifetime, you should be truly thankful to God.

Back when I was a kid, around 10 years old or so, we have this Islamic Classes (Sekolah Agama) after school which starts around 2.00 pm everyday. I remembered my enthusiasm to finish school early, so I can go to transit, wash up, have lunch and walk over to attend these Islamic Classes. No, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the lessons. I was also another kid who hated exams and homeworks just as much. Haha

But at Sekolah Agama, I get to meet my friends (oh yes, the same ones who attended the Primary School few hours earlier LOL - spending hours with them + talking on the phone at night was essential back then). Plus, Sekolah Agama was cool because there's no rules or stupid prefects trying to find your faults, I was also in a classroom with my crush, my two childhood bestfriends, and I get to beat my friends in memorizing some verses and Surahs of Quran oh yeah.

I remembered the ustazahs going "Ok you can go to the next Surah now" and my classmate would goggle and go "Why on earth would you speed?"

You see, most of them have in fact memorized the verses, but they prefer to stretch the days, so they won't have to bother memorizing new ones for tomorrow. So, when the ustazahs ask, they can go, "Ok, I'm ready now." when in fact they have been ready for long.

Either that. Or I was really a sucker for memorizing back then. Haha.

Sadly, after the elementary years ended, there were no more Sekolah Agama, therefore, no more Quran Memorization Classes everyday. 

Therefore, I stopped memorizing.

It's a shame, really. Because as you get older, your memory get kinda swelled and well, you can't remember as much as when you were a kid. You understand better, but your memory just go poof.

Therefore it is no surprise that I can still recite the the Surahs I memorized when I was a kid. 

But the new Surahs like the compulsory ones KMB (my college) had us memorize, like Yaasin, it will stick in for at least a week after I memorize it, then, it'll go away. Not entirely lah of course, but I'll get confused between verses and suddenly its mixed up with some other Surah.

Bummer.

A few weeks ago, Paan wished me a happy birthday and asked me (via whatsapp) of my 20 year-old wishlist. I'm still into constructing a good one and finalizing what I really want. ( I tell u, girls wants new things everyday) But one wish, that I am certain have been hanging there on from year to year and I have never really been able to cross it out, is to memorize the whole HOLY QURAN .

Anyway, I thought, listening to the recitation might help me memorize, (sorta) so I downloaded Abdul Rahman Sudais's recitation. No fret, if you dont know who he is, you'll go " ohhhh, so that's his name" once you hear he recite. He is one of the Mekah's Imam. (some people said I shouldn't write 'Mecca' with that spelling, coz it bears a different meaning, I dont  know)  and his recitation is very pleasing to the ear.

I have another favourite. Taha Bajunaid. He's a little kid I stumble upon on somewhere and fell in love with his voice since. If I have a boy in the future, I'm gonna make sure he can recite just as melodious.

And here's one kid (Hassan) I found on youtube a few years ago, or was it Afnan, who showed me? Well, u have to listen to this if u haven't.

Here's the link to Sheikh Abdul Rahman Sudais complete HOLY QURAN Recitation

Torrent Zip File 

Mp3 Recitation and Download

By Surah's and other reciters of your favourite

Ok. I hope this helps.

Just copy the mp3's to ur iPod, mp3 player, smartphones, mp4, anything~

If subconscious does it job, you may be able to memorize the Quran without you realizing it too.

If not, well, I'm sure listening to the Quran will do us great favour in this world, the grave, and the hereafter.

Happy days =)

YASMIN MOGAHED

Ever since Abah installed the family, the amazing-super-fast unifi, I've been downloading movies non-stop. Really. I'm downloading Cadet Kelly at the moment and have just finished watching Cheaper By the Dozen with Yam. Yeah, don't blame us. We didn't have Disney Channels when we were kids so we're catching up now hahah.

Tomorrow, Yam's going back to college and I will be left alone again so I'm kinda sad. Uni semester will only starts at February and that is like 80 days to go. 80 days?! I can travel the world in 80 days. hah. And build a house. And breed kittens.

So, I was going through the books in the family library out of pure boredom and I found the book Syahirah Atikah gave me when she came for sleepover few weeks before she went to Galway. (yes, that girl is a genius).

Teacher Musliza showed it to me once when I was at college. She loves books. She have students handing her one all the time. So her review on this one, when I asked, was; the contents are pretty heavy but extraordinarily meaningful. The words are not bombastic but they're sharp.

So, I sat down in front of the TV one day and read this book Syahirah gave me and sure enough, in less than ten minutes, I could already see why,the author, YASMIN MOGAHED is fantastic. She addresses daily issue and inner conflicts that we battle in all the time. She uncovered the secrets of detaching ourselves from worldly materials and attaching ourselves with God.

I'm no good in explaining in details but I seriously hope that every muslim will get to read this book. If I'm rich enough and like have my very own paychecks, I'd buy a copy for all my friends, really.

Ohh did I mention that you can buy them online, now. Well, here's the link.

BUY ONLINE FROM YASMIN'S VERY OWN WEBSITE

BUY ONLINE FROM MPH

And upon stumbling on the website for the book, I came to notice that Yasmin have her own audio podcast. Yayyy!

So...............................

okay, this is weird. The last time I went to the website, everything was okay. Now, it's showing ERROR 404 and the page cannot be found. Oh well. (can anyone see how bugged I am now but I don't want to remove this post haha)

Here's another website for her podcasts. just as great =)

MUSLIM CENTRAL YASMIN MOGAHED PODCASTS

(God, I love her American accent)

Once the web is okay and I can then download the mp3s, I'll edit this post. =)

See ya.

(this is her anyway. Pretty aite. =p)

NOUMAN ALI KHAN

May Allah bless this man. Seriously.

I started listening to Nouman Ali khan when I was in college. The girls would have this small lecture between maghrib and isya' and sometimes (most of the time, actually), they would show us downloaded videos. This is why KMB rocks. After figuring out how awesome 'Quran Weekly' is (which is an online program that Nouman hosts), I started downloading 'em only to find out that there's groups of people who loved him just as much and have uploaded many of his talks (not only Quran Weekly) on youtube, halaltube and elsewhere.

Of course lahh, i thought.

There's just something about Mr. Nouman here that makes every one of his talk seemed very relate-able. His usage of layman words are just outstanding.

Don't get me wrong but really, sometimes, when I go to some religious gathering, I found out that I get easily intimidated when people are explaining matters using terms I can't quite yet to comprehend. So, yeah~

Nouman is just so the opposite.

His thinking is very logical, very modern and very approaching.

He talks not like he's some great guy who knows a whole deal about the Quran and Islam.

He talks like he's just another one of us who watches NBA playoffs and eat popcorns.

My sister and I had an opportunity to meet him last year when he was in Malaysia. He had a tour going on, so we signed up as volunteers. On the last day of the tour, Nouman gave a small private talk to us volunteers at the prep room in PWTC. (yes, i was starstuck with him being half a meter away). He mentioned how he loved the fact that we're running events like this but he wanted us to also be out of our comfort zone, to reach out to people of different kinds and not only mingle with the people we feel most in secure with.

Coz Jannah is for everyone. And it doesn't have quotas.

I am currently still downloading and listening to Nouman's lecture online. I've thought of compiling them all uploading them on MediaFire so people can download the zip file straightaway. But till I get that done, here's where the link of the website which I owe so much thanks to. 

You can just right click the lectures that you wanna listen to and go to 'save link as', and you'd get the mp3 version of it in no time. 

Since there's so much of it, I download those that seemed very interesting and copied them to my iPOD. 

That way, even if u're in a bus, the train or just walking alone to the market, you'd get to listen to his words.

And mind you, you'd get addicted. =)

LINK TO WEBSITE

RAIHAN

RAIHAN

I would say I'm the loyal-type. I'd stick to thing that I feel good with eventhough they'd become pretty much overrated.Call me old-fashion, I still have Backstreet Boys and Westlife in my playlist and never have any urge to move 'em out. I'm happy with that. Well-at least, that's what I thought. Until one day I stumbled upon my old stack of CDs and cassette pile and discovered that I haven't actually been that loyal to my past.

There were bunch of 'em cassette. Most of them are nasyids that my sister and I recorded from our old radio, the one she got for her birthday. I remembered vividly how we would wait patiently for the music charts every saturday night and record our favourite songs on the DJ's cue. How w'd refrain ourselves from any giggling or doors-banging as it'll disturb the recording and spoil the whole playlist.

I know for a fact the cassettes don't work anymore. We've tried it on before; the ribbon is all messed up.

And then I remembered my chilhood songs; my actual childhood songs. Before I knew 'Seasons In the Sun' and 'Shape of My Heart'. Before 'Complicated' and 'Welcome to my Life'.

I remembered the sweet-melodious, Raihan

There was a sudden intense longings and so I immediately googled their songs, only to find myself crying after listening to the first few soundtracks.
When I was a kid, the melody was downright catchy and easy to follow.
I never knew the lyrics could be this deep.
God bless them, wherever they are now.
Here's the Album if you want to download.
There'a a blog that have helped compiled and upload the songs and so I'm just redirecting you guys to the file.
All credits go to them and their production house.
Spread their music, will ya. Raihan was famous. They won many awards, locally and internationally. They've held concerts at Russia and France and around the world.
How come? Well, they touched people's soul

Listen to their lyrics. You'll go, no wonder~

DOWNLOAD AT THE LINKS BELOW

1) FULL Album Raihan (Senyum)
2) FULL Album Raihan (Syukur)
3) FULL Album Raihan (Puji-Pujian)