Sunan Nanggroe Sang Kembara

 

I'm back with The Sunan fever! Kekekeeeee...

Ramlee Awang Murshid has done it again with a book that is hard to put down and I finished reading it in one weekend!

Although for me, 'Cinta Sang Ratu' is still the best in the series, 'Sunan Nanggroe Sang Kembara' also has a kick to it. It shows us how Sunan become the man that he is.. the challenges that he faced and how he overcame it. As usual... he's so cool, calm & collected about everything.

But, in this book, he's not The Man... Wali Sufi IS the man :)

What am I babbling about? Just go get the book & read it.

P/S: I wish for this book to be translated into all languages so I can share this Sunan madness with the world!

2 interesting blogs --> definitely a must visit!

At times, boredom has its own advantages. Bloghopping that is... :)

I found this interesting blog while hopping around the net --> http://withlovefrommalaysia.blogspot.hk/

It's written by Hannah, an American exchange student, now in Ipoh. I love reading her blog because she reminds me of how wonderful my country is. Plus, I got to see my country in different perspectives  through a young foreigner's eyes. The way I read it, to Hannah everyday in Malaysia is an adventure. I smiled everytime I read her blog entries... my favorite would be the listings of her likes & dislikes in Malaysia.

You guys should go & read her blog... It's amusing :)

****

Another one is a photoblog of a well known photographer. You'll be amazed by the photos he captured.

http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/

I wish I can be a photographer like him...
Travel around the world... capture amazing sceneries, events, potrait... and share it with the world...

So nice...

Hmmm...

Oppsss... back to reality now. Off to meeting Miss Anastasia!

Life of Pi... here we come!

Sunan Musafir... An Ending or A Beginning?

Warning: For those who haven't read this book, this entry contains spoilers. Read at your own risk :P

Whose face is that? Arghhh... it's messing with my imagination!

*****

Ok... I bought this book on Saturday's evening. I finished reading it in one night :P

I loved it! Mostly because it has a happy ending. Laksamana Sunan & Sang Ratu finally got their happily ever after! *Skipping, skipping*

And to think that Saifuddin is still so cool, tough & macho even though he has aged made me love him even more.

What I love about this final book?

• It prologs with a romantic scene. I click 'Like' like a hundred times :P
• I love that it provides all the answers & conclusions. I don't think there is a story that has been left hanging. Is there? I don't think so.
• I'm so happy for Saifuddin & Ratna. After all the challenges, they finally got together. And to think that both of them joined forces to kick the demons' a**... wow! They are made for each other. Can't find a better match for Laksamana Sunan. Ratna is such a good wife. She's always wise, supportive & strong. No wonder Saifuddin would do anything for her.
• Happy for Luna & Yedee, but sad for Indera. Such love... so touching.

What I don't love about this final book?

• My eyes almost popped out when I read Haryani's name towards the ending. Why bring her back into the story??? Arrrgghhh... She is the only character in Laksamana Sunan's series that I don't like. Unlike unlike unlike! If I'm a writer of a drama series, Haryani would be the character I would kill off at the end of season 1... or if I'm nice, maybe on first episode of season 2. 

Above all, I love the writing style. All the flashbacks & flash forwards spun my brain high & low. Trying to remember all the characters & connect all the stories, was what made reading this novel fun. It's like solving a jigsaw puzzle. You get a piece & put it in a place here & there. Bit by bit until you get the complete picture. It's satisfying :)

However, I felt quite tired towards the end. Too many stories to digest. Too cramped. All the stories of current, past & futures compiled together... it's tight.

I'm actually quite sad to know that this is Laksamana Sunan's last book. I wish to have more adventures with him. Indirectly, Sunan did influence his readers' lives, in so many little ways. That's why we'll miss him dearly.

I'm sure going to miss my Abang Sunan... huhuhuuuu... but he gets to rest now. Happy for him :)

'Sunan Musafir' might be the end of Laksamana Sunan's stories, but I got a feeling that it is a beginning of another.

Can't wait for a new adventure by Ramlee Awang Murshid :)

Have to start to see with 'mata hati' for a better profiling & speak with 'suara naluri' for a better communication. Ahaks!

Under Sunan's 'spells' again & this is going to last for a while now :P

Nite nite y'all! ASFC signing out!

The Laksamana Sunan series :)

Can't shake this off... a good read is a good read. I spoke about this series so passionately that a few of my friends & I have become a member of ASFC --> Abang Sunan FanClub. Kekekeee...

I managed to spread the Laksamana Sunan fever... ngeeeeee...

Since my last entry, Ramlee Awang Murshid have added 2 more books in this series... Cinta Sufi & Sutera Bidadari. Of all the 5 books, my favourite ones are Cinta Sang Ratu & Sutera Bidadari.

These 5 books are such an enjoyable & entertaining read... full of adventures!

I'm sure there is a 6th book coming... Can't wait!

If you haven't read these books, you better! Go get them! Go go goooo...

 

Salam Ramadhan 1432H - Jangan lupa bersahur ok!

*In Malay

Assalamualaikum  ya ashabi... Kaifa halukum? Ana bi khair... Alhamdulillah... 

Eh cewah... praktis cakap Arab sikit... kalau tak, sia- sia aje belajar kan?

Ramadhan dah dekat... kan kan kan? Saya sukaaaaaaa bulan Ramadhan. Bulan yang paling meriah berbanding dengan bulan- bulan lain. Pergi mana- mana pun meriah... Pergi pasar meriah, pergi masjid pun meriah... Masjid semakin meriah kalau di bulan Ramadhan... Alhamdulillah! Walaupun masjid biasanya kembali lengang selepas Solat Sunat AidilFitri, marilah kita sama- sama berdoa supaya kemeriahan masjid akan berterusan... Bukan senang nak buat benda baik. Banyakkkk godaannya.

Kalau di pagi- pagi hujung minggu, tempat rekreasi pun meriah. Kurang makan bukan bermakna kurang tenaga kan? Itulah kelebihan berpuasa... membuktikan kelebihan kekuatan umat Islam. Tenaga yang datang bukan kerana makanan, tetapi kerana iman. Eh cewahhhh... betulkan betulkan? Tapi, pastikan kerana iman, bukan kerana nafsu... kalau berjalan petang- petang kat pasar Ramadhan tu, kenalah tambahkan kekuatan iman... banyak godaan... makanan yang bermacam jenis, berwarna- warni, tersangatlah menggoda... jangan sampai membazir ya...

Itu baru cerita pasal godaan makanan... godaan lain lagiiiiii banyak... Banyakkan bersabar!

Eh eh... sebenarnya nak cerita pasal benda lain ni... Saya nak cerita pasal bersahur.

Haaaa... you all bersahur tak?

Kalau bersahur, baguslah! Kalau tak bersahur, janganlah begitu! Rugi tau! Di bulan Ramadhan ni, makan atau tidak, dua- dua dapat pahala... Tapi, kalau makan di waktu yang sepatutnya berpuasa tu tanpa sebab- sebab yang dapat diterima, takdelah dapat pahala... ngeeee... Janganlah salah faham. Maksud saya, makan di bulan Ramadhan yang dapat pahala tu ialah makan waktu berbuka puasa. Tapi... makan sahur pun dapat pahala tau! Bestkan?

Saya ni, mestiiiii bersahur... Dari kecil sampaiiii besar mesti bangun bersahur. Memang dah dibiasakan oleh emak dan ayah. Selera makan waktu bersahur, sama aje... Tak berkurangan pun walaupun kadang- kadang susahnya nak buka mata :) Tapi, bila usia dah bertambah ni, saya perasan saya akan mudah penat jika bersahur berat- berat. Perut dah tidak sekuat dulu... hihihihiii...

Cerita pasal bersahur ni, saya ada terjumpa satu buku yang menarik tentang bersahur. 

Tajuknya: Ayuh Bersahur - Keberkatan Yang Terpinggir. 

Buku ni sangat menarik, sangat comel dan penuh maklumat tentang kelebihan bersahur. 

Comel kan buku ni? Kat dalam dia lagi comel! Saya bagi sneak peek sikit...

Itu ajelah ye. Tak boleh sneak peak banyak- banyak... nanti saya kena saman dibawah Akta Hakcipta pula :)

Antara perkara yang dibincangkan didalam buku ini:

• Ada apa dengan bersahur?
• Pengertian, Hukum, Waktu, Makanan & Tip- tip Bersahur
• Bagaimana mengisi waktu sahur anda?
• Sketsa renungan

Best tau! Buku ini sangat berguna untuk memujuk orang- orang tersayang supaya bangun bersahur :)

Sebagai mengakhiri nukilan saya pada hari ini, hayatilah hadis Rasullullah s.a.w di bawah.

Anas bin Malik r.a berkata, Rasullullah s.a.w bersabda:

"Bersahurlah kamu, sesungguhnya pada makanan sahur itu terdapat keberkatan."

(Hadis riwayat al-Bukhari)

Jumpa lagi dinukilan akan datang! Rajin- rajinlah bangun bersahur ya!

Isabella... I found it!

Finally, it's on book rack at the bookstore! Isabella by Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi. You better go get it! You better read it! It's so gooood!

Let me tell you the story of me and this book. I first saw this book at a warehouse book sale near my home about 20 years ago. That time the price was only MYR8.00. The first time I read the synopsis, it was really intriguing. I want it, I want it! But still I didn't buy it. Then, school holiday was over and I had to go off to school. Somehow, this book kept lingering on my mind. I can't get it off of me. So, I called my best friend, Ms. F & asked her to help me buy it. I don't think she even remembers that she helped to buy this book for me... heheheeee...

I read this book at least 5 times end to end (at least) if I remember correctly. If I hadn't lost my copy, I could have read it even more. I didn't actually lost it. I lent it to someone and that someone still haven't returned it to me. The problem is, I don't remember who was that someone! Arrrgggghhhhh... I love the old copy even though it was really worn out, the paper was already so soft and the cover was almost torn out. This book is the type of book that I would keep under my pillow, to keep me company.

Ever since I lost this book, I tried high & low to find a new copy. Everywhere I go, every bookstore I've been to... I couldn't find it. I found a copy online, but it is not the same... I just have to have the hardcopy!

But now... I'm a happy blogger! I've found a new copy of my beloved read... *skipping*

A little bit of book review:
Isabella is a daughter of a high Catholic priest in Spain. This book is the story of her struggle in finding Islam. In this book, there are a lot of religious debate between Muslims & Christians scholars, discussions and arguments about the differences of the two religions.

*****

This book is a really interesting book for me because I learned quite a lot about Islam & Christian from it. My advice to all who wants to read this book, please keep an open mind. The information that we gathered from this book, is for us to check, confirm and verify. Finding the truth is never easy.

To those who are already in love with Saifuddin a.k.a Laksamana Sunan, you're going to love Umar Lahmi. He's not a tough warrior like Laksamana Sunan, but he is a scholar and he is very smart. There's a saying that 'a pen is mightier than a sword'. So... they are both equally attractive... heheheeee...

Oit... stop drooling :P

Isabella by Maulana Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi --> original cover

Please forgive me, but I truly truly hate a book cover with a photo of someone on it... why on earth does the publisher designed this kind of cover?

That is not Isabella! Arrrggghhhhh....

There's a gift inside... a bookmark. Same design as the book cover...

To further torture me... I guess...

The cover tortured me... it's messing with my imagination. Plus, I've read this book so many times... The Isabella that I have in my mind is totally different. She has soft eyes, Spanish looking, a face full of thoughts, she looks very smart, has a slender body... her walk is graceful...

The drawing on the cover of the lost copy, really reflect how Isabella looks like... I miss that book *sigh*

I just had to improvise the book cover...
So, tadaaaaaaa....

Isabella by Maulana Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi --> cover edited by me :)

Lalalalaaaaa.... no more picture to mess with my imagination.

I even fashioned my own bookmark from the cut out :)

So, quickly go to the bookstore and grab this book before it is out of stock. This is no ordinary story book... you really can learn a lot of things from here... it is only MYR22.00...

The truth is out there :)

The happy Speechless wishing 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa!

p/s: Not gonna lend this book to anyone... I've learned my lesson :)

I'm Your Angel :)

'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon really is an intriguing book. Even if it's lengthy for me... 504 pages. Phewww... I think, if this book was made into a movie, it'll be one of those 3 hours movie where they try to cramp everything in... and I'll start to lose interest... kinda like 'Transformer 2' or 'Spiderman 3' :) but I'm just gonna have to wait until it was made into a movie to find out whether I assumed right or wrong *wink*

A few times, I put this book down... I only picked it up a few days/ weeks later to continue reading. Just when I almost lose interest, there comes the interesting plots, unexpected twists & thoughts to ponder.

It is quite an enjoyable read :)

'I don't trust people who say they have a lot of friends. It's a sure sign that they don't really know anyone' ~Andreas Corelli~

That was one of thoughts that got me pondering...
Hmmm... I do have a LOT of friends... but seriously, do I really know them?

Do you really know your friends?

When I really think about this, it made me feel like I'm the worst friend in the world. I don't think I know everything I should have known about them... even the closest ones!

OMG *sigh*

So, I guess I better start doing something about this...

To all my friends out there... I love you all! So very much! You were there when my family was far away...

To Ms. F.A (I know you're reading this) my bestest friend since I was a crazy, naughty little girl (still am, I think) I hope I have been a real good friend to you, as you are to me... terharu la plak :)

I'll have to start personally tell my friends how much I appreciate their friendship... the most important things are the hardest to do.

You should too... *wink*

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-XOXO-

Fiqah Berinteraksi Dengan Non-Muslim

A Muslim guide to interaction with non- muslim...

A very good & a very useful book. I've seen this book a few times on the book rack at the book stall. Each time I said I'll buy this book and never did buy it. Until recently when I have a doubt on whether I can or cannot carry pork last month, I straightaway bought this book without stalling. I needed help and I can tell you that this book is a great help.

I just finished reading this book and I can tell you that it answers a lot of questions on how we Muslims can mingle freely with our non-muslims friends, colleagues, neighbours etc without scratching our faith, our beliefs and obedience to Allah. This book is especially helpful when you have really good non- muslim friends. There are times in our friendship that we have doubts on whether we can or cannot do a certain thing. Take my dilemma for example...

However I feel like this book doesn't really go into depth on explaining certain areas. So, you still need to get help from the expert... just make sure you go to the right expert ok... Do not go to the liberal ones *wink*

This book answered/ discussed some questions with regards of the followings:

1.   Swine/ Pork

2.   Dog
3.   Halal meat/ food
4.   Alcohol
5.   Funeral
6.   Marriage
7.   Neighbour
8.   Greetings
9.   Medical/ Health treatment
10. Celebration
11. Business
12. Aurat
13. Converts

and a lot more...

I'm really grateful that Mohd Nidzam Abd. Kadir wrote this book and Telaga Biru for publishing it. In a world where interactions between muslims and non-muslims cannot be avoided on a daily basis, especially in our beloved country where we strive to live as harmonius and peaceful as possible, this is the kind of book that we, muslims can rely on as a basic guidance.

Falling in Love with Laksamana Sunan

He's a fiction, he doesn't exist, he's not real...

But, I fell in love with him. It's impossible not to.

Saifuddin, respectfully known as 'Laksamana Sunan' is a great man. He's only a character in Ramlee Awang Murshid's 'Bagaikan Puteri' trilogy. I'm aware of the fact that he's only alive in those stories and wishing that he's real is like 'in your dreams'. Well... I'll be very happy to see him in my dreams if I did :) He's gentle, he's kind & sweet, he's 'alim', he's patient, he's strong, he has a tough & good heart, he's a romantic and he's good looking... in one word, 'perfect'... senang cerita *wink*

Above all... he's a man... he's the man... huhuhuuuuu...

Anyway... snapping out of fantasy world... what I really want to write is about Ramlee Awang Murshid's trilogy. They call it 'Bagaikan Puteri' trilogy, but I'd rather call it 'Laksamana Sunan' trilogy because it's a story about this great man.

I love these books so much that I finished reading all three within 3 weeks. I managed to find reading times in between my busy schedule, on a crowded train, on my flight to Korea, during my alone time in Seoul, before bedtime... all the timeeeeee... I finished reading 'Cinta Sang Ratu' in one weekend... I love the 2nd book so much!

To be honest, I hardly read books written by Malay novelist. Mostly because it's hard for me to find a good book or the good ones are too much of a literature for me. Everytime I go to the Malay novel racks at the bookstore, I wish to find storybooks that are as entertaining as 'Up & Down in the Dales' by Gervase Phinn, or twisted like 'Kane & Abel' by Jeffrey Archer, or puzzling like 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown or sweet and innocent like my all time favorite 'Anne of Green Gables' by L.M Montgomery. I can't remember any Malay storybook that I really love except... Nisah Haron's short stories when I was in secondary school. She rocked with 'Atlantis, Duniaku DuniaMu', 'Disebalik Wajahmu Aries', 'Annyss Sophilea' & one more that I can't remember the title.
 
But, Ramlee Awang Murshid has proven to me that Malay novelist can level with western novelists. Browsing through book racks full of Malay romance novels, I really felt discouraged. I need to slip away from the real world, to find ideas, something different, something 'outside of the box' and entertaining... I'm glad I found this trilogy. Although, I don't really like the 3rd book. But the 2nd one... so good... huhuhuhuuuuu... I should have picked up these books when I started seeing them the first time.
 
What I like about this story? Laksamana Sunan of course... and Sang Ratu. The novels flow smoothly even though it jumps from one century to another, each time changing the storyline, but still connected. It is so cool. Ramlee Awang Murshid must have a very clear idea of what he wanted to write when he wrote these novels. These novels are full of time travels, demons and devils, werewolves, rotten-hearted humans and of course... love. But not a mushy mushy kind of love. A real love... logical, practical... loyal...
 
The best thing is, these novels keep on reminding the readers that there is no power greater than ALLAH, that everything happened with a 'hikmah' behind it... it keeps reminding the readers to be patience, tawakal and always keep a good heart. 'Laksamana Sunan' and 'Sang Ratu' characters remind me to become a better muslim...
 
What a good way of da'wah...
 
So, if you haven't read this trilogy... you better :) This trilogy is a good piece of work and officially makes me a big fan of Ramlee Awang Murshid.

'Sebagai manusia, aku sayang kepadamu...'

I love you too Laksamana Sunan...

Aloooo... wake upppppp...

Ooppppssss sorry... it's bedtime now... off to dream world... hoping to meet Laksamana Sunan (hahahaaaa... I wish!)

Sweet dreams everyone!

Indahnya Hidup Bersyariat by Ustaz Dato' Ismail Kamus

This is one book that I'm definitely going to get. Basically because lately it's been hard for me to recall most of the Islamic lessons that my ustaz and ustazah had taught me since primary school. If they knew this, they'll be very dissappointed.

This book, by Ustaz Dato' Ismail Kamus is a comprehensive guide to Fardhu A'in and Fardhu Kifayah. Whatever it is that we as muslims must know, you can find it in this book...

What to do on childbirth, how to perform solat, how to perform solat when travelling, how to perform solat when we're sick, what is the correct way to do business, what are the fundamentals of marriage, how to handle death and funerals.

This book also provide all the 'adab's and 'doa's that we can practise in our daily lives.

What I mentioned above is only some of the book's contents that I can remember. Actually there are a lot more...

The price of this book is only RM 55.00 in Peninsular and RM57.00 for Sabah/Sarawak. But, that RM55.00/57.00 is more than worth it. The information contained in this book worth so much more than that, plus this book is printed on a high quality paper with colored and clear pictures of human models demonstrating the actions described.

If you're looking for a perfect book or a perfect gift, this book would be it.

Bercakap Dengan Jin by Tamar Jalis... muahahahhaaaa...

Direct translation... 'Talking to Genie' (correct translation right?)

I finally found a Tamar Jalis's 'Bercakap dengan Jin' blog. Yeaaaayyyyyy... all this while, if I google this title, I couldn't get to a page that have complete stories for even one book. But in this blog, there are 75 stories. I can't wait to start reading!

If you never read any of 'Bercakap dengan Jin' books, then you should start because the stories are sooooooo good. It's true! If you're the type that get scared easily (like me...), don't worry, this is not the kind of story that will haunt you. I think...

I've read these books since I was young (still so young...) and I love it!

This is the cover of the book that I used to read. It was my uncle's :)

During lunch hour today, my gang and I talked about ghost's stories, tv series & movies. The good ones, the bad ones, the real ones... eeeeeee... 'Kekasihku Seru' is still on the top of my list and the blonde sea spirit still cracks me up... I can't think about it without laughing... hahahaaaaa..

We also wondered why is it that we crave scary stories? Although we feel 'tortured' reading, listening or watching these stories, we still keep on going.

My theory was, real life is dull and we need the thrills...

My friend brought up another interesting theory justified by her Japanese friends. She told us, while she was in Japan, she asked her Japanese friends why is it that there are a lot of scary & ghost movies shown during summer. The explanation was interesting... seriously. According to them, summer is hot, so that's why a lot of scary movies were made to give the audience the 'chill'.

Hihihiiii... just interesting.

Anyway, I'm going to start enjoying my time reading 'Bercakap dengan Jin' soon and I hope so will you :)

I've added his link under my 'Friends and Favourites...'

Have fun reading!

The Big Picture by David Suzuki

I saw this book on one of the front shelves in Kinokuniya bookstore. It caught my attention only after I read the review on the back of the book. I didn't know who David Suzuki was, that's why the book title didn't attract me... but the old man picture did. He looks so deep in thought.

That's David Suzuki... a Canadian environmental activist.

In a National Geographic (or was it Discovery Channel?) documentary, two brothers went to visit the 'Three Gorges Dam' in China. They went for a river cruise along the Yangtze River (Yellow River). It was heartbreaking to see how nature's wonderful and breathtaking beauty been sacrificed just to make way for modernization and in the name of economic and social development. The dam is huge, but not as huge as compared to the lost of our natural world.

Perhaps, there are no other options?

I remember the commentator mentioned something about how human is the only species that can alter Earth. At that time, I thought 'how true...'. But, while reading this book, I realized that is so, so true.

In his book, David Suzuki laid out all the evidences of how our actions have been altering Earth. If we don't act soon, this 'home' will be no more. I'm sure I don't need to mention everything... There's one effect that we can already feel. Global warming... us that live in the tropics can already feel the heat. It gets really hot when it's hot and too heavy when the rain comes... But global warming does more that just releasing more heat and rain. It impacts everything in our chain of life. Our weather, our air, our food, our health, our future... our life.

You might think that ants are just a tiny species that can be ignored and we can live without. You can read this book and find out how wrong you are. Just like I did... If ants are at the bottom of the food chain and we are at the top, it's not so hard to imagine what will go wrong if the chain is disturbed isn't it?

If you watched the movie, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', you'll probably remember what Klatu said...

If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives.

One day, we will all go together with our Earth and the universe. But while we are still here let's work together to make this Earth healthy again... and make right what we have made wrong.

As for myself... I'm taking tiny steps in my struggle to become a true environmentalist.
Wish me luck!

~I DO LOVE THE WHOLE WORLD! BOOM DE YADA!~

p/s: Check out David Suzuki Foundation... the link is under my 'Friends and Favourites' section.

Next, I plan to read 'Ecological Intelligence' by Daniel Goleman. I need to know more about what I can do to help my beloved Earth.