Moment to Reflect (Pt 2) - The FOAM - Truth or Vanity

The year 1431 is coming to and end. I ought to post something appropriate for the occasion.

I have just written a philosophical aspect of my coconut watch, the ageing and dying generation and the young ones ready to take over. How about the sea, the old timeless ocean? It has a lot to offer.

Within these couple of weeks what is more prominent is the incessant sound of waves beating the shore day in and day out. This is a normal annual event and as I have already settled down here for nearly two decades, the sound from the sea no longer bothers nor disturbs me and my sleep. Instead it becomes a welcome background to this otherwise quiet environment. It is music to the ear to wake up in the middle of the night hearing the rhythmic sound and imagining the rollers rushing ashore unleashing themselves with force onto the vast expense of the sandy beach, sweeping it smooth and clean.

Accordingly, armed with my small camera I walked over to the beach at the back of my home to watch the wonderful, at times fearsome scene of the marvel of nature, the magic of His creation especially when the Monsoon wind blows hard from the vast South China Sea. I was fully aware that somewhere down town, twenty odd kilometers away, some people were absorbed and excitedly watching the glory of man-created Monsoon Cup battle now being held off the coast of the City of Warisan Persisiran Pantai.

As expected the sea was rough, not as rough as it should be when the time comes, but a far cry from one’s picture of a peaceful scene on the beach. There I stood all alone watching the ocean drama. I was not disappointed. Each time a series of waves unrolled themselves at full speed the end result was a vast sheet of white foam covering the whole stretch of the beach - yes, the FOAM. Think about it, the beautiful clean white foam, the froth, the bueh. What has Quran got to say about his?







From my copies of Quranic tafsir I picked up two, one of Pustaka Imam Asy-syafi’i’s Tafsir Ibnu Kathir, and the other of Abdallah Yousuf Ali. I had the verse I wanted written on a white and photographed it. It is part of ayat 17 from Surah 13 ( Al Ra’d )





Pustaka Imam Asy-stafi’i’s Tafsir Ibnu Kathir :

“…..Demikianlah Allah memisalkan kebenaran dan kebathilan. Dan adapun bueh itu akan hilanglah dengan sia-sia, adapun yang memberi manfa’at kedapa manusia, maka tinggallah dia di bumi. Demikianlah Allah membuat perumpamaan-perumpamaan.”

Abdallah Yousuf Ali’s :
“ ……Thus doth God (by parables) show forth Truth and Vanity. For the scum disappears like froth cast out; While that which is for the good of mankind remains on the earth. Thus doth God set firth parables.”

This is what I wish to leave to my readers to see and sleep over. Watch the beauty of Quranic parable of truth and vanity (Yousuf Ali ), kebenaran dan kebatilan (Ibnu Kathir) – the momentary beauty of fresh, white foam (froth or bueh) adorning the beach.

Happy maal Hijrah. May the New Year ,1432 be a rewarding year to my dear visitors and ex-Alamanar pupils, wherever you may be.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

From Teng Teng Teng to Wan Toteng - Halloween Or Monsoon ?

Yes, from Teng Teng Teng ( 10.10.10) we move to Wan Toteng (01.02.10)

Pakcik Googled to get what Halloween is. Here it goes:

‘Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in Canada, Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.’

I am not in the least interested in the Haloween. But during my younger days I happened to be among the community who celebrated the Halloween night., the end of summer and the beginning of winter. So in a way Halloween is not altogether something foreign to me.

Right now, however, I want to write about Monsoon, the end of a hot spell and the beginning of rainy season with wind and salty air. That is as far as the similarity goes between HaloWEEN and MonSOON – from summer into winter, from hot spell into wet season.
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Just past midnight I woke up from my sleep last night hearing the sound of window panes vibrating in the wind, and the continuous droning sound of waves hitting the sand. I knew too well what that meant, the arrival of monsoon ( musim tengkojah )on the East Coast of peninsular. If tonight is the Halloween, last night seems to herald the arrival of our wet season.




True to my expectation the sun never showed its face all day today. The sky was totally covered in layers upon layers of grey clouds and the rain came down in drizzles all day long. In between the drizzled I ran out through the gate of my backyard to take some shots of the grey sea. Waves, moving with increasing speed, unrolled themselves onto the sandy beach spreading sheets of white froth far and wide. I turned to look to the tops of coconut palms lining the beach. As expected their leaves were being swept landwards in the wind which was blowing hard from the north east direction - the forerunner of the famous North East Monsoon, my winter without snow.






While I now enjoy the cool wet weather of monsoon my heart bleeds for the men whose livelihood depends on the generosity of the sea. I know for sure some of them are fathers of my pupils. It is a painful time for them. And tonight, after more than nine months of hot weather, I will not have to switch on the aircon in my bedroom to enjoy my sleep. And the ghosts of Halloween are enjoying themselves playing and singing in the rain.

Such is life.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan