Sleeping over water... Avillion Hotel Port Dickson

I'm sitting here on a comfy bed by the window in Avillion, Port Dickson just chilling out with my two boys. It is dark outside apart from the hazy half moon, the clouds have covered the stars tonight. I've stayed in many hotels before but this particular one just exceeds expectation. The water chalet stood right on top of the beach and right now, the tide is coming in...

I can see the sea-water rising underneath me. It is both amazing and frightening at the same time. We are completely exposed to the elements, the creation of Allah SWT. I can't quite describe how I'm feeling...I'm just in awe of the beauty of this place, the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea air, even the flash of the distant lightning...everything is beautiful. The whole experience is beautiful. It is like one of those experiences where you think you could start writing a book and finish it by morning. Unfortunately, I'm thinking more of a romantic novel rather than the chapter on 'Management of Anaemia in Pregnant Women' which I should be writing and is due within two weeks time! Well...let's not think about that tonight.

Life in Malaysia has been like a long extended vacation...so different from the UK. Britain never fails in reminding us about the problems in the middle east and constantly agitating the Muslim ummah by accusing us of being 'terrorist' and 'extremist'. However, over here...life is just so comfortable. Life is about family holidays, outings, shopping, sight seeing, fun-filled activities, visiting relatives and even work is enjoyable. I'm not complaining... but I'm afraid. Afraid of becoming complacent... afraid of forgetting completely about the world outside, the suffering of the ummah... in Palestine, in Iraq, in Egypt, in Afghanistan... sometimes it feels like the rest of the world is too far away... and we are trapped inside this glass bubble, that the whole world could be crumbling down, tearing apart and we wouldn't know about it. World War 3 could be starting, Khilafah could be re-established and we would still be strolling at shopping malls, eating at McDonalds and racing on the motorway, flashing at other drivers to move out of the way.

Sometimes it is even so hard to think...to think about real issues in life like geopolitical issues, economic problems and crisis, the agenda of the Capitalist nations and all the 'why' and 'how'.

Maybe that is why too much of my time has been spent on contemplating about irrelevant issues and sometimes wallowing in self-pity, just being completely self-absorbed. Watching BBC news today brought me back to the reality of the economic problems still facing the world and never ending middle east crisis that only the return of the Khilafah can solve. Sometimes we need to get back to the main road, back to where we started, to remind ourselves what is our true purpose in life? what is the straight path?

Surah Al An'am: 153
"And Verily, this is my straight path so follow it, and follow not other paths for they would separate you from His path." Imam Ahmad recorded that, An-Nawwas bin Sam`an said that the Messenger of Allah said, Allah has given a parable of the straight path, and on the two sides of this path, there are two walls containing door ways. On these door ways, there are curtains that are lowered down. on the gate of this path there is a caller heralding, `O people! come and enter the straight path all together and do not divide. ' There is also another caller that heralds from above the path, who says when a person wants to remove the curtain on any of these doors, `Woe to you! Do not open this door, for if you open it, you will enter it. The (straight) path is Islam, the two walls are Allah's set limits, the open doors lead to Allah's prohibitions, the caller on the gate of the path is Allah's Book (the Qur'an), while the caller from above the path is Allah's admonition in the heart of every Muslim.) At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith.

The sea has filled up beneath me...for the first time in my life, I'll be sleeping tonight on top of water. It is like a scene from one of my dreams...

I will only think about the ummah tonight...