Marriage: Tips for Brothers

Assalamualaykum! 

        When a girl decided to get married to a man, she is actually decided to live the rest of her life with someone who's at the beginning is a totally stranger and then he became everything to her, even a key to Jannah because he is someone that took her parents role to take care, protect and love her the way he ought. Through marriage, two strangers sharing their live under one roof, sharing their feeling and go through all moment together. Marriage teaches them what love really is, commitment and responsibility as well as leadership. Well, at least this is what I thought about marriage. It such a miracle blessing from Allah especially when both husband and wife, understand and play their role passionately and patiently. Marriage should be a partnership of sorts, no matter what the religion. Two people who join together should learn to live with each other, each giving to each other, instead of always taking. As I promised in my previous post (Marriage: Tips for Sisters) , here are the tips for brothers to be a good husband inshaallah :)

1. Begin with a good greeting: When you return from work or travel, greet her. Start with ''As Salaamu Alaikum''. Smile to her. Give her a kiss. Tell her you love her, she will never forget this. There is always time for telling bad news.Have a sense of humor. Joke around. Play games with her.

2. Listen to her: Give her your attention when she speaks.

3. Talk with her: Talk with her about her feelings and your good memories.Spend time talking together. Postpone telling bad news to her until a suitable time. Look for the most suitable way to convey bad news.

4. Be Cheerful: Be happy, cheerful, friendly and gentle when you meet your wife.

5. Help her: Doing housework is not easy. You have a share of the housework too. Especially if she is sick or tired, don't wait untill she asks you to help.

6. Be Honest: Avoid telling her lies. If you're not truthful with her, she will never trust you. Always tell her the truth.

7. Consult her: Let her feel her opinion is important to you. Change your decision if she has a better opinion.

8. Thank her: Thank her for all the nice things she does, this will give her self-confidence.

9. Bring her a gift: It should not be an expensive gift, but is should be something she likes.

10. Listen to her Halal Demands: Let her improve you as a person. Encourage her to enjoin people to righteousness and discourage people from sinning. Encourage her to meet with her good friends and relatives. Take her out for halal entertainment. Entertain her yourself in halal ways!

11. Be nice to her in bed: Adhere to Islamic etiquitte of marriage and sex. Have a healthy intimate life with her and encourage and praise her during that. Incorporate halal means to improve your love life and her satisfaction.

12. Make Dua: Ask Allah to help you achieve and maintain excellent relations with your wife.

13. Help her in serving Allah. Wake her up in the last third of the night to pray ''Qiyam-al-Layl''. Teach her what you know of the Quran, Hadith, Tafseer and Dhikr.

14. Take her to Hajj and Umrah whenever you afford to do so.

15. Take her to visit her family frequently but especially at some occasions.

16. Be generous. Give her enough money. Never wait until she asks for that.

17. Trust her, love her, understand her.

18. Understand her fair needs and necessities and try his best to fulfill them.

19. Always share with her (some joke, special moments of your Business/Job/any profession, any emergency news, family matters, own habits).

20. Arrange some parties/sittings with your best friends' families in order to strong your family relation, expand her vision, and in this way she also able to support you in your outside matter.

21. Never blame your wife for the bad cooking of the food. If you like the food, eat and thank her. If you don't like the food, say nothing.

21. Don't insult her. If you've hurt her feelings, say ''I'm sorry'' and try to please her.

22. Don't describe other men to her. Don't compare other women with her.

23. Avoiding excess jealousy. Don't prevent her from answering the phone. Give her space so she wont feel suffocated.

24. Avoid shaming her such as insulting her.

25. Avoid returning at an unexpected time or at night, she may start to get suspicious.

26. Never blame her without any strong evidence.

27. Never break her trust not even in joke.

Yes, yes I know the list is longer then the tips for sisters, isn't it? Well, never expect him to do all of these in one night, it may takes time but inshallah if a husband and wife always think of giving the best and not expected so much, things will go fine. We are no perfect but we can't stop trying. We will get better when we help each other to become better, inshaallah. Hope these will benefits you and me. Have a good day :)

Marriage: Tips for sisters

Assalamualaykum..

Yes, today is 10th November 2012, 10.11.2012, ok what a cute date isn't it? Today is also a last Saturday for year 1433H (Islamic calendar), today is the starting day of school holidays in Malaysia and today (again?) well, a lot of man and woman is getting married (Oh, including my friends and my cousin!) and you know what is so significant today? Today, my lovely husband has to work, OK. That's the end of the story because I couldn't attend any weddings alone in my condition now. Oh my Lord, please forgive me I know it is compulsory for me to fulfill an invitation of my Muslim fellow, but you know better about my condition and to all my friends, please do not feel upset, yes I know it is your BIG day and what does it mean when I am not there, right? (LOL!)

Ok, to start off, we should know that in our beautiful religion, Islam, marriage is a sacred and blessed contract between a man and a woman. It is not about a physical attraction alone because through marriage we vow to each other to obey Allah with our own role to play in making a marriage successful in dunya and akhirah. Marriage teach us about responsibility and commitment. So here, I got some tips for sisters out there that will get married soon, inshaallah.

1. Be the best wife you can be. Being a good Muslim wife is in many ways similar to being a good wife in other religions. Sure it has its own special features and requirements, just like any other religion. However, there are common basic methods and guidelines for being a good wife in general. Follow them.

2. Pray regularly. Always ask Allah for forgiveness and blessings on your marriage.

3. Understand and respect your husband's rights. Study authentic haadith and make sure that you understand your obligations as a wife as well as understand your rights. In Islam, a good wife is expected to be honest, sincere and cognizant of her husband's needs. At the same time her husband must respect her, fulfill her needs and even help her in household chores.

4. Be secure in yourself. Putting yourself down in front of him is another way of insulting his taste in women. If he is with you, it's because he wants to be. He will find you sexy even if you don't feel like it. Remember that attitude and willingness are large parts of being sexy. Poor self-esteem and a ''void'' in your life is terrible for marriage. Make sure you still have a fun and interesting life.

5. Express, don't accuse. Except in the rare event that your husband happens to be psychic, don't expect mind-reading powers. If you want something, ask. If something is wrong, say so. Don't drop hints or figure he'll ''come around''. Communicate calmly, clearly and directly. Relationships work best when each partner calmly express their current emotion without harping on what he has done. Frequently, a ''I feel attacked'' or ''I feel sad'' is all it takes for him to step back and ask, ''Why?'' Then simply say, ''When you slammed the door, I felt ignored.'' Let ''I feel'' be your guide.

6. Don't expect the moon. He needs to keep trying, you need to keep trying, but neither of you is perfect. Unmet expectations tend to frustrate everyone. However, if you both keep working on your marriage, you will always be covered, even when one of you comes up a little short. If your expectations are truly too high or unrealistic, then set standards that are obtainable. For example, it is unfair to expect to be lavished with possessions and have the love of your life home for every meal. Should you want more together time, be prepared to have that desire fulfilled at some expense.

7. Pick your battles. Nagging and nitpicking can destroy a relationship. As long as the dishes are clean and unbroken, for instance, don't nag about how to load the dishwasher ''the right way''. Let him do things his own way. Don't sweat the small stuff. Focus on what is important.

8. Accept him. Only by accepting him as he is, do you have such deep respect and gratitude for him that you would never want him to change in any way for you. He has so much to offer you if only you give him the space to be himself. He is a growing individual, just like you are. Help him grow in the direction that he chooses, and give him the chance to help you.

9. Dress pleasantly/attractively.If you are a home-maker,don't stay in your sleeping suit all day.Behave like a female, i.e. all the tenderness of a female.

10. Race to the door when he comes home, as if you were waiting for him. Smile, hug and kiss him :)

11. Stay with him during hard time. He will need his wife to listen to him, comfort him and give him the strength. Don't be selfish.

12. It is recommended not to criticize your husband, not in his presence, not in his absence, not when you're in front of people, and not when you're alone together. Be supportive, encouraging, and compliment him as much as you can. This doesn't mean you shouldn't voice your concerns, but there's a difference between expressing your needs and criticizing his ability to meet them.

13. Focus more on fulfilling your obligations, not demanding your rights.

Warnings:

Don't ever accept abuse (physical or otherwise). Islam requires a good wife to be loving and obeying to her full extent of ability, but it also obliges a man to respect his wife, and treat her in a civilized and tender manner. Understand that this is an obligation your husband must fulfill. Being a good wife in Islam does not mean you have to suffer in silence if your husband is physically, verbally or in any other way abusive. So you should learn how to recognize a manipulative or controlling relationship. Talk things out or see a counselor. If you're forced to do things, if he hits you at all, if he tries to control who you see or demeans you, it's definitely not a good relationship. A real man gets what he wants without forcing. Fuhh, ok I hope these tips will benefits you and me inshaallah. Wait, how about tips for brother? Well, will be coming soon,, inshaallah . Have a bless weddings and happy marriage! :)

P/S: Oh you may not know, but I change my blog header, and that's what motivate me to post something, Oh myself! :)

Goodbye and Hi! :)

Assalamualaykum all..

Oh what to write?? Please I need an idea please! I can see that the number of people coming to this little space of mine is very slowly increasing, maybe it's because I  rarely post something and everytime they come, they’re like, what?!! No update since November? oh how disappointing! What's the point to come over if the owner doesn't serve anything, isn't it? Well, that's a simple and straight forward hypothesis for the slow increasing number of people coming here, and I guess it's correct. All right, I think rather than putting on the '10 reasons-why-I-haven't-post-in-my-blog' I should post the '10 things-I've-learnt-in-2011' since we gonna end 2011 very soon. Oh I’m so excited!

One day to go and we will enter new year, 2012! They said, it's the end of the world! Oh my Lord, I don't know somehow I feel like this 2011 has passing by so quickly, seriously! I was like, it's already December, really? Pinch me, I couldn't believe it, when did I entered November? What did I do on October? What happened in September? Did I celebrated something on August? How about July, May, April, Mach, February and January? What's went on those months? I guess I need time to flash all back, will do that latter, sigh. Ok, so what is that '10 things-I've-learnt-in-2011'? Take a breath, relax your muscles and here we go.....

1. Everyone has got their own story in life. Don't go so quickly to judge people if we don't know the situation, keep pray for all.

2. Kids are innocence and honest creatures until we teach them not to be

3. People always think someone has changed when that person doesn't fit their expectation. Stop living on others expectation, be yourself. 

4. Keep doing good deeds to even people that hurt you because it's not the same person that Allah will send to us when we are in hardship.

5. Something that is small for us, might be huge to someone else, never take for granted someone that sincerely care and love you for Allah.

6. Allah always has a reason for everything happened in our life, we may want it to be the way we want it, but Allah will always gives it the way we need it. 

7. Soulmates are Allah's secret, we have no idea until the time comes, when He blows the feeling in your heart, the serenity, confidence and openness to accept someone at the beginning is the stranger to you.

8. Family bound is very important to be built as a strong relationship starting from the very beginning, so that everyone in the family will support, care and love each other. There's no awesome place like home! 

9. Keep positive, think positive, act positively towards others and all the positive things will come to you automatically. It's hard but you have to try it

10. Really, only Allah can gives you serenity, even when you try to deny, even when you have got 10 thousands theory on how to be in peace, because the key is to remember him. 

Alhamdullilah fi kulli hal (All praises to Allah in every situation). Goodbye 2011 and Hi 2012! I will leave 2011 with no regret and enter 2012 with new spirit, it will definitely different from previous years, I know that and I pray to Allah to give me the strength to remain in right path and deliver His messages to others. Amin.

"By time, indeed mankind is in loss .Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience." (Surah al Asr: 1-3)

P/S: If you don't mind, kindly tell me the lessons you've learnt in 2011 in the comment box! See ya! C:

An Invitation to Invite

Assalamualaykum all,

Seems like, it's getting harder to constantly post something in this space of mine. What am I doing? Busy? Busy with what? The world, the people(my nephew, school?) the things surrounding them. Oh, what a bad excuse! So many things happened, in my country, and all around the world, nothing stay still and me also keep moving, who stand still will suffered just like if you are staying still on your bad for such a long time, things around you, that you never seen them like  ants, and other creepy little things will overrun your body for sure, they will take advantage on you and you'll benefit nothing from them. Ok, I was tagged in my friend's blog post, Sufi Haraki about the campaign to make a blog as a medium for da'wah, thanks sissy, much appreciated :) . Alhamdulillah, it recalls me to refresh and purify my intention on blogging. 

First off, what is da'wah? Lets do some revision, huh(Don't be too lazy lads!). Da'wah is an arabic term literally means "to invite" or "to offer to share". Ok, who to invite? Whoever you meet, whoever you know(Muslims or non Muslim) especially those who around you. Hmm fine, but how?  In whatever ways you could. By your speech, your manner, your writing..... Oh wait! Invite to what? Ok, sorry I should have tell you at the beginning. It's an invitation to live our life according to Allah's will, we have our manual, guidance which are al-Quran and hadith. I got it, but why we have to invite people? That's not our job I think, there's a group of people like Tabligh that do that sort of thing, sorry! Hey, don't we listen to Allah says in Quran:

You are the best of people raised up, for you call to all that is right and righteous and you forbid the evil, and you believe in Allah.

[Qur'an 3:110]

Let's be the best of people like in this ayah. Sharing Islam is a very simple concepts. We can do da'wah in so many sorts of way including blogging (Yeah!!). Keep in mind at all the time that you are in a special mission to deliver a message to worship Allah according to the way that He wants to be worshipped. You are to call them to know the truth and how to follow it. You do this in a polite way and right actions. Remember that your actions are observed by others through your behavior and manners, you are the role model for what Islam is all about (You don't believe me huh?!), yes you are! Especially people that love to generalize things, when they saw you did something bad, they'll concluded that all muslim did so(OMG!). 

You can see here that the real problem is not to invite people to the message of Islam, it is the way we go about it. It is undeniable that the way we present ourselves and the messages is most important (Unfortunately, we take these for granted). We supposed to advise everyone by using gentle and simple approach to attract the thirsty soul to the Way of Allah for sure before that we need to practice Islam first. Don't ruin the image of Da'wah by rigid methods, mistakes, impatient and impolite manners (like we never did mistakes, never talk to people like they are a sinner and you are are pure, big NO to judgmental mind)  because it will give a very negative impression about Islam and Muslim. Da'wah is actually simple and everyone can do it in our own ability (I mean, level of knowledge) and opportunity. You know what i'm doing now? I'm inviting you to invite people, *pretty smart huh?!* Ok, I guess thats it, well, just start it off! 

Ahaa...want some more tips? Peek on my tumblr :)

7 Daily Spiritual Productive Habits to Develope

1) Pray the Sunnah Prayers before and/or after Prayer:

I know it’s easier to just pray the obligatory prayers and rush out of the mosque! However, when we realise the rewards we’re missing from not praying these Sunnah prayers we won’t leave them. Over the years I have learnt there’s only ONE way of getting yourself to pray these Sunnah prayers constantly: Get into the habit of praying them! They’ll soon become part and parcel of your Salah and your Salah will feel incomplete without performing these acts.


2) Remembrance of Allah after Salah:

Again, it’s easy to rush out after Salah due to our busy lives, though if we are honest, how long does it take to recite the supplications after Salah? (The Answer: 5-7 minutes!). If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, you may find the supplications atMakeDua.com. Nowadays you’ll find pocket notebooks/or phone applications with these supplications. Get into the habit of reciting them daily after each Salah to enrich your Salah experience.

3) Morning/Evening Remembrance of Allah:

Step 2 is also included in this habit. There exists a beautiful set of duas/remembrances from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which he used to say before sunrise and after sunset. They are true stress relievers and energy boosters which never fail to make my days and evenings feel blessed. [You can find the duas atMakeDua.com]

4) Night Prayer:

AlHamdulillah, during Ramadan we have the wonderful Taraweeh prayers to attend. However, outside of Ramadan there are many opportunities to still obtain the reward of the night prayer. If you’re new to night prayer or you don’t pray it constantly during the year, make sure you try to attend prayers each and every night in congregation at the mosque (particularly brothers), and give yourself a ‘no-excuse’ policy. Develop a habit of praying Tahajjud and continuing to pray them for an entire 30 days; this will set you on better footing to continue with the Night Prayer for the rest of the year in sha Allah.

5) Duha Prayer:

Here’s a Productive Muslim’s top secret to a productive day: 2 rak’ahs known as the Duha prayer which you may pray at anytime after sunrise till before the sun reaches it’s zenith (around 30 minutes before Dhuhr). The reward of this prayer is similar to giving charity on behalf of every bone in your body, and the energy and buzz you feel during the day is amazing.

6) Supplications before you Sleep:

You’ve just had a long day and you’re super tired. You climb into bed and you want to hit the sack… but wait! Before you do, can you give yourself just 10 more minutes to recite the supplications before sleeping? That’s all. Try them and find yourself experiencing the most beautiful sleep ever and waking up for Fajr easily, in sha Allah. For more information on waking up for fajr, constantly, everyday, without fail Read How to Wake up for Fajr.

7) Reciting one hour of Quran each day:

Notice: I said here recite one hour of Quran each day and not one juz’ or one Surah. The amount of Quran you read is not as important as the quality of your understanding. If you spend one hour reciting one verse but understand it fully, that’s more important and beneficial then reciting lots of Quran at break-neck speed yet not understanding a word.

P/s: Awesome stuffs huh?! Good tips I guess, lets press on, you have no idea how beautiful and amazing person you could be if you adopted Islam as your way of life, hey seriously! You don't believe me? Try it on for a week and feel it. The peaceful and contented feeling you got inside will lead you to be a better person inshaallah. Have a good day ahead buddies!  :)

By: كلنا مسلمون (We All Are Muslims

7 Reasons to pray

Assalamualaykum :)


In today’s fast paced and hectic world, I find that more and more people are disconnected with God. Belief in god and the power of prayer can do a world of good to every one of us. You don’t have to believe in the rituals set up by your religion to believe in God and to pray to Him. Here are 7 reasons why you should pray.

1. Sense of peace

Praying to God brings an immense sense of peace and well being to those who truly believe in the power of prayer. It is a great sense of relief to place yourself in the hands of a higher power instead of attempting to battle all the problems of life on your own.

2. Relief from stress

There is no denying that life has got more and more stressful in the last few decades. It is a well documented fact that those who don’t believe in God and do not pray tend to suffer from more stress than those who do. Problems in life seem insurmountable when there is no hope of help.

3. Restoration of hope

When everything you do seems hopeless, the power of prayer can help in bringing hope back into your life. Praying helps us to hope for a better tomorrow and hoping helps us move forward and leave our problems behind. Praying also help fill you up with optimism for a brighter future. That’s another reason why you should pray.

4. Sense of purpose

Belief in God and the power of prayer helps us get a sense of purpose and direction in our lives. If we are willing to live by God’s words, we know that we would live out our lives as good human beings and that is a tremendous accomplishment in today’s world.

5. Sense of calmness

When one believes that it is possible to relay ones problems to a higher entity, it helps you to face your daily problems and obstacles with a sense of calmness that would otherwise not be present. Praying prevents you from panicking when your situation seems overwhelming.

6. Better and faster healing

Science has proven that those who believe in God and pray to Him tend to heal better and faster than those who don’t. Whether it is bodily injury or wound we are taking about or psychological issues like anxiety, depression, stress, etc. people who pray find more comfort, strength and optimism during their recovery than those who don’t.

7. Sense of belonging

When you belong to a community that prays to the same God and follows the same religion, you are bound to feel a sense of community with that group. This community can help you feel loved, wanted and cared for instead of feeling alone, lonely and isolated.

These are just 7 reasons why you should pray. If you look within yourself, you are sure to find many more. However, it is important that you pray because you believe in the power of praying and not just because you want one of the incidental benefits. Wallahua'lam 

Be The Upper Hand

Alhamdulillah, I guess everyone of us already know that Allah with all His Mercy has offering us an overwhelming opportunity to grab in this month, because the rewards for every good deeds is multiply (You know, like the basic science you've learn, how the bacteria multiply itself, from a single cell to infinity?Yes exactly like that! Go google the video, bacteria multiply, you will know how it happens, imagine your credits(Pahala) multiply so fast, non stop, flowing rapidly into your akhirah account! Oh such a miracle, subhanallah!) This is such a brilliant motivation for us from our Lord to do charity, isn't it? (Well, i couldn't say more if you feel nothing about this, check your heart dude!). We don't know if we would meet Ramadhan again next year, so don't wait, don't delay, just do it! You know some people which own a soft and good hearts, they wanna do charity but they have got nothing to give like this poor boy:

    Once a poor little boy cried because he owned nothing to do charity(Sadaqah), his mom hugs him and said: “My dear son, Allah is Fair and Just, everyone is able to do charity(Sadaqah). Your zikr to Allah is your charity,your kindness to people around you, that is your charity, the knowledge that you taught people, that is your charity, when you protect yourself and people around you from evil deeds, that is your charity and even when you put a smile on your face, that is your charity.”

We have no excuse actually, there's too many ways to do charity, we can do it if we want. Purify our intention and do it for Allah only. Allah looks at the effort, not the results. Well, have a blast day buddies! 

Prophet (PBUH) said, 'The Upper Hand is better than the Lower Hand. The upper hand is the one that gives, and the lower hand is the one that takes'.  

Allah SWT said in the Holy Book,
 'The likeness of those who spend their money for Allah's sake, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears, every single ear has a hundred grains, and Allah multiplies (increases the reward) for whom He wills, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower' (2: 261).  

 'Whoever works righteousness, whether a male or a female, while he (or she) is a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do.' (16: 97)

Things to do for a Remarkable Ramadhan

Assalamualaykum, happy Ramadhan everyone! Alhamdulillah we are here in this sacred month, month full of blessing, forgiveness and grace from Allah. Don't waste it, come on lets make a move and grab this opportunity! Wish you all the best!

Non-stop credit into your account!

Bismillah..

As a Muslim, whatever we did we will get credit(Pahala) as long as we have a pure intention for sake of Allah and we don't go beyond the rules of Islam(Syariah) inshaallah. Just like when we are saving our properties in the security bank, we are actually saving for afterlife with the  credit(pahala) into our akhirah's account. You'll be a millionaire or billionaire in hereafter! So I reckon few ways to earn non-stop credit into our akhirah account, check them out:

1. Teach someone to recite Quran- You'll gain credit each time they read it! 

2. Give away a copy of the Quran to someone

3. Donate a wheelchair to hospital- You'll get credit each time people use it!

4. Donate stuff or money to orphanage home or sponsor any orphan. 

5. Donate or take part in building a Masjid 

6. Place something for public use, e.g: water cooler

7. Plant tree- you'll gain credits, whenever animals or people sit in it's shade or eat from it

8. Share a good and beneficial things online, and you'll gain credit each time people read and share it as well.

‎Mashaallah! You may reckon any other ways to get non-stop credit for sure! Don't delay, lets make a move, put some effort even the simplest one, Allah will see that :)

 The Messenger of Allaah (Allaah bless him and give him peace) said: “When a person dies, his works end, except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for him.” [Muslim, Tirmidhi]  

Abu Hurairah (RA) reported Allaah’s Messenger (Allaah bless him and give him peace) as saying: “Charity does not in any way decrease the wealth and the servant who forgives, Allaah adds to his respect; and the one who shows humility, Allaah elevates him in the estimation (of the people).” [Muslim 

"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower. ( Surah Al Baqarah, ayah 261

Our amazing Optical Illusion!

I am sure, everyone have learn this in your secondary school or college, it'a basic science and one of the amazing fact about our eyes' visions created by the Greatest One, Allah SWT. So an optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality, the information gathered by the eyes is processed in the brain to give a percept that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source. In a simple words, we may see something that is not there or fail to see something that is there or even see something that different from what is there! It's an illusion! *Fuh! I'm sweating* You get me? 

"Rotating snakes"

Circular snakes appear to rotate 'spontaneously'.

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003 (September 2, 2003)

Explanation (PDF file)

"Allergen"

Circles appear to rotate.

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003
(c)Akiyoshi Kitaoka "Trick eyes 2" Tokyo: KANZEN 2003

Explanation (PDF file)

"Cogwheels"

The outer ring appears to rotate clockwise while the inner one counterclockwise.

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003

"Absorption"

The surround appears to move to the center. Moreover, the inset and surround appear to rotate in the different directions when observers approach or move away from the figure while fixating at the center.

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003

Explanation (PDF file)

OK, enough with these, I feel dizzy now, don't you? *____*
and Alhamdulillah for these given eyes by Allah..

Lets Travel to The Past!!

Time machine! Woah time to travel to the past!

Well, life is about making a decision and you have to believe that I made a decision to post about this today. Ok, now imagine, I have this time machine and I give you a chance to travel to the past, a year before you were brought in to the world. You tell me, what do you think, you'll see? Yeah, it's your parents whose made decision to spend their whole life together, they decided to get  marred and tadaa after 9 months you are ready to kick the world. When we are still a baby, our parents decide on every single things for us, like what we eat, what we wear, where we go and even the first word rolled out of our tongue, like mummy/daddy, umi/abi. While we are growing up, our parents guide us to make a decision, they give their opinions and advices and our decision was always influenced by their thoughts. But when we are no longer an adolescent, we are the one that made the decision according to our thoughts. Sometimes it comes out with a very good impact and sweet moments but sometimes otherwise happened. 

I've heard some said about if God does exists why there are bad people and why God don't use His power to just created a good human on earth? Simple, Allah can do whatever He wants, and not what we want. He knows everything and He's totally different from any creatures. We were born with a very clean pure heart, no sins, no passions, nothing, like a plain canvas ready to be painted. Well, don't you think that we, human always demand a freedom? So, that what's Allah gives us, a freedom to choose either bright or dark path, either good or bad. God is Fair and He gives us freedom to choose what we want to do, what we want to be and how we want it to be, and at the end, we are the one that would responsible for the choice we had made.  So we can say that, those bad people, they decided to be bad. Perhaps you wanna say that they become bad because of their family background? Like he became a robber because he was born in poor and naive family. Ok now, let use the time machine again. Zuuuuuuuuuuup! 

Cute baby boy born in a very poor family. At 10 years old, he started his first carrier as a small thief because he made decision to steal and not just borrowed. Then, his parents got to know about it and they decided   to punish him like a hell. He chose not to take the lesson and he chose to grasp the hatred deep down his little heart. He chose to let the heartburning inside guides him what to do and there we go, he became a real bad boy. At this point, the parents chose to let him be, acting like they don't care about it, to show him that they disagreed about what he did. They don't approached him wisely and the child did not response to their cold treat. Time goes and each time, he made the decisions by himself, no one forced him, no one urged. He  rounded himself with all bad attitudes because he chose not to learn a good value and not to adopt it in his life. When he was caught by the police and dumped into the prison, he has a choice either to fix his life or to keep it the way he had molded it. See??

Ok, back to the present, yes, we always have to make a decision. The simple one is the decision we make every single day when we wake up about how to approach the day. Are we going to feel sorry for ourselves, or are we going to take responsibility for our own happiness? Will we be the part of the problem or part of the solution? and so forth.All these questions can be bundled up into one package called attitude and attitude can be summed up in one word-choice. We have the choice to make our day joyful, adventuresome, exciting and full of magic! Don't demand that life should be a certain way and when it doesn't meet our expectation, we whine and complain, or we can choose to thank God for giving us more days, so that we can spend it wisely. Lets start to choose to be a good daughter, sister, friend, worker and student. Yes at the end, attitude is a real big deal. You feel me?

Have great day ahead buddies :)