Dah lama tak tulis cerpen.

Sebenarnya dah tulis semalam lagi.

Sekarang baru sempat post.

Khas buat semua akhwat-akhwat dakwah.

Terimalah:

Bersabarlah Duhai Ukhti

"Syikin, mak dah tak tahan. Sampai bila kau nak jadi macam ni. Tebal muka mak tolak setiap orang yang datang."

"Belum jodoh mak. Nak buat macam mana."

"Belum jodoh apanya. Kau yang tolak mereka semua."

Wajah mulusnya tertunduk sepi. Sedaya upaya wajahnya diusahakan supaya tenang. Namun di hatinya hanya Allah yang tahu. Malam itu dia menangis sendirian. Tak sanggup rasanya hendak menahan desakan keluarga agar menerima sahaja pinangan mereka yang datang. Namun dia ada pertimbangannya sendiri. Bukan dirinya tidak mahu menikah. Tetapi seperti yang sentiasa disampaikan olehnya, belum jodoh.

Syikin cantik, sopan, akhlaknya baik. Gadis desa berpendikan tinggi yang menjadi tambatan hati jejaka-jejaka yang mengenalinya. Cuma masalahnya..

"Kalau cantik tapi tak kahwin-kahwin juga, andartulah kau nanti!"

Malam itu sudah kesekian kalinya dia menangis. Terasa sungguh beratnya hendak menghadapi desakan keluarganya. Mahu sahaja dia mengalah. Pernah sahaja dirasakannya bahawa Allah tidak lagi mahu membantunya, namun dibuang jauh-jauh perasaannya itu. Teringat dia akan perbualannya dengan teman karibnya, Fasihah.

"Fasihah, ana dah tak tahan lagi. Semalam ada lagi orang masuk meminang. Keluarga ana asyik-asyik suruh ana segera menikah. Tak tahu sampai bila ana harus bertahan."

"Syikin ukhtiku, bersabarlah. Allah bersama dengan orang-orang yang sabar,kan?"

"Memanglah, tapi sampai bila? Mana ikhwah-ikhwah kita? Kenapa bukan mereka yang masuk meminang?"

"Syikin, sabar. Masanya masih belum tiba Syikin. Ana yakin ikhwah-ikhwah kita juga sedang berusaha sedaya-upaya mereka. Realiti masyarakat di Malaysia ini, menikah awal itu suatu yang agak 'luar biasa' bagi mereka. Ana yakin, itulah yang menghambat kebanyakan daripada ikhwah-ikhwah kita. Bukannya mereka tidak berusaha."

"Kenapa kita kena susah-susah tunggu ikhwah-ikhwah kita juga? Ramai juga calon lain yang soleh, kenapa mesti mereka?"

"Ukhti, apa tujuan hidup kita?"

"Tentulah mengabdi kepada Allah."

"Dan enti tahu, untuk beristiqomah di atas jalan pengabdian kepada Allah itu, tidak mudah. Banyak ranjau dan durinya. Sebab itu kita perlu bersedia dengan persiapan yang terbaik. Dan kita bukan pengabdi semata-mata, kita da'i. Pengislah ummat. Mengabdi kepada Allah dan mendakwahi ummat ke jalan Allah. Kerana kita ummat Nabi Muhammad.

Katakanlah: "Inilah jalan (agama) ku, aku dan orang-orang yang mengikutiku mengajak (kamu) kepada Allah dengan hujjah yang nyata, Maha Suci Allah, dan aku tiada termasuk orang-orang yang musyrik."

[Q.S. Yusuf, 12:108]

"Untuk kekal berada dalam jalan ini sekarang, ketika kita bersendirian, yang perlu kita hadapi adalah diri kita sendiri. Namun selepas pernikahan, keputusan kita tidak lagi bersendirian. Suami kita nanti sangat akan mendominasi keputusan- keputusan kita. Jika suami kita nanti bukan seorang yang faham akan dasar-dasar perjuangan kita, sudah pasti usaha untuk kita terus bertahan akan menjadi semakin sukar."

Dia terdiam. Syikin atau nama sebenarnya Nurul Asyikin Abdullah, bukannya tidak tahu akan hakikat itu. Cuma fikirannya terganggu menyebabkan diluahkan segala permasalahannya itu kepada akhwat yang sangat dekat kepadanya. Fasihah juga sangat memahami. Tidak perlu diterangkan, ukhuwah yang terbina telah menjelaskan sedari mula. Tekanan perasaan dan masalah dalaman manusia mampu dikurangkan malah diselesaikan dengan berkongsi mengenainya.

Malam itu dia kembali menghubungi akhwatnya itu.

"Assalamu'alaikum. Fasihah Fathiyyah binti Kamaruddin ada?"

"Wa'alaikumussalam Warahmatullah. Tak pernah-pernah ada orang telefon ana sebut nama penuh."

"Heh, saja, nak mengusik akhwat tercinta."

"Yelah tu. Dari suara enti ana dah dapat rasa ada sesuatu yang enti fikirkan. Ada apa Nurul Asyikin binti Abdullah? Ayyu musykilah ya ukhti el kareemah?"

Lalu dikongsikannya hal yang baru dihadapinya. Dan seperti biasa juga, Fasihah akan setia mendengar dan menghibur serta menenangkannya.

"Entahlah. Ana tak tahu kenapa banyak sangat ujian yang datang. Mungkin Allah nak latih ana untuk lebih bersabar agaknya. Menunggu si dia yang entah bila akan kunjung tiba. Kena banyak berdoa lagi ni."

"Betul tu. Berdoalah dengan lebih bersungguh-sungguh ukhti. Dan ikhlaskan niat. Ramai orang cari Allah ketika hadapi masalah. Mereka berdoa semata-mata untuk memenuhi keperluan dunia mereka. Bila apa yang mereka mahu dah dicapai, mereka lupakan Allah. Dan Allah katakan mereka melampaui batas.

Dan apabila manusia ditimpa bahaya dia berdoa kepada Kami dalam keadaan berbaring, duduk atau berdiri, tetapi setelah Kami hilangkan bahaya itu daripadanya, dia (kembali) melalui (jalannya yang sesat), seolah-olah dia tidak pernah berdoa kepada Kami untuk (menghilangkan) bahaya yang telah menimpanya. Begitulah orang-orang yang melampaui batas itu memandang baik apa yang selalu mereka kerjakan.

[Q.S. Yunus, 10:12]

"Ikhlaskan niat. Mungkin selama ini doa kita hanya untuk disegerakan menikah, bukan kerana untuk mencari redha Allah. Kalau memang kita bersungguh-sungguh untuk mencari redha-Nya, pasti jalannya akan terbuka.

Dan orang-orang yang berjihad untuk (mencari keridhaan) Kami, benar- benar akan Kami tunjukkan kepada mereka jalan-jalan Kami. Dan sesungguhnya Allah benar-benar beserta orang-orang yang berbuat baik.

[Q.S. Al-Ankabut, 29:69]

"Jangan resah jika belum berpasangan, tetapi resahlah jika belum mendapat cinta daripada Tuhan. Ana pegang sungguh kata-kata tu. Ana pun kalau boleh nak segera menikah, tapi mungkin ada hikmahnya Allah masih menangguhkannya. Mungkin ana masih belum bersungguh-sungguh dalam mencari cinta-Nya. Mungkin jika Allah izinkan ana menikah sekarang, hala tuju cinta ana akan tersasar kepada makhluk-Nya."

Asyikin berfikir dalam. Cinta Allah. Sudah benarkah hala tuju cintanya? Sudah digapaikah cinta Allah itu? Ikhlaskan amalnya selama ini mencari redha-Nya semata?

"Terima kasih ukhti. Insya-Allah ana akan terus pegang kata-kata itu."

Perbualan ditamatkan. Namun fikirannya terus berputar. Masih bergema-gema di telinganya mendengarkan kata-kata akhwatnya itu.

'Jangan resah jika belum berpasangan, namun resahlah jika belum mendapat cinta dari Tuhan.'

Kisah lalu hidupnya kembali memenuhi ruangan fikirannya. Teringat akan saat-saat mula ditarbiyah. Bagaimana dia mula mengenali Fasihah. Bagaimana seluruh hidupnya berubah kembali mengenali Allah. Mula membaca Al-Quran, mula menjaga solat, mula menjaga pergaulan, mula berpakaian labuh dan sopan, sehingga kembali menjadi dirinya kini.

Dirasakannya Allah begitu baik kepada dirinya. Allah telah menyelamatkannya daripada jurang kejahiliyahan kepada cahaya hidayah-Nya. Memberikan dirinya peluang untuk kembali menjadi hamba-Nya yang dekat kepada-Nya. Tidak semena-mena matanya berkaca. Lalu manik-manik jernih menuruni pipi.

'Ya-Allah. Ampunkan aku. Selama ini aku khilaf. Maafkan aku jika selama ini aku tidak ikhlas mencari cinta-Mu. Maafkan aku jika selama ini aku kurang mengingatimu. Maafkan aku jika selama ini aku hanya berdoa kepada-Mu untuk memenuhi keperluan peribadiku. Ya-Allah, bantulah aku untuk kembali mencari cinta-Mu. Bantulah aku untuk kembali memperbaiki diri semata-mata untuk-Mu.' Hatinya bermunajat lirih.

Malam itu tidak dibiarnya berlalu begitu sahaja. Solat malam didirikan. Al-Quran ditadabburinya. Hatinya terubat dengan ayat-ayat yang menceritakan perihal syurga dan keindahannya. Tafsir Surah Ar-Rahman sangat menghibur hatinya.

Di dalam syurga itu ada bidadari-bidadari yang baik- baik lagi cantik-cantik. [70]

Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang manakah yang kamu dustakan? [71]

(Bidadari-bidadari) yang jelita, putih bersih, dipingit dalam rumah. [72]

Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang manakah yang kamu dustakan? [73]

Mereka tidak pernah disentuh oleh manusia sebelum mereka (penghuni-penghuni syurga yang menjadi suami mereka), dan tidak pula oleh jin. [74]

Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang manakah yang kamu dustakan? [75]

Mereka bertelekan pada bantal-bantal yang hijau dan permadani-permadani yang indah. [76]

Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang manakah yang kamu dustakan? [77]

Maha Agung nama Tuhanmu Yang Mempunyai Kebesaran dan Karunia. [78]

[Q.S. Ar-Rahmaan, 55:70-78]

'Alangkah indahnya syurga. Layakkah aku untuk menghuninya?'

Lalu tekad disemat.

"Ya-Allah, hidupkalah aku dalam redha-Mu semata-mata. Jika memang jodohku bukan di dunia ini Ya-Allah, maka kurniakanlah aku jodoh di akhirat kelak. Jodoh abadi yang disediakan untuk para pencinta-Mu. Jadikan aku seperti Rabiah Al-Adawiyah yang tulus mencari redha-Mu dan cinta-Mu."

Air mata terus menjadi saksi. Keheningan malam terus dipecahi bunyi tangis dan rintih seorang Nurul Asyikin yang sudah kembali mencari cinta sejatinya. Dan Allah pasti punya rencana-Nya. Percaturan Allah siapa yang tahu?

Keesokkan paginya Sony Ericsson K800i kesayangannya berbunyi. SMS masuk. Daripada Ukhti Syuhada, murobbiyahnya. Murobbi atau murobbiyah adalah mereka yang bertanggungjawab menguruskan urusan tarbiyah seseorang ikhwah dan akhwat tarbiyah. Mereka yang mengatur perjalanan tarbiyah dan porgram-program yang perlu dilalui untuk menambahkan kefahaman dan memastikan keberlangsungan tarbiyah yang dijalani oleh seseorang ikhwah dan akhwat itu.

Lalu SMS dibaca.

Salam. Ukhti, alhamdulillah malam semalam ada ikhwah hantar resume. Kalau enti dah bersedia, nanti ana dan zauj ana akan susunkan majlis ta'aruf untuk enti dan ikhwah tu.

Terasa bagaikan hawa sejuk mengalir menyelubungi jiwa dan perasaannya. Kasih sayang Allah sungguh terasa membelai ubun-ubun. Segera sujud syukur dilakukan. Air mata syukur dan bahagia mengiringi pagi yang indah itu. Nurul Asyikin semakin yakin bahawa cinta Allah tidak pernah mengecewakan.

Bagaimana anda?

Sabarlah menanti

Usahlah ragu

Kekasih kan datang

Sesuai dengan iman di hati

Jika di dunia ia tiada

Moga di syurga ia telah menunggu

Jika di dunia ia tiada

Moga di syurga ia telah menanti.

Cintailah Ilahi

Cinta Sejati

-umairzulkefli-

-1152-

-Akademi Pengajian Islam-

-Universiti Malaya-

-Menunggu zaujah yang sedang diberi taklimat sarjana tinggi-

~End Of Post~

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I saw this recipe on Aunt Nubby's Kitchen when she linked it up to our Sharing Sundays theme YELLOW.  They looked so good that I had to take a look.  I really love anything lemon.  Then I saw how easy they were to make and I never saw a cookie that used Cool Whip as one of the ingredients.  I was too curious not to give them a try myself.  Unfortunately I didn't have all the right ingredients so I made some minor changes and they came out really great.  The biggest difference is that you are suppose to use powdered sugar to roll the dough in and I used granulated sugar.  The taste is still really good but I think the powdered sugar is so much prettier once they are baked.  The other major difference is that I didn't have a boxed Lemon Cake mix so I used a plain Yellow Cake mix and added extra fresh lemon and lemon zest.  I'm going to make them again soon following the recipe exactly and see the difference. If you would like to see the original recipe please click on the link above for Aunt Nubby's Kitchen and it will take you right to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 egg
Zest from 2 lemons
Juice from 2 1/2 lemons
1 - 8oz tub of cool whip (I used light)
3/4 cup of granulated sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking liner.  In a large bowl add cake mix, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg and mix until combines well.  The mixture will be crumbly.  Then add whole tub of cool whip and mix to combine.  The batter will be very sticky.  Place bowl in refrigerate and chill batter for at least 1 hour.  Remove batter from refrigerator.  Put sugar in a small bowl and with a teaspoon drop a small amount of batter directly into sugar.  Spoon sugar on top of batter and then roll with your hand.  The sugar helps you to roll the dough into balls with out it sticking to your hands.  Place balls on lined baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes until cookies are light brown.  Let cool a little bit on sheet and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
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The news item of the bombing of schools always amazes me. Here is the latest matter-of-fact news item from yesterday:

LANDI KOTAL: Unidentified militants blew up a government school in Khyber tribal region’s Sapah area razing the building to the ground, police said on Wednesday.
Explosive devices were planted outside the school building that went off completely destroying it. No casualties were reported in the incident.
Soon after, law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

Why schools? So far the Taliban have destroyed over 500 schools. They must be getting some particular satisfaction from this. I know schools are a sign of the presence of a government structure - but there must be other government symbols as well. Why schools? It is not just the girls schools either. If there are schools - well then they are asking to be blown up. May be this is one place that the Taliban feel no use of. I would like to know details of the debates that take place in choosing their targets. "Hey - there is this school where kids go during the day time. Yeah - lets blow it up". Seriously, who needs schools?

Also see:
More schools bombed in northern Pakistan 

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It seems that the Sindh government has decided to make Chinese mandatory for schools from 2013 (tip from Sarmad Abbasi). Oh wait. Is this an Onion article? Actually no. They seem dead-serious. And this is madness. It would be great to have a choice of Chinese - but it is a bit crazy to make it mandatory. Can someone check to confirm the authenticity of the story?

We already do an insufficient job with Urdu (which is losing its readers), English (as it is the second language), and Sindhi (it is a side-subject for non-Sindhi speakers. I had 5 years of Sindhi - and I never acquired the skill to actually communicate in Sindhi). Now there is a knee-jerk reaction to make Chinese compulsory. True - China is Pakistan's close ally, and is an emerging economic giant, but the language of global communication, and the language of science is english - and will remain so for the foreseeable future. It has defined communication in the global age, and the global communication is going to aid its longevity.

Pakistanis already learn english (draw of the luck to have been colonized by the British rather than the French) - and that gives Pakistani students an advantage in colleges and universities abroad and in accessing most of the scientific journals. Plus, I think english is still the official language of the government. I find it puzzling that instead of strengthening the existing educational standards (at least bring Urdu-medium, English-medium, and Cambridge schools under one system - and level the playing field for middle-class kids), the Sindh government has decided to embark on another odyssey altogether. Not to mention that Chinese won't be that easy as it is from a different group of languages than Urdu and English. And it will come at the expense of some other subject. Which would that be?

Sindh government may score some short-term political points with making Chinese mandatory in schools  - but it will likely be devastating for the future. Though, in all fairness, this looks so crazy, that I think it might never get implemented. Hope springs eternal.

Read the full story from BBC here.

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The Lean Startup Book launches in just under a week.

[Forget the verbiage, just show me the deal! OK: do you want 5-100 copies or 100+ copies?]

How many copies will this book sell in its first week – real, hardcover, paper copies? If that number crosses some unknowable threshold, the book will debut as a bestseller, and then an awful lot of people are going to read it. People who would never bother with an entrepreneur’s blog, who may not even see themselves as entrepreneurs: shopkeepers and policy makers, CFO’s and private equity managers, and even future entrepreneurs. With your help, our movement can reach a truly mainstream audience, one that – at least in my humble opinion - truly needs to hear what we have to say.

But there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun along the way. I wanted to create an absolutely irresistible offer, one that would entice you to buy not just a single book – but to buy one for your entire team, entire company, or just for everyone you know. This bundle is 100% stuff I think you will really use. No phony discounts. No free trials. The more books you buy, the more valuable the rewards.

This blog post is going to be long, and below you will see every last detail of every last tier of prizes.

I chose Amazon Web Services to be our marquee reward, and not just for the obvious reason that so many of you are - right this very moment – already hosting on AWS EC2. Almost any startup - in any industry - can use AWS to find and serve customers. I chose AWS because it offers so many different services, from hosting to databases to payments (FPS) to content delivery (CloudFront) - even e-commerce fulfillment (FWS). The AWS team is excited about the book, too, and they’ve stepped up huge: the tiers below contain almost $100,000 in AWS credits. Some of the packages are almost worth buying for that value alone.

But only almost! Because at every level I have tried to give way more value than you’re paying. When you read the descriptions below, you’re going to think the “value” column is crazy. How could it possibly be that high? But I urge you to read the whole thing, check my math, and see if it’s real. Each and every package is worth what it says. Add them all up, and we're talking about $2,933,061.00 worth of prizes. No kidding around here.

Some of the prizes are practical, like Pivotal Tracker, KISSmetrics, Ask Your Target Market, Assistly, Hello Bar and Sauce Labs. I’ve only included services that I believe in and that I think you’re going to use.

Some of the prizes are just fun. My personal favorite (the prize I am secretly hoping won’t sell out so I can skim one for myself): a signed hardcover copy of one of my favorite new books, the crazy 80’s-video-game-themed sci-fi bestseller Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. (Yes, you will get one in the mail, courtesy of my publisher, and his, Crown/Random House). Trust me, when this book gets made into a movie and becomes the next WarGames, you’re going to feel pretty cool having this signed copy on your shelf.

You’ll get awesome video content, including the video Lean Startup course I created exclusively for Udemy. You’ll the complete video recording of the amazing Lean Startup track at SXSW 2011, every single presentation. And many of you will get seven awesome action videos courtesy of Appsumo.

And then there are the special bonus packages, for those who can make use of extremely large quantities of books. I asked some of the top Lean Startup super-mentors to volunteer to be prizes, and they are here. You can get time with me, too. And we’ve even got a spot in the extremely exclusive (and extremely cool) Lean User Experience Residency (LUXr) program, which normally costs $15,000. And, if you are disappointed that my book tour doesn’t take me to your city, you can instruct my publisher to change it.

Truly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Dive in below and see what you think.

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A new test recipe that was a big hit at my house with both my husband and children.  It's light and healthy and easy to prepare.  The sauce is a broth like consistency which is just enough to lightly flavor the fish and vegetables.  It's so nice to make a recipe that uses very little oil but still tastes good. Frozen broccoli works perfectly for this dish.  I also love using the foil packets to cook in.  The steam makes the shrimp and salmon juicy and of course there is the added bonus of no clean up!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of fresh med shrimp, uncooked, peeled, deveined
1/2 lb of fresh salmon, cut into 2 - 1/4 lb pieces
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons agave (or 2 tablespoons of honey)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper
1/2 lb frozen or fresh broccoli florets
2 teaspoons fresh chives, chopped
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a small bowl mix together vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, agave and ginger.  Lightly season the salmon with salt and pepper and then add shrimp and salmon to the bowl with the marinade toss to combine and then let sit and marinate for 30 minutes.  Make two 2x2 pieces of foil place one piece of salmon and 8-10 shrimp and a handful of frozen broccoli florets on each piece of foil.  Sprinkle salmon and shrimp with chopped chives and black sesame seeds.  Fold up packets being sure to leave space at the top of the fish and fold ends in to tightly seal the packet.  Place packets in oven on a sheet pan and roast for 30 minutes.  Open packet carefully to allow steam to vent.  You can serve directly in the foil or transfer fish and veggies to a plate to serve.

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Getaran

Suatu fenomena yang berlaku apabila sesuatu objek atau jasad bergerak secara berulang-ulang.

Semua objek sebenarnya bergetar, Cuma kita menyedarinya atau tidak.

Namun apa yang ingin saya kongsikan ini bukanlah sebarang getaran fizikal.

Getaran yang lain dari yang lain.

Getaran Jiwa.

Biasa dengar?

Mungkin ramai yang teringatkan lagu dendangan Allahyarham Tan Sri P. Ramlee. Percaya ataupun tidak, sebenarnya kita semua pernah mengalami getaran jiwa. Secara umumnya, jiwa boleh bergetar dalam dua keadaan. Apakah dua keadaan itu? Mari sama-sama kita baca kisahnya.

*****

Kisah 1

Seorang pelajar lelaki bernama Hamidi. Dia pelajar tingkatan 5. Apa yang menariknya dengan Hamidi? Tiada apa-apa, cuma dia telah jatuh cinta dengan seseorang. Perempuan cantik di kelas sebelah. Hartini namanya.

Setiap pagi, Hamidi akan melintasi kelas Hartini untuk sampai ke kelasnya. Setiap kali hendak melintasi kelas Hartini, Hamidi pasti akan berdebar-debar.

‘Hartini ada dalam kelas ke? Macam mana kalau aku terserempak dengan dia?’

Apabila melintasi kelas Hartini, dan Hartini berada di dalamnya, Hamidi akan berpura-pura seperti tiada apa-apa yang berlaku. Namun hatinya berbunga-bungan. Melangkah terasa ringan. Setiap tapakan kaki dihayati dan dijaga agar kelihatan segak dan tampan. Apa orang kampung kata, Control Macho.

Setiap kali nama Hartini disebutkan, jantungnya akan berdegup kencang. Hendak dijadikan cerita, pada suatu hari terjumpalah akan Hamidi akan bukunya si Hartini. Terjatuh di atas lantai. Berdebar sungguh hatinya melihatkan buku tersebut. Lalu dikutipnya buku tersebut dan dibawa ke kelas hartini. Dilihatnya Hartini tiada di dalam kelas. Dia bertanya kepada Jamal, pelajar di meja hadapan.

“Hartini ada?” Nadanya tenang, tetapi hatinya cukup tidak keruan. Jantungnya berdegup tidak menentu. Menyebut nama Hartini sahaja sudah sangat menggetarkan jiwa.

Belum sempat Jamal menjawab, tiba-tiba terdengar suara halus dari belakang Hamidi menyapa,

“Cari sayakah?”

Hamidi terkejut. Terkejut yang amat sangat. Bagaikan direnjat elektrik. Jantungnya bagaikan berhenti berdegup. Perlahan-lahan badannya dipalingkan. Dan terlihatlah Hartini sedang berdiri di belakangnya dengan wajah yang tersenyum ayu.

“Er..ya. Saya terjumpa buku awak di atas lantai di kaki lima.” Sambil menghulurkan buku tersebut kepada Hartini.

“Oh, terima kasih Hamidi.” Hartini tersenyum dengan lebih manis. Hamidi terasa bagaikan berada di awing-awangan. Di dalam benaknya terbayangkankan satu perkataan.

Bidadari

Kisah 2

Kisah Hamidi juga.

Tengah hari yang panas. Hamidi memlilih untuk tidak turun ke kelas persediaan petang. Lupa pula nak cerita, Hamidi adalah pelajar sekolah berasrama.

Lalu berbaringlah dia di atas katilnya. Tidak memperdulikan pelanggaran disiplin yang sedang dilakukannya.

‘Alah, bukan selalu. Lagipun aku penat sangat hari ini. Turun ke kelas nanti, tidur juga. Baik tidur dalam dorm saja!’

Baru sahaja ingin melelapkan mata, tiba-tiba terdengarlah adakannya bunyi tapak kaki mendekati biliknya. Bunyi tapak kaki yang bukan sembarangan. Bunyi tapak kaki berkasut.

‘Alamak! Warden ke!? Macam mana dia boleh rajin nak buat rondaan pula hari ini!?’

Hamidi jadi amat gusar. Pelbagai perkara menerjah ke dalam mindanya. Dia akan ditangkap ponteng, disenaraikan sebagai pelajar bermasalah, digantung sekolah dan…

Tidak menunggu lama, dia segera bergerak ke sudut yang terlindung di belakang almarinya. Dalam hati dia berdoa agar warden itu tidak menemuinya.

Bunyi tapakan kasut terhenti di depan biliknya. Mungkin kerana kipas siling yang ligat berpusing menarik perhatian si warden untuk memasuki bilik tersebut. Bunyi suis kipas dimatikan kedengaran. Namun bunyi langkahan kaki kedengaran semakin hampir ke almari di mana Hamidi bersembunyi.

‘Ya-Allah, janganlah dia jumpa aku.’ Hamidi merintih. Jantungnya berdegup sangat kencang merisaukan akan dirinya ditemui. Hatinya berdebar-debar.

Bunyi langkahan kaki semakin hampir, dan kini terhenti betul-betul di hadapan almarinya. Tiba-tiba..

“Oh, ini kerja kamu ya!?”

Dan Hamidi merasakan bagaikan jantungnya mahu tercabut. Bergetar dengan begitu dahsyat.

Opocot!

*****

Pengalaman yang dilalui oleh Hamidi adalah pengalaman-pengalaman biasa yang dilalui oleh kita semua. Mungkin kisah-kisah di atas memang benar-benar berlaku kepada diri kita sendiri. Hati dan jiwa kita akan bergetar ketika kita sedang sangat mencintai seseorang dan ketika amat takut akan seseorang.

Namun itu semua getaran-getaran yang saya rasakan, tidak bermakna. Getatan yang tidak mempunyai apa-apa keistimewaan. Getaran itu hanya menunjukkan bahawa kita merupakan manusia biasa.

Getaran Istimewa, Getaran Keimanan

Ada sebuah getaran yang sangat istimewa. Saya panggil ia getaran keimanan.

Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang beriman ialah mereka yang bila disebut nama Allah gemetarlah hati mereka, dan apabila dibacakan ayat-ayatNya bertambahlah iman mereka (karenanya), dan hanya kepada Tuhanlah mereka bertawakkal.

[Q.S. Al-Anfaal, 8:2]

Itulah getaran hati orang-orang yang beriman. Hati mereka bergetar apabila disebutkan nama Allah. Suatu nama yang amat dicintai oleh mereka. Suatu nama yang amat ditakuti oleh mereka. Persoalannya, sejauh mana kita sudah memastikan diri kita tergolong dalam kalangan orang yang beriman?

Siapa yang tidak mahu menjadi orang-orang yang beriman, sila berhenti membaca artikel saya ini.

Kelihatannya anda masih membaca. Saya yakin anda ingin menjadi orang-orang yang beriman. Dan ketahuilah, ayat kedua daripada surah Al-Anfaal itu menyifatkan bahawa orang-orang yang beriman itu bergetar hatinya apabila disebutkan nama Allah. Penggunaan kata ‘innama’ merupakan sebuah ‘an-nafyu wa al-istisnaa’ (penafian dan pengecualikan) yang membawa maksud, jika tidak bergetarnya hati seseorang itu, maka belum berimanlah dirinya.

Penutup : Getarkan Hatimu

Maka mari bermuhasabah.

Pernahkah hati kita bergetar ketika disebutkan nama Allah.

Adakah kita bergetar kerana mencintai Allah atas segala nikmat yang diberikan-Nya kepada kita? (Baca artikel saya ini untuk kembali menghayatinya)

Adakah hati kita bergetar kerana takutnya kita kepada kemurkaan-Nya atas segala dosa-dosa dan kemaksiatan kita kepada-Nya? Pernahkah diri ini menangisi kesilapan-kesilapan yang lalu dan mengharapkan keampunan dan keredhaannya?

Tepuk dada, tanya iman.

Getarkan hatimu.

-umairzulkefli-

-0913-

-Rumah Kajang-

~End Of Post~

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حكم وضع المرأة لصورتها على الفيس بوك

تصميم من تنفيذ وذكر نسخة ملونة بتصميم وذكر pdf/1.9 MB

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 We seem to alway have fresh herbs and heirloom tomatoes on hand in my house lately.  So here is another healthy fish recipe that is big on taste without feeling guilty.  My 8 year old daughter loved this so much that she requested that I make it 2 days in a row.  Of course I happily agreed, especially since I did not really love the pictures I took the first time.  Round 2, much better light!

Ingredients:

1 lb Tilapia filets (4 filets)
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I prefer heirloom)
Juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a small bowl combine chopped rosemary and the chopped garlic with olive oil and stir to combine.  Place halved tomatoes in a baking dish and spoon half of the rosemary, garlic, oil mixture over tomatoes and toss to coat.  Lightly season tilapia filets on both sides with salt and pepper and then add to baking dish and spoon remaining rosemary, garlic, oil mixture over the fish and spread evenly.  Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over fish and tomatoes.  Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes. 

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This is a weekly post by Nidhal Guessoum (see his earlier posts here). Nidhal is an astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at American University of Sharjah and is the author of Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science.

Nature, the premiere journal of science, devotes a weekly page for an op-ed column titled World View, in which a scientist from around the world offers his/her take on an issue of relevance to science. The pieces, roughly 900 words long, are personal viewpoints inviting further discussion and comment.

In the latest issue of Nature, Rana Dajani, assistant professor of molecular biology at the Hashemite University in Zarqa, Jordan, has a piece titled ‘The Arab Spring offers hope but no quick fix’. In it, she assesses the prospects of the Arab Spring (including the Libyan rebels’ victory) on science. She finds hope in the recent developments but cautions that “progress will be slow.”

While the article is short and can easily be read by anyone (access being open for these op-eds), I will here quote a few excerpts and offer some commentary.

Dr. Dajani writes:

…

Science is not a high priority for countries that have just rid themselves of dictators, but in the wake of the uprisings and protests it is natural for researchers in those nations and colleagues abroad to see opportunities to improve the generally abysmal state of science in Arab countries.

Significant change is unlikely soon. Six months on from the first events of the Arab Spring, there have been no concrete improvements for scientists here in Jordan, and I get the same impression from colleagues in Egypt and Tunisia. The kind of change needed to improve the state of science takes a long time. It is about rebuilding institutions, providing the right environment, obliterating former habits, dismantling bureaucracies, changing mentalities and re-educating people. Such change will take a generation.

…

 Although the outside world may see headlines about fancy projects such as the building of new institutions, the change to science required in Arab countries is not about bricks-and-mortar improvement but about building intellectual capacity.

I concur with all of the above. I would have taken a few sentences to really describe the state of science and its teaching in the Arab world to show where exactly the problem lies, but there is nothing untrue in what’s stated above. I also agree that “fancy projects” (I think she is referring to the big Ahmed Zewail project presently under consideration in Egypt) are not going to change the practice of science in the Arab world.

In the second part of her article, Dr. Dajani highlights the projects that she has recently been involved in, projects that she believes are the kinds of essential undertakings that will galvanize science in the Arab world.

I strongly believe that an essential first step towards freeing minds from the habits of the past is to plant the love of reading in our young children. In this way, they revisit other people's experiences across time and space, learn that there are other ways of living, and develop respect for other perspectives. When children read, their horizons expand and they build the confidence to face challenges, create solutions and think without hindrance. I have developed a programme called We Love Reading (http://www.welovereading.org) that aims to foster a love of reading among children in the Arab world by training women to read aloud to children in their local neighbourhoods.

While I can only applaud this kind of initiative and hope to see it spread elsewhere, I would think there are other, perhaps more important, developments that are worthy of highlight, or at least mention, such as the appearance of NSF-style research funding agencies in the region, the recent emergence of Arab science journalism (with the recent holding of the three-day World Conference of Science Journalists in Qatar last June), the increase (in some cases doubling) of several countries’ spending on science and research in recent years, etc.

Finally, Dr. Dajani turns to the relation between Islam and science and its effect on the hoped-for development of a robust scientific culture in the Arab world. Here too she focuses on her own experience:

… we also need to assess carefully the relationship between Islam and science, particularly in fields with an ethical content, such as stem-cell research. Ethical guidelines for bioengineering and biomedical science for the Muslim world must be drawn up by committees that include scientists, physicians, Islamic scholars and Arabic language specialists.

We have established such a committee at my university, and our discussions indicate that stem-cell research is permissible in Islam, as long as it is carried out with the purpose of improving human health. This conclusion must be re-examined as the field advances.

Such a multidisciplinary approach, new to the Islamic world, is essential to challenge stagnant thinking based on literal interpretations of Islamic sources. The Koran is not a book of scientific facts. It contains verses that describe worldly phenomena, but these are presented as evidence of the elegance and simplicity of creation. Islam is a spiritual guide to life. It teaches us how to live in harmony with ourselves, our fellow humans and the world. There is no conflict between Islam and science.

Islam asks us to use our minds to explore the world around us. It calls for the use of scientific methodology and logic in our approach to science. The verses of the Koran are interpreted by humans, and humans are limited by the scientific knowledge of the era in which the verse was interpreted. The path ahead is not easy, and change will not happen overnight. Still, the Prophet Muhammad said: "Do not belittle any act of good."

Honestly, I don’t think many Arabs or Muslims are worrying much about stem-cell research and its relation to Islam. On the other hand, the theory of evolution (and I know Dr. Dajani is a strong proponent of the theory, its teaching, and its compatibility with Islam) is a serious problem (theological, pedagogical, etc.), but it surprisingly didn’t get mentioned here. To a lesser degree, but still much more relevant than stem-cell research, the problem of the determination of Islamic months should be a case in point of the relation between Science and Islam and the role of each in addressing societal issues. (Less than a week ago, we went through a debacle when officials in at least Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Algeria accepted testimonies of sighting of the crescent when the latter was either not in the sky at all or set too shortly after the sun to have a remote chance of being seen. The shock wave of that decision is still being felt.)

Rana Dajani is a new voice on the Islam-Science scene. She has been highlighted in at least two recent long articles on the subject (here and here). She has not yet written much for her views to be discussed in earnest, but I have no doubt that we will be hearing from and about her more in the future. I personally warmly welcome all such articulate voices, especially those who represent a moderate viewpoint.

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A nice change from the typical chicken cutlets.  Pork really is the "other" white meat.  These cutlets are flavorful, crispy and juicy.  I like serving them with sauteed orzo with veggies.  If you would like a sauce to go with it, I would suggest a simple mustard sauce.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1 cup flavored bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 lb pork cutlets

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium size bowl whisk together eggs and water.  In another bowl combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and basil.  Season pork cutlets with salt and pepper and then dredge in egg mixture and then coat with parmesan bread crumbs.  Once all cutlets are seaoned and coated in egg and breadcrumbs heat oil in a large skillet on med/high heat.  pan fry cutlets until brown on each side about 3 minutes per side.  Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.  Place fried cutlets on a baking sheet and put in the oven for an additional 10 minutes just to ensure that the pork is thoroughly cooked.  Serve immediately.

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by Salman Hameed

The last page of every issue of Nature is devoted to science-fiction short stories. Here is a recent one by a Malaysian medical student, Mohamed Atif Slim. It is not exactly my cup of tea. However, I thought it was interesting that issues of identity - Chinese and Malay/Muslim - play a major role in the story.  This is indeed a reflection of some of the issues confronting contemporary Malaysia. Interesting stuff.

Here is the beginning of Out of the Blue by Mohamed Atif Slim:

Reality Check.

“Yargh-thr! You Chinese?” The ten-eyed Gorgon stared at me, drunk.

“No, I'm Malay.”

“Wussat?” His spittle flew like rockets.

“Human subclass.”

“Human? You sure you're not Chinese?”

Goo oozed from one corner of his mouth. I gave him a sympathetic look. This is why I don't drink. “You should go home. Wife might be worried.”

I left the bar by the back door. On a crowded night like this, usually, if one alien picks on you, the rest will too. Lone human in the bar, let's ask him if he speaks Chinese and eats carrots, if he can get us bootleg ethanol. But I guess I can't blame them — the Chinese were the first humans to venture out to space since First Contact, after all. Still, you'd think the rest of the Universe would grow out of stereotyping minorities — I don't think I've ever met a carrot-eating Chinese in my whole life.

Outside the bar, it was quieter. The Chicken Nebula — named after an extinct legendary beast from Old Earth, I was told — shone like a parade of angel starships in the blue interstellar sky.

I pulled out my banjo, leaned against the dingy wall of the building, and started plucking a few chords.

That was when Shankarlati appeared.

Read the full story here.

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Well last weeks RED theme was such a success that we think we will keep with the color theme again this week!  It's so much fun to see how creative everyone is when they have to work within a color theme.  So for this week's recipes we would like to feature the color YELLOW!!    Please post recipes that contan yellow ingredients such as Corn, Lemons, Bananas, Summer Squash, Pineapple etc.  I'm so excited to see what everyone will link up this week. Now for those delicious RED recipes from last week, let's see whose recipes received the most views........

Strawberry Pie from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen


Fig and Watermelon Salad by Cook Lisa Cook


Best Pizza Sauce by The Kitchen Cookie


Lasagna Roll-Ups by Meg's Everyday Indulgence


Our Favorite Bolognese by Mostly Food and Crafts


Red Velvet Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake by Piece.Love.Cooking


Here is an Everyday Sisters button for anyone interested!


Okay now onto those YELLOW recipes........

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by Salman Hameed

This is actually an interesting group of people talking about God and the beginnings of the universe. Here they have astronomers/physicists espousing various shades of beliefs, and an intelligent and nuanced theologian. Unfortunately, the whole debate is framed around Stephen Hawking's recent pronouncement that there is no God and an example of argument from authority. This would be fine. Many scientists (and non-scientists) have made similar pronouncements before, but somehow his statement has created a media stir (I think he has a really good PR guy) - and it doesn't help that the moderator keeps on asking if the debate is finally settled. If you ignore this part, I think the discussion is actually interesting and we've had similar discussion on this blog as well. For example, can science explain the origins of the universe, and if so, what does that explanation mean for the existence or non-existence of God (I think - it pushes the question back to some other unknown - and we go ad infinitum)? What aspects of life can be explained by science and are there religious questions that science cannot and/or should not broach? Then there is a separate question of miracles and I think Paul Davies is quite forthright about it calling it bad science and bad theology.

Best of all, it is good to see a respectful and reasonable discussion on the topic (sans the sensational framing of Hawking's claims by host, David Gregory - but then he is used to sensationalism on his weekly Meet the Press). Instead of disparaging debates between creationists and biologists, or atheists and believers, a dialogue such as this helps illustrate the complexities of both science and religion. Even if you disagree, you have something to learn about.

Enjoy!

P.S. After viewing the video, also check out this related and thoughtful post by Sean Carroll: What can we know about the world without looking at it?



and the remaining part below:

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by Salman Hameed

It is hard to keep a straight face while talking about Rapture - the ideas that good Christians will be lifted up before the End Times - and the rest of the population will duke it out here on the Earth. This is not a mainstream idea, but it is popular amongst a subset of Evangelicals in the US. It is also a relatively recent idea (I think it goes back to 18th or 19th century - but I'm sure some of the readers may know better than I do) and I first heard about it via The Left Behind series. Of course, there is also much entertainment in this as some atheists are also offering to provide post-Rapture care for the pets left behind.

But now there is a fascinating new novel that asks the question what if some people did disappear? It does not explain why or how, but just that some have just disappeared. This is the premise of what looks like a fascinating new novel, The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta. Two of his earlier novels, Election and Little Children have been turned into fantastic films, and The Leftovers is being adopted into an HBP miniseries.

Here is a thoughtful Fresh Air interview with Perrotta. It is fascinating that the novel is not about the religious aspects of Rapture (though he does have the formation of cults as a result of these disappearances), but rather it focuses on how humans deal with pain of losing loved ones. It also asks the question of how people react to unexplained causes. Perrotta himself is skeptical of religion, but he seems to understand the reasons why people believe and he respects that. He has an interesting take on how he views novels and religion:

"I would probably have to say that reading fiction — those stories fill the space that other people might use religious stories for. The bulk of what I know about human life I've gotten from novels. And I think the thing about novels that make them important to the people who love them is that there's always another perspective. I think there's no novel that really works unless it has an internal dialogue and attention. And I think that is obviously a real alternative to religion which tends to give you a unified perspective and isn't that interested in competing ideas that are equally valid. ... It's very relative in that sense — absolute — and that's what drives religious conservatives crazy. They don't like the idea that there are multiple truths for multiple people."

The premise of Rapture is indeed fertile ground for philosophical explorations. In the face of thousands (or millions) of sudden disappearances, how would (or should) scientists respond? Should there be an actual search for people and/or natural explanation or should science give up on rational explanation and accept the supernatural? How and when do we get to this point? I don't know if the novel deals with other religions, but I think it will be interesting to note the reactions of other religions (for example, Muslims) if the prediction of a rival religion appear to have come true. Would that fundamentally shake up faith, or would reinterpretations be enough to explain the disappearances? Of course, the element of doomsday cults is already in the novel.

Oh - I love it! I'm psyched about the HBO series and will try to find time to read the novel.

Listen to Fresh Air interview here and get the book from Amazon here.

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by Salman Hameed

Last week Express Tribune has a fantastic article on a student who has built a Newtonian telescope from scratch in Okara, Pakistan (tip from Farid Alvie). This is again a perfect reminder of the universal appeal of astronomy and what can be achieved when combined with talent and ambition! This is the story of Asad Mehmood, but his journey also illustrates the phenomenal importance of science societies. In his odyssey, Asad did most of the work on his own. But he also got crucial encouragement and guidance from Khwarizmi Science Society (KSS) (see earlier posts about them here and also tangentially here. Also read a post about amateur astronomy in Pakistan here). This is the perfect combination to cultivate talent. I hope schools and colleges also make it a habit encourage science societies.

But back to Asad Mehmood:

Asad Mehmood’s story is one of ingenuity and improvisation. A pre-engineering student in the District Public School and College Okara, Mehmood has been fascinated with optics ever since he was introduced to the subject in Class 6. “I used to play with convex and concave lenses and perform a lot of experiments, just for fun,” he reminisces. “At that time, I didn’t even know about telescopes, their working or their internal structures.”

While many of us grow out of our childhood fancies, Mehmood’s interest in optics only grew with time, and he started doing some serious reverse engineering. “I not only bought lenses from optics shops but more frequently I got magnifying glasses from bookstores. Then I bought a toy telescope, checked out its internals and made another one identical to it.”

The success of this first invention spurred him on. Not content with toy telescopes, he says, “that was when there rose in me the ambition to build a telescope to view the sky and the moon, the stars and planets.”

But dreaming was one thing, actually building a working telescope quite another. Mehmood had never seen a real telescope in his entire life. There was no astronomy society in Okara that he could turn to; he didn’t even have an internet connection that he could use for research. Still, though he loathed reading, he pored over the books in his school library, reading every scrap of information he could find on astronomy, lenses and optics.

“Fortunately I found a book that dealt with the topic ‘light’, which was exactly what I wanted. I gathered a lot of information about telescopes.”

After a year of failed prototypes, he made a Galilean Telescope, consisting of two convex lenses placed at a specific distance to each other. At that time, he was in Class 8.

In order to see him build the larger Newtonian telescope, you have to read the full article here.

Congratulations Asad! Fantastic job.

Related Posts:

Telescopes versus Terrorism in Pakistan

Astronomy Catching on in Pakistan

Pakistani Astronomers Shine during the International Year of Astronomy

Here is a post about the KSS astrofest at Okara in 2009

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My kids love Orzo and they love Broccoli so this side dish works for everyone.  It's easy, flavorful and healthy.  It's also something that I can whip up for a quick side dish at anytime since you can use frozen broccoli, frozen onions and dried orzo.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Orzo pasta

1/2 cup frozen chopped onions

1 - 16 oz bag of frozen broccoli

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Boil pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile in a large skillet sautee onions in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil until they become translucent sabout 5 minutes.  Add frozen broccoli and sautee with onions for another 5-7 minutes until tender.  Drain pasta and add to onions and broccoli, season with salt and pepper and stir until combined.  Transfer to serving bowl, serve hot.  

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View from my apartment complex, before leaving it



Packing, packing and packing, that is mostly what my last days in USA about. I spent a day trying to move the whole year stuff into two suitcases and making sure that the apartment is as clean as when I moved in. In the afternoon, I moved to a hotel near SeaTac airport, in which I would stay for the rest of my time in the States. As soon as I
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by Salman Hameed

Last week's New York Times had a review of a collection of poems by Tracy K. Smith called Life on Mars. It looks fantastic! It seems to connect the our sense of wonder and awe of the universe to the sometimes real pain and sorrow of the world. It reminded me of the recent fantastic documentary, Nostalgia for the Light (see the review here). Here is the context of Life on Mars:

At the outset of her third poetry collection, Smith too turns her eyes to the stars in search of perspective and solace, but for her the stakes are considerably higher and the images closer to home. Smith’s father was a scientist who worked on the Hubble’s development, and in her elegies mourning his death, outer space serves both as a metaphor for the unknowable zone into which her father has vanished and as a way of expressing the hope that his existence hasn’t ceased, merely changed.

Here is a snippet of her poetry. This is part of her poem, My God, It's Full of Stars:

           3. 

Perhaps the great error is believing we're alone,

That the others have come and gone-a momentary blip-

When all along, space might be chock-full of traffic,

Bursting at the seams with energy we neither feel

Nor see, flush against us, living, dying, deciding,

Setting solid feet down on planets everywhere,

Bowing to the great stars that command, pitching stones

At whatever are their moons. They live wondering

If they are the only ones, knowing only the wish to know,

And the great black distance they-we-flicker in.

Maybe the dead know, their eyes widening at last,

Seeing the high beams of a million galaxies flick on

At twilight. Hearing the engines flare, the horns

Not letting up, the frenzy of being. I want it to be

One notch below bedlam, like a radio without a dial.

Wide open, so everything floods in at once.

And sealed tight, so nothing escapes. Not even time,

Which should curl in on itself and loop around like smoke.

So that I might be sitting now beside my father

As he raises a lit match to the bowl of his pipe

For the first time in the winter of 1959.

         4.

In those last scenes of Kubrick's "2001"

When Dave is whisked into the center of space,

Which unfurls in an aurora of orgasmic light

Before opening wide, like a jungle orchid

For a love-struck bee, then goes liquid,

Paint in water, and then gauze wafting out and off,

Before, finally, the night-tide, luminescent

And vague, swirls in, and on and on....

In those last scenes, as he floats

Above Jupiter's vast canyons and seas,

Over the lava strewn plains and mountains

Packed in ice, that whole time, he doesn't blink.

In his little ship, blind to what he rides, whisked

Across the wide screen of unparcelled time,

Who knows what blazes through his mind?

Is it still his life he moves through, or does

That end at the end of what he can name?

On the set, it's shot after shot till Kubrick is happy,

Then the costumes go back on their racks

And the great gleaming set goes black.

         5.

When my father worked on the Hubble Telescope, he said

They operated like surgeons: scrubbed and sheathed

In papery green, the room a clean cold, and bright white.

He'd read Larry Niven at home, and drink scotch on the rocks,

His eyes exhausted and pink. These were the Reagan years,

When we lived with our finger on The Button and struggled

To view our enemies as children. My father spent whole seasons

Bowing before the oracle-eye, hungry for what it would find.

His face lit up whenever anyone asked, and his arms would rise

As if he were weightless, perfectly at ease in the never-ending

Night of space. On the ground, we tied postcards to balloons

For peace. Prince Charles married Lady Di. Rock Hudson died.

We learned new words for things. The decade changed.

The first few pictures came back blurred, and I felt ashamed

For all the cheerful engineers, my father and his tribe. The second time,

The optics jibed. We saw to the edge of all there is-

So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.

Read the full poem here. But this is from the first part of the book. Back to the review:

Smith is quick to suggest that the important thing is not to discover whether or not we’re alone in the universe; it’s to accept — or at least endure — the universe’s mystery. I kept noticing, early on, that Smith was using the pronoun “it” in situations where “it” had no clear antecedent. At first I thought this was a tic at best and sloppiness at worst, but when I came to the poem “It & Co.” I realized I’d been set up. Smith’s enigmatic “it” is in fact her way of teasing us for our insatiable itch for explanations:

. . . We

Have gone looking for It everywhere:

In Bibles and bandwidth, blooming

Like a wound from the ocean floor.

Still, It resists the matter of false vs. real.

Unconvinced by our zeal, It is un-

Appeasable. It is like some novels:

Vast and unreadable.

Religion, science, art: we turn to them for answers, but the questions persist, especially in times of grief. Smith’s pairing of the philosophically minded poems in the book’s first section with the long elegy for her father in the second is brilliant. She first shows us how tempted she is to escape into abstraction and imagination — to stare dreamily at that Cone Nebula all day — but then reminds us how necessary it is to confront the reality of our existence back here on Earth. The tension is heightened by the fact that “The Speed of Belief,” that long elegy, dispenses with the vivid diction of the poems that precede it, taking up instead a resolutely plain form of speech. Like William Carlos Williams, who in his poem “Tract” tells the mourners at a funeral that their simple “ground sense” of grief is more powerful than any that could be conjured by “a troop of artists,” Smith seems determined to shun ornamental phrases as she describes her father’s sorrow over her grandfather’s death, and then her parallel sorrow:

When your own sweet father died

You woke before first light

And ate half a plate of eggs and grits,

And drank a glass of milk.

After you’d left, I sat in your place

And finished the toast bits with jam

And the cold eggs, the thick bacon

Flanged in fat, savoring the taste.

Read the full review here and here is a link to Life on Mars on Amazon.

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