AM I AT THE DOOR

Am I at the door
of the entrance
into the garden
of the pious

Am I at the door
of the entrance
into the realm
of the sinner

I am on the doors
on my right is
the domain of the righteous
on my left is
the abode of the wrong-doer

O Lord! Guide me
to be the one
who knocks at the door
of the pious and righteous
until it comes a time
when the door I am at
opens with salutation of peace
for certainly it is
ever-lasting felicity I have achieved.

Syed Ad'ha
28 December 2008
5:15am

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Yesterday passes by
what can I do about it
since the day has gone by

Today is going by
I can do something about it
before the day goes by

Tomorrow will come by
let me prepare for it
I shall be delighted as it passes me by.

Syed Ad'ha
ANU/Toad Hall/Room A309
1 October 2008
4:33pm

Never Have I Imagine

Never have I imagine
to be at ANU among the many applicants
enrolled in a world class faculty
a postgraduate degree in sight I am sure

Never have I imagine
to be under the guardian and protection
of Anthony Milner whom I have met once for a chat
are you still there and reading this email dear Sir?

Never have I imagine
that it is Peter Borschberg
who will guide me to a place of self-discovery
at ANU he say I will be intellectually better

Never have I imagine
to be embraced by a lady of of good-heartedness
it is Siaan Matthews of penetrating intelligence
with friendly love, caringness and comforting words she makes me feel near

Never have I imagine
to be embraced by a lady of consistent concern
for the listening ear, motivation and advice she always give
it is Mary Kilcline Cody whom I referring to here

Never have I imagine
to write 24,000 word essays in one semester
covering Islam, security, propaganda and asia-pacific
I must perservere to do well for the training is for the future

Never have I imagine
that all that I have never imagine
is now a possibility due to His Grace and kindness from those names above
pray for me dearest well-wishers for I need it to achieve the reason why I am here.


Syed Ad'ha
ANU/Toad Hall
2:00am

Mid Day Of My Life

I am in the mid day of my life
Looking back at what I have done
Sins and wrong doings engulf my heart
Repentance is imminent I must try

I am in the mid day of my life
Reflecting the deeds that I have done
Good and evil all meshed in one
The errors must be corrected I must strive

I am in the mid day of my life
Counting the blessings that I have till now
Family, friends, wealth and health all that I have
Thank you O ALLAH for these gifts in my life

I am in the mid day of my life
Trials and tribulations that I have surpassed
Shaping me to be stronger and deeper in faith I must arrive
All praises be unto You O ALLAH the Patron of my life

I am in the mid day of my life
While others are between dawn and dusk of their lives
Whichever part of the day our lives are in
We must continue our pursuit for excellence indeed.

Syed Ad'ha
14 June 2008
2:07am

From Which Lense Shall I See?

From which lense shall I see
For the lense of the political is always magnifying me
That human beings are manipulating more than assisting
Brings sadness and grief to the world that we live in

From which lense shall I see
For the lense of the sociological is often envisioning me
That men are of many typologies and perspectives it is
Through it I see hope and understanding is abound indeed

From which lense shall I see
For the lense of the spiritual is ever-guiding me
That God is where our hope and focus should be in
Enlighten my heart and uplift my soul in perpectual certainty

From which lense shall I see
These lenses of life are always causing happiness, worry and weariness in me
The political, sociological and spiritual all meshed in me
Competing my heart, my mind and my soul thus never at ease

From which lense shall I see
The lenses of truths that has been entrusted onto me
To establish prayers and do good deeds is the way indeed
Putting my worries and weariness finally at ease

From which lense shall I see
With the lenses of faith, hope and forgiveness I shall see
Which every man can see with if he believes
That these are the lenses of life which are ever-sustaining.

Syed Ad'ha
6 May 2008
12:43pm

Iman and Amal Soleh

The Quran mentions for those who have faith and do good deeds, ALLAH Subhana Hu Wa Ta'ala will grant unto them everlasting blessings and grace. Here faith and good deeds is termed as Iman and Amal Soleh. Why is it then that the Quran mentions Amal Soleh and not Amal, Amal Hassan, Amal Khair etc? Amal is only considered as Amal Soleh if the deeds that is carried out is firstly done out of sincerity, stemming from the believe that it is to be done to attain ALLAH's Pleasure. Thus the niat will bring out the deed in its most best fashion in act. It is in this approach that the doer will be able to attain a higher level of Iman, for the Amal has brought the doer to be closer to ALLAH Subhana Hu Wa Ta'ala. This is due to the doer's understanding that it is to be done only to gain His Blessings, thus increasing one's proximity to Him and not otherwise. The link between Amal, Iman and Sincerity is all-close to an extent that amal which is not done from true believe and pure sincerity, will be only known as amal of other kinds. It does not bring one close and closer to ALLAH Subhana Hu Wa Ta'ala. Thus it is urgent that we reflect the deeds that we have carried out and ask ourselves whether we have done it with true conviction that is to gain His Pleasure and therefore to do it with sincerity from the heart. This inter-twinning nature also tells that for sincerity and true believe to exists and thus the amal to be of soleh in nature, we must do our utmost to prevent any form of shirk from affecting our Tauhid, small or big. For shirk is darkness and darkness leads one astray. Iman and Amal Soleh are our salvations in the hereafter. Other than The Mercy of ALLAH Subhana Hu Wa Ta'ala and the Syafa'ah of Rasulullah sallallahu 'alaihi wassalam, we have to strengthen our Iman and Amal Soleh with the best fortifications. May ALLAH Subhana Hu Wa Ta'ala guides us. Amin Ya Rabbal 'Alamiin.

Dr Albert Winsemius

Singapore's growth as a city-state is planted from the time it was under the perview of the United Nation in 1963. Herein, the role of Dr Albert Winsemius came to shape. Dr Winsemius was instrumental in the economic, military and social aspects of Singapore's development. He pioneered the growth of industries and government-business relations, established a highly trained armed forces and developed housing for the people in Singapore. Albert's position as a post-war public housing consultant in Holland, relations with the business entity and military networks via the Jewish circles, helped Singapore leaders who were seasoned street politicians to have a solid foundation of guided governance henceforth. Dr Winsemius provided the urgent needs of the country prior to separation and guided our leaders who were inexperienced in governance to have a great headstart and on-the-job learning from Albert himself and through his networks. Perhaps it is time for an academic book, a coffee-table book and a think-tank should be named after him, in honour of his selfless sacrifice for our country.