Financial Planning

The key is: S.M.A.R.T.

S - Sepcific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Realistic
T - Time-bound

Mind-Body Financial Fitness

• Take responsibility of your own future and develop discipline and commitment needed in making plans for every stage of life including retirement, long-term medical care and succession plan. SPECIFIC (What, Why and How).
• "If you cant measure it, you cant manage it"
• Plan in exact terms, how much money you want to have. Measurable
• Be physically aware of your financial position at all times - check each component of your financial situation i,e loans, credit cards and monthly income and expenses. Knowing your financial landscape ensures and ACHIEVABLE financial goal is set.

Begin Financial Circuit Training

• go to series of ecercises to ensure total financial fitness is achieve. Knowing your financial position in itself is insufficient. You need to know how to control your finance.
• "make it, Keep it, Grow it", rather than "Make it and Spent it"
• Minimise consumption and getting the most value of everything they purchase - control your expenses.
• Be REALISTIC about financial goal.

Do it Now!

• Financial goal must be TIME-BOUND.
• Know exactly when you want to achive your goal.
• Putting an end on your goal provides you  with clear target to work towards achieving.
• Start taking action without any procrastination
• Set a SMART financial goal today and begin your journey towards becoming financially fit.

Life is just a Fleeting Dream

It strikes me this morning as I drove to work. At the moment life seems so unbearable..Sometimes I feel so low that I have no regret leaving this wordly life and come back to the Creator. Astaghfirullah...Been pondering upon life, the past, present and the unknown future. It has been full with ups and downs which is frustrating at some parts of it. The people around and negativity that pushes me away from the true meaning of life, I lost my faith towards the greater good. It scary to even think of it. There are times where I started to argue about life.

Why good things happen to bad people and why bad things happen to good people? Why do we suffer? Why do ‘bad’ things happen to ‘good’ people? How could there be a God if innocent children starve and criminals run free? How can there be an all-loving, all-powerful deity who would allow such misfortunes to happen? And if God is indeed Just and Good, shouldn’t only good things happen to good people and only bad things happen to bad people?

Well, the answer is: yes. Absolutely. Only good things do happen to good people. And only bad things happen to bad people. Why? Because God IS the Most Just and the Most Loving. And He has no deficiency in His knowledge or understanding. But after moments of deep thoughts, I come to realize that this dunya including fame, wealth, family, friends etc is just a mere dream, it means nothing. But what matters is the life after. The eternity.

Thus life (dunya) is only a dream whether its a bad or a good dreams.  For a moment, it overtakes me. Yet the suffering in the nightmare is only an illusion. Temporary. Like the blink of an eye. Why do people dream? Why do people have to feel that loss, fear, and sadness in their sleep? But it fades after they woke or at least takes a little moment to get over it.

On a greater scale, it’s a question that has been asked throughout time. And for many people, the answer to that question has determined their path to or away from faith.  Faith in God, faith in life’s purpose, faith in a higher order or a final destination has often all rested upon how this singular question has been answered. And so, to ask this question is to ask about life, in the most ultimate  way.

The problem is that we do have deficiencies in knowledge and understanding. See, to understand the statement “only good things happen to good people and only bad things happen to bad people”, we must first define ‘good’ and ‘bad’.  And although there are as many definitions of good and bad as there are people, a comprehensive understanding exists. For example, most people would agree that to succeed in achieving my desired purpose or goal in a particular matter would be ‘good’. While on the other hand, failing to achieve my intended purpose or aim would be bad. If my aim is to gain weight because I am dangerously underweight, becoming heavier would be good. If, on the other hand, my aim is to lose weight because I am harmfully overweight, becoming heavier would be bad. The same event could be good or bad, depending on my intended purpose. So ‘good’ in my eyes rests on the achievement of my personal aim. And ultimate ‘Good’ rests on the achievement of my ultimate aim.

But what is my aim? That brings us to the fundamental question of purpose as it relates to the greater Reality of existence. There are essentially two distinct worldviews when it comes to purpose in life.

1. Worldview holds that this life is the Reality, the final destination and ultimate goal of our endeavors.
2. Worldview holds that this life is only a bridge, a means that stands as nothing more than a glimpse in the context of God’s infinite Reality.

For those in the first group, this life is everything. It is the End to which all actions strive. For those in the second group, this life tends towards zero. Why? Because, in comparison to infinity, even the largest number becomes zero. Nothing.  Like a fleeting dream.

These distinct worldviews directly affect the question of purpose. See, if one believes that this life is the Reality, the final destination, the goal of all endeavors, the purpose of life would be to maximize pleasure and gain in this life.  In that paradigm, ‘bad’ things ARE in fact happening to ‘good’ people every single second. Within that paradigm, people reach the conclusion that there is no justice and therefore either there is no God or God is not Just (wa athu billah, I seek refuge in God). It’s like a person who concludes that there must be no God because they had a bad dream. But why don’t we give the experiences of our dreams much weight? After all, some dreams are horrifying to live through—and very often do happen to ‘good’ people.  In our dreams, do we not experience extreme terror or bliss? Yes. But why doesn’t it matter? Because put in context of our real life, it is nothing!

In the second world view (the Islamic paradigm) the purpose of creation is *not* maximizing pleasure and gain in a life that is nothing more than a dream. In that world view, life’s purpose is defined by God who tells us: “I have not created jinn and humans (for any purpose) except to worship me,” (Qur’an, 51:56).

 First Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He) negates ALL other purposes before He states the one and only, singular purpose:  ‘except to worship Me.’ This means that as a believer I know that there is no other purpose of my existence except to know, love and get closer to God. This is the one and only reason why I was created. And this is the most essential realization, as it defines everything else I do or believe. It defines all things around me, and everything I experience in life.

In a relative sense, for those whose goal is this material world, worldly things define their ‘good’ and ‘bad’. For them, things like gaining wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily ‘good’.  Losing wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily ‘bad’. So in that paradigm, when an innocent person loses every material possession they own, this is a ‘bad’ thing happening to a ‘good’ person. But that is the illusion that comes as a result of a flawed worldview. When the lens itself is distorted, so too is the image seen through it.

For those of the second worldview, anything that brings us closer to our purpose of nearness to God’s love is good; and anything that takes us away from that purpose is bad. Therefore, winning a billion dollars may be the greatest calamity ever to happen to me if it takes me away from God—my ultimate purpose. On the other hand, losing my job, all my wealth, and even falling ill, may in fact be the greatest blessing ever given to me if it brings me closer to God—my ultimate purpose.  This is the Reality that is spoken about in the Qur’an when Allah (swt) says:

“It may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows, you know not,” (2:216).

As a believer, my criterion is no longer gain or loss in a material sense. My criterion is something higher. What I have or do not have in a worldly sense is only relevant in as much as it brings me closer or farther from my Aim: God. This dunya (life) becomes nothing more than that dream that I experience for a moment and then awaken from. Whether that dream was good or bad for me, depends only on my state once I awaken.

And so on the ultimate scale there is perfect justice. God only gives good (nearness to Him) to good people, and bad (distance from Him) to bad people. The greatest good is nearness to God, in this life and the next. And it is only ‘good’ people who are blessed with this. That is why the Prophet ﷺ has said: “Strange is the case of a believer, there is good for him in everything—and this is only for the believer. If a blessing reaches him, he is grateful to God, which is good for him, and if an adversity reaches him, he is patient which is good for him,” (Muslim).

As this hadith (record of the sayings or actions of the Prophet ﷺ) explains, whether something is good or bad is not defined by how it appears externally. “Goodness”, as explained by this hadith, is defined by the good internal state that it produces: patience and gratitude—both manifestations of peace with and nearness to God.

On the other hand, the greatest calamity is distance from God—in this life and the next. And it is only ‘bad’ people who are punished with this. What such ‘distanced’ people have, or do not have of wealth or status or property or fame is only an illusion—no more real or important than having, or not having, these things in the greatest dream, or the worst nightmare.

Of these illusions Allah (swt) says: “Nor strain your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendor of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring,” (Qur’an, 20:131).

The enduring life is the one that begins once we awaken from this world. And it is in that awakening that we realize…

It was only a dream.

Let's Talk About Heart

After a few rounds of procrastination, well today I finally have the time to write about something that I have always wanted to write. To some it's nothing but a trivial matter. But for me, it is something  I feel very important to all of us regardless of our age, status, gender, believe etc. So Let's Talk About Heart..

Well no doubt, there are so many things in life if we ponder upon it clearly and deeply,consist of things which we cant see, hold, and smell. Its invisible. Looking at it in other perspective, its encircle almost a major portion of our life. But I am just going to touch about the invisible things that occurred in our heart despite the function of filtering toxic and residues from our blood streams. There's a saying:

"Ada seketul daging  dalam badan kita, jika baik daging itu itu, baiklah kita". 

Taking a reality check, if we can see the invisible things in our hearts, we can clearly see that has been cluttered with anger, hatred, jealousy, revenge, and Subhannallah other negative innate characters. That is why we see everyday in our daily life crimes, suicide, divorces in consequence of this filthy hearts. I would like to share some interesting notions about heart from our ulama's.

Ulama berkata, 3 cara membersihkan hati:

1. Banyakkan membaca Al-Quran dan tafsirannya serta amalkan;
2. Banyakkan beribadah, sembahyang, berzakat dan amal-amal yang membawa kita mendapat keredhaan-Nya;
3. Banyakkan berfikir tentang hari kematian dan pembalasan.

But if we cant find the hearts that we want, we are encouraged to "pray" for a new heart. So, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. We have to seek for it not waiting for it. InsyaAllah, Allah is Most Gracious and Merciful. 

Other than that we are reminded to be Istiqamah in everything that we do (good deeds). Its easier said than done, especially for a normal human like us. We ofthen forget and lost in the worldly happiness, wealth, health, beauty and fame. But remember this is all temporary. Everything that we have is by God's will. It will come to an end one day. We never know when we will leave this world and what's left is our Ibadah, Iman, and good deeds. So we must always try to keep our heart clean, avoid anything that can hinder us to get God's blessings and be a faithful Moslim. Another interesting saying i find it very inspiring:

Seberapa desar rumah, harta benda dan kekayaan di dunia ini, 

di kubur hanya tanah, sekeping papan dan batu bata menhimpit liang yang sempit:

Seberapa cantik dan mahal pakaian kita di dunia, 

di kubur kita hanya dibaluti kain kafan yang berharga beberapa ringgit semeter,

Seberapa ramai teman-teman, ahli keluarga dan kenalan kita di dunia ini, 

di kubur kita hanya seorang diri..

Astaghfirullah...

Duniawi Facebook

Credit to Wan Ilma Dewi Putri. I quote this entry from her blog with own views and editing. I am so glad that we are in the same page. I honestly feel that Facebook has been a complete weary as people are too carried away with it. Life has been so transparent, they want the whole world to know what they are up to every single minute of day and creating loads of rivals on duniawi achievements...Astaghfirullah..

  

"Facebooking is like fashion, or Adobe Photoshop. While not paying attention to it makes you dull, overdoing it makes you trashy or looking like a douche”.

  Almost all of us probably would have shown some kind of personal achievement on Facebook. Name it a simple message, some "likes" and endless chain of comments. It’s healthy to a certain extent, to know that you are contend with what you have. But some people can really cross the line and enter the “show off” zone. With photos of the latest events in their (or even their kids’) lives, nothing is too mundane or too private to broadcast. New beau/belle, new car, new house, new offspring, new cool job, new sights&sounds. Like it or not, everyone seems to be caught in a rat race. Then with this ‘data’ available easily for everyone to see, people tend to draw conclusions or make judgements, like who’s the most successful in our circle of friends right now? Who marries first? Who drives the most expensive car? Who marries the most? (haha..dah ada ke yang camni?) Who has the most kids? Who makes the biggest bucks? Whose business empire is the largest? Who’s the loser? etc. There is immense pressure not too lose in this rat race. Goodness knows the status updates and pictures can even spark jealuosy or hatred or even fitnah.

I am not forbidding you all to post your happenings on FB, it’s just that moderation is the key. Of course you can take pictures of your new whatever, but I think the salient point is we should not be enslaved by Facebook, e.g. taking pictures with the intention of showing off. We humans sometimes don’t realize that we often got carried away, veering away from the right track. That’s why we often recite in Al-Fatihah, “Guide us to the true path—1:6″

I was one of those or at least felt the slight temptation to switch between windows to fb at work and constantly checking updates on my BB *sigh*. I even saw so much rivalry even to the extend of compromising your reality because of this ridiculous virtual arena. Cat fights, steel someone's lover, making certain decision fast i.e. marry/ moveout/ switch jobs because you don't want to feel left behind and in the same time jeopardizing your future! How fb has done WONDERS!

 This post is not meant to anyone, and its probably for me, sometimes we are so occupied with this DUNIAWI and forget all about our AKHIRATI. Bottom line is, have a life. I mean a REAL life, and dont just indulge in the trivial things that doesn't do any good to you in future. Subhanallah...

Twin Sister's Engagement Caremony

Alhamdulillah,on 30th October 2010, my twin sister was engaged to her soul mate. The ceremony went well. The theme was pink, but red hantaran? I'm not sure;p. A lot of people showed up but we managed to keep the chaos to the minimal. She looked stunning with pink outfit, matches the pelamin. As usual, I managed to capture the happy moments for my sisters big days and this time for my twin sister. Both of them looks good like "bagai pinang di belah dua". I believe that it's one of the signs where they are meant to be for each other. Its all ready written on their Qadha' and nobody can change that but Allah.

I showed up with pink+peach outfit and kind of steal the lime light and some of them got  confused who is engaged that day;p. Though I still can't face the fact that she is leaving soon. It's really scary but I know that this moment will be here sooner or later. But yeah, that's life.. 

Well me on the other hand, still living my life as usual, single, successful (I like to think so;), and probably too hot to handle (err I'm quoting from other people). But this is who I'm. Allah may have a bigger plans for me. With that, I redha and embrace every possible things that will be coming my way. Well, at the moment I'm kinda running away from a lot of things that happen in the past. But those are things that makes me, ME now. Buang yang keruh, ambil yang jernih:) I am moving forward. Breathing a fresher air, with clearer and different perspective towards life and at the moment I'm letting life take me where ever I belong. I am done making plans, I achieved what I aimed before and probably way better. Alhamdulillah. And lastly, I pray for many happy things to come. Ameen.