Author: abuadam Page 55 of 64

“It happened so fast.”

On July 9, 2010

July 6th 2010:

One of our contractor passed away yesterday while we were busy with work and meetings and doing other worldly things.

I got the message late while in one of the KPI-setting meeting which was supposed to set key performance indicators to measure individual performance for the next financial year. While we can plan how much sales and revenue the Company can make, or how many leaders we want to develop, we never can plan when and how we will die.

Unable to catch the funeral ceremony at Yuwey cemetery in Mingalardon, we visited the bereaved family members today at their house at University Avenue in Yangon. Our car was stopped by the security guarding this stretch of University Avenue which is the home for the most famous lady in Myanmar — Daw Aung San Su Kyi. We were made to walk some 800 meters along University Crest to the house no 71A.

We met the wife, a widow now. A petite pretty lady, who spoke English better than most of my local staff in my office.

“It happened so fast. ” The wife started the story. There were many relatives and friends in the house, which served as his husband’s office. So she took us to the verandah.

“He complained about slight chest pain in the morning. Then he visited a doctor at nearby clinic, have ECG taken. ECG was no good and the doctor gave him a bundle of medication, to be taken after meal.”

Her eyes were wet with tears but she managed it well not to drop the tears. She tried to put up a brave front but sometimes she broke down and simply buried her face into her hands, while we were waiting for this damsel in distress to complete her sentence.

“I quit working and started becoming a fulltime housewife last year. Now I don’t know… It seems I have to return to work.”

“I am spoilt by by him, everything I wanted I got it, just like a baby.” She is a young mother with 2 boys — aged 6 month and 2.5 years old. She said her late husband said he had 3 kids, and she is the third one.

“This house is my husband’s office, somebody new will come. I have to leave and find a new place.”

I did not say much. I was not good at comforting others in pain save some words rather direct like life is test, be patient, Allah loves him more.

Anyway I did hand over my business card before I left just in case she wanted to try her luck in my organization.

A flower girl in Yangon (Part 2)

By abuadam

On July 3, 2010

In Rambling

July 2, 2010:

Met her again at the Shwegondaing intersection.

She was as innocent as ever, wearing the same sweet smile, very natural indeed. She rushed to my car knocking at the window gently, as what she did last time. She waved a string of jasmine flower for sale, as what she did last time. Unlike what I did last time, this time I rushed to get some kyats from my work pant deep inside the sport bag, as I just returned from a badminton game at the university sport complex. But alas I could not control the traffic light. The light turned green so fast, and the car had to move. I missed her again. May be next time. I forgot her name but I could never forget her smile.

It was an interesting sight at the Shwegonedain intersection in Yangon, Myanmar. In this city, everyone has a story. Every face tells a story.

Mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA (Abi Waqas Mosque)

By abuadam

On July 3, 2010

In Travel

June 2010:

Sejarah kedatangan Islam di China bermula pada zaman Khalifah Uthman Al Affan (RA) di mana bapa saudara Nabi (SAW), Saad abi Waqas telah diutuskan ke China melalui jalan sutera laut kepada Maharaja Dinasti Tang. Utusan ini pertama mendarat di Canton, ketika itu pelabuhan perdagangan utama di China, selepas itu menuju ke ibukota dinasti Tang di Xian dan diterima baik dan Maharaja memerintahkan sebuah masjid dibina di Canton (sekarang Guangzhou) buat mengingati peristiwa bersejarah ini. Inilah Masjid Huai-sheng, masjid yang pertama dan tertua di China. Saad abi Waqas kemudian kembali ke Guangzhou dan meninggal di sana. Sebuah monumen dibina dan dikenali sebagai maqam Saad Abi Waqas di kota Guangzhou. Saya berkesempatan melawat masjid ini baru-baru ini.

Alamat / Address:

Assahabi Abi Waqas Mosque (Muslim Sage’s Tomb)
No.901, North Jiefang Road
Tel: 020-86692743

Bagaimana untuk sampai ke sini? / How to get here?

Access to this mosque is quite tricky as the entrance is located at the edge of crowded intersections. The mosque is located inside the small park (there was a construction work at the entrance to the park during my visit). For adventurous, you can take Guangzhou metro and stop at Yuexiu station. In the metro underpass, exit toward Li Hua Hu park (opposite side of Yuexiu Park). NOTE: There are many parks around this area. When you come to street level, turn right and walk ahead along North Jiefing Road (not toward China Hotel). You will see a small park at your left, and of course the famous Yuexiu Park to your right across the street. Keep on walking and the road will curve to the left. The entrance to this mosque is to your left at the curve. If you walk more than 15 minutes from the Yuexiu metro station and still cannot find the mosque, you are lost already. For conventional people, you can take taxi to this place, but make sure the address of the mosque is written in Chinese. Ask your hotel’s concierge to do this. Some taxi drivers will just dump you in front of the entrance to Yuexiu Park and tell you that the mosque is just across the road, pointing to the direction of the small park. (Thats what happened to me. In this case you must cross the road via metro underpass.)

Facade of Saad Abi Waqas mosque from North Jiefang Rd in Guangzhou CHINA

A well which never dries at the Abi Waqas Mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA

Entrance from the small park in the front of Abi Waqas mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA

Ancient tombs of sahabat (sages) in the Abi Waqas mosgue in Guangzhou, CHINA

Maqam Saad Abi Waqas di Guangzhou, CHINA

A small building housing the tomb of Abu Waqas in Guangzhou, CHINA

Tomb of Saad Abi Waqas (may Allah be pleased with him) in Guangzhou, CHINA

Meilin mosque in Shenzen, CHINA (Masjid Meilin di Shenzen, CHINA)

By abuadam

On June 27, 2010

In Uncategorized

June 2010:

This is probably the biggest mosque in Shenzen, located at Meilin Lu. I happened to be in this city was here on one Friday in June 2010, and my other half had to find a mosque to perform his weekly obligation, i.e. Friday prayers. A frantic google search on the internet nights before yielded 2 or 3 mosques in the city and I reckon this one is the nearest to Louhu area, where I stay and shop and watch. The mosque is about 20 minutes drive by taxi from Shangrila Shenzen Hotel near Louhu railway station. Fare is about 30-40 Yuan on metered taxi. The building is a simple and straight-cut design, a square shaped and two small minarets facing the other side of the main road, for some reason I am not sure. A Meilin Lu entrance leads to the big compound, toilets and wuduk area. A huge green banner with Chinese words greet the new-comers. A woman section at the back of prayers hall provides refuge to a tired traveller, drained and exhausted after half day long bargaining at LCC. There are many women on this Friday. Some are tourists from middle east and far east and overseas. Most are local residents. The way they dress during solat puzzle me as some are not properly covered. After the prayers, a fiesta atmosphere develops as they gathered at the spacious courtyard talking and chatting and catching up with friends and neighbors and relatives. The locals and foreigners mix as well but language is the barrier in this country. Locals do not speak English and foreigners do not speak Mandarin or Cantonese. But what matters they are brothers and sisters and one ummah. On the street you cannot differentiate Moslem Chinese and kufar Chinese by look only, unless you meet them in the mosque, praying like you do.

Meilin Mosque is located at Meilin Lu, Shenzen, CHINA

The best way to this mosque is by taxi. Only 15-20 minutes drive from Louhu.

Fresh halal meat on sale outside the mosque area.

A young imam delivering tazkirah before actual Friday prayers starts at Meilin Mosque, Shenzen

A jemaah recording the khutbah Jumaat (Friday sermon) on his China-made Nokia phone.

The outside view of Meilin Mosque in Shenzen, CHINA

Noodle and grilled meat similar to kebab are all halal here. Yummy yummy!

Halal food stalls are plenty outside the mosque.

Halal restaurant near Meilin mosque in Shenzen, China

The masjid is fully air-conditioned and very clean. The sound system is so perfect — thanks to China electronic technology — that you can hear the tazkirah and khutbah by Imaam very distinctly — syllable by syllable — and crisply. The Imaam is fairly young with a scholar and matured look, in traditional moslem robes. He delivered tazkirah first in Mandarin, followed by khutbah (sermon).

At the entrance there are many foodstalls selling halal foods. After the congregation, these stalls are full with jemaah and you have to wait some time for tables to be empty. I tried noodle with plain soup and soy sauce, but the grilled beef fits my taste bud well, simply out-of-this-world taste. A halal meat shop sell freshly slaughtered cows for Moslems living in the neighborhood. Moslems in Shenzen are mainly from Xinjiang province, some from Sichuan and other provinces.

In June 2010, actual Friday prayers started at 1:30pm. Tazkirah started one hour early. About 600 jemaah attended the prayers.

(The story is contributed by Wannor.)

Mosques in Guangzhou, CHINA (Huai-sheng Mosque)

By abuadam

On June 26, 2010

In Travel

June 2010:

Sejarah kedatangan Islam di China bermula pada zaman Khalifah Uthman Al Affan (RA) di mana bapa saudara Nabi (SAW), Saad abi Waqas telah diutuskan ke China melalui jalan sutera laut kepada Maharaja Dinasti Tang. Utusan ini diterima baik dan Maharaja memerintahkan sebuah masjid dibina di Canton (sekarang Guangzhou) buat mengingati peristiwa bersejarah ini. Inilah antara masjid yang pertama dan tertua di China, berusia lebih dari 1300 tahun, yang boleh dilihat sendiri pada hari ini di Guangzhou, China. Masjid in juga dikenali dengan nama Guangta Lu Temple, Lighthouse Mosque dan juga Grand Mosque of Canton. Saya berkesempatan melawat masjid ini yang dikenali sebagai Masjid Huai-sheng dan juga maqam Saad Abi Waqas di kota Guangzhou, baru-baru ini.

Masjid Huai-sheng terletak di No 56 Guangta Lu (Lu = jalan = road) di tengah-tengah bandar Guangzhou, tidak jauh dari hotel-hotel utama di kota ini. Dari Beijing Lu, dengan teksi mengambil masa 15 minit atau kurang dari itu. Bagi yang sentiasa mencari pengalaman baru, anda boleh mengambil keretapi bawah tanah (subway atau metro) dan turun di hentian Ximenkou (saya rasa Line 2 — kuning). Dari stesen ini anda kena berjalan kaki 10 minit ke masjid. Terdapat sebuah restoran makanan halal dan juga sebuah kedai runcit halal di depan masjid.

Rekabentuk masjid ini seumpama pagoda. Tiada minaret kecuali sebuah menara rumah api (lighthouse) yang bersejarah. Dewan solat masjid ini terletak di tengah-tengah komplek masjid dikelilingi bangunan berbentuk 4 segi yang menempatkan pejabat pentadbiran, tempat wuduk, kelas Quran dan lain-lain lagi.

Alamat masjid/Address:

No 56 Guangta-Lu (Guangta Road), Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. Tel: -020-83333593.

Bagaimana untuk sampai ke sini? /How to get here?

Taxi is the best way to reach this place. Guangta Lu is a narrow alley away from main road. The main road is Zhongshan Road No.6 and Jiefang Road. For the adventurous you can take super-efficient Guangzhou Metro at stop at Ximenkou station. From there you walk along Hufu street with cool leafy trees and everyday shops and everyday people. Turn right into Guangta Lu and this mosque is at No 56 Guangta Lu. There is a halal restaurant and halal grocery store in front of the mosque. Locals / taxi drivers may not know the word mosque, but they know Muslim temple.