Book Review: The little Prince

Clockwise (Start from the trees): Baobab trees, the drinker/drunkard, the conceited man, the lamplighter, the businessman, the king, the geographer/old gentleman and in the middle is the little prince.

Hello world! So here I am again to introduce (and if possible convince you to read this book) "The Little Prince" written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

I feel in love with this book at the first chapter of the story at exactly this sentence:
"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children always and forever to be giving explainations."


At the very beginning of this novel (in my understanding) the writer wrote how different children and adults (or so they call themselves) see the world. How to the child, his drawing looks that of a boa constrictor who swallowed an elephant and how adults see it as a hat. How different children and adults are! Almost as if we are seperated in different worlds yet we step on the same sand and breathe the same air do we not?
Then the writer further stated that adults love numbers and figures. They lose sight of things that are important. When getting to know someone they ask how much those the person earn for a living or how many siblings they have or how old is he. They do not ask what does the person like to do or what are his favourite games.
I really love the novel, so much that it's hard to have a favourite chapter. One specific chapter on baobabs is very important to me. It is about how we treat our planet. The writer stresses the importance of this by saying how he took time and effort to draw the picture of the baobab tree. In order to teach children of how important it is for us to care for our planet. Where else would we live without it???
Oh there is so much that we can learn from this novel. Especially to those kids that are becoming adults and to those adults who forgot they were once kids. I'll stress one last important part in the novel. On his journey, the prince met many weird adults (from the king to the businessman to the drunkard to the lamplighter to the geographer and the conceited man) and perhaps the most important appearance in the novel was not that of a human but a fox. An animal which the prince tame and an animal who taught the prince the importance of a bond.

********************************************************************

'My life is very monotonous. I run after the chickens and men run after me. All the chickens are the same; all the men are the same. Consequently, I get a little bored. But if you tame me, my days will be as if filled with sunlight. I shall know the sound of a footstep different from all the rest. Other steps make me run to earth. Yours will call me out of my foxhole, like music. And besides, look over there! You see the fields of corn? Well, I don't eat bread. Corn is of no use to me. Corn fields remind me of nothing. Which is sad. On the other hand, your hair is the colour of gold. So think how wonderful it will be when you have tamed me. The corn, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I shall come to love the sound of the wind in the field of corn...'
...
'And now you are going to cry!' said the little prince.
'I know,' said the fox.
'So you have gained nothing at all!'
'Yes, I have gained something,' said the fox, 'because of the colour of the corn.'

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'Goodbye,' said the fox. 'Now here is my secret, very simply: you can only see things clearly with your heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.'
....
'It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important.'
...
'People have forgotten this truth,' said the fox. 'But you must not forget. You become responsible, for ever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.'

*********************************************************************

It will be really tiring to explain everything in my post and you'll probably not understand half of what I'm saying. I strongly recommend this book to everyone! Children and yes! to you adults out there who think you are mature. I always hear adults say how innocent children are and how they do not know what the real world is like and how immature children can be but seriously who are you to decide what IS the real world? Isn't the way we all view the world different from the other? A person in a rich family will see the world differently from an orphan in the streets. A farmer live life differently from a lawyer. No? So what is real and what isn't? Is your world real or mine?
I really disagree when adults say that children do not understand the world. Sure they lack experience and thus some understanding but what adults often don't realise is how children KNOW what is important in life while adults (in their haste to meet everyday needs and achievement) forget what is most important.

After reading this book I'm looking forward to read another one of his creation "Wind, Sand and Stars". So I hope you all would pick up this book and read it. Won't take you even half a day to read it. You'll gain something in EVERYTHING that you read. Hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did. :)

~owari

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Body Damaging Habits

some cool info from my mum D:

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS



1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our 20 body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6 . Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest.. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells..

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain



The main causes of liver damage are:

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.

6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.

7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil.
As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is20very fit.

8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to 'schedule.'


The top five cancer-causing foods are:

1.. Hot Dogs

Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate..

2. Processed meats and Bacon

Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts

Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries

Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams ..

5. Chips, crackers, and cookies

All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.

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TIPS : MUDAH MENGINGATI ILMU

www.Halaqah.net
Pengirim : piqiues
Editor : Ummi Munaliza

Ustaz, kenapa susah nak ingat bila menghafal ? Saya dah hafal la ustaz, tapi lupa!.

Ucapan begini biasa dijawab oleh pelajar bila disoal makna sesuatu perkataan Bahasa Arab. Tips kali ini akan diterangkan teknik-teknik untuk mengingati sesuatu hafalan. Tips ini umum untuk semua subjek yang memerlukan pelajar mengingati sesuatu ilmu. Bukan terhad subjek Bahasa Arab sahaja.

Allah mengurniakan tahap kecerdasan akal fikiran yang berbeza-beza kepada manusia. Ada yang kuat ingatan, ada yang sederhana dan ada yang lemah. Pelajar yang bijak dan kuat ingatan memadai dengan hanya P&P dalam kelas telah menguasai sesuatu ilmu dengan baik. Itu adalah kurniaan Allah kepadanya dan amat jarang yang mendapat kelebihan seperti ini pada masa kini. Kebiasaannya pelajar memerlukan kepada ulangkaji yang berulang kali baru dapat menguasainya.

Kebanyakan pelajar biasanya berdepan dengan masalah sukar untuk mengingati ilmu yang dipelajari. Perkara yang perlu dilakukan oleh pelajar untuk mengatasi masalah ini ialah ;

PERTAMA : Menghindarkan diri daripada sebarang dosa. Dosa yang dilakukan mengakibatkan hati menjadi hitam. Inilah hijab yang menghalang untuk mendapat ilmu. Seorang pelajar hendaklah sentiasa menghindarkan diri daripada sebarang dosa agar ilmu mudah diperolehi. Terdapat pelajar yang boleh mengingati isi kandungan yang diajar oleh gurunya walau pun tidak mengulang kaji pada waktu lain. Kenapa ?. kerana hatinya suci bersih dan berkat.

KEDUA : Tingkatkan amalan kerohanian dan amal soleh untuk membersihkan hati dan untuk memperolehi keberkatan daripada Allah SWT. Sentiasa menjaga solat fardu, menunaikan solat-solat sunat, berzikir, membaca al-Quran setiap hari dengan perhatikan makna-maknanya. Amalan-amalan soleh ini akan mencapai keberkatan daripada Allah SWT dalam menuntut ilmu.


KETIGA : Menghafal dalam keadaan fizikal yang sejahtera dan segar, minda yang lapang dan rehat. Mengingati sesuatu merupakan proses yang berat ditanggung oleh akal. Ia memerlukan tenaga yang sempurna daripada tubuh badan yang cergas. Proses mengingati ilmu akan menjadi sukar bila fizikal dalam keadaan letih seperti mata yang mengantuk dan sebagainya. Sekiranya anda dalam keadaan begini dinasihatkan melakukan perkara yang lebih ringan seperti menyalin nota atau membuat latihan-latihan mudah. Kalau menghafal pun hanya akan membuang masa. Dapatkan rehat yang secukupnya untuk mengembalikan kecergasan. Rehat yang terbaik ialah tidur yang mencukupi dan waktu minda yang lapang ialah selepas bangkit dari tidur. Sebab itu kita dapati ramai pelajar yang cemerlang memanfaatkan masa pada awal pagi untuk mengulang kaji dan menghafal pelajaran.

KEEMPAT : Memberi tumpuan sepenuhnya semasa menghafal. Terdapat pelajar yang menghafal sambil mendengar muzik, menonton tv, menghantar sms dan lain-lain lagi. Kalau begini caranya menghafal sampai dua jam pun, dijamin gagal mengingatinya dengan sempurna. Kita hendaklah benar- benar fokus perkara yang ingin diingati tanpa memikirkan perkara lain. Allah jadikan akal manusia tidak dapat fokus terhadap dua perkara dalam satu masa. Ini adalah fitrah kejadian manusia. Walau pun tidak dinafikan terdapat pelajar yang dapat mengulang kaji pelajaran sambil mendengar muzik dan sebagainya. Ulangkaji dan menghafal adalah dua perkara yang berbeza.

KELIMA : lafazkan hafalan anda sehingga didengari oleh telinga anda sendiri. Bila mulut yang menyebut, telinga yang mendengar dan mata yang memandang akan memudahkan akal menerima hafalan tersebut berbanding menghafal tanpa bersuara. Kenapa anda dapat mengingati lagu Inggeris dan Hidustan?. Jawapannya ialah kerana biasa mendengar berulang kali. Inilah kehebatan nikmat mendengar yang merupakan salah satu sumber ilmu.

KEENAM : Ulangi hafalan anda sehingga benar-benar mantap. Tiada had berapa kali yang perlu diulang. Selagi hafalan masih samar dan kabur, ulangi berulang kali. Jangan rasa jemu dan mudah berputus asa. Lebih memudahkan untuk mengingati bila difahami kandungan yang dihafal. Contohnya kita mampu mengingati ayat al-Quran yang dihafal tapi lebih mudah kita mengingatinya dengan difahami makna ayat-ayat tersebut.

KETUJUH : Tulis perkara yang anda hafal tanpa melihat teks. Perkara ini penting untuk memastikan ingatan anda benar-benar mantap atau sebaliknya. Ia juga baik untuk mengelakkan berlaku kesilapan bila menjawab soalan yang sebenar. Semak hafalan yang ditulis tadi dengan teks sebenar. sekiranya terdapat kesilapan, ulangi menghafal sekali lagi sehingga benar-benar diingati .

KELAPAN : Istiqamah dalam menghafal. Untuk mengingati ilmu adalah mustahil hanya dengan sekali hafalan. Hafalan secara berkala dan sistematik perlu dipraktikkan setiap masa. Hafalan boleh dikategorikan kepada dua jenis iaitu hafalan baru dan hafalan lama. Ilmu yang telah diingati jangan dibiarkan begitu sahaja. Ia perlu di‘refresh’ secara berkala bergantung kepada sejauh mana kemantapan sesuatu hafalan. Jangan sia-siakan masa yang telah dihabiskan untuk mengingatinya, kemudian dibiarkan lupa begitu sahaja. Kesimpulannya, hendaklah disediakan jadual pembelajaran untuk membahagikan masa antara hafalan baru dan ‘refresh’ hafalan lama.


KESEPULUH : Tampal nota atau bahan yang penting di tempat yang biasa dan kerap dilihat. Ini bertujuan memantapkan hafalan yang penting seperti formula sains atau matematik. Bila diyakini mantap, gantikan dengan nota yang lain. Buangkan gambar-gambar artis kesayangan atau poster yang tidak berfaedah. Hiasi bilik ‘study’ anda dengan perkataan, formula dan ilmu yang bermanfaat.

KESEBELAS : Tips yang terakhir ialah doa dan tawakkal. Pastikan setiap usaha yang anda lakukan seiring dengan pergantungan dan penyerahan diri kepada Allah Yang Maha Pengurnia. Dialah yang menguatkan ingatan, Dialah yang Melupakan. Semuanya dalam KekuasaanNya. Oleh itu, setiap kali sama ada sebelum atau selepas menghafal panjatkan doa kepadaNya tanpa rasa jemu. Yakinlah bahawa doa anda itu akan diterima dan sentisa berbaik sangka dengan Allah. Sekurang-kurangnya anda akan mendapat pahala kerana doa itu adalah satu ibadat. Tidak akan rugi dan menyesal seseorang yang banyak berdoa di akhirat kelak.

Mudah-mudahan sebelas tips yang dinyatakan ini dapat dijadikan panduan dan semoga membantu anda mengingati ilmu yang dipelajari walau pun teknik dan pendekatan belajar berbeza-beza di kalangan pelajar.

WALLAHU TA’ALA A’LAM

Artikel dari :

http://pbasmkps.blogspot.com/

http://halaqah.net/v10/index.php?PHPSESSID=c2hafu1us7mda3ta9cm1ggno61&page=354

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The Heart is where it begins

Have you ever been told to listen to your heart?
Why do people tell us so? Is the heart right? Is it necessarily the best choice for us?

The heart is where every thought, every action and everything that defines us begins.

How do you define your heart? What is it?

Al-Nawwas bin Sam'an, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:

"Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about."

[Muslim]

According to Wabisah bin Ma'bad, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said:

I came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, and he said: "You have come to ask about righteousness ?" " Yes," I answered. He said: "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and sin is what creates restlessness in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast, even though people give you their opinion (in your favour) and continue to do so."

[A good hadith transmitted from the Musnads of the two Imams, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Al-Darim

(This is what I obtained from the hadith classes conducted in MMU Surau. Any mistake is purely my own fault. Please comment if there are any mistakes)

The first thing that should be pointed out is that even though the second hadith is weak by itself, due to supporting evidence it is raised to the level of hasan (authentic). These two hadiths state the meaning of righteousness and sinfulness. (Taken from http://fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my/hadith27.htm)

People say charity starts from the home but I feel that anything we do, it starts from ourselves. It is from our heart that we decide (for ourselves) what is the course of action that we wish to take.
Even the poorest and most misrable can give charity to others. It can be in a form of action, words of encouragement, a helping hand or even a shoulder to cry on. Charity is not only in monetary form.
To share food when you yourself is hungry; that's charity.
To share knowledge with others; that's charity.

Two parts of the class that really struck me was this line said by the ustaz:
1. "Hate the sin, but not the sinner. (Benci perkara makruh dan bukan orang yang melakukannya.)"
2. "Help those that have been abused and help those who abuse."

From my understanding the first part means that even though someone has done something sinful, do not hate him/her.
A person can change; given the chance. So give them a chance. The sin cannot be erased but that doesn't mean that the person can't ask for Allah S.W.T. forgiveness. The second part in my opinion means that we should help people that have been abused and also those that abuse others. Why should we help those who abuse others? The people who abuse others are ultimately hurting themselves and destroying themselves in the eyes of Allah S.W.T.. We should help them by preventing or advising them against abusing others.

Every single good thing we do will be rewarded. InsyaAllah.

~cheerio

p.s. Do not kill your heart. Fill it, Feed it and Listen to it. :D
p.s.s To read more on this topic please click here!

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strength

friends, have you come across this verse in the Quran:

"Allah burdens not any soul beyond its capacity. It shall have the reward it earns, and it shall get the punishment it incurs. Our Lord, do not punish us, if we forget or fall into error; and our Lord, lay not on us a responsibility as Thou didst lay upon those before us.Our Lord, burden us not with what we have not the strength to bear; and efface our sins, and grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us; Thou art our Master; so help us Thou against the disbelieving people."

(Al Baqarah, Chapter 2 verse 287)

perhaps you have read this before. perhaps not.

we live among people. and people are troublesome. and eventually, we get mad, annoyed, angry and even grow hateful.

especially to the one who don't put much thought into their actions, words and attitude towards other. and they didn't realize their actions affects those around them in many ways.

but reflect back on the verse, for Allah promise us not to burden his slaves with something He knew we will not endure. and isn't He the All-Knower? never ever doubt this.

take it as a test on you. and maybe, it is time to stop asking 'why me?' or 'why always me?' and 'why not he/she?'

but instead ask 'why not me? i'm strong enough. i can take this. and i can do this'

we are tested in many ways from time to time. oxford dictionary define test as:

• a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something.
• a means of testing something.
• a difficult situation that reveals the strength or quality of someone or something

it is obvious that the purpose of tests and challenges are to give us strength and define us as who we are today, tomorrow and so on.

trust me, we need strength to survive in this cruel world. be it physical or emotional.

all the best.

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